Monergism on Eastern Orthodoxy

Sometimes all you can do is laugh, otherwise things are too painful.

Following a long list of purported errors, here's what the good folks at Monergism have determined (pun intended!) about our brothers and sisters who are Eastern Orthodox :

"We can only conclude that Eastern Orthodoxy is an inconsistent, unbiblical substitute for a Christ-centered Biblical Christianity."

The ultimate irony is this judgment:

"EOC unapologeticly hold that they are the one true church of Christ on earth, which alone has guarded right belief and true worship in absolute identity and unbroken succession with the apostolic church. In other words, Evangelicals have lapsed from the true faith into error, if not outright heresy, according to Orthodox believers. The salvation of non-Orthodox is, therefore, in question."

How offensive it must be for the Monergists to be treated the way they treat others!

Modernism is characterized by its demand for certainty and its belief that the present is always preferable to the past. It is also preoccupied with discursive reason, laws and formulae. From what I can tell, the Reformed Christianity espoused at this site is doing its best to live up to its modernist DNA. If only the Monergists could explain to me why modernism is the sole way to be Christ-centered, Biblical Christians!

Είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα
("The donkey called the rooster a fathead.")

Happy Bright Monday/Dyngus Day

Bright Monday is Easter Monday. The Orthodox, of course, have many traditions associated with it, as you can read here. Especially fascinating is this one:

Since the entire week of Pascha, otherwise known as Bright week, is the "eighth day", and according to the Lord, " in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven" (Matthew 22:30), it is a pious tradition that those who are married "be as the angels". This is abstinence not because of fasting, as marital abstinence otherwise is, but because of the joy of the resurrection. Not everyone can bear this, and the marriage bed is undefiled in any case, but for those who can observe this custom, there is profound meaning.

We are also warned of this danger:

It is very easy to feast with foods, and let down spiritually, and forget the inner feast of Pascha. Too much rich food makes it impossible to pray. It also can incite other serious passions, such as lust, anger and despondency. Sometimes people hardly pray during this week, because of overeating, and tiredness. The mind of the church, in her ascetical tradition, has always known this. The church lessens the prayer rule during Bright week so that it is easy to pray, but only if we continue to make an effort, and do not over abuse our freedom to eat delicious foods. We emulated the Apostles and the Myrrh bearing women by proclaiming "Christ is risen" multiple times during the Paschal vigil, likewise, let us emulate them in joyful, although abbreviated prayer during the period of Bright week.

Today the Poles are celebrating (?) "Dyngus Day" by having the men chase the women with squirt guns, drenching them, and switching their legs with pussy willows. Tomorrow the ladies get to throw crockery at the men. Go figure.

Susan Celebrates Orthodox Easter

Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don't eat no meat?
[the entire room stops, in shock]
Aunt Voula: Oh, that's okay. I make lamb.

--My Big Fat Greek Wedding

One of Susan's roommates is Greek Orthodox, and invited her home last weekend to celebrate Orthodox Easter. The Orthodox go vegan for Lent.

Susan writes:
I just got back this evening from Easter festivities at Megan's church. They were very kind and gracious, and it was a fun time, but I'm a bit worn out from it all. You all would have loved their "agape feast" this afternoon: they roasted an entire lamb on a spit, had tons of Greek (and Ethiopian) dishes, and piled up mounds of desserts.

Apparently the church members were upset that the butcher had cut off the head, so that they had to roast it in the oven. (!)

The Orthodox Study Bible

This alert comes from the Gauthiers, friends of my friends, the Woods:

The Orthodox Study Bible, created by The Orthodox Study Bible Old Testament Project and published by Thomas Nelson, is now available from Conciliar Press. It uses the New King James Version of the Bible as the basis for a fresh translation of the Septuagint text. The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Bible used by Christ, the Apostles, and the early church.

The new Orthodox Study Bible contains the entire Old Testament of the Orthodox Church, including the "Deuterocanonical" books. Although based on the New King James Version, it offers a fresh translation from the Greek text of the Septuagint.

The Orthodox Study Bible also includes:
New Testament from the New King James Version
Commentary drawn from the early Church Christians
Easy-to-Locate liturgical readings
Book Introductions and Outlines
Subject Index
Full-color Icons
Full-color Maps

Be sure to check out the sample pages. As might be expected, the note on Genesis 1:2 makes it clear that the Spirit of God proceeds from the Father. Period. (!) Actually, I'm quite excited about this Bible. It may be a godsend for those of us who are interested in Trinitarian theology, and see it as the way to heal our divided churches. I'm going to tell A.J. at Onyx House about it right away.