1 hour ago, shiloh357 said:

No, the EO is a departure from biblical Christianity, as they reject what Paul taught and reject the true Gospel.

This is demonstrably untruth for anyone who wishes to read the actual resources sourced from Orthodox Christian information sites in this and other threads on this topic.

25 minutes ago, Yowm said:

Then maybe you can provide a preached example of the Gospel by the EO similar  to what we find in the Book of Acts?

I think not when all other resource efforts expended by those who cared to share have been ignored.

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Then perhaps you can kindly link an official source that clearly states the Orthodox position on these matters? It gets tiresome of bringing up sources only to have them denied as official by Orthodox apologists.

There were no official orthodox apologists introduced into this discussion that did any such thing.

Quote

It has brought me out and kept me out of many cults.

That was not the question. I'll take the diversion as admission you've never entered an Orthodox Christian church.

42 minutes ago, Spock said:

Hey Joshua,

lets keep this simple between you and me.  

First, I am not your judge so you won't hear me make this personal. And I don't believe anyone here is judging your soul either.  We all just care about false messages going out to the masses. 

secondly, my interest on this thread is discussing church doctrines. Who are doing it right and who aren't?  

Thirdly, having come from a RCC upbringing and now knowing had I not been born again (mid 20s) I was heading straight to Hell, I am very concerned about churches with false doctrines or burden their flock with man made traditions that hinder the pure simple message of the gospel.

Basically, I have two major concerns:

1. the concern with EOC i may have is simply, do they add conditions (man's works or efforts)  such as baptism, as a requirement for justification? Or is it simply, nope, you are completely justified by trusting in Christ's atonement at Calvary. Christ took my sins on the cross with him and I receive his gift of eternal life. (Good works AFFIRM ones true faith.) 

2. and my second concern is that sola scripture is not a doctrine, thus allowing man's tradition to influence or even confuse the truth. 

I hope you can understand why some of us here are concerned about these two points. Some think our motivation comes from hate, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. It's because we care and like God, we don't desire any to perish.  

I would examine doctrine with scripture with any religion, not just EOC. 

Cheers,

spock

Yes, let us keep it simple brother.

Every Christian I believe is concerned with the souls of others so that they not perish eternally removed from God.

It is in that concern that the teachings of Jesus inform and carry forward the Christian indwelt with God's Holy Spirit. As has been stated repeatedly but seemingly ignored, the foundation of gospel, good news, teachings being rooted in the principles of grace, faith, repentance, Jesus, baptism, salvation, that list afforded in no particular order.  While the manner of celebrating God, of carrying forth confession in a different manner than that which is between the Christian and God in prayer, are adornments that surround the core principles of Jesus' truth and teaching. 

And in that regard, being the spirit of Christ should inform the Christian, and that includes the doctrine of truth and love for one another. Therefore, the opposite of that doctrine demonstrating itself by repeatedly insisting the core principles of salvation that the EOC holds to that are in line with Protestant denominations is not so is contrary in itself to what Jesus sought to impart to the world and those converts to his truth.

I'll keep that simple being it may be over your head, as someone said of something I wrote before with seemingly flowery language they could not follow, per their remarks to that end.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

That renewed creation in Christ committed to the above scripture would not misrepresent the truth of equality in the salvation points the EO holds identical to Protestants. The ceremony being secondary when the grounding principles that saves souls are the same.  Starting with God's grace through unto Baptism.

Nor would that new creation in Christ abhor that truth and in its stead favor vilification of the most ancient church second to Christ's on earth, so as to defame and slander repeatedly the committed heart and blessed fruit of one of Jesus Christ's beloved Disciples, the Apostle John-Mark.

Absolutely, opinions on any given topic do vary. However, foundation principles of the EO is not a matter of opinion but of Doctrine. And especially when the resources here provided prove the EO church itself identifies and teaches that Grace, Faith, Jesus, Salvation, Scripture, Baptism, are God's blueprint to Salvation. To renew the unregenerate, those dead in their sins. Just as is the case in Protestantism.

When opinion enters into that is when the committed disparage a church, ignore the truth of the Grace principles already described, in order to denigrate that which is the Orthodox Christian church. And that is not pursued with the concern for the soul of the sinners or the righteous in Christ in mind. Otherwise, respect for the doctrine shared with Protestants concerning Salvation would example itself and we would not be having this debate about what truth and love for God's word appears to be. And what the opposite of that has shown itself intent to example. 

On 4/22/2017 at 8:21 AM, OneLight said:

Having a foothold of oppression is not the same as possession, which is what I think you are referring to in the second paragraph.

I am aware of the difference.

Quote

 

  Even those who have His Holy Spirit, when not careful, can be oppressed and when weak, be led by deceit and lies, and even give place to the flesh.  Nobody should ever think they cannot take a wrong turn in their decision making because they have the Holy Spirit.  We all need to take heed to His leading in our lives or we will find ourselves in the wrong place doing the wrong thing.

Take these boards as an example.  Look at the words of those who are His.  Not all replies are from Christ, but of the flesh.  They are easy to recognize if you look at their fruit.  One hateful statement seeds another hateful reply.

 

Yes, the Christian is to always keep attuned to the leading of the helper within. When we stumble we have the light available to return our steps to the righteous path. And certainly the fruits do speak for themselves, and that makes it easier for those in Christ to identify the tongue behind the tare. For weeds germinate faster than healthy seed and thus they multiply like among like so that the discerning sower can recognize the unfruitful grass from the nourishing sprout.

As a metaphor for community forums the parable of the wheat and the tares doth fail in my view. Because the crop on earth will be harvested by the Lord God when it comes time at the end of our life. Those that are the wheat. And those that were disguised as the grass weed shall be plucked up having always been known by the great power that seeds life, and bound and cast to the fires. Its foolishness no longer able to flourish amid healthy righteous soil.   And this because all flesh dies.

In actual farming, and this relative to a commentary concerning liberalism on forums, a wise farmer knows that no matter how long the tare, the grasses, are allowed to germinate and spread among a field of wheat, no manner of time allotted it shall ever transform a weed into a stalk of healthy wheat. In fact, allowing the weeds to flourish without raising a hand insures the weeds will obscure the wheat .

And in some crops, actually strangle the healthy food crop and make the investment in the seed worthless for the return that is lost at market because the harvest reaps nothing of value but weeds left unchecked.

This is not something that is in practice by vigilant farmers who hold respect for the tradition of crop farming.

23 hours ago, Yowm said:

Exactly, here is an archived article from 1998 showing what CRI used to hold about the Eastern Orthodox Church...

https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20151016194027/www.equip.org/article/the-eastern-orthodox-church

I would recommend to the Christian members here that if interested, please do take the time to actually read the rather long article linked above. I do believe by the time you have concluded expending that amount of time you will realize the comment about the link contents does not correspond to the content of the material linked.

17 hours ago, angels4u said:

I made a thread for  favorite recipes !!!!! Please share.....

I went to the section on the forum for recipes. I did see your holiday recipe thread. Is that the one? Or is there another? If so, please link .

I went through my binder and being the margin notes make my personal recipe copies a bit hard to dissect if you're not me, I thought to go to my computer's favorites food file and share links . I obtained those linked recipes and copied them off and expanded them to my personal recipe book. If you would like I can post those links free of my margin notes. I have picked a chocolate recipe, a filet Mignon, being my favorite cut of meat, and a few others for your consideration. Please let me know what you prefer.

I made this this afternoon. That's a professionals image. Mine has thin slivers of strawberries atop it. And I do like larger slices for my self. It's a favorite I would be happy to share.

17 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

Sorry, but that is simply not true.

It is true. The simple fact is that repeated examples of terminal animus for what is lacking in actual knowledge vacates any proffered opinion as other than what it is.  Pride, ego, unapologetic transgression against the principles of Christ and Philisitinism.

17 hours ago, Yowm said:

The E.O. Version.

Hey, when the EO and Rome reconcile maybe us 'prots' will begin to listen to your rhetoric.

Demonstrable refusal to obtain education from educated rhetoric to this point vacates that projection.

13 hours ago, Yowm said:

I'm not sure why we are talking Gospel when the EO does not preach (evangelize) the Gospel to my knowledge...they basically baptize babies for converts and sheep steal adults from other groups.

Prevarication.

12 hours ago, Yowm said:

I hate all teachings that run contrary to Scripture and failing the Gospel and leading people into religion rather than a living relationship. I feel sorry for those snared in such a system.

To date the evidence afforded these forums by numerous resources linked in the many threads teaching the truth about Orthodox Christianity, those do insure that intellectually dishonest remark has no relevance to Orthodox Christians nor Orthodox Christianity whatsoever.

12 hours ago, Wayne222 said:

I ask why do you think Orthodox Christians don't have a relationship with the trinity?  I think many do. I have been going to other sites and reading Orthodox writings on the gospel. I don't find that to be the case.

What a blessing that you've sought out the facts concerning Orthodox Christianity. I too have done so and I believe anyone who wishes to educate themselves on those who are fellow sisters and brothers in the faith owe it to themselves to do the same. If that became a standard for those in Christ more people would be able to righteously identify the detraction that sets out after the most ancient of denominations revering our Lord and God the Father.

1 hour ago, Yowm said:

Fine that's just a part, try holding to the point that Scripture trumps Church tradition and see how far you get in the EO.

How far did it get you?

14 hours ago, other one said:

That looks painful.

21 hours ago, MorningGlory said:

I looked this up on the net and it looks like there were some scattered outages for short periods but nothing out of the ordinary.  It didn't even make the national news.

Yes, but if this were something of a terrorist nature would it? President Trump negotiating the release of an American woman who was held in Egypt for years didn't make the news when she arrived home a few days ago. Had Obama done that during his term, when she was incarcerated still, it would have been on MSM for hours upon hours.

I have friends on the east coast USA . Their power went out briefly a few days ago.

Is it me? Or is this thread dedicated to the encompassing vast array of options for discussion surrounding the many and varied appearances of evil mostly focusing on relationship? A debate as to whether or not the individual in relationship has a right to practice, without challenge, a moral standard upholding God's ideal for Christian marriage? 

1 hour ago, Danger Noodle said:

Thank you both for posting here. I am so relieved not everyone believes the hate filled rhetoric that Hall and Maples generate with regularity on the Net. Thank GOD for discerning Christians who can see the Devil has his own disciples at work in the world of God too. 

And the good news is, Satan knows his fate is sealed. News to his disciples I expect. Thank you both again. Really. I have friends who are Orthodox Christians. Some of the finest people I know. 

 

I think God calls those whom he will to his son, just as he promises in his word. And I also believe those whom he has called are obligated to stand against that which hopes to divide the church by pouring poison in their ear. Like the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. The intention in that play to kill the old king so that the usurper one craving his throne could marry his widowed queen and ascend.   

A comparative analogy for what is happening in the world and to the true disciples of the King of Heaven . Not only does the Kingdom of God have Muslim and other non-Christian enemies at the gates and hoping to batter down the walls raised against sin. The armies defending immorality, like that of the Trans and Homosexual lobby, are also lined up with liberal rams bashing in the name of man's law the brick and mortar of holy resistance.

Now we find there are those batterers professing they carry the flag of Christ. When behind that silk is a double edged sword that swings against the faithful once that banner has allowed them entry into the church of those faithful to Christ. 

How many faces doth the Devil have? And with the Internet, his reach , his own foul doctrine, how much quicker is his own doctrine able to span and divide the weak. And mislead the genuine heart, those who sincerely seek the truth of Christ.

You're welcome Ms. Noodles. 

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

8 minutes ago, angels4u said:

I made a thread for  favorite recipes !!!!! Please share.....

I'll go through my binder that I have in the kitchen and come up with something for celebration tomorrow. 

Editing here.
I checked the binder. What are some of your favorite foods? Anyone at all may answer. I have tabs for breads, pasta dishes, meats, and such. Help to narrow it down for me because everything in there is my favorite. I do borrow recipes from cooking sites and shows and play with my own tastes so they may be familiar and not. You know?

Please do let me know.

God's blessings,

J.

3 minutes ago, angels4u said:

This salad is absolutely delicious, I bought red olives in red wine vinegar and there are sooo tasty, I love healthy foods , and probably eat way  too many nuts lol..

I also like a hard boiled egg in the salad...

What are your favorite foods?

I'm open to just about anything except for organ meats, like chicken livers, calves liver. Any organ meats. And I do not eat sushi.  Other than that I'm pretty open minded.

4 minutes ago, angels4u said:

You forgot some red olives in the salad..and maybe some sunflower seeds and maybe 1 cut up small pickle and little bit of  cut up,green ,red,yellow peppers..

Dressing 1 tbls ACV ,1/2 tblsp olive oil , 1/2 tblsp maple syrup and crushed garlic 

And I like to sprinkle some blue cheese or feta cheese on the top "Yummy"

I'm taking notes of your post for tomorrows lunch.

There's a Chinese restaurant back home that makes the greatest mixed vegetable with tofu dinner. Large chunks of tofu seasoned to perfection and mixed with Chinese vegetables seared perfectly in peanut sauce.

Fabulous. Then there's the famous delicious Tofutti ice cream. I don't like to eat too much Tofu though. In dinners or as frozen vegan ice cream because Tofu is high in estrogen.

18 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

Eating healthy is important but I try not to be too rigid and enjoy something that is just a no, no sometimes but is OH SO GOOD!!!

I agree with you there. That's why I stopped even trying to diet long years ago. The body craves everything I tried to abstain from. I found a way to eat healthy, exercise, and lose weight. I eat what I want and I burn off through exercise more than I consume in calories. It is a great relationship between me and my favorite foods and healthy workouts.

20 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

My favorite dressing is thousand Island.

I love that on Pastrami Rubens. Baby Swiss cheese, on pumpernickel.

2 minutes ago, worthy said:

 

Neither am I.

Bleu Cheese dressing with added Bleu Cheese crumbled atop the dressing is delicious.

We're making a lot of people hungry here I'm sure.

13 minutes ago, worthy said:

Lol that's a face of jealousy,lol. It sounds very good minus the blue cheese.

LoL thank you for clearing that up sister. Add dressing of choice. It is always delicious.

My favorite is Bleu Cheese. Then Greek,creamy Caesar, spicy Italian. I'm pretty much open to all tasty dressings because I love salads. I did try to go whole vegan at one time but I also have a taste for medium rare filet Mignon from time to time. That meant the vegan way was well out of my way to a happy dinner.

Great point there brother.

No Saul did not. However, the difference between Saul and that which concerns many of us as that which assaults sisters and brothers in Orthodox Christianity, so that this site is found doing so in search engines , I've looked,  is Saul was highly educated as a Pharisee about Judaism. And Saul was open to learning the truth of Christ. Jesus would not have appeared to him on the road to Damascus to learn the truth about Christ's teachings if Saul were obstinate and preferred to remain ignorant about the ministry of Immanuel.

Imagine if Saul had been insistent he was right to persecute Christians whom he really knew nothing about. Where would Gentiles today be I wonder?

23 minutes ago, worthy said:

You seem shocked? A fresh greens salad with chopped hard boiled egg, Feta cheese, and organic chopped tomatoes, aadd croutons and blob on just enough Bleu cheese dressing. 

Delicious.

A precious little child made a video about penicillin and green mold and put it on You Tube. Look for, Penicillin, the Miracle Mold . It's 4 minutes long and very informative. Penicillin on moldy bread and certain fruits isn't bad. I wouldn't eat it but I do toss it to birds if it happens to be on bread.

Do you like Bleu (blue) Cheese? That's healthy mold cheese.

The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: Outline of Topics

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all worlds,
Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made:
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
The third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures;
And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
Whose Kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father;
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sin.
I look for the Resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Please don't point to the picture shared here from the Orthodox Christianity information site and think, "IDOL!"

Has anyone here ever watched a movie about Jesus Christ? "Passion of the Christ"? Jim Caviezel played Christ. Do we worship the image of Jim Caviezel? Do we worship Diogo Morgado? The Portuguese actor who played Jesus in, "Son of God"? Don't let imagery of Jesus distract you from the truth my sisters and brothers. Orthodox Christians do not worship icons nor idols.

21 minutes ago, Willa said:

"Scripture and Tradition--"these are not to be understood as complementary or conflicting authorities in Orthodoxy. The Church does not accept the idea of "autarkeia" or "Sola Scriptura." Orthodoxy sees Holy Scripture was a product of, or fruit, of Tradition. God, in fact does not speak to the Bible alone, since the Fathers were witnesses to the early faith, and along with the liturgy, creed, and decrees of the faith transmit divine Truth to all believers. The Orthodox Church teaches us that the books of the Bible are based on a huge body of oral tradition whose limits are not able to be defined."

This denies Sola Scriptura.  It fails to give credit to the Holy Spirit for inspiring the Scriptures but instead credits oral tradition.  This disturbs me.  In most cases the Orthodox Church does give more credit to the Holy Spirit in it doctrines that I have read.  But in this case, which is very important, it points to tradition as the inspiration of Scripture.  If I had to choose between RC and Orthodox, the latter may be better.  But Sola Scriptura  God breathed by the Holy Spirit is a very important doctrine to me.  

Orthodox Christian Information Center

The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: The Basic Doctrines

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost "called all men into unity," according to the Byzantine liturgical hymn of the day; into this new unity, which St. Paul called the "body of Christ," each individual Christian enters through Baptism and "chrismation" (the Eastern form of the Western "confirmation") when the priest anoints him saying "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit."

This gift, however, requires man's free response. Orthodox saints such as Seraphim of Sarov (died 1833) described the entire content of Christian life as a "collection of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is thus conceived as the main agent of man's restoration to his original natural state through Communion in Christ's body. This role of the Spirit is reflected, very richly, in a variety of liturgical and sacramental acts. Every act of worship usually starts with a prayer addressed to the Spirit, and all major sacraments begin with an invocation to the Spirit. The eucharistic liturgies of the East attribute the ultimate mystery of Christ's Presence to a descent of the Spirit upon the worshipping congregation and upon the eucharistic bread and wine. The significance of this invocation (in Greek epiklesis) was violently debated between Greek and Latin Christians in the Middle Ages because the Roman canon of the mass lacked any reference to the Spirit and was thus considered as deficient by the Orthodox Greeks.

Since the Council of Constantinople (381), which condemned the Pneumatomachians ("fighters against the Spirit"), no one in the Orthodox East has ever denied that the Spirit is not only a "gift" but also the giver—i.e., that he is the third Person of the holy Trinity. The Greek Fathers saw in Gen. 1:2 a reference to the Spirit's cooperation in the divine act of creation; the Spirit was also viewed as active in the "new creation" that occurred in the womb of the Virgin Mary when she became the mother of Christ (Luke 1:35); and finally, Pentecost was understood to be an anticipation of the "last days" (Acts 2:17) when, at the end of history, a universal communion with God will be achieved. Thus, all the decisive acts of God are accomplished "by the Father in the Son, through the Holy Spirit."

12 minutes ago, MorningGlory said:

Oh, that sounds SO good!  I'm getting hungry now. 

So was I. Until I made that salad and now that's all taken care of.  

1 hour ago, Yowm said:

@JoshuasonFlower Thank you for your defense of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Since you claim that the E.O. holds to Sola Scriptura, can you provide evidence from Scripture that icons are inspired and  are a window into heaven?

Scripture tells me that we enter through the blood of Jesus Christ by faith. (not by sight)

 That falsehood does not magnify my God. Does it yours?
How terribly unfortunate you did not read a word of truth that I shared.

Glōria in excelsīs Deō,

J.

50 minutes ago, Wayne222 said:

Nice job.

Thank you brother.