Posted by Liza on August 18, 2001 at 05:41:41:
In Reply to: Re: Hoping to get along with my Greek in-laws posted by Themistokles on August 17, 2001 at 21:49:14:
: "Liza's" cynicism betrays much of what a real Christian isn't. Obviously I've touched a raw nerve, here.
I'm not a Christian. However, I have infinitely more respect for the stupidest "born-again" Protestant than I do for someone who proudly brandishes their Orthodoxy...without understanding zip about the Bible. This guy (actual incident) is typical of your average Greek Orthodox "believer":
Greek Orthodox lay believer: Of course, we know that Protestatism is a heresy. That Calvin was a sick man. Orthodoxy is the true faith.
Liza: Yeah..well...OK. (who really cares right? let the guy have his say...it makes him feel good about being Greek)
Greek Orthodox lay believer: Tell me...how does the Bible say to hold one's fingers when making the sign of the cross? Does it say to hold them the Orthodox way or the Catholic way?
Liza: (chuckle, snort) That's not in the Bible.
Greek Orthodox lay believer: (no answer...just a loooooonnnnnnngggggg uncomfortable silence)
This exchange is fairly typical. Some no-nothing Orthodox "believer" starts to rag on the non-Orthodox. Then, they almost invariably say something that betrays their almost complete lack of knowledge about Christianity. Wait a minute! Aren't they supposed to be Christians? Yes and no. Orthodoxy really has more to do with nationalism than Christianity....
: manifested by a non-chauvenistic, non-nationalistic form of humility that characterizes true Orthodox Christians.
Oh..you've GOT to be kidding my friend. The Orthodox Church is positively brimming with the noxious fumes of religious nationalism. This has got to be one of the funniest statements I've seen yet on the Orthodox Church. I don't fret over it though. The non-Greek who gets pulled into this will see soon enough what an ethnocentric cesspool it is...
: For those totally unaware of the Orthodox church's recent history, it wasn't until after the French Revolution's role in creating the modern idea of nationalism (late 18th century) that ethnic branches of the Orthodox Church developed.
Yeah...it's a heresy that's pretty much become doctrine. Let's face it. There is nothing spiritual about phelytismos...and the Orthodox Church is overflowing with it. It's also overflowing with the some of the STUPIDEST anti-Jewish stuff I've seen in years. Not reasoned opinions on the plight of the Palestinians etc...but the kind of thing that one finds in a US gun show. Let's see...should I also add to this the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church recently canonized Tsar Nichoalas? Yeah...he's now a saint and his family are "martyrs" :) Martyrs for what I have zero idea...
: "Liza" (who, from her cynical polemic about the superiority of the "Christian" west (Romanism and Protestantism) and her advice to you to be insincere and deceitful towards your (hopefully) future in-laws, is not exactly a representative of what most Greeks are about.
As I said before. I'm not a Christian. Also tell us what's wrong with actually BELIEVING in something you profess? :)
: Be honest, be sincere and show an interest in the true traits of a virtuous Greek:
Yes...and stay away from Orthodoxy.