sorry, not buying it. What about the suffering he is causing by having his FB profile? So if he suffers, its ok for him to cause others to suffer? He is "suffering" so we have to tolerate his bad behavior?
No wonder we have people like him coming into Orthodoxy. This culture of avoidance of confrontation is toxic!
Look I hope this guy is a normal fellow, most of OC.net have warmed to his situation. But I see red flags just the fact that his wife enchanted all the men in OC.net because she is 'cute' and 'hot' is enough to wonder if these people are charismatic cultists.
But I'm still wondering about this "group" he was head of and the inclination towards creating vagante assemblies. I find this quite perplexing.
I'd be more inclined to have "compassion" on him if he'd shut down that FB page. No amount of "suffering" compels anyone to set up a FB page.
If you're in communication with him, I'd would like to kindly suggest you'd speak to him about that one issue (shutting down the FB page)
I was not directing the comment about avoidance of confrontation towards you.
Thank you for your service to our country
(I'm not in the military but I work for the federal government)
Why exactly did he leave Orthodoxy?
Nathan Monk wouldn't be the first Orthodox clergyman to be sympathetic to gays and lesbians... so why leave? Why make the fuss? Is he just young and idealistic and frustrated?
I can understand being frustrated and being a lone voice but sometimes God calls us to do impossible things, so I'm wondering, why did he leave?
I seriously doubt it will come down. Keep praying for him, he and his family have dealt with a lot, and their entrance into Orthodoxy was not a easy one, nor were they welcomed warmly by all. And to his credit, he did try and until this regression, surprised me with the degree to which he embraced Orthodoxy. He is not a nutjob, but he does need guidance and I agree with those who state he should have been welcomed more slowly... There's a lot to the story, but at it's core is a man who feels rejected and lost. Please pray for him, his wife and daughters, and their unborn child. I am conservative, in the military, an in many ways my views lie 180 out from Nathan. That being said, I cannot rejoice in seeing someone suffer, I've seen too much of it. He has his gifts, unfortunately the Devil has use them to carry him astray... Lord have mercy...
Good point...Whomever is harassing Nathan is doing a terrible thing, and same for those who treated him poorly as a priest.
Nathan is saying a lot of harsh things and it is hard for people who love the Orthodox Church to read that. But if people can't react from a good and loving place, they should stop saying anything.
It would also help if Nathan took some time away from Facebook for soul-searching, rather than continuing to kick the hornet's nest.
Hey, FD,
On sympathy to gays and lesbians - I think you don't get the distinction between our sharp condemnation of the sin and our considerable compassion for the sinner, being one ourselves
I know Orthodox clergy and laity who support civil unions or marriage for gays and do not consider homosexual acts to necessarily be sinful in general - I would describe them as quietly pro-gay. They do not necessarily consider their gay rights stances the most important issue in their spiritual lives, so it doesn't necessarily cause them to leave Orthodoxy, and I suppose they regard anti-gay opinions in the Orthodox Church as due to ignorance rather than some kind of dogmatic statement about the Orthodox faith- they don't view being pro-gay as un-Orthodox.
So I'm wondering, why did Nathan Monk leave?
Well you must know people who are ignorant of sin & are carried on by tides of mass secular opinion in which notions of love & kindness can become relativistic.
No, most of them are devout Orthodox Christians... some have been Orthodox Christians for decades.