I am in urgent need of guidance

[rusmeister]

You have the stage now, its all yours to answer..............PS I am simply a Christian

Please understand, for what it’s worth - we welcome guests here. But the problem comes in making statements that contradict Orthodox teaching and understanding. Like the fellow who said that “Scripture is the final authority”. No it’s not. That contradicts our understanding. We DO hold Scripture in the highest respect, but it does not interpret itself, any more than the US Constitution interprets itself in face of disagreement. Just for example. So you have to restrict yourself to wishing one the best, offering prayers, and asking what Orthodox teaching is (and the exciting and fun discovery that you actually agree with a lot of it!). If you don’t want to do any of those things, but just state your own beliefs, you should do that elsewhere.

That said, no one wants to chase people out of here. Just make them realize that a congregational forum is a place where the beliefs of that congregation are respected, and not dismissed, ignored, or contradicted at every turn. We do have a sub-forum here that specifically allows disagreement and challenge, because we do think Orthodox Tradition defensible according to Scripture, among other things. Just not here in the main forum.

 

[☦Marius☦]

Totally agree that Christians should be baptised on there profession of their faith. You will say on the parents profession and for the child to confirm it later. I have no problem with that
It is the speed with which it is being done that concerns me.
A man walks into a church, asks about baptism and is given a date for next week.

How does thatpriest know that this enquirer is serious and not seeking to make a mockery of a serious rite?

How does he know that this enquirer intends to continue in the faith?

For the enquirer does he know what he is doing, what it means etc?

It seems reasonable to say. 'We will be running a class on the meaning of baptism in a few weeks, I will see you at church next week and to set a date next week.

Oh I agree. Its a rather odd thing quite unusual from what I know. Possibly a regional thing?

 

[ArmyMatt]

Thread correction title update....

“I’m in urgent need of miscellaneous evangelicals’ lurking in an Orthodox forum guidance....and if Orthodox Christians can get a word in edgewise, that’d great, too!”

haha, we could use that or something similar at least as a subtitle for a lot of our threads.

 

[All4Christ]

Please show me where I have been agressivly showing how wrong orthodox believe is?

I have expressed concern over in my opion is a very rushed baptism with no period of study and I have answered question/comments from the poster using general biblical ideas.

FWIW, the normative practice is to have a catechesis over a period of time before baptism. I don’t know the circumstances there for the timing of the baptism. I can say, however, that it was over a year for me.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

We are simply Christians also, heaven. For the first 1000 plus years, with the exception of the Copts and some other small break-offs, we were the ONLY Christians on Earth. In 1054 the West separated from mainstream Christendom (aka Orthodoxy). In the 16th century began the 26,000 plus denominations who make their own communities around their own private interpretations of Scripture without the sacramental life.

As Father Matt said, we're more than happy to have visitors! The more the merrier, but it's an Orthodox forum and posters that come in here asking questions are looking for Orthodox answers. Please don't leave.

You have the stage now, its all yours to answer..............PS I am simply a Christian

 

[rusmeister]

FWIW, the normative practice is to have a catechesis over a period of time before baptism. I don’t know the circumstances there for the timing of the baptism. I can say, however, that it was over a year for me.

I was chrismated without a catechesis. But I really held the conviction from the beginning that the Church has the authority to correct and teach me. I was thoroughly convinced to submit what I thought I knew and conform it to the teachings of the ancient Church. A lot of people have a really hard time doing that. My mother tried being a catechumen for a while and ultimately walked, as she thinks her own understandings superior.

 

[All4Christ]

I was chrismated without a catechesis. But I really held the conviction from the beginning that the Church has the authority to correct and teach me. I was thoroughly convinced to submit what I thought I knew and conform it to the teachings of the ancient Church. A lot of people have a really hard time doing that. My mother tried being a catechumen for a while and ultimately walked, as she thinks her own understandings superior.

What was your background before Orthodoxy? Was it a liturgical Church?

In the early Church, the Church baptized primarily before Pascha, so that’s how we do it with both chrismation and baptism. It also is worse to be baptized and / or chrismated and then leave, then it is to not do that in the first place.

That said, every person is different.

 

[rusmeister]

What was your background before Orthodoxy? Was it a liturgical Church?

In the early Church, the Church baptized primarily before Pascha, so that’s how we do it with both chrismation and baptism. It also is worse to be baptized and / or chrismated and then leave, then it is to not do that in the first place.

That said, every person is different.

Non-liturgical. I was raised a Baptist, and seriously accepted that faith as an older teenager. Then I spent twenty years wandering in an agnostic wilderness.

I think it absolutely key that we accept the authority of the Church as a whole, the consensus of the saints, to correct all of our background ideas, the modern baggage we all bring with us into the Church.

If I’m contradicting the fathers, in short, it is I who am wrong. I think a person who starts from and holds to that can’t go wrong. “Whatever I think COULD be wrong. Whatever the saints agree on must be right.”

Few things seem to rub more against that than our modern ideas about sexuality, marriage and the family. But also modern philosophies, world views, the worship of modern science (as a product of modern education) as an authority that can correct and contradict that consensus, and/or our previous religious ideas.

 

[The Righterzpen]

Like the fellow who said that “Scripture is the final authority”. No it’s not. That contradicts our understanding. We DO hold Scripture in the highest respect, but it does not interpret itself, any more than the US Constitution interprets itself in face of disagreement.

Unless one wants to argue that their tradition is inerrent; none of us can make this claim. All denominational doctrines and practices contain errors. We are all sinners trying to interpret the only inerrent witness we have; and that is the Scripture.

That being said; If I've said something here that is offensive to this specific forum; I will now leave and say no more.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Unless one wants to argue that their tradition is inerrent; none of us can make this claim. All denominational doctrines and practices contain errors. We are all sinners trying to interpret the only inerrent witness we have; and that is the Scripture.

That being said; If I've said something here that is offensive to this specific forum; I will now leave and say no more.

that's the problem, as Orthodox our tradition IS inerrant with no doctrinal errors. we absolutely can and do make that claim. Scripture, while central to tradition, is NOT the only witness we have.

and Scripture being the only witness is not supported by Scripture.