Historicity of Mary vs significant inference -- ie not in the Bible?

[prodromos]

Unfortunately there are many preachers who regard the Ethiopian Orthodox and other Orthodox Churches as heathen.

I remember the Athens Olympics in 2004, where Protestant groups (YWAM in particular) were actively trying to convert Orthodox Christians. The good thing was that a few of their number converted to Eastern Orthodoxy as a result of their interactions.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

Because we do not automatically assume salvation due to innocence. If we did, then we would not pray for the souls of infants who died. What we do do is trust that God is merciful, and because He loves all mankind, we have hope for their salvation. We don't judge that anyone is saved, even ourselves, only those who God has revealed to the Church through the many miracles wrought through their intercession.

Thank you very much for this clarification. My post was in response to @HTacianas who said in in Post #3 "So in the Western view we are born guilty, while in the Eastern view we are born innocent." @HTacianas also said, in Post #154 it is a conundrum: "That's the "why not kill your children if you think they will go to heaven for eternity"

Again thank you as a representative of Orthodoxy for this clarification.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

I remember the Athens Olympics in 2004, where Protestant groups (YWAM in particular) were actively trying to convert Orthodox Christians. The good thing was that a few of their number converted to Eastern Orthodoxy as a result of their interactions.

YWAM is a fringe movement. My former pastor's son (Lutheran) got caught up with their teaching and within six months got re-baptized as an adult. They are lay sheep wrestlers with few to no called pastors for accountability and certainly no accountabilty to anyone church with a discipline structure. Bad stuff. Probably the last of the Jesus People movement of the 60's & '70's.

 

[The Liturgist]

Probably the last of the Jesus People movement of the 60's & '70's.

Unfortunate. Now, on the other hand, some of the Jesus People became Orthodox; they formed a denomination called the Evangelical Orthodox Church, and then the majority of members of this church were received into the Antiochian Orthodox Church in a mass-Chrismation, and another group were later received into ROCOR, although I think ten of their parishes were still in existence when I joined the Orthodox church. However, the event was significant, and it also really helped kickstart the evangelical activities on the part of Antioch and the OCA to convert more people to Holy Orthodoxy. Likewise, the OCA also received the members of Christ the Savior Brotherhood, in what was a huge spiritual victory for Christ, because these people had in the 1970s been a part of what was a full-on heretical cult called the “Holy Order of Mens” or HOOM or something like that, some very silly name. So not only did those people become Christians, in the Holy Orthodox Church, but they also escaped an heretical cult with one of the stupidest sounding names of any cult.

God is glorified when people convert to Christ, and converting to Christ is a victory of love and reason over the forces of evil and stupidity.

 

[chevyontheriver]

I remember the Athens Olympics in 2004, where Protestant groups (YWAM in particular) were actively trying to convert Orthodox Christians. The good thing was that a few of their number converted to Eastern Orthodoxy as a result of their interactions.

They do that to Catholics all the time. An old neighbor couple, Baptists, went to a World Youth Day meeting to steal away Catholics but they never tried it on us.

 

[Diamond72]

This doesn't help me to be one with the Spirit of Jesus, or to love, or to grow in grace. If I'm a broken soul needing love then this would make me cry instead.

There are some good loving caring churches out there. But even the best of them have a few prickles every now and then. We are being perfected but we are not all perfect yet.