Is there an Orthodox hatred of Protestants?

Brighid said:

Ah, the hippie magnet of the coast
Beautiful, but so weird. I'm in Monterey until the end of the year. I've been up to Santa Cruz a few times and there's just so many burned out hippies. It's ridiculous.

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prodromos said:

Guys! Fix your quote tags!

please

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Brighid said:

Indeed. Such a terrible situation in Santa Cruz. My family is still there, totally lost and believing they are ultra spiritual. I hear that it's become a pretty gross place over the last 6 yrs. I am so grateful to God for rescuing my children and I from that place.
But, the redwoods are totally worth checking out. There is an Orthodox church on Hwy 9 in Ben Lomond you might want to visit or at least drive by. I used to drive past it all the time. It has a beautiful mural of a saint (or maybe Jesus) surrounded by redwoods and animals.

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Brighid said:

My intention is not to offend anyone, but so far, the biggest hurdle for me in joining the Orthodox faith is an apparent dislike for "Protestant" Christians.
I would like to share a letter that I wrote to a friend of mine who is a recent (Australian) inquirer in the Orthodox Church.
"I want to share some thoughts with you and I hope you won't take offense. The Australian priest's words have stuck with me, as well as a cartoon I saw on Facebook mocking protestants...and other bits I've picked up here and there. I've developed a rule over the past year, that if a Christian displays hatred for others, especially other Christians, they are someone who I should assume is not walking with God.
I find it ironic that the priest seemed concerned that I might be taking advice from a "crazy American Ascetic", as I have received most of my information so far from the Australian Father Kosmas. Father Seraphim Rose is the closest I've come to taking advice from an American Orthodox ascetic....and I respect him very much.

I have also noticed an attitude from many of the Orthodox people I've observed of an intense dislike, even hatred toward protestants, and an overwhelming attitude that they can't possibly know Christ.
This truly concerns me, especially when I see leaders with these attitudes.

I realize that America is very corrupt and worldly, my understanding is that the same is true of Australia as well as other countries.
I realize that protestant churches house many "cultural christians" and false converts. Of course, the Orthodox nations like Russia have a terrible problem with this also.
Some of the Orthodox I've seen condemning protestants appear to have worldly and even anti-christ interests.

I know that no person and no church is perfect. I know there are major problems with the protestant churches. But I also know several (Protestant)precious souls who love Jesus with their whole heart and share that love with those around them. These people are living testimonies to Christ's transformation of lives and His miracles. To deny that is, as far as I'm concerned, a denial of Christ Himself.

At this point, I am concerned that I may not be able to move past this issue with the Church. I truly hope that I have gotten the wrong impression or that there are enough people who don't share these views that this issue won't be a stumbling block for me."...
I'd like to hear your opinion and experience on this issue.

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Coolbutclueless said:

You will encounter orthodox people who dislike and/or hate protestants/Catholics/Muslim/apple pie/literally anything you can think of. That is the nature of the people and in a group this large your going to find it. Is it insitutionalized? I don't think so.

I'm not going to speak for other people or their motives, i'm just going to share my own. I grew up protestant and becoming orthodox was quite a trial for me for reasons I won't go into. The journey resulted in me abandoning many beleifs I firmly held because I felt orthodoxy was correct, and that was painful.

It was painful because I had to accept a simple truth, I had been wrong and the church had the authority to tell me so.

We believe that the orthodox faith is the fullest expression of the christian faith. There is no christian truth found outside the church which cannot be found within it. At its core, protestant Christianity is spiritual anarchy, and like a real anarchy "Right" doesn't prevail, just the strongest or most charismatic. When I hear some protestants talk about the faith I genuinely try to look for the good but sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a flat earther, because they just don't believe in all the objective historic evidence about the church. The result is that in many ways they really feel like the christian version of a flat earther.

I'm not saying that to be mean or try to put down protestant christianity, most of my friends that are religious are protestant, I have met many protestants who I deeply respect, but while I respect them I have trouble respecting series of beleifs that distorts the truth so much.

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TKA_TN said:

On a related note, how do the Orthodox feel about Lutherans? The Lutherans that hold to the Confessions and not the liberal ones I'll add.

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ArmyMatt said:

closer to Orthodoxy but they still hold to heretical beliefs and are not in the Body of Christ.

and before anyone yells at me, no, that doesn't mean they automatically don't get into heaven.

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TKA_TN said:

I've been on here before and have looked East, but there just aren't many options in my area. I can't get past some things with Rome, so feel like Lutheranism is the best I can do.

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TKA_TN said:

I've been on here before and have looked East, but there just aren't many options in my area. I can't get past some things with Rome, so feel like Lutheranism is the best I can do.

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Moses Medina said:

Father Joshua Genig was a prior Lutheran who is now Orthodox.

My Journey Into the Orthodox Church | Joshua Genig

Great article by him.

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