Reclaiming the Gospel
Bradley Nassif
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/NassifGospel.php
This is a very important article on how the Gospel needs to be central to Orthodoxy, rather than Orthodoxy for the sake of Orthodoxy. It's much easier to get caught up in the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity than to actually accept the Gospel and follow Christ. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, "The lack of Scriptural knowledge is the source of all evils in the Church."
In the Orthodox Church, we do not believe tradition for tradition's sake, but as to illumine the true meaning of Scripture. If there were any part of Orthodox tradition which contradicted or obscured the meaning of Scripture, there would be little reason for following it. While I dislike the term "Sola Scriptura," this is a list of quotes on the centrality of Scripture from the church fathers:
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00CHes
Bradley Nassif
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/NassifGospel.php
This is a very important article on how the Gospel needs to be central to Orthodoxy, rather than Orthodoxy for the sake of Orthodoxy. It's much easier to get caught up in the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity than to actually accept the Gospel and follow Christ. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, "The lack of Scriptural knowledge is the source of all evils in the Church."
In the Orthodox Church, we do not believe tradition for tradition's sake, but as to illumine the true meaning of Scripture. If there were any part of Orthodox tradition which contradicted or obscured the meaning of Scripture, there would be little reason for following it. While I dislike the term "Sola Scriptura," this is a list of quotes on the centrality of Scripture from the church fathers:
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00CHes
