I just discovered this new feature on Facebook where I can import my blog. This post is merely an experiment to see how it works. For those who are interested, here is the comment I made in response to Scot McKnight's post on students "converting" to Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholocism:
There are many reasons why students explore EO and RCC, and I think that those given above are valid. I would add to that list a desire for a more structured and unified church body–this stems from the obvious lack of cohesion in the Protestant church (in fact, it is difficult for me to refer to Protestantism as a “church” as I see it more as a melting pot of beliefs without structure). EO and RCC have visible leaders and hierarchy, and while that hierarchy is not friendly to women, I still see the benefit of making at least some attempt to communicate with the rest of the church. This structure also provides authority that I feel the Protestant church does not have, with pastors frequently interpreting the Bible in their own way, sometimes even with cynicism toward the Church and the pastor’s own personal history. The Protestant church also lacks unity in that many churches are on their own and not at all attached to any communion of churches.
Above all, in my experience with EO over the past six months, I feel there is a greater reverence and a sense of mystery there that I have simply not found anywhere else. I don’t know that I’ll “convert,” but if I did, it would be for the reasons above in combination with those Scot gave.
One of my greatest hopes for the Church is that one day, we would all be in communion with each other, sharing the Eucharist as one body instead of keeping it to our own sectors. At the very least, we can begin to talk with each other about how we can even get along–what is the Church supposed to be to the world? Whatever the answer is, our response to it will be much more powerful if we work together.
Just my thoughts. =)
Let's see how this works!
2 comments:
In your post, you write "that hierarchy is not friendly to women." While you may disagree with the EO and the RCC on the role(s) of women in the Church, that does by no means signify that the EO and RCC are unfriendly to women - from their perspective, they are attempting to be as "friendly" to women as they see fit - if we take "friendly" to mean placing in appropriate roles, looking out for best interest(s), etc. Thus, to present an equal case, it would be far more agreeable to assert that you may take issue with the EO and the RCC view(s) on the role(s) of women - which may be unfriendly to your conception of what those roles should be, but certainly not unfriendly from the EO and RCC point of view. The reason I exhort you to take them on their own terms is that the post very much takes Protestantism on its own terms - if we look at Protestantism from the EO and/or RCC perspective, it becomes more like a picture of a bunch of crazy, selfish renegades rather than individualistic protectors of truth trying to co-exist in the shadow of The Man.
All that said, I think you make solid points in synthesizing the reasons presented for Protestants exploring the EO and/or RCC - structure, unity, hierarchy, etc. - I just want to make sure we clarify terms!
Thank you for responding to this, Matt. It is good to be reminded of the importance of clarity, and I agree with you that EO and RCC are certainly "friendly" to women in the ways that they see fit. I was responding to a phantom argument that I imagined would come back at me from the community in which this post (actually a comment on Jesus Creed) was first read. However, I'm not entirely proud of the language of this and other of my arguments in this post. Perhaps someday soon I will refine it.
Scot McKnight posted again on EO and RCC yesterday and I am planning to respond in extended form here, but I'm not sure when that's going to happen! Check back soon.
Peace
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