On the other side of things, I was just at St. Barbara's Greek Orthodox Church in Durham, NC and Fr. Stavroforos gave a wonderful homily on the right-thinking theology entrusted to us through the ecumenical councils. It is not enough to simply know that the councils are there, he said, but to be able to articulate to someone else what you and the Church believe and affirm. Bible study as a layman for me was always a bit of biting of the tongue and some overindulgence in the cookie tray. I gained a pound in weight and loss a few in faith of the orthodoxy of my fellow man.
Durham, NC (Babylon Bee) - "Home Bible Study Leader Asks If Anyone Else Has Any Blatant Heresy They’d Like To Share"
After enduring a sincere, thoughtful, and completely heretical response to an open question about the passage the group was studying, the man leading a home Bible study affiliated with Gracewinds Church reportedly asked if anyone else had any blatant heresy they’d like to share.
“That’s a really interesting, thoughtful take on this passage, Heather. Does anyone else in the group have any totally incorrect thoughts on the text they’d like to share?” he asked, according to witnesses.
“What about you, Bob? You always have really insightful heresy to share with the group,” he prodded, trying to get someone to speak up.
At publishing time, all members of the group had chimed in with their opinions on the passage, with not a single one of their responses falling within the orthodox understanding of the Christian faith, sources confirmed.
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LOL! Too true. Another place I regularly here blatant heresy is parish council...
ReplyDeleteThe worse lead into any statement in a class: Well, I think....
ReplyDeleteBound to go down hill from there.
Having someone teach the Bible who is qualified and vetted is needed though.
I came to the Church full of heretical understanding of the Bible. Took 15 years for the majority of it to be cleaned out. Could have been much faster had there been someone in my locale to teach it.
what is the purpose for a bible study? to learn --- what have discovered is that not only are the orthodox laity biblically ignorant but so are many of our clergy. the reason is that in modern biblical research we are hard pressed to find any eastern orthodox expert listed. i think since georges barrois reposed, we have not had a scholar to replace him.
ReplyDeletethere ae some 200 english translations of the bible, the closest eastern othodox version is the new testament from holy apostles convent, however it still lacks the correctness of translation of the new covenant translation of the gospels.
what we need is to have nationally and internationally known biblical scholars, and then they need to impart their knowledge to the faithful and the masses.
i would hazard the observation that we know the liturgics better than the bible, and how much of what is said liturgically is direclty out of the bible.
in fact, how many know that there are at least 4 different biblical canons - the protestant, the roman catholic, the eastern orthodox, the coptic/ethiopic and how they related to the ancient and modern jewish text
what about the peshitta text translatd from the aramaic?
also, which english translation is the most accurate -- it is not the king james
and the beat goes on -- we all need to know more -- but what i have observed is that we are afraid of the text upon which our faith is based
Robert,
DeleteI can't agree with you here. My experience tells me that our clergy are actually "above average" when it comes to knowledge of the Scripture (at least Faithful knowledge that informs our spirits).
Also, modern "scholarship" into all things Scriptureal is a minefield of Baconian presuppositions and German methodology - we need less of it, not more.
Translation is something that needs more attention to of course, but only in the light of the above...
Flee recognized and worldly approved "Biblical scholarship". Most if it is of the mind of modernity and not of the Orthodox mind.
DeleteFind someone who is a faithful Orthodox in the mind of the Church AND knows the Scriptures.
Listen to the Divine Liturgy and attend Vespers and Matins when possible.
Read it with no preconceived notions in prayer and repentance.
Understanding Holy Scripture is a matter of the prepared heart and the obedient mind within the context of the Church.
I have found the blog "Orthodox-Reformed Bridge" excellent BTW.
The truth of Scripture is revealed. While translation is important there will never be a fully accurate translation. In my experience, the more "accurate" they are the less poetic and therefore less truthful they become.
So we have to work with what we have and allow God to give the increase.
The more I actually practice the foundational disciplines of the Church: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, worship, forgiveness and repentance; the more meaning I find in the Scriptures.
There are wonderful enlightening commentaries written by the Holy Fathers of our Church! My Confessor whose parents emigrated from Greece and who understands and speaks Greek recommends the Holy Apostles Convent translations (mentioned by RK above) and their Patristic commentary as the best translation from the Greek and most edifying. The HAC Bible translations also point out many errors in translation in the King James and other versions which support heresies and makes it easy to see how the divergence in translation aided the development of the heresy. Please consider them! The Patristic comments led me to many a Saintly interpretation of Scripture which of course, when accepted by a consensus of the Holy Fathers, is the ONLY authority I care to be under. So now i have unlimited material to read and study. And when I can find a priest who teaches exclusively from the Fathers, I listen gratefully. I have been truly horrified to hear how many "scholars" have no sense of the Orthodox phronema. One prominent Presbytera scholar announced in a talk we should dismiss the Fathers and Tradition at various points and still some convert Orthodox priests revere her scholarship. As MB said, it takes a long time for convert laity and priests to drop the intellectual pride in Protestantism, the imaginative delusion of some Roman Catholic saints and writers, and the individualistic prideful mindset of our American way. We are marinated in it and cannot see our divergence, The best remedy? The Fathers' interpretations. Oh how exquisite and sublime they are! Why would we look to men when we can look to saints close to God? Why we would proffer our own as worthy of any merit?
Deletewhat is the purpose for a bible study? to learn --- what have discovered is that not only are the orthodox laity biblically ignorant but so are many of our clergy. the reason is that in modern biblical research we are hard pressed to find any eastern orthodox expert listed. i think since georges barrois reposed, we have not had a scholar to replace him.
ReplyDeletethere ae some 200 english translations of the bible, the closest eastern othodox version is the new testament from holy apostles convent, however it still lacks the correctness of translation of the new covenant translation of the gospels.
what we need is to have nationally and internationally known biblical scholars, and then they need to impart their knowledge to the faithful and the masses.
i would hazard the observation that we know the liturgics better than the bible, and how much of what is said liturgically is direclty out of the bible.
in fact, how many know that there are at least 4 different biblical canons - the protestant, the roman catholic, the eastern orthodox, the coptic/ethiopic and how they related to the ancient and modern jewish text
what about the peshitta text translatd from the aramaic?
also, which english translation is the most accurate -- it is not the king james
and the beat goes on -- we all need to know more -- but what i have observed is that we are afraid of the text upon which our faith is based
I read a the councils and came across something I didn't know. I later mentioned it to one of my friends (we were both sort of charistmatic Catholics, except for this annoying tendency of mine to keep looking for answers). He immediately said he didn't know if he believed that. I found it a deeply discordant moment.
ReplyDelete