Orthodox Christianity Apologetics Q&A

Author: Mopac

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#151
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@Tradesecret
If you would please talk about one thing at a time, It is not easy, as you can see from the formatting of my above posts, for me to respond in this break up posts type of manner.


Besides this, shotgunning me with all these arguments makes it harder to address any single one of them in meaningful detail.

And that is a shame, because you are very wrong.
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#152
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@keithprosser
Why does St Christopher have the head of a dog?

The Orthodox Church does not believe that St. Christopher has a head of a dog.


Apparently, this is a popular way of depicting him in Roman Catholicism. 

Why? I neither know or care. 
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#153
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@Outplayz
Essentially, people are corrupt and sometimes corrupt people hold offices in the church


This isn't really something that isn't accounted for. Church history is full of such instances. The church recovers fine


I think you are just trying to make excuses as to why you shouldn't really find any authority outside of yourself. But hey, that's just what it looks like to me.

I'm not going to convince you of anything. 

Now if you have any real questions about what the church teaches, I will do my best to answer them.

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#154
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@Tradesecret
I said unity for Christians is having different idea but able to meet together in worship

Yet a protestant would not be allowed to partake of the Eucharist in an Orthodox Church, and we would not take communion in a protestant church.


The unity is in Orthodoxy. We don't recognize anyone outside of the Orthodox Church as being with the church. 

Protestants however love to count us as among them so long as they can claim our martyrs.
#155
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@Tradesecret
Because you are human. Humans cannot imagine things from a divine perspective because they are not divine. Duh!  You have never experienced immortality or eternality. I think death is an unwanted intrusion into life. Death makes life dead. It is not beautiful. Death brings grief - and yes it certainly drives home what we can miss out on, but it does not make it better. I cant love better just because I am dead- or someone else is dead. What a bizarre thing to think. Your notion of love is obviously not the same as I understand. Your analogy is unhelpful because it is so flawed. Why would I care if another movie existed if I had only ever seen one movie and only one existed. I would need to know that another existed for me to be mildly interested. I am quite happy to have a kiss from my wife every night of my life for my entire life - and more - without having to experience the kiss of another woman. It is my choice to do this. I am quite content worshiping ONE GOD as well. 
First of all, you personally do know one other "movie" exists... paradise and earth (mortality) and that fact will likely drive you insane being infinitely stuck in one place. Who knows though, people with 'special' minds maybe could withstand it (i doubt it)... 100% not me however. In any case, all you are actually doing is making about you. You can't imagine it, so i can't imagine it. I haven't experienced it bc you haven't experienced it. You know nothing else exists, therefore nothing else exists. You want it to be about your god bc you don't think any other realities exist. You are afraid of death therefore no one can love it bc you hate it. Instead of answering my concerns you laugh at them bc they aren't important bc it isn't important to you. And you are asking me to believe something where i am stuck in an eternity with people like you... lol you freaking think that's paradise. The rest of your response is gibberish and only attempts to portray that something is wrong with me and not your cherished Bible... which is typical of a Christian and no surprise. Instead of thinking of a creative response, or just saying you don't know, you think you 100% not only know i'm wrong, you also know everything i've thought and experienced. You don't have any answers bc the Bible like any other man-made creation has limitations and is written thousands of years ago when these concerns were nearly nonexistent. This my friends is the delusion of Christians that thinks the world revolves around them and their god.  
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#156
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@Outplayz
@Tradesecret
I'd like to point out that tradesecret is not an Orthodox Christian, and so this little argument that you all are having is serving little purpose other than to clutter this topic.

If ya'll wouldn't mind doing this in another topic, I would appreciate it.
#157
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@Mopac
I told you i don't care about arguing text and what it is... i can google all day contradictions and errors and you can likely give excuses all day or interpret it your own way. I already know that is a fruitless endeavor; therefore, i'm asking my most important questions. Why should i believe in your religion when it's promising me hell? Why should i believe your religion is infallible when i know fallible humans wrote it? 
#158
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@Mopac
The topic is consistent with the OP and questions i'm asking you. Unless, the Orthodox version of paradise is different than his... in which that would add even more elements against Christianity in general... you guys can't even believe in each other lol. 
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#159
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@Outplayz
You aren't going to believe anyway, because you have chosen what you prefer to the truth.  Everything else becomes the justifications of an addict.

Like I said, tradesecret is not an Orthodox Christian, and that is what this topic is about.


#160
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@Mopac
Everything else becomes the justifications of an addict.
You couldn't describe yourself any better. I know how to put my beliefs aside and say i don't know... an addict can't. 

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#161
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@Outplayz
If you have questions about Orthodoxy, that is what this topic is for. I will do my best to tell you what the church teaches. 

You don't have to believe it. 

#162
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@Mopac
If you have questions about Orthodoxy, that is what this topic is for. I will do my best to tell you what the church teaches. 

You don't have to believe it.
If you can't answer those two other questions, i don't have any other questions about your faith since i still maintain it's man-made and false. I find it to be very fruitless and quite insane on my part to argue something i clearly see as false with someone that just doesn't see it. It's like arguing with a flat-earther. I'm sure there is nothing i can question or say that you won't have some kind of answer for... so i ask the questions that i know you don't have an answer for; therefore, the day i will take your religion and other religions seriously, is when they can answer my qualifier questions. It's different for different faiths, but for the Abrahamic religions those are the main questions... unanswered, we will just have to agree to disagree. 
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#163
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@Outplayz
Jesus said "The gates of hades will not overcome the church".


And well, The Orthodox Church is that Church. In fact, the point of our bishops is to protect the church from corruption. Even if there are a few bad bishops, it will not frustrate this.

Contrast this with Roman Catholicism, which you seem to be confusing us with, where all you have to do is get to the Pope and the entire church is corrupted.
#164
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@Mopac
I find it interesting how you have picked this one Christian belief to be right. Bc you know... there are a lot of other Christian's that think you're wrong. Even JW's say their belief is the most original since they go off the text only. That to me raises red flags, but for you... makes you believe even more. I wish i could show you that your perception of reality is just that... one other perception. Yet you are so convinced you're right... and not even that you're right... you are saying Orthodox Christians are right and i'm willing to follow. Until you wake up to this perception that is heavily man-made, you just won't see it. If you don't, then your perception will just suck you in more and more until you convince yourself of things like one man made a huge boat and all the animals got on that boat and survived while the world flooded are right. That's just another level of self-deception that i just can't get into. 
#165
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@Mopac
The Orthodox Church does not believe that St. Christopher has a head of a dog.
Apparently, this is a popular way of depicting him in Roman Catholicism. 
Why? I neither know or care. 
St Christpher is not represented with a dog's head in RC iconography, but he is in Orthodox iconography.

But I can accept you are not an expert in icongraphy- I am sure you are expert on everything else.


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#166
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@Outplayz
Look, you are wholly ignorant of what Orthodoxy is, so why don't you stop pretending to be a know-it-all and take advantage of the fact that this is a Q&A topic?

Yes, I know your opinions. You are not going to persuade me with your vain rhetoric.

Now if you have any questions about Orthodoxy, I am glad to answer, because it is a form of Christianity alien to you, and it is the real historical church. It is a church with a continuity of government stretching back 2,000 years. None of these other churches claiming to be Christian would exist if it were not for us. The scriptures they use? We wrote them. We compiled them. It is OUR book, not theirs. And none of their claims to being the original church can be substantiated. Yet our claim can be. 


History rules in our favor. None of these protestant churches are older than 500 years old. The Roman Catholic Church broke off from us and has not been Orthodox for 1000 years. Their church has obviously been corrupted, and that is plain for all to see. The Orthodox Church has maintained its consistency. 

So you can get hung up on these what-ifs and rest on your ignorance, or you can seriously consider that maybe, just maybe, The Orthodox Church is the real deal, and you should stop wasting your time listening to these other so called Christians who don't even know the God they worship.


How many others have you seen going around proclaiming "The Ultimate Reality is God"? These other so called Christians don't even know their God. We know the God we worship. 

So why don't you put your head down for a moment and ask some real questions? Do you want to hear the truth or do you want to feel justified in doing what is wrong?

If you don't believe what I am saying, fine, but I am going to give you answers, and just because you don't accept the answers does not mean that they are not answers. I am not here to tell you what you want to hear. I am here to answer real questions about The Orthodox Church and what it teaches.

So if you want to take advantage of this, go ahead, because there might be a time when I will no longer be here to answer questions.



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#167
Mopac
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@keithprosser
I maintain that the Orthodox Church does not believe that St. Christopher had a head of a dog. I have seen Roman Catholic depictions of him with a dog's head though, so it isn't true that this isn't done over there.

All of the icons I have personally seen depict Saint Christopher without a dog's head, but a normal human head. 


But regardless, no, we don't believe that Saint Christopher had a dog's head. 



#168
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@Mopac
Did the orthodox church get excommunicated?
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#169
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@disgusted
Excommunication is what the church does to orthodox Christians as a temporary disciplinary action. What it means is that they are unable to take the eucharist.


Obviously, you cannot excommunicate the church. The church does the excommunicating.


Anathema is the complete expulsion from the church, and it is done in the case of unrepentant heresy and schism.


In both cases, excommunication or anathema can be reversed through repentance.


#170
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@Mopac
you are wholly ignorant of what Orthodoxy is
I can't pretend i'm not... but i am curious what made you say that. Is it that Noah's ark isn't how i said it was? While we're there... did Jesus walk on water? Did Moses part the sea? Did god have a bear kill kids bc they made fun of a bald guy? I know these, and i'm sure you know i can bring up more, as literal. Does Orthodoxy say these events, and/or all the impossible events, are metaphor, allegory... not literal? 

The Ultimate Reality is God
Pantheists say that all the time. And actually, some very logical philosophical ideas can be construed as this "i.e. an infinite consciousness." However, when you label this god as "Christian" ... then, it comes with all the other baggage. So since you want questions, i will start questioning the text itself with the above questions. 


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#171
Mopac
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@Outplayz
You don't know how we use the bible, and you don't know what we believe, so why mock us?


The baggage is all your preconceptions.


Besides, you have already made your mind up that these events are impossible. Does it really matter what answer I give you? You have your mind made up.

A better question would be to ask what it is we use scripture for.

#172
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@Mopac
A better question would be to ask what it is we use scripture for.
So you'd rather me ask you what you want me to ask you? You'd rather not answer what you know is illogical. That's all you do in every question i've asked. You're not here to answer questions... you're here to pretend you're better than other Christians. I'm going to presume the answers to all those questions are yes... Beyond that, why should i care? I haven't just willy nilly 'made up my mind' as you keep asserting. It's illogical on many front as i'm showing you by asking the questions to which are my reasons in not believing, therefore, i have put it aside as a truth... bc it's not. It's another man-made religion. Primitive humans make up such lies. Tell a person you parted the sea today and you'll end up in a mental ward. Say it thousands of years ago... you're a celebrity. How can you not see that's man-made... 
#173
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@Mopac
Hey Mickey and the orthodox church were excommunicated by the Catholic church in 1054, that is historical fact.
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#174
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@Outplayz


Well, because you are such a know-it-all, you won't learn anything.

Isn't that how it always is?




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#175
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@disgusted
Actually, the Patriarch of Constantinople was excommunicated, not the church.

And the rest of the church responded by accepting Rome's schism from the church.



Because they departed from Orthodoxy, and the proof of this is easily demonstrated in every single thing that they did after the schism.









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#176
Mopac
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As it is written in Paul's second epistle to Timothy...



“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”


Or to translate...


To lead people to The Truth, and to help guide them into proper relationship to it.


The Truth is God. The proper relationship is to love God with everything. We do this by purifying the heart. 


And that is the point of not only scripture, but everything the church does.

#177
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@Mopac
The icon of St-Christopher is one of the most astounding images found in the Orthodox Tradition.  Showing a dog-headed warrior saint..

I don't think that Orthodox Christians think - or thought - St Cristopher had the head if a dog, but it is most certainly your lot -not Roman Catholics- that depict him that way. 
#178
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@Mopac
So the church was then lead by an excommunicated heretic and was no longer christian.
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#179
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@disgusted
When I studied Church history independently,  what I found overwhelmingly ruled in favor of Orthodoxy.


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#180
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@keithprosser
Sounds like a historical anomaly due translational errors.