[CS-FSLUG] NI: Russian Orthodox bishop appeals for Catholic-Orthodox alliance

[dmc]

>> Given the history of Roman Catholic and Orthodox abuse of government
>> power to violently repress other denominations, and recent history of
>> the Orthodox church doing (or attempting) precisely that in Russia and
>> other former Soviet client States, this is not necessarily good news.
> Considering what I know of what happened in the Soviet States, I have to take 
> exception with this as it relates to Orthodoxy. I happen to KNOW that there 
> was a great deal of protection given to other Christians during that time. 
> I'm sure not everyone who carried the "Russian Orthodox" title was guiltless, 
> and in fact I know that there were some who weren't. Man is temptable and 
> totalitarian gov'ts are VERY good at it.

I was referring to recent history -- where I know from first-hand
accounts that the Orthodox church is trying to abuse its official
position to suppress evangelical activities under the guise of
preventing heretical cults.

>>  > ... "alliance to negotiate with European institutions and members
>>  > of other faiths on behalf of "traditional Christianity."
>> Sounds like code words for re-establishing the unholy church-state
>> alliance wherein which legalist tradtionalism is forced upon all.
> NOT at all.

We will have to agree to disagree, especially given the traditional
understanding of later days of the end times prophesy that predict
pecisely that.

>> This is not to suggest that most in Orthodox and Roman Catholic
>> churches have such imperialistic desires, just to remind folks
>> that there has been a historic abuse among a certain subset at
>> high levels of leadership.
> In the Catholic church, yes......in the past. I'm not so sure it would be the 
> same today.

The nature of unaccountable men in positions of power has not
changed over thousands of years.

>> The non-Biblical Crusades are just one result of unaccountable
>> leadership confused by the unholy mixture of church and state,
>> a mixture that always results in bad consequences for Biblical
>> Christianity.
> There's much about the Crusades you obviously don't know. There's much that 
> was done in the name of our Lord that was wrong, but there's a great deal 
> that WAS correct. The biggest cause WAS Islam. The MOST ruthless were 
> Muslims.

Perhaps so, perhaps not, it is a rash assumption that merely
because I process church actions during the Crusades through
a different Biblical/ethical/theological filter than another
might that it represents an absence of knowledge.

Jesus *never* called for violent conversion.

And a "Children's Crusade" in the name of Jesus?

Islam did evil, neo-christians did evil, Islam brought some
elements of enlightenment to an intellectually blighted area
... one wonders if true Christians (few that there were) witnessed
to Muslims or just plotted how they would kill them.

One wonders if God permitted the Islamic activities for His
own glory in a way that we fail to see?

Church leaders have often confused physical freedom or
political domination with spiritual freedom and spiritual
opportunity.

I would hardly rush to defend the era (error?) of the Crusades
as a high moment in the history of the church, indeed there
is little anywhere in the history of the church-government
alliance to be hailed as good.

It is, in fact, rare in the history of Christendom that
anything other than individual Christians acting out of
true faith-driven relationships with Christ that have been
terribly worthy of celebration.

The more "organized" the church becomes the less missionary
and more bureaucratized and corrupt it tends to become.
God protect us from government-like churches!

Or so it seems from my studies and observations ...
YMMV ... ;-)



-- 
Respectfully,

David Colburn, D.Min., M.A.Co.

Freelance Journalist/Writer,
Crisis, Family, & Individual Counselor,
Minister of Discipleship:
First Baptist Church of Spring Hill.

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