/Christ/ - Christianity General

[PRINCE VEGETA]

I've been considering becoming Christian again. But I believe the Catholic Church has been hijacked by enemies of DA TRADITION. But Orthodoxy is LARP. And Lutheranism is wrong. And Calvinism is wrong.

 

[baqqrih]

I've been considering becoming Christian again. But I believe the Catholic Church has been hijacked by enemies of DA TRADITION. But Orthodoxy is LARP. And Lutheranism is wrong. And Calvinism is wrong.

Orthodoxy is "LARP" until you actually attend a church service. I took a road trip in the early morning to an Orthodox parish last week and I plan to do so again tomorrow. My heart has never felt more at peace than inside of those walls.

 

[Apeson]

Orthodoxy is "LARP" until you actually attend a church service. I took a road trip in the early morning to an Orthodox parish last week and I plan to do so again tomorrow. My heart has never felt more at peace than inside of those walls.

There aren't many orthodox churches here. The few that exist are concentrated in a single province because that's where most russian immigrants settled.

 

[I seen it on the Internet]

Orthodoxy is "LARP" until you actually attend a church service. I took a road trip in the early morning to an Orthodox parish last week and I plan to do so again tomorrow. My heart has never felt more at peace than inside of those walls.

Speaking of which, when and why did you decide Orthodoxy is for you since isn't it a rare denomination in the United States?

(Not rare for Russian Immigrants doe)

 

[Apeson]

Isn't it a rare denomination in the United States?

i was under the impression that it's actually growing there among Christians disilussioned with the state of the catholic and protestant churches.

 

[ATWA ya dig?]

i was under the impression that it's actually growing there among Christians disilussioned with the state of the catholic and protestant churches.

Growing doesn't exactly mean "popular"
It's relatively small, even if it is increasing.
There's got to be about 5 different catholic and 5 different protestant churches in my town alone, but the closest orthodox parish is 45 minutes away from me in a major city.
It's still fairly uncommon.

 

[baqqrih]

There aren't many orthodox churches here. The few that exist are concentrated in a single province because that's where most russian immigrants settled.

It's similar here, but that's why I'm having to take road trips just to attend church. For a while I put off trying to go to an Orthodox church for that reason of proximity, but I've found that it's good to at least go every once in a while if you do have that capability, and because I'm on break from high school stuff at the moment, it's made it easier for me to plan my trips. So, if you do feel called to it, then certainly find time to take a trip and see for yourself what their services are like.

Speaking of which, when and why did you decide Orthodoxy is for you since isn't it a rare denomination in the United States?

(Not rare for Russian Immigrants doe)

For the when, it would've been around a year ago that I, in my heart, started actively pursuing the study of Orthodoxy. I started reading some works from church fathers, saints, and other such holy men during that time. Father Seraphim Rose in particular served as a great inspiration for my interest. If you remember Aedra, he actually also acted as a blessing from God for me, as he helped me understand a lot of the church's history and his perspective as a Muslim who converted to Orthodoxy (especially since we are both men who are surrounded by non-Orthodox families and communities).

Generally, a mantra I've begun thinking in my head that best describes my religious conversion is "where everywhere else eventually lacked a satisfying answer, I found my answers in Orthodoxy." That isn't to say that this calling I've felt to the faith was entirely intellectual and book-wormish, however. I certainly felt a more supernatural pull to it, too, as if God was guiding my religious inclinations towards specifically studying Eastern Orthodoxy's history, beliefs, and practices. It's kind of hard to explain, as my original interest in it feels more like it originated in my head as a spontaneous gift of God rather than from any figurative seeds in my mind that I myself sowed and tended to.

As for the "why," while I already accidentally explained half of that above, the shorter answer is that, from all of the reading I did as well as comparisons I eventually made between other Christian branches and Orthodox doctrines, traditions, and so on, I've simply found that it feels to me like the true continuation of the Christian church (and my recent in-person visits to a parish have only reinforced that). Every other denomination feels like it has been subverted in some way or another by the world around it, and yet, from all that I've seen, Orthodoxy has persisted in its spirit of Christian holiness. The prayers at church seem unceasing and are said with full-heartedness, the genuine smiles on the faces of the parishioners who I talk to radiate a sense of purity and warmth, and, while I may just be returning to talking about the supernatural "feeling" of my attraction to Orthodoxy with such statements, I simply feel "at home" when I'm at the parish.

So, the shortest answer, as lacking in descriptiveness as it is, is "it feels right to me."

 

[shekel]

Why is blasphemy unforgivable but not rape or murder? Seems kind of gratuitous since I feel like it's much easier for someone to develop and repent as a blasphemer than either of those.

 

[ATWA ya dig?]

Why is blasphemy unforgivable but not giftbomb or murder?

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is what is unforgivable.
Simply, that means that if you reject God in life, you don't get to return to God in death. It's your choice. You are choosing to turn away from God, and for it your afterlife is without God, just like you wanted.

If you swear against God in your life, you can be forgiven. If you díe while rejecting God, God honors your choice and doesn't force you into his grace

 

[PRINCE VEGETA]

Orthodoxy is "LARP" until you actually attend a church service. I took a road trip in the early morning to an Orthodox parish last week and I plan to do so again tomorrow. My heart has never felt more at peace than inside of those walls.

It's just embarrassing going to an orthodox church as a hajnali. I have all due respect for Orthodawgs, but it is the American converts who I don't want to be associated with. So many of them are just... Utterly mentally dummyed...

 

[baqqrih]

as a hajnali

As a hot tamale? What does that mean?

 

[pig]

As a hot tamale? What does that mean?

I looked up "hajnali" on like 5 search engines and i couldnt find a single relevant definition idk what he meant by that at all

 

[worldatwar]

must've been a typo

 

[baqqrih]

I looked up "hajnali" on like 5 search engines and i couldnt find a single relevant definition idk what he meant by that at all

Not to stray away from the thread's topic too far, but I've found from some searching that it's a term used on some very obscure corners of Twitter as some sort of epithet for Western Whites (like Americans or Western Europeans), or, at least, certain types of White people living in the West. There's a particular guy named @teortaxesTex who uses it a lot.

 

[shekel]

Not to stray away from the bread's topic too far, but I've found from some searching that it's a term used on some very obscure corners of Twitter as some sort of epithet for Western Whites (like Americans or Western Europeans), or, at least, certain types of White people living in the West. There's a particular guy named @teortaxesTex who uses it a lot.

I think it's a reference to anyone who lives west of the Hajnal line.

 

[baqqrih]

I think it's a reference to anyone who lives west of the Hajnal line.

Oh, wow, I didn't know that was a thing. Thank you.

 

[Perfect Pepsilord]

perspective as a gingerbread who converted to Orthodoxy

Kek

 

[grimmki]

if i wanted to convert how would i do this o algo

 

[Fei Rong]

if i wanted to convert how would i do this o algo

go pray in a church

 

[ATWA ya dig?]