PART ONE

A couple of weeks ago, I responded to an article written by a Calvinist who gave the usual Protestant nonsense about the Orthodox Church, claiming that we do things that “are not in the Bible.” To this I received a rather pleasant (and surprising, given the dour and sometimes smart-ass attacks many Calvinists are used to giving to those with whom they disagree) reply from Seth Dunn, who also writes for Pulpit and Pen, but who unlike J.D. Hall, understands that you don’t make converts by pissing on them. I was invited to read a piece he had written, which I did, and then, after consideration, wrote my response.

I forwarded the link to Seth, hoping that he would read it and we could engage in further discussion of the issues, but alas, I have not heard back from him in over two weeks. My simple question was this:  what are we doing that the Bible forbids or does not contain? Lacking Seth’s response,  I will attempt to formulate a response of my own, remembering my days in Calvinism and my own aggressive and classless remarks to Catholics and Orthodox. To begin, I would like to start with how the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, our worship service, is conducted.  After this, I will attempt to break down certain doctrines and show that they are based in a biblical understanding.

The common liturgical worship used in the Orthodox Church is The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The Liturgy is broken up into two major parts: before the sermon (homily) is the Liturgy of the Word. After the sermon is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The focus of the Liturgy of the Word is the Word of God, given in prayers, the reading of Psalms,  the Epistle of the Day, and the Gospel. The focus of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is to draw our attention to receiving Christ in the Eucharist, after which there are dismissal prayers and the final blessing. Let me attempt to compare some of the parts of the Liturgy to the Bible, since Seth and his happy band of Calvinists start to snarl at anything which is not Bible-based.  That was the accusation – here is my response.

The Liturgy begins with the deacon coming out from behind the Iconostasis and chanting “Master, give the blessing!” To which the priest blesses the Liturgy by chanting, “Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  The words in bold  are found in Mar 11:10. Now unless Seth wishes to deny the Trinity, then he should have no problem with the priest offering this blessing.

There follows the GREAT LITANY in which prayers are offered for all men in various situations, including government leaders. This command of St. Paul is found in 1Ti 2:1.  This is followed by the FIRST ANTIPHON in which sections from the Psalms are chanted, such as Psa 92:1.  So far, we are on target with the Bible.

It is at this point that the first objection from Calvinists will be fielded, for after each Psalm, we respond, “Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.” I distinctly remember my Evangelical days and how anything  that even remotely spoke of the Virgin Mary or, God forbid, the phrase, “the Mother of God,” would send me into a self-righteous rage at how such offerings were offensive to God and yada yada yada. Let’s see if we can diffuse this objection.

1. It is common for Evangelicals of all stripes to refer to prayers to those who have died as “necromancy.” But there is a problem here. Technically speaking, the saints in heaven are not dead, are they? They are, in fact, very much alive, more so than we can even begin to understand down here. To be “in Christ” is to be alive in the fullest sense of the word. Honestly, what kind of salvation do you believe in as a Calvinist that leaves in a state of death those believes who have died?? But as challenged, I must prove this from the Bible.

Jesus Himself spoke with men who were “dead.” Mat 17:3.  We see the saints in heaven – very much alive – before the throne of God, offering the prayers of those who were under persecution by the Roman government and the Jews. Rev 5:8.  While I am at it, allow me to digress for a second. Rev 5:8 mentions the use of incense in heaven, of which use J.D. Hall lambastes. Excuse me, Mr. Hall, you claim to be a “Bible Christian” and yet you do not see that God Himself ordained the use of incense, beginning with the OT and stretching out into eternity’s heaven? You claim that “true religion has little patience for pretentious pageantry,”  yet the worship of God from the beginning is filled with exactly the pageantry which God, as the Great King of the Universe deserves. If we here on earth fill the honorariums of men and women here on earth, such as kings and queens, presidents and dictators, with pageanty to honor them, how much more should our worship be filled with the very pageantry that God Himself ordered? No, sir, it is WE in the Orthodox Church who are following the very orders given in the Bible to use incense, candles, and elaborate robes for our priests (which distinguish their covenant authority) in obedience to the Bible. You, sir, are not!! And you have no verse whatsoever that commands them to cease! None! Remember, you are a “sola scriptura” Christian and therefore, you must give ample biblical proof of the command of God that such pageantry in His honor cease! There is an affliction which is called “presuppositional blindness” in which your preconceived notions make you unable to see that which is right before you. Mr. Hall has a dreadful case of this, as do many who are outside the Orthodox Church. Pray for his eyes to be opened.

Furthermore,  in regards to the honor and prayers offered to the Virgin Mary (who is called the “theotokos” in Orthodoxy – meaning “God-bearer”) allow me to give you a couple of quotes from your  Reformed heroes. “The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart.” (Martin Luther – Sermon, Sept. 1st 1522). [Luther and Mary]. Ah, but that was Luther, and he wasn’t as good a Reformer as Calvin, n’est ce pas? Surely Calvin eschewed any and all of the noxious doctrines of the Catholics (and Orthodox) regarding Mary, such as Her perpetual virginity or Her intercession for the Church?

Au contraire, mon frere! (A response from Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong)

“But what about asking Her to “save you?”  That is Jesus’s work alone and no one shares in that! Therefore, you are unbiblical!” I will let a wonderful Orthodox priest, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, answer that here.  Fr. Damick’s article can be summed up in this last paragraph:

“So while we wouldn’t say that all these people and things ‘save’ us in the sense that God alone can save us,we certainly can affirm with the apostles cited here that we ‘save’ one another, that prayer ‘saves,’ and that baptism ‘saves.’ That is, all these things contribute to our salvation which comes solely through Christ.”

I understand the desire of any Christian that Jesus not be dishonored, that His great passion, death, burial, and glorious Resurrection-not be downplayed, and that no honor be given to anything that seems to take away from that. This is not what we are doing in Orthodoxy. We understand that through the Cross alone that mankind is saved. We understand this so much that  we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross as a special and significant feast day on the Orthodox liturgical calendar.  When we ask the prayers of the Theotokos to “save us,” we are asking only in a contributory sense, in the same way that when I, as a Calvinist, used to ask my friends in our church to pray for the salvation of my children.

Seth, do you ask your friends to pray for your family and that they might be “among the elect of God?”  Then you are doing the same thing that we do when we ask our Mother, who is alive and with Christ, to offer prayers for us.  And quite frankly, don’t you and I seek out those people whom we believe have a special relationship with Christ – people who are deeply His friends and therefore to whom He would be inclined to listen? When I meet such people here on earth, I ask their prayers in hopes of obtaining mercy from God. Why not those who have pleased Him with their lives of holiness and love and are now in His very presence?  Or do you really think they are still dead and rotting in their graves?

Dear reader, I hope you will read the links I have provided.  I will pick this up with Part Two when I can get around my busy life to post a further response.