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Sunday, July 19, 2015

Why Orthodox Christianity?

When I was inquiring into the Eastern Orthodox Church I wrote a dairy about my journey titled "Into The Abyss".   It was very much a stream of consciousness depending on what was on my mind and heart at the time, although it was edited a bit from time to time.

This article is an interview of another American convert to Orthodoxy who was also introduced to Christianity very young as a Southern Baptist.

He shares and expresses his similar experience with mine much better than I have been able to when asked "Why did you become Orthodox?".

"
I’d like to say I could give you two reasons, but I can really only give you one. The only reason a person should convert to Orthodoxy is because they believe it to be the “one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” (as confessed in the Creed). Because they believe it to be the fullness of God (Eph. 1:23), the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), and the temple of the living God (2 Cor. 6:16). Because they believe that there, in a unique and complete way, they can encounter and learn to become like Jesus Christ. Until or unless someone has that singular conviction, all other reasons—beautiful worship, a good grasp on Church history, the Church fathers, the chanting and hymnography, even (with a nod to Seinfeld and George Costanza) “the hats”—are merely icing on the cake. In fact, I have seen a lot of unfortunate and even spiritually tragic stories unfold, in which a person or family converts to Orthodoxy for all the wrong reasons."

Gabe Martini. From Baptist to Orthodox: My Journey of Faith

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