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St. Athanasius
Pre-Servant Program
General Introduction to the
Catholic and Protestant
Churches
“Serve the Lord with gladness” Psalm 100:2
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel
to every creature.” Mark 16:15
Sources for this presentation
• Pre-servant curriculum Southern Diocese
• Comparative Theology by H.H. Pope Shenouda III
• Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy by Rev Fr. Andrew
Stephen Damick (Antiochian Orthodox Church)
Introduction
Today churches may be classified in one of four major
groups:
• The Orthodox Church.
• The Catholic Church.
• The Protestant (Reformation) churches.
• The Cults.
The Creed is basis for all true Christian faiths
Before we begin
• What we are saying
– Orthodoxy contains the FULL TRUTH 1 Tim 3:14
– Speak the truth in love - 1 Peter 3:15
– Know what you believe first - Titus 1:9 “holding fast the
faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by
sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who
contradict.”
• What we are not saying
– Only Orthodox Christians will gain salvation and Catholic
or Protestant will not
‘The Truth’, ‘The Faith’, does not change
• Eph 1:4 “There is one body and One Spirit…one Lord, one faith..”
• Jude 1:3 “…necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
• Pope Shenouda: We..maintain the Apostolic Faith that was once entrusted
to us by the saints (Jude). We do not introduce any innovations in religion,
nor do we move an ancient boundary marker set by our forefathers (Prov
22:28)
• Pope Shenouda: The criterion by which we validate the accuracy of
Tradition is the important condition that it complies with the Holy Bible. Our
teacher St. Paul the Apostle says: "But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached
to you, let him be accursed" (Gal.1: 8).
‘The Truth’, ‘The Faith’ resides in ‘the Church’
• 1 Timothy 3:14 “I write so that you may know how you ought to
conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth”
• Christ gave authority to ‘The Church’…did not write a Bible
• Tradition is a living, active ‘life of the Church’…Bible,
writings of the fathers, Church books, Creeds, Hymns,…
• Understanding of ‘the truth’ is through the teaching of the
Church. The Bible (367 AD) comes from the Church and can
only be fully and accurately understood within the Church
Fig. (1): Time Line History of Church Denominations
Eastern Orthodox Churches (Constantinople,
Greece, Russia,…)
1521
Reformation
Chalcedon
Ephesus
Constantinople
Nicea
Pentecost
Oriental Orthodox Church (Coptic, Ethiopian, Antioch,
Armenian, Indian,…)
1538
Catholicism
Background
• 1054 a schism between Rome and the other patriarchal sees.
• The cause of the schism was initially a dispute over papal
authority and the soundness of theology surrounding the term
filioque, (a word added to the Creed by Rome).
• Effects of the schism were not immediate and only over time
did it lead to a current complete lack of communion between
the Orthodox and Roman Catholics.
Major Differences
•
•
•
•
•
Development of Doctrine
Filioque
Created grace
Absolute divine simplicity
Original sin understood as
guilt transmitted via
“propagation”
• Immaculate Conception of
St. Mary
• Merit and satisfaction
• Purgatory and indulgences
• Papal universal jurisdiction
(authority of all Christians,
bishops, councils…)
• Papal infallibility
• Papal Petrine exclusivism
(Peter’s successor)
• Celibacy of Priests
• Disconnect of confirmation /
chrismation and Baptism
• No Communion for young
Filioque
• Filioque is a Latin word meaning "and the Son”, added to the
Nicene Creed by the Church of Rome in the 11th century
• Roman Catholicism teaches that the Holy Spirit "proceeds
from the Father and the Son" (filioque). Thus, they added
words to the Nicean Creed: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the
Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the
Son...
Filioque Response
• Apostolic Tradition has always taught that God the Father is
the single Source of the Son and the Spirit.
• It is contrary to Scripture and to Christ teaching - John 15:26:
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you
from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the
Father, He will testify of Me."
• The filioque distorts the heart of Christian theology – The
Orthodox Triadology by making the Spirit a subordinate
member of the Trinity.
Practical Implications
• His work can be quenched and replaced by administration
in the church
– Church unity and infallibility in hands and ministry of the Holy
Spirit (Orthodox) but in hands of Pope (Catholic)
– Dynamic spiritual life (Orthodox) replaced by legalism (Catholic)
• Absolute Divine simplicity
– Catholic focus “What is God”; Orthodox Focus “Who is God”
– Divine simplicity…union with Him is impossible
• Created Grace
– Created grace is what resides in humans…granted or conferred,
give merit to believer….No true union
– Not all Catholics accept this (Franciscans, Jesuites…)
Original Sin and Penance
• In Catholic Church, humans inherited Adams’s sin…not
just that Adam’s sin changed our nature to make us capable
of sin (Orthodox Church belief…we didn’t inherit Adam sin).
• Also believe that people once they confess and are forgiven,
still have to pay for their sins to satisfy God. This is called
temporal punishment. Penance is done to gain
indulgence (remission before God of the temporal
punishment due to sins already forgiven).
• If they don’t satisfy that in this life, will have to in Pergatory
Immaculate Conception of St. Mary
• Both Orthodoxy and Catholicism believe she is "Mother of
God" (Theotokos) and "the Ever-Virgin Mary.“
• Both also believe in the intercessions of the Virgin Mary and
all the Saints. Such intercessions reflect the unity of the
Church in heaven and the Church on earth.
• Catholics believe that St. Mary was born without original sin
Immaculate Conception Response
• The Catholic Pope Pius IX, 1854: “the first instant of her
conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by a most singular
grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits
of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the human race, preserved
from all stain of Original Sin. It is a doctrine revealed by God,
and therefore to be firmly and steadfastly believed by all the
faithful” (from the Bull Ineffabilis Deus).
• The Orthodox Church does not accept the idea that the
Mother of God was born with the (inherited) guilt of Adam; no
one is. She inherited the mortality which comes to all on
account of Adam's Fall. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and
my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47).
Role of the Pope
• The Catholic Church teaches that the visible head of the
Church is the Pope, the successor to St. Peter, appointed to
that sacred position by the Lord Himself, “…you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my Church." (Matt 16:18).
• The Pope is, then, "the Bishop of the Catholic Church," her
teacher, the vicar (agent, deputy) of Christ on earth.
• Interpreter of the Christian Tradition. When he speaks for the
whole Church (ex cathedra), the Holy Spirit does not permit
him to err…therefore, infallible on matters of morals and
doctrine. Other bishops are his lieutenants not equals.
Role of the Pope Response
• The Orthodox church does not elevate the Pope to an infallible
state. Subject to mistake and err just as any human.
• Orthodoxy teaches that all bishops are equal. Christ does
not need a Vicar, he is always present in His Church.
Different ranks of bishops only apply to the administration of a
church or group of churches, not to the nature of the bishop.
• Every bishop is "the living icon of Christ," and his flock
constitute the Church in a certain place. St. Ignatius says the
Church of Christ is in the bishop, his priests and deacons, with the people,
surrounding the Eucharist in the true faith. All bishops and their flocks so
constituted, together composing the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church.
Purgatory
• Place of temporal punishment where a
saved believer pays God what he owes by
suffering in torment for a certain number
of years…
• From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"All who die in God’s grace and friendship,
but still imperfectly purified, are indeed
assured of their eternal salvation; but, after
death they undergo purification, so as to
achieve the holiness necessary to enter the
joy of Heaven. The Church gives the name
Purgatory to this final purification of the elect,
which is entirely different from the punishment
of the damned" (cf. No.1030-32).
Purgatory
• In past, could buy indulgences
directly and for other people also
• Today, system of indulgences in
place in current Catechism
• Emphasis on externalized works
to earn time out of purgatory no
personal transformation
• Full forgiveness can only ever be
bought with money or good deeds
Purgatory objections
• In his book entitled ‘Why Do We Reject Purgatory?’, Pope
Shenouda III refers to 1 Thess 4:16,17, "And the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord",
in which St. Paul describes the Last Day saying that those
faithful who are still alive will meet the Lord with those who
rise from the dead and then remain with Him always.”
• He then asks the question, "Are these faithful (alive on the
Last Day) exempt from Purgatory? Or is God showing
partiality towards them?"
Celibacy of Priests
• Catholics require their priests to lead a celibate life,
although they have ordained hundreds of married converts.
• One argument made for celibacy has been that the
commitment to celibacy frees someone to love all people in
a way that the commitment to marriage does not.
• The Orthodox Church does not deny a celibate priesthood,
that is why priest-monks exist. Only celibacy is voluntary
and not imposed. Most married priests understand family
problems far better than celibate priests.
Development of Doctrine
• Roman Catholicism, in order to justify new doctrine, erected in
the last century, a theory of "doctrinal development."
• Teach the idea that Christ only gave us an "original deposit"
of faith, a "seed,” grew and matured through the centuries.
• The Holy Spirit, they said, amplified the Christian Faith as
the Church moved into new circumstances and needs.
• Consequently, Roman Catholicism, pictures its theology as
growing in stages, to higher levels of knowledge.
Development of Doctrine
• The teachings of the Fathers, as important as they are,
belong to a stage or level below the theology of the Latin
Middle Ages (Scholasticism), and that theology lower than the
new ideas which have come after it, such as Vatican II.
• All the stages are useful, all are resources; and the theologian
may appeal to the Fathers, for example, but they may also be
contradicted by something else, something higher or newer.
• On this basis, theories such as the dogmas of "papal
infallibility" and "the immaculate conception" of the Virgin
Mary are justifiably presented to the Faithful
Development of Doctrine Response
• The Orthodox Church does not endorse the view that the
teachings of Christ have changed from time to time; rather that
Christianity has remained unaltered from the moment that the
Lord delivered the Faith to the Apostles (Matt. 28:18-20).
“teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you…”
• She affirms that "the faith once delivered to the saints"
(Jude 3) is now what it was in the beginning. Orthodox of the
twentieth century believe precisely what was believed by
Orthodox of the first, the fifth, the tenth, the fifteenth centuries.
Development of Doctrine Response
• To be sure, Orthodoxy recognizes external changes (e.g.,
vestments of clergy, monastic habits, new feasts, canons of
ecumenical and regional councils, etc.), but nothing has
been added or subtracted from her Faith.
• The external changes have a single purpose: To express
that Faith under new circumstances; nevertheless, their
has always been "one faith, one Lord, one baptism" (Eph.
4: 4).
Ongoing dialogue between
Orthodox and Catholic Church
• In 1988 A.D. a mutual document
was signed between the Coptic
Orthodox Church of Alexandria
[Egypt] and the Catholic Church
• "We believe that our Lord, God and
Saviour Jesus Christ, the IncarnateLogos is perfect in His Divinity and
perfect in His Humanity. He made
His Humanity One with His Divinity
without Mixture, nor Mingling, nor
Confusion. His Divinity was not
separated from His humanity even
for a moment or twinkling of an eye.
At the same time, we anathematize
the Doctrines of both Nestorius and
Eutyches."
Protestantism
Protestant Reformation
• Began in Europe in 1517.
• Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and
professor at the university of Wittenberg,
called in 1517 for reopening of the debate
on the sale of indulgences.
• Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door
of the Wittenberg Castle Church
• Luther's dissent marked a sudden
outbreak of discontent
Protestant Reformation
• Luther, in the beginning favored maintaining the bishops as
an elite class for administrative purposes, though he
denied that their succession from the Apostles gave
their consecration any special sacramental value.
• While Luther rejected many of the Catholic sacraments, the
practice of indulgences, and salvation through both faith
and good works (as opposed to the Protestant "faith
alone"), he firmly upheld the sacraments of Baptism and
the Eucharist.
John Calvin
• Following the excommunication of
Luther and condemnation of the
Reformation by the Pope, the work
and writings of John Calvin became
influential.
• The Reformation led to a series of
religious wars that culminated in the
Thirty Years War.
Protestant Churches Formed
Born of Reformation
• Anglicanism
• Anabaptism
• Calvinism
• Lutheranism
• Zwinglianism
Post Reformation
• Baptists
• Pietism
• Pentecostalism
• Puritanism
Today there are over 33,000 Protestant denominations
Foundation of Protestant Belief
• The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or
slogans) that emerged during the
Protestant Reformation and summarize the
Reformers' basic theological beliefs.
• The Latin word sola means "alone,"
"only," or "single”
• Believed to be the only doctrines needed
for salvation. Listing them as such explicitly
excluded other doctrines that Protestants
believed hindered salvation.
Five Solas
•
•
•
•
•
Solus Christus: Christ Alone
Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
Sola Fide: Faith Alone
Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
Soli Deo gloria: Glory to God Alone
Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
• In beginning, it didn’t deny all tradition, but elevated scripture
•
Martin Luther 1521: “I have the right to believe freely, to be a slave to no man’s
authority, to confess what appears to be true whether it is proved or disproved….I
deny Pope and council and all…A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater
than the mightiest Pope without it”
• Today, believe that oral tradition and teachings of the Fathers
are rejected as human tradition and not authoritative. Believe
in “Priesthood of all believers”
• Tim 3:15-17, “..the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone Response
• We do not believe in "sola scriptura”. Not everyone has authority
to interpret the Bible…30,000 denominations today.
• The Bible is a book written by the Church, for the Church, and
within the Church. It is not a catechism or full instructional book.
So understanding it needs to be within the light of Holy Tradition
and the teaching of the Church Fathers.
• 2 Thes 2:15 “Brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which
you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter”
• Sola Scriptura not found in the Bible, the Church is: 1 Timothy
3:14 “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct
yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living
God, the pillar and ground of the truth”
Sola Fide: Faith Alone
• Justification comes by faith alone. “Declared righteous” or
righteousness is imputed to you by God versus “Infused
righteousness in Catholicism (God puts righteousness inside
the person). Both however are changes in legal status rather
than a change within the person (Orthodoxy)
• Faith alone, not works. Ephesians 2:8“For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
• That’s why reject monasticism, … viewed as an attempt to earn
salvation. Minimize James, Jude, Hebrews, Revelations
Sola Fide Faith alone response
• Orthodoxy: Faith INCLUDES good works because they are a
form of cooperation with the divine grace.
– "Faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:20). "What does it profit, my
brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?" (James 2:14)
– 1 Cor 13:2 "And though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing”
– 1 Cor 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love”
– "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges
according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the
time of your stay here in fear" (1 Pet 1:17).
• Justification is being made righteous, not just declared so.
• Confuse “works of the Law” with good works of righteousness
Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
• Only God’s grace accomplishes salvation. Man doesn’t
contribute in any way to His/Her salvation
– Calvinism most extreme – pre-ordained to be saved and to be
damned. “irrisistible”. This is extreme however and most believe have
to at least assent to salvation once.
• Response: agree God’s grace does the actual transforming
work of salvation. However, there is collaboration or synergy
between God and Man (co-workers).
– 2 Cor 6:1 “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with
you not to receive the grace of God in vain”
– Phil 2:12 “..work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..”
– St. Paul said worried lest he in end loses it
Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
• Christ alone is means of salvation. He is the only mediator
between God and Man (1 Tim 2:5)…in response to Catholic
practices of infallibility of Pope, Vicar of Christ, merits given by
clergy,…Unfortunately took it to the level of rejection of all
priesthood, rejection of intercessions of saints, …
• Response, agree with the above concerns, however need
to return to teaching of Christ: John 20:21 “So Jesus said to
them again …As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when
He had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them,
Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Before
Pentecost…what was the purpose of the Holy Spirit on this occasion?
Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God Alone
• All glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished
solely through His will and action—not only the gift of the allsufficient atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross, but also
the gift of faith, created in the heart of the believer by the
Holy Spirit.
• Reject saints, icons, cross, any object glorified other
than Christ. The reformers believed that human beings,
even saints canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, the
popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy, are not worthy of the
glory that was accorded them.
Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God Alone
Response
• Agree Worship only to God. However,
• Rejection of His incarnation and of His work in human beings
if we deny honor to those people
• This comes from the basic understand of Protestantism that
God only bestows grace upon people without their effort in
any way…minimizes union between God and Man and
holiness that we can have through Christ inside us
Modern Protestant Belief: The Trinity
• Most mainline denominations are Trinitarian, meaning they
accept doctrine that God exists as three persons of one
essence: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit.
• However, many mainline denominations take a more "handsoff" approach and do not require belief in the Trinity. Many
mainline denominations also believe in the virgin birth of
Christ.
Modern Protestant Belief: Priesthood
• Most Protestants today recognize only one mediator
between them and God the Father, and that is God the Son,
Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).
• Protestants believe that through Christ they have been
given direct access to God, just like a priest; thus the
doctrine is called the priesthood of all believers. God is
equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has
equal potential to minister for God.
• The vast majority nonetheless draw some distinction
between their own ordained ministers and lay people
Eternal Security
• Our Lord Jesus Christ says that “I will give them eternal
life and no one will snatch them out of my hands”, and
“they are in my Father's hands.”
• However, in the book of Hebrews, it says it is impossible for
someone who had accepted our Lord Jesus Christ and
tasted the heavenly gifts, when he falls to be restored.
Infant Baptism
• Hippolytus: "Baptize first the children, and if
they can speak for themselves let them do so.
Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives
speak for them" (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16
[A.D. 215]).
• St. John Chrysostom: "You see how many are
the benefits of baptism….For this reason we
baptize even infants, though they are not defiled
by [personal] sins, so that there may be given to
them holiness, righteousness, adoption,
inheritance, brotherhood with Christ, and that
they may be his [Christ's] members" (Baptismal
Catecheses in Augustine, Against Julian 1:6:21
[A.D. 388]).
Communion
• The Lord Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Holy
Communion on the Thursday of the Covenant
• After He had celebrated the Passover, He rose and washed
His holy disciples' feet as a sign of repentance and
preparation; and then instituted the Passover of the New
Covenant, Sacrament of Holy Communion. "He took bread,
blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and
said, 'Take, eat this is My Body, then He took the cup and
gave thanks, and gave it to them saying: Drink from it all
of you, for this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew
26:26-28) and St. Paul repeats these same words 1 Cor
11:23-25.
Modern Protestant Belief
• Given the wide gamut of Protestant belief, it is difficult to
define what Protestants as a whole believe about any given
doctrine.
• Also, because Protestants believe that scripture is subject
to private interpretation, there are many variations of belief
even among those of the same denomination.
Further Reading
•
•
•
•
Comparative Theology – Pope Shenouda III
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy – Andrew Damick
Southern Diocese Website Literature section
Ask for additional references and sources as
needed
Conclusion
• Orthodox Church did not change the "the faith once
delivered to the saints" (Jude 3)…, contains the full truth,
and is THE church established by our Lord and Savior
• While we share many things in common with our Christian
brothers & sisters in the Catholic and Protestant churches,
there are may significant difference core to the faith
• When we engage in discussion, we must “speak the truth
in love”
• We pray that the Lord returns unity to all the churches
Back-Up
Major Protestant Churches Today
Lutherans –
70 million
Martin Luther
Retained many of the
sacramental & liturgical
practices as well as
divine grace and
predestination to eternity
after death.
Infant baptism is practiced.
Baptism and Communion are the only two
sacraments
Monergism - Salvation is by God's act alone
Pre-destination for the saved not the damned
Baptists – 110
million..
50 different
denominations
Ex- southern
baptists,….
Early days of
reformation…rejected
then as more radical
Believe in Eternal
Security – no one saved
can be condemned later
or fall away
Monerigsm - Salvation purely granted by God and
so nothing human can do to gain or lose it or
affect salvation
Baptism by full immersion. But only symbolic and
become member of the Church – not a spiritual
change, original sin not washed away
Methodists –
75 million
John Wesley – Anglican
priest in 18th century
Free will (as opposed to pre-destination)
Trinity
Affirm the Nicene Creed
Baptism and Communion are the two recognized
sacraments
Believes in the real presence of Jesus Christ in
Communion (not simply a remembrance)
Tradition is a source of authority
Do not believe in Monergism
Filioque objections
• Traditional Triadology consists in the notion that for any
given trait, it must be either common to all Persons of the
Trinity or unique to one of them.
• Fatherhood is unique to the Father, begottenness is unique
to the Son, and procession unique to the Spirit.
• Godhood, however, is common to all, as is eternality,
uncreatedness, and so forth.
• Positing that something can be shared by two Persons (i.e.,
being the source of the Spirit's procession) but not the other
is to elevate those two Persons at the expense of the other.
Purgatory
• 2 Mac 12:44-46 – “for if he were not expecting the fallen to
rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for
them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid
reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it
was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for
the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”
• Matt 12:32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the
Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in
the age to come.”
Purgatory objections
• The quote from the book of Maccabees and our Savior’s
words can only prove that some sins will be forgiven after
death; but whether by means of punishment by fire, or by
other means, nothing is known for certain.
• What has forgiveness of sins to do with punishment by fire
and tortures? Only one of these two things can happen: either
punishment or forgiveness, but not both at once.
Eternal Security
• Who are the ones that shall never perish? The verse that
proceeds gives the answer: and the condition for not
perishing. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me" (John 10:27).
• Those who continue to hear Christ's voice, and to follow
Him, shall never perish.
Eternal Security
• In the Holy Book of Hebrews 3:12 and 6:6, St. Paul is
referring to deliberate apostasy, as a defection from the faith.
• If a sinner rejects the only available sacrifice of the New
Testament, Jesus Christ, then his repentance for sin would
be vain, and their salvation impossible.
• Matt 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in
Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?‘ And
then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!‘”
Eternal Security
• 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves as to whether you
are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know
yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you
are disqualified.”
Communion
• There is no delineation or actual words from the Lord Jesus
Christ, which speak as to how the change occurs.
Therefore the Lord Jesus Christ's actual words are intended
as a Mystery.
• There are so many very important biblical verses about the
Holy Communion that allude to its Mystery:
• "He who eats My Flesh, and drinks My Body abides in Me,
and I in him" (John 6:56). By receiving this Sacrament "we
become members of His Body, of His Flesh and of His
Bones" (Ephesians 5:30) also we become partakers of the
Divine Nature (Peter 1:4).
Christianity
Comparative Theology
Outline
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•
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Bible
Nature of God
Nature of Man
Sin
Person and Work of Jesus Christ
Holy Spirit
Salvation
Angels
Church
Last Things
Introduction
• As we look at other belief systems and
compare them with ours, it is of utmost
importance to know what our beliefs are.
• What follows is a very brief discussion of
some of our beliefs.
Regarding the Bible
• We believe that all the scriptures in the Bible are inspired
by God, the Holy Spirit and are useful on multifaceted level
for the Christian believer.
• We believe that God's Word is always true, always
applicable and always beneficial.
• We believe that the Deuterocanonical books are also God
inspired.
• We do not believe in "sola scriptura" meaning "relying only
on the Bible", since we believe that the Church approved
the Bible and not that the Bible makes the Church.
• Therefore we better understand the Bible through the
teachings and traditions of the church. Additionally all the
prayers of the Divine Liturgy are found in the Holy Bible.
Regarding the Nature of God
• We believe in One God Who is indefinable, invisible
and incomprehensible.
• That He is Almighty, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.
• The Creator of the universe.
• He is a triune God of three equal yet inseparable
hypostases, which are God the Father, God the Son
Who is begotten of God the Father and God the
Holy Spirit Who proceeds from God the Father.
Regarding the Nature of God
• We believe that He is all powerful and is
able to do anything and everything and
that He is to be feared and revered and
yet He is also the beneficent lover of
mankind, Who created man to commune
with him in a relationship of true honest
Love.
Regarding the Nature of Man
• We believe that God created man in His image and that
man was in Paradise living freely with God in a state of
beauty, freedom, purity and had control over all that God
created for him.
• We believe that man was deceived by the serpent (the
devil) due to his jealousy of God and the object of God's
love and affection (man). Man fell in sin by disobeying
God's commandment and was to be kicked out of Paradise
lest he eat from the tree of life and live forever in a state of
sin (separation from God).
Regarding Sin
• We believe that sin is falling short of God's
mark for us and that sin separates us from
God but not from His love.
• We believe that sin leads to death.
Regarding Sin
• We believe that we, the children of Adam and Eve, are all
born with a corrupt nature as a consequence of the original
sin committed by Adam and Eve and that we must be
baptized in water and spirit in order to washed from any
previous sins and to kill and bury the old, corrupt nature with
Jesus Christ and to rise with a new clean nature with Jesus
Christ.
• We do not believe that we inherit Adam's guilt, but only the
corrupt nature.
Regarding the Person and Work of
Jesus Christ
• We believe that man (Adam & Eve) was deceived
by the jealous deception of the serpent (the devil)
and by disobeying God's command, man sinned
and separated himself from God and instead of
plucking for himself a fruit that is good to eat, man
plucked for himself the thorn of death.
Regarding the Person and Work of
Jesus Christ
• But out of God's immense and infinite love - since He is the
Father; the Good Shepherd; the Gentle Healer – He was
incarnate as our Lord Jesus Christ the Logos and took the
form of a servant (man) and gave Himself up unto death,
even death on the cross and descended into Hades and
freed the souls of all the righteous and restored mankind to
God once again, so that we may have the opportunity to
choose Him again instead of sin and to be able to live with
Him for all eternity.
Regarding the Person and Work of
Jesus Christ
• He took what is ours (death) and gave us what is His (life).
• Like a Father who gladly goes to the enemy's territory to
ransom His lost child who has been kidnapped by the enemy.
• The only one who could accomplish this saving work needed
to be human (with our nature) and divine (to redeem ALL sin
past and present). We find this only in our Lord Jesus.
Regarding the Person and Work of
Jesus Christ
• Our Lord Jesus Christ is God Himself, the Incarnate Logos,
who took to Himself a complete manhood.
• His Divine Nature is united with His Human Nature in a
complete Hypostatic (personal) Union without mingling,
confusion, alteration or separation.
• Furthermore, the unity between the two Natures occurred
without transmutation. Thus neither the Divine Nature
transmutes to the Human Nature, nor did the Human Nature
transmute to the Divine.
Regarding the Holy Spirit
• We believe that since God's desire is to restore man to his
original state before the fall, not only did He purchase man
with His precious blood (as the Son), but He also sent Himself
as the Holy Spirit to dwell within each one of us after the
Chrismation with the Holy Oil, which occurs after baptism.
• The Holy Spirit is God within us to guide us, convict us,
comfort us and to lead us back to His kingdom.
Regarding Salvation
• We believe that Salvation is a life long process and that it
does not occur in a moment.
• We believe that one becomes sanctified which occurs after
the sacraments of baptism and chrismation.
• We believe that baptism gives us the opportunity for
salvation. We believe that salvation is by grace from our
Lord and not by works, but we believe that salvation without
works is impossible, since faith without works is dead.
Regarding Angels
• We believe that God created the angels as servant spirits to
serve Him and His creation.
• We believe that Satan was once a beautiful, powerful angel
and that he was able to have one third of the original angels
join him in his rebellion against God when he desired to sit on
His throne. We believe that there are "good" holy angels that
serve our Lord.
Regarding Angels
• We believe that God has created the angels with different
ranks for different functions.
• Some are archangels like Michael (the commander of the
hosts of the Lord) and Gabriel (God's messenger to man);
some are angels created to praise and to minister to our Lord
forever without stopping (like the Cherubim and the
Seraphim) and other ranks of angels (thrones, principalities,
authorities, dominions and powers).
• We also believe that God in His great mercy and love for
mankind has appointed a guardian angel for every human
being who is born.
Regarding the Church
• We believe in one, Holy, catholic (universal) Apostolic
Church, who is the Bride and the Body of Christ, comprised
of both the struggling Church as well as victorious.
• We believe that the doctrines of the Church were taught and
delivered from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to our fathers
the Apostles, who in turn handed the Tradition as they
received it to the early church fathers, who in turn hand it
down as they received it without change to those who
followed them and so on throughout all generations.
Regarding the Church
• We believe that our Church Tradition today is the exact same
Tradition handed down from our Lord Jesus Christ (while
some of the practices may have changed) and we believe that
it is our utmost important duty to pass down to those after us
the Tradition which we received without adding anything to it
or subtracting anything from it.
• We believe that the Church is the pillar and foundation for the
faith and that salvation outside the church is – like survival
outside Noah's ark- impossible.
Regarding the Last Things
• We believe that the end of time, at a time that only
God the Father knows, our Lord Jesus Christ will
come again on a cloud and all mankind will be able
to see Him and to have no doubt that it is Him.
Regarding the Last Things
• We believe that the books will be open and that the deeds,
whether good or bad, of each human being will be read and
that our Lord Jesus Christ will judge each of us according to
his or her deeds and according to his or her faith in Him and
will either set them on His right hand to inherit the kingdom
of God which was prepared for them before the foundation
of the earth or He will cast them into eternal hell, which is
separation from Him forever.
• We believe that it is not our place to predict this time but to
always be ready for this time.