When the Homily is about Immunology

A Defensive Stance
(Not for the theologically light of heart)


I guess it was a mistake of mine to listen to the Bible Answer Man on the radio yesterday afternoon. Though typically when they are stepping on people's toes who I myself don't mind stepping on, I enjoy them. But just as I tuned the dial Hank was slamming the "Greek" Orthodox Church. Fortunately I did not hear the entire tirade, but I did catch the ending in which he said (my paraphrase): "the Greek Orthodox Church denies the historic Christian doctrine of Sola Fide (Faith Alone)." Huh?

Martin Luther invented the term "Sola Fide" in the 16th century and added the word "alone" to his translation of Romans 3:28 because he said he felt it better expressed St. Paul's meaning. Furthermore, Luther very much disliked my patron's Epsitle and said the following about it:

"I maintain that some Jew wrote it [the Book of James] who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any."

"We should throw the Epistle of James out of this school [the University of Wittenberg].... "

"Many sweat to reconcile St. Paul and St. James, but in vain. 'Faith justifies' and 'faith does not justify' contradict each other flatly. If any one can harmonize them I will give him my doctor's hood and let him call me a fool."

And Martin Luther is most well known for referring to the book of St. James as an "epsitle of straw." I'm also told but a Lutheran friend from Germany that you can still find some Lutheran Bibles that lack the epsitle of St. James as well as Hebrews! Now I note all this, not to slam Martin Luther, but rather to point out that Luther admitted the apparent dichotomy between what St. Paul wrote and what St. James wrote. (Actually Luther denied that St. James wrote the epistle). So...if Hank was saying we Orthodox reject the 16th century doctrine of Sola Fide, then he is absolutely right. But if he was attempting to imply that the Orthodox teach that men can be saved by works, then he is DEAD wrong.

I think the problem is once again we westerners have a genetic predisposition (or something like it) to deconstruct, the reduce things to their lowest common denomiators, to tear apart and categorize. In so doing we rip faith and works away from their natural unity and decide that never again the two shall meet. The Orthodox have not done this....faith and works are one and the same, perhaps not unlike a yin/yan concept. The faith/works "dichotomy" is seen as one of the great paradoxes of the Church which follow the mystery of the incarnation: Christ is FULLY God and yet FULLY human. Any attempt to deconstruct, reduce, or categorize THAT "dichotomy" will always lead to heresey.

Basically, along with St. James, the Orthodox teach that Faith without works is dead. Plain and simple.

On the CRI webpage there is a truly miserable critique of Orthodoxy. In response, an aquaintence of mine Joel Kalvesmaki wrote an excellent reply.

To my non-Eastern Orthodox readers: if you seriously want to get an "impartial" view of Orthodoxy (and don't trust those of us on the inside {grin}), beware! I have seen a great deal of misinformation out there. Might I suggest a couple of sources?

First, Christian History a magazine which is a division of Christianity Today offered an issue devoted entirely to Eastern Orthodoxy which I highly recommend. Furthermore a Protestant by the name of Daniel Clendenin wrote a very fair critique of Orthodoxy which I think is quite good.

Okay, well I'll let the defensive walls down now...no more Bible Answer Man for me.