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| Life Line | January 15, 2004 | Volume 1: Issue 1 |
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Dear Reader: In an effort to reach out to our customers and encourage Orthodox Christian dialogue we, at Light & Life Publishing, are sending you this electronic newsletter titled Life Line. It will be distributed quarterly. Each issue will feature an editorial article addressing a relevant issue facing Orthodox Christians today. Each issue will also contain book recommendations and answers to questions submitted by readers like you. We welcome your feedback and questions, which can be e-mailed to us at info@light-n-life.com. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list please click here or click the unsubscribe button below. Sincerely in Christ, The Staff at Light & Life Publishing
  The fact that Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code, remains near the tops of the best seller lists might be more indicative of our post Vietnam/Watergate fascination with conspiracies and cover-ups than revealed truth. The revealed truth, recorded in the pages of the Holy Scripture (Old and New Testament), is just not as provocative or tantalizing for many Americans, as the 454 pages of conjecture, half-truths, cover-ups, and codes that Brown's book presents. To be fair to the author, the work is classified as fiction even though he states that "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." It is also fair to say that the book is both pro-feminist and anti-Catholic, themes particularly in vogue. The premise of the book is that the Church has misled us about Christ and His followers. The book states, "...almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false" (p. 223). The story claims that Mary Magdalene and Christ were married and had a child and that anti-feminist Church Fathers, led by the pagan Emperor Constantine, in cahoots with the Vatican, covered up these facts during the first Council of Nicea in 325 AD. He writes, "...until that time in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet," (p. 233). He further states, "The Bible, as we know it today was collated by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine the Great" (p. 231). It is disturbing that many people will read this work, ignorant of Church history, and presume that Mr. Brown's theories, conjectures and interpretations are true. This is even more problematic because some truths are woven into the fabric of his fanciful fast-paced fiction. For example, Constantine indeed called the First Council, but there was no Vatican at the time. Even though the Alexandrian theologian, Arius, taught that Christ was merely a good man of a similar nature to God, the First Council proclaimed what most followers believed about Christ from the earliest days of the Church; that He was Kyrios (Divine Lord) and the same nature (homo-ousios) as God the Father. Also, while Brown correctly notes that, "the Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven," the process of identifying the canonical scriptures had progressed for centuries before Nicea with little concern for trying to expunge Christ's relationship with Mary Magdalene. By the year 200 AD lists of the New Testament books were circulating that are very close to the finalized compilation. Indeed, many other documents from Christ's followers did not make it into the canonical New Testament. But far from trying to cover this up, many of these books still exist and were used by the Church in other contexts, like its hymnology. Even the Gnostic Gospels were referenced by the early Church Fathers who systematically disputed their false claims. Finally, while females have often been assigned a secondary role in both ancient and modern societies, Christianity raises up a female, the Virgin Mary (Theotokos), as the model for all human beings to emulate and makes no secret of Christ's female followers. Mary Magdalene, in the Gospel, is the first witness of Christ's resurrection. Her courageous belief in Christ's resurrection is juxtaposed with the unbelief and fear of the other (male) apostles who don't believe that Christ is truly risen. Far from trying to expunge her relationship with Christ, it is lifted up as a paradigm of true discipleship. Maybe this is the why the Church celebrates her on July 22 and honors her with the title "equal to the Apostles." The Da Vinci Code is a well written piece of fiction. If you read it, enjoy it for what it is but don't confuse it for Church history no matter how tempting that might be. As Satan has shown, from his first discourse with humans, half-truths are often at the heart of temptation. |
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  Letter to Father Aristotleby Frank Schaeffer Comprised of several letters written to a fictional priest, Frank Schaeffer not only introduces Christian Orthodoxy to the reader, but also applies it to contemporary American culture. The opening letter in this compilation does not begin with a discourse on Orthodox dogma, catechism, or canon law but rather recalls the hospitality the author, a convert to Orthodoxy, experienced upon entering the faith. The conversational tone of the letters permeates the entire work, which presents Orthodoxy as a way of life rather than a theology. American Orthodoxy is shown to be relevant and viable in today's world regardless of its differences with a highly secularized western culture. The author urges the Orthodox Church to hold fast to the beliefs and customs that have sustained it for two millennia. Orthodox Christians are called to embrace their faith and unashamedly share it with a world that is being lost to disbelief. This is a fantastic book that will invigorate readers who have newly discovered, or who are rediscovering, the Orthodox faith.  The Screwtape Lettersby C.S. Lewis C. S. Lewis, a brilliant professor at Oxford University, and highly regarded within Christendom by both East and West, is arguably the most influential Christian writer of the 20th Century. He employs an interesting writing style in The Screwtape Letters, a collection of correspondences between Wormwood, a rank and file demon, and his Uncle Screwtape, a senior demon. Screwtape's letters are intended to "mentor" Wormwood as he leads humans away from the Enemy, God. Screwtape's core philosophy is characterized in his following "wise" counsel to Wormwood: "But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." (pg 61) C. S. Lewis remarks at the onset of his book, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them." (pg 1x). If in fact we as Christians are engaged in spiritual warfare, it behooves us to understand our enemy and his toolbox of diabolical tricks. This book exposes some of the devil's tried and true tactics. Armed with this knowledge we are better-equipped warriors in our spiritual battles. Lewis's writings urge us to know our enemy, return to God, and claim our victory in Christ. |
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 Dear Light & life, My spouse is Christian but not Orthodox. Why are non-Orthodox not allowed to take Communion in the Orthodox Church? St. Paul, Minnesota In the light of Church history, the question might better be asked, "Why does anyone allow for ‘open communion'?" The fact is, from the very beginning the Eucharist was offered only to baptized and chrismated believers. The second century writing known as The Didache instructs believers to "let no one eat or drink from your Eucharist except those who are baptized in the Lord's Name." So restricted were the Eucharistic meetings of Christians in the first centuries that rumors arose among the pagans that they were actually involved in human sacrifice and cannibalism. Even reformed churches practice closed communion. Only baptized believers who had undergone examination by the leaders of the churches were admitted to the Lord's Supper. In times past, communion tokens were used to gain admission to the sacrament as, for example in the Church of Scotland and also in Methodist churches. The Orthodox Church does not consider it sufficient to express belief in Jesus in order to be admitted to the sacrament. Many heretics believe in Jesus. Arius, the fourth century heretic, believed in Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons believe in Jesus. Hindus believe in Jesus. But none of these individuals or groups believes in the One Lord Jesus Christ known and proclaimed by the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In the historic understanding of the Church, Communion has always been understood as the goal, the climax and expression of our unity in Christ. Today there are over 25,000 denominations worldwide and among them are many different views of Jesus. The Orthodox practice of closed communion, not for triumphalistic reasons, but for very important theological reasons. In doing so they follow the practice of the ancient Church; a practice that was retained by the Reformers. "Open communion" was a relatively recent innovation and an exception to the practice of the Church beginning in the New Testament period. In our pluralistic American culture, we object to anything that excludes individuals. We have been taught that all faiths are relative in their claims. One denomination is as good as another to the average American; the Orthodox Church appears to be just one more "denomination." However, the Orthodox Church pre-dates denominations, and the practice of the Orthodox Church pre-dates the practices of later Christian denominations by at least 1500 years. Discovering the Rich Heritage of Orthodoxy Send us a question at: |