40 Bicycles

Reading this article has prompted me to consider the appeal of Eastern Orthodoxy once again. I am no follower of Eastern Orthodoxy. However, I have found interacting with authors from that tradition deeply stimulating. One thing I appreciate is the manner in which they situate the interpretative task firmly in the context of the life of the church. Although I believe that this is taken too far, I find it to be a helpful corrective to the position I could so easily take. Protestant theology, by separating tradition and Scripture, fails to recognize the clear union of the two. The church is the 'pillar and foundation of the truth' (1 Timothy 3:15), not the Bible and private judgment. The church's theology must always be tested against the Word of God (tradition is certainly not infallible). However, outside of the context of the life of Christ the interpretative task is impossible. An interesting article with bearing on this is Hermeneutics, Exegesis, and the Rule of Faith: An Ancient Key to a Modern Question. Evangelicals who hold to solo scriptura undermine the authority of the Word of God. Another thing that I appreciate about Eastern Orthodoxy is its biblical focus upon what we are saved to over what we are saved from. Sanctification, theosis, worship (yes, worship!) and other such biblical truths are grossly neglected in many evangelical and Reformed churches (these themes were far more stressed in authors of the past such as Wesley and Calvin). We focus so much upon the justification of sinners that we often fail to focus upon living as righteous saints. Definitive sanctification and other such truths are so downplayed that Christians have a fatalistic attitude about sin. Many evangelicals still view themselves as essentially sinners with an alien righteouness to look to, rather than as those who have died with Christ and now live according to a different principle. Our doctrine of salvation needs a far greater stress upon the restoration and perfection of man in Christ. This is central to our salvation; we are to be the new humanity in Christ. An exclusive focus on justification will grossly distort the biblical teaching on salvation. We are saved to something, not just saved from something. A further advantage of Orthodoxy is its focus on a salvation expressed in more personal rather than solely forensic categories. The foundation of our salvation is a real mystical union with Christ, not a merely forensic union established by an electing or justifying decree. In the Western tradition we have often abstracted the benefits of Christ from His Person by focusing on the forensic aspect exclusively. The Person of Christ is conceived of as a mere means to His benefits in many circles. This is a dangerous error. We need to put the incarnation and the resurrection back at the centre of our theology. All of these things being said, I am not Eastern Orthodox. I believe that there are a number of serious errors within their position (e.g. the place given to Mary and the saints). I do not for one moment suggest that we should wink at such errors. However, I do believe that we can still learn a great deal from Orthodoxy. The advantages of Orthodoxy listed above are not advantages that cannot be expressed within Reformed and evangelical settings. To rejoice in these truths we do not have to become Eastern Orthodox. However, we do need the humility to recognize that we have not always confessed a full-orbed truth. Justification by faith alone is a glorious truth, but it is not all the truth. A biblical emphasis on God's comprehensive sovereignty is a glorious truth, but it is not all the truth. We will rob ourselves of much if we fail to learn from those in other traditions.