Quote:
Originally Posted by InChristAlone
Christianity and Christian theology didn't start with Luther in the 16th century. Moreover, in the ancient times, Rome was not the center of Christian theology. The theological centers were Alexandria and Antioch (two Greek speaking cities). The Catechetical School of Alexandria was the oldest catechetical school in the world.
The Church Fathers were the keepers of the tradition. They compiled the Bible and they knew how to interpret it. Moreover, they knew what a spiritual life supposed to be and they lived that life which lead them towards Christ. And they still show that direction to us. As you said, "They do not replace the Master's voice, but they point you to the right direction."
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Think about Martha and Mary for one moment. Both were women, who in the patricentric world were in much lesser status. Women were barely above the social and legal status of slaves. Yet they both figure prominently in the gospel record. Why? Because the Father's love came to them, just as much as to anyone else. They were not "second class". The Father loves his children. He does not care if you are male or female, black or white, old or young or rich or poor. His love is delighted to reach you. In the person of Jesus Christ the Father's love has come back to us all.
So there were Martha and Mary in Luke 10, and one was troubled by many things, and the other was not troubled, but gazing at the Master's face, and hearing his voice. So if we look at Martha's face, as she works, probably she is frowning. Mary's face is probably tranquil; she is beholding and reflecting the glory that has come to earth, that is in front of her being demonstrated in the person of Jesus of Galilee.
My point is this: we often are troubled, even when we try to "serve" God. Our activities consume us. We are threatened by problems, and failure seems close. But if you look at the ancient writers, often they are just gazing at Christ. You may not see the Word, per se, as much as you see the face of one who is gazing continually at the Word. To me this is a great encouragement. You do not have to agree with all that they write; much of it may be experience and opinion. And today, I also have my opinions, and experiences. But I recognize in these writings, the experiences of those who gaze at Christ. So I love to sit with the Fathers. From Polycarp and Irenaeus on down; they are sharing precious experiences of sitting at the Master's feet.
I grew up in the Protestant tradition. My thinking was that the RCC was horribly corrupt, and the EO (e.g. Greek and Russian) were strange, and foreign, even bizarre. To us they were alien cultures. So we mostly avoided and ignored them. But years after leaving the Local Church, I discovered the Fathers. I cannot tell what joy it brought to my heart. It was like finding your own family, at long last.
I think there was a great loss when the Great Schism occurred between East and West. I don't know the details, nor do I care at this point. But I believe in my heart that something precious was lost. And when I read the Fathers I began to re-connect to this precious thread of common experience.
I am not trying to lift one group over another, but believe that these voices from the past are there for us, to guide us, encourage us, and comfort our hearts. Secondly, I ask you to consider the schisms that have followed the Protestant Reformation. Look at all the groups that have sprung up, each trying to "recover" some defect, either perceived or real, in the Protestant experience. And these perceived lacks may be associated with the fact that the Reformers were trying to find meaningful Christian experience through "sola scriptora", i.e. scripture alone, without the wisdom of the ancient Fathers to guide them.
So you got, in no particular order of importance, the Anabapists, the Puritans, the Unitarians, the Shakers, the Quakers, the the Brethren, the Mormons, the Jehovahs Witnesses, the Christian Scientists, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Local Church movement of Lee, and so on. All of these groups were trying to "recover" or "restore" the tattered fabric of the Christian testimony and faith. All of them, perhaps, reacting at least somewhat to lacks within Protestant Christianity as they experienced it and saw it.
Now, as I said, I grew up Protestant, and thereby look at everything as a Protestant; I simply don't know any other perspective. So I try to keep that in front of me. Even though the Eastern Christian traditions and practices often seem strange, and I don't plan on "joining" them, still I have found the ancient Fathers of the Eastern tradition, and I am grateful. These voices, to me, are the voices of the sheep who have gone on before me, who have followed the Master home.
"Our Father, who art in heaven..." There is nothing, in this world, except to return home to our Father in heaven. Why ignore the voices of those who have gone before you? Luther and Calvin, due to the RCC split with the East several centuries before them, did not have these voices nearby to guide them. But we have them available; why ignore them? Why should we act as if they don't exist, and disregard the hard-won blessing of Christian experience?