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Eastern Orthodox Theology: A Contemporary Reader
Eastern Orthodox Church leaders celebrate and explain the nuances of their faith in Eastern Orthodox Theology, a collection of readings for those who wish to better understand key aspects of the Orthodox faith, such as liturgy and sacraments, tradition, the mystical encounter between person and God, and relations with other branches of the church.
In this new edition, two new articles have been added to update the section on Orthodoxy's relationship with the West. Articles from Timothy Weber (the only non-Orthodox contribution) and Bradley Nassif address the growing interface between the evangelical and Orthodox traditions.
In this new edition, two new articles have been added to update the section on Orthodoxy's relationship with the West. Articles from Timothy Weber (the only non-Orthodox contribution) and Bradley Nassif address the growing interface between the evangelical and Orthodox traditions.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
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101 people want to read
About the author
Daniel B. Clendenin
8 books3 followersDan Clendenin founded the Journey with Jesus webzine in 2004. He taught at William Tyndale College in Michigan (1985–1991), and at Moscow State University (1991–1995) and joined InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Stanford University in the summer of 1995-2003. He has traveled in 40 countries.
In 2012 Dan and his wife walked the 500-mile Way of St. James in Spain.
Dan's publications include "Many Gods, Many Lords: Christianity Encounters World Religions" (1995), "Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective" (2004) and "From the Coup to the Commonwealth: An Inside Look at Life in Contemporary Russia" (1992).
In 2012 Dan and his wife walked the 500-mile Way of St. James in Spain.
Dan's publications include "Many Gods, Many Lords: Christianity Encounters World Religions" (1995), "Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective" (2004) and "From the Coup to the Commonwealth: An Inside Look at Life in Contemporary Russia" (1992).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 4, 2023
Certain authors were interesting but most were obscure and over my head. The section on the icons was interesting as they are designed not to be realistic but are to depict the saint in there deified form and from the perspective of a spirit filled believer. The icons are a pictorial representation of what the end of our journey of theosis looks like.
The chapter on Mary and the saints was interesting too. Mary is an old testament saint who is the culminating work of the entire old testament and she bridges the gap between old and new testaments.
They have a section on the wests understanding of Orthodoxy and how hard it is to have a dialogue between east and west because they don't use the same categories or words.
The chapter on Mary and the saints was interesting too. Mary is an old testament saint who is the culminating work of the entire old testament and she bridges the gap between old and new testaments.
They have a section on the wests understanding of Orthodoxy and how hard it is to have a dialogue between east and west because they don't use the same categories or words.
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August 4, 2011A Hermeneutics of Love and Trust
Most Western-American Christians do not know how to respond to Eastern Orthodoxy. for most, it looks like Catholicism without the Pope. Clendenin (DC for short) seeks to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and attractions of Eastern Orthodoxy and how the West may lovingly criticize and interact with it.
DC gives a good summary of Eastern, Byzantine, and Slavic history. For the East, there is no separation of Chruch and State and as a result, historical-political questions are always religious questions. The East heroically held the line against Islam and Soviet Atheism. We would do much to learn from them.
DC then outlines 4 major themes in Eastern Orthodoxy that separate them from their western Brothers (Images, Theosis, Tradition, and the Apophatic Knowledge of God).
*Images*
The East is known for its iconodulism (veneration of Icons). For them, this is not a violation of the 2nd commandment but an affirmation of the Incarnation. Whatever problems we may have with it, history has pointed out that many who oppose the East on this point temporarily adopt faulty christologies to do so. The challenge to the West is to rebut icons withou using heretical Christological models. It has yet to do so.
*Theosis*
For the Western man the heart of the gospel is John 3:16. The universe exists to get individual souls saved and in "heaven." It is not hard to see how boring and stale such a worldview soon becomes. For the East the heart of salvation is theosis, or diviniszation. It is to become more like God, to share in the nature of God.
*Scripture and Tradition*
The East criticizes the west on having extra-ecclesial norms for the faith (sola scriptura and the magisterium). FOr them authority resides in the living CHrist who resides in the church.
*Apophatic Knowledge of God*
We know God by negative propositions.
Criticisms
The main criticism DC has with the East is in its view of Scripture and Tradition. More on this later. I think EO's strongest position is on Icons. Their weakest points are on on tradition, but even then the solipsistic protsetant West could learn from them.
Most Western-American Christians do not know how to respond to Eastern Orthodoxy. for most, it looks like Catholicism without the Pope. Clendenin (DC for short) seeks to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and attractions of Eastern Orthodoxy and how the West may lovingly criticize and interact with it.
DC gives a good summary of Eastern, Byzantine, and Slavic history. For the East, there is no separation of Chruch and State and as a result, historical-political questions are always religious questions. The East heroically held the line against Islam and Soviet Atheism. We would do much to learn from them.
DC then outlines 4 major themes in Eastern Orthodoxy that separate them from their western Brothers (Images, Theosis, Tradition, and the Apophatic Knowledge of God).
*Images*
The East is known for its iconodulism (veneration of Icons). For them, this is not a violation of the 2nd commandment but an affirmation of the Incarnation. Whatever problems we may have with it, history has pointed out that many who oppose the East on this point temporarily adopt faulty christologies to do so. The challenge to the West is to rebut icons withou using heretical Christological models. It has yet to do so.
*Theosis*
For the Western man the heart of the gospel is John 3:16. The universe exists to get individual souls saved and in "heaven." It is not hard to see how boring and stale such a worldview soon becomes. For the East the heart of salvation is theosis, or diviniszation. It is to become more like God, to share in the nature of God.
*Scripture and Tradition*
The East criticizes the west on having extra-ecclesial norms for the faith (sola scriptura and the magisterium). FOr them authority resides in the living CHrist who resides in the church.
*Apophatic Knowledge of God*
We know God by negative propositions.
Criticisms
The main criticism DC has with the East is in its view of Scripture and Tradition. More on this later. I think EO's strongest position is on Icons. Their weakest points are on on tradition, but even then the solipsistic protsetant West could learn from them.
December 17, 2008
I have been reading tons of books in the past couple years about Eastern Orthodoxy, almost exclusively by Orthodox theologians and ex-Evangelical converts. They have presented a beautiful, integrated, holistic, historical, challenging, and fresh perspective on Christianity, and I greatly appreciate what they have had to say. On the other hand, I have still remained a Protestant, mainly because I find myself already in a healthy worshiping community with an appreciation for history, discipleship, and other theologies and traditions.
Daniel Clendenin's book is unique in that he is a Protestant with extensive exposure to Orthodoxy who has remained a Protestant, albeit with a healthy respect and appreciation for what Orthodoxy brings to the table.
I found his description of the major emphases of Orthodoxy to be quite fair and in-depth. It was truly an insider's view that he was presenting. This is extremely hard for many Christians to do. Usually, we are presented with a one-sided anti-apology for whatever Christian tradition is deemed beyond the pale. Clendenin, on the other hand, shows that the Golden Rule can be applied to other Christian traditions as well. He does not only outline the major beliefs of Orthodoxy, however. The epilogue gives a helpful critique and challenge to certain claims that Orthodoxy makes, especially their claim to be the "one holy apostolic church". I found this section to be most helpful for me in answering my own questions about Orthodoxy's claims. I would be extremely interested in a development of the epilogue into an entire book. That might keep many Protestants from converting to Orthodoxy, while at the same time causing them to go back to their own traditions and apply insights gained from the Orthodox Church.
This book would be extremely helpful for anyone, especially cradle Orthodox, converts, or Protestants who have stumbled upon this tradition.
Daniel Clendenin's book is unique in that he is a Protestant with extensive exposure to Orthodoxy who has remained a Protestant, albeit with a healthy respect and appreciation for what Orthodoxy brings to the table.
I found his description of the major emphases of Orthodoxy to be quite fair and in-depth. It was truly an insider's view that he was presenting. This is extremely hard for many Christians to do. Usually, we are presented with a one-sided anti-apology for whatever Christian tradition is deemed beyond the pale. Clendenin, on the other hand, shows that the Golden Rule can be applied to other Christian traditions as well. He does not only outline the major beliefs of Orthodoxy, however. The epilogue gives a helpful critique and challenge to certain claims that Orthodoxy makes, especially their claim to be the "one holy apostolic church". I found this section to be most helpful for me in answering my own questions about Orthodoxy's claims. I would be extremely interested in a development of the epilogue into an entire book. That might keep many Protestants from converting to Orthodoxy, while at the same time causing them to go back to their own traditions and apply insights gained from the Orthodox Church.
This book would be extremely helpful for anyone, especially cradle Orthodox, converts, or Protestants who have stumbled upon this tradition.
November 24, 2010
If you want to learn more about Eastern Orthodoxy, this book is quite helpful. Perhaps if you know next to nothing about Eastern Orthodoxy, a better entry is Timothy Ware's The Orthodox Church. Here we get a series of chapters by Eastern Orthodox people on important points that make Eastern Orthodoxy what it is: icons, Mary and the saints, theology and tradition and theosis. Eastern Orthodoxy's absolute emphasis on the Trinity comes through clearly, which makes the chapter on the procession of the Holy Spirit, which is the central dividing point between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, especially helpful. I also enjoyed the chapters on doing theology from an orthodox perspective and how Orthodoxy uses tradition, which is different from how Catholics do. Overall, this is a great read.
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August 28, 2012This does what it says on the tin. It's a solid collection of chapters on various aspects of Eastern Orthodox theology. The editor is the same Dan Clendenin who writes on http://www.journeywithjesus.net
Some theological background would be helpful to get the most from this book.
Some theological background would be helpful to get the most from this book.
July 2, 2008
An evangelical-edited collection on Orthodox theology.
Read Father Arseny instead. Much more informative.
Read Father Arseny instead. Much more informative.
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November 21, 2009None
December 18, 2009
I've had to read this collection of essays a few times to get a basic understanding of the topics, but it was well worth it!
February 3, 2014
A useful overview of Eastern Orthodox theology.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews