I agree. These folks are the modern day equivalent of the Pharisees, which knew the correct law but were hypocrites and did not live by the law.
The would be correct in stating that other Christians are not part of the Church Christ established. But they’re also not loving to others as Christians are called to be. Pride is a hell of a drug. A sin in which I myself am guilty of.
Lord have mercy.
I guess I’m still of the Protestant persuasion that The Church is not an earthly institution but rather comprised of true followers of Christ from many denominations. Someday the sheep and goats will be separated and then we will know The Church.
I understand your perspective, as I was a Prot for 20+ years and held the same opinion.
A couple really helpful books for me that provided insight into the history of the church and how it relates to Protestantism were “Becoming Orthodox” and “Rock and Sand”
Both written by ex-Protestants that found their way back to Christ’s Church.
If you are able to, I would recommend reading these books. One of them you can get as a free ebook here:
https://store.ancientfaith.com/becoming-orthodox-ebook-special-offer/
Becoming Orthodox was written by Peter Gillquist, who was a part of campus crusades decades ago and eventually with a group of others decided to create a church that matched the historical church as much as possible, and unintentionally created an Evangelical Orthodox Church.
It’s an amazing story, highly recommend checking it out.
May God bless you, sir 🙏
I have the Gillquist book. Have read several others as well. Attended an OCA church and a Coptic Orthodox Church. Digging into the history of the church after Constantine with the politically motivated fracturing of the church has caused me to question the claims of Orthodoxy. I plan to study more.
Have you visited a monastery?
I have not.
If you ever get the chance to, consider visiting an Orthodox monastery and chat with a monk there about some issues you have had with the claims of Orthodoxy. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Worst case scenario, you will just meet some of really nice people and visit what will likely be a beautiful area. Best case scenario, it is a very edifying experience.
