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<blockquote data-quote="Hermetic Seal" data-source="post: 1490973" data-attributes="member: 10915">It's perfectly understandable when one realizes that &quot;what the Bible teaches&quot; actually means &quot;what my particular interpretation of the Bible that arose in the mid-1500s and is marketed as 'what the Bible teaches'.&quot;Try again. Most Orthodox churches don't even have stained glass windows. But all of this &quot;stuff&quot; you mention helps to draw the worshiper's focus toward God and upon heavenly realities. &quot;Four bare walls and a sermon&quot; is a modern innovation foreign to historical Christianity, where even catacomb churches had iconography and decoration. Further, such iconoclasm is simply neo-gnosticism, as it abstracts Christianity into a set of vague rational assents with no real presence or impact on the physical world. Is it any wonder that so many so-called Christians go to church on Sunday, hear a flashy sermon and some power ballads (or, if it's your preference, dour hymns on a piano and an angry man in an ill-fitting suit), and then go out and live like God doesn't exist the rest of the week? That is the fruit of a version of the faith that treats Christianity like a product to be sold and consumed instead of an entire way of living (which the Orthodox practices help to cultivate.)You've never actually talked to an Orthodox priest, have you? You will find that they are quite unlike Pharisees. Stop judging on superficial, perceived similarities, and make a right judgment.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hermetic Seal, post: 1490973, member: 10915"] It's perfectly understandable when one realizes that "what the Bible teaches" actually means "what [I][B]my particular interpretation of the Bible[/B] [/I]that arose in the mid-1500s and is [I]marketed[/I] as 'what the Bible teaches'." Try again. Most Orthodox churches don't even have stained glass windows. But all of this "stuff" you mention helps to draw the worshiper's focus toward God and upon heavenly realities. "Four bare walls and a sermon" is a modern innovation foreign to historical Christianity, where even catacomb churches had iconography and decoration. Further, such iconoclasm is simply neo-gnosticism, as it abstracts Christianity into a set of vague rational assents with no real presence or impact on the physical world. Is it any wonder that so many so-called Christians go to church on Sunday, hear a flashy sermon and some power ballads (or, if it's your preference, dour hymns on a piano and an angry man in an ill-fitting suit), and then go out and live like God doesn't exist the rest of the week? That is the fruit of a version of the faith that treats Christianity like a product to be sold and consumed instead of an entire way of living (which the Orthodox practices help to cultivate.) You've never actually talked to an Orthodox priest, have you? You will find that they are quite unlike Pharisees. Stop judging on superficial, perceived similarities, and make a [I]right[/I] judgment. [/QUOTE]

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