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the Church today, we find that the more inclusive
and socially “progressive” a Christian organization
or denomination becomes, the more these groups seem
to distance themselves from the traditions and
long-established teachings concerning the core of
the Christian faith.
In light of this common phenomenon, we find, on one
hand, strands of teaching in the Church which preach
love, compassion, inclusion, and “progressive”
social politics, but which shy away from, and even
seek to deconstruct core Christian beliefs such as
the divinity of Christ, or the reality of his
Resurrection.
On the other hand, we can find those who staunchly
adhere to and profess a sort of “orthodoxy,” who
have memorized and profess the creeds and councils
of the Christian faith, but for whom this orthodoxy
has become an end in and of itself, rather than a
means towards deeper and fuller love of God and
neighbor. How are we as faithful
believers in Jesus Christ to navigate this tension
in the Christian Church?
The Importance of Orthodoxy
The English word orthodoxy derives from the Greek
word orthodoxia. The first part of this word
ortho- means “right” or “correct.” The second
part, doxia, denotes belief or worship.
Therefore, the word orthodoxy, in its roots, refers
to RIGHT BELIEF AND WORSHIP.
The importance of orthodox belief is grounded in
Scripture, Tradition, and also the writings of the
Desert Fathers and Mothers, but it finds its root in
Christ’s commission to the Church,
found in both Matthew and Mark:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, to the close of the age." (Matthew
28:19-20)
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned…” (Mark 16:16-18)
Because of these commands of Christ, for many
Christians, the importance of preaching orthodox
Christian belief is
central to our commission as ministers
and followers of the
Christ. For this reason, the
Church has gathered in councils
dating back to the
beginning of the Church (i.e. The Council of
Jerusalem in the first century, Acts 15) to
clarify what we believe as a body
of believers, to establish unity in our
teaching, and also to
reject those teachings
which are found to be harmful and misleading. But
Christ calls us beyond orthodoxy…
The Importance of
OrthopraxisWe already know that
ortho- in Greek means right or correct. The
root of praxis, however,
means practice or action;
therefore, we can
understand orthopraxis to
denote
RIGHT ACTION AND PRACTICE. We can
believe all the right things intellectually and
conceptually, but belief without action,
belief without love the Scriptures tell us,
is dead, for St. James writes:
“So faith by itself, if it has no works, is
dead. You see that a man is justified by works and
not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also
Rahab the harlot justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another
way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead,
so faith apart from works is dead.” (James
2:17,24-25)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that when he
comes again in glory he will separate the nations
like a shepherd separating his sheep and goats—the
sheep will inherit the Kingdom of God, and the goats
shall be cast away. But how does Christ say that he
will divide them? Will he distinguish the inheritors
of the Kingdom of God by those who
simply call out his name,
or who merely profess he
is Lord. No! For Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not
every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of
my Father who is in heaven.” And likewise, in
Christ’s parable, the sheep are denoted as those of
us who feed the hungry, who give drink to the
thirsty, who visit the stranger, who clothe the
naked, who visit the sick and those
in prison
(Matthew 25:31-46). For here we
find that believing in Christ must be embodied and
incarnate in our lives.
Therefore...
Inclusive Orthodoxy seeks
a revitalization of the faith, which is both
orthodox in theology and grounded in the progressive message of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ—a message of love, a proclamation
of hope for the oppressed, an invitation towards
all
regardless
of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
We are calling for the Church to extend its
inclusivity upon the foundation of Christian
orthodoxy, and to embrace the radical
implications of the Gospel message, not despite
Scripture and Tradition, but in light of it.
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