No one can remain faithful to Christ simply out of their own will and actions- without Christ we can do nothing. None of us can know if it will be given to us to be faithful to the end, nor to whom it will be given.
I agree, George. But, I am speaking with a faith in Christ that I will not deny Him. I understand what you're saying. I am not being self-righteous. I'm saying it with faith in Christ. Perhaps, I should have added that. St. Peter didn't have the Holy Spirit with him at that moment. That came during Pentecost. We live 2000 years after the fact. We should know better. We've had so many saints as examples to teach us to have courage...although I know that Tom will disagree since he has brought his protestant beliefs along with him, when they should have blown to the West with his other misgivings, during is catechisms...during the prayer of denouncing satan.
I have reason to believe that Joanna is quite young. I remember being young and idealistic too, don't you? I was sure it was my destiny to change the world. We learn the "Royal Path" gradually, little by little, occassionally slipping off the road, and taking wrong turns, honestly believing it's the right way until we get bogged in the mud and we cry out to Christ to rescue us.
George, I'm 38, but thank you for your support. I have made many wrong turns...it's because of those wrong turns and coming back that has convinced me that this is the one confession that I cannot deny. God has been with me through everything and I will not get into details, but trust me when I say that I have gone through much tribulation in my faith. But, it all came down to the simple fact of trusting in Christ and never denying Him. I would give all my support and help to a friend. I would bend over backwards for them. So spiritually, I would also do that for Christ...afterall, He brought me to Him. So I believe that He will be there to give me the strength to confess Him..
Tom,
She is of the age where she should certainly know better than to make such blanket pronouncements.
As to my simple explanation above...I am NOT speaking blindly about my faith. I do understand the meaning of not having trust in ourselves and praying to God, for His support, so that He will give us courage. I still feel that way. I pray to God for His strength in order to endure whatever may befall me. I am not stating this out of blind pride. But, I just cannot state that I don't believe in Him. I just can't.
Yes we do. Correction is a blessing.
I agree. But, this is not one of those times. I've already admitted when I have been corrected. If I can do that, then I am admitting when I am wrong. And I can admit when I am wrong. I'm not being a fanatic...I just can't deny Christ. When I have heard someone talking against Christ, then I can't keep silent. I have to state my belief, because to keep silent would be like agreeing with whoever was making their statement and I can't keep silent about it. So yes...I do "shoot off my mouth" when it comes to that. Perhaps the issue is that I don't state things so diplomatically.
Gimme a fricken' break! You are equating dissapointing your parents and friends with being a martyr? I guess if you limit the definition as simply confessing belief that Jesus is the Christ, with the consequences being "dissapointing" someone -- then I also am a martyr.
No the reasoning is that my parents are a very close personal issue for me. At the time, I was coming to know about Orthodoxy and I believed in the history and the saints. It was a completely foreign issue for me. It was scary to transend all that I knew growing up and plunge into the depths of this new spiritual conscience. I was not my own person...I was the daughter of my parents. When I told them about converting to the Orthodox faith, my legs were shaking. I was defying my parents' authority which I was raised to follow. Although, I was 27 when I was catechised, I was still very scared about defying my parents, but I felt that this was the absolute right thing to do. Orthodoxy was such a new concept. I had never known about it and my parents were totally oblivious to it. My parents were very, very angry about my actions. I don't know if you can understand being emotionally influenced by family memebers. They said things to me that I do not want to repeat. But, I kept my focus and continued my path. Over time, I grew more confident about being an individual. I moved out of the house around the same time that I told them I converted, because living there would have been unbearable. Moving out made me feel like an individual. Like it was my life. Perhaps, Tom, you may not understand what I went through, but it was a big step for me to break away. I still see them and they still refuse to talk about anything(even 10 years later). My mother especially gets upset during the fasting times when I can't eat meat with them.
So, it's not a simple matter of just disappointing my parents. There has been a schism within my family....between me and my parents. And I don't know about YOUR relationship with your parents, but mine has been a difficult one. I wasn't exaggerating when I said that they were ashamed of me. And they weren't really religious people either. They just seemed to sense the difference more when I converted.
So the fact that I had gone through all this dilemma with my parents, which by the way made me sick to my stomach...do you think that I wouldn't be so adament to confess Christ to people I don't know? Even to death? There is noting else that I value in this world. It's all bogus.
The saints are my example. Oh yeah, I forgot...you don't believe in the saints, right? How can a so-called Orthodox person not believe in the saints that lived and died for the faith? I guess that is your protestant baggage. I, personally, have no catholic baggage. If I can defy my parents, I can defy anybody else who is a papist. When I blew 3 times to the West...I blew all that baggage with it.
In Christ,
Joasia
