Bradley Nassif on Orthodoxy

AndyHolland · Post by **AndyHolland** » Fri 24 March 2006 4:48 pm

St. John Chrysostom stated: "The lack of Scriptural knowledge is the source of all evils in the Church."

The Holy Bible itself speaks volumes about the Gospels, including the Gospels themselves - a few examples provided below from St. Paul, St. Peter and the Evangelists themselves:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Obedience to the Gospel is obedience to the Word of God, the Wonderful Counselor, the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Therefore, let us obey every word of the Gospel and hold the Gospel in reference as the Icon of the living God. That includes in forgiving our enemies, blessing those who hate us and spitefully use us and being gentle and lowly.

How many converts there would be in this land if we Orthodox knew the Gospels and practiced the teaching rigorously!

andy holland
sinner

Chrysostomos · Post by **Chrysostomos** » Fri 24 March 2006 4:53 pm

Andy,

St. John Chrysostom stated: "The lack of Scriptural knowledge is the source of all evils in the Church."

What is most interesting when I think about this, is that most Christians didn't have access to the Scriptures as we do today.

So what is our excuse?

Your fellow struggler in Christ,

Rd. Chrysosotmos

AndyHolland · Post by **AndyHolland** » Fri 24 March 2006 5:21 pm

Dear Chrysostomos,

We can download Scripture (for free) with concordance at various websites. Also one can get Bible on tapes and I imagine CDs.

But the best place to hear the Bible is in Church but in order to hear the whole Bible in Church, we would have to go everyday.

The thing that is so sad is that the Protestants don't have the Fathers so they interpret the Bible themselves. Yet Holy Scripture itself makes it plain that to do so is folly in many books, from Proverbs to the Epistles!

But we have the Fathers and many don't read the Bible! Also, we have gorgeous biblical expositions given in Church, but most people don't know to what they refer!

andy holland
sinner