Restorationists (and other Protestants gone defensive) often refer to themselves, Samir says, as a remnant. This remnant language is common in the Bible. For those who need consolation for small numbers, it's an attractive blanket to wrap up in: we're not small because we're ineffective, or lazy, or ingrown, or otherwise unattractive; we're small because we're a faithful remnant! Everyone else has comprimised. They're taking the easy way. We're the few, the committed, the faithful, the proud. (Oops.) Anyway, Samir has seen a lot of this remnant thinking in restorationist territory; he sees how destructive it is.
He was preaching the stories of Moses in Exodus, where God seeks to "renegotiate the contract" with Abraham's descendants in light of their repeated unfaithfulness. God says that he will abandon the Israelites at large and will let Moses become the patriarch of a new people of God. In other words, Moses represents the remnant; he's the only faithful one left. What does Moses do?
In a stunning move, Moses says, "God, blot me out. Reject me. Don't reject the people." This loyalty wins God's heart, and on Moses' behalf, God relents from rejecting the Israelites.
Excerpt taken from Brian D. McClaren's book "a Generous Orthodoxy"
Could it be, that a certain group of Orthodox Christians have embrace the same mentality that has caused division within the Protestant Churches? It has spread over into Orthodoxy and is manifesting itself with more and more divisions and splits over various issues. Remnants being created from other "Remnant Churches". Why don't we see those "remnant" churches doing what Moses did? We don't. We see them exhibiting the same nature as those "Protestant" remnants.
Some words to ponder....
Your fellow struggler in Christ,
Rd. Chrysostomos
