"Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God: for it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and selfishness that have chilled his faith."
- Thomas Merton
Orthodox Religion
Orthodox Means "Established".
In The United States Today... Catholicism and Protestantism are the two Most Prominent Orthodox Religions. In other parts of the World... there is Islam, Judaism, Hinduism... and to some extent Buddhism... to name a few.
Regardless of Which Orthodox Religion one is Referring to though... the same "Problem" is Facing Them All: They have become more or less "Irrelevant"... Mainly Serving the Interests of The Religious Institutions Themselves... and the Whims of Social and Political Forces... with Power and Money!
Throughout History... Orthodox Religion has been used as Tool of the State. Indeed, for most of recorded history... The "State" and "Religion" was for all practical purposes "One and the Same". The Church "Was" the Governing Body! It wasn't until Martin Luther in the early 16th Century courageously and defiantly stood up and proclaimed that the "Individual did not need the Clergy to Communicate with God"... that the separation of Church and State started to become a Social Reality. This instigated the beginning of the Protestant Reformation... and the steady decline of "Church Rule" in Matters of State.
When I was young... I Remember My Mom using The Phrase Many Times... "Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater". When I consider The Condition of Orthodox Religion Today... and What We as a Society are to do with Established Religion... It seems that the Phrase is Very Appropriate.
For a Better Informed & Involved Public...
Lonnie J. Burris Activist & Concerned Citizen
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