And so it begins….

Welcome to the inaugural post to my blog, Resurrecting Orthodoxy.

Six years ago, while I was still a teacher at a small Christian school, I had started a blog entitled Resurrected Orthodoxy, in which I hoped to write on how Christianity speaks to various issues that confront our society today. The reason why I started the blog was because I was a Worldview teacher, and it was my job to not only teach Bible classes, but to also introduce my students to the basics of Church history and the flow of Western cultural and philosophical thought, so that they would be in a better position to understand and address societal issues today.

In the course of those six years, I learned quite a lot by writing that blog. Nevertheless, due to a number of hardships that I have gone through, this past January I felt it was time to close down that blog. It had run its course.

It has now been seven months, and I am going to give it another go. I’ve changed the name of my blog, though, from Resurrected Orthodoxy to Resurrecting Orthodoxy. The reason for the change is something that hopefully will become evident in the course of my posts. For now, I’ll just say this. “Resurrected” implies that the hard part is over; it implies almost a sort of triumphalism. Well, the truth is that although Christ has conquered death, I haven’t yet. Therefore, “Resurrecting” speaks more to the process and journey that entails salvation. God has given me life, and I must find a way to live it out in the midst of a world where not only physical death is inevitable, but where we witness the death of dreams every day. It’s hard, because we are called to follow Christ while our wounds are still fresh. This blog is going to be my attempt to walk that journey once again.

Orthodoxy?

Although I am officially a member of the Orthodox Church, when I speak of “Orthodoxy,” I am not simply referring to Eastern Orthodoxy. I am referring to the fundamentals of the Christian faith that all Christians, regardless of their denomination, share. If you will, I am referring to the fundamental worldview of Christianity that has been there throughout Church history.

I grew up in the Assemblies of God church, and have been a Christian my entire life. The thing about growing up Assemblies of God, though, is that when it comes to Church history, there is nothing. I knew absolutely nothing about the history of the Church. Consequently, as I was growing up there were a number of things I heard in sermons and in youth groups that, for some reason I couldn’t explain, just didn’t seem right…but I had no frame of reference to articulate what seemed off, and certainly no context to even begin to gain clarity.

It was the summer after my junior year in high school that I picked up Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer. My real Christian journey had begun. I eventually found my way to the Orthodox Church. I remember the first time I set foot in an Orthodox service, a voice in my head said, “This is home.”

The interesting thing, though, is that once I became Orthodox, I actually felt more at ease and “at home” in other churches as well. To be honest, I never felt “at home” in church while I was growing up, because something was missing—it was, as I now know, a basic understanding of the Church. Why Assemblies of God? Why Baptist? Why Lutheran? Why Catholic? What’s the difference? I simply didn’t know or understand, and that lack of understanding what the Church was caused me to not really feeling at home in any particular church.

In addition, I simply had a lot of questions about my faith, about the Bible, and about how I was supposed to live my life. But the thing was, as I suspect is the case with many Christians, all the answers I was given seemed pretty superficial and shallow: “You just gotta believe, even though you can’t prove it;” “Read your Bible every day, it’s God’s Word;” “Be a good person: don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t have sex until marriage.”

Sadly, doesn’t that more or less sum up the majority of what an Evangelical Christian kid is taught growing up? Does that really encompass all of Christianity, really? Of course not…but sadly, that’s the extent of what most churches seem to offer. Yes, that’s an over-generalization, but I hope you get my point.

That being said, my Christian journey has not only led me to Eastern Orthodoxy, but it has also led to me to many writers and thinkers across the spectrum of Christianity who have influenced me tremendously. They have enriched my faith and challenged me on a number of levels. And in doing so, they have given me a much better understanding of not only the Christian faith, but also of the world today.

My Christian faith, my resurrecting orthodoxy, cannot be compartmentalized into a separate sphere of “religious belief.” It is not “sacred,” as opposed to “secular,” because I’ve come to realize that everything, even the secular, can be made sacred when offered up to God. It informs my political leanings, although it should never be confused with politics. It helps me see the beauty of truth in all types of art, music, and literature. It challenges me and sharpens my mind as I study the Bible, theology, and philosophy. And all of that—all of it—make up my life, and I hope my life bears witness to the reality of the resurrecting orthodoxy of the Christian faith.

The Scope of Resurrecting Orthodoxy

Now what does that all mean? I’m not entirely sure! All I know is that I have to share, I have to speak of what I know…and hopefully that will strike a chord with others.

What I will cover in this blog is a variety of topics. I will share posts on Spirituality and Biblical Studies, as well as posts on Literature and Poetry. I will occasionally share my thoughts on modern culture and political issues, and I will also try to give some book reviews of some of the most influential books I’ve read in my life. Occasionally, I will go back in my Resurrected Orthodoxy vault, and re-post something from my previous blog, no doubt with revisions.

I also want to have an open forum, and answer any questions you may have about the Bible, Christianity, or current events. I want this to be a place where you can come to get intellectually challenged and spiritually enriched.

If that sounds intriguing, follow my blog, leave comments, and tell others. If that sounds like it might be a bit dull, all I can say is that if you could ever speak to any of my students over the years, they will testify to the fact that my classes were not boring! I do not intend for this blog to be boring either.

So please, make this blog a regular stop in your internet travels. I intend to post something 2-4 times a week.

Joel