Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Orthograph #109 - Looking for the "Real Thing"

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent. Another one for the tract rack in the narthex. (I wish.)

Apophatically Speaking said...

I have been searching for such an authentic explanation of the orthodox situation in north America. At last!

Steve Robinson said...

AS, well that was easy, you should have just asked. :)

Anonymous said...

Why is it that when folks search for "authenticity" they sometimes become more lost than they were in the first place?

Andrew said...

No, no, no! You've got it all wrong! According to the graph, our evangelical brethren are the closest to orthodoxy. Rather, the graph should be a parabola...something on the order of y = (x-4)^2.

(Yes, I know I just completely missed the point, but I couldn't resist... :D

Steve Robinson said...

Andrew, Actually if I had thought about it more, you're probably more "correct"... but not "super-correct" :) OTOH, the mindset that looks for "authenticity", as Babushkajo points out, is one that can lead to the disaster I'm graphing. BTW, whats all that x and y gibberish in your comment? :)

Anonymous said...

Is super-correct like being super-substantial?

Just trying to work up my Ortho-dictionary.

Apophatically Speaking said...

On a more serious note, I must admit I haven't firsthand run into anyone "searching for authentic orthodoxy" - now it is true it is not like I have had my radar out, on the lookout for anyone falling into this (in what I presume to be) error. Is this just my experience, or what? Perhaps I am blind, or in a good parish, or just plain dumb. Another possibility is that I alone am authentic, so I haven't seen anyone searching for it.

Ah, the wonders of mid-morning coffee

Apophatically Speaking said...

S-P,

Could you make an orthograph of my experience? On the Y axis it would be "awareness of people looking for authentic orthodoxy". As to the X axis, well that is up to you.

Ingemar said...

Before anyone enshrines "the ethnics," I don't think they care much about authentic Orthodoxy either. Otherwise, our GOA parish wouldn't have an organ.

At one point, you learn to stop caring about the nonessentials. But if I begin to see clown-subdeacons or liturgical dancers, I'm gonna convert to Islam.

Adam Sheehan said...

S-P,

Just a side note...

I have read literature produced by Othodoxy's Old Calendar segments and I found it to be much more respectable and civil than what I have read from the Traditionalist Roman Catholic segments concerning their Vatican II counterparts.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure about this one. It's very easy to be too complacent, and a certain amount of "questing" is a good thing. I think it should be more of a parabola too, like the previous poster said.

Tom

Steve Robinson said...

AS, You are blessed to be unaware of such convert shenanigans. You are probably part of an established parish and don't hang around many Orthodox discussion lists. Unfortunately 98% of my contact has been with new Mission parishes, I've moderated a couple discussion groups for over 10 years and because of my internet presence deal primarily with people who are "on a quest/journey". I also hang out at some monasteries and get to meet a lot of pilgrims. I've attended Liturgy at established parishes once in a blue moon in the past 12 years. So, (@Adam too), I deal with the radical flamethrowing goofy fringe (in both directions) of convert Orthodoxy on a regular basis. Not that EVERY convert is there, but there on a sliding scale. Some grow up, some move on, some dig in, some spin out. But yes, it is a parabola, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have SOME "questing" in us.

Alix said...

Nor are cradle orthodox immune to this proclivity--and "real orthodoxy" means to some "the way Father Tobias did it at St. (whoever's) when I was a kid.