• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Down the Road Always be ready to give a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you 1 Peter 3:15 CrossRoad Alumni Newsletter Volume VI 2011 Conversations in a Taxicab Ivan Plis, CR July 2008 Table of Contents This is a city navigated predominantly by taxicabs, and when I climb in I’ll likely see a box containing a tiny Qur’an hanging from the rearview mirror. Street signs are far Ivan Plis 1 more likely to remind drivers to “pray for blessings upon God’s prophet” than “yield to pedestrians in crosswalk”— Paul Lundberg 2 pedestrians aren’t shown any mercy here. Knowing all this, and having been in Jordan for nearly two months Stephanie Skedros 3 strengthening my Arabic skills during the fall semester, Mary Long I thought I was preparedwhen my taxi driver asked me whether I was Muslim. The question of my religion comes Dn. Nicholas Belcher 4 up naturally after the usual topics of my nationality. Dr. Ann Bezzerides 5 “I’m Christian—Orthodox,” I replied, as I had many times Aalin Belinger before. It’s usually not an issue because most people have a few Christian neighbors or acquaintances. But Sophia Dimas 6 this time the driver, who had been quite friendly, told me without hesitation, “Well, you need to get a Qur’an and read surat Maryam, because hell is seri- Nina Savas ous.” Christopher Hondros 7 Though thinking about this very situation had become a hobby of mine, John Tsikalas I panicked. I almost wanted to take it as a compliment, since he cared enough about me to keep me from damnation. On the other hand, of course, he was John Strzelecki 8 defaming my own religious beliefs. CR June ‘08 Reunion 9 My driver mostly objected to the scandal of the incarnation, which is addressed Dr. Albert Rossi in the nineteenth chapter of the Qur’an (entitled Maryam, after the Theotokos). About Down the Road After describing the nativity of John the Baptist and Jesus, the text calls them both righteous prophets. But then, the Qur’an insists that belief in Jesus as OVM Updates 10 God’s son is “atrocious.” The book declares that “The heavens almost rupture CR Fundraiser therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation that they attribute to the Most Merciful a son” (19:89-91). in Salt Lake CR Professor Updates 11 Besides the fact that my Arabic is not good enough to defend the details of Orthodox Christology, my driver barely gave me any room to defend my own Fr. Nicholas Triantafi lou 12 side. I patiently listened to him explain how God is strictly rational, and that He would not test man’s belief so far as to beget a son. I tried feebly to explain the classical Christian distinction between “begotten” and “made,” but by that time he moved on to slandering the Pope. (cont’d on next page) 1 (cont’d from page 1) As I walked to class, I began to think about how familiar the driver’s attitude seemed: aggression, blind insis- tence, and what seemed at times like a clenched-teeth kind of paranoia. It looked like me. This is the kind of attitude I struggle constantly to recognize and root out in myself. At college, I often find myself fighting against what I see as insults against Christ and His Church. Most of the time, in fact, I’m simply getting a healthy dose of humiliation for my swollen pride. It’s not easy when we proclaim, “This is the faith of the Orthodox, this is the faith which has established the Universe,” yet we’re pointed toward an attitude of humility when presenting our life in Christ. My taxi driver can’t win me over by sheer aggression; in the same way, it’s impossible for Christians to articulate an effective apologia unless they’re first living a holy life. The disciplines and services of the Church aren’t a separate, parallel track to our life in front of the world. They’re a requirement for getting our hearts and minds in shape to face the challenges around us. (Of course, that also doesn’t let us ignore the world while we wait to get holy.) Ultimately there’s very little I could have said to appease the driver. I’m coming to understand what a real defense of the faith looks like—not impassioned words and aggressive defenses, but a humble, simple life guided by love, worthy of representing Christ’s body and doing His work. Apologia as Martyria Paul Lundberg, CR Assistant Director A few years ago, while I was a seminarian, I had the pleasure of meeting Fr. Ioan- nis, a priest from Greece who was visiting America for a few weeks. One time while I was driving him to a store, he shared with me a powerful thought about the con- cept of witness (martyria). In the early Christian period, he said, witnessing to the faith meant primarily a willingness to die for it; we easily see that connection with martyrdom in the Greek word itself. Fr. Ioannis went on to say that, after the peace of the Church and during the period of the ecumenical councils, witness primarily meant engaging in discussions and debates with theologians who promoted wrong doctrines or, in other words, articulating the faith in response to heretical ideas. Fi- nally in our own time, he said, witness means sifting through the vast amount of in- formation, knowledge, and ideas that we have at our fingertips and examining all of it with an Orthodox mindset, to discern what may be affirmed and what rejected. Wait a minute. I thought our theme here was apologia, not martyria. Well, it is, but apologia is itself a type of martyria. We generally define apologia as “defending the faith,” which presumes that it is under attack or criticism, and this can very well be the case. We have seen that very clearly in recent years in the form of the theist-atheist debates involving the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D’Souza. Indeed, we would do well to heed the words of St. Paul to Timothy: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). But I wonder sometimes if, rather than facing the heat of an outright attack, our faith is more often challenged by the lukewarmness of apathy. We read in the news that fewer and fewer people are going to Church or affiliating themselves with organized religious groups. In the face of this reality—and in general, for that matter—what is most important is not the readiness to convince others or to win the arguments. St. Peter exhorts us to be ready to give a defense, but he does not speak of debates or arguments when he writes: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). This hope—along with the joy, love, light, and life that are the fruit of the Spirit—are in my opinion the greatest de- fense, the irrefutable apology, and the most disarming argument we can give. They are the truest and best witness. 2 Faith and Works Commitment to Hope Stephanie Skedros, OVM Development Mary Long, CR Director & Public Relations “I have no On my first day working other way of for the Office of Vocation knowing what & Ministry (OVM), I re- to do morally ceived a stack of materials but how I in- featuring the work of the ternally feel. OVM as part of my orienta- That’s where tion. My bag was weighed my decisions down with Lilly Endowment come from.” grant materials, books that were assigned readings for “You know, the Muslim religion is not right for me, but it CrossRoad participants, doesn’t make it wrong for them. I just think it’s all sub- files consisting of student jective to each person. I really do think that everything workshops and faculty is pretty much subjective.” grants, and a CrossRoad DVD featuring the very first session of high school stu- “I think the last few years have made me more aware dents to take the challenge and attend CrossRoad. of [how] what’s right for me may be wrong for someone else or what’s wrong for me may be okay for some- As I began to read through the library of treasures, body else.”1 I popped the memory DVD into my TV and began to catch a glimpse into those ten days that the first Does this sound familiar? These are some of the re- CrossRoaders experienced in 2004. I still vividly re- sponses given by American young adults when asked member Director Ann Bezzerides’ closing remarks to about their religious attitudes, as cited in the recent the group: “If we only did this program for what is in publication Souls in Transition by researcher Christian your head, we never should have done this program. Smith. ‘Faith without works is dead’” (James 2:17). Their approach seems open-minded. After all, why Since that time I observed the first CrossRoad group judge someone else’s beliefs? In our society’s quest on film, I have been blessed to come to know our now to promote tolerance, diversity, and individualism, we 300 alumni, and have truly been inspired by how you place great value on relativism.

Load more

  12

Copy Link