Customer Reviews

Discovering the Rich Heritage of Orthodoxy

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Bell does an excellent job in presenting the ancient Tradition. A former Protestant himself, Bell takes up the following issues with honesty and faithfulness:1)The True Church? 2)Worship in the Church 3)What About Mary? 4)Saints Alive! 5)The Physical Side of Spirituality 6)The Eucharist 7)Scripture and Tradition 8)The Path of Spirituality. He does this in the context of his own search. This is very strongly recommended for any Prostestant who is interested (or fighting against) the Church since the author is very winsome.

If you want something more "in your face" you may want to check out Frank Schaeffer's "Dancing Alone". Bishop Kallistos Ware's "The Orthodox Way" is very readable, but it doesn't interact with Protestant theology in the same way as Bell since it is meant more for Orthodox. If you want to chew on something for a while or if your friend is more critical and needs some strong documentation, I would always go with "Common Ground: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity" by Jordan Bajis. Enjoy!

This topical book was written by the pastor of a former Vineyard church detailing the issues they encountered in their pilgrimage to Orthodoxy. I found it very helpful in my inquiries. Comparable to Gilquist's _Becoming Orthodox_, but while they both were written describing actual events in the 1970's and 1980's, this book is more brief since it omits most anecdotes, while concentrating on intellectual grappling with the issues.

As a convert to the Eastern Orthodox Church I alwas recommend this book before any others to anyone curious about Christian Orthodoxy. Fr. Charles Bell was a Presbyterian Minister who went on a year long quest to disprove the Orthodox Church and its claim to be "THE HISTORICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH" and ended up becoming an ordained Orthodox Priest. I offer this quote from the book on page 10 "Jesus said 'I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it' (Matt.16:18)".
Father Charles began to "trust more in God to lead him, rather than the devil to decieve him" as he went about his quest. I recommend Protestant(s) and Roman Catholics do the same in their own quest to cut through the heresy and hypocracy of Christian history.

The book is very readable and it will give protestants something to ponder. It will quiet any Zealous protestant because it looks at the orthodox church through protestant eyes. I doubt it will convert a hardcore western christian. But, hopefully it will help plant the seeds of orthodoxy in their spiritual lives.

Bell does an excellent job in presenting the ancient Tradition. A former Protestant himself, Bell takes up the following issues with honesty and faithfulness:1)The True Church? 2)Worship in the Church 3)What About Mary? 4)Saints Alive! 5)The Physical Side of Spirituality 6)The Eucharist 7)Scripture and Tradition 8)The Path of Spirituality. He does this in the context of his own search. This is very strongly recommended for any Prostestant who is interested (or fighting against) the Church since the author is very winsome.

If you want something more "in your face" but along the same lines, sort of, you may want to check out Frank Schaeffer'sDancing Alone: The Quest for Orthodox Faith in the Age of False Religion. Bishop Kallistos Ware's The Orthodox Way is very readable, but it doesn't interact with Protestant theology in the same way as Bell since it is meant more for Orthodox. If you want to chew on something for a while or if your friend is more critical and needs some strong documentation, I would always go with Common Ground: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity for the American Christian by Jordan Bajis. A recent addition to this discussion, from the Protestant perspective, isLight from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition which I found very useful. Enjoy!