Gives Roman Catholics a profound understanding of the Orthodox Chruch. Also provides insights as to the reasons the two churches are not in commuion with one another.
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74 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christian Orthodoxy Vs. The Gospel According to Rome.,
By zonaras (Jimbo's House of Pie) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Truth: What Every Roman Catholic Should Know About the Orthodox Church (Faith Catechism) (Paperback)
Clark Carlton's _The Truth: What Every Roman Catholic Should Know About the Orthodox Church_ is a layman's text that relates the key theological stances between Rome and Orthodoxy that hinder their reunion. Specifically, it is written to explain why the two Churches are not likely to reunite in the foreseeable future. When I picked up this volume, noting that it was published by Frank Schaeffer's Regina Orthodox Press, I expected a rather numb-skull one-sided polemic written against Roman Catholicism in the same style evangelical/fundamentalist Protestants tend to treat their theological opponents. I was surprised that this book kept this to a minimum and remained relatively objective, while presenting its information in a very accessible manner. The central differences between the Catholics and Orthodox since the schism in 1054 involve the following:
1) The Byzantine Empire and its Church-State relationship. The official seat of the Roman Empire was moved from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium across the Bosporous from Asia Minor and renamed Constantinople by Constantine the Great. The Church in the Empire operated independently from the secular authority of the Roman Emperor, at least in theory. On many occasions the Emperor tried to influence Church doctrine and policy for Imperial ends, but the ideal relationship was one where the Church and Emperor fulfilled their respective sacred and secular duties. The Papacy, on the other hand, developed into an autonomous secular power in Italy. It was gradually, after 800 AD, integrated into the feudal structure of the Germanic kingdoms. Carlton notes that before the schism, as the "Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman nor an Empire," the Roman Catholic Church was "neither Roman nor Catholic." Most of the Roman popes of the pre-schism time period were in fact Germans and puppets of the Frankish kings, such as the noted Gregory VII. "Catholic" is better understood in the sense that it means "complete/whole" rather than "universal." The Byzantine Greeks, on the other hand maintained an identity where they defined themselves as "Romanoi" or the Romans. 2) Doctrinal statements about the Holy Trinity and especially the Filioque addition to the Nicene Creed. A major controversy erupted between Latin and Greek prelates over the addition of "and the Son" to the part of the Creed relating to the Procession of the Holy Spirit. The Greeks refused to add the Filioque to the Creed as it was obviously a misunderstood addition made by a local synod in Spain. Pope John VIII actually repudiated the addition to the Creed as blasphemous in dialogue with the Greeks. However, later Latin popes and theologians continued its use. 3) Salvation. The Orthodox maintain a less legalistic, Augustinian position regarding salvation than to the Catholics. Salvation comes to man through participation in God's uncreated grace in a process of _theosis_ (deification) or becoming like God. The Fathers drew a popular analogy: that of iron heated in a furnace. Man is like the iron, becoming heated by the fire but not actually becoming the fire itself. The Roman Catholic doctrine places an emphasis on sin, guilt and expiation. The Orthodox do not believe that mankind inherited Adam's guilt through sexual intercourse but only Adam's fallen nature, which is universal to humanity. The doctrine of Purgatory is also denied. 4) The nature and organization of the Church. This remains a very important issue for all Christian churches. The Roman Catholics devised a system of papal control over the entire Church from the dark ages that reached its apex at the Vatican I council declaring the Infallibility of the Pope. The Catholic bishops are reduced in status as mere "vicars of the pope." The Orthodox adheres to a more collegial tradition of episcopal authority where no single Bishop is in charge of the entire Church. Individuals can err, so the Catholics are in a quandary when the popes err, the majority of the believers and bishops can err, yet the Church, as an organic whole, cannot. 5) The veneration of Mary. The Roman Church adheres to a "super-human" vision of Mary that manifests itself in the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. The Immaculate Conception, which states that Mary was born without original sin, serves to separate Mary from the rest of humanity and makes her in fact the "great exception" rather than the "great exemplar." In my opinion, Marian devotions in many cases seem to border on a type of pagan Goddess worship. Mary has almost become a person of the Trinity in her own right amongst the Catholics. This is especially apparent, as noted by Carlton, in the recent drive among various Catholics to have the pope declare Mary to "Coredemptrix," i.e. Co-Redeemer along with Christ. Carlton also takes a very negative view regarding recent Marian apparitions (like Fatima and Lourdes) as possible demonic deceptions and false prophecy. Carlton's last chapter addresses evangelicals who are considering conversion to either Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy in order to be in a more historically grounded Christian tradition. He reiterates many of the arguments above. The book also has three appendices consisting of various official statements of Orthodox bishops on specific Catholic doctrines such as the Filioque and why the Orthodox are not interested in reuniting with Rome for theological reasons.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A polemical work that nevertheless points out some hard truths.,
By Robert Badger (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Truth: What Every Roman Catholic Should Know About the Orthodox Church (Faith Catechism) (Paperback)
This book points out for Roman Catholics the proverbial elephant in the living room, the nasty secret that most in the post-Vatican II age of ecumenical optimism, would dare consider. This secret is that there really is a great deal that separates Orthodoxy from Catholicism and that these are not matters of semantics but very fundamental realities which cannot quickly or easily be overcome.
Dr. Carlton's work lacks much of the finesse of Bishop Kallistos Ware's work. He is says many things that Bishop Kallistos says, especially regarding the very real differences between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, he says them extremely bluntly. This is a rather polemical book at times, but its value is in saying from the Orthodox side in the blunt terms we rarely hear from the Catholic side. There are very real and fundamental differences between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. These differences will not easily be overcome and the enthusiasm of certain ecumenists I feel is seriously misguided. The filioque is not a minor thing nor is the way in which it was implemented. Orthodox practices with regards to divorce and remarriage are not minor from the Catholic standpoint. The powers and jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic are not unimportant to the Orthodox. They touch on ecclesiological questions which are fundamental to the understanding of what the church actually is. Certain understandings of sacramental theology differ greatly between the Orthodox and the Catholics. I am a Roman Catholic. Dialogue will get nowhere unless it is based on truth. And it is meaningless unless it is open and honest.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book for a narrow audience,
By
This review is from: Truth: What Every Roman Catholic Should Know About the Orthodox Church (Faith Catechism) (Paperback)
Clark Carlton, a former Baptist preacher who became Orthodox and then a respected scholar and theologian, has developed a series of books tailored to outside lay people interested in the Eastern Orthodox church.
This opus, THE TRUTH, is, as is evident from its subtitle, tailored specifically to Roman Catholic layity. It will not be of great value to Protestants or non-Christians, although those inside Orthodoxy will find it a good reverse way to learn a bit more about the Roman church. Carlton competently covers the historic and theological differences between the two main branches of Christianity (sorry, Protestants, but world-wide you are a rather distant third). He might have spent more pages describing the gradual evolution of priestly celibabcy or papal authority in the West, but if he had, this would no longer be a concise book. Carlton truly focuses on the sacramental, administrative, and doctrinal differences between the two Christian bodies. Catholics might be surprised to find how recently their church formalized doctines such as Papal infallibility or the immaculate conception and might also find raised eyebrows at just how many points of difference there are between them and what the current Pope refers to as a "sister church." Whether the reader is considering conversion or merely researching or just plain curious, The Truth is a good place to start reading. For my own money, I would supplement but not supplant Carlton's volume with a read Father Thomas Hopko's paper "Roman presidency and Christian Unity in Our Time" (September, 2005).
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