The problem with Eastern Orthodoxy and the Western church
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| Reviewed version of Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Given that foundational caution, however, the book can be a helpful introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy. The first two chapters list reasons why Western Christians ought to study the Eastern church and provide a brief sketch of Eastern church history. The next four chapters are the heart of the book, each one focusing on a main area of Eastern theology and tradition that Western Christians often find to be strange. The first is the apophatic approach to knowing God, which derides logic and rational analysis and exalts unknowable mystery. The second is icons, contrasting the Western church’s emphasis on words with the Eastern accent on images. The third focuses in on Scripture and church tradition. Here the West is said to treat theological authority as “dogmatic and external,” while the East views it as “pneumatic and internal.” And the fourth concept is that of theosis, or the deification of humanity. Clendenin attempts to smooth the ground between it and the Protestant doctrine of union with Christ.
The final chapter is a parting call for mutual understanding between East and West by employing the “Hermeneutic of Love.” While the author admits “we must at some point tackle the question of ‘what exactly is the truth of the gospel,” ’ one wishes that he would have done this before giving the three “siblings” a group hug. Please handle with theological care.
(1999). Tabletalk Magazine, June 1999: Does the Sun Set in the East?, 62.
