"I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be better if I myself were willing to allow myself to accept a few pious fictions, if it meant no longer standing at a distance, but entering into the Mystery of Life itself."
I made the decision to do this with the traditional stories about the Theotokos. I finally decided, after being in the Church for 10 years, to just accept what the Church was teaching me about her as "true," even though every cell in my brain was saying, "Yeah, right..." in utter disbelief. Then I decided to pray an akathist to her for 40 days for a friend who was ill, and at the end of the fulfillment of this process, something inside me had changed. My mind stopped resisting and pushing against the stories about her and simply accepted them, and she also became much more real to me. It was an experience that cannot be explained logically; rather, it was a transformation of my heart - but I had to make the first move and take the first step towards her. And while my friend was not healed physically, but a few years later he was baptized into the Orthodox Church which - if you knew him - was an absolute miracle!
Saint Anthony's Monastery in Arizona published a huge tome collection of patristic writings which they say supports the toll house theory, so I don't think it has been totally rejected.
Initially I did but then around the time the plenteous initial grace god gave me upon discovering and entering the church, I began to concentrate my studies on more than just the church fathers in order to argue on behalf of Orthodoxy but in truth it eventually became about working out everything out for myself than on Christ. Now I see that in the end nothing matters outside of what brings you closer to Christ and what allows you to keep him as your heading, your North Star.
Some have claimed this, some of the early fathers / ascetics appear to have believed in it, today it’s largely dismissed, but some ascetics continue to hold the doctrine.
Jean-Claude Larchet also discusses the toll-house theory at length in his book Life After Death.
Genesis, Creation, and Early Man was a transformative read for me and it helped me to finally embrace the Orthodox Faith without needing to understand it through my modern intellectual mind.
I didn’t mean to suggest that one is wrong to embrace his books. I was trying simply to affirm his life in spite of controversy. If anything I hope you caught that was one of the main points I was trying to make as well. To not over intellectualize
"I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be better if I myself were willing to allow myself to accept a few pious fictions, if it meant no longer standing at a distance, but entering into the Mystery of Life itself."
I made the decision to do this with the traditional stories about the Theotokos. I finally decided, after being in the Church for 10 years, to just accept what the Church was teaching me about her as "true," even though every cell in my brain was saying, "Yeah, right..." in utter disbelief. Then I decided to pray an akathist to her for 40 days for a friend who was ill, and at the end of the fulfillment of this process, something inside me had changed. My mind stopped resisting and pushing against the stories about her and simply accepted them, and she also became much more real to me. It was an experience that cannot be explained logically; rather, it was a transformation of my heart - but I had to make the first move and take the first step towards her. And while my friend was not healed physically, but a few years later he was baptized into the Orthodox Church which - if you knew him - was an absolute miracle!
Saint Anthony's Monastery in Arizona published a huge tome collection of patristic writings which they say supports the toll house theory, so I don't think it has been totally rejected.
For what it’s worth, it is not possible to give yourself to Orthodoxy other than completely.
Initially I did but then around the time the plenteous initial grace god gave me upon discovering and entering the church, I began to concentrate my studies on more than just the church fathers in order to argue on behalf of Orthodoxy but in truth it eventually became about working out everything out for myself than on Christ. Now I see that in the end nothing matters outside of what brings you closer to Christ and what allows you to keep him as your heading, your North Star.
It is always tempting to take content of people’s words for the words. The truth is more than words,
I admit this is the first time I've ever heard of the toll house theory, and had to look it up. I admit it sounds very much Gnostic in origin.
Some have claimed this, some of the early fathers / ascetics appear to have believed in it, today it’s largely dismissed, but some ascetics continue to hold the doctrine.
Jean-Claude Larchet also discusses the toll-house theory at length in his book Life After Death.
Genesis, Creation, and Early Man was a transformative read for me and it helped me to finally embrace the Orthodox Faith without needing to understand it through my modern intellectual mind.
I didn’t mean to suggest that one is wrong to embrace his books. I was trying simply to affirm his life in spite of controversy. If anything I hope you caught that was one of the main points I was trying to make as well. To not over intellectualize
Yes, forgive me.
Nothing to forgive!