In our ongoing blog-versation about Orthodox culture, Jonathan Kotinek asked what ”fracture lines” I see in the American Orthodox scene. He noted that in his experience, the lines tend to be political lines, which in America usually means either liberal/conservative or Democrat/Republican.
I have certainly seen those lines also, especially here in Washington state where the same-sex marriage law is causing no end of acrimony and rhetoric on all sides, in and out of church.
But when I look at what I’ve seen of Orthodoxy (and I don’t pretend to be an expert), I see lines that are much deeper and more powerful than politics. The marriage law will be in the news for a while, and then it will be replaced by some other hot-button issue, and that issue will sink under another, and another. In some ways, politics are temporary. The beliefs underpinning the politics are not temporary. Continue Reading →