#046 An Ancient, Yet Fresh Look at The Cross of Christ, The “Race to Relevance” Among Competing Churches, and Why We Lust After the “Angry God” Concept with Frederica Mathewes-Green
A few weeks back, I featured Gary Greenfield on the podcast to discuss his journey of discovering “Orthodox” Christianity after spending most of his adult life in the rank and file Protestant denominations.
Well, I was so interested in what Gary had to say, I began to do some investigating of various books and resources about Orthodox Christianity. One of the books I came across is Two Views of the Cross: Orthodoxy and the West, written by our guest on today’s episode, Frederica Mathewes-Green.
Frederica is an incredibly gifted writer, and I couldn’t recommend more strongly you grab a copy today if what is shared in Gary’s or this podcast is of even a slight interest to you.
The book centers on two separate paintings depicting the crucifixion of Christ. One shows him ultimately victorious; the other hopelessly defeated. From this springs a vibrant discussion on how the Orthodox view of the cross and of our responsibility toward God is quite different from commonly accepted views within modern Christianity.
I was very grateful that Frederica agreed to join me for an interview. And I don’t think we even scratched the surface of all there is to discuss from her book, even in a nearly 90 minute interview, so it’s all the more reason to purchase a copy for yourself!
In this discussion with Frederica, you’ll discover:
-Frederica’s spiritual journey from idealistic hippy to knowing God…03:30
-Lying is the death of reality…07:15
-War is hell on earth…09:30
-How Frederica discovered and embraced Orthodox Christianity…10:40
-Why young men particularly are disenchanted with the “coddling” modern churches, and embrace Orthodoxy…15:15
-The problem of “the race to relevance” among churches in any given locale…19:50
-The forsaken man and the venerated “single mother”…24:00
-How a Greek word meaning “divine energy” validated James’ formulation of the C.R.A.V.E. acronym…33:15
-Controversy behind translating the Hebrew Scripture into Greek, and then back into Hebrew…39:15
-Why aren’t native English speakers forced to learn Greek to learn the Bible?…46:45
-Doctrinal problems with mainline Protestant thought…51:30
-Orthodox (and most likely obscure) perspectives on common Bible stories…56:00
-Ways in which the crucifixion is depicted visually throughout history (re: two views of the cross), and how this informs one’s theology and understanding of atonement…01:00:30
-Is sin a disease that needs to be healed, or a debt that needs to be repaid?…01:08:00
-How our individual sin contributes to the sinful world at large in which we live…01:12:00
-Why are we so inclined to embrace an image of God that is prone to anger and judgment?…01:18:00
-And much more!
Resources mentioned:
Two Views of the Cross: Orthodoxy and the West by Frederica Mathewes-Green
The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity by Leon Podles
Men and Marriage by George Gilder
About the guest:
I write and speak on a wide range of topics. In recent years I’ve concentrated on ancient Christian spirituality and the Eastern Orthodox faith, but the hundreds of Posts and Essays on this site include movie reviews, humor, marriage and family, cultural issues, and more. Essays can be browsed by date or category, or you can use the search box at the right.
The most recent posts are below. Here’s where you’ll find my published Books.
I travel to Speaking Engagements all year round; you can contact Cynthia Damaskos of the Orthodox Speakers Bureau if you’d like to bring me to an event. This Calendar will let you know when I’m in your neighborhood.
Audio: Here’s where you’ll find many of my commentaries for National Public Radio (NPR), though others have been filed away under many different creative misspellings of my name. I have recorded a podcast for Ancient Faith Radio since 2007.
Video: For Beliefnet.com, I recorded brief videos on my conversion to Christ, the Christ of Sinai icon, the spiritual discipline of fasting, and the evil one.
There’s a link in the sidebar where you can sign up for my mailing list, and you can find me onFacebook too.
I’m always glad to hear from readers. You can contact me by email here.”