“God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.” I saw that quote on Facebook from Bishop Demetri (Antiochian) recently. It is not his quote; it has been around several years. And, it does catch an opinion that is growing among many in the USA. But, what does it mean?
Frankly, in today’s United States of America, that would be a difficult question to answer. We are a culture descended from Dissenters. In our culture, it is the Dissenter who is assumed to be right. But, in a culture where everyone believes themselves to be descendants of the Dissenters, then who is the one who is right? When it is a badge of honor to stand up for your beliefs against all pressure and all argument, when each individual believer is presumed to have both the right and the duty to interpret Scriptures for themselves, then who dares argue that you are a spiritual nut? So, if you decide to believe that the Holy Spirit continues to teach new truths and lead the Church into new ways of understanding, who can gainsay you? On the other hand, if you wish to believe that you alone are the remnant, the true Church, and you must stand against all the vile unbelievers, particularly those found in the Church, who can disprove you?
Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions bear their own share of historical guilt in this issue about who can be believed. That is, we have helped to create some of this mess. We have, more than once in history, behaved in very anti-Christian ways. In fact, there is little doubt that Saint John the Apostle’s prophecy about many anti-Christs throughout history has shown itself to be all too true in Church history. All too many Orthodox wish to laugh gleefully and claim that the Dissenters are purely the result of Western heresy. Frankly, there is some significant truth in that statement. But, it is also all too true that the way into the Church (Orthodoxy) is partially barred by our behavior in the past. From 1881-1884 massive anti-Jewish pogroms swept through various parts of Russia. The 1903-1906 pogroms were worse with at least 2,500 Jews killed in Odessa alone. Thus, it should not be surprising that the way into the Church is barred by the very history of the Church.
In America, our cry for individual responsibility means that all too many in the USA cannot possibly understand why the past has anything to do with the present. After all, it may be true that our ancestors committed such crimes, but we have learned better. How could people possibly be upset with the Church for events that happened back in the past? As we like to say (both Orthodox and non-Orthodox), “those people were not truly Christian.” And, yet, in saying that we set ourselves up. The old saying is that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The even older saying is the Biblical condemnation by Jesus about those who are the “sons of those who murdered the prophets.” When we fail to acknowledge that the sin of our various ancestors is also the sin that is prevalent inside of each of us, then we set ourselves up for repeating the particular sin for which our portion of Christianity is most known.
I do not have an answer for the conundrum of religious nuts in America. I do not have an answer because none of us can appeal to the type of unblemished history that would allow us to speak with the surety that our pronouncements will be accepted. Our trenchant, combative, statements are not well received because of our history. So, I have no answer except to continue to speak the Gospel and to point to Jesus and His Church. And, when necessary, to continue to accept without complaint the negative statements that are made, knowing that a spirit of repentance for the past is truly God’s will.
Out of that speaking, sharing, and demonstrating by both word and deed, it is my hope that the Lord will speak to the hearts and minds of those who are listening. Out of that listening, I pray that he may speak clearly so as to silence the religious nuts so that the Church can bear spiritual fruit.
What about ducks and kitsune? 😉
I regret to say that your opening graphic immediately stared me humming “Music machine, music machine….”
Father Orthoduck has always wondered how a kitsune manages to keep track of 9 tails at the same time. Don’t they get a bit tangled up?
Well this one only has 3 lol.. but I imagine nine must be a weight on the butt 😉
As a Brony, let’s see how many of the fruits listed at the top correspond to the Elements of Harmony from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:
Love — No one-to-one correspondence, but Magic IS established as the Element of Harmony which holds all the others together, so partially Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic
Peace — No exact correspondence, but a collective result of Harmony as opposed to Discord
Faithfullness — Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty
Joy — Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter
Goodness — No exact correspondence, but see comments on Love & Peace above
Gentleness — Fluttershy, Element of Kindness
Patience — honored more in the breach than in the observance (especially by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and the three little fillies)
Self-Control — no exact correspondence, but mostly honored (though all the ponies have had breakdowns on-camera)
Kindness — Fluttershy, Element of Kindness
Let’s see, that’s the Elements of Loyalty, Laughter, Kindess, and with a little stretch, Magic.
I can find no exact correspondence for:
* Rarity, Element of Generosity
* Applejack, Element of Honesty
Whenever I hear the phrase – religious nut- I think of carrie whites mom and Ive known a few like her – no . Im not joking but I wish I was. You are right though, spiritual fruit is what counts — know them by there fruits etc. The good fruits interpret the scripture one way, the bad eggs see it differently and it all goes wrong,
The past is not that different to the present though. Some people get it wrong and other end up suffering. History is now and we are the ones who are building it, lets just hope that future generations dont remember us to badly