A Journey of Fear & Joy
Somehow we’ve missed this one. The author reports that he first came into St. Seraphim Bookstore in 1992–a couple of nuns ago. Though, I did meet him later. More to the point–this is a very well written book on approaching the Orthodox Church from the perspective of Protestants of the “restored church” background. Unlike many conversion stories, the author does not give an experiential, blow-by-blow account, but focuses on the questions he needed to have answered, before becoming Orthodox. For those as ignorant as I was about the “restored church” this is a Protestant school of thought that believes that if they can just accept the Bible as it is written then they will achieve unity with all Christians and will reestablish the ancient church which somehow founderd shortly after the last apostle died. Craton, admits without any acrimony or polemic that this was an eceedingly naive idea and the result of relying on sola scriptura has been–2600 different Protestant sects in this country alone. And he points out the inconsistencies of this perspective in a a good humored way–not as a criticism of those who gave him his faith in Christ. Nevertheless, there are many assumptions that need to be tackled–like the authority of tradition, infant baptism, the priesthood etc. And there are the major inconsistencies such as accepting the Bible completely as literal truth except for where Christ promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church.
We don’t have this book yet be we plan to carry it. It is a very good beginner book for answering questions and concerns of former Protestants. It is not specifically a catechetical work, but it clears the ground so that the inquirer may approach the church with a fuller understanding.
Tags: Oswin Craton, Path to Orthodoxy, restored church, St. Seraphim