Foreword
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Forward to the Introduction
When I set foot on the path of discovery, I did not know where it would lead. It had its beginnings in my early twenties, when as an agnostic, leaning towards Deism, I discovered the trap of "elenlightened" philosophy — Jesus without divinity was no more important than any other philosopher, and His wisdom was, in the end, human, no matter how " enlightened" it might seem. At about this time, I married a woman of Baptist upbringing who was a devout believer and regular churchgoer. Despite her repeated appeals, I was uninterested in organized religion, which I felt was stifling to my intellectual interests. God clearly had other ideas.
In the early 80's, when an individual having any technical computer skills was in serious demand, I dropped out of college and went to work for Prime Computer (now defunct). As I rose through the ranks at various companies, my lack of a degree became a small but annoying hindrance to career advancement. For this reason, I registered at Elmhurst College, not realizing that even for a computer science degree, they required a theology course for graduation. Being headstrong, and not wishing to put off something that I was sure I would hate, I chose to enroll in a theology course immediately, so as to get it out of the way. The course was on theodicy, and it was there that I discovered my passion for theology as an intellectual pursuit. Since my experience was such that a degree in computer science was not strictly necessary, I changed my major to history (another passion) and my minor to theology.
At this point, with two children, the pressure from my wife to join a church was great, and on the advice of Mark Agnini, my first (and favorite, for he challenged me greatly) theology professor, we began attending a Lutheran Church (ELCA). It was there, through the teaching of Mike Bentz, a layman, I discovered God and the true nature of theology: love of God, not just a study of God. In time, due to circumstances in that church, as well as strong leanings to the conservative reformed doctrines of Calvin, I moved on to an independent, reformed Bible Church. It was here that I learned a love for the Scriptures, and began to see the meaning of serving and loving God, and came to a truly reformed theological stance.
In time, though, problems arose. Having continued my studies at Elmhurst, as well as in Church, together with deep study of the Scriptures, I began to find problems with the reformed system. Things just did not line up. I did not realize at the time, but what I was discovering was the ancient faith, grounded in the Scriptures, as interpreted by the Church Fathers. I knew I was looking for something, but I did not know what it was, nor where to find it. I knew for sure, though, that it did not lay in the Roman Church, for my study of history, theology and the Scriptures had shown me that she had erred. But where could I find a church that had not made those same errors? Did one exist?
About a year before this, an elder of Grace Church (where I was attending) had introduced A to me. He was a member of the same reformed church that needed a job, and the elder thought that I might be in a position to hire him. I did so, and we worked together for about a year while these questions were percolating, though unexpressed. At about the time my issues finally came to a point where they had to be expressed, I hired an old friend, Ted Fahey, to work in my group as well. What I did not know at the time was that my friend Ted was becoming Orthodox, due to his marriage to a young lady who was Orthodox from birth. Just three months after hiring him, I left that company to take a new position with greater responsibility, and shortly thereafter, A began to try to convince Ted to leave the Holy Church and to accept the reformed position.
During the course of their discussions, A began to ask me questions about theological issues that he did not quite grasp, and I tried to explain them as best I could. Ultimately, I asked for a copy of the book that A and Ted were debating: The Way, by Clark Carlton. In reading this book, as well as another one provided by Ted, Common Ground, by Jordan Bajis, I discovered that the Church I was looking for did exist! And frankly, A, via our lengthy discussions and debates, was instrumental in leading me to the Orthodox faith! It was in these discussions that I became convinced of the errors of the reformed position and the truth of Holy Orthodoxy.
Very shortly thereafter, through lengthy personal and email discussions with the Very Reverend Fr. William Caldaroni of Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church, my family and I became catechumens in the Holy Church, and were Chrismated in November of 1998. In June of 2000, I was ordained to the Subdiaconate by His Grace, Bishop +DEMETRI.
In the end, the pne thing that the elders of my old church failed to grasp, no matter how I tried to explain it, was that I did not join the church and agree to accept all of her doctrines. The Church accepted me because I already believed what she taught, and that I had come to those positions through the careful and prayerful study of Scripture.
This abbreviated story does not contain all of the detail, but is meant to give an indication of why I write this treatise. A continues to this day to try to lead me astray, and will not yield. His repeated missives have now led me to write this thorough refutation of his position. A complete account of my conversion, including the many theological issues and discussions will be found in a future text.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Adams
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