Kevin Tracy who is a big political blogger and Fan of Huckabee is also a Catholic. He has a great post called Christian Schismizzles. It is about one the so called "biggie issues" that divide Catholics and Orthodox.
As one of my favorite Catholic bloggers(that I don't reference enough on here) said:
.....great scholar of Christian doctrine Jaroslav Pelikan said: "If there is a special circle of the inferno described by Dante reserved for historians of theology, the principal homework assigned to that subdivision of hell for at least the first several eons of eternity may well be the thorough study of all the treatises--in Latin, Greek, Church Slavonic, and various modern languages--devoted to the inquiry: Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father only, as Eastern Christendom contends, or from both the Father and the Son (ex Patre Filioque),as the Latin Church teaches?" Save only, perhaps, for the topic of justification—a staple of Protestant-Catholic polemics—one is hard-pressed to find a theological topic on which more ink has been spilled to less constructive effect than the filioque. Beyond warning the unwary, the only justification for addressing it is to try to find a way to accommodate what each sides is, respectively, dogmatically committed to.
Now don't let the title of my post mislead you. The issue of the filioque clause is complicated. However after reading a what seems like a million blog posts between Catholics and Orthodox ,I am convinced that we are both correct. That is we compliment each other and show important truths. In the Christian blog world the discussions between Catholics and increasingly I hate to say very anti Catholic thinking converts to Orthodoxy largely go unnoticed by the Christians on the net . However they do send ripples and have effects. To say the least they are different.
Here are just afew resources for those interested that I have consulted in the past
Beating the Filioque Horse (12/2/2006)
The Filioque, II: Continued (12/6/2006)
A Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue on "Filioque"
Filioque(A look at quotes from the Church Fathers)
Complex but unimportant. The only people who really should care are the Mormons, who believe they can become gods of their own planet some day. But they don't believe in the Trinity, so it's really not important for them either.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug!
www.ktracy.com
James:
ReplyDeleteHere's my Berra-ism for the day: If you believe we are "both correct," then you believe that most of the Orthodox are incorrect. For most of them believe that the filioque is false. Of course most Catholics would agree with you. But that only goes to show you're Catholic.
Kevin:
All too often, a matter that's objectively unimportant becomes important precisely because a lot of people believe it's important. The filioque issue is a classic example of that. Most Orthodox clergy and theologians consider the matter objectively important; most Catholic clergy and theologians do not. But because the former do, it is, if only for how it impinges on the imperative of Christian unity.
But then, like James's, your attitude only goes to show you're Catholic.
Best,
Mike