Having entered the Christmas season, we ask those who find the work of the Mystagogy Resource Center beneficial to them to help us continue our work with a generous financial gift as you are able. As an incentive, we are offering the following booklet.

In 1909 the German philosopher Arthur Drews wrote a book called "The Myth of Christ", which New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman has called "arguably the most influential mythicist book ever produced," arguing that Jesus Christ never existed and was simply a myth influenced by more ancient myths. The reason this book was so influential was because Vladimir Lenin read it and was convinced that Jesus never existed, thus justifying his actions in promoting atheism and suppressing the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the ideologues of the Third Reich would go on to implement the views of Drews to create a new "Aryan religion," viewing Jesus as an Aryan figure fighting against Jewish materialism. 

Due to the tremendous influence of this book in his time, George Florovsky viewed the arguments presented therein as very weak and easily refutable, which led him to write a refutation of this text which was published in Russian by the YMCA Press in Paris in 1929. This apologetic brochure titled "Did Christ Live? Historical Evidence of Christ" was one of the first texts of his published to promote his Neopatristic Synthesis, bringing the patristic heritage to modern historical and cultural conditions. With the revival of these views among some in our time, this text is as relevant today as it was when it was written. 

Never before published in English, it is now available for anyone who donates at least $20 to the Mystagogy Resource Center upon request (please specify in your donation that you want the book). Thank you.



June 5, 2012

Is Globalization An Opportunity Or A Threat?



From an interview with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos:

Question: Your Eminence, the world nowadays is faced with the emerging challenge of globalization. How do you think the Orthodox Church should respond to these trends? Is globalization an opportunity for the mission of the Church or maybe represents a threat to it?

Answer: The whole structure of the Orthodox Church with Patriarchates, Autocephalous churches, Bishoprics, Parishes and Monasteries unites people, while preserving their distinctiveness. The Church has always faced challenges and will always face challenges. The Orthodox Church “responds” to this challenge by expressing and experiencing its revealed truth, by speaking about freedom, love and peace, by praying so that they prevail in society and by engaging in Orthodox pastoral care for its members. So, it reacts to such challenges not in a convulsive but in a pastoral manner, trying to assist its members to experience revealed truth in practice. Basically, I believe we should stop seeing enemies around us. The Church as the Body of Christ has nothing to fear. Instead, we should see people who have a fragmented view of the truths about God and the world.

From Sobornost, September 2006.
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