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 17, 2013

An Apostate to Pentecostalism Who Returned To Orthodoxy


A few days ago another brother returned to the Apostolic teaching of the Orthodox Church from the destructive sect of the Pentecostals.

This brother was five years in their sect, long enough to come to tell me that he felt like it was 80 years! Before this he was Orthodox. He was married but soon after divorced. Unhappiness, frustration, sadness and the influence of some neighbors led him to heresy. There he was received with "love", they "embraced" him, and had him sing together with them, and finally they baptized him saying that his previous baptism in the Orthodox Church had no power.

They particularly stressed that if he wanted to be born again he should be baptized in water AND in the Holy Spirit. But while he was considered unbaptized and needing rebaptism, at the same time they considered him already married, recognizing the power of the Orthodox Wedding!

I don't know if we should talk about their absurdity, their immature experiences or their sadistic interpretation of the Gospel. Let these things be analyzed by the experts. This brother, however, remained in this state for five years and changed four different Pentecostal congregations, without any help from the so-called "ministers", without anyone ever speaking to him or rather hearing his pain and his thoughts, despite being bombarded with sermons about "love" which caused him disgust.

This brother did manage to leave. He returned to Orthodoxy and cautiously made his first steps back to the Church of Christ. I know he will stay and face the monster of coldness residing at the entrances of some Parishes.

He may not meet "love attacks", but he will meet the Lord Himself in the Eucharistic Table. You don't need anything else.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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