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.



April 1, 2014

The Erotic Story of Salvation and the Manic Love of Christ


Christianity is the opposite of religion. In the various religions people offer sacrifices to a god. In Christianity the exact opposite happens: God offers a sacrifice to the people, even His Son. God the Father offers His Son as a sacrifice to people to show them that He truly loves them, in order to reconcile them with Himself. The Apostle Paul says this in a wonderful way: "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). What religion can present something like this? This is completely contrary to every religion. God is appealing to us to be reconciled with Him. All this is like an erotic story. Christ comes to earth, He tells everyone "I love you", humanity is indifferent, and Christ in order to "prove" His great love for man...commits suicide! Saint Nicholas Cabasilas likens Christ to a manic lover Who in the end, to prove His erotic love sacrifices His life. This is Christianity. It is something completely different from religions, it is not legalism. True Christianity is a true and lasting revolution, not a religion. The objectives of the revolution of Christianity are so wide, so great, with the result that this revolution will end only with the Second Coming. Whoever views Christianity as something static, as something that lacks movement, does not understand anything.

Source: From an anonymous lecture presented in the lecture of Hieromonk Makarios of Marouda on Mount Athos delivered on March 30, 2014. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

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