On Salvation From An Eastern Perspective
Someone dear to me recently wrote and said that while reading a book by an Orthodox author, she ran into a stumbling block. This is the quote from the book with the challenging parts in bold: Orthodox Christian Scriptures and saints all stress the necessity, and indeed the inevitability, of blessed mourning ( penthos ) over life in this sinful world . They say, as is often emphasized in Orthodox Church services, that without tears of sorrow over the "sin of the world" and one's own sins, and those of one's family and friends, no person can be saved . A human being who sees and experiences the grim realities of life in this world will necessarily weep as Jesus wept, and weep together with Him. "Blessed are they who mourn," Christ teaches, "for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). (from Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections by Fr. Thomas Hopko of blessed memory). I want to share my response to her below. You sai...