Orthodox Christians acknowledge seeds of truth in all major world religions. The Church is the sole repository of the fullness of God’s personal revelation to humanity, but there are truthful elements in other faiths that are intended to bring worshippers into an understanding of Orthodox truth when it is presented to them.
There are many people who have never encountered the Gospel. Our Lord tells us that these will be judged according to their God-given conscience, the divinely appointed moral compass and rudder of souls. Sincerity counts for a lot with God, Who alone knowest the hearts of men. God, after all, is the One who gave each of us a desire for Him – to know Him, love Him and be loved by Him.
The thinking, aware human being recognizes the eternal significance of this quest for God. People search for Him in diverse ways, but the point remains – they are searching. Urgently. They care deeply about their eternal destiny, and are wise to do so. Some of these really do welcome the truth when they hear it – if not immediately, then perhaps a seed is planted and germinates in the future.
Then we have the rest of the world,
The ones who are apathetic.
It is utterly absurd.
Spiritual apathy has nothing to do with growing up in an agnostic or atheistic family. No. Don’t give me that crap. Many faithful Orthodox never set foot in a church until they were approaching middle age. The issue is not a lack of facts, but a lack of yearning for the truth.
The enemy is complacency, the mother of depraved apathy and one of the billboards on the road to damnation.
Think about it. You’re an atheist – just pretend – and you have heard parts of the Gospel message but you write it off as superstition. You and your atheist friends – pretend again – think that there is no way that a personal Creator a) exists and b) would allow souls to suffer in Hell for eternity.
DON’T YOU THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO VERIFY THAT?! You know, check some facts? Explore the issue a bit? Send the jury home for the weekend? After all, if you are so sure that you’re right, it shouldn’t be too hard to prove it, right? Right?
…*crickets*…
If you have investments and you hear a lot of crazy talk about your stocks getting ready to implode, no matter how crazy it sounds, don’t you think you’d pick up the clue phone and call your broker just to make doubly sure? You’ve got six figures riding on it. Do you just sit there twiddling your thumbs and hope that you’re correct? Or do you search for information while you still can, before financial ruin comes upon you?!
‘Kay, you can stop pretending to be an atheist now. Whew. Go have a glass of water and walk it off.
Feeling better? Good.
Now. Rest easy while I re-caffeinate.
The Memory of Chains 