Reformed Theology Family Issues

Yo! Former believer in EOC here :)

There's two ways to deal with this:

1. Make a joke. May I make a suggestion? You could say, "Well, not every Calvinist is in Hell... I'm still here". Then laugh, break the tension lol.

2. Ask questions about Eastern Orthodoxy. If I'm reading the situation right, he sounds very much like me in my rabid anti-Calvinist days. And it was my best mate being friends with me, and talking scripture with me over time made me renounce my EOC beliefs. Besides, he might just be EOC because he's wanting an ancient faith, and the EOC pretends to be that.

Well, that is very extreme. I was nowhere near as intense about it, but before I became Reformed, I was absolutely appalled by Calvinism. I couldn’t see how that was “my” God. Almost to the point where I thought that if Calvinism were real, I couldn’t believe in that God, though thankfully not quite. I couldn’t believe that theology existed as it was so anathema to what I grew up believing.

By the grace of God, I asked Him to show me if that was truly Him, if this was true. I asked Him to be patient and to show me in His timing. He did. He humbled me, He was patient with me, and of course, He covered me in His grace.

I began actually reading the other side and slowly became convinced. But before that, all I would do is read my side and prepare my arguments. I wouldn’t ever give it my fair attention. It was based on my flesh and what I wanted to be comfortable believing. But when I was humbled to ask Him to show me and be patient, He was.

Your brother cannot change his opinion without being humbled first and truly asking the Lord to reveal Himself to Him the way that He is. Some people can’t stomach it. I was one of those people. But He can and did change that. Pray for your brother. Pray that he will listen, read, pray, and that God will reveal. Be patient with him. Our flesh can be so strong, especially if we have our blinders on and think we are fighting for God’s honor masking as our own.

Just love him and stay calm. Share scripture of you can, tell him it’s not Calvin you believe but God’s word revealed to you. I assume everything you believe is biblically based. Go to Gods word and share verses that convicted you with him. Try to always bring it back to God’s Word, something that you both should have in common.

Praying for you brother!!

Edit: sorry, or sister!

Open up your Bibles and talk about it 😉

I was going to say he's a hypocrite if he's something like an Independent Baptist (for they are descended from Calvinistic churches), but because he's Eastern Orthodox, that's understandable.

Eastern Orthodoxy has a history of just being very sceptical, very alien to Calvinism, much more so than the church of Rome. Much less interaction.

In the early 17th century, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril Lucaris by name, perhaps accepted some of Calvinism's views and thus began the Synod of Jerusalem (1672). 'Traditional' Orthodox, like 'traditional' Catholics, believe all who are not part of their church are going to hell, although Orthodox are typically less stringent on Roman Catholics than the Roman Catholics are on them because they don't have the same 14th century Papal decrees (e.g. Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctam). Traditional Orthodox do believe virtually all Protestants are going to hell, however.

This is what to do: Keep going back to the scriptures. The authority lies not with men, not the pastors, elders, confessions and creeds of our church, their church or this church, not our traditions and the way we do things, but what does the Bible say? What does the Lord Jesus and the holy apostles and prophets say in His word? This is the key and the Lord Jesus exposed the vast majority of organised religion of His day as being from hell. Why should it be any different today? The rule is that the majority religion of all the ages is corrupt and the true believers will always be a small remnant persecuted by the very adherents to that majority religion who profess the very same JESUS. The Word of God is the most important tool in the universe.

Him being EO explains it, they are brainwashed to believe it is a heresy.

Interesting thread....is your family EO and you left the EO Church for another church?

Like Catholicism and Anglicanism (to some degree), EO is a religious tradition centered around episcopal authority - arguing about specific points of Calvinistic doctrine between two laymen is pointless since you are both deferring to different authorities (one being the Apostolic witness of the tradition decreed through Ecumenical Councils and the Scriptures, the other being the Scriptures Alone - as the Reformers interpreted, of course).

If my inclination is correct, either your family is some kind of Reformed tradition and your brother converted to EO, or vice-versa. In any case, his issue is probably more like he wants your approval of his new religion - or, if you are the one that converted - he thinks you are rejecting him and your familial and cultural identity.

Just thank him for being concerned for you and ask for his prayers!