Week 5: On What Foundation is My Faith?
Spiritual Charm
Still blissfully unaware in early 2020, as most of us were, to my daily University College Dublin (UCD) classes I went, thoroughly enjoying the richness of every Irish professor’s accent, (classic American girl!)…and nightly meditations I certainly practiced, ritually. If you are someone that’s only meditated on Scripture, as we should, or someone who hasn’t meditated at all, you may not know this–there’s a “high” one can achieve through it. Yes, you read that correctly. One can achieve a stagnant meditation or yogic-meditation “high” through no use of any illicit substance, and that right there should set off alarm bells. I’m sure the Lord whispered “Stop” to me in the back of my mind, for He is always there, but my ego was so drunk off of the “new spiritual journey”, she dared not listen.
There’s a lot of appeal in the freshness, the foreign-feeling, the mystique of eastern spiritual beliefs and practices. It feels alluring, and rather thrilling when you’re invited into the world of “elevated consciousness”, and “soul discovery.” These spiritual swindlers promise you gems of personality revelations, unearthed and magical knowledge, as well as deep, emotional healing. It breaks my heart to think about all the people who are so lost due to the dryness of western spirituality, so they turn to the dangling carrot of ancient eastern mysticism, because it a least provides some universal truths. Many of the psychology and social science students fall prey to this spiritual charm as I did, because your vision and goals can become distorted through its captivating lens. I believe anyone with a deeper sense of empathy, and/or an inclination towards greater meaning makes for a better target. And I truly believe that most people who set out to “raise their vibrations”, and “unlock their chakras” actually have kind hearts and good intentions. We all just want to love and be loved, right? Yes we do, and that is Christ dwelling in all of our hearts—“...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”-Ephesians, 3:17.
I’ve met and bonded with some of the most wonderful people through ancient Eastern and New-Age beliefs because they truly care, lovingly, for the good of mankind. I’ve had such compassionate conversations and powerful connections with people that I’ve met in yoga classes, cacao ceremonies, reiki sessions, etc. Even though such environments are never ones an Orthodox Christian should find themself in, one can still make beautiful connections to other humans and bring someone else closer to Christ, which is our whole purpose anyway. I met one of my very best friends through an area which the New-Age permeates–Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a beloved art/sport, which I consider to be a huge part of myself to this day. On many occasions, after attempting to gi-choke each other for a good hour, (the norm) we’d grab food together and discuss our beliefs on how “God is energy.” I am now embarrassed by such beliefs having grown up in the Church, and thankfully I now proclaim that God is uncreated and above us all. He has established His own divine energies, and is not energy Himself. Thank you, Father Spyridon (wonderful priest on youtube!), for helping me with this lesson. Back when I was in Ireland however, I’d only been practicing martial arts for a bit over 1 year and didn’t realize what danger these magnificent arts were dabbling in themselves.
I spent many Irish evenings in a campus dance studio where we practiced our Taekwondo. When I wasn’t attending campus yoga, I was immersed in those Taekwondo classes, performing “Kata'' (forms), learning how to breathe and how to kick high, of course. All of the stretching, the Kata, the striking, and the complex cardio work are excellent ways to discipline the mind and the body, but we have to be ever so careful not to slip into the spiritual side of it. Discipline of the soul far supersedes discipline of the body, however we can discipline the soul through discipline of the body, but ONLY under the guidance of the Orthodox Church (Holy asceticism). Many martial artists dedicate themselves to daily meditation, reading books on “Zen masters”, and have even become yoga teachers themselves (ahem, me.) If only yoga were just stretching and deep breaths, and not intentional patterns of strange breathing, specific sequences of movement that were designed to worship pagan gods, and mantras that commanded the demonic–then it wouldn’t be so bad…but it is all those things, and I tried to deny that for far too long a time.
A “Healthy” Sport
I believe that most martial art forms are safe and acceptable for Christians to practice because their essence isn’t inherently bad, and religious participation isn’t mandatory, as it is with yoga. I’ve taken into consideration that no priests or Holy Fathers (that I’ve encountered at least) have any opposition to the martial arts, probably because there’s no original spiritual significance to the movements or submissions. So long as we athletes don’t meditate or indulge in psychedelic drugs (like some B.J.J professionals unfortunately), then I should say we’re strictly practicing a normal, healthy sport. Not exactly physically safe, but pretty healthy… There’s currently no available evidence that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters, or Muay Thai fighters must contort their bodies in a certain sequence at sunrise or chant memorized mantras. I pray that I don’t have any bias due to my current practice in these sports, but I can thankfully say that my beloved spiritual father and priests in my life do condone it, and most practitioners I know submit to some branch of Christianity. There’s certainly no “high” one feels after being arm-barred 5 times in a row, or round-kicked in the head–I guarantee it.
On What Foundation?
Like I said previously, I’ve found before that most folks I’ve encountered in these New-Age-type environments only display kindness towards one another, and often creation alike. I’ve enjoyed some delightful camaraderie with like-hearted vegans who practice yoga or dabble in crystal work, who really want to see everyone thrive, but are so sadly “high” or “drunk” off of the spiritual deceptions, and are perhaps mixing with other substances. It’s a tricky, sneaky little game the enemy plays–taking spiritual belief systems that draw in kind souls, practices that have so much goodness and validity to them (like selfless charity work for example), and then just poisons it all with his impure touch. It was wisely taught to me that the enemy does not hate good deeds, or charity, or kindness, he simply hates Christ and all that Christ represents. For Jesus Christ is everything that the evil one could never be, so at every turn, he will try and trap you, especially in the spiritual realm. Unfortunately in the west we equate Christianity or believe that salvation lies within “being a good person and doing selfless deeds”, which is painfully incorrect. So sure, you can run a non-profit organization and never keep a penny for yourself, and donate every one of your weekends to orphanages or animal rescue, shelter one million homeless people, BUT if you deny Him and His Church will you be saved? I’m no Church Father, but I think likely not. You must have faith in Jesus Christ in order to join Him when judgment day comes. I say this not of my own authority, for I am nothing, but I say this based upon what the Eastern Orthodox Church teaches (AOCA, 2020). And of course, the Church desires for us all to be saved through the grace of God.
Have you ever heard of a Zen Buddhist monk that promotes violence and materialism? Ever read an article about an Incan Shaman who encouraged sexism and sexual assault? Or maybe a Hare Krishna who teaches that we should beat our animals? Likely not. And if there were such publicized cases, these rogue individuals would be heavily chastised, imprisoned, or even killed depending on where they’re preaching. I truly believe that many of these “gurus” and “spiritual guides” are well meaning, but that doesn’t mean all have selfless intentions and morals, especially the big names you’re likely familiar with. With a clear, logical mind, one can find moral and rational inconsistencies and contradictory lessons taught by such modern spiritual teachers whom I was previously misled by… I won’t name names, but will touch upon their works. These popular “gurus” hail from places like Germany, India, and Mexico, and have written certain works that emphasize harnessing the POWER of the present moment , or the “NOW”, about four spiritual “truths” we all must subscribe to based on ancient Toltec “wisdom”, as well as other blurry ancient Sanskrit teachings and misinterpretations. “We must do our shadow work and soul searching to find the light to rescue ourselves” or to find “Source” they all preach, yet it’s also taught that “We all have the light within us. We’re all gods and goddesses who can save ourselves from within!”—that’s just to name a few.
On the contrary, we believe “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”-Ephesians 2:8-9. Anyone can do good deeds, but should always question themselves: where have I received my morality from? On what foundation do my values stand? Of course Christians are meant to engage in charity work and do selfless deeds without a second thought, but for the love of Christ Who came to earth as a servant. We must all analyze our morals, beliefs, and actions repeatedly throughout life, for the sake of humility. For the sake of the true, humble One. I of myself am no good, only through the Holy Trinity, Who has given us all things good, do I find my beliefs and values to stand firmly upon.
Sola Fide
Now to add to the above lesson, and to hopefully confuse my readers (just kidding), faith alone will not save you either. I know “Through faith alone!” or “By faith alone!” are familiar and commonly preached phrases in the Christian world, but absolutely not in the Orthodox Christian one. “Just believe in the Bible and believe in Jesus as your Lord!” is not something Orthodox clergy shout from street corners. Because I’m beyond blessed to be born and baptized into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church (said in the Nicene Creed in the Orthodox Church), I’ve always been encouraged to find joy in serving others, without complaint. I thank the Lord for the immense joy I have in caring for humans and animals. “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?...Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead''-James, 2:14-17. It may be a complicated concept to understand at first, but through the Holy Spirit may we be enlightened to understand these verses. “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only”-James, 2:22-24.
We have not been saved by our verbal acceptance of Christ–in fact we really don’t know who will go with Jesus to heaven, we can only have discernment, through the Church, to attempt Theosis (union with God). I know my Protestant brothers and sisters may find this perspective troublesome or vexing, but this is the way of the ancient Church. We frequently say that through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved tomorrow. I find that these Orthodox viewpoints command accountability for Christians to not only confess with their mouths that Christ is Lord, but to act like it. I personally believe that we can live out these Scriptural teachings by faithfully partaking in the Church’s sacraments, which lead us to do good works. I have found that the more I open my own heart and humble my own mind, the more my spirit desires to produce righteous deeds, and thank God for that.
Works Cited
“Salvation.” SALVATION | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, ww1.antiochian.org/1123705533#:~:text=Salvation%20begins%20with%20these%20three,joined%20into%20union%20with%20Christ. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.
