SATURDAY EDITORIAL

We knew when we started this that we would get comments; at least we hoped we would. And even if you didn’t leave one, we hope and pray that this has stirred something inside of you, even if that something is to look into your own belief.

Our entire purpose is to get you to ask questions about what and why you believe what you believe.

One comment we got was about the use of the word MONOPHYSITE. Monophysite in Christianity is one who believes that Jesus Christ’s nature remains altogether divine and not human even though He has taken on an earthly and human body with it’s cycle of birth, life and death. Doctrine asserts that in the Person of Jesus Christ there was only one divine nature rather then two. Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one, alone' and physis meaning 'nature') is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human.

We quote: "As a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, and thus of the Oriental Orthodox fold, I must defend the faith that we profess. It was (& is) a misnomer to call our Church monophysite. We believe in oneness: in the oneness of the Holy Trinity, in the oneness of the Holy Father, in the oneness of the Holy Son, in the oneness of the Holy Spirit.

"The Son's oneness is a oneness of His full divinity and His full manhood. Just as the three Persons of the Holy Trinity are one, the two natures of Christ are one - it is indeed a great mystery not easily understood, except through the lens of faith (as with understanding the Holy Trinity). We believe that His divinity were not separated from His manhood - not for a minute, a second, or a twinkling of an eye. Actually, what's been discovered is that the breach between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Church (there was no Catholic Church yet - it was the Orthodox Church of Rome, and there certainly was no Protestant Church at the time) was one of language and that the essence of what was said was "lost in translation."

"Essentially, the Orthodox Church believes the same thing. Discrepancies come into play when you add the other Churches into the fold, who believe in a separation of His humanity and divinity (i.e. when performing miracles and in His teaching, He was divine only. In His tears, and in His pain he was human only.) It is that argument that is unorthodox in the Person of Christ.
Comment from tafariburuk - 4/25/07 8:14" End quote.

If Christ is one then it is classified under Monophysite, but you say here He is one, and then again that He is of two natures. I do not understand is He one or is He two?

That said let me state here there is no way in the time and space permitted that we can cover each and every religion that is taught on this earth. We broke them into groups and those groups have many branches that change one or two things but hold to the basic beliefs of that group, hence why they keep the name from one group to the next.

So forgive us please if we include your group with it changes in the group that is responsible for starting your group. We do not wish to offend anyone, and if your heart is to know the truth as the Bible speaks it, well that is the only Book we use.

We do not believe as we do because of what someone has told us. We believe as we do because of the studying we have done, with the teaching that we have received. We also know that no matter what we say, there are those that will hold on to those beliefs that they already have.

We respect those who are willing to stand up for what they believe, even if we do disagree in what they believe in.

Our aim has been and will continue to be to get you to question what you are told. To study the scriptures and seek God on what you hold in your heart, we can ask no more then that.


God Bless
rECj/LJG