Ep. 91 - ’Catechesis’ w/ Buck Johnson

The Age of Information: Orthodoxy & The Modern World

"Catechesis" from the Greek "κατήχησις" means "instruction/informed by word of mouth", generally "instruction." In a general sense, we all are being "instructed" every day. Whether it be through our familiar traditions, state education, TV, media, politics, etc., what we focus on (what we are informed by) leads us to who we ultimately become. When used in the tradition of Christianity, however, it is how we come to know Christ. St Justin Martyr, in First Apology, says, "As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated."

In the (mostly) Protestant United States, we are generally taught to pick up a Bible and start reading. For an atheist, this might be the first step towards forming arguments against Christianity (atheists enjoy being 'against' things.) For most Western Christians, it's an introduction to Christianity that leads to a church of some sort, where your own personal biases are confirmed. When Martin Luther popularized the term "sola scriptura", he wasn't of course saying every random human can pick up the Scriptures and immediately figure it out. No, he was condeming the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and their interpretation of scripture within the realm of the Pope and the Magesterium. Luther's answer was of course that his interpretation of Holy Scripture would be the endgame. When this naturally spiralled out of control, he spent decades chastizing anyone who didn't agree with him. We might give him a pass, considering what he had access to as far as information in the early 16th century, but it's blatantly obvious how the results of this blinded view have played out in the subsequent 500 years.
The Orthodox Church, having preserved traditional Christianity from the time of the apostles, thus offers us what Luther's delusions cannot. A window into the nature of The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. But do we approach traditional Christianity with our own biases, and expect God to change himself to make us comfortable? Or do we have to come to understand what God wants from us, and change ourselves to fit that paradigm? Thats what the catechesis process is about. Today, the great Buck Johnson joins me to chat about his journey to this point, what he's learned and changed in his own life, and what the future may hold.
Merry Christmas to you all! Christ is Risen!