Fundamental religious questions. Where I’ve been, and where I am going.
| Ultimate Questions | Protestant |
Anglican |
Orthodox |
| Who am I? | A Christian | * A Sinner * Dust |
The Sinner |
| Who are others? | Needing salvation | Brothers | * Superior * “By their prayers save me.” * “All shall be saved, I alone condemned.” |
| Why am I here? | For Salvation | For Life | For Repentance |
| How should I live? | Scripturally | * Morally * Ethically |
Theosis (Union w. God) |
| Where are we in history or time? | The End Times | The Age of the Church | * The Last Days of Christ’s Economy. * Christ’s Millenial Reign * The Eighth Day of Creation |
| Why do we suffer? | Sin (one’s own) | * Sin (the world’s) * Grace |
Death |
I don’t wish to be unfair to the fullness of Protestant or Anglican psychology, so I’ll say that my own view is coloured by looking at it in retrospect, and by perhaps inadequate understanding at the time. This represents then, not so much a commentary on each individual confession, but a personal progression. One may contrast each of the columns, however, with a column for Nihilism in which there are no answers to ultimate questions. The Orthodox column, also, is properly seen not as an either/or exclusion of the others, but a both/and. In other words, the other columns are assumed in the fullness of Orthodoxy. If I wanted to go farther, perhaps a comparison of theology and piety:
| Protestant | Anglican | Orthodox | |
| Who is God? | Father | Christ | Unknowable |
| To Whom do you pray? | Father | Christ | The Holy Trinity |
| Why do you go to Church? | The Bible | Communion | Theosis, Prayer |
| Mission | Preach the gospel. | Unite people to the church. | “Save yourself, and thousands will be saved.” |
| What is true? | The Bible | Scripture Tradition Reason |
All inclusive: The Scriptures The Tradition The Bishop The Fathers The Councils The Church The Creed The Liturgy The Mysteries The Ongoing Lives of Saints The Theokos The Angels The Miracles Prayer Truth itself |
Again, I’m sensitive to the possibility that the above does not adequately represent the fullness of the other confessions. It was just my experience, as limited by my own poor understanding. Instead of a commentary on those confessions, it’s meant as a progression of my own.