"Orthopraxy, Orthodoxy, What Did You Say?" Does Your Orthopraxy Match Your Orthodoxy? This is One Main Issue When Seeking to Follow Christ as a Faithful Disciple!

Picture of the Grand Canyon. It is this editor's confession that I have endeavored, all of my Christian Life, to close the gap between my orthodoxy and orthopraxy. That is, between my believing and in my doing! But there has always been this great gap!

Orthopraxy, Orthodoxy, What Did You Say?

(We are blest today to have an article from a guest blogger; The Rev. James Ulmer. He is a retired and ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church. James has been a longtime and faithful minister of the Gospel and friend to me for 50 years! Used by permission.)

Orthopraxy equals correct activity or actions. For Christians that means that their daily living in all situations is guided by the desire to live in Orthopraxy. Orthopraxy has to have guidelines, thus there is a need for Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy equals right thinking. Orthopraxy and Orthodoxy are intertwined with Dogma. Dogma equals one’s beliefs or Doctrines which is a system of beliefs or body of teachings that lay out what is Orthodoxy and that in turn leads to Orthopraxy.

Whether one wants to admit it or not, these words: Orthopraxy, Orthodoxy, Dogma, and Doctrine guide one’s opinion of Theology. Theology equals God reasoning or how one believes God operates or a discourse about God. Jews, Moslems, Christians experience those words in their respected religious understanding. Whether it is the Bible, Torah, or Koran, they each derive their Theological teachings from their book of Faith. Since I am Christian, I will restrict myself to speaking to the issue of the Christian Faith and its practitioners.

Followers can be anyone who is interested and likes what they see, but are not necessarily Orthodox in their Orthopraxy as they follow the Dogmas of their Theology.Who determines the internal realities of these words? What is the driving force that brings these things to life in the lives of those that profess to be true believers? For the Christian, it has been three things: the witness of the Scriptures, the witness of the Holy Spirit within the believer, and the history of the church (which includes its Theological teachers and their Doctrinal understanding of the Bible).Here in lies the problem for the followers of the teachings of Christ. Which Christian group is right?

Whom among the myriads of groups/denominations, etc does one align with so he or she can be Orthodox in his Orthopraxy as they follow the Dogmas of Theology. A lot of folks simply say I will just follow Jesus and not be worried about all of this. Those who say this are basically claiming to be an island of Theology that is understood only by themselves and their personal interpretations of the inspired writings of the Christian Faith. Such people have created untold number of false teachings and have led many into a false sense of being the only ones that are right.

So what does one do? Perhaps bend over and kiss their little theological posterior goodbye, because there is no way to apprehend in this world who is right and who is wrong in their group's theological grapplings. Perhaps, move out to the mountains, burn the theological books, and just get under the glory spout of God? Well, to be honest none of these will solve your dilemma.

Here in is the crux of living in community with God's people. How do I live in the midst of fellow believers whom hold to different beliefs within the Common Faith? For me it is to recognize that we as finite beings are simply not going to be perfect in our Theology. Simply and plainly all of us have looked through the lens of others in regards to what we believe that which God would have us to hold as Orthodoxy and to walk in as Orthopraxy of the Dogmas of our Theology. As much as my heart and mind tell me that the Bible is my sole authority, I still will be inclined to follow certain practices that "feel" right to me, seem "logical", or just plain have to be the right "authority" because I can prove it through my personal studies. I am still just finite in my abilities.

Yes, I have the Holy Spirit that my spirit bears witness with and I also have the written witness of the Scriptures, yet I am still bound by my finiteness compared to the infinite wisdom of our Father. Paul the Apostle said it best: 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 (King James Version) "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. "I do not wish that you would consider that there is no use to setting forth correct teachings and correct practices within your understanding of the Scriptures. Rather, it is my wish that we all might consider our plight in a fallen world, awaiting for our full revelation of who we are in Christ, that we need God in our lives rather than fitting God in our ways and means of seeking to please Him.

These two passages highly paraphrased in simple language perhaps say it best:

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 (The Message Bible)"When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.

"Colossians 3:16 (The Message)"Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."

Editorial question:

So, is your orthodoxy and orthopraxy in alignment and in agreement? Differently said, "Do you walk the walk and talk the same talk?"