Thirsting For God in a Land of Shallow Wells

I see that this book has a unique depth and beauty in it. It gave me a profound sense that the Orthodox church is truly a beautiful treasure trove full of the early church's great heritage handed down to us from the hands and mouths of apostles and the early chuch fathers.Even though other branches of Christianity all carry valuable truths and have great value, I believe Eastern Orthodoxy is second to none when it comes to the riches of the early church's original tradition and teaching. For me, this book definitely brought a rethinking on a personal level. For the first time I began to see some errors and mistakes made by both Protestant Christians and Catholic Christians down through the ages.For example, the theological concept of "satisfaction" or "substitution" was understood a little differently in the first thousand years of Christian history. In the Western tradition, both Protestantism and Catholicism hold a view that one of the main reasons why God had to send His only brgotten son to the fallen sinful world was because Jesus needed to remove the righteous wrath of the Judge (Father God) from the earth.According to Orthodoxy, the sacrifice of Christ focuses on more of God's "voluntary", "unconditional" act of love designed to set mankind from the bondage of sin, Satan and death. In this society where passing fads are constantly whizzing past us like a whole bunch of cars on the highway, that kind of unchanged, unbroken history and tradition is a real gem and blessings for those who are left high and dry in their pursuit of truth and a more fulfilling relationship with God. I found it really comforting to know that there's one church out there that has kept its order and tradition intact from the time that the church emerged on the earth. In that sense, this book is a little gem of a book, in my humble opinion.It debunks some theological concepts and doctrines that many contemporary churches have tried to understand in quite a different way--- compared to the way that the early church Christians approached their beliefs. For those of you who want to see a new light cast on your understanding of the early church and its tradition and beliefs, this book can help you better understand your Christian life. Even though it primarily focuses its attention on the writer's conversion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity from Protestantism, it still can shed fresh light on our modern system of interpretation of the Word in in our dealings with the Scriptures and tradition.My only complaint is that "in every way" it might give the impression that Orthodox church is a top notch above Protestantism and Catholicism in an attempt to put a special emphasis on the Orthodox church and its teachings. Having said that, I also understand that the writer had no option but to declare dominance over the other churches because it's a known fact that other branches of Christianity have changed their liturgical forms and made some doctrinal changes in some areas. Not that they are heretical or intrinsically bad in any kind of way but that they are just somewhat different than the early church.I had so much fun reading his eventful journey out of Protestanism into Orthodoxy and his personal blunders and struggles in quest of his spiritual adventure. In a word, this one is highly readable. It's a fun, informative read for any serious Christians regardless of their background and denomination.

This guy speaks directly to me. I was a Catholic for 19 years, nothing for 10 years and a Protestant for 6 years before finding Orthodoxy. Even as a Protestant, I often questioned how there could be so many different groups who all believed something slightly different, yet referred to themselves as Christian. It didn't add up. And when I would hear people quoting half of a scripture to try to prove something completely different from what it said, I would try to set them straight, but they would always change the subject instead of facing the facts. This author/priest points out how the Protestants personalize everything. I've noticed for a long time that they often take things that were told to the Apostles, and assume they are to do these things also. Keep in mind that it doesn't say "we" are to do these things. It says the Apostles were to do these things. Also, they would often quote the second half of the scripture that says "call those things that are not as though they are", and claim that we could make things happen by saying them. If they'd read that from the beginning, it clearly states that it's God who does that - not us! I only stayed with the Protestants for that long because I didn't know where else to go, and they would often guilt-trip us about "church-hopping". It was only after being attacked by a member of the "ministry team" at a retreat that I realized I absolutely had to get out of there. Timing was perfect; someone had been working on me for a year to check out the Orthodox church. She happened to call me right after I got home from that retreat, and I was ready. Yet, even though I've been Orthodox for 14 years, I've still had a hard time getting across to others that there's no difference between people changing the Truth and Lucifer trying to exalt himself above God. Both are rebellion and arrogance. Rebellion is classed in 1 Samuel as "witchcraft". The word Protestant literally means "Protest + -ant", a.k.a. a rebel. Therefore the phrase, "Protestant Christian" is an oxymoron.This book has explained everything I've tried to get across to people on these issues. I plan to get extras and pass them on to others. Good to see that someone else, especially someone who has become an Orthodox priest after being Protestant for years, can explain this in writing for others to check out.

As an Orthodox Christian, I often read conversion accounts to help me better understand my faith in light of other denominations. Many books I have read in the past focused more on Church history, (like a detective story moving backward in time until they unearthed the Orthodox Church even though it has been in the open since 33 AD!). Other books focused on the emotional or spiritual drawing of one away from their faith and eventually towards Orthodoxy.While I have learned much from all the books, I loved this book because it focused heavily on Holy Scripture and the author's personal anquish when attempting to know God through intellectual study (reading and analyzing Scripture) and also when trying to reconcile seemingly conflicting Scripture. His kind and loving treatment of sincere Protestants wanting to know and serve God, left me with great compassion for them. He was pained as a Protestant pastor not being able to provide the spiritual answers his flock needed, because he, too, was asking himself these same questions. One reviewer thought the book was too detailed. I did not. In fact, I was thrilled that it was not a superficial conversion story. Another reviewer thougth it was a "jab" at Protestants. I absolutely did not. His approach was so incredibly kind and loving. To me, his book says to Protestants who may be feeling unfulfilled, "I love you. Don't give up. Your questions actually do have answers."

IF YOU THINK THAT ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IS JUST BELLS AND SMELLS; READ THIS.

It's a well written account of the author's journey to the faith. I like how he gets to the root or heart of the issues that people have as theirs objections to the Orthodox Church. I connected personaly to some of the issues he had navigating the dizzying protestant landscape of faiths. It's a good read for both the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox to read.