Theological Patience Shapes Orthodox Christian Nation and Region

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At its best, Orthodoxy has cultivated a spiritual life that nourished millions. At its worst, however, it's often been an accommodation with historical forces which are antithetical to the gospel too. And you can see today in Russia in which you have a church institution more or less being nothing but a propaganda wing of an authoritarian and terrorist government. So it's had both its good and its bad consequences over the centuries.

David Bentley Hart is an American writer, philosopher, religious scholar, critic, and theologian who has authored over 1,000 essays and 19 books, including a very well-known translation of the New Testament and several volumes of fiction.

In this conversation, Tyler and David discuss ways in which Orthodox Christianity is not so millenarian, how theological patience shapes the polities of Orthodox Christian nations, how Heidegger deepened his understanding of Christian Orthodoxy, who played left field for the Baltimore Orioles in 1970, the simplest way to explain how Orthodoxy diverges from Catholicism, the future of the American Orthodox Church, what he thinks of the Book of Mormon, whether theological arguments are ultimately based on reason or faith, what he makes of reincarnation and near-death experiences, gnosticism in movies and TV, why he dislikes Sarah Ruden’s translation of the New Testament, the most difficult word to translate, a tally of the 15+ languages he knows, what he’ll work on next, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded March 23rd, 2023.

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