Two Views of the Cross: Orthodoxy and the West

… wonderful humor included. What a treasure we have in Frederica Matthews’s-Green. I want to read or listen to (my 82 y/o macular degenerating eyes are going …) everything she has written. I feel loved with the love of Christ our God and copied and pasted almost half (a lot, but not that much) of the book into my notes. Waiting now for August 10 when I am eligible for my next free book on Audible. Looking forward to hearing her read her own book on the Jesus Prayer which is transforming this newly Orthodox old lady’s life. If you haven’t already come to an Orthodox Church.

I read this book as requested by a friend who wanted me to give her a review. I went to amazon to order it and was a little taken aback at the price considering the length of the book. But I could read it for free using Kindle Unlimited, so I chose that option.This book explained, in true layman's terms, almost exactly what was being taught in a class at my church based on the book "The Religion of the Apostles" I was glued to each page and even made high lights and book marks in my kindle. I will transfer all these to the copy that I ordered when I finished the e-book. I found it so helpful that I also ordered two more copies to give to as gifts and expect to order more in the future for people.The author carefully begins by talking about what words mean. This is so important because if you and I both use the same word, but have a different idea of what it means, we cannot effectively communicate what we are thinking or believe. Step by careful step she talks about the views of ransomed, redeemed, delivered, and saved. She goes into forgiveness and mercy, sacrifices and offerings. Halfway through the book she begins to talk about the crucifixion - something one would think she'd start with given the title. But she needed to lay a foundation so the reader could properly understand the Orthodox view of the crucifixion and what it did for us. She goes into sin and righteousness, the problem of evil mercy and repentance, free will, the assurance of salvation, the incarnation (so important to understanding). She ends with theosis and how theology should be a part of our everyday lives.This book is well worth the cost of the paperback. I'd advise getting the physical book over kindle because it is hard to properly use the footnotes which are at the end of the book. It's just too hard to scroll back and forth, much easier to flip pages. Also the physical book make it easy to highlight and take notes in the margins.

Not everyone who is inquiring into the Orthodox Church is a scholar, theology nerd, or former seminarian. Some people have just been raised in "garden variety" Evangelical traditions that taught a "garden variety pen sub salvation". They basically want to understand what is the meaning and place of the death of Christ in "how are we saved from the wrath of God" in Orthodox theology. They're not really interested in an exact exposition of the many Protestant views (some of which legitimately overlap with Orthodoxy) but just want to know what the Church teaches. (Any time an author attempts to represent someone elses' views there will always be a nuance or variation that was not addressed specifically.) This book does a very nice overview of atonement as the Church teaches it (in contrast to the broad substitutionary concepts). But it is not just about "atonement theory", but all the corollary topics like the meaning of the Incarnation, heaven and hell, repentance, the sacraments, and salvation as "theosis" or the process of our union with God in Christ through the Church. It is a solid exposition of Orthodox teaching that a non-seminary trained lay-person (and a "professional" who is new to Orthodoxy) will benefit from, written in a "voice" that is conversational (I can hear Frederica "reading" this to me as I read it), and non-polemical. This will be my "go to" recommendation on this topic.

Bridges the distance with an engaging style and non- judgmental tone. Does an excellent job of explaining complex concepts like the Trinity and the Real Presence in the communion bread and wine from the orthodox point of view. Readers from conservative liturgical churches may find the differences aren't as great as Baptists or Evangelicals might. All in all a worthwhile , well written book.

While none of this was actually “new“ to me, after following Jesus and studying the Bible, for 52 years, I love how she put it together logically, building from one point to another. Over recent years I have been struggling with what I was taught about the Cross. I think I have traveled through most of the different theological positions she described, and have landed fairly close to Orthodoxy as she describes it. (I didn’t know that it was Orthodoxy, but I’m fine with that!)I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to grow in their understanding of God, and the work done through Jesus.

The simplicity of Orthodoxy as a way of life is unfortunately mixed up with so much ritual cruft that at the other extreme, Protestantism at best feels simpler and more welcoming to the sinner off the street.Is there an Orthodox church community that has the simplicity of ritual to match the simplicity of Orthodox theology? A church community where the only ikons are the very people around us, and the priests are dressed like us, encouraging us with their very lives as examples of how to be at one with God?

Down to earth explanations of our own spirituality. Instead of looking at the original purpose of Christianity, it tells in the error of western thought of salvation as a transaction instead of pursuing a oneness with God.

This is a useful book if you are trying to work out the differences in thinking on the atonement in the orthodox and protestant / catholic churches. As a protestant myself, I welcome the opportunity to learn insights into orthodox understanding which I wasn't aware of before.Disappointing is the fact that large chunks of this book are copied verbatim from Mathewes-Green's earlier book "Welcome to the Orthodox Church". I had read this book earlier this year, so found myself reading the same thing yet again.That said, this is a useful book which explains clearly and lucidly the often complicated ideas behind various theories of atonement.