Jurassic Park and the Protestant Quest for the

Early Church
June 19, 2014 · Robert Arakaki

No filme, o Jurassic Park é uma cena inesquecível onde um grupo de

humanos vê os dinossauros vivos que se exercitam sobre eles,
comendo folhas na parte superior das árvores. Os dinossauros eram o
produto de uma engenharia biológica cuidadosa. Os cientistas
extraíram DNA de fósseis de dinossauro, reconstruiu a cadeia de DNA
original, inseriram o DNA reconstruído em embriões de ovo e depois
incubaram os ovos.

O Jurassic Park de Michael Crichton é uma metáfora apropriada da

recente busca entre protestantes da antiga Igreja. Exemplos desse
anseio incluem: a rede de fé do futuro antigo de Robert Webber, o
catolicismo reformatório de Peter Leithart e o movimento da igreja de
convergência. Esses movimentos recentes têm precedentes anteriores
nos anos 1800, por exemplo, a Teologia de Mercersburg e o
Movimento de Oxford. A busca protestante pela antiga Igreja é
semelhante ao fascínio dos paleontólogos com o passado perdido dos
dinossauros. Tendo se afastado das corrupções do catolicismo
romano, os protestantes afirmaram que estavam agora em posição de
retornar à pureza e simplicidade do antigo cristianismo.

O desejo de se reconectar com o passado é natural. É como uma

criança adotada que quer aprender sobre seus pais biológicos. Esse
interesse na antiguidade também é bíblico. O profeta Jeremias
escreveu sobre procurar o bom caminho, os caminhos antigos
(Jeremias 6:16). O livro dos Provérbios falou sobre o respeito da
"antiga pedra limite" colocada pelos antepassados (Provérbios 22:28).
 Reconstruindo o passado

O romance Jurassic Park pode ser visto como uma metáfora das
falhas dentro da eclesiologia protestante. Se alguém presta muita
atenção à linha da história de Jurassic Park, percebemos que os
dinossauros não são dinossauros reais no sentido de ser idênticos
aos que existiam na era mesozóica. Os dinossauros do Jurassic
Park eram criações laboratoriais, produto de pesquisa científica
cuidadosa. Da mesma forma, há uma certa artificialidade na
busca protestante pela Igreja primitiva. Onde os cientistas dos
laboratórios do Jurassic Park trabalhavam a partir de DNA
extraído de fósseis de dinossauro, Nevin e Schaff trabalhavam em
bibliotecas de seminários que procuravam escavar textos de
igrejas antigas. Mais recentemente, Webber e Leithart usaram os
mesmos métodos tentando renovar a igreja, recorrendo
seletivamente aos pais da igreja e às primeiras liturgias.

Dentro do Jurassic Park estão nuggets de fascinantes questões

filosóficas. Um problema fundamental era que os dinossauros do
Jurassic Park eram criaturas artificiais. Eles são artificiais por
causa de modificações feitas em seus corpos. Isso deu origem a
todos os tipos de problemas e os tornou inerentemente instáveis.

"Você não sabe com certeza?" Malcolm disse, afetando o espanto.

Wu sorriu, "eu parei de contar", disse ele, "depois da primeira dúzia. E você
tem que perceber que, às vezes, pensamos que temos um animal
corretamente feito - do ponto de vista do DNA, que é o nosso trabalho
básico - e o animal cresce durante seis meses e, em seguida, ocorre algo
inoportuno. E percebemos que há algum erro. Um gene liberador não está
operando. Um hormônio não sendo liberado. Ou algum outro problema na
seqüência de desenvolvimento. Então, devemos voltar para a mesa de
desenho com esse animal por assim dizer. "(Jurassic Park, p. 111)

Um exemplo de modificações genéticas construídas no recente

futuro antigo e as igrejas reforma-católicas é a ausência do
episcopado. Isso não é um erro. Adotar uma estrutura episcopal
significaria a entrega de uma autonomia congregacional tão
preciosa para o Evangélismo. Nesse sentido, eles ainda são
geneticamente protestantes. Apoiar-se às estruturas da igreja
protestante separa-as fundamentalmente da Igreja primitiva
fundada pelos apóstolos. O bispo foi integral e fundamental para
a Igreja primitiva. Inácio de Antioquia, estudante de João
Apóstolo e terceiro bispo de Antioquia, enfatizou a importância
de obedecer ao bispo (ver Carta ao Smyrneans VIII, IX).

Onde o bispo está presente, permita que a congregação se reúna, assim

como onde Jesus Cristo é, há a Igreja Católica. Sem a supervisão do bispo,
não são permitidos batismos ou festas de amor.

No entanto, a vertente libertária na teologia protestante não

permitirá os bispos no sentido histórico. Muitos protestantes,
lendo apenas a Bíblia e ignorando os pais da igreja primitiva,
acabam por projetar sua tendência protestante na história da
igreja. Mas tal omissão seria como um historiador escrevendo um
livro sobre Roma antiga sem mencionar os Caesars! Ou um
professor de direito que ensina um curso sobre jurisprudência
americana com pouca menção ao Supremo Tribunal.

Outro dilema na busca protestante pela Igreja primitiva é se

alguém poderia realmente trazê-lo de volta ou simplesmente
acabar com uma caricatura. Um dilema semelhante existia para
os cientistas do Jurassic Park, que nunca haviam visto um
dinossauro vivo da era mesozóica.

Grant disse: "Como você sabe se está se desenvolvendo corretamente?

Ninguém já viu esses animais antes ".

Wu sorriu. "Muitas vezes pensei sobre isso. Suponho que seja um pouco
paradoxo. Eventualmente, espero que os paleontologistas, como você,
comparem nossos animais com o registro fóssil para verificar a seqüência
do desenvolvimento "(Jurassic Park, p. 114).

O paradoxo aqui é se esses dinossauros reconstruídos eram

realmente dinossauros ou outra coisa. Tudo o que os cientistas
tinham que passar eram fósseis, não dinossauros vivos reais da
era mesozóica. Da mesma forma, para os protestantes, todos os
que tinham que passar eram textos patristicos antigos, mas
nenhuma tradição da igreja viva que remonta à Igreja primitiva.
Isso os deixa adivinhar o que a Igreja primitiva deve ter sido.

Da mesma forma, há uma tensão entre pessoas que têm pouca

paciência para as perguntas profundas e querem apenas fazer as
coisas.

Hammond suspirou. "Agora, Henry, vamos ter outra dessas discussões

abstratas? Você sabe que eu gosto de ser simples. Os dinossauros que temos
agora são reais e ...

"Bem, não exatamente", disse Wu. Ele caminhou pela sala de estar, apontou
para os monitores. "Eu não acho que devemos nos enxergar. Não recriamos
o passado aqui. O passado se foi. Nunca pode ser recriado. O que fizemos é
reconstruir o passado - ou pelo menos uma versão do passado.
"(Jurassic Park pp. 121-122)

Faltando uma tradição viva que remonta à Igreja Apostólica, os

protestantes acabam por ter que reconstruir a Igreja primitiva, como
melhor entendiam. O Movimento de Jesus da década de 1970 teve
igrejas domésticas onde pessoas sentavam no chão, tocavam guitarras
e cantavam canções de louvor, e todos com uma bíblia em suas mãos.
Mais recentemente, os evangélicos descobriram os escritos dos
primeiros pais da igreja e estão buscando incorporar essas
descobertas em suas congregações: recitando o Credo de Nicéia,
celebrando semanalmente a Eucaristia, vestimentas para o clero,
velas e incenso. Não sendo parte de uma tradição viva, eles acabam
criando uma "versão do passado" confiando em Deus para abençoar
seus sinceros esforços para retornar à Igreja primitiva. É como
viajantes perdidos que procuram encontrar o seu caminho de casa
sem saber onde a casa está no mapa.

The Lost World Scenario

An alternative scenario can be found in another book written by

Michael Crichton, The Lost World.
 “No, no,” Levine said earnestly. “I’m quite serious. What
if the dinosaurs did not become extinct? What if they still
exist? Somewhere in an isolated spot on the planet.” (Lost
World p. 5)

The Protestant view of history assumes that there once was an

apostolic Church but it no longerexists today. But Protestants and
Evangelicals need to ask the question: What if the apostolic Church
still exists today? What if there was a church where the errors of the
papacy were avoided? What if that church was within driving
distance today?

For Evangelicals Eastern Orthodoxy is a Lost World. Many

Protestants and Evangelicals drive by these funny looking ethnic
churches with strange names unaware of these churches’ connection
to the early Church. The estrangement of the Great Schism of 1054
resulted in Western Christians, both Roman Catholics and
Protestants, not being aware of Orthodoxy’s existence and its
distinctive approach to doctrine and worship. The Protestant
Reformers’ bitter struggle against medieval Catholicism gave
Protestants a severe astigmatism that skewed their understanding of
church history. Protestants came to view the early Church through
the prism of Catholicism imagining the Apostolic Church to be part a
lost past. But while the Protestants of the 1500s can be excused for
having a distorted perspective on church history, the situation is quite
different today. Many Protestants in recent years are learning about
the early church fathers and are having a firsthand encounter with
Orthodoxy.

This is why the first visit to an Orthodox Church is often such a

surprise for many Evangelicals. Orthodoxy represents what many
Protestants are seeking after, the early Church before Roman
Catholicism. The Orthodox Liturgy is part of living tradition that goes
back to the days of the Apostles. At first glance many would find this
hard to accept especially the icons, the elaborate liturgical
ceremonies, and ornate vestments worn by priests. All these are so
radically different from the austere minimalism that mark Reformed,
 and especially, Puritan worship, or the exuberant expressiveness of
charismatic worship.

Images in Dura Europos Synagogue 3rd

century

But when approached from the standpoint of the Old Testament

pattern of worship transformed by the New Covenant of Jesus Christ,
the Divine Liturgy makes perfectly good sense. The vestments worn
by Orthodox priests are patterned after those worn by the Old
Testament priests. If Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb who takes
away the sins of the world then it makes sense to view the Eucharist
as the culmination of the Old Testament sacrificial system. A careful
reading shows that icons have a biblical basis in the Old Testament
(Exodus 26, 2 Chronicles 3). Recent archaeological findings have
shown that early Jewish synagogues had images on their walls. All
this explains why a conscientious re-reading of Scripture and an open
minded study of church history have led thousands of Protestants:
pastors, professors, devout laymen to the conclusion that the
Orthodox Church is indeed what it claims to be: the very Church
founded by Christ himself, not some later knock off
imitation. Visit Journey to Orthodoxy.com

Testing the Lost World Hypothesis

Protestant ecclesiology assumes a major discontinuity in

history. Protestant church history is based on the idea that there once
was a pure and apostolic Church but that early Church fell into
spiritual darkness. It was not until the Reformation that Martin
Luther recovered the Gospel and spiritual light returned to
Europe. Protestants believe that using the principle of the “Bible
alone” they will be able to reform (reconstruct) the Church as it was
meant to be. These assumptions are foundational to defining
Protestant identity. The Protestant view of history is crucial for
explaining why Protestants are different from Roman Catholics (they
follow the ‘Bible alone’) and why they remain separate from Roman
Catholics (they have Gospel in the pure form of justification by ‘faith
alone’).

Orthodoxy presents a significant challenge to the Protestant

paradigm of church history. It is the Lost World that did not become
extinct. Orthodoxy claims a historical continuity that goes back to the
first century but it looks so different from what Evangelicals imagine
the early Church to have been like. Evangelicals can test Orthodoxy’s
claim to historical continuity by studying the church of Antioch.

Many Evangelicals greatly admire the Apostle Paul the great

missionary but only a few know the name of his home church. Every
missionary has a home church from which they were sent. According
to Acts 13:1-3, Paul received his missionary calling at the church of
Antioch. In this brief passage we learn during the Liturgy the Holy
Spirit directed that Paul and Barnabas be set aside for missionary
work. The Church of Antioch – the Apostle Paul’s home church —
continues to exist to this day. The current Patriarch of Antioch, John
X, can trace his apostolic succession back to the first century. The
Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, which received
two thousand Evangelicals into Orthodoxy in 1987, has direct ties
with the Apostle Paul’s home church. This is a spiritual lineage that
any Evangelical would be proud to have!

Another way an Evangelical can test the Lost World hypothesis is by

tracing the form of worship used in the church of Antioch. We learn
from that same passage (Acts 13:1-3) that the worship in Antioch was
liturgical worship. The Greek word for “worshiping the Lord” (NIV)
or “ministered to the Lord” (KJV) is “leitourgounton” from which we
get “liturgy.” This is why Orthodox Christians refer to their Sunday
worship as “the Liturgy.” The worship of the first Christians in
Jerusalem was liturgical. This can be seen in Acts 2:42 which
referred to the Liturgy of the Word (the Apostles’ teaching) and the
Liturgy of the Eucharist (the breaking of bread). On most Sundays we
use the fifth century Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and about ten
times a year we use the fourth century Liturgy of St. Basil the
Great. These liturgies which were inherited or passed on from the
bishops before them are part of the Tradition of the ancient
Church. In October we use the first century Liturgy of St. James. The
liturgy was named after the Lord’s brother who served as bishop of
Jerusalem and in that capacity presided over the first church council
recorded in Acts 15. This historical continuity in Orthodox worship
stands in stark contrast with the rapidly evolving forms of worship in
Protestantism and Evangelicalism. The historic pattern of worship is
pretty much lost in much of Evangelicalism. In the more progressive
churches the order of worship changes from week to week depending
on the decisions made by the praise and worship team. In the more
‘traditional’ Protestant churches the order of worship found in the
back of the hymnal is never used by the congregation.

A third way an Evangelical can test the Lost World hypothesis is by

tracing the form of church government. The early form of church
government was episcopal – rule by bishop. Ignatius of Antioch, the
third bishop of Antioch and a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote a
series of letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome in 98 or 117 about
the importance of obeying the bishop. In his letters he exhorted
people not to celebrate the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper) apart from the
bishop (Letter to the Smyrneans VIII and IX). All this is so different
from Evangelicalism which favors congregational autonomy or the
Presbyterian classis. Protestants may be averse to the episcopacy due
to their opposition to the Roman Catholic Church but the fact
remains that the episcopacy was the norm in the early Church. The
notion of a universal papal supremacy was a distortion that
Protestants rightly objected to. Orthodoxy also object on the basis
that papal supremacy is contrary to Tradition. This supports the Lost
World hypothesis that the Orthodox Church is the same church as the
early Church.

Jurassic Park

GMO Churches?

Robert Webber’s ancient-future worship movement and Peter

Leithart’s reformational-catholicism are examples of a GMO
churches. “GMO” refers to “genetically modified organism.” Like
the Jurassic Park scientists working to re-create dinosaurs,
contemporary theologians and pastors are seeking to re-create the
ancient Church based on their research. Their motives may be
sincere but the means they used are highly problematic. Sola
Scriptura, because it denies Holy Tradition a regulative function in
the interpretation of Scripture, has given rise to all sorts of novel
doctrines and worship practices resulting in ever multiplying church
divisions. As a result there is no integrating center for Protestantism
despite their longing for the unity of the ancient Church.

A carefully guarded and transmitted Holy Tradition gives Orthodoxy

doctrinal stability and historical continuity that Protestantism never
had. The transmission of Holy Tradition is done through apostolic
succession, one bishop passing on the Faith to his successor. Another
significant factor has been Orthodoxy’s practice of closed
communion — only those who are Orthodox and in good standing can
partake of the Eucharist. The Eucharist in addition to being the
source of unity for Orthodoxy also protects the Orthodox against
heterodox innovations. To use an analogy from biology, closed
communion prevents unchecked interchange of unwarranted ideas
and practices.

All this confronts sincere and serious Evangelicals with a profound

question: Is the early Church of the Apostles really gone for good
or is it still alive here and now in the Orthodox Church? This in
turn presents them with a crucial choice: Do I place myself within the
life and communion of the Church that has roots going back to the
Apostles – or do I persist in the quest to reconstruct the early
Church? In recent years thousands of Protestants and Evangelicals
have completed their quest for the ancient Church by taking the bold
step of joining the Orthodox Church. Interested readers can learn
more about these journeys to Orthodoxy by checking out the titles
and links recommended below. The ancient Church founded by the
Apostles has never gone away, it is here in the Orthodox Church. By
the mercies of God, we bid you: “Come and see.”

Robert Arakaki

Recommendations

Becoming Orthodox by Peter Gillquist

Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin

Facing East by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity With the Temple, the

Synagogue and the Early Church by Benjamin Williams

The Orthodox Church by Kallistos (Timothy) Ware

Blog: Journey to Orthodoxy

Blog: Letters on Orthodoxy

Blog: Liturgica