JOURNEY TO ORTHODOXY

From Evangelicalism to Historic Orthodoxy How and Why I Became Orthodox
by Robert Arakaki

In the summer of 1990 I left Hawaii to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts When I left for seminary, the last thing on my mind was becoming Orthodox. I went there to become an evangelical seminary professor working to bring the United Church of Christ (UCC), one of the most liberal denominations, back to its biblical roots.

One of the challenges of being an Evangelical in the UCC is the rampant relativism in which one interpretation of the Bible is regarded as good as another. I countered this theological relativism by asserting that the biblical position was the same as the historic Christian faith.

However this backfired when, as a church history major, I discovered, much to my surprise, that many Evangelical beliefs and practices have their roots in the nineteenth century. In other words, Evangelicalism, like Liberalism, cannot be considered part of the historic Christian faith but a very recent development.

In 1993, I moved to Berkeley, California to begin doctoral studies in the history of religions. While there, I worshipped at Sts. Cyril and Methodios Orthodox Church, a tiny congregation made up mostly of American converts. I went there because I was attracted by the warmth of the congregation and by the beauty of the liturgical style of worship. Attending the Liturgy Sunday after Sunday helped me to understand the Orthodox approach to worship. It was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together and beginning to see a beautiful picture appear before your eyes.

When I returned to Hawaii in 1996, I was beginning to have serious questions about the basic premises of Protestant theology. This resulted in my living a schizophrenic existence: growing theological doubts even as I took an active role in the Kalihi Union Church (KUC), its missions committee and political action team.

During that time, I began to write a series of papers about icons as a means of resolving my theological questions. I suspected that this would be the one point where Orthodox theology would be most vulnerable to an Evangelical critique. However, in one paper I discover that there is indeed a biblical basis for icons. Then, in another paper, I concluded that John Calvin's critique on icons had failed to address the arguments of historic Orthodoxy. It was like the Titanic hitting the iceberg; what looks like a tiny piece of ice is much bigger under the surface and is capable of sinking the big ship.

The turning point came in August 1998 when I began to take a hard look at the doctrine of sola fide, "justification by faith alone". I was shocked at how quickly the arguments for sola fide collapsed. I had thought I would give up this core doctrine only after a long protracted struggle. I remember thinking to myself: "My God! I'm going to have to become Orthodox!" With that, I realized that I could no longer be a Protestant and that I needed to see Father Dean about becoming Orthodox.

Leaving KUC, my home church for the past 25 years, was not an easy thing to do. I did not leave KUC because I was unhappy there. I think KUC is one of the best churches in Hawaii. However, I have become convinced that the Orthodox Church is right when it claims to have the fullness of the faith. Orthodoxy is like the pearl of great price that when he found it, the merchant went and sold all he had to obtain it (Matthew 13: 45-46).