An Introduction and a Reason

Dear Readers,

You may have stumbled across this page looking for something else. You may have come here because it was recommended to you by me or a friend, or both--contrary to popular belief, I do have friends, and I recommend things. You may have googled "Lutheran" and clicked through a few pages before finally landing on this. Any number of things may have happened. The point is, you're here, so I feel I must put on a show.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jacque. I am an actor, a teacher, a restaurant worker, a musician, a part-time philosopher, and a former Lutheran. I am also, for the record, a burger lover, a Russian literature fanatic, an aunt to several nieces and nephews, a stage combat enthusiast, an Orthodox christian, and a strong proponent of the oxford comma. But enough about me. I'm not what you came here for. Well, for some of you I am (Heeeeeyyy family!) but mostly you came because you're intrigued by the name or the concept or some such nonsense. So let's dive into that, shall we?

This blog came about for two reasons: First, when I am angry, frustrated, or just feeling snarky, I tend to write letters. But I also tend to write when I'm puzzling things out. Normally I have a target for my letters and occasionally they get sent. But for the most part they sit on my computer--or in one case in a pile of papers on the floor of my car--and I go back to read them when I want to be amused. In the case of these letters, a few that will begin this blog actually were sent because I truly wanted answers. And I still do. Which is where you come in. I would guess if you're reading this, you're probably Lutheran. If you have any sort of theological background--or even if you just have some well supported arguments, I want to hear from you! Because like Phil Collins sings as the invisible voice that we think may possibly be the inner voice of Tarzan in Tarzan, "I wanna know." The second reason this blog came about is because after a few of these letters, I started sending them to my sisters because we're giant nerds who debate religion and like reading everything about it that we can get our hands on. We're Fentons. We read. *Gasp* I just told you I'm a Fenton. Breathe. It'll be okay. We're none of us evil, and we only bite on Tuesdays, a fact that you don't really have to deal with since we're interacting via computer. But I digress. After a while they started telling me to write a book to help other converts to Orthodoxy from Lutheranism sort out what they believe. See, the Orthodox church has a lot of books about conversion, but they're all either too heavy for the average person to get through or geared to typical protestants or Catholics. Not that there's anything wrong with protestants or Catholics, but I grew up knowing that Lutherans were neither of those things. I would also venture to say that the Anglican church also falls into that unique bracket of Christianity. Either way, it was very difficult to find a book that related to our particular situation, so my sisters have since suggested that I write one. But I have very little material, and I'd like my research to reach outside of books. I learn in the same way I write: Conversationally. And I find that the more I can debate or argue something, the more interested in it I am.

I'm going to give you just a little bit more about me, but only because it further clarifies my final point. My family converted to Orthodoxy when I was fifteen years old. At such an age, I was too young to be thinking of what I actually believed--I was much to focused on the whole figuring out high school thing--and too old to be able to just go along with whatever my parents told me. And while my family attended classes before our chrismation, I was relegated to babysitting duty. This is by no means a judgement on my parents or the church. All I wish to point out is that this is a difficult time to make life decisions. It's no surprise that at seventeen I decided I didn't believe anything anymore. I informed my parents I wasn't going to attend church anymore and they put up no fight at all. The following Sunday I woke up and went to church. Old habits die hard, I suppose. And I kept going and eventually I believed again. I managed to make it all through college without too much hassle despite my major--I kind of became the cute religious mascot of my theatre circle. The mom of the group. The girl who stopped drinking before midnight on Saturdays to make sure she was following the fast for Sunday morning. And that lasted me until about twenty-three. And then something shifted. I became very curious about Orthodoxy again. And not just Orthodoxy. The differences between Orthodoxy and Lutheranism. May I just point out that in the grand scheme of things, if we look at the big picture we aren't all that different? Perhaps this is why I had such a hard time finding books with the answers. So the time has come for me to go looking on my own, one painstaking letter at a time.

Here is my request: I write letters. When I write them, I present what it is that I believe. All I ask is that you respond with what you believe and provide the argument to back it up. I want a debate, a discourse. If you feel like leaving a comment, by all means! If you feel like leaving a long comment and I find it helpful, I'll incorporate it into a post and give my rebuttal or my thanks or what have you. If you feel like simply reading what I write, that is also totally fine. All I ask is that we stay civil and we remember that I'm here to learn. I hope you are too.

Here's to some spectacular theological discussion!

All the best,

Jacque Fenton