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Thirsting For God in a Land of Shallow Wells
Beginning in the street ministry days of the Jesus Movement, Matthew Gallatin devoted more than 20 years to evangelical Christian ministry. He was a singer/songwriter, worship leader, youth leader, and Calvary Chapel pastor. Nevertheless, he eventually accepted a painful no matter how hard he tried, he was never able to experience the God whom he longed to know. In encountering Orthodox Christianity, he finally found the fullness of the Faith.In Thirsting for God, philosophy professor Gallatin expresses many of the struggles that a Protestant will encounter in coming face to face with such things as Protestant relativism, rationalism versus the Orthodox sacramental path to God, and the unity of Scripture and Tradition. He also discusses praying with icons, praying formal prayers, and many other Orthodox traditions.An outstanding book that will help Orthodox readers more deeply appreciate their faith and will give Protestant readers a more thorough understanding of the Church.
189 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
April 6, 2010
Well Gallatin--a former fundamentalist/evangelical/charismatic Protestant converted to Orthodoxy--did a great job on the Protestant side of this book. He knocks down Protestant objections to various traditions and beliefs of the ancient church quite handily, although if you are the Lutheran or Anglican type of Protestant you won't need nearly as much of the trying-too-hard argumentation when it comes to things such as infant baptism or the fact that it's ok to recognize the saints. He makes very clear what he finds to be the faults and shortcomings of the Protestant stream of Christian tradition, and to a large degree, I agree with him. However, it's ironic that even as he protests against the Protestant "rationalist" streak and sola scriptura, he proof-texts the heck out of this book, and prattles on endlessly with mind game type arguments like the former fundamentalist preacher he is. The book slowly filled me with dread; I am beginning to investigate the Orthodox faith because of problems I have with Protestantism (and different objections I have with Catholicism). Gallatin keeps informing us that so many evangelicals like himself have gone Orthodox recently and now I feel a chill down my spine as I fear showing up in the Orthodox church only to find the same selective-bible-quoting, fast-talking, bloodshot eyed contemporary Christian mania. I am hoping my next two planned reads--both by Bishop Ware--will be a balm to this paranoia.
January 20, 2018
It is not often that I don’t finish a book. Even if I don’t like it, I will usually push through to the end. This book however is so bad that I have stopped reading it a little over halfway through the book.
We all know that converts to anything are the worst. In their newness, their passion, they tend to get a little crazed. We call it the cage stage. That time when they attack anything and everything that goes against their new belief. Nobody likes the cage stage, because it tends to be rather aggressive and obnoxious. Sadly, in this book by a convert to orthodoxy, all I find is cage stage.
The author, a former Protestant, finds nothing good in his former life. Nothing of beauty, nothing of value. That is fine, that’s probably why he converted away from it in the first place. The problem is that he doesn’t fairly represent his former protestant life. He quite literally builds an angry strawman, that he can then have fun tearing down. For example, he spends untold pages attacking Sola Scriptura, criticizing all Protestants for this view. Unfortunately, he is describing SOLO Scriptura, not SOLA, and therefore his attack has no basis in actual reality. Yet, shouldn’t a former, supposedly educated Protestant have known the difference between these two rather different views?
He repeatedly bemoans Protestant spiritual relationships with God, Stating, on several occasions, the only the Orthodox can understand a true and loving approach to God. He says more than once that protestants can only occasionally touch the beauty of God, but always fade away from it. Yet, how many Protestants, despite his claim otherwise, have deep and fulfilling relationships with the Divine? And how many Orthodox simply go through the motions? Is another case of an argument with no basis in actual reality. Many Protestants deeply feel the presence of God, many Orthodox never do. To pretend one side has it so good, and the other is so superficial, might impress a certain group of people, but smacks heavily of intellectual dishonesty.
If you are looking for a fair and reasoned book about a Protestant journeying into Orthodoxy, this is not the book for you. It is a shallow book written by a convert for seemingly no other reason then to stroke the ego of other Orthodox people, but for the seeker, for the curious, for those who just like to read, it is nothing more than offensive. My only two regrets are that I spent a couple hours wasted on this book that I cannot have back, and I cannot give it zero stars, as the program forces me to give it one.
We all know that converts to anything are the worst. In their newness, their passion, they tend to get a little crazed. We call it the cage stage. That time when they attack anything and everything that goes against their new belief. Nobody likes the cage stage, because it tends to be rather aggressive and obnoxious. Sadly, in this book by a convert to orthodoxy, all I find is cage stage.
The author, a former Protestant, finds nothing good in his former life. Nothing of beauty, nothing of value. That is fine, that’s probably why he converted away from it in the first place. The problem is that he doesn’t fairly represent his former protestant life. He quite literally builds an angry strawman, that he can then have fun tearing down. For example, he spends untold pages attacking Sola Scriptura, criticizing all Protestants for this view. Unfortunately, he is describing SOLO Scriptura, not SOLA, and therefore his attack has no basis in actual reality. Yet, shouldn’t a former, supposedly educated Protestant have known the difference between these two rather different views?
He repeatedly bemoans Protestant spiritual relationships with God, Stating, on several occasions, the only the Orthodox can understand a true and loving approach to God. He says more than once that protestants can only occasionally touch the beauty of God, but always fade away from it. Yet, how many Protestants, despite his claim otherwise, have deep and fulfilling relationships with the Divine? And how many Orthodox simply go through the motions? Is another case of an argument with no basis in actual reality. Many Protestants deeply feel the presence of God, many Orthodox never do. To pretend one side has it so good, and the other is so superficial, might impress a certain group of people, but smacks heavily of intellectual dishonesty.
If you are looking for a fair and reasoned book about a Protestant journeying into Orthodoxy, this is not the book for you. It is a shallow book written by a convert for seemingly no other reason then to stroke the ego of other Orthodox people, but for the seeker, for the curious, for those who just like to read, it is nothing more than offensive. My only two regrets are that I spent a couple hours wasted on this book that I cannot have back, and I cannot give it zero stars, as the program forces me to give it one.
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April 30, 2017As soon as I began to read this book I was astounded as the author's condescending and cynical attitude. It was egotistical and offensive.
The author's religious exposure is disparate (from a Seventh Day Advent, then a brief period of time in Protestantism, moving on to attending a Catholic seminary, and finally landing on Orthodoxy. He is confused about which religion teaches which doctrine, and yet ascribes the majority of what he purports as "erroneous" to the "Protestant" church.
He seems most influenced by his upbringing in the SDA church, which is not Protestantism. The SDA does not claim Jesus Christ to be God, but rather the archangel, Michael. One of the foundational doctrines of the historical and present day Protestant is the deity of Christ.
One example of his confusion is found in chapter 17 where he claims the Protestant believes that when one dies they merely go to "sleep." This is a teaching of the SDA religion. The Protestant doctrine of the death of the saint is found in 2 Corinthians where the Apostle Paul teaches "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
This unscholarly book is a weak attempt to convert one to Orthodoxy, and has failed to convince.
I rate this book at "minus 0" for its inaccuracy and lack of convincing apologetics.
The author's religious exposure is disparate (from a Seventh Day Advent, then a brief period of time in Protestantism, moving on to attending a Catholic seminary, and finally landing on Orthodoxy. He is confused about which religion teaches which doctrine, and yet ascribes the majority of what he purports as "erroneous" to the "Protestant" church.
He seems most influenced by his upbringing in the SDA church, which is not Protestantism. The SDA does not claim Jesus Christ to be God, but rather the archangel, Michael. One of the foundational doctrines of the historical and present day Protestant is the deity of Christ.
One example of his confusion is found in chapter 17 where he claims the Protestant believes that when one dies they merely go to "sleep." This is a teaching of the SDA religion. The Protestant doctrine of the death of the saint is found in 2 Corinthians where the Apostle Paul teaches "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
This unscholarly book is a weak attempt to convert one to Orthodoxy, and has failed to convince.
I rate this book at "minus 0" for its inaccuracy and lack of convincing apologetics.
March 29, 2020
Nonsense. He needs to replace every use of the words "Protestants believe" with "I once believed" because most of what he calls Protestantism are mantras, conclusions, and logic I (a life long Protestant) don't even recognize as familiar. The logical leaps and irrational feelings are overwhelming. I'm looking into Orthodoxy DESPITE this book, not because of it.
August 12, 2018
As a catechumen in the orthodox faith....this book sums up my feelings of why i came to the Faith. I plan on buying several copies and giving them to my protestant friends.....if nothing more than they can see where im coming from on my journey to the one holy catholic and apostolic church.
May 15, 2008
Although in this story the author finds his home in the Orthodox church, his observations about contemporary evangelical Protestant worship really hit home and got me going.
January 4, 2023
Potent Quotables:
“When does all this Bible study and spiritual exercise actually begin to change me? When does it start to affect me in the real world—in my marriage, with my kids, in my work? When does it start to give me victory over sins that have plagued me all my life—which, despite all my ‘spirituality,’ are just as strong as they have ever been? I thought I was tapping into the Holy Spirit’s power here in this church. Why don’t I feel Jesus deep in my heart? Where is this lasting peace and freedom He promises?”
I found myself at forty years of age with neither the assurance that my doctrine represented truth, nor the abiding awareness of the living Christ that I so earnestly craved. To me, Protestant faith had shown itself to be a great dream that cannot find its fulfillment, a deep question that cannot answer itself, an eternal thirst dwelling in a land of shallow wells.
Simply knowing the truth does not automatically make a person conceited. I know, for instance, that the sun rises in the east. I know my car needs gasoline to run. None of this knowledge makes me swell with pride. That which is true is equally true for everyone. Believing it gives me no grounds for pride.
How can I think that an Arminian and a Calvinist can both have a valid relationship with the true God, unless Jesus Christ can be a different Person to different individuals? St. James is quite clear, however: in God there can be no such “variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). The Apostle Paul assures us there is only one God, one Lord, one faith, one hope (Ephesians 4:4–6). How can there be room in the Christian faith for spiritual relativism?
The Scriptures, while providing the raw material for many diverse interpretations, do not give us a clear, unquestionable, uncontroversial means of deciding which of those interpretations is correct. If they did, all intelligent, Bible-believing Protestants would be precisely united in their doctrine. Doctrinal uniformity would be a piece of cake! But taken by themselves, the Scriptures cannot reveal to us the objective truth about God. Why? It’s because they were never meant to stand by themselves!
Given the fact that other devoted Christians hold doctrines contrary to mine, I cannot really have confidence that the Holy Spirit guides my interpretations—unless I’m willing to believe either that the Holy Spirit wants to sow confusion in the world, or that I’m the only one to whom the Spirit reveals the truth, while He makes all those other dear people wallow in falsehood.
“Why does there have to be a penalty? Doesn’t Jesus teach we are to forgive freely the wrongs done to us? In fact, aren’t we told to take no more thought of them? Why does God expect us to do this, while He does not? Why does He have to have his ‘pound of flesh’ as a payment for wrongs done to Him, but forbids us to demand the same? If we come to Him asking pardon, why can’t He Himself do what He commands us to do, and simply say, ‘I forgive’?”
[As opposed to Penal Substitutionary Atonement, the Orthodox view of the crucifixion and resurrection] lights the night of the human soul with sublime mercy. It reveals a truly redeeming God, not One who is angered by smudges to His honor and requires a payoff. No, His loving, self-sacrificing work is to rescue us for Himself from the power of sin, Satan, and death, not from His own displeasure with us. What the Son of God truly wants as a result is achieved: the just reconciliation of His creation to Himself.
I saw it was possible for me to be free from subjectivity. I just had to accept the fact that Christian truth is to be found within the historic Church itself, not in the subjective interpretations of Protestant theology.
The flaw at the heart of Protestant faith is this: Protestant faith does not really know how—in any consistent way—to get free of its rationalizing, open the door, and experience Jesus. That’s what leaves devoted Protestants constantly seeking revival. It’s what keeps them going to the Christian bookstore, looking for titles that promise to unlock the secret to a deep relationship with God. They yearn for a day-to-day experience of the richness of Christ’s living Presence. But their faith can’t give them that.
For a Protestant, spiritual experience is a result of spiritual understanding. Conversely, for an Orthodox Christian, spiritual understanding is a result of spiritual experience… The Protestant who wants to understand the sacramental path of the ancient Church must fathom that [its] rituals are anything but empty. Instead, performing them allows one to have a live encounter with God. Do you know what happens every time an Orthodox Christian opens the door of his heart by practicing a sacrament, in faith and with a pure heart? He enters heaven! He embraces the living Christ! Now, tell me: if that’s the same old experience that happens every time the believer does the same old ritualistic thing, why would he ever want to do anything different? Still, all this is completely foreign to the typical Protestant. If he is ever to get a sense of the beauty of the sacramental life, he must see that the way of the early Church, the way of Orthodoxy, is an entirely different way of being with God from the one he has always endorsed.
I cannot judge the meaningfulness of another’s experience. But I can say that [modern] practices are radical departures from the holy rituals of the New Testament and the historic Church. We modern Christians have changed the ways the unchanging God has deigned for us to approach Him.
We cooked up a phrase: unity in diversity. But you know what? There’s no such thing. The word di-versity itself implies division—differing forms of worship divide the Body of Christ. This is not God’s desire, and He must not be held responsible for it. Diversity in Christian worship can only be the product of self-directed, self-concerned individualism, and the multiplied thousands of denominations in Christendom are ample evidence to support that allegation.
As Christians, we are not sacramental because that’s the way we like to worship. We’re sacramental because this is the path God has revealed and has commanded His Church to follow. In fact, let me be very candid for a moment. A Protestant who chooses to join himself to the ancient Church and its sacramental way will find himself encountering spiritual conflicts and struggles of a magnitude he’s never faced before. To walk the sacramental path is to live every day in a Kingdom that is “not of this world” (John 18:36). From experience, I can tell you that a serious Orthodox Christian finds himself at odds with this sinful world, and with the sinful blackness of his own heart, to a depth and intensity unknown to most Protestant believers. Tears are his familiar companion. But through his sacramental life of struggle, he also comes to know unimaginable grace, overwhelming peace, inexpressible joy, indescribable love—and true victory.
The “hows” of worship—like the order of service in the liturgy—did not need to be explained in the New Testament writings, because they had already been firmly established in the life of the Church by the Apostles and their followers. In that light, we can see that the real purpose of the New Testament writings was to keep Christians moving straight ahead on the path that had been set before them by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles—years before those Gospels and Epistles were ever penned.
[Mary] has born the One who saves each one of us. How then, can my friend so mindlessly exclaim, “There’s nothing special about Mary!”? When I hear my Protestant friends speak with such disdain of the Theotokos, I am pained for their sakes, and I wonder if they have ever considered this: They are speaking disparagingly about the mother of the One who wrote with His finger on tablets of stone, “Honor thy father and mother.” How should we suppose that the only Man who is able to keep that commandment perfectly feels about His mother? Think about the way we poor, sinful humans respect our own dear mothers and defend their honor. What a glorious place must Mary have within her Son’s perfectly loving, perfectly honoring heart!
We must not forget that until the eleventh century, “to be a Christian” meant “to be Orthodox”... Once a person accepts the fact that it is history, and not our personal interpretation of the Scriptures, that tells us what the Christian Faith is, the fact that Orthodoxy is the one true expression of that Faith is fairly easy to discover.
God does not encumber us with these hard tasks in order to somehow make our lives miserable. No, they are necessary in order for us to experience our metamorphosis from sin-sick creatures into the beautiful Christlike beings He intends us to be. What’s more, every person who finally decides to walk this Orthodox path discovers that until he embraced this way of tears and self-denial, he had never really tasted the true joy and peace of God’s love. It’s simple, really. Only in the depths of repentance and brokenness does one encounter the true magnitude of God’s mercy and compassion. And the more ways one can find to deny his earthly self, the more room he makes in his heart for the divine Christ.
February 23, 2026
This book explores the perspective of ex-Protestant and Orthodox convert, Matthew Gallatin. While I am not fully convinced of Orthodox Christianity, at least compared to Catholicism, I really feel like this book perfectly summarizes my issues with Protestantism in a single book. I will highlight the major critiques below:
- Under Protestantism, Christianity is inevitably up to your personal interpretation.
- Protestantism removes any credible authority to definitively declare what the proper interpretation of the Bible is.
- Due to its individualized nature, Protestantism is bound to innovate and modernize in ways that are not always good, and may contradict the Faith. (This is why you have LGBT-affirming churches.)
- In Protestantism, you decide what version of God you believe in and how you will worship Him. You do not consider how He want to be worshipped.
All of that aside, I and the author can testify that God does use Protestantism to lead people to salvation in Christ Jesus, but the issue isn't with validity, it's with the fullness of the Faith.
That said, my one critique of the book is that I often get the sense that the author believes that non-Orthodox Christians aren't just lacking the fullness of the Faith, but aren't really of the Faith at all. Whether that's what the author really believes or not, is unclear to me though.
Overall, this is a very satisfying read and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the historical, Apostolic Church Christ founded. Whether you're interested in Catholicism or Orthodoxy, I think this book makes a great case for Orthodoxy that also applies to Catholicism, as Catholicism is pretty much glossed over in this book. If you're interested in any of those things, but don't want to read a long book about it, this book's short and clear format should be perfect for you.
- Under Protestantism, Christianity is inevitably up to your personal interpretation.
- Protestantism removes any credible authority to definitively declare what the proper interpretation of the Bible is.
- Due to its individualized nature, Protestantism is bound to innovate and modernize in ways that are not always good, and may contradict the Faith. (This is why you have LGBT-affirming churches.)
- In Protestantism, you decide what version of God you believe in and how you will worship Him. You do not consider how He want to be worshipped.
All of that aside, I and the author can testify that God does use Protestantism to lead people to salvation in Christ Jesus, but the issue isn't with validity, it's with the fullness of the Faith.
That said, my one critique of the book is that I often get the sense that the author believes that non-Orthodox Christians aren't just lacking the fullness of the Faith, but aren't really of the Faith at all. Whether that's what the author really believes or not, is unclear to me though.
Overall, this is a very satisfying read and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the historical, Apostolic Church Christ founded. Whether you're interested in Catholicism or Orthodoxy, I think this book makes a great case for Orthodoxy that also applies to Catholicism, as Catholicism is pretty much glossed over in this book. If you're interested in any of those things, but don't want to read a long book about it, this book's short and clear format should be perfect for you.
July 22, 2024
The author’s extremely charitable disposition and accessible writing style, makes this book perfect for those inquiring. He goes over his life in a Protestant upbringing and his pastoral ministry before finding the ancient faith. Much of his story, I resonated with deeply as many American converts must also navigate various Protestant denominations before realizing Orthodoxy even exists. He covers many of the questions posed by those skeptical of the faith in a way that isn’t too heady or academic. This book is geared toward the average evangelly fish. If you are part of a more mainline denomination (Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran), I’d recommend Rock and Sand by Fr Josiah Trenham.
November 22, 2023
While I don't love to tone of this book; he does an adequate job of articulating relatable tension in his journey, for example:
“When does all this Bible study and spiritual exercise actually begin to change me? When does it start to affect me in the real world—in my marriage, with my kids, in my work? When does it start to give me victory over sins that have plagued me all my life—which, despite all my ‘spirituality,’ are just as strong as they have ever been? I thought I was tapping into the Holy Spirit’s power here in this church. Why don’t I feel Jesus deep in my heart? Where is this lasting peace and freedom He promises?”
Or here:
"I found myself at forty years of age with neither the assurance that my doctrine represented truth, nor the abiding awareness of the living Christ that I so earnestly craved. To me, Protestant faith had shown itself to be a great dream that cannot find its fulfilment, a deep question that cannot answer itself, an eternal thirst dwelling in a land of shallow wells"
For many, perhaps this book won't make sense, or he may come across as making some broad generalisations, but for others he may name something you've been feeling and offer his perspective on the 'cure'.
“When does all this Bible study and spiritual exercise actually begin to change me? When does it start to affect me in the real world—in my marriage, with my kids, in my work? When does it start to give me victory over sins that have plagued me all my life—which, despite all my ‘spirituality,’ are just as strong as they have ever been? I thought I was tapping into the Holy Spirit’s power here in this church. Why don’t I feel Jesus deep in my heart? Where is this lasting peace and freedom He promises?”
Or here:
"I found myself at forty years of age with neither the assurance that my doctrine represented truth, nor the abiding awareness of the living Christ that I so earnestly craved. To me, Protestant faith had shown itself to be a great dream that cannot find its fulfilment, a deep question that cannot answer itself, an eternal thirst dwelling in a land of shallow wells"
For many, perhaps this book won't make sense, or he may come across as making some broad generalisations, but for others he may name something you've been feeling and offer his perspective on the 'cure'.
December 17, 2020
Challenging. Inspiring. Clear. May this push many to pursue a true faith in Jesus Christ.
April 3, 2023
Round 2...
Quotes:
What makes truth the truth is that it cannot be relative. It cannot be twisted or seen in different lights. A man’s personal convictions about it are meaningless. His only choices are to yield to it, or to defy it. Thus, the truth about God must be the most purely objective truth there is.
To maintain that the contrary convictions of all Protestant believers are inspired by the Spirit of God is to accuse the Spirit of making sure the Church of Christ will be nothing like the Godhead in its oneness. So I was still left asking, On what do I base my belief that my interpretations of the Scriptures represent the truth?... The inspired Scriptures by themselves cannot tell me that my beliefs are true, since I must interpret them. Given the fact that other devoted Christians hold doctrines contrary to mine, I cannot really have confidence that the Holy Spirit guides my interpretations—unless I’m willing to believe either that the Holy Spirit wants to sow confusion in the world, or that I’m the only one to whom the Spirit reveals the truth, while He makes all those other dear people wallow in falsehood.
For the Protestant, the purpose of the Communion experience is to demonstrate that he already understands something; but for the Orthodox Christian, understanding comes as a result of the Communion experience. This “reverse emphasis” often makes it hard for a Protestant to comprehend the sacramental way.
To understand what the words of the New Testament documents actually meant to the people to whom they were written, one must understand the traditions that formed the context in which those words were received.
Sola scriptura and my Protestant rationalism demanded that I deny everything my heart told me about children. We always talk about childlike faith. We see it in the faces of children when they talk so matter-of-factly about Christ. In their prayers, we hear a simplicity and an unwavering confidence that puts our sophisticated adult faith to shame. In a child’s love for Jesus, there is no pretense. It is pure and honest.
Intellectual rationalism is the seat of self-love and pride. Thus, it cannot possibly be God’s chief ally; rather, it is His chief obstacle. That’s why the Protestant idea that God would require us to discover Him through painstaking mental effort was completely foreign to the Apostles and early Christians.
In reciting prayers from a prayer book, I take the first important steps toward encountering God “as He is” in the depths of my heart. Offering these prayers, I assure that what is in my mind is completely consistent with anything God might whisper in my heart. Or put another way, I could say that I know the words of my prayers tell the truth about God, and about me. By learning how to come back to the words of those prayers when I am distracted, I am learning how to let go of my own self-created thoughts, and focus my attention on holy words that come from another Source. All this turning away from myself—from my own thoughts, words, and imaginings—humbles me, and opens my heart to the transforming power of God.
When I hear my Protestant friends speak with such disdain of the Theotokos, I am pained for their sakes, and I wonder if they have ever considered this: They are speaking disparagingly about the mother of the One who wrote with His finger on tablets of stone, “Honor thy father and mother.” How should we suppose that the only Man who is able to keep that commandment perfectly feels about His mother?... How disappointed must the Savior be when He hears someone who professes to love and follow Him demanding that His mother be treated as “nothing special”? How sorrowful is He over those who lovingly revere preachers, presidents, and football coaches, but deride those who honor His mother as He does? How pained is He for those who denigrate the precious woman who unselfishly opened her arms to Him, that He might pour forth His grace upon all mankind?
The Orthodox Faith is not a philosophy to which one gives mental assent. It is not merely a set of doctrines that one chooses to believe. No, Orthodoxy is a sacramental life that must be lived out within the communal bonds of the true Body of Christ. It is a life totally devoted to the self-sacrificing, obedient service of Christ. Through that wholehearted and complete obedience, one participates in the breath, heartbeat, movement, desire, and Spirit of the living Christ.
Once a person accepts the fact that it is history, and not our personal interpretation of the Scriptures, that tells us what the Christian Faith is, the fact that Orthodoxy is the one true expression of that Faith is fairly easy to discover.
The Ancient Faith runs hard against the grain of the spirit of this age. It doesn’t ask us to come under its authority so that we can find a warm, comfortable, meaningful faith that fits our lifestyle. Instead, it calls us to fast, to weep bitterly for our sins, to deny our personal pleasures and comforts, to yield to spiritual authority, to mistrust our own judgments, to genuinely forgive the unforgivable, and to honestly love the unlovable. In short, it calls us to live a life that is entirely “not of this world” (John 18:36).
December 24, 2023
Surely a thought provoking book for any protestant/evangelical reader. However, the point that the author makes about how if different groups of people have different ideas about God — if I remember correctly his example deals with those who believe that God predestines salvation vs. those who don’t believe this — then they are worshipping different Gods altogether is nonsense, frankly. Surely this would mean that basically ALL people worship different gods, for there is no such thing as complete homogeneity in belief about something as complex as God, even in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
November 6, 2023
I was given this book by a bishop from the first Orthodox Church I ever stepped foot in at a retreat earlier this year. As someone who has only been brought up in the Protestant faith only, I have actually learned a lot from this book about where Orthodox / Catholic / Protestant faith came from!
I must say that the arguments throughout the book were very rationally and logically laid out, which can at times feel somewhat conflicting with how he argues that Protestant faith over-relies on what we can rationally comprehend versus just accepting/experiencing the original Faith as it was intended/perpetuated. But I feel like I also kind of needed this logical, rational approach to help me bridge the gap from where I was to understanding Orthodox Christianity.
Definitely a paradigm shifting book on many levels for me and has been an important part of my journey in exploring the Orthodox faith further…!
I must say that the arguments throughout the book were very rationally and logically laid out, which can at times feel somewhat conflicting with how he argues that Protestant faith over-relies on what we can rationally comprehend versus just accepting/experiencing the original Faith as it was intended/perpetuated. But I feel like I also kind of needed this logical, rational approach to help me bridge the gap from where I was to understanding Orthodox Christianity.
Definitely a paradigm shifting book on many levels for me and has been an important part of my journey in exploring the Orthodox faith further…!
March 23, 2024
As u read this book I felt as if the author had captured my thoughts, heart and emotions and wrote it all down with words I have been at a loss to find since becoming an Orthodox Christian two years ago.
If one wants to know my heart, love for Christ, DEEP desire for all to know this hope, peace and relationship, then read this book.
I desire my Protestant and Catholic friends to know what true joy, hope, peace and love is. I’ve known a relationship with Jesus for as long as I can remember, but all of the head knowledge of Reformed theology began to strip away the relationship of KNOWING Him. Orthodoxy has restored this relationship of Knowing Jesus.
This book explores why Orthodoxy is the Church of the Apostles and how a relationship with Christ is made new, real, and living. Truly the most incredible book on Orthodox Christianity!
If one wants to know my heart, love for Christ, DEEP desire for all to know this hope, peace and relationship, then read this book.
I desire my Protestant and Catholic friends to know what true joy, hope, peace and love is. I’ve known a relationship with Jesus for as long as I can remember, but all of the head knowledge of Reformed theology began to strip away the relationship of KNOWING Him. Orthodoxy has restored this relationship of Knowing Jesus.
This book explores why Orthodoxy is the Church of the Apostles and how a relationship with Christ is made new, real, and living. Truly the most incredible book on Orthodox Christianity!
June 15, 2017
Inspired but not convinced
I really learned a great deal from this inspirational book. I learned many of the weaknesses of Protestantism I had not considered before. I acknowledged my own thirst for sacramental liturgical worship. I also came to realize that the Orthodox and the Roman church were both severely infected by the political powers of their day. Just reading about corrupt popes and leaders in the Orthodox Church as they negotiated their way to the present age is disheartening. However I still believe Nothing can stand against the church of our LORD. We must return to the sacramental practice of the early church but continue to feed His sheep in the world as John Wesley and so many others have done. Christ cannot be contained in any one church
I really learned a great deal from this inspirational book. I learned many of the weaknesses of Protestantism I had not considered before. I acknowledged my own thirst for sacramental liturgical worship. I also came to realize that the Orthodox and the Roman church were both severely infected by the political powers of their day. Just reading about corrupt popes and leaders in the Orthodox Church as they negotiated their way to the present age is disheartening. However I still believe Nothing can stand against the church of our LORD. We must return to the sacramental practice of the early church but continue to feed His sheep in the world as John Wesley and so many others have done. Christ cannot be contained in any one church
August 24, 2019
Not a bad book, not a great book. Some reviewers have said that the author seemed more cage stage in his conversion. I can see why they said that at points, though other parts of the book are more fair. Sometimes he paints with broad brush strokes in describing Protestantism. Coming from a Magesterial Reformed Tradition (rather than a Radical Reformed Tradition), there were points where our traditions overlapped, and he was essentially "preaching to the choir." Some chapters were very nice (the ones on Prayer, Mary, and the Saints were good), but most chapters really added nothing new to my understanding. Again, not a bad book, but not a great book.
September 8, 2009
This converts story of how he went from being a Seventh-day-Adventist, to an athiest, to Protestant including being a Charismatic Pastor before converting to Orthodox Christian. He delved into the problems facing many Protestant Christians with how they view the sacraments, veneration of Mary, icons, salvation, etc. and deeply talks of the history of the ancient church and the teachings of the aposltles and how the church follows God. He provides many sources of information throughout the book.
February 19, 2009
Gallatin does a fantastic job of describing the struggle of the dissatisfied Protestant searching for fulfillment. The angst, the fatigue, the hopelessness - it's all there, and only cured by discovering the Orthodox Church. He presents the Church as the true beacon of hope on earth, and the Orthodox Christian is able to appreciate the Church in a new light after following him through his own journey. It is, however, a difficult read for Protestants who may be simply interested in the Orthodox faith as he writes from a fairly embittered place. I recommend a grain of salt for these readers.
January 3, 2012
This book is a personal journey of a man going through several Protestant denominational churches before converting to Orthodoxy. Very interesting so far.
All in all, I thought this book was very informative and personal. Gallatin, to his discredit, focuses too much on the downfalls of the Protestant viewpoint rather than the truthfulness in which he's found through Orthodoxy. Smart guy and enjoyable.
All in all, I thought this book was very informative and personal. Gallatin, to his discredit, focuses too much on the downfalls of the Protestant viewpoint rather than the truthfulness in which he's found through Orthodoxy. Smart guy and enjoyable.
May 21, 2021
I don't know that this book would be very convincing to someone who isn't already open to and interested in Orthodoxy (and based on some of the other reviews, even that might not be true). Regardless, I found this book to be a helpful description of the process I've found myself in over the years. It is high on the polemics, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading it for its arguments, but I did find comfort in the idea that I'm not the only one who has had a similar journey.
June 14, 2012
This is an absolutely phenomenal book for those seeking Orthodox (original) Christianity. He traversed a path that many converts have traveled, and it is a great blessing to see that journey in print. I found myself jumping up and down for joy, as he gave voice to issues that had troubled me but that I hadn't yet come to terms with.
September 30, 2013
The tone is extremely off-putting in this book. And Gallatin lumps all protestants together (for instance, protestants don't baptize their children) when he talks about them, which really weakens any arguments he is trying to make. I don't really recommend this book for anyone interested in orthodoxy-- go with Frederica Matthews-Green.
May 28, 2021
Awesome Book
It's a well written account of the author's journey to the faith. I like how he gets to the root or heart of the issues that people have as theirs objections to the Orthodox Church. I connected personaly to some of the issues he had navigating the dizzying protestant landscape of faiths. It's a good read for both the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox to read.
It's a well written account of the author's journey to the faith. I like how he gets to the root or heart of the issues that people have as theirs objections to the Orthodox Church. I connected personaly to some of the issues he had navigating the dizzying protestant landscape of faiths. It's a good read for both the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox to read.
May 31, 2012
Confirmed a lot of what I've been thinking, definitely addresses a lot of the issues Protestant converts will face, but the portions I've read to my husband, he says contains a lot of straw man arguments. Also, has a very exclusive, this is the only right way of doing things tone.
November 10, 2022
This book was the beginning of the end of my wife and I’s time in Protestantism. We had heard of Orthodoxy before this, but didn’t know a whole lot about it. This book caused us to go from having a casual curiosity about Orthodoxy to actively seeking the Way of the Apostles.
March 17, 2011
i guess Gallatin's overall manner just sets me off, both in print and in person. he's a rather arrogant fella.
October 18, 2016
I like that Gallatin shared his journey to Orthodoxy. It's an easy read and has good explanations.
October 19, 2025
I am a completely sympathetic reader, so I am sad to give only 3 stars.
Though this was a very personal book, the author does far too much generalizing. He paints his own experience of Protestantism as a universal experience and it weakens the book and interferes with his goal.
Let me show how this problem plays out by using a section I see many other reviewers have highlighted. Probably the best and most instructive passage in the book.
He shares a truth many of us Christians feel:
"When does all this Bible study and spiritual exercise actually begin to change me? When does it start to affect me in the real world—in my marriage, with my kids, in my work? When does it start to give me victory over sins that have plagued me all my life—which, despite all my 'spirituality,’ are just as strong as they have ever been? I thought I was tapping into the Holy Spirit's power here….Why don't I feel Jesus deep in my heart? Where is this lasting peace and freedom He promises?"
And he shares a version of the usual answer we get:
"Keep going to the Bible studies…really focus on the sermons, keep reading your Bible and praying, use your spiritual gifts, stay involved in the church, keep listening to Christian music, and set your mind on things above."
These days I could add, take a personality test (or a dozen!) to unlock your understanding of yourself.
Why is this the most instructive passage? Because if you AREN’T feeling this way, if you are not dissatisfied with unanswered questions and contradictions, if you are satisfied with your life in Christ, this isn’t the book for you. And maybe Orthodoxy isn’t either. Want to know why? Much later, he tells you.
“…the true Faith is so incredibly demanding. It asks of us very difficult things.
“In this, the Ancient Faith runs hard against the grain of the spirit of this age. It doesn't ask us to come under its authority so that we can find a warm, comfortable, meaningful faith that fits our lifestyle. Instead, it calls us to fast, to weep bitterly for our sins, to deny our personal pleasures and comforts, to yield to spiritual authority, to mistrust our own judgments, to genuinely forgive the unforgivable, and to honestly love the unlovable. In short, it calls us to live a life that is entirely "not of this world" (John 18:36).”
Why would ANYONE go in for that, you might ask. A short while later, he shares:
“Every person who finally decides to walk this Orthodox path discovers that until he embraced this way of tears and self-denial, he had never really tasted the true joy and peace of God's love….Only in the depths of repentance and brokenness does one encounter the true magnitude of God's mercy and compassion. And the more ways one can find to deny his earthly self, the more room he makes in his heart for the divine Christ.”
If you do find yourself longing and looking, then this book might help. But if you are content with your Christianity and just curious about Eastern Orthodoxy, there are better options out there. If you are Orthodox and want a book to share with curious friends and family, read this first before you recommend it, you may discover it would turn your loved ones away.
Though this was a very personal book, the author does far too much generalizing. He paints his own experience of Protestantism as a universal experience and it weakens the book and interferes with his goal.
Let me show how this problem plays out by using a section I see many other reviewers have highlighted. Probably the best and most instructive passage in the book.
He shares a truth many of us Christians feel:
"When does all this Bible study and spiritual exercise actually begin to change me? When does it start to affect me in the real world—in my marriage, with my kids, in my work? When does it start to give me victory over sins that have plagued me all my life—which, despite all my 'spirituality,’ are just as strong as they have ever been? I thought I was tapping into the Holy Spirit's power here….Why don't I feel Jesus deep in my heart? Where is this lasting peace and freedom He promises?"
And he shares a version of the usual answer we get:
"Keep going to the Bible studies…really focus on the sermons, keep reading your Bible and praying, use your spiritual gifts, stay involved in the church, keep listening to Christian music, and set your mind on things above."
These days I could add, take a personality test (or a dozen!) to unlock your understanding of yourself.
Why is this the most instructive passage? Because if you AREN’T feeling this way, if you are not dissatisfied with unanswered questions and contradictions, if you are satisfied with your life in Christ, this isn’t the book for you. And maybe Orthodoxy isn’t either. Want to know why? Much later, he tells you.
“…the true Faith is so incredibly demanding. It asks of us very difficult things.
“In this, the Ancient Faith runs hard against the grain of the spirit of this age. It doesn't ask us to come under its authority so that we can find a warm, comfortable, meaningful faith that fits our lifestyle. Instead, it calls us to fast, to weep bitterly for our sins, to deny our personal pleasures and comforts, to yield to spiritual authority, to mistrust our own judgments, to genuinely forgive the unforgivable, and to honestly love the unlovable. In short, it calls us to live a life that is entirely "not of this world" (John 18:36).”
Why would ANYONE go in for that, you might ask. A short while later, he shares:
“Every person who finally decides to walk this Orthodox path discovers that until he embraced this way of tears and self-denial, he had never really tasted the true joy and peace of God's love….Only in the depths of repentance and brokenness does one encounter the true magnitude of God's mercy and compassion. And the more ways one can find to deny his earthly self, the more room he makes in his heart for the divine Christ.”
If you do find yourself longing and looking, then this book might help. But if you are content with your Christianity and just curious about Eastern Orthodoxy, there are better options out there. If you are Orthodox and want a book to share with curious friends and family, read this first before you recommend it, you may discover it would turn your loved ones away.
January 1, 2025
2.5. Judging from the aggregate rating, many people have found this book helpful in one way or another. I’m glad for that. Gallatin does make a few points in the second half that I think are salient. But the problem with these pop-level conversion books written by former Protestants only a few years after becoming Orthodox is usually threefold — and this one is no exception.
1) The authors universalize their own Protestant theology and experience and make Protestantism out to be a monolithic thing (usually while also rightly criticizing its fragmented nature), which you just can’t do. Your generic five-point Calvinist and seeker-friendly soft charismatic are probably not actually going to share much theology. Both of these, from an Orthodox perspective, have deficient ideas of Christianity, but in very, very different ways, which require different conversations. (This author specifically came out of Seventh Day Adventism, which is *almost* more of a Christian-adjacent cult than a Protestant denomination.)
2) Recently converted authors like this tend to still be in a bit of a reactive stage. It’s understandable: in Orthodoxy they have found a richness and wholeness that was missing from their former Christian experience, and they’re zealous about sharing it or proving it or sometimes even a little resentful about the truths they feel were kept from them before. While understandable, this reactive attitude often makes them come across as arrogant, aggressive, and unlikeable.
3) Finally, these types of books often don’t even “properly” describe Orthodox theology. Recent converts just aren’t fully catechized yet, haven’t done too much deep study of patristics, and remain mostly shaped by whatever preconceptions they had before converting. In this book, this manifests particularly in his discussion of human death before and after Christ. His explanation is not fully Orthodox and retains a bit of SDA error plus a hint of Gnosticism. This is frustrating in book that aims to be an apologetic of sorts.
1) The authors universalize their own Protestant theology and experience and make Protestantism out to be a monolithic thing (usually while also rightly criticizing its fragmented nature), which you just can’t do. Your generic five-point Calvinist and seeker-friendly soft charismatic are probably not actually going to share much theology. Both of these, from an Orthodox perspective, have deficient ideas of Christianity, but in very, very different ways, which require different conversations. (This author specifically came out of Seventh Day Adventism, which is *almost* more of a Christian-adjacent cult than a Protestant denomination.)
2) Recently converted authors like this tend to still be in a bit of a reactive stage. It’s understandable: in Orthodoxy they have found a richness and wholeness that was missing from their former Christian experience, and they’re zealous about sharing it or proving it or sometimes even a little resentful about the truths they feel were kept from them before. While understandable, this reactive attitude often makes them come across as arrogant, aggressive, and unlikeable.
3) Finally, these types of books often don’t even “properly” describe Orthodox theology. Recent converts just aren’t fully catechized yet, haven’t done too much deep study of patristics, and remain mostly shaped by whatever preconceptions they had before converting. In this book, this manifests particularly in his discussion of human death before and after Christ. His explanation is not fully Orthodox and retains a bit of SDA error plus a hint of Gnosticism. This is frustrating in book that aims to be an apologetic of sorts.
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