Bad Reasons to Convert and Stay Orthodox (Pencils & Prayer Ropes) 

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Convert for bad reasons - stay for Jesus.

I was raised Protestant, and my husband I considered ourselves baptist. We’re we’re married for 3 months when we realized we weren’t being spiritually fed in the church we were in, and all the feelings of something missing became more apparent. A scandal that happened in our church opened our eyes to the fallacies of many doctrines in Protestantism, namely how the enemy accosts Christian, and can accost them physically as well in our minds. Baptist Protestants especially believe that the enemy, demons can’t mess with a Christian. I felt spiritually lost, and I prayed in tears for God to bring me where He wanted me. My brother-in-law asked us to attend a service at the Orthodox Church near us. We did and I met the priest, who is now my father confessor. I asked many questions, and the more I learned the more I realized, “This is it, this is where God wants me to be.” My husband and I converted, and were baptized Zoe and Martinianos, our son was baptized as well. Nearly a decade later, we are still Orthodox, and the spiritual refuge in Orthodoxy, the growth I have seen, the sins I have battled in my spiritual journey...I have only found such love and humility, spiritual aid, closeness with God, in the Orthodox Church, and here I will stay. Praise be to God who is a chastising Father, a loving Father who will not leave a searching and yearning heart abandoned!

My friend who I showed this video to: "Do you know any people like this?" Me: "Well of course... they're me"

I’m reminded of an old story: Three Jewish men who converted to Christianity were talking, and the purpose for their conversions came up. “I converted for financial reasons,” said the first man, “my boss would only promote fellow Christians. And people are now more likely to do business with me since I have a non-Jewish surname.” “I converted out of love,” said the second man, “not for Christ, but for my now wife. We were so deeply in love, but her father refused to let her marry a non-Christian.” “I spent many years reading the gospels,” said the third man, “and the writings of the Church Fathers. After so long a time, I came to the conclusion that Jesus Christ was the Son and through him is salvation.” The two other men laughed heartily at this, proclaiming loudly: “What are we, gentiles?” Edit: ok, this joke got a lot less hate than I thought.

Pretty much described the whole human race. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Bojan: *describes a big reason why I became orthodox* Me: *sweats nervously*

Some people become Orthodox for the wrong reasons but with the will of God become true Orthodox.

What I like the most about this video is that it convinces you to dispense with any sort of idealism or utopianism about the church. We all have our ulterior motives for being a Christian. Being completely honest about it is the first step toward cultivating true humility and thereby true holiness.

I respect your honesty. As a Catholic, I forgot other Churches have problems.

op just obliterated 99% of orthodox members

If I'm honest, I don't think there are many people who don't fall into at least one of these categories.

I'll be perfectly honest, I got interested in christianity - first Catholicism, then Orthodoxy, as a deus vultist and to a lesser extent a wifehunter (though that was more in the back of my mind). However, at some point, it was like a switch flicked. That bitterness, anger, and fear went away, and my attention snapped to the scriptures. My advice to the Orthodox is not to turn those people away, but to catechize them very well.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have the correct calendar." - John 13:35* *Not really

This is the best video you have made. I say this for 2 reasons. 1) You demonstrate real threats and problems that are posed to the church through our sinfulness and vanity. 2) You have made me consider my own shortcomings and how I may be part of some of these archetypes. I’m sure you are aware of these two goals but I just wanted to express my appreciation for the presented opportunity of introspection. Thank you for the effort you put forth in making this video. I’m very grateful for it. Numbers 6: 24-26

Me; A monarchist: sweating intensifies.

I have been wanting to get this off my chest for such a long time. I'm glad you said it. The "I converted to Orthodoxy because the Anglican church was becoming liberal," is what I can't stand, or "we need to protect our European civilisation and Orthodoxy will help us achieve this." You don't hear "I became Orthodox Christian because I love Jesus and want to be in his Church." Good video brother God bless you.

I'm at least like five of these archetypes. Real faith feels impossible.

The fact that this also applies to the Catholic Church shows how we also share one Lord, yet also one enemy.

Anyone who live by revelation, and take up his cross is a Christian for the right reason. If we would have been perfect, we wouldn't need a saviour.

Whelp now it’s time to sit in my room worryingly determining which of these I fall into.

My bf taught about orthodoxy ..soon i will be baptised.. .and i am thankful to him beacuse his time in teaching me the truth.... im not gonna become in orthodox for him but because i have known the light finally. 🙏

bojan really just came for all of us

**Super Smash Melee announcer echos in the distance...** "CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!!!"

The only reason I became orthodox was because I wondered in for food, but was trapped by grandmothers asking me when I was getting married, my career and if I was interesting in their grandson, Dimitris and wouldn't let me leave the church, ever (cue boss battle music). I joke, I joke. 99% of Orthodox Christians have been like this at some point. As matter of fact I call the over the top, zealousness of new converts hyperdox. We are always righteous in our own eyes a reality check is good for us.

I'm not a deus vultist but, I feel like people who dismiss them don't hail from a culture that has a disappearing fatherhood, and targets masculinity as something needing to be exterminated. I'm sure lots of deus vultists are around college age which would explain why after being having white privilege beaten into their heads for 4 years, same with being told that anything other than deviant sexual practices are undesirable that they might be racist or 'homophobic'. Hey, if it came down to brass tacks I wouldn't want to be on the side of the university that's for sure.

oof i'm at least 8 of these does anyone have an ibuprofin

Greetings from Russia, Serbian brother! I can say that this video surprised me because I can be called Deusvultist to some extent. It has been almost 1.5 years since I returned to the Church. I was inspired by guys like the Templars, Teutonic Knights, Hospitallers and Lazarits. I wanted to be as pious and strong as they and their images helped me very much the first time. Now I have right or traditional views on life, but I study in one of the most liberal university in Russia and have good relationships with other students, Even I have fundamental or radical views, Im not toxic). But now I consider that our orthodox faith is the most important thing which we have. Of course despite our race or other things that not dependent from us we all brothers and sisters, ideologies are the filthy man's thing. And the last word. You are good at preaching and draw very well. God bless you!

I think good additions to this list would be Nationalist Orthodox (orthodox because it's a symbol of cultural/national and sometimes xenophobic pride) and Political Orthodox (orthodox because they are anti-communist or anti-globalist and as a statement against former Soviet repression)

All I can really say is *oof*! I've been trying to be honest with myself about why I want to convert (still an "inquirer" at this point, though it's been a few years) and this video has given me a lot of pause. The real miracle, though, is that I went through the comments expecting a real dumpster fire and found [mostly] humble responses.🤯🤯🤯

Bojan, this could be considered a kind of Pilgrim's Progress for Eastern Orthodoxy. Nicely done.

Thank you for this channel and videos. I am a protestant (fundamental baptist) considering orthodoxy. I have been diligently studying the scriptures and the church fathers, along with Orthodox Theology. I am both actively studying and also prayerfully using restraint. I firmly believe that if I were to truly make the leap to orthodoxy, I should be fully convinced of its truths, otherwise, as St. Paul wrote of those who feared eating meat sacrificed to idols (despite idols having no power over God), I would sin against my own conscience. I will say this: Orthodoxy, upon deeper study, very much seems to be in accordance with the early Fathers, and it rejects the more radical dogmas that caused the Reformation rebellions (Immaculate Conception, Mary as Co-Redemptrix, the several "devotions" to the Sacred heart of Mary and Jesus, indulgences, and so forth). It is quite refreshing. My father is a baptist pastor, i can only consider him a man of God in the way he has raised me and my family. He loves the Lord and dutifully studies the scriptures, but I am not sure how he would react to my inquiring. (He has only know Catholicism in the past, and one of its most Marian branches, the Spanish Catholic Church), so he might not be too inclined to Orthodoxy at first glance. That being said, I have been teaching him a bit about Orthodoxy and he likes to learn about it. I think i have written too much, just wanted to give thanks, many blessings to you from God, keep it up!

Thank you for calling us out on the superficial reasons we may go to church. From my experience Orthodoxy has been a refuge from the chaos of our society...it's beautiful to worship our Creator within the sacredness of His Church and at the same time obtain healing for our spiritual ailments through fasting, prayer and the Holy Mysteries. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to find an authentic Orthodox Church with a humble and loving spiritual father to guide the flock. Seek and ye shall find 🙏

Existence of all these groups depicted in this video we simply explain as "richness of Orthodoxy". :o))) The fact is that aside from other characteristics, Orthodoxy is also true freedom... meaning that one chooses how far one wants to go in one's relationship with the God. The Church will lead you but will not push you.

My parents raised me and my siblings as, Roman Catholic. Recently over the past three, four years my parents converted to Byzantine Orthodox. Honestly, I haven’t been part of the church for years. But I see how happy and accepted my parents are with the church. I’ve gone to service with them twice and I was impressed. The church people are incredibly kind. When the priest does service he preaches “by the grace of god”. No politics, calling people out, or shoving their beliefs down anyone’s throat. All are welcome and accepted....I’m happy there are peaceful churches like this, it’s truly a beautiful experience!

A fish swimming in deep waters mocks those dying of thirst in a desert.

Wow brutally honest . You called me out on several of these .

I am a "logician" and I do not like it. I have accepted in my mind that there has to be a God and that christianity is the true faith but I do not believe at all with my heart. Pray for me to accept God with my heart.

Wait, am I a star gazer is I listen to Byzantine chant because it calms me and focuses me before and during tasks?

I really like the last message of the video, we all have to start somewhere. I have many dumb reasons for not becoming Orthodox in the first place and taking a big detour, just to get back to considering Orthodoxy again! Just started going to a Serbian Orthodox Church in the UK.

If I take steps into Orthodoxy, then I would need the Holy Spirit to create a new heart for me. My ego saw this video as a fun house mirror in which my faults were highlighted. I have an ulterior motive; I see nothing in my heart but sin and am seeking spiritual discipline in order to overcome my part in polluting the world. I seek the Lord in order to overcome my ego and sin.

I was born and raised Mormon, and after opening my eyes to the truth I went to two pentecostal churches with my wife. They helped, but I felt something was missing. I had to move to find work, and now I'm trying to find my way to the closest Orthodox church to me. Orthodoxy rings truer to me than anything else I've explored, and I've explored just about everything

"That all crazy people in monasteries are not clairvoyant" lol oh boy

I've met halforthodox Catholics. I guess our Churches do have many things in common.

Well pray for me as I feel like I'm a logician but I'm trying to get closer to God and have a relationship with jesus, I have been a Catholic but I want to be fully with God, Amen brothers and sisters

Thank you for calling out my mistakes.

Nice, I'm only like 25% of these things!

Best part is that most of us are like them and that doesn't exclude us from heaven. Just like St. Moses the black, God likes a challenge

Nothing wrong with accepting that monarchy is the most ideal system.

I can confidently say I was a star gazer before my conversion, but I am very thankful to God that I have matured, and am pursuing Christ for Christ's sake in His Holy Orthodox church.

I Joined because I proved to myself that my old faith (Jehovah's Wittnesses) is false... I started studying all religions, including non-christian and ended up in Orthodoxy... You could say I am a logician that was never an atheist, but after reading the canons, creeds I realized that I always wanted to be a worshipper of God. That didn't ever change. The thing that changed is that now I know what that means.

This is my new favorite channel. I just found it and subscribed. I am in the process of converting to Orthodox Christianity and this video has helped tremendously.

I just want to say that your accent is just fine and nothing to apologize about! Thank you for sharing your faith with us! 😊

I'm beginning my inquiry into Orthodoxy! Maybe not the best time due to coronavirus, but better late than never. Pray for me friends!

Wow! You just managed to peel back so many layers in one short video. These videos package meaty things in a light digestible package. It left me looking at myself under a microscope. Truly we need the Lord’s mercy! Every one of us.

"Christ is the only reason" may be true, but it's not that simple. The church has divided twice over certain doctrines where educated theologians have ultimately disagreed. How would I know whether I should remain Oriental Orthodox or become a Chalcedonian? (it's a rhetorical question, I don't want a discussion by those who respond to this comment). You have excluded so many, including the clergy that seem pious, but who then can be saved? Most laymen are loyal to their church because they were born into it and taught its doctrine, you cannot expect all laymen to make an informed decision on the nature of Christ when it takes reading everything from St Cyril to the tome of Leo to St Severus to St John of Damascus to be able to even understand half of why we have ended up here. I agree with what you have said in the video, but I barely see any Christians left after this filtration, and some of us are just confused and uneducated.

This was great, I love your sense of humor. Please keep making your videos, I for one appreciate your work. As someone coming into Orthodoxy now in my 40's, stuff like this is actually quite helpful.

I can definitely see our own equivalents to this in the Catholic Church to be honest as a Catholic myself.

Perhaps another name for your channel could be: “Hairy Serbian Hands”?

Please pray for me, I am an ex Roman Catholic, ex gang member, ex Protestant, ex nondenominationalist, ex reformed, ex Orthodox Catachumen who still loves his sins and is kind of but not really trying to repent of them yet is flirting with Orthodoxy because God is calling me to repentance and I believe it is the correct faith to worship God in and serve Him in as it has been since it’s beginning when Jesus Christ started it. I have said I love God and my neighbor but, it is merely words without actions (demonic faith) and I realize when compared to the Saints of the church in reality I am not a Christian but instead a hypocrite. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on us all! 🙏

I wanted to thank you for making this video. With having moderate-severe Autism, there has been a priest (Roman Catholic) that has been mistreating me (not physically) for years because of it. He does this thing acting all accepting in the open, and then makes comments about my condition behind 'closed doors' such as "you do not have to be so technical," and not being allowed to participate in things like music (I have a music degree). He does gas-lighting of pretending to be good trying to mislead people into that before declaring true intention. I am considering leaving the church because of this stuff, clerics and congregation not welcoming people with disabilities despite 'preaching' about sacredness of all life from "womb to tomb." Again, thank you so much, you clarified the situation. I will always be grateful with you helping me finally put a finger on this toxic situation.

This video made me really look inward at myself. I converted to Orthodoxy because I felt lost with my current church and felt like the non-denominational church made me become fairly delusional with it. Once I did become Orthodox, I wanted to plant myself and make sure I wasn't a poster. I refused to take communion that isn't Orthodox and I don't really pray with heterodox Christians. But I definitely needed a video like this as a check up to make sure if I had a loosened root. Thanks.

Wow, I've met a lot of Deusvultists in my time, and it really made me uncomfortable about being Orthodox. It's refreshing to have someone else acknowledge that they're not the end-all-be-all of Orthodoxy. And all of these examples are useful no matter who you are -- we all have periods of each in our lives, I believe.

so wifehunting/ matchmaking older ladies in church isn't just a southern US thing. good to know.

I don’t understand. What exactly should the fakir or the logician do once they have received proof of the faith? It seems to me like converting to a creed because you know it to be true is the best thing to do, no? You say people should convert for Christ alone but how are they supposed to do that if they don’t believe in him?

I am Catholic. And perhaps for that reason I related to this video which could easily substitute "Catholic " for "Orthodox ". But the reason in any case is to live for and with Christ. Thank you for your insightful video.

As a Roman Catholic: most of these are truth for the Caholic Church aswell. I myself fit ( or at least did fit at some point ) in some of these, but applied to Roman Catholicism instead of Orthodoxty. Outstanding, truthfull video! God bless!

This was a nice, humbling video that'll get people to look at what exactly they want to get out of the church. Saw quite a few bits of myself that need work here, but it's all a part of the journey, and the last thing our lord and saviour would want is for me to get anxious about this. god bless you for posting this.

I had a very bad reason to convert. I was raised Atheist, became Lutheran, became Seventh Day adventist for a time. But I wanted something more legalistic of sorts. I wanted some clear rules and things of sorts to follow so I started to follow som orthodox tradition as a Lutheran now again. But I couldn't get past my theological issues. But i started to watch more things about orthodox and I instead realised that it was the right way and decided to sttay because it seemed like the church of the apostles.

You are hilarious AND very gifted in how you present things. By the way, not sure if you realize this but, the examples you show of people 'types' could be applied to almost any aspect of life...well done! I had to watch 3 times because I kept laughing and then, I subscribed. 👍

Stargazing False Saint here. Please forgive me Siblings in Christ, I will do better. Very humbling video Bojan!

Yikes.... the old calendar definitely remains true in the fact that it has several Church holidays at the new calendar just simply deletes

I don't understand how people call themselves any kind of Christian also being a racist. Isn't the whole point that we are all equal under God? I know I sound like a social activist but I don't see how you can hold those two views at the same time.

Even though I'm Catholic, Orthodoxy does seem less legalistic, simpler, more sensible, and simultaneously earthier and more mystical than Catholicism. The Orthodox concept of Hades (& subsequently praying for the dead) makes so much more sense to me & appears to have more Scriptural basis than the concept of Purgatory (which, admittedly, has been largely sidelined since Vatican II). Also, while I can appreciate aspects of the Catholic Church's centralization and rigid hierarchy, the papacy & papal "infallibility" does seem increasingly problematic. While this infallibility is only in regards to matters of faith & morals, we can see that it can & does lead to increasing novelty & innovation. Maybe, when the pope is good, it's not so much of problem. But when the pope is bad (& there have been some bad popes throughout history) it can lead to big problems for the faith. It does seem like a stretch of St. Peter's role as "rock" to argue that Christ intended to found an absolute monarchy. Also, in regards to innovation, the countless devotions based on personal revelation, while some are wholesome, does make me uncomfortable, at times, especially the Marian devotions that are almost separate cults within the Church and seem to give her way more power and veneration than is proper. Yet, as much as Orthodoxy makes sense to me, I don't think I would or could ever convert. Catholicism has its issues but I do like its universalistic character. I would feel uncomfortable in an Orthodox parish where I'm not a member of the respective ethnic denomination and have no connections to the culture. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that Orthodoxy is, for a lack of a better term, "ghetto-ized" along ethnic/cultural lines that the Catholic Church isn't, and therefore, I'd feel out of place worshipping within a context that is utterly alien to me. So, long story short, I admire Orthodoxy & see much truth within it, but I'll be staying Catholic for the forseeable future.

Wow... I knew a priest who was the leeches type. Lord have mercy.

Whoa, this was amazing! I have definitely both experienced from others and struggled myself with some of these things, and it is so helpful to see it spelled out like this to remind us of all the ways that our illness of sin manifests, so that we can recognize the signs and apply the appropriate medicine within the church. Thank you so much for making this and posting!

I saw myself in at least 3 of these and I have met all of these archetypes. As a convert we bring a certain amount of baggage with us. Personally, I have observed that not a lot of clergy and laity of who are mature in their faith to ask converts to check that baggage. Someone asked me to check mine and it worked.

May God bless your efforts! Nicely done!

And there is me a nondenominational and a Deist that comes here well knowing of being here simply out of mere curiosity and to study different way of thinking and living

I started attending Orthodox church for the vibes, and then found I was unable to leave because any protestant service now seems deeply disturbing to me. The therapies of the church have become part of my life and I don't see a world where I live without them. Things I struggled with before, I'm still struggling with, but I've actually made progress. There are no inconvenient verses in the Bible anymore since a legion of ancient saints have already explained every passage. It's a relief not having to interpret every verse from scratch anymore and just allowing myself to walk the path that was already blazed by holy ones who came before. I have been an inquirer for 8 years, a catachumen for 1 year, and will be received into the church on this coming Pascha.

There are no bad reasons to convert but bad reasons to stay. Our faith should not depend on anything.

You should have thrown in a “FedEx” reference in with the Castaway archetype. 1/3 of that movie was one big FedEx commercial.

New convert here - I feel like I am in the stargazer mode.

I find myself relating to the false saint one in a way. But I realize now that is a very prideful reason to convert.

Hello, mr. Bible Illustrated. How do I stop being a Deus Vultist? I want to have far less hatred in my heart, but I hope you understand that some of my beliefs are not merely based on emotion. I guess the best way is to not go ultra mad over this stuff, taking the most radical solutions, but I don't know.. Also, all the people around me are very, very sinful. My friends either go to strip clubs, homosexuals, anarchists and atheists, or tolerate such behaviour, or participate in it themselves. Today, I was literally lead without my knoledge outside of a brothel (they said we were gonna go to the mall). I feel very alone, and feel very saddened at the state of my Country. I guess that only strengthens the Deus Vultist. Obviously, I am not perfect, I have many things I feel bad for. But honestly, most people around me seems like bad infulences. I think you should do a follow up on how we can fix our faiths, even if we stay or converted for wrong reasons.

I personally came back to the Orthodox Church for a number of reasons. I never left like making the decision myself to not be at church but it was a decision because of family issues actually within our parish so as a kid I didn’t really go and was raised without much influence of religion at all. However my interest started to grow in highschool but I was still interested in other religions too. And finally at the age of 23 within the past month and a half or so I was drawn into the church of Christ in fullness. I had been to church a few times before that but the biggest reasons for me to come back was truly everything about the church. The traditionalism, the beauty, the hymns, the sermons, but truly the love of God. And the truth and learning to humble oneself. Do I hope to find a wife within the church? Absolutely. Or find someone willing to come into the church because I know this is the faith. There’s something humbling, and powerful with the Orthodox Church that just to me isn’t found in western Christianity. And like I said it’s just within everything. I’m still learning a lot and still confused at times but I truly see the light of God having opened my heart to him through orthodoxy. Most challenging being thinking of him because he’s not physical. It contradicts what I had truly known up until now but want to continue to learn and to open my heart and really focus on my faith and make it the center of my life. Not just a part of my life

Who else wishes bojan did a fan meet up in America

"That not all crazy people in monasteries are clairvoyant" omg tourists actually assume such things about monks? 😅

@5:45 saint Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov) has said in his letter for 19th week after Pentecost: "Гнушайтесь убо врагами Божиими, поражайте врагов отечества, любите враги ваша. Аминь." It has been very poorly translated and it is used by deusvultists, but properly translated should be like this: "Shun enemies of God, defeat enemies of fatherland, love your enemies."

Happy Birthday, my sibling in Christ! 🎁😇🥰🎂🍰🧁🙏🏻☦️

I will often watch this video when I feel I’m doing good. A daily reminder of how screwed I am without God is a healthy wake up.

I hope this video doesn’t steer anyone away from orthodoxy Even if you are one of these labels, it just means you need Christ all the more

Spiritual undead are indeed pretty scary

These drawings are getting better and better! Great video.

as a chilean, you got me dying on the easter pun! fun fact chileans call Santa claus "the easter old man" and fruit cake "easter bread" don't ask why

5:18 Whats the ""Bad reason"" you said here?

The crusader is wild. An absolute lack of historical knowledge.

Wow! …… Bojan, that was brutal! But dead-on correct!

Discouraging people from converting and remaining in the true faith seems sorta wrong. And a lot of this is very cynical, and mired in its creators own pride. Some of it is funny yes, and some true...but this isn't helpful. Its negative.

In my experience the vast majority of people at an Orthodox parish are young children, married men and women in their 30s and 40s, and old men and women. A Church is the last place I would go to find a wife.