/lit/ - Literature

>>19456053
>If you do not worship them, why do you pray to them?
Because we believe they are alive in heaven and surround us "like a crowd of witnesses" cheering us on, and that their prayers are offered directly to Jesus Christ on His throne as is written of in Revelation - because the "prayers of a righteous person availeth much", and they have no barrier to praying for us, it would be very profitable for them to offer some prayers on our behalf. Plus, there are literally multitudes upon multitudes of scientifically unexplainable miracles done by God specifically through the intercession of saints - for a scientifically well-documented example, the canonization miracle of St. Margaret D'youville.
>Most such prayers have glorifying adjectives besides asking for their own prayer.
I think the word "glorifying" would better be substituted for "complimenting" or "honouring" - it is simply recognizing those virtues which they exhibited in this life.
>Along with that, there's John 14:6; How can you hope to reach and praise/ask God if not through Christ?
Their prayers are offered directly to God through Christ: "then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel." (Rev. 8:3-4)
>And, lastly, i dislike the rosary repetitive prayer based on Matthew 6:7
That is understandable, but the Catholic position is not that the repetition is what is efficacious, but the discipline and piety which is cultivated through meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life, which meditation takes place upon the basis of the prayers which "calm the monkey mind". Like the Jesus Prayer in the Eastern tradition, it is essentially a method to reach a deep state of single-minded contemplation upon which to meditate on Jesus Christ.
>(and for some interaction, what's your favorite book? Mine's Matthew.)
I love all the gospels, but John is probably my favourite - besides that, I love Revelation, John's epistles, and 1 Corinthians.

>>19288274
Hey, God bless you, brother. I probably handle myself worse than you, in many cases. I would only suggest to expose yourself to the very best arguments by those who hold a contrary position, and to make a habit of reading/watching debates & content of the most nuanced and honest people on your side. If you only have answers to a Catholic's strawman of what an Orthodox is like, a real Orthodox with an intelligent position will be out of your league. For Orthodox positions, this probably means people like Jay Dyer, Craig Truglia, Fr. Patrick, and the people they associate with. For Catholic positions, this probably means people like Erick Ybarra, Michael Lofton, Trent Horn, Jimmy Akin.

You can get a lot of information from watching debates, too. Just keep a notepad open, and note what the points are from the opposing side, and what the points are from your side. Then, note the rebuttals to each. If you can't rebut your opponents strongest argument at your current level of knowledge, ask questions, do deeper research into primary resources, and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide you into the truth. We will almost never convert somebody in a conversation, but remember that we are just trying to show that our belief is reasonable. Always remember that any discussing is out of love for the person. It would be easier for me to ignore EO, but I love them, and don't want them to go to Hell by banking on their invincible ignorance.

Anyways, bless you brother, happy to answer any specific questions if this didn't help much.