Almost Ready for Orthodoxy

Driving home from Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified gifts last night, I was listening to Protestant radio. There was an interview with the pastor and author Dr. Warren Wiersbe that I found interesting. I will admit that my attention drifted away for a moment, so I didn't catch the transition, but Dr. Wiersbe was lamenting the "killing of history" that has taken place in much of the Evangelical Protestant community. In explaining what he meant by this, he pointed to the elimination of hymn books in most congregations. He also related that when young seminarians hear the names Harry Ironside, Peter Marshall and other preachers from previous generations the response is typically, "Who's that?"

I shouted at the radio (in good cheer), "John Chrysostom! Who's that? Whatever happened to Ephrem the Syrian?"

This is not the first time I've noticed older, thoughtful Protestants lamenting the changes, and forgetting of history in their churches. This is not the first time I've thought, "They're almost ready for Orthodoxy." Almost, because chances are (if they have any idea of Christian Orthodoxy), they would suffer from the usual Protestant conflation of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It's a shame that they're lamenting the nature of the religion that they've been practicing for decades (some of them their entire lives) without realizing that that's what they're doing.