Source: http://www.antiochian.org/node/17685The effects of sins of our hearts
My daughter just had a child. Holding him, I thought, “It is so difficult to believe that an infant’s heart is sinful.” Many teach this, but not Orthodoxy. We do not believe that we are totally depraved, as many protestants do. Nor do we believe we are born with the guilt of sin, as the Romans teach. Instead, we are born in innocence and our heart is pure. To be sure, we all sin. Yet some, as did our Lady the Theotokos, continue in purity of heart the rest of their lives, as blameless. Since our teaching is different than the Roman view, we did not need to invent a doctrine of Immaculate Conception. Mary, the Theotokos, was as human as we are, yet morally pure throughout her life. We are all born in the same condition and we have the choice to keep our hearts pure and directed towards God, or to sin and rebel against the purity of a loving heart. Our lives become a continual struggle to conform our hearts to purity and holiness. Recognize this, and we are on our way to becoming Orthodox. Saint John Chrysostom puts it this way: “When Christ says to follow the narrow path, he addresses every man. The monk as well as the lay person can attain the same spiritual heights.”
Some, however, in spite of the effects of sin on humanity, are born in this blameless state and may continue for their lifetime. To be clear, Jesus Christ is the only Sinless One. Yet, these that I am thinking of, the mentally or physically incapable, will never be responsible for what they think in their hearts or turn into actions. God’s mercy is given to them in a very special way. For the rest of us, we must consider these things to the best of our abilities. We are all held accountable to the light we are given. For most of us, certainly those reading this essay, are able to mature and develop and make progress this center of our being, the heart. Just as Adam and Eve, we are given the choice about what we put into our hearts and can determine what our hearts are like. Simply put, this is the first step to becoming an Orthodox Christian. Often with baby steps, our initial decision continues increasingly throughout our lives. This is the process of becoming Orthodox: Becoming God-like by restoring the likeness of God in our hearts and our daily lives.
Ist dies eine wahrhaft orthodoxe Position? Es scheint mir Pelagianismus zu sein.