Orthodoxy vs Orthopraxy
“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.” — Yogi Berra
Orthodoxy, while being one of those words you might hear in a master’s level study of theology, basically means having beliefs that align with your religion.
For example, Christians like me believe that the historical figure known as Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Without that, we’d be practicing Judaism waiting for our coming Messiah, or literally any other religion. If I believed that there was only one God (known as Allah), and Muhammed was his prophet, my orthodoxy would be different. I’d also likely be participating in Ramadan right now, so Ramadan Mubarak to those of you who are.
Orthopraxy, on the other hand, is usually associated with actions. It’s what you do with those orthodoxies that we just talked about. The Bible, specifically the book of James, comes to mind here. “So also faith without works is dead.” — James 2:26b (NASB)
With all that in mind, let me retell a story to you.
Once upon a time…
