Revenge of the Orthobros

1 year ago
29

Recently there was an article published in the online magazine Tablet about the phenomenon of the Orthobro. Naturally the article wasn't entirely flattering, but we didn't expect it to be. What this article tells us, however, is that Orthodox Christianity is entering into the mainstream consciousness of America, and the Orthobro is one of the reasons why. Eighteen years ago when I first discovered Orthodox Christianity I had no previous knowledge of the Faith. If I had asked my neighbor or friend or a random person on the street if they knew what Orthodoxy was, the answer was probably "no." Things have changed, and a big part of the reason why is because Orthodoxy is being disseminated on the internet in an effective manner. YouTube is the now one of the first places a young person will go to learn about a subject because learning is easier in an audio-visual format. The "Orthobro" was originally coined as an epithet used by Protestants and Catholics to refer to Orthodox online who were argumentative or confrontational in their style, but by now Orthobros have adopted the name as their own. I proudly refer to myself as an Orthobro. Some people still use the term in the negative sense, because we have a bad reputation in some circles, but there is no reason we cant rehabilitate this label to the Glory of God.

We are going to begin this stream by answering a few questions that were left in the comment section by a viewer. Then I plan to walk through my bookshelf (at least the portion that is visible on camera) at the request of another viewer. Then I will get around to examining the term "Orthobro" as well as the article that was written about us. Finally, I will point out that some of the criticisms of the Orthobros may be valid, and give suggestions for how we can improve out image online.
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