I'm Eastern Orthodox because... ...Existential needs. I think every human has a need to ask "why?" I think every human needs some sense of value. I think every human needs satisfaction. When I think about needs, I find them suspicious. There isn't a such thing as a need that can't be satisfied, otherwise you wouldn't need it. That said, whatever we truly need must exist. I believe I need my religion. Every human has the same needs and they similarly try to answer them via their own religions, ideas, and worldviews. I can't comment on theirs--I respect them though as I do any attempt to grapple with the mystery called life. But I adhere to my religion because I think it's the greatest out of the others, and for me personally is the ONLY one that truly satisfies my needs. I find Western Christianity repulsive, no offense. In particular, the legalism that started from the Scholastic movement in the Middle Ages. Catholics and Protestants believe in Penal Atonement which states that Christ died in order to appease His Father's wrath. It's built on scapegoating, and sets God up to be the main villain opposed to the solution. But more than that, Salvation merely becomes reduced to a one-time acquittal verdict. You get acquitted and go to some magical mansion in the sky when you keel over. The same goes for Islam, some forms of Judaism, and most Western religions. This doesn't satisfy my needs. There is no true ontological transformation or healing. God isn't changing me; He's merely putting me in a mask and changing His opinion on me. I'm still dirty and rotten underneath, and I'm still stuck in a fatalistic existence. I find most forms of polytheism to be outdated and therefore out of the question. The thing about these religions is that their deities are often understand as literally being a part of the universe. I think that while this may have been understandable for pre-scientific times, the advent of science has shown that there is no need to invoke supernatural deities to explain natural phenomenon. I'm Eastern Orthodox because 1) monotheism is more logical to me than the aforementioned polytheism, and 2) out of all the Abrahamic religions and of the Christianities, it makes the most sense to me and has the most credibility. I like that in this faith, God isn't just an angry judge and Salvation isn't just an acquittal, but that God is a doctor who wants to help me. Salvation isn't an acquittal but a lifelong process of being conformed to the image and likeness of God as partakers of the Divine nature. Christ died NOT to satisfy a wrath, but to destroy Death itself and liberate humanity from the nightmare known as Death, as well as sinfulness which is rooted in our existential fear of Death. Sinfulness isn't a violation of a cosmic law but an infirmity that needs healing; Salvation isn't an acquittal but Theosis. Christ isn't a scapegoat but a savior. Heaven and Hell aren't literal places that God "sends" you to like a judge, but are adjectives to describe our spiritual state of being in relation to God's love at the resurrection of the dead. Those who were truly healed will experience joy, while those who weren't will experience misery. It's not something God literally does like pulling a trigger, but the natural consequence of what happens when we do evil, just as if you eat unhealthy every day you'll probably get fat and have diabetes. I like that I can truly say my God became man because He loved me. I can say that due to Him uniting together the created world with the Divine, I am divine. Orthodoxy is the only Abrahamic religion where a human can say "I am God" and not be fully blasphemous. We are made God through our union with Christ who we believe is both fully God and fully human simultaneously, a bridge connecting together the two realms. We are God by adoption, but never in essence. I like that I can truly be healed through this union, that I can experience Theosis as Salvation opposed to the cheap acquittal of the West. Out of the Christianities, I take great pride in the fact that we're the oldest. And I think that we're the most unchanged since we never had a Scholastic movement. Many "fundamental Christian truths" that Westerners, particular Evangelical Protestants, hold as essential, we in the Orthodox Church would dismiss as Scholastic novelties. A few such examples are Penal Atonement, biblical literalism, and Original Sin in the legalistic context. We also don't have the "faith vs. works" dichotomy of the West because we don't share the same underlying theological system which leads to such a dilemma. The second religions I have the most respect for although I don't belong to them are Hinduism and Buddhism. Like my Orthodoxy, they recognize our existential needs and are about true ontological healing and transformation opposed to mere legalistic acquittals. Indeed, I've found it surprisingly easier to discuss my Orthodoxy with them than I have most Western Christians.