Tag Archives: athanasius
2. The Ministers & The Chief of Ministers
1. Beginnings
Let me tell you a story. It’s a long story, though. It’s going to be told in more than one part because you probably won’t be able to hear all of it today. It’s a beautiful story, but it’s also a sad story. The good thing, though, is that the story is not actually over, and a happy ending is very possible. Actually, the happy ending is preferred, and you will find out that you have a say in how it ends.
Let Me Tell You a Story: Preface
The following is an excerpt from Yann Martel’s, Life of Pi, when the protagonist has finished telling his extraordinary tale of survival:
“If you stumble at mere believability, what are you living for? Isn’t love hard to believe?”
“Mr. Patel–”
“Don’t you bully me with your politeness! Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?”
“We’re just being reasonable.”
“So am I! I applied my reason at every moment. Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.”
I have hesitated at doing what I want to do in this “story” that I’m going to tell. I wanted to bring some of the Theology of books like “On the Incarnation”, while retelling the stories and traditions that we have received from the Holy Bible. In doing this there was a great fear that using the word ‘story’ might reduce the Truths that these stories hold to being mere tale-telling, fiction. That somehow the “story” would become less believable because it’s a ‘story’.
Yet, to borrow again a concept from Yann Martel, it’s like what I am trying to say is, “let me tell you a story that even though it is not true, it is true”. What I mean here, is that while I might give characters life or create a dialogue between them, give them new names or new looks, the story underneath it is a true story. Stories are valuable for us to understand truths. This has been the tradition of humanity since we were capable of communication.
The mere recounting of an experience is the telling of a story, and consequently, we ought not to look at story-telling with contempt. Story-telling does not make belief laughable, as story-telling is what all humans are doing all over the world, all the time. That does not make their stories false.
I want this story to be simple, because our story is simple. Our God issimple. The Covenant is simple. I want anyone of any age to understand the foundations and promises of Love.
I will begin with some foundational blocks before going into recounting the stories of humanities encounters with our God. Feel free to send feedback, or to request elaborations on concepts.
Chapter 1: Beginnings
Chapter 2: The Ministers & the Chief of Ministers
Chapter 3: The people, the Gift and the Purpose.
Pray for me.
ap
Love became man.
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A very Merry Christmas to all of us celebrating the feast of our Lord’s Incarnation today!
How amazing is it that we have a God who wants us, loves us, and is willing to come out of His majesty to literally be one of us? He Who is outside of time accepted to be in it, He without a body took on Flesh! What was the point of that? Really, why did Love become man?
On the importance of balanced critical thinking
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Q: I feel like I’m not encouraged to use my mind in our culture at Church. I get the sense that if I question things, I’m seen as being heretical or something, and that I am doing something wrong. If it’s so wrong to think critically, then why did God even give us a mind?
– Frustrated
Continue reading On the importance of balanced critical thinking
An Orthodox Youth: Saint Athanasius
+Christ is risen!
Saint Athanasius, who reposed in the Lord almost 1700 years ago, is still one of the most revered people in all of Christendom, and studied by Christians and non-Christians alike. He gifted the Christian world with our faith, and our Creed. This star didn’t come out of nowhere, he was a kid, a teen, and an adult at various points in his life. Today let’s look particularly at his youth and what he was like, and hopefully we can be inspired to struggle as he did.
His feast day is May 15.
Living Hope: Living in the Hope of the Resurrected Christ
+Christ is risen!
What happened through the Resurrection that can change how I live? The Resurrection takes away our fear of tribulation, sin and death, and gives us power over everything. We live in the hope, the expectation of newness and restoration…
This article is a bit heavier on the quotes, contrary to the ‘about’ section, my apologies in advance!
Continue reading Living Hope: Living in the Hope of the Resurrected Christ