Who of us has not felt the sting of hurt? I imagine the question is rhetorical, because the only person who cannot be hurt, is someone who has given up all personal rights. I am not that person.
Continue reading Hurting people.
Tag Archives: truth
![Theosis and other problems: On Orthodox dis[unity] – Part 3](https://i2.wp.com/www.freedominchristianity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bishops-kidnapped.jpg?resize=672%2C372&ssl=1)
Theosis and other problems: On Orthodox dis[unity] – Part 3
This is the third and last installment in this series. You can read the first two here and here.
I want to discuss some of the issues and characteristics that I’ve seen come up time and time again in this journey. I’m not claiming this to be an exhaustive piece or even a comprehensive one. This is not my specific area of expertise. If you wish to learn more and want to dialogue with someone who really ‘knows his stuff’, Father Peter Farrington is your priest! Please find his site specific to this topic here.
Continue reading Theosis and other problems: On Orthodox dis[unity] – Part 3
Q&A: I know Jesus loves me, but I’m suffering.
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Q: I’m having some troubles dealing with suffering, and I don’t want just the “Jesus loves me” answer. Any thoughts or insights?
Continue reading Q&A: I know Jesus loves me, but I’m suffering.
In the presence of holiness.
Abbâ Muthues used to say that there were three brethren who were in the habit of coming to Abbâ Antony, and that two of them used to ask him questions about the thoughts, and about life, and redemption, and the discretion (or intelligence) of the soul, whilst the third one held his peace continually. And after a long time Abbâ Antony said unto him, “Brother, thou comest here each year, and askest nothing!” And he answered and said unto the old man, “It is sufficient for me to see thee.”
The Paradise or Garden of the Holy Fathers (Vol. 2, p. 189)
Think for yourself.
Do you really think for yourself?
Take a read through these random comments and responses, and please think about what they mean. Please think about what the questions that I am asking on each one for a few moments before going from one to another.
Continue reading Think for yourself.
The angst of death
Deaths tend to bring out a lot in us. Questions of ‘how could that person have died?’ or ‘how is this fair’ or all sorts of angry proclamations…but why are we so shocked at death, when it’s the one guarantee of life?
Cold-blooded murder: are you afraid of the truth?
The Truth is not afraid of discovery, because it helps us inform us more about God.
Last Friday you find out from watching the news that Hany Shenouda, prominent steward of the Service (amin el khidma) at your church, is found guilty of the murder of Hermonia Grangeria in an alley near his house. To most people in the church, he has only been an image of piety. He’s at every church service, he’s the go-to deacon for mid-week anything, and he’s at every tasbeha/psalmody every week. He taught you how to make korban. He taught the kids Sunday School. Everything about him points to, “this guy is clergy material.”
Continue reading Cold-blooded murder: are you afraid of the truth?
A bunch of nobodies that took over the world…
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Many of us look around us today, and take in the culture, the liberality, the lack of morals, and we groan. In my lifetime, and I’m not that old, I’ve seen many changes. I remember when it rebellious to publicly get drunk, today one need only browse Facebook to see people boast of their revelries. I remember when it was a sad occasion when people got divorced, and there was a general belief that people should try to keep it together. Today they are discussing auto-expiring marriage licenses in Mexico, ones that you need to actively renew if you want to remain married. At one point, virginity and then monogamy were valued and extolled, today we usher in an era of “friends with benefits”, “open marriages” and we do not need to look far to see the sexual explosion and exploitation. The list could go on. What scares me is that underneath all of this is the spirit of ungodliness: a pluralistic, secular, atheist world.
Continue reading A bunch of nobodies that took over the world…