Humanity was made good, which is why it can and should be said that humanity is good by nature. The problem is that we, as persons, tend to ignore and cut ourselves from our innate goodness, from our common humanity. We go from being persons in a relationship with others, as we were meant to be, to being individuals cut off from everyone. We end up thinking that we can do all things all by ourselves, that one of the... Read more
Like most in my generation, I have a great fondness for the cinema. While I do not go to the movie theater as much as I used to, for I now tend to watch movies at home, that fondness remains. My favorite genres, like my favorite genres of fiction, are science fiction, fantasy, and horror, however, I do not limit myself to them. I enjoy movies of all genres. I like great historical dramas. I like well-done movies centered on... Read more
Class Warfare And Social Justice It seems that every time that the rich are confronted for the way they treat the poor, such as the way they take from the poor what the poor needs to survive, or the way they use their wealth to help further their acquisition of the means of production, keeping it away from the poor, the response often given by their defenders is that we should not be engaging class warfare. Their defenders claim if... Read more
The Sunday after Pascha (Easter) traditionally reflects upon the way the Apostle Thomas experienced the resurrected Christ several days after the rest of the apostles. Until then, he was doubtful of what he was being told. We do not know the full extent of that doubt. Was it absolute? Perhaps, but perhaps we read him wrongly. The fact that he said he wanted to see and touch Christ for himself could suggest that he at least took it as a... Read more
Religion can hold a powerful influence in society, both positively and negatively. While the adherents of a particular will likely point to the good which they see coming from their faith as a reason for their faith, they often look to other faiths only to see the bad in them, to show why they are deficient in some fashion. They will ask people to judge their faith based upon the best representations of their faith while judging other religious traditions... Read more
During the Great Fast, Lent, I explored and discussed various myths and legends from the Old Testament (especially from Genesis), seeking to discern some of the truths which were revealed to us through them. Much of what I sought followed the ways Christians see Christ being anticipated or foreshadowed in the Old Testament, in its great figures and events, especially in the way those figures are presented to us through myths full of symbols which tell us we are being... Read more
Christ is Risen! Joy From Heaven is around us, Christ our Pasch now dwells among us! All things are made anew, giving us hope, hope for ourselves, and hope for everyone and everything else. Christ has overcome the fallen powers that be, the structures of sin and the nihilistic death which they bring. He is risen, and we are to rise with him. While we celebrate Christ’s resurrection during Paschaltide, and with it, embrace the hope and joy his resurrection... Read more
Just as the Trinity is one God, so God made humanity to be composed of many persons while also remaining one. Each human person has the same human nature, a nature which, in and of itself, is good, because God saw that all things which God created are good. The problem is not human nature as it is in its essence, an essence with a purity which it never lost, but rather, the way every human person engages that nature... Read more
Throughout history, God often reveals great truths in surprising ways. For example, when Abraham believed God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham was willing to do so. God stopped him, using that to show Abraham (and everyone else), that such sacrifice was not to be done. God used Abraham’s expectations, the expectations he had with others of his time, to deal with those expectations and put an end to the reasoning that lay behind them. God often works within history... Read more
God entices us to embrace what is good and true through the beauty of the truth. Such beauty should bring us back to God, because, when we see it, we should find ourselves attracted to the beauty of God’s divine glory. God wants our love. To have it, we must be free. Love is not love if it is forced. Those who would tell us that God acts out of divine power instead of love, denying our free will, do... Read more
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