St. John of Karpathos reminded his readers, who, because they could read, were among the learned elite, that God has many ways to save people, including ways for those who are simple (and could not read): God saves one man through spiritual knowledge and another through guilelessness and simplicity. You should bear in mind that ‘God will not reject the simple’ (Job 8:20 LXX).[1] St John did not reject the value of “spiritual knowledge,” which could be attained through several... Read more
We read in the Psalms of God’s greatness. He is to be understood as being above and beyond all. There really is no comparison between him and those believed to be gods by the Gentiles. He is surrounded by the assembly of the saints, the children of Israel, who, despite their relationship with him, understand how great and uncontrollable his glory is: Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For... Read more
JR.R. Tolkien, in his letters, talks about the way one of his readers thought Frodo should have been treated as a traitor and sentenced to death: Fair it would and did as far as Frodo considered alone was concerned. He ‘apostatized’ – and I have had one savage letter, crying out that he shd. have been executed as a traitor, not honoured.[1] Tolkien understood that Frodo had failed. But he understood there was more to Frodo’s story than giving in... Read more
Economics should serve humanity, not humanity, economics. Those with economic privilege, those who have accumulated mass stockpiles of wealth, often try to justify their actions by saying what they did is allowed by our current economic system and so they did nothing wrong. But the system itself is flawed; it is founded upon and promotes various sins, especially avarice. Christians, once they see the root sin which lies behind the economic system currently in place, must confront the system, rejecting... Read more
During the Feast of Booths, Jesus promised his followers that he gives to him the gift of the Holy Spirit: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, `Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were... Read more
Christians must reject all forms of racism, for, as St. John Paul II declared, “Racism is a sin that constitutes a serious offence against God.” [1] Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. Undermining the dignity of a person is an affront against God because it is an attack against a representation of God himself. [2] As blasphemy is found in all acts of irreverence against God, racism must be recognized for what it is: blasphemy. Racism... Read more
“The virtuous may appear to be bad, but essentially they are good; superficially, the self-important and pleasure-loving may appear to be good, but they are evil.”[1] We must never judge someone by mere appearances (cf. Jn. 7:24). Many people seem to be good and holy. They put on a show making us think they are. And yet, in reality, they are anything but holy. They are manipulative and seek some inordinate gain by pretending to be something they are not.... Read more
S.L. Frank, writing about society, suggests individuals cannot exist independent from society as they are abstractions based upon society itself: “Furthermore, society is the only reality in which man is given to us concretely. An individual conceived as isolated is only an abstraction.”[1] No species exists in one person, one individual alone. They always exist in groups. And they live and thrive as a group. There is no one, no human, who exists who is entirely independent or alone, and... Read more
The First Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, became understood as an Ecumenical Council only long after it had been convened and its declarations had been promulgated throughout the church. The fathers who were there understood the council to be significant, and its declarations to be authoritative, but they did not know that they would be starting a precedent which would be employed for other divisive questions in the church: The fathers of Nicea did not call... Read more
Sergius Bulgakov, for a period of his life, considered himself to be a Marxist, but that changed when, in the middle of his graduate studies in economics, he saw how Marxist analysis failed to take into consideration developments of science and technology after Marx. It can be said that science helped direct him to the Christian faith. This is not to say, once he became a Christian, Bulgakov rejected the social concerns which led him to embrace Marx. Rather, he... Read more
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