When I look back to what I understood about other religions when I was young, I realize how I was influenced by how the media often portrayed them, and portrayed them incorrectly. I believed Buddhism was a nihilistic religion. I thought that Hinduism could only be a polytheistic religion. I believed Islam was a violent religion. At best, the media took a particular representation of a religion and used it to represent the whole; it ignored the complexities and differing... Read more
The Christian faith looks to Jesus on the cross, and with it, shows the world the cross as a sign of victory. What a paradoxical sign that is! What was done to Jesus was evil, and it should never have been done. Indeed, the cross was the instrument of that evil, and it was used, not just against Jesus, but countless numbers of people by the Roman Empire. Rome used it as a sign of its power and control, and... Read more
Pride and vainglory are twin evils which convince us that what we want to do is right, even if it is not. They have us believe ourselves to be so great that we can do no wrong. They have us end up thinking others should recognize our greatness and bow to our will. If they don’t, if they resist us, we become angry and judge and condemn others out of our rage. Often, we judge them based upon petty, minor... Read more
It is important to remember the limitations of human language, and with it, the limitations words haven when used to represent transcendent truths, including and especially the truth of God. Because words cannot comprehend the truth in themselves, they must be seen as either pointing to or approximating the truth, serving as conventional representations of the truth. We can discuss the greater truth in a variety of ways, each which can and should complement each other, but none for them... Read more
It continues. Trump’s war against America continues. After the way he talked about his plans for Chicago, no one should doubt his intention. It’s war. On Truth Social, he said Chicago is going to learn why he renamed the Department of Defense to the “Department of War.” He did this in a post, and on it, he inserted an AI-rendered picture of himself with the words, “Chipocalypse Now”, indicating his desire to turn the city into an apocalyptic wasteland. And,... Read more
Paul reminds us that our religious devotions, our acts of piety, should not be done out with a desire to bring attention to ourselves, hoping to receive accolades from those who watch us. We are not to be vainglorious or prideful. We are to engage our faith out of a pursuit for and love for that which is good, a good which is of value in and of itself. Acts of religious piety can be good, as they can help... Read more
It is sad to see many Christians believe that temporal existence has little to no real value because they think the only thing which matters is what happens to them after they die. To be sure, they have been made to think this by the way many theologians engage the question of evil. When they suffer some wrong in this world, when they see the evil prosper and the good suffer, they are told that everything will work out in... Read more
Trump has begun his war on the United States. He, and his allies, have begun their “Second American Revolution.” There is no other way to understand what is going on. He is sending troops to occupy American cities. He is using them to enforce his will. They are acting in Washington D.C. the way soldiers act when occupying enemy territory. They are making the lives of American citizens difficult, as they now live under the watchful eye of a force... Read more
Ever year on September 1st I like to say, “Happy New Year.” This is because it is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in the Byzantine tradition. Of course, it is not the only day I say this because I also say it on the first of January. Sometimes, I do so on other days, such as with the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). There is something exciting about a new year. There is a sense that with the newness... Read more
With God, all things are possible. When we hear this, we should take it for what it is, a message of hope. All things are possible. God’s desire that all shall be saved must be possible. Those who would deny this possibility would deny the hope which Jesus wants us to have. Those who would deny it is God’s desire must deny Scripture because Scripture, and even if it was not explicitly stated in Scripture, it could be deduced from the... Read more
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