Even when we cannot perceive the work of God in our lives, God is there. It is important for us to realize this, to use whatever methods we can to discern the truth of it. It is better if we find a way to experience the truth of it for ourselves, but it still helps if we do so through philosophical or theological reasoning. In either fashion, or better yet, in their combination, we can center our focus and attention... Read more
We should all be working together to make everything better. We can’t do everything all by ourselves. None of us can live and act entirely alone in this world. No one is an island. We rely upon each other far more than we realize. However great we think ourselves to be, we can never be completely self-sufficient. Even those who are rich and powerful rely upon the system to sustain them, for if the system changed, their wealth could become... Read more
Many legends of magical faeries coming out at night helping poor villagers with their needs could, in some fashion, have been inspired by the charitable work of various monks and nuns, and others like them, who liked to help those in need without being seen. We can read, for example, a story of one such monk in the Spiritual Meadow. No matter where he lived, he took the opportunity given to him to help those who needed it, doing whatever... Read more
Many Tolkien enthusiasts, mostly as a result of their interest in Middle Earth, misunderstand Tolkien’s sentiments. They try to use his writings to promote ideological positions which run contrary to his own beliefs and desires. This phenomenon began when he was alive, but it has only become much worse over time. Now, many of his readers try to use his works to promote sexism, racism, and warmongering, among other views which would have disgusted Tolkien. The rise of an “alt-right”... Read more
Christ’s sending the Spirit at Pentecost is often misunderstood. Some erroneously believe that until then, the Spirit had not been very active in the world. This is not what the Christian faith teaches. The Spirit has always been active, and, as Scripture says, goes where she wills. Throughout all history, the Spirit has inspired people, giving them grace, helping them to be holy. We see this, for example, with the prophets, for they spoke in and through the Spirit, proving... Read more
Paul was upset to see Christians fighting against each other, for he saw that it could and would bring not only discord, but actual division within the church. He saw Christian unity being divided up into various factions. Christians were becoming, as it were, rivals with each other. They fought and argued with each other over petty differences of opinion or practice. Many became followers, not just of Christ, but of their favored apostles or leader, centering around them more... Read more
Many people misconstrue the Christian faith and its teaching of salvation because they understand it only with a legalistic mindset. They conceive of sin as they do crimes, that is, sin is only some violation of a law which God put in place. How those laws are established is not clear, especially as it seems each law is promulgated for different reasons. What is clear is that we do not need to know God’s reasons: the law, once it is... Read more
Those who often speak upon religious liberty and human dignity often do the exact opposite of what they say. This is especially true within politics. Politicians like to portray themselves as defending freedom, and with it, religious liberty and human dignity, so that they can suggest that their critics and political opponents do not. They might give a limited nod to each, hoping that doing a little will prove they stand by their words, but when their ideologies run contrary... Read more
Prelest, that is, spiritual deception, readily tricks people who hold so much pride that they believe no one or nothing can ever deceive them. They think so highly of themselves, they will never question themselves, their experiences and their interpretation of those experiences, especially if those experiences can serve to reinforce the notion that they are somehow great and should be listened to by others. Prelest relies upon someone to not be willing to consider the possibility that they can... Read more
The first six ecumenical councils, from Nicea to III Constantinople, show Christians slowly developing a way for them to best express the basic elements of their faith. It was not an easy process. There were many who took elements of revelation and over-extended them in a way to ignore or reject other elements of revelation, leading to some sort of heresy. There were terms established by the councils, like homousios, which became normative, while there were other expressions of Christian... Read more
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