Sometimes we embrace pride thinking it cannot be a serious problem, when it develops or encourages us to do because it encourages us to do various good things with our time. How can it be so bad? Pride, and with it, vainglory, often have us do good things in order to make it look like they are not really sinful dispositions. We might, for example, help the poor, and in doing so, think we prove ourselves better than others and... Read more
It’s not what you know, but what you do which is important. Studying and learning about the truth can be good, but what use is it if it you do not put it into action? Knowing how to determine what is best to do is not the same thing as doing it. Those who naturally do what is just, even if they do not know all the reasons which could be used to prove the goodness of such actions, are... Read more
We have many stories, some more famous than others, in which saints encounter and slay dragons, with St. George being the most well-known of them all. Most of these stories should be understood to be legendary, that is, not to be entirely historical; while there might be some historical basis behind them, that historical core is used to construct a legend which engages mythic, not historical dimensions. Then, through the mythic presentation of the event, symbols are used to present... Read more
We must always be pursuing peace, especially in the midst of war: “ Great is peace, for peace is needed even at the time of war, as it is said WHEN YOU APPROACH A TOWN TO ATTACK IT, YOU SHALL OFFER IT TERMS OF PEACE (Deut. 20:10).” [1]Such peace should be authentic, one based upon reconciliation, where all sides involved in a conflict find a way to reestablish whatever justice was undermined due to war or which before it commenced,... Read more
There is a tendency for many to overlook men and their sexual sins, justifying it by saying something like “boys will be boys.” And yet, if a woman were to sin in a similar fashion, they would be looked down upon with outright contempt as she will be branded with all kinds of insults. Throughout history, men with positions of power and authority which they use to seduce and manipulate women, once they find such women no longer satisfy them,... Read more
Every year, we look to the fruits of Christ’s labor, the saints, those who, having lived by faith, became holy by grace. We look to them and the great things they have done, and then we honor them. In doing so, we honor God, for their holiness is, in part, the work of God, for God gave them the grace they needed to do wondrous things with their lives. Certainly, they were not perfect. Not everything they did was respectable.... Read more
We are so accustomed to believe that those with great power and might cannot be resisted, that even if might does not make right, might makes the way things will be. We are often told that those with little to no power or authority of their own will not be able to resist those who possess more than they, and if they try, not only will they fail, they will make things worse for themselves. While it is true that... Read more
It is vital for society not to confuse extreme radicals who use religion as a tool to promote their own ideologies as being representatives of the religions they claim to adhere. Many of them might admit this, that is, they might admit that they are religious but hold ideas which are not to be confused with the teachings of their religious faith, but others want such confusion to be had, as they want their religious faith to be transformed so... Read more
Tradition is important for religion, and therefore, for the Christian faith; it helps make sure that the collective wisdom and knowledge of the faithful does not get lost, and in doing so, prevent many of the mistakes of the past from being repeated in the future. Nonetheless, tradition is a double-edged sword because it can also be used to pass down bad notions and practices which then become confused with the faith itself. Indeed, those who control what is disseminated... Read more
It is customary to talk about the history of humanity as if there were only one fall from grace, that is, the fall of Adam. While that fall, whatever it was, is significant, Scripture suggests that there were several different instances in human history in which there were other falls from grace, each time leading humanity into a worse position than it was before. Sadly, many try to take these stories as literal history, and in doing so, misunderstand them;... Read more
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