When we read from the lives of the saints, especially ascetics who lived away from society, we often find that they have interdependent relationships with animals. They treated animals with respect, and in return, animals treated them with respect. Indeed, many of them formed close bonds of friendship with the animals who lived around them, and when they did so, this was often seen as a sign of their holiness: There was another elder at the place called Sapas whose... Read more
The dormition and assumption of Mary are two parts of one special event in salvation history. The first part, the dormition, refers to her death (as the word, dormition, employs the euphemism Paul used to represent death, that is, sleep, cf. 1. Thes. 4:13-15). Her death led directly to the second part of the event, that is, her entry into eternity, done in a special way, as she was fully assumed into heaven, body and soul, so that she could... Read more
Jesus, according to Scripture, told his followers that he would eventually be executed. We are also told that this was something which they did not want to hear: As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed (Matt. 17:22-23 RSV). Some might think that such statements were... Read more
Christian nationalism is one of the greatest distortions of the Christian faith being promoted in our present age. It has Christians absolutize and eternalize relative, conventional distinctions, using them to cut humanity apart, setting up segments of humanity as being superior to the rest. Once a particular group, established as a national entity, is set up in this fashion, it easily is turned into an idol, after which, it is worshiped. Without surprise, those who follow Christian nationalism tend to... Read more
The Christian faith is meant to lived, not just studied or spoken about. We must make sure our faith is a living faith, not a dead one. We must not assume that knowledge about the faith, and acceptance of what one has been told, is enough; we must do much more than see Christianity is good in theory; we must put it into practice. And yet, until we put do so, all that it is for us is merely a... Read more
As our faith matures, we often come to realize that our faith, as we first understood it, needs to be examined, and indeed, deconstructed, so that we can rid of it all kinds of errors which we have appropriated to it. Hopefully then we will be able to see our faith in a new light, understand it better, and allow it to grow into a new, purer but yet greater version of what we once held. What we need to... Read more
No matter how corrupted it has become, no matter how defiled it has become, everything which exists will always possess some good within it. This is not to say it will be easy for us to find that good, for obviously, more often than not, it can be extremely difficult. This is because that good is buried deep within, hidden from view, encased in all kinds of defilement. And yet, as existence itself is good, we know that nothing which... Read more
Things are not always as they seem. Jesus, to so many, seemed one to be merely a man; while he might have been one who did and said surprising things, in the end, all the thought of him was that he was just a man. This is how many see him today. They might consider him to be an odd man, one who might have said and did many extraordinary things, especially for the time and place from which he... Read more
August 6, 1945 should always be remembered because, the United States on that day used the atomic bomb, unleashing a great evil upon the world. The mass, indiscriminate destruction of a civilian populace which ensued should never be celebrated, even if some (wrongly) think it was necessary. By availing itself of the atomic bomb, the United States changed the world for the worse. It showed that it was willing to engage and embrace mass murder for the sake of its... Read more
The kingdom of God is at hand, indeed, it is within us. This is because we are made in the image and likeness of God. Where God’s image is found, God’s presence can also be found, for God’s image cannot be found separated from God. And so, within us, at the core of our being, we find ourselves partaking of the divine nature itself, as Sergius Bulgakov understood: “Man’s capacity for participating in the divine is the divine image, which... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In