Monasticism Is Not A Pelagian Institution

Last updated on: February 1, 2023 at 3:50 am By Henry Karlson

It’s easy to assume monasticism is all about works. Certainly, many monastic texts will emphasize the need to engage ascetic discipline, giving all kinds of warnings to those who do not faithfully live out their religious vocation, and in doing so, serve as evidence that this is what monasticism is about. But if this really what monasticism was about, it would not have thrived for centuries. Monasticism, likewise, would have been rejected by Christianity because its principles would run contrary... Read more

We Must Reform The Institutional Church When It Loses Its Way

Last updated on: January 31, 2023 at 6:37 am By Henry Karlson

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Jesus told us we are to be the salt of the earth, but warns would could happens if we fail to live up to our obligations: “”You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men” (Matt. 5:13 RSV). Salt helps preserve and protect food, keeping it from spoiling, that is, salt... Read more

Neither Prideful Nor Despairing: The Way Of The Publican

Last updated on: January 29, 2023 at 3:06 am By Henry Karlson

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There are two common errors which religious people often fall into. The first is the way many of them become triumphalistic with their faith; they end up think their faith, and their way of engaging their faith, is better than anyone and everyone else’s leading them to look down upon, if not be abusive towards, those who believe or act differently to them. The second error comes from an inversion of this; instead of being prideful and triumpalistic, such believers... Read more

What We Can Learn From The Story Of Abba Apphy

Last updated on: January 27, 2023 at 3:45 am By Henry Karlson

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Early monastic literature contained within it an ambivalent picture of the ecclesiastic structure of the church. On the one hand, the structure was recognized as important, and necessary. On the other hand, they saw that those who got drawn into it, seeking or even being elevated to positions of authority such as priests or bishops found their spiritual lives tended to diminish as they had to deal with the public instead their own private spiritual development. This often meant bishops... Read more

DeSantis And The Teaching Of History

Last updated on: January 24, 2023 at 7:16 am By Henry Karlson

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We are to remember the past, including, and especially the wrongs which were done, but also the way those wrongs were overcome. Christians should look to and accept history as it is presented in secular sources, even as they can interpret it in a way to believe that God had a role in the shaping of history. That is, though God has made room for human freedom, and so much of history is the representation of what humanity has done... Read more

Most Debates Will Not Produce Faith

Last updated on: January 30, 2023 at 3:18 pm By Henry Karlson

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One of the worst approaches to the Christian faith is to treat it as if it were something which can be easily proven through argumentation, acting as if someone did not agree with such arguments, they must be a bad thinker. The Christian faith, indeed, any faith, or scientific examination, or philosophical engagement with truth, should not to be treated as a simple ideology which can be easily proven to others. This is what so many so-called apologists fail to... Read more

Zacchaeus Shows Us The Way Beyond Injustice

Last updated on: January 22, 2023 at 3:49 am By Henry Karlson

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Zacchaeus, even if he tried to be an ethical tax collector, still was a tax collector, and he made his money, his wealth, on the backs of others. Tax collecting was much different in ancient Rome than it is today, as tax collectors were given a percentage of the money they collected as their pray. He was not as bad as they could come. He wanted to think good of himself. He knew tax collecting was important, even if the... Read more

Republicans Are Using The Debt Ceiling To Promote Evil Policies

Last updated on: January 18, 2023 at 1:47 pm By Henry Karlson

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The Republicans, especially those in the House, seem hell-bent to destroy the common good (and so, create evil in its wake). They plan to use whatever power they have to grab after more power for themselves, making sure less and less people can effectively oppose them and their policies. They are nihilistic, which is why they are willing to destroy the United States if they do not get what they want. They have no interest in helping others, though they... Read more

We Should Follow Christ For Grace, Not Mere Material Profit

Last updated on: January 17, 2023 at 3:46 am By Henry Karlson

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We are not to follow Jesus, and use Jesus, for the sake of personal gain or profit, that is, we are not to turn the Christian faith into a mere business opportunity. Sadly, it seems, this has been a problem for a long time. People see an opportunity to profit off of the faith of others. This is why we can see St. Antony the Great write against this tendency in his letters, such as when he said: “But those... Read more

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Interfaith Witness

Last updated on: January 16, 2023 at 3:07 am By Henry Karlson

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Martin Luther King Jr. understood that the civil rights movement needed to bring all of the people of the United States together. He knew that it needed people from all walks of life, every corner of society, if it were to be successful. He also knew that those who gained the most from systematic injustices would not want things to change, and so they would not only resisting joining in with his work, they would do everything they could to... Read more

Which sea did Moses cross in the Exodus story?