First we had Britney Spears as a conservative Christian — and a cook, to boot — Now here comes Osama Bin Laden portrayed as Christ. (Elsewhere.) Secondly, whoop-tee-do! Unemployment is down! I wish it would go up a few points because in my experience not many people, especially young workers, really want to WORK these days. Is it just me, or is the I-don’t-care-what-you-want attitude prevalent everywhere? I could give many examples, but then I’d have to kill myself. (heh... Read more

There are two different roads, one broad and easy, the other hard and narrow. And there are two guides vying with each other to attract the traveler’s’s attention. The easy undisciplined way of life leads to pleasure to be enjoyed now, not later; the way of salvation is hard, but promises a beautiful future. The soul is confused and dithers in its calculations. It prefers pleasure when it is looking at the present; it chooses virtue when its eye is... Read more

NEW YORK — Britney Spears will guest star on an episode of “Will & Grace,” NBC announced Tuesday. The pop star will appear as a Christian conservative sidekick to Sean Hayes’ character, Jack, who hosts his own talk show, on the April 13 episode, the network said. Jack’s fictional network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, leading to Spears contributing a cooking segment called “Cruci-fixin’s.” Activists go H E R E. Many will probably just go H... Read more

We must remember also that we do not grow into the likeness of Jesus all at once. We must study His life, and if we do not find in our life the qualities He possessed, then we must try to attain them. We have in the Scriptures a list of the things we should have in our lives. Let us go over them carefully and see how many we can really find in our own lives (Gal.5:22 – 23). These... Read more

The following quotes are from my seminary days — Ascetic Theology 2 — with Bishop Brother John Charles. Part 1 A couple from Dom John Chapman: “Pray the way you can — not the way you can’t.” “The only prayer you’ll ever have is the prayer you have today — muddled and confused — but if you don’t pray it, you’ll never pray at all.” —————————————– “Prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes people & people change things.” “Crises do not... Read more

Orthodox Youth Outreach (OYO) has hired Jordan Henderson to serve as its new Program Director. OYO is a ministry of NAC Teen SOYO which has been designed to provide local parishes and youth workers with the resources necessary to involve junior and senior high students in local community service and short-term missions projects. The purpose of the program is to encourage our youth to live out their faith through service to others. OYO provides opportunities for youth to get involved... Read more

HELP WANTED: missionaries for 2-year commitments to serve growing educational projects in Albania. Currently the Orthodox Church, under the direction of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, runs a number of kindergartens and two primary schools, with plans to expand the existing program through high school. NEEDED: · trained teachers with elementary and/or high school experience · school administrators PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES: · Teachers: teach special subjects (math, science, computer skills, English) · Administrators: organize and oversee the daily operations of a school... Read more

Funny. Sometimes you only find that what you’ve been looking for when you’re looking for something else entirely. The following quotes are from my seminary days — Ascetic Theology 2 — with Bishop Brother John Charles. Worth a read (if you can find the time) … “Make time for people.” “Human sexuality is never holy and not always expressed genitally.” “Without honesty, we bring an unreal person to a god of our own devising.” “We are supposed to be part... Read more

Okay, I’ll take a stab. Not that this is the case personally nor, certainly, with any readers of GetReligion . . . but many good folks are addicted to porn. Plain and simple. I’ve heard clergy discussing the latest episode of “Desperate Housewives” and laity laughing about “Sex and the City.” Porn is mainstream these days. Violence is almost old school. Just the other day, following a link off a familiar blog, I wound up at Christian sex toy site.... Read more

[The poll revealed that] 67% and 77% respectively said that they believed in the immortal human soul. At the same time 62% and 63% respectively believe in the Resurrection of Christ, so their faith in immortality is based on their Christian beliefs. Though only half of them: 30% and 35% admitted that they believed in the part of the Creed which says about the resurrection of the dead before the Day of Judgement. The reality is that many of those... Read more