The Place of Content within Tradition

 

A critique against the Orthodox church is their valuation of tradition. Tradition does not overrule or replace Holy Scripture. Instead, Holy Scripture needs to be understood within the context of tradition. “That which the Church has always believed and practiced” is the definition of tradition. Tradition is not about man made rules or practices but is the truth handed down by the apostles to subsequent generations, it is unwritten belief and practice.

While tradition is a necessary and unavoidable foundation for historic Christianity, this does not mean that the method of teaching doesn’t change. The worldview and language in which the Church was born is vastly different than the world in which we live today. Because culture and knowledge has radically changed over the past 2000 years, so too much our approach and methodology but not the content.

The way we talk must change but what we teach cannot.

Generational Authority

 

Generational authority is a historic reality. A king will be in power and will pass his kingship onto his eldest child. The kingdom may be vast and powerful but the child, being young, inexperienced, and immature, will not understand the incredible opportunity he has been given. As the child grows and matures, he will begin to grow into his role and advance the kingdom forward.

This is the nature of our reality as the Church. With the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, we began our role as small children inheriting a vast kingdom. It is now our responsibility to take dominion over the earth. That role of dominion will continue to expand into the entire universe. We do not understand the huge responsibility and incredible opportunity that we have been given.

It is only when we continue to mature that we will know how to rightly make use of everything in the known universe. And this will take eons to even begin to accomplish.

Expenses as a priority

 

I would argue that 90% of what we see or read in the media is distraction. Human suffering, deprivation, and moral depravity are real problems that need to be addressed. Suffering will always be an issue because people will often make foolish decisions that negatively impact themselves and others. But do we really need to be spending multiple billions of dollars on space exploration, military budgets, and political manipulation when there is so much good that could be done instead?

Caring for those in need and creating a better world ought to take precedence over personal comfort and hobbies.

Art and Culture

 

Artistic endeavors are circular. The culture in which one grows up will impact the boundaries of one’s artistic creations. The moral code of one’s culture will determine how one approaches art. When a culture loses its moral compass, art becomes more of an effort to push the boundaries and be novel, rather than to create beauty and excellence.

When one undergoes suffering or abuse, the pain from those experiences will come out in one’s art will brings about the idea of art as emotional release rather than a pursuit of beauty. This response will then impact the art of future generations, as art is then redefined.