Tuesday, July 18, 2023

From the Library

 

Please take a moment to visit my new medium for communication, over at YouTube. I have begun a new series of video talks, each about ten minutes in length, discussing ethics and theology.

Episode six was recently uploaded and can be seen here: 

From the Library

Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe!

Friday, June 30, 2023

As Promised

 

The new video series I discussed in my last post has now started on YouTube. It is called "From the Library" and are each about ten minutes in length, discussing various theological, ethical, philosophical, and anthropological topics.

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX5OqeUKiK1giFzkJjkBRt-OeydjnAhMp

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Important Change Coming

 

I have made the decision to transition this blog into a podcast. Over the next week or so, I will be creating video discussions/ ruminations on these same topics.

I will post the link to the podcast in the near future, most likely featured on YouTube.

I look forward to making this update and would love your feedback.

Monday, June 12, 2023

Personal Definitions

 

What does it mean to be a Christian? The trouble with asking this question is due to the theological/interpretive world that Protestantism/American evangelicalism has created. Because of the rebellious foundations of Protestantism, the answer to this question has become one of private interpretation or preference. Because the evangelical world operates on the premise of, “What does this verse/passage mean to you?”, there is no final authority to which to appeal.

If anyone has been visited by door-to-door missionaries, you will understand that debating over the meaning of biblical passages is futile, for personal interpretation is the foundation for evangelical belief. To ask the original question, one will get varying answers from the multitude of denominations or groups. 

While some answers may be similar, the definition of words can be very different depending on the denomination. This again reduces to the question of authority. For example, the Methodist denomination broke away from the Anglican church, which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. But being a splinter of a splinter does not make one’s theological premises necessarily correct. 

To see the error of one’s predecessor is a good thing but to merely splinter away based on one’s private interpretation is to commit the same fallacy as the original splinter. Instead of looking at Rome and critiquing their theological views as aberrant when compared to one’s own private views is faulty. 

As the Nicene Creed says, “There is one, holy, apostolic Church” and this is the standard by which all theological belief and practice should be analyzed. To use the metaphor of mathematics, unless one has the 90-degree standard by which to judge all angles, the end result will not be the right angle.


Monday, June 5, 2023

More of the Same

 

Everyone seems to be able to understand the consequences of poor eating habits and lack of exercise but for some reason, many people disregard the obvious long-term impact. If one is involved in an unhealthy lifestyle for long periods of time, the quality of life will be lower, and the length of life will be shorter. 

The same is very much true in regards to spirituality. To live a life that disregards spiritual health, the result is comparable. The quality of life will be poor, and the state of eternity will mirror the type of life one lived in the physical body. To love God, to love one’s neighbor, and to pursue holiness are a lifestyle for which man was created. To live otherwise is to be less than human. 

To live in such a way is to malform one’s soul, which will have a permanent impact on the state of one’s eternity. The torment that Christianity describes for those who did not seek after a relationship with God is not torment from the hands of demonic powers or from the hand of God but is instead a self-imposed state of misery. 

One will experience for eternity the misery of not being truly human and will have no one to blame but himself. God has provided all the means for men to be truly human but if effort is not made on man’s part to be so, he will spend eternity in a state of regret, having formed his soul into something unnatural.


Thursday, June 1, 2023

Hey, Look Over Here....

 

Hey look at this, hey look at this, we’ve been watching your behavior and your interests and we think you’d like this. The question we should be asking ourselves is regarding the value of using our time in that way. How much of our time is simply a distraction? How much of our time is just entertainment? How much of our time do we use to improve ourselves or to help others?

All of us can do better. There is always room for improvement, even if it is just a small initial first step. You need to start somewhere.


Friday, May 26, 2023

Truth does not fear questions

    

When someone tells you that “X” is a virtue or that “X” is true, don’t just believe them, ask questions regardless of who they are.  If they push back and claim authority, ask even more questions. Anything that is true is defensible. 

No genuine authority appeals solely to its own authority. Truth always has a foundation and an answer.

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Self-Labeling and Our Response

 

If someone uses religious terminology, or hints are religious thought, or even calls themselves a Christian, but at the same time, practices something that we find distasteful or that the Church has historically identified as sinful, we ought not condemn or judge them. That is not our responsibility. 

If someone is on a path where they are open to or interested in the Christian faith, we ought to do all we can to love them, support them, and encourage them. If they cannot find love in the Church or from other Christians, then something is seriously wrong.


Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Freedom to Decide

 

When a parent offers a child the choice of PBJ or chicken nuggets, the child does have the freedom to choose but the parent is setting the boundaries. When human beings live their lives, they freely choose to think, speak, and act but in very much the same way, he has the freedom to choose but God is setting the boundaries.

Mankind is in a position to freely choose, even if those decisions are negative and destructive. Without that freedom, man is nothing more than a puppet. God created man for relationship and man has the choice to love God in return or to not. To be truly human is to love.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Cultural Decline and Our Responsibility

 

While the current depraved state of our nation is a horrible event to witness, as Christians we should not fear. The Church has always taught and believed that sin brings death. This is true not just for the individual but also for a nation and a culture. 

The decline into corruption and depravity that we are witnessing is nothing new. This exact pattern has taken place throughout history. We should be saddened by the suffering and death that is taking place but at the same time, we know that the Church will never be defeated or eradicated. 

In the face of the decline of an entire nation, the individual can do little, but we are all called to pray and to love those with whom we interact and know, which is far greater than any socio-economic-political effort. A small rock rolling downhill can be stopped with little to no effort, but a ten-ton boulder cannot. We must be aware of the problem, avoid following the decline, and do what we can for ourselves and our loved ones.


Friday, April 28, 2023

Responsibility in Communication

 

Communication is a strange thing. We use words, organizing them into the shape to share the message we want. Even though spelling has been standardized, the way we communicate is not a black and white effort. Depending on the audience, depending on the topic, and depending on the setting, different methods are used. Sometimes there is a heavy use of metaphor, imagery, and figures of speech, other times there are specialty terms are used that are specific to the hearer.

Often the speaker may use figures of speech that are perfectly clear to him but may be ambiguous to the hearer. It is the responsibility of the speaker to communicate in a way that will guarantee understanding.


Saturday, April 22, 2023

Ever Changing Life

 

Eternity is not static bliss or unchanging suffering. It is a continuation of whatever your life was. If you were on a path of selfishness and pleasure, which is a slide into wickedness, on this you will continue. You will only become more and more evil, moving further and further away from holiness. 

If you were on a path of holiness, of loving God and of loving others, then you will continue on this path, becoming more and more holy, becoming more like God, a never-ending journey of theosis.


Monday, April 17, 2023

A Picture of Life

 

Life is perfectly displayed in the game of shoots and ladders. The man who has no concern for spiritual health is the man sliding down the slide with no effort. The man who is concerned with spiritual growth and maturity is he who with effort climbs the ladder toward holiness. 

One is either doing nothing and sliding downward toward comfort and selfishness and this is a path that he will continue for eternity which practically speaking, is hell. But he who strives after holiness will continue as well and will continue to grow more holy and become more a likeness of God.

Friday, April 14, 2023

Understanding Evil

 

We need to be careful how we present evil and how we understand evil. Evil is not a thing in and of itself. It is a perversion of that which is good and right. Evil is not all powerful, it is not an equal opposite to God and holiness. Evil cannot create anything, and evil cannot overpower someone without that person’s consent. But consent then would then mean not overpowering but acceptance and agreement.

That which evil accomplished prior to the incarnation is nothing like what it can accomplish now. It has been moved from being a dominant force to being a defeated guerilla army. Satan is not a general overseeing a well-organized army from a throne in hell. Fallen angels/demons are like savage beasts, seeking only to confuse and destroy anyone allowing them to influence.

You can capture a beast in a cage and keep it there to protect yourself and your loved ones. Or you can let the beast out to do its damage, or you can go into the cage with the beast. Options two and three, clearly are self-destructive. Evil has been defeated and is “out there”. We are safe and protected from it if we choose to be so. It is only when we open ourselves up to its influence that we are in danger.


Monday, April 10, 2023

Freedom and Rights

 

You have the freedom to do anything you wish. You do not have the freedom to force others to agree with or support those decisions. But at the same time, there are always consequences for one’s actions. You can become a raging alcoholic, but you will likely destroy your health and die young. You have the freedom to commit any crime, but you will likely be punished or imprisoned for doing so.

"Freedom to do" something does not equal "the right to do" something.


Tuesday, April 4, 2023

The Wrong Starting Point

 

Instead of starting with one’s theological presuppositions at the time of the Reformation, one start from the beginning. Jesus taught his disciples, who in turn, filled with the Holy Spirit and given the promise that the gates of hell would never prevail over the Church, taught the first-generation Church across the known world. The Holy Spirit, filling the Church and guiding her, continues to lead the Church, from one generation to the next, clarifying and articulating the faith, initially through the Seven Ecumenical Councils. 

Unless one is willing to advance the idea that the Church was defeated and confused from the end of the first century until the 1500’s, the reality is that the Holy Spirit has filled the Church and led the Church in truth since its first generation.

There have been those inside the Church and outside the Church who have sought to mislead and confuse her teaching, but these have been identified as heretics or heterodox and have been severed or defected to start/re-start “the one true church”. But these are not teaching historic Christianity, they are introducing private interpretation, innovation, and heresy.


Thursday, March 30, 2023

On Freedom and Responsibility

 

Everyone has the freedom to think, speak, and act as they wish, with the caveat that the speech or action is not illegal. This is the freedom that Jesus earned for us through his redemptive work. This is not simply the freedom to do so but the responsibility to do so. And that responsibility needs to be built on the foundation of love for God, love for others, and the pursuit of holiness.

In this case, the terms ‘love’ and ‘holiness’ are defined by the historic, Christian church, not the individual. The consequences of those thoughts, speech, and action are completely on the individual. Because we each have the ability and the responsibility in this, what takes place because of these is ours to own.


Sunday, March 26, 2023

Speaking Well of Others

 

It is interesting that the Protestant/evangelical world is vehemently opposed to the presence of icons within the Christian faith. But at the same time, Protestant/evangelicals have no trouble with the veneration and glorification of musicians, athletes, and artists in their everyday life.

The historic Christian faith is the exact opposite of this. The Orthodox faith calls for the daily interaction with our godly predecessors, who are more alive now than ever before. As the Orthodox Christian stands in worship and lives his everyday life, he knows and understands that he is surrounded by the millions of fellow Christians. The Orthodox Christian understands that death does not separate us from God or from the saints. Our fellow believers continually pray for us as they are in the immediate presence of God.

In modern day American, somehow it is perfectly fine to speak highly of non-believing athletes and musicians, but it is wrong to think of, interact with, and ask for the prayers of godly people from the past. The Christian life is not limited to one's time in church. The Christian life is 24/7 and we should be in constant interaction with God and the saints, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as part of the Church.


Sunday, March 19, 2023

Cultural Transition

 

If you are from country “X” and you visit country “Y”, you would expect there to be cultural differences in your experience. This is not a matter of right and wrong but of honesty to one’s culture. For example, when an American visits the UK and eats the food at a McDonald’s, the food will taste different than in the US. Or to speak in even more general terms, even though the US and the UK are very similar, the living experience from one to the other, including food, will be markedly distinct.

This is the way we need to think of our experience in church. No matter what culture one is from, when entering the worship service, the experience should be radically different. One should immediately recognize that he is in a different culture than the other he just left when he crossed the threshold of the worship service.

The music, the behavior, the cultural norms, and the language will be different. If you enter church and the environment is no different than that which you just left, then you have not left your previous culture behind. The Divine Liturgy is a different world, outside of and contrary to any other culture. In the Church, there is no race, no color, and no creed other than the worship of the Trinity, the love of God and love for our neighbor.

The Church is not a place to feel comfortable and distracted. When you enter the Divine Liturgy, you are no longer white, black, brown, yellow, or red, you are no longer American, Russian, Ukrainian, French, Germany or Indian. You are part of the people of God, worshiping as part of the body of Christ, unified in the teachings and practices of Jesus Christ and the apostles.

The Church service is a different world.


Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Regarding Time

 

Try to think the implications of living in a state where time does not exist. What would this mean? If a person is self-aware and is active, he can recognize that “a moment ago I did X and in a moment I will do Y”. We can always recognize the difference between what just happened versus now versus what will happen after ‘now’.

I believe the error here is in thinking of time as a river through which one travels, rather than our perception of our existence from moment to moment. If there is no sun and moon by which to categorize events, the flow of time would be relatively imperceptible. If death is no longer extant, then one would not think in terms of ‘I only have x many years left to live, especially since days and years are unrecognizable.

We would not even be able to say, ‘meet me at location X in a week from tomorrow’, for aside from an arbitrary/fabricated measuring of moments, the meaning of week and tomorrow are meaningless. It makes the most sense to think of ‘there will be no time’ as “we will live forever”, and death is no longer an issue.

When we say that God lives outside of time, we are ultimately saying that death has no connection to him. Even if there is still day and night, and the regular cycle of days, months, and years, time, for man will still be ultimately meaningless, for we will never die but will always be growing in holiness.


Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Always ask the question

 

How do you feel/think when someone says to you, “Don’t question me, just believe me and trust that I am right?” No one person has the knowledge or authority to make such a statement. Everything should be questioned within the proper understanding of authority. If you are diagnosed with cancer, you can seek out the opinion of two, three, or more doctors. If they all agree, you are most likely safe in believing their collective assessment.

But even then, the decision to act or not is still yours. And the decision on how to respond is yours as well. Does one ignore the assessment of the experts, does one follow an alternative path to health that may or may not result in the best consequences, or does one fully follow the direction of his doctors? As with anything, there are a multitude of variables and approaches.

It is wisdom that is required to respond in the best way, but a response is unavoidable. To do nothing is a response, to do the opposite is a response and an odd one, and to blindly follow is a response as well. The best response is to gather information, understand it as holistically as possible, and to draw an informed conclusion.

Within the context of the spiritual world, the same argument can be made. One can simply ignore the fact that every known culture has acknowledged the existence of deity, or one can embrace the religious beliefs of his culture without giving it any thought, or one can study, learn, grow, mature and draw informed conclusions, seeking to understand as many variables as possible.


Friday, March 3, 2023

Language, Names, and Identity

 

Regarding angels and demons. What about their language? Do they automatically have the ability to speak any language? Is there any sort of learning curve? 

What about their names? Why would we presume that they were given names at their creation, when men are given names by their parents? If they are given names, from what culture do these names arise? Are there any named ‘Carl’, or ‘Larry’ or ‘Akhenaten’ or ‘Glarb’? In Scripture, we are given the names of some angels, but these names have a very European or Middle Eastern sound to them? Does this mean that when they were named, those locations were somehow normal? 

Or were these names given to their original audience to make them feel more connected? If so, do these beings actually have ‘real’ names? Without names, they can hardly be said to have an identity. Could they be unnamed creatures that are merely part of divisions or categories, such as cherubim, seraphim, etc.?

Every person born since the beginning of time was given a name, which was formed within the culture the child was born into. Without a name, there is no identity. What would a person, an angel, or a demon think of himself as without a name?


Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Understanding the End

 

At the end of history, we don’t really know how it will look. The Bible gives very little detail of that event, and the imagery that it does use is based on ancient symbolism and metaphor. Understanding how to interpret this imagery is very difficult, if at all possible. 

We can know that mankind will live on the planet in physical form, in the same way that Adam and Eve did. And we do know that death will have been eradicated and that God will be everywhere present. Being surrounded by his holiness will be the standard way of life, which will be a glorious situation for those who sought after holiness, but it will be unpleasant for those who did not.


Thursday, February 23, 2023

The Question of Authority

 

After thirty years as a Protestant arguing and debating with other Protestants, evangelicals, and quasi-Christian groups, it occurred to me that the problem was not the Scripture or the Christian faith but the methodology and presumptions of so many that called themselves Christians. The points of argumentation and debates always devolved to the point of “this is how I interpret that passage and that is how you interpret that passage”, in short, a stalemate.

Ultimately it came down to private interpretation. Because there was no ultimate authority outside of the individual’s interpretation, nothing could be resolved. Even in the off chance that I would “win” an argument and convince someone to join my particular version of Protestantism, the problem was still the same. The converting individual was still in the same place of interpreting for themselves what the Scriptures meant.

This explains the reason for the existence of ten thousand different denominations, all calling themselves followers of Jesus Christ. The problem is not the level of devotion or the intent of each person, but of the foundational question of authority. To whom do you look to rightly understand the Scriptures and Christian history? Do you interpret these on your own, or do you look to that which the apostles handed down to each generation?


Saturday, February 11, 2023

Personal Responsibility

 

When you live in a culture where the majority are actively pursuing moral decline, depravity, and perversion, it is important to remember that by that point in time, there is likely no reversal possible. The real value of recognizing one’s place in all of this is in understanding that though you won’t be able to change the end result of that culture as a whole, you are responsible to personally follow holiness and be a positive impact on those in your circle of influence.

As individuals, we cannot save the world, no political party can change the world, no individual can save the world. Jesus Christ has already accomplished the work of giving eternal life. It really is as simple as personally pursuing holiness, loving God, and loving your neighbor. 

If we are not structuring our life around love, then we are doing something wrong.


Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Moral and Artistic Decline

 

It seems that for the most part, excellence in the arts has been lost and/or redefined. It seems that well-crafted music or art is no longer the standard but has been replaced by novelty and shock. The prediction of fifteen minutes of fame has become true. Truly exceptional art is the rare exception and these artists do not merely enjoy fifteen minutes of fame but decades or centuries of fame.

When truly good art is created, it has a lifespan far greater than the life of the artist because it is built on hard work, training, and excellence. All of this comes as no surprise, for with greater amounts of money and free time, artistic expression follows the path of what is most entertaining or distracting for the moment. That which distracts the quickest and easiest and which appeals to the baser passions is what will sell.

The loss of objective morality is quickly followed by immoral distraction.


Thursday, February 2, 2023

Cultural Decline

 

It makes perfect sense that the events that bring about devastation upon mankind would be in line with mankind’s current state of development. The bubonic plague took place because mankind did not understand sanitation and disease. It very well could be that the technology of our day will bring about a similar devastation because we do not seem to understand the dangers of unhindered technological progress, i.e., AI and social media.

But one thing that always seems to be the same in every culture and at every time is the fruit of speedy socio-economic progress and the moral depravity that follows.


Friday, January 27, 2023

Genuine Belief or Self-Service?

 

How can anyone think that it is legitimate to make up one’s own belief system about spirituality and the afterlife? Corresponding to this is the practice of selecting various beliefs and practices from a wide variety of conflicting religious systems. Reducing any belief system down to its foundations teaching establishes theories and practices that are exclusive.

When someone holds beliefs and practices that are internally inconsistent, they must understand the fallacy of doing so. Unless someone doesn’t actually believe what they claim to believe and only do so to make themselves feel better. Self-deception is a reality and internally inconsistent beliefs cannot hold up to critique. What does life look like for one who is living a lie?


Saturday, January 21, 2023

What is the point?

 

What is the goal of our actions? We are vocationally active, we earn money, we spend money, we spend our time in activities but what is the ultimate goal in all of this? As someone once said, “Life is short, live it to the fullest, but eternity is forever, life should be spent preparing for it.”

If we live a life centered on being comfortable and entertained, we are not preparing for eternity. If our focus is on the pleasures of this life, we are not seeking after God but are only serving ourselves.


Sunday, January 15, 2023

The Defining of Terms

 

It seems odd that additional labels need to be added to the term “Christian” when someone identifies themselves as such. “I’m a Baptist, I’m a Calvinist, I’m a Seventh Day Adventist etc., etc. This really is a simple matter. Either one is a Christian or one is not. Jesus taught the disciples and the disciples, in turn, taught those things to the first century Church. That teaching has been handed down to each subsequent generation even to this day.

One either believes the apostolic faith or he does not. The need for additional labels comes from the confusion that has been introduced over the centuries as groups of men tried to redefine the apostolic faith while trying to retain the label Christian for themselves.

The church addressed men such as this in the seven ecumenical councils. In these they minced no words. The church fathers pointedly defined the Christian faith on various points in the first 800 years of church history. They said, “if you do not believe these things, then you are not part of the body of Christ.” Everyone is so concerned about inclusivity and being nice, that they are afraid to use the term anathema or heresy in identifying those who seek to change the apostolic faith.

One either believes and practices what Jesus taught the apostles or one does not.


Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Money, Romance, and Life

 

Having money may make your life comfortable but it will not bring joy. Having romance may make you life warm and fuzzy, but it will not bring you joy. You can surround yourself with people who make life easy by telling you what you want to hear, but it will not bring you joy.

You can abuse and take advantage of people to “get ahead” and this may work for a time, but it will not bring you joy and there will be negative consequences. The pursuit of holiness will put you at odds within your culture and life will be difficult, but it will be full of joy.

It is easy to follow the culture in which you live, especially when that culture is nice and comfortable but taking that path will not lead you to holiness but only self-deception. When everyone around you tells you that everything is fine, they are not telling you the truth and they are not helping you. The path to holiness is contrary to the culture that surrounds you.


Friday, January 6, 2023

The Closed Heart

 

It is not your responsibility to make sure people think, speak, and act right. Unwanted advice is never beneficial. If someone is not open to change or is not interested in hearing you, there is no value in speaking your mind to them, in correcting them, or in proving them wrong.

People will choose to do wrong, and they will perform the mental or emotional gymnastics to justify it to themselves, even to the point of projecting their wrongs onto others. People will point out those who are “worse than them” in order to minimize their own sins in their own eyes.


Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Productivity and Distraction

 

We look at an animal, a dog, a cat, a horse, or a cow and we wonder how they can be so content and not bored as they go about their lives in and around our homes. What is it that drives man differently, so as not to be content and to have the need for activity?

On one hand, man is not just another animal, he was formed by God in his image and likeness, whereas animals were merely spoken into existence. Man was created to be productive and to improve and take care of his world. So, in this regard, man should not be content with simply doing nothing, he should be productive.

But on the other hand, so much of our time is spent on silly and worthless distractions that benefit no one and improve nothing. We should not be content, but we should not be merely distracted either. We are called to use our time wisely to pursue holiness, and to care for our neighbor and the world around us.