Couple more photos

Here are a few more photos:

Christian Leaders

Below is a photo of President Putin, in church, lighting a prayer candle, with a child.  This is a regular practice in the Orthodox church.  You'll notice that there don't appear to be secret service like men standing near. Just a child, a teen, an old lady and a two priests.  I don't know how frequently President Putin attends the Divine Liturgy, but I do know that Patriarch Kirill is an adviser to the president.
I know I've never seen Obama in an Orthodox service and Obama certainly does not have an Orthodox worldview.
What can we expect from Trump? I guess we have to wait and see.

Starting off level

One thing that I have noticed, during my time answering questions on Quora, is the foundational error of presumption.  People will critique the Christian worldview as foolish, ridiculous and fantastical.  They will say things like,  "People who believe in 7 day creation have serious mental problems, they should probably be committed."
Despite just being rude and arrogant, they are making one, of many, logical errors.  Imagine if one argued that Beethoven's symphonies were garbage because they were too musical. You couldn't even really give a response or even discuss it.  The best response would be simply to walk away, feeling only pity.
One cannot critique Beethoven this way because the foundation for the criticism is wrong headed. 
Secular philosophers make the same mistake.  In judging the bible as ridiculous or fantasy,  the critic is starting from the premise that God is not whom he says he is.
If God is whom he claims to be,  then a literal interpretation of creation makes perfect sense.  It is not unbelievable.  If God is who the bible says he is, then reading the bible as actual history is not at all unreasonable.
So it really comes down to one thing.  Who do we believe God is?  Is he the Triune God who created and sustains all things? Who took on human flesh and saved man so as to restore a relationship of love and communion?
Or is he a figment of someone's imagination, a mere opiate for the masses?  A means to control a bunch of mindless pathetic sheep, who cannot think for themselves.
That is the question that needs to be answered first.  Then we can begin to engage the skeptic.  Otherwise none of it will progress at all.
A foundation must be solid, otherwise the building will fail.

Logic and the mystical

Over the centuries, logic has earned a bad reputation and negative labels,  such as "cold", "rigid" or "impersonal". But like any tool, these kinds of labels only apply when the tool is misused.  Do we condemn knives because they can be used to kill people?  Do we ban automobiles because thousands die, each year, due to negligence in their use?  Or even more extreme, should we make water illegal because many die in its embrace?  To all three, we answer,  "no".
So too with logic.  Just because people try to use it to justify crime,  immorality and manipulation, does not make the tool immoral.  As a former private high school teacher,  one of the biggest mistakes I have seen made is that of teaching logic to high school students.  First of all, from my experience, until someone learns how to love and live self sacrificially, they will never use logic properly.  High school students are far too proud, irrational and self centered to be able to handle a tool like logic, properly.
The other problem is that a contrast is often made between logic and the mystical, as if they are polar opposites. These two ought not be held against each other, as if they only work against one another.  They are complimentary and in fact, build one another up, when used properly.
In the historic Christian faith, the spiritual/mystical is a very real portion of our beliefs.  There is much in life that is simply beyond the rational /irrational dichotomy.  Mysticism is outside of this categorization.  But it is not illogical.  Often times, someone will say, "well that simply doesn't make sense.  It's illogical." When what they actually mean is that it is not part of their belief system.  It is something that does not fit into their worldview.  Big difference.
To be able to say that something is illogical, one must understand the standard that is being used to judge that particular.  While belief in seven day creation may seem ridiculous and illogical to someone who denies the existence of God,  this doctrine is perfectly reasonable to a Christian.  But one would expect nothing else.  To label the virgin birth as nonsense only exposes ones lack of understanding of Christianity.  The virgin birth is perfectly logical, and in fact, expected, in the Christian worldview.  If one believes in the Triune God and understands how that God has acted throughout history,  one would expect a virgin birth, when reading the gospels.
So the mystical details of the Christian faith;  the Eucharist, the regenerative nature of baptism, and the expectation of sanctification in the life of the Christian by the right use of the sacraments and confession/repentance, are understood within the Christian worldview, they are all perfectly logical.
What this really comes down to is the necessity of our being able to think clearly and the willingness to work through the details of our faith.  If we feel the need to defend our faith.

Gates of hell

A fairly well known passage in Scripture (Matt 16:18) speaks of Jesus establishing his church and the gates of hell not prevailing against it.  There has been a large amount of discussion about this passage over the centuries, most of it in defense of the Roman Catholic church.  But I have been thinking, as of late, about the straightforward meaning of this passage.  Regardless of ones opinion of the church of Rome, Jesus makes an incredible promise here.  The church will never fall.
It really is that simple.  All of the modern day hoo-ha about end times, the mark of the beast and the rapture is nonsense, in light of this passage.  Satan is not going to gain the upper hand,  the church is not going to be driven off the face of the earth.  Satan is not going to rule, for any length of time.  Hell will not prevail.
Aside from the fact that dispensational premillenialism has no support from Scripture or the history of the church,  this passage destroys such pessimistic nonsense.  God has promised to give, has given and continues to give the Holy Spirit, for the direction of his church.  He is never going to leave us or betray us.
Simply stated, the church will always stand and she will always be filled by and led by, the Holy Spirit.

Responsibility

Everyone has some form of responsibility in their life.  Some more than others,  but no one is exempt, even those on the extremes,  monks and convicts.
Primarily,  we have responsibility for ourselves.  If one listens to American culture, we should be responsible for our health, for our retirement plan and for the financial future's of our offspring.  While these things may be all good and right, they are far from primary.
I would like to use a metaphor to make my point.  If one is training for a marathon,  should he be concerned that his clothes color coordinate?  Or that his fingernails are well trimmed? Definitely not the first point and only the second point, if it is far down the list of things to address.
The one training ought to be concerned with caloric intake, with adequate sleep, and ultimately with proper training, shortly said, getting out there and running, alot. But this responsibility of determining which things are important to address and how to address then will be controlled by our final goal.  If our goal in running in a marathon is to have our name on a list and possibility our picture in the paper as "a marathon runner", then we likely will be concerned about color coordination.
If our goal in life is to live as long as possible in order to obtain as many possessions as possible, then yes, we will be concerned about our retirement plan and our savings account. But if we call ourselves Christian,  we really should have a different perspective.
What are doing to prepare our souls for eternity?  When we die (at what time we do not know), we will step into the immediate presence of absolute holiness. Are we ready for this? Have we been working toward the love of God and the despising of evil? Or have we spent our time distracted by entertainment?
And I have only addressed ourselves at this point.  What about those others in our circle of responsibility?  Our spouses, our children,  our loved ones,  our neighbors? What are we doing to help direct others toward holiness?
God has given us the church, his Word, the sacraments and one another to prepare for eternity.  We have our own sinful inclinations, the temptations of the world and and attacks of evil ones fighting against us. It will be hard work, a battle, an uphill climb.
Let us make use of the tools that God has given us and not be distracted by the easy life of modern America.
Far too much is at stake.

Three voices

As of late, I have been watching instructional videos on interpersonal communication.  One particularly interesting concept introduced is that of the three voices with which we speak: the parent voice,  the child voice and the adult voice.
The child voice is, as one would expect, the voice/approach to communication, that we used when we were children. The parent voice is the voice we use when we are instructing or leading someone.  We are speaking from a position of authority. The adult voice is one we use when we are speaking with an equal,  dialoging to achieve an agreed upon goal.
Each of these voices has its place and it is our responsibility as adults to use the appropriate voice. Upon becoming an adult, the child voice is one that is supposed to go silent.  The child voice is that one that whines, complains and points fingers.  Unfortunately,  far too many adults still use the child voice.
Learning to recognize these voices and put them under conscious control is our responsibility.  And it will certainly be to our advantage to do so.
But as interesting as all of this is, the really interesting part of this appears when we apply this to our faith.
From the initial call of God to Abram, out of Chaldea, up to the time of Christ,  God dealt with the Jews in a parent/child manner.  God spoke in the parent voice and the Jews responded as children, thus, the children of Israel, which is all good and fine, as they were children. One very important point to see here is that of external law.  When God dealt with the Jews, it was all in an external, legalistic,  "follow these rules", fashion. It was very straightforward and clear.  God gave the instruction,  his children were to obey.
But with the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, this all changed.  The law (the old covenant) was fulfilled and would very soon pass away.  By AD 70, it was all over. Jerusalem was destroyed,  the Jews were scattered and the church was flourishing. And how was God dealing with his people, the church, now?   He had given them the Holy Spirit, in their hearts, no longer written on slabs of stone.  God became man, so that man could become God, i.e. God restored us to our place WITH him,  not under him or groveling at his feet.  Sons not servant,  in one sense, equals.
God now speaks to us, no longer as children,  a firm parent speaking to an immature child,  but as grown sons, dialoging as we strive toward holiness,  a synergistic work,  God and man working together to achieve a desired goal.
Let us learn to respond to God's voice to us, as adults, not children.