Archives for 2012

Tonight is the beginning of Pentecost. It is a remembrance of the coming of the Holy Spirit in power to guide and lead the Church in the same way that Our Lord Jesus Christ guided and led the disciples during his time here on Earth. But, it also reminds me of what several of the […]

Recently there was a story about a 17-year-old who was sent to jail for truancy. As a result of public outcry, the judge has decided allow her to expunge her record, but she has already spent the time in jail. What made the story so poignant was that the reason she was truant so often […]

What is a common law marriage? Well, this may surprise you: Common law marriage, sometimes (incorrectly) spelled with a hyphen and also known as sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute; is an irregular form of marriage that can be legally contracted in an extremely limited number of jurisdictions and is […]

Yesterday I talked about the subject of generalizations. And, I also mentioned the fallacy of a faulty generalization, also called a hasty generalization. Let me remind you of what I quoted yesterday: Hasty generalization is a logical fallacy of faulty generalization by reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence — essentially making a hasty […]

Recently someone commented that he felt that I was making a generalization. I assume that he meant a hasty generalization. But, it does bring up the subject of what is a generalization? You see, we must first ask whether making generalizations is itself bad. So, what is a generalization? Well, there are two meanings, one […]

On 8 May 2012, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sent out a letter to the representatives of the United States House of Representatives making certain comments on the proposed reconciliation package for the fiscal year 2013. The letter is well worth reading, let me quote it for you: Dear Representative, As you vote […]

As Orthodox, we need to be cautious. If we are not careful, we might miss something that God is trying to tell us. One case of that are some similarities between hesychasm and the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Look at the video above and ask yourself, what is hesychasm or hesychastic theology? The Wikipedia says: […]

We are in the midst of some heated debate in this country on issues of culture, religion, morality, etc. It might be good to look back at some of what previous Ecumenical Patriarchs have said on some of these issues. Back in 1568 there was mistreatment of the Jews on the island of Crete. Patriarch […]

And grant rest, O Master, to our souls and bodies as we sleep; preserve us from the gloomy slumber of sin and from the dark passions of the night. Calm the impulses of carnal desires, quench the fiery darts of the evil one which are craftily directed against us. Still the rebellions of the flesh, […]