None of us spend full-time blogging. We all relate to the world outside our house, outside our windows. Sometimes, however, in the midst of our blogging, in the midst of our disputes, we tend to forget that most of the people with whom we are involved neither know nor care about the things that seem […]
I miss Advent
I miss Advent. Yes, the Orthodox have Advent, but it did not develop the multitude of rich traditions that the West did. In every culture into which Christianity has travelled, local traditions have developed that enrich the local Christian culture. To put it another way, there is no such thing as a “culture-less” Christianity. That […]
What do Eastern Orthodox believe about free will?
I have very obviously not done a good job explaining what Eastern Orthodox believe about free will. So, rather than using my own words, let me quote a couple of excerpts from The Confession of Dositheus. This confession was approved by the Synod of Jerusalem of 1672. It is not considered an Ecumenical Council by […]
Faith comes by hearing
One of the conclusions of post-modernist linguistic philosophers is that words do not speak for themselves. Rather, words function within a context. That context includes culture, history, personal experiences, etc. This is particularly true with written words. Written words not only lack the context of culture, history, personal experience, etc., they also lack the verbal […]
Why are we afraid of free will?
The definition of a hero is: “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.” We do sometimes use it for a person with heroic qualities, such as the widowed […]
Imperfect people do great deeds
“I don’t confuse greatness with perfection . . . all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection.” I am a fantasy and science fiction fan in my reading-for-relaxation. I love going to other worlds that imagine other realities. Today–for Monday is my day off–I read the following quote: “‘Are you saying that no matter […]
December 7, 1941 – Day of Infamy speech by Roosevelt
President Franklin Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Speech December 8, 1941 To the Congress of the United States Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace […]
Separating Church and State
In the post yesterday about Patriarch Alexiy, I wrote the paragraph below. It struck me that this could lead to some additional comments that might be helpful as we, in the USA, think through what Church and State mean. However, being Cuban, and having served as a missionary in South America, I had the opportunity […]
Gandalf, my priest friend, and what awaits
Pippin: I didn’t think it would end this way. Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path… One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass… And then you see it. Pippin: What? Gandalf?… See what? Gandalf: White shores… […]
Patriarch Alexiy of Russia – 1929 to 2008
This morning, Patriarch Alexiy of the Russian Orthodox Church died at the age of 79. He was the man credited with restoring much moral authority to the Russian Orthodox Church after the years of Communism. He became patriarch in 1990, shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union. I can remember that he faced serious […]
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