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Walking in a One-Storey Universe
Read more: Walking in a One-Storey UniverseOur modern culture celebrates the individual and his/her choices. We prize freedom above everything. But we long for something we cannot express. Human beings were created for communion and participation and we lose our way without it. The instinct for such a life has never disappeared from our culture, despite almost centuries of nurtured individualism. […]
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Living in a Strange Land
Read more: Living in a Strange LandThe Scriptural narrative is littered with stories of “strangers in a strange land.” Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Israelites and Moses in Egypt, Israel in Babylon, even Israel under the Greeks and Romans – beyond the Scriptures – Israel in the diaspora. It is perhaps among the most unifying threads in story of […]
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In the Womb of the Modern World
Read more: In the Womb of the Modern WorldA recent opinion column on the New York Times website suggested that Pope Francis should compromise on the “issue” of abortion. The sentiments offered reveal a great deal about what passes for serious thought in the modern world – including serious thought by a professor of philosophy (Gary Gutting) at a major Catholic University (Notre […]
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With Envy and Justice for All
Read more: With Envy and Justice for AllWe use many words and concepts in our daily lives without bothering to consider their true content. In my experience, few words are less examined than “justice.” It is a word that is foundational in the modern world with deep roots in religious tradition. Most people would agree that the desire for justice is virtually […]
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The Modern Vocation
Read more: The Modern VocationIn the modern project, human beings are autonomous centers of consciousness whose choices and decisions bring about their self-actualization. What could be more impossible than inventing yourself? What imagination, courage and daring would be required? How is such a thing possible? To the young our culture offers the incredible task of “becoming.” This is not […]
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Obedience and the Modern World
Read more: Obedience and the Modern WorldIn the modern project, human beings are autonomous centers of consciousness whose choices and decisions bring about their self-actualization. Few things make a modern person more uncomfortable than the topic of obedience. Many Orthodox read statements declaring that “obedience is the foremost rule for monastics,” and immediately thank God they are not monastics. Our minds […]
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A Modern Conversion
Read more: A Modern ConversionA few years back I had a very enlightening conversation with one of my Russian parishioners. I had Baptized her and her family some years before. In the conversation I referred to her and her family as “converts.” She bristled and quickly spoke, “I am not a convert!” My thoughts were running ahead. I did […]
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The Modern Project
Read more: The Modern ProjectWhen I was doing a graduate degree in theology, it was not uncommon to hear discussion of the “project of modernity.” It was an academic catch-phrase to describe the social/philosophical/political/religious efforts to construct the modern world. The Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries) brought new ways of thinking into the mainstream of Western culture (and now the world). […]
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Baptism and the Final Destruction of Demons
Read more: Baptism and the Final Destruction of Demons“Final” is not a word you often hear in Christian teaching. Most Christians leave the final things until, well, the End. But this is not the language of the fathers nor of the Church. A good illustration can be found in the Orthodox service of Holy Baptism. During the blessing of the waters the priest […]
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The Difficulties of Paradise
Read more: The Difficulties of ParadiseThe voices of the choir rise in wonderful harmonies, the light reflects on the icons, incense wafts into the ceiling – it is a wonderful liturgy on a feast day. We stand in the Church and begin to notice, with some guilt, that our mind has wandered. Worse, still, we are bored. This is perhaps […]
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Latest Comments
Thanks, Margaret. Lewis says it so well. I know I’m far too easily pleased.
Owen, Your comments makes me think of CS Lewis in his address The Weight of Glory: “It would seem that…
Father, I agree about distractions. Apatheia is “inner freedom,” or “detachment.” Detaching from the distractions of “the world” is, somehow,…
Matthew / Justin, I too fondly remember hearing that oh so distinctive voice of J. Vernon McGee on the radio!…
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I mean, Margaret Sarah. Sorry about that.