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The Fullness of All Things
Read more: The Fullness of All ThingsI am fascinated by what the Holy Tradition does with the idea of “fullness” or “fulfillment.” The Church is described as the “fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). And it is not unusual for Orthodox Christians to express the meaning of Orthodoxy under the rubric of “fullness”: Orthodoxy is the “fullness […]
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Why Would Anyone Want to Forgive an Enemy?
Read more: Why Would Anyone Want to Forgive an Enemy?That Christians are commanded by Christ to forgive their enemies is common knowledge. We often take this at face value – discover immediately that it is very hard (often impossible) and conclude that the commandment is an unachievable ideal. For non-Christians, forgiveness of enemies may, in some cases, be a shared ideal (most people believe […]
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Now That We’ve Come to the End of the World
Read more: Now That We’ve Come to the End of the WorldAnd although in the course of their long history Christians have much too often forgotten the meaning of the cross, and enjoyed life as if “nothing had happened,” although each one of us too often takes “time off” – we know that in the world in which Christ died, “natural life” has been brought to […]
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The End of Religion
Read more: The End of ReligionChristianity…is in a profound sense the end of all religion. In the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus made this clear. “‘Sir,’ the woman said to him, ‘I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men […]
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Even If I Descend into Hell…
Read more: Even If I Descend into Hell…Charles Williams, one of C.S. Lewis’ circle of friends, once wrote a book entitled, The Descent into Hell. In it he chronicles the slow inexorable damnation of a soul. Choices made or not made – a chronicle more of spiritual ennui than of willful rebellion – it is a very sobering read. There is an […]
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Servanthood and Freedom – A Word to Neurotic Christians
Read more: Servanthood and Freedom – A Word to Neurotic ChristiansBe both a servant, and free: a servant in that you are subject to God, but free in that you are not enslaved to anything – either to empty praise or to any of the passions. Release your soul from the bonds of sin; abide in liberty, for Christ has liberated you; acquire the freedom […]
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Silent Sentinels
Read more: Silent SentinelsOn October 1, the Church will celebrate the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. Icons of this feast portray the Mother of God extending her veil over the whole Church – a graphic presentation of her prayers and maternal love. A similar love and prayer belongs to the saints of heaven, who […]
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The God Who Raised Jesus from the Dead
Read more: The God Who Raised Jesus from the DeadStanley Hauerwas (Duke University) has written a fine article on who God is – or the limits by which we know Him as Christians. I studied under Hauerwas when I was a grad student at Duke and have often found him clarifying on things that should be clear (but often are not). In the article […]
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Mere Existence and the Age to Come
Read more: Mere Existence and the Age to ComeC.S. Lewis, in his marvelous little book, The Great Divorce, uses the imagery of “solidity” versus “ghostliness” to make a distinction between those who have entered paradise, and those who have not. He clearly did not mean to set forth a metaphysical model or to suggest “how things are.” But the imagery is very apt […]
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Existence and Truth
Read more: Existence and TruthFr. Sergius Bulgakov, as a young man who returned to the faith following a flirtation with Marxism, came to an understanding that the Christian faith is not to be understood as a moral structure, but as a matter of true existence. This distinction is deeply important in Orthodox understanding, and has been a hallmark of […]
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Matthew, It may seem odd to hear, but just before I was baptized in the Orthodox Church I got cold…
Ah, thanks! This post is such a beautiful exposition of what “God is Love” means in the fullness of its…
On a much happier note: I think many of you here will be pleased to know that my niece delivered…
Thank you Fr. Stephen and Byron. I am clearly not anymore a prosperity gospel Christian, but I am also not…
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Thanks so much Dee. What fire were you afraid of?