Search results for: “Get Out of Hell Free”
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Not a Single Individual Will Be Saved
Read more: Not a Single Individual Will Be SavedPerhaps the most striking thing about human beings is that we don’t actually come into existence by ourselves. There are parents (two of them when the laws of biology are allowed to work). The parents themselves are points of contact to a much larger world of the family and the culture itself. Human beings do […]
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The Translation of the Faith
Read more: The Translation of the FaithThere is an Italian proverb: Traduttore, traditore. It means, “translator, traitor.” It is the observation that no matter how hard one might try, the translation of one language into another is never more than approximate: there can be no “literal” translation. Every language is, within itself, a universe of relationships between words. There are shades […]
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Humble and Meek and Middle-Class Morality
Read more: Humble and Meek and Middle-Class Morality“He Will Exalt the Humble and Meek” There is an interesting historical pattern that has been repeated any number of times across the centuries. A group of the dispossessed and the poor come together within a religious movement. What begins with great enthusiasm succeeds. As it succeeds, those who were once poor and dispossessed […]
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A Priest’s Thoughts on Depression, Anxiety, the Soul, Your Body and Your Brain
Read more: A Priest’s Thoughts on Depression, Anxiety, the Soul, Your Body and Your BrainI was 19 years old the first time I had a panic attack. I was trying to go to sleep in my dorm room, when suddenly my heart began racing, my mind speeding forward, with what seemed like crazy, desperate thoughts. That was in the early 70’s and the phrase “panic attack” had not been […]
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The Work that Saves
Read more: The Work that Saves“Do not be careless. Pray as much as you can – more frequently and more fervently. Prod yourself – force yourself to do so, for the Kingdom of God is taken by force. You will never attain it without forcing yourself.” ~ Saint Innocent of Alaska Do we cooperate in our salvation? Do our efforts […]
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A Bunch of Stuff We Don’t Know
Read more: A Bunch of Stuff We Don’t KnowReading discussions about life after death, it is easy to get the impression that people actually know what they’re talking about, that perhaps they have been there, seen what goes on and therefore authoritatively opine on the nature of things. But, the truth is that we mostly don’t know. We have a few things given […]
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The God Who Fights For Us
Read more: The God Who Fights For UsI was small for my age as a child, and quite thin at that. I liked to play, but was not particularly rugged and did not enjoy sports that involved getting knocked around. I grew up with another “Steve” next door to me, who was big for his age. Inevitably, I was nicknamed “Little Steve,” […]
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The Ladder of Divine Ascent and Moral Improvement
Read more: The Ladder of Divine Ascent and Moral ImprovementThe Fourth Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church, is dedicated to St. John Climacus, the author of the ancient work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is a classic work describing “steps” within the life of the struggling ascetic. There is an icon associated with this work, picturing monastics climbing the rungs of […]
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You Are Not Your Sin – Part 2…the Chains that Bind
Read more: You Are Not Your Sin – Part 2…the Chains that BindImagine that you have been shackled with chains on your ankles. The chains are heavy, make a lot of noise, and make it impossible for you to run. You cannot successfully climb over anything or dance. The chains are heavy enough that you quickly become exhausted and are limited in the things you can do […]
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The Work That Saves
Read more: The Work That SavesDo we cooperate in our salvation? Do our efforts make a difference? These questions lie at the heart of a centuries-old religious debate in Christianity. Classically, the Protestant reformers said, “No,” to these questions, arguing that we are saved solely and utterly by God’s grace, His unmerited favor. The Catholic Church replied that “faith without […]
It was a wonderful day. Although I was not able to attend the evening-into-the-early-morning Pascha service at our Greek Orthodox…