Glory to God For All Things

February 5, 2017

Honor, Subversion and the Kingdom of God

Many who read the New Testament see it as advocating for and supporting the oppressive structures of its time. They argue that it is patriarchal and pro-slavery. St. Paul’s instructions for slaves to obey their masters is thus seen as an endorsement of slavery as an institution. His admonition, though, belongs to a category of […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Secularism
February 2, 2017

Church and State Are Not Separate – They Are at War

There are ideas that are so common, so oft-repeated, that they are critically examined only with great difficulty. Among the most powerful such ideas is the concept described as the “separation of Church and State.” The history of the phrase is its own study (it’s not actually in the Constitution, much less the Bible). It […]
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Church, Culture, Modernity, Reflections, Secularism, The Church
January 30, 2017

Democratic Madness

Dostoevsky’s The Demons tells the story of a revolution within the context of a small village and a handful of personalities. The strange mix of philosophy and neurosis, crowd psychology and fashionable disdain for tradition all come together in the madness of a bloodbath. It is a 19th century Helter Skelter that presciently predicted the century to come. Our own […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Salvation, The Church, The Sacraments
January 27, 2017

Politics and the Kingdom of God

The modern project holds that the world can be improved and made better. It also holds that human beings can be improved and made better. And finally, it holds that the means of that improvement and betterment are political. Modernity began only partly as a philosophical assertion. It found its voice first, and foremost, in […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Secularism, The Church, Tradition
January 24, 2017

The Despised God

In On the Orthodox Faith, St. John of Damascus declares: ‘The Son is the image of the Father, and the Spirit the image of the Son’. Such statements are easily read and passed over as among the more obvious Trinitarian statements. I add to this statement another from St. Irenaeus: “That which is invisible […]
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Incarnation, Knowledge of God, Orthodox Christianity, Reflections
January 20, 2017

The Fiction of Relationships and the Fullness of Life

It is very interesting that we use the word “relationship” to describe everything from God to our lifestyle. More interesting still, is that, used in this manner, the word dates back to only around the mid-20th century. There are older examples, but the psycho-social meaning that it carries today does not appear until around 1940. […]
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Communion, Modernity, Orthodox Christianity, Personhood, Reflections, Union with God
January 16, 2017

A Deadly Communion

Habits are hard things to break. I quit smoking almost 30 years ago (cold turkey). It was more than difficult and came only after many failed attempts. But, in many ways, such a habit is among the easier to deal with. Far more difficult, and far more deadly, are the habitual patterns of human […]
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Atonement, Communion, Forgiveness, Morality, Reflections, Salvation, Union with God
January 14, 2017

Tune In

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Reflections
January 11, 2017

To See Him Face to Face

“The self resides in the face.” – Psychological Theorist, Sylvan Tompkins +++ There is a thread running throughout the Scriptures that can be described as a “theology of the face.” In the Old Testament we hear a frequent refrain of “before Thy face,” and similar expressions. There are prayers beseeching God not to “hide […]
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Communion, Icons, Personhood, Reflections, Salvation
January 8, 2017

The Wound of Shame

Shame is a wound made from the inside, dividing us from both ourselves and others. FromThe Psychology of Shame, Gershen Kaufman I have been working on papers for presentations at the Climacus Conference in Louisville, KY, in February. The conference is entitled, “Encountering God.” My second paper focuses on the place of shame in our […]
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Forgiveness, Morality, Reflections

Dirk, That is such a sweet book (Beginning to Pray). I led a study group (as an Episcopalian) when I…

We are each going to die at some point. Few know when. None of us should harber fear as to…

Hello, I am another regular reader here who has’t previously commented. I am currently reading Anthony Bloom’s book Beginning to…

I just wanted to add my appreciation to you Father, and to the many who comment here often. In a…

Mallory, There’s a Scripture verse that describes God as restraining evil – though it is specifically referring to a cataclysmic…