"Oh, footboy...put our three golf bags in the trunk, I'm beat after those 18 holes."

Небесно царство

So I watched Kingdom of Heaven last night... The first I knew of this movie was when I saw a poster in Russia...so I thought it was a Russian movie, especially with a title like "Kingdom of Heaven"; as usually when I see the Russian words "kingdom" and "heaven" it's in liturgical texts... But i digress from the scathing review... Going into the movie all that I knew was that it was about the Frankish crusades. From the get-go I learned that one went to Jerusalem to find forgiveness (through bloodshed) which Orlando's character desperately needed as he had just killed a priest for insulting his dead wife... [You can see the obvious failure of the Frankish itemization of sins and their following penances.] Throughout the movie we learn that the (good) main characters are more about 'spirituality' than 'religion'...In the words of my brother, "I didn't know they were such liberal thinkers..." As usual the portrayal of Islam is a conciliatory one; it comes out (over all) as truly peace-loving and merciful. Saladin in the end allows Jerusalem to surrender and all its occupants to be peacefully escorted to the sea. We read from history the true account:

Saladin had taken counsel and laid down these ransom terms for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: each male, ten years old and over, was to pay ten besants for his ransom; females, five besants; boys, seven years old and under, one. Those who wished would be freed on these terms and could leave securely with their possessions. The inhabitants of Jerusalem who would not accept these terms, or those who did not have ten besants, were to become booty, to be slain by the army's swords.

On the second disk of the movie there were several tv segments-one from the history channel and one from A & E. The history channel segment examined what was "history" and what was "hollywood". This cleared up the gist of the story (even with their annoying presentation). However, here are some gems from the A & E movie reel: [the crusades were] "about being bloodthirsty and not being tolerant at all" - Eva Green, co-star; from the narrator:

"Crusaders were the hero's of medieval Europe; but for modern audiences the crusades are far from a noble endeavor. For us they exemplify intolerance not virtue. [the movie is] about the triumph of dialogue over war, about the possibility for peace even in the most divided land. Ultimately it is a film that asks us to look to the distant past in order to imagine a different future."

From this I learned that intolerance is the opposite of nobility and virtue and tolerance is the highest virtue...hmm...lets have a word now from G.K. Chesterton: "Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions." We move through tolerance to the social gospel: "…the story of…men whose faith was tempered with tolerance. Noble men who sought a kingdom of heaven here on earth." What I find strange about both of these segments was that there were only about four instances when they talked about any Muslim aggression. The Islamic prerogative to kill infidels was never mentioned whereas the "Christian" prerogative was throughout. So in the end I liked it...because it gives me something to rant about.

To clarify your history books

[Ecumenical] Councils were convened by the Roman Emperor, beginning with Constantine the Great, in coordination with the Roman Patriarchates of Elder Rome, New Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and finally Jerusalem by 451. These Councils are (1) Nicea 325, (2) Constantinople 381, (3) Ephesus 431, (4) Chalcedon 451, (5) Constantinople 553, (6) Constantinople 680, (7) Nicea 786/7, (8) Constantinople 879 and (9) Constantinople 1341. We have here Eight Ecumenical Councils which were promulgated as Roman Law by the signature of the Emperor after their minutes had been signed by the Five Roman Patriarchates and their Metropolitans and bishops. Then we have the Ninth Ecumenical Council of 1341, whose minutes were signed by only Four Roman Patriarchates and countersigned by the Roman Emperor. Gone was now the Patriarchate of Elder Rome which had been forcefully captured by the Franks, Lombards, Germans and with the help of the Normans. This struggle began in intensity in 983 and was consummated in 1009-1046. After 1045 the Popes of Rome, except for Benedict X (1058-9), were no longer Romans, but members of the Franco-Latin nobility who enslaved the Roman population.
Fr. John Romanides

A slave to Sodom

The traditional family, the embodiment and expression of "the laws of nature and of nature's God," as the foundation of a free society, has become merely one of many "alternative lifestyles." But then a free society, as distinguished from a despotic one, itself becomes merely one of many "alternative lifestyles." A free people who succumbs to such a teaching cannot long endure. Those who choose sodomy are already choosing slavery, because whoever is an indiscriminate slave to his own unresisting passions will sooner or later become a slave to the passions of others.
Harry Jaffa

Love part III

Follows Love part II

Persons who are not yet pure, persons insofar as they are thinglike, fleshly, are capable of falling into the “similarity” of desire. But insofar as they are pure and have detached themselves from “thingness,” they are capable of achieving the “identification” of love.
But what is this thingness of a person? It is the vacuous self-equality of the person, giving to the person the unity of a concept that is self-confined in the combination of its attributes, i.e., the unity of a dead, fixed concept. In other words, it is nothing but the rationalistic “comprehensibility” of a person, i.e., the subordination of a person to the rationalistic law of identity. On the contrary the personal character of a person, this living unity of his self-building activity, the creative transcending of his self-enclosedness, constitutes his nonsubsumability in any concept, his “incomprehensibility,” and therefore his unacceptability for rationalism. It is the victory over the law of identity that raises a person above a lifeless thing and makes him a living center of activity. But it is clear that activity is essentially incomprehensible for rationalism, for activity is creativity, i.e., the addition to the given of that which is not yet given, and thus the overcoming of the law of identity.
St. Pavel (Florensky)

Christmas greetings on this third day of Christmas! - from your shapely Ambigu-claus

Apropos to the Nativity Feast

"Spiritual light," sometimes combined with spiritual "warmth" and "fragrance," is in fact the reasonable intuition we have been seeking, the intuition that includes the series of its own groundings. It is perfect beauty as the synthesis of absolute concrete givenness and absolute reasonable justifiedness. Spiritual light is the light of the Trihypostatic Divinity Itself, the Divine essence, which is not only given, but also self-given. Spiritual light is the "light of reason," the light that started to shine for the world at the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, as is sung in the Christmas troparion:

Thy birth, O Christ our God,

has shed upon the world the light of reason …

Spiritual light is the "Light of Christ" that illuminates everyone." Spiritual light is the "mental light" that makes "the soul vigilant before Thee," God, as the Holy Church tells us. It is the light of God's love, about which we pray:

With love illuminate me, I pray

that I may see Thee, Word of God

Spiritual light is the light whose seeing constitutes the contemplation of God and therefore our salvation, the salvation of us who cannot be without God. Does not the Orthodox believer pray: "Save me with Thy illumination"?
St. Pavel (Florensky)

Christ Is Born!

Rogue married Frankish priests...and the cure for the die hard ethnic "Catholic"

...these "priests without borders" provide a controversial remedy for the growing deficit of clerics in Catholic pulpits nationwide, albeit one decidedly not endorsed by the Catholic Church itself. ...more than 50,000 people have been served by the priests..."fallen" Catholics who haven't attended church for years, but want a Catholic baptism for their child or a Catholic wedding. Still others are divorced but want to wed again, even though their first marriage has not been annulled, as the church requires. Some want a religious service even though they are marrying non-Catholics, while others want to wed in locations not sanctioned for the ceremony, such as the beach or at home. And others have simply lost faith in the establishment church, judging it too hide-bound and conservative.

I just can't understand what the point of a "Catholic" service is if it's not performed by the "church" or in the "church". I guess it fits some people's "traditional" needs and that "symbolism means alot"...

Eternity is a long time...

Love part II

Follows Love part I

…love is a substantial act, going from the subject to the object and having support in the object, whereas knowledge and joy are directed toward the subject, and the subject is the point of application of their force. God's love goes over to us, but knowledge and contemplative joy abide in Him. For this reason it is not the Hypostasis of the Father or the Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit (Paraclete = Comforter, Giver of Joy) that became incarnate, but the Son-Word, the hypostatic Divine Love…
St. Pavel (Florensky)

Love part I

…love is a substantial act, going from the subject to the object and having support in the object, whereas knowledge and joy are directed toward the subject, and the subject is the point of application of their force. God's love goes over to us, but knowledge and contemplative joy abide in Him. For this reason it is not the Hypostasis of the Father or the Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit (Paraclete = Comforter, Giver of Joy) that became incarnate, but the Son-Word, the hypostatic Divine Love…
St. Pavel (Florensky)

A beautiful wedding of traditional American church design and neo-fascist revival architecture...

What if...

What if there were a religious philosophy that does not presume to declare universal religious truths? The meaning of your existence would be yours to determine.

Let me remind you, my dear reader, of the definitions of terms used in this asinine statement:
re·li·gious
1. Having or showing belief in and reverence for God or a deity.
2. Of, concerned with, or teaching religion: a religious text.
3. Extremely scrupulous or conscientious: religious devotion to duty.
phi·los·o·phy
1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
2. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
3. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
4. The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
5. The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
6. The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
7. A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
8. A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.

Let me just say "fitting"

The "Merry Mish-Mash" holiday subversively melds symbolism from the Christian and Jewish holy seasons, dropping their associated faiths. What's left is a completely secular cultural celebration - a Decemberfest.

Like a broken record...

He had always disliked the people who encored a favourite air in the opera-"That just spoils it" had been his comment. But this now appeared to him as a principle of far wider application and deeper moment. This itch to have things over again, as if life were a film that could be unrolled twice or even made to work backwards … was it possibly the root of all evil? No: of course the love of money was called that. But money itself-perhaps one valued it chiefly as a defence against chance, a security for being able to have things over again, a means of arresting the unrolling of the film.
Ransom - Perelandra

I'm just at a loss for words...

Is your job worth the lie?

Teacher recants 'Santa is myth' story ... She told the students that in fact she had heard from Santa, and he wanted to reassure them that he is alive and well in the spirit of Christmas ... Tresia Eaves, whose son goes to the school involved, Richland Elementary, said teachers shouldn't touch the subject of Santa. "My son still believes, and by God he should be able to," she told the Morning News. "Reality comes soon enough."

I don't think that God would want someone to believe in a fake materialistic tycoon like Santa...

The fundamentals of agreed ecclesiology

…we cannot conceive how agreement can be made possible between two conceptions which agree that the existence of the ministry of the Church is by the will of Christ, but differ as to whether that ministry was instituted by Christ Himself in its three degrees of bishop, priest, and deacon. In the same way we judge there to be no practical value in an agreed formula as to the necessity of the sacraments in the Church, when there is a fundamental difference between the Churches not only in regard to their number but also as to their particular efforts. ... Nor can we here apply that principle of economy which in the past the Orthodox Church has applied under quite other circumstances in the case of those who came to her with a view to union with her.
Declaration On Behalf Of The Eastern Orthodox Church - Lausanne, 1927

…love is not an attribute of God…

…For then God's love would depend on conditional being and would thus be accidental…God, or the Truth, not only has love but, above all, "God is love"…That is, love is God's essence, His own nature, and not only His providential relationship, which is proper to Him. In other words, "God is love" (more precisely, He is "Love"), and not only "the Loving One," even if the "perfectly Loving One."
St. Pavel (Florensky)

‘Difficult’ children to be taught needlework

The Arkhangelsk regional public organization ‘Rassvet’ (‘Dawn’) works in the framework of the ‘Street Children’ project to help children from unsuccessful families. On the initiative of this organization, some teenage girls will attend a needlework club at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Arkhangelsk lead by a female parishioner. Pupils of Sunday school of the church attend the club. The children are taught the needlework and make items for charity fairs that are regularly held by the parish.

There is nothing greater than for difficult young ladies to be restored to their feminine selves...and what better way than through needlework? I would also support dishwashing, clothes laundering, cooking, house cleaning, child rearing, etc.

Of demons and dignities

Russian Archbishop Calls Lord Krishna an "Evil demon" ... Dr. Girdhari Bhan: "Archbishop Nikon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements that will surely be rejected by people of common sense and dignity."

If calling a pagan god an "evil demon" goes against common sense and dignity then you can just call me non-sensical and un-dignified...

Dr. Balasubramaniam said, "I strongly condemn the outrageous and shameful behavior of the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in denigrating the oldest religion in the world..."

I'm tired of people calling Hinduism the "oldest religion" because we all know that Christianity was founded in Paradise...but on the other hand it's true because Christianity is the "cure for the sickness of religion" as Fr. John Romanides says.

And the story rages on...

Southland Christian Church senior minister Jon Weece yesterday lashed out at the media, the devil and "a handful of misguided and jealous Christians" for second-guessing his congregation's decision to close its doors on Christmas Sunday.

Yesterday, standing on a stage decorated with 15 artificial Christmas trees, Weece downplayed the significance of the day many Christians consider holy. ..."Christmas began as a pagan holiday to the Roman gods, and if we were to really celebrate the historical birth of Jesus, it would either be in early January or mid-April," Weece said. "I'm only pointing out the historical technicalities not out of intellectual arrogance, but again because of the illogical, ill-informed and even hypocritical arguments that were aimed at me this past week."

He went on to say, "Just like these artificial trees behind me Christmas is a fake holiday forced upon us by the Pope and his minions."

Referring to Christianity's Jewish roots, he said that Sunday begins at sundown on Saturday according to biblical tradition.

And with that he lays down the Jewish tradition card...we like to pick and choose Jewish traditions that fit our needs...

Weece noted that Jesus was also criticized for breaking tradition. "There were some whose zeal even in the days of Jesus was misguided," he said. "They emphasized religion over relationship."

...and your relationship with your family ("I've watched too many ministers in my life sacrifice their families on the altar of ministry, and ego and pride ...") is MUCH more important than your relationship with Jesus...forget about that little verse Luke 14:26...ah, yes...Jesus criticized for breaking tradition...the "What Jesus Did" card...He's playing his hand well!

Rx for nihilism

Nihilism is, most profoundly, a spiritual disorder, and it can be overcome only by spiritual means; and there has been no attempt whatever in the contemporary world to apply such means.
Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

That dang pernicious atheism

There are many kinds of atheism, but the worst is the so-called rational faith. It is the worst, for, besides the rejection of the object of faith ("things not seen" [Heb. 11:1]), it is hypocritical, accepts God but rejects His very essence, His "invisibility," i.e., His suprarationality.
St. Pavel (Florensky)

They create "green space" then they bungle it all up with their "public art".

A spirit yes...but who's spirit?

Add a unique new Spirit to your pre-New Years Eve celebrations by attending or creating a World Spirituality Day event. ...Think of World Spirituality Day as The Earth Day for the Spirit. ...World Spirituality Day also promises to expand into a boundless kaleidoscope of worldwide gatherings and events...The simple purpose of World Spirituality Day is to supercharge your New Year’s transition, celebrations and resolutions with the deepest power of your own spirituality.

They at first appear to be encouraging "spirituality" of any sort ("boundless kaleidoscope") in a 'spirit' of tolerance...but then their real 'spirit' (read: new age "spirituality") comes out:

Suggestions for "spirituality celebration":

• Any location or time during World Spirituality Day will work but if possible, it is better to pick a location and time of the day that is highly meaningful to you and/or your group.
• Before you start, spend a few moments getting into a relaxed, meditative or worshipful state.
• Remember in as much sensory detail as possible your single most profound and transformational personal spiritual experience. If you like, and you have more than one, go to your next most profound and transformational spiritual experience and so on until you naturally want to take a break. Many people soon begin to feel an amazing sense of overflowing wellbeing, strength and peace that for some, longs to be shared.
• Dance and sing following the reflections and resolution making if that feels authentic and right for you.

I'm wondering what the object of this "worshipful state" is...oneself?...other people?...or the "spirit of the air"? (if you get my drift...pun definitely intended)
"Sensory detail" of "spiritual experience"? ...'spirituality' i.e., things relating to the 'spirit' i.e., non-sensory...
I think shooting the creator of these ideas might be 'right for me'...so what do you think about that??

I have this passion...I may as well use it...wouldn't want it to go to waste...

The difference-by and large-between those who live moral those who live immoral lives, is that the former refuse to indulge their passions merely because they have them.
Harry Jaffa

Pope uses new Bethlehem passport to impersonate Jesus

The Pope accepted a Bethlehem passport from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the weekend.

Once there was a time when churches were built to be beautiful...

"There is a growing demand to build new church buildings or to expand existing church facilities,” says Arnold Davis, President of Olympia Steel Buildings. “With Olympia’s pre-engineered metal church buildings, Churches can grow and meet their worship needs within a budget their congregations can afford. ...Our pre-engineered metal church buildings save time and money over traditional brick, wood or stone construction...they also conform well to postmodern architectural sensibilities...
(Ok, so I added that last bit...but you have to admit it is quite fitting.)

St. Nikolaj on Evil

So I'm a little late getting to it (not in Ortho time but in blog time, that is) but here is a sort of reflection on Gabe's post.
I haven't read Hart's book, his article or St. Basil's homily so it isn't really a reaction (that's why I put "reflection" not "reply"). In the readings of the Prologue from Okhrid by St. Nikolaj (Velimirovich) lately he has been reflecting and homilizing on Genesis. There is a beautiful simplicity with St. Nikolaj's writings, especially his homilies in the Prologue. That is one of the things that I like about St. Nikolaj, he was extremely erudite yet he approaches things with the mind of the Fathers; there is simplicity in everything he writes. Here are some extracts:

The world is of a good root, and consequently it will bring forth good fruit. It proceeded from the chamber of light, and it will end in light. When we know that the beginning is good, then we know that it tends toward good and that the end will be good. Behold, in these words about the beginning, the prophecy about the end is already hidden. As was the beginning, so also will be the end. He from Whom the beginning came, in Him also is the end.

… in total [during the creation] He repeated seven times that everything was good that came into existence by His holy will. Is it not a great wonder that some people come up with the godless assertion that both good and evil equally proceed from God? God, as if He knew that such slanders would be cast against Him-or, better to say, that such slanders would be cast throughout the centuries-gave His defense in advance and repeated it seven times, for all times and for all generations. Evil comes from sin, and there is no sin in God. Therefore, God can do no evil. He is called the Almighty because He is powerful to do every good. Wicked and twisted are the commentators on God who claim that God is "Almighty'' because He can do both good and evil. God is the source of good and is darkened by nothing, and nothing can proceed from Him that is contrary to good. It is obvious to every normal man that evil is contrary to good. Know, brethren, that those who speak of duality in God, in the eternal Source of good, are those in whom is found the duality of good and evil. However, all those who love good, follow the path of goodness, and yearn for good have a clear revelation within themselves that God is good, and only good.

…there have been men who have slandered the work of God, saying that this world is evil in its essence, that each individual creation is evil, and that matter, from which all earthly beings are formed, is evil. However, evil is found in sin, and sin is from the evil spirit; therefore, evil dwells in the spirit of evil and not in matter. This spirit, fallen from God, is the sower of evil in the world, from whence come the tares in God's wheat. The spirit of evil strives to use both the human spirit and material things in general as his weapons of evil. He is also the one who instills in the human mind the thought that the whole created world is evil and that matter, from which creation was formed, is fundamentally evil. He slanders God's works in order to conceal his own works; he accuses God in order not to be accused.

As Baudelaire first said, "the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist!" so he tries to convince us that evil comes from God Himself.

Every creature of God is pure and sinless as long as it is turned toward God, as long as it is neither separated from God nor hostile to God. Every creature of itself praises and glorifies God as long as it is pure and sinless. That is why the Psalmist sings: Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Alleluia! (Psalm 150:6). Every intelligent creature of God feels that its natural and primary purpose is to praise the Lord. Thus, brethren, people ask: "If this is so, from whence comes evil into the world?'' It comes from sin, and only from sin. Sin changed a bright angel into a devil. The devil willingly made himself a vessel of sin and then hurried to make other creatures of God similar vessels.

…we Christians know that sin is the essence of evil and that evil has no essence other than sin. It is obvious from this that if we desire to protect ourselves from evil, we must protect ourselves from sin.

Did God curse the ground as He cursed the serpent with an infinite curse? By no means! The ground is cursed only in the sinful works of man. Because of man's sin, the earth produces thorns; because of sin, there is infertility; because of sin, there are droughts, floods, earthquakes, plagues, and destructive insects such as grasshoppers and caterpillars. That the ground is not cursed in its entirety is clear from this: that the earth also produces good fruits. God, through the prayers of the righteous, has always blessed the fruits of the earth necessary for human life, and even the angels of God, as the guests of Abraham, tasted the earth's harvest (Genesis 18:1-8).

The Incarnation of the God-Man has been reduced to a "family day"

This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. ...pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day. ...Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, said church leaders decided that organizing services on a Christmas Sunday would not be the most effective use of staff and volunteer resources.

That's right, Cally, it costs to much to celebrate Christ's birth...just forget about those countless martyrs who died for celebrating Christ's birth...

North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, outside Atlanta, said on its Web site that no services will be held on Christmas Day or New Year's Day, which also falls on a Sunday. A spokesman for North Point did not respond to requests for comment.

Oh no! New Year's Day is on Sunday! I won't be able to get up for Church after a raucous night of partying!!! I think we should cancel services on Super Bowl Sunday too...American footbal is holy isn't it?

Objective science you say?

The near-sighted philosophy of the previous century [i.e., the 18th] had for a time dreamt of breaking this holy union and had forced knowledge to dig a grave for faith, but what came of this attempt at matricide? Holy faith, honored by self-forgetting reason, hid in a depth of the heart inaccessible to this reason, and false knowledge itself remained with its sophistries in the grave dug by it … True philosophy can exist only in a union with heaven, for true knowledge lives by and is nourished not by earth but by heaven … We are accustomed to saying the sphere of the sciences, the sphere of knowledge, and to separating it from the sphere of faith; but strictly speaking, there is no sphere of sciences and can be no such sphere. Rather, there exists only a boundless sphere of faith, whose inwardness is divided among the sciences. Knowledge without faith is a middle without a beginning or end; whoever seeks not soulless fragments but a living reasonably whole must therefore necessarily unite knowledge with faith …What in general is true knowledge, if not a natural daughter of faith? And what is true faith if not the natural end and crown of all grounded knowledge?
Archbishop of Kherson, Innokentii Borisov

First they fix your credit, then they hypnotise you and make you give them your pin number...

I am a living man when I commence to dyin'

He who does not wish to lose his life will burn in Gehenna, in the inextinguishable fire of epoche, where 'their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.'
St. Paul (Florensky)

Apropos to the day

Since it is the feast of St. Nicholas it is apropos that we do some Arius punching.

Accomplishing the ascesis of faith, the Orthodox sought what is needful, higher, whereas the arians, inwardly protecting themselves, asked in a calculating way: "Will the Truth not demand a sacrifice from us"? And, seeing the Garden of Gethsemane, the Arians retreated. Both made a free choice. But the Arians used their freedom to enslave themselves, while the Orthodox used it to free themselves from the bondage of fleshly limitation.
St. Paul (Florensky)

Grafting impiously flux and change and separation onto the divine begetting, the wicked and demented Arius is cut off by the separating sword of the Fathers.
From Matins for the Fathers of Nicaea

Arius fell into the precipice of sin, having shut his eyes so as not to see the light, and he was ripped asunder by a divine hook so that with his entrails he forcibly emptied out all his essence and his soul, and was named another Judas, both for his ideas and the manner of his death. But the Council in Nicea loudly proclaimed you, Lord, to be Son of God, equal in rank with the Father and the Spirit.
From the Sunday of the Fathers of Nicaea

Let us worship with right belief the will that is without beginning, the authority and sovereign power of the Trinity, ever rejecting Arius.
From the Canon for the Synodikon of Orthodoxy

IF anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinaris, Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their impious writings, as also all other heretics already condemned and anathematized by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and by the aforesaid four Holy Synods and [if anyone does not equally anathematize] all those who have held and hold or who in their impiety persist in holding to the end the same opinion as those heretics just mentioned: let him be anathema.
5th Ecumenical Council
[Sorry, Gabe, Origen is in there...but he does still have valuable writings.]

Ve believe in nossing.

They're nihilists, Donny, nothing to be afraid of.

"I do not affirm anything;
I also do not affirm the fact that I do not affirm anything.
Absolute doubt has now begun. This is doubt as the total impossibility of affirming anything at all, even its own nonaffirmation. Progressing stage by stage, manifesting the idea that inheres in it in nuce, skepticism reaches its own negation but cannot leap across this negation. And so, it becomes an infinitely excruciating torment, an agony of the spirit....What we see is not even affirmation and negation, but insane convulsions, a furious marching iin place, a tossing from side to side, a kind of inarticulate philosophical howl. The result is an abstention from judgment, absolute epoche, not as a tranquil and dispassionate refusal of judgment but as a conceled inner pain, a pain that clenches its teech and strains every nerve and muscle in an effort not to scream and not to let out a completely insane howl."
St. Paul (Florensky)

R.O.U.S. sighting confirmed

GENEVA (Reuters) - Environmental researchers are preparing to capture what they call a new, mysterious species of carnivore on Borneo, the first such discovery on the wildlife-rich Indonesian island in over a century.

Just in time...

I had been wondering what I would get Colonel K for Christmas...now I know:

'God's Gift to the World,' the Teaching and Secrets of Divine Energy Transference Healing Revealed for All to Learn and Use

The divine establishment of the US...

The reformation was preceded by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home should afford neither friendship nor safety.
Thomas Paine

Heavenly penny wax

I firmly know that I have done no more than light a penny candle of yellow wax. But even this flame, trembling in my unaccustomed hands, has brought forth a myriad of sparkling reflections in the treasure-house of the Holy Church. For many centuries, day after day, the treasure has been deposited here—precious stone by precious stone, gold coin by gold coin. Like fragrant dew on fleece, like heavenly manna, the gracious power of God-illuminated souls has descended here. Like the finest pearls, the tears of pure hearts have been collected here. Here, both heaven and earth have heaped their treasures over many centuries. The most secret yearnings, the most concealed aspirations to God-likening; the azure moments of angelic purity that come after the storm; the joys of communion with God and the holy torments of ardent repentance; the fragrance of prayer and the quiet longing for heaven; eternal seeking and eternal finding; infinitely deep intuitions of eternity and the childlike peace of the soul; awe and love, love without end. …Ages have passed, but all this has abided and grown.
St. Pavel (Florensky)

Enter this door and be born again...

The third Rome

In the first part of the sixteenth century, an elder of one of the monasteries in Pskov, a monk called Philotheus, formulated this widely held conviction. He wrote to the Moscow Prince: 'The Church of old Rome fell for its heresy; the gates of the second Rome, Constantinople, were hewn down by the axes of the infidel Turks; but the Church of Moscow, the Church of the new Rome, shines brighter than the sun in the whole universe. Know, then, pious Prince, that all the realms which hold fast to the Orthodox Christian faith are now gathered together in thy dominion. Thou art the one universal Sovereign of all Christian folk; thou shouldest hold the reins in awe of God; fear Him who hath committed them to thee. Two Romes are fallen, but the third stands fast; a fourth there cannot be. Thy Christian kingdom shall not be given to another.'

Azusa-poloosa

The Azusa Street Centennial gathering – one of the birthplaces of modern Pentecostalism – will attract Pentecostals and charismatic Christians worldwide on Apr. 25-29, 2006 to commemorate the 1906 Azusa Street revival.

I think I'll stick to celebrating The Nativity of Christ which is the birth of Christianity...
I refer you to The Pentecostal Movement - Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

Pouff-bang! Limbo no more!

The Roman Catholic [Frankish] Church is preparing to abolish limbo...Limbo has been part of Catholic [Frankish] teaching since the 13th century...It is concerned that the concept of limbo may not impress potential converts.

The most important concern when presenting doctrine...whether it will appeal to the masses! (Of course, this post is not to say I agree with the doctrine of limbo.)

Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
Roomate's in the jon
I hear a flash
In a moment he was gone
I wish we'd all been ready

On Evil

…evil is nothing other than an attraction of the will towards nothing, a negation of being, of creation, and above all of God, a furious hatred of grace against which the rebellious will puts up an implacable resistance.
Vladimir Lossky

Whole Foods

The whole food of Christian Truth, however, is accessible only to faith; and the chief obstacle to such faith is not logic, as the facile modern view has it, but another and opposed faith. We have seen indeed, that logic cannot deny absolute truth without denying itself…
Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

Since you were wondering just who this incendiarious blogger is...

The dirt on Danny boy

After college, Dan Brown moved to Hollywood to make it in the music business. His debut CD – produced with the help of A-list studio musicians and producers who worked with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney – includes 976-LOVE, a song about paid phone sex.

On so-called gays and the Frankish Priesthood

Gay activists reacted with dismay yesterday to a document, endorsed by the Pope, telling Roman Catholic [sic] seminaries worldwide they had a duty to weed out homosexual candidates for the priesthood.

So after thinking about Ted Bundy the last few days I read this story and thought, "hmmm, this whole debate over sodomite priests and those who would have them are like starting a crusade (!) to allow murderers (unrepentant of course) to be priests..."

SCOBA: First Movement

It is the acceptance of God's revelation as found and lived in the reality of the one historical and visible Church of Christ that delimits the beginning and the end of the ecumenical movement for us.
SCOBA guide for ecumenical dialogue

Update: Celebrities Unite!

Find a cure so we can get back to our sodomy!

Celebrities, who often are "fickle" in backing charities, for more than two decades have supported AIDS causes, citing the disease's toll on art and fashion as well as its effect on their fans, the New York Times reports.

Thanks to Gabe I found an apropos quote to accompany this story. (This accompaniment is not confectionary, however).

There was a time in the 1960s when antibiotics appeared to have conquered syphilis. Together with the birth control pill, this seems to have promoted an increase in heterosexual promiscuity. It was only a short time, however, before a new venereal disease, herpes, made its appearance, a virus immune to antibiotics. It would certainly seem that nature has an interest in the morality that is conducive to the family, and punishes behavior inimical to it. I would suggest therefore that the quest for a cure for AIDS, unaccompanied by any attempt to modify the behavior out of which AIDS was generated, is ultimately futile.
It is my impression, observing the propaganda of the homosexuals—and their gullible coadjutors—that their main reason for wanting a cure for AIDS, is to emancipate them for the unrestrained pursuit of sodomy and for the undiminished pleasures of what would now be called “unsafe sex.” I would venture to suggest, however, that if a cure for AIDS was discovered tomorrow, it would not be very long before a new venereal disease would make its appearance, just as herpes did in the ‘60s and AIDS in the ‘80s. What is needed above all is not a medical miracle cure but a moral and behavioral change.
Harry Jaffa

On Ecclesiality

Where there is no spiritual life, something external must exist as an assurance of ecclesiality. A specific function, the pope, or a system of functions, a hierarchy-that is the criterion of ecclesiality for Roman Catholics. On the other hand, a specific confessional formula, the creed, or a system of formulas, the text of the Scripture, is the criterion of ecclesiality for Protestants. In the final analysis, in both cases what is decisive is a concept, an ecclesiastical-juridical concept for Catholics and an ecclesiastical-scientific concept for Protestants.
St. Paul (Florensky)

St. Basil refutes the "Enlightenment" 1300 years before it commenced

…the corrupters of the truth, who, incapable of submitting their reason to Holy Scripture, distort at will the meaning of the Holy Scriptures…
St. Basil the Great

What is this great abortion debate?

As a longtime pro-lifer, I think anti-abortion groups had solid grounds to oppose the morning-after pill when its function was unclear – as I did. But given what we now know, it's a mistake to keep opposing it. In fact, there are grounds for celebration: A drug once believed to produce abortion is found to prevent it. ... The data compiled on the morning-after pill in recent years make a convincing case that if you oppose abortion, you have no quarrel with Plan B.

Now that science has enlightened us we can separate sex from procreation and take responsibility away from sex, after all, I was "convinced" and all the signs pointed to the fact that sex is just for fun...

I always miss the best ecumenical gatherings...

A symposium cosponsored by some of Chicago's leading academic institutions and interfaith organizations was held last week with the hope of exploring and building solutions to “win the battle of peace and harmony.”

I'm most disappointed about missing the session on "Religious and Cultural Pluralism"... My favorite quote from the article: "Islamophobia, or Muslim enmity, has become a threat as big as anti-Semitism in the world". It seems to me like we're undergoing a Muslim affinity while it is anti-non-Muslimism that is the big threat...

incendiary meets Bobby Joe and Big Dawg

Thanks to Clifton and The Dialectizer I have translated a few incendiary remarks into Redneck and Jive:

Redneck: Whut in tarnation is this hyar Orthodoxy? -- Orthodoxy is made up an' composed of dispasshunate faif an' pious dockrine. -- Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

Redneck: Distinckshuns -- Th' distinckshun between right an' wrong is not affecked by th' fack thet some varmints commit sueycide on account o' of it. -- Harry Jaffa

Jive: Distincshuns -- De distincshun between right and wrong be not affected by de fact dat some sucka's commit suicide cuz' of it. Man! -- Harry Jaffa

Daley's directive

Inspired by a trip to Communist China, Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley says he wants the city's public schools to move to a six-day school week.

As little as is learned in Chicago Public Schools I really don't think adding more time to the equation will do any good...

Distinctions

The distinction between right and wrong is not affected by the fact that some people commit suicide because of it.
Harry Jaffa

My securities...

…the only position that involves no logical contradictions is the affirmation of an absolute truth which underlies and secures all lesser truths; and this absolute truth can be attained by no relative, human means.
Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

On "Byzantium"

Justinian has clearly stated that basic principle of the Byzantine political system in the preface to his Sixth Novel, dated March 16, 535:

There are two major gifts which God has given unto men of His supernal clemency, the priesthood and the imperial authority - hierosyne and basileia; sacerdotium and imperium. Of these, the former is concerned with things divine; the latter presides over the human affairs and takes care of them. Proceeding from the same source, both adorn human life. Nothing is of greater concern for the emperors as the dignity of the priesthood, so that priests may in their turn pray to God for them. Now, if one is in every respect blameless and filled with confidence toward God, and the other does rightly and properly maintain in order the commonwealth entrusted to it, there will be a certain fair harmony established, which will furnish whatsoever may be needful for mankind. We therefore are highly concerned for the true doctrines inspired by God and for the dignity of priests. We are convinced that, if they maintain their dignity, great benefits will be bestowed by God on us, and we shall firmly hold whatever we now possess, and in addition shall acquire those things which we have not yet secured. A happy ending always crowns those things which were undertaken in a proper manner, acceptable to God. This is the case, when sacred canons are carefully observed, which the glorious Apostles, the venerable eye-witnesses and ministers of the Divine World, have handed down to us, and the holy Fathers have kept and explained.

Justinian did not speak of State, or of Church. He spoke of two ministries, or of two agencies, which were established in the Christian Commonwealth. They were appointed by the same Divine authority and for the same ultimate purpose. As a "Divine gift," the Imperial power, imperium, was "independent" from the Priesthood, sacerdotium. Yet it was "dependent" upon, and "subordinate" to, that purpose for which it had been Divinely established. This purpose was the faithful maintenance and promotion of the Christian truth. Thus, if "the Empire" as such was not subordinate to the Hierarchy, it was nevertheless subordinate to the Church, which was a Divinely appointed custodian of the Christian truth. In other words, the Imperial power was "legitimate" only within the Church. In any case, it was essentially subordinate to the Christian Faith, was bound by the precepts of the Apostles and Fathers, and in this respect "limited" by them. The legal status of the Emperor in the Commonwealth depended upon his good standing in the Church, under her doctrinal and canonical discipline. Imperium was at once an authority, and a service. And the terms of this service were set in rules and regulations of the Church. In his coronation oath, the Emperor had to profess the Orthodox faith and to take a vow of obedience to the decrees of the ecclesiastical Councils. This was no mere formality. "Orthodoxy was, as it were, the super-nationality of Byzantium, the basic element of the life of the State and people" (I. I. Sokolov).
Fr. Georges Florovsky

Big Brother battles...Big Brother

VIENNA, Austria -- British historian David Irving was arrested last week in southern Austria on a warrant accusing him of denying the Holocaust... Irving was detained on a warrant issued in 1989 under Austrian laws that make Holocaust denial a crime... If formally charged, tried and convicted on the charge, Irving could face up to 20 years in prison

So it seems like the thought police are after the Records Department... I wonder if they passed this "thoughtcrime" law as a sort of "penance" for being "involved" in the Holocaust or if they just really are trying to live out the maxim that "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it"...

The nature of God

There is only one name by which the divine nature can be expressed: the wonder which seizes the soul when it thinks of God.
Vladimir Lossky

What is this Orthodoxy?

Orthodoxy is made up and composed of dispassionate faith and pious doctrine.
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

Siberian City Bans Concert By Gay Singer

'In our country, no one takes into consideration the interests of consumers. The authorities think for some reason not about the rights of the people who bought tickets and paid their money but about the anarchists who think they have the right to decide what is good and what is bad.'

Either this is a really bad translation or this guy is not very bright...I'm guessing it's probably some of both...

The riches of tradition

...do our young people comprehend the rich tradition and foundational truths of the historic Christian faith? Have parents and church leaders done an adequate job in passing along the torch to the next generation? Sadly -- and one might even say alarmingly, given the stakes -- the answer is an overwhelming and resounding no, according to recent studies.

This statement coming from a Protestant sorce I posit that the parents neither know the "rich tradition and foundational truths of the historic Christian faith"...

…because all the separate assemblies of heretics call themselves Christians in preference to others, and think that theirs is the Catholic Church, it must be known that the true Catholic Church is that in which there is confession and repentance, which treats in a wholesome manner the sins and wounds to which the weakness of the flesh is liable.
Lactantius

Passing the torch

Apropos to the Advent fast

He (Adam) ate of the forbidden fruit. This is how man's original sin is revealed to us. Christ, the New Adam...begins by fasting. Adam was tempted and he succumbed to temptation; Christ was tempted and He overcame that temptation. The results of Adam's failure are expulsion from paradise and death. The fruits of Christ's victory are the destruction of death and our return to paradise. … It is clear…that in this perspective fasting is revealed to us as something decisive and ultimate in its importance. It is not a mere "obligation," a custom; it is connected with the very mystery of life and death, of salvation and damnation. ... In the Orthodox teaching, sin is not only the transgression of a rule leading to punishment; it is always a mutilation of life given to us by God. It is for this reason that the story of the original sin is presented to us as and act of eating. For food is means of life; it is that which keeps us alive. But here lies the whole question: what does it mean to be alive and what does "life" mean? For us today this term has a primarily biological meaning: life is precisely that which entirely depends on food, and more generally, on the physical world. But for the Holy Scripture and for Christian Tradition, this life "by bread alone" is identified with death because it is mortal life, because death is a principle always at work in it. ... In itself food has no life and cannot give life. Only God has Life and is Life. In food itself God-and not calories-was (in Paradise) the principle of life. Thus to eat, to be alive, to know God and be in communion with Him were one and the same thing. The unfathonable tragedy of Adam is that he ate for its own sake. More than that, he ate "apart" from God in order to be independent of Him. And if he did it, it is because he believed that food had life in itself and that he, by partaking of that food, could be like God, i.e., have life in himself. To put it very simply: he believed in food, whereas the only object of belief, of faith, of dependence is God and God alone. World, food, became his gods, the sources and principles of his life. He became their slave. ... Hunger is that state in which we realize our dependence on something else-when we urgently and essentially need food-showing thus that we have no life in ourselves. It is that limit beyond which I either die from starvation or, having satisfied my body, have again the impression of being alive. It is, in other words, the time when we face the ultimate question: on what does my life depend? And, since the question is not an academic one but is felt with my entire body, it is also the time of temptation. Satan came to Adam in Paradises; he came to Christ in the desert. He came to two hungry men and said: eat, for your hunger is the proof that you depend entirely on food, that your life is in food. And Adam believed and ate; but Christ rejected that temptation and said: man shall not live by bread alone but by God. He refused to accept that cosmic lie which Satan imposed on the world, making that lie a self-evident truth not even debated any more, the foundation of our entire world view, of science, medicine, and perhaps even of religion. By doing this, Christ restored that relationship between food, life, and God which Adam broke, and which we still break every day. What then is fasting for us Christians? It is our entrance and participation in that experience of Christ Himself by which He liberates us from the total dependence on food, matter, and the world. ...fasting is the only means by which man recovers his true spiritual nature. ... Fasting is the real fight against the Devil because it is the challenge to that one all-embracing law which makes him the "Prince of this world." Yet if one is hungry and then discovers that he can truly be independent of that hunger, not be destroyed by it but just on the contrary, can transform it into a source of spiritual power and victory, then nothing remains of that great lie in which we have been living since Adam. ...without the corresponding spiritual effort, without feeding ourselves with Divine Reality, without discovering our total dependence on God and God alone, physical fasting would indeed be suicide. ...we need first of all a spiritual preparation for the effort of fasting. It consists in asking God for help and also in making our fast God-centered. We should fast for God's sake. We must recover a religious respect for the body, for food, for the very rhythm of life. All this must be done before the actual fast begins so that when we begin to fast, we would be supplied with spiritual weapons, with a vision, with a spirit of fight and victory. ...one must still remember that however limited our fasting, if it is true fasting it will lead to temptation, weakness, doubt, and irritation. In other terms, it will be a real fight and probably we shall fail many times. But the very discovery of Christian life as fight an effort is the essential aspect of fasting. A faith which has not overcome doubts and temptation is seldom a real faith. No progress in Christian life is possible, alas, without the bitter experience of failures.

Uniates at it again

Greco-Catholics lay claim to Saint Sofia Cathedral

'Who told that Sofia was build by the Orthodox? They mix up everything, saying that grand duke Vladimir christened Rus’ to be Orthodox. In reality, there was Single Cathedral Apostolic Church, submitted to the Pope throne. It means that originally we were christened as Catholic power, not Orthodox.

...we all know there was one Apostolic Church...and still is...

'We will not allow the delivery of Saint Sofia to Uniats. Greco-Catholics’ claims arouse storm of indignation with the faithful. To take off the holy of holies – Sofia Cathedral – from the Orthodox is a summit of impudence,' declared Valery Kaurov, the head of Orthodox Citizens Union of Ukraine.

The gay conscience?

Obscene pictures

It seems to me that a picture of a traditional marriage(if you call getting "married" in a register office "traditional") and of a normal heterosexual couple are probably more offensive to a homosexual's conscience than to their civil rights...

St. John brings the smack down.

…it was when by eyeing too curiously, thou didst admire and become enamored, that thou receivedst the shaft.
St. John Chrysostom

Birth-control patch maker warns of higher risks

In today's Sun Times:

The makers of a popular birth-control patch warned millions of women Thursday
that the patch exposes them to significantly higher doses of hormones than
previously disclosed and might put them at greater risk for blood clots and
other serious side effects.

In spite of this, though, Dr. Leslie Miller, a University of Washington OB/GYN professor points out what is even more risky than possible blod clots, strokes, and even death:

''Women should not just take off their patch; they risk pregnancy. If they are
worried and want to change off the patch, they can wait to get something else,''
Miller said.

That's right. Don't take off the patch, you might risk pregnancy. Just wait, and hope you don't have one of the "side effects," then switch to something else.

Down with the Downs

Combination of Tests Can Detect Down Syndrome During First Trimester, Study Says
I just new by seeing the title that this article would have to involve abortion. The so-called "Implications" with these new tests are that "earlier screening would provide women carrying an affected fetus time to decide whether to undergo an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term" and that "terminations are earlier, more private and far safer than in the second trimester". It goes on to say that "many pregnant women do not seek early prenatal care but added that researchers are 'trying to get the message out there that people should show up as early as possible for prenatal care'". So basicially "prenatal care" is aborting your child? ...doesn't seem to "careful" to me...

More reinforcement for why to kill your tv...

TV Sexual Scenes Nearly Double Since 1998

Ambiguous quote of the article: "Given how high the stakes are, the messages TV sends teens about sex are important". I'm wondering what "stakes" are being referred to? ...Maybe the unwanted pregnancy and trauma thereby and hence the necessity for an abortion?

I think I'll make a Nazi book burning reference...

'Narnia' Contest Causing a Stir in Florida
Here's the preface: Let's Read, Florida is encouraging students to read The Chronicles... in conjunction with the movie... Those dang nihilist liberals want to replace it with an 'alternative non-religious book'...Lawyer for Alliance Defence Fund Gary McCaleb says,

'All these other non-Christian religious books are being suggested reading for these kids, and yet when (Americans Unite)[nihilist liberal group] comes out, what do they hit? The one book that isn't even expressly religious -- it's strictly allegorical. What's up with that?' the attorney asks. 'It's an anti-Christian agenda, and I think AU just really showed what kind of group they really are.' ...Such groups, according to the attorney, often 'rail against censorship but seldom miss an opportunity to squelch speech they dislike.' He adds: 'In their America, it is always winter and never Christmas.' [extremely apropos Narnia reference] 'When I see the far-left coming out of the bunch of book-banners, as they are in this case, I just shake my head,' McCaleb says. 'The amazing thing to me is they focus on Narnia -- and really the only way you can understand Narnia to be a 'Christian book' [series] is to know a lot about Christianity to begin with to see that there are some analogies there.'

Astron Solutions - your Big Brother of tolerance

In today’s multicultural workplace environment, holiday sensitivity no longer means simply putting a menorah next to the Christmas tree...there are ways to celebrate the season in the workplace with sensitivity, understanding and respect. 'Employers should strive to ensure that all of their employees’ unique cultural beliefs are equally represented and celebrated during the holiday season'

When I own my huge multi-national corporation I will flat out refuse to honor the traditions (if you call 39 measly years tradition) of Kwanzaa...in the immortal words of Garfield, the cat, that is, Kwanzaa "should be drug out in the street and shot"...

Be sensitive to any fasting, dietary restrictions or scheduling conflicts due to religious observance, prior to planning. Don’t forget to offer vegetarian alternatives.

Last year when I worked at the university library (at a university dedicated to "tolerance" and "safe zones") I recall a party involving food which happened to be on a Wednesday; there were no vegan dishes served for the Orthodox present...I thought it was quite intolerant...

When handled with sensitivity and respect, workplace festivities can result in an uplifting combination of unity, cultural understanding, and joy for your team, which is truly a celebration of the spirit of the season.

This seems like one of those "spirit of the times" that I'd rather have nothing to do with...

NCC at it again...

Following the withdrawal (of the Antiochian Archdiocese), NCC’s top members requested a visit with the Antiochian leadership, but the Orthodox church refused.
According to Kishkovsky (former NCC president Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky of the OCA), the Antiochian withdrawal was "particularly alarming to Orthodox" members of the Council because of fears their move "could have been dramatic in the lives of other Orthodox communions."

I know for my self I wasn't "alarmed" about their withdrawal...maybe "alarmed" with excitement...but then again I'm not on the front line of the ecumenical movement so my (and might I add a lot of other people's) opinion doesn't count for much...

There was "profound anxiety" about the future of their own ecumenical involvements, Kishkovsky said.
However, Edgar (NCC General Secretary) visited leaders of the other Orthodox churches and had largely relieved such anxieties. Through the meetings, the NCC found that it must "become better acquainted and more deeply informed about the lives and processes" of sister communions.

"sister communions"...honey, there's no sisterhood here...you best step off...

A bridge to nowhere...

Of Rules

God only has ten rules and His house is much bigger.
Luanne – King of the Hill

Frankish Flop

Bishop Cyryl Klimowicz's Diocese of St. Joseph, based in the city of Irkutsk in central Siberia...He has 48 priests; only one of them is Russian. Most of the foreign priests speak little Russian.

Ah yes, a great example of pastoral care...

The existence of God...

… God does not belong to the class of existing things: not that He has no existence, but that He is above all existing things, nay even above existence itself. For if all forms of knowledge have to do with what exists, assuredly that which is above knowledge must certainly be also above essence (υπερ ουσιαν); and, conversely, that which is above essence will also be above knowledge.
St. John Damascene

Evelyn Wood of Bible Teachers

To match your "instant of salvation" experience now read, and remember, the Bible in an instant!  Get all pertinent information in one breath (and amaze your friends!).

...slow is not the best way to go through the Bible from cover to cover; speed-reading is better.

The Divine Image

…it is impossible to define what constitutes the divine image in man. We can only conceive it through the idea of participation in the infinite goodness of God.
Vladimir Lossky

Attack of the single quote sign...

College accused of 'attack' on religious freedom
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is reviewing a directive that banned resident assistants from holding Bible studies in their dorms. Last July, the university's Associate Director for Housing and Residence Life sent a letter saying that if resident assistants lead Bible studies, students might not find them ''approachable'' or might fear they'd be ''judged or pushed in a direction that does not work for them.'' The letter added that resident assistants who persist in holding Bible studies would face ''disciplinary action.'' The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has protested, calling the directive Wednesday a ''shameful attack on freedom of religion.'' /AP/

What means these single quote signs i.e. "'attack'"?

The battle against "Death"

How irrational then to wish to return to our former youth, and gladly to give everything for the sake of this, that we might become younger, and yet when it is ours to receive a youth that knows no old age, a youth too, which, joined with great riches, hath far more of spirit, to be unwilling to give up a little trifle, but to hold fast things that contribute not a whit to the present life. They can never rescue you from death, they have no power to drive away disease, to stay old age, or any one of those events, which happen by necessity and according to the law of nature. And do you still hold to them? Tell me, what do you gain? Drunkenness, gluttony, pleasures contrary to nature and various in kind, which are far worse torturers than the hardest masters.
St. John Chrysostom

Defeat Death!

People have been resurrecting since before the days of Lazarus when Jesus raised him from the dead. These Immortals move among us, some have estates, businesses and bank accounts. They also have their own retreats hidden away from humanity. Immortals have perfect bodies, which can disappear and reappear and teleport anywhere on the planet. They can communicate telepathically with others, walk on water and through fire, nothing is impossible for them.

Immortals can speak any language and can look old or young depending upon their purpose. They have been written and talked about throughout history. Jesus took this resurrection event one step further and completely transcended life on earth when he made his ascension. He demonstrated what was possible for every Human Being.
...
This school will teach you what you need to be a master of your world, to control your reality, to visit the heavenly worlds, to do miracles, to have oneness with God and to defeat death through a resurrection event.
...
Those that were raised from the dead by using the Sacred Fire ( the fire that was given to the Disciples at Penetcost) were raised with IMMORTAL bodies that would never die again. These resurrected Immortals were able to do the same things as Jesus did...walk on water, heal, disappear, teleport their bodies and many other things.

I don't recall in the Bible anywhere saying that Jesus 'teleported'...I'm not denying, of course, that Jesus could teleport but to proport that Jesus teleported is a whole different proposition...

...there are now thousands of Resurrected Immortals. ...Every Immortal followed the same steps and laws that are in this book to achieve their immortality...Learn why the New Age Liberal Left are losing the hearts and minds of America. Read about the huge misunderstandings and incorrect beliefs Christians have had for 2,000 years.

If the disciples raised people with "immortal" bodies how is it possible to learn (through her book, nonetheless) how to be "immortal"? It seems like someone would actually have to die to be raised "immortal". ...and of course another 'enlightened' one to correct the beliefs of the Church-the Body of Christ.

Latins and Greeks

…freeing of men’s minds from natural limitations due to differences of mentality and culture, the catholicity of the Church was made manifest. Though the Latins might express the mystery of the Trinity by starting from one essence in order to arrive at the three persons; though the Greeks might prefer the concrete as their starting point (that is to say, the three hypostasis), seeing in them the one nature; it was always the same dogma of the Trinity that was confessed by the whole of Christendom…
Vladimir Lossky

The most important word in this paragraph being "was" in reference to how the Latins 'were' confessing...

The rebel cry...

Nihilist rebellion, like Christian faith, is an ultimate and irreducible spiritual attitude, having its source and its strength in itself—and of course, in the supernatural author of rebellion.
Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

St. John-the first straight-edger?

...we must make the attack with minds in vigor, that they may be able to give exact attention.
St. John Chrysostom

This monument to fire seems to me like it should be from the "firemen" of Fahrenheit 451...but no it's outside the Chicago Fire Academy.

That's All?

So, we got a flyer at one of the cheese markets a few months ago about this "huge" protest against the Bush administration. Everyone was going to take the day off work, and even take their kids out of school, so they could show the president how unpopular he is. I forgot about this little party until I saw this article in today's Sun Times. Wow! 1000 people in the loop! The best part is that there were about 300 police officers there to keep everyone in line. Said one of the enlightened: "It seems like there are more police here than there are people." Sweet. I wish I would have remembered to take yesterday off and join the fun. Maybe next year...

The new seance...

Email From Heaven?

...prepare and store emails, cards and memorial invitations months or years in advance of their delivery, to send to selected family and friends posthumously...

Child: "Daddy, where did Grammy go?"
Parent: "She went to a better place. But she still loves you. ...Look, you just got a birthday card from her!"

Not too fast....

40 days of fasting ends

Trans World Radio just completed 40 days of fasting for at risk women around the world. ...With that major initiative over, Project Hannah is celebrating its 8th anniversary.

I'm wondering if they followed the traditional Orthodox Christian conception of fasting (from certain foods, and in less quantity, and of course with prayer) or maybe the Islamic practice of not eating until sundown then pigging out or something altogether different?
I also ask, is fasting ever really "over"?

The battle of the Church

…the Church has had to fight against ‘Origenism’ as she has always fought against doctrines which, in striking at the divine incomprehensibility, replaced the experience of the unfathomable depths of God by philosophical concepts.
Vladimir Lossky

The senseless world

… you are at a standstill because you have approached the mystery of existence with the mind, with questions and demands for explanations; whereas it can only be approached through prostration, humility, prayer—and acceptance. Accept all, take all into yourself—all that is given you. If you do not do this, if you shield yourself from one smallest bit of suffering so as to take refuge in the rational attitude of doubt, then the fault lies in yourself, and the world fails to make sense precisely because you, who look at it, make no sense. You are foul, and constantly contradict yourself, yet you expect to see the world pure, and making sense! … The saint, perhaps, who has gone through doubt and yet asked for more, and accepted it – he might be able to make “sense” of the world. But the saint is never a philosopher; he has given up merely trying to understand, and asks only to be given what is given him; he has accepted the world, and there is no longer any question of its making “sense” or not. It makes “sense,” but in no way that can be experienced in words; its “sense” must be lived, not spoken about. … We know existence is suffering, and we know that our God loves us and for this love suffered even more intensely than the greatest saint; we know this, and yet we presume to “doubt,” to offer our petty questioning of the “meaning” of it all. O vile man! Accept it and suffer more, and pray to God – pray for no object, for no cause, merely give your heartfelt prayers and tears to Him. He knows the “why” of it. He knows all.
Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

Purple haze...

Turn your aura purple for only $249.99!

Violence: the hurdle on the path to the one world WCC government...

Kobia [General Secretary of the World Council of Churches] said this effort to end violence is the highlight of the Christian identity and mission. 'The different Christian traditions clearly have different contributions to bring to this mission, and all are needed, all are significant,' he said. 'Let not our differences get in the way of this Christian ecumenical task which is our mission to the world in Christ’s name.'

I thought being Christian was about theosis, and something about going out into all the world...

Cupoling over Hagia Sophia?

St. Sava's
Interior decoration and painting of the church of St.Sava of Serbia will be completed next September. The church is considered the largest Orthodox church in the world. Christ the Saviour Cathedral square in Moscow is 60x60 metres, while the church in Belgrade designed in Serbian-Byzantine style is 91x81. The fresco of Christ in the cupola of St.Sava’s church will be the largest in the Christian world. The capacity of the cathedral will accommodate some ten thousand worshippers at a time.

The central cupola of St.Sava’s church weights 4 thousand tons. 12-meter gilded cross crowns it. There are 17 crosses of lesser size to top other cupolas. Two belfries on the west side of the church house 49 bells of different power of sound and size. Their weight differs from 12 kilo to 5 tons.

The construction of the church began in 1936. At first the war interfered, and then political disorders. Builders resumed their work in April 2000. St.Sava’s church was officially handed over to the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2003.

Porky and Piglet: sacrificing their blood for you...

Porcine plasma

Knowing that a fine mist of pig's blood will be sprinkled all over his body after his bomb explodes may well cause an Islamic terrorist to think twice before following through with his heinous act

I'm no dad but I want to join!

Dads Against Do-Rags

I will not be a slave to fashion. I will not wear recycled pantyhose on my head. I will honor the best traditions of my forebears. I will be free!

If this isn't a strange blend of Orthodox Judaism and Amish 'worldly renunciation'...

Rabbi Rules on Sabbath Skating

The Institute for Science and Halacha is 'not an institute that is looking for loopholes' yet it houses, 'amateur inventors tinkering at work tables to find Shabbat-acceptable devices. Among the latest projects is a doorbell that uses air pressure instead of electricity' and 'an attempt to create Shabbat wheelchair that uses pneumatic power as an alternative to electric power.'

The institute is a mix of library, workshop and warehouse. In one room, Orthodox rabbinical students pore over books. Next door is a workshop loaded with switches and wires, a place to experiment with ways around using electricity on Shabbat.

outside the Church there is no salvation... !(?)

For those who would malign my posts, know that they are directed as much at Orthodox (myself and others).

You ask, will the heterodox be saved... Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins... I will tell you one thing, however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the Truth in its fullness, betray Orthodoxy, and enter a different faith, you will lose your soul forever.
St. Theophan the Recluse

Life-giving grace

…the tradition we have received through life-giving grace must remain unchanged forever. He who redeemed our life from corruption gave us the power to be renewed, and the source of this power is hidden in an indescribable mystery. It brings great salvation to our souls, but to add or to take anything away from it is to forfeit eternal life.
St. Basil the Great

A wonderful example of a pseudo-corinthian column blended with an exquisite fiberglass vault.

For those afraid to ask...

...you can now find out in two steps if you're saved!!

My favorite replies to those damned souls:

Good works cannot save anyone.
Water baptism and communion are for those who are already saved.
Born of Christian parents.: This can not save you. The Bible says: 'They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God...' (Romans 9:8)
Confirmation., Penance., Extreme unction., Membership in a lodge or fraternity.: These are man made doctrines and are not taught in the Bible. God says: 'But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' (Matthew 15:9)

They somewhat redeem themselves saying, "AFTER you are saved, obedience to God brings love, joy, peace and happiness -into your life." However, there's nothing of deification in those words...but to be expected coming from a B-thumpin' crowd.

Christ Died... That's History. Christ Died For Me. . . That's Salvation! 'For God so loved the world that He gave Son, That _______________ whosoever (your name) believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' (John 3:16)
Friend, if you can sincerely put your name in the blank space above, on the authority of God's Word, you can KNOW you have eternal life. 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me HATH (possesses now) everlasting life. (John 6:47)

ps. For all those "saved" after reading this post, send me an email.

The super "new calendar"...

This is going to upset the Church year for sure..."Through a study of various passages in the Bible, a timeline can be calculated, which begins with the date of priestly service of Zacharias during the Jewish two-week "course of Abia." The timeline continues through the conception of Zacharias' son, John the Baptist, on July 31st, and on to the birth of Jesus Christ, indicating October 31st as the birthday of Christ."

Protestant wisdom

God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world - Although many accuse him of it.
John Wesley

I think this is about my favorite quote from a Protestant - it's just so witty.

Who's up for a road trip?

Nov. 4: Boston Gay Men's Chorus will perform at Wellesley College, Houghton Memorial Chapel, at 7:30 p.m. The concert, which is free and open to the public, is jointly sponsored by Wellesley College and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills.

Psychologists...

...it's such a blessing to have them to tell us that....du du du du...halloween is scary...

Cinema-geddon

...getting bible prophecy in the hands of top actors and filmmakers... With the conflict in Iraq making daily news, and a guaranteed market in the faith-based organizations, this high-action, highly relevant film addresses our modern conflicts with a positive message: Hope. ...the formula for Armageddon that is pure Hollywood on film, but accurately centered in scriptural references. ... Mr. Gossett, Jr. had this to say regarding the underlying issue of war and peace as humans: "You can't end the war in the world until you end the personal war within yourself." In World At War, Mr. Gosset Jr., playing the President of the United States of America aptly addresses both issues using actual references and biblical prophecies in the context of leadership.

Does that last line sound in any way familiar to anyone else?

Cloud Ten CEO Peter Lalonde sees a new paradigm. "I'm not sure how to even categorize this movie," he said. "It is not a theatrical release, but rather some kind of hybrid. Our goal is to provide Churches, and other Christian venues, with a well-supported, turn-key event that allows them to both reach out to their community and raise funds for their local ministries instead of pouring it into theatres' coffers. It's a means to an end."

Spreading heresy as a "means to an end"? ...but wait, the end is also heresy...

And I grew up thinking I was a midwesterner...

Your Linguistic Profile:

80% General American English

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Is that a cookie in your bag or are you just planning to blow up the airport...?

"Both of those items together on the screen gave the appearance of an ... improvised explosive device"

Get real?

Free Workshop "GET REAL About Contraception"
Attend a free workshop sponsored by the Department of Family Medicine entitled "GET REAL - An Open Discussion on Contraception". The workshop will be held on Wednesday, October 26th from 12:00-1:00pm in the 4E Conference Room of the Outpatient Care Center at 1801 W. Taylor Street. Workshop is open to all students. Participants will receive a free gift

I wonder what kind of free gift is to be given out...

Isn't it ironic?

Campus Paper's Publications Targeted by Anti-Conservative Vandals
The publisher of a conservative student newspaper at the University of Georgia says he finds it ironic that liberal students who champion tolerance on campus have apparently demonstrated extreme intolerance by vandalizing his fliers and newspapers.

That's a long time holding it...

Cindy Sheehan and other peace activists plan to 'die symbolically' for the next four days outside the White House to represent the American soldiers who have died in Iraq.

'I'll be laying down and not getting up,' Sheehan said Tuesday to a small crowd in which the number of journalists exceeded the number of protesters. 'When they let me out, I'll do the same thing if I get arrested.'

Cindy loo-hoo

It's nice to see the Heinz estate will live on...

Heinz Kerry settled suit for $15 million
Heinz Kerry sued the owners of the airplane on which her husband, U.S. Sen. John Heinz, was traveling, as well as the owners of the helicopter involved in the crash. ...
The 1997 settlement states that $3 million would go to Heinz Kerry as co-executor of the Heinz estate. The remaining $12 million was paid to Heinz Kerry and the couple's three sons, John IV, Andrew and Christopher, according to court records. ...
Heinz Kerry, who was born in Mozambique, is heiress to the Heinz Co. food fortune, estimated last year to be worth $500 million.

Nationwide 'All American Gospel' Vocal Competition Canceled

No Gospel Idol for you

Don't worry Colonel K there's always next year for you...

Intolerance in action

Mellette event to feature speaker, pork, ice cream
Northwestern Area Connections Central and Preschool will present Thom Flamboe on Sunday at the United Methodist Church in Mellette.
A pork supper will be served at 5:30 p.m., followed by ice cream sundaes. Flamboe will deliver his speech, "I Am Somebody," at 6:30 p.m. A free-will offering will be accepted.

I don't think this planned event is very tolerant towards Muslims who wouldn't be able to attend since pork will be served...

The Western hammer

Therefore, on account of this new expression (filioque), which is only your own opinion, you have charged the Savior which three calumnies: you have said what He did not say, made Him say what He did not say, and taught an idea that does not even follow from His words, but which, on the contrary, His teaching denies; and fourthly, you introduce dogmas in rivalry with Him. What shall we take first? On the one hand, He Himself said, ‘He will receive from that which is mine’ but not ‘from me’; then, on the other hand, you rely on Him to teach the very thing that the phrase ‘from me’ means, implying that He indeed taught it. So, on the one hand, as you indeed prescribe, you murder the persons by hammering them together – indeed, something which He never affirmed. He taught the disciples by means of His words, declaring His mind, which is not at all knowable through the immaculate dialectic of processions. And He taught us that the concrete, personal procession of the Spirit is from the Father, so that if, as you say, the Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as from the first Person, at least make your theology applicable to all the persons, so as not to slight the Lord. But the Lord Himself did just this by means of the second phrase. He who finds in the grace of theology nothing reliable or consistent will soon discover that grace is insane.

St. Photios

If only Naptster wasn't blind to what a profound statement they are making...

The Church emerged...

…it is obvious that in no case were Emperors successful when they attempted to go against the Faith of the Church. The Church in Byzantium was strong enough to resist the Imperial pressure. Emperors failed to impose upon the Church a compromise with Arians, a premature reconciliation with the Monophysites, Iconoclasm, and, at a later date, an ambiguous "reunion" with Rome:

Nothing could be more false than the charge of Caesaropapism which is generally brought against the Byzantine Church — the accusation that the Church rendered servile obedience to the orders of the Emperor even in the religious sphere. It is true that the Emperor always concerned himself with ecclesiastical affairs; he endeavored to maintain or to impose unity in dogma, but his claims were by no means always submissively recognized. Indeed, the Byzantines became accustomed to the idea that organized opposition to the Imperial will in religious matters was normal and legitimate. . . . Without any suspicion of paradox the religious history of Byzantium could be represented as a conflict between the Church and the State, a conflict from which the Church emerged unquestionably the victor. (Henry Gregoire).

Fr. Georges Florovsky

I doubt even St. Augustine the heretic would approve of this store...

Spiritual Shock Therapy

Now people come on Easter Sunday and they're hoping against hope that something will touch them deeply, and they're wide open to whatever it is.
Bill Hybels

A car battery hooked up to someone's temples would for sure "touch them deeply"... I don't think it's the best idea to be "wide open" to that though...but I guess they could get shocked on faith and trust God that He would deliver them...

Pope appears, crying ensues...

The child began crying when 78-year-old Pope Benedict approached his bed in the cardiology ward of the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) hospital near the Vatican.

Those weren't tears of joy...

The "insufficient" chronicles

'It’s not the presence of Christian doctrine I object to so much as the absence of Christian virtue. The highest virtue, we have on the authority of the New Testament itself, is love, and yet you find not a trace of that in the books.'

You're a freakin' atheist, what do you care if there's no 'love'?

The Lion, the Witch, and the no Love

So where was the Body of Christ before 1901? Are they saying that Christ was born or came back in 1901?

Someone got into some bad crack...

I think it’s reasonable to suppose that one could oscillate between being biologically 20 and biologically 25 indefinitely.

Near-Immortality

Splinter Lives!

Survival of the Rat-iest

The scientists, led by James Russell at the University of Auckland, sagely conclude that conventional methods didn't work well.

At all times and in all places and in all languages...

The Gospel in gesture

The purpose driven cup

Get your God-filled coffee here

The never ending story...

...when the Bible is your only standard.
The Seventh Day? - well, it depends on who's counting

A. Jan Marcussen, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Illinois, is starting with $50,000 of his own money if someone can produce 'a verse from the Holy Bible showing that God commands us to keep holy the first day of the week' – Sunday – 'instead of the seventh day' – Saturday – 'as is commanded in the Bible.'

'Millions of people believe and have confidence in their clergy that what they're being taught is true,' says Marcussen. 'They'll find out that the clergy is not teaching from the Bible.'

Well, I will agree with you there, but only to a point.

'Sunday worship is the mark of the Papacy's authority,' Marcussen writes in his book. 'Sunday worship is the 'mark of the beast!'' Yet he insists he is not attacking anyone's faith, but rather trying to lead people to the Bible, Jesus, and eventually heaven.

Yes, that's the key-Bible+Jesus=Heaven. Don't you go worrying about that doctrine and dogma thing-that's an invention of the evil Papacy!

'It's the greatest hoax of all time, foisted upon the world for hundreds and hundreds of years,' he says. His zeal on the matter reflects his belief that citizens of the United States and other countries will be forced to choose sides on the issue in the so-called 'end time' mentioned in Scripture.

...

A "promise" is a "promise"?

The inmate argued that his baptism was a contract between him and God who was supposed to keep the Devil away and keep him out of trouble.

'God even claimed and received from me various goods and prayers in exchange for forgiveness and the promise that I would be rid of problems and have a better life.'

Supreme Subpoena

Islamification?

...for three weeks, "impressionable 12-year-old students" were, among other things, placed into Islamic city groups; took Islamic names; wore identification tags that displayed their new Islamic name and the star and crescent moon; handed materials that instructed them to 'Remember Allah always so that you may prosper'; completed the Islamic Five Pillars of Faith, including fasting; and memorized and recited the 'Bismillah' or 'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,' which students also wrote on banners hung on the classroom walls.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton determined Excelsior was not indoctrinating students about Islam when it required them to adopt Muslim names and pray to Allah, but rather was just teaching them about the Muslim religion.
Indoctrination in our schools

It appears at though someone has been playing too much "Enlighten!"

Since you were wondering...

η γνωσις (gnosis) [It should be unnecesary to point out that this term, signifying that knowledge of the divine which the human person acquires by the Holy Spirit, has nothing in common with the speculations of the gnostics.]

I'm not that crazy about women either (especially since we let them out of the kitchen) but an all out ban is a little harsh. ...when there are no women who will cook my dinner?

So I went in to the office and asked for Chuck, they brought out this guy so I asked him, "How should I invest my money?" He said, "How should I know? I'm the janitor."...

Bible in the wrong hands

The Godsend, by author Greg Tharpe, takes a new look at the Bible as the most authoritative guide for worldly and spiritual success. The book shows a new and consistent way of reading the Bible in order to use it as such a guide.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 13, 2005 -- The Bible is the guidebook for spiritual success for close to 25% of the world's population.

How exactly is this "spiritual success" measured?

But many would argue that disputes over its message have caused as much harm as good, and that it isn't much of a guide for worldly success.

I don't recall Jesus (the hero of the Bible, for those who have forgotten, like this guy) saying anything about "worldly success"--except maybe a denouncement of it. May I remind you of Matthew 16:26: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" I’m sure the Grand Inquisitor could go in for some worldly success (he is, after all, suffering for your freedom and worldy happiness):

Thou (to Christ) wouldst not deprive man of freedom and didst reject the offer, thinking, what is that freedom worth if obedience is bought with bread? Thou didst reply that man lives not by bread alone. But dost Thou know that for the sake of that earthly bread the spirit of the earth will rise up against Thee and will strive with Thee and overcome Thee, and all will follow him, crying, "Who can compare with this beast? He has given us fire from heaven!"

"The Bible is a fantastic guide," says Godsend author Greg Tharpe, "but only when it's rightly understood.

I’ll add a heartfelt “Amen” to that brother, but I think, unfortunately, you are the one wrongly understanding the Bible.
May I remind you of what Fr. John Romanides says:

In the hands of neurologically sick people the Bible becomes a source of «uncontrollable fantasies.» And indeed religion is one of the most dangerous. Instead of being a manual for the cure of the sickness of religion the Bible becomes a book for the propagation of the sickness of religion.
…the expressions about God in the Bible are not intended to convey concepts about God. They act only as means to guide one to the purification and illumination of the heart and finally to glorification by the Pre-Incarnate and Incarnate Lord (Yaweh) of Glory which is to see Him by means of His uncreated glory or rule and not by means of ephemeral created symbols and concepts about Him as is the case in the Augustinian tradition.

And from Met. Hierotheos: (note: Fathers applies to writers of the Bible)

When we take the Fathers out of the spirit of asceticism, of repentance, we divide them. And every division is a change for the worse. All of the heretics did the same. They used the passages without understanding them, without having the prerequisites of interpreting them correctly. We should therefore carry out the “watchword” which prevails in our times – “return to the Fathers” – not only by studying the texts of the Fathers but also by making the effort of acquiring the life of the Fathers. We should live in the holy Church, live with the holy Mysteries and the holy virtues, stop being individuals and start living like persons, as worthy members of Christ.

According to Tharpe's book, there is a consistent way to read the Bible that brings out a clearer message. He shows readers how to interpret the Bible for themselves while coming from a spiritual perspective rather than a natural one.

Ah, yes, interpreting the Bible for oneself, the highest virtue of Protestantism…

Likewise, the book shows how the Bible is the number one guide for worldly success, so long as it's considered from this higher perspective.

If one were interpreting the Bible correctly I would imagine it would be on the “worlds worst books for worldly success”…

"God doesn't want us to suffer through life just to achieve happiness in another world," says Tharpe. "This world is practice for the next, so why would you endure poverty and suffering here to practice for love and happiness in heaven? The Bible shows us how to succeed on Earth through spiritual means rather than through natural means, and that is the big difference."

I don’t know where to begin on this one…
For anyone even remotely familiar with the ascetic spirit of Christianity this is simply an absurd statement. For reference I point you to a little collection called the Philokalia.I guess he did get one thing right, “this world is practice for the next”. But thinking again it’s not really “practice” it is purification and theosis (at least for those interpreting the Bible correctly).
Let’s see what St. Paul says,

"But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra - what persecutions I endured: but the Lord delivered me out of them all. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3, 10-12).