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).

Crazy (read: heretical) idea alert

Entertaining angels unaware, this was the exciting premise of the popular television program “Touched by an Angel.” Are we being watched? We’ve all heard, at one time or another, the idea that everyone has a guardian angel. Fallen angles have an impact on our lives, and so do God’s holy angels. Perhaps we play a significant role as well! In The Angels are Watching, a new book from Xulon Press, readers will learn that everything they do and say is on display. Angels are watching as our lives unfold. Every moment of life has significance because it is an object lesson to the angels.

"An object lesson to the angels"? ...must have been in one of those gnostic gospels that's been repressed...

On to what St. John Damascene says about the angels,

…what in the case of man is death is a fall in the case of angels. For after the fall there is no possibility of repentance for them, just as after death there is for men no repentance.

...when they had made free choice of virtue became through grace immoveably rooted in goodness.

"Perhaps we play a significant role as well!" From a supposedly christian point of view isn't this idea kind of obvious? Man, created in the image and likeness of God, for which the world was created play a significant role?

Of Socialism

‘Believe me, that your Christ, were he born in our time, would be the most undistinguished and ordinary of men; he would be utterly eclipsed by today’s science and by those forces that now advance humanity.’ (Belinsky)
‘Oh, I think not,’ interrupted Belinsky’s friend. … If Christ appeared now he would join the socialist movement and take his place at its head….’

How you like them apples?

The "trials" of ecumenism

A great part of our difficulty with ecumenism in general is precisely its preoccupation with the questions and problems of the European mentality, as well as by methods, techniques and structures expressive of western rather than universal considerations.
SCOBA guide for ecumenical dialogue

Divine Sanction?

A French bastard landing with an armed banditti, and establishing himself king of England against the consent of the natives, is in plain terms a very paltry rascally original. – It certainly hath no divinity in it.
Thomas Paine

This is why we need small, independently owned, uncorrupted by marketing companies businesses...so we get 'phenomenal' names like such...

A new vocation for me?

In Dark Christ: The Final Measure, author and Prophet, David Spirit, describes his spiritual awakening and visit with the Holy Spirit. He outlines a conspiracy and unveils the beast of revelations.

I can't wait for the day when they start referring to me as "Incendiary Blogger and Prophet Jacob Brooks".

WCC invades America's heartland...

Had I known about this earlier I could have staged a protest...
WCC in Chicago

...momentum builds in Christian communities around the globe in anticipation of the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

Just what kind of momentum is building? I haven't felt any at my Church...maybe I'm in the wrong one??

Special worship leaders Dr Stanley Ralph of First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Queens, NY, and Rev. Dr. Glaucia Vasconcelos-Wilkey of Seattle University, have planned worship experiences in the spirit of the Assembly while also remembering those who have suffered as a result of the hurricanes on the US Gulf Coast.

I'm wondering if they included any special worship experience in the Native American tradition as that is where Chicago gets its name? Maybe they will sit around chanting "Chicago" as "The Indians applied this term to ...the voice of the great Manitou".

'Blessed Are The Peacemakers' awards will be presented to local Chicago area peacemakers at the opening dinner

I'm guessing this award will go to Jesse Jackson...at least that's where my vote will go.

Participants in the 'Shift Your Space' event will also spend time reflecting on the economic and social implications of the recent hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, and what this means for young people of faith who are engaged in 'transforming the world.' 'Seminarians are at the forefront of innovative peace and justice work,' says Michael Neuroth, who is coordinating the 'Shift Your Space' youth event on behalf of the US Conference for the WCC. He explains that the gathering will enable 'students and youth delegates to the WCC's Assembly to share stories of peacemaking initiatives led by young adults around the United States, and strategize on new ways of engaging with the vision for peace promoted by the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence.'

They don't even seem to bother about any "spiritual" implications anymore, just "social"...

The ever evolving zeitgeist

50 Trends

#28 BUDDHA ROCKS: Many people who rate themselves as spiritual rather than religious feel closer to Buddhism than to Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. Part of that may be because those three monotheistic religions score pretty low on the cool factor. In secular societies, people who profess any of these faiths outside their place of worship are likely to be viewed with polite tolerance at best. But Buddhism has a cool quotient that’s far more attractive to the young and hip.

#29 SPIRITUALITY LITE: Not looking for an actual religion, but want a connection to something deeper than everyday modern life? That’s where such Eastern imports as tantra, yoga, feng shui, t’ai chi, ayurvedic or Chinese medicine, and the martial arts come in. All the ancient authenticity without having to adhere to a religion-based belief system.

It looks like my cool factor is probably in the negative.

The spirit must find its sustenance in God, must live from God; the soul must feed on the spirit; the body must live on the soul—such was the original ordering of our immortal nature. But turning back from God the spirit, instead of providing food for the soul, begins to live at the expense of the soul, feeding itself on its substance (what we usually call ‘spiritual values’); the soul in turn begins to live with the life of the body, and this is the origin of the passions; finally the body is forced to seek its nourishment outside, in inanimate matter, and in the end comes on death. The human complex finally disintegrates.
Vladimir Lossky

We are asked to form our consciences in the light of statistics, which is to establish the relative as absolute. For many this may be a convenience, since we don’t live in an age of settled belief; but it cannot be a convenience, it cannot even be possible, for the writer who is a Catholic.
Flannery O’Conner

...commercials propagate a dream-world primarily by glorifying human weaknesses. …our language through all this indeed progressively loses its character as communication, as it more and more tries to influence while less and less saying anything.
Josef Pieper

Ubermensch anyone?

uberRush?

'An ubersexual is actually that much more macho,' added Salzman. 'He's more willing to go out with other guys for dinner. He doesn't care what people think. He's not worried that people think he's gay. He knows he's straight, and that's all that matters.'

Rev your engines for the Revolution!

...most people attending worship services in a church sanctuary leave feeling that God was not present and that they did not personally connect with the living God through that experience.

So therefore a Revolution is needed!! Viva Revolucion!!

There is a new breed of Christ-follower in America today. These are people who are more interested in being the Church than in going to church. ...These people are Revolutionaries.

So, tell me, is this new breed thoroughbred? I guess that is impossible as “new breed” implies innovation...just something to think about, however... Personally I would rather follow the ‘old breed’ of “Christ-follower” such as St. John Maximovitch for just one example.

The defining attribute of a Revolutionary is not whether they attend church, but whether they place God first in their lives and are willing to do whatever it takes to facilitate a deeper and growing relationship with Him and other believers.

I think it’s the attraction of people to be able to call themselves “Revolutionary”. The protestation of protestantism has worn off so a new moniker is needed—one that will catch the eye and ear and communicate that these people are “different” and “serious”. Revolution, yet more, will imply that these people aren’t like those stick-in-the-mud christians that just have their normal little church.

They have decided to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in the Book of Acts.

Maybe they should realize that the “Church detailed in the Book of Acts” did not disappear into nothingness…I guess their ‘revolutionary’ spirit would be too much to submit to the ancient authority of the Church… It seems like taking ‘spirituality’ piecemeal from various and sundry sources is much more in the ‘revolutionary’ spirit. “Experience”...I don’t even need to say anything about that...

...the Revolution brings great challenges to those who choose that pathway. ...There is the danger of exposure to unbiblical or heretical teaching. ...It could become easier to hoard one’s treasures rather than giving generously. We find plentiful evidence of unbiblical teaching in small groups, Sunday school classes and other local church venues. We know that few churched Christians give 4% of their income back to God, much less 10%.

I find it very telling that the first “exposure to unbiblical or heretical teaching” mentioned has nothing to do with any actual theology, doctrine or even statement of faith but is something ‘under the law’ like titheing...

One of the hallmarks of the Revolution of faith is how different it is for each person.

“Come, get your very own, unique, personal experience of the Revolution!”

How do most Revolutionaries justify calling themselves devoted disciples of Christ while distancing themselves from a local church? 'Many of them realize that someday they will stand before a holy God who will examine their devotion to Him. They could take the safe and easy route of staying in a local church and doing the expected programs and practices, but they also recognize that they will not be able to use a lackluster church experience as an excuse for a mediocre or unfulfilled spiritual life. Their spiritual depth is not the responsibility of a local church; it is their own responsibility. As a result, they decide to either get into a local church that enhances their zeal for God or else they create alternatives that ignite such a life of obedience and service. In essence, these are people who have stopped going to church so they can be the Church.'

So it all comes down to personal preference then? If you want to ‘get to heaven’ you can take the “safe and easy route”, but if you really want an experience you need to go beyond, to take your ‘spirituality’ into your own hands and “create alternatives”...


From those wiser than I:

According to the Fathers of the Church, the Orthodox dogma is never separated from spirituality. Where there is erroneous dogma, there also exists an erroneous spirituality and vice versa. Many individuals divide dogma from piety, but this is an error. When Christ says, 'become perfect ... as the Father...,' he implies that one should know what is meant by perfection. Thus, for the Orthodox, the criterion of the validity of the Sacraments is the Orthodox dogma. Piety and dogma are one identity and cannot be split up from each other.
Fr. John Romanides

It may be true that the modern crisis can be formally traced back to the loss of convictions. It would be disastrous, however, if people rallied around a false banner and pledged allegiance to a wrong faith. The real root of the modern tragedy does not lie only in the fact that people lost convictions, but that they deserted Christ.
Fr. Georges Florovsky

A new reality came into the world, a body more perfect than the world—the Church, founded on a two-fold divine economy: the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, the two persons of the Trinity sent into the world. ...The Church is body in so far as Christ is her head; she is fullness in so far as the Holy Spirit quickens her and fills her with divinity, for the Godhead dwells within her bodily as it dwelt in the deified humanity of Christ.
Vladimir Lossky

Pertinent websites:
Revolution!
Beyond the "church"

You call that writing?

Jorge Posada out his right leg far, as far as it could go, his spikes glinting for a moment beneath the Stadium lights. He was reaching for home plate. And for California, too. Bengie Molina dived back towards Posada but his desperate tag came a split-second after Posada's foot stomped down on the dish, giving the Yankees a seventh-inning lead they wouldn't relinquish.

badd righting

It appears they are trying their hand at letting kindergarteners write their stories.

I'll have my Word with a shot of lemon twist...

"modern twist"(ed bible)

The Greatest Heresy?

The more I’ve come to reflect on this whole “emerging church” phenomena, the more I’ve had to confront why it’s very existence offends me so. In this age of open tolerance, it is probably unthinkable to many inside and outside that movement that I should condemn it so readily. Some would accuse me of condemning it only on the grounds that I have failed to understand it. And to such claims I would have to respond partially in the affirmative; I do not understand it. Or, rather, I do not understand what motivates it. I do not understand its driving force. From my vantage point, it amounts to nothing more than postmodern nihilism masquerading as the right means to make the timeless Truth of God accessible to contemporary culture.

Speaking as one who violently ripped himself from the Faith for so long, perhaps I am incapable of conceiving of the mentality that holds that Christianity is something which can be and ought to be morphed to fit my own life. I recall early on in my exploration of the Orthodox Church a priest telling me that we, as human beings, cannot be the measure of our own faith; instead we must look to the Church to set the standards we live, love, and worship by. And while that observation didn’t necessarily confirm or deny any branch of Christianity claiming to be the Church, my further historical, spiritual, and theological inquiries led me to believe wholeheartedly that the Orthodox were the only “one holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church” of the Creed.

What offends me so about the “emerging church” movement is that it approaches Christianity with not the slightest bit of humility. It assumes from the get-go that it—a historical construction of the last decade—can be the measure of faith and that the “T”ruth of the faith is malleable. The Wisdom of God is perceived to have some sort of perverse plasticity to it. In its quest to make Christianity relevant, the “emerging church” movement neutralizes Christianity’s claim to be the Truth. It throws out the possibility of a living, breathing Church by which one can measure their faith and holds Truth suspect in that Truth can be sliced, diced, breaded, fried, and devoured in a smorgasbord of transient, historically rooted truths that will not last the ages (or, perhaps, the decade).

I see this mentality as nothing but acid which corrodes the faith. It belittles Christianity by turning it into “just another idea”; a human construct that can be picked apart, reworked, and critiqued on human terms. It dances to the tune of the week and where will it go when that’s no longer in style? What becomes of the “hard sayings” of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ when they fail to jive with the “emergent” mentality? Are they disregarded? Who are they to disregard God? The atheist and the agnostic find more sympathy from me. So long as they reject or cower from God’s Existence, they cannot seek to undermine Him in this world by spreading vicious lies about His Truth. All they can do is whine that he is not there and savor their own dogmatism concerning His (un)perceived non-existence. They are but a faint buzz, barely intelligible to the Church’s ear. They are not a rotting cancer upon the very heart of the Church and the Faith of Jesus Christ. That dishonor belongs to the “emerging church” movement and others in their ilk alone.

All of this is not to say that people involved in the “emerging church” movement are necessarily evil or set out with wicked intentions. They are themselves not necessarily enemies of the Church, even if their motivation and ideology is a disease. Many are lost sheep as I too was once lost. Many are seeking something genuine, but have yet to realize how dastardly our contemporary schools of thought are in thwarting one from ever finding the Truth or even truly seeking it. I fear there are those within it who may know the dangerous game they play with the Truth and simply not care. There are some whom I believe ought to know better, but for whatever reason they keep on preaching their corrupted version of Christ and His Church. I have to wonder why they continue. Are they suffering from cognitive dissonance? Do they fear a loss of their “meal ticket” if they should abandon the project? It would be too easy and probably quite incorrect to paint them as villains; but what then are they?

I am perplexed, but my scorn for the movement remains intact. I pray that those caught up in it all will come to question what it is they are caught up in. I pray that through the use of critical reasoning and honest-to-God soul searching, they will see the emptiness staring back where God ought to be. I hope that when it is all said and done, those burned by the movement will still have enough love left in their hearts to continue on in the journey to seek God and His Love. If the “emerging church” movement should prove to have eradicated that in their followers when it all passes with the tide, it may well be considered to be the greatest heresy yet to manifest itself in Christianity’s storied and struggling 2,000 year history.

They must have a lot of drive-up tellers to have to have all this parking for them...

And how's your Buddha today?

Alan Gishlick, with silver-painted toenails sticking out of his Tevas and a shoulder tattoo of a Buddhist word puzzle meaning "Knowledge makes me content," said he was a "devout Christian."

This vs. That

We must be cautious, then, in examining the claims of those who would restore a 'spiritual' meaning to life, and especially of those who fancy themselves allies or adherents of 'Christianity.'
Fr. Seraphim Rose

...most of what passes for “spirituality” today is in fact a “new spirituality,” a cancer born of Nihilism that attaches itself to healthy organism to destroy them from within.
Fr. Seraphim Rose

...men are denying with all their might and main the divine creation, the world of God and it’s meaning. These are the only things which modern civilization finds utter nonsense.
Dostoevsky

Vain pursuits

It is the great and invincible truth of Christianity that there is no annihilation; all Nihilism is in vain. God may be fought: that is one of the meanings of the modern age; but He may not be conquered, and He may not be escaped: His Kingdom shall endure eternally, and all who reject the call to His Kingdom must burn in the flames of Hell forever. ... It has, of course, been a primary intention of Nihilism to abolish Hell and the fear of Hell from men's minds, and no one can doubt their success; Hell has become, for most people today, a folly and a superstition, if not a "sadistic" fantasy. Even those who still believe in the Liberal "heaven" have no room in their universe for any kind of Hell.

Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

Our Lady of Sitka

Some choice phrases from the Akathist to Our Lady of Sitka:

For those unfortunates:

Rejoice, rebuker of those fallen into heresy.
Rejoice, reprover of dishonesty.
Rejoice, destroyer of the serpent.
Rejoice, corrector of those who have gone astray.
Rejoice, confounder of those who fail to honor you.
Rejoice, defender before whom devils quake and tremble.

For those truth-seekers:

Rejoice, calm haven of those seeking salvation.
Rejoice, protectress of those who run to you.
Rejoice, for from the time of the Crucifixion you have adopted us all as your children.
Rejoice, refuge of the faithful.
Rejoice, chosen Maiden, Mother and Virgin.
Rejoice, boast of women.

You have shown yourself above every angelic rank, O Virgin, for you have conceived in the flesh Him Who cannot be circumscribed. And you have carried in your arms Him Who holds the whole world in the palm of His hand. Therefore, as you are greater in honor than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim we glorify you and sing to God on your account: Alleluia.
O Mother of God, we see most eloquent orators silenced before you, for every tongue is at a loss to praise you worthily. Our minds have not the strength to extol you. Therefore, O you who are gracious, accept from us the salutation of the Archangel as we cry to you

...Rejoice, zealous defender of the Orthodox faithful in America.

We came, we saved, we left...

"Everyone Can!"

She waited.
We came.
And she was saved.

On a related note: "Kingdom Challenge"

"baptism as a show of unity in the cause"

Baptism is just a show after all, right? just one of those 'symbol' things...

So...you call that an 'icon' do you?

Even from the thirteenth century—a key point for our understanding of all subsequent religious and cultural developments in the West—we can no longer speak of ecclesial iconography in Europe, but only of religious painting. And this means that is the western Church artistic expression ceases to be a study and a manifestation of the Church’s theology—at least on the preconditions for theology in visual art formulated by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

Christos Yannaras

This linguistic atrocity hardly deserves my time...