The devil's ill-logic

It is as if, at a session of a course of justice, the devil should be addressed as follows: 'Granted that you destroyed all because you found them guilty of sin; but why did you destroy Christ? Is it not very evident that you did so unjustly? Well then, through Him the whole world will be vindicated'
St. John Chrysostom

The land of the pharaohs

Neither the sun, with its multitude of stars, is not as glowing as much as the wilderness of Egypt with all of its monks.
St. John Chrysostom

The corruption of children

Children are not an occasional acquirement; we are responsible for their salvation: The negligence of children is the greatest of all sins as it leads to extreme impiety: There is no excuse for us if our children are corrupt.
St. John Chrysostom

Nail my flesh

Let us crucify our member through abstinence; and as it is written, let us be vigilant in prayer, living after the example of Him who suffered; by His passion, putting to death the passions.
Irmos of Matins, Wednesday, First week of Lent

Nail my flesh with the fear of you, O Christ, Who nailed the sin of Adam to the cross. Loose me from the bonds of wickedness, shatter the arrows of the evil one with Your Lance, Master, and deliver me from all his mischief.
Irmos of Matins, Wednesday, First week of Lent

Beloved, our condition needs much endurance; and endurance is produced when doctrines are deeply rooted. ...the soul which is nailed by the fear of God none will be able to overturn. ... Thus the Prophet prayeth, saying, "Nail my flesh by Thy fear" (Ps. 118: 120, LXX.); "do Thou so fix and join me, as by a nail riveted into me." For as men of this kind are hard to be captured, so the opposite sort are a ready prey, and are easily thrown down.
St. John Chrysostom

On the Nativity

'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)


Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

I behold a new and wondrous mystery!

My ears resound to the shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!

The angels sing!

The archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The cherubim resound their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead herein... on earth and man in heaven. He who is above now, for our salvation, dwells here below; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divine mercy!

Today Bethlehem resembles heaven, hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices and, in place of the sun, witnessing the rising of the Sun of Justice!

Ask not how this is accomplished, for where God wills, the order of nature is overturned. For He willed He had the powers He descended. He saved. All things move in obedience to God.

Today He Who Is, is born ! And He Who Is becomes what He was not! For when He was God, He became man-while not relinquishing the Godhead that is His...

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him angels, nor archangels, nor thrones, nor dominions, nor powers, nor principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His incarnation has He ceased being God. And behold kings have come, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven; Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of childbirth into joy; Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin...

Infants, that they may adore Him who became a little child, so that out of the mouths of infants He might perfect praise; Children, to the Child who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod; Men, to Him who became man that He might heal the miseries of His servants;

Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd who was laid down His life for His sheep;

Priests, to Him who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek;

Servants, to Him who took upon Himself the form of a servant, that He might bless our stewardship with the reward of freedom (Philippians 2:7);

Fishermen, to the Fisher of humanity;

Publicans, to Him who from among them named a chosen evangelist;

Sinful women, to Him who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant woman;

And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Since, therefore, all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice! I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival! But I take my part, not plucking the harp nor with the music of the pipes nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ!
For this is all my hope!

This is my life!

This is my salvation!

This is my pipe, my harp!

And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels and shepherds, sing:

'Glory to God in the Highest! and on earth peace to men of good will!'

The simplicity of belief

If thou believest, suffer all things; if thou dost not suffer, thou dost not believe.
St. John Chrysostom

The glue that is art

For if the sun does not strike us with wonder, from its being customary, much more do works of art fail, and we only look at them like things of clay. … He instituted arts, that our present state of existence might be held together by them, not that we should separate ourselves from spiritual things, not that we should devote ourselves to the base arts but to the necessary ones, that we might minister to one another's good, and not that we should plot one against another.
St. John Chrysostom

A lesson from the lesser

Camels and mules behave more decently than some people at wedding receptions!
St. John Chrysostom

Stay out of the dust...

For since what God giveth transcends reasoning entirely, it is but reason that we need faith. But the man that thinks meanly of it, and is contemptuous and vainglorious, will not effect anything at all. Let heretics hearken to the voice of the Spirit, for such is the nature of reasonings. They are like some labyrinth or puzzles which have no end to them anywhere, and do not let the reason stand upon the rock, and have their very origin in vanity. For being ashamed to allow of faith, and to seem ignorant of heavenly things, they involve themselves in the dust-cloud of countless reasonings.
St. John Chrysostom

St. John refutes predestination and such

But perhaps someone will say, If all that the Father gives, and whomever He shall draw comes to You, if none can come to You except it be given from above, then those to whom the Father does not give are free from any blame or charges. These are mere words and pretences. For we require our own deliberate choice as well, because whether we will be taught is a matter of choice, and also whether we will believe. And here, by saying ‘which the Father gives Me’, He declares nothing else than that ‘believing in Me is no ordinary thing, nor one that comes of human reasonings, but needs a revelation from above, and a well-ordered soul to receive that revelation.’
St. John Chrysostom

Countless reasonings

For since what God giveth transcends reasoning entirely, it is but reason that we need faith. But the man that thinks meanly of it, and is contemptuous and vainglorious, will not effect anything at all. Let heretics hearken to the voice of the Spirit, for such is the nature of reasonings. They are like some labyrinth or puzzles which have no end to them anywhere, and do not let the reason stand upon the rock, and have their very origin in vanity. For being ashamed to allow of faith, and to seem ignorant of heavenly things, they involve themselves in the dust-cloud of countless reasonings.
St. John Chrysostom

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

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.

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

Forgetfulness: the curse of human nature

...see, I pray you, after such signs had been wrought, what evils within a short space ensue. Such is human nature: it soon forgets. Or, do ye not remember what has been the case among ourselves? Did not God last year shake our whole city? Did not all run to baptism? Did not whoremongers and effeminate and corrupt persons leave their dwellings, and the places where they spent their time, and change and become religious? But three days passed, and they returned again to their own proper wickedness. And whence is this? From the excessive laziness. And what marvel if, when the things have passed away (this be the case), seeing that, the images lasting perpetually, the result is such?

St. John Chrysostom

Something to ponder in this age of terrorism and (sometimes) increased "religiosity."

Math is your friend

"Proof" positive
Logic's loaded gun

Christian Faith is mighty not only when it agrees with sensory reasoning and sensory logic but when, and especially when, it contradicts sensory reasoning and sensory logic.

St. Nikolaj (Velimirovic)

A “new god” is clearly required by modern man, a god more closely fashioned after the pattern of such central modern concerns as science and business; it has, in fact, been an important intention of modern thought to provide such a god…the new god is not a Being but an idea, not revealed to faith and humility but constructed by the proud mind that still feels the need for 'explanation' when it has lost its desire for salvation…Whether 'deist,' 'idealist,' 'pantheist,' or 'immanentist,' all the modern gods are the same mental construct, fabricated by souls dead from the loss of faith in the true God.

Fr. Seraphim (Rose)

...when God does anything, reasonings are of no use; for how did He make us out of those things that were not?

St. John Chrysostom