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Ancient Faith Blogs presents a select group of writers and thinkers who regularly post on matters of theology, culture, art, parish, and family life.
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From Faithful Hands
Featured Makers: An Orthodox Workshop
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Craftsmanship and creativity help us along every step of our Orthodox Christian journey, even at death. There has been a recent renewed interest in parishes around North America to organize burial services outside the conventional funeral home and cemetery system. The emphasis of parish-based ‘death care’ is centered around our beliefs regarding how our bodies are treated after death and our religious ceremonies. Rather than having our bodies embalmed and sealed in…
No Other Foundation
Running After Righteousness
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A favourite phrase from the American Declaration of Independence tells us that one of our inalienable human rights is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This legitimate political goal has morphed into a personal philosophy, and now the notion is so ingrained in western culture that it is common to both liberals and conservatives, to both those in the right wing and in the left wing. This philosophy…
Word of the Day
The Poisonous Passion of Envy (Thurs. April 22)
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The word of the day is “envy.”  The first death of a human being happened because of murder when Cain killed his brother Able. Why did Cain do such an awful thing?  Because of envy.  In our reading of Proverbs 23:15-24:5, the wise sage of Proverbs writes, “Do not let your heart envy sinners but be zealous for fear of the Lord all the day (NKJV vs. 7).  The sage cautions us about envy not only because it is a passion, that is, an unholy desire. But the sage warns us to guard against it because of its result. Today we learn that when envy is fully mature, it bears the fruit of hatred. Envy grows from seemingly mild and…
Faith Encouraged
It's Worth It; Even With The Pain
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There’s an old Gospel song I remember from my youth: “If heaven was never promised to me; even God’s promise to live eternally; it’s been worth just having the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, He came along and brought me the Light.” People of faith have always been secretly envied by people who just can’t seem to believe. I guess that’s why others have treated people of…
The Morning Offering
The Whole Person
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We have been created as both soul and body Unlike angels, who are entirely spiritual beings, God has made each of us as creatures dwelling in a material world. To be whole, we must worship God both in body and soul. This teaching is central to our Christian faith and is an affirmation of the sacramental nature of this material…
Glory to God for All Things
The Limits of Holiness
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I saw a commercical recently that proclaimed, “Freedom has no limits!” It sought to capture the modern imagination with what is a patently absurd statement. Everything in creation has limits – that is the nature of created things. It is nonetheless the case that we can imagine our life without limits – a shameless existence where nothing impedes our pleasure. This was the inner world of a young woman in Alexandria who…
Walking an Ancient Path
The Forgotten Space between Christ’s Burial and Resurrection
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I hope you are having a blessed Holy Week! One vital part of this week has meant a lot to me over the last decade since I joined the Orthodox Church. Tucked into Holy Weekend, between Jesus’ Crucifixion on Friday and His glorious Resurrection on Sunday, the Church celebrates Jesus’ triumphant Harrowing of Hades—something that was once proclaimed in Protestant theology but has essentially been dropped.  If you speak of the…
Faith Encouraged
My Brothers Betrayed Me!
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It hurt. If I’m honest, it still hurts. I was taken advantage of. I was treated badly. I was embarrassed by my naivete, and I was angry at the one who had taken advantage of me. It was especially hard because I thought they loved me, and it was painful to finally realize they didn’t love me at all. I wanted revenge! But then I remembered the saying by Confucius – “Before…
Word of the Day
Overcoming Temptation: We Wage the Battle but God Gives the Victory (Wed. April 21)
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The word of the day is “horse.”  What strength can we rely on when we are face temptation?  In our reading of Proverbs 21:23-22:4, the wise sage of Proverbs writes, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord” (NKJV vs. 31).  If temptation engages us in a battle, we might depend on our strength as ancient peoples counted on their chariots.  However, the sage states that rescue from our foes is in the hands of God, not warhorses. Today we highlight the importance of trusting the Lord and not our own devices. The ancient Israelites did not have horses or chariots until the reign of Solomon. Therefore, for the Chosen People, the warhorse was a source of terror…
The Morning Offering
Sharing the Gift of Love
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We must all be purveyors of the gift of love My father was a golf pro in Spokane, Washington during my grade and early middle school years, and the country club was the center of our family’s social life. My brother, Dwayne, and I used to play an average of 18 to 36 holes of golf every day, during the…
The Whole Counsel Blog
Sts. Mary and Elizabeth
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The visit of St. Mary, the Theotokos, to St. Elizabeth in Luke 1:39–56 serves as the setting for the song of the Theotokos known as the Magnificat. This title is the first word of the hymn in Latin translation, which begins, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum…” Both St. Elizabeth’s greeting to the Theotokos upon her arrival, and the subsequent hymn, are steeped in Old Testament allusion and imagery. Much of St. Luke’s Gospel is redolent with such connections to the Old Testament, in particular to the text in Greek translation, and other associated Jewish literature in Greek. These connections and parallels to the Old Testament are particularly concentrated in the early chapters of the Gospel. Both St. Elizabeth’s greeting and the…
Every Thought Captive
Podcast Interview with Fr. Daniel - The Path to the Academy
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Word of the Day
Righteousness and Justice Are Better Than Sacrifice (Tues. April 20)
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The word of the day is “better.” Our secular society tucks religion away in a separate compartment. Our citizens can worship as they choose. But their faith is not supposed to have any bearing outside the sphere of their private “spirituality.” But in our reading of Proverbs 21:3-21, the wise sage writes, “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice” (NKJV vs. 3).  To apply this proverb to our time, let’s suppose that righteousness and justice are matters that apply to our life in society. And let’s consider that sacrifices have to do with religious practices. If that is the case, then righteousness and justice are matters of public concern. They apply to our life…
Faith Encouraged
The Fantasy of Equity
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There is a modern poverty, almost a sickness of the soul and mind, of we moderns that we seem to insist that there be equality in outcomes rather than work for equality of opportunity for everyone. When we fall into the trap of insisting there be an equality of outcomes, we easily fall into the prison of the illusion of “fairness.” And that always leads to someone being a perpetual victim. I…
The Morning Offering
The Divine Presence
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In Eternity God’s love consumes all According to Saint Gregory of Nyssa, heaven and hell are not about location, but about relationship. God is everywhere, and He did not create a heaven for some, and a hell for others. If we love God, His fire will be a comforting warmth, but if we choose not to have a relationship with…
The Morning Offering
Update
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Behind the Scenes
Special Pascha edition of The Lord of Spirits and more at AFR this week
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LIVE SHOWS: There are 3 live shows this week! Remember, you can hear our live shows on the Ancient Faith Radio app or on our website. During the show, call 1-855-AFRADIO (1-855-237-2346) with questions or comments. All programs are recorded. Listen to previous episodes at the links provided. What did Paul mean that Jesus became “a curse”? Does that mean that he was cursed by God? If we are saved by faith, how do we know what the…
Glory to God for All Things
The Mythic Character of Reality
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The friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien is well-known, as is Tolkien’s role in bringing Lewis to Christ. Less well-known (unless you dig a bit further) is Tolkien’s role in bringing Lewis out of a rigid and flat understanding of the world and into the rich possibilities afforded by “myth.” Without this conversion, Lewis would likely not have become a Christian, and certainly would not have authored the fiction that is…
Faith Encouraged
Tomorrow is the Last Day!
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Faith Encouraged
Getting Parishioners Back to Church
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Faith Encouraged
You Thief! You Liar!
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“He’s a liar!” Yep, he sure is, and his actions send ripples throughout his life and the lives of so many others. We were discussing a politician we both knew. But, here’s the rub; this politician held many of the same values and positions we both felt strongly about. However, this politician had been caught in a public and inescapable lie, and not just any lie, like “I really did finish my…
Word of the Day
Keeping Our Souls by Keeping the Commandments (April 19)
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The word of the day is “keep.” It is possible to lose one’s soul.  The Lord said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul (NKJV Mark 8:36)?  But how does one keep the soul safe from loss?  In our reading of Proverbs 19:16-25, the wise sage says, “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die” (NKJV vs. 16). Today we will consider  how we might “keep” our soul instead of losing it. The Hebrew Term for Soul The Hebrew term for “soul” is derived from the thought of the animation of creatures that live and breathe.  As a result,…
The Morning Offering
Spiritual Battle
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Warfare against the darkness that would consume us When we attempt to rely on our own strength to do battle with our fallen nature, we will be defeated. The arena, our field of battle, takes place in our own heart, and will be a lifelong battle. We must manifest our faith in deeds, and our weapons in this unseen warfare,…
Word of the Day
Redemption by the Blood of Christ (Sun. April 18)
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The word of the day is “cleanse.” In these times, we think of disease in medical terms. We speak in terms of infections, cancers, and disorders of the heart and other organs. But when we speak of sin, we use words like transgressions, shortcomings, disobedience and “missing the mark.” However, the Orthodox Church tends to talk about sin as a disease that needs healing and the corruption that needs cleansing.  The Cleansing of Conscience The Orthodox approach to sin and redemption is in keeping with our reading of Hebrews 9:11-14.  In that view, the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice is purification.  The apostle writes, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,…
The Morning Offering
The Use of Incense in Orthodox Worship
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Let my prayer arise as incense before Thee From Old Testament times believers have burned incense as an offering when worshiping God. The ancient temple in Jerusalem even had priests whose sole duty was to keep the censer burning twenty-four hours a day. From an indication in Revelation 8:3-5 incense was used during the Catacomb period of the Church, however…
Eastern Christian Insights
Christ's Healing Extends Beyond Self-Help or Willpower: Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent and Commemoration of our Righteous Mother Mary of Egypt in the Orthodox Church
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Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45            As we near the end of our Lenten journey this year, we should have all gained at least a measure of insight into our souls’ need for healing beyond what we can accomplish merely by our own willpower in obeying religious or moral laws. Our difficulty in taking even small steps to embrace prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and other spiritual disciplines reveals how weak we are before…
Word of the Day
The Contents of the Ark: Tangible Mementos of God’s Grace (Sat. April 17)
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The word of the day is “Ark.” Many families pass down certain articles of past generations to their heirs. We may keep a family Bible, a porcelain figure, a picture or photo album, a uniform, a set of letters or even a handwritten recipe. These things are a physical connection to the past. By treasuring them, we call to mind the memory of our ancestors. Material Reminders of God’s Grace In our reading of Hebrews 9:1-7 (first reading), the apostle writes of physical artifacts that were kept in the most sacred place in the Temple. He writes of the Holy of Holies and says that it had “the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant… in which were the…