Nearly Orthodox
falling asleep...
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The week begins the fast of the Dormition of the the Theotokos. I confess, my track record historically with keeping the fast, this or any other, has been sketchy at best. It’s less an intentional slight and more a lapse in memory. I just cannot seem to keep my focus long enough to remember to abstain. It’s a habit I hope I’ll grow into over time, that’s the plan anyhow. Rather than…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Dancing Bishops Greet the Pope (and Other Such Nonsense)
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Even if I were somehow able to be convinced of Rome’s unique dogmas, stuff like the above is one of the main reasons I could never become a Roman Catholic. I have been told by Rome’s apologists that these kinds of things are really just “abuses” and that the “true” culture and worship of Rome shouldn’t be like this. But if a…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Believing Thomas: How I Left the Bahá’í Faith
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This post, by author Anjali Sivan, a convert to Orthodox Christianity, was originally featured on her personal weblog on the occasion of St. Thomas Sunday. In honor of St. Thomas Sunday, I would like to share my own special appreciation for him. There is the fact that he was the apostle who brought the Gospel to India. But even more than that,…
Nearly Orthodox
On fire- about being a convert...
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Being raised Catholic in a mostly Catholic area I did not know many protestants. And though there were converts to Catholicism in our parish I could only name one that I knew, because he was my grandfather. We never spoke of it when I was a kid. I found out that he’d converted long after the fact. I was in college before I knew it. He converted because he fell in love…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Gay Marriage and Eastern Orthodoxy
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The historical and cultural context of the Eastern Orthodox Church has meant that She has not had to grapple with many of the same questions as Christians in the West. The instability of the West following the barbarian invasions, together with the role that the papacy played in bringing some measure of religious and political stability following the fall of the Western…
Nearly Orthodox
The thing about cavities...
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For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. -Romans 7:15-17 In the back of my head I know…
Nearly Orthodox
On giving thanks...
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O Christ our God, bless the food, drink, and fellowship of Thy servants, for Thou art holy always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. “Are you going to pray?” he said, pulling me aside and whispering so that our guests would not hear. I nodded my yes and walked into the diningroom with my husband. It was our habit now to discern it ahead of time so that the…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
"Aren't You Supposed to Hate Me?": Calvinism and the Politics of the Damned
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The following article was originally published on the Roads from Emmaus weblog in May of 2012, just after the passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage by the state of North Carolina. Given recent national-level discussions about marriage in the United States and what they mean for the theology of man, and especially given that the Supreme Court opined that legal support…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
"A Premodern Sacramental Eclectic"?: Evangelicals Reaching for Tradition
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An Evangelical friend who is interested in Orthodoxy sent this link to me: Ten years ago I was a poverty-stricken Christian…and I didn’t even know it. My poverty was theological and it was the sad consequence of my arrogant sectarianism. By restricting my Christianity to the narrow confines of modern charismatic evangelicalism I suffered from a self-inflicted theological poverty. I needed the…
Nearly Orthodox
Absenteeism...
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When I’m away from Liturgy I miss it, like being in the habit of getting to the gym on a regular schedule and then finding that space empty. In the moment, it’s right, my hacking cough could not possibly be a comfort to anyone standing in church with me but I always question myself as I lay there in bed while my church family gathers. I mark the time, thinking, now comes…
Nearly Orthodox
weak...
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Illumine our hearts, O Master Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Thy gospel teachings. Implant also in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well-pleasing unto Thee. For Thou art the illumination of our…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Should Christians read the Book of Esther?
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The following guest piece by Joel J. Miller originally ran under the title “You’re reading the wrong Book of Esther.” It is republished here with permission. The Book of Esther occupies a controversial place in the Bible. John Calvin did not include the book in his biblical commentaries and only referenced it once in the Institutes (see 4.12.17). Though he included it…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Priest vs. Machine: Dollar Rent A Car as an Emblem of Bureaucratic Nihilism
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I offer up the following experience as a data point along the continuum into deeper inhumanity because of the too-big-to-care nature of much of corporate and government life in these latter days: I recently had the misfortune of renting a car from Dollar Rent A Car at the Atlanta airport. The original estimate for the rental was $93.50 for three days’ use. But in…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Medical Study "Proves" Speaking in Tongues has Divine Origin
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The video above is from several years ago, but I came across it and thought it was worth commenting on briefly. This is interesting in a number of ways. One major drawback in the reporting is that the Pentecostal practice of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is not presented as what it is — the practice of only one sector of Protestantism. Rather,…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Did Pope Francis say everyone will be saved by doing good?
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Enormous theological ignorance and bad reading exploded onto the scene this week: Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics (An earlier version had this headline: “Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed – Atheists included.”) (Huffington Post) Pope Francis rocked some religious and atheist minds today when he declared that everyone was redeemed through Jesus,…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons? (Part 5 of 5)
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Editor’s Note: Following is the final entry in a 5-part series addressing the claim by Presbyterian pastor Steven Wedgeworth that there is significant patristic testimony against iconography. The response is necessarily more in-depth than the original post it responds to, because numerous quick claims are made there without much in the way of examination of their context or historic character. A Summary of the…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons? (Part 4 of 5)
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Editor’s Note: Following is the fourth part in a 5-part series addressing the claim by Presbyterian pastor Steven Wedgeworth that there is significant patristic testimony against iconography. Keep watching this space for all five parts. The response is necessarily more in-depth than the original post it responds to, because numerous quick claims are made there without much in the way of examination of their…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy now on Facebook
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Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons? (Part 3 of 5)
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Editor’s Note: Following is the third part in a 5-part series addressing the claim by Presbyterian pastor Steven Wedgeworth that there is significant patristic testimony against iconography. Keep watching this space for all five parts. The response is necessarily more in-depth than the original post it responds to, because numerous quick claims are made there without much in the way of examination of their…
Nearly Orthodox
nearly orthodox...
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Now that the ink is dry on the contract for the book version of “Nearly Orthodox” I’m sitting down to sort through the accumulated posts, notes, scribbled quotes and half thoughts written on receipts in my purse. It’s weird to read through the array of words now, over three years since I first put my feet on this ancient road. It’s weird because although I still recognize the fears and doubts, I…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons? (Part 2 of 5)
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Editor’s Note: Following is the second part in a 5-part series addressing the claim by Presbyterian pastor Steven Wedgeworth that there is significant patristic testimony against iconography. Keep watching this space for all five parts. The response is necessarily more in-depth than the original post it responds to, because numerous quick claims are made there without much in the way of examination…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Is There Really a Patristic Critique of Icons? (Part 1 of 5)
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Editor’s Note: Following is the first part in a 5-part series addressing the claim by Presbyterian pastor Steven Wedgeworth that there is significant patristic testimony against iconography. Keep watching this space for all five parts. The response is necessarily more in-depth than the original post it responds to, because numerous quick claims are made there without much in the way of examination…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
"Who is a Christian?": A Discussion with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick on Ancient Faith Today
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On May 12, 2013, at 8-9:30pm EDT / 5-6:30pm PDT, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, author of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith (Conciliar Press, 2011) appeared on the live call-in show “Ancient Faith Today with Kevin Allen.” The topic: “Who is a Christian?” Fr. Andrew and Kevin discussed the sensitive subject of defining who…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
"Churching the Nation: Sharing the Orthodox Faith in America" near Atlanta on May 26
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Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
The Ecumenical Early Church: A Reply to Pastor Wedgeworth
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Steven Wedgeworth operates the Wedgewords blog and is the Founder of The Calvinist International website. Last week he wrote a thought-provoking article for the Calvinist International website titled “The Myth of the Ecumenical Early Church.” This summer I plan to interact with Wedgeworth’s article in my columns at The Colson Center. However, before doing that I thought it would be helpful to…
Nearly Orthodox
great and holy friday...
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Probably it will last another 10 minutes, maybe only 8 or so. This morning quiet spot, after prayer and lighting candles, coffee in hand, reflecting on what lies ahead and I’m struck with some grief. And maybe that’s appropriate, this being Holy Week and all. Being so far out of step with the western calendar puts me in an odd place. There is something powerful about having all the accountability, the cultural…
Nearly Orthodox
moving...
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“Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Isaiah 58:9 My icons have been stacked neatly on the countertop for 2 days now, laying there in the bubble wrap, waiting for the hammer and nails that hide somewhere in a box. I keep thinking the next box will hold the tools I need to get the altar hung and give the…
