16 Realistic Observations about Orthodoxy Online
Since I’ve been online for over 25 years now, and around Orthodoxy online for more than 22 of them, I thought I would mention some things I’ve noticed over the years.
Category: Culture
The Christ & Tolkien Conference: Oct. 1-3, 2020
Christian Tolkien scholarship and fandom is often marginalized or even met with hostility in some quarters, which makes little sense, since Professor Tolkien himself was such a committed Christian and was explicit about the internal Christian themes of his work. This conference aims to create a space where Christian Tolkien scholars and fans can come together and share their love for both Christ and Tolkien.
Why Orthodox Christians Can Love Tolkien and Other Imaginative Fiction
I am a lifelong Tolkien fan, but now that I have a Tolkien podcast, I’ve found more time to explore how my love for Tolkien fits into my spiritual life as an Orthodox Christian. And it turns out that there is actually a specifically Orthodox Christian reason to love Tolkien and other works of imaginative fiction.
“Tolkien” Film: How Christian Reviewers are Getting it Wrong (SPOILERS)
Some Christian reviewers ignore all the elements that point to a fully integrated Christian world and look only for things that in the modern sensibility qualify as “religious.”
Should It Matter to Christians When Churches Burn?
Because mankind is created in the image of his Creator, man is also himself a sub-creator, called to engage the creation with his own creativity, in imitation of the creative Creator.
No, Christmas is Not Pagan. Just Stop.
Well, it’s time for a good Christmas rant. This requires a rant, because every year, we see the same ignorant silliness. (Sorry, but it’s just true.) Supposedly, Christmas is secretly pagan, secretly syncretist, secretly a co-opting of pagan stuff and ignorantly claiming it to be Christian. But the truth about these things is so available that it’s literally staring out at you even from…
The Three Ways Christians Approach the World
There are generally three approaches that Christians have taken when it comes to their surrounding cultures: 1) Rejection, resistance, and hostility: This approach sharply distinguishes the Church from the world, emphasizing that the Church is so much “not of this world” that the world must be fled and an alternate community established. It is a posture that is fully closed to the world —…
Jesus Doesn’t Fit Into My Life
Sunday of the Blind Man and the Feast of Ss. Constantine and Helen, May 21, 2017 Acts 26:1, 12-20; John 9:1-38 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! It is challenging to be a Christian in our times. It is challenging for many reasons—our…