Tag: doctrine

Freedom, the Path to God, and the Orthodoxy of Orthodoxy

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I was recently passed on a question by my grandmother from some of my non-Orthodox relations who live out in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The question was whether, in my preaching, there is room for a “personal Gospel.” I must be honest that I don’t know exactly what that phrase means, but I cannot imagine they are asking whether I am “allowed”…

Is the Rapture today?

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
From suggestions that we should all release blow-up dolls filled with helium at exactly noon today, to an invitation on Facebook for post-Rapture looting (after all, many cars will be “unmanned,” you know), it seems that the world has taken notice of the latest prediction of the Rapture. Even atheist Stephen Hawking has grabbed a headline or two recently with his characterization of Heaven…

Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy available for purchase!

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Some news from Conciliar Press: Good news! The [Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy] books arrived in our Illinois warehouse yesterday! For those of you who write book reviews for print media and/or who have blogs discussing such things, contact our marketing manager, Matthew Dorning (email hidden; JavaScript is required) to request a review copy, and let him know which publication / blog you represent. Ready to…

“Spiritual But Not Religious” and the Path to God

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I sometimes encounter folks who tell me that they are “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR). I wish I asked more often what exactly that is supposed to mean, though I am usually held back from asking by a strong suspicion that such a statement is not meant to undergo any sort of scrutiny. But what does it mean, anyway? This post is a reflection…

The Salvation of All

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
A friend recently weighed in on a theological question that made the New York Times. One should always be suspicious when newspapers start talking about theology, because, well, newspapers seldom know anything about it. The piece of theology essentially goes this way: There really is no hell, and God is too loving to send anyone there. How could God possibly be so cruel to…

The Worship of Fire

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
While I was in Toronto a few weeks ago for an educational event, I had the delight to spend many hours with a good friend from my seminary days. He turned out to be a fine guide to introducing an American to Toronto. One of the many places we stopped was a place of some religious curiosity that he’d apparently always wanted to look…