Well, here is a statement filled with the potential for misunderstanding: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5) There is great danger in attempting to grasp the wisdom and depth of the scriptures by yourself! The passage above could be used to sanction all kinds…

There is a direct correlation between delayed gratification and intelligence. In the famous Stanford study a group of children were told they could have one marshmallow now, or they could have two marshmallows if they waited for 15 minutes. The children were observed for the period of time and test scores showed that those children who scored highest on intelligence tests were more often able to wait the full 15 minutes for…

A recent meeting of the G-20, that group of nations whose economic policies tend to drive the world’s economy, met with the usual protesters in the streets. The groups that represent the “anarchists” movements are always prominent and always vocal and violent. Well, I guess that makes sense if you feel the only way to human freedom is to destroy current political and economic systems. The human vacillation between all encompassing structure…

A recent article in the New York Times suggested that up to 35% of the Twitter feeds most people follow aren’t real people. They are programs designed to mimic the postings of real people but are used to shape opinions and influence behaviors. These programs are called “bots.” Isn’t it amazing how powerful fantasy and illusion can be? In fact, I will go so far to say that the escape from the…

Here’s a chilling phrase: “And they prayed and said, ‘Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place.'” (Acts 1:24-25) “…to go to his own place.” There seems to be a perpetual human tendency to cry out “It’s not my fault!” Ever since the…

It seems being offended is a national pastime these days. Folks have become so thin skinned that any suggestion that someone might disagree with their ideas is treated as akin to destroying civilization. Britt Hume, a TV news anchor, commented on this: “We have a society in which one of the greatest things you can do is a platform to see victim status, and one of the qualifications for that is that…

When I was young, I enjoyed a cartoon called “Transformers.” The theme song was “Transformers; more than meets the eye! Transformers; robots in disguise!” The whole premise of the show was that these Transformers looked like regular cars or machinery, but they were really more than that. Nowadays one of this year’s summer blockbuster Hollywood movies is “Pacific Rim,” which is all about these giant robots! Throughout the centuries and across all…

Today we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord! Tomorrow is the Feast! Tonight we celebrate the Great Vespers of the Feast to properly get ready to enter fully into the Eucharistic celebration tomorrow! The Feast is here in the midst of our fasting preparations for the Feast of the Dormition. I love the wisdom of the Faith preserved in the rhythm of fasting and feasting. It arrests the…

Welcome to the second day of the Dormition Fast! The wisdom of the fasting disciplines of the Church are meant to reinforce the reality that unless the faith is holistically practiced, that is it affects every aspect of your person, the real danger of compartmentalization exists! In my opinion, this is the greatest source for a nominal Christian faith. This idea that the faith is only one part of my life. When,…

“If you want a guarantee, buy a dishwasher!” These are the plain spoken words of a wise man to me early on in my spiritual journey that eventually led me to the Orthodox Church. He was responding to my questions about assurance of salvation and my mindset that still saw my relationship with God and my Christian life as more of a contractual business relationship rather than the messy relationships based on…