The difference between âright gloryâ and âright doctrine,â noted in my previous article, goes much deeper than services of worship. It is true that the Church has, throughout her history, taken great care with liturgical practice so that what is done gives expression to what is believed. The two should be seamless. This, however, becomes ever more difficult when it extends to our lives. Frequently, we settle for âright doctrine,â and ârightâŠ
God hides. God makes Himself known. God hides. This pattern runs throughout the Scriptures. A holy hide-and-seek, the pattern is not accidental nor unintentional. It is rooted in the very nature of things in the Christian life. Christianity whose God is not hidden is not Christianity at all. But why is this so? In a previous article, I wrote: Our faith is about learning to live in the revealing of things thatâŠ
I recently sat in on a meeting between my bishop and a young man looking to attend seminary. After getting the bishopâs approval, he asked a wise question: âWhat should I be reading to prepare?â I was as interested in the answer as he was. âRead good literature,â was the answer. This advice came from a bishop who is both a scholar and a monk (Archbishop Alexander Golitsyn). Read good literature. ThisâŠ
“He Will Exalt the Humble and Meek” There is an interesting historical pattern that has been repeated any number of times across the centuries. A group of the dispossessed and the poor come together within a religious movement. What begins with great enthusiasm succeeds. As it succeeds, those who were once poor and dispossessed manage to gather themselves into some sort of order. They learn to work hard, to avoid disaster,âŠ
I have often used the example of riding a bicycle as an image of knowing God. Thereâs no difficulty learning how to ride if you donât mind falling off for a while. But no matter how many years you have ridden, you cannot describe for someone else how you know what you know. But you know it. I also suspect that if you thought too much about riding a bicycle while youâŠ
The creation of the âtwo-storey universeâ was an unintended consequence of the Protestant Reformation. I have recently been enjoying Brad Gregoryâs The Unintended Reformation, in which he traces the various historical currents and ideas that gave rise to the modern secular notion of the world. It is a magisterial treatment, and I recommend it to serious students of history, as well as anyone wanting to better understand our modern culture. I haveâŠ
Several years ago my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting England. The beginning of the trip was terrifying â we had decided to rent a car. Our modest little Fiat fit well among the many toy cars that fill British highways. But there was a problem. Everything on English roads is backwards. You sit on the wrong side of the car; you drive on the wrong side of the road;âŠ
âI see what you mean.â Language holds many secrets that we ignore. Some of the secrets are quite old. If we pay proper attention, we are able to discover things that we already know, but did not yet know that we knew. The phrase, âNow I see,â or other various uses of âseeingâ as a form of âknowing,â is quite ancient in its insight. The Greek word for knowing is Î”áŒ°ÎŽáż¶, andâŠ
Eskimos really do have over 50 words for snow. In total, there are around 180 words for snow and ice. There is âaqilokoqâ for âsoftly falling snowâ and âpiegnartoqâ for âthe snow [that is] good for driving a sled.â There is also âutuqaq,â which means, âice that lasts year after yearâ and âsiguliaksraq,â the patchwork layer of crystals that forms as the sea begins to freeze; and âauniq,â ice that is filledâŠ