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The Theological Task of Orthodoxy in the West
Read more: The Theological Task of Orthodoxy in the WestI am grateful to Dan Greeson for this excellent quote. Orthodoxy is summoned to witness. Now more than ever the Christian West stands before divergent prospects, a living question addressed also to the Orthodox world… The ‘old polemical theology’ has long ago lost its inner connection with any reality. Such theology was an academic discipline, […]
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Conflicts Large and Small
Read more: Conflicts Large and SmallI am certain that in most respects I differ in no way from other Christians. The vast majority of the conflicts I encounter are my own conflicts and they center around the Gospel and my obedience to Christ. Will I forgive an enemy? Will I turn aside a painful remark with kindness and generosity? I […]
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Prayer to My Guardian Angel – A Post Revisited
Read more: Prayer to My Guardian Angel – A Post RevisitedWordPress provides a fair amount of information to its bloggers – it gives you a chance to see some of what works and occasionally why. Then there are mysteries. One of my mysteries is the popularity of this particular post which first went up last January. Since then it has generated over 2800 views – […]
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The Fullness of the Faith
Read more: The Fullness of the FaithThe word “fullness,” is a very Orthodox word, one that is used for theological expression fairly frequently. It is perhaps among my favorites, as any regular reader here can quickly attest. It is a New Testament word, usually applied to Christ or to a sense of the “fullness” of time. But there is a sense […]
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Do We Need More Information?
Read more: Do We Need More Information?On occasion I run across Christian writings that embrace the notion of “progressive revelation,” or in other circles, “development of doctrine.” I am aware that the two phrases have different meanings – but there is something of a common thread – a thread that links parts of our modern world. That simple thread is the […]
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Scarcity and Abundance in a One-Storey Universe
Read more: Scarcity and Abundance in a One-Storey UniverseWe stand mournfully around the grave, letting the strains of the hymn find their resolution in the final chord. The priest approaches the coffin, now closed and ready for lowering into the grave. The closing of the grave begins with a single handful of dirt. The priest tosses the dirt with the words: “The earth […]
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The Mystery of God
Read more: The Mystery of GodUnless we start out with a feeling of awe and astonishment – with what is often called a sense of the numinous – we shall make little progress on the Way. When Samuel Palmer first visited William Blake, the old man asked him how he approached the work of painting. “With fear and trembling,” Palmer […]
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The Slowness of Grace
Read more: The Slowness of GraceThis is a reprint from November of 2006. I’m not trying to be lazy here – but to bring out some things that I think worth reading twice. From Prayer by the Elder Sophrony At times prayer seems over-slow in bringing results, and life is so short. Instinctively we cry, “Make haste unto me.” But […]
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The Mystery of Ourselves
Read more: The Mystery of OurselvesFor what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 I think it can be quickly agreed by all that God is a mystery – we do not know […]
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Praying Like a Publican – A Reprint
Read more: Praying Like a Publican – A ReprintSometimes I want to say things I’ve already said. My parishioners have apparently learned to put up with this as my children did long ago. The subject of this posting came up recently in a sermon (probably not for the first time – but who can remember?). It is not all that is to be […]
Matthew, in western art the painter is always present, the person in the picture is a creature of the painter.…