by Frederica Mathewes-Green [Eighth Day Institute, Feb 2019] Back in my college days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was a hippie and a spiritual seeker. The range of spiritual options on campus was broad, and I sampled a bit of everything: Ananda Marga Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, Hare Krishna, Transcendental Meditation. I say I was a “seeker,” but that’s not exactly right; I didn’t expect to reach a destination. I was, more accurately, a spiritual explorer, always traveling toward a new horizon. There’s something about that era that I don’t understand, though. My friends and I savored all the more-esoteric religions, but for some reason we hated Christianity. We ridiculed it … [Read more...]
On the Sunday of Zacchaeus
Our lenten journey begins with a recognition of our own sinfulness, just as Zacchaeus recognized his. He promised to make restitution by giving half of his wealth to the poor, and by paying to those he had falsely accused four times as much as they had lost. In this, he went beyond the requirements of the Law (Ex. 22:3-12). The example of Zacchaeus teaches us that we should turn away from our sins, and atone for them. The real proof of our sorrow and repentance is not just a verbal apology, but when we correct ourselves and try to make amends for the consequences of our evil actions. We are also assured of God’s mercy and compassion by Christ’s words to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation is … [Read more...]
The Filioque in Brief
by John Nichiporuk We were recently asked the following question: “Why is it so wrong to say that the Spirit also proceeds from the Son, if He indeed is co-eternal with the Father? Understanding the complexity of this issue, causing argument for more than a thousand years, we will try to give a short answer to it, with no pretension to providing a complete coverage of this theological problem. Testimony of the Holy Scripture First of all, indeed, both Catholics and the Orthodox confess the co-eternity of the Holy Spirit and the Son with the Father, as well as Their consubstantiality and Their complete ontological equality. However, returning to the question posed, the co-eternity of … [Read more...]
Why Do Orthodox Christians Have their Homes Blessed?
by Phyllis Meshel Onest Begin Everything with Prayer Since we are reminded in Scripture to begin whatever we do with prayer, it has been the practice of Orthodox Christians for centuries to have new dwellings blessed either before or just after settling in. This has been extended to one’s business or office, and even college dorm rooms. “The service performed by the priest to bless the new dwelling is somewhat similar to the consecration of a church [in the Russian practice] in that holy water, holy oil, and incense are used and a lesson from the holy Gospel is read. All the rooms of the house are sprinkled with holy water and each of the four outer walls are anointed with the sign of … [Read more...]
2020 – An Apocalyptic Year of Peace?
This article was included in all of our Christmas Newsletters this year. His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, believes that the Church has entered an apocalyptic era, he said during an interview recently, and many agree with him. Commenting on the introduction of electronic passports, gradual replacement of cash, the emergence of digital identifiers, as well as the possible complete control of the state over a person, Metropolitan Onuphry noted that “changes in the life of humanity in recent times indicate that we are entering a new historical era, which is called apocalyptic in the ecclesiastic language." At the same time, he says, in the future "the Church … [Read more...]
Gallup: Churchgoers only U.S. Group that Avoided 2020 Mental Health Decline
According to a Gallup Poll released on Monday, frequent church attendees were the only group in the U.S. that did not experience a mental health decline in 2020. Gallup has conducted its November Health and Healthcare Survey annually since 2001. The 2020 results show 34% of Americans consider their mental health "excellent," and 76% consider their mental health "excellent/good," both are all-time lows. Forty-six percent of Americans who regularly attend religious services said their mental health is "excellent," an increase from last year's 42%. Source … [Read more...]
De-mystifying the Vaccine for Corona Virus
by Monk Paul of the Holy Mountain, Biologist, MD Molecular Biology and Biomedicine It is with sorrow and wonder that we are observing an event unprecedented in world history [1]. In the name of “love” for the elderly and the more vulnerable, vaccination is being scheduled for all people worldwide, in order to exterminate the implacable “invisible enemy”, known as Corona virus SARS-Cov2 (COVID19): A necessary legal framework that will abolish the right to individual choice and will “defend” the benefit-right to public health (Law 4675/2020 for Greece) [2] An accompanying governmental authoritarianism to enforce it. Creating demand and expectation for the vaccine … [Read more...]
Census Considerations
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register." - Luke 2:1–3 On the Dateline NBC’s “The Birth of Jesus” episode, Dr. John Dominic Crossan, co-founder of the wildly popular Jesus Seminar, called into question the historical veracity of Holy Scripture. Said Crossan: “Luke tells us the story that at the time Jesus was born Augustus had decreed a census of the whole earth. Now, every scholar will tell you there was no such census ever.” Is Crossan correct? Is the Canon corrupt? Did Dr. Luke make a … [Read more...]
A Pagan Records the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents
Matthew says that when Herod realized the magi were not going to return, he ordered the slaughter of all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and the neighboring towns (Matt. 2:16-18). Although Mark and Luke do not mention the Slaughter of the Innocents, John alludes to it in the Apocalypse (Rev. 12:1-4), and thus becomes a witness to the verity of the Matthew’s record. The witness of Matthew and John is also corroborated by a pagan writer named Macrobius. Macrobius wrote an encyclopedic account of Roman culture entitled the Saturnalia, in which he records the legends and lore of the holidays marking the Roman calendar. In book two, Macrobius records some of the witty … [Read more...]
The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
“He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.” - Psalm 49:23 (LXX) Next year is the 400th anniversary of the celebrating Thanksgiving to God for the mercy, love, and bounties he pours out on us. The giving of thanks is the central act of Christian worship, and it is an integral feature of Old Testament worship, which are types of Christian worship. There are many instructions for sacrifice throughout the Pentateuch, but Leviticus chapters 1-7 is completely dedicated to the 5 Levitical offerings which were the main sacrifices used in the rituals. The 5 kinds of sacrifices described in such detail in Leviticus … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- …
- 25
- Next Page »