The lessons of Genesis, true and necessary as they were and remain, pertain to theological virtue, not to scientific history. If we read them as science, we find ourselves plunked down in the middle of ancient cosmology and stuck with their ancient view of the universe.
Author: Fr. Lawrence FARLEY
Knowing The Master’s Manger
All the more reason today to know our Master’s manger, and to recognize that all that we have comes from Him. Oxen and donkeys know who their true benefactors are, and we should be at least as smart as they are. Let us give thanks to God, and know that all that we have and ever will have comes from Him.
One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church: What Does the Word “Church” Mean?
In fact the church is not an institution, however many outward similarities to an institution it may possess. The term ‘ekklesia’ meant a gathering, an assembly. People assembled or gathered—that is, they left their homes to congregate in a particular place for a particular reason.
“Also Sprach Barbour-Evans”
The church must become a place of radical rejection of the current insanity, a place where unpopular truth is spoken often and plainly, a place where words do not mean whatever we choose. There is no time to lose. Soon enough the lies of the prophets of immoralism will also sound in every land throughout the West.
Jewish Evangelism: The Religion Of Israel As Preparatory, Not Final
We must admit that the Mosaic Law was not God’s final word to Israel, but rather but a step on the way to something truly final—a necessary step, but a mere step nonetheless. Mosaic Judaism and its Law were never intended as God’s final word to Israel. The Law was but a tutor to bring Israel to a better place.
Love, Peace, And Joy (III)
Some forms of Christian spirituality are built upon the false definition of joy as an emotion. For emotion can be induced, especially with music. Singing loudly and long can induce a kind of euphoria and a feeling of well-being, which is then equated with joy. In fact joy is not an emotion, and so can indeed be sustained.
Love, Peace, And Joy (II)
The world is crammed with chaos, with loud distractions, each one screaming like the loud wind on the sea to look away from Christ. But as long as we focus upon the Lord, we can have peace, even in the midst of the storm. The chaos of the world can lash our faces and soak us to skin, but it cannot sink us.
Love, Peace, And Joy
With its multiplicity of rules, canons, and liturgical stipulations, one might be forgiven for thinking that Orthodoxy is primarily about rules and regulations, coupled with a corresponding fear of breaking the rules and regulations. Orthodoxy therefore would then involve going through life fearful of infraction, mistake, misstep, and contamination from […]
Do Fish Know That They’re Wet?
Regardless of how we view the chances of returning the West to the Christian faith we at least must acknowledge that this world is not our true home. Our true home is the heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God, and at our baptism we took up citizenship in that Kingdom.
“Ain’t No Miracle Bein’ Born”
Scientifically each person was created by the work of mommy and daddy; theologically each person was created by the love of God. And this means that each person bears a tremendous weight of dignity and value, since each person is the handiwork of the Trinity, and (as someone once said) God does not make junk.
The Church and Political Causes
We live in a liberal democracy, where open political debate is allowed and encouraged. This includes the freedom to gather and protest peacefully. This is very good, and can help to build a healthy society. But building a better society is not the Church’s primary task, and never was, even in Byzantium.
Biblical Exegesis And Confessionalism
For some people, fidelity to the Fathers seems to mean effectively junking the idea of a scholarly reading the Scriptures in their original context. It also means participating in their spirit and reading with the same trembling respect that we bring to our exegesis.
Comments