Arimathea

The human animal is the worshipping animal. Toward the divine, we have a need to pray, to sacrifice, to offer up, and to praise. From the spirit dances of primitive animism to the rational contemplation of philosophical paganism, from the ethical code of the rabbis to the theological vision of the scholastics, from the sprinkled blood (the origin of blessing) of temple cults to helping the poor in simple Christian charity, men need to relate the immanent and the transcendent -- they see their particular lives in time and space transfigured and transfused with meaning unbounded by human things. Religion is this aspect of human life where the everyday and worldly intersects with the ultimate and divine. Is this an accident of human evolution, or is it a racial neurosis brought upon us as conscious beings who live in the shadow of our own death? Is it a reflection of the divine order, where creatures naturally orient themselves toward their source? Has God revealed himself to us, as the Christians claim? In this realm, I shall try to delve into such questions as an Orthodox Christian who ever pesters God with "Why?"

Wednesday, August 19, A.D. 2009

Transfiguration

Happy Feast of the Transfiguration to those on the old calendar! Happy birthday, as well, to my sister!

Troparion:

Thou wast transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our God, showing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they were able to sustain. Shine forth also upon us sinners, Thine everlasting light, by the prayers of the Mother of God. O Giver of light, glory to Thee.

Kontakion:

Thou wast transfigured upon the mountain, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory, O Christ our God, as far as they were able so to do: that when they saw Thee crucified, they might know that Thy suffering was voluntary, and might proclaim unto the world that Thou art truly the Brightness of the Father.

Posted by Joseph

on Wednesday, August 19, Anno Domini 2009
Orthodoxy • (0) Comments • Permalink

Friday, August 7, A.D. 2009

Thugs for Mo’

It is unfair though quite easy to select a group of morons and make them represent a larger group negatively. Obese, socialist pig Michael Moore has made a name and an endless pork rind fund for himself by employing such tactics. However, I do not believe that the following video of Arabfest in Dearborn, Michigan is guilty of such.

Western civilization’s experience with the Friends of Mo’ over the centuries would suggest that the video’s makers Nabeel Qureshi and David Wood were quite fortunate to have only had their cameras knocked around. At least, they still have their heads. For how much longer, though, will Mohammedans in America fear to revert to type under the rule of (liberal, Christian, Anglo-Saxon) law? Perhaps, it is a question of numbers . . .

So, why are they here?

Posted by Joseph

on Friday, August 7, Anno Domini 2009
Mohammedanism • (1) Comments • Permalink

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Glory to God for All Things

Making the Journey of Faith

Beauty and the Face of God
Everything is beautiful in a person when he turns toward God, and everything is ugly when it is turned away from God. Fr. Pavel Florensky +++ As I am preparing for next weekend’s interview on A Crisis of Beauty, I am digging back through my writings on the topic. In Orthodoxy, all truth is one and the same truth, simply … Continue reading →
A New Level of Conversation – the Crisis of Beauty
I am excited by the opportunity to have this conversation with Kevin Allen on Ancient Faith Radio. He does a masterful job of researching and guiding a conversation within the world of Orthodox thought. This is a topic that has been greatly on my heart and in my thoughts lately (no surprise to readers). “Tune in” on Sunday, May … Continue reading →
To Behold the Beauty of the Lord
By using the elements of this world, Art reveals to us a depth which is logically inexpressible. It is in fact impossible to “tell” poetry, to “decompose” a symphony, or to “tear apart” a painting. The beautiful is present in the harmony of all its elements and brings us face to face with a truth that cannot be demonstrated or … Continue reading →
The God Cocktail
In ’03 there was a small Indy film, Dopamine. The story involves a young computer programmer who is part of a small tech start up in the Bay Area developing an artificially-lived computer character. The cartoon-like bird, can “hear,” “see,” and “interact,” with the user. The tech company manages to place its prototype in a children’s classroom. The programmer develops … Continue reading →
Irony and Belief
Irony is probably too much to ask of youth. If I can remember myself in my college years, the most I could muster was sarcasm. Irony required more insight. There is a deep need for the appreciation of irony to sustain a Christian life. Our world is filled with contradiction. Hypocrisy is ever present even within our own heart. The … Continue reading →
Christ is Risen! Χριστός Ανέστη! Христос Воскресе! Hristos a înviat!
Pascha has begun (though still a few hours away here in the Eastern United States). But if you listen carefully, you can begin to hear the bells sounding from the East. Christ is risen! This delightful Youtube video is a favorite of mine. One of our readers and occasional commenter, Dejan, (without a doubt my favorite Serb) provided the English … Continue reading →
Today Is Suspended – The 15th Antiphon
At the Matins service of Holy Friday the following hymn is sung: Today is suspended on a tree He who suspended the earth upon the waters. The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan is … Continue reading →
The Mystery of Holy Week
For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1Co 15:16-19 NKJ) … Continue reading →
Double-Minded
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8 The debate between an ontological atonement and a forensic atonement will doubtless continue – they represent two very different world-views and understandings of our relationship with God. The details of that debate will likely be tedious for most people and seem like much ado about nothing. But since they … Continue reading →
Therapeutic Substitutionary Atonement
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Cor. 15:3-4) No statement is more central to the Christian faith than St. Paul’s rehearsal of the Apostolic Tradition … Continue reading →

Arimathea

Religion

Wednesday, August 19, A.D. 2009

Transfiguration

Friday, August 7, A.D. 2009

Thugs for Mo’

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