SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Daily Bread

“…man shall not live by bread alone. Humans have a spiritual nature that can be satisfied only by the spiritual nutrients of God’s word…man's primary food is the word of God, and obedience to that word.” (Foundation Study Bible, Deuteronomy 8:3, Orthodox Study Bible, Deuteronomy 8:3) “Give us this day our daily bread.”…Daily is a misleading translation of the Greek epiousios, which is literally “above the essence” or “super substantial”….In the Lord’s Prayer we are not merely

Giving Freely

“God’s love is freely given, conditioned neither by our worthiness nor by any claim we might make on the Lord…The love of God is an expression of divine faithfulness…as the Lord Jesus says to us, “freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8).” (Dynamis 6/27/2019) “An authentic Christian life requires that we be imitators of God in his bountiful love and compassion. Because He gives freely expecting nothing in return, He desires that we do the same. “The point is this,” wr

Instinct

“Human beings, by virtue of being created in the divine image, instinctively engage in mimesis, the imitation of their Creator. As sub-creators, they have all the material (physical and ideological) that the Creator Himself has placed within their reach.” (Edith M. Humphrey) “God gave humanity the instincts of a two-fold organization, blending the divine with the earthy, that by means of both he may be naturally and properly disposed to each enjoyment, enjoying God by means o

Michael Haldas participates on a Tolkien panel discussing J.R.R. Tolkien and Heaven

Beware

“...our actions affect more people than just ourselves. Beware of the temptation to rationalize your sins by saying they are too small or too personal to hurt anyone but you.” (Life Application Study Bible, Joshua 7:24-25) “We also must take care to never limit our understanding of “Church” to simply our own local setting. We are a part of God’s Church, the Body of Christ. This implies a universal understanding and vision. Thus, we all have a responsibility to the larger, glo

Frederica Mathewes-Green Interviews Michael Haldas on J.R.R. Tolkien

Discernment

“Although we are created for relationship with God, such intimacy is uncommon. Discernment is a lost capacity, for our lives are corrupted by sin and pride. Our noetic faculties are darkened and a direct encounter with God remains beyond our experience.” (Dynamis 6/24/2019) “Seeing reality for what it is is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard.” (Lewis B. Smedes) “We are never totally aware of how God is moving in our lives, how He is active in our e

Disillusionment

“It is indeed difficult that when a person comes to Church, and even decides to dedicate his life to it, he then encounters that which seems very out of place. He encounters human deficiencies, completely “worldly” interests, and people’s infirmities. It is very easy to be disillusioned, to be driven away. It is much better, however, to attempt to understand this correctly. People come into the Church to be saved; however, they do not become holy automatically. They bring alo

Sin and Being

“Sin is thus not primarily a willful breaking of another’s will. It is not a transgression of something external to us, enforced only through the threat of violence or force. It is a violation of the very constitution of our being and of the world around us…it is “disintegration.” … it as a movement towards non-being. Sin is substantial. It can be healed and washed, excised and destroyed. Sin is not a “legal” construct in the modern sense of legal nominalism.” (Father Stephen

Divine Nature

“The divine nature... surpasses every mental concept. For it is all together inaccessible to reasoning and conjecture, nor has there been found any human faculty capable of perceiving the incomprehensible; for we cannot devise a means of understanding inconceivable things. The way that leads to the knowledge of the divine essence is in accessible to thought. For He is invisible in nature, but becomes visible in His energies, for He may be contemplated in the things that I ref

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