Bible/Scripture
“You can know life only through life itself. In other words, the practical application of the Scriptures builds up our relationship with God. We learn from the Bible about Christian life and find the basis for deep faith, because, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).” (Priest Anthony Rusakevich) “St. John of Damascus’s remark: Let us draw from the fountain of this garden [the Scriptures] perennial and purest waters springing into life
Passing Judgment
“…we often lightly pronounce sentence and form an idea about someone based upon… not even the knowledge of different facts of his biography, but much more often upon hearsay, conjecture, and our own opinions supported by nothing, yet influencing us so powerfully that we consider our opinions the sole and precise truth about one or another person. But this is not at all correct—not in 99 cases out of 100, but in all 100 cases. Therefore, if we speak about a negative, disagreea
Life and Death
“Why was the entire dispensation of history and work of Christ necessary? Could not God simply have saved humankind by fiat?...The solution God has provided is to heal our nature from the inside out. By joining His divine, eternal life to human flesh, Jesus Christ has overcome the power of death; hence mortality will be abandoned in the grave when the universal resurrection dawns. If this explanation is not sufficient for the inquirer, ‘Say something like this to reasonable p
Dangerous Pride
“…pride is stupidity. Why? Because how can we be proud when everything we have is not ours? How can I be proud of my appearance if God...
Bible/Scripture (Inspiration/Syngery)
“The Fathers understood the Bible to be unlike other texts in that there are always two authors working in synergy to produce each verse:...
Knowing God
“Every human being who comes into this world is unique, and all are given the opportunity to know God.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “We...
Seeing
“People always seem to be thinking too literally, and Jesus is always moving them from the literal to the spiritual level—to seeing...
Worship
“The heart of worship is the offering of praise and thanksgiving to the God who has given us life and sustains all things in their...
God's Nature/Our Nature
“It is very interesting that…it is only when God “empties himself” for the life of the world, that He actually takes on being. Before...
Logic
“We often attempt to manage God, defining Him by our own logic, creating Him to suit ourselves. In response to such attempts, God...