SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“We have been taught to ask the wrong questions. The thought process of modernity can be described as an abstraction that seeks to shape reality. The nous…(our capacity for knowing and perceiving God)…does not shape reality – it simply perceives it, and in so doing, even learns to perceive God. God is not an abstraction, though modernity has taught us to think that He is. For modernity, if there is a God at all, then He is the Supreme Abstraction. That fallacy draws our atten

“Questions about the problem of evil and God's commands are really asking about character of God. The real question is, "Can God be trusted?” (John Njoroge) “I am struck by the preponderance of unbelief in our day and time. Frequently, the “problem of evil” is cited as an overwhelming obstacle to belief. I think of this in particular when I consider that antiquity was dominated by far more suffering on a daily basis than our present age. Our lives would seem magical in their

“We have been taught to ask the wrong questions. The thought process of modernity can be described as an abstraction that seeks to shape reality. The nous…(our capacity for knowing and perceiving God)…does not shape reality – it simply perceives it, and in so doing, even learns to perceive God. God is not an abstraction, though modernity has taught us to think that He is. For modernity, if there is a God at all, then He is the Supreme Abstraction. That fallacy draws our atten

“An oft-neglected emphasis in the New Testament author’s explanation of Christ’s resurrection is justification in the sense of vindication (Rom 4:25). There is good evidence, however, that this was a major theme in apostolic preaching (e.g. Acts 2:36; 5:30-31). Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel’s God identifies with the powerless and the poor. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, He promises them not only healing and restoration but also justice. He promises that the day

“The treasure in one’s heart is the intention of the thought, from which the searcher of hearts judges the outcome. Hence it quite frequently occurs that some persons perform good deeds of lesser importance with a greater reward of heavenly grace. This is because of the intention in their hearts to accomplish greater good if they could. Others, though they display greater works of virtue, are allotted smaller rewards by the Lord on account of the indifference in their lukewar

“To spend time with someone who has learned well the battle of the heart is to sit at the gate of paradise. On some few occasions I have had opportunity to meet such warriors. The peace that is theirs, the complete lack of self-consciousness are signals that you have come to a new country. Such living witnesses are the loudest proclamation of the gospel known on earth. For in their heart, God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. These are the dwelling places of the New

“The Christian life is, properly, a life of spiritual asceticism in which we seek to shed that which is not truly ours. This is not always obvious (by any means). It is also not entirely private. The “mirror” of the soul is Christ Himself. Were we only looking within ourselves the journey would be nothing more than “anybody’s guess.” Instead, we become like Christ as we steadily gaze at Christ. He is the “measure” of the soul and the singular measure of what it is to be truly

“One meaning of the name God is “burning”…Thus, He is called a consuming fire (see also Heb 12:29), and He burns up sin and corruption in the repentant. He cleanses them with His purifying fire…He also gives them His water of life, which quenches their thirst that once burned with sins, but now yearns for Him and His kingdom…” (Orthodox Study Bible, Deuteronomy 4:24) “The Logos of God is at the same time both a lamp and a light (cf. Psalms 119:105; Proverbs 6:23). For He illu

“The list of heretics using their logical and rational minds goes on and on, with many still at work today. Simply using our rational and logical minds to understand a God that is far beyond our comprehension are the very things heresies are made of... and how they continue to exist today. If you sit through a presentation from certain heretical groups, they will continually ask you: “Doesn’t this make sense to you?” They learned long ago the best approach is to appeal to rat

““The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”(Psalm 14:1). This verse is not so much about principled atheists, but practical atheists, which we all are in those dark moments when we stubbornly follow our own will and passions and eclipse God from our decision-making. Liturgically we use this verse at the 9th Hour on Holy Friday, as Jesus hangs on the Cross surrounded by abusers and abandoned by almost all his friends. In those terrible hours when the disciples turned awa