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Is Theistic Evolution Orthodox?

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Everyday Theology or Speculative Theology? Eagle River Institute, I’m disappointed.  Your institute has produced consistent edifying lectures for the Orthodox Christian. Yet, you allow someone to present on Evolution as if this is the only sensible position for an Orthodox Christian.  It is not! The presentation is upsetting. Maybe you found the arguments edifying for the average Orthodox Christian, but please qualify it. This is a historical aberration and deserves to be contrasted in the light of the historic Christian position. This article stands as a counterpoint to the theistic evolutionary position held by Dr. Gayle Woloschak in her presentation at the Eagle River Institute in August. There are more episodes to come, and depending on their content, I may put together another response. First of all, I am not judging this person’s Christian faith and commitment to Christ and Orthodoxy.  I am not judging her piety or personal holiness. I am judging her ...
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Exposing My Poor Spirit

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Years ago, early in my Orthodox journey, I purchased Nicholas Cabasilas’  The Life in Christ .  I remember enjoying it and being helped by it, but the details escape me.  Recently, upon recommendation by a friend, I decided to pick it back up. Cabasilas spends the bulk of his work discussing the sacraments and how they allow us to unite with Christ, and toward the end, he talks about how we live in between those sacramental acts.  How do we retain and cultivate this life of Christ, this union we experience through the mysteries of the church, as we walk through our families, and jobs, and hobbies, and chores?  One answer he gives is contemplation, which for Cabasilas is a mirror of the Jesus Prayer, something slightly more active, whereby we consider and fill our minds with Christ so the image begins to radiate from our hearts toward our lips, our hands, and our feet. .... - See more at: http://www.soundingblog.com/index.php/orthodoxy-basics/expos...
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An Orthodox Approach to Youth Ministry

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An Orthodox Approach to Youth Ministry Earlier this summer, I was asked to speak to a group of youth workers in our diocese.  It’s been years since I have done any full-time paid youth work.  I turned 40 this year, and past the point where my kids think I am cool, so speaking about youth ministry is not a topic I am tagged with very often.  Yet, my wife and I direct our Church School program, and as my own boys enter the teen years, I have been especially burdened about the necessity for such a ministry in our churches at large.  ....read the rest here Theron Mathis
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Breaking News: Horses Causes Orthodox Calendar Controversy

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This Paschal season, there has been a calendar controversy that has been missed by most of the Orthodox world.  This is shocking because controversy loves to rear its head during Great Lent.  If you don’t know about it, you are forgiven.  It’s a local problem only affecting approximately 2000 Orthodox Christians, but it’s a problem nonetheless...  read the rest here photo credit: Eduardo Amorim via photopin cc Theron Mathis
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Two Powerful Songs You May Never Have Heard

It's been a while since I have done posts that are pure recommendations, so here goes. Yesterday, I learned that my book The Rest of the Bible had been quoted by one of my favorite online writers, Joel J Miller.  He was writing on the Two Songs of the Three Holy Youths in the Fiery Furnace , which is found only in the LXX Old Testament. If you don't currently read his work, you need to subscribe to Joel J. Miller's posts on Patheos.  I will give you the link in a minute. I have been following Joel for some time.  He's an Orthodox Christian who maintained his own blog, where he wrote great essays only too infrequently. Recently he was picked up Patheos, and online repository for religion writing.  Since then his posts have become more regular and consistently good.   Joel is the Vice President of Acquisitions and Editorial in the Non Fiction Trade Group at Thomas Nelson.  He is also the author of 5 books , and his recent Lifted by Angels has been...
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Do You Know the Christmas Carol, "God Will Come From Teman?"

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The carols of Christmas have begun as we prepare for the birth of Christ.  Joyous old hymns celebrating “The First Noel”, honoring a “Silent Night”, and hearing angels beckon “Come All You Faithful” pulse through speakers of our local marketplace.  Orthodox songs are absent in popular American life, so we may be less familiar with the words and meanings.  Leading up to the Nativity, several hymns repeat each service, bringing to us the theology of the Church and helping us understand the fullness of the Incarnation.  No service of the Christmas season is more full of wonder and theology than the Royal Hours preceding the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.  Hymns explaining the mystery of God becoming Man through the womb of a Virgin are scattered among litanies, Psalms, and Readings of Scripture.  Yet throughout this service a strange phrase is repeated:   click here for the rest Theron Mathis
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How To Survive Political Disappointment

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Wednesday, November 7, many Christians awoke to disappointing election results.  If not in the presidential race, then probably somewhere else---governor, senator, representative, school board, county coroner.  To appreciate the mood, here is a sampling of some of my favorite mournful and joyful Tweets:                            -  read the rest here.   Theron Mathis
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