Sword in the Fire

This past weekend my sons and I joined our Boy Scout troop on a trip to our local federal cemetery to install flags at the graves of all the veterans.  The ceremony surrounding our effort was short but sober honoring the sacrifice of the men and women who in many cases gave their lives for us.   It was an important event for my boys, if nothing else than to remind them that Memorial Day is not merely the unofficial start to summer and the occasion for outdoor grilling, but an important part of whom they are and will become.  It is a time of memory, a memory of those gone before whether they are military dead or departed family.  These people shaped our lives, and to forget is to cut off their person from our own lives.   Memory is a significant part of humanity and has the ability to change us as we participate in something bigger than ourselves.  Here are four ways memory impact our daily life. 1.  Memory is an essential compon...

Reality is communal.  The fabric of creation, the heart of everything, the meaning and purpose of life, the path to transformation, the very code of our DNA is communal. If you are a Christian, you believe this. God is communal.  He is three in one, eternally, never alone. Because we are God's image we can not escape this need for communion and the effect it has on our lives. Our molding as persons is linked with who we enter into communion with. I wonder why I behave the way I do, when I am in communion with those who behave the same. I wonder why I don't act like Christ, when I neglect communion with Him. What is communion?  How does it affect your daily life?

Stuff matters .  Why? It is part of our salvation, not meant to be sloughed off like an old snake skin, not a prison to escape, not a weight holding you to the earth.  It is a path to salvation and groans for redemption.  It was created by God and called good , provided as a conduit for man to commune with God.  God became stuff, and uses stuff to save:  mud to make blind see, handkerchiefs to heal, bones to resurrect, hems of garment to restore, water to wash away leprosy, bronze statues to deliver, rods of wood to bring water from rock, food to sustain, fiber to clothe. It is infused with the grace of God for our salvation.  What happens if stuff does not matter? We neglect and abuse our bodies.  We see others as objects to be used and thrown away.  The earth is exploited because one day it will burn with the rest of the stuff that doesn’t matter.  One purpose of man is the redemption of this fallen mess....

Can I think my way to heaven?  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  Yet this question sums up a popular approach to salvation.  This question represents a knowledge-based salvation.  The path of salvation is through the mind, and reason becomes the highest form of spiritual attainment.  Apologetics is king in this world.  Logical, reasoned arguments for God’s existence trump all else.  The fervent believer confronts science and philosophy and worldly wisdom with a point by point logical, scientific rational defense of God, the Resurrection, Creation, the Virgin Birth, the problem of evil, etc.  Ideas are consumed with consent and commitment, but nothing substantial happens to the believer, yet facts are provided providing a system to make good decisions and give an appearance of holiness.  Understanding’s competitor is Union.  This is salvation by communion, connection, dipping into the currents of grace so the residue of death i...

Have you ever taken a seemingly insignificant topic, idea, or person, and delved into that subject learning all the interactions and facets connected to it?   Several years ago a friend lent me the book Cod , which did exactly as described above.   The author took this ubiquitous fish and explored it in the history of Western peoples, and lo and behold, not only did you learn about this fish, but the whole of history began to open with connections and causes you never grasped in high school Western Civ.   Theology works in similar ways.   Taking a small tangential subject and exploring how others have wrestled with one issue opens up the way that person thinks about God, Christ, Sin, Salvation and the Church.   When all research is done and the topic is laid bare on the table, you end up with much more than you expected.   Adam Harwood did this with The Spiritual Condition of Infants: A Biblical-Historical Survey and Systematic Proposa...

Think back to the days when you were in school.  Now think of the number 211.  What was special about 211? Did something significant happen in that year?  Not really, but if you are curious Septimus Severus, the Roman emperor died as well as Serapion of Antioch a Patriarch of Antioch. It is a prime number, but that's not what makes it special. 211 is the degree immediately before water begins to boil.  If you could keep your pot of water at this temperature, it would be very hot, make a nice cup of tea or burn your hand, but it would not be boiling. It's funny how one degree can make such a big difference.  Raise that pot of water 1 degree and everything changes dramatically, steam is created, and power is released. 1 degree.  Just 1 degree, and nothing's the same. Adding a couple words to the Creed is not big deal.  Changing a phrase here or there, in a prayer or Scripture, is small.  Giving God a different title won't make that b...

I had a couple minutes to burn the other day, so I popped into a bookstore to browse.  Walking down the aisles, something excited the heart of this theology nerd.  The book was titled, God is Not One .  My brain began to work through the content's possibilities--perhaps it is a book on the Trinity, explaining its forgotteness in modern Christianity and its implications for faith and life in the Church.  Sounds exciting, hmm? I reached for it with the anticipation of illumination, hoping for shafts of light to pierce my mind unraveling any misconceptions I may hold, then piecing the threads back into a glorious tapestry of dogma.  The book was not what I expected, but I was not disappointed.  The subtitle read, "the eight rival religions that run the world--and why their differences matter." I was intrigued enough to skim further and found something refreshing.  The author asserts that not all religious paths lead to the same place.  Each ...

For those outside the Bluegrass, UK means University of Kentucky, not the United Kingdom. Being a red-blooded Cardinal (U of Louisville), it is difficult to type something so complimentary of Big Blue Nation. However, within the hallowed halls in Lexington there lies a philosophy professor that is upholding the banner of Orthodoxy. If you have not made yourself familiar with the writings and thoughts of Dr. David Bradshaw, you have missed out on one who speaks clearly and succinctly about the "faith once delivered to the saints". I have yet to meet the man, so I can not speak of his character, but those I respect speak highly of him. He most recently gave a lecture at the Chrysostom 1600 Anniversary lectures that I heard was fabulous. He spoke about Chrysostom's views on grace and free will. Hopefully Ancient Faith Radio was there to record and publish the lectures. He has written a book on Aristotle that seems to be a must read for religion and philosophy geeks: Aristot...

If you have not found Fr. Stephen Freeman's blog yet, then you are missing out on one of the most edifying blogs. Yesterday, he posted an excellent article on "getting saved". Here's a link to the article and don't forget to added it to your favorites: "Getting Saved in the Church"

I know it's a strange title. If you read the previous post on theosis, then you know that the only resources are the tools the God has provided through the Church. However, if you are new to Orthodoxy many of the concepts are different than in other forms of Western Christianity. Many forms of Western Christianity view God in a legal sense. He is a divine judge that has been offended and whose wrath needs to be assuaged through some type of punishment. The Church becomes a court room. Yet in Orthodoxy, the metaphors are more medical than legal. The Church is a hospital through which a loving God heals the cancer of our sins so that we might share in His life. Grace is not an object that provides or an attitude, but His very life that He bestows. Yes, I know that these are generalizations, but it can be useful to understanding the differences. Here are some print & audio resources that I have found helpful: Clark Carlton, The Truth Clark Carlton, The Life Conciliar Pres...

Theosis is an essential concept in understanding salvation in the Orthodox Church. Sometimes Orthodox literature will refer to theosis as divinization or deification. It simply means to become like God. This concept is explicitly expressed in the Biblical passage of 2 Peter 1:4. This passage illumines and summarizes theosis as the process whereby man may become partakers of the divine nature. Much has been said by the Fathers in regards to this passage and the doctrine of theosis . This essay will discuss the definition of theosis ; in what sense does man become a partaker of “the divine nature”; how the concept of synergia is a part of theosis ; and the implications of theosis not only upon man but all creation. A discussion of salvation history will be necessary to fully understand the theological concepts as well. The goal of the Christian is to become like God. Man was created for this purpose. In Gen. 1:26, “God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Ou...