tour

On fathers and teenage daughters

Those of you who now have grown daughters may very well remember facing a moment similar to this sometime in their early teenage years. I say early teenage years because by the time they are in their late teenage years, they are normally horrified at the thought of asking their father anything that has to do with their bodily development. Now, you may not remember such a moment in your little girl’s... [Read more]

Self-denial is not for American Christians

As I have been posting on an appealing, engaging Gospel, and going into the subject of self-denial, there have been two other bloggers who have commented on these posts, but have ended up writing their own blog posts that deal with what I consider two other aspects of living the Christian life, and what it means to live out the Gospel. One of them is Pithless Thoughts. He posts a picture and a brief... [Read more]

service

Is self-denial really appealing?

I have heard so many Christians say that they desire to know God. The trouble, as I mentioned yesterday, is that we all too often want an easy way out. What we tend to want is something like a “touchy-feely” warm fuzzy (wow, a few more cliches and you will all ask me to stop it) that has little content and little committed responsibility on our part. But, what the Church Fathers, and the... [Read more]

An appealing, engaging Gospel

Have you ever heard someone say that they want to preach an appealing, engaging Gospel? I can remember that type of language being used many years ago. What was meant at that time was that people were reacting against what they saw as the sterile orthodoxy of the 1950′s. This type of thinking is actually not uncommon in various times in Church history. All the way from the Old Testament through... [Read more]

Follow up thoughts on it isn’t true just because someone told you so

One person who commented on my post, Something is not true simply because someone said so, wondered about the place of the Holy Spirit in my description of the Early Church Fathers: Would you not say that they relied on the Holy Spirit then, as He did His work in that era, but they did so in humility and through their everyday dealings and practices (“Scripture, prayer, reflection, fasting, consultation... [Read more]

Something is not true simply because someone said so

Sometimes one reads two totally unrelated posts and it sparks some thinking in one’s mind. This happened to me today. Above is the latest Pithless Thought cartoon. And from another totally unrelated blog and blog post comes the following commentary: The longer I have been a believer in and follower of Jesus, the less I have been attracted to “movements” (“fads?”) in the church. I realize... [Read more]

The Talmud on the raising of children

Due to a blog post on another site, I did some research on what the Talmud said on the raising of children. Why did I do that? Because too many people today will quote Scriptures like, “spare the rod and spoil the child,” and will insist that this means that the godly thing to do it to administer strong spankings as necessary. After all smacking someone with a birch rod hurts! I have no... [Read more]

blog

On the Orthodox in this country becoming “Greek”

The Episcopal Assembly of all Orthodox bishops in North America was held back in May. Both before and after the event, bloggers of various types have been busy condemning the event. The charges of Greek takeover are rampant. For instance, one blogger states: Underlying this article is the equation of the “Greek Orthodox Church” in Greece and the US with Phanar. Sorry but I have absolutely... [Read more]

information

When political philosophy causes a conflict

Everyone’s tendency is to oversimplify issues that are complex. The oversimplification allows us to make quick decisions. In fact, oversimplification is actually a good thing, according to many biologists. And, Father Orthoduck actually agrees with them. In the case of danger, it is a good thing that human beings are able to take a glance at a situation, generalize, reach a conclusion, and take... [Read more]

Failure is always an option

Yes, Father Orthoduck is a huge Mythbusters fan! There are several sayings that have come from that show that are favorites of Father Orthoduck: Failure is always an option. I reject your reality and substitute my own. Jamie wants big boom. Am I missing a eye brow? Well there’s your problem! If I had any dignity, that would have been humiliating. When in doubt C4. Here comes chaos! This... [Read more]