On another blog a comment was made about a church sign that says, “The Bible shows us a picture of who we really are.” It said that the picture that is showed is one of marauding, murdering, racist, and xenophobic people. And, actually, there is some truth to that evaluation. Jonah is recorded as so disliking the […]
Lowering the drinking age
A website reports an interesting story on how college presidents believe that it is time to lower the drinking age to the voting age. Apparently, college drinking tends towards binge drinking precisely because it is forbidden. Actually, this is not that strange. St. Paul warned us a long time ago that if we forbid something, there is […]
Church planting
I was talking to an old friend of mine tonight. — Yes, an old friend, he is retired now and was best man at my wedding 30 years ago. — He happens to be a church growth statistic geek. When he was young, he was involved in a college campus ministry. After that, he spent […]
Frank Schaeffer and Russia
Recently, a well know Orthodox writer, Frank Schaeffer, wrote an opinion blog on the invasion of Georgia by Russia. It was answered by a rather strong column by another blogger (warning, strong language used). In the article, Frank Schaeffer says: “As Russia sees it, Bill Clinton turned the American Air Force into air support for an Islamic […]
Top urban legends
Have you received the email about . . . ? All of us get e-mails forwarded from our friends. Many of them contain some story or other that either has a deep meaning, or tell an incredible story, or give us the truth behind some event. Unfortunately many of them are wrong. And, they are […]
Martha & Mary – the Gospel of the Dormition
Sometimes the lectionary reading chosen for a particular feast can give us an unexpected insight into what our Church Fathers thought was important. The reading for today’s Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is one such reading. It was from Luke 10:38-42, the famous passage about Martha’s anger that Mary was listening to our […]
Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. hands
The title above is the title of a New York Times article published today. You can read it here. The gist of the article is simple. The immigrant in question was not an illegal immigrant. He came to the USA from China (not Taiwan, but China) on a tourist visa and applied for political asylum […]
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. . ., part 3
So, how does one apply the concept of oeconomia? As we used to say, that is where the rubber meets the road.” Among us, it is the bishops who ultimately apply the concept of oeconomia, sometimes acting alone and sometimes in concert. Even when a priest, deacon, or layperson applies the concept of oeconomia, he […]
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. . ., part 2
In order for oeconomia to work properly, there needs to be an understanding of what it is and what it is not. Oeconomia is not a simple relaxation of the rules, as though either a priest or a bishop were winking at you, patting you on the shoulder, and telling you that it is all […]
I desire mercy and not sacrifice . . ., part 1
And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!†But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, […]
