Every Sunday when an Orthodox believer goes to the Divine Liturgy, he/she hears plenty of bells. In many Orthodox parishes, one can hear the ringing of multiple bells as the worship begins. Though this was not done in the Antiochian parishes in which I have been involved, it is done in the OCA parish to […]
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 […]
Vampires and power in the blood
Everything that moves, everything that is alive, is yours for food. Earlier I gave you the green plants, but now I give you everything for food. But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it, because blood gives life. — Genesis 9:3-4 I will be against any citizen of Israel or foreigner […]
On taxes and the Old Testament believer
So, what percentage of the income of an Old Testament believer was taken from his pocket in by way of direct taxes and how much by indirect taxes? Most Christians would answer 10%, since that is what has been preached from pulpits for several generations. But, is that actually the case? Well, this may surprise […]
That believing you may have life
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 […]
The Transfiguration
As we look at the Transfiguration, we often tend to look only at certain parts of the event. We see our Lord Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the Apostle of the Church, the High Priest of the New Covenant, and many other titles that he rightfully has. We see Moses, who stands […]
