One of the most vivid memories of my childhood was a punishment I received for making a mess in the basement of our house when I was just a boy. But this is what made it so memorable. The truth is I was always a kid who took the rules seriously. Of course, this didn't…
I don't believe in "fairness." Really! I really don't believe in it at all. Oh, I get the concept, don't get me wrong, but I simply don't believe humans are capable of it. At least not yet, anyway.
Frankly, I'm convinced the Evil One uses our innate knowing that fairness SHOULD exist AND our inability…
When I was a teenager, the older generation was very upset about our modern music! And the movies that Hollywood was producing that we loved, they were sure was ruining our lives and causing us to be violent or promiscuous or rebellious? Sound familiar?
So, the question is does music and movies and video games cause…
Why does the Bible say that God is angry? Especially when you read me write that we can't make God angry. And even more, if we can change God's mood, we claim to have power over God. And that idea, dear friends, is ludicrous on its face!
So, what does the Bible mean when we read…
Let’s face it, we had it great in Paradise! It was the perfect place to get to know God and each other. It was set up specifically for that purpose. But, alas, we had to leave that paradise because of the mortal danger of eating from the Tree of Life unprepared and enslaved to our…
The Holy Scriptures have some basic meta-narratives that are consistent throughout the scriptures. One of these meta narratives is faithfulness vs. unfaithfulness.
From Eden through the Nation of Israel and the Prophets and the kings right up to the Battle of Armageddon, those who are faithful to God and those who are unfaithful have very different…
"Vain repetition, that's all it is!" My friend was absolutely horrified by my shift from my Pentecostal roots to the Greek Orthodox Church. He came to a service where I was presiding as priest and he simply shook his head in disbelief. "How could you do this?" he wondered to me afterwards. All the ritual…
Our Orthodox Christian calendar revolves around Pascha, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, it isn't just our calendar, but our entire theology revolves around the Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus Christ conquering mortality is the public proclamation of our Christian Faith.
So, how do we celebrate the Resurrection? Well, first we prepare to…
So much conflict today is based on nothing more than finding out that someone agrees with someone else you disagree with! The friend of my enemy is my enemy. But what if all the conflicts in the world could be solved by admitting that the Source of all conflict FIRST starts within each of us?…
"It's in your tone." My tone, what does that mean? We were discussing some heavy issue and the conversation had, indeed, turned toward the heart of the matter. I guess my voice and facial expression began to match the seriousness of my words, and she noticed it right away. That's when the "tone" comment surfaced.…
