Our Faith : Religions
Church, or churches?
Many years ago, well over a decade and a half, I was wrestling with the fact of the many denominations that are found in our country, and now around the world. At that point, I (erroneously) tried to reason that God reached some through this group, others through that group, etc., etc. This thinking is pretty easy, for one justifies all kinds of things.


Nov 12, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Can Orthodoxy Speak to Eastern Religious Seekers?
I recently had a conversation with an Eastern Orthodox priest, whose twenty-six year old son recently left home for an indefinite stay at a Buddhist monastery. The priest was heart broken. His son was not a stranger to Eastern Orthodoxy or to its monastic tradition either, having spent time at several Orthodox monasteries, and even two months on the holy mountain of Mt. Athos.
Jul 26, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
A Message for Lutherans out on a Limb
Once biblical interpretation is divorced from the context of the Church's collective, historical mind, all that remain are convenient opinions. The issue doesn't have to be homosexuality. It needn't concern morality at all. The health, wealth and prosperity Gospel is among the most unbiblical heresies around. You can substitute premarital sex or cohabitation, abortion or euthanasia. We are coming to a day when even polygamy among consenting adults will be accepted and affirmed on the basis of a utilitarian version of love.


May 15, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Who's In, Who's Out?
One of the big questions we face as Greek-Americans and Christians is, how do we live with religious differences, especially in a time when many religions are growing around the world and are often intensely tribal and divisive? Faith traditions can be fiercely particular. Often the more committed you are to a religion, the harder it is to compromise. Is there room in God’s heart, and in our hearts, for people of other faiths?


Jan 11, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Acceptance into the Orthodox Church
I have been asked: "How do we accept individuals into the Orthodox Faith?" Should we "rebaptize?" Must everyone be "chrismated?" Is it enough "only to hear their confession?" Traditionally the Orthodox Church has three means of accepting someone into Orthodoxy: 1) Baptism, 2) Chrismation, and, 3) Confession. Naturally, in all cases, also Communion.


Sep 11, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
What do we mean by 'True Christian'?
When we consider the beliefs of the Protestants, they ALL fall short of the Orthodox faith; they are ALL deformations of the faith and therefore spiritually dangerous. But this says nothing at all about the way any person lives. Many live better lives than us without the benefits we receive from God in the Orthodox Church. However, what is taught to them is error. There is no minimum requirement that makes us Christians - that is itself a Protestant error.
Sep 7, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Not for Lightweights
Last Sunday was the 4th of 13 in my sabbatical time. Each of them is precious to me. Each week I am choosing a place and a way to worship. I’m not a church tourist, hoping to see new things. I’m seeking spiritual experiences. I want to worship. Saturday night Jeanene and I still hadn’t decided where to go. I experienced something common to our culture but new to me. The “Where do you want to go to church - I don’t know where do YOU want to go to church” conversation. I found the Saint Anthony the Great website. It's an Orthodox church that has beautiful Byzantine art in the sanctuary. We decided to go there.

Jul 9, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Yoga and the Christian Faith
When I started work on this essay, I decided to test out Déchanet’s recommendations, and practiced some basic yoga postures during my morning prayers; and I found that with some conscious effort and concentration it was possible to synchronize my petitions, praise and thanks with the postures. It certainly curbed the level of anxiety, and I could tell myself that I was able to “consider the lilies of the field”, as our Lord commanded us to do, a little better than I normally do. However, there was one thing that troubled me somewhat in combining yoga with prayers.

Feb 10, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
What's in the Stars? A Close Look at Astrology
Millions of people apparently not only consult their horoscope daily, but base their day's activities on what the stars supposedly tell them to do. They eagerly test all the events of a day and deceive themselves into believing that things turned out just the way the horoscope said. Many claim it is only an innocent pastime, and others see nothing in it contradictory to religion.

Feb 2, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Buddhism and Eastern Asceticism Compared to Orthodox Christian Asceticism
The fundamental difference between Christianity and other beliefs and practices lies in the fact that the Jesus Prayer is based on the revelation of the One true living and personal God as Holy Trinity No other path admits any possibility of a living relationship between God and the person who prays.

Jan 23, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
Women Saints Who Suffered under Islam
If we have not found ourselves in a Moslem environment due to increased migration and conversion to Islam, many of us have Moslem neighbours. Like all people, these neighbours are different but as a rule they don’t hide their faith or their conviction in its superiority but often make attempts to acquaint people with it.
Oct 4, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
The Monotheistic Religions; Do We Have the Same God That Non-Christians Have?
These three religions lay claim, in fact, to a common origin: as worshippers of the God of Abraham. Thus it is a very widespread opinion that since we all lay claim to the posterity of Abraham (the Jews and Moslems according to the flesh and Christians spiritually), we all have as God the God of Abraham and all three of us worship (each in his own way, naturally) the same God!
Oct 1, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Religions
A (too) Brief Orthodox Approach to Islam
"God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us, blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!" This beautiful hymn, sung at the Orthodox matins service (and a conglomeration of different Psalms) is a significant, if not the most important, starting point for our conversations about God. When we enter a theological discussion, we do not begin with a generic belief that there is "a" God-some nameless higher power, and move from there to God's plan of salvation ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Sep 9, 2008, 17:47