Magnalia Dei - The Mighty Acts of God

Really...

2012-02-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update last night saw the humorous "Really!?!" bit take on the topic of Contraception and Abortion.

In the bit, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers poke fun at the belief held by many Christians that human life begins at conception, stating that "What's next? Life begins at last call?" or "Life begins when you click 'send' on your Match.com profile?"

I accept that within a pluralistic society there will be differing views on matters pertaining to human life and liberty. And it may be that Christians should channel their energy into areas other than changing laws while so many people are philosophically at another pole. What Christians should do is continue to challenge society to explore the logical basis for differing attributions of human life, liberty, and dignity.

In this current case, it should be pointed out that the above "joke" rather facilely asserts that human life beginning at conception is ridiculous precisely because temporal points prior to conception would be even more ridiculous. The logic of this "joke" could be reapplied to any point of post- or pre-gestation. "You think human life begins at age three? What's next? Life begins at birth?"

Each one of us must ultimately have a position on when human life does finally begin. You can mock my belief that conception is the only philosophically tenable point to impart human rights, but if you disagree you must then tell me a specific point before, during, or after birth when you believe that it is officially wrong to terminate a human organism.

Nota bene, I use the term "human organism" to refer to each and every creature of the species Homo Sapiens, in every moment of its life cycle. Embryologists specializing in amphibians will inform you that a fertilized frog egg, racing to emerge as a tadpole, is a new life form, with a genetic code distinct from both of its parents. The same is true of every human organism, from the moment of conception, whether you want to grant that human organism all human rights or not.

Any biologist not trying to play politics will admit that every unhatched bald eagle in the egg is already a living organism with its own distinct genetic code. And that places us face to face with the question--when is it wrong to take the life of a bald eagle? Is it more wrong to kill a ten year old eagle than it is to smash one--in ovo--against the ground? Should it even be illegal to destroy bald eagle eggs? I mean, they aren't really eagles, are they?

And so, anyone who wants to mock my medieval view that humans are humans no matter how small, must also reciprocate, in all decency, with a thoughtful counter argument, telling me not just that I'm wrong to impute human rights so far up the gestational cycle, but informing me of a superior point on which to fix human dignity.

All but the lamest will reject the notion that natural vaginal birth can serve as this philosophical point. In any healthy situation, it would be possible to perform a Caesarian Section one day before what would have been a natural birth and the organism we take out of the uterus will grow quite unabated. So those who would mock the notion of conception as the beginning of human life will end up asserting that human life begins at some point prior to natural birth but certainly after whatever point someone might want to perform an abortion.

And so I do put the ball back in your court. Jokes aside, unless you believe killing a three year old is acceptable, tell me the specific point--and why--killing a three, two, one, less-than-one-year old is wrong. I have a view wherein no point from age three toward conception logically presents itself as an obvious point to attribute personhood. And therefore I grant all human organisms, of any gestational stage, human dignity. Christians in the public square will be the butt of jokes. But we also deserve to hear a thoughtful counterargument.

The Pharisee and the Publican: A Tale of Two Prayers

2012-02-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

Today's Gospel Reading, as we now come upon our preparation for Lent, is the story of the Pharisee and the Publican (Tax Collector), Luke 18:9-14.

We are told that the two men went up to the Temple "to pray."

Now, prayer is ultimately any communication Man directs toward God.

But basically, true prayers boil down to one of two things. There are prayers where we thank or praise God and there are also prayers where we ask God for things.

1) Prayers of Thanksgiving and Praise. I can say, "I thank you, Lord, for all your goodness to me." And I have just prayed. I can say, "I praise you, God, that I am wonderfully made." And I have prayed.

And this is exactly what the Pharisee did. He prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not like these other men--extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector."

I'm going to suggest that, despite how this prayer might sound arrogant, it's not really all that terrible a thing to pray. It is a sad and unfortunate fact that those raised in poverty or other disadvantage do tend toward crimes, sins, and vices more so than others. That is not to excuse crime, sin, or vice, but it certainly means I can reasonably thank God for the blessings of the stable and loving environment in which I was nurtured as a child. That's all the Pharisee was really doing. It's the same thought expressed in the famous quote by John Bradford, when seeing a group of prisoners led to execution, "There but for the grace of God go I."

He closes his prayer with the news that he fasts twice a week and tithes. These are good things. The Orthodox Church commends fasting twice a week to us. And every Church would love their people to donate more. Two percent would be fantastic. Tithing would be a dream.

2) Now we come to the Publican. He offers a prayer of the second type. He asks God for something. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."

And then we immediately learn that only the Publican went home justified. And by justified, it means forgiven, brought into correct relationship with God.

What exactly did the Pharisee do wrong? I'm suggesting that his prayer was not really wrong at all. But when he told God about his fasting and tithing, he wasn't praying. Fine as they are, God already knew those things.

So why did the Pharisee not receive forgiveness?

For the simple fact that he never asked for it.

This week, the Church forbids us to fast, lest we imitate the Pharisee. And let us more importantly imitate the Publican and be ever ready to repent of our sins and ask God for mercy, trusting in his faithfulness to forgive.

The Sounding - Orthodox Blog

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

The Sounding, a blog on a variety of topics, hosted on the website of the Orthodox Christian Network, has officially relaunched with a number of new contributors.

One of the new contributors is...me!

And I'm humbled to be one of the featured writers on the inaugural roll out day (February 1).

Please view a video about the relaunch here:

The Sounding Relaunch from Orthodox Christian Network on Vimeo.

Visit the site and read my essay about my travels in the Holy Land this last summer.

Visit and "Like" the Facebook page for the Sounding.

Finally, visit the website of Melinda Johnson, who is coordinating the launch and who has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of Orthodox writers and artists.

Zacchaeus Sunday Reflections

2012-01-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

This morning we heard the account of a man who:

1) Made restitution for his many sins,
2) Received forgiveness,
3) Was given the honor of hosting Jesus in his home, and
4) Saw the very face of his Lord and Savior.

But the thing is, in Luke 19:1-10 those things happen in reverse order! And the progression was a surprise every step of the way.

When Zacchaeus climbed that sycamore, he did not imagine that he would later offer half his belongings to the poor and offer restitution to anyone he had wronged. When he climbed that tree, he did not do so expecting that it would result in Jesus dining in his home. He did so simply to see Jesus. And he hadn't really planned any further than that.

We hear people say that we need to invite God into our hearts. That's all fine and good, but Jesus in this story doesn't wait for an invitation. He invites himself! And that shows us the spiritual dimension of this tale. No matter how meager our attempt to draw near to God, he will respond in surprising ways to invite himself deeper into our lives than we could have imagined.

When Jesus invites himself to the house of Zacchaeus, he has, in fact, forgiven him already. And that's what causes the scandal to the others. But Zacchaeus responds to this offer of new life by going well beyond the requirements of the Mosaic Law and gives away half his belongings and offers to make four-fold restitution to anyone he has wronged. And again, that's how it is with God. We are forgiven first and our penitential response is to joyfully make amends. We don't deserve forgiveness in the first place. All we can do is respond in gratitude, as Zacchaeus shows us.

Here is the original tree Zacchaeus climbed in Jericho, which we visited this summer. Out of its roots have grown other nearby trees which still live today.

Where to Take an Old Believer Priest Out to Lunch after Theophany?

2012-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

That's not exactly a question one asks themselves every day. I mean, for starters, you can only ask it once a year (well, twice, kind of). And maybe you know about Old Believers, but do you actually even know an Old Believer Priest?

So we're talking about a Perfect Storm of coincidences before one could be in that situation. And when I woke up this morning, I had no idea that I would be face-to-face with the quandary in just a few hours.

Okay, here's how the pieces begin to fall together. I was chrismated Orthodox at an OCA parish in Columbia, MD in 2003. I knew intellectually about the use of the unrevised and astronomically lagging Julian Calendar by various Slavic Orthodox. But, de gustibus...

But after I met my wife, I became a member of the parish nearest to where she lived, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow. Now, my wife is Romanian, a Revised Julian Calendar country. But it's a charming parish, and the pastor is a dear man with a heart of gold.

We attend New Calendar observances, mainly Christmas at a nearby OCA parish. But I tend to observe other feasts with the Russians.

I took a day off work today, mainly because I needed a mental health day. But since it is also Theophany on the Old Calendar, I attended Liturgy this morning.

Now, as a curious point of ecclesiastical history, some Old Believers joined ROCOR in the 1980's, when ROCOR was not in union with anyone else but Serbia. Attending our parish even before the reunion was the wife of one of these Old Believer priests who joined ROCOR. Her husband was always off serving parishes in New York, but her home was near us. It was a beautiful moment to see her finally go to communion after the reunion took place. And a while after that her husband, in his eighties, retired from active parish ministry and began coming and serving alongside our Pastor at Liturgy.

He's a very short man, maybe 5' 5", thin as a rail, bald on his head, but a long white beard and mustache.

And so, Matushka had to leave early for a doctor's appointment and asked me if I could take her husband home after Liturgy. I mean, what can you say to that? Of course, I will Matushka. I knew it would be a quiet ride home because Father Ilie speaks very little English.

I usually go through Liturgy in a sort of timeless fugue. The words wash over me as I sing them and I feel myself joined to the Cloud of Witnesses of two millennia that have also prayed those prayers. Only when Liturgy was done did I remember that a part of my mental health day was also going to be a Paleo Cheat Day at McDonalds.

And I now had a problem. The place I was going to eat was more or less on my home. But if I took Father Ilie home first, it's quite a ways back again to that restaurant. And then I realized, the real solution is to invite him to join me.

In fact, after Liturgy, he was about to eat quite a few cookies with his cup of coffee and I asked him if he would like us to stop for something to eat on our way home. He must understand English reasonably well, because he readily agreed, grabbed his coat, and off we went.

As we drove, he began to sing the Troparion for Theophany in Old Church Slavonic. And it just suddenly seemed wrong to take him to McDonalds. I mean, this is a big Feast of the Church. And this man has served God's Holy Orthodox Church with his entire life. He deserves something a step up from fast food.

But now we've really opened the controversy. Where to Take an Old Believer Priest Out to Lunch after Theophany? I also kind of wanted to get a few things done today. So I didn't really want to go to a sit down restaurant where we might end up spending as much as an hour or longer. So I was weighing various options. Chili's? Longhorn? A diner?

We were going in the direction of a number of restaurants when Father Ilie solved the problem for me. He said, Chinese Restaurant, there, I, Matushka been couple times.

Would you like to go there, Father?

Good!

I hadn't even thought of taking him there. It never occurred to me that a ninety year old Russian priest might like General Tso's Chicken.

And so we arrive and we walk in. And then, picture this scene, Father Ilie, wearing a black cassock, a silver pectoral cross, a vest coat that looks like it's straight from a film adaptation of War and Peace, he walks into the lobby of the Chinese Restaurant, and he suddenly produces a plastic bottle full of the water just blessed at the Liturgy, he takes the cap off and he starts spraying the water all around, singing the Troparion of the Day, in Slavonic, of course.

The hostess, who has likely never seen such a thing, is looking at him dumbfounded. He puts the bottle away and says, "I bless restaurant."

That you do, Father Ilie. That you do.

Author Lynette Smith

2012-01-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

The latest Orthodox writer in Melinda Johnson's Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists Series is Lynette Smith, who turned a very long journey of Christian faith and just as long a time as an aspiring writer, into a recent and exciting published book.

Voyage: A Quest for God Within Orthodox Christian Tradition is a theological memoir of a journey--a struggle to "share complete and unreserved communion with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

Any writer who has "the bug" knows the agony of opening the rejection letter (I'm old enough to have done this all hard copy, with paper wounds coming in envelopes).

Lynette Smith tells the story in her post of coping with the depression that can set in and keeping life with God in perspective. Blessings to you, as you continue the Voyage and share your writing with a world hungry for ultimate Truth.

Kh. Krista West

2011-12-28T12:07:00.000-08:00

The latest Orthodox artist featured in Melinda Johnson's Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists series is Khouria Krista West, an ecclesiastical tailor.

I've been delighted at how Melinda finds such different examples of how art in the broadest sense is cultivated by Orthodox Christians. Ecclesiastical vestments are certainly beautiful, but I had never thought of them as an art form until I read Kh. West's essay detailing how she views this craft as carrying on a centuries old tradition analogous to iconography. She describes the lineage of people who have toiled in this area as a Community of Joy as they strive to create beauty from within the appropriate restrictions of the traditional forms.

And it is certainly true that anything that beautifies the house of God is a part of that larger sense of the Church, in all her images, music, and literature, as an art form.

Kh. West has a website, Krista West Vestments, where she offers vestments such as the gorgeous one to the right. She also has a podcast called "The Opinioned Tailor."

God bless Kh. West for her ministry to the Church through her unique talents in this often overlooked artform.

The Nativity and the History of Science

2011-12-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

We are members of a Moscow Patriarchal (Unrevised Julian Calendar) Church. But I was chrismated at an OCA parish, and subsequently met my wife, a Romanian. So we do sneak off to celebrate Revised Julian Calendar Christmas.

I was struck this morning that the Nativity Troparion implies knowledge that the sun is a star:

Your Nativity, O Christ our God,

Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!

For by it, those who worshiped the stars,

Were taught by a Star to adore You,

The Sun of Righteousness,

And to know You, the Orient from on High.

O Lord, glory to You!

Having an undisciplined mind and a wandering spirit, I unfortunately spent a good deal of the next hour thinking about matters of the history of science. I wondered exactly when some person first proposed the concept that our sun is a star and, by implication, that stars are themselves suns with their own planets, etc.

It doesn't seem that such a belief is self-evident. After all, to a casual observer, stars and our sun behave quite differently. Our sun is big and bright and out only during the day and seems at least to travel around our planet. Stars are out at night and they're tiny and not bright enough to light up the night sky worth a damn. I mean, take the moon out of the equation and the night is dark!

So even though we now know that it's the Earth that revolves and that our sun is just a star really close to us, we shouldn't think the ancients to have been idiots for not automatically knowing these things.

But that brings us to the question, when was this idea first proposed? I was able to rally and turn my mind to matters spiritual in nature after I resolved to research the issue once I got home.

Now, the Nativity Troparion could have been in its present form as early as the 6th or 7th century AD. But it turns out that the idea of our sun as a close-up star was proposed long before that by the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (ca. 500 BC - 400 BC). The idea was also included in the first known assertion of a heliocentric solar system, by Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (310 BC - 230 BC).

Interestingly, despite the fact that our sun as a star is implied by the Nativity Troparion, the idea was condemned by Ecclesiastical Authorities, and was listed alongside some actual heresies for which Giordano Bruno, a 16th century AD friar and astronomer, was burned at the stake. (The man apparently actually espoused pantheism, making it unlikely that his cosmological views would have been sufficient to lead to his execution.)

It is important to remember that not just the Roman Church condemned Bruno and Copernicus. Martin Luther also condemned the heliocentric view as anti-biblical.

At any rate, today we imitate those Wise Men from of old who followed a star to another star, this one very close up, the Sun of Righteousness. And if God's love ever seemed as distant and cold as a star, now in the Incarnate Christ it is as close and warm as the Sun.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

A Visit to Bethlehem

2011-12-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

In this video I show the highlights of our trip to Bethlehem this Summer. Merry Christmas, everyone! Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

R. Leo Olson

2011-12-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

You must read the laugh-out-loud reflection on being an Orthodox writer by R. Leo Olson in Melinda Johnson's ongoing Orthodox Readers, Writers, and Artists series.

He describes the nitty-gritty facts of working hard, interspersed with hilarious admissions such as daydreaming in Church and, gasp, eating meat on Wednesdays (I type this while sipping red wine, not really terribly concerned with whether the Advent fast strictly forbids this. *sigh* I'm trying my best, okay?).

I'm looking forward to reading his book, Sojourning with Angels: the Rise of Zazriel, just based on his description of it in the post.

Heaven Help the Single Christian

2011-12-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

That's the title of Thomas Ruthford's book, published by Regina Orthodox Press. It's a humorous "How-To" exploring the precarious perils of young people trying to find godly mates.

In Melinda Johnson's ongoing Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists series, Mr. Ruthford pens an insightful reflection on his life as a convert to the Orthodox faith and the task of figuring out how to successfully market a book.

His honesty in admitting to how frustrating it is to "break out of obscurity" is so refreshing. I'm trying to figure that out myself, Mr. Ruthford. You are in my prayers. And please pray for me.

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel!

2011-12-06T16:20:00.001-08:00

I've created a new version of the beautiful Western Advent hymn, Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."

This hymn was based on the "O Antiphons," which are sung liturgically in anticipation of Christmas. The traditional order of the verses, however, reverses the dramatic culmination just before Christmas of the verse "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." I've reordered the song to make this the climactic and dramatic point it was intended to be.

Kristina Wenger: Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists Series

2011-12-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

The latest in Melinda Johnson's series is a professional story-teller turned photographer, specializing in nature imagery. An amazing back story, as a child with missionary parents in Guatemala, and a recent conversion with her whole family to Orthodoxy.

Kristina Wenger also is merging all these gifts with a line of greeting cards, including a set focused on Guatemala.

Please read her thoughtful reflection on being an Orthodox writer and artist.

God bless her continued ministry to our Church.

Jane G. Meyer: Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists Series

2011-11-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

Writer and editor Jane G. Meyer is featured in Melinda Johnson's ongoing series highlighting and networking creative people of many ilks from within the Orthodox World.

You must read Jane Meyer's thoughtful essay. She reflects on a life of laboring to create, but knowing that ultimately unity with Christ is the only thing worth achieving.

She's written a number of books worth checking out, such as:

To learn more about her, visit her website, as well as her blog on bread making.

The Uncreated Light of God

2011-11-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

Orthodox believers are familiar with a movement in the last millennium in which Eastern monks claimed, after focused prayer, to be blessed with a vision of the "Uncreated Light of God" or the "Tabor Light."

St. Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) was the chief defender of this movement, which flowed from the monastic tradition known as Hesychasm, in which monks practiced rigorous inner reflection.

Now, far be it from me to state as fact that no one ever really did see the Uncreated Light of God. That said, I suggest that some of the monks may indeed have believed they were seeing something marvelous.

But what some of them were seeing was, perhaps, the natural phenomenon of the Migraine Headache Aura.

It can occur under stress. And the life of a monastic, not to mention the life of a monastic laboring under the desire to see the Uncreated Life of God, could have triggered the natural phenomenon from time to time of this vision.

I experienced it myself, at Church, a few year ago. It started as a spot in my vision which was a gray dead zone. As I puzzled over it, I saw the image spread and then around it I saw the classic zig-zag pattern of light around it. I thought at first I was having a stroke or something. But since I felt otherwise normal and I had no numbness anywhere, I watched as the zig-zag light pattern in my vision slowly widened, until it finally faded away into the periphery.

Here's a video that illustrates what it looks like This accurately depicts what I experienced:

When I got home, I googled "saw zig zag light" and I immediately learned, to my relief, that it was a known phenomenon. And I was under a lot of stress in those days, a new starting out teacher, writing a book for Wiley Publishing and under deadlines, also teaching two nights a week at a Community College.

What intrigues me about the possibility that the so-called "Uncreated Light of God" was connected to the Migraine Aura is that iconography of the Transfiguration, possibly informed by monks who reported seeing the "Tabor Light," matches the zig-zag phenomenon I saw.

Again, I'm not claiming that the fruits of Hesychasm were not true. But it is not unfaithful to reexamine the past in light of new information. Maybe some of these monks did in joy see something that was not so supernatural after all.

Sheena Hisiro: An Orthodox Illustrator

2011-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

The latest creative mind featured in Melinda Johnson's series "Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists" is illustrator Sheena Hisiro.

She's the illustrator of a number of children's books, such as Bullying is Bad and the about to be released Marvette Made Fun of Me.

She also produces impressively expressive caricatures and features her art at Quirky Cards (a greeting card site to check out).

May God bless Sheena in her efforts to make art that beautifies our world and praises God's name.

Journaling Throughout the Liturgical Year

2011-10-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

The latest installment in Melinda Johnson's Orthodox Writers, Readers, and Artists series comes from Barbara Shukin. Barbara is a writer and artist who has produced a range of products for studying history and the liturgical year.

The format she invented is a brilliant merging of content and student response. The learner fills in portions of the product which reinforces learning and also leaves the student with a study guide and also a cherished memento of their exploration of the topic.

Most important to readers of this blog would be Journaling Throughout the Liturgical Year. This is wonderful thing to put in the hands of a young person to help them focus on the liturgy and occupy their young energy in that time.

For studying history, she has a range of materials, called her History Portfolio Series. While this is aimed at a homeschooling market, they would also be valuable ancillary materials for any young learner.

Eliminative Materialism

2011-10-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

My favorite living Philosophical/Theological writer, David Justice, has just served another meaty and thoughtful essay.

Eliminative Materialism

What's fascinating about Dr. Justice is that, in addition to penning some of the most cutting edge writing on the side of the Angels that you'll find out there, he's also the author of detective fiction that has been published in magazines like Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock. Check him out, you'll not be disappointed.

Art, Transcendence, and Orthodoxy

2011-09-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Melinda Johnson's Orthodox Writers and Readers Series has again brought to our attention a beautiful and thought provoking reflection on art, this time broadly defined, and the Christian experience.

We meet the delightful and, just judging from his picture, exuberant Jonathan Kotinek, an educator, writer, and artist. He reflects on how art and beauty can be gateways to a transcendent experience of God. And he offers such excellent gems as:

The Eucharist is: "the soul-quickening, evil-vanquishing, illuminating, healing, sanctifying entrance of the body and blood of Christ into my person."

"The genius of art, I think, is that it distills a particular person’s perspective and renders it in language accessible to and resonant with others."

And Kotinek is a highly talented artist in his own right. His work can be purchased at the site FineArtAmerica. Here's a sample that shows his brilliant use of color and depth:

Letters to Saint Lydia

2011-09-15T17:48:00.001-07:00

I recently read the simply beautiful book Letters to Saint Lydia, by Melinda Johnson. Now, I'm a soft touch. I'll admit it. I can cry while watching a Hallmark commercial. And I knew I was in for it when I was already wiping my face dry during the first chapter.

This is a book about a young woman, about to go to college, whose life is turned upside down by the conversion of the rest of her family to Orthodoxy. It's actually not a very strange premise. I personally know people who converted as almost whole families. And this poor girl is the one left behind. And then all the ordinary but horrible stresses pile upon her. Alongside it all, she begins a correspondence, via journal format, with Saint Lydia of "Rich Purple Dealer from the Book of Acts" fame. And as the poor thing pours out her heart to a Saint she doesn't believe in, we get to read the very real Saint's responses as she prays in heaven for this dear girl.

I have re-read very few books in my life. This one is on the list because I finished it and realized that Saint Lydia had said many things that were deeper than I understood at first glance. Finally, this book found me at a stage in my life when I was struggling through a patch of spiritual aridity. But this book lifted me out of it. And therefore this book did not find me by coincidence.

The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena

2011-09-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just to show you that Hagiographa is no dead letter, Calee M. Lee takes an episode from the life of Saint Helena, and turns it into a delightful and beautiful children's book.

The Queen and the Cats: A Story of Saint Helena explores the arrival of the Empress to Cyprus with a piece of the True Cross, only to find the island so infested with poisonous snakes that people can't safely enter the churches. The story is told through the eyes of a little girl. The illustrations by Turbo Qualls are warm and expressive.

At the end of every Liturgy, my priest invokes the intercessions of "Constantine and Helen, Finders of the Life-Giving Cross." I stood this summer at the very spot they found it, now a chamber within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Both that visit and reading the delightful The Queen and the Cats have brought that history to life.

The Orthodox Writers and Readers Series

2011-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Writer and Orthodox Christian Melinda Johnson, who blogs at Saint Lydia's Book Club, has just launched the "Orthodox Writers and Readers Series."

This series will feature guest posts from writers, reflecting on matters of faith and their craft.

The launch features writer Molly Sabourin, whose essay explores the quest of the stressed and besieged modern Christian to calm their souls so as to celebrate the Liturgy.

It's a brilliant piece that pulses with biblical and theological allusions. Clearly Sabourin is deeply read and nurtured by the classics and primary texts of the Tradition.

She offers a vigorous, heartfelt, and refreshing defense of the institutional Church:

"I’d drift unknowingly into a comfortable lukewarm state of blasé-ness without the Church. Without the Church and Her sacraments, mystery, iconography, hymnology, antiquity, martyrs, saints to help lift my gaze up from the media-driven, materialistic mire, I’d merely pass the time instead of seizing it – making every second count."

She defines her self-understanding as a writer:

"Writing as a means of communion with the living God is my widow’s mite offered meekly in faith. That Christ can utilize my meager gift, despite my abundant weaknesses, to break through complacency or despair and pierce hearts with His mercy is nothing short of miraculous."

To read more of her reflections, visit Molly Sabourin's blog. She is also the author of Close To Home: A Quest for Patience, Peace and Perseverance.

Jerusalem and Athens

2011-09-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

"What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" Tertullian asked. "Or the Academy to do with the Church" (De Praesciptione 7).

And the answer, as bellowed finally by St. Thomas Aquinas is...plenty. Indeed, everything.

Christianity need not fear philosophy. And theology--good theology--is but philosophy on divine topics.

But in art, the modern age has found it fashionable to praise mere obscenity, when depicting divine topics. And now, sadly, the modern age has decided that one is not a profound and original thinker unless you start from the premise of atheism.

The New Yorker celebrates just such a fraud in its most recent issue in the article "How to be Good: A Philosopher's Quest for Moral Good."

But the brilliant Dr. Justice has written a review of the article that is more coherent than the subject of the original.

http://worldofdrjustice.blogspot.com/2011/09/philosophy-porn.html

Dracula is Dead and the Romanian Orthodox Church is Alive

2011-08-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

I've just finished Sheilah Kast and Jim Rosapepe's book Dracula is Dead. The subtitle is a nice summary of the general format and tone of the book: How Romanians survived Communism, ended it, and emerged since 1989 as the new Italy.

Of particular interest to me and readers of this blog will be an outsider's observations on the resurgence of the Romanian Orthodox Church and its vitality among young people today.

A fascinating part of the book recounts how Patriarch Teoctist describes all the challenges the Romanian Orthodox Church had faced long before, during, and then after the fall of communism. The Church had been impoverished in the period of Monarchy and then marginalized in the period of communism. But what fascinates me is to imagine Teoctist, born in 1915, facing the challenge of leading the Romanian Orthodox Church into what Western Christians sees as the greatest crisis since Roman Persecution--Modernity and Apathy:

"And now we're going through a different type of change--democracy and pluralism, which is very different from what we had before: dictatorship and cult of personality. Now it's this confrontation between ideas. The difference is extraordinary." (p. 39)

I stood in line in 90 degree heat for five hours in 2007 for the chance to kiss the hand of the departed Patriarch Teoctist. He deserved my devotion because no matter what sad compromises the bishops had to make under communism, they managed to preserve something that transcended it. Vocations to the monastic life are thriving in Romania. The Churches are full on Sunday with people of every age.

In fact, my recent discussion with Father Picioruș, who runs Theology for Today (Teologie Pentru Azi), convinces me that the Romanian Orthodox Church has actually managed to sidestep Western Modernism entirely and emerge in the period of Post-Modernism with a compelling strength.

Do read Dracula is Dead if you want to learn more, not only about modern Romania, but also to get an idea of why Orthodoxy there is experiencing what Newman called the Second Spring.

Mark Twain and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

2011-08-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

We've just returned from a week long pilgrimage in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. After our return to the States on Thursday, I'll begin posting here a series of essays based on those experiences, some of which were written in situ.

But while I was in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I remembered the humorous and moving words of a master of the English language, Mark Twain, on his own visit there. He recounts his experience in his book The Innocents Abroad (Chapter 53):

When one enters the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Sepulchre itself is the first thing he desires to see, and really is almost the first thing he does see. The next thing he has a strong yearning to see is the spot where the Saviour was crucified. But this they exhibit last. It is the crowning glory of the place.
One is grave and thoughtful when he stands in the little Tomb of the Saviour--he could not well be otherwise in such a place--but he has not the slightest possible belief that ever the Lord lay there, and so the interest he feels in the spot is very, very greatly marred by that reflection.

Twain has a very different view of the spot of the Crucifixion:

But the place of the Crucifixion affects him differently. He fully believes that he is looking upon the very spot where the Savior gave up his life. He remembers that Christ was very celebrated, long before he came to Jerusalem; he knows that his fame was so great that crowds followed him all the time; he is aware that his entry into the city produced a stirring sensation, and that his reception was a kind of ovation; he can not overlook the fact that when he was crucified there were very many in Jerusalem who believed that he was the true Son of God. To publicly execute such a personage was sufficient in itself to make the locality of the execution a memorable place for ages; added to this, the storm, the darkness, the earthquake, the rending of the veil of the Temple, and the untimely waking of the dead, were events calculated to fix the execution and the scene of it in the memory of even the most thoughtless witness. Fathers would tell their sons about the strange affair, and point out the spot; the sons would transmit the story to their children, and thus a period of three hundred years would easily be spanned...

Twain explains why he accepts the one and not the other:

It is not possible that there can be any mistake about the locality of the Crucifixion. Not half a dozen persons knew where they buried the Saviour, perhaps, and a burial is not a startling event, any how; therefore, we can be pardoned for unbelief in the Sepulchre, but not in the place of the Crucifixion. Five hundred years hence there will be no vestige of Bunker Hill Monument left, but America will still know where the battle was fought and where Warren fell. The crucifixion of Christ was too notable an event in Jerusalem, and the Hill of Calvary made too celebrated by it, to be forgotten in the short space of three hundred years.

He concludes his account with a description of his visit to the exact spot of the Crucifixion:

I climbed the stairway in the church which brings one to the top of the small inclosed pinnacle of rock, and looked upon the place where the true cross once stood, with a far more absorbing interest than I had ever felt in any thing earthly before. I could not believe that the three holes in the top of the rock were the actual ones the crosses stood in, but I felt satisfied that those crosses had stood so near the place now occupied by them, that the few feet of possible difference were a matter of no consequence.

He makes a compelling point about the probability that three hundred years time is nothing in terms of preserving a sense of where, with some accuracy, various things happened. And in fact I think he doesn't critically extend that argument to consider that his dismissal of the spot of the burial, as well as the other places he visited, was tainted with his Protestant sensibilities. Indeed, he admits that the trappings of the Roman and Greek Churches make it hard for him to truly reflect on the spot:

When one stands where the Saviour was crucified, he finds it all he can do to keep it strictly before his mind that Christ was not crucified in a Catholic Church. He must remind himself every now and then that the great event transpired in the open air, and not in a gloomy, candle-lighted cell in a little corner of a vast church, up-stairs--a small cell all bejeweled and bespangled with flashy ornamentation, in execrable taste...All about the apartment the gaudy trappings of the Greek Church offend the eye and keep the mind on the rack to remember that this is the Place of the Crucifixion--Golgotha--the Mount of Calvary.

Now, Mark Twain published The Innocents Abroad before Protestants began actively promoting the alternate site of the Garden Tomb. I suspect that Twain would have stuck to his guns and rejected their claim on the basis of the argument he makes here.

May God grant rest to the soul of his servant Samuel in a place of brightness and a place of repose. Requiescat in pace.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit - The Unpardonable Sin

2011-08-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS THE 'UNPARDONABLE SIN'?

That's the "Sixty-Four Dollar Question" private investigator Michael Xavier Murphy reads in the newspaper, trying to kill time while he's on a stake-out with his brother and partner Joey.

In Murphy on the Mount, David Justice explores the enigma of the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit as a subplot within a detective novel. But unlike many subplots you'll find in fiction, it's not just a secondary filler to pad the work. As the story unfolds, Murphy on the Mount is ultimately more about human redemption than merely cracking the case.

WHAT IS THE 'UNPARDONABLE SIN'?

The hard boiled PI reflects on the question:

"Never heard of it but it makes my skin crawl, just the same — just the name. Kind of thing I would’ve learned in catechism if I’d gone parochial instead of first public and then hooky and then reform." (Murphy on the Mount, p. 73)

Now, the "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit"—aka—the "Unpardonable Sin," is one of those classic exegetical quandaries. Let's look first at the source:

"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

Matthew 12:31-32

We all know we sin. And so we count on forgiveness. That is why hearing those words from Jesus shakes us to our very core. What is this "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?" Because—if I did it, it would seem I'm lost for all time. And the real worry is that you could have done it, wish you could take it back, but it's too late. It's unpardonable. You're lost.

Solace comes from Church teachers who assure us that, as daunting as the passage seems, it's essentially stating the obvious. Namely, that God does not, indeed, cannot forgive unrepentant sin. And so, in the Orthodox tradition, Archbishop Sotirios writes in his Orthodox Catechism that:

"No sin is unforgivable except the sin of unrepentance which is, in essence, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." (Repentance and Confession)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the very same:

"There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit." (paragraph 1864)

But Murphy knows none of that. What is the 'Unpardonable Sin'? He turns to page 54 to learn the answer:

IF YOU ANSWERED 'DESPAIR', GIVE YOURSELF HALF-CREDIT. THE CORRECT ANSWER IS—BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

And Michael Murphy, alone in his thoughts, faces a dark night of the soul:

"Uh-oh.

"My blood runs cold. Could I of done that? Not real likely — I can sin up a storm but I do watch my tongue. But even worse, what about Joey? He’s a sweet guy but he does have a temper sometimes, specially if he misses breakfast. Hits his thumb with a hammer or loses a Pop-tart behind the sink, and he blasphemes like nobody’s business, cussing something awful, mostly yapping on about the First and Second Persons, but who knows, maybe one time he got extra hot under the collar and was running out of G-words and J-words, he might’ve just gone and clipped one to the Ghost. Mighta done it, mighta not. — Never did hear him messing over the Virgin, though.

"Jeez — I mean Jeepers, this looks bad. My own brother, maybe even me! Cause it doesn’t say: Badmouthing the Spirit over sixty times, like a speed-limit, or even ten. It says: Just once, Jack, near as I can tell. And — “unpardonable” — do they really mean that? can they? Is that even possible? A buddy can pardon you anything if he feels like it, or you fork him a fiver or whatnot, so they must mean it’s God who’s doing the pardoning or not pardoning. And it sounds like in this case even He can’t do it, infinite mercy be blowed.

"Joey’s out, and I’m alone, and I start to panic..." (Murphy on the Mount, pp. 74-75)

And thus begins a compelling exploration of that human failing and frailty which longs for redemption and new life. All this, within the genre of detective fiction.

If you read his blog, the World of Dr. Justice, you'll find that David Justice is a mathematician, linguist, and philosopher/theologian. His academic credentials and publications are impressive enough, but he's also created a corpus of detective genre fiction focused on the Murphy Brothers. He's published them in Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock. (Those previously published stories and others are available in his short story collection I Don't Do Divorce Cases. He also has a number of other short stories available on Kindle and Nook through his Murphy Brothers blog.)

And in all his writing, David Justice combines a command of genre fiction, engaging colloquial dialogue, and Christian themes. But he's certainly not writing what could be described as just "Christian Fiction." Michael Murphy is a deeply flawed character, albeit one with a singular virtue which he cannot depart from—he cannot, will not—ever—take a divorce case.

I don't want to give away the outcome of Murphy's angst over the meaning of the "Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit," except to promise that this subplot does have a full resolution. It's a beautiful turn of remarkable events. It's a journey of smiles and tears with Michael and Joey Murphy on the search for ultimate meaning.

Theology for Today (Teologie pentru azi)

2011-08-12T04:34:00.000-07:00

When I made my first visit to Romania in 2004, I saw two young men wearing black slacks, white shirts, and ties. And I knew immediately what they were. They were Americans, to be sure. Whether they were Adventists, Mormons, or Jehovah's Witnesses was up for grabs and actually unimportant. These people were here to convert Orthodox to whatever it is they were.

I had myself been received into full communion with the Orthodox Church just a year earlier. And as an American myself, I felt a particular responsibility to help galvanize the Orthodox here in Romania against this invasion, as it were. And so, I made a video in Romanian and I composed articles in Romanian describing the biblical texts most commonly used by Protestants against Orthodox (and Catholics for that matter), as well as biblical proofs for Orthodox teaching on points in dispute.

Looking back, I realize now that my motive in doing all that work actually had in it a touch of the same paternalistic spirit which prompts American Protestants to try to convert Orthodox over here. At that time, I thought they needed my assistance to combat this onslaught.

Now, I have been told by many Romanian Orthodox that they have found my video and essays helpful. I thank God if they are.

But in the years since I made those materials, I have come to understand that the Romanian Orthodox Church is blessed with strong members using the latest technologies to present Orthodox Faith in a dynamic and engaging way. An example can be found in the website Theology for Today (Teologie pentru azi).

I had the deep pleasure of spending an afternoon with Father Dorin Octavian Picioruş, who runs Theology for Today (Teologie pentru azi). The subtitle of this site is significant--An Orthodox-Christian Platform for a Different Kind of Post-Modernity (O platformă creştin-ortodoxă pentru o altfel de postmodernitate). Father Picioruş is very in tune with the challenges and opportunities in articulating the ancient Christian faith to a generation yet unborn. And a visit to the site is a visually stunning and edifying experience.

Father Picioruş and his wife Preoteasa Gianina Maria-Cristina Picioruş are both sound academics, with doctorates in theology and literature. One thing that impresses me and makes us such kindred spirits, is that they have a desire to access the primary texts in their original language and for that reason have learned them.

But this site is no repository of dusty academic ideas. This is a place where, as the title states, Theology for Today comes alive.

If you would like to help them with a donation, they list their bank information to send a donation:

Picioruş Gianina Maria Cristina

BCR

RO31RNCB0080079049010001

Even if you don't read Romanian, you'll see that this site is exactly the kind of thing that shows the bright future the Romanian Orthodox Church has, all on its own, with or without the help of Americans like me. But I count it as a blessing if I help in any way.

A Romanian Westminster Abbey

2011-08-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday travels included a visit to the delightful Curtea de Arges Cathedral.

Connected to the building of this impressive building is the legend of Master Builder Manole, which I hope isn't at all true, namely, that the builders, in response to a dream, walled up the pregnant wife of the architect Manole within the building.

Inside the Church, we found in the atrium, as in Westminster Abbey for Great Britain, the final resting places of several figures from Romanian history.

Among those interred there, whom we were able to reverence and/or pray for:

King Carol (died 1914) and Queen Elisabeth (died 1916)

Voievod (King/War Lord) Radu de Afumati (died 1529)

St. Voievod Neagoe Bassarab (died 1521)

To our surprise and joy, the chapel of the Monastery proper houses the relics of St. Philothea (died 1218).

Romania is a country so rich in faith and history that virtually any random monastery reposes saints. But this monastery was a unique experience, not to be missed if you ever travel in the Arges region.

The Mighty Acts of God

2011-07-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

On the first Pentecost, the multitude of nations "heard them speaking in our languages the Mighty Acts of God (Magnalia Dei; Acts 2:11). This blog is hereby dedicated to exploring the Mighty Acts of God as expressed through words. And it claims as its Patron the author of the Book of Acts, the Evangelist St. Luke.

I'm starting this blog as a place to explore topics specifically related to Christianity and Writing, as well as to highlight contemporary authors of the Orthodox tradition whose fiction writing reflects their world view.

A Christian writer must, to be credible, be a writer first. That is not to say that their faith should not be the most important thing in their lives. But writing that merely attempts to proselytize is ultimately disingenuous. Just go ahead and proselytize! There's a fine and old tradition of it. It's called evangelizing. And the most successful in our Christian history left behind no substantial body of fiction, entertaining or otherwise.

Good Christian writers include Chesterton, O'Connor, Lewis, and even Tolkien. Their fiction was thoroughly imbued with their Christian world view. But it was not just a vehicle to express and expound their Christian world view.

And so, let the adventure begin.