Thursday, November 27, 2014

THE TWISTED LOGIC REGARDING FERGUSON


The Twisted Logic Regarding Ferguson

            Are Christians to have compassion on those involved in the anarchy of Ferguson and around the country?  Absolutely yes!  Are Christians to have love towards them?  Again, absolutely yes.    But this is where many jump off the cliff and end up with a twisted logic that contradicts the Scriptures and Christian principles. 

            Let me explain.  To love and to have compassion is not the same as to support, condone, excuse or justify what is clearly wrong and evil.  This is a prevailing fallacy of our culture.  Many religious leaders want to jump from compassion and love to excuse, justify, call for tolerance and condemn the police and any harsh treatment of the anarchists.

            Two things are at play here.  First, liberals see and respond to things purely on the basis of feelings and emotions, but not on the basis of facts and truth.  In fact, they flee from these as being unloving or intolerant.   They create a false dichotomy between love and truth and between love and punishment as though these are exclusive of each other and cannot exist together.

            Secondly, they ”…twist the Scriptures to their own destruction.” (2 Pet 3:16)   A general survey of the Old Testament is a clear testimony of God’s love being expressed in punishment, judgment and even destruction of evil and rebellious people.  The judgment placed on Adam and Eve was an expression of His love.  No excuses for their actions, no justification, only loving punishment on the whole human race.  It is only in judgment that salvation becomes a possibility – not in excuses.
           
            Let’s look at some of these twisted usages of Scripture.  First, they talk about the teachings of Jesus on love and compassion and mercy.  What they fail to see is that the love, compassion and mercy of the Saviour were extended to those who repented and sought to turn around.  He never told Herod or Judas, “your sins are forgiven you, go and sin no more”.   He never condoned or justified wrongdoing but called all men everywhere to repentance. 

            When the Saviour saw the crowds as sheep having no shepherd and had compassion on them He was not looking at anarchists who rob, steal and kill.  He was looking at His chosen flock of Israel, the Old Testament Church, whose spiritual leaders had ceased to tell them the truth concerning their Messiah.  Jesus did not bless or condone or call for tolerance toward anarchy but He had compassion on His chosen people whose shepherds had betrayed the truth.

            When Jesus tells us to have compassion on the homeless, orphans and widows and our “neighbor” He is not talking about robbers, looters, murderers and anarchists who have no repentance and who persist in evil, hatred, destruction and rebellion against God ordained authority.  
           
            When Jesus tells us to turn the other check and not strike back, He is talking to His people, His followers, about how they are to respond to evildoers who persecute them for the sake of their obedience to God.  He is not telling us to be tolerant, loving and accepting of hatred, anarchy, looting, killing, and all manner of evil doing.  It is about enduring persecution for the sake of His name.  This has no application at all with what has happened in Ferguson.  If you think it does, take a Black Panther into your home to feed, clothe and shelter.  And if it does, why shouldn’t we end punishment for all crime.  Let’s have compassion on the man who breaks into your house and rapes your wife and kills your children or the man who robs banks or abuses children. 

            When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach He told them to accept and bless those who would hear and repent but to reject and wipe the dust from their feet for those who persisted in their evil because the judgment of God would fall upon them.

            So, much of the Scriptures used by the liberal so called compassionate crowd are references to how Christians are to respond to persecution, not how society is to respond to anarchy.  Compassion without truth is not compassion at all.  The person who tells people to flee a burning building is compassionate, not the one who says, “bless your heart, I understand why you are sitting here and I want you to know I love you and feel your pain.”  Love would tell all who love the truth to flee from and reject the anarchy of Ferguson.

            The Bible does have something to say about God’s attitude towards evil, blasphemy, murder, stealing and rebellion.  But you will not hear any of these Scriptures quoted by the “compassionate ones”.  

            Government is an institution divinely instituted for the punishment of evil doers and we are told in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake; whether it be to the king as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” 

            Rebellion against lawfulness is described in the Bible as a sin worse than witchcraft. 

            We read in Philippians 3:18-19: “ For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [yes St. Paul had compassion for them] that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, [carnal flesh] and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things”

            Listen to the alarming words of Saint Peter in 2 Peter 2: 2- 17:
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned [fake/false] words make merchandise of you [use you to their own end]; whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
And spared not the old world but save Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly;
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy manner of life of the wicked;  For that righteous man in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds...But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly parish in their own corruption...
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished.

            The words and actions of the “compassionate” religious leaders in response to Ferguson reflect the spirit and age of this world, espousing a false peace, love and justice, which is the spirit of the anti-Christ.  Their words reflect Scripture only in as much as they twist and pervert the Scriptures to their own end.

Friday, October 10, 2014

"Why Do I Believe What I Believe About God?"

Why Do I Believe What I Believe About God?

            I suspect that many people, if not most, hold their beliefs about God without much thought as to why they believe what they believe or how they came to those particular beliefs.

            It seems to me that when it comes to beliefs in or about God we have two choices.  Either we base our beliefs on what we believe to be divine revelation or we form our beliefs within ourselves based on personal feelings, thoughts, desires, reasoning or the influence of others.

            If we base our beliefs in and about God on what we believe to be God’s revelation of Himself in the Old and New Testaments, we then confess that what we believe is not of our own making – not subjective – but objectively revealed from outside of ourselves.  Such a belief in divine revelation calls us to surrender and submit to what God has revealed.  This is to believe in absolute and unchangeable truth as opposed to relative or uncertain truth.  We would then search the Scriptures to discover what we are to believe and how we are to live.  From this perspective there is a definite revelation from God in Whom we believe, and there is a definite roadmap for what it means to be a Christian.  Such a divine revelation cannot be treated lightly, ignored, changed or neglected without eternal consequences.

            On the other hand, if we derive our beliefs from within ourselves they are based on our thoughts and feelings.  They may change or vary from day to day or hour to hour and they vary from one person to another.   Belief on this basis is subjective, relative, somewhat undefined and uncertain.  Many conflicting and contradictory beliefs are considered equally valid since all are derived from within a person, who is the ultimate source of truth, and reflect each person’s thoughts and feelings.  From this perspective there is little if any clarity or certainty, neither of which matter very much.  The only really important thing is to follow one's personal feelings or thoughts.  Ultimately, since everything is based on each one’s feelings and thoughts, what one believes or doesn’t believe matters little and has only temporal value.  Man himself is the source and basis for truth making man his own god.

            Those who say they base their beliefs on the Bible will recognize that many things in the Bible are open to interpretation, being so far removed from the context, time, culture and manner of thinking and speaking of the writers.

Those who profess to base their beliefs on divine revelation are then faced with two similar choices as to how they will interpret and understand the Bible.  Either they will fall back on what the Church has always objectively believed, taught, held and passed down unchanged from generation to generation as to how the Bible is to be understood (this is known as Holy Tradition and believed by those who adhere to it to also be divine revelation), or else they will resort to an interpretation of the Bible based on their personal feelings, thoughts, desires, reasoning and influences. 

The first basis for interpretation of the Bible is based on objective truth outside of ourselves and is not derived from personal thoughts, feelings or interpretations.  The basis is historical truth just as what we believe about the constitution, bill of rights and history of our nation is based on objective historical facts as passed down from generation to generation.

Those who choose to interpret the Bible based on personal feelings and interpretations are somewhat like those who today want to rewrite the history of our nation and redefine the meaning of the constitution and bill of rights based on their personal likes and desires.  In the end, even though these Christians may begin with the assumption of divine revelation, they end up on the same foundation as those who do not hold to a particular divine revelation but look within themselves for truth, whatever that may mean to each one.  The only difference is that those who begin with the Bible at least have some boundaries and guidelines that give a certain direction to their thoughts, feelings and reasoning.  Nevertheless, they also end up with a truth that is somewhat undefined, uncertain, subjective and relative.

            So what is my point?  Merely this, that each one should not only give thought to what they believe, but more importantly, should give serious consideration to the basis or foundation for what they believe about matters of present and eternal significance and value.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Unity of the Church and the Holy Scriptures

The Unity of the Church and the Holy Scriptures

       Some attempt to drive a wedge between the Holy Scriptures and the Church, pitting one against the other.  But such attempts reflect a lack of understanding of both.  There is no conflict, contradiction, or competition between the Gospel, the Holy Scriptures, and the Church.

    During the first 300 plus years of Church history, there were numerous letters and gospels circulating.  Some were authentic; some were not.  Some were written by the evangelists and apostles, and some that claimed to be were fraudulent.   So how were the true and authentic Gospel and teachings of Christ and the apostles determined, preserved and passed on? 

        Christ the Saviour proclaimed the Gospel (the truth in all its fullness) and taught it to His apostles.  They in turn taught it and passed it on to their successors.  The Gospel was transmitted primarily through word of mouth, example, and the divine services of the Church for some 300 years before there was an “official canon”.   The true teachings of Christ and His apostles were a living truth and way of life preserved as life within the Church by the Holy Spirit – the Holy Tradition of the Church.  This is why St. Paul admonished the Church at Thessalonica to “...stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2: 15) 

            Finally, in the fourth century the bishops of the Church gathered in a council and sorted through the various writings that had been circulating and determined which ones should be considered authentic and used in the worship of the Church.  All the writings were compared to the Holy Tradition of the Church as it had been lived and passed down for some 300 years and in this way determined which Gospels and Epistles to include in what we now call the canon. 

          The Holy Scriptures (New Testament) were written in the Church (the evangelists and apostles), for the Church, and were authenticated by the Church.  Together, they are one Holy Tradition.  The Scriptures do not contradict the Church and the Church does not contradict the Scriptures since they form one Holy Tradition in the unity of one Holy Spirit.   Since the Church, by the Life-giving Holy Spirit, conceived and gave birth to the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit was given to the Church to guide her into all truth (St. John 16:13), the Church alone can rightly proclaim and interpret them.   We naturally know and understand that the author of a book knows, understands, and interprets the meaning of his own words and intentions as no stranger can do.

        Christ set forth His Church as His bride, His temple, His foundation or guardian of truth, His New Jerusalem and New Israel.  This was not some invisible, indefinable, unknowable, nebulous notion, thought, or hoped for dream.  The Church was a concrete and knowable reality – the body of Christ in every place where the believers continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, koinonia, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers – in the life and unity of the one Faith, one Lord, one Hope, one Baptism and one Holy Spirit.  He proclaimed that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).  He appointed His Church as the guardian and foundation of the truth, “…the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

     The Church, which is the body of Christ on earth, should never be set in opposition to the Scriptures.  The Scriptures are the written word, written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but the Church is the pillar, ground and interpreter of that truth.  When the Scriptures are used apart from the Church to belittle, denigrate or teach contrary to the Church it is a serious misuse of the Holy Scriptures – a form of bibliolatry.

       It is strange that those who have full confidence that the Church was led by the Holy Spirit to determine the canon do not believe the rest of what those same holy men and that same Holy Church proclaimed as the voice of the same Holy Spirit.   It is likewise interesting to note that I have been told that the word for heresy comes from a word that means to pick and choose.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Questions About The Sunday of All Saints

Questions About The Sunday of All Saints

QUESTION 1

When is the Sunday of All Saints? Where is the service found (which service book)?
ANSWER 1
The Sunday of All Saints is celebrated the Sunday after Pentecost. The service is the last one in the "Pentecostarion", which has all the services from Pascha until the Sunday of All Saints, inclusive.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit enlightens mankind, and makes us able to attain the destiny God has predestined us to obtain. The Saints are those who have shown forth the fruits of the Spirit abundantly. Is it not appropriate that we should meditate upon the marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit by meditating upon His wondrous works - the Saints?
QUESTION 2
What is a "Saint"? What does the word literally mean?
ANSWER 2

The word "Saint" literally means "Holy One". We recognize the holiness of those who have struggled to live holy lives, above and beyond the average Christian, by calling them "Saints". All Christians are in some sense "saints", since the word also implies a setting apart. In our Liturgy, the priest exclaims "Holy things are for the Holy" shortly before he breaks the Lamb, and this phrase includes all true (Orthodox) Christians who struggle to be saved, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But when we refer to the "Saints" we call to mind those who "fought the good fight and finished the course and kept the faith", (cf. 1 Tim 4:7) and in so doing, have "laboured more abundantly than they all" (1 Cor 15:10)
QUESTION 3

Why do Christians pray to the Saints?  Why is this prayer so misunderstood by non-Orthodox?
ANSWER 3
All who profess Christ, whether they be Orthodox or not, commonly ask one another to pray for them. It is a duty of Christians to pray for one another. Since Orthodox Christians live in the knowledge that those who have passed on are not dead or insensible, and since "God is the God of the living, and not the dead", they naturally turn to the Saints for intercession, and place more confidence in their prayers than those fellow Christians who have not completed their earthly sojourn.
A Christian has great reverence in approaching the Saints, since the Saints have been shown by God to be "more than conquerors". We are in awe of their exploits, and recognize the grace of God clearly in their witness and struggle. This is also natural, even in the world. Men honor others who have performed great deeds, such as a brave general, or wise statesman. Since we are in awe of the Saints, we render them honor when we ask their intercession, even more so than we would honor a great man in the flesh. In every communication with the Saints, we see the light of Christ, and rejoice in it, and do it honor.
We know that prayer to the Saints, (or put in a way that is less offensive to those who do not live fully in the knowledge of the resurrection and the Saints, "asking their intercession" ) is pleasing to God, because of the witness of the Scriptures and the abundant experience of the church. Because we are assured that such prayers are pleasing, and because we recognize the great grace that God has bestowed upon His Saints, we have great confidence when we ask their intercessions.
"In invoking the intercession of the saints, the Church believes that the saints, who interceded with the Lord for the peace of the world and for the stability of the holy churches of Christ while living, do not cease doing this in Christ's heavenly, triumphant Church, and listen to our entreaties in which we invoke them, and pray to the Lord, and become bearers of the grace and mercy of the Lord." St. Nectarios of Pentapolis, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 7 by. Constantine Cavarnos
"We ought to have the most lively spiritual union with the heavenly inhabitants, with all the saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, prelates, venerable and righteous men, as they are all members of one single body, the Church of Christ, to which we sinners also belong, and the living Head of which is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is why we call upon them in prayer, converse with them, thank and praise them. It is urgently necessary for all Christians to be in union with them, if they desire to make Christian progress; for the saints are our friends, our guides to salvation, who pray and intercede for us." St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
There are many who profess faith in Christ but have almost no knowledge of the intercession of the Saints, and even eschew this intimate knowledge and heavenly intercourse as blasphemy. There are several reasons for this, including prejudice, a lack of grounding in Christian Tradition, misunderstanding of Scripture, and the abuses of Rome, but the primary reason is that they do not fully understand the resurrection, and it's implications!
The Saints are not asleep or "dead". Our Lord Himself told us clearly that "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Mat 22:32). The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (Cf. Mat 22:32) once appeared transfigured on a mountain, with two of his favored ones (Moses and Elias) appearing very much alive next to Him. This clearly shows that the "dead" are even more filled with knowledge and activity than the living, as the apostles Peter, James and John could not withstand the uncreated light which came forth from Christ, but Moses and Elisa basked in it. Therefore the departed Saints have greater vision and knowledge and their intercessory boldness is greater for them without their bodies, than when they were in the flesh. This important understanding is elementary knowledge for the Church, but has passed from many of those outside of her.
Partially because they do not understand that the Saints are alive, conscious and active, those who eschew prayer to the Saints misinterpret the reverence Orthodox show to the saints. Many get stuck on the word "pray", thinking that this word only applies to God, and any other use of it should make them rend their clothes. This is, of course, a misunderstanding, brought about by centuries of sectarianism and prejudice. "To pray" is merely "to ask". We ask the Saints to intercede for us, and any examination of our writings and liturgical texts shows that we understand that worship is for God alone.
The abuses of Rome also had a deleterious effect on the Protestant understanding of prayer to the Saints. Rome became very corrupt after the schism, both morally and theologically. A doctrine of "superogataory works" was invented, and "indulgences" were sold. This false doctrine, perhaps more than any other abuse of Rome, has poisoned the understanding of Protestants regarding the Saints. In very simple terms, this false doctrine is as follows:

A certain amount of "good works" are supposedly needed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us affix this as some arbitrary number, say 1000 points. The Saints far exceeded this number, and had "points to give". The poor sinners, such as you and me, who cannot attain to all these good works, may pay to be granted "indulgences", which increase our "point total". Although this explanation may seem silly and mocking, it is essentially the doctrine of Rome till this day. The original "Protestants" reacted quite rightly against this abuse, but they did not understand the correct view concerning the intercessions of the Saints, and over time, their disavowal of this Latin abuse became a caricature of itself, and most now spout almost mantra-like that a Christian "needs no mediator" save Jesus Christ, believing that the scripture they refer to ("For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5)) forbids prayer to the Saints.


It is ironic that those who refuse to ask the Saints to intercede for them on ideological grounds ask those who are still among the living, among their family and friends, to pray for them. This latter action is wholly correct, as fellow believers naturally want to pray for those they love. The prayer of the living, however, is not as powerful as the prayer of the Saints, as the Scripture tells us: "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) Therefore, those who do not want to settle for "second best", and therefore pray "directly to God", actually DO settle for second best, when they ask their sinful companions, who are still struggling with their passions in the flesh, to pray for them, instead of asking those who have passed on and are more righteous.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

TRUE OR FALSE - PENTECOST IS THE BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH

TRUE OR FALSE – PENTECOST IS THE BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost.  The great tragedy of our day is that the feast day will hardly be mentioned if at all in most churches of contemporary Christianity.  Even when it is mentioned, it is only mentioned in passing, so to speak, and its meaning and significance for our salvation is hardly known or recognized.

Many think the New Testament Day of Pentecost was the birthday of the Church but this is not technically the case.  The Feast of Pentecost was, of course, a feast of the Old Testament instituted 50 days (Pentecost means 50th day) after Pascha when the Paschal Lamb was slain and the people of God were delivered from Egyptian bondage. All of this, of course, is a picture of our salvation and the celebration of Pascha (Easter) each year and every Sunday in the Church.  Then on the 50th day after Israel’s deliverance God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and this day was celebrated and commemorated by the Israelites each year.   

After the Resurrection and at the Ascension of the Saviour on the 40th day, the disciples were told to wait in prayer in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of Pentecost.  As God had given the Law to Moses to empower him to form and govern the Israelites into the promised kingdom, so now the Holy Spirit is given to the Apostles to empower them with “power from on high” to form and govern the New Israel into the Kingdom of God.

The Church is the assembly of the angles, the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were added all the nations who believed with one accord. 

That which came to pass at Pentecost was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to all the nations and the inauguration of the priesthood of the New Israel.  The old Israel with its Mosaic law had been left desolate with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  On its ruins now rises the New Israel, Jew and Gentile, a new holy nation, a new royal priesthood, created by the Holy Spirit through the priesthood of the Apostles – the first bishops of the New Testament Church.  St. Gregory Palamas says, “Now, therefore…the Holy Spirit descended…showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries…and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors”.  On this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become “partakers of the Divine Nature” (II Peter 1:4).  For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples only that they abode in “prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit and the priesthood that they "continued" in the “breaking of bread,” – that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries – “and in prayers”.  (Acts 2:42)  [excerpt from the Pentecostarion]

On the Day of Pentecost there was formed one Church of all nations, holding one Faith, One Lord, one hope, one Baptism under one Divine Government of the Apostles – one holy Priesthood.  This is how the Church continues today as one Church with one Faith through the priesthood of the successors to the Apostles who, as conduits, pass on the same Faith by the same Holy Spirit as one unbroken Body of Christ from Pentecost to the present and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.