To Overcome False Conceptions of God, Feminine Images of God Must Be Recognized As Valid. Upon reading Holy Scripture, many, seeing that God is often referenced with masculine pronouns as well as described with masculine images (Father, Son), end up thinking masculinity somehow better represents the divine nature than femininity.
This makes them decry any and all use of feminine representations for God: if God intended us to be able to use feminine pronouns and terms like Mother, Daughter, or Sister for God, Scripture would have already done so.[1] Needless to say, ignoring the way language has historically employed masculine pronouns for unknown subjects who could be feminine, indicating that it does not actually entail gender itself, this argument reads Scripture too literally, ignoring that God uses metaphoric language to represent the divine nature. For God being a spirit without a body, God does not have a gender. We must not confuse gender-related speech in Scripture as indicating God is of a particular gender.
In no way is God in man’s image. St. The Death of Jesus as Sacrifice: An Orthodox reading of Isaiah 53 and Romans 3:25 – Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. The propitiatory or expiatory* nature of Christ’s death on the Cross is perhaps poorly understood in much of contemporary Orthodox theological discussion, and as a result, the notion of the sacrificial atonement of Christ is often minimized or excluded altogether.
Saint Athanasius and the ‘Penal Substitutionary’ Atonement Doctrine. Orthodox Problems with Penal Substitution. By Alexander Renault from his book “Reconsidering Tulip”
An Interfaith Perspective on Christianity’s Emergence and Parting From Judaism. Knit Your Way to a More Prayerful Life. Praise the Lord. I have been giving a LOT of thought to this verse: Ps 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.
Praise ye the LORD. Our life should be a song of praise to the glory of God. (1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.).
Spindrift. It’s been a while, but I guess the best way to get back into blogging, as with most things, is to just do it and not worry too much about how often.
We had a discussion at one of our church gatherings on Sunday about which beliefs are required to be a member of particular churches, and whether you can still be a member if you don’t share certain beliefs. Many of us are worshipping week by week together with one heart, perhaps, but very different thoughts. Contemplative Prayer. Daily Prayer Basics - How To Pray.
Daily prayer is essential to a healthy Orthodox Christian life.
It is not an option. Why do we pray, How do we pray, When do we pray and Where do we pray are questions we address below. The Magazine: Learning to Pray with the Church. By Sam Ochstein Here’s a confession: I’ve always struggled with prayer.
Big deal, you say. Lots of people struggle with prayer. Prayer is hard work.
Mindfulness. Daily offices. Franciscans. The refuge home. House for All Sinners and Saints. New Direction Ministries - Nurturing Generous Spaciousness in the Church. Church Leader's Guidebook. Christian prayers. Re:Worship. 3 Female Ghosts that Haunt the Church. I will never forget the first time I met my pastor.
Our family had been at the church for two years before a meeting with another staff member threw me into his path. The first words out of his mouth were, “Jen Wilkin. The Privilege of Being Small and Beloved - SheLoves Magazine. I spent my childhood hoping to make it big.
I did pretty well. At age 12, I starred in a professional production of Annie in Phoenix, moving an hour away from my home in Tucson for the run of the show, and belting out Tomorrow in front of thousands of people. A year later, I came across the play’s program in a stack of papers. Girl on Fire: Pain & the Brain: The Not-Magical-Thinking Approach. In case you are wondering and because I use the phrase a lot, "magical thinking" is the whole "if I think something, it will come true/I will get it.
" Like you are some little mini God who controls your world with your whims and desires. Or like God is a vending machine. It is superstitious thinking taken to a whole new level. (See my rant on the secret.) When we talk about the brain, it is easy to oversimplify and fall into this whole area. All of this also easily falls into "blaming the person with the problem/illness," and nothing makes me madder.
Understanding The Scriptures Through The Church Fathers - Search the Scriptures - Ancient Faith Radio. Why Sola Scriptura Doesnt Work - Ancient Faith Commentaries - Ancient Faith Radio. Orthodox Christians do not hold to the Reformation principle of sola scriptura. Instead, we view the scriptures as the pinnacle or summit of Holy Tradition, neither separating the two as wholly distinct nor eliminating one or the other.
The reason for this is simple. The scriptures are witness to Divine Revelation given from God to mankind, and specially to God’s holy people, first Israel and now the Catholic Church. Akathist of Thanksgiving. A moving hymn thanking God for the created cosmos - often taken as an akathistos of the cosmos and created environment. By Metropolitan Tryphon (secularly Boris Petrovich Turkestanov, d. 1934). Kontakion 1 O Immortal King of the ages, Who, by the power of Thy saving providence, dost uphold in Thy right hand all the ways of man’s life; we thank Thee for all Thy good things both manifest and hid; for this earthly life, and for the heavenly joys of Thy Kingdom which is to come.
Extend Thy mercies henceforth upon us who sing unto Thee: Glory to Thee, O God, unto the ages! A hopefully friendly Christian response to the atheist ten non-commandments. Christian Spirituality. Christian Theology of Place. Episcopal Cafe. Orthodox Church and Homosexuality. Ask a Gay Christian...(Response) In Leviticus 18-20, the death penalty is prescribed for a man who "lies with a man as with a woman. " This is part of a set of rules given by God to Moses to keep the Israelites set apart. Some of the rules we Christians still follow today; others we don't.
In Romans 1, Paul is making an argument that all of us are sinners in need of grace. As an example of the folly of turning from God, Paul references a group of people who turned from God to worship idols and engage in "shameful" and "unnatural" behavior including gay sex. Some scholars view this as an indictment on cultures that fail to condemn homosexuality in any form; others argue that Paul is making an obvious allusion to the orgy-like rites practiced by the fertility cults of his day. Finally, in 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10, Paul offhandedly uses an obscure Greek term when listing groups of sinners. Discipleship: christian yogis, asana disciples. Dallas Willard notes that the church no longer makes disciples, but settles for making converts. The cost of nondiscipleship for the individual is, in short, “that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring.” For the church as a whole, the cost of nondiscipleship is just as high.
Church leaders discuss the problem of people leaving the church, yet I wonder if perhaps it’s more accurate to say that, by no longer offering programs of costly discipleship, the church is leaving people. The asanas, or postures, practiced in yoga could contribute to a discipline that, as Martin Copenhaver notes, helps practitioners to “experience the unity of body and spirit more fully than our [the church’s] current modes of worship do” and thus support a Christian’s discipleship. Postural yoga offers a worthwhile practice for the spiritual formation of Christian disciples. Forgiveness and Reconciliation. All I Want for Christmas Is Uncertainty - Cindy Brandt. Which narrow gate is the narrow gate Jesus wants us to walk through?
What If You Could Value Something without Agreeing? - Jayson D. Bradley. Sometimes I’ll stumble across someone promoting my blog and they’ll say something like, “I don’t agree with everything this guy says, but his blog is pretty thought provoking.” Catherine Booth, A Woman's Right to Preach. Catherine Mumford Booth. Guest post: A biblical theology of clothing.
Atonement as liturgy, not theory.