The March 2009 issue of Reader’s Digest offers up an interesting look at the Psychology of Fallenness. ====== [Please forgive me, a sinner. This essay may be even less coherent and more in need of editing than usual (quite a feat!). In keeping with the essay’s content, I would like to blame Lent rather than […]
Of Mother Earth and the Invisible Hand
February 24, 2009 By
It’s been a real blessing to teach a course at seminary this semester. It’s not just that I love teaching no matter what the context (I do); it is just much more satisfying to work with people who share the same assumptions and goals I do, and to do so in a forum where we […]
On the Spirituality of Sleep
February 3, 2009 By
This month I started teaching a theology class on “Kyivan Spirituality” here in the parish and at our seminary in New Jersey. They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Given how mundane (i.e. non-spiritual) I am, there has been a LOT of prep work involved. St. Theophan describes this […]
Catching Up
January 19, 2009 By
It’s been even busier here than normal over the last couple of weeks. Not only are we are in the midst of our Nativity Season (today is Theophany, when we celebrate the Baptism of Christ) with all the extra services, celebrations, and caroling, but I continue to teach a graduate seminar at the Naval War […]
Life on the Old Calendar
December 29, 2008 By
Introduction: Christmas on 12/25 or 1/7? While the majority of Orthodox Christians in the world use the Julian (aka “Old”) Calendar for liturgical purposes, the majority of Orthodox Christians here in the West join our heterodox and secular neighbors on the “New Calendar”, which is 13 days ahead.* However, a minority of Orthodox dioceses in […]
Soviet atheism and American secularism
December 21, 2008 By
Introduction: thinking about the radical atheism of the Soviet Communists The Soviet Communists were atheist totalitarians. They tried to create a system that would make both faith and the religious institutions that foster it seem silly and superfluous. Given the strength of Orthodoxy in the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, they had to be very intentional about […]
On Newsweek’s Religious Case for Gay Marriage
December 9, 2008 By
I warned my parishioners that the only thing that the Fathers spent more time preaching on than money was sex. I’m sure they rather I talked about their budgets! Advocacy Journalism – and Bible Study – at their Worst The December 15th (2008) edition of Newsweek contains an article by their Religion editor Lisa Miller […]
Just another update
December 8, 2008 By
This past week was another busy week. Monday: After updating the website and publishing the podcast, I headed to New Britain for Ihumen Gregory’s memorial service (Panakhida). We carried his casket from the hearse, up the stairs, then into the narthex of his parish of St. Mary’s. After Fr. Stephen (the dean of our New […]
Mumbai attack – connecting the dots
December 1, 2008 By
Islamist terrorists conducted coordinated attacks against pre-selected targets in Mombai last week. This kind of attack requires a network consisting of well-developed recruiting, training, intelligence, operations, and command & control cells. While India has enough aggrieved Islamists to fill the ranks for such an attack, the Islamist networks operating out of Pakistan have a competitive […]
How many cars do we need?
November 29, 2008 By
Our economy continues to “correct” itself after decades of being artificially inflated by easy credit, poor saving habits, and superfluous spending. The government is attempting to ease the effects of this correction by replacing the suddenly prudent (i.e. risk-averse) credit market with its own. In this way, it forces more money into a system in […]
