Bryan > Recent Status Updates

"[T]hat Jewish liturgy made the work of God in Jesus Christ comprehensible. The Old Testament worship practices, now fulfilled and given new meaning in Christ, became the core of Christian worship within this New Covenant."

"[N]o longer do we sacrifice the blood of bulls and goats, but rather we offer that once-for-all sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the New Covenant in His Body and His Blood. However, the pattern, the shape of the Liturgy remained essentially the same. Going from Old Covenant to New Covenant, then, did not mean going from liturgy to no liturgy. It meant going from a good sacrifice to a better one . . .

...the eternal life of the age to come."
This is one of the best, most succinct explanations of incarnational theology I've ever read.

...entirely perish, but will be transformed and will acquire a new image worthy of an eternal blissful existence. This world, even in its present state, bears the imprints of divine beauty and wisdom; this is recognized in moments of inspiration and, by the pure in heart, at all times. Finally, the Church believes that, together with men, every creature on earth is being purified and sanctified in preparation for...

"The Orthodox Church believes that not only words, but also actions and objects can be bearers of Divine power. The main reason for this belief is that man is an incarnated spirit and that God Himself, in order to save man, became incarnate. According to Christian faith it is not only the human spirit, but the whole man—soul and body—who will be saved. And that is not all; the created material world will not...

"What do the words 'divine service' mean? They mean that God serves people and man serves God reciprocally."
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"Revere even two or three people who pray together because, according to the Lord, He is among them."
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"Prayer in church is also especially valuable because it is not only communal prayer, but because in most cases it is prayer for others, for all; it is always the voice of love for God and men."

'A theology that is based on intellectual constructs and not on the direct experience of God is philosophy and not theology. It is a human creation that offers neither real knowledge of God nor pace to the heart.'

"Humble yourself; strangle your ego, which comes like a venomous serpent to poison your soul. Do not allow any proud thoughts to remain within you; only this will you foil every activity of Satan."

'[A] "Christified" human being continues to maintain a personal identity within that state of unity with God. In the Christian mystical tradition, the ultimate state of Theosis . . . does not imply the obliteration of one's individuality.'

"Disciplinary action influences behavior; anger does not. . . . [A]nger produces a destructive kind of disrespect in the minds of our children. They perceive that our frustration is caused by our inability to control the situation."

Dry, and repetitive, but interesting in small chunks.

"It is clear that wen we think of the Trinity, we should not try to think of three persons in our sense of the term, but three personal disclosures of God that correspond to what he is really like."

No it isn't clear at all! The author just spent several pages describing how the Church Fathers wrestled with the concept of a triune God, and then he sums it up in a nice, neat, incorrect analogy.

Shelley mistakenly includes the Filioque ("and the Son") when quoting the original Nicene creed, and says that this creed "to this day is the standard of orthodoxy in the Roman, Eastern, Anglican, and some other churches."

Considering that this phrase was so fundamental to the East/West Schism, one would think the author would have known better.

"Origen's overriding concern was to allow the whole Bible to speak for itself . . ."

The whole what? There was no "Bible" in the time of Origen, just various books and letters that circulated among the churches. The Biblical Canon would not be set until more than a century later.

". . . a young law student from Asia Minor named Gregory, later nicknamed the Wonder-Worker, because of his unusually successful missionary labors among his own people."

"Nicknamed"? Titles of honor bestowed by the Church are hardly nicknames. And St. Gregory was called Wonderworker because of the many miracles God worked through him, not because he was a good church planter!

"He will also judge those who cause schisms, people destitute of the love of God, who desire their way more than the unity of the Church, and who for trifling reasons or any kind of reason which occurs to them cut in pieces and divide the great and glorious body of Christ and, as far as lies in them, destroy it." St. Irenaeus

"[W]hat the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, the Virgin Mary set free through faith." St. Irenaeus

"When the pagans hear from our mouths the oracles of God, they marvel at their beauty and greatness. But when they discover that our actions are not worthy of the words we speak, they turn from wonder to blasphemy, saying that it is a myth and a delusion." - 2 Clement

"Let us unite with those who devoutly practice peace, and not with those who hypocritically wish for peace." - Clement of Rome