As we’re all aware of, we saw quite an undignified spectacle of a debate last night.
However, a comment I kept seeing over and over in social media posts by our young people is how the debate reminded them of General Body meetings at church.
Some even said that the debate was tame compared to General Body meetings.
While on its surface the comments are funny, it really is sad and disturbing more than anything else. That is simply not okay.
That is the impression our young people have of our churches, and it should cause us shame and guilt that we have created such environments in the holiest of places.
Agreed. One thing to change is our vocabulary. We read an article in seminary once about how the use of titles like the “Syriac Orthodox Church” or “Ethiopian Orthodox Church” leads to the belief that these are totally different churches.
Instead if we say “the Church in Syria,” “the Church in Ethiopia,” etc., it is more accurate and helps people to understand that it’s a geographical separation only.
Another point, the OO just haven’t done a good job talking to each other and promoting each other and showing other sister Churches as exactly that, our ‘sister.’ Instead, they’re either ignored or spoken of in an inferior way.
Right in front of where I live, there’s a one way street. People often get pulled over, for going the wrong way on that one way.
The only people who never get pulled over are the cops who do this regularly.
Another example I think we can all relate to is watching cops blow through red lights or turning on their lights to get through traffic, simply because they don’t want to wait. This is something many of us have witnessed.
Most of us ignore these things, and, at most, we might shake our heads.
But this, I believe, is part of the police culture that many are now criticizing and have been criticizing for many years. We hear things about how it’s very difficult to prosecute cops for breaking the law.
Some keep saying that protestors need to work in the constructs of the law in order to enact change. They often cite MLK and Indians will cite Gandhi.
But what they forget is that those who took part in civil disobedience were BREAKING THE LAW.
MLK was arrested 29 times, often for bogus things. And other times for straight up ‘breaking the law’ like wanting to be served with white people in a restaurant. That was considered illegal in the South.
His famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written when he was arrested for demonstrating in a place where he was not ‘legally’ allowed to demonstrate.
On January 1, the Church commemorates the feast of Basil the Great. He is remembered for many things, for example, as a canonist, orator, and Biblical exegete.
My ThM thesis focused on Basil the Great, and I had the great opportunity to read through his letters, which show that,
above all, he was a pastor who loved his flock.
One of my favorite letters is Letter 270, a letter he wrote after hearing of the rape of a woman. His response is a great example of how a hierarch should respond to such things. He exemplifies strong condemnation for those who did
hurt the woman (including those who protected him!) and shows love and care for the woman who was hurt.
"I am greatly grieved that I do not find you either indignant over deeds which are forbidden or able to understand that this rape which is going on is an unlawful outrage and
Can somebody explain to me why those who supported the Confederacy are not described as traitors and treasonous? This is something that I’ve wondered since I was in elementary school.
We always learned the figure that over 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War (the most of any American war). Around 3rd grade, I realized that number includes 258,000 Confederates. And it always confused me why they were included in that number.
These were people who openly denounced the US and formed a new country. They had a new flag, a new Constitution, new money, and a new President. Yet they’re counted among the Americans. I still, to this day, do not understand why.