salterblog.com

My Road to Orthodoxy- I Went the Long Way Around  

I was interested in religion from an early age. My grandmother first exposed me to real religious conviction. She was “First Christian” and quite involved. I read the New Testament and it really spoke to me – especially the words of Jesus. He seemed to be speaking about revolutionary change in oneself, an inner metamorphosis, and a radically different way of looking at the world. I did not see the same spirit reflected in the Christians and churches around me. I wondered if there were secrets I didn’t know yet – perhaps they would tell me in the commencement classes.

We went to a Presbyterian church most of the time and I went to commencement class there. I was taught the Protestant view of salvation. I was surprised there was so little to it. It just didn’t seem right that God was offended by Adam’s fall and continued to hold this against humanity. We were supposed to learn the Apostles creed. I had some questions about it – what was the Holy Catholic Church?  I had to swear to this creed didn’t I? Apparently our leader was short on time and only said – “don’t worry, you won’t have to say it.” The day came and I indeed did have to stand with the group and say the creed. It seemed clear to me that they didn’t really care what I believed. Of course I was at the age when one so easily knows more than one’s elders.  It was my last time attending that Presbyterian Church, I was 14.

After that I read widely – the Tibetan book of the Dead, the Bhagavad-Gita, some of the Book of Mormon, the Koran, and many others. I attended a Unitarian church for a while.  My parents didn’t have much to say about it all. I found a group studying G. I. Gurdjieff’s teachings. “The Work” was very compelling to me. I especially related to the writings of Maurice Nichol, as he used a Christian frame of reference.  I liked the idea of the development and evolution of the soul. It seemed right that “The Divine” never changed but we could. The Gurdjieff group moved to New York. I was married by then and my husband was not so interested. 

I found some spiritual support in Unity.Unity is pretty much a Protestant denomination. It is less traditional than many churches, but unlike the Unitarians, they believe they are specifically applying Christ’s teachings. They are great believers in changing yourself through change in your thoughts and attitudes, and in spiritual evolution. I learned to work on my habitual thoughts and beliefs about others, and myself and realize that I was the only one I could change.  I took lots of classes, was on the board.  What began to bother me was the “you mix it and fix it yourself” aspect. People would often announce that they had invented a new ritual—written a prayer, lit candles, perhaps a group would carry this out.  Essentially we were trying to uplift ourselves with very uncertain input from anything higher.  We had no real tradition of more experienced or advanced teachers. People did get some results, out of body experiences, strangely fortunate events, and “signs” – but where were these coming from?   Were we the first or only humans to work on spiritual development? We studied and had some contacts with other traditions – Tibetan monks, etc. We felt they were all the same at the core.  What had happened to the Christian tradition?  Was the true teaching lost? I stayed with Unity because it did not contradict my inner voice (or contradict anything for that matter, since it is so open-ended) but knew there was something missing there. 

My first conscious contact with Orthodox theology was a big surprise. My best friend in grade school was Greek and I had attended the Greek Orthodox Church with her, but it was very ethnic and, I think, even most of the members understood little about the theology.  In fact I didn’t realize that I had seen some of these ideas before: Gurdjieff had incorporated many elements from his own Orthodox upbringing into his teachings. 

Orthodoxy has always regarded salvation as coming both from our own efforts and help or “Grace” from above us.  We must reach a level of some purity before we can understand and be reached by Divine Grace.  They call the process Theosis or Deification.  There are three phases: Purification, Illumination, and Deification. It is not that we become God, but we can draw closer and more attuned to the divine. The Orthodox define Sin as “missing the mark” in it’s original Greek meaning.  We are separated from God and therefore are innately deviating from the Divine, therefore sinners. This is important to realize and humility is much valued, as we need to keep always in mind that we cannot progress or be saved form our own level, from our own efforts alone.  Purification comes through fasting, prayer, and giving alms. Illumination comes from above – from God and divine persons.  The original and genuine Christian tradition of Saints has also been preserved in Orthodoxy.  They are examples and inspiration of those who have gone on the path before us and can help us.  They have applied themselves and personally and mystically experienced a glimpse of God and Heaven. The monasteries provide a spiritually supportive environment and anchor.

Orthodoxy also understands the human need for ritual in understanding. We are not just intellectual beings but also the body and senses and emotions. The services and practices involve the senses with icons, incense, kneeling and prostrations as well as involving the mind and heart in prayer, especially the repetitious “Jesus prayer”.  Confession is before the icon of Christ and also the priest. The liturgy is not designed to entertain, but I think, gives the worshiper a few hours to focus on the spiritual instead of our constant worldly concerns. We are challenged to live in the present and avoid, for a time, our jealous, competitive and unloving thoughts. The fasting before communion and during other fasts is a helpful antidote to our American penchant for immediate gratification and consumerism. The Orthodox life is actually structured to keep one aware of our goals, our souls’ mission.  Each day of the week and the yearly calendar commemorate the saints and events in Christ’s life and teaching constantly - so we live through it each week and year.

Soon after I started attending the Orthodox liturgies, my old Greek Orthodox friend commented, “you’ll appreciate the ‘green Patriarch’” - as they call the leader of all the Orthodox “jurisdictions”. Bartholomew is very active in environmental issues. He has been very active internationally in many ecological issues and teaches that humans are the stewards of the Earth, and have a responsibility for its welfare.

Though Orthodoxy resembles Catholicism on the surface, the meaning and emphasis is really quite different.  To the Orthodox, God is not at all offended or affected by mankind’s errors. Christ was sent because humanity could no longer be reached in any other way.  The concept of salvation has a medical framework in Orthodoxy. The Church is said to be spiritual hospital.  Since we have free will, God will not intervene except through our actions. The Orthodox readily embrace mystery, and say we do not and cannot understand the nature of God.  We cannot judge the condition of others, or even know who may be saved or be in fact part of Christ’s Church – perhaps including non-Christians.  Orthodoxy does see itself as the best-preserved tradition of Jesus’ teachings, the continuation of his ministry, and the surest path for humankind to draw closer to God.  It is not very actively evangelical, as it is thought that those who are looking will manage to find it.

Historically, the Orthodox Church has continued without interruption and with little change for over 2000 years. It survived in the

Elizabeth Markovich is a friend and fellow parishioner at Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church. I thought her account of coming into Orthodoxy was valuable, and a must read. Thanks for a fine job

More news by category Topic -: Buy phentermine saturday delivery ohio Tramadol hydrochloride tablets Picture of xanax pills Free shipping cheap phentermine Buying phentermine without prescription Safety of phentermine Pyridium Generic viagra cialis Cialis generic india Pink oval pill 17 xanax identification Buy free phentermine shipping Best price for generic viagra Information about street drugs or xanax bars Ordering viagra Snorting phentermine Hydrocodone overdose Lithium Amiodarone Get online viagra Order viagra prescription Order xanax paying cod Cheap phentermine free shipping Imiquimod Tramadol next day Linkdomain buy online viagra info domain buy onlin Pfizer viagra sperm Vidarabine Cheapest viagra price Prevacid Viagra cialis levitra comparison Dutasteride Lisinopril Thiotepa Female spray viagra Black market phentermine Betamethasone Cialis forums What does xanax look like Loss phentermine story success weight Order xanax overnight Viagra alternative uk Diet online phentermine pill Order xanax cod Mecamylamine Eulexin Cheap hydrocodone Buy cheapest viagra Viagra xenical Phentermine with no prior prescription Xanax in urine Macrodantin Cheap phentermine with online consultation Epivir Buy phentermine epharmacist Ditropan Woman use viagra Cialis erectile dysfunction Xanax withdrawl message boards Viagra online store Atorvastatin Generic ambien Is phentermine addictive Next day delivery on phentermine Buy online viagra Ethanol Natural phentermine Avandamet Xanax long term use Diet page phentermine pill yellow 5 cheap Cheapest secure delivery cialis uk Information medical phentermine Cialis experience Phentermine no perscription Compare ionamin phentermine Viagra cialis levivia dose comparison Noroxin Effects of viagra on women Buy cheap cialis Viagra shelf life Hydroxyurea Phentermine discount no prescription Buy cheap online viagra Dog xanax Online cialis Viagra class action Viagra price Phentermine without prescription and energy pill Hydrocodone cod only Nicoumalone Cheapest viagra Cheap ambien Vicodin without prescription Phentermine prescription online Phentermine snorting Mirtazapine Quazepam Isradipine Buy generic viagra online Xanax look alike Moxifloxacin Viagra experiences Piroxicam Nicorette Free try viagra Sotalol Cash on delivery shipping of phentermine How do i stop taking phentermine Xanax prescriptions Cheapest phentermine 90 day order Niacinamide Phentermine weight loss Phentermine

If I could sit down with very successful people and ask them questions how cool would that be? I’ve done this with some real estate investors. Learned quite a bit and profited financially. Tackling internet marketing is another complete animal. James Brausch has another question offering on his blog. So my question to him is “How do you choose to ‘celebrate’ or reward yourself when an internet initiative finally gets off the ground and is profitable?”

A good friend of mine recommended I join up Ed Dale’s Internet course at www.thirtydaychallenge.com. I’m on…what a blast. I’m jazzed, juiced, pumped and ready to go! I’ll make regular posts on my activity during this course.

The editor’s at the Daily Reckoning, as is their habit, address the current mood for businessin America. They hit on a mind set I’ve been hammering for months now. Give a read: “Our feeling now is that everything is turning on its toes too fast. There are too many paradoxes for us to digest. We need to lie down for a while to digest them.

This morning I looked at the latest entry from The Daily Reckoning. In it I found a large expanse of sanity. They presented a piece showcasing the goals of The Congress for the New Urbanism. Formed in ‘93 their mission is “to present a clear alternative to the mindless devouring juggernaut of suburbia”. The ‘lay movement’, if you will, resulting from this official organization has come to be called the New Urbanists. Over the years this movement has had some successes. Cities have been hit with major new looks. The bland, ’strip mall’ look has given way to bold, creative looks that bring fresh perspective to a neighborhood. This raises a thought in my mind: the shape of buildings affects how we think and influences our mood.   

Before I comment on that, the article points out that the New Urbanists are having an effect on some college courses, as well as the entrenched mind set of the faculty. (Isn’t is depressing that the once strong bastion of free thought and creativity, the University,  is now home to narrow minded bureaucrats?)

Back to the effect of buildings on people’s minds. I remember a shot from Russia some years ago. It was a shot with the locals hanging out at the beach. There was litter, old pipes, buildings in disrepair…all this was in stark contrast with the attempt of people on the beach to relax and catch a few rays. It did not make me want to relax. Thinking about warehouses, on the water front, with similar paint,  is equally depressing. But sitting in my yard looking at a cedar side house in the middle of a green, landscaped yard is relaxing.

My heart goes out to people who are stuck in a particular way of thinking…can’t see a way out…don’t know of other viable options on how to live their life. I read a statistic that stated 50% of the people on planet earth now live in a city. Rural life, along with rural mentality, is close to being in the minority. That in itself is dangerous. But living in the city has other dangers. Buildings are a contributor of static, myopic thinking. God bless the New Urbanists. 

Yesterday my son & I made a trip over to Mobile AL for an overnight stay on the battleship Alabama. We pulled out of here early Saturday morning. Arrived at the park by 1:00 pm eastern. Since we were part of a group of Dad’s spending the night on the ship we waited around for 2:30 to slowly come along. We busied ourselves by walking over to the Vietnam/Korea memorial. Seeing the names listed there (names of Alabama men who gave their lives in those two conflicts) I found myself touching the names of some of the men on the polished granite. Some how it brought meaning to me to do that. We said a prayer over the slain men. May their memory be eternal.

We walked all over the park and saw WWll vintage tanks, jets, transport vehicles, helicopters. They were quite impressive. Climbing into the jets was awesome.  Just the thing for a 10 year old boy.

Finally the time came to get with the other Dad’s. Filing up to the front we checked in. All the boys were bouncing off the proverbial walls.  We lined up to be ‘checked in’ by the main gate. Problem was a large boy scout troop was there just before us. They were taken in first. That was not the problem, actually. The approaching thunderstorm was. The skies were purple and black. I seriously thought a tornado would drop out of the billowing clouds above us. Some 12 of us Dad’s watched it approach and several of us said if it got much closer we would duck inside to get out of the approaching rain. A strong lightening strike made the decision for us. We scurried to a hangar. Getting inside we saw several planes and jets that were not outside. Again, the boys were in seventh heaven.

After milling around for half an hour the rain let up. Our guide came and got us. Directing us to the battleship he gave us the ‘don’t do this, do go here’ speech. We dutifully obeyed and instructed our sons to follow the safety rules. Almost immediately high anxiety formed in the boys. Now was the time for wrestling, exploring, playing games and making new friends.  

It’s amazing to me to this day. Home-schooled kids really do play well and get along with each other. The entire night I noticed not one serious conflict. The fathers dutifully supervised their sons. They explored to their hearts content. The old battleship is impressive. Made in the 30’s it was ‘retired’ some time after the second world war. The size of the guns on that bad boy were impressive: large cannon that could reach 40 to 50 miles inland.  Dozens of 50 cal. machine guns on both sides of it. I would put the size about 70% of the average cruise liner.  I actually didn’t count the total number of guns on that ship.

The sleeping arrangements were pure military. We had a large room with triple bunks to sleep in. The beds were narrow but plenty long enough. Thank goodness it was air conditioned. The look on the boys faces when they saw the sleeping arrangements was priceless. You never saw so many hyped up boys in your life.

We slept well. Got up with the sun.  Strolled out on the deck and said morning prayers facing east. This was one of the ‘hit a home run’ trips with your son. He’s eager to go back. Made me promise to take him back, actualy.  I will. If you want a very nice outing with your son, stop off in Mobile and do an overnight trip with him. He will never forget it.      

Last night my son & I had a great evening. We were waiting for the Misses to come home. She called about fourty-five minutes prior. Said she was on her way. Brannan & I meandered outside. I’ll catch you up on our yard. We live 12 miles from the nearest city. The nearest city is really small. The county we live in has no stop light in the entire county. Monticello is a small, sleepy little town. Everyone who lives there wants it to stay just like it is. The city has maybe five thousand people in it. Our place is in a wooded section of north Florida. 10 acres in the middle of no where. Walking outside we stroll over to the gazebo. It has a swinging bench. Two chairs on either side of it. It was very hot and off the scale humid that night. Temp. read about 85 degrees. Humidity was about that too. In no time we broke out into a north Florida sweat. Our two cats came over to us and started entertaining us. One is a very young male. Probably 6 months old now. The older cat is about 2 years. They are playing well now. The older cat hated the ‘interloper’ the minute we brought him home.

So we watched the cats stalk and pounce on each other for the longest time. Don’t know who brought it up but the subject came up about the black bear in the neighborhood. I mentioned that we might see him amble into our yard. Brannan was ready to go back in then. I convinced him that the chances were remote the bear would stalk and pounce on us.

The conversation drifted to the possibility of seeing a fox walk up into the yard. Or an opossum, or an armadillo. Problem was I didn’t bring my gun. So there we sat. Letting the night grow around us. The quiet was healing. There is nothing like country quiet. At 8:30 pm in north Florida the night bugs take over the noise brigade. Occasionally an owl will break the sound. Usually a Great Horned Owl. There must be a half dozen of them in a 5 square mile area. They must feed well.  

Brannan, who is 10 years old, calmed down very quickly. He lay on the chair and stared off into the growing darkness. This was one of the few times he was content to sit and enjoy an evening without succumbing to playing, running around, telling a joke (the same one for the fifth time) or asking non stop questions. Father & son kicked back. Thought about shooting a stray varmint and then got tired of feeling the sweat run down our faces and slowly walked back into the frigid air conditioning. 10 minutes later the wife finally came home. 

Here is an older entry from Tim Powell’s blog back in June of 2004.

The Onion Dome, a parody/humor site recently held a contest to decide the slogan to use on an Orthodox Bumper Sticker. Here’s some I found amusing:

• Eastern Orthodox: The only Church with the word “Easter” in its title.
• You might be orthodox if…
  …you’re 15 and you have Varicose veins!
  …you have rug burns on your forehead for 50 days out of the year.
  …you have the words “consubstantial”, “hypostasis” or “filioque” in your vocabulary.
• My Church wrote your Bible.
• Horn Broken, Listen for Anathema
• You think that’s religious fundamentalism? I’ll show you religious fundamentalism.
• Orthodoxy — Ancestors you can’t remember are part of our Church
• Wisdom! Let us attend… to the road!
• When in doubt, cross yourself.
• Have you kissed your Mother’s Icon today?
• Your Mother Church — keeping the “Ma” in “dogma.”
• Orthodoxy: If It Aint’ Broke.…
• Orthodoxy: Pro-Life, Pro-Christ, Pro-Baklava!
• Honk if you know what this means: IC XC NIKA
• Being Saved
• Universality, Antiquity, Consent
• Orthodoxy: It’s a very narrow road
• 51% Atkins-Friendly
• Not so Close! I may need to do prostrations.
• Orthodoxy: It’s like Ethnicity without the color!
• “Uh … smoking, please.” Orthodoxy
• The Orthodox Church: Not Only Standing for the Truth, But Never Sitting Down Either
• Orthodoxy: Faithfully maintaining the tradition started at the Tower of Babel.
• I’m so Orthodox I don’t even change my oil.
• FILI-NOT-OKAY
• Orthodox Christianity: Not New, Not Improved
• Orthodoxy Is My Doxy
• Orthodoxy: Putting the FUN back in ‘fundamentalism’!
• In case of rapture, can I have your car?
• I (heart) Theotokos
• Fish Sticks have NO BACKBONE!
• Orthodoxy: Kickin’ it old school since 33 A.D.
• I’d rather be censing.
• Eat my antidoron.

Well, it happened again. I’m in another nature conflict. When you have chickens and pets you tend to look at raccoons, oppossums and foxes and alligators differently. Last week a neighbor called us to say she & her husband saw a black bear laying in her back yard eating the deer food they put out. He was around 400 pounds by their estimation.  They noticed a young deer having a dfficult time approaching the deer feeder. It was slinking around, casting furtive quick glances around the property. Then it suddenly bolted out to the adjacent woods. Walking to the other side of their house (inside) they saw the bear laying down on a cool concrete slab eating the feed for the deer. It lay there for a short while then ambled off to the woods.

Problem: we live in the middle of no where. There are perhaps 140 families that all have minimum five acre tracks. Some have 40 most have 10. We bump up to one of the largest forest areas in north Florida. Our subdivision is very remote.  That is part of the attraction. But large dangerous wildlife is…well, dangerous.

I’ve looked at all the stats on black bear attacks. Roughly 52 deaths in America total. Human predation, while extremely rare, is on record. When you have a 10 year old boy who loves to play outside having a black bear in the neighborhood is a damper on the relaxed play.

As President of the Association I followed up with the home owner. They called the Fish and Game Department. The Department gave them the standard line. “This is a protected species. You cannot just shoot it unless your life is in danger.” I blew out an air of disgust at that. A bear could snatch a little child so quick you couldn’t get your gun fast enough to send him to bear heaven.

I think if I saw the bear on my property, I’d put a bullet in him. Licence or not,  in season or not.  

I’m all about taking various quizzes on the Internet. Most are silly. Others are thoughtful. Some are dead on right. This test scored me a ‘freedom crusader’. It describes conservatives like me as “a neoconservative. You believe in taking the fight directly to the enemy, whether it’s terrorists abroad or the liberal terrorist appeasers at home who give them aid and comfort.” Amen, that’s me brother. I am constantly amazed at the pacifistic, ‘lets play dead approach of liberalism’. Jeez, those guys just don’t have any guts. They hate America so much they can’t envision a scenario where it would be ‘right’ to defend freedom here.

Here are the rest of the descriptions: Faith-Based Fighter, also known as a religious conservative. You believe in Judeo-Christian values, restoring God’s rightful place in the public square, and in showing all the unwashed and unsaved liberal sinners the path to salvation, or at least to the GOP.Flag-Waving Everyman, also known as a patriot. You believe in freedom, apple pie, rooting for America at all times, and that God gave us a two-day weekend so we could enjoy football and NASCAR.