quick quotes
An Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expressed! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction! ~~Abraham Lincoln
For all my single friends...uh... that's just about all of you
!! Wayne, do not read this!! :-)
Russ Young has written some interesting opinions on the topic of dating. Sure glad I'm out of THAT game.
a brief poem of symbolism concerning my youth
Adapted from a poem called: where I'm from by George Ella Lyon (who happens to be a female).
I am from dust and ashes
born of bound love
and meager meansI am from waves and campfires
festive meetings with the closest brothers
where we battled imaginary foes in imaginary worldsI am from the greatests enchiladas
and some of the worst manners
where eating together meant only three things:
Christmas, Thanksgiving or EasterI am from 'the popular,' our jeans are the same
with all those sideways glances
friends for the moment
"I have found love at last!... again"I am from new wave beats
and melancholy flair;
test the airwaves
trends make me more awareI am from helpless to helped
divine aid in all
from grace and pity
the mystery of it all
Traditio Apostolica
All quotes from Schaff, Section 139, Vol. II.
Besides appealing to the Scriptures, the fathers, particularly Irenaeus and Tertullian, refer with equal confidence to the "rule of faith;" that is, the common faith of the church, as orally handed down in the unbroken succession of bishops from Christ and his apostles to their day, and above all as still living in the original apostolic churches, like those of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome. Tradition is thus intimately connected with the primitive episcopate. The latter was the vehicle of the former, and both were looked upon as bulwarks against heresy.Tertullian says:Irenaeus confronts the secret tradition of the Gnostics with the open and unadulterated tradition of the catholic church, and points to all churches, but particularly to Rome, as the visible centre of the unity of doctrine. All who would know the truth, says he, can see in the whole church the tradition of the apostles; and we can count the bishops ordained by the apostles, and their successors down to our time, who neither taught nor knew any such heresies. Then, by way of example, he cites the first twelve bishops of the Roman church from Linus to Eleutherus, as witnesses of the pure apostolic doctrine.
the holy scriptures arose in the church of Christ, were given to her, and only in her and by her can be rightly understood.
He calls attention also here to the tangible succession, which distinguishes the catholic church from the arbitrary and ever-changing sects of heretics, and which in all the principal congregations, especially in the original sects of the apostles, reaches back without a break from bishop to bishop, to the apostles themselves, from the apostles to Christ, and from Christ to God. "Come, now," says he, in his tract on Prescription, "if you would practise inquiry to more advantage in the matter of your salvation, go through the apostolic churches, in which the very chairs of the apostles still preside, in which their own authentic letters are publicly read, uttering the voice and representing the face of every one. If Achaia is nearest, you have Corinth. If you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have Thessalonica. If you can go to Asia, you have Ephesus. But if you live near Italy, you have Rome, whence also we [of the African church] derive our origin. How happy is the church, to which the apostles poured out their whole doctrine with their blood," etc.St. Paul writes:
Hold to the traditions (paradosis) which you were taught, whether by word (dia logon), or by epistle of ours.
Wedding Scoop
One man, especially such as I, does not deserve such blessing. On December 28th, 2002 I shall wed my Sweetness, Katherine Davis. There are so many different details and particulars that go into planning a wedding. Kate has been doing a wonderful job overcoming hurdle after hurdle while planning this wedding. She has demonstrated a thrifty eye, focused plan, and creative ideas. I look forward to sharing this day with all of our friends and family: it will be a day of thanksgiving, and joy. For a little taste of some of the more particular items of the wedding see the following: Kate's wedding profile on THE KNOT.com.
Enjoy.
Gotta have money to make money...
Evidently law schools are trying to keep this elitist phrase true!
I'm currently in the process of applying to law schools for the Fall of 2003. The costs will be close to what follows.
* Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration: $189Totalling nearly $2000. Two words: "highway robbery"
* Law School Admission Test (LSAT) prep course: $1000 (approximately)
* LSAT test registration: $95
* Test Results by phone: $32
* Transcript requests: $8 per copy per school = $24
* Soliciting Letters of Recommendation: $12 (postage, etc)
* Individual school application fees: $55 (on average) x 10 schools = $550
* LSDAS online applications (apply online to all schools of choice): $54
* Postage for hard copies of applications sent directly to schools: $30
And just think, after spending all that money I have the joy of waiting for their letters of denial. :-)
Protestant, Philip Schaff, on Orthodox Unity
My Protestant friends, I ask you to read Schaff's words and ask yourself: is it really so easy to simply dismiss the fathers as wrong?
The fathers of [the ante-Nicene period A.D. 100-325] all saw in the church, though with different degrees of clearness, a divine, supernatural order of things, in a certain sense the continuation of the life of Christ on earth, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the sole repository of the powers of divine life, the possessor and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures, the mother of all the faithful.With one interpreter there is one church. With many interpretors there is denominationalism.
She is holy because she is separated from the service of the profane world, is animated by the Holy Spirit, forms her members to holiness, and exercises strict discipline.To be placed outside her is to be truly punished, left alone to God's mercy or curse. By contrast, in many cases, if one is disciplined in a Protestant church, one simply need find another denomination to be accepted with open arms regardless of the other denomination's wishes.
She is catholic, this is complete, and alone true, in distinction from all parties and sects. Catholicity, strictly taken, includes the three marks of universality, unity, and exclusiveness, and is an essential property of the church as the body and organ of Christ, who is, in fact, the only Redeemer for all men.If only all Christians could speak with ONE voice in the world today. How does Satan use our divisions to his benefit?
Equally inseparable from her is the predicate of apostolicity, that is, the historical continuity or unbroken succession, which reaches back through the bishops to the apostles, from the apostles to Christ, and from Christ to God.Orthodoxy, Rome, and Anglicans have such continuity. Anglicans are alone among the Protestants who can claim such continuity.
In view of the fathers, every theoretical departure from this empirical, tangible, catholic church is heresy, that is, arbitrary, subjective, ever changing human opinion; every practical departure, all disobedience to her rules is schism, or dismemberment of the body of Christ; either is rebellion against divine authority, and a heinous, if not the most heinous, sin. No heresy can reach the conception of the church, or rightly claim any one of her predicates; it forms at best a sect or party, and consequently falls within the province and the fate of human and perishing things, while the church is divine and indestructible. ...this is without doubt the view of the ante-Nicene fathers ~~Schaff History of the Christian Church Vol. II, pg. 169ff.It has been said that if not for the error of Rome to schism itself from Orthodoxy in A.D. 1054 there would never have been a need for a Protestant reformation, since Rome's errors would have been handled "in house." Christ started his church on one Petras "rock," (Matthew 16:18). Once Rome fractured that rock, small cracks and crevices were bound to begin and grow larger, creating other cracks and crevices: consider the crack of Lutheranism; or the crevice of Pentecostalism; the fissure of non-denominational evangelicalism, and the cleft of Presbyterianism.
Was this view-- the view that predominated the church for its first millenium: the view that we read in Schaff above-- simply wrong? Is a plethora of schismatic churchs the way God intended his body to be represented on earth? Our fathers didn't think so, nor does the Orthodox church, which is mind you, the very church these ante-Nicene fathers speak of. Let us look to our forefathers; let us learn from the faith they handed down, indeed that faith which they themselves were handed from the apostles. Let us hold fast to what we have been taught.
The Silmarillion
A couple years ago, for Christmas, or was it my birthday?, my sweetie bought me J.R.R. Tolkien's history of Middle of Earth entitled The Silmarillion.
The first half is wonderful, especially the opening chapters concerning what is essentially a creation story. Tolkien's Christianity is fully apparent and beautiful as he weaves his fictional account of how ERU (Jehovah) brings the world into being, and how ERU's principalities all converge to either aid (Manwe) or foil (Melkor) Middle Earth.
Anyway, after being fortunate enough to have a roomate who bought the Lord of the Rings DVD (with a bonus DVD full of great behind the scenes stuff) I was inspired to dealve further into the fantastic history of the Rings of Power.
Here's the history in a nutshell: Melkor (like the Devil) attempts to bring Middle Earth under his dominion. In his mission to do so he seduces Sauron (a principality but of lesser power than Manwe, himself Melkor, and of course of lesser power than ERU). Sauron, being the most powerful of Melkor's followers, is soon the chief havok on Middle Earth under the dominion of Melkor.
By way of seduction, deception, and cunning Sauron is successful in luring many to join him. Of those who follow him are some Elves. Now Elves are the first-born of Middle Earth, they are the wisest, most blessed, and gifted of the creatures. Sauron convinces some of them to create these rings of power to rule each race: as a result 9 are given to the 9 human kings, 7 to the seven dwarf kings, and several are given to the elven rulers. These rings are powerful and do indeed aid the ring-bearer, BUT what Sauron didn't tell the elven smiths was that he created a ring himself, putting all of his evil into it, and this one ring rules ALL the other rings, so that who so bears the other rings of power will be in submission to Sauron who wears the ONE Ring.
The story goes on from there; I encourage you to read these great stories if time permits. Anyway, I found it all quite interesting.
Some good stuff
Russ has something interesting to share. Check it out.
Paul and Polycarp writing to the Philippians
16But we must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already.Notice again the exhortation to follow the example of those saints from the past as well as those around you.
17Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
~~Philippians 3:16-18I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, such as ye have seen [set] before your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. [This do] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.
~~~Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (Chapter IX.-Patience Inculcated.)
So Poetic, Yet So True
An anonymous man who calls himself Mathetes (a disciple of the Apostles) writes (at approximately A.D. 130) the following simile comparing the Christian soul to the heathen world. This is great stuff; I hope you gain from it as I did.
Chapter VI.-The Relation of Christians to the World.We must remember the indicative and the imperative: we are, in a sense, what Mathetes describes as Christian souls, yet most importantly, we as Christian souls must continually strive to be what Mathetes describes-- in thought and deed we must be strangers to this world dailyTo sum up all in one word-what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number.
Lord keep us from both pride and apathy.
Orthodox Chrismation
Upon entrance into the Orthodox Church the once Catechumen (one seeking entrance into the church) is annointed with oil and receives the Holy Spirit, thus "membership," and can rightly be called a Christian (a member of the body of Christ).
Theophilus of Antioch (A.D. 115-168) recounts what it means to have the name "Christian." One ought to find it very interesting that he ties it directly to one who has been [baptised] and Chrismated (annointed with oil).
Chapter XII.-Meaning of the Name Christian.He speaks of the title "Christian" in very different terms than many often do today, or shall I say how Protestants often do today. The Orthodox Church still has the view described by Theophilus. Interesting.And about your laughing at me and calling me "Christian," you know not what you are saying. First, because that which is anointed17 is sweet and serviceable, and far from contemptible. For what ship can be serviceable and seaworthy, unless it be first caulked [anointed]? Or what castle or house is beautiful and serviceable when it has not been anointed? And what man, when he enters into this life or into the gymnasium, is not anointed with oil? And what work has either ornament or beauty unless it be anointed and burnished? Then the air and all that is under heaven is in a certain sort anointed by light and spirit; and are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? Wherefore we are called Christians on this account, because we are anointed with the oil of God.
Hard Truth
Sometimes we can learn a lot about what we ought to be doing by knowing what we ought not to be doing...
After Barnabas describes the "Way of Light" (a lengthy and rather detailed exhortation to good works) he then describes what to do if you want to go to Hell...The "Way of Darkness."
Chapter XX.-The Way of Darkness.Lord have mercy on us.But the way of darkness is crooked, and full of cursing; for it is the way of eternal death with punishment, in which way are the things that destroy the soul, viz., idolatry, over-confidence, the arrogance of power, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, adultery, murder, rapine, haughtiness, transgression, deceit, malice, self-sufficiency, poisoning, magic, avarice, want of the fear of God. [In this way, too, ] are those who persecute the good, those who hate truth, those who love falsehood, those who know not the reward of righteousness, those who cleave not to that which is good, those who attend not with just judgment to the widow and orphan, those who watch not to the fear of God, [but incline] to wickedness, from whom meekness and patience are far off; persons who love vanity, follow after a reward, pity not the needy, labour not in aid of him who is overcome with toil; who are prone to evil-speaking, who know not Him that made them, who are murderers of children, destroyers of the workmanship of God; who turn away him that is in want, who oppress the afflicted, who are advocates of the rich, who are unjust judges of the poor, and who are in every respect transgressors.
~~Epistle of Barnabas (A.D. 100)