parresia

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Divine Liturgy

Katherine and I just returned from the Divine Liturgy at St. Paul's. What a blessing it is to be able to participate in the glorious Liturgy, where 98% of the service is in prayer to God. So much time to meditate on God's grace; so much time to beseech God for forgiveness of sins; so much, yet so little: everytime the Liturgy ends and I'm walking out, I'm fighting a deep desire to sit in a pew for another hour or two just contemplating my state before God.

The Orthodox worship environment is so beautiful, so awe inspiring, that one's thoughts are directed to those matters pertaining to the spiritual life: sin, grace, love, charity, faithfullness, history, future judgement, and so forth. Scripture is written all over the church, whether it's the numerous verses in the dome, or the verses on the iconostasis, or the icons themselves that portray scriptural truths...it's difficult to avoid realizing you're in a house of worship. There's a tangible "holiness" about the entire structure and components of an Orthodox church...it's something that you can't really describe, and it's not intellectual: you have to experience it to understand.

"You have to experience it to understand." I know my Protestant friends are probably rolling their eyes right now. But it's okay. I was there, and I would have rolled my eyes right along with them, then.

Fr. Timothy read the following verse to close out the sermon tonight. I thought it was more than appropriate for the eve of Thanksgiving.

therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude [thanksgiving], by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. ~~Hebrews 12:28-29

And this my friends is the Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy that culminates in the Lord's Supper: the "Eucharist" which can be translated "thank you," is both our thank you to God, and God's gift to us. "By which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe..." Our participation in the Eucharist....in a service that is brimming with reverence and awe. Standing in reverence. Facing the Gospels as they're brought into the room. Facing the Gifts as they are presented. Crossing yourself at all such junctures. Bowing the head in humility. Censing the entire sanctuary prior to bringing in the Gifts. Lighting candles in reverence. Awe of the mystery. All to show reverence because of our awe.

Praise God for his blessings.

love to quote

Said so well

Chris over at Pleroma ended a great post with this paragraph:

I suspect that Calvinists are so dead set on "unconditional election" because they regard it as a watertight bulkhead against any idea of "works salvation" and necessary for the total exclusion of any "boasting" on our part about our salvation. They see any idea of cooperation with grace as not just "action in common" between God and man, but also a sharing of the "credit" for salvation between God and man. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When we act apart from grace, we can truly take "credit" for our actions, except it is not credit, it is only blame. When we act in coooperation with grace, all of the credit belongs to God, who deigns to work through us for our own salvation and the salvation of those around us. An Orthodox priest once explained to me, "You can never earn your salvation, but you must assuredly work for it." For it is through that working (enabled and empowered by grace, and impossible without grace) that we are transformed, and become "conformed to the image of His Son" (Ro 8.29).

Whether or not my Calvinist friends will admit it, this is exactly what Calvinists "think," i.e., this is the ideology that pervades the Calvinist mindset. Though they may want to argue against it in strict dogmatic terms, practically speaking this is absolutely the sort of thing that is ingrained in contemporary Calvinism.

heresy/schism

Heresy and Schism

I found the following quotes on 'heresy' and 'schism' rather interesting.

Pelikan:

The presupposition of [the writings of the church fathers] was that the primitive deposit of Christian truth had been given by Christ to the apostles and by them in turn to the succession of orthodox bishops and teachers, while the heretics were those who forsook this succession and departed from this deposit.

Origen on heretics:

Heretics all begin by believing, and afterwards depart from the road of faith and the truth of the church's teaching."

Augustine on heretics:

[those who] in holding false opinions regarding God do injury to the faith itself.

Augustine on schismatics:

[those who] in wicked separations break off from brotherly charity, although they may believe just what we believe

St. Basil on heretics:

men who were altogether broken off and alienated in matters relating to the actual faith

St. Basil on schismatics:

men who had separated for ecclesiastical reasons and questions capable of mutual solution

Thomas Aquinas on heretics:

A heretic no longer adheres to the teaching of the church as to an infallible rule, but to his own will.

of interest

Interesting

Here's a Missouri Synod Lutheran who has some interesting content. Lutheran you say?

big game

Big Game Stats

SERIES RECORD - USC leads the series, which dates back to 1929, 27-37-7, and has won the last three meetings. USC won last year's game at the Coliseum, 27-0. UCLA won eight straight games between 1991-98, twice as long a string as any previous streak in the series, and is 13-8-1 versus USC since the start of the 1980s. UCLA head coach Bob Toledo is 3-3 versus the Trojans. UCLA is 7-3 vs. USC at the Rose Bowl. This is the first time USC has entered the game ranked in the Top 25 since 1995. UCLA has won the last four games (1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995) in which USC has been ranked. The last time both schools were ranked entering the game was 1993, when No. 16 defeated No. 22 USC, 27-21, at the Coliseum. UCLA has won three of the last four games in which both teams were ranked, dating back to 1982. The last time the schools met at the Rose Bowl (2000), the Bruins lost by a score of 38-35. A field goal with nine seconds remaining provided USC with the margin of victory. The Bruins had tied the game with 1:05 remaining when Cory Paus scored on a one-yard run on fourth down to culminate a 75-yard drive.
~~~Taken from: Bruin Football

McGrath

Protestant Spirituality

The noted Oxford author/scholar Alister McGrath wrote a book called Christian Spirituality. My mother began reading this book a couple months or so ago. As a result I've had many opportunities to pick it up and read different sections of the book, as well as discuss several sections with my mother. What I've read has been quite interesting, to say the least.

As the title suggests McGrath sketches a sort of overview/review of the modes/manifestations of Christian Spirituality throughout church history. Needless to say, from a Anglican-Protestant position, McGrath's tendency in the book is to western writers, whether of Romanist or Protestant descent. To McGrath's credit however, Orthodoxy (and eastern fathers) are discussed fairly frequently-- neither does McGrath present the Orthodox position in a bad light. For the most part the book seems fair and candid-- I should add that I was quite pleased my mother was taking the time to read it; I think Reformed Protestants, of which my mother is one, in particular are most susceptible to spiritual apathy.

What I find so interesting about McGrath is that he has a very large Reformed/Calvinistic Protestant readership. He is very influencial in Presbyterian circles and well as many Lutheran circles. Although I find this to be a good thing, I cannot but be puzzled by it since many of the "aids," "helps" that he advocates are, how shall I put it, very Orthodox/Roman Catholic.
In his chapter called "Faces, Places, and Spaces: Visualization and Spacialization" he suggests many "aids" to the faith:

He includes the cross and crucifix as "Christian symbolism" that can "remind Christians of the sufferings of Jesus, and thus emphasize the costliness and reality of the salvation which resulted from his death on the cross." (it should be noted here that earlier in the book McGrath writes about the use of icons in worship; although he warns against idolatry as a pitfall of inappropriate icon use, he portrays the use of icons in a very positive light, and makes it clear that really the only Christians who view icons as wrong are Christians of the Reformed tradition.

McGrath mentions the role of "stories" in spirituality; in particular he writes about stories of the saints, "Many Christians...expect to learn from their [the saints] example and witness...many biographies [of the saints] illustrate the way in which the stories of those who managed to live closer to God than the rest of us can be an inspiration and encouragement to us."

"The Rhythm of Faith:" McGrath writes at length about the valuable traditions of the Christian week, and Christian year. Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays (as is the practice of the Church since the time of the Apostles), following the the Christian year McGrath makes the following admonishion: "Christianity is not just a set of ideas; it is a way of life. Part of that life is a richly structured yearly pattern of life, in which various aspects of the Christian faith are singled out for particular attention during the course of a year. McGrath states directly that following the Christian year is of "spiritual importance" and "utility"-- he includes, among others, Lent, Holy Week, Christmas, Easter, etc.

Not only does McGrath point to the Christian week and year, but also the Christian day: the "monastic day." McGrath sites Psalm 119:164 as the basis for prayer at seven points throughout the day...as seen in Orthodox and Catholic circles: the hours, Vespers, Orthros, Prime, and Compline.

McGrath points to "Holy spaces": spirituality and architecture. "The clear function of church architecture is to stress the transcendence of God. The great soaring arches and sprires of medieval cathedrals were intended to stress the greatness of God, and raise the thoughts of worshippers heavenwards. The symbolism is that of the eternal impinging upon the temporal, with the church building symbolizing the mediation between heaven and earth..."

McGrath's next chapter is called "Engaging the Tradition." Does any of this sound very Presbyterian to you? With all these recommendations to spiritual life being focused around those things that Orthodox and Catholics have done for hundreds and hundreds of years it strikes me as odd that McGrath is such a popular author among non-Anglican Reformed Christians.

Perhaps the Presbyterian readers of McGrath just don't get it. Do they just fail to see that McGrath is advocating a Christian practice that, in many ways, looks very different from their own?

The Archbishop of Cantebury has said fairly recently, (paraphrasing), "We [Anglicans] look forward to the day when the Anglican church will not exist...the day when we'll be united to the Orthodox/Catholic Church." Anglicans know where they stand, and they claim apostolic succession. I wish my Presbyterian friends would listen closer to the Anglicans.

weekend notes

Notes

Katherine and I had the great pleasure to be guests at the wedding of the now Delgado's. The wedding was beautiful; the sermon was as good as it was long; the food was as tasty as it was plentiful, and being in the company of so many friends was simply a joy. Thanks to Blake for doing a great job keeping the microphone out of the hands of the would-be disc jockey/lounge act (whoever he was). John Cordova (who really needs to get his own Blog) was great company as usual; and sitting next to Wayne (who has his own Blog) never gets dull, since he gets to witness and comment on mine and Katherine's antics. :-)

This Saturday (Nov 23rd) UCLA takes on it's arch-foe: University of Spoiled Children. The contest of brawn and brains will begin thirty minutes past noon, and you can bet I'll be watching. Always remember:

A Trojan is only good once, but a Bruin is good all the time.

Anyone care to play a game of "Pin the Trojan on the Trojan?"

Beating SC: it's not a rivalry....it's a tradition. (out of the past 14 years or so UCLA has come out on top of SC 10 times, I think).

Cross-Town rivals? There's no cross-town rivalry-- everyone knows there's only one good university in Los Angeles!

Beat SC!

BCS has USC ranked at #9... nobody said it's going to be easy.

Coldplay's new album is really really good.

Trying to find a one-bedroom apartment for under $700 in Orange County is very difficult.

I can't wait to get my hands on the new 4 disc Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD release.

Anyone have any idea how to watch the "easter eggs" on the newly released Star Wars: Episode II DVD? (easter eggs are similar to "hidden tracks" as found on audio compact discs; they require special codes to access them)

The Nativity Fast has begun: the Orthodox Church is beginning its celebration and commemoration of Christ's birth. Amen.

insidious

Insidious Policies

The other day I was on the phone with my insurance broker (Auto Insurance Specialists) trying to add my fiance to my policy.

Broker: So you want to add your fiance to your policy?
Me: Yes, please.
Broker: That won't be a problem; you live with your fiance, correct?
Me: No, we don't live together.
Broker: I'm sorry then; we cannot add her to your policy-- unless she is living in the same household we cannot add her to your policy.
Me: Hm.

Moral: if you are shacking-up with your live-in honey you can be on each other's auto insurance policy. If you're doing things the "old fashioned way," you're up a creek. What values does our society promote?

No mere denomination

Orthodoxy: just another denomination?

In I Timothy 3:1ff Paul expounds the role and qualifications for Bishops.

1 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (emphasis mine)

It is more than clear that Paul is entrusting these Bishops (men who were in many cases hand picked by the Apostles to oversee the church) to take care of not just a denomination (a sect with its own doctrinal particulars and emphases), but THE CHURCH (unified in doctrine, practice, and oversight) manifested in particular localities, e.g., Acts 14:21-23

21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

It is incorrect to think that the church of which Paul speaks is not comprised of the local bodies in their Sacramental unity under the leadership of the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons (I Timothy chapters 2, 3, and 5). In fact, it is for this very reason-- the importance of the roles and positions of those three offices-- that Paul writes three of his epistles: I and II Timothy, and Titus. Were these offices so important to Paul such that leaving their fold (such as happened in the Reformation) is justifiable?

Put another way, what right does any man have to step outside of the hierarchy designed and appointed to "take care of the church"described and prescribed by Paul ? If this hierarchy is of God, and is a Biblical means to order the church, then how is it Luther and Calvin are justified to re-invent the wheel as seen in Presbyterianism and Lutheranism?

The fact of the matter is this: Protestants have removed themselves from the hierarchy of the church that was begun in the first century under the supervision of the Apostles-- I cannot fathom how one could be comfortable in such a place.

The same church that was begun under Peter...

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(Matthew 16:18-19)

that same church (that ONE church) still exists to this day: the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church-- the Orthodox Church.

To make the claim that Orthodox Christians are doing the same thing that Protestants do when searching for a church is nonsense. Protestants find a church that accords with their own convictions and interpretations of Scripture (Susie becomes convinced of "the gifts of the Spirit" so she ends up in a Pentacostal church; ten years later when she grows a bit she becomes convinced of paedo-baptism so she joins the Lutheran church. Years later she becomes convinced from Scripture that only confessing adults ought to be baptized, so she goes and joins the Southern Baptists...so on and so forth).

By contrast, Orthodox Christians submit their own convictions and interpretations to that of The Interpreter: the Church (Betsy realizes that her own interpretations are faulty and in some cases based on spurious arguments from philosophy, so she joins the historic Church trusting in faith that God has preserved His Church, His Bride, against the gates of hell. Though she may be convinced that what the Orthodox call "Holy Communion" is merely a memorial in remembrance of Christ's work (something she learned well at Calvary Chapel), she submits to the Orthodox Church and over time learns the historic, biblical Tradition of the sacrament of Holy Communion-- with time she'll find that Tradition of the church to be her conviction as well.) Hence, in Orthodoxy it is not finding a mere "denomination" to fit one's convictions, it is the reverse: submitting to the Body of Christ in faith, believing that the body of Christ cannot be perverted.

Christ and the Apostles established one church under the supervision of ordained Bishops, Priests (Elders), and Deacons; those same offices (tracing all the way back to the Apostles) exist to this day. Are you comfortable being outside of that body?

thanks James

Dostoyevsky, Star Wars, and Orthodoxy Three of my favorite things, and yes, there is a connection; according to some a connection that runs deep. Thanks to James over at the great website Paradosis for finding this article. James' own comments on Orthodoxy as seen in The Matrix are also very interesting.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Raskolnikov, and St. Peter...what a combination!