Tag Archives: christians

Heaven & Earth (& Hell) 11 – Assurance of Salvation or What Sort of God Do You Worship?

In the Christian circles in which I move, a question of “assurance” often surfaces. That was never a question that troubled me, so it took me a while to discern why it seemed to be an issue for so many. I finally realized that, like so many other questions, it was a matter of how [...]
Posted in Hell | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heaven & Earth (& Hell) 10 – Theosis or Deification

If our basic problem is that we don’t want God and are not able to live within him and in union with him, what’s the solution? This question points to the deeper meaning and accomplishment of the work of the mystery of the Incarnation. It’s why Christians traditionally believed and taught that Christ would have [...]
Posted in Hell | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Four Hundred Texts on Love (Second Century) 10

30.  For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion there is no difference between his own or another’s, or between Christians and unbelievers, or between slave and free, or even between male and female. But because he has risen above the tyranny of the passions and has fixed his [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Heaven & Earth (& Hell) 2 – The Caricature

I believe it’s important to describe the perspective on reality I intend to deconstruct in this series. While this perspective is expressed and nuanced in many different ways, all modern expressions of this perspective share certain certain features. Fr. Stephen, in his excellent series, uses the metaphor of a two-story house with a basement to [...]
Posted in Hell | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is the source of our oneness?

Once again, I would appreciate any thoughts, comments, or reactions my words spur in anyone who happens to read this. Incorporating and responding to the thoughts of others is one of the ways I process thoughts, and the thoughts in this post are certainly less than complete. I’ll start with the paragraph from 1 Corinthians [...]
Posted in Eucharist, Faith | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Four Hundred Texts on Love 24

95. When the sun rises and casts its light on the world, it reveals both itself and the things it illumines. Similarly, when the Sun of righteousness rises in the pure intellect. He reveals both Himself and the inner principles of all that has been and will be brought into existence by Him. The sun [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Hundred Texts on Love 17

61.  ‘But I say to you,’ says the Lord, ‘love your enemies … do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you’ (Matt. 5:44). Why did He command this? To free you from hatred, irritation, anger and rancor, and to make you worthy of the supreme gift of perfect love. [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Four Hundred Texts on Love 5

15. If we detect any trace of hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from love for God, since love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man. 16. He who loves Me, says the Lord, will keep My commandments (cf. John 14:15, 23); and [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Hundred Texts on Love 4

13. The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified. But when they amend their lives, his delight is indescribable and knows no bounds. Jesus did not modify the Sh’ma Yisrael simply by adding an extra little [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Hundred Texts on Love 3

12. When the intellect is ravished through love by divine knowledge and stands outside the realm of created beings, it becomes aware of God’s infinity. It is then, according to Isaiah, that a sense of amazement makes it conscious of its own lowliness and in all sincerity it repeats the prophet’s words: ‘How abject I [...]
Posted in St. Maximos the Confessor | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment