Tag Archives: mystery

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

By Scott | Published: July 7, 2010
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 [...]
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Heaven & Earth (& Hell) 6 – Resurrection

By Scott | Published: June 28, 2010
Now that I’ve discussed death and the abode of the death, it seems appropriate to interject the Christian belief in resurrection, certainly one of the most central tenets of our faith. (If you missed my post on Rob Bell’s Resurrection video, now’s a good time to pause and check it out.) Resurrection means and has [...]
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Original Sin 17 – Blocked Transmission

By Scott | Published: March 12, 2010
In addition to the issue of Christ’s nature that I discussed yesterday, which I perceive as the central problem, the idea that all mankind naturally inherits guilt in a “sinful nature” but that Jesus didn’t tends to raise another question. How is it that Jesus did not inherit our nature of inherited guilt when he [...]
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For the Life of the World 38

By Scott | Published: February 17, 2010
This post focuses on sections 4-6 of Sacrament and Symbol, the second appendix of For the Life of the World. Fr. Schmemann more closely examines why the ancient Christian Fathers perceived symbol and reality so differently and it’s primarily a matter of “worldview” (to use an often overused word).  The world, created by God, is [...]
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Evangelical Is Not Enough 7

By Scott | Published: February 10, 2010
Thomas Howard’s seventh chapter, Table and Altar: Supper and Sacrament, focuses on the Eucharist (the Thanksgiving) of bread and wine, body and blood. He opens the chapter with a strange statement that the word sacrament does not appear in the Bible. As I read the chapter, I thought perhaps he meant that the Thanksgiving, the [...]
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Evangelical Is Not Enough 5

By Scott | Published: February 6, 2010
Thomas Howard’s fifth chapter is titled: Hail, Blessed Virgin Mary: What Did the Angel Mean? Oddly, to my mind, he uses that introduction to explore how marriage is both a spiritual and physical union in a way that is intertwined and inseparable. He then builds on that to show how the foundation of Christian faith, [...]
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Evangelical Is Not Enough 3

By Scott | Published: February 4, 2010
Thomas Howard opens the third chapter, Christian Worship: Act or Experience?, with a story of his time living in England and attending an evangelical church that was part of the Church of England. It was familiar to him in its evangelical belief. (For those who don’t know the Anglican communion includes both evangelical and anglo-catholic [...]
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For the Life of the World 28

By Scott | Published: January 27, 2010
The series continues in section 1 of the sixth chapter of For the Life of the World. Here again is the link to Deacon Michael Hyatt’s  podcast on chapter six. For the Life of the World: Part Thirteen Christianity, with its message offering fullness of life, has contributed more than anything else to the liberation [...]
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For the Life of the World 24

By Scott | Published: January 23, 2010
The series now moves to section 3 of the fifth chapter of For the Life of the World. Here is the link to Deacon Michael Hyatt’s  second podcast on chapter five. For the Life of the World: Part Twelve We now can return to the sacrament of matrimony. We can now understand that its true [...]
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For the Life of the World 23

By Scott | Published: January 22, 2010
The series now moves to section 2 of the fifth chapter of For the Life of the World. Here is the link to Deacon Michael Hyatt’s  first podcast on chapter five. For the Life of the World: Part Eleven Perhaps the Orthodox vision of this sacrament will be better understood if we begin not with [...]
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