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Recent content by tmcothran

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    Orthodox Marraige

    Theophorus, That is a fascinating question. I think it depends upon the type of love that exists within a marriage... and why it is inappropriate outside of marriage. What exactly is the Orthodox conception of marital love and its relation to modern romance? Xpycoctomos, I didn't mean by my...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    Oh, I can definitely agree with that. From what I understand about Orthodoxy, this world is a shadow of one to come. Where I'm having problems is the idea that marriage is a consequence of sin. I looked up the liturgy for marriage on the Greek Orthodox website. I don't have too much time to...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    Theophorus: "The quotes I gave attribute the command of be fruitful etc to the foreknowledge of God." This doesn't really answer my question. If procreation is only made possible by sin, then in order to fulfill God's command, Adam and Eve had to sin. Since you affirm the first premise you...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    John: Thanks for your reply, that seemed to confirm what I had picked up from random places. The Church, at least in its Liturgy, does seem to indicate -- pretty clearly -- that marriage is eternal. And I very much wish to believe that, I think it makes alot of sense. My readings of the Church...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    Thanks, Theophorus, the St. Basil quote helps. But I'm still very confused. I still find the Orthodox argument incoherent, which I'm sure is mostly my lack of understanding. You say: "We know from the testimony of Christ, that those in heaven are not given into marriage, but are as the angels...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    Thanks for the responses. I'm still a little unclear on the status of marraige had there been no fall. It seems from what I've read of the fathers that they regard marriage as a concession to sin (St. Gregory explicitly says this). That makes absolutely no sense to me, as marriage was...
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    Orthodox Marraige

    I have a few questions about the Orthodox teachings on marraige. Firstly, does the Orthodox Church teach marraige to be a concession to sin? I was reading St. Gregory of Nyssa on the subject, and he indicated very strongly that it was. In fact, he went so far to say that humans were created male...
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    Greek text for St. Athanasius

    Does anybody know if the original Greek text of St. Athansius' On the Incarnation of the Word is on the internet? I found it awhile ago, but I've had no luck today. I thought it might be more rewarding if read in the original Greek :) Thanks
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    Why the RCC over the EO?

    Wow. Lots of responses. Here's a few thoughts. The primacy of the see of Rome is well established. It is is not primacy that the Orthodox disagree with, but supremacy. There is a difference. I don't see anything in the quotations that I can see the Orthodox taking issue with, other than perhaps...
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    Why the RCC over the EO?

    These issues are of interest to me as well, because I am currently looking at both the RCC and the OCC. Right now I am tending towards the Orthodox Church, but I really haven't been able to read much on the Catholic side, and I have read a good deal on the Orthodox side. So I am open to both...
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    Is God just?

    Excellent. I was hoping I was misinterpreting Father Paisios.
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    Is God just?

    Again, I do not wish to criticise Father Paisios, but it seems that he is saying that evil serves God's purposes (rather than God can work around evil to accomplish His purposes). I quoted Dostoyevsky on another thread, but there's no such thing as too much Dostoyevsky! Dostoyevsky offers...
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    Substitutionary Atonement

    I wasn't using St. Gregory Thaumaturgus' teaching on Divine impassibility to reject substitutionary atonement. I was using what St. Gregory said about God's nature and His will: they may not come into conflict. I should have been clearer: the reason I quoted St. Gregory was not for what he said...
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    Substitutionary Atonement

    I think most of my confusion is due to terminology and the fact that I haven't really had time to figure out exactly what you are disagreeing with others about. Substitutionary atonement has very strong connotations for me because I grew up as a Presbyterian. So what I think of when I think of...
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    Substitutionary Atonement

    What exactly do you mean by "far grander and more complex than the moral perfection of theosis"? Theosis sure seems pretty comlex to me :) Surely a debt was paid. But the West has made this the center of their scheme of salvation. I have heard Roman Catholics are bringing back the idea of...