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    The Best Book to Introduce Someone to Orthodoxy

    Good suggestion-- but I would personally probably go with The Orthodox Way, also by Metropolitan +Ware, which I think is probably the best introduction to Orthodox spirituality for those more familiar with Western Christianity. Also-- the writings of Saint Maria Skobtsova, always. I think...
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    Fr. Stephen Pawley on Capital Punishment

    Thanks! Surprised you remember me. I lurk every so often, and thought this was a good discussion. I posted on a second account I have here (which I used more frequently on this board in the mid-00s) a few months ago about giving away some icons. - Marjorie
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    Fr. Stephen Pawley on Capital Punishment

    It might be worth mentioning that historically, Orthodox theology/culture has not always supported the death penalty. For instance, the Byzantine Empire largely abolished the death penalty on theological grounds: "Indeed, they did not kill. And the big difference is evident in the initial...
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    Fr. Stephen Pawley on Capital Punishment

    [oops, accidentally posted twice!]
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    Moving on....

    Haha guys if ethnic food is the deciding factor, clotted cream and strawberry jam on a scone along with tea totally wins.
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    Rasputin

    Just an interesting counter-point to Protoevangel's comment about "freemasons and Jews" conspiring against Rasputin (I know Protoevangel wasn't endorsing it, but there are people in the world who do think like that), there is actually a theory I have heard that Rasputin was smeared by the...
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    Recommended history texts and/or lectures?

    Fr. John Behr's The Way to Nicaea is a pretty great overview of the development of theology in the early Church, if that interests you. Also if you want a good history book that takes post-schism Eastern Christianity into account, checking out Byzantine historians can be helpful. John Julius...
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    Monastery Visits

    I agree with the "don't worry too much" comment... most people I know who visit monasteries for the first time come back saying it was so much less stressful and intense than expected... in general, monastics in my experience are some of the most loving, down-to-earth people you can meet. Just...
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    Who is LILITH?

    The word "Lilith" isn't in the Greek of Isaiah-- it's the Hebrew (לִּילִית). The Septuagiant translates the word in question as 'ονοκενταύροι, satyrs. It just repeats the word that the LXX...
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    Who is LILITH?

    While she's not in the Bible, I think the idea is that besides for being a carry-over from Mespotamian mythology, she was a resolution to a biblical problem-- i.e. Genesis 1 has God creating humanity "male and female," apparently at once, then telling them to be fruitful and multiply, and then...
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    Proof that Gay Relationships are Wrong

    Huw Raphael now regrets writing that. Check out his blog (google: "doxos")-- he is now living as a gay Christian.
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    New tattoo for my 18th birthday!

    That's beautiful Justin!
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    What is your (your church's) view of Islam?

    Joshua, I think you're right, this is going to have to just be a respected shared difference. I abhor violence, so I am really sympathetic to your point, but I do still see Muhammad as a man who did the best he could to create a loving, compassionate society within the context of his own world...
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    What is your (your church's) view of Islam?

    Of course, Jesus's context was very different from Muhammad's. Jesus was an itinerant Galilean preacher from an agrarian village teaching at the time of the Roman occupation of Judea; Muhammad was born into the Quraysh tribe in a time when resources were such that tribes had to routinely fight...
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    What is your (your church's) view of Islam?

    Well, I'm certainly no defender of the Crusades, but I don't think it's entirely true that the West did not see violence as a sin. The Church often put serious boundaries on violence in the west (cf. the "truce of God"). I think it's also hard to separate the Church's view of violence from the...
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    What is your (your church's) view of Islam?

    I don't know about this. An honest reading of Byzatine history, in my mind, leaves no question that it was every bit as warlike and territorial as the West. I don't think there's much of a difference between the Christian West, the Christian East, and Islam here (except as you point out that the...
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    Sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50; invited or not?

    I don't know if the Pharisees in general would have owned slaves-- they were not at the same social/political status as the Sadducees, for instance. But there is no reason to think that the woman was a slave, and if she were, she probably would have been identified as one. It seems more likely...
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    Combating Severe Loneliness

    I also missed the initial window and didn't make a good friend until November! Also a lot of people start off just making friends for the sake of having friends, and later find the people with whom they really want to be friends. So no worries, it all will work out as God wills it. Justin, in...
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    Combating Severe Loneliness

    Also, I don't think that therapy is so completely wedded to worldview/phronema as others are saying-- my therapist, anyway, doesn't really say much at all except to point out trends in my thoughts and behaviors (especially in regards to OCD). Sometimes just being able to talk with someone with...
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    Combating Severe Loneliness

    I agree with this. My friendships in high school can't even be compared to my friendships in college.