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  1. Ignatius21

    Amazing, Spiritually-Awakening Article

    I'll be honest, I'm exhausted from the endless arguments surrounding COVID and all that goes with it. I was exhausted of the anti-vaccine arguments LONG before COVID, when I encountered folks who still sent their kids to "chicken pox parties" because they were convinced that vaccines were...
  2. Ignatius21

    Amazing, Spiritually-Awakening Article

    Sorry, but if I were to apply the reasoning behind this article, I would need to live in a cave I discovered myself, in a region that nobody had yet inhabited. Sound weird? The essence of this article is that something (in this case, a vaccine) must be avoided if it (a) involved some...
  3. Ignatius21

    Orthodox approach to teaching kids about *real* sex

    My oldest son is getting to an age (soon 12) where school-sanctioned/mandated "education" about sex, relationships and the like will be coming. He's thankfully (to God!) grown up in a home where his parents are married, there's no abuse, no addictions, no affairs, and no cable TV -- both sets of...
  4. Ignatius21

    Understanding Salvation Help

    It's been a while since I've read it (or anything, really -- kids!) but On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius lays out a very compelling vision of atonement as a very holistic concept. In fact, in describing "the incarnation" he basically describes the whole of salvation. I think that's generally...
  5. Ignatius21

    A question on Sacraments and Grace

    This question of "what happens to those outside the communion of the Church" has never really had a concrete, absolute answer in history so far as I've ever been able to tell. Church Fathers -- or so I've read them summarized -- have fallen between the extremes of "outside the church there is no...
  6. Ignatius21

    How do I know who is a schismatic?

    I put a lot of thought into this at one point -- as there are some canonical Orthodox who come pretty close to basically saying the OCA isn't actually Orthodox, yet here I am anyway -- and I have to conclude that there really is no single objective test for whether a given parish or group of...
  7. Ignatius21

    Protestant Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy:Questions.

    Please forgive the weird typos....my phone seems to have a mind of its own...
  8. Ignatius21

    Protestant Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy:Questions.

    Calvinists most definitely hold to double predestination. I never was clear on why "single" predestination makes any sense because if God is specofispeci choosing which men will be saved, he is simultaneously choosing which will be damned, is he not? "I'm not choosing who will drown, I'm just...
  9. Ignatius21

    Protestant Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy:Questions.

    ^^^ THIS STUFF UP HERE ^^^ :) Monergism was drilled into me in the Presbyterian Church (I was "Orthodox Presbyterian," none of those PCA softies for me!!!) until it almost changed my human nature into something else. That was it. Monergism was the gospel. The Gospel really boils down to "God...
  10. Ignatius21

    Protestant Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy:Questions.

    I came out of a Calvinist background, and a church culture that valued study and debate. And at the time I was a late-20s guy who fit in with other late-20s guys who made a sport out of trying to best each other in nuanced debates over topics that really didn't matter, but it was very engaging...
  11. Ignatius21

    Non Christian husband

    As others have said, it's a matter for spiritual counsel between you and your priest. There isn't any universal right answer -- and yes, your priest may counsel you differently than someone else's. In my 8 years of Orthodoxy I have seen some extremely unlikely spouses convert after years of...
  12. Ignatius21

    How our spirituality changes over time

    I appreciate your words of encouragement! I know it wasn't that long ago (historically speaking anyway!) that it was likewise difficult to find Eastern Orthodox materials and texts in good English translations. I think it's been in the last 20 years that it's really surged. Perhaps OO will also...
  13. Ignatius21

    A thought on Matthew 16: 18-19

    Can you provide a reference to this? I hadn't heard the explanation before. Sure would make a lot of sense.
  14. Ignatius21

    How our spirituality changes over time

    Lately I've been reflecting on how my life has developed, and how in hindsight I can see fairly distinct stages that I didn't know I was in at the time. It also makes me wonder what stage I may be in now. But I've noticed a distinct ebb and flow of my interest (for lack of better word -- maybe...
  15. Ignatius21

    Hello and A Question

    What exactly is "sinful" about being on vacation with your family? Is the perceived sin one of *actively* sinning (i.e. watching a movie, in itself, is sinful?) or more like *negatively* sinning (i.e. watching a movie is keeping you from prayer or reading the Bible for 2 hours?). I've heard...
  16. Ignatius21

    Just how far apart are Lutherans from Orthodox?

    That was how I understood the "sin boldly" thing too. Luther (and the other reformers for that matter) most definitely did NOT teach that you can go around robbing and stealing and murdering, and still get to heaven. Their understanding of salvation effectively meant that anyone who was "truly...
  17. Ignatius21

    Just how far apart are Lutherans from Orthodox?

    Pretty sure the OP asked about LCMS, not Shelby-Spong or liberal Anglicans :) Some very good friends in our parish, and others, have converted from Lutheranism. There's a podcast of the LCMS called "Issues, Etc." that comments on many theological and current events and is quite good. Their...
  18. Ignatius21

    Original Sin

    I think it's fair (if oversimplified) to say that each "side" (western, eastern) sees "original sin" (i.e. the effects upon humanity of the first sin of humanity, that of disobeying God in the garden) according to the way in which it primarily understands all sin. Western theology generally...
  19. Ignatius21

    How can I avoid becoming despondent in my situation?

    One of the greatest impediments to fitting in is the curse of "familiar conversation," in which a certain number of people all share in a set of experiences (or hobbies, or common interests, or whatever) that provide automatic conversation fodder *for themselves* but is totally inaccessible to...
  20. Ignatius21

    How can I avoid becoming despondent in my situation?

    Oh, one other thought. I was just speaking last night with someone who used to be at our parish (middle class, 99.99999999% white, 95% college educated suburbanites I'd say....including us) and moved because of her job. She now attends a small mission parish in a very poor and generally...