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  1. Christos Anesti

    Why Love Hurts.

    Greetings citizens of Christian Forum . I've been away for a while now but I finally got the bug to come back and discuss a few things again. Normally I think it's best for me to shut my mouth and open my ears but now and then I like to unload my thoughts and get some feedback...
  2. Christos Anesti

    Church as Hospital, Christianity as Spiritual Therapy

    I've probably read this article by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos on a web page years ago but it really caught my attention this time around. At the start of the article there is an unfortunate (imo at least) statement that was a little too uncharitable towards spirituality in other Christian...
  3. Christos Anesti

    Vessels of Wrath

    How is this statement from Romans 9 to be understood? Often I've seen it interpreted in such a manner as to portray God as an uncaring being who delights in the suffering of human persons. As if God thought " I want to give some people heaven but I also really want some people to suffer for...
  4. Christos Anesti

    Recognition of a Saint.

    I've heard people say that you shouldn't call a person a Saint unless they have a feast day and are recognized as such in some official manner by the Church. Then again I'm also often told that a person is officially given recognition as a saint in part because there was a widespread devotion...
  5. Christos Anesti

    Faith, works, merits, and "semi-Pelagianism"

    It's my understanding that the so called heresy of "semi-pelagianism" is a spook that doesn't really coincide with the teachings of those considered it's main proponents in the West like St John Cassian and St Vincent of Lerins. The label arose out of viewing the ancient teachings of the Greek...
  6. Christos Anesti

    God is NOT the Absolute.

    Hey everyone. Long time no see. I've been pondering this statement from the Russian Orthodox philosopher Nicolai Berdyaev and wanted to get some input on it here. He explains one of the main differences between the bloodless abstract God of philosophy and the living God of Christianity: God...
  7. Christos Anesti

    War #3 the Change We Wanted?

    Yay, war number three. This really makes me sick to my stomach. If this doesn't prove (along with his extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich, his ignoring his campaign promise to "put on comfortable shoes" and go walk the line with organized labor, the fact that we still have 10,000 troops*...
  8. Christos Anesti

    A Comparison of Christianity and Buddhism

    Due to some recent discussions I've been having with a Buddhist friend I decided to do some more reading on the Buddhist path. Being a Christian I find myself doing a lot of compare and contrast with the Christian faith. I wanted to post some of the areas of agreement and disagreement that I...
  9. Christos Anesti

    Balanced Budget Amendment.

    "A long-time conservative goal is seeing a recent resurrection in Congress. Faced with tough choices about the federal budget, a few Democrats are joining Republicans to support statutory limits on future government spending, including a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Such...
  10. Christos Anesti

    Unions and the Auto Bail Out ruined Detroit?!

    I was just watching the local news here in Michigan and they were discussing Glen Becks rant about Detroit. Glen Beck pointed out the obvious that crime and poverty were rampant in Detroit. He may have exaggerated a bit by comparing it to Hiroshima though. But I almost fell over laughing when...
  11. Christos Anesti

    Conan 2011

    I've always been a huge fan of fantasy (and a nerd for that matter :) ) and especially of Robert E Howards books and the Conan comics. When I was younger Conan the Barbarian was by far my favorite movie. I found out that two new Conan movies are on the way. One will be released this year...
  12. Christos Anesti

    Christian Response to Cittamatra "idealism"

    A friend of mine has recently been discussing Cittamatra / Yogacara Buddhism with me. Specifically he was asking me how I feel about their teaching of "mind only" or "experience only". I was hoping some folks here could help me answer this question in a Christian manner. Which aspects of this...
  13. Christos Anesti

    Cut Defense Spending to Help Balance the Budget

    Why is it that nations on the same landmasses as their enemies, some of them with nearly as much land to defend as the US, can defend themselves effectively with such incredibly small defense budgets compared to the US ? The US also has the luxury of being separated by oceans from all the other...
  14. Christos Anesti

    A Mother of Christ, A Brother of Christ, A Friend of Christ...

    I was reading The Classics of Western Spirituality , Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain today. St Nicodemos speaks of six ranks of Christians. I thought it would be an interesting topic of discussion: All the saved ones may be divided into six ranks and orders. And the first rank is when...
  15. Christos Anesti

    Conservative or Liberal?

    I have trouble classifying myself as a conservative or liberal (or libertarian, or socialist...). I don't buy into the need to be doctranarie and base all my views on straight partisan lines. Common thinking is that if a person holds to a certain view on one issue** they therefore need to hold...
  16. Christos Anesti

    Justification.

    What do these verses teach about Justification: "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. But the publican...
  17. Christos Anesti

    Papal Infallibility ... once again ;)

    I was reading a letter by Aleksei Khomiakov written in response to a letter that called for holy war against the “Photians” (Orthodox) by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Paris Marie-Domnique-Auguste Sibur. At the time the Crimean War was going on. This war pitted armies of majority RC...
  18. Christos Anesti

    Aleksei Khomiakov

    I've been reading "On Spiritual Unity, A Slavophile Reader" again and I'm on the first part which has a few letters written by Aleksei Khomiakov. Really good reading. Here are some parts I liked: On Faith: "Faith is the consequence of a revelation accepted as revelation. Faith... is not an...
  19. Christos Anesti

    Last Days

    Saint Anthony the Great once said that a very difficult and godless time would come upon us, a time in which even a very small spiritual effort would mean a great deal in God's eyes. The famous Abba Ischyrion was asked by his disciples, "What have we done?" And he quietly said, "We have...
  20. Christos Anesti

    Need prayers and advice

    I've been in recovery for drug addiction for some time now. Last weekend a friend was visiting from out of state. We went to hang out at the local resturant and drink some capichinos and talked for about an hour or so. Eventually we felt uncomfortable loitering there and my friend suggested that...