:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 ::

Atonement, Death, Prenatal Technology, and Non-Denominations: Random Wednesday Musings

*Orthodox truism of the day: "There's no such thing as a dead Christian." Discuss!

* Michael Spencer writes about what he sees as a problem of "transactionalism" in modern Christian thought. Although I think he needs to expand and clarify his definition of "sacrament", his critique of the inevitable consequences of an over-active penal substitution theory of atonement mixed with self-centered religious consumerism is spot on.

Along the same lines, this philosophy paper fleshes out what the authors call "the participatory model of atonement." Their thesis is that sin is a relational and ontological problem fundamentally, not merely a deontic (or moral) problem. Interestingly, not a single Orthodox author is referenced ...

* "From 12 weeks, unborn babies can stretch, kick and leap around the womb - well before the mother can feel movement." My wife is entering her 12th week of pregnancy so this article was particularly interesting to both of us. The pictures are amazing!

* "No, they don't worry about the continuous liturgy that has reached so many different cultures throughout the ages, they worry about whether the strobe lights are going to malfunction."
Bunnie Diehl, with a biting critique of "non-denominations", is in fine form.

* Some of you may have noticed the number of posts has dropped off of late. Instead of the usual 4-5 posts a week, I'm down to 3 and I plan on keeping the Mon/Wed/Fri schedule for a while. A less prolific but steady regiment will keep blogging from taking over my life and it has the added benefit of drawing out longer discussions in the comments, because posts stay up near the top a bit longer.

:: Karl :: 7:27:00 AM [Link] ::

Soft Totalitarianism

I was recently filling out some online paperwork for the university and came across an example of what I call "the soft totalitarianism" of the university's politically correct mindset.

Roger Kimball, in a recent issue of "The New Criterion", explains the problem brilliantly:
(With props to Jay Nordlinger)

"Affirmative action is Orwellian in a linguistic sense since what announces itself as an initiative to promote equality winds up enforcing discrimination precisely on the grounds that it was meant to overcome."

"Thus we are treated to the delicious, if alarming, contradiction of college applications that declare their commitment to evaluate candidates "without regard to race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or national origin" on page 1 and then helpfully inform you on page 2 that it is to your advantage to mention if you belong to any of the following designated victim groups."

"Among other things, a commitment to multiculturalism seems to dull one's sense of contradiction."

I have a new policy now. Whenever I'm asked to fill out a form that asks the ubiquitous question about racial status, I always choose "Other" and then write in: Human Being.

This is just my way of fighting back against the juggernaut. I figure it's the least I can do.

Update: I had almost forgotten about this incident last year.

:: Karl :: 7:25:00 AM [Link] ::

The Supreme Identity: Breaking the Bonds in Buddhism and the Orthodox Connection

A reader sent me an email last week asking for my thoughts on any possible connections between the Buddhist concept of the "supreme identity" and the Orthodox understanding of God.

Fr. Seraphim Rose has a good answer--one from personal experience:

"That concept comes from people who don't want to meet the personal God, because He definitely requires things of one. I think that, in many cases, when people say they have this experience, it's some kind of illusion--some kind of wishful thinking."

"This is very much helped by the feeling of Zen meditation, in which you 'quiet yourself down'--And if you haven't got anything really deep inside of you that wants to come out, you can get yourself into some quiet state, and think you've met God, or whatever you're looking for. It's a kind of spiritual immaturity; but I think that, if there's anything passionate inside of you, finally you'll go crazy and break the bonds."
Quoted from "Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works" page 45.

As a former Zen devotee myself, I can't begin to tell you how true this is. Buddhism is like Christianity without Christ and the Church....which, at the time, didn't sound quite as bad as I understand it to be now.

Buddhism is asceticism without the Incarnation and thus without a proper love for the body. It is contemplation without an Other to contemplate. It is meditation--not on God but on oneself. It is prayer that becomes a shouting into the void. It is union with the divine--not through dying to oneself and rising again in union with Another....but simply by dying.

It is the pursuit of a "truth" that does not originate in a Person, has no boundaries, and therefore no eternal power. It opens one's eyes to the superficiality of contemporary Christianity only to lead to self absorption, soul destroying dualism, and a way of life that has the potential to make one worse off than one was before.

The paradox, for me, is that I would not be Orthodox if it wasn't for my stint in Buddhism. It opened my eyes to truths I would not have experienced in contemporary Christianity and that are fulfilled and transfigured in Orthodoxy.

But it is only now, looking back through the years, that I see the risk God took with me when he allowed me to explore Buddhism.....like Fr. Seraphim I was blessed to "go crazy and break the bonds"--both as a western Christian and again as a Buddhist.

:: Karl :: 8:49:00 AM [Link] ::

Notable Quotables, Family Joy, and Class Update: Random Wednesday Musings

* My sister-in-law just got engaged! Many Years to Katie(Xenia) and Steve (Job)!

* Seraphim brilliantly describes a state of being I find myself falling into far too often: "My mind has been numbed by the pedantic banality of bureaucratic necessities." That should be made into a bumper sticker.

* Proof that college students will do almost anything to get out of debt. Enough said.
Props to Joanne Jacobs

* Simeon, emerging from blog slumber, quips, "Historically, the church is the first singles bar (where else did a bunch of singles get together, have liquor and chat!) Look at the painting and icons of the Last Supper, isn't it the highest form of a single's bar?"

This reminds of a sign I once saw at a Greek festival: "Alcohol is not permitted off the church premises." I joked that we should take a picture of it and send it to our Baptist friends to scandalize them....

* Huw made me laugh with this: "The Roman Church back in the 16th Century codified their mass into what we now call the Tridentine Mass. It was decreed that it should be that way for all time... or 1967, which ever came first."

* Borowski, Weisel, Levi....my literature class this summer will include all the favorites and then some. My grade will come from one essay test and one paper but I have an enormous amount of reading: 1 anthology, 1 large textbook, 1 autobiography, 2 novels.

:: Karl :: 7:39:00 AM [Link] ::

School Update: Progress Toward the Degree and the Armenian Genocide

This past spring I completed a course in ancient Roman history and with it, the course work necessary for the Philosophy and Classics portion of the long sought after bachelor's degree.

From now on I'll be shifting my attention to the few remaining (mostly 400-level literature) courses needed for my English major.

Starting today I will be launching an intense and intensive exploration of Holocaust literature with particular emphasis on the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century.

(One benefit of a large state university is the amazing array of topics one can choose to study--even within one's major!)

The specifics of the Armenian genocide are unknown to many and especially foreign to those unfamiliar with the history of the Orthodox Church. The professor is an ethnic Armenian himself, which should prove interesting.

Having taken a similar class on Jewish holocaust literature a few years ago, I know how emotionally draining a class like this can be. However these tend to be some of the most interesting kinds of courses to take because the subject matter forces students to grapple with issues and ideas that so obviously have consequences.

:: Karl :: 9:22:00 AM [Link] ::

The Elasticity of Orthodoxy

Who owns orthodox theology?

The answer is no one because the truth about reality owns us; or rather, we allow orthodox theology to be our lifeblood and a means to Christ and a path to a more fully conscious acceptance of His Church.

I think it was Fr. Seraphim Rose who noted that "Orthodoxy is not merely a ritual, or belief, or pattern of behavior, or anything else that a man may posses...thinking that he is thereby a Christian and still be spiritually dead; it is rather an elemental reality which transforms a man, gives him the strength to live in the most difficult and tormenting conditions, and prepares him to depart with peace into eternal life."

"This is deeper than mere right doctrine; it is the entrance of God into every aspect of life lived in trembling and fear of God. Such is an attitude produces the Orthodox Way of Life which is not merely the outward customs or behavior that characterizes Orthodox Christians, but the whole of the conscious spiritual struggle."

Elizabeth, in the previous post's comments, noted that non-Orthodox "often see only the 'rigidity' of doctrine or the 'patriarchal' structure or the 'foreign' quality of a service...Orthodoxy is remarkably elastic, encompassing the whole of human experience and transforming it."

Orthodoxy, while making use of structures, canons, etc isn't defined by a collection of such things.
The Church has institutions but she isn't one herself. She is, as the hymnography of the Church proclaims, "leading the faithful in the way of life."

Update: Justin chimes in on the "open source code" analogy.
Update 2: "Why all this hard work at reinvention?"
Update 3: "The Gospel (and sound doctrine) matters because it is a real expression of revelation."

:: Karl :: 8:10:00 AM [Link] ::

Cheese Head Masses, Alexander the Great, Old Friends, and Blog Titles: Random Wednesday Musings

* I couldn't resist posting this picture gallery of disturbing Catholic Masses. Don't miss the Cheese Head and Dorito Masses. Venerable classics!
Props to Glen Tikhon

* The phrase "I like making new friends" is thrown around sometimes as a virtue. And it is, no doubt. But I wonder how many of us could honestly say "I like keeping old friends" as easily. That sure is a lot more work and a lot less fun....

* "Are the venerated relics of St Mark in Venice actually the mummified remains of Alexander the Great?" I love these kinds of questions.
Props to Dappled Things.

* An east coast Orthodox lurker (who felt compelled to make it abudantely clear that he had a Ph.D from Harvard) gave me some flack via email for the apparent "irreverent" title of my blog.

Ranging from the ridiculously speculative ("St. Stephen would have never mused!") to the grammatically obsessive ("These are your musings not the musings of St. Stephen!"), these kinds of rants come from being poisonously addicted to a limited and narrow way of looking at the world: one's own.

Fr. John suffered the same kind of assault on his blog title from the politically correct thought police.

One can always tell when a fasting season is in full liturgical swing--the passions and obsessions we so carefully shield have a way of oozing out into the open. I know this is true in my life.

:: Karl :: 7:36:00 AM [Link] ::

The Gulf Between Converts and Cradles

Xenia Katie, a new Orthodox blogger, wonders about the terms "cradle" and "convert" and why there seems to be a gulf between the two groups in some parishes. She writes,

"It's only now that I'm noticing a bit of a division between the cradle youth (many of whom are now young adults) who've been at St. John's for years and years, and the new young adults who converted. My friend who I mentioned earlier has expressed at various times in the past that she is intimidated by all of the converts who, in her eyes, 'seem to know everything.'"

"How can we smooth the cradle/convert rift? Can we really just call ourselves Orthodox Christians without harping on the term 'convert' or 'cradle' as if it were a measure of reverence or devotion?"

I've always thought the label "convert" to be awkward and misleading. One could argue that the whole concept behind phrases like "I converted to Orthodoxy in 1998..." is part of the Protestant baggage many of us still carry. As if one's conversation to the truths of Holy Orthodoxy can be boxed into any one particular moment!

The proper attitude should really be "I'm began the process of converting ...." or simply "I was baptized/Chrismated in 1998...."
Now, when people ask me, I simply say "I'm Orthodox."

I also am fond of, "I was a convert, I am a convert, and I hope to continue converting." (Romans 8:24a; 1 Cor. 1:18; Matt 10:22; 24:13)

The fact is we are all converts to the Faith whether we were born into it or not. Every day when we wake up we need to consciously take responsibility for our Faith and be reconverted to it.

:: Karl :: 8:30:00 AM [Link] ::

The Priesthood of All Believers: Giving Advice in the Church

Abayea writes (in a discussion with the Orthodox Without My Spouse group) about a common dilemma new Orthodox face: what are the roles of our spiritual father, godparents, and others in regards to giving practical advice on the spiritual life?

"I told [my priest] that when I ask personal questions or sometimes just general ones of a spiritual nature I am advised [by the laymen I'm asking] to ask [my priest]. He said... that there is nothing in Orthodoxy that prohibits ordinary Orthodox folks from giving each other counsel. He said that part of the reason we have sponsors is because pious, learned lay persons can and should give guidance to other lay persons. He did say its understandable when a person who unsure and demures out of fear of giving wrong advice, but that isn't the rule."

This article on the proper role of spiritual fatherhood reminds us of a poignant point:

"From an Orthodox Christian point of view, freedom of choice is very important. We are required to know and to choose intelligently and reasonably. The division between laity and clergy in the Orthodox Church is not a sharp one....There is no special esoteric or arcane knowledge which the clergy or monastics -- even spiritual fathers and elders -- can acquire that the people cannot...."

"Our spiritual fathers and elders are supposed to help educate us, give us spiritual comfort, consolation and guidance. What authority they do have to "impose" a decision is this: the parish priest, bishop or other Church authority cannot allow anything contrary to the canons of the Ecumenical Councils to occur in the parishes....In other words, there can be neither blind obedience, nor chaos and un-Orthodox activity in the parishes or dioceses...."

We can certainly say that the dogmatics of the faith are the property of *all* Christians. We discuss and meditate on the Church's teachings because we are all accountable for them.

However, what remains the responsibility of the clergy (and the monastic elders) is discerning how the canons, traditions and spiritual disciplines should be applied to the lives of their spiritual children.

No matter how good an apologist I might be, I can't tell you how strict to make your fast, whether you should attend Matins with your newborn, exactly how much to tithe, or what length to make your prayer rule, etc. This is particularly true in the blogosphere and other Internet forums where incarnational contact is so minimal.

We can express opinions, explain general principles, and help others wrestle with these questions so that they may more knowledgably enter into the obediences they will freely accept....but we really should avoid giving direct personal spiritual direction unless otherwise blessed to do so.

Update: Peter continues to think I am saying the priests are "nothing special."

:: Karl :: 8:57:00 AM [Link] ::

Weblogger's Day, Kleptocrats, Newbies, and Harry Potter: Random Wednesday Musings

* It seems that today is International Weblogger's Day. Cheers to ya'll.

* What is the difference between a government school (notice I don't call them *public* schools) and prison? This essay tries to find an answer.
Props to Serge.

* Jan Bear has the Quote Du Jour:

"you don't have to have a specific view of Bible prophecy to consider a liberal democracy, however imperfect, a better friend and trustier ally than hooligans, death worshipers and kleptocrats."

* There have been several new Orthodox bloggers popping up of late. I'll have more on this later...

* I just finished reading "The Hidden Key to Harry Potter" by Orthodox layman John Granger. This is a must read for anyone who has an opinion on the Harry Potter books. Jollyblogger recently noted this book in a post entitled "The Subtly Christian Worldview of J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter".

Update: I also wanted to mention that today is the feast day of St. Cyril of Alexandria and that SVS has a new book out entitled "Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy." It has a Harry Potter-ish sounding title, doesn't it!

:: Karl :: 7:59:00 AM [Link] ::

Practical Consequences of the Filioque

The Pontificator wonders about the importance of the Filioque controversy in our daily life.

He asks, "Putting aside for the moment the question of who is right and who is wrong, how does the Filioque enter into our preaching of the gospel? How does it affect the Church's proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ? How does it affect our prayer and moral life?"

Here is a pithy and highly simplistic answer to that question in the form of a future thesis paper statement:

The rise of the Pentecostal movement and western Christendom's desperate (and quite often heretical) attempt to recover "Spirit led" and "Spirit filled" worship and Christian faith is, in some part, a consequence of the filioque heresy.

The Filioque, by altering western Christendom's understanding of the relationships within the Trinity, radically "depersonalized" the Holy Spirit in worship, piety, and theology.

This departure from the Orthodox Creed provided the fodder needed when Scholasticism came on the scene to reinterpret the relationship between the believer and God (as well subtly altering the understanding of synergy), and eventually produced what many Charismatics call "the lifeless and Spiritless western Christian experience."

Update: Clifton provides a portal to a series of discussions on the topic of Trinitarian theology and the Holy Spirit.

Update 2: The Pontificator responds.

:: Karl :: 8:07:00 AM [Link] ::

Silent Letters, Rapture Ready, and Michael Moore: Random Friday Musings

* Updated baby name rule: No silent syllables. I hope I don't need to explain why.

* This is another prime example of why not paying attention to church history can totally screw up your faith. What part of "chiliasm was already condemned by the entire Christian world in 381 AD" don't people understand?

I must admit though, the answer to this clever question made me laugh. You just can't satirize this stuff because it is done so well for you.

* While we wait for the rapture, why not do it in style in a new Christian nation! Will future historians note that this was how the South became the "Fourth Rome"? Huw asks, "How long in this new 'Christian Nation' of South Carolina, before the Catholics or the Orthodox get voted off the island?"

Frankly, I'd rather drown in the ocean than be stuck on that island...

* "I dislike his style, his philosophy, and the dishonesty that seems to flow from everything he creates."

No, this isn't a quote from my hate-mail.

This is a quote by Joshua Claybourn on uber-hypocrite extraordinaire Michael Moore. Josh links to a new film coming out this summer that will prove, hopefully once and for all, that when one calls something a "documentary" and it turns out to be nothing but shameless and libelous propaganda that one has lost the right to be taken seriously.

I'm a conservative to my liberal friends and a liberal to my conservative friends. But I have to say something here: Michael Moore is an utter embarrassment to the Left and to anyone who cares about intellectual integrity. I continue to be mystified by otherwise intelligent people supporting the man and his work.

:: Karl :: 7:38:00 AM [Link] ::

St. Maximus the Confessor and the Reformed Tradition

Christopher Jones eloquently notes, in the comments at John's blog, an interesting connection I also made a while back in regards to the link between Calvinist monergism and the ancient heresy of Monotheletism.

Jones says, "It seems clear to me that Calvinist monergism is the soteriological counterpart to Monotheletism. As the Monotheletes denied a human free will in Christ, so monergism denies a human free will in the redeemed. But Christ's humanity shows us what redeemed human nature is, and since He has a free human will, so must we."

Joel Garver, a respected Reformed blogger and professor, recent commented that "a theology of participation [synergy] in God was very much woven into the Reformed tradition" but I have yet to see a coherent Reformed counter to the kind of claims Christopher Jones and I have made.

Is there a Reformed response to the writings of, say, St. Maximus the Confessor?

Update: David gives a concise overview of the Reformed position on free will.

:: Karl :: 7:58:00 AM [Link] ::