Reflections on the Ancient Faith Today Progam: Christianity and Same-Sex Attraction
This past Sunday (May 20, 2012), Ancient Faith Today interviewed Dr. Philip Mamalakis and Andrew Williams who specialize in counseling people with same-sex attraction. It was hands down one of the most illuminating and informed presentations I have heard on this complex and often contentious topic in quite a while. Without going into particulars (you can listen to the interview below), their … (more...)
“Atheistic five-year plan” Was Announced in the USSR 80 Years Ago [VIDEO]
Aggressive atheists don't like either Communism or Nazism referenced as atheistic ideologies because it implicates atheism in deaths of millions killed by Communists and Nazis. They go to great lengths to dispute charges including claims that Soviet Communism adulterated Marx (Hitchens) to arguing that the Nazi appropriation of Christian symbols to justify Nazi barbarism proves it was Christian. … (more...)
The Antietam of the Culture War
Source: Real Clear Politics | Patrick J. Buchanan It took Joe Biden's public embrace of same-sex marriage to smoke him out. But after Joe told David Gregory of "Meet the Press" he was "absolutely comfortable" with homosexuals marrying, Barack Obama could not maintain his credibility with the cultural elite if he stuck with the biblical view that God ordained marriage as solely between a man … (more...)
The False Promise of Green Energy [VIDEO]
Economist Andrew Morris on Patriarch Bartholomew's ideas on sustainable energy: "[H]e's asking the wrong questions." Source: Acton Institute Power Blog | HT: Koinonia For PowerBlog readers, we’re posting the video from Andrew Morriss’ April 26 Acton Lecture Series talk in Grand Rapids, Mich., on “The False Promise of Green Energy.” Here’s the lecture description: … (more...)
St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale Delivers Superb Concert in NYC [VIDEO]
YONKERS, NY / SVOTS COMMUNICATIONS] St. Vladimir's Seminary Chorale delivered a stunning performance of sacred music in the heart of Manhattan on Monday evening, May 7th. With artistic execution and prayerful potency, the singers filled the warm and inviting space of St. Malachy's Church with a sound fitting for heaven?and needful on earth. Through a multi-media presentation titled … (more...)
One Real Leader Makes a Big Difference
Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church is on a one man crusade for life, and he is making a difference. The AP reports this story through lens of American pragmatism (the only reason for children is to increase the birth rate) but anyone familiar with the soul-stultifying and life-denying precepts of Marxist ideology (and its materialist premise that has gained hold in the West and … (more...)
Lessons from Byzantium
Excerpt: George Ostrogorsky in his magisterial History of the Byzantine State shows how the people of Byzantium rose time and again to create wealth, cultivate their intellectual capital, and achieve military success. Ultimately, though, they could not overcome the bad policy decisions that, made over the course of generations, ran counter to the proven path of political strength, cultural … (more...)
An Interview with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev
- Source: Crisis Magazine | Joseph Susanka A year and a half ago, while searching for a recording of Bach’s Matthäus-Passion to share with a friend, I stumbled across a YouTube clip entitled simply: ”St Matthew Passion. No. 1.” Filled with idle musical curiosity, I clicked away, and within moments, realized that I had discovered something extraordinary. This was … (more...)
Patsourakos: Georgetown University Disgraces Itself by Its Invitation to HHS Secretary Sebelius
You wonder why Georgetown even bothers calling itself Catholic anymore. George Pastourakos | Theology and Society This week, it was revealed that Georgetown University -- America's oldest Catholic institution of higher learning -- selected Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to be a speaker at one of its graduation ceremonies on May 18. Sebelius is … (more...)
Assembly of Bishops Committee Chairs to Meet this Month
After two years so it's probably time for a meeting. Josephus Flavius, curator of Byzantine, Texas put it well: We'll see which model the assembly chooses to use on providing an update after this meeting. Will it be a perfunctory listing of people who showed up with a reference to the joy they have at being together or will it be a "meaty" report with details and future plans. Met. Philip … (more...)
‘The New Atheists and Their Claims’ Generates 11,000 Downloads in 10 Days
Along with Dr. John Mark Reynolds and host Kevin Allen, I participated in the debut of the program Ancient Faith Today several weeks back that, from all accounts, was very successful. Ancient Faith Radio reports the program generated well over 11,000 complete downloads in just 10 days. The program Ancient Faith Today tackles topics of high interest in the larger context -- from atheism to gay … (more...)
Courage in Leadership
Fr. Peter-Micheal Preble, an outspoken and courageous defender of religious liberty, looks at a recent sermon by Roman Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky that examines the ominous portentions of the HHS Mandates for the Catholic Church. An excerpt: Recently, Daniel Jenky, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Peoria, Illinois preached a sermon in which he said that President Obama was heading down the same … (more...)
Silent Clergy Killers: ‘Toxic’ Congregations Lead to Widespread Job Loss
- Source: Huffington Post They are called "clergy killers" -- congregations where a small group of members are so disruptive that no pastor is able to maintain spiritual leadership for long. And yet ministers often endure the stresses of these dysfunctional relationships for months, or even years, before eventually being forced out or giving up. Adding to the strain is the process, which … (more...)
Is This the Most Beautiful Orthodox Church in the World?
Below are some pictures of the consecration of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kronstadt, Russia. A window to heaven has opened and the harmony of the unseen and uncreated are made visible to man. The Church is nothing short of astonishing. The only other place I have seen such depth of beauty outside of nature is in the iconography of the new chapel in Ossios Lukas monastery in Greece. There the … (more...)
60 Minutes on the Plight of Palestinian Christians
Source: The Atlantic APR 23 2012, 8:46 AM ET 280 By Robert Wright Last night's 60 Minutes segment about the plight of Christians in the West Bank has gotten a lot of attention, in part because of the attempt by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren to intervene with CBS brass while the segment was being put together. (See the 11-minute point in the video below, where CBS correspondent Bob Simon … (more...)
