Early on in my Orthodox days I was part of a conversation where a person raised in an Evangelical home asked an Orthodox priest about the will of God. The priest happened to be an old-school Arab guy who had probably never set foot in a Protestant church. Said person was tied up in knots …
Continue reading What Is this “Will of God” of which You Speak?
Among Karl Barth’s opening general observations about the Doctrine of Reconciliation, he says that God “does not merely give out of His fulness (sic). In His fulness He gives Himself to be with” us and for us. God “gives Himself , and in so doing gives [us] all things.” Giving us “all things” is a …
After studying Tuomo Mannermaa and Galatians and Romans for the last couple of months I needed to get away from that particular narrow slice of Christian theology and focus on something else. I decided to turn my attention to the Gospel according to Mark (the oldest of the four gospels). I was immediately struck by …
Continue reading The Story of King Midas and The Gospel of Mark
You don't become holy by fighting evil. Let evil be. Look towards Christ and that will save you. What makes a person saintly is love.
Over the past few days I’ve been reviewing how the word “fear” (Greek phobos) is used in the New Testament to make sure my memory about it was correct. The reason for this exercise was because I’ve heard a couple of people use 1 Jn 4:18 (“There is no fear in love, but perfect love …
Just Another Jim 