Rethinking Systemic Sin | Jesus Creed | A Blog by Scot McKnight

Rethinking Systemic Sin | Jesus Creed | A Blog by Scot McKnight:

Sin in the Pauline letters seems to be more than the violation of a command and seems to take on systemic force. Christian theology’s doctrines of original sin and guilt are but one example of theological attempts to come to terms with lower case sins and upper case Sin as a tyrant. In Matthew Croasmun’s recently published dissertation, The Emergence of Sin, a series of proposals are made that provide innovative solutions to all the above and more.

American Paganism | Commonweal Magazine

American Paganism | Commonweal Magazine:

In an essay praising Donald Trump’s “animal instinct” for “order” and “social cohesion,” Sohrab Ahmari opposed an America of “traditional Christianity” to one of “libertine ways and paganized ideology.” These are our only choices, he insisted. Between such incompatible enemies, there can be only “war and enmity,” so true believers should be ready to sacrifice civility in the battles ahead to reconquer the public square. Rod Dreher has speculated that Trump, while unpalatable, could be a divine emissary holding back the horrors of Christian persecution, like the biblical figure of He Who Delays the Antichrist, an implicit nod to old pagan enemies. “If Christians like me vote for Trump in 2020,” Dreher warns, “it is only because of his role as katechon in restraining what is far worse.” Though in a calmer tone, Ross Douthat entertained similar ideas in his column “The Return of Paganism,” wondering if the pantheist tendencies in American civil religion could morph into a neo-paganism hostile to Christian faith.

Here's What's Really Going on with the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and Russia | The National Interest

Here's What's Really Going on with the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and Russia | The National Interest:

I am starting to get annoyed at the number of commentators who have no background in Orthodox ecclesiology and scant knowledge of Byzantine, Ukrainian and Russian history or about the contemporary realities of religious life throughout the former Soviet Union. These pundits nevertheless feel confident to deliver sweeping pronouncements about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church situation and its ramifications for the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church as a whole. At a minimum, one would hope that anyone offering commentary would be well versed in the disputes over the interpretations of the canons of the Council of Chalcedon (451), the controversy over the creation of the Autocephalous Polish Orthodox Church nearly a century ago (in 1924), and the significance of the Pochaiv conclave (which attempted to create a unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 1942). Ignorance of these and other developments should be seen as disqualifying to offering anything that purports to be an expert opinion on the matter.

The Patriarchal Parishes in the USA - Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the uncanonical intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church

The Patriarchal Parishes in the USA - Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the uncanonical intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church:

With profound regret and sorrow the Holy Synod the Russian Orthodox Church learned about the statement made by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople concerning the appointment of its two “exarchs” to Kiev. This decision was taken without an agreement with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine – the only canonical head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It constitutes a flagrant violation of the ecclesiastical law and an intervention of one Local Church in the territory of the other. Moreover, the Patriarchate of Constantinople presents the appointment of the “exarchs” as a stage in the implementation of a plan aimed at granting “autocephaly” to Ukraine. This process, according to the statements of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is irreversible and will be carried through.

100 Must-Read Books About Christianity

100 Must-Read Books About Christianity:

According to Pew Research, Christianity is the world’s largest religious group, so it’s worth knowing something about it, whether you’re a Christian or not. And if you’re interested in learning more about the Christian faith, there’s no lack of books out there. It’s hard to know where to start! I’m here to help with enough recommendations to keep you reading for a long time.

Not All Pedophiles Have Mental Disorder, American Psychiatric Association Says In New DSM

Not All Pedophiles Have Mental Disorder, American Psychiatric Association Says In New DSM:

The new manual specifies that in order for an atypical sexual behavior to be classified as a mental condition, a person must:

1. Feel personal distress about their interest, not merely distress resulting from society's disapproval; or

2. have a sexual desire or behavior that involves another person's psychological distress, injury, or death, or a desire for sexual behaviors involving unwilling persons or persons unable to give legal consent.

Does (1) imply that repentance for sexual lust is a mental disorder?

That would have disturbing implications.

What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital | The Mind Unleashed

What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital | The Mind Unleashed: What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.” The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm. “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field,” says Dr. Som. These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm.

Two Understandings of Death: On the Dormition of the Theotokos

Two Understandings of Death: On the Dormition of the Theotokos: we will notice a profound contradiction between two understandings of death. Blessed repose, dormition, falling asleep – the word “death” is not used in reference to the Theotokos. Incidentally, another word used in ecclesiastical parlance is derived from here: “reposed” – not died or perished, but reposed. We see that there is a different understanding of death. On the one hand, there is the understanding connected with the triumph of the Mother of God; on the other, there is our ordinary understanding of death as a tragic end, as the termination of all things. One feels animal fear, the fear of death, before this tragic end. How greatly this fear of death contradicts the basic value judgments of modern society, a society of consumerism and prosperity! But this very society, imbued with false values, recognizes the impossibility of joining its ideals – those of unlimited consumption and pleasure – with the fact of death.

Ivan Illich, "Brave New Biocracy: Health Care from Womb to Tomb"

Ivan Illich, "Brave New Biocracy: Health Care from Womb to Tomb": "DNA maps and genetic cleansing; embryo cloning and euthanasia; organ transplants and physician-assisted suicide--never before have the traditional boundaries of life and death become so blurred. Never before has science intruded so pervasively into the sanctuary of the person. Where once only angels would tread, the medical establishment now treats. Are we closer to the secret of life, or just farther from God and nearer to the dust?"

C.S. Lewis and Deification � The Website of Unknowing

C.S. Lewis and Deification � The Website of Unknowing: "I haven’t read this yet, but it sure looks tasty… and I wanted to go ahead and post a link here, since I know some of my readers are interested in C. S. Lewis and some are interested in the doctrine of deification (in the Greek, theosis). So here’s a chance to ponder how this Orthodox doctrine figures in the thought of the most popular of Anglican authors…

Shine as the Sun: C. S. Lewis and the Doctrine of Deification

Which is actually part two of a two part essay; here is part one: The Orthodox Worldview and C. S. Lewis (Part I)"

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Intelligent design a heresy

Elizaphanian notes that "Those who argue that Intelligent Design is Christian do not know what they are talking about. Intelligent Design is a heresy, a blasphemy, a denial of the living God."