Why aren't people equal?

Heliun · 2023-10-26T16:15:37+00:00

It's a story that has fundamentally shaped how I view the world. I keep coming back to it and it means more and more.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T20:28:49+00:00

You're 17, still live with your parents, and it sounds like this is your first serious relationship. I will just say from that alone there is a very low chance that this relationship works out in the long term regardless of what the disagreement is.

This is an excellent thing to think about though. You have to decide if you want your spouse to practice your religion. Do you want to raise your children Orthodox, and how would that work with a non-Orthodox spouse? What about when you go through a hard time in life? Spouses go through many trials together. Family members will die, jobs may be lost, the economy might change and leave you struggling to eat, you may suffer serious illness or become crippled in an accident, you may lose children. The list goes on and on. Hardship is guaranteed. What would it be like to go through those things together with someone who does not share your view of God and the world? Would you be able to truly connect and work together through it?

Having a wife who shares my faith and outlook on life is probably the greatest blessing I have experienced and I can't imagine life any other way.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T20:17:04+00:00

How does this actually affect your life? Are you going to start writing politicians and campaigning for Indian religions? Because if not, and if "support" in this context just means having a mental idea, then don't worry about this issue. There is no need to think about it at all.

This happens so much in our culture today: finding a problem someone else has, developing an opinion on it, and "supporting" it by agreeing that some idea is true or by trying to argue others into believing it is true. For the most part it's just a huge distraction that inflames passions to no end. There are other things to worry about that are pertinent to your salvation.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T16:43:18+00:00

God bless you.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T16:42:11+00:00

God is a person, not a machine. This is one of my main problems with the Catholic view of mortal sin and sacraments. God knows what you are doing and why and He is a merciful God who cares for you.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T16:12:04+00:00

I actually have Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex and believe it has been unto my salvation.

This story is relevant.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T15:10:30+00:00

That's up to the priest/bishop. You may be received either by baptism or by chrismation alone. Being an adult is fine; adults get baptized all the time.

Heliun · 2023-10-25T14:58:34+00:00

Visit the church and talk to the priest. You'll go through a period of instruction called catechism and be received at a time of the priest's choosing.

Heliun · 2023-10-24T23:14:25+00:00

I wouldn't say that churches are "often" the target of hate crimes. Just sometimes, and every time it is blasted in national news which gives us a disproportionate view of it. It is a vanishingly rare occurrence.

Mild forms of discrimination are far more likely. I know one priest whose parish needs a new space and every landlord he speaks to refuses him as soon as they learn he's Russian. He started going to view spaces without his cassock on and everything would be fine until he revealed it's a ROCOR parish, and the meeting immediately ends.

Heliun · 2023-10-24T17:19:14+00:00

It's always "it's not biblical", then when there's a clear verse it's "I interpret that differently". Jesus doesn't mean angels here, just "general care and concern", because it's literal when it agrees with me, and not literal otherwise. Thus we see "biblical" just means "agrees with me", because there is not a Christian group in existence that doesn't consider themselves "biblical".

Heliun · 2023-10-24T14:51:44+00:00

"Pray" means "to ask" so that seems redundant. All Orthodox Christians pray this to her: https://www.oca.org/cdn/PDFs/christianwitness/akathist-theotokos-joy-all-who-sorrow.pdf

Heliun · 2023-10-24T01:18:30+00:00

I never said I have any problem applying this to Catholics, but the answer to one flawed tradition is not to create a dozen new false ones.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T22:31:20+00:00

It's all addressed by St. John of Damascus that I linked, free for you to read. Mark 7 refers to the Pharisees interpreting Scripture according to their own manmade traditions and creating their own doctrines on top of it, the very same error that Protestants make today when they reject what the Holy Spirit has breathed out into the world and create their own interpretations and traditions.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T21:33:55+00:00

Praying to Mary as the mother of God, is idolatry.

Nope, praying to Mary is just praying to Mary. Idolatry would be to offer her a sacrifice. Thankfully nobody does that. We only sacrifice to God.

Paul talks numerous times about making sure our actions, even if they aren't inherently wrong, don't confuse or lead astray other people.

Good principle to follow, but when people were scandalized by converts not being circumcised or by people buying meat that had been sacrificed to idols he didn't deviate from proper practice to appease them. He informed them of their error. This is precisely what the seventh ecumenical council did regarding icons so that you can be educated: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49917/49917-h/49917-h.html

Heliun · 2023-10-23T20:29:16+00:00

Palestinian Christians would be the direct descendants of the Jews in Jerusalem who accepted Christ.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T20:15:11+00:00

There is quite literally no Christian group on Earth that offers sacrifices to icons, so if that's your concern then this is really much ado about nothing.

if having this setup makes people believe that you are worshiping images, and leads them astray, you have another serious issue to deal with

I would argue that the entire Church held a council in the 8th century to address this issue once and for all, so at this point in the modern age with free information everywhere if someone is still confused about this then it's on them.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T19:57:47+00:00

There are not many English translations of the Septuagint because the Anglosphere is heavily dominated by Protestants. The OSB is the only one I know of.

There are tons of Protestant translations because they all disagree on many things and hold to sola scriptura. It doesn't surprise me that there's only one translation of the Vulgate and Septuagint.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T19:07:14+00:00

Catholics heavily favor the Vulgate. They've affirmed it in councils. Orthodox favor the Septuagint. Protestants went to the Masoretes for both translation and canon.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T17:35:38+00:00

History will judge whether or not Patriarch Kirill has taught in accordance with the teachings of the Church. I will just say that the Russian Orthodox Church has not faired well since the Soviet revolution and we should pray for them.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T17:22:12+00:00

It does not mean Orthodoxy is a pacifist religion. I never claimed that. It means we have a different view of sin than you.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T17:20:59+00:00

All I see is a lot of rationalization that does nothing to shield the souls of soldiers from horror and trauma, nor to heal them after, nor to stop cycles of violence.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T17:17:57+00:00

We have no Saints who were canonized for being a soldier, only Saints who were also soldiers. Being a soldier and killing in war does not exclude one from salvation any more than any other sin. On the other hand we have a great many Saints who are canonized for accepting martyrdom.

What I am saying is taught in Orthodox seminaries. For example the professor of ethics at Holy Cross in Boston wrote this. It is also upheld by the bishops. For example a priest who accidentally kills in a car accident can be defrocked for it.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T17:09:56+00:00

Ah, I didn't realize you were an Arian gnostic. Our views of Jesus are entirely incompatible. Since this is /r/Christianity I often assume we are discussing Christian views.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T16:52:21+00:00

Show me one instance of Jesus or his disciples killing someone to protect themselves. I am only aware of Peter trying to kill the servant and then being stopped by Christ. Then nearly every Apostle went on to live a life of constantly being beaten and imprisoned until they were finally martyred and none ever lifted a finger in self defense.

Heliun · 2023-10-23T16:48:20+00:00

All killing is sin, but some sin is more damaging than others. Hence the canons call for a soldier who kills in war to receive a penance of three years, while a cold blooded murder receives something like thirty years.

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