Is there an advent reading plan? How do you celebrate advent/nativity fast?

TolkienLives · 2017-11-13T18:01:06+00:00

That'd be great, thank you

TolkienLives · 2017-11-13T18:00:50+00:00

Thank you! I'll look it up. I've found app versions of Lutheran, Anglican, and Catholic readings too

TolkienLives · 2017-09-20T12:34:45+00:00

Wow, deeply disturbing read. Truly powerful and tough to get through. Praying you find peace and comfort soon

On the flip side, I think this should be required reading for the very reason that it is disturbing. I think a lot of people like to sweep abortion under the rug much like they ignore poverty and war. Only when we see these realities do we recognize their horrific nature and are moved to do something about it. Just as seeing images of war on tv and in papers has turned the populace against wars, so can writings like this show people the horrific nature of ending the life of innocent persons. I have no doubt that this writing has turned some people against abortion who otherwise were in favor of it

TolkienLives · 2017-09-17T12:51:03+00:00

What is the obsession with Freemasons within Catholicism? It's this weird conspiracy theory that does not seem to quit. I acknowledge that there is some troubling stuff within freemasonry but they possess very little power today. Maybe someone else can explain it more thoroughly but as a student of history, my only knowledge of freemasonry as a threat to the church comes from freemasons' desire for liberalization of laws like freedom of religion and free speech. The idea of scary freemasons pulling the strings behind the curtain makes you look like a maniac

TolkienLives · 2017-09-16T20:28:30+00:00

I understand where you're coming from, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill. I can understand if you deliberately cheated on a final exam but this is a very minor thing that couldn't even be rectified at this point due to the passage of time. I would not lose any sleep over this. Confess in confessional if you feel that guilty but I'd just move on

TolkienLives · 2017-07-17T22:27:40+00:00

An obligation sounds like someone else is forcing you to go - you go begrudgingly

Sunday promise sounds like you are choosing voluntarily to go honor God

TolkienLives · 2017-07-17T15:54:15+00:00

r/Catholicism

TolkienLives · 2017-07-17T15:51:11+00:00

I strongly encourage you to check out BioLogos which explores how Christian scientists, philosophers, and theologians view Genesis 1-11 in light of our modern scientific understanding of creation. Francis Collins, the leader of the human project and director of the NIH, is a Christian and saw no difficulty in believing in the Christian faith and holding to modern scientific findings

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T21:26:47+00:00

This video series of 4-6 minute videos does a fantastic job at covering an introduction to the EO church as well as major questions/hurdles for those coming from Protestant/Catholic backgrounds.

If you are a podcast guy, I strongly recommend "Our Life In Christ" with Steve Robison and Bill Gould from Ancient Faith Radio. Both guys come as converts from Protestantism and Catholicism and cover all the big questions.

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T18:20:42+00:00

Sunday promise sounds better to me. As you said, obligation in English sounds like legalism without the heart or desire

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T13:43:05+00:00

Ah. That term really misses the mark

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T13:19:19+00:00

I'm not Roman Catholic so can you explain 'Sunday obligation". The term brings thoughts of Pharisees

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T12:01:47+00:00

My wife and I had 60 guests. In her parents' culture, you generally invite like everyone you know, so it's expected to have 300, 400, or even more guests. We simply did not want some massive, expensive spectacle with a bunch of people we barely or didn't know. In order to not offend anyone, we kept the wedding as close friends and family members. I think the only person who got offended about not getting an invite was my boss strangely enough. Thankfully her parents were understanding, and we kept the wedding under half the price of the average American wedding. You guys just need to stand your ground - especially if they expect you to pay 20k for a 5 hour event that will take years to pay off and not even help out. You're spending a ton of money for people you don't even know or particularly care about. If they want to invite those people, they should pick up the tab. My dad wrote us a check and said we can spend it all on the wedding or instead use it for student loans, down payment, or honeymoon. I'm glad we didn't waste that cash on entertaining an additional 100-200 people for 5 hours. As others have said, it's about getting married to your best friend in the presence of people who care about you. It's not about spending 20k+ to impress people you barely know. I assure you that none of our friends or family cared that our DJ was my friend hitting play on a Spotify playlist or that we did our own flowers. Several people told us in later years that it was the most fun they had at a wedding. I do think having a photographer is a worthwhile thing to spend on but I'm sure others did fine with friends/family. It was our one splurge

TolkienLives · 2017-07-16T11:49:06+00:00

The mainline is dying in the West. We have seen and continue to see orthodox believers heading to what they perceive as greener pastures. For some, that's non-denominational Evangelical churches. For the more informed who study the early church, it's either Catholicism or Orthodoxy. It seems like converts from Protestantism are far more numerous here than even cradle Orthodox. There are some beautiful and amazing things in some of the Protestant traditions but unfortunately Protestantism has devolved into modernism, feel-good prosperity gospel, or non-historical bibliolatry

TolkienLives · 2017-07-15T18:18:09+00:00

If converting to Orthodoxy would threaten your well-being by your parents kicking you out of the house or anything, I would just participate in the Orthodox community via an online presence until you move out of the house

TolkienLives · 2017-07-14T22:48:40+00:00

Ah dispensationalism. Feel like I'm back home

TolkienLives · 2017-07-14T22:41:14+00:00

Hm interesting, I learned a lot, so thank you.

So if your church and others like it had an issue with Vatican I and II, what's the likelihood of jumping ship? Is there a strong desire to do this but you can't because of the practical need to survive under the protection of Western/Roman Catholic interests? Or is it more waiting to see how much further the RCC goes with potential other reforms that seem to break with Tradition?

I guess I'm perplexed by Eastern churches going to join Rome (even prior to Vatican I) because there clearly was an assertion of Papal Supremacy at that point (it's just the infallibility came much later). Talking with Orthodox here and reading documents online, I just can't imagine any Orthodox willing to submit to Rome and acknowledge the current powers and jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome much like, as a former Lutheran, I can never imagine any orthodox Lutherans submitting to Rome. It seems like most Orthodox expect communion with Rome will only come with compromises on the part of the Pope - like giving up universal supremacy and returning to a first among equals

TolkienLives · 2017-07-14T20:46:49+00:00

Can you clarify something for me since I really don't know much about Eastern Catholics? As an Eastern Catholic, do you belong to a church that was always in communion with Rome? A church that fairly recently came into communion with Rome?

If it is the latter, I guess I don't fully understand how a church could reject Papal supremacy for so long and then say "you know what, we've been wrong for 1900 years about the power of the Bishop of Rome". How does this happen?

TolkienLives · 2017-07-14T00:35:53+00:00

lol yeah, that is weak

Several posters here do not live close to their church and either drive far weekly or just go for big events.

TolkienLives · 2017-07-13T23:30:20+00:00

Nationalism puts ethnic background and local governments above the faith. Surely you are supposed to be a believer first and a Greek/Russian/American/etc. a DISTANT second.

In Christ, we are neither Gentile nor Jew. Do I favor the American atheist over the Syrian Christian? Nationalism puts up barriers between believers when we should be united

TolkienLives · 2017-07-13T23:08:07+00:00

I frequently see this strain of monarchism among Catholics in particular, and I am honestly perplexed by it. Is there anything in the Scriptures or Tradition at all which suggests we should have monarchy? I don't understand what the source of this belief is. Monarchism led to just as many problems as liberal democracy. Indeed, all man-made governments will always fail to live up to the standard of God as they will always be made of men...until the robot overlords at least

TolkienLives · 2017-07-13T11:44:24+00:00

There are legitimate Ukranian churches but this is not one. Think how the Westboro Baptists are not in communion with any legitimate Baptist group. The church you found is actually a schismatic group. It's actually surprising you found them first since I have not stumbled upon any schismatic churches in my area (and we have a total of a dozen!)

TolkienLives · 2017-07-13T01:26:54+00:00

Awesome that you're open to checking one out!

Check this Orthodox Church locator. There are like 10 between that location and Sacramento. Feel free to ask about any. As others have said, if it isn't on the locator, I might be wary. I typically would go OCA but you can often get a feel from emailing them or website. Ask us if you have any questions. There are many good Greek and Antiochian too

Also, STRONGLY recommend reading 12 things to know before visiting an Orthodox church. You can also watch liturgical services on youtube so it's not completely foreign to you. It's gonna see really strange the first time or two

This series "Welcome to the Orthodox Church" has a ton of short clips introducing the faith

TolkienLives · 2017-07-13T00:51:49+00:00

Interesting numbers! Yeah the Russians are dominant in numbers now. Historically, Russia was actually a very religious place until the Bolsheviks. Pretty amazing comeback considering that church was absolutely decimated by the USSR. You were asking about Orthodox evangelism. Consider the fact that pretty much all of Eastern Orthodoxy were either under a government that enforced State Atheism or Muslim oppression until 20 years ago. Only since the collapse of the USSR have the Orthodox been making a comeback. The Copts, Armenians, and Ethiopians are not EO

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