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A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog
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The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Vainglory and Pride
Thisentryis part 6 of 8 in the series The Ladder of Divine AscentFrom John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus:
Like the sun which shines on all alike, vainglory beams on every occupation. What I mean is this. I fast, and turn vainglorious. I stop fasting so that I will draw no […]
Wherefor Original Sin?
Thinking about baptism and salvation, a question occurred to me. Why does the Church teach the doctrine of original sin? Where did it come from? I've always thought the following bit of Scripture, written long before Christ's salvific work, directly contradicted this doctrine.
"The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the […]
The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Avarice and Poverty
Thisentryis part 4 of 8 in the series The Ladder of Divine AscentFrom The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus:
"Do not say that you are interested in money for the sake of the poor, for two mites were sufficient to purchase the kingdom of heaven (cf. Luke 21:2)."
[…]
"The pretext of almsgiving is the […]
Helping Our Persecuted Brethren
I really don't have anything new to say about the Muslim anger over what Benedict said; I will merely reiterate that he cited one dialogue between an Emporer and a Muslim that touched on the nature of God and reason, and that he did not try to make that Muslim a representation of all […]
The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Chastity
Thisentryis part 8 of 8 in the series The Ladder of Divine AscentFrom The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus: "Do not imagine that you will overwhelm the demon of fornication by entering into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and he has the best of the argument. So […]
