A term with lower status in the Orthodox world is theologoumenon. The word shares the same root as “theology” but has a different technical meaning. A theologoumenon is a pious belief or individual opinion that may or may not be true and cannot be substantiated.
A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology, 17
not much …
What is one way you have grown this year?
How have I grown this year? I do not feel I have, There is, however, one thing which I realised that make a difference in my life.
There is no standard for growth. There is no abstraction against which my growth is measured. In fact, there are few standards against which I am measured. Or, to put it another way, there is no institutional answer for a personal question. The last virtue of a modern world is conformity – and the greatest sin. Looking for anything outside of me is going to disappoint. I stand alone before God.
waiting …
There is, for me, a deep difference between longing and expectation.
In expectation, there is a demand – a standing in line, impatiently wondering, When will the line move?
In longing, there is a request – and a willingness to wait.
The waiting itself becomes a connection. When I truly ask – when my longing is genuine – I am open. Open even to pain, open even to disappointment.
This is living in the full force of life.
But when I am in expectation, I am demanding: The experience must come to pass! Do not disturb me now!
Ragen, Akiva ; רגן, עקיבא. The Secret of the Encounter: An existential interpretation of the book ‘I and Thou’ by Martin Buber, 8-9.
abstraction and the world
A particular individual can take the lead in an insurrection, but no particular individual can take the lead in leveling, for then he would, after all, become the commander and escape the leveling. Particular individuals may contribute to leveling, each in his own little group, but leveling is an abstract power and is abstraction’s victory over individuals. In modern times leveling is reflection’s correlative to fate in antiquity. The dialectic of antiquity was oriented to the eminent (the great individual—and then the crowd; one free man, and then the slaves); at present the dialectic of Christianity is oriented to representation (the majority perceive themselves in the representative and are liberated by the awareness that he is representing them in a kind of self-consciousness). The dialectic of the present age is oriented to equality, and its most logical implementation, albeit abortive, is leveling, the negative unity of the negative mutual reciprocity of individuals.
Two Ages, 84
it is about me
What is something you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self?
Control what you have the power to control. And let the rest look after itself. Especially people – they make their own mistakes.
Do not worry what other people think or do – you do “you”! And do not let the “maybe” outcome stop you!
a question
So here is a question I was wondering about the other day:
What makes your “church”
different from a cult?
Would the answer be something like, “we are right, they are wrong”? Well, that means ever single individual is someone else’s “cult” or heretic. Maybe, as a general thought, we can dump the concept of “right and wrong”?
Also, as an aside, why do we assume so much about cults? The leaders are manipulative and evl. They know they are wrong and are doing it for some self-serving end. I think most people are honest about their beliefs – members and leaders of cult are no different. Let’s start from this point!!!! While some may have nefaris aims, I believe most cult leaders believe what they preach. And, some clergy do not.
I do not expect answers.
ask someone else
Write your guide to setting healthy boundaries in relationships.
I have absolutely no idea. My life is one continuous unhealthy relationship without boundaries. So if you would like some insight, ask someone else!
restoration
Describe one of your favorite moments.
At the moment (ROTFLOL), Restoration England. The restoration of the monarchy and, in 1662, the Book of Common Prayer. I am reading Samuel Pepys’ Diary. The life then would suit me. Not sure about the food.
Tomorrow it will be something different!
beards etc
[W]earing a beard in Orthodoxy can and should be interpreted as an outward sign of an inward belief. The Bible makes a strong case that growing a beard is an honor for a man and glory to God. … What is it about a man’s face that would cause him to reflect on who and what he is and what is required of him? In short, if he wore a beard in compliance with the holiness code, he would immediately be reminded of his obedience to God and his ways. Modern times reflect something similar.
Ask An Eastern Orthodox Christian: On Beards
To shave or not to shave, that is the question. I have a beard because I am lazy and really dislike shaving.
Yet the above makes the point that the outward sign is a reminder for the individual. This is a great starting point for everything – clothing, religious symbols, etc. These are a reminder for me and not a religious “look at me”. Or, as Soren Kierkegaard says,
[The individual] is a stranger in the world of the finite, but does not define his difference from worldliness by an alien mode of dress (a contradiction, since it would define him as worldly); he is incognito, but his incognito consists precisely in looking just like everyone else.
Concluding Unscientific Postscript (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy), 345
Ok, not incognito with a long white beard but nothing about me screams heretic!
maybe?!
Do you think humans will ever colonize Mars? What would life there actually look like?
All things being equal, yes. But in reality, I have no certainty that there will be a tomorrow. If it does happen, it will be like the world was in the middle ages – lawless and isolated. (I actually have no clue!)
