MYSTAGOGY: February 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Purpose of Man According to the Greek Fathers

By Rev. Dr. John Romanides

If man was created according to the image of God for the purpose of being perfected and becoming like Him, he can attain it only by spiritual exercise of the will because only through true freedom is it possible for man, in his love, to become like God. True freedom is the love that distinguishes God as free of all necessity and selfishness. "Be ye therefore perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect"[1] does not mean that man must become perfect as the self-loving, self-contented God of philosophy and of certain Scholastics of the West, but perfect as the God of Holy Scripture and the Greek Fathers, who is free of all necessity and selfishness. The destiny of man, as imagined by Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Ritschl, and others of the West, is self-centred eudaemonia[2] attained by supposedly identifying the mind with the reality in the essence of God.[3] This is supposed to cause a cessation of all movement of the mind and will toward any other person or thing since there is nothing more desirable for the human intellect than the divine essence. For the Greek Fathers, however, the idea of a vision of the divine essence is blasphemous. Such theories of eudaemonia simply project and elevate to a divine level the force that rules in the world, the force of necessity and self-interest called "fate" by the ancients.[4] But man was not made for the purpose of finding satisfaction of the supposedly natural, self-centered longings within himself and, thus, of becoming unmoved and dispassionate. On the contrary, he was specifically made so he can love God and his fellow man with the same love that God has for the world. Love that arises out of self-interest is alien to the nature of God just as it is alien to the original destiny of man. Before the coming of the Lord, the devil appears standing before God, accusing the righteous of selfishness. Replying to the things that God said about the faith of Job, the "devil said before the Lord, 'Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about?'"[5]

Notes

1. Mt. 5:48

2. According to Romanides, eudaemonia is the self-centered quest for happiness. F. Copleston says that the system of ethics of Aquinas is a combination of Aristotelian eudaemonism and the Christian West's teaching of the beatific vision of the divine essence (Aquinas, p. 133).

3. He is speaking of the Platonic forms or ideas.

4. Tatian maintains that demons "introduced fate" to mankind.

5. Job 1:9-10

John S. Romanides, The Ancestral Sin, Zephyr Publishing, pp. 106, 107.

Papoulakis: A Pictorial of St. Joachim of Ithaka

"Papoulakis", Saint Joachim of Vatopaidi and Ithaka (Feast Day - March 2 and May 23)

Kalyvia, the birthplace of Saint Joachim.

The basement where Saint Joachim's step mother would often confine him as a child and abused him.

Saint Barbara Church, built by Papoulakos in the village of Stavros.

The skoufi of Papoulakos, treasured by the family of K. Ravtopoulos in Avogi, Ithaka.

A tryptich icon Papoulakis gave as a gift and now in possession by the family of Mr. Spyridon Pavlatos.

A letter written by Saint Joachim.

Papoulakis' holy relics upon their discovery.

The washing of Papulakis' relics after their transfer.

From the first celebration of Saint Joachim's feast day.

The venerable skull of Papoulakis.

The tomb of St. Joachim, behind the Holy Altar of the Holy Church of Saint Barbara. It is shadowed by a tree he planted with his own hands.

The authorization of Saint Joachim's canonization.

Ἀπολυτίκιον. Ἦχος γ´. Θείας πίστεως.
Θεία χάριτι λελαμπρυσμένος κατεφώτισας τοὺς ἐν σκοτείᾳ ἀγνωσίας καὶ δουλώσεως πέλοντας ταῖς διδαχῶν καὶ θαυμάτων ἀκτῖσί σου, Ἰωακείμ, ἀσκητὰ ἐνθεώτατε· γόνε πάντιμε Ἰθάκης, Χριστὸν ἱκέτευε δωρήσασθαι ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Apolytikion of St. Joachim in the Third Tone
Shining with divine grace, you illumined those caught in the darkness of ignorance and apostasy by your teachings and radiant wonders, Joachim, most-divine ascetic, all-precious offspring of Ithaki, entreat Christ to grant us great mercy.

Alexandros Papadiamandis on St. Nicholas Planas

By Alexandros Papadiamandis

Among the present-day priests in the cities and villages, there are still many who are virtuous and good. They are village-types, beneficent, respected, and venerable. Even though they may expound words, they know another manner of teaching the flock. I know of a priest in Athens. He is the most humble of priests and the most simple of men. For any divine service, if you give him one drachma, half a drachma, or one tenth, he takes it. If you do not give him anything, he does not ask. For three drachmas he does an all-night service: Compline, Vespers, Matins, Hours, and Liturgy, the whole thing lasting nine hours. If you give him only two drachmas, he does not complain. Every list bearing the names of the dead to be commemorated, when once given to him, he keeps always. For two and three years he continues to commemorate the names. At every Prothesis he commemorates two or three thousand names. He never becomes weary. His Prothesis lasts two hours. The Liturgy another two. After the dismissal of the Liturgy, he distributes to all present whatever pieces of prosphora or antidoron he has in the sanctuary. He keeps practically nothing.

Once, it chanced that he owed a small amount of money and wanted to pay it. He had ten or fifteen drachmas, all in copper. For two hours he counted, counted, counted, and could not determine how many drachmas there were. Finally, another Christian took on the effort to count them for him. He stutters a little, and is almost illiterate. In the prayers he says most of the words correctly, but in the Gospel most of them incorrectly. You will say, "Why this inconsistency?" He says the same prayers every day, whereas a certain portion of the Gospel he reads once, twice, or at most three times a year, with the exception of frequent portions which recur occasionally, as in the Blessing of the Waters and at the Paraklesis. The mistakes which he makes in reading are oftentimes comic. Yet, of those who hear, out of all the congregation, not one of us laughs. Why? We have become accustomed to him and we like him. He is worthy of love. He is simple and virtuous. He is worthy of the first Beatitude of the Saviour.

Now, suppose that this same priest had come out of some theological school, old or new. Would the difference in him be to the better? He would be smeared with a few imperfect, ill-digested, and confused teachings, with more pride and more demands. Would he be better for us?

From The Songs of God:

After three days we accompanied little Koula to the grave. The "professional" priests and the chanters chanted the usual hymns from the "Blessed are the blameless in the way" up to the "Let us give the final kiss". Papa-Nicholas, from the Island of Naxos, of the Church of Saint John in the Field, appeared as though he were doing a separate service. He murmured to himself, and his eyes seemed filled with tears. "What are you murmuring, Father?" I asked him from behind the stall on which he leaned. "I am saying the Funeral Service for Children to myself," answered Papa-Nicholas. The Service for Children befits this guileless man.

The Enthroned (or "Reigning") Mother of God Icon

The "Enthroned" (or "Reigning") Icon of the Mother of God appeared on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas's abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow.

In February 1917, an elderly woman named Eudokia saw the Mother of God in a dream telling her to go to Kolomskoye to find a large blackened icon in a church. After the vision was repeated three times, she went to Kolomskoye to search for the icon with the priest Nicholas.

In the basement of the church they found the icon and started wiping off the accumulated dust. Then they were able to see the Most Holy Theotokos wearing a crown and sitting on a throne. Immediately, Father Nicholas celebrated a service of Thanksgiving and an Akathist.

News of the icon's discovery spread throughout Russia, and there were several miracles of healing from physical and mental infirmities. As time went by, the icon renewed itself and became brighter and brighter. Particularly striking was the blood-red robe of the Virgin.

Since the icon was revealed just as the Tsar abdicated, many people believed that the Queen of Heaven had assumed royal authority over the Russian land, and so the icon became known as the "Enthroned" (or Reigning) icon. It was discovered that the icon had come from the Ascension convent in Moscow. In 1812, before Napoleon's invasion, this icon and others were sent to Kolomskoye's Ascension church for safekeeping. Apparently forgotten, the icons were never returned to Moscow.

A Service and Akathist to the "Enthroned" Icon were composed with the assistance of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon (+ 1925). Many copies of the icon were venerated throughout Russia, but these were confiscated by the Soviets. The Service and Akathist to the icon were also forbidden to be served.

The original icon is in the Novodevichy Museum in Moscow, and there is a copy in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Kolomskoye.

The "Enthroned" or "Reigning" Icon, which belongs to the Panachranta type, shows the Theotokos seated on a throne with Her Son.

Source

Saint Agathon of Egypt

Saint Agathon of Egypt, a contemporary of St Macarius the Great (January 19) and a disciple of St Lot (October 22), he lived in asceticism in a skete in Egypt. He was distinguished by exceptional meekness, accounting himself the most sinful of men.

Once, monks who had heard of his discernment came to St Agathon to see if they could make him lose his temper. They asked him, "Are you Abba Agathon, a fornicator and a proud man?"

"Yes, that is true," the monk replied.

"Are you the Agathon who is always talking nonsense?" the monks inquired.

"I am," the saint agreed.

"Are you Agathon the heretic?" the monks persisted.

St Agathon said, "I am not a heretic."

They asked the saint why he agreed with them when they accused him of vices, but then denied this last charge. Agathon replied, "I accepted the first accusations, since that was beneficial for my soul. But heresy is separation from God, and I do not wish to be separated from God."

Astonished at his discernment, they returned to their monastery, edified.

When asked which was more important for salvation, bodily asceticism or interior vigilance, St Agathon said, "Man is like a tree. Bodily asceticism is the foliage, but interior vigilance is the fruit. Holy Scripture says that "every tree which does not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Mt.3:10). Therefore, we should focus our attention on the fruit. But a tree also needs the protection of its foliage, which is bodily asceticism."

St Agathon died in about the year 435. For three days before his repose the monk sat in silence and concentration, as though disturbed about something. When the monks questioned him, he answered that he saw himself before the Judgment Seat of God. "How is it possible that you, Father, should fear judgment?" they asked him.

"I have done my best to keep the commandments of the Lord, but I am a man. How can I be certain that my deeds have been pleasing to God?"

"Do you not trust that all the good deeds which you have accomplished are pleasing to God?" asked the monks.

"I have no such hope until I see God. His judgment is not man's judgment." Having said this, the saint departed to the Lord.

St Agathon is commemorated on January 8 on the Greek calendar and March 2 on the Russian..

"60 Minutes" Report on the Armenian Genocide

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6253043n

Evolution: A New Fundamentalism

Fr. Serafim Gascoigne

The theory of evolution has become a part of our everyday thinking and behaviour. In most people's minds, the word evolution is synonymous with progress and presupposes growth towards a better future. This progress is measured in terms of social, political, and religious growth or achievement and has become part of our everyday vocabulary – an integral part of how we act and think. All aspects of life are now modeled on evolution. For example, there is scientific evolution, a nihilistic philosophy which sees man as a piece of driftwood thrown up by time onto the shores of existence. There is social and political evolution that measures progress and human development in terms of the intellect and the amazing achievements of technology. And finally, there is religious evolution: religion that is evolving towards the “Omega Point” envisioned by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (d. 1955) or towards the “Age of the Spirit” anticipated in the works of Nikolay Berdyayev (d. 1948). Currently there is ecumenism, with its roots in the Masonic movement, which promotes evolution towards universal brotherhood under a supreme deity.

For many people, evolution is also synonymous with Charles Darwin and his theory of biological evolution. In fact for over a century Darwin's theory has been a basic element of scientific and cultural thought. Life, according to his theory of evolution, is ever moving from a preexistent form to a more complex – and therefore better – form. Although the factual evidence to support this view is virtually nonexistent, scientists nevertheless accept evolution as a priori in scientific research. Oddly enough, Darwin was not the actual inventor of the theory of evolution; evolutionary ideas and interpretations were being discussed in the second half of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries by such scientists as Denis Diderot (d. 1784), Benjamin Franklin (d. 1790) and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (d. 1829). I believe also that evolutionary ideas have been developing for much longer than we normally imagine and have, therefore, greatly influenced the development of western civilization. Blessed Justin (Popovich) of Serbia (d. 1979), in his book Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, identifies Darwin's views with New Age Religion. To understand this, let us examine the historical perspective that preceded the emergence of Darwinism and in particular, the writings of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (d. 1860) and the influence his philosophy exerted on other evolutionary thinkers

An Historical Perspective

Western Christianity and consequently Western civilization promoted humanism from early times. The deviant theology of the Latin church readily provided the impetus for the cultivation of Humanistic thinking. From the first few centuries of Christianity in Rome, there was a rebirth of pagan Caesar worship, which in subsequent centuries was inappropriately transferred to the Patriarch of Rome, a process that eventually culminated in the anti-Christian doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope. The teaching about Papal supremacy over the Church (the Body of the God-Man Christ) inevitably replaced the God-Man as Head of the Church with a man, in the person of the Pope of Rome.

The belief in this doctrine later provided fuel for the Renaissance. Man, being at the center of the universe did not need God. The significance of this human idolatry was not simply political but cosmological, for man now became the focal point of theological thought, which in turn, fostered humanism. The Pope is the intermediary between God and man, and curiously enough does not have to be a priest, but can be a layman. It is not, of course the object of this article to examine the details of this degeneration in the concept of Church from a Divine-human community to a human-secular one. However we need to be aware of the historical development of humanism, in order to grasp the significance of its effect upon our thinking today.

In time, this humanistic idolatry gave rise to the divinization of science and civilization, and in our own time, the divinization of education, the main object of which is to illumine man without Christ. When the God-Man, that is Christ, is eliminated, man becomes the center of the universe. This is to fulfill the aspiration of Satan, who told our ancestors that they would become gods without God. Removing Christ from man, we produce the mechanistic man of the Empiricist philosophers, such as John Locke (d. 1704) and David Hume (d. 1776). According to these Empiricists, the nature of man is derived from the senses. Unfortunately, this new man of Empiricism proved very primitive and terribly boorish. So the next stage in history was to progress to man as intellect, building on the rationalistic philosophies of Rene Descartes (d. 1650) and culminating in Immanuel Kant (d. 1804).

But the true nature of man, argued Schopenhauer in the nineteenth century, is volition. Man's essence cannot be summed up in his senses or in his reason, since he is neither of these. Rather, he is foremost comprised of volition. Man as volition is the true man. For Schopenhauer, the nature of man is based on his will to live. However, individual wills produce strife and, therefore, only through the renunciation of self-desire can one find peace. Schopenhauer's philosophy was based on his study of Kant and, in addition, the mystical works of Hinduism and Buddhism, and the Western mysticism of Meister Eckhart (d. 1327) and Jakob Boehme (d.
1624). His book Die Welt als Wille and Vorstellung (The World as Will and Idea, 1819) greatly influenced Friedrich Nietzsche (d. 1900) and, later, Darwin. Nietzsche developed the ideas of Schopenhauer further by promoting man as an inferior being who aspires to the Uebermensch – “Superman” – of the future. The production of this Superman, according to Nietzsche, is the reason for the existence of the earth and the purpose of history. Superman represents the goal of human evolution.

Because of his exercise of creative power and his ability to rise above transient sensual pleasure, Superman is spiritual man. In today's language, he recognizes his own characteristic of creative-intuitive power as opposed to critical-rational power. He is the final stage in evolution. “What is ape to man? He is an object of laughter… This must be true for what man is to the Superman” (Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1891). In this worldview, man is nothing but the (missing!) link between animal and Superman. A grim product of the philosophy of the Superman was Dachau, for volition destroys compassion and conscience. Admittedly, the Nazi phenomenon was a perversion of Nietzsche's thought, but it is nonetheless the Superman concept that forms the basis for many fascist and socialist ideologies.

A Scientific Perspective

The historical advancement of evolutionary thought reached a watershed with Darwin's introduction of the theory of biological evolutionism. By placing evolution on a scientific footing, Darwin ensured its survival as an axiom of modern thought. Darwin and those of like mind directed their search for the new man among inferior creatures in order, using the animal kingdom as justification to create man without God. The outcome of these efforts was the reduction of the theory of evolution to a kind of religious fundamentalism. Time and again, Darwinism has been used to cover up scientific ignorance of how the wonders of the world could have been created. In America in the earlier part of this century, Darwinism was supported by such eminent figures as the paleontologist Henry Osborn (d. 1935), whose scientific opinion was greatly influenced by the discoveries of “Piltdown Man” (a hoax using a chimpanzee's skull and reluctantly recognized many years later by the British Museum, which had to change its display of the ascent of man) and “Nebraska Man” (another one using a pig's tooth).

The opinions of such eminent scientists as Osborn were based on the premise that, however wrong the current answers were to their views of evolution, they would stand until a better answer arrived. This scientifically untenable attitude is comparable to saying that a criminal defendant should not be allowed to present an alibi unless he can also show who in fact committed the crime. Such fundamentalism bases itself on a technique known as reductionism, the attempt to boil down complex systems or phenomena into simple terms or easily digestible facts, the ideal goal being to discover the lowest common denominator. (Incidentally, in the sphere of religion, the ecumenical movement is the embodiment par excellence of the philosophical application of reductionism.) The driving supposition here is that all living phenomena may be explained by molecular biology. According to reductionism, just one or two basic molecular causes account for all living phenomena. There is, indeed, no phenomenon in a living system that is not molecular, yet there is none that is only molecular either. The living cell is a system and, however much we study its constituent parts, these parts are not the cell in toto, but simply its characteristics. Knowing how reflexes work in an artist does not tell us about his style or his subject matter; the study of a telephone directory does not tell us about the richness of life in the city.

As the biologist Paul Weiss writes: “It is one thing not to the see the forest for the trees, but then to go on to deny the reality of the forest is a more serious matter; for it is not just a case of myopia, but one of self-inflicted blindness” (Beyond Reductionism: The Alpbach Symposium, London: Koestler & Smythies, 1972). Reductionism is still popular today, despite the fact that many scientists are uncomfortable with such a fundamentalist approach to scientific research. Because in the last three hundred years the scientific application of reductionism has been so successful in gaining control over the forces of nature, our present society is far more receptive to rational-mechanistic philosophies (e.g. Ludwig Feuerbach (d. 1872 – “We are what we eat”) than to other philosophies, simply because it considers such views innately “more scientific” than other alternatives.

Reductionism leads to a view of the universe as a great system of physical forces, and the mind with all its powers of imagination and creative insights as a mere by-product of these forces. Viktor Frankl in Vienna has concluded that reductionism has led to some of the major psychiatric disorders current in the world today (Beyond Reductionism). In fact, it has led to a new type of neurosis called the existential vacuum. If man is no more than the product of some chemical determinism, he then has no meaning. Frankl aptly describes reductionism as the nihilism of today. However, reductionism is not necessarily the view of all scientists. There are those such as Weiss and Von Bertalanffy, who are concerned with biological systems and organization. For example, Bertalanffy states:

“There is a non-random feature, perhaps at the very basis of natural order, which may well have to be taken ultimately into account by biological theorists. Where is the mind? If we dissect the brain, we don't find the mind. The brain is a system and is more than its constituent parts. We have to move from entities to qualities possessed by a system as a whole, which cannot be split up and located. We often think that when we have completed our study of one we know all about two, because two is one and one. We forget that we still have to make a study of ‘and'. At the molecular level, we study ‘and' – that is to say, organization" (Beyond Reductionism).

Again, the square is contained in the cube. It serves as its foundation and basis. However, if we say that the cube is nothing but a square, then we are shutting out a whole dimension, the third dimension. The blinkered vision of Darwin and the reductionists is ironically condemned by their mentor Schopenhauer: “Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world” (Studies in Pessimism, 1851).

To be a true scientist, one has to have faith. To be objective without a hunch is not to be scientific, but to be technical. Such “objectivity” is characteristic of the technocrat, not the true scientist. This applies especially to modern medicine, in which doctors have become simple technicians, rather than physicians, regarding man as merely a biological machine. Such an approach in turn breeds discontent. People demand better results, more health and more security. They want a techno-kingdom on earth, which will replace the heavenly one. Here, especially we can see the inherent fundamentalism of current evolutionary thought; a blind faith in the inevitability of progress and the belief that things can only get better. As Hoelderlin (19th century) referring to political systems in his day, reminds us: “What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven”.

A Social Perspective

With its new found scientific credibility, evolution rapidly permeated all fields of inquiry, eventually resulting in a radically new social perspective. In the words of Theodosius Dobzhansky: “Evolution need no longer be a destiny imposed from without: it may conceivably be controlled by man, in accordance with his wisdom and his values”. Acclaimed by the American Academy of Sciences and St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary, he is billed as “the greatest evolutionist of our century and a lifelong Russian Orthodox” (P.E. Johnson, Darwin on Trial, Chicago: InterVarsity Press). While Dobzhansky's Orthodoxy is obviously nominal, he is beyond doubt a true believer in the New Fundamentalism: “Evolution is much more than a theory – it is a general postulate to which all theories, all systems henceforth must bow and which they must satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light which illumines all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow”.

In short, Evolution is the god we must worship. We are, therefore, basically passionate stone-age people who are capable of creating technology, but not controlling it. If humanity is to avoid extinction, it must summon up the political will to take control of evolution and make it in the future a matter of human choice, rather than blind selection. What concerns me is that the influence of evolutionary thinking in our lives is subtly hidden and thus taken for granted. It has gradually taken root in our collective subconscious. Thus, in schools it a “given” that man evolved from apes. Lax chronological interpretations and the assumption that things are improving all the time are handily used to gloss over the painfully evident deficiencies of the theory of evolution. For those who have accepted evolution – deficiencies or not -, God has become redundant. But it is precisely through the correct understanding of man that we come to know God. St. Gregory of Nyssa (395) confirms this when he says: “For it seems to me, the make-up of man is awesome and inexplicable, portraying many hidden mysteries of God in itself”.

What are the implications of evolutionism for Orthodox Christians?

Evolution has given rise to the dominance of the brain – the intellect. Paradoxically, one can be highly intelligent, yet stupid at the same time. But the evolutionists, man's intelligence puts him at the pinnacle of creation. It is his brain that is important and not his heart, since the latter is only a pump! Technology is founded upon intelligence, not the heart. But as Orthodox Christians, we know that without the heart, there is no morality. When Antichrist comes, he will find a planet of spiritual morons, a highly intelligent species which is nonetheless spiritually ignorant. Intelligence, according to St. Anthony of Egypt (d. 356) is the fear of God, not sophistry, clever argumentation, or learning (i.e., technology) per se. You may counter: “Did not God use evolution in His creation? I am willing, as a rational being and an Orthodox Christian, to accept theistic evolution, but not the ‘Big Bang' theory of the atheists”.

But in saying this, you are rejecting the miraculous creation of the universe. You are implying that suffering, sin and death are somehow intrinsic to God's creation, thereby refuting the Christian doctrine that man originally fell and continually falls through the spiritually destructive exercise of his own will. Again, you may say that you do not support the theory of evolution, that in fact, you do not believe in it. If this is true, then why do you subscribe to liberal thinking in education, child-rearing and health? Why do you have a passion for comfort- to reach out for the pill of pleasure? If you fail to lead an ascetic life, you are not an Orthodox Christian, but a hedonist, a crypto-evolutionist! Evolution is setting us up for a takeover by demonic forces which will be able to exploit our spiritual ignorance. And do not think that a knowledge of the Fathers, of theology, will help us. If we succumb to the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, psychologically and intellectually, we will not be able to resist these forces.

The Case for "Devolution"

The Orthodox standpoint - agreeable to true scientists who objectively acknowledge the inexorable reality of entropy - posits universal devolution: “The world doth wax old as doth a garment”. Civilization as we know it is declining, not progressing. We witness everyday the breakdown of morality and the falling away from the faith. But, nevertheless, secular society is confident and optimistic about the future, since we are becoming “gods” as Satan promised in the garden. We are becoming gods who can control our own destiny. Thus as early as 1933, John Dewey (d. 1952) could write: “If blind nature has somehow produced a human species with the capacity to rule the earth wisely, and if this capacity has previously been invisible only because it was smothered by superstition, then the prospects for human freedom and happiness are unbounded”.

Unfortunately, Dewey could not foresee the product of his educational philosophy- Homo technicus. Instead of being a demigod, Homo technicus as a species is, in fact, subhuman. He is subhuman since everything that is supernatural or spiritual has been ripped from him. His reasoning is based on Psychologie ohne Seele (“Psychology Without Soul”). This man has finally devolved to a totally materialistic life in which he can find satisfaction only in whatever is earthly and not heavenly. An officer of the Allied Forces, upon entering Dachau camp asked: “Where is God to allow such suffering?” A survivor answered him: “We know where God is, but where is man?”

The evolutionists are proud that they are not descended from Christ and His Heavenly Father, but from apes instead. They are perfectly able to become false gods, simply because they recognize no other God than themselves. “We want to be free. Evolution is the star that guides us”, they cry.

Our answer as Orthodox Christians must be: “Some glory in chariots and some in horses; but we will glory in the Name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 19:7).

Fr. Serafim Gascoigne is the Rector of Holy Protection of the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Seattle, Washington, a parish of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

A Lenten Lesson

Monday, March 1, 2010

Christianity Not A Religion, But A Revelation

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

If someone loses his faith in God, he is recompensed with stupidity. Of all stupidities, it is difficult to say whether there is a greater one than this: that someone who calls himself a Christian and then proceeds to gather pathetic proofs for God and eternal life from other beliefs and philosophies. He who does not find gold among the wealthy; how will he find it among the poor? The revelation of eternal life, of facts, of proofs, of signs, and of actual visions of the spiritual world - all of these not only constitute the foundation of the Christian Faith, but constitute its walls, floors, ornaments, all the furnishings, the roof and the domes of the majestic building of the Christian Faith. A single ray from the spiritual world glistens through every word of the Gospels, not to mention the miraculous events, both in Evangelical and Post-Evangelical times as well as throughout the entire history of the Church for two-thousand years. Christianity has thrown open wide the gates of that world in so great a measure, that it should not be necessary to call it a religion, in order not to confuse it with other faiths and religions. It is a revelation! God's revelation!

A Muslim Preacher Converts to Orthodoxy

The interview was presumably conducted in English, posted in Russian here, translated to French here by Claude Lopez-Ginisty, whence the present translation here.

We’re speaking in London with a new Orthodox Christian who was baptized today with the name Daniel. Daniel is not a Muslim name, far from it [actually, it does exist as a Muslim name, but it’s quite rare]. Although information about his conversion will inevitably circulate among the Muslims of London, for reasons of security we will not deliberately give details about this subject because there are very often cases of threats and violence and sometimes even murders perpetrated by fanatics. That said, Daniel’s experience is very precious for the Orthodox. Fr. Nicholas Savtchenko, interim rector of the Church of the Dormition (ROCOR) in London speaks with him.

Daniel, please tell us about yourself.

For many years I was a zealous Muslim, as were my wife and children. I was born in the UK, but during my life I have travelled a lot in Muslim countries. I knew both British and Muslim culture. I lived in Saudi Arabia, where I studied theology and contributed to the Muslim mission among foreign laborers. I also spent time in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, in Pakistan, and in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. I also spent time in Bosnia. In recent years, I’ve been living with my family in London, where, some time ago, I became the Muslim representative in a well-known inter-religious organization dedicated to peace. For the past two years, I was an advisor on Islam to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Two days ago, I called him to tell him I was entering Orthodoxy in the Russian Church.

What was his attitude?

Oh… The Archbishop of Canterbury was very happy. Once, he told me that recently two of his employees in the personnel department of the Anglican Church had been received into Orthodox churches: he respects their choice and they will continue their work in the administration of the Anglican Church.

What led you to Christ?

The first time that I had the desire to study the New Testament in detail was when I was in front of the Kaaba in Mecca—I lived for a time in Mecca. Christian literature is strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia and many websites are even blocked, but with the development of modern communications, it is not difficult for those who are looking to find the Word of God. After a time, I tried to convince and American who was working in the Saudi capital to convert to Islam. When I spoke to him, he responded with much courage and conviction. I was surprised by his courage, because in Saudi Arabia a man who preaches Christianity can easily be killed. Conversations with Christians in Saudi Arabia were very important for me. As someone associated with the Islamic mission in Arabia, I encountered many foreigners. I always remarked that in most cases, people converted to Islam, not because it was their free choice, but in order to keep working in Saudi Arabia and to obtain a release from the taxes imposed on non-Muslims. The fact is that the salaries of non-Muslims are lower than those of Muslims because of the need to pay a special tax, set by Muhammad. Salaries for Christians in Saudi Arabia are rather low, and some convert to Islam in order to earn more money. The majority of Filipinos who return home immediately renounce Islam. I began to explore Christianity even more and, little by little, I sensed its superiority over Islam. I first consciously encountered Orthodoxy in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Unfortunately, the priests in Sarajevo did not speak English and I could not really express what I wanted. After waiting for a group of Imams to pass by, I went into the Serbian church and I felt the astonished look of the Serbian priest when I made the sign of the cross in the Orthodox way and I made a prostration onto the ground. Then I knew that Orthodoxy was, of all the Christian confessions, the closest to me. I studied Christianity and Orthodoxy even more, reading books and watching films. I also liked the movie Ostrov (the Island). Slowly, I decided to ask for baptism in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Finally, we hear growing reports of the propagation of Christian missions in Muslim countries. Is it considerable in these countries?

I agree that there are many secret Christians in Saudi Arabia. Several times I myself have encountered people who were probably secret Christians. We need to understand that in Saudi Arabia and other countries, maybe the majority of Muslims go to the mosque not because their faith encourages them to, but because they are obliged to do so under the pressure of laws and customs. Visiting the mosque becomes a burden. Muslims of today are rather less religious than people in the Christian world believe. In Muslim countries, there are many mosques and they say prayers there five times a day, but besides on Friday no one goes to the mosque. Other than on Friday, in any mosque at the time of prayer, you won’t see more than five men, even though there are many homes inhabited by Muslims around it. Most Muslims don’t go to the mosque even on Friday. Some start going during Ramadan, but after the fast they disappear until the next year. In the mosque, once a week during Ramadan there are maybe a hundred people, even though there could be thousands, and after Ramadan there won’t be more than five people. In Muslim countries, many people search for truth and it’s because of this that the Christian mission will grow. Most promote Christianity among friends, and recently there have been television networks and many more internet sites dedicated to mission among Muslims. In general, many Muslims distance themselves from Islam and this is especially visible in Western countries. In Great Britain, many Muslims have converted to Christianity. In the Anglican Church, Muslims who have adopted Christianity are estimated at a hundred thousand people. Many of them are Pakistanis. They have their own Christian churches and are forced to hide because of the danger of reprisals from the Muslims. There are also Arab and Bengali converts to Christianity. Very many convert because of mixed marriages.

Recently in the press there have been reports about the strong growth of Islam in western countries and they have even claimed that the number of Muslim faithful will soon overtake the number of parishioners in Christian churches. It seems strange that the press has mentioned the number of Muslims, of faithful in mosques, many times greater than the capacity of the mosques themselves! But that is not mentioned in the press. What is the truth?

The presence of mosques in the UK is very weak. Most Muslims won’t ever go to a mosque. The young people have effectively left Islam, even if they say that they’re still Muslims. In the mosques they don’t find a common language with the Imams from Pakistan or Bangladesh. Young people can barely speak Urdu or Bengali but only English. Many are ashamed of Islam because of terrorism. Our inter-religious council investigated mosque attendance and we know what the real picture is and it is especially alarming for Islam, but it is to the advantage of certain people to present Islam as an immense force. If one takes the list of mosques in Muslim publications, for example, in West London, we find that there are twenty mosques and much free space in each of these mosques, even though the number of people of Muslim origins in London is such that they would need even more mosques if a majority went. In one large mosque in London there might be three hundred people for Friday prayers. Many mosques are just small halls that are only used on Friday. In general, believers are very rare in mosques and most are children who bring their parents. When they grow, they disappear. Christianity offers a free choice, thus it is much better adapted to life in a climate of tolerance, and Islam is unable to pass this test.

The media talks about the adoption of Islam by many British people. Muslims make an almost triumphant image of Islam in the West. However, the real number of British in the Muslim population is very small, only around 1200 people. How do you understand this contradiction?

It is not a simple question. I was a part of the Islamic mission to the British and I can say that the number of converts is minimal. At Friday prayers in the center of London, the number of British Muslims at the mosque is maybe one percent. Outside of London, they don’t even reach this number. All the Muslims know the real number of converts to Islam. There are those who accept Islam because of marriage to Muslims. These British will never go to mosques and their acceptance of Islam is a formality. Very often they remain in practice Christians. Most of those who accept Islam because of marriage are women. Additionally, many descendants of Muslims immigrants to Britain consider themselves British but could not be considered to be ‘British Muslims’ in the full sense. I’ve spoken a lot to women who divorced their Muslim husbands, and I can say from memory that in London there are maybe 25 British women who have remained Muslim after divorcing their Muslim husband. But, as a general rule, mixed marriages lead to an estrangement from Islam. The Islamic mission in the West has not been successful. In London, there is an organization of missionaries dedicated to the preaching of Islam. They are mostly youths. But, they realize their mission among Muslim immigrants because it’s much more effective, and the British do not convert to Islam. When some Muslims say that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, London imams say that this growth is primarily because of the fertility rate, but there is no real mission. I do not doubt that Christianity is much stronger in terms of mission.

Are there many Muslims who convert to Christianity in Great Britian?

On the one hand, there are very many. This happens without any publicity. In effect, according to most schools of Islam an apostate from Islam should be executed, even though the imams of the chief mosques of London say that they cannot be executed for apostasy from Islam.

However, on the other hand, we can say that there are very few, since many Muslims simply abandon their faith and become unbelievers. Unbelief is an illness common to all. Certain Muslims try to present atheism and the absence of religion as characteristics of Christian civilization, but Muslims themselves, even more than Christians, lose their faith in the Western world. However, there is the very good example of Russia and the other Orthodox countries where the Church is growing, even with freedom of choice. I hope one day to go to Russia, but in the meantime I need to rebuild my life as an Orthodox Christian.

Orthodoxy Under Communism

1918 - Confessors

1930's - Destruction of Churches

Two Orthodox Christian confessors, Father Roman Braga and Father George Calciu, talk about their experiences in the Stalinist Gulag of Pitesti during the 20th century communist era in Romania.

Support the Orthodox Mission to Sierra Leone

In an earlier post I wrote about Orthodox missionary Fr. Themi titled, Fr. Themi: The Atheist Rocker Who Became an Orthodox Priest and Missionary In Africa . In that post I also mentioned the successful Orthodox mission to Sierra Leone which is lead by Fr. Themi. I want to remind my readers during this holy lenten season to support Orthodox missions.

I have been informed that Fr. Themi is seeking supporters for his mission both in the United States and worldwide. This can be done by sponsoring $10 a month (or more) by going to http://www.pk4a.com/ and clicking on the "Ezi Donate & Sponsor Worldwide" link. There you can sign up with your Credit Card. All funds are in AUD (Australian Dollars) so $10 is $8 to $9 USD (United States Dollars). So far in the US they receive $170 a month; more is needed to make this mission even more successful. All donations go to the charity, all workers are volunteers, and no one gets remunerated in any format.

At the website http://www.pk4a.com/ one can read more about this important ministry to the orphans of Sierra Leone, where your money is going, and sign up for the free newsletter. I also encourage everyone to check the various videos on Youtube at the website http://www.youtube.com/user/pk4a.

Please pass along this information.

On Spiritual Learning

By I.M. Kontzevitch

At the basis of every construction one must lay the correct foundation. The high quality and durability of what has been created depends on this.

This is true whether it be the construction of a house in the material world, or an acquisition in the sphere of intellectual knowledge, or inward activity in the spiritual life. In a word, in everything where creation takes place, everything depends on the base, the foundation on which it is built. A house may be built on rock or on sand; in the latter case its fall will be great, as we are told in the Gospel (cf. Matt. 7:27).

Our intention is to study the works of the Holy Fathers and, in the most recent epoch, the letters of Elder Macarius, organically linked with the Patristic works.

What must we place at the foundation of our study?

First of all, we must provide ourselves with a clear realization of what the writings of the Holy Fathers are. Besides being canonical and liturgical treasures, they encompass the grace-filled psychological experience of many centuries of Orthodox ascetics. Over the centuries the Eastern ascetics, with the aid of the grace of the Holy Spirit, perfected their knowledge concerning the soul of man, the laws governing the life of the soul, and the path of her spiritual ascent. Their writings analyze and point out the correct and only path to the lofty perfection of holiness and the vision of God, for all times and for all peoples.

Their works show a wondrous oneness of mind, and everything organically flows from one thing to another. The Holy Fathers, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, spoke only the truth, and therefore their authority for us must be absolute.

Now let us investigate with what attitude we must approach the present task.

The Lord says: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matt 5:6). Here the law of knowledge of higher spiritual truths is made known to us: the goal of knowledge must be truth and for truth's sake, for the sake of God's righteousness contained in it. Knowledge must come out of a desire for truth and out of love for it. Then and only then will it be revealed to us.

But there can also be another approach, when truth becomes no longer a goal in and of itself but a means of achieving other goals.

In this case there can be many various motives: an honest yearning to achieve success in life; or else simple vainglory - to make a brilliant display of the wealth of one's knowledge; or perhaps even plain curiosity - to get a greater smattering of all kinds of information. There can be yet other motivations.

In all these cases knowledge remains superficial, external - it does not penetrate to the depth of the soul and, like the seed in the Gospel parable (cf. Matt. 13: 20-21) that fell into stony ground, it does not bear fruit and can cause only harm. True knowledge of God's righteousness - of the Gospel commandments - unfailingly draws one to the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, but "mere theoretical knowledge puffs up a man" (St. Mark the Ascetic).

No matter what his station in life, such a superficial understanding of truth cannot save a man, be he an educated theologican, a rector of a theological academy, a senior hierarch of the Church, an ascetic in a monastery, and so forth - not to mention those who live an entirely worldly life.

Taking this into consideration, we do not marvel at the fact that theologicans and hierarchs have fallen into heresy and initiated schisms and disturbances in the Church, and that renowned ascetics have fallen into delusion and perished.

All of this occurs because "the builders have rejected the stone which must be at the head of the corner" (cf. Ps. 117:22). This Rock is Christ and His commandments! Neglect of the commandments of God leads to an increase of the passions; and every passion, like smoke, obscures our mental gaze, so that it can no longer see the truth.

The most striking example of this is given to us in the Gospel in the person of Judas the betrayer: even his exclusive proximity to the Savior, his apostolic calling, did not save him from perdition. Judas like the other apostles was given authority to work miracles, to cast out demons; he was an eyewitness of numberless miracles and the miraculous deeds of the Lord Himself. As an apostle, Judas knew the mystical meaning of the parables and teaching of Christ, to him the Mysteries of God had been revealed. And, in spite of all this, the passion of avarice remained untreated. But that is not all, it grew to such horrendous proportions that it even moved Judas to betray his Teacher.

Lectures of Archimandrite George Kapsanis (Greek)

Archimandrite George Kapsanis, abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou on Mount Athos

Sharon Osbourne: The Dark Side of Fame

SHARON OSBOURNE: The Dark Side of Fame ... and why the cult of celebrity is destroying today's children

By Sharon Osbourne
28th February 2010
Daily Mail

My husband Ozzy and I once met Andy Warhol. It was in New York in the Eighties, about a year before the artist died, and at the height of Ozzy's solo success. We had a call from one of Warhol's people saying Andy wanted to meet Ozzy. We were intrigued so we said: 'Let's do it.'

First came dinner in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Ozzy and I sat opposite Warhol, who was exactly like you see him in pictures, only more exaggerated - skinny face, and his collar too big for his neck, so the effect was a bit tortoise-like. Most of the time he didn't say anything, and when he did, it was so quiet you couldn't really hear.

Dinner over, he said he wanted to take us to a Manhattan club. It wasn't long before Ozzy got agitated. 'I'm bored,' he told me.

'So am I,' I said. 'But we can't leave yet, it would be rude. Just give it another half an hour and then we can disappear.'

Ozzy went off to the bathroom and didn't return. When I realised he'd done a runner, I did the same.

Of course, Andy Warhol is most famous for saying: 'In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.' These days I'd put that figure closer to five minutes.

I thought of Warhol's prediction when I was watching a morning chat show on TV recently.

It featured a girl aged about 14. Her one aim in life was to have surgery so that she would look like Katie Price. Her reasoning seemed to be that if she looked like the glamour model, she would become as famous as her idol.

How depressing that the loftiest ambition a child of 14 can summon up is to have breasts the size of barrage balloons. It was bad enough that she regarded 'being famous' as a worthy goal - not 'being talented', you note.

When Ozzy was starting out as a musician in Black Sabbath, for him and his contemporaries fame was simply a by-product of doing something they loved, not an end in itself. Of course, they wanted to be successful and to make money, but they certainly didn't expect it and that wasn't the reason they were in a band.

Today, though, young people regard fame as a birthright. They have a sense of entitlement the size of one of my houses.

I recently heard about the work of an American psychologist who discovered that in the Fifties only 12 per cent of youngsters agreed with the statement, 'I am an important person'. By the end of the Eighties, that figure had risen to 80 per cent. I think we can all guess what it is now.

Children leaving school today no longer want to be doctors or lawyers or architects. All I ever hear is 'I wanna be famous', or ' I wanna be a celeb'.

There is an epidemic of fame-obsessed youngsters - aged between ten and 25 - who wrongly believe celebrity is a shortcut to wealth and happiness, and who are convinced it will bring them everything they want. An entire generation that doesn't understand that nothing worth having comes easily.

I'm not a politician - and that's politics' loss - but it seems obvious to me that many teenagers part company with the schools system with little or no actual education.

And because the traditional family unit has more or less collapsed, these children probably haven't been brought up with any real values. We used to call them latch-key kids. How many people do you honestly know who sit down together and have a family dinner every night?

Read the rest of this fascinating article here.

Christian Gets Life in Prison for Blasphemy

Pakistan: Christian Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Blasphemy

Qamar David was in prison since 2006. In the weeks after his arrest police failed to find any concrete evidence against him. Muslim co-defendant acquitted, for lack of evidence. Christian activists: verdict result of "influences and prejudices” and motivated by “ external pressures ".

March 01, 2010
Asia News

Karachi (AsiaNews) - Qamar David, a Christian in the dock on charges of blasphemy, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The basis of the ruling, issued on Feb. 25, the fact that the man "hurt the religious feelings" of Muslims; however, the co-defendant was acquitted for lack of evidence. The police had arrested the man in 2006, although there was no evidence against him.

Additional District and Sessions Judge found Qamar David guilty of using blasphemous remarks about the Islamic Prophet and Quran and pronounced the verdict after hearing final arguments from both sides, daily Dawn reported yesterday.

According to the verdict, a SIM phone card was found in possession of the convict and the data produced by the cellular company established that messages were sent from the seized phone card, which they claim belonged to the Christian.

A contact close to the accused is of the opinion that the facts, evidence and law were in his favour. The evidence against him is said to be based on hearsay, and an accused Muslim in a parallel case was fully acquitted on the same facts. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source described the final judgement as “biased and prejudiced,” and believes that external pressure on the court may have played a part in distorting the outcome, a news release issued by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) states.

CSW is deeply concerned over news that a Pakistani Christian from Lahore was sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, the communiqué. The Christian man was arrested in May 2006 for allegedly spreading blasphemous messages through his cellphone. During that time both Mr David and his lawyer, Parvez Choudhry, were regularly subjected to assassination attempts and threats of violence from abusive mobs.

CSW’s National Director Stuart Windsor said: “This alarming verdict is yet further illustration of the urgent need for the government of Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy laws. The legislation continues to be abused for the satisfaction of personal vendettas against Pakistanis of all faiths. It is a dangerous tool in the hands of those seeking to persecute or discriminate against religious minorities.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

Atheists Urge To Trade Bibles For Porn

[I must admit, stories like this make me long for the days when the world actually had intelligent atheists with arguments worthy of response. But this story is yet another revelation of the stupidity of contemporary atheists and how atheism is not based on reason, but on either moral or emotional issues. And it shows to the extent their minds are in the gutter, even when reading Scripture (as the pictures reveal). Of course it is true that Scripture reveals mankind in all its ugliness and horror and the depth of its illness, but the difference between Scripture and porn is that it guides humanity towards the healing of this illness. The students of UTSA are doing nothing more than the equivalent of trading a physician's manual for crime scene photos. And their reason is so dense that they cannot even comprehend the true meaning of the Scripture passages they twist according to their perverted minds. - J.S.]

College Students Urged: Trade Bible for Playboy

'Religious texts are so appalling, you are better off having porn'

February 27, 2010
By Drew Zahn
WorldNetDaily

In the lobby of the University of Texas at San Antonio's humanities building, a hand-drawn poster announces, "Free porn: Just trade in your holy books (Bible, Koran, Vedas) for porn."

A student group at the university called The Atheist Agenda is reviving its Bibles-for-porn program, called "Smut for Smut," for three days beginning March 1, according to a report from San Antonio's KENS-TV.

"The idea is that religious texts are so appalling," said Atheist Agenda group member Brian Talker in a 2006 interview with UTSA student publication The Independent. "They are so full of genocide, misogyny and ludicrous ideas that far overshadow any banal common-sense platitudes like loving thy neighbor, that you are better off having porn, which isn't nearly as smutty."

A current member of the group told KENS the program is also meant as a slap against religious leaders and the "hypocrisy" of their condemnations of pornography.

"They've been going and rallying against pornography for the longest time," the unidentified student said, "and the disgusting, depraved acts that are within the Bible, Koran and Vedas completely outnumber any [faults] of any pornographic image."

Other students, however, have expressed outrage.

"As a Christian myself, I just take offense to it," one student told the TV station.

"Did they really do that?" asked another. "It kinda made me want to cry, it really did."

University officials have stated that the controversy over the poster and program boils down to protected freedom of speech.

UTSA spokesman David Gabler told KENS, "We are a marketplace of free ideas here at UTSA, and our students have all [the] constitutional rights afforded to all individuals in the United States."

The Atheist Agenda, founded by students in 2005, launched its first Smut for Smut program in December of that year.

The then-president of The Atheist Agenda, Thomas Jackson, told MSNBC he thought the swap program presented a fair trade:

"Well, first of all, you know, pornography gets a lot of negative press, and it's smut. A lot of it really is," Jackson said. "And we wanted to make the comparison between that and the smut that is religious scripture, or a lot of it, you know. The stuff that says a woman is worth half a man, the things that say, you know, you should beat children.

"These things aren't acceptable in our society," he continued, "and if pornography is not acceptable, then these things surely aren't. At the very least, what we're doing is trading something that's very, very bad for something that's only moderately bad."

In its first Smut for Smut campaign, the San Antonio Express News reports, the atheist group avoided legal problems by placing the explicit magazines in envelopes and storing them in a box under a table. Students also checked IDs to ensure recipients were 18 or older and gave instructions not to view the material in the commons area.

Also in 2005, a rival Christian group established their own booth across the plaza from The Atheist Agenda and offered materials denouncing negative effects of pornography use.

This year, opposing signs have been posted in the same campus lobby, immediately next to the "free porn" poster, and KESN reports websites rallying against the program have already drawn thousands of members.

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The Purpose of Man According to the Greek Fathers

Papoulakis: A Pictorial of St. Joachim of Ithaka

Alexandros Papadiamandis on St. Nicholas Planas

The Enthroned (or "Reigning") Mother of God Icon

Saint Agathon of Egypt

"60 Minutes" Report on the Armenian Genocide

Evolution: A New Fundamentalism

A Lenten Lesson

Monday, March 1, 2010

Christianity Not A Religion, But A Revelation

A Muslim Preacher Converts to Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy Under Communism

Support the Orthodox Mission to Sierra Leone

On Spiritual Learning

Lectures of Archimandrite George Kapsanis (Greek)

Sharon Osbourne: The Dark Side of Fame

Christian Gets Life in Prison for Blasphemy

Atheists Urge To Trade Bibles For Porn

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