The Heresy of Ken Ham: The Ark Encounter Exposed.

 

Before I begin properly this particular article and the necessity that I believe it has, in that this article is in need of writing to formally combat the heresies and the inerrant fallacies of Ken Ham, I would like to offer my sincerest apology for anyone I might offend. My goal through this article, is not offend, rather it is to instruct and guide. While the methods behind the things I will discuss in this article are sound, the methods and the theology are not. We as Orthodox Christians, having the fullness of the faith handed down to us from the church fathers since the beginning of the church, must stand firm and proclaim the truth to all people, regardless of the consequences. What I am going to discuss may not be contained all in one article, or rather in several. It is up to the reader to do more research and digging into the various topics I am going to present and whether they choose to accept what the church has handed down and proclaimed for 2000 years.

First, Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis, a ministry devoted to the cause of proclaiming a young earth creationism movement within the church and the world. For many evangelical Christians, and Christians in general, who do not ascribe to the evolutionary explanation for creation, this is a welcomed sight. He has become a champion for the marginalized and forgotten Christian of the world and many people flock to his beliefs in a hope to identify with something that is left missing in their own lives. However, and I say this with the most amount of respect, that leading astray those who are already going astray simply leads people hell. It is not the belief in a young earth, or whether it was by instant creation of the various animals that is the problem. In fact, many Orthodox Christians are not theistic evolutionists and do believe in such a way as to how God created the world. Rather it is the fact that he is adamant that no other way for Creation to have taken place and his addition to the gospel through this belief that is the problem. By openly stating that Christians must and have to conclude that the earth is no more than 6,000 years old, and that we must believe that it was a literal 6 days, 24 hour periods of creation, he has violated the scriptures that he holds dear. Now this might not be clear to some, but let me clarify. The process of creation, rather than the how of the creation is what is most important. The how of creation is important to a rational mind, lacking the history and teachings of the church fathers. By trying to solve every detail about God, we learn that he is unknowable and yet we can know about him through the Church. God gave us the scriptures to point to Christ. He gave us the scriptures not as the end of all authority, but rather as a part of the authority. As one will see later, Ken Ham rejects the teachings of the church fathers, and considers them irrelevant outside the Bible. For an Orthodox Christian, the teachings of the Church Fathers and the Bible go hand in hand. Without one, there is not the other, and vice versa. By his strong belief that a Christian must believe in the literal six days and twenty four hour periods, he has in turn changed the scriptures, which does not give us the details of the how process, but rather that God created the world and that is enough. Therefore I believe that he has violated scriptures, because oth Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 warn against adding anything to the scriptures.  While great ascetics of the Orthodox Faith, like Father Seraphim Rose, of whom I have written extensively about, also proclaim a young earth, it is not completely accepted by all the Orthodox writers and saints.  For many, including St. Maximus the Confessor and St. Gregory of Nyssa, the process of creation is less important than the result of creation.

 Furthermore I would like to add, that even Charles Darwin the so called “father of evolution” believed in a creator. He stated in his writing, “Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been independently created. To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator…” Thus, we understand that God created the world, and how he created the world is not necessary for our salvation. The focal point is that of Jesus Christ and anything outside of Christ is non important to Christianity. Whether or not God created the world in 6, 24 hour periods or whether it was over a period several thousands or millions of years does not matter to us as Christians. We should be focused on growing strong people of faith. Trying to determine the exact methods by which God created the world and each process and each moment leads us down rabbit holes and retracts from the gospel. It defeats the purpose of developing Christians into defenders of the faith and practitioners of the sacraments of the Church. Which leads me to my next point.

            Father Thomas Hopko of blessed memory once said, “Protestantism generally tried to rediscover the ancient faith but it didn’t rediscover the ancient faith, it made a brand new one that was absolutely more unacceptable in many, many ways than what they thought they were fighting against.”  Having recently toured the grounds of both the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum, I can safely say that from an Orthodox perspective, the museum is incompatible with Orthodoxy.  For example, Ken Ham’s lies and blatant disrespect for the church fathers is clear when he makes broad statements regarding the canon of the Bible, which was formulated and established by the church fathers at the ecumenical councils. Proclaiming that only protestants have the true canon because everything can be backed up by the other books of the bible thus removes the Church Fathers and the unbroken line of succession of the bishops out of the teachings of the Church. If Ken Ham violated both Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 because he added to the scriptures through his own beliefs and teachings, then he has violated them again by removing from the scriptures those books and teachings from Christianity that have been taught and expounded on since the formation of the Church. One of the most blatant lies I found within the Creation Museum was that none of the books of the Bible discuss prayers for the dead. One only must look at the practices of early Christians, and the book of Job (which is accepted by Protestants), to find that prayers for the dead have been a part of the tradition of the Church since the beginning. Luke, Matthew, Hebrews, Psalms, 1 and 2 Timothy, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Revelation, Romans, Ezekiel, Mark, 1 John, 2 Corinthians, Acts, the list would be ten pages long if I included every instance where prayers for the dead were mentioned in the Bible. Some are harder to understand than others, but it is there in scripture and was understood by the early church to be a pious practice. Denying the practice is removing from the teachings of the Church. Thus, it is teaching a different Gospel than what has been given to us. St. Paul says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8) So Ken Ham is teaching a different Gospel than what is taught by the established Church of Jesus Christ, and should not be accepted on that alone. If his addition to the Gospel, and his removal of the teachings from the Gospel aren’t already enough his theology on man seals the deal.

            Finally, I would like to point out that his theology is distinctly Calvinistic or at least he preaches a depravity of man. Orthodox view the world in a way that as being the created image of God, we are thus like God in many ways. For people such as a Ken Ham, and his protestant brethren, we lost that image at the Fall. This is contrary to Orthodox teaching in which sin and death are foreign to the nature of humanity, not a part of it. The total depravity of man implies and states that because of the fall our nature was changed. While we accept that sin became a part of us, it is no more than how cold becomes a part of us when we get sick. It is a sickness that has effected the human race, rather than become an inherent part of our very being. Furthermore we do not teach that humans cannot come to God on their own. The Orthodox view on the total depravity of man is this, if because God created man in his image and then instantly changed it after the fall, this makes God the creator and author of sin, and God cannot be anything that he is not. Ken Ham openly promulgates in his Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum that we are totally depraved and completely helpless in the eyes of God. In doing so, he once again teaches a foreign gospel to the one that has been taught and handed down to us from the Church Fathers and the apostles. Violating the own scriptures that he so wishes to protect. One article that I found while doing research to defend the church’s teaching on this puts it this way, “Humans are bound by sin and corruption, but this is like burying a gold bar in a pile of horse manure—it doesn't change the fact that there is gold” It doesn’t mean that anything about us changed, simply the situation. We must live with sin, but it does not become a part of us, unless we let it. Furthermore the same article states, “Early Greek-speaking Christians used the terms hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) for "person" and ousia (οὐσία) for essence (or nature). The word "person" and the Latin concept is part of the problem here, compared to the Greek word and concept of hypostasis, but there isn't time nor space to elaborate on this here. As a notable example of this, the doctrine of the Trinity was formulated in early Christianity stating that God is one in essence (ousia), but with three persons (hypostases). Choice is a function of personhood, not nature. As such, it is incorrect to say that human beings have a corrupt nature that makes us unable to choose anything other than sin.” Thus by using the early church and the teachings of the early church, we see that Ken Ham is no more than a schismatic heretic, who is deceiving the people, whether out of ignorance or out of actual disdain for the church fathers I do not know. I ask all Orthodox Christians to pray for Ken Ham. I do not believe the man is trying to openly deceive. I believe rather that it is out of ignorance and lack of education in the Church as it has been handed down to us from the Church Fathers that he is doing this. I believe that if properly educated on what the Orthodox Church of Jesus Christ teaches he would come to realize that it is the same faith that Jesus established, the apostles taught and the church fathers proclaimed. I have already said too much for one article and hopefully will be able to formulate some other thoughts in a future article. May God have mercy on us, and on Ken Ham.

            Amen.

Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen: Father Ephraim Atwood

 

The Orthodox Church throughout its existence has been home to many, many people the world would consider undesirable, even corrupt. From St. Moses the Black to St. Mary of Egypt, the church is filled with great men and women of faith who have been changed by the nature of Jesus Christ. They have found solace in the Eucharist, the divine services of the church, and lived out their days repenting of the sins they have committed on earth. None more so than that of the man formerly known as Anthony Atwood, recently tonsured Father Ephraim (Atwood) of Arizona.

Father Ephraim Atwood was born Frank Atwood, and was a notorious child murderer who was convicted of the killing and kidnapping of an eight-year-old girl. Father Ephraim Atwood was accompanied to his execution this morning June 8, 2022, by his spiritual father Elder Paisios of Arizona, an elder at the St. Anthony’s Monastery established by Elder Ephraim of Arizona. Father Ephraim Atwood was sixty six years old at the time of his pronouncement of death at 10:16am local time.

So while this is not going to be a very in depth look at the life of Father Ephraim, as I cannot find much, I would like to offer a few words on the nature of this. According to sources, this was the most peaceful execution in the history of Arizona, and one that was marred in various religious aspects. Father Ephraim was converted to Orthodoxy through the prison ministry if I am not mistaken. Father Paisios, his spiritual father said that he had witnessed a complete transformation in the man that can only be described as Jesus Christ transforming Father Ephraim through the Holy Spirit.

A lot of times people like to write off those who have been convicted of serious crimes as unable to be brought back to the light of Christ because of their heinous actions. The Church does not teach that some are elected, and some are chosen to burn. The Church rather teaches that all are called to salvation, and that few will truly answer the call. Father Ephraim is one of the men who answered the call of Christ to be transformed by His power. We see that he willingly accepted his death, fasting the night before his execution and refusing at first to take his last meal. While reports cannot confirm or deny that he ate his last meal, his resolve to fast before his execution indicates to me that he was in a state of constant prayer, asking the Lord Jesus to forgive all his offenses. From reading some of the published correspondence that he wrote, I gather a man who had great love and respect for the Jesus Prayer, as well as for the Service of the Hours. He was completely at peace with execution.

But what does this mean for us? Well, lets look at the whole situation with Father Ephraim. Being a child murderer, you expect someone who is full of rage and hate. Someone who has spent years in death row stewing and brooding over the conviction that led him to prison. Instead, you find someone completely at peace with themselves. Christ forgives all offenses if we ask. He only asks that we allow him to enter our lives and let him live through us. While in prison, Father Ephraim was introduced to the Orthodox Church and found the peace that had been lacking in his life before his conviction. If it had not been for his entrance into the prison system, Father Ephraim might never have found Christ and been brought to salvation. We see that preaching the gospel no matter the consequences is important in our own lives because we know that we do not know the reach and impact our words might have. Father Ephraim confessed he was the most hated prisoner in Arizona, and I can imagine that is in no small part because he was outspoken about the transformation that Christ had brought about in his life. Being able to live the life of a hermit in many ways away from the world, he was able to focus on Christ in his prison cell and cultivate a spiritual renewal that changed his life for the better. We also see that our past offenses don’t always allow us to receive a positive outcome. Though he maintained his innocence throughout the trial and the various appeals that were made by his legal team, the state of Arizona upheld his conviction and upheld their sentence of death. Accepting those things, we cannot control is a vital part of our acceptance that everything that is placed in our path is for our salvation, even those things that will lead us to the physical death. I cannot confirm or deny the changes in Father Ephraim’s life. I trust the monks and nuns who spoke on his behalf telling of the great miracles that Christ had done through Father Ephraim’s life. I trust their counsel and their words. I trust that those present for the tonsuring ceremony, yesterday were of sound mind and heart when they determined Father Ephraim was worthy of the great schema.

We also see a difference in the lives of those who were his victims. While I cannot imagine what it is like to lose a child, I see hurt and anger in the hearts of the victims. I see their pain and I pray for them. I see that there was never a chance for them to forgive Father Ephraim for what he did to the young lady, and that pains me. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves, as much as we give the person who wronged us. Wishing for someone to die because they wronged you is no way to act. Christ did not condemn those who executed him, rather he forgave them for what they did to Him. We see that in Father Ephraim’s final hours he simply went to his death willingly, much as Christ did. We see that the family was excited that “justice” had been done and that Father Ephraim could not hurt anyone any longer. While there is a time and place for justice, the more Christlike response would be to forgive and to pray for those who have harmed us. The taking of a life is not an easy decision. Brooding in your own hatred, while the person who has wronged you is also in a state of hatred of themselves, causes spiritual harm to both souls.  It causes a rift between brothers. Christ says that if we have an issue with someone we should go to them and ask them to forgive us for having issues with them. The family of the victim never asked Father Ephraim to forgive them for their hatred of Him. Often times, this is because of the pain that they are suffering, and I totally understand. Still, asking for forgiveness is a requirement for all of us who have accepted Christ. We must learn to let those who have wronged us go, in the sense that yes they have caused us harm, but this harm is only temporary. Eternity is not something that we should throw away simply because we have a grudge against someone. However now the time for reconciliation is gone for Father Ephraim and the family of his victim. The only hope we have now is to pray for the victim’s family and pray that Christ will transform their lives in the same way that Christ transformed Father Ephraim’s.

I ask today, that you would join me over the next 40 days to pray for the soul of Father Ephraim, as he has entered the tollhouses. May God forgive all his offenses, and forgive all those who have committed atrocities against their brothers. Today we see that the harvest is heavy, but the laborers are few. Father Ephraim answered the call to be a laborer…will you?

Amen.

The Holy Fire-Mystery and Miracle

 

Okay, by now you have probably seen at least if you’re in Orthodox circles, the news that Facebook has been refuting the Holy Fire of Jerusalem and taking down and practically banning anyone who claims the Holy Fire to be a miracle. For those of us who have been around the miracle for years or decades now, we know that the Holy Fire is one of the most sacred and important miracles in the Orthodox world and one that we do not take kindly to those who try and refute the 2,000-year history of this tradition. I had plans to write this earlier in the week, but like all things I took my time in trying to decide how and best to approach a miracle that both Muslims and Jews have witnessed and confirmed that God is at work. For me, as a historian at heart the best way to talk about the Holy Fire is to tell its history, to tell the story and to put to bed those sadistic fact checkers over at Menlo Park.

                First, we understand that the Holy Fire is a miracle, that has been attested to for over a thousand years and most likely longer than that. While documented examples of the Holy Fire can only be traced to 1106 A.D., there have been references to it well before that. The Holy Fire itself is easy to explain, in that it is a flame. Yes, an actual fire. If you want, there are numerous YouTube videos showing the flame and even the current 2022 flame was broadcast on the airways of YouTube. The flame descends every Holy Saturday, shortly before the Paschal Vigil later that night. The Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the Holy Sepulchre every year to the crowd chanting Kyrie Eleison. As he enters the church, he is stripped of his garments and searched for any sort of material that might be used to light a flame within the Tomb of Jesus Christ. He is allowed a candle to receive the flame, but that’s it. An unlit Candle. Now if memory serves, it was once conducted by the Muslim authorities, who at the time were the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. Now it is performed by the Jewish community, and since the Holy Sepulchre is governed by a Muslim family, I am sure that they are present as well. Once the Patriarch has been given all clear by the non-Christian authorities, he enters the Tomb of Jesus Christ, where the body of Christ lay. From the there he is sealed in until he receives the Holy Fire. From what I understand, he says a set of certain prayers that are asking for the blessing. At this point different occurrences have happened. The flame either descends in the form of an actual flame, or in the form of a blue light. For us Orthodox Christians, blue is the color of the seraphim, so it is always nice to know that the heavenly powers are watching over us and are also worshipping with us. Once the flame has been collected by the Patriarch, the flame is then announced to the world with bells and fanfare. The Patriarch exits the tomb and the candle that is now lit is used to light the candles of the nearby pilgrims. The fire itself does not burn. Let me repeat…the fire itself does not burn. While YouTube and Facebook videos have been taken down to discredit this, there is enough evidence from those present, including the non-Christians, to tell us otherwise. People have tried to set their beards, hats, cassocks, and other vestments on fire once receiving it. For at least the first 33 minutes, representing the years Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was physically present on earth, it will not burn anything. After this, it becomes a normal flame. But for 33 minutes, it is exactly like the one ring from Lord of the Rings…cool to the touch. Again, I preface that Non-Christians are in the building while this occurs. They too are witness to the miracle.

                Now, I could sit here and drone on and on. But I would be here all day. There are plenty of videos, that have not been taken down, and there are plenty of witnesses you can find. I will not try to convince you. But let me tell you of some other incidents in which the powers that be, thought they could discredit Orthodoxy. First the Crusaders, who invaded during multiple crusades, have tried time and again to enter the Sepulchre and obtain the Holy Fire. Unfortunately, they did not receive it, and thus the Catholic population rioted because they believed that they were the superior church. Furthermore, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem also attempted to receive the fire. Now, he was more successful than the Catholics, but just barely. In fact, the Armenian, prayed and prayed for the fire. When the fire did come it came in the form of a lightning strike. This lightning strike struck a nearby pillar which can still be seen to this day, and a crack formed. The fire however did not light the Armenian patriarch’s candle. Instead, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem was standing nearby with a candle and God saw fit to light his candle instead. Of course, you know that was both humiliating and infuriating for the Armenian, and I’m sure he was utterly upset. Finally, I must say this. As an Orthodox Christian, who firmly believes in the oneness of the Church and thus believes it to be the established Church of Jesus Christ, it saddens me to know that when the Holy Fire does not descend and God has withdrawn his blessing from the world, we can expect the Second Coming to be near. I pray that the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem continues to receive the Holy Fire for many years to come. I pray that I might experience this miracle in due course, if the Lord allows. I pray that all men would put aside their hatred for each other, and those who have a hatred for religion would put down their hate for us Christians and open their hearts to Jesus Christ. The Holy Fire is a gift from God that is given to us to show his authority and his power. No fire-making materials have ever explained the science behind the Holy Fire. No trick, no scam, no person has ever discredited it. They have tried, they have failed. Facebook, YouTube, Google, the works have attempted to cause division and strife in the Orthodox community and have tried to shy people away from the truth. They will receive their just reward at the Awesome Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ. Woe to them. I pray for us all, and ask, that as we have entered the celebration of Pascha, that you pray for me. May God have mercy on us all.

                Amen.

Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 28

 

In my blog so far we have had two different articles on prayer, and will probably have many more as the journey continues on the path of salvation and orthodoxy. While I have not reached the safe harbour of heaven just yet I pray and continue to pray that my efforts will not be in vain. As we are reaching the top of the ladder, we can now look on all the previous rungs that we have overcome to reach this height. There is still more to go, but we are nearly there. In the 28^th chapter of the Ladder, St. John discusses prayer and what it means for us as Christians. It is not a typical answer one might receive here in the West, with its protestant base and Catholic majority. But one that everyone needs to hear. This is the ancient philosophy of prayer, the early church’s purest and most devout practice. With it, we will ascend to even higher heights than anyone can imagine. St. John says, “Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of man with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world and brings about reconciliation with God; it is the mother and also the daughter of tears, the propitiation for sins, a bridge over temptations, a wall against afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, work of angels, food of all the spiritual beings, future gladness, boundless activity, the spring of virtues, the source of graces, invisible progress, food of the soul, the enlightening of the mind, an axe for despair, a demonstration of hope, the annulling of sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of solitaries, the reduction of anger, the mirror of progress, the realization of success, a proof of one’s condition, a revelation of the future, a sign of glory. For him who truly prays, prayer is the court, the judgment hall and the tribunal of the Lord before the judgment to come.”

Let’s take that first part, being a bridge over temptations, as well as elaborating on the food of all spiritual beings, and expand our thought process a little more as we gather the gist of what St. John of the Ladder is trying to say. First, we understand that prayer is our communion with God. Not in the same way that partaking of the Eucharist is, but rather our conversation and our uniting of minds with God. I personally am the world’s worst at prayer, I tend to only get up saying the Jesus Prayer and will find myself more often than not ignoring the hours and praying simply the Jesus Prayer throughout the day. However what I have noticed through the practice of prayer is that by doing so I am not as easily overcome by the temptations of the devil as I would when I neglect prayer entirely. I also have noticed my anxiety has decreased and that God fills me like a cup as I pray. I also have been more cautious in my thoughts and actions after I pray than before I pray, mainly because I know that I have just entered the courts of God and have directly met with him face to face. I find myself more eager to spend time with God the more often I pray. In doing so, my relationship with God and Christ grows and warms my heart. It becomes for me a kindling of the all-consuming fire in my life so that I am able to ward off anything that is impure and destructive for my soul. Secondly, as the food of spiritual beings, meaning us as humans, it feeds my soul and nourishes my mind in that I can think clearer and harder on things than without prayer. Discernment comes through prayer and prayer through discernment. In doing so, the prayer of the heart is cultivated and the cold dark abyss of the soul is lit with the fire of God and brings about the repentance of the person praying.

Prayer is affected by how you pray. In doing so, you cultivate different aspects of prayer that are available through God to those who seek him. St. John says, “The attitude of prayer is one and the same for all, but there are many kinds of prayer and many different prayers. Some converse with God as with a friend and master, interceding with praise and petition not for themselves but for others. Some strive for more (spiritual) riches and glory and for confidence in prayer. Others ask for complete deliverance from their adversary. Some beg to receive some kind of rank; others for complete forgiveness of debts. Some ask to be released from prison; others for remission of accusations” We see that St. John says that the attitude of prayer is the same, that being humility. Without humility we do not have prayer but rather endless babel that the Lord will ignore. However as we pray there are many things that we can ask for from God. Using my own experience from prayer, I see that I pray most often for the mercy of God to come upon me. That is all I want. I do not seek earthly things or wealth, or titles or confidence in prayer. I know that all those things God dishes out to those who need it more than I do, and I only want to be an outcast in the house of God. I would rather sit and receive mercy for everything I have ever committed than to be famous or to have power. I want the love of God to permeate me and to give me the strength to carry on in this world, not just for the sake of my salvation, but also that I might spend some time helping cultivate others. Prayer is our way of exacting our feelings into words or sometimes inaudible words so that we can stand before the Almighty God with a clear conscience and pure heart. I do not seek to win crowns or glory, only that Christ will say I was a faithful servant on the day of judgement.

Once again I am called back to writing on the Jesus Prayer. In the West, many will drone on and on without really saying anything. We hear people pray for this thing and that thing and may try to flatter God with lavish titles and wording. In the Orthodox Church we do not and have not tried to do that. For that would be heresy. Rather, we speak direct and plain without the need for flattery and wordy prayers. St. John hearkens that belief when he writes, “If you constantly train your mind never to wander, then it will be near you during meals too. But if it wanders unrestrained, then it will never stay beside you. A great practiser of high and perfect prayer says: ‘I would rather speak five words with my understanding,’  and so on. But such prayer is foreign to infant souls. Therefore, imperfect as we are, we need not only quality but a considerable time for our prayer, because the latter paves the way for the former. For it is said: ‘Giving pure prayer to him who prays resolutely, even though sordidly and laboriously.” The quality and time that we spend with God is more important than the words we use. As I have said, the Jesus prayer has become my lifeline to God, and I use it as often as I can for the things that I have on my heart. In that entire statement that I repeat over and over again, I say everything that I need for the Lord to hear me. I do not need to tell God a story and explain every aspect to Him in my prayer. He already knows. What he is looking for is the humility and humbleness of my soul that will lead me out of the dark and despair into the future joys that I will have sitting at his footstool in Heaven. By simple prayer the heart becomes united with the divine and the powers of heaven come to our aid.

St. John says, “Soiled prayer is one thing, its disappearance is another, robbery another, and defection another. Prayer is soiled when we stand before God and picture to ourselves irrelevant and inopportune thoughts. Prayer is lost when we are captured by useless cares. Prayer is stolen from us when our thoughts wander before we realize it. Prayer is spoilt by any kind of attack or interruption that comes to us at the time of prayer.” Prayer is something that must be pure, we cannot force ourselves to pray and to do things that we have no intention of meaning. There have been many times in my own personal struggle that I have seen myself throwaway prayer for the sake of vainglorious things. I have wasted my time and effort on the cares of this world. That is why I am adamant that I should not ask things for myself rather I should simply pray that God who knows everything will give it to me in the time in which he believes best. Wandering minds and thoughts do us no good, for we must be resolute in our prayer and steadfast in our intent. Otherwise we become like the pagans babbling on for hours with no clear conviction.

I have spoken at length about this particular portion of the Ladder, one that is difficult and very easy to misuse if not calibrated correctly. In doing so, St. John has given us a wealth of treasure that is his writings on the subject. I do not believe that even this particular article will do it justice. Only rather I have seen what I have written for the benefit of my own soul and pray also for the benefit of your own. May God continue to guide us and protect us as we enter into Holy Week and celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 19

 

We are now at rung nineteen, and we are dealing with sleep. Everyone likes it, everyone needs it, but is it really the best for us? Well both yes and no. Obviously the Lord grants us recovery from our weakness with sleep. We are able to heal and recover from illness with sleep. Sleep in itself is not a bad thing. However like anything in the Orthodox world, too much of something becomes a bad thing. In the same way, too much sleep becomes a bad thing. St. John says, “Just as prolonged drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes too much sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the easy days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.”  So there we have it folks, Sleep causes us to lose our obedience. Lately I have been having trouble sleeping, rather I have been staying up, reading through the Ladder and through various other texts as I continue to compile my thoughts down, which is why there have been so many articles lately. As such, I have been discovering that through prayer I have also gained energy and revitalization that I was previously lacking. Sleep hinders us from keeping watch over our souls, as it did the apostles during the arresting of Jesus. We see that through this, they were physically and spiritually weak. Not regarding the commands of their master and teacher, who had shown them the devotion to God for those years they were with Him. In turn, they show us what we become when we do not heed the words of the master. St. John says, “Let us observe and we shall find that the spiritual trumpet serves as an outward signal for the gathering of the brethren, but it is also the unseen signal for the assembly of our foes. So some of them stand by our bed and when we get up urge us to lie down again: ‘Wait,’ they say, ‘till the preliminary hymns are finished; then you can go to church.’ Others plunge those standing at prayer into sleep. Some produce severe, unusual pains in the stomach. Others egg us on to make conversation in church. Some entice the mind to shameful thoughts. Others make us lean against the wall as though from fatigue. Sometimes they involve us in fits of yawning. Some of them bring on waves of laughter during prayer, thereby desiring to stir up the anger of God against us. Some force us to hurry the reading or singing—merely from laziness; others suggest that we should sing more slowly for the pleasure of it; and sometimes they sit at our mouths and shut them, so that we can scarcely open them. He who realizes that he is standing before God will be as still as a pillar during prayer and will pray with heartfelt feeling; and none of the aforesaid demons will make sport of him.”  So let’s once again delve into what St. John is saying and why this is important for our spiritual lives.

So the demons have hijacked our sleep. What a surprise. We know, being immortal and incorporeal they do the work of their own master, the devil who when they have grasped a hold of us, try with earnest to bring us down. So why should our sleep be one of the hinderances to their own plans? We see the demons try and develop in us a sense that sleep is good, that sleep will cure us from whatever ailments we have. They also try to use our own frailty against us, creating in us a fatigue that makes us perform all sorts of wicked deeds. From talking in church, to hurriedly singing the appointed hymns to even slowing them down, because it weakens our minds. We yawn, we have shameful thoughts, and we constantly laugh when we shouldn’t. All things I have discussed and pointed out. All this stirs within us the anger of God, that we would violate his sacred commandments over a few moments of respite. When we are appointed to talk our brains become mush and the words that we know and are supposed to be saying cannot come out from our mouths. Sometimes we have overindulged in eating so much that upon waking or before sleep we try to quench the belly for a moment of peace. Instead of taming ourselves we once again fall victim to the passions. Of course, the most egregious, is that when we want to attend church services and the liturgy in particular, the demons tell us that we need more sleep on a Sunday morning and so instead of forcing ourselves to go through with we know to be right, we return to bed, comforted by the warm cozy sheets that we have laid out.  They also try to make us skip Orthros, meaning we miss the reading of the lives of the saints, and we miss  getting to have spiritual food fed to us, for the well-being of our souls. And yet, all of this could be avoided if we merely decided to give ourselves a slap in the face and tell our minds that we can sleep once the job at hand has taken place. Maybe that means waking up five minutes early so you can get to church on time. Setting an alarm, whatever works. The monks would use a semantron to wake themselves up. The alarms on our phones would work just as well. Being able to force ourselves to do something usually yields the best results. And it wouldn’t be a struggle if it was easy.

There is a lot to digest from that quote from St. John. After the next rung, we will be two thirds of the way through and nearing the completion of this monumental task that has been laid before us. If we are to achieve any spiritual growth from this, we must learn to curtail ourselves and sleep. While it is good to rest for even the Lord rested on the seventh day, we cannot fall into perpetual laziness to the point that it interferes with our work and with our spiritual life. Going about our lives with a clear conscience means we must reject the idleness of sinners and force ourselves to do the things God has called us to do. It is difficult to get up at 5:30am on a Monday morning to say the prayers before we begin our day. Even more so when one has worked an eight hour shift and comes home to say the prayers before sleep. Our minds failing from the exhaustion placed upon them from the toils of this life, must be rejuvenated with supplication and prayers. Without this, we will not serve God in the full capacity that we are called to do. May God grant us freedom from sleep that we might serve God in fullness and faith.

Amen.

Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 18

 

We are now reaching our final ascent. We have reached rung eighteen and are climbing slowly but surely up the ladder. When I started this series, it seemed an impossible task to break down such a great and lengthy book. Instead, what I have found are practical lessons that are forming part of a larger work, that will probably end up being a book. It will contain everything I’ve written about the Ladder as well all my previous posts and will be the source of my journey into Orthodoxy. I’ve been attending an Orthodox parish for almost five years now and there are many practical lessons I’ve learned and will continue to share through this blog. I am not transitioning this blog into anything it has not already been. A place where Orthodoxy flourishes and where you can get a lay approach to the theological context of the Orthodox Church. The only Church of Jesus Christ. In doing so, we must continue to go up the Ladder and reach our destination. In so we will undoubtedly reach the point where we will need to face the death of our soul. Im not talking about a physical death, we have already covered that point, rather I am discussing a spiritual deadening of the soul, one that does not have the power to overcome the wiles of the devil and one that sleeps in sin and sickness. This is insensibility at its finest, one that will cause a grown man to go insane and become a wildling. Let us see what St. John says. He says, “He who has lost sensibility is a brainless philosopher, a self-condemned commentator, a self-contradictory windbag, a blind man who teaches others to see. He talks about healing a wound and does not stop irritating it. He complains of sickness and does not stop eating what is harmful. He prays against it, and immediately goes and does it. And when he has done it, he is angry with himself; and the wretched man is not ashamed of his own words. ‘I am doing wrong,’ he cries, and eagerly continues to do so. His mouth prays against his passion, and his body struggles for it. He philosophises about death, but he behaves as if he were immortal. He groans over the separation of soul and body, but drowses along as if he were eternal. He talks of temperance and self-control, but he lives for gluttony. He reads about the judgment and begins to smile. He reads about vainglory, and is vainglorious while actually reading. He repeats what he has learnt about vigil, and drops asleep on the spot. He praises prayer, but runs from it as from the plague. He blesses obedience, but he is the first to disobey. He praises detachment, but he is not ashamed to be spiteful and to fight for a rag. When angered he gets bitter, and he is angered again at his bitterness; and he does not feel that after one defeat he is suffering another. Having overeaten he repents, and a little later again gives way to it. He blesses silence, and praises it with a spate of words. He teaches meekness, and during the actual teaching frequently gets angry. Having woken from passion he sighs, and shaking his head, he again yields to passion. He condemns laughter, and lectures on mourning with a smile on his face. Before others he blames himself for being vainglorious, and in blaming himself is only angling for glory.  himself. He looks people in the face with passion, and talks about chastity. While frequenting the world, he praises the solitary life, without realizing that he shames himself. He extols almsgivers, and reviles beggars. All the time he is his own accuser, and he does not want to come to his senses—I will not say cannot.” Okay so yea. That’s a lot. Which is why I put it here. It’s a lot, because St. John is being blunt. Those who are insensible are given over to the passions in such a way that it is difficult for them to come back from it. However, with a little look into it, there is hope for all of us.

We are constantly battling, constantly striving for the salvation that comes from God. The insensible person too is said to be striving, but returns evermore to the same sins over and over again without thought or recourse. Constant vigilance of the soul is important, bringing us to repentance. We have discussed all the previous sins that he mentions and more. We understand that person who is insensible doe not care that he is wasting his life, only that he wants the temporary forgiveness from God and continues on in his dealings. The insensible person is leading those to damnation through their efforts and tries to pass it off as living a just life. We must not repeatedly fall into the same sins as the ones that came before. We must be striving to rid ourselves of the passions and become dispassionate, being able to react to things in the right mindset. If we live in obedience, we must honor the obedience that has been set before us. We must reject overeating as not to be satisfied by the food, but rather nourished and strengthened by it. We must be silent, so as to be not condemned by our words. We must strive to be a beacon of prayer. Though we are not monks, a few hours of our day spent in prayer, rather than watching television would do us all good.  We must turn from anger, rather and be insightful, instructing those who we have been given as brothers and sisters to further enrich their lives, not to tear them down when they have wronged us. Those who need our uttermost care are often the ones we reject and send away for fear they might embarrass us and bring shame to the community. We must shun the glory for ourselves when repent, understanding that heaping the glory on ourselves removes the glory from God who gave us the repentance. We are called to be children of God, not to be tools of death. We must have self-control over ourselves and tame our innermost being before we can even think about helping others. We are not pure of heart yet and yet we act as if we are. We act without fear of death and without the care of our souls. We go to clubs and dance halls with riotous music and with lewd dance moves. We watch porn, we jump off cliffs. We act as if tomorrow will never come. We live for the moment, not for eternity. I will say that I have had a few insensible moments in my life. Dragging myself down and throwing my self into the pit. I have lived as if tomorrow would never come and that I would not have to face the judge. But in the back of my mind, there was always the sense of urgency, the urgency to repent and to come back to the fullness of faith. In doing so, I was able to drag myself upwards this time, returning to God. We must do this brothers and sisters, we must forsake the world of the living and live for the world of the immortal. Time will come for us to all face the judge. We need to be prepared. Are we willing to live in a world of vainglory and sin? I would hope not.  I will leave you with this, hoping that you will in some ways grow and keep yourself away from insensibility and corruption of the soul. St. John says, “I was astounded at the words of this raving creature and asked her about her father, wishing to know her name, and she said; ‘I have no single parentage; my conception is mixed and indefinite. Satiety nourishes me, time makes me grow, and bad habit entrenches me. He who keeps this habit will never be rid of me. Be constant in vigil, meditating on the eternal judgment; then perhaps I shall to some extent relax my hold on you. Find out what caused me to be born in you, and then battle against my mother; for she is not in all cases the same. Pray often at the coffins, and engrave an indelible image of them in your heart. For unless you inscribe it there with the pencil of fasting, you will never conquer me.’

Pray for me dear brothers and sisters, as I pray for you. God bless.

Amen.

Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 17

    So we’ve finished our discussion of money and now lead into a discussion on poverty. Now we understand that Poverty is not in and of itself a bad thing, rather is something can lead us to God. Poverty has become a huge talking point in our society today as we find ourselves with more and more poverty-stricken families than in the years past. We have seen the War on Poverty, and the government try to alleviate poverty through the use of programs and other such benefits that are supposedly used by the people to help them provide for their families. Christ said that we would always have the poor with us, and that we needed to take care of them. We see this with the apostles appointing the first deacons of the church, of which St. Stephen was one. We see churches reaching out and providing assistance to people when they are in need.  Poverty is a blessing in many ways let’s look at what St. John has to say about this, and continue on.

St. John says, “Great is he who piously renounces possessions, but holy is he who renounces his will. The one will receive a hundredfold, either in money or in graces, but the other will inherit eternal life.” In my last article I used a few quotes from this rung as well, as it had a lot of information in it that tied into the discussion of love of money. Here I will once again be trying to formulate the truth that goes along with poverty and how we should react to the gift God is giving us. God provides for us with the ability to have poverty in our lives, both monetary and spiritual poverty so as for us to rely on Him. When we are sick with spiritual poverty, we should turn to the Lord and ask him for faith, praying and giving all the glory to him. It’s like reading one of my previous posts about how to react to God’s call. Will we simply run and flee, or will we embrace it, using the time we are given to praise and worship God with no thought for the consequences? I myself have been in a bout of spiritual poverty lately, and though there were definitely moments when I chose to reject the gift that God was giving me, that time has passed. I am now openly embracing this opportunity God has given me in my life to use for His glory. Not for my own. I choose not to even think about giving myself earthly glory, instead waiting for God to use me to help further His Kingdom. Choosing to surrender myself to Him was the best decision of my life. Those who have wealth and a love of money have a deep spiritual poverty, one in which they choose not to rely on God. They openly mock His commandments, they refuse to accept the teachings of Christ, and they choose not to have any sort of dealings with those who do accept Christ. We see this throughout Hollywood today and throughout the world with rich people rarely attending Church and if they do, it is seen as a publicity stunt to garner more fame and recognition from the Christian populace. The church has a different story, one in which the rich boldly embraced Christ and one that is full of the mystery and grace of God. I am of course talking about Zacchaeus. That wee little man

We see here, that Zacchaeus was a publican, like Matthew, who was desperately seeking the Kingdom of God. Zacchaeus was so desperate, that he climbed the sycamore tree. When he did Jesus saw his faith, and rewarded him for his faith. In doing so, He dined with him. Zacchaeus gave away his wealth, taking away the spiritual poverty of his soul, but taking on physical and monetary poverty. We know from later traditions that he followed Christ everywhere and eventually followed Peter after the resurrection. When he did, they stopped in Caesarea, where he was appointed bishop by Peter. Zacchaeus gave up everything in search of the Kingdom of God. How much are we willing to sacrifice? I would say very little especially when we wont even become stewards of the church God gave us. We hold onto our spiritual poverty and search for monetary wealth. Our wealth is the Kingdom of God.  Jesus Christ died and rose again not for us to have lots of things like Joel Osteen says, but rather for us to have God living inside of us, uniting the mortal with the divine. In doing this, we as St. John says, “Some have burned much wood with a small fire; and with the help of one virtue some have escaped all the passions just mentioned. This virtue is called detachment, and it is born of experience and a taste of God and meditation on the account to be given at death.”

            In all honesty it is a simple thing to explain, we give up our spiritual wealth for that of this world. We surrender ourselves not to a spiritual father, but rather to an earthly master. Our souls hang in the balance like a thread, one that is dangling above our heads at every hour. The more we try to fight our way to salvation the more we lose it. When we give all to Christ for the sake of his Kingdom we obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and live with unwavering faith. The choice now dear brothers and sisters is up to you. Will you stand for God when he comes with his saints and angels to judge both living and the dead? Or will you flee from his face as an enemy? Will you melt or will you stand firm. I am calling you all now to repent and openly express the spiritual poverty in your lives and confess to the Almighty God that you need his light in your soul. For it will matter on judgement day.

Amen

The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 15

 

Purity. We are always seeking purity. Whether that be gold, silver, diamonds or the like we love pure things. Unclean things are less desirable and people tend to shy away from them because they don’t want the connotations associated with them.  In the same way a Christian should not seek unclean things and only those things which are pure. St. Paul says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)  He tells us that we should dwell on the good things. The goodness of Christ, the mercy of God. These are the things which God wants for us and desires for us. We often times, don’t want to focus on the good we focus on the bad.  St. John echoing back to St. Paul says, “Purity means that we put on the angelic nature. Purity is the longed-for house of Christ and the earthly heaven of the heart. Purity is a supernatural denial of nature, which means that a mortal and corruptible body is rivalling the celestial spirits in a truly marvellous way.” He also says, “The beginning of purity is the refusal to have anything to do with bad thoughts and occasional dreamless emissions; the middle state of purity is natural movements due to excess of food, but without dreams and emissions; and the end of purity is the mortification of the body after previously mortifying bad thoughts.” Lastly, he says, “He who fights this adversary by bodily hardship and perspiration is like one who has tied his foe to a dry branch. But he who opposes him by temperance, sleeplessness and vigil is like one who puts a dog-collar on him. He who opposes him by humility, freedom from irritability and thirst is like one who has killed his enemy and hidden him in the sand. And by sand I mean humility, because it produces no fodder for the passions but is mere earth and ashes.” By being able to remove yourself from the vices of sin and death, one is able to achieve purity, not by the means of themselves but by the synergistic observance of salvation. With the help of God and the saints, we are able to overcome the world. There are many things that must be done to achieve purity. We might need to confess our sins, remove occult books from our home, pray more often, fast from foods. The world around us expects us to embrace the things in our lives that give us pleasure. Bad thoughts are like airplanes waiting to land, and we the air traffic controller need to decide whether we will accept those thoughts or another airport needs to be found by the plane.

It is not an easy task brothers and sisters, there are devils all around us that will make us question the sanity of God and the love he shows for us. For some it will be the desire to obtain beautiful things like new shoes and caps. For others it will be to have their plaudits read for all to see. We cannot in any way allow the devils to be able to grasp hold of us. Reminding ourselves daily of who we belong to, will grant us the desire to please God alone and to shun the world in entirety. When beginning to take the path of salvation we will struggle. St. John says, “With beginners falls usually occur by reason of luxury; with intermediates because of haughtiness as well as from the same cause which leads to the fall of beginners; and with those approaching perfection, solely from judging their neighbour.” He also says, “He who has resolved to contend with his flesh and conquer it himself struggles in vain. For unless the Lord destroys the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man who desires to destroy it has watched and fasted in vain.” Often times because of our history and our love for the Church we become prideful, boasting about the nature of our Church and proclaiming we are the true Church of Jesus Christ. All which is true. However, it is the way we approach the matter that leaves us without purity. We become haughty and prideful of being pure in our teachings and our lifestyles. We look down on the misguided and the misfortunate and thank ourselves that we are not like others. However, in this case we are no different than the Pharisee who pointed out the publican in the temple and thought less of him. Those of us who are beginners, seek luxury and ease rather than the fires of Mordor, if I may make a Lord of the Rings reference here. We desire the best food, the best clothes, the best house. In other words we display our pride in ways that are unbecoming of Christians. Those who have neared perfection however will judge their neighbors and still fall. St. John says, “The Lord, being incorruptible and incorporeal, rejoices in the purity and incorruptibility of our body. But nothing gives such joy to the demons, some say, as the stench of fornication, and no other passion so gladdens them as the defilement of the body.” Are we so deaf to the will of God that we would give victory to the demons so that they could gloat and satisfy their craving to rub it in God’s face? Most people are. Only those who have by their own struggles overcome the world and rendered the devil incapacitated from any hold over them are able to relieve themselves of this vice. None have achieved it save the saints who spent long hours in spiritual warfare on earth. Another quote that fits here by St. John is this, “He who sees that some passion is getting the better of him, should first of all take up arms against this passion, and moreover against this passion alone, especially if it is the domestic foe; be cause until this passion is destroyed, we shall not derive any profit from the conquest of other passions. When we have killed this Egyptian, we shall certainly see God in the bush of humility.”

Be on your guard then that you do not falter in your steps. Time will come when you must fight in the arena of the soul and delve into the depths of your being to slay the beast of death. When these times come, the world will try and destroy you. St. John says, “Let us listen again to another wile of our foes. Just as food bad for the body produces sickness after a time or some days, so this often happens in the case of actions which defile the soul. I have seen some give way to luxury and not at once feel the attacks of the enemy. I have seen others eat with women and converse with them and at the time have no bad thoughts whatsoever in their mind. They were thus deceived and encouraged to grow careless and to think that they were in peace and safety, and they suddenly suffered destruction in their cells. But what bodily and spiritual destruction comes to us when we are alone? He who is tempted knows. And he who is not tempted does not need to know. Being a soldier for Christ means we must be on watch 24/7.  We cannot afford to give into our passions even in sleep. For if we do, the consequences will be our immortal souls. Again St. John reminds of us this giving perhaps one of my favorite quotes, saying, “Some think that battles and emissions during sleep come only from food. But I have observed that people who are seriously ill and the strictest fasters are very prone to these pollutions. I once asked one of the most experienced and distinguished monks about this, and the blessed man explained it to me very clearly. ‘Emissions during sleep,’ said that ever-memorable man, ‘come from abundance of food and from a life of ease. They also come from contempt, when we pride ourselves that we have not been subject to these effluxes for a long time. And also they come from judging our neighbour. The last cases,’ he added, ‘can happen even to the sick.’ But perhaps all three can. But if anyone is unable to find any of these reasons in himself, then he is indeed blessed to be so free from passion. And if this happens to him, then it comes solely from the envy of the demons, and God allows it for a time in order that, after a sinless mishap, he may obtain the most sublime humility.  So with that said, let us not be complacent, let us not be satisfied with ourselves. There is always room for improvement and we will never be able to obtain everything. We are only given that what is vital for our salvation. We must protect it with all costs. We must be like St. John the Russian, like St. Ignatius of Antioch, and all the other great saints who have stood facing their persecutors and never recanted their faith. I leave you with this saying by St. John. He says, “Let us by every means in our power avoid either seeing or hearing of that fruit which we have vowed not to taste. For it is absurd to think ourselves stronger than the Prophet David—that is impossible.”

Let us then be steadfast never surrendering, and standing firm in God. Witnessing for God and being above reproach. When the time comes be pure of heart, pure of spirit and never ever give up.

Amen.