Orthodox Christian Posted January 13, 2022 Posted January 13, 2022 Good morning everyone. I was reflecting this morning on yet another political crisis in our country, and that along with the on going pandemic and the wider world wide political concerns and civil unrest and suffering. And suddenly I felt incredibly weary of it all....and incredibly sad...and helpless. And then I thought, what does that say about my faith? Our hope is in God, He sustains the world no matter what, yet this morning I feel, well, bleak. Do any of you share my feelings? Lord have mercy. 4
Tacenda Posted January 13, 2022 Posted January 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: Good morning everyone. I was reflecting this morning on yet another political crisis in our country, and that along with the on going pandemic and the wider world wide political concerns and civil unrest and suffering. And suddenly I felt incredibly weary of it all....and incredibly sad...and helpless. And then I thought, what does that say about my faith? Our hope is in God, He sustains the world no matter what, yet this morning I feel, well, bleak. Do any of you share my feelings? Lord have mercy. 100% yes..makes me want to escape the world. Or find a cabin in the mountains with no media (except MDDB).
MorningStar Posted January 14, 2022 Posted January 14, 2022 16 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: Good morning everyone. I was reflecting this morning on yet another political crisis in our country, and that along with the on going pandemic and the wider world wide political concerns and civil unrest and suffering. And suddenly I felt incredibly weary of it all....and incredibly sad...and helpless. And then I thought, what does that say about my faith? Our hope is in God, He sustains the world no matter what, yet this morning I feel, well, bleak. Do any of you share my feelings? Lord have mercy. I'm constantly saying I want Jesus to burn this place down already. The world is sick. 1
The Nehor Posted January 14, 2022 Posted January 14, 2022 In my last read through of the Bible and the Book of Mormon I realized that the great sign of a civilization about to fail is not really sin. Sin is always around in every age. The big sign that things are going to shortly fall apart is rampant stupidity when even motives like self-preservation and long term self-interest seems to fall apart in favor of a weird rush to self-destruction. 1
Orthodox Christian Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 6 hours ago, MorningStar said: I'm constantly saying I want Jesus to burn this place down already. The world is sick. The world is truly sick, and that sickness is due to the denial of Christ as Saviour. The intolerance of the world towards Christians is getting worse, especially if you hold fast to Christian truth. Our Lord said the world would hate us, and that it hated Him first. Man in his pride is turning the world on its head by choosing where it is expedient to be tolerant, and Christians are only included if they do not resist. We have to become of the world for the world not to hate us, we have to join their club. This is why the Benedict Option looks so appealing, however, we have to confess Christ in whatever situation we find ourselves. Prayer for the world is our work, and confessing Christ crucified and resurrected is our duty as faithful Christians. 2
Orthodox Christian Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 5 hours ago, The Nehor said: In my last read through of the Bible and the Book of Mormon I realized that the great sign of a civilization about to fail is not really sin. Sin is always around in every age. The big sign that things are going to shortly fall apart is rampant stupidity when even motives like self-preservation and long term self-interest seems to fall apart in favor of a weird rush to self-destruction. This will all end in God's timing, mankind is fighting against principalities and darkness that only the Lord can overcome. In the meantime, like lemmings we head for the cliff. 2
Orthodox Christian Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 18 hours ago, Tacenda said: 100% yes..makes me want to escape the world. Or find a cabin in the mountains with no media (except MDDB). This made me think, thank you, because it made me realise that we have our cabin. He is Christ our Saviour and our God, how many times do we read in the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, that God is our refuge. We are in the world and there is no escaping that fact, we just have to have the faith to walk with Him, and even though we lose our life, we will gain it. 1
Tacenda Posted January 14, 2022 Posted January 14, 2022 6 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: This made me think, thank you, because it made me realise that we have our cabin. He is Christ our Saviour and our God, how many times do we read in the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, that God is our refuge. We are in the world and there is no escaping that fact, we just have to have the faith to walk with Him, and even though we lose our life, we will gain it. I hadn't thought of that. Although, I'm in the throes of figuring out my belief on God/Jesus, funnily I still pray in my mind to them.
Orthodox Christian Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 18 minutes ago, Tacenda said: I hadn't thought of that. Although, I'm in the throes of figuring out my belief on God/Jesus, funnily I still pray in my mind to them. Well if you still pray to God then that is amazing, a reason to rejoice! He will in no wise turn you away.
The Nehor Posted January 14, 2022 Posted January 14, 2022 7 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: This will all end in God's timing, mankind is fighting against principalities and darkness that only the Lord can overcome. In the meantime, like lemmings we head for the cliff. I am more and more impressed with the tragedy plays. The fallen hero destroys himself and everything and at that point usually blunders on making terrible decisions that lead to them getting off the stage of life with haste. I have no idea if this is ‘the end’ of all things. I suspect it is ‘an end’. 1
Orthodox Christian Posted January 14, 2022 Author Posted January 14, 2022 15 hours ago, The Nehor said: In my last read through of the Bible and the Book of Mormon I realized that the great sign of a civilization about to fail is not really sin. Sin is always around in every age. The big sign that things are going to shortly fall apart is rampant stupidity when even motives like self-preservation and long term self-interest seems to fall apart in favor of a weird rush to self-destruction. I think that is an interesting observation, however, I once read, and I have no idea where, that there is a malice in sin that we can't quite grasp or fathom. So from that perspective, it is possibly that malice, that is so destructive, that leads to the failure of a civilisation. Stupidity, is a side effect of sin, and helps Satan to achieve his aims. Our adversary is a lot smarter than we are, thank God that he is defeated. 2
poptart Posted January 14, 2022 Posted January 14, 2022 I'm following Toshiro Mifune's example here, sit back and laugh at the stupid.
Tacenda Posted January 15, 2022 Posted January 15, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 10:05 AM, Orthodox Christian said: Well if you still pray to God then that is amazing, a reason to rejoice! He will in no wise turn you away. 🥰
Orthodox Christian Posted January 15, 2022 Author Posted January 15, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 2:58 AM, MorningStar said: I'm constantly saying I want Jesus to burn this place down already. The world is sick. I don't want Jesus to burn the world, I want him to save it. And on reflection, if he did decide to do that, I have to ask myself if I would be part of the chaff that is burnt? My own sinfulness is the reality of my position before God and consequently I pray for His mercy and forgiveness daily. I place all my hope in Him to save me should such an awful day come. 1
The Nehor Posted January 15, 2022 Posted January 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Orthodox Christian said: I don't want Jesus to burn the world, I want him to save it. And on reflection, if he did decide to do that, I have to ask myself if I would be part of the chaff that is burnt? My own sinfulness is the reality of my position before God and consequently I pray for His mercy and forgiveness daily. I place all my hope in Him to save me should such an awful day come. This is a very noble sentiment and I hope that….. ….nope, never mind. Abandon all hope. Burn it down. BURN! IT! ALL! DOWN!!!!!!
Orthodox Christian Posted January 15, 2022 Author Posted January 15, 2022 1 hour ago, The Nehor said: This is a very noble sentiment and I hope that….. ….nope, never mind. Abandon all hope. Burn it down. BURN! IT! ALL! DOWN!!!!!! Good thing God values us more than we value ourselves. It's not necessarily the big sins of big people that condemns the world. Rather all our sins, little every day sins that we overlook that collectively destroy us. The greatest of which remains pride and vanity that lead us to believe that we don't need God. Ignoring God I feel might be the greatest, that and ignoring our neighbour without whom we cannot be saved.
Orthodox Christian Posted January 15, 2022 Author Posted January 15, 2022 In Orthodoxy we call God the only lover of mankind, and I think our behaviour towards each other throughout history demonstrates that that is truth.
poptart Posted January 15, 2022 Posted January 15, 2022 54 minutes ago, Orthodox Christian said: In Orthodoxy we call God the only lover of mankind, and I think our behaviour towards each other throughout history demonstrates that that is truth. Are the Orthodox as strict as the Catholics when it comes to sin, hell, purgatory etc? How does original sin work with them? Not to derail your thread, I mentioned luther and the Orthodox a few threads ago, stumbled upon this. http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/jeremiah.aspx
MorningStar Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 8 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: I don't want Jesus to burn the world, I want him to save it. And on reflection, if he did decide to do that, I have to ask myself if I would be part of the chaff that is burnt? My own sinfulness is the reality of my position before God and consequently I pray for His mercy and forgiveness daily. I place all my hope in Him to save me should such an awful day come. He saves the world by burning it in the end. It's the kindest thing to do for everyone still sane.
Orthodox Christian Posted January 16, 2022 Author Posted January 16, 2022 4 hours ago, MorningStar said: He saves the world by burning it in the end. It's the kindest thing to do for everyone still sane. However the world ends, who will be the sane? You? Me? Salvation is here and now, not in the sweet by and by, which is why repentence, which John the Forerunner and our Lord preached is a fundamental requirement. As well as being watchful and living Christ's commandments right to the end. I think we have to be very aware of this in our walk with Christ, every day, now, no matter what happens to the world in the end.
Orthodox Christian Posted January 16, 2022 Author Posted January 16, 2022 8 hours ago, poptart said: Are the Orthodox as strict as the Catholics when it comes to sin, hell, purgatory etc? How does original sin work with them? I don't know how strict Catholics are about sin, besides, being strict about sin is a personal thing that, I suppose, all Christians should be. Salvation is of the here and now, it is not in the sweet by and by, but now. And every day we should each strive with the aid of God's grace to overcome it. Certainly the Orthodox church takes sin very seriously, and this attitude is based on the scriptural view of sin and the need of continuing repentence as taught by John the Forerunner and our Lord Himself. So yes, sin and it's effects is serious business. Orthodoxy does not support the common interpretation of Original sin. The general view is that through our first parent's disobedience sin and its disastrous effects for mankind entered the world, and that the guilt of that sin is inherited by all. We call this the ancestral sin the consequence of which is death. We don't believe in the guilt of that sin being passed on, or that we are born condemned. We die, that is the wages of sin, but we are culpable for our own sins. Christ has dealt with original ancestral sin by overcoming death and reconciling us to God, and overcoming death by His death and resurrection.
The Nehor Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 12 hours ago, Orthodox Christian said: However the world ends, who will be the sane? You? Me? Definitely not me. 1
Stargazer Posted January 16, 2022 Posted January 16, 2022 For what it's worth, I don't feel the least bit despair right now. I've been up and down about things in general from time to time, but ultimately I feel like things are going along pretty much as expected. Matthew 24 and it's companion PofGP:Joseph Smith:Matthew, along with D&C 45:18-75 and Revelation 7-22, make it very clear that things are going to get worse, much worse. But in the end, all will be well. For the survivors, at least. Whether I am among that company, or not, I am content. Being 70 years old gives one some perspective, I guess. 2
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