You said I did not answer your question, but I think I did. I will clarify... Here is how we, Orthodox Christians, know that DW's statement/s are wrong (about Christianity, icons, etc) and at the same time how we know we are not leaning on our own understanding. Our faith is holistic and has continuity. ho·lis·tic hÅˈlistik/ adjective PHILOSOPHY characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. (Copy / pasted from the internet dictionary) How does it apply to discerning the truth in this case of DW and his statements about God chastising Eastern Christians via terror because they venerate icons? In Orthodoxy we can say that Douglas Wilson does not speak the truth about icons because his statement/s do not align with the whole of Christian teaching according to: historical practice, Scripture as interpreted by the canonical Fathers, the councils and cannons, the writings, the hymns, the calendar celebrations, etc etc, i.e. the whole thing. The 7th Eccumenical council solidified the already historic established and Biblical practice of veneration of icons, so according to historical Eccumenical Christianity, he.is.wrong. According to himself and those who believe like him, he's not wrong. He, just as you, have other means of discerning truth. DW's method does not follow historic Christian truth, it is an innovation and historically wrong. In my first reply to your question, albeto., I was not attempting to address how you or anyone else would or could determine the truth, but how *I* and other Orthodox Christians go about determining the truth, or how we decide that DW is wrong. Obviously our method is not yours and neither is it DW's method nor other Protestant's methods. Also obvious is that I like this method, and you do not. I think it's safe to say DW does not like this method. I do so enjoy free will. When you said, "how does everyone know he's wrong," I didn't think to answer literally to explain how *everyone* could know he's wrong. I don't have the capacity to come up with an answer or method that would suit everyone. But even though you said "everyone" I felt you were clarifying that with how can "Christians" know because you furthered your question with other ponderings about other Christian methods like listening to the Holy Spirit and readings, etc. So, I think I did answer adequately. I told you how *I* and we Orthodox Christians go about knowing. We look at historical Christianity in its entirety.

I'm still on my phone but in a parking lot while kids are in dance class, so I have a little time. :) The questions regarding how do we know Doug Wilson is wrong are excellent. Orthodox and Protestant Christians would answer this differently, and those in different P. Denominations and non-denominations would as well. For Orthodox, we test the truth of something in a holistic way. There are the Scriptures and their interpretations by holy and faithful men and women of the faith, historical established practice over a great expanse of time and continuity in that practice, there is the consensus of the Fathers and Saints writings over time, there are the hymns and placement of Scripture readings on the calendar which bring particular truths to light, and of course the Councils and Cannons of the Church. These are all in harmony singing the truth to us, and when something goes beyond and outside of this harmony we say it's not illumined or fully true. There could be a partial light or truth involved but if it's not in harmony with the full consensus then there's probably something off. If it totally contradicts the consensus, well then we would say it's not true. Doug Wilson's blog post has so many "off" and out of harmony elements that we would say, well I would say, it's mostly dark. There may be a single spark of light, but not much. Many of his statements fail many points of consensus: Scripture as interpreted over time by holy men and women, writings of Fathers and Saints, historical practice, and the Councils and Cannons. To test the truth according to another measure, like the Protestant non-denominational way is more difficult, to me. Too many variables, opinions, interpretations and not much consensus.

These questions are great. I've been away from the computer most of the day. But I want to come back to these questions when I get back online. I'm on my phone now.

Here it is http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/5-reasons-for-thinking-that-putin-is-no-constantine.html

Have you read the Blog & Mablog lately? I can't link the article, but Douglas Wilson is actually blaming Eastern Christian practices for the terror that's going on in the Middle East. Nuts! Does anyone take him seriously anymore?

We just joined CC as well. There's lots of negative I could focus on, but I'm choosing to look at the positive. The negatives for me are mostly that I'm not used to it and there's a learning curve.

I will keep this in mind for my hyper focused son.

The Rapture and the Left Behind ideas have caused quite the kerbobble in our family through the years. Since becoming Orthodox I have endeavored to learn what the ancient and traditional understanding of Revelation was/is. I came across this series of podcasts by Dr. Jeannie Constantineau. For a deeper study than, "we don't believe in the Rapture," which is true, but maybe you want to know more...I recommend the time investment in listening to these: http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/an-orthodox-view-of-the-end-times/

The same one? I thought there were 2. nm

I read the trilogy and liked them very much. They also made me think, and I pondered the themes presented for many months and still ponder them. They gave me a love for dystopian novels, which I hadn't exposed myself to previously. I count them among my favorites. When a book makes you think and puts you in the world and makes you want to change your behavior because of reading it, I would count it a very worthy book, whether it's in the "classical" category or not.

I can think of plenty of situations where someone might cause a problem for another or others, and yet not be guilty of any sort of blame or sin. Reporting a crime for instance, following up on a report, having someone called in for questioning or finger printing, collaborating with police, all have the possibility of causing someone a great deal of distress, problems and discomfort. However, it would be socially inappropriate to ignore a crime just because it might cause someone trouble who should be questioned.

True, then again I may not have found The Well Trained Mind and these illustrious Forums if I wasn't such a youthful spaz all those many years ago. I too have heaps of stuff still to buy.

My oldest did an intensive this summer which the PS system counted for half a credit. It was 3 weeks and they crammed a half year of work into it. It was for private pilot ground school. My husband and I were very hands on. We checked up continually on her reading and retention as well as checking on her test scores. One test she got a C and that was unacceptable. Thankfully , they had a test re-take policy. She retook the test and got an A. We made expectation adjustments along the way and she ended up getting the 3rd highest score in the class. I was quite satisfied with that because it was a rocky road. It was a lot for all of us to adjust to, but we adjusted and maneuvered and all in all it was an excellent experience. Come fall she will take Math, Science, and English at the Highschool. She will do History and piloting with her private teachers.

I can't meet or beat the 9 cents.

I own a print shop and I can ship. Color prints can be expensive, what price are you trying to reach per sheet? I might be able to help. Email me: jennifer at coolestgraphics dot com.

I'm not the moderator, but as a participant in the group I would be happy to participate in questions of exploration. We're there to encourage and help along those who are exploring Orthodoxy. Not everyone who explores converts, but many have including me. :)

I only read to the half of page 2, and I'm ready to respond now. I'll read the rest later, hopefully. I'm very interested in this topic because MANY Scriptures have puzzled me over the years for various reasons. Some, actually many, have been "solved" for me, some not. When it comes to the Old Testament there is a thought that gives me comfort, and I have heard it in some form or another in my readings on the subject, so I don't claim this thought as my own or original in any way to me. But, it gives me comfort to wonder if God was coming down to our level, rather the ancient people's level, when the story says that God did this or God did that. What I mean is that what if when the Bible says "God did this" it was actually the best and the only way to get through to people? For example with the story of Abraham and Isaac, God told Abraham to take Isaac up to the mountain and sacrifice him. In this case Abraham lived in a society where children were regularly sacrificed to the god Molech. So, Abraham is different, he can communicate with God, he has faith in God and not Molech, but he's not so different that his human experience had been steeped in child sacrifice. He listened to God and believing that God was good he believed that even if he had done the sacrifice God would raise Isaac from the dead. In this story we see that the communication between God and Abraham is pretty good, but here it is still between God and an ancient man, and in this way the whole story is pretty shocking to us. But, think about it from Abraham's perspective. From his perspective he encountered God, who indeed was merciful and didn't expect him to sacrifice his son. God was very different (some may say progressive? - not I, but some.) Do you see that here God made an encounter with an ancient man in a way that he could understand and in a way that tested his faith (since Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead)? Along with this message of a very different and a benevolent God than Molech and the like the story of Abraham is also a picture of salvation. Though it is a crude representation, it tells the salvation story in a way that Abraham could understand from his human experience. To read the Old Testament in this way asking the questions, "how is God reaching down to make an encounter with people from where they are at?" and "how does this tell the salvation story in a way that they can understand?" and sometimes "how does this story foreshadow Jesus, Mary and the Church?" we can get some deeper meanings and more precious stories out of the Old Testament. Will this approach answer all the puzzles, no. Some of the stories are just bizarre and not appropriate for children in their full versions. For this reason and just for enjoyment we read from a Bible Story book to the children and we introduce the Bible in it's entirety in a lesser/milder form, the Day by Day Bible. By highschool is probably a good time to have the children read the full version of the Bible. By then hopefully the child will have had the stories explained as ancient stories of God and man encounters and the parallels of the salvation story throughout. When the full versions are read finally it will just be details that are new, which probably won't make as big of a shocking impact as just reading those details and having them stand out like sore thumbs out of context. Enough of my ramblings and musings. I will continue to struggle with the Bible because it really is the book of all books. May your struggles continue and your understanding be illumined as you seek the truth.

My middle school kids have used IEW for 3 years running and I want to give them a different experience in writing exercises this next year. They both expressed the desire to write short stories and novels. Is there a recommended program which guides the student through the writing of a short story, like the kind with a few chapters or starting with a few pages and leading up to a few chapters and getting them on the road to short novel writing?

Rugged Individualism

The big ideas come out naturally after you thoroughly analyze the story. I love TTC.

The big ideas come out naturally after you thoroughly analyze the story. I love TTC.

Lately I've been moving toward using myth, folklore, fairytale, poem, songs of the people. It's more interesting and I think gives a better picture of the average folks.

Lately I've been moving toward using myth, folklore, fairytale, poem, songs of the people. It's more interesting and I think gives a better picture of the average folks.

Wowzers!

My husband grew up in conditions like this. It has been and will continue to be a lifetime of healing for him. Several years ago he took me to his childhood "home" and it put a lot in perspective of the anxiety he suffers from. As a child he wanted CPS to take him. Lord have mercy on these kids.