I do not know enough about protestant doctrines to understand why some protestants adhere so strongly to their Traditions which appear to have been born of a single man's understanding while completely dismissing Holy Tradition and it's teachings that were born of concensus that was achieved over many years of discussion among hundreds and sometimes thousands of bishops. Why do the ideas of people like Calvin or Luther trump those of centuries of Christians working in unison? Why do they dismiss the fact that the Bible as we know it today is a product of Holy Tradition? Will a protestant please help me understand this? Why are Calvin or Luther or Wycliffe elevated to such grand heights while the Holy Apostles and the discipleship inherited directly from them spurned? I'm asking this with all sincerity. Thank you.

I strongly disagree with the bold and underlined text above. In Exodus 20, Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God where it is explicitly stated what constitutes a graven image. "4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." As we continue through this book just a few short chapters later, God describes how to adorn holy things saying, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it...18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be." Are we to believe that God was wrong when he orders believers to make the images of cherubim? Are not cherubim heavenly creatures? Why is God telling us to do something he just commanded us not to do? In the 2nd Commandment, God is talking about making idols of things both seen and unseen. He is telling us not to worship and bow down before idols that are patterned after anything seen in the heavens above or on the earth or even in the sea. This was a common practice at that time. People worshiped statues of things found in nature and they called them gods. Bezaleel was filled with the Holy Spirit in the building of the Ark of the Covenant. God did not build it. Please see Exodus 31 and 37 some of which I am quoting here: One thing I find so fascinating about the Eastern Orthodox Church is that our worship style and practices are an extension of and patterned after that of the ancient Israelites and these forms under Christianity have been endowed with new meaning under the New Covenant with Christ as the Bridegroom. In every Orthodox Christian temple, one will find many of the elements depicted in Exodus 25-31 in addition to visually stunning iconography (please note the ending is "graphy" from "graphe" meaning "writing" because icons tell a story) colorfully adorning the church's interior. Every Eastern Orthodox Christian since Christ ended his earthly ministry has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Chrismation which represents Pentecost, making us all evangelists and participants of the royal priesthood (1Peter2:9) and for the past 2000 years we have continued to stand, to bow, and make prostrations during worship, we have continued to burn incense, anoint with oil, chant, and sing the Psalms, beautifully adorn holy places and holy things with visual depictions of the Word of God and we will continue to do so. For more information about the Orthodox patterns of worship versus the contemporary form, I recommend this article. edited for typo

I think they *can* change but I think the majority don't. I was once married to a pathological liar. He would lie about everything from telling a cabbie he was from a city he's not from (spontaneously and in front of me) to getting up everyday and pretending to go to a job he didn't really have. It took me a while to connect the dots and realize he wasn't just a harmless, practical jokester. He was a liar and nothing he said could be trusted. I don't know if he's narcissistic. He is odd. He takes really good care of people at a physical level and seems to sincerely care for others, but he can't tell the truth to save his life. He's like the good bad guy or the bad good guy.

Perhaps it's fitting that this topic comes up as we on the old calendar prepare to commemorate the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council tomorrow. http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/10/11/70-commemoration-of-the-holy-fathers-of-the-seventh-ecumenical-coun The Kontakion for tomorrow perfectly encapsulates the Eastern Orthodox teaching on Icons: "The Son who shone forth from the Father / Was ineffably born, two-fold in nature, of a woman. / Having beheld Him, we do not deny the image of His form, / But depict it piously and revere it faithfully. / Thus, keeping the True Faith, / The Church venerates the icon of Christ Incarnate."

Dp

I welcome Albeto's questions. They are good for the nous!

I think you missed the part about all humans being endowed with the nous which by extension includes you and all the people you listed in your post. We all have intellect and are free to use it in ways that seem fitting. It is how you come to defend your belief in unbelief. The scientific community accepts the fact that our human intellect sets us apart from other creatures. What is the new information that we are rejecting?

Albeto and others discussing how we know anything is right: For Eastern Orthodox, we do have Tradition that tells us what is universally embraced as true teaching for our Faith as was mentioned up thread. We also have a very clear understanding as Christians that God made people in His image and likeness. As such, we are endowed by our Creator with the faculties of the Nous (a Greek term that roughly means reason, intellect, rationality) for the express purpose of being able to discern what is true and chiefly to be able to know God to the limited degree that we are humanly able. This is very important in Eastern Orthodoxy and we would argue that all people have God-given nous or intellect that gives us the power of discernment. We don't subscribe to the belief that being social creatures leads to intellect and judgement about what is fitting or not. The non-human animal kingdom is made up of many species of social creatures and what sets us apart from them is the nous.

The equator divides the earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Never mind. I misread the part that is supposed to be humorous. I don't know either.

I don't think going back to work is the answer. In your shoes, I would save money, study diy manuals and videos, look for deals on materials and do this project with the kids (assuming they are older than 5 or 6) and call it "shop" class. I would put other studies besides Math and English on hold until the shop project was done. I absolutely relish the memories of building and repairing the house alongside my parents as a kid and I learned a lot!

I love cilantro and celery (any variety). Cilantro tastes like heaven. Bright and green and goes in almost every cuisine. I use it nearly daily and I can't imagine tacos, curry, or fried rice without it. Cilantro tastes fresh and is cooling the same way cumin is warming. Hard to describe but thank goodness everyone in my family likes it. I have no idea how celery and cinnamon could have anything in common flavor wise. That's like saying coffee tastes like tea.

I pretty much only read ancient faith blogs so no, I haven't read the blog in question and I'm glad about that! I am supremely happy to have ditched my former gnostic and iconoclastic ways! Dear Mr. Wilson, (that's giving mister a bad name) please read about the images God commanded Moses to engrave on the Ark of the Covenant and in the Tabernacle. Exodus 25:10-22. Thank you.

I think the headlines have been pretty bold with regard to slave and child labor practices in the garment, computer, and techno gadget industries. I've personally been aware of this for 15 years. Honestly, I never knew about chocolate. I knew about slave labor and coffee, but not about chocolate. I feel like I've done what I can to be ethical in my purchases of shoes and clothing and computers and jewelry and it helped that I lived in a part of the world that has very strong local, small business representation. Now I live in an area that is pretty much owned and operated by Nike and Intel and it's appalling the degree to which they pollute the local air and water with near total impunity. Yes, we live in a society that is globally driven by profits and greed. Maybe we can't free every slave in the Pakistani kilns with consumer boycotts since we aren't likely building with those bricks, but we have the duty to stand up for them in whatever way we can. Boycotts probably won't free slaves in any sector, but we should let these corporations know that we don't support their business practices by forgoing the purchase of their goods. Activism does not begin and end with what we buy or don't buy but it helps. What also helps is finding and funding organizations directly working to free slaves. Bringing these issues out into the open and educating others also helps tremendously.

Forgive me if this topic has been hashed out already. I'm a little late in discovering the horrifying reality of child slavery hidden behind the chocolate trade. I normally purchase fair trade candies and coffees but I've been known to reach for the huge bag of Nestles toll house chocolate chips at Costco. 😔😠http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/30/lawsuit-your-candy-bar-was-made-by-child-slaves.html

I think many people believe review means the same thing as "rate your experience."

One of my favorite hymns that we sing at Vespers is O Gladsome Light. This recording is rough sounding but it shows the lyrics.

This is despicable and tragic. Lord have mercy.

Chiropractic. Aleve. Massage. Physical therapy. Ice. Avoid hard to chew foods and chewing gum. Wear a custom made bite guard. Whenever that happens to me, I up the nsaids and go to the chiropractor. I had 6 months of pt and the exercises and postures I learned are complete life savers. Massage your neck and jaw with ice like this: freeze a Styrofoam cup full of water, peel down the top 1/2 inch of cup rim to expose ice while keeping the rest of the cup in place to grab onto without freezing your hand, rub the ice directly along the belly of the neck muscles using up and down strokes and wiping with a dry cloth after each stroke. Do this on the face and other affected areas for 15 minutes or however long you can tolerate it. I hope that helps. Feel better.

I've been there. It hurts but it happens. I usually give people a lot of room for being human, but not everyone extends the same courtesy. I am not talking about being a drama queen. I just mean the minor fauxpas that aren't given the grace to recover from even though you'd extend it for others. At least we found out who the real friends are. (((Hugs)))

Yes! My teeth hurt just thinking about that sound! And paper towels and sometimes sheets and pillowcases. Also when people scrape their teeth on silverware and the sound of metal touching metal. Metal chopsticks on metal bowls-ack!

2 words: public domain. You can homeschool for practically $0 (not counting isp fees) if you so desire and it is not at all hard to find good materials for free. I love the internet, the library, and our beloved intellectual commons. Check out the free curriculum group. I forget what it's called exactly but I will link to it later from a real computer if no one else has already. Figured out how to do it on my phone http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/164-free-curriculum-for-the-price-of-printing/

I'm so sorry. (((Hugs))) 💔

I can't imagine what is boring about fostering and adopting. Your life isn't over. Do the things you want to do now. It's never too late. Your kids would likely love travel experiences. Plan a trip and follow through. You can do it. I get antsy being in one place too long. My poor dh has to put up with my antics. We just bought a house and I'm already planning our move to Russia! It will probably never happen but you never know!

Thank you for closing the circle for us, dear sister in Christ. I am reminded of 2Cor.3:18 every time I think of your courageous son. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." He ran a good race and has handed the torch over to you. May it burn brightly and may the light of Christ illuminate your path and warm your heart. Memory eternal.

I am unable to formulate thoughts well today due to lack of restful sleep but I wanted to share this article with you to illustrate how Eastern Orthodox worship is rooted in Old Testament Judaism. http://www.saintgeorgekearney.com/old_testament_worship_and_the_new_testament_church.html