& Two Hundred Ninety Eight Other Human Weaknesses that are NOT The Way
by Archpriest Symeon Elias. - May, 30th 2002
Mat 7:15 – 23: "But beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grape clusters from thorns, or figs from thistles? Thus every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces evil fruit. A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Consequently, by their fruits you shall know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name we cast out demons, and in Your name we did many mighty works?' "And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you who work iniquity!'
Shortly after I became Orthodox, I attended a service celebrating a weeping Icon. I was there both to witness the "incardination” of a group of monks, some who were friends, into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and to see the Icon. It became a “wisdom teaching” event. Here is a little context; I was elated at finding Orthodoxy, realizing in it, the answers to a question that had plagued me all my life. You see every single idea in the West's Rational Theology ends in dichotomy and produces cults holding polar opposite views, like the confusion of predestination vs free will in theological Calvinism and to a certain extent in the teaching of Blessed Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas. Or they end in irrational anomalies to be taken upon "faith." Or they are reduced to mind numbing equations and chains of rationalism, some with solid foundations some standing on flimsy philosophy, and some of it simply floating in midair, completely without foundation. All these latter may be exampled in the contradictions evidenced in Aquinas' Summa, Parts I and II vs Part III. Frankly, I and all the early Church fathers, and most of the Orthodox Fathers of history find it so much simpler to place faith in Jesus Christ and all that means from the sixty-thousand foot overview of man's history, placing it all "in the Light of Christ," which in fact is quite a complete Ontology and solidly scriptural and in accord with all early Tradition, than faith is an irrational anomaly taken on faith, in a rational theology.
I had struggled with the dogmatic assertions of each denomination with which I had been associated, some officially, some unofficially. I had become cynical of theology, thinking it totally man made and unable to bear the weight and reality of God, as I had come to know him by experience. As I explored the Orthodox Fathers, but more, as I was exposed to the wealth of Orthodox liturgy, prayers and songs, I discovered that indeed this theology deserved the name “sacred” because it did carry the weight and reality of what I had come to know of God by experience. My bishop read some of my writings accomplished a decade before I became Orthodox and he said, "Fr Symeon was orthodox long before he was Orthodox." That grasp of orthodoxy was centered in Christ. It was from the start, grappling with the idea that we are to be found IN him. And this is the crux of The Way, how we come to be, more than the "adopted sons" as Saint Paul used in one analogy, but more his sons by the Divine Human flesh and blood, or as the Roman's say, the Body, Soul and Divinity" of Jesus Christ and then how we experience that organically connected life IN Him. The early fathers, and later Orthodox fathers, and the Apostles taught and wrote "organically" and not legally.
by Archpriest Symeon Elias. - May, 30th 2002
Mat 7:15 – 23: "But beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grape clusters from thorns, or figs from thistles? Thus every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces evil fruit. A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Consequently, by their fruits you shall know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name we cast out demons, and in Your name we did many mighty works?' "And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you who work iniquity!'
Shortly after I became Orthodox, I attended a service celebrating a weeping Icon. I was there both to witness the "incardination” of a group of monks, some who were friends, into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and to see the Icon. It became a “wisdom teaching” event. Here is a little context; I was elated at finding Orthodoxy, realizing in it, the answers to a question that had plagued me all my life. You see every single idea in the West's Rational Theology ends in dichotomy and produces cults holding polar opposite views, like the confusion of predestination vs free will in theological Calvinism and to a certain extent in the teaching of Blessed Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas. Or they end in irrational anomalies to be taken upon "faith." Or they are reduced to mind numbing equations and chains of rationalism, some with solid foundations some standing on flimsy philosophy, and some of it simply floating in midair, completely without foundation. All these latter may be exampled in the contradictions evidenced in Aquinas' Summa, Parts I and II vs Part III. Frankly, I and all the early Church fathers, and most of the Orthodox Fathers of history find it so much simpler to place faith in Jesus Christ and all that means from the sixty-thousand foot overview of man's history, placing it all "in the Light of Christ," which in fact is quite a complete Ontology and solidly scriptural and in accord with all early Tradition, than faith is an irrational anomaly taken on faith, in a rational theology.
I had struggled with the dogmatic assertions of each denomination with which I had been associated, some officially, some unofficially. I had become cynical of theology, thinking it totally man made and unable to bear the weight and reality of God, as I had come to know him by experience. As I explored the Orthodox Fathers, but more, as I was exposed to the wealth of Orthodox liturgy, prayers and songs, I discovered that indeed this theology deserved the name “sacred” because it did carry the weight and reality of what I had come to know of God by experience. My bishop read some of my writings accomplished a decade before I became Orthodox and he said, "Fr Symeon was orthodox long before he was Orthodox." That grasp of orthodoxy was centered in Christ. It was from the start, grappling with the idea that we are to be found IN him. And this is the crux of The Way, how we come to be, more than the "adopted sons" as Saint Paul used in one analogy, but more his sons by the Divine Human flesh and blood, or as the Roman's say, the Body, Soul and Divinity" of Jesus Christ and then how we experience that organically connected life IN Him. The early fathers, and later Orthodox fathers, and the Apostles taught and wrote "organically" and not legally.
My excitement at that discovery was natural and quite understandable; it was like coming home, an experience shared by many American converts of the late 20th century. I could have written tomes about the wonder of it all. For the first time in my memory my guard was down and hoping to imbibe The Faith quickly, feeling like much time had been wasted, (I was middle aged) I was willing to accept anything labeled Orthodox. I had discovered, as to the sacred theology of Orthodoxy, that my skepticism, which had served me so well, and had allowed me to escape so much heresy as I kept moving towards a more solid and "orthodox/catholic Christianity, walking through the swamp of competing western theologies; that skepticism did not serve me well in Orthodoxy. It slowed my progress. I can give many examples of "pet" understandings that needed to be sacrificed to embrace what is real.
In each instance of skepticism, with greater exposure to the depth of Tradition, I discovered the Orthodox teaching was correct and by that I mean actually contained Jesus Christ in it, reflected in the lived experience of the faith and not some empty rationalistic theory of Christ. Further that such teaching reflected what was catholic, that is what had been taught everywhere, by all who were part of the undivided Catholic and Orthodox Church of her first one-thousand years, that being the era of first the Apostles, then their successors, the Apostolic Fathers; the Ante-Nicene Fathers, and the Post-Nicene Fathers. By that time I had taken it as a necessity to force myself to let my guard down so that I might drink it all in, more quickly. However, with good motives, I assumed too much; what I assumed was that a “church” that could produce and hold the true “Symbol” of the apostolic faith unchanged since The Cross of Christ, would also hold an expression in the world that was as perfect or at least nearly so. I was about to learn that her earthly expression is anything but perfect and that I had come a very long way to, in some ways, end up exactly where I began. Yet on the other hand . . .
Here’s what happen that night; during the service I realized that the ROCOR priest who traveled the world "sharing the glory" of this weeping Icon was a charlatan. What I noticed first was an odd movement with his hands and a little ritual of unnecessary movements he used as he handled the Icon and captured myrrh "flowing from it." Looking around the room seeing people with expectant faces, some with eyes rimmed with tears, I was instantly heartsick. I recognized the demonic liar in front of me; and I do not exaggerate. There is nothing more cynical, nothing more heartless than a con man in clergy-clothing. This is not a harsh judgment on my part as we can see from the words of the Apostle Peter to Simon the Magician, when Simon Magus tried to buy the anointing of the Holy Spirit so he could match the wonders he was seeing at the Apostle’s hands. Saint Peter read his heart and said: (Act 8:23) "For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity."
After the service the magician approached me and asked rhetorically, “Isn’t it glorious?” As he walked by I caught him by the arm, leaned over and said quietly, hoping not to be overheard, “Yes you are very talented, but not as gifted as you may think. Your act won’t hold up for long. If it does, then there is something in Orthodoxy that is robbing people of I.Q. points.” His eyes registered fear and he literally hissed as he tried to speak. Not wanting a scene, I turned and walked away. With the monks, I think I was persona non grata for a while. But that is okay, because years later they gave me a seven-foot Steinway Grand Piano. Who ever in middle age gets such a marvelous gift!?
Act 13:6- And when they had gone through the whole island, as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesu: Who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He, sending for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is interpreted) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, otherwise Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, looking upon him, Said: O full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the Lord. And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee: and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately there fell a mist and darkness upon him: and going about, he sought some one to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, admiring at the doctrine of the Lord.”
Notice what Paul did not say; he did not ask, “Why do you interfere with the spread of the Gospel?” That is how this story is taken so often, as if Elymas the Magician’s role was to block the Proconsul from hearing the Gospel. That was incidental, at least to Elymas; what was primary to him was to keep the Proconsul under his influence. The same spirit is alive in the Church today where certain hierarchs, pastors and super-bishops compromised to Cultural Marxism, seek to extend their influence to control local churches and government officials. What is the same is the worldly “power seeking” crippling the witness of the Gospel and True Unity in Christ. The Kingdom of God is Christ Himself, and not some pan-religious, multi-cultural, Politically Correct, Unitarian Ecumenicism. Just as the false religion of Simon Magus and the Power of LIFE held by the apostles could not mix, that demarcation line remains between the Life Engendering Gospel of the Cross, and the bloodless ecumenical philosophies and religions. The Holy Spirit, Himself, spoke to the reality of the situation saying, “O full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the Lord.” Which is exactly what the production of the faux-miraculous is, or any other means to mesmerize or through fear to “Lord Over” and extend worldly power to the detriment of the Gospel; it is a perversion of the right ways of the Lord; An aping of The Way. Elymas was a Jew, it could be assumed that he had the Proconsul’s ear and attention, exercised influence by providing him with a “perversion” of the true religion and that it was a lucrative endeavor. It could be assumed that he cloaked himself in Judaic Mysticism, presenting himself as a spiritually powerful person. As any con man would, he “positioned” himself appropriately for his “mark.” To him Paul and Barnabus were nothing more than competition.
Our magician, on that faithful wisdom teaching night, also cloaked himself appropriately for the consumption of his marks, which happened to be sincere orthodox people. He cloaked himself as a humble priest, a willing servant who in all humility was given the responsibility of this wonder, this myrrh-streaming Icon. Today there are so-called “super-bishops” trying to use the magic of their position to gather power unto themselves in an imperial model to the destruction of local churches, and their core is not Christ, but the spirit of this world, in lockstep with the Luciferian Globalists, and in capitulation to them, and it continues to be a lucrative endeavor. This night, the magician’s audience included His Grace, Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan, a house of monks, a who’s who list of ROCOR priests in attendance (a list including at least two well known “experts” and authors on all things Orthodox), and sadly, that audience was so spiritually blind it was unable to see the thing as it really was. It was a sobering moment for me. (A note from two decades later - I can attest that much spiritual growth has happened in these quarters.)
I had attended with Father Nestor, who at the time was assisting me in my prison ministry, at Hays State Prison. As we drove home he asked, “Did you believe that?” He was a generation younger and I didn’t want to shake his faith so I obfuscated saying, “I really don’t know what to think, except that the myrrh smelled sickening, like those Rose-scented hand-lotions old women use.” He held up a cotton swap in a plastic bag and said, “I’m going to keep this and see if it cankers.” I remained silent and then he said, “Didn’t you think the guy handling the Icon acted strange?” By that I knew he grasped the trickery, so then we spoke openly of it.
The scene that night was doubly ironic, since the ROCOR under Bishop Gabriel were touting themselves and certain old calendar Greeks, in public gatherings and all over the Internet as the last bastion of True Orthodoxy left in the world. I heard this from his own lips as he gave a speech to his clergy about the difference between “official orthodoxy” and “true orthodoxy.” His words were the first words from an Orthodox official I wrote down on my “lie list.” BTW my "lie list" was books long from my decades of Protestant experience. The pretense of “jurisdictional purity” seems to crop up more often these days in Orthodoxy, as certain prelates try to mimic the imperialism of Rome. (And “New Rome” Moscow). Maybe it is a reaction to the political changes in the world and the non-imperial structure of the New World, certainly these things are putting extreme pressure on the “old order” institutional Churches. In the U.S. the Standing Council of Orthodox Bishops in America – who in the beginning were just that, have changed their name to The Standing Council of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America, perverting the meaning of Canonical, trying to set up an imperial order in the U.S., seeking to consolidate power in the hands of a few prelates; more about this later (or maybe not, since it is inside baseball talk.) With this claim of purity, this weeping-Icon con could not have been more ironic, or a better lesson for me. Sometime later the con man was exposed amid sexual scandal, found dead in a homosexual brothel, etc. Then it was openly exposed that he was a career magician, and not a very good one, who turned keeper of a "miraculous" weeping icon. Sad, sad, sad.
Here is what I mean by “traveling a long journey to in some ways end-up where I started.” As a boy I was quiet and observant, the wrong attributes to be thrown into the 1940s, 50s and 60s Pentecostal Revival Show Circuit. Luckily that wasn’t my only Christian exposure. At the age of seven I discovered the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, in Conyers, Georgia. The beauty of the worship, and the unbelievable dedication of the monks, left an indelible impression on me. In the coming years I found every excuse to sneak-away from ordinary life and spend time there. As a young teen, already six foot tall, I would sneak into the monastery, dawn a "borrowed" hooded robe, even attending Chapters Meetings, to see the ditty-gritty reality of the discipline of the communal life. I spent hours in their extensive library. Back then they were under a strict vow of silence, which made it easier to blend in. I never got caught; I think rather my occasional visits were tolerated with a "wink, wink."
My father was “Holiness” by actions, theology and his understanding of proper worship; my Mother was “Pentecostal” and sadly all their lives did not understand the difference between the two movements. She took his quiet devotion and service to others as “lukewarm spirituality” and he held the suspicion that her “emotive” demonstrations bordered on mental instability. This was confirmed by a "nervous breakdown” in the early 40s and other “dis-associative episodes” in Moms 40s and early 50s. It took years to come to understand the reality of this underlying tension in our house, which colored my childhood.
My Father had huge respect for Dr Paul Barth, the American/German Theologian and Evangelist who founded the Tabernacle Church in the early 1900s on what is now the parking lot of the Atlanta Baseball Stadium near the Georgia State Capital building. Dr Barth also founded Beulah Heights Bible College in 1919, now Beulah Heights University. I was raised on the Beulah Heights College campus and genuinely loved the place, and still do. Oddly, for a period of time, per capita, it produced more Orthodox converts than any other “evangelical” school in the country. Something that wasn’t intentional I’m sure. I never knew Dr. Barth but I have strong memories of his widow; I remember her loving presence, dignity and sense of the sacred very well. She walked faithfully to the light she grasped and was a power for the betterment of many people who crossed her path, my parents included. But to my mother, she was “dried bones.” I share this to put into context what I am about to share.
Here’s what happen that night; during the service I realized that the ROCOR priest who traveled the world "sharing the glory" of this weeping Icon was a charlatan. What I noticed first was an odd movement with his hands and a little ritual of unnecessary movements he used as he handled the Icon and captured myrrh "flowing from it." Looking around the room seeing people with expectant faces, some with eyes rimmed with tears, I was instantly heartsick. I recognized the demonic liar in front of me; and I do not exaggerate. There is nothing more cynical, nothing more heartless than a con man in clergy-clothing. This is not a harsh judgment on my part as we can see from the words of the Apostle Peter to Simon the Magician, when Simon Magus tried to buy the anointing of the Holy Spirit so he could match the wonders he was seeing at the Apostle’s hands. Saint Peter read his heart and said: (Act 8:23) "For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity."
After the service the magician approached me and asked rhetorically, “Isn’t it glorious?” As he walked by I caught him by the arm, leaned over and said quietly, hoping not to be overheard, “Yes you are very talented, but not as gifted as you may think. Your act won’t hold up for long. If it does, then there is something in Orthodoxy that is robbing people of I.Q. points.” His eyes registered fear and he literally hissed as he tried to speak. Not wanting a scene, I turned and walked away. With the monks, I think I was persona non grata for a while. But that is okay, because years later they gave me a seven-foot Steinway Grand Piano. Who ever in middle age gets such a marvelous gift!?
Act 13:6- And when they had gone through the whole island, as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesu: Who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He, sending for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is interpreted) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, otherwise Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, looking upon him, Said: O full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the Lord. And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee: and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately there fell a mist and darkness upon him: and going about, he sought some one to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, admiring at the doctrine of the Lord.”
Notice what Paul did not say; he did not ask, “Why do you interfere with the spread of the Gospel?” That is how this story is taken so often, as if Elymas the Magician’s role was to block the Proconsul from hearing the Gospel. That was incidental, at least to Elymas; what was primary to him was to keep the Proconsul under his influence. The same spirit is alive in the Church today where certain hierarchs, pastors and super-bishops compromised to Cultural Marxism, seek to extend their influence to control local churches and government officials. What is the same is the worldly “power seeking” crippling the witness of the Gospel and True Unity in Christ. The Kingdom of God is Christ Himself, and not some pan-religious, multi-cultural, Politically Correct, Unitarian Ecumenicism. Just as the false religion of Simon Magus and the Power of LIFE held by the apostles could not mix, that demarcation line remains between the Life Engendering Gospel of the Cross, and the bloodless ecumenical philosophies and religions. The Holy Spirit, Himself, spoke to the reality of the situation saying, “O full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the Lord.” Which is exactly what the production of the faux-miraculous is, or any other means to mesmerize or through fear to “Lord Over” and extend worldly power to the detriment of the Gospel; it is a perversion of the right ways of the Lord; An aping of The Way. Elymas was a Jew, it could be assumed that he had the Proconsul’s ear and attention, exercised influence by providing him with a “perversion” of the true religion and that it was a lucrative endeavor. It could be assumed that he cloaked himself in Judaic Mysticism, presenting himself as a spiritually powerful person. As any con man would, he “positioned” himself appropriately for his “mark.” To him Paul and Barnabus were nothing more than competition.
Our magician, on that faithful wisdom teaching night, also cloaked himself appropriately for the consumption of his marks, which happened to be sincere orthodox people. He cloaked himself as a humble priest, a willing servant who in all humility was given the responsibility of this wonder, this myrrh-streaming Icon. Today there are so-called “super-bishops” trying to use the magic of their position to gather power unto themselves in an imperial model to the destruction of local churches, and their core is not Christ, but the spirit of this world, in lockstep with the Luciferian Globalists, and in capitulation to them, and it continues to be a lucrative endeavor. This night, the magician’s audience included His Grace, Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan, a house of monks, a who’s who list of ROCOR priests in attendance (a list including at least two well known “experts” and authors on all things Orthodox), and sadly, that audience was so spiritually blind it was unable to see the thing as it really was. It was a sobering moment for me. (A note from two decades later - I can attest that much spiritual growth has happened in these quarters.)
I had attended with Father Nestor, who at the time was assisting me in my prison ministry, at Hays State Prison. As we drove home he asked, “Did you believe that?” He was a generation younger and I didn’t want to shake his faith so I obfuscated saying, “I really don’t know what to think, except that the myrrh smelled sickening, like those Rose-scented hand-lotions old women use.” He held up a cotton swap in a plastic bag and said, “I’m going to keep this and see if it cankers.” I remained silent and then he said, “Didn’t you think the guy handling the Icon acted strange?” By that I knew he grasped the trickery, so then we spoke openly of it.
The scene that night was doubly ironic, since the ROCOR under Bishop Gabriel were touting themselves and certain old calendar Greeks, in public gatherings and all over the Internet as the last bastion of True Orthodoxy left in the world. I heard this from his own lips as he gave a speech to his clergy about the difference between “official orthodoxy” and “true orthodoxy.” His words were the first words from an Orthodox official I wrote down on my “lie list.” BTW my "lie list" was books long from my decades of Protestant experience. The pretense of “jurisdictional purity” seems to crop up more often these days in Orthodoxy, as certain prelates try to mimic the imperialism of Rome. (And “New Rome” Moscow). Maybe it is a reaction to the political changes in the world and the non-imperial structure of the New World, certainly these things are putting extreme pressure on the “old order” institutional Churches. In the U.S. the Standing Council of Orthodox Bishops in America – who in the beginning were just that, have changed their name to The Standing Council of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America, perverting the meaning of Canonical, trying to set up an imperial order in the U.S., seeking to consolidate power in the hands of a few prelates; more about this later (or maybe not, since it is inside baseball talk.) With this claim of purity, this weeping-Icon con could not have been more ironic, or a better lesson for me. Sometime later the con man was exposed amid sexual scandal, found dead in a homosexual brothel, etc. Then it was openly exposed that he was a career magician, and not a very good one, who turned keeper of a "miraculous" weeping icon. Sad, sad, sad.
Here is what I mean by “traveling a long journey to in some ways end-up where I started.” As a boy I was quiet and observant, the wrong attributes to be thrown into the 1940s, 50s and 60s Pentecostal Revival Show Circuit. Luckily that wasn’t my only Christian exposure. At the age of seven I discovered the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, in Conyers, Georgia. The beauty of the worship, and the unbelievable dedication of the monks, left an indelible impression on me. In the coming years I found every excuse to sneak-away from ordinary life and spend time there. As a young teen, already six foot tall, I would sneak into the monastery, dawn a "borrowed" hooded robe, even attending Chapters Meetings, to see the ditty-gritty reality of the discipline of the communal life. I spent hours in their extensive library. Back then they were under a strict vow of silence, which made it easier to blend in. I never got caught; I think rather my occasional visits were tolerated with a "wink, wink."
My father was “Holiness” by actions, theology and his understanding of proper worship; my Mother was “Pentecostal” and sadly all their lives did not understand the difference between the two movements. She took his quiet devotion and service to others as “lukewarm spirituality” and he held the suspicion that her “emotive” demonstrations bordered on mental instability. This was confirmed by a "nervous breakdown” in the early 40s and other “dis-associative episodes” in Moms 40s and early 50s. It took years to come to understand the reality of this underlying tension in our house, which colored my childhood.
My Father had huge respect for Dr Paul Barth, the American/German Theologian and Evangelist who founded the Tabernacle Church in the early 1900s on what is now the parking lot of the Atlanta Baseball Stadium near the Georgia State Capital building. Dr Barth also founded Beulah Heights Bible College in 1919, now Beulah Heights University. I was raised on the Beulah Heights College campus and genuinely loved the place, and still do. Oddly, for a period of time, per capita, it produced more Orthodox converts than any other “evangelical” school in the country. Something that wasn’t intentional I’m sure. I never knew Dr. Barth but I have strong memories of his widow; I remember her loving presence, dignity and sense of the sacred very well. She walked faithfully to the light she grasped and was a power for the betterment of many people who crossed her path, my parents included. But to my mother, she was “dried bones.” I share this to put into context what I am about to share.
I had the worshipful services of Barth Memorial (the church attached to the School) where the "communion services" that happened once a month were so especially filled with sanctity. I also had the experience of some very, very worshipful chapel services at Beulah Heights and a list of teachers willing to share their faith and teach me, so I wasn’t at the mercy of my mother’s radical Pentecostalism, though I was certainly exposed to it. In that exposure I became very bitter watching the cynical manipulation of the sincere simple people who flocked to those huge circus tents, old theatre buildings and store fronts. It wasn’t all bad, I got to meet Oral Roberts when he was still a young man, became close friends with his first business manager, the Reverend Bill Lee. Unfortunately or fortunately according to ones perspective I also met a who’s who list of pure charlatans. I saw shills planted in the audience to fake miracles. I remember one year the infamous evangelist A.A. Allen ran a six week revival at the old Lakewood Fair Grounds. A couple nights into that revival a woman who had suffered a “spinal injury” was pulled out of her wheelchair and she danced on the platform. While the service continued she literally ran up and down the isles praising God for her miracle. The next month we traveled to Chattanooga (or Greenville) and my mother and her friends didn’t seem to notice that it was the same woman, different makeup and wearing a different wig, this time delivered from a horrible tumor that had her stomach hugely bloated. (Use of an inflated device, deflated on cue.) But I noticed; I wasn’t fooled by the different style of clothes, color of hair nor the theatrical makeup aging her, because I had observed her face clearly as she ran the isles of the first revival as I wondered, “is this real?”
I didn’t dare mention this because I learned quickly that such skepticism was met with censure and disdain and even suspicions of demon possession. For my mother, if you didn't buy the Pentecostal hype, something evil was blocking you. The second that I even hinted that this evangelist or this miracle was suspect my mother would launch into her “touch not God’s anointed” speech and she would prophesy doom upon me. Her favorite negative prophecy over me was that I was rebellious and that I would end up in prison. As it turned out, she was right, just not the way she was thinking. (I did become a prison chaplain.)
The orthodox magician’s act was near amateur prestidigitation, cloaked in the robes of a priest, surrounded by the sounds of a cultured choir, the smell of incense, the light of hundreds of candles, in what would have been otherwise a wonderfully worshipful service. But do not be deceived at its core it was comparable to the circus tricks I witnessed in those revival shows. I find it likely that had I openly challenged the streaming-icon magician that night that the reaction would have been the same censure, disdain, and presumption of “demonic” knowledge. Simply stated, religious blindness is religious blindness, regardless of the name of the religion; or better-stated, religious sickness is religious sickness regardless of the nature of the cultic devotion.
The simple people at those revival meetings in decades past (and even today) never questioned why prayer-cards were handed out as people arrived. Nor did they know of the ear piece-receiver worn by the “man of god” as his assistants fed the con man his "spiritual insights" off the prayer cards previously collected. Some of the "revival evangelists" were much more talented and were "mentalists" raveling the mental acuity of the great Kreskin. (Google "The Great Kreskin") I witnessed slight of hand producing raw meat purported to be "tumors" or the damage of demons. (The Chattanooga incident not the first) Like a child learns a second language when in a multi-language household, I learned to read the signals between the preachers and the “spotters.” The same technique used by auctioneers even today, to ferret out the “suggestible.” I learned to LOVE the sound of a Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie speakers as it was employed to hype-up the crowd, and used like sound track to fill, add emotion and punctuate the “prophetic” words of the preacher. These shows were professional and polished in their garish reality, every moment, every expression, every note, every miracle timed for the best result, timed to loosen the wallet. I learned also to discern the hypnotic techniques employed, the manipulation of crowds and individuals by repetition and suggestion. What a Carney show! Yet what a colorful childhood! And I wouldn’t trade it for gold. However, upon entering the blessed and consecrated confines of the Orthodox Church, I really expected something better.
That night the Lord made sure that I learned the needful lesson that Orthodoxy-The Church is NOT a utopia, that the spirit of Christ and the spirit of anti-christ are present in her as she battles the evils of the world militantly to become the Church Triumphant, which is and is to come. There is no sin or failure not present in those calling Her, their own; some are goats and some are sheep that is just the way it is and the way it was prophesied it would be from the very lips of our Lord.
The orthodox magician’s act was near amateur prestidigitation, cloaked in the robes of a priest, surrounded by the sounds of a cultured choir, the smell of incense, the light of hundreds of candles, in what would have been otherwise a wonderfully worshipful service. But do not be deceived at its core it was comparable to the circus tricks I witnessed in those revival shows. I find it likely that had I openly challenged the streaming-icon magician that night that the reaction would have been the same censure, disdain, and presumption of “demonic” knowledge. Simply stated, religious blindness is religious blindness, regardless of the name of the religion; or better-stated, religious sickness is religious sickness regardless of the nature of the cultic devotion.
The simple people at those revival meetings in decades past (and even today) never questioned why prayer-cards were handed out as people arrived. Nor did they know of the ear piece-receiver worn by the “man of god” as his assistants fed the con man his "spiritual insights" off the prayer cards previously collected. Some of the "revival evangelists" were much more talented and were "mentalists" raveling the mental acuity of the great Kreskin. (Google "The Great Kreskin") I witnessed slight of hand producing raw meat purported to be "tumors" or the damage of demons. (The Chattanooga incident not the first) Like a child learns a second language when in a multi-language household, I learned to read the signals between the preachers and the “spotters.” The same technique used by auctioneers even today, to ferret out the “suggestible.” I learned to LOVE the sound of a Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie speakers as it was employed to hype-up the crowd, and used like sound track to fill, add emotion and punctuate the “prophetic” words of the preacher. These shows were professional and polished in their garish reality, every moment, every expression, every note, every miracle timed for the best result, timed to loosen the wallet. I learned also to discern the hypnotic techniques employed, the manipulation of crowds and individuals by repetition and suggestion. What a Carney show! Yet what a colorful childhood! And I wouldn’t trade it for gold. However, upon entering the blessed and consecrated confines of the Orthodox Church, I really expected something better.
That night the Lord made sure that I learned the needful lesson that Orthodoxy-The Church is NOT a utopia, that the spirit of Christ and the spirit of anti-christ are present in her as she battles the evils of the world militantly to become the Church Triumphant, which is and is to come. There is no sin or failure not present in those calling Her, their own; some are goats and some are sheep that is just the way it is and the way it was prophesied it would be from the very lips of our Lord.
Some take Jesus’ statement that “the gates of hell will not prevail against, My church” as a statement that it could not be wounded, diseased, scattered into churches with some showing the light of the Gospel clearly and others more dimly. Many Orthodox take it to mean that with all the “imperfections in the church observable by history” she has remained perfect at her core, since the core of the Church is Christ, Himself. This by the way is absolutely true and how that perfection is measure, by CHRIST, via the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Those outside her confines, without Jesus Christ in their hearts, uninformed by the Holy Spirit of God, see only her flawed, and at times, shameful and sinful presentation in history and current events. Make no mistake, the Church has failed the West; it is measurable and real failure. For the Christian, honest observation will expose that just as Christ’s earthly body sweat blood in fear, was betrayed, scourged, torn, beaten, shackled, lead to destruction, even hung on a cross and suffered death, his earthly body the Church remains vulnerable to any kind of attack, wound, betrayal and so on; and just as the gates of hell did not prevail at the crucifixion, though by every earthly appearance it seem so, and even Satan himself for a short moment thought he had won; neither will the gates of hell prevail against the church, though it may very well appear so to the world.
The wonder and blessing of Orthodoxy Catholicism is that in her worship, in the words of her liturgies, songs and prayers is a full expression of the Apostolic Faith, unrivaled anywhere else in Christendom. That this full expression does not protect her from the Shadow of Simon Magus or Bar-Jesus the Magician is little wonder.
A Roman Catholic friend recently told me that miracles were invitations to faith and how can that not be so? Indeed any genuine miracle/wonder is a blessing. Even if under the hand of a charlatan, a miracle may be genuine, by virtue of the simple, innocent faith of the person who genuinely and innocently reaches to God, and indeed such miracles have been blessings that instill greater faith. God is not absent from the heathen and pagan worlds, not absent from the life of the slaves of Islam, nor the natives under the spell of shamans. And so it is my opinion that God uses many, many means to show mercy to both those that know him and those that do not yet know his name. Or as scripture says, “the rain falls on the just and unjust, alike.” However, miracles are also in the arsenal of the deceiver, are part and parcel of pagan religious practice, voodoo, shamanism, and the like. So let us make something crystal clear, THE FAITH once and for all delivered unto the saint, is NOT the witness, production or experience of miracles, though such may engender faith enough to enter upon The Way.
A Roman Catholic friend recently told me that miracles were invitations to faith and how can that not be so? Indeed any genuine miracle/wonder is a blessing. Even if under the hand of a charlatan, a miracle may be genuine, by virtue of the simple, innocent faith of the person who genuinely and innocently reaches to God, and indeed such miracles have been blessings that instill greater faith. God is not absent from the heathen and pagan worlds, not absent from the life of the slaves of Islam, nor the natives under the spell of shamans. And so it is my opinion that God uses many, many means to show mercy to both those that know him and those that do not yet know his name. Or as scripture says, “the rain falls on the just and unjust, alike.” However, miracles are also in the arsenal of the deceiver, are part and parcel of pagan religious practice, voodoo, shamanism, and the like. So let us make something crystal clear, THE FAITH once and for all delivered unto the saint, is NOT the witness, production or experience of miracles, though such may engender faith enough to enter upon The Way.
The very term “faith healing” as is commonly understood in this culture, is a misnomer. Faith is an act of volition - the WILL to open oneself to deep and sincere belief in God; and more specifically for the Christian, to open oneself to Life in Christ Jesus, via the guidance of the Holy Spirit. By it's very nature it cannot have reality if it is not healing. So never confuse the wonder and mystery of the Altar, or any other aspect of genuine Orthodox Christian Sacramental Worship with a "miracle of any sort." In every instance it is simply the experience of the Eternal Moment, which is by its nature HEALING, the experience of things as they are in heaven; that eternal moment, which we are allowed to share by these sacramental means, through "HE who is without corruption upon earth and also occupies Eternity."
I've witnessed and experienced many things most would call "miracle" both before and after my conversion to Orthodoxy but my FAITH is not predicated on them. I'm not suggesting that there are no true weeping Icons but the truth is, I have never seen one and such signs have no meaning for me, literally no meaning. Let me share a wonder I do respect. My dog Sammy Lee, 16 years of age, had to have several skin growths removed, and of course each spot had to be shaved. All the wounds healed nicely, but his hair was slow to re-grow. He really looked pathetic for a while. After a year all the spots were normal, except one which was about five inches square and it was as bawled as the day of surgery. I suddenly grew tired of looking at him like that, and truthfully felt sorry for him every time my wife and her sisters would joke saying he looked like "Frankenweenie." So after almost a full year, I prayed "Lord Have Mercy on Sam" and anointed the spot with oil from Saint John Maximovitch's tomb. And three weeks later the hair was normal length and the spot disappeared into his fir. Do not think that I am dismissing any reality of HEALING. I am just removing it from the hands of Simon Mangus.
I've witnessed and experienced many things most would call "miracle" both before and after my conversion to Orthodoxy but my FAITH is not predicated on them. I'm not suggesting that there are no true weeping Icons but the truth is, I have never seen one and such signs have no meaning for me, literally no meaning. Let me share a wonder I do respect. My dog Sammy Lee, 16 years of age, had to have several skin growths removed, and of course each spot had to be shaved. All the wounds healed nicely, but his hair was slow to re-grow. He really looked pathetic for a while. After a year all the spots were normal, except one which was about five inches square and it was as bawled as the day of surgery. I suddenly grew tired of looking at him like that, and truthfully felt sorry for him every time my wife and her sisters would joke saying he looked like "Frankenweenie." So after almost a full year, I prayed "Lord Have Mercy on Sam" and anointed the spot with oil from Saint John Maximovitch's tomb. And three weeks later the hair was normal length and the spot disappeared into his fir. Do not think that I am dismissing any reality of HEALING. I am just removing it from the hands of Simon Mangus.
At this point in life I don’t believe I would even walk across the street to see a weeping Icon, except for my concern not to offend a weak believer, since their fragile “faith” could be predicated upon such. I do suggest and even say boldly that from times of old, charlatans have sought to deceive and even wrong-minded men with "good" motives have tried to attract "devotees" with trickery. The religion of Simon the Sorcerer and Bar-Jesus the Magician has 'shadowed' the Church from its very first days. Where there is the real, there is always the counterfeit.
What's with all this sign seeking? Here Saint Paul talks about the spiritual blindness that befell the Pagan world, where they lost their ability to “see God in All Things.”
Rom 1:19-21 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
With this understanding Jesus’ words become clearer, those who have lost the ability to see God as Saint Paul described (being clearly seen and understood by the things that he made) seek “signs” to find him. “But he answered and said unto them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:’” Can we gauge the pure blasphemy that is "naturalism"? It is a state of being in which the MIRACLE of the natural order of things is totally ignored, and what is a miracle is judged and accepted to BE a miracle only if it "seems" to step outside the natural order of things! Why is it blasphemy, because it in arrogance refuses to be thankful for mere BEING, which is the REAL miracle, upon miracle, upon miracle, upon miracle to the Quintilianth power times INFINITY.
What's with all this sign seeking? Here Saint Paul talks about the spiritual blindness that befell the Pagan world, where they lost their ability to “see God in All Things.”
Rom 1:19-21 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
With this understanding Jesus’ words become clearer, those who have lost the ability to see God as Saint Paul described (being clearly seen and understood by the things that he made) seek “signs” to find him. “But he answered and said unto them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:’” Can we gauge the pure blasphemy that is "naturalism"? It is a state of being in which the MIRACLE of the natural order of things is totally ignored, and what is a miracle is judged and accepted to BE a miracle only if it "seems" to step outside the natural order of things! Why is it blasphemy, because it in arrogance refuses to be thankful for mere BEING, which is the REAL miracle, upon miracle, upon miracle, upon miracle to the Quintilianth power times INFINITY.
I remember in the 1980s a favorite aunt was struggling with lung cancer, in the course of two days I got four calls from my precious siblings inviting me to accompany them to the Prayer Tower, at the now defamed and defunct Jim Bakker ministry called the PTL Center. I remember fighting back both anger and tears marveling at the blindness of it. The last call was from my brother Don, and he was a baby christian at the time and he loved to put a lot of pressure on me to do "family type things"; so when he had finished his sales pitch, I said, "I will gladly go with you, and encourage my wife to come along, if you can answer one question for me."
"Okay, what's that."
"Can you tell me the time and date that God moved, and the reason for it, which is a real inconvenience to me, since now it seems that I have to drive hundreds of miles to speak with him."
This is not different than Orthodox and Roman Catholic Shrines, even though people do upon occasion find healing. But it is a perversion of the reality of The Way. The Way is NOT religious, The Way is not pilgrimages and feast and fasts. The Way is the discovery of the immediacy of the Presence of Jesus Christ, via the Holy Spirit, and living in that "communion" 24/7. THE WAY, for even the poor prison inmate believer, makes of his cell a Shrine of the Holy Spirit, like my home is a shrine, like my car when I am in, it is a shrine, if indeed I am "in communion" with Jesus Christ. If indeed if I am living in him and He in me.
People are so spiritually poverty stricken, (another way to state this is people are so deluded, blinded by sin) that they hunger to see God "break into nature"; To break the laws of nature. This is a true degradation of The Faith, since the Faith holds, as cardinal Truth, that God imbues ALL THINGS, is everywhere present, coursing BEING into existence. "Thou art everywhere present and fillest all things, treasury of blessing and giver of Life, come and abide in me and cleanse me from all sin. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal! Have mercy on me." The Faith holds that He is the One “Enlightening every man coming into the world” (John Chapter One) that the very breath, nerve impulse, and heart beat of the most profane man on earth and even the lowliest of creatures is a "witness" of the presence of God, who holds ALL THINGS yet is contained by none.
Those with hearts that have become pure enough to "see God" (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God) realize that their very power of "cognition" the ability to see, to hear, to know is by the power of that Divine Spark given to all, even the worst among us. It is the primary Grace and Mercy of BEING, without which NOTHING, that has BEING, can exist. These profound words from the First Chapter of the Gospel of Saint John are there for a purpose, the greatest of which is to keep people of Faith from ever sinking to the level of the Deists or Theist, or those tainted with Dualism and/or Gnosticism. We are not meant to "wonder" or be "amazed" at a profound healing, or any other means that "appears" to be God manipulating the "natural order of things." Why? Because, we are to be thankful for ALL THINGS. If one has eyes to see, one realizes that every moment that exists, every nano-second is a "miracle of God" as he eternally courses BEING into existence. One nano-second that His power were removed, ALL the "worlds" would vaporize into nothingness.
I believe that it is much more difficult to have this “vision” of God in modern and urban times. Those whose lives are swallowed up by the artificial, by mass-media, by insulating structures, survival via processed, frozen and canned foods, cultures caught in their own peculiar mythologies technological advancement. Millions of these people have never experienced the wonder of nature. And sadly because of the prevalence of the philosophy of ultra-materialism some so-called “naturalists” and some whose lives are wrapped up in “nature” cannot experience nature, even though they see it with their own eyes. What I mean by the “experience of nature” as oppose to merely seeing nature is suddenly being dumbstruck by the miracle of it all, like I explained walking out of that church in the last lesson, with renewed vision, seeing the wonder of it all in the countryside.
Have you ever had that fearful, awesome, marvelous and wondrous moment, where something sort of snaps in your mind and you realize the miracle of IT ALL? Where one looks at ones own hands or a leaf moving on a bush, or the light in a person's eye, or the affection of a pet and in that profound moment you realize the strangeness and miracle of IT ALL; a rare moment where all the preconceived ideas are suspended and you question who YOU are in it, what the meaning of IT ALL could be?
Most of us are so caught up in the "motion" of life, the cadence and rhythm, the ambitions, prides, lusts, i.e. passions that we never perceive the Eternal Moment of IT ALL. IT ALL is miracle. When one grasps that, then any particular Mercy of healing or "wonder" is accepted with profound thankfulness, as ALL LIFE is accepted with profound thankfulness. (Please realize that by using the word Life, I am not meaning the narrow definition of the materialists, the mere biological function of organisms, though such is "A" manifestation of Life.)
I have seen literally hundreds of what people would classify as "true miracles." So in no way am I minimizing the blessedness of that, rather I am putting it in context. Those who are "swayed" by miracles, signs and wonders are of the least faith, and impure; they do not have eyes to see God's omnipresence, nor humility to accept his omnipotence. In the "sign seeking" God is reduced to the level of the "little fairy floating around just outside of the perceptions of our five senses causing little disruptions in the natural order of things."
Sign seeking is a profane act, a profanity shared by the lowest forms of spiritualism and cults. What is Eternal and OF Eternity is REAL, so when Jesus said, "This man was born blind that the Glory of the Father might be revealed" that statement also meant, "so that in healing him you may know what is REAL." "What difference if I say, 'take up thy bed and walk' or 'your sins are forgiven'"? There was (is) no difference since either way he was "revealing what is REAL". Profound implications here if one can grasp it.
I want to encourage you to “action” to become a warrior in your spiritual walk, become the person with “eyes to see and ears to hear.” I hear the call to chivalry ringing in my mind, “Let us be worthy of great adventures! Let us be worthy of great battles! Let us be worthy of great suffering!” In the Eternal Moment, for the good of all those placed in our sphere to love, we must act as Warriors disdaining sin, viewing it as a disease and hindrance to our "warrior's power" to boldly battle the myriad evils of the world and the very evil 'one' himself. This is the call to all true Warriors of the Faith. At the same time as sinful beings we must seek the acceptance (within ourselves) of our own Healing/Salvation. It is only in this context that we can grasp the real meaning of "all that is without Faith is sin." The following two statements mean absolutely the same thing: By Faith - we grasp reality and are healed. By Faith - we grasp reality and are "saved."
1Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving behind an example for you, that you should follow in His footsteps, "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who, being verbally abused, did not return verbal insults, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, in order that having died to sins, we might live unto righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. 4 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have turned back now to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
What' s the old saying, "I pray, not to change God or cause Him to act, but to change me." (I think that's a paraphrase of C S Lewis) anyway, do you understand what it means? It has profound implications for anyone seeking a sign, anyone struggling with God to get HIM to act. Healing is what's REAL, HIS intimate Presence in ALL THINGS is what's REAL, and HIS creating and sustaining BEING IN HIMSELF is what's REAL. So then, finding and accepting what is REAL, what already is, what is Eternal produces miracles; for if there is an eternity, by its definition it cannot have had a beginning nor an ending, therefore it is also NOW - and only what is connected to Eternity has reality. This is why in the Western Tradition one affirms, "world without end" and the Eastern form, "now and ever and unto the ages of ages..." that's the "plane" of our prayers, the "reality" of our devotions. "Thy Will be done - on earth as it is in heaven." Another way to say it, "Thy Will be done - in the biologically changing world blinded by sin, as in the un-changeable, un-hampered reality of the eternal moment."
This lesson was just about the evil and blasphemy of seeking signs. Seeking signs is most certainly NOT "The Way." Next lesson we will get to the "Two Hundred Ninety Eight Other Human Weaknesses that are NOT The Way".
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