like curling meets shuffleboard on a tabletop board #

I have been reading liberal theology since my college days—i.e. theologies which deny many, most, or all of the major tenets of the traditional Christian Faith. The theologies are as many and as varied as their authors, but they all share a conviction that Jesus of Nazareth didn’t say and do all the things which the New Testament recorded that He said and did, that the Gospels are not to be trusted as history, and that therefore the basic dogmas of the historical Church are wrong. The late Bishop John Spong (inset) is a modern and sterling example.

Recently I have come across an anti-Orthodox polemic which rejects our veneration of icons on the grounds that venerating an image painted on a board of Christ, His Mother, or His saints is contrary to the practice of the apostles and of the earliest Church. The objection is stated with some sophistication, and is not the usual fundamentalist reference to the Mosaic Law’s proscription of carved statues used in worship (e.g. Exodus 20:4f). This more sophisticated objection acknowledges that there were indeed images of Christ, His Mother, and His saints used in the early Church such as can be found in the funerary art of the catacombs and on the walls of churches (such as that of Dura Europos). But, it points out, there is no evidence that these images functioned as anything more than mere decoration. That is, the people did not come up to the wall to kiss the wall art or venerate the images.

Third Sunday of the Great Fast

Jesus's question to the paralytic, "Do you want to be made well?" is at the heart of our Christian life. Fr Thomas explains the important doctrine of synergy, or cooperation with God, as the key to our daily growth in life, faith, and spiritual understanding.

As we remember the saints of North America, we remember that what made them special wasn't ethnicity or cultural preservation . . . it was their desire to preach the Gospel!

Fr. Tom discusses the false ideas surrounding religion today and how one truly comes to know Christ in the Church.

We need the perspective of the Cross in the midst of Great Lent in order to remind ourselves of the goal of that journey that we undertake through fasting, repentance, almsgiving and prayer. It is that we might come to the beginning of Great and Holy Week with a Godly intention to know nothing else but "Christ and him crucified."

Fr. Deacon Emmanuel gives the homily on the third Sunday of Great Lent.

Fr. Gregory helps the children and adults understand true love with a very practical illustration.

Today on this third Sunday in Lent, we venerate the cross of Christ—that is, we show profound respect and awe for what Jesus Christ achieved in the Crucifixion, as well as how the Crucifixion led to the Resurrection.

Dr. Rossi reviews the new movie, Les Miserables, and points out the messages that are consistent with the Orthodox faith.

Dr. Rossi interviews Fr. James Parnell, a veteran who is a student at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary preparing to become a chaplain. They discuss the reintegration and healing of combat veterans and their families.

Dr. Rossi discusses therapy in the Orthodox tradition as well as some advice on choosing a therapist.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Dr. Carla Thomas, M.D., Trustee of St. Vladimir's Seminary, on the topic of using music as a healing therapy. Dr. Thomas is a Family Practice physician, Board Member of Orthodox Prison Ministry, member of the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black and parishioner at St. Luke Orthodox Church in Anniston, Alabama (OCA).

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick posts a picture of the incorrupt hand of St. Katherine of Alexandria every year on Facebook. And every year, people freak out. But why?

John's guest is Fr. Daniel Marshall talking about a new Orthodox book for children called St. Seraphim's Beatitudes available from St. Innocent Press.

On Friday, December 18, 2009, His Eminence, Archbishop Job of Chicago and the Midwest unexpectedly fell asleep in the Lord. The funeral vigil was held on Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at 7:00 PM at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago. His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah presided and the homily was given by OCA Chancellor, Fr. Alexander Garklavs.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Stephen Kaznica, priest at Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Passaic, New Jersey, about the church's historic Hierarchical Triumph of Orthodoxy Vespers that will take place on March 4, 2012.

Bobby Maddex interviews John Maddex again to get an update on the streaming music station. Special thanks to our anonymous donor who sent us $3,000 to cover the remaining expenses on our new generator and surge protection system. The donation was made on behalf of St. Cyprian of Carthage Orthodox Church in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks be to God!

We talk with Nicholas Chakos, the Executive Director of FOCUS North America, and Theodora Polamalu, wife of Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu, about "Operation Lace Up," a new initiative to provide shoes to children who cannot afford them, as well as FOCUS's Pittsburgh Health Center and "Tackle Poverty" campaign.

Ancient Faith Radio has been provided this recording of the comments made by Bishop Basil at the funeral of the beloved priest Fr. Alexander Atty. May his memory be eternal.

On Monday, March 23, 2015, Fr. Thomas Hopko was prayed into God's presence by hundreds of friends, hierarchs, clergy, and family. The funeral homily was given by Fr. John Behr, Dean at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Ancient Faith Radio brings you a talk by Fr. John Behr, Dean and Professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonker’s New York. Fr. John spoke at the Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture at Eastern University in PA.

Bobby Maddex interviews Paula Marchman with the GOA Family Life Ministry in Atlanta and Edna King, one of the individuals behind Woven: An Interactive Book for the Modern Teenage Girl on Orthodox Christianity.

Join special host, Richard Rohlin, as he interviews brilliant authors and educators, Dr. Edith Humphrey and Angelina Stanford. Together they engage in rich conversation about literature, fantasy, art, and faith. Topics include: what makes literature good or bad? How do we choose good literature for our children? How do we write good literature for our children? And more! To learn more about Dr. Edith Humphrey and her newest book, "Beyond the White Fence" here. To learn more about Angelina Standford and her work at the House of Humane Letters, check out their website. To learn more about Richard Rohlin and his Finding the Golden Key project, click here.

Bobby Maddex, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries, interviews the Board of Directors of Three Hierarchs High School, founded in 2021 with the help of His Eminence Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas and located in Niles, Illinois. For more information about the school and to register for the next upcoming school year, please visit https://www.thochs.org.

Father Pat compares the characteristics of faith in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the events in their lives which shaped that faith.

By considering the ancestors of Jesus found in Matthew 1, we can discern qualities of the Divine Initiative in our lives. Fr. Pat looks at three of these.

Fr. Pat reflects upon the treasure of which Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; what that treasure is, what is needed to take possession of it, and that in which it is contained.

What are icons, and why are they important?

"On this day, the first Sunday of Lent, we commemorate the restoration of the holy and venerable icons…” (Synaxarion for the Sunday of Orthodoxy) After weeks of learning about forgiveness and pride and judgment, we begin Great Lent with a Sunday dedicated to icons. Why? On one level, this is the anniversary of the triumph over Iconoclasm in 843 AD. But there's more to this triumph than meets the eye. So we'll take a deep dive into the theology of icons to learn that God made a promise to His saints. That He would unite heaven and earth. That we could look upon the face of the Lord and live. And this promise is fulfilled in us. We hold up icons as proof of this promise, the treasures we display in the Triumph of Orthodoxy. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee169

Most Christians are not aware that in the latter part of the 16th century, early Lutheran Reformers - close colleagues and followers of Martin Luther - set in motion an eight year contact and correspondence with the (then) Ecumenical Patriarch, Jeremias II of Constantinople. The outcome might have changed the course of Christian history. Kevin Allen speaks with scholar Dr Paraskeve (Eve) Tibbs about this fascinating and largely unknown chapter in post-Reformation history.

We hear from a former moderator in Kenya who was left traumatised by his previous job.

What the heros and forefathers of the Old Testament could only dream about is yours for the having. So Come and See!

"Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.   "He was clothed in the holy angelic Habit and, after some time, was ordained priest. One day, as he was praying before the icon of the Mother of God, asking her with tears how to achieve his salvation, he heard a voice saying, 'Let my servant withdraw to the desert outside the monastery.' He was obedient to the will of God and, with the blessing of his Abbot, lived in silence from then on. Some years later, he was found worthy of the grace of discernment of thoughts and of beholding things happening elsewhere, as well as of other spiritual gifts. In the course of many years, he was the spiritual helper of a great number of monks. At the end of his life, Christ appeared to him saying that he would shortly have a great trial to endure from the Devil. Indeed, the prince of demons made his appearance next day with a host of his servants bewailing and bemoaning their inability to annihilate their great enemy Cosmas, who had held them in check for so long and gained possession, by his virtue, of the throne in Heaven that had once been Lucifer's. Taking a heavy stick, the demon beat the Saint so violently that he left him half-dead. As God allowed, Saint Cosmas died in peace two days later, on 22 September 1323. When the fathers came from the monastery to bury him, the wild animals gathered round. They kept silent until the end of the service, but howled unusually loud as his body was covered with earth. Then having paid their respects, they made off into the wilderness. Forty days later, the monks came to take up the body of Saint Cosmas and translate it to the monastery, but it was no longer in the grave. Where it now is God alone knows." (Synaxarion)

Matthew interviews historian Fr. Oliver Herbel about a little-known—though very important—1940s precursor to SCOBA. Learn more HERE.

Demand generation vs lead generation? Which should you use? You could be missing out on some qualified leads if you're not using both.

The post Demand generation vs lead generation: Do you need both? appeared first on Coaching and training to scale your copywriting business, plus programs for new copywriters, startups, and marketers.

Today, I sit down with the Head of Deliverability at ConvertKit, Alyssa Dulin, to shed some light on the often mysterious game of getting your email into the right inbox. Alyssa’s expertise about what creators need to focus on and the most recent developments in the email marketing space can truly take your company’s reach […]

What is a flywheel? My first real life encounter with a flywheel was on a water well in South Africa. I was working at an orphanage where one of our projects was to provide a reliable water source. Because electricity was unreliable, we mounted a hand-powered pump. But we couldn’t use the kind of pump […]

The product that drove webmasters crazy was back...for a moment, at least.

There are 3 things you need to accomplish your goals: (1) a clear goal; (2) a winning action plan; and (3) consistency. For things where you are just getting started, you may not yet know what your winning action plan is. When this is the case you need the right blend of iteration and feedback […]

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No: “Where is the one thing that will fix all my problems for me right now?” Yes: “Will this thing give me one new, good idea I can use right now?” Invest in things that will help you fix a small problem so you can get a little bit better at what you do. Find […]

Data makes the world go round, but without proper context, it can only tell a small part of the story.  At a call center, for example, the average time that agents spend on calls tells you very little about the success of those calls. If the calls are super short, […]

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