/lit/ - Literature

>>15086756
>these American "Converts" don't actually believe anything. All that matters is aesthetics and the herd
You are full of hatred and nihilism, I wish you to find peace for your soul.
>You want to go teach them the good word of Orthodoxy?
No one can force people to learn love. All you can do is love people like you love your children, only then by accessing the light of Russian Orthodoxy through other ones people can truly feel the Christ's love upon their souls. Be kind and loving to people, it's not that hard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FneNd9UvC_g

>>7958921
Let us pursue our spiritual lives joyfully and without fear of our enemies. They are unseen but can sense the disposition of our heart. A fearful and despairing soul is easily lead into darkness. Therefore, let us be brave and walk our spiritual paths confidently fully trusting in our Lord to deliver us.

The Lord wisely eases the struggles of spiritual novices so that they will not be driven back into the world. Let us then rejoice always in the Lord because He even chooses the adversities we overcome and will never give us more than we can handle. God identifies courageous souls and allows them to become embattled from the very beginning, so that they may be rewarded sooner.

Having accepted God's grace, it would be tragic to leave the spiritual kingdom we have inherited to go worry about something which cannot aid us in the hour of death. This is what our Lord meant when He told us not to turn back and not be found useless for the Kingdom of Heaven. God knows that we are very susceptible to turning back to the world at the start of our spiritual life. He also knows that some of our relationships can tempt us to give up on our spiritual quest. When the eager man said to our Lord, "Let me go away to bury my father," He replied, "Let the dead bury the dead" (Mt 8:22) because the world is dead compared to the spirit. There are also spiritual entities which attempt to convince us to return to our worldly ways. They make us envy those who have worldly and spiritual successes. They make us regret that we seemed deprived of these virtues.. Their goal is to make us give up in false humility or to cause us despair during our journey. Vanity can lead us to mock the secular life or secretly despise those who do not pursue spiritual paths.

>>6448194
Let us pursue our spiritual lives joyfully and without fear of our enemies. They are unseen but can sense the disposition of our heart. A fearful and despairing soul is easily lead into darkness. Therefore, let us be brave and walk our spiritual paths confidently fully trusting in our Lord to deliver us.

The Lord wisely eases the struggles of spiritual novices so that they will not be driven back into the world. Let us then rejoice always in the Lord because He even chooses the adversities we overcome and will never give us more than we can handle. God identifies courageous souls and allows them to become embattled from the very beginning, so that they may be rewarded sooner.

Having accepted God's grace, it would be tragic to leave the spiritual kingdom we have inherited to go worry about something which cannot aid us in the hour of death. This is what our Lord meant when He told us not to turn back and not be found useless for the Kingdom of Heaven. God knows that we are very susceptible to turning back to the world at the start of our spiritual life. He also knows that some of our relationships can tempt us to give up on our spiritual quest. When the eager man said to our Lord, "Let me go away to bury my father," He replied, "Let the dead bury the dead" (Mt 8:22) because the world is dead compared to the spirit. There are also spiritual entities which attempt to convince us to return to our worldly ways. They make us envy those who have worldly and spiritual successes. They make us regret that we seemed deprived of these virtues.. Their goal is to make us give up in false humility or to cause us despair during our journey. Vanity can lead us to mock the secular life or secretly despise those who do not pursue spiritual paths.

However, when we are afflicted with worldly desires, we should remember the courage of the saints who have gone before us. We should investigate why these blessed people chose to endure slander and violence. Why they accepted fasting and kept vigils. Why some choose to withdraw from the world entirely and enter into monastic life. Surely these great people were driven by something to not only endure, but to joyously accept hardship. Meditating on the zeal of those who have embraced the spiritual life can inspire us to follow their example. If God answered the prayers of the saints, He will certainly answer our prayers as well.

>>6250408
I pity you.

>>5066067
Ultimately, I arrived at a crossroads: did I believe in these teachings or not? My teachers had persuaded me that the supernatural events could not be separated from the moral philosophy. Therefore, I had to either accept all of the doctrine (even the parts I didn't understand or necessarily even believe in yet) or none of it; it would be dishonest to pick and choose which parts of the faith I wanted to believe in. Although part of me really wanted to believe in a benevolent omnipotent God (who wouldn't?), my inner skeptic recoiled at thought of consenting to something I didn't understand or contained elements I didn't believe in. In my confusion, I retreated to the familiar sanctuary of literature in search for guidance. Dostoevsky came to my aid and The Brothers Karamazov remains my favorite novel. Reading Dostoevsky helped reconcile my materialistic tendencies with my spiritual aspirations by showing me that sincerity can cover a multitude of doubts. I knew the novel had an important message for me when I noticed some unflattering comparisons between myself and the middle brother Ivan. Specifically, I noted how Ivan's icy rationalism lead him into philosophical isolation, a feeling I was familiar with and wanted desperately to avoid. I felt pity for the second brother, the brutish Dimitri, whose passions eclipsed his generous soul and brought ruin upon him. I identified with his weakness for sensuality and took his story as a warning for how an indulgent attitude can choke a noble spirit. Lastly, I found inspiration in the pious Alyosha whose peaceful demeanor I envied greatly. Alyosha's secret appeared to be an attitude of praise that arose from his faith in an expected end. Alyosha was unflappable because he believed God was protecting him and was the ultimate controller of human affairs.