/lit/ - Literature

Bible (RUSV)

This book is good

>>19571262
Isnt the modern orthodox church copypasting what Putin's party says?
>trannies are evil because... They are! Even if you could become an eunuch in the name of god...
>faggots are to be hated because... They are! Even if jesus said to love even your enemy...

Well, to get started. If you refer to "path" as books on spirituality, I highly recommend Seraphim of Sarov book "The aim of the Christian life" https://www.themathesontrust.org/papers/christianity/Motovilov.pdf
or Saint Silouan the Athonite teachings https://orthochristian.com/7173.html https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/09/saint-silouan-athonite-resource-page.html
(didn't find any PDF book about his teachings, but found a resource page)
There is Blessed Seraphim Rose too, https://b-ok.global/g/Seraphim%20Rose
There are of course the apophtegmata of desert fathers or philokalia, but they're recommended to be read under the guidance of a spiritual father (dukhovnik).
Philokalia pretty much synthetizes the heart of the Orthodox Spirituality, also have many theological themes as Saint Simeon the New Theologian's or Saint Gregory Palamas' books are in the collection. I may give you other titles too, but now nothing comes in my mind. Of course you have Saint Justin Popovici or Father Cleopa, Father Dumitru Staniloae or Father Paisios the Hagiorite, my advice would be to get some adive from the priest with your local parish, he surely is more documented than me, by far! Have a great evening!

>>19571496
Love your enemy does not mean every belief or action is good.
Being homosexual implies transgression. All humans are good in essence and we must love this essence and seek to help it, including from the sins and evil that corrupt it. It doesn't mean accepting the human with his sins. It also doesn't imply passivity.

>In the [Muslim] Saracen encampment they asked St. Cyril [Enlightener of the Slavs]: “How can Christians wage war and at the same time keep Christ’s commandment to pray to God for their enemies?’ To this, St. Cyril replied: “If two commandments were written in one law and given to men for fulfilling, which man would be a better follower of the law: The one who fulfilled one commandment or the one who fulfilled both?’ The Saracens replied: “Undoubtedly, he who fulfills both commandments.” St. Cyril continued: “Christ our God commands us to pray to God for those who persecute us and even do good to them, but He also said to us, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). That is why we bear the insults that our enemies cast at us individually and why we pray to God for them. However, as a society, we defend one another and lay down our lives, so that the enemy would not enslave our brethren, would not enslave their souls with their bodies, and would not destroy them in both body and soul.”

- St. Nikolai Velimirovic of Zica, “The Prologue of Ohrid”.

>>19571496
>Putin's
I'm pretty sure Putin didn't invent the notion of homosexual fornication being an evil sin.

Orthodox anons, please educate a midwit. How common is it for an Orthodox church to have two priests?

Orthonons, is Jung a reasonable read for a Christian? Out of interest in psych.

>>19572187
Not Orthodox (yet) but psychology is fake.

>>19571867
Saint Nikolaj highly recommend

>>19571496
Other way around. He's using the Orthodox Church to further his grip on society
>>19571867
>>19571883
Reminder that Russia is a nation where most pregnancies end with an abortion and girls lose virginity at 16 or something. Not exactly a bulwark against atheism and nihilism that it likes to present itself as

>>19572187
Don’t waste your time on pschology shit. Read the Bible, read the Saints, etc.

>>19572594
>Not exactly a bulwark against atheism and nihilism that it likes to present itself as
They’re still recovering from 70 years of rule by Satanists

Bump. What are you guys reading right now? I just started ‘On the Incarnation’ by St. Athanasius today

>>19571496
>the only orthodox country is russia

>>19572170
It should be common if the church isn't very small or there is an extreme lack of priests in the area, as it's hard for one priest to manage a good sized parish. In my cathedral in a relatively small town there is four priests.

>>19572187
>Jung
It's straight up demonic. Jung revealed that a spirit spoke to him and he gained "insight" from it. Secularist psychology can't be correct because it denies the incarnation and thus the only real example of true human nature as it is supposed to exist. Christ is not some abstraction you can just ignore and still get to truth, our Lord assumed both a rational mind and rational soul in the incarnation so without knowing what Jesus was like it is impossible to know what the correct state is for humans.

>>19571496
both of those groups as a collective engage in horrible practices, watch common filth radio

>>19573745
Just read The Holy Fathers a Sure Guide to True Christianity.

Most instructive it is for us, the last Christians, to take guidance and inspiration from the Holy Fathers of our own and recent times, those who lived in condition similar to our own and yet kept undamaged and unchanged the same ever-fresh teaching, which is not for one time or race, but for all times to the end of the world, and for the whole race of Orthodox Christians.

Before looking at two of the recent Holy Fathers, however, let us make clear that for us, Orthodox Christians, the study of the Holy Fathers is not an idle academic exercise. Much of what passes for a "patristic revival" in our times is scarcely more than a plaything of heterodox scholars and their "Orthodox" imitators, not one of whom has ever "discovered" a patristic truth for which he was ready to sacrifice his life. Such "patrology" is only rationalist scholarship which happens to take patristic teaching for its subject, without ever understanding that the genuine teaching of the Holy Fathers contains the truths which our spiritual life or death depends. Such pseudo-patristic scholars spend their time proving that "pseudo-Macarius" was a Messalian heretic, without understanding or practicing the pure Orthodox teaching of the true St. Macarius the Great; that "pseudo-Dionysius" was a calculated forger of books whose mystical and spiritual depths are totally beyond his accusers; that the thoroughly Christian and monastic life of Sts. Barlaam and Joasaph, handed down by St. John Damascene, is nothing but a "retelling of the Buddha story;" and a hundred similar fables manufactured by "experts" for a gullible public which has no idea of the agnostic atmosphere in which such "discoveries" are made. Where there are serious scholarly questions concerning some patristic texts (which, of course, there are), they will certainly not be resolved by referring them to such "experts, who are total strangers to the true patristic tradition, and only make their living at its expense.

https://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/seraphim/fathers.shtml

>>19571262
Any Orthodox book on living in the woods?

>>19572594
this >>19573020 and >>19571883

Stop merging politics with truth. Truth is not based on practicalities and circumstances. We are discussing what truth is. Is your truth atheism/agnosticism? Relative or objective? Do you have an opinion or don't? Do you have a belief system or not? Do you have questions or criticism of the Orthodox Faith or not?

So Orthodoxy is a 2500 year old religion that was made for Putin? All the theology, philosophy, history is irrelevant and not worth exploring because >Putin.

>>19574209
https://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/seraphim_e.htm

>>19573745
Personally I think Saint John of Damascus, "The Fount of Knowledge" is beautiful but advanced. Once you get comfortable with some aspects of the theology, its worth reading. If you wan't some kind of summary/conclusion, read only the 3rd section of the book "An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith".

>>19574298
Where can one read the whole trilogy? Everywhere I look I can only find the Exact Exposition.

Bump.

>>19571262

https://youtu.be/V_GrGEspASI
https://youtu.be/fJRVJwnhVzI

>>19574021
Why do i get drawn to so much demonic shit, and why is it so enticing aaaaaaaahhhh

>>19574866
Do you mean demonic teachings or actions? Their teachings, heresy, is ultimately tied to pride, which is connected to all other sins which makes it appealing to people. It's more convenient to believe in Jungianism because that has no real ramifications on your life, you don't have to change it to match a really existing external divine will. It's just something you mold to fit and excuse your sinful lifestyle. The saints also constantly say that heresy and fornication is tied together heavily, see Arius writing his "theology" in the form of a degenerate porn-poem and the Israelites descending into madness when they start worshiping idols.

Just trust Christ's teaching more than everything else and you will be fine. There's no way to defeat it without prayer, fasting, humility and reliance on Christ.

>Heresy cannot be defeated by man, because it is an invention, a demonic undertaking. The conqueror of it can be God alone, called to fight against it and to defeat it by the humility of a person before God and the love of this person for his neighbor.

>The state of alienation from God, the state of self-delusion, the darkening of the mind, the movement of the strongest passions has always been a state of heretics, especially of heresiarchs. As a rule, they were devoted to various passions. Eutyches was extremely greedy, and, in spite of the vow of monastic non-acquisitiveness, accumulated considerable money. Apollinarius, even in his old age, had a concubine. Arius wrote "Thalia" - a composition in verse that has not come down to us, full of shameless debauchery. This essay was started to be read at the First Council of Nicaea, but the Council Fathers refused to listen to it, it was so shameful they burnt the copy that was presented. Such are also the works of the latest heretics.
- St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov

>>19575050
What do you think of Arminianism?

>>19575090
>Arminianism
Why would I ever follow something which provably was created more than 1000 years after Pentecost? Truth is not discovered by creating philosophical systems from the ground up. It is never found by critical/rationalistic examination, but by real experience of Christ who is incarnate Truth. This experience was never lost in the Orthodox Church to begin with so there is no need to try and "reform" it with human theology or human means.

>The Protestants rebelled against the errors of the papists, or rather, rebelled against the ugly power and divinity of the popes; but since they acted on the prompting of passions, drowning in debauchery, and not with the direct goal of striving for the Holy Truth, and not in the way Cornelius the Centurion sought it, they did not prove worthy to see it. “Everyone who does evil, hates the Light, and does not come to the Light” (John 3:20). Of all the errors of the papists, the Protestants rejected only their impious opinion of the Pope; they followed other errors of the papists, intensified many errors, added many new ones to the old errors and errors. For example, they rejected all the sacraments, the priesthood itself; they completely rejected the Liturgy; rejected all church traditions and left each of their followers to explain the Holy Scripture at will, while it, being uttered by the Holy Spirit, can only be explained by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

>>19574345
Ah, sorry. All 3 books are called "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith", they can be found here.
https://gotiskakyrkan.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/9/5/12957650/thefountofknowledge.pdf

>>19575123
There's also Found of Knowledge itself, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith is only a part of it and it's the third book.
The first one discusses philosophical terms as used in an Orthodox way and the second one makes a list of 100 heresies and discusses them briefly. I don't know where to find it in English though.

>>19575090
Not that anon but I've seen that word thrown around. It's a Protestant thing, right? What does it mean? I'm low IQ and don't understand the explanations I find online.

>>19571496
You are completely mindfucked if what you posted is unironic and how you operate.

What if /lit/ stands for /lit/urgy

>>19574021
>t. guy has never read Jung
>spirit spoke to him
If Jung had called a "spirit" an "angel" you would venerate him.
>can't be correct because it denies the incarnation and thus the only real example of true human nature as it is supposed to exist
um sweatie Jung doesn't deny anything about Christ's incarnation nor does he "ignore" Him. In fact he elevates Jesus as the highest symbol ever conceived for how to psychologically align one's "Self". At best you could call Jung an extremely heterodox universalist.

>>19575430
>Universalist
So he's wrong.

I am this >>19571496 anon btw

>>19571867
i need to read a little bit about this stuff
>Love your enemy does not mean every belief or action is good.
that is true. but the fact that a killer kills doesnt mean that as a Christian you have an excuse to hate him.
see https://theocpm.org/.. it says "We believe in a world where even those behind bars deserve second chances."
while also consider this
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/transgender-eurovision-contest-winner-condemned-by-russian-orthodox-church/2014/05/12/f719a938-da11-11e3-a837-8835df6c12c4_story.html
that is just stupid from a christian prospective.
jesus said that if you got problems worshiping god because of a sore eye, cut off the sore eye. while this representative is saying that “The process of the legalization of that to which the Bible refers to as nothing less than an abomination is already long not news in the contemporary world,”.
about the fags, the patriarch of moscow said that we shouldnt hate them, while also saying that same sex marriages are like the laws that were enacted in nazi germany (mark 12:17, but anyway).
in conclusion, being transgender is a psychological condition that can led to suicide. he said it's an abomination. everything in the bible implies that the human body is to be preserved for the worshipment of god. in other words, cutting of the dick is better than cutting your wrist. what is written in the deuteronomy because of 8:31.
being a fag is an action, and that's bad, confirmed by patriarch kiril. sorry i wasnt well versed in the topic. but he shouldnt criticize the samesex marriages. for that id say i like 10k times better what the catholic church says:Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”
in other words, only if you act as a fag you are sinful. a fag can marry another fag just to have the obligations that the secular laws give him and take the vow of chastity, so that he can act in accordance to the bible.
and the imposition of the saracens on the bulgars are very different compared to the fag that is a fag. the fag doesnt fuck you, anon, the saracens force you to change your fate.
>>19571883
see my answer to this>>19571867
>>19573983
then it's the most important, maybe?
also, there are 13 autochefalies and each of them consider their patriarches' teaching to be imperfect (not like the catholic church, whose pope is undisputable no matter what he says).
and honestly, what should i look for: the ukrainian one? https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ukrainian-church-leader-who-blamed-covid-19-gay-marriage-tests-n1239528

>>19573020
>In 1932, an esoteric group known as the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow was established in Paris, France, by Maria de Naglowska, a Russian occultist who had fled to France following the Russian Revolution.[75][76]

>>19575430
Also he named whatever spoke to him. Doesn't sound too angel-y does it?

>>19575529
> what is written in the deuteronomy because of 8:31.
what is written in the deuteronomy is invalid because of acts 8:31.

>>19575430
>If Jung had called a "spirit" an "angel" you would venerate him.

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)

>Jesus as the highest symbol
>"symbol"
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

>>19572594
Huge part of Russia is atheist though. Do you believe that Russians are all Orthodox or something?

>>19572594
This map is dishonest because Russian Birth Rates are not lover then that of Poland, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Portugal etc.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependencies_by_total_fertility_rate

So basically means that Russians just fuck MUCH MUCH MORE, which is another interesting debacle.

>>19575050
Not him but what is, actually, demonic? How do I discern evil thoughts from simply misguided ones? It's definitely possible to make well-meaning mistakes. Are misguided thoughts all evil? Does it all hinge on faith?
I say this because art is very important to me, and I know that art that does not glorify God is evil, but how does art glorify God? How do I make art that propagates Christian values without making mistakes? Should I abandon art entirely? Is art all evil? This is driving me mad.

>>19575624
Shooting in the dark here, but ask for discernment.
Whenever i think about doing something that is wrong/am close to doing it i feel physically ill and get extremely nervous. Actual sweating and near-panic.

>>19575430
If Jung had an angel come to him that said to him the things he did, that would be a demon. Even Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Besides preaching a corrupted and false gospel, this is another reason why we can safely reject Muhammad.

This probably has been discussed many times before, but I'll nevertheless ask: since both the OT and NT condemn murder (homicide) as a grave sin and instead encourage to leave justice in the hands of God, does that mean that I can't kill a person in self-defence and instead let him take my life and possibly that of a loved one? Also, if a nation is under attack and is being invaded by a hostile power either with or without provocation in the first place, should the government fight back by mustering an army or should it let the invaders take over and subdue it? Thanks

>>19575669
>In the [Muslim] Saracen encampment they asked St. Cyril [Enlightener of the Slavs]: “How can Christians wage war and at the same time keep Christ’s commandment to pray to God for their enemies?’ To this, St. Cyril replied: “If two commandments were written in one law and given to men for fulfilling, which man would be a better follower of the law: The one who fulfilled one commandment or the one who fulfilled both?’ The Saracens replied: “Undoubtedly, he who fulfills both commandments.” St. Cyril continued: “Christ our God commands us to pray to God for those who persecute us and even do good to them, but He also said to us, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). That is why we bear the insults that our enemies cast at us individually and why we pray to God for them. However, as a society, we defend one another and lay down our lives, so that the enemy would not enslave our brethren, would not enslave their souls with their bodies, and would not destroy them in both body and soul.”

* This excerpt is from “The Prologue of Ohrid” by St. Nicholas Velimirovic of Zica

>>19575669
>does that mean that I can't kill a person in self-defence
In my understanding of the OT, the Commandment "thou shalt not murder" refers specifically to murder, as well as causing the death of others through negligence or misconduct. Similarly in the NT, Jesus speaks of not seeking retribution for one's offenses, as in, do not seek vengeance. There is no mention whatsoever of self-defense, and the time where Jesus stops the Apostles from fighting to protecting him against the Romans, it's only so that the prophecy of his sacrifice might be fulfilled. Otherwise he instructs them to equip themselves with swords, because in his absence they would be persecuted by the Romans. In my understanding, all of this rounds up very clearly to the idea of protecting your own life, protecting your neighbor from violence, but at the same time not to seek violent retribution for slights that have been committed and you cannot prevent any longer, as well as to avoid active warfare.

>>19575624
>How do I discern evil thoughts from simply misguided ones?
That's the whole subject of Orthodox ascetics. In living a Christian sacramental life we become more skilled in discerning this, and as closer we become to sanctity the easier it gets. As an example, for an atheist it's simply impossible to see some obvious truths about Christ and when he reads the Gospel it's like there's a veil over his eyes.

>It's definitely possible to make well-meaning mistakes.
Not in doctrine or in belief about God, a mistake in doctrine is ultimately due to the intellect being clouded by pride. It's possible to know correct doctrine without even being literate as shown by St. Anthony and the Arian controversy. He would know homoousios is correct simply because he is a spiritual man. So it's not reducible to rationalism or "just looking at the data". This is also why the pagans, atheists and heretics will have no excuse on the day of judgement, since the law of God is written on their hearts and they were in rebellion towards it.

Ask your priest about the art, it depends on what exactly you do. Art is just a tool ultimately like all other things not directly related to God, it can be repurposed in a Christian way (making icons, etc) or simply used as a way to make money or for recreation/rest. For example St. Theopan the Recluse was known to play the violin while in seclusion, doing physical work like carving and so on is similar to art in this sense. But it can't be prioritized above God since it will stop existing in the eschaton.

>>19575747
Thanks anon, these posts are why I still come here to this board.

>>19575677
So it is justified to kill an enemy who is bent on harming you, your family and/or your community. Thanks for the answer.
Also, what does 'doing good' to one's enemy mean? Can you elaborate on that?

And in the meantime I have another question: what is the stance of the Christians in this thread on the Jewish Question? Should all Jews be indiscriminately expelled like we've seen in many Christian and non-Christian nations alike in the past? Or should they be left unharmed and free to practice their religion as long as they don't practice usury and harbour malicious intentions towards the Church and State (something similar to the Sicut Judaeis bulls)? If the latter, should practicing Talmudic and Cabbalistic teachings be prohibited with only the Torah being the official Jewish authoritative text, or should all Jewish texts be allowed to be taught and preached?

>>19575711
Thanks for the answer, the carrying of swords part was exactly what I had in mind and hoped that someone would bring it up.

>as well as to avoid active warfare.
By that you mean conquering lands for the sake of territorial expansion or other reasons not related to self-protection either of one's country or a neighbouring one that shares similar ethnic and/or religious background and is on close and friendly terms with it?

>>19575752
I'm not informed enough to answer that. The OT commandment exempts killing in warfare, according to the explanation in my study Bibles, at least, because of the wording used and what "murder" meant in Hebrew and was it was understood as in the context.
Where is the line between engaging in warfare to, say, protect your nation and consequently your neighbors and family from hostiles, and doing the economic interests of a few wealthy people in your nation? This is much harder to answer nowadays since we're constantly bombarded with deceit and all actions involve convoluted steps, but I would say that unless a threat is real and immediate, a Christian is supposed to shun warfare.

>>19575752
>free to practice their religion
>they don't practice usury and harbour malicious intentions towards the Church
I don't know if this is even possible when their religion is entirely based on hating Christ. Also there is no "Torah" a Jew can truly preach since the Torah is entirely about Christ. He even says it Himself. So a Talmudic rabbi is necessarily preaching something else and does not believe in the Torah.

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
(John 5:45-47)

>>19575752
>Should all Jews be indiscriminately expelled
Also I don't think it will in the end matter, since they exist as a separate nation in Revelation and will follow the Antichrist and worship him in Jerusalem.

>>19575669
self defence isn't murder.

>Also, if a nation is under attack and is being invaded by a hostile power either with or without provocation in the first place, should the government fight back by mustering an army or should it let the invaders take over and subdue it?

would depend on the circumstances

>>19575752
An Orthodox society would likely have laws against non-Christian religions if we look at how states such as the Byzantine Empire operated in the past. For example, the Theodosian Code bans Jews from civil service, the military and similar positions. The construction of new synagogues was also banned. In a modern context preventing them from working in media-related careers could also be an intelligent policy. If they needed to be expelled (as they probably do), that could happen too. They should not be permitted to live among us scheming and blaspheming Jesus Christ in their Talmuds

>>19575669
see >>19571867

>>19575529
Every human is beautiful/pure in essence, no human is homosexual in nature. Or a killer in nature. However we have a tendency to deviate from this natural uncorrupted state. The prisoners God-like nature should not be judged by us but his evil actions can be judged and punished without hatred but rather love and sympathy. The same goes for the tranny who is transgressing on his own God-like self. We love the God-like self he is mutilating, but not the mutilation, we condemn the mutilation, but we don't condemn the God-like being who's heart still exists caged up deep inside him by demons. I don't see how the two articles are contradictory?

I am struggling to understand what you mean, but if you are trying to say that homosexuality is a natural thing that people are born in so it shouldn't be condemned unless it is acted upon then I disagree with you. No man is born homosexual.

About the 13 autocephalies, these are not 13 different churches, they are all in communion, so all together are the Church of Christ. And the Patriarchs leading them are not perfect because humans are not God. But the teachings of the Church teachings as a whole are perfect.

I am new to orthodoxy so take what I say with a grain of salt.

>>19571262
Orthodoxy!?
WOAH, BASEEEEEEEEEEED!

>>19574209
Don't bother they'll just turn you into a repressed-homo. pic-related

>>19575810
Funny to see shills post this as some sort of ‘own’. Seraphim Rose indeed lived a life of great sin, but like the prodigal son, he came home, repented of his past sins, and became a great champion of Orthodoxy. Jesus Christ can heal anyone.

>>19575815
He died from a thorn-dildo and all of the interal bleeding it led to. That dude was literally fucking sick as fuck. Tranny-tier.

>>19575810
>wikipedia as a trustworthy source
>implying Christians can't repent
>imply baptism does not cleanse all sins

Cringe.

>>19575791
>Also I don't think it will in the end matter, since they exist as a separate nation in Revelation and will follow the Antichrist and worship him in Jerusalem.
I'd rather disagree with you here. No one knows the exact year and date of Judgment Day except the Father according to Scripture - it can happen next year, ten years from now, or in 1000 years. Until then I think maintaining a moral and stable society free from the negative influences of International Jewry should be a priority to every country in the world regardless of the times we live in.

>>19575815
This "actually one of us" rhetoric is the choice weapon of homosexuals and other degenerate servants of entropy. They're the same who bring this sort of thing up in threads about Ted K, who wasn't a saint by any means but was criticizing the same nihilism that had lead people toward evil and godlessness.

Are there any readers or Nicolas Berdyaev or Vladimir Solovyov here?

>>19575827
Source?

>>19575838
>the same nihilism that had lead people toward evil and godlessness.
Ted didn't appear to have a problem with 'godlessness' per se as can be inferred from the fact that his manifesto is addressed to both believers and non-believers alike. Ergo, he was not criticizing 'the same nihilism' that you think you're speaking of. Maybe stop trying to speak of Ted as if you understand a word he wrote.

>>19575539
Saying Christ does not exist ALSO as a symbol is just retarded. He is risen but not in bodily form.

>>19575846
He doesn’t have one. He died of a blood clot that blocked a vein in his intenstines. Ignore sick demons who post in this thread. They’re the same people who slander the Mother of God as a pagan goddess

>>19575845
Yes. Both are based, but I prefer Berdyaev more.

>>19575864
Ultimately Ted’s concerns result from godlessness. All of his work is basically derivative from a Christian writer, Jacques Ellul, in the first-place as well. With God pushed to the side by these people, their sole concern is maximum efficiency and organization, creating a dehumanizing society. Moden technology is one symptom and cause, it’s a mutual feedback loop.

>>19575873
>Ignore sick demons who post in this thread.
>everybody who doesn't agree with my caramel-coated view of my Ortho-daddy is a demon
the truth is the truth and nothing more. Rose was a degenerate who was haunted by demons, and I think this statement is one even you would not disagree with at heart.

>>19575864
No, I perfectly understood what he wrote. Why would he have opposed the progression of technology over the freedom of mankind in his manifesto? What was his perceived loss of freedom relative to, if not the absence of truth? Why would he oppose that people engaged in "secondary activities" instead of things that are vital to life, if not because this mode of living is not truthful? Of course he did not write anything in a religious key, but the core subject of his papers is technological nihilism. If that was not the case he wouldn't have had a reason to care. Mankind exists as a servant to technology, chasing false pleasures, modifying himself to further serve the system. He does not find meaning in anything yet he keeps surviving. The final state of the technological society that Ted K so feared is the end game of total nihilism, where man not only does not possess or follow truth, but does not even have an idea of truth, of his own biological needs, and so on.
The agents of entropy, who are all hedonistic nihilists, see this final state of mankind as ideal, because truth is replaced with sensory pleasures. Therefore they will move attacks upon anyone who highlights this state of things, but since they all fall in certain behavioral patterns their attacks are always alike.

>>19575869
>Christ
>not in bodily form.
Pick one. The incarnation means Christ forever joined human nature to His own person. \

>>19575887
He repented of his sins and lived a life dedicated to God. I do not say his sins were ‘okay’—we are all sinners, and though we may struggle, God can deliver us, as He did Fr. Seraphim.

>>19575845
Why do I always hear people calling them gnostics or manicheans?

>>19575885
>was criticizing the same nihilism that had lead people toward evil and godlessness
>Ultimately Ted’s concerns result from godlessness
hmmm, just earlier you were going into how 'nihilism' is what Ted was REALLLY talking about. I refuted you and now a second later you speak as if REALLLY this time you were ALWAYS speaking of OOOOLTIMATELY GODLESSNESSSSS and something something feedback loop. You are an imbecile and I hope you enjoy Orthodoxy while you still can because ultimately, sooner than later, imbeciles like you will be found doing what all imbeciles do which OOOOLTIMATELY has nothing to do with a religion that you falsely believe to know anything about.

>>19575900
You are talking to two different people. I am >>19575889 but you're not interested in dialogue because you're obviously just one of the agents I was talking about.

>>19575889
I refuted you and now you post this word-salad. I literally only read one sentence, rolled my eyes, and concluded that you are an imbecile just like >>19575900
assuming you're really not the same guy, who'd totally be a complete imbecile if there ever was one.

>>19575895
>Fr.
Call no man

>>19575912
>word-salad
what do you gain from embarrassing yourself anonymously? do you want to rile people up so that they insult you?

>>19575927
>embarrassing yourself
that would be you, imbecile. what's more, you are an absolute imbecile in light of your word-salad word-combo that is meaningless:
"embarrassing yourself anonymously"
get a grip dude. the word-salad is so fucking strong with you that you're literally combining words that in conjunction minimize their grouping. I assume now you're more likely retarded. nope, it's total projection. little ortho-baby is such a narcissist that he ASSUMES people can feel embarrassment on an online anonymoose image board. Judas Cain, you Orthobros stink, bad!

>>19575892
You are making a symbolic statement even from an orthodox perspective lmao. If you orthobros want to try dunk on him at least do it for the right reasons (ie his outright rejection of privatio boni).

>>19575963
>symbolic statement
'Christ rose in bodily form' being symbolic is not equivalent to it being actually not in bodily form. Symbols describe a higher reality without the underlying reality necessarily being a pure metaphor. It can be physical reality too.

>>19576007
That is literally what i said from the beginning. It both happened irl and ALSO is happening symbolically.

The demons seem to energize and crawl out of the woodworks upon every mention of Fr. Seraphim's name. Makes me want to read all of his books.

>>19576049
>It both happened irl
> He is risen but not in bodily form.
Pick one.

>>19576080
Probably mb as my wording was ambigous. I do believe his bodily form rose as reported in the gospels. The point was he isn't here in bodily form, right here physically. Even for orthos it has to be substantiated in the eucharist.

>>19576115
>The point was he isn't here in bodily form, right here physically.
Actually Christ's physical body is outside of time and space right now after the ascension. It doesn't make sense to speak of an "unphysical" Christ after the incarnation since we the faithful Orthodox are His body and He is always present.

>>19576115
>his bodily form rose
This also sounds like heretical dual subject Christology which Jung I'm sure believed in.

>>19576075
I’ve noticed Christianity in general makes demons seethe, but the closer one gets to apostolic teachings, the more ferocious they get.

>>19576075
I'm new to studying Christianity, but he seems like a beautiful soul to me.

>>19575878
Berdyaev is very interesting to me. Where would you recommend starting?

>>19575898
I can’t speak for Berdyaev, but Solovyov was a bit un-orthodox, trended towards a mystical syncretism of the Traditionalist sort at times. That’s probably why.

>>19576143
>outside of time and space
yeah that's all fine however you want to define it but the fact is i can't interact physically with it.
The orthodox are Christ's body symbolically. If you really believe that you are Christ physically then you are a heretic.
>>19576155
not what i was getting at. Jung had some wild views but i don' believe that is actually one of them.

>>19576214
>i can't interact physically with it
You can.
>you are Christ physically
I am not Christ, but He is physically and truly present in me after Holy Communion and in as much as I conform my life to Him.

>>19576201
I guess there can be multiple starting points to reading Berdyaev. One starting point would be his first mature work The Meaning of the Creative Act in which you can already find all of his major themes and concepts. Another one would be his spiritual autobiography where he reflects on his own thought and influences at an old age which is called Self-Knowledge: An Essay in Autobiography. The book that got me hooked was The Destiny of Man, which I think is his most systematic work and he himself said it was probably his best. Hope this helps. Good luck!

>>19576228
describe the physical interaction you have with the physical body of christ. maybe provide a source. exclude the eucharist here because i already concede that under orthodox interpretation it is the body physically and it's a special case.

>>19571496
>trannies are evil because... They are! Even if you could become an eunuch in the name of god...
Since when does eunuch == tranny? Eunuch's like Origen and others from antiquity never identified as females. Eunuch != castrated man who identify as females like Nero's faggot "wife". Origen cut his nuts off so he could avoid the sinful urge to fornicate with women, not to be sodomized by other men. The difference between a tranny being unnatural and monks or eunuchs being "unnatural" because they aren't producing life is that monks and eunuchs are taking of celibacy for Christ, following Paul. A tranny or fag that takes a vow would be just as righteous though it is different in the case of a fag because they don't identify as something they aren't. Seraphim Rose was a gay man, but he realized his lust for men was a result of the cursed and sinful world we live in, so he rejected it and became a hieromonk.

Go back to the shadows foul accelerationist.

>>19575809
I hope you transcend this phase, god be with you.

>>19576285
I’m really interested in his “new Middle Ages”

>>19575810
>>19575827
>>19575838
>>19575887
You're sick in the head, get over your culture war obsessions.

I'm so thankful that I am Orthodox now.
Looking back I see how insane everything was that I believed in.

>>19576954
I've reached the point where an anon can insult me and it goes off me like water off a duck's back.

>>19576510
>>19576551
you dudes sound like lady magats desu

>>19577016
You're proving my point you obsessive fool. Relating it to some obnoxious figure. You literally do not understand Christianity, we are giving due respect to a repentent, which is indistinguishable from encouraging faggotry in your sinful mind because you just want a le epic based religion to follow, which will justify your obsessive hatred. Like the liberal, you ultimately do not believe that one can 'hate the sin and love the sinner'. Homosexuality is an abomination, but one can repent and be saved from it. Kindly leave and pray.

>>19576969
Yeah I'm looking at screenshots of my previous interactions on 4channel and it's surreal

>Mogs all of your post-schism saints
Heh, nothing personal kids

>>19577401
>'Saint' Francis
Prelest.

>>19577401
What is prelest?

>>19577417
>Denying the work of the Holy Spirit
Have fun in hell i guess

>>19577128
bruh, he died from a dildo of thorns that he fabricated by himself out in the woods. he was a sick demented fuck. but go on fanboying a hippie and a repressed homo. it seems to be a common theme among you types.

>>19577472
Do you have any evidence for this slander, you demented fuck? Also, repressing his homosexuality is what he should have done. Get your words straight fool.

>>19577401
Responsible for quite a significant amount of misinterpretations, I'm not even a Christian and I know this.

>>19577498
1. his repressed homosexuality was a sign of demonic possession
2. buuuut he was not capable of shoving a dildo of thorns up his ass like a demonically possessed repressed homosexual would
the evidence?
Is it not clear to you? He died from internal intestinal bleeding in the middle of the woods. get a clue, retard.

Question:
Are you still "virtuous" if you live in near perfect envierments for virtue? Like if you where constantly proctored by perfect machines that allowed no harm, would you still have any claim to the fruits?

>>19577544
Stop pretending to be one of us, larping hysteric.

>>19577580
???
I'm not even trying to pretend to be one of 'yous' you creeps.
yuck!
you all literally sound like a bunch of inflated self-obsessed trendies who will try to be the next trendy thing a couple of years down the line. I only pray it isn't around anything I'm involved in.

>>19577663
I can smell your Larp. Just randomly injecting demon talk into everything.

>>19575624
Do your art on biblical subjects...? Easy. Make sure your intent is always to glorify God. Always repent. Keep your garments white and keep faith, hope and love close in heart and don't worry.

>>19574866
>Why do i get drawn to so much demonic shit, and why is it so enticing
That's how they operate: they offer supposed "shortcuts" in the form of "secret knowledge". It's designed to be enticing.

>>19577667
>everything that I don't like is demon talk
notice how you are the one saying that the truth is demonic when it doesn't align with your view of a 'holy man'. get your head out of your ass where you hijack terms you only somewhat learned about a year ago and smell the air of reality. things aren't as 'holy' and 'pure' as you delude yourself into believing, except when of course confronted by individuals with keener eyes because then you can see as many demons as you might WISH to see.

>>19577541
What do you have in mind anon ?

People need to stop taking the bait from schizos and demons ITT

>>19577976
>t. demon

I trust Jesus.
More than Orthodoxy.
And I know Jesus directly from the Word of God, as written down in the Holy Bible.


I am a broken sinner, in need of God's mercy. I don't claim I am a righteous saint, but attribute everything to God.
I don't attribute anything to Orthodoxy.

And that will make be able to endure and survive these Last Days, Christ's love for me.
I trust in this, that is written in scripture.

God Bless you Orthodox friends.
But you can live with steadfastness and assurance from God day by day. And not have to go through all these loops to find your own right bearing with God, since Christ finished the Work on the Cross for me and hundreds of millions of other Christians.

Orthodoxy or death frens :)

>>19578150
memes and attributing them to such is such disgusting, behavior that reminds one of dog puke

>>19578219
I’m not memeing, Elder Ephraim was a spiritual giant in the USA. I’ve spent days at Saint Anthony’s.

What are you talking about?

I heard my priest saying that a heretic is only someone who comes up with a new false teaching and spreads it, but those who follow it aren’t really ‘heretics’, but are just followers of some false beliefs and heresies. This seems like trying too hard to be nice though, a follower of heresies is a heretic by any common definitions of the term. Perhaps he was just trying to say that the deeds of a Nestorius or an Arius is worse than that of someone duped into following the heresy. I also get that shouting ‘heretic’ at others may not be a helpful thing to say, but it still felt like a cope, and I hate to say it.

>>19578150
interesting they all have a french fork, i do too, we must be genetically linked somehow

>>19577759
I was talking about you calling homosexuality evidence of demonic possession.

>>19578150
They look like yeshiva students.

>>19577684
Christerism is the ultimate shortcut. The OG's used to beg Roman magistrates to martyr them. By the time the Romans figured out it was a death cult it was too late

Where do I start with Gregory Palamas?

>>19578922
There’s no greater blessing than to be martyred for Jesus Christ.

>>19579046
Daily reminder Barlaam was the biggest retard in history.

I've heard from both Catholic and Orthodox positions and right now the best argument I've heard against the Orthodox church is:
Christ ordained Peter as the Bishop of Rome and no one else is said to be more important then The Rock upon which the Church is built.
Orthodoxy takes to position that the Bishop of Rome cannot excommunicate other Bishops
But if this is true why was it ok for Michael Cerularius to do it in retaliation?
Orthodox say that its ok when the one being excommunicated is a heretic.

The next point is the Council of Florence which the patriarch of Constantinople and Moscow attended and had all the markings of an ecumenical council second only to Nicea(IIRC that was said by some Orthodox authority at the time)
However both patriarchs agreed on Rome's position of the filioque and the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome but then changed their mind once returning from the council.

I haven't found an Orthodox response to these points.

>>19579174
There are two churches because of historical developments. There is no argument that undoes this. You are approaching Christianity as some kind of otaku.

>>19578128
Boo ya, brother. Selah

>>19575803
>Every human is beautiful/pure in essence
Not true, because of adam.
>no human is homosexual in nature.
>Or a killer in nature.
I partially disagree. A killer and a homosexual are people described by their actions.
These actions (to kill and to fuck), can be caused by a variaty of reasons: specifically, mental illness for the killer and lack of the christian teachings for the fag.
Jesus will not condemn an ill person, even so if they are "possessed by demons", nor do i think he will send them to hell if they are some nigger living in the middle of the jungle and where there is the custom of fucking each other in the ass, like they did in the roman empire. Hence, the baptism of blood (concept that is present in the catholic catechism, but i dont know if it's present in the orthodox doctrine).
>However we have a tendency to deviate from this natural uncorrupted state
So, subsequentially, madness is just a corrupted state that was achieved through actions?
>God-like
Are you actually comparing god to the human being? Other than the absolute heresy you are saying, god is clearly different from the human. First, god is infinite, the human is flesh.
Second, the human being has free will, god is capable only of good (idk if this concept is in the orthodox church, but in the catholic church there is) and he is incorruptible because of it.
>We love the God-like self he is mutilating
Aaaaaah, now i get it: you are talking about the soul, right? It's not god like either, because it's created and it cannot create. It is not capable of only the good things, because it still has free will and can be tempted and will do sin and we can only pray god will forgive us.
The body is just a shell, trannies, schizos and the people that have cancer can cut whatever they want, unless they do it without a good reason.
Now, the vast majority of trannies wont even cut off their dicks, they'd just take the hormones. I think that the tranny in the eurovision contest didnt cut his dick, because he is not the guy that suffers from gender dysphoria to the point that his dick gives him that much of a psychophysical distress. And i claim that because he doesnt even cut his beard.
Also, trannies are abominations just as much as people who had a heart transplant, or have to intake every day pills against hair loss. They are undergoing a medical procedure, and in the case of the person that take pills against hair loss, they are using the same pills used by trannies to transition.
It would be very stupid if the patriarch comes out and says "those who are using DHT to prevent their hair loss are fucking abominations".

>>19575803
>if you are trying to say that homosexuality is a natural thing that people are born in so it shouldn't be condemned unless it is acted upon
No, I'm just saying that the demons tempt people in different ways... The fag gets tempted while watching a dick, the priest while watching a woman, the pedo while watching a kid, or the drunkard that sees a bottle of wisky... Or even you, my dear anon, you get tempted by porn, and you fall for it. Some people dont even watch porn, while YOU do. It's not as if jerking off to porn is any different from fucking a dude.
Honestly, if you are attracted to the porn actress, and he is attracted to a porn actor, and neither of you jerk off, you will both end up in heaven. Attraction is not a sin, unless you think of fucking the woman, or the man, but THAT is the sin, not the fact that you think "i am attracted by this person".
>And the Patriarchs leading them are not perfect because humans are not God. But the teachings of the Church teachings as a whole are perfect.
The teachings of the church were in part written by direct witnesses of jesus, yes, but they are just a veeeery small part of the whole orthodox and catholic doctrinal system. For example, the liturgy.
The pope is imperfect yes, but when he speaks as an envoy of god on the earth, he speaks with the voice of god. Orthodox say it's bullshit, that's all.

I know nothing of orthodoxy, but i am kinda well versed in catholicism. So, id say you'd need to read a little bit more doctrine in order to talk with me

>>19579884
What you are saying is non-sensical.
>A pedo gets tempted by kids
>A fag gets tempted by dick
No, a pure human being gets tempted by the devil one step at a time UNTIL he becomes a pedo. Humans are not born as pedos, gays, preists, they reach those stages depending on how far they fall or climb. Humans have basic desires, like wanting to have sex with a woman for example, those desires are only sinful when left uncontrolled. This is how a man develops into a homosexual and pedophile and so on. It's not because he is "attracted to dick", its because he has let his Lust ravage his soul and degrade him further and further into deviancy. This is why gays, pedos, trannies, etc... All abuse porn and drugs and have a history of being sexually abused, have multiple sex partners and so on.

>It's not as if jerking off to porn is any different to fucking a dude
I see where you are coming from, some people abuse entertainment, they spend thousands of dollars on holidays, restaurants, social events, luxuries, etc... Then they condemn a guy who smokes weed as degenerate. This can make someone mad, how can they fullfill all their passions in socially acceptable ways while they condemn me for doing the exact same thing in a different way. And that you are right. Maybe you have an issue with homosexuality and porn-users mock you and abuse you to feel better about themselves while they are maybe more sinful than you. You see, people who refuse to focus on their sins will try their best to attack others and expose their sins. It's a coping mechanism. By getting angry at their attacks you fall further, you have to understand that the reason they do this, is out of their pain and longing for God, and pity them.

>>19579882
>Not true because of Adam
We inherit mortality, not sin. We are pure but our mortal nature gives us a tendency to sin.

>I partially disagree
Our nature is not sinful at all, but we can become more tempted or more confused by what is good and what is evil depending on our environment. This is why Orthodoxy differentiates between sins we commit knowingly and unknowingly. And why knowing the right path and refusing to walk it is worse than walk in the wrong path from blindness/confusion. How God judges and helps people exactly is something we can't know for sure.

>Madness
What do you mean? God can inflict people with conditions out of mercy. Otherwise why did God bring plagues and death upon so many natons in the Scriptures?

>Comparing God to Humans
Humans are created in Gods image, they are not God-like as in have God-like capabilities.

>God-life self he is mutilating
Again, created in the image of God, not God like as in having a similar/same Nature or capability as God.

>Cut off their dicks, body is just a shell
It's an extreme example that means abusing oneself. The body is a vessel for the soul. Having Faith produces good works through the body. Lacking in faith produces evil works through the body. With the mouth you can curse or pray for God. Mutilating the body is an act of rebelion against God. It's abusing Gods created order to fulfill our passions.

>Using medicine, cosmetic therapy and mutilation are the same
These three categories are completely different and within each category there is different scenarios so its a complicated discussion all together and I am no expert. Personally I think that cosmetics like DHT and so on can only serve a persons passions, but depending on the situation, it might be acceptable or pathogolical. For example spending 1000s each year on plastic surgery is one thing, and repairing your burnt face so you don't scare your chidren is another. Transgender "therapy" would be categorized as "self mutilation" not cosmetics or medicine, although it is labeled as such in the mainstream. Finally medicine is simply an act of survival, it's what we do on a daily basis, we eat to not starve, we avoid danger to not die, we heal wounds, scratch parasites, cook food to survive, should we stop doing all this? Nothing wrong with taking medicine for survival. But even survival may possibly become a pathological venture that serves our passions in certain circumstances.

>>19580522
to god*

>>19579046
The Triads, in there he destroys all of modernist heresy at its very root.
I also love Homily 16 on the salvific work of Christ on the cross.

>>19579174
>I haven't found an Orthodox response to these points.
I could respond but it would do nothing for you since your whole system is based on falsehood, one would need to deconstruct it first. You can't convert someone solely by listing historical points. Just pray about it sincerely and go to liturgy and if you really want truth this will make you Orthodox.

>>19577440
It's when people let their passions overtake their spiritual progress. When they think they are special, in contact with God, righteous, etc... Or when they see visions or dreams and build up ideas on those things that their own mind has created.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelest

>See, I want to impart to you true knowledge of prelest, so that you should guard against it, and not cause great harm to yourself and ruin your soul through ignorance. For the human self-will is easily inclined to the enemies' side, especially in the case of the inexperienced, since these are more assidiously pursued by them. All around, near to beginners and the self-willed, the demons are wont to spread the nets of thoughts and pernicious fantasies and prepare moats for their downfall, since their city is still in the hands of the barbarians ... If you ...see something either sensory or spiritual, within or without, be it even the image of Christ or of an angel or some saint, or if an imaginary light pervades your mind, in no way accept it. The mind has in itself a natural power of dreaming and can easily build fantastic images of what it desires in those who do not apprehensively pay attention, and so cause themselves harm. Memories , too, of good and bad things will often sudden imprint their images in the mind, and thus entice it to dreaming. (ie) which is spiritual delusion <prelest>. ~ St. Gregory of Sinai

Bumped

>>19580522
>tendency to sin.
The human being can be divided in two states: when he graps reality and when he is not. You cannot say that a man sins while he is in the middle of a delirium, or he's given some LSD and starts stabbing people in the back.
So the analysis of the human can only be perpetuated when he understands reality.
A pure creature cannot have a tendency to sin, because it is pure. You can sin in your thoughts, and thoughts cannot be controlled.
Therefore, you are not a perfect creature, because when you start to grasp reality you already sinned without knowing it.
>God can inflict people with conditions out of mercy
Sorry, I didnt understand this sentence. Could you repeat it, pls?
>Otherwise why did God bring plagues and death upon so many natons in the Scriptures?
To test and to punish.
>Humans are created in Gods image, they are not God-like as in have God-like capabilities.
Ah ok.
>With the mouth you can curse or pray for God. >Mutilating the body is an act of rebelion against God.
These 2 sentences dont follow. If i have tourette syndrome, and i start saying something blasphemous, and i am stuck saying it, i will cut off my tongue in order to stop saying it.
Also, read Matthew 19:12.
Arent you somewhat of a mennonite? Sorry, but you reason like them... Where did you get the fact that mutilation is an act of rebellion against god, because the human being is made in gods image?
>repairing your burnt face so you don't scare your chidren is another
Lol, reminds me of gemara.
Anyway, sometimes, repairing your face may mean you are going against the will of god. He might want you that way. Or maybe he doesnt. Who knows. Same if you are an actress that requires 10k$ every month for face surgeries. Maybe gods wants you to do it, in order to finance some doctor and bring happiness to those who watch her movies. Honestly, actions are to be categorized by their intentions, than by the nature of the actions themselves.
As this >>19571867 anon said, you can kill to protect, as you can kill to obtain.

>>19581149
>So the analysis of the human can only be perpetuated when he understands reality.
No human after the fall understands reality truly, except the saints. It's part of the corruption of human nature clouding the mind through demonic activity. This is where the constant stream of thoughts in the mind arises from.
>thoughts cannot be controlled
The goal is to be able to control them, to have the proper hierarchy of intellect controlling will and the senses.

What kind of non-christian media do you guys enjoy?

>>19581149
Sinning unknowingly still hurts the soul and can be known if someone was to listen to their heart. Sinning knowingly is when you understand clearly that what you are doing goes against the purity of your soul but choose to proceed with it.

God can take away peoples riches to stop them from sinning. God can kill a man to stop him from further degrading his soul. etc...

>to test and punish
Are you a muslim?

>rebellion against God
Goes gives us a body as as a way to closen ourselves to him in the limited time we have through Faith that is translated into good works. By destroying that body, we are telling God "fuck you". This is why the natural conclusion of nihilism is suicide.

>maybe god wants you to do it maybe not
Yes, but we are not punching blindly here. The Church teaches us what is sinful and what is normal. I am not a priest, but I am highlighting that not all these things are the same.

>Maybe God wants you to get a 10k surgery every month to make people happy
Again, there is a clear framework of what is sinful and what is not. What do you mean by "happiness", you mean satisfy the lust of men or gluttony of consumers? God would not want that. Again, specific can be defined by a priest, but it's not random like you are making it sound.

>Actions are justified by intentions not by actions
Yes, completely agree, this is why I gave the example of plastic surgery for ego vs for preserving the innocence of children. Same thing different intention. And this is why I clearly stated that Faith becomes translated into works. Good Faith produces good works. Good works are simply a product of the Faith, of the purity of someones heart and intention towards himself, other people and things.

>>19571262
>modern Orthodox man
>modern
>orthodox man

>>19574021
Literally word salad. Stop larping.

>>19581436
>Humans with a corrupted mind can't know what true humanity is because they have never seen it except in Christ
How is this word salad?

>>19581198
More and more I don't enjoy any media. I still look fondly upon some (anime) media I liked before I came to the faith while recognizing the falsehoods in it, but that's about it.

>>19580522
>Transgender "therapy" would be categorized as "self mutilation" not cosmetics or medicine, although it is labeled as such in the mainstream.
First, there are 2 types of tranny therapy:SRS, FFS(in the case of a MtF, i.e. male to female) and HRT.
SRS is bottom surgery, i.e. cutting off the dick.
FFS is changing the face so that it looks more feminine.
HRT is taking hormone pills.
Trannies in the majority of cases, just do HRT. Rich trannies do also FFS. literally noone does SRS. And those who do, 95% of them commit suicide.
Gender dysphoria is what causes all of this. It's a mental illness.
Doctors didnt find a physical cause yet, so they can only cure the symptoms.
The symptoms are: depression and other useless shit like anxiety, paranoia etc.
In order to cure depression you can:
-lobotomize the patient
-give him benzos and xanax, in other words, sedate him
-call them she and give them hormones.
The "cure" that costs less among these 3 is HRT. yes, you give them 200$ worth of pills, but at least you have much less problems like addiction, tolerance and other bad stuff that happens to people that use benzos.
And trust me, benzos cost a lot unless you cook them at home.
>>19580458
>All abuse porn and drugs
Factually false. Catholic seminarians have no access to a private computer, and have no income until they become priests. But there are a lot of gay priests.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_clergy_in_the_Catholic_Church
Up to 50% in the US.
I think they just understand they are doing something wrong and went for the ascettic life.
>I see where you are coming from, some people abuse entertainment, they spend thousands of dollars on holidays, restaurants, social events, luxuries, etc... Then they condemn a guy who smokes weed as degenerate.
No, anon, I'm the guy that does no fap, made a vow of chastity, quitted drinking and smoking and claims that the guy that smokes weed, that goes to a beach party with his friends and gets so drunk he vomits while a girl sucks him off is a fucking degenerate. In other words, I'm the guy that does everything right and then claims whose doing it right and whose not.
Because of this, I have no friends, I dont speak with noone and next year I will become a carthusian. I dont need people to criticize me in order to understand my mistakes.
>>19581165
The fact that you will never reach self-control over thoughts before sinning makes an imperfect creature. The fact that you will sin before being able to become a saint makes you rely on god's mercy.
>Are you a muslim?
No, but OT is filled with "god wanted to test his fate", "so god punished him". I am a catholic actually, from a very atheistic family with russian origins, yet very conservative.
>What do you mean by "happiness"
Clearly the good "happiness". Watching a movie at the theater is like watching the mona lisa: she is beautiful, doesnt mean i want to fuck her or buy merchandise related to her.

>>19581198
Not orthodox, nor i want to become one, but i read some historical novels (like follett), political and philosophical literature (im in the middle of mein kampf, the first volume of das kapital and marcus aurelius meditations) seinen mangas with a focus on cooking. Plus i play grand strategy games (eu4 and ck2) and some bethesda game (lately, i am doing a no magic run on morrowind).

>>19581655
If you are born a man, then you cannot try to become "feminine" through non-sinful means. Being a man and trying to become a woman would involve some kind of lust, pride, sloth, envy, etc... So anything you do in that direction would be with sinful intention. There is no scenario where a man would need to take HRT to look more femine for pure reasons.

The Church condemning gender "therapy" specifically is because it is an evil act that goes back to the core of religion. It is an attempt to kill man without actually murdering him. You cannot convince a man to turn himself into a woman, to any extent, without practically killing his soul. So the fact that transgenderism is being normalised, popularised and even promoted as some higher ideal or virtue is an attack on the human soul created in the image of God and the order of the human body.

>It has a name, it's an illness
It's a sickness of the soul. And it needs to be cured spiritualy. Fair enough, you can take this or that to cope (not treat). One cope might be cheaper than another. But also one cope might be more damaging to the soul and to the body than another. So unless you don't believe in a soul, you can base your calculation solely on the cost and body effects. For example you might say "I'm old and gone through puberty, so lower doses of estrogen are cheap and won't harm me much and will give me a more feminine look" but that might be worse for your soul than smoking weed or taking benzos. It depends a lot on the situation. The latter might be worse for everything, you might end up doing much worse things on benzos for example.

>Catholic homosexuals
It was a general example of how degeneration happens in steps. I would argue that Catholic priests who do have homosexual tendencies have also degenerated, you can degenerate in many ways. And that Catholicism only served or generated their sinful ways rather than restrained them. You do realize we consider Catholicism a heresy and the pope a type of the anti-Christ and the Church clergy to be demon possessed? Bad comparison.

>The good happiness like the mona lisa
You mean beauty? This is a huge discussion. But beauty revolves around creating art that is in harmony with creation. Soothing the human perception. Honest, expressive and personal in execution. I don't see circumstances where beauty requires deforming a human face to make it "more beautiful". There is a reason realistic robots are creepy.

>>19571496
pic related deuturonomy 22:5(septuaginta)
english translation while unsupported seems correct mostly.
Even as a greek reading the older greek is a pain.

>>19571496
>Even if you could become an eunuch in the name of god
You can't. Self-castration was condemned at Nicaea.

>>19581198
Many may disagree, but I try to remain attached to secular culture. I feel that people are more likely to be receptive if I still appear 'normal'. Obviously this isn't carte blance, I don't watch porn and will stop watching/reading something if its clearly made by a sick person.

>>19581198
Way more animanga than I probably should. I have a thing for fluffy romcoms.

>>19582560
Since I've felt that I needed to be a Christian I've had these absurdly horny bouts. It's like that part of me is screaming and kicking as I attempt to kick it out, although I know it's part of a much bigger struggle.

Chaps, is referring to God with the Tetragrammaton good/correct?
Feels wrong, and I'm disliking that this Bible i got uses it constantly.

>>19579174
>tfw no one gives you a response except 'trust me, bro. join us first'
Orthodox are becoming more akin to a plague than honest dealers of Christ's Gospel

I will be asking this question here because if I ask it anywhere else I would either get made fun of or mad. It saddens me how the average user of this site has so much contempt for the common man. Truly it saddens me seeing people being angry over ultimately trivial things or using their grievances to be constantly angry. It makes me more upset that when you brings these issues up they get more angry and try to very hard to defend their childish behavior.

>>19583140
wheres the question?

I will be posting this here because if I ask it anywhere else I would either get made fun of or mad. It saddens me how the average user of this site has so much contempt for the common man. Truly it saddens me seeing people being angry over ultimately trivial things or using their grievances to be constantly angry. It makes me more upset that when you brings these issues up they get more angry and try to very hard to defend their childish behavior.

>>19572594
This map doesn't say anything, because for example Polish women go to Germany to get abortions, and Portuguese women go to Spain. It wouldn't surprise me that more regions are blue because of this.