Life in Christ frees us to build intimacy with integrity
In Unseen Warfare, Part I, Chapter 14, St Theophan writes about what to do when we find ourselves unable to control our physical desires.
Despite all that we know about how addiction forms our brains and weakens our ability to resist the temptations, it is nonetheless true that we can find the will to resist — indeed, there are always still times when we do manage to resist. St Theophan emphasizes here the power of… [ read more ]
How do we venerate the image of God in one another? And what does it signify when we abuse one another?
As Orthodox, we all have the experience of venerating icons. Speaking for myself, I know that my experience varies… sometimes I fail to give it my full attention, being self-conscious in front of others waiting behind me; or rushing on to the next thing; or sometimes feeling too much shame and not wanting to… [ read more ]
What does pornography have in common with a carnival mask?
Last time I was talking about imagination and fantasy — how imagination enables us to see beyond what is present to our physical senses, enabling us to be creative beings… co-creators with God — and how this can also be misdirected, enabling us to live in a fantasy which has an ever-diminishing connection with Reality… eventually separating us from God.
So imagination can be an… [ read more ]
