Ancient Anglican

The Father Who Loves … and Loves … by Herbert McCabe, O. P. It is very odd that people should think that when we do good God will reward us and when we do evil he will punish us. I mean it is very odd that Christians should think th…

Quoting DA Carson here (from my suffering book) about how something can be true theologically, and yet at the same time the application of that truth is done inappropriately.

One of the most renowned of the desert fathers, whose commemoration is today (along with another African, Augustine of Hippo). The basket on Moses' back as depicted below is a reminder of one of the great stories told about him:

'‎Once a brother in the Skete fell into sin. A meeting was called and Abba Moses was invited. But, he didn’t want to go. Therefore, they sent one of the elders to tell him: “Please come, for the people are waiting for you.” So he arose and went there. On his way, he grabbed a basket with holes, filled it with sand, and carried it on his back. Those who came out to meet him, asked him: “What is this, Father?” The old man answered: “My sins are streaming out behind me and I don’t see them. Yet, I was called here today to judge the sins of someone else.” Those who heard him said nothing to the brother who sinned, but forgave him.'

Maximus the Confessor says the whole purpose of creation is the calling forth of creatures from nothingness to enter into the infinity of God directly and to be perfectly united in the Logos in Christ.

'As the patristic formula put it, God became man so that man might become God. To say “become” is a bit misleading, though. Every little Logos of everything is itself a modality of the divine presence already. We don’t have to mollify the shockingness of that language—for patristic and medieval theologians it’s simply obvious.
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Becoming uncreated is not the same as becoming nothing. God, recall, is uncreated, and he’s hardly nothing. Un­­creation is not the destruction of personality but the fulfillment of personality in each of us—in our becoming utterly transparent to the Logos that’s the ground of our own personalities already. It’s theosis: it’s to become God with a capital G.

'Paul teaches this explicitly in 1 Corinthians 13: “For now seeing only is in a glass darkly but then . . . face to face.” Remember that in the ancient world, looking directly into the face of another is not a privilege you enjoy with your superior. If he reaches down and lifts you by the chin and raises your face to his, this is an act of extraordinary grace. Paul is talking about a state of union between equals.'

What we think we know about God “Anyone who thinks he knows the orthodox consensus can always be shown to be wrong,” says David Bentley Hart.

Sergius Bulgakov on despondency:

The ultimate aim of a good man is not the negative one of avoiding sin but the positive one of being like God. - Plotinus, I, ii, 6.2

The gospel is not about being good; it is about being rescued. It is not about being safe; it is about being saved.

Felix Culpa by Herbert McCabe, O.P. “I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:13) This, and several other passages in the New Testament, teach a scandalous doctrine: that God ca…

"No one voluntarily pursues evil or that which he thinks to be evil. To prefer evil to good is not in human nature." Plato, Protagoras

The demand for the perfect is the enemy of the possible good. Be peace and do justice, but let’s not expect perfection in ourselves or the world. Perfectionism contributes to intolerance and judgmentalism and makes ordinary love largely impossible.

God is Found in All Things Father Richard finds the foundation for his teaching that everything belongs in the crucifixion itself:   The cross is a perfect metaphor for

For when there is a question as to whether a man is good, one does not ask what he believes, or what he hopes, but what he loves. For the man who loves aright no doubt believes and hopes aright; whereas the man who has not love believes in vain, even though his beliefs are true; and hopes in vain, even though the objects of his hope are a real part of true happiness; unless, indeed, he believes and hopes for this, that he may obtain by prayer the blessing of love. Augustine, Enchiridion #117

Our lives are occupied territory...
occupied by a cacophony of voices,
and the din undoes us.

In the daytime we have no time to listen,
beset as we are by anxiety and goals
and assignments and work,
and in the night the voices are so confusing
we can hardly sort out what could possibly be your voice
from the voice of our mothers and fathers
and our best friends and our pet projects,
because they all sound so much like you...

We are listeners, but we do not listen well.
So we bid you, by the time the sun goes down today
or by the time the sun comes up tomorrow,

by night or by day,
that you will speak in ways that we can hear
out beyond ourselves.
It is your speech to us that carries us to where we have never been,
and it is your speech to us that is our only hope.
So give us ears. Amen.

--Walter Brueggemann, from Awed to Heaven Rooted in Earth

A Collect for the Nation (on Independence Day): Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

Every Tuesday night at our home.

Peter's farewell.

1 Peter 5 – The Final Words – Ancient Anglican 1 Peter 5 – The Final Words Leave a Comment / Peter's Epistles / By Charles Jordan Tonight we are wrapping up our study of 1 Peter. We will begin our study of 2 Peter on July 11. In these last verses of this letter, we have Peter’s conclusion to his letter. Silvanus: (v.12) The salutation opens ...

He makes a good point.