Moral issues

Time to Exit Eli’s Road

Fr. Basil Biberdorf, a priest in the Orthodox Church in America, has launched “The Orthodox Leader”, a new site designed to address and challenge the evil and corruption that has been tolerated and enabled in Christ’s Church. God bless Fr. Basil for stepping into the public arena to openly challenge the complacent leadership and standing up for truth and righteousness.

The Orthodox Leader | by Fr. Basil Biberdorf | Nov. 30, 2009

We have a problem in Orthodox North America. Worse than matters of theft and malfeasance, we have sexual sin among some of the clergy – fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and, dare I say it, pedophilia – that is all too often being passed over by hierarchs and church administrators. Some priests, deacons, and bishops who should be serving, caring, and interceding for their flocks are instead “making themselves vile,” and, in some cases, ravaging the flock for their own base appetites. It is clear that these offenders will stand, like Hophni and Phineas, before God. But what of our leaders? What of those who should be restraining these men? Are they taking firm action, or are they taking the path of Eli?

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A Troubled Thanksgiving 2009

DennisPrager.com | by Dennis Prager | Nov. 24, 2009

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It is my favorite national holiday. It reminds Americans how fortunate we are to be Americans. And it unites Americans around gratitude, the greatest human trait. Gratitude is the mother of both goodness and happiness. The ungrateful cannot be either happy or good.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I write that my mood on this Thanksgiving will not be the same as on any other I have ever experienced. [Read more…]

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The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

American Orthodox Institute | by Fr. Johannes Jacobse | Nov. 22, 2009
manhattan_declaration260x65
On November 22, 2009 group of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders unveiled a document called “The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience” that affirms the traditional Christian teaching concerning abortion, homosexual marriage, and religious freedom. The Declaration asserts that these three issues (sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and freedom of worship) are under assault in western Democracies and call Christians into non-violent resistance against the injustices and, if necessary, non-violent non-compliance with the laws that would require a Christian to violate his conscience. (Read full text.)

The Declaration opens:

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty…We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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The Medium is Not the Message

OrthodoxyToday | by Chris Banescu | Nov. 12, 2009

As a fellow Orthodox Christian and an attorney I find Fr. George’s reflection quite eloquent but unfortunately lacking in the depth and moral clarity that our faith and profession both require. Fr. George’s central thesis is that “the nature of the medium, in this case the internet and blogosphere, is itself the message we get here even more than the content that people purport to communicate and consider.” I don’t believe that’s true, especially with regards to OCANews.org. The medium is only a neutral tool to be used or misused as we see fit. The truth of the message and the reliability of the information this medium conveys and the good it has done, in addition to the wisdom, character, and integrity of the messengers, are much more important and relevant. [Read more…]

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The Market, School of Virtue

Acton Institute | by Stephen Grabill | Nov. 4, 2009

Does the market inspire people to greater practical virtue, or does it eviscerate what little virtue any of us have?

Far from draining moral goodness out of us—as many think—the free market serves as a “school of the practical virtues.” Rather than elevating greed and self-sufficiency, the market fosters interdependence and cooperation. Its rewards do not go to those who are the most isolated, self-absorbed, or cut off from society, but to those who sustain mutually prosperous relationships with others. [Read more…]

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Idol Worship, Counterfeit Gods

BreakPoint | by Marcia Segelstein | Oct. 27, 2009

What we worship defines us and controls us. And sometimes figuring out what we really worship isn’t easy. Timothy Keller is pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and author of the just-released book, Counterfeit Gods. He writes that while some cultures still practice idol worship in the traditional sense, “internal idol worship, within the heart, is universal.”

Anything and everything we turn to in order to satisfy our deepest needs and longings can become idols. Even good things such as family, love, and morality become idols when they take the place of God. As Keller writes, “If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life, and identity, then it is an idol.” [Read more…]

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Dennis Prager Mentions OrthodoxNet Blog on Air


Dennis Prager Radio Show | Dennis Prager | Oct. 19, 2009

On Monday, October 19, 2009, during the second hour of his nationally syndicated radio show, noted conservative Dennis Prager, mentioned the OrthodoxNet Blog post on Anita Dunn’s praise of demonic communist dictator Mao Tse-Tung as one of her “favorite political philosophers.”

Dennis Prager Mentions OrthodoxNet Blog on Air – 10/19/2009 http://www.orthodoxnet.com/archives/2009/Prager_2009-10-19_OrthodoxNet-Blog_Mao.mp3|titles=Dennis

Mr. Prager (while mistakenly calling our site “orthodoxy.net”) quoted our description of the video clip that Glenn Beck showcased on FoxNews and read on the air the video caption comments:

Anita Dunn, the White House Communications Director, admitted that one of favorite political Philosophers, one that she “turns to the most”, is Mao Tse-Tung, the demonic communist dictator responsible for the starvation, torture, and murder of 70 million Chinese.

Here’s an excerpt of Dennis Prager’s comments and his reason for quoting the post from our site:

“… they [OrthodoxNet Blog] give views from an Orthodox perspective, obviously that is from Christian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Judeo/Christian perspective. And the only reason that I am noting this is because I want to read to you their description, as opposed to CNN’s description of Mao Tse-Tung. [Read more…]

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That The Bishops Be Blameless

Notes on Arab Orthodoxy | by Metropolitan Georges Khodr | Oct. 17, 2009

One who sees himself as nothing becomes something when spiritual men say it to him. No one approaches the divine glory by his own power. The divine glory pulls him in and if a person approaches it, he feels that he is nothing and he remains effaced in his own eyes until the Day of Reckoning. Indeed, each one of us needs to know his own talents because in this is a recognition of God’s gift. But one is lost if he thinks that his talents are his own possession. They only exist on account of God’s favor, which He takes back when He so wishes.

Thus in the Church of God we accept each responsibility as a gift. This is the meaning of service and service comes down to you from above. If you are entrusted with it, don’t allow yourself to feel that you deserve it. [Read more…]

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Child Rape and the Values of People Who Make Films

Townhall | by Dennis Prager | Oct. 6, 2009

We have reason to be grateful to the Polanski affair. It offers that most needed of virtues: clarity. It has made the average citizen aware of how broken the cultural elite’s moral compass is. And it has illuminated how equally distorted their self-image is. They see themselves as morally superior. They see themselves as worldly when in fact they are profoundly insular. And they see themselves as courageous artists when in fact the rarest films are those that involve any moral courage (for example, how many films about Islamic terror and the world that incubates that terror can you name?)

But the greatest benefit of the Polanski affair may be that the next time you see the Hollywood elite come out on behalf of or against some public issue, you can most likely assume the opposite is the morally correct position. [Read more…]

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Warning: Obamacare May Be Hazardous to the Unborn

Center for a Just Society | Ken Connor | Sep. 18, 2009

President Obama attempted to allay the concerns of pro-life advocates last week by assuring Americans that federal funding for abortion will not be included in “his” health care reform plan. […]

What’s going on here? Either President Obama has experienced an epiphany regarding the sanctity of human life at every stage of development, or once again his Administration is attempting to pull the wool over the American people’s eyes with a rhetorical bait and switch. A review of the facts may provide insight as to which is the case. [Read more…]

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