Canon of the Bible

Let your prayers be simple..

Quiz: "Are you smarter than an atheist?"

I just scored 97% on the "Are you smarter than an atheist?" quiz at the CSMonitor. Not bad, I guess.

The New Eve

"For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith." - St Irenaeus of Lyon

Historiography and the Early Church

David Withun discusses the Historical Method and it's relevance to the ancient Church.

Response to "Morals without God."

My comments on a recent Opinion piece in the NY Times by Dr. Frans De Waal; Read the piece here.

Dr.De Waal makes the claim throughout his article that man can behave morally, or adhere to moral precepts without a belief in God. But this is quite different from his assertion in the title of the piece: "Morals Without God." It is evident that individuals can lead moral lives without a belief in God. But without God, which is to say, if God doesn't exist, can anyone be truly moral? I believe the answer is unequivocally in the negative. "Right" and "wrong," as objective realities, do not exist without God.

Dr.De Waal makes an excellent case for the genesis of ethical values from the socio-biological framework in which human beings evolved. He points to altruistic behavior commonly observed in various mammals, most notably chimpanzees and other primates. It may indeed be the case that altruistic behavior and moral values arose in an evolutionary context, but how does this assertion do anything to indicate that those moral precepts are actually true? For instance, If one holds the belief that it is wrong to kill innocent people for pleasure, is this belief held merely because it is a by-product of conditioning, or is it held because human beings realize that it's truly wrong to kill for pleasure? On Dr.De Waal's view, the only reason human beings adhere to certain ethical values is not because these values are necessarily true, but because we happened to evolve that way. It is highly possible that given different conditions, our "herd morality" would look quite different. For instance, our closest relative, the Chimpanzee is noted for certain altruistic tendencies that seem to be a result of socio-biological conditioning. Sort of "almost morals." But there is the flip side: Researchers in Uganda have observed repeated instances of cannabilistic infanticide among wild chipmanzees; that is, adult chimps kill and eat infants. They've posited that this behavior has some sort of adaptive advantage. We can't say that chimpanzees are being "immoral" in carrying out this behavior, nor would we hold them accountable. But being highly evolved primates, it is quite possible that given the right conditions, our own behavior could have developed along the same lines. Would this behavior then be considered "moral?"

Thus if we find an an event, say the Holocaust, to be abhorrent, we are disgusted by it simply because we have been biologically and/or socially conditioned to feel that way, not because the event was truly evil, in any sense.

Richard Dawkins sums it up quite well: "There is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pointless indifference. We are machines for propagating DNA. It is every living object's sole reason for being."

On "tolerance"

A response I made on a blog post regarding Ravi Zacharias. You can read the post here.

Hari,

You have voiced some legitimate concerns here, and I believe you have some valid points, but allow me to outline a few issues that came to mind.

In my mind, the problem arises because the word "tolerance" itself has been perverted to mean something completely different from what it actually means. The word itself implies that there IS a difference or disagreement between two or more individuals. I cannot be "tolerant" of someone with whom I have no difference in worldview. The very concept of pluralism or tolerance is relevant only when it is properly defined and contextualized; that is to say, it is relevant ONLY in a framework in which there co-exist differing worldviews. This is the very purpose of tolerance; to ensure the peaceful co-existence of those who adhere to differing perspectives. This does NOT imply that one should be inclined to agree completely with other worldviews, nor embrace "everything as equally true." Bygone generations knew this, and advocated tolerance as respectful disagreement, with the added notion of love for all human beings.

If Ravi Zacharias defames Mahatma Gandhi, or slanders other religions (I don't think I've heard him doing this), I surely don't condone it, and I believe you may have a valid point if he does. But if by "criticism" you mean that he points out the logical contradictions that he sees in those worldviews, then I believe you're missing the point. No worldview, including Christianity, should be granted immunity from careful examination.

I do not believe that as a Christian, I have a guaranteed one-way ticket to heaven. Neither do I believe that all others are instantly condemned. But I have nothing but pity for those who claim that all religions are "equally true." This stems from a lack of critical thinking. Whatever became of the law of non-contradiction? Why are we killing logic in the streets? Truth by it's very nature is exclusive - it excludes the opposite. My question to the culture of postmodernism is ultimately this: Why can't I firmly believe in the truth of my worldview, and point out why I don't subscribe to other worldviews, as long as I do it respectfully and while expressing a love for all human beings?

Christian Apologetics isn't dead

Below is a comment I made in response to a post regarding the death of Christian Apologetics made by an atheist blogger. You can read the post here. For some reason, the comment didn't end up being posted on his page, so I'm reproducing it here.

1.) Since Methodological naturalism (science) is strictly confined to the acquisition of knowledge regarding the natural world, ie., that which is empirically verifiable, it can neither prove nor disprove the existence or non-existence of the supernatural(in this case,God.) As the supernatural by definition is beyond the natural world, it is therefore beyond the ability of science to observe.

In light of this, your statement that "it should be common knowledge that the atheistic view is the scientific viewpoint because that is where the overwhelming majority of evidence points – toward an atheistic universe.." is incorrect.

Science can't take either side. It must remain agnostic.


2.) You have conceded that there is more than abundant scientific evidence for the big bang. Assuming the big bang, one must also assume the singularity, before which, space and time didn't exist.This being the case, whatever caused the big bang must be immaterial (non-physical) and timeless. Since time as a dimension did not exist before the singularity, whatever caused the big bang could not have been accidental or a random event, since any event that occurs must happen within the dimension of time. Rather, it is reasonable to conclude that since the cause of the big bang was not a random event, it must have been a cause that freely CHOSE to cause the big bang, ie, an agent. In summary, the cause of the big bang was an immaterial, atemporal, agent with free will.


3.) Morality as you define it is nothing more than a set of highly evolved survival instincts; instincts that ensure the survival of Homosapiens as a species. If we had evolved under different circumstances or in different environments, we may have evolved different survival instincts that would then constitute "morality." On this view, there is no objective "Good" or "Evil." There was nothing really objectively "evil" or "wrong" with Hitler's extermination of 14 million human beings. It should merely be frowned upon because it was "maladaptive to the survival of our species" as you stated. This worldview utterly fails to account for why anyone, given a lapse of "normal" instincts, SHOULD desire the survival of our species. What can be said to an individual who either feels no such innate urge for self-preservation or for the preservation of his species? Why is he ultimately "wrong" in murdering another person? Metaphysical naturalism cannot give human beings any intrinsic value. On Metaphysical naturalism, Human beings, like all other living organisms, are merely the product of primordial slime. It is therefore no more "immoral" to kill a
human being than it is to kill a cow, or a cockroach. Science cannot prove that a human being has anymore intrinsic value than an insect, or a quadruped. The reason for this, as mentioned above, is because methodological naturalism deals only with the natural world.

Questions of morality and intrinsic worth are metaphysical, not naturalistic.

Scriptural basis for Tonsuring?

Here's another message I put up on an E-Group a couple of years ago. I found that the question has come up again recently, so it seems relevant. Also, a Deacon did kindly confirm for me that ordinands take a forty day fast (vow) before ordination.
I was a lil mean to the guy i was responding to with this post, but he had it coming ;-P

Dear Mr.---,
Please do some research before you jump to conclusions. You wrote:

>>"...recently I attended a Decon ordination service.SOC Bava
thirumeni cut the decon's hair in Madhaba. I asked many people why
does Bava thirumeni cut hair in Madhbaha. Did Jesus cut Peter's
hair.Did Apostles cut 7 decons in Jerusalem in the 1st century.
NO.Later I found that Malankara Orthodox faith is 70 % Babylonian
tradition imported from Syria..."<<

Since you have probably read the bible from "Gen 1 to Rev 22" many
times, I wonder how you have neglected the following verses:


"Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers
and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he
sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had
taken."
Acts 18:18

"There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join
in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can
have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth
in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in
obedience to the law...The next day Paul took the men and purified
himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of
the date when the days of purification would end and the offering
would be made for each of them."
Acts 21:23-24,26

These verses make it clear that the Early church had the practice of
cutting off one's hair when making a vow to God, hence the Bishop
cutting off a lock of the deacon candidate's hair.

>>"...Later I found that Malankara Orthodox faith is 70 % Babylonian
tradition imported from Syria..."<<

Really? Quite an interesting "find." Is there any kind of historical
or factual basis for this? By the way, ALL Orthodox churches, not
just the Malankara Church, have the practice of cutting a clerical
candidate's hair before ordination. I suppose all these churches in
various parts of the world have also been influenced by "babylonian
tradition imported from Syria?" Also, the Malankara Faith is the
Orthodox faith, shared not only with Syriac Christians, but with 200
million people worldwide. It'd be interesting to hear what they have
to say about their faith being "imported from Babylonia." If Orthodox
worship is "Babylonian" in nature, then Jewish worship must be the
same, since 70% of Orthodox Liturgical worship comes from Jewish
worship.
I recommend that you conduct some serious research.

ICON Post on "Worship language"

Below is a post I submitted to ICON regarding the importance of Language in worship.


Dear All,
I find this to be an interesting thread, being a member of the "younger generation" that these posts refer to, I feel obliged to comment. So far I see two viewpoints expressed; the first being that we should embrace worship in the English language, and let Malayalam fade away, and the second being that Malayalam must be maintained because it's a part of our "tradition." I can't say I agree completely with either view.

In the case of the former, It's true that many of the 2nd generation members of our Church in America are not fluent in Malayalam. English services should be offered to better help them understand the Liturgy, and experience it on a deeper level. However, the church in America hasn't yet reached a point where a majority of it's members don't speak/read/write Malayalam. Services are necessary in both languages. I'm also greatly in favor of offering Malayalm classes to kids starting at a young age. Certain parishes in my region have implemented this concept with great success. Books like "The Living Sacrifice" should also be encouraged.

In the case of the second view, are we able to draw a distinction between culture and faith?
Ms.--- writes "The beauty of our tradition as "Orthodox" christians is that we keep the traditional worship.." If I had read that phrase by itself, I would be inclined to agree. In context, however, the assertion is a slippery slope at best. Malayalam, or any particular language for that matter, cannot be labelled a "Tradition" of the Orthodox Church. Our Tradition is the Holy and Divine Liturgy that has been entrusted to us by the Lord. The church accommodates the language of whatever culture she finds herself in. If our forebears had entertained such ideas about language being an integral part of the liturgy, we would still be worshiping in Syriac, not Malayalam. I am in no way trying to minimize the importance of knowing one's roots and learning about our heritage, but it shouldn't be warped into ethnocentrism. Another statement that somewhat irked me :"The new youngsters do not know the traditional aspects of our church." I am not entirely sure what "traditional aspects" means here, but I do know some 'youngsters' who would take great offense to this. All our seminarians were youngsters once, and I am convinced that we of the younger generation have a passion and thirst for Orthodoxy that's going to lead the church for years to come.

With all of this being said, I have a question to pose to ICON readers. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that you live in an area that has no Malankara Orthodox parishes nearby. There are, however, both a Marthoma Parish, and a Coptic Orthodox parish within a reasonable distance. My question is, which would you attend, and why? I look forward to reading your replies.

More Hymns

More random Hymns :)

Liturgical

Makarios Thirumeni

We celebrated St.Dionysus and Makarios Thirumeni's memorial today in church. I was given the responsibility to speak about Makarios Thirumeni. Although my speech was nothing special, I've been told to post it, so it's reproduced below :)

Rev.Achen and Dear Friends,

As I was conducting my research for this speech, reading articles, watching videos, I thought to myself...what can I possibly say that can adequately describe such a man? How can I intimate to you the depth of such a personality as this? I can only try.

The name "Makarios" means "blessed."

His Eminence Dr.Thomas Mar Makarios, was everything a bishop should be. An entrancing orator, an unparalleled historian, and most of all, a loving spiritual father, and friend. He was of the all too uncommon breed of bishop that could forge a deep personal connection with all of his spiritual children. Anyone who's been in his presence can attest to this. The debt that this parish owes to Thirumeni can never be forgotten. When we first started this congregation, on our own, without any aid from the diocese, without any priests, it was Thirumeni who told us not to worry, that we were not alone. It was Thirumeni who was our shepherd and father.

Most anyone would agree that Makarios' Thirumeni's signature was his incredible oratories. His quick wit and sharp intellect were legendary. Thirumeni always provided unique insights on any number of issues he spoke about. He would speak from angles that most of us would never have thought of otherwise, with the ability to communicate the scriptures to others, bringing them to life by demonstrating their relevance to real situations. His grandfatherly demeanor and the obvious sincerity with which he spoke endeared him all the more to us, his children. One specific story Thirumeni told when he visited our parish comes to mind. It's a Jewish version of the story of Jonah and the whale. The story goes that when Jonah was thrown overboard, the whale had it's mouth open, and Jonah fell into the open mouth of the whale. The whale then had a horrible stomach ache for three days, and finally threw Jonah up on the third day. In the story, the whale talks to Jonah, and asks him "Jonah, why did you fall in to my mouth? I had a stomach-ache for three days because of you." Jonah responded "Whale, It's good to keep your mouth shut sometimes."
This story, was of course with the backdrop of how Malayalees like to yell in church, etc.

Thirumeni was, in addition to this, an unmatched historian. He used this intimate knowledge of Church history to aid the church greatly when he was still Fr.K.C.Thomas. He lent his impeccable logic and intellectual prowess to the church's legal team, helping to lead the church to great victories in the supreme court. It was surely this great knowledge of church history that gave way to Thirumeni's comprehensive view of how the church changes:

""The church needs to change - Just like the 4th
century church was not exactly a carbon copy of
the 1st Century church, so also the 21st Century
church cannot be an exact carbon copy of the 1st
century church or the 20th century church.
Change is not a threat. Change is Growth and
growth is change. The church needs to
continuously adapt to the new society."

Only someone who had meticulously studied the history of the church and discovered it's patterns could arrive at such a conclusion.

It cannot be a coincidence that Thirumeni entered into eternal rest on the memorial of his hero, St.Dionysius of Vattasseril. Thirumeni had a rare foresight and courage that in many ways, is reminiscent of St.Dionysius. If St.Dionysius played an integral role in establishing the Catholicate, Makarios Thirumeni played an integral role in protecting it. Like the holy saint, Thirumeni sacrificed all for the love of his church.

May his memory be eternal, Amen.

Hymns?

So I found my old microphone a couple of days ago and decided to make a feeble attempt at a few liturgical hymns. I recorded higher and lower harmonies separately, then merged them in sound recorder. And yes, I'll admit it, I did shed a tear when singing "Karuna Kaddale." Listen and Critique!

Whole- Bean Orthodoxy?

Ever contemplated the ecumenical councils over a hot cup of joe? If so, then this is the blog for you.

How did the apostles worship?

For the longest time, I thought our worship was something we acquired over the centuries, invented by the church as it went along. "Surely," I thought, "The apostles and the early church worshiped spontaneously, with random clapping, shuddering, speaking in tongues, etc."

But then, I stumbled on Liturgica.com . Thanks to this amazing website, and some Coptic videos on youtube, I discovered that I couldn't have been more wrong about worship in the Early Church.
It turns out the apostles worshiped much the same way as we Orthodox do today. There was a clear-cut order and structure to their prayers and hymns.

I decided to test what I read online against scripture, to see if could find a biblical foundation for Liturgical Worship. Here's what I discovered:

I. The Old Testament.
- The Lord clearly dictates to the Israelites how they should go about worshiping him. Sacrificial
rituals and the priestly office are described in great detail. (Exodus Ch.26-28, Leviticus
Ch.16). The writer of Hebrews mentions that all the liturgical rituals and artifacts mentioned in
the Old Testament are a "copy and shadow of what is in heaven." (Hebrews 8:5) It would
seem that the Lord wanted the Israelites to have something as close to Heavenly worship as
possible.

- The Prophet Isaiah Describes a vision that he saw in the Temple (Isaiah Ch. 6.) In it, he
sees heaven opened up, and the angels worshiping God. The "Holy, Holy, Holy.." chant of
the angels is mentioned, and it's interesting to see that "the temple was filled with smoke." At
one point, probably the most important part of the vision, an Angel flies down "with a live coal
in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar." The coal was placed in Isaiah's
mouth, for the remission of his sins.

Sound Familiar? Let's go on to the New Testament.

II. The New Testament.
- Christ explicitly states that he has not come to do away with the law and the teachings of the
prophets, "but to fulfill them"(Mathew 5:17.) The Gospels show that the Lord reguarly took
part in Jewish worship by attending Feasts in the Temple (John 7:14, 12:12), and regulary
visiting and preaching in the synagogues (Mathew 4:23, 9:35.)

-The Apostles continued to worship as Jews even after the ascension of Christ. In the Book of
Acts, we see the Apostles Peter and John going up to the temple for the ninth hour of prayer
(Acts 3:1.) At many times church leaders are shown praying at "liturgical hours"(Acts 10:2-3,
9.) On top of that, it seems that the New Testament church observed some sort of church
calendar, since St.Paul seems determined at one point to be in Jerusalem for the feast of
Pentecost (Acts 18:21, 20:16.)

-The book of Revelations is a liturgical goldmine, especially the eighth chapter. We see an Altar
(verse 3,) Angels serving and offering incense with a censer (verse 3) In Chapter six, we see
the communion of the departed (verses 9-11.) Ch.5:11 shows us the liturgical
nature of heavenly prayer.

Imagine my amazement! Suddenly, it became quite clear why the church continued to practice this ancient form of worship for millenia. If it's good enough for the apostles, it's good enough for me! :)

Marching bands and bishops don't mix.

Can someone please explain to me why we Indian Orthodox feel the need to welcome our bishops with chaos? What role do hoarsely yelled slogans and marching bands play in a liturgical setting? Do our prelates enjoy stepping out of the car and into this unintelligible mess?

IMHO:

How NOT to welcome prelates:




How to welcome prelates (although it does have some drumming initially):

"Pre-denominational," in context.

"Looking for a Church that is,

orthodox in doctrine?

orthodox in morals?

orthodox in worship?

Maybe you're looking for the Orthodox Church.

Orthodox Christianity is the Ancient Christian faith. It is Christianity in it's original, pre-medieval form, without doctrinal change or adulteration. It's Orthodox, but not Jewish. It's Catholic, but not Roman. It's Evangelical, but not Protestant.

It's not denominational; it's pre-denominational.

In the last 100 years over 60 million Christians died as martyrs to their faith in Christ. Over 99% of them were Orthodox.

Ever wonder what Christianity is really supposed to be like? What is was like in the early Church? What is is supposed to be now?

Welcome home"