Moral Issues

Orthodox Church Categorically Opposed to Abortion: Life Begins at Conception

Orthodox Church Categorically Opposed to Abortion: Life Begins at Conceptionby Chris Banescu –
Orthodox Christianity has always taught that life begins at conception. The Church Saints and Fathers have all defended the sanctity of human life. The Orthodox Church is and has always been absolutely, unequivocally, positively, universally PRO-LIFE!

We are all created in the image and likeness of God. The Orthodox Church, founded by Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles, bears witness to the truth that all human life begins at conception. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you,” declare the Scriptures (Jeremiah 1:5). The teachings of the Orthodox Christian faith are very clear and unambiguous: all unborn human life is sacred and innocent human life must be protected.

The Orthodox Church regards abortion as murder and opposes all forms of abortion. All Orthodox Churches throughout the whole world and across the 2,000 years since Christ have taught and proclaimed this same truth without alteration to all nations.

The Supreme Court’s assertions in the Roe v. Wade decision, regarding Christian theology prior to the 19th century, that “there was otherwise little agreement about the precise time of formation or animation” of an unborn child is false. This declaration has no basis in fact in the theology, teachings, or practices of Orthodox Christianity. It is a complete fabrication! [Read more…]

In Rejecting Truth Man Dooms Himself

Ultimate Things: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on the End Timesby Chris Banescu –

The increasing darkness, corruption, and delusion we witness all around us are direct and predictable consequences of man’s rejection of God and truth. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn warned of the devastating consequences that follow when men forsake God. Dennis Engleman issues a similar warning in his book Ultimate Things: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on the End Times regarding the dangers of man’s rejection of truth.

In rejecting truth, man, who was created in the image and likeness of God, denies himself and the godly nature with which he was blessed from the beginning by his Creator. He purposely blinds himself to reality and destroys the very faculty (reason) that allows him to find and discern truth. In rejecting truth, man purposely closes all “doors to authentic understanding” and obliterates the only avenue that can lead him into communion with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).

When man rejects truth he rejects God and destroys himself. In abandoning truth man opens himself to all manner of delusion, falsehood, and corruption. He abandons the narrow road to salvation and wonders in the wilderness of “this world” at the mercy of evil. He forsakes God’s wisdom and embraces “worldly wisdom” which always leads down the road to perdition, to despair, suffering, and death. [Read more…]

When Men Forsake God, Tyranny Always Follows

Communists Atheists Destroy Church Godless Tyranny Bolsheviksby Chris Banescu –

“But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some sixty million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The prophetic words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn resonate like thunder across the history of man. “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Thus summarized the Nobel laureate, Orthodox Christian author, and Russian dissident the main reason why the communist revolution was able to enslave, terrorize, and murder tens of millions of innocent people. An atheistic mentality and a long process of secularization gradually alienated the people from God and His moral laws. This lead them away from truth and authentic liberty and facilitated the rise of tyranny.

Tragically that same process is now at work in America and many other parts of the world. Too many unfortunately refuse to see it or believe it. [Read more…]

Living Among Immortals – C.S. Lewis

Weight of Glory Living Among Immortalsby Chris Banescu –
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” ~ C.S. Lewis

In his The Weight of Glory sermon C.S. Lewis reminds us that God originally created men and women as immortal beings. While our sin and rebellion has temporarily alienated us from God, resulting in the death of our physical bodies, our souls do not die. Past death, our souls live on waiting for the Second Coming of Christ and the restoration of our full humanity; when our renewed and transformed bodies will be once again in full union and symbiosis with our souls.

Lewis masterfully pulls aside the veil of worldly cares and materialist presumptions. He reveals the godly and eternal dimension of our existence with the wisdom and insight that only a messenger of the Lord could possess. “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare.”

This timeless truth is important because it draws attention to how precious and special human life truly is. Nothing in this world compares with the value of human life. “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendours,” proclaims Lewis. [Read more…]

Respecting God’s Freedom

Creation of Adam Respect Freedom of Godby Chris Banescu –
God respects our freedom and does not force us to love or follow Him. He expects the same consideration from us. He wants us to respect His freedom in deciding if, when, and how He acts. Mutual respect of one another’s freedom is a precondition to all healthy and loving relationships, especially our relationship with our eternal Father, the Lord of all creation.

From the very beginning God created us to have free will. He gave us the freedom to chose right or wrong, to either love or reject Him. Knowing that free will would eventually bring about evil, God nevertheless gave us the liberty to chose and be in control of our destiny. He most likely did this because, “free will though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having,” wrote C.S. Lewis. A world of puppets on a string, of creatures that were no better than programmed robots and worked like computerized machines, would “hardly be worth creating.” [Read more…]

Prayer for America on Election Day 2012

Holy Spirit Prayer for America by Chris Banescu –
Dear Lord pour out Thy Holy Spirit on this nation and help us in this time of trouble. Give comfort to the suffering, strength to the weak, wisdom to the undecided, and courage to the fearful.

Master, You are our only help in time of need. You Who are just, loving, and compassionate look down upon us and have mercy on us and deliver us from the darkness and danger that now besets us. Deal with us not according to our iniquities, but according to Your manifold mercies, for we are the works of Your hands, and You know our weaknesses.

Be merciful to us Lord for we are in need of Your love and kindness. Help us elect a faithful, loving, mature, hard-working, and wise leader, a man of character and integrity who will bring hope, peace, and joy to a suffering and crumbling nation.

We beseech Thee Master do not forsake us and hear our prayers and petitions. [Read more…]

Sin Troubles the Soul and Chases Away Inner Peace

Saint Jerome Orthodox icon by Chris Banescu –
Sin always troubles our soul and chases away our inner peace. Saint Jerome cautions us that the evil one is a master at snaring and troubling us with many kinds of deceptions. When we give in to these distractions and “begin to play with sin”, we fall from a state of grace and our soul is in trouble. We are no longer at peace. We become even more vulnerable to the devil and easy prey to his snares.

In our daily battle to stay close to God’s grace and find peace, we must not give in to sin, even the smallest ones which pave the way for greater ones. We must continually strive to embrace God’s truth and reject the lies and deceptions from the evil one.

Even if we succumb to temptation and fall, we should not despair and we must not persist in our sinful conduct. Often Satan’s greatest lie is to convince us that we are beyond redemption and there is no hope in asking for forgiveness from the Lord. We must quickly repent, reject the sin, return to Christ, and seek the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to stay sane and peaceful in the darkness and corruption of “this world.” [Read more…]