26 August 2016. My “Take” on Heaven and Hell… the “Short Version”

______________________________

St Gregory of Nyssa said that we judge ourselves… God is simply all-present and inescapable. That is, God condemns no one. He pours out His Love out over all of us. How we receive that Love is up to us. That is, Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (and its like) is a disgusting fairy tale for the credulous. No… the fate of evil-doers is far worse… wanting to escape God’s Presence… but being utterly unable to. After all, didn’t Christ “trample down death by death?” Imagine trying to escape something… but being unable to. The Love of God is the Hound of Heaven for the evil… they can’t escape it or deny it. The Love of God is a Refreshing Spring for believers… it never runs dry or putrid. Heaven and Hell are the same place… we’d just experience it differently. Heaven and Hell are two ways of experiencing God’s objective presence. There is no need of “the fires of hell”… Metropolitan Antony Khrapovitsky thought the tollhouses a peasant fable… such is also true of the “fires of hell”. The reality is stark enough… if you don’t want God in your life, you won’t be able to escape Him… in a word, Hell.

BMD

Advertisement

26 August 2016. A Breath of Fresh Air on “Academic Freedom”

______________________________

Here’s a good link to the University of Chicago story… with a link to the original letter. Here’s an excellent response:

Those lists of “safe space” are incredible. As a minority, foreigner, female, or any other disadvantaged (such as severe myopia? Short?), I prefer people to speak their mind to me to my face and not behind closed doors at their dinner table. People shouldn’t edit their thoughts and words for being concerned with being “politically correct”, “up-to-date”, or “open-minded”. When there’s disagreement, that’s when we need meaningful discussion or debate. To those demanding “safe space”, if you truly believe your ideology is right (and that “others” may do great damage), then, it’s almost your responsibility to start or join the discussion isn’t it? Why hide?

Runfang Zhang

I hate speech suppression, but I hate ignorant bloviating just as much. Do speak… if you have the creds. For instance, I don’t have the medical or scientific creds to comment on the Jenner affair… so, I don’t. Do note that most of those commenting on it also lack such creds (what does that tell you about Dreher, Trenham, Reardon, Whiteford, et al?). Therefore, what weight should you give such vacuous commentary? I’d say that such talk is mere hot air; no decent person should attend to it, nor should you give attention to the asshats spouting it. That’s not suppression of speech… that’s called discernment… there’s a difference. To forbid Josiah Trenham to speak (so long as he has his bishop’s specific OK on a particular instance) is beyond the pale. To demand his creds to speak on this or that is kosher (indeed, one should always demand such). Have a care… there be phonies out there; many are “respectable” or clergy. Bite the coin… there be vile counterfeits in circulation.

BMD