“I am no disbeliever in spiritual purpose and no vague believer. I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means that for me the meaning of life is centered in our Redemption by Christ and what I see in the world I see in relation to that.” WorldMeanChristianSpiritualLife IsPurposeChristSeeingRelationBelieverInvisibleRedemptionMeaning Of LifeVisibleVagueOrthodoxyStandpointDisbelievers Book:Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose Source: Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
“Disguise is central to God's way of dealing with us human beings. Not because God is playing games with us but because the God who is beyond our knowing makes himself known in the disguise of what we can know. The Christian word for this is revelation, and the ultimate revelation came by incarnation. ... God is the master of disguises, in order that we might see.” KnowsWayHumansMightChristianOrderGamesHuman BeingsKnownKnowingSeeingMastersUltimateInvisibleVisibleRevelationsDisguiseIncarnationPlaying Games Author:Richard John Neuhaus
“Let us be satisfied simply with what sustains our present life, not with what pampers it. Let us pray to God for this, as we have been taught, so that we may keep our souls unenslaved and absolutely free from domination by any of the visible things loved for the sake of the body. Let us show that we eat for the sake of living, and not be guilty of living for the sake of eating. The first is a sign of intelligence, the second proof of its absence.” FirstsMayHas BeensSoulShowsBodyChristianTaughtPrayingEatingSakeProofAbsenceSatisfiedGuiltyVisibleOrthodoxDominationPraying To GodPresent Life Author:Maximus the Confessor
“Those who, animal-like, live solely according to the senses... misuse God's creation in order to indulge the passions. They do not understand the principle of that wisdom which is revealed to all: that we should know and praise God through His creation and that by means of the visible world we should understand whence we came, what we are, for what purpose we were made and where we are going. On the contrary, they travel through this present age in darkness... with... ignorance of God.” KnowsWorldShouldMeanMadeAgeChristianPurposeOrderPassionAnimalPrinciplesDarknessCreationIgnorancePraiseContrarySensesVisibleOrthodoxIndulgeMisusePraise GodGod's Creation Author:Maximus the Confessor
“Before His visible advent in the flesh the Logos of God dwelt among the patriarchs and prophets in a spiritual manner, prefiguring the mysteries of His advent. After His incarnation He is present in a similar way not only to those who are still beginners, nourishing them spiritually and leading them toward the maturity of divine perfection, but also to the perfect, secretly pre-delineating in them the features of His future advent as if in an ikon.” IfsWayStillsChristianSpiritualPerfectMysteryDivinePerfectionFleshFeaturesMaturityProphetVisibleOrthodoxIncarnationOrthodox ChristianBeginnersAdventLogos Author:Maximus the Confessor
“Christian faith is a grand cathedral, with divinely pictured windows. Standing without you see no glory, nor can possibly imagine any. Nothing is visible but the merest outline of dusky shapes. Standing within all is clear and defined; every ray of light reveals an army of unspeakable splendors.” LightChristianChristianityClearImagineShapesGloryStandingWindowArmyDefinedVisibleRaysWithout YouOutlinesSplendorChristian FaithCathedralsUnspeakableRays Of Light Author:John Ruskin
“Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others, than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture? ... I do not mean to imply that the evil are anything other than a small minority among the religious or that the religious motives of most people are in any way spurious. I mean only that evil people tend to gravitate toward piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them.” PeopleWayWellsMeanChristianFormCultureEvilFoundChurchReligiousAtheismOffersOneselfPositive AtheismPrimariesMotiveVisibleMinoritiesDisguisePietyBetter WaysEvil PeopleConcealmentDeacons Author:Martin Buber