https://tasbeha.org/community/categories/faith-issues/p24/feed.rss Mon, 22 Jun 2026 05:58:08 +0000 Faith Issues - Tasbeha.org Community en-CA https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13609/agpeya-question Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:02:04 +0000 aidan 13609@/community/discussions
I have a perplexity: in the first hour, just after the Gospel, it says, adressing the True Light..'You saved our forefather Adam from temptation and our mother Eve from the pangs of death..' What does this mean since Adam succumbed to temptation and Eve died ?

Thanks in advance for those who can enlighten me.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13594/the-fathers-on-different-feelings-emotions Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:24:51 +0000 PFM 13594@/community/discussions
I am wondering if anyone knows what are the fathers sayings on feelings and emotions. A former FoC of mine, often insisted to avoid the word 'feel'. I personally grew up with the impression that with emotions, one isn't truly oneself. Yet, Ecclesiastes 3 talk about how there are different seasons for different situations. However, are feelings and emotions bad or preferably avoided? By avoiding being in touch with emotions, is one priving himself from certain pleasure of life that God offers?

Note: When referring to emotions, I do not refer to relationships perse, but all different types of emotions in general.

PFM]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13551/hebrews-chapter-6-verse-6 Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:52:27 +0000 lokanar11 13551@/community/discussions https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13579/the-philokalia Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:41:15 +0000 apcevioc 13579@/community/discussions https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/9784/un-labelled-halal-meat-for-sale-in-uk-supermarkets Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:56:35 +0000 peterfarrington 9784@/community/discussions
http://britishorthodox.org/1369/unlabelled-halal-meat-in-british-supermakets/

He says...

For Christians to eat food blessed in any name other than the ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God’, would be idolatrous and it might even be construed that by passive acceptance the recipient has in some measure consented to the kalima, or Islamic declaration of faith.

I do believe, as does His Grace, that this is a most serious matter. I have already written to many organisations and businesses, which I will describe in another post. And I will offer a template which others may wish to use or amend to make their own representations.

Father Peter]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13557/re-unions Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:09:50 +0000 Purity2 13557@/community/discussions https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13462/can-homosexuality-be-cured Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:58:36 +0000 Zoxsasi 13462@/community/discussions
I'm curious to know what the Orthodox position is on Homosexuality?

No doubt it sees homosexuality as a sin. But does it offer a cure to those who see themselves as "gay" from birth?

There are cases of induced homosexuality, where the person was heterosexual and then became homosexual, or engaged in homosexuality simply due to a sinful environment. No doubt this type of perversion can be cured.

But what is the cure for those who see themselves as gay - from birth? If the Church starts to say "they can be cured" - then is it putting them in a dangerous psychological position where the person is now faced with re-building their entire psycho-neurlogical behavior? Is this something that should be done?

I have met someone who sees himself as "gay". He does not consider being gay as a disorder that needs to be treated, but wants to be Orthodox. He understands that he can NEVER have any homosexual relations, but doesn't see that the fact that he finds men attractive as a disorder.

What should be said to such people? What is the response of the Church concerning such conditions?]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13379/dating Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:19:45 +0000 Agape47 13379@/community/discussions I would like to date but I also would like to know what the Church teaching is concerning dating.  ]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13561/what-is-the-unforgivable-sin Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:14:49 +0000 lokanar11 13561@/community/discussions https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13554/20-discount-on-the-oriental-orthodox-library Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:25:24 +0000 peterfarrington 13554@/community/discussions
Visit http://www.lulu.com to find your country specific discount code, and then visit..

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/orthodoxlibrary

to choose the books you want to order.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13553/romans-4-5 Sun, 22 Jul 2012 20:06:32 +0000 geomike 13553@/community/discussions
Am i understanding this verse right? Faith is more important than work? I know this isn't what we believe because it says in James that Faith without work is Dead so why would this verse say this? I could be taking it out of context, but i am genuinely confused.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13359/do-we-believe-in-purgatory Sat, 02 Jun 2012 18:36:52 +0000 markmarcos 13359@/community/discussions
Is Hades a place of waiting or is it hell?

As Coptic Orthodox Christians do we believe in a place of waiting for hell just like we believe in a place of waiting for heaven? (Paradise).
???]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13395/lost-and-found-origen-s-homilies-on-the-psalms-in-greek Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:46:58 +0000 Biboboy 13395@/community/discussions
… [Origen's] sermons and explanation on the Psalms were previously extant only in fragments and in Latin translation.  The inconspicuous-looking Greek manuscript whose true contents have now been identified dates from the 12th century.  …

The manuscript has already been digitised by the Bavarian State Library and is already available to everyone on the internet:

www.digitale-sammlungen.de > input “Homiliae in psalmos”

The Bavarian State Library has more than 650 Greek manuscripts and is thus the largest collection in Germany.  It is heavily used by scholars.  The work was done in-house by the Manuscript Development Centre and funded by the German Research Foundation.  The find makes clear the necessity and the value of this detailed and elaborate analysis.  The catalogue of the Greek manuscripts at the Bavarian State Library is celebrating its 20th anniversary.  It will take at least 15 more years until all the Greek manuscripts have been freshly described.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13389/3-minds-or-1-in-the-holy-trinity-2-minds-or-1-in-christ Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:24:51 +0000 metouro 13389@/community/discussions
The argument is that since God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Three Persons having One Mind and not Three Minds, that the Mind belongs to the Divine Nature of the Holy Trinity expressed in Three Persons (or Hypostases)  The Mind therefore, belongs to the Nature NOT the HYPOSTSIS.  If the Mind belongs to the Hypostases, then God the Holy Trinity would have Three Minds, but Since God who has only One Mind and One Will is Three Persons Having one Mind, then the Mind belongs to the Nature, since the Holy Trinity only has One Nature.

To be consistent, Christ who is both God and Man, must have Two Minds since the Mind belongs to the natures and Not the One Hypostsis. 

If the Trinity has Three Persons and Only One Mind, then Christ has a Human Mind and a Divine Mind since the Minds belong the Natures used by or united in the One Person of Christ.

Does the Holy Trinity Have One Mind or Three Minds?

And what does this mean for Christology.  If the One Hypostasis of the Logos incarnate is both God and Man, do we say that His Human Mind and His Divine Mind are united but without change, alteration or confusion?

Does the Holy Trinity Have One Mind or Three Minds?


]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13476/1-corinthians-6-2-3 Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:37:33 +0000 mark.naguib7 13476@/community/discussions the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels?

Can someone please explain? I thought God was the ultimate judge and I also thought that angels have already been judged...]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13468/teach-us-to-pray Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:05:54 +0000 peterfarrington 13468@/community/discussions
The audio podcasts are here...

http://orthodoxfaith.podbean.com/2012/06/23/teach-us-to-pray-part-1/

http://orthodoxfaith.podbean.com/2012/07/03/teach-us-to-pray-part-2/

http://orthodoxfaith.podbean.com/2012/07/03/teach-us-to-pray-part-3/

The video podcasts are on the BritishOrthodoxTV channel at Youtube..

http://www.youtube.com/user/britishorthodoxtv]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13436/lost-sheep-the-right-way-to-return-them Sat, 23 Jun 2012 23:56:39 +0000 Anthonypk7 13436@/community/discussions https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13417/prayer-ropes-from-father-peter Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:54:25 +0000 peterfarrington 13417@/community/discussions
If you would like one then please order using the paypal link below.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5LZNAAA7YWP7E

Each one will be sent with much love and blessings. I have found nothing more valuable to my own spiritual growth than the regular and persistent practice of the Jesus Prayer with attentive participation in the sacraments.
 
Father Peter]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13427/new-podcast-from-father-peter-farrington Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:09:07 +0000 peterfarrington 13427@/community/discussions
His significance is especially found in his position as a church leader between the periods of St Cyril and Dioscorus on the one hand, and St Severus on the other. He shows himself as eirenic, and concerned to be reconciled with all those who genuinely abandoned error, and also a man of great principle who would rather face 18 years of exile than abandon the faith he had been taught.

It can be downloaded from the site linked.

http://store.payloadz.com/go/?id=1035265]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13416/hg-bishop-paula Sun, 17 Jun 2012 22:18:52 +0000 stefanos 13416@/community/discussions
Would anyone happen to know if HG Bishop Paula of Marital affairs will be visiting the U.S. or Canada soon. If so, which state and church and when? Thank you.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13402/faith Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:36:11 +0000 Agape47 13402@/community/discussions Is this do to a lake of faith or are they just miserable and if it is lake of faith how do you deal with people like this?]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13388/how-has-our-lord-christ-granted-life-to-those-in-the-tomb Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:47:41 +0000 metouro 13388@/community/discussions

Clicking these ads earns revenue for Monachos.net.
Become a Community Supporter and make them disappear forever...In the Paschal Hymn, 'XRICTOC ANESTH' "Christ is Risen" we say that

1) "He bestowed life upon those in the tombs." We also say elsewhere that
2) "He rose from the dead raising us up with Him."

In the Divine Liturgies we also pray concerning the departed,

3) "repose them in the Paradise of Joy, in the Region of the Living where sorrow ... has passed away... in that place... in the heavenly Jerusalem"

What exactly do these terms mean since most of the dead bodies of Christians are

1) Still in the Tombs and
2) We have not yet physically risen to heaven
3) The New Jerusalem is to be inherited by us, God willing, after the general, bodily, resurrection

Do we, and do the Fathers, interpret these sayings to apply to the human consciousness, the spirit/soul when transferred from Hades to Paradise upon Christ descent thereto?

Do human spirits live in the heavenly Jerusalem before the bodily resurrection and enjoy it?


Some would argued, I hope quite erroneously, that these are hymns expressing hope for the resurrection a the end of time, and that they are prayers to be answered thousands of years from now after the Resurrection of the body in accordance with Christ's words, "... and I will raise him up at the LAST DAY".

But if this were so, would the hymns not better state that "by His Resurrection He will be bestowing life upon those in the tombs" and "He rose from the dead and will raise us up with Him"

Would it not be better also to be clear and say, "The souls thou hast taken, repose them.... in the heavenly Jerusalem on the last day...."?


But I don't think any of the Fathers nor the Church in general, nor do I, interpret these sayings in a future tense. I believe and live by them having a present, immediate tense, but I am not exactly sure how.

Keeping in mind His Reverence Father Peter Farrington's Podcasts on the soul after death, can anyone clarify the exact meaning of these sayings?

God bless you.

]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13328/complete-loss-of-faith Tue, 22 May 2012 02:05:11 +0000 K-man 13328@/community/discussions
I have a problem, and I created this account specifically for the purpose of addressing it. But before I do, but I want to give a bit of background first to maybe place it into context. I'm really sorry for the length, but there's a lot I need to get off my chest (and this might not even be all of it).I apologize in advance if anything I say comes off as harsh. Here goes:

I was raised in the Coptic church for the vast majority of my life. It was all I ever knew and all I ever needed. There was nothing this world could offer me that could even try to compare to Christ.

I am also very inquisitive by nature, and because of this, I love learning and science. I also learned to think critically when I was really little. I don't like the idea of accepting things just because someone in a position of authority (professor, etc.) tells me they're true. I should be able to look into them and determine why they are true, or at least if the evidence is compelling enough that the thing is likely true.

About a year ago, it dawned on me that I had never applied this process to my Coptic faith. We have the Bible, and it seems to make sense, and that was that. So I asked myself a very simple question: How do we know that Christianity is true? (or any religion for that matter). I still don't have an answer. And with each passing month, I seem to be finding more compelling evidence that it is actually  not true.

The first thing that seriously started me on this path was the argument I heard in church that evolution is false. My degree is in biology, and after weighing the evidence, I could come to no other conclusion other than to accept evolution (though I initially did not want to). And when I seriously looked into the reasons given for its supposed falseness, I was blown away by how flawed the reasoning was. But, at the time, I told myself that evolution and the Bible could still be true simultaneously.

However, this had the effect of getting me to look into other arguments I'd heard in church, the ones for "why we know God exists". The more seriously I started picking them apart, the more flimsy they seemed, until finally, there was almost nothing left.

In addition to this, there seems to be evidence (and/or lack thereof) against certain portions in the Bible. Science seems to conflict with the Flood, archaeology seems to conflict with the Exodus, and I found numerous others. The New Testament also seems to be questionable. To call this disturbing would be a huge understatement.

I want to mention that while I was going through this process, I prayed with tears constantly, because no argument or evidence could possibly hope to match any answer He gave me. But no answers came, and the evidence kept piling. I thought at first that I was being arrogant by asking God himself to help me, so I turned to St. Mary, then other saints, asking them for something, anything. Nothing.

So, last November, I concluded, against my will, that there is in all likelihood no God. I did not eat or sleep for days after this happened. My entire worldview was radically altered in a way I'm not sure I can properly explain.

Here's the thing: I want to be wrong about this. I really want to be wrong about this.

I want you to tell me what's missing from this picture. I'll tell you all I've done and read, and what I accept and don't accept. Help me. Please.

I've looked into all of the arguments for God's existence (Cosmological, Teleological, Ontological, Argument from Design, Argument from Morality, etc.). I don't buy any of them, with the possible exception of the Cosmological as it's explained in Aquineas' Five Ways (I haven't read enough yet to form a solid opinion on this).

I've looked at it scientifically, and this has raised several issues. One of the bigger ones is obviously related to evolution. I've seen that some of you actually do accept evolution, so this question is specifically for you guys: How do you reconcile evolution with the creation story? And, equally important, WHY would He choose to make his creation in such a way that makes it as though divine intervention is not needed?

Science also raises questions about the literalness of specific events in the Bible, the Flood being a big one. I've looked into it as thoroughly as I know how, and there doesn't seem to be evidence for it. In fact, there is absence of evidence. Floods should leave pretty specific evidence behind, but we don't see any such thing to indicate a global flood, at any point in earth's history. There also doesn't seem to be any biological evidence of the genetic bottlenecks that should have happened when all of earth's species supposedly went nearly extinct. So is the flood a literal story or not, and how do we know?

I've also looked into the Bible itself, its composition, its authors, etc. What I've learned was depressing to say the least.

I've read the Case for Christ and Mere Christianity, and some of Augustine's writings, and didn't find them helpful. I'd planned to read Chesterton next.

My faith has become nonexistent. I don't know how else to say it. It seems that right now all I'm doing is wishful thinking, because all logic and evidence so far tells me that there is nothing else out there. And feelings are too subjective to be a reliable source of information.

I realize that there are a bazillion possible topics to be addressed here, and I apologize. But I had to get it all out in the open. If this needs to be separated into different threads, I'll do it. And I will gladly elaborate on anything I said here.

I also apologize for any impression of disrespect or arrogance here. This is literally the most important question a person can investigate, and I have to give it all I've got.


]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13393/thoughts-on-the-contents-of-this-website Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:31:32 +0000 yahabiby1 13393@/community/discussions
http://www.thewarningsecondcoming.com/


Thanks!]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13376/homily-for-the-feast-of-pentecost Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:31:35 +0000 peterfarrington 13376@/community/discussions
http://orthodoxfaith.podbean.com/2012/06/07/homily-for-the-feast-of-pentecost/]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13347/perception-of-others Mon, 28 May 2012 23:42:34 +0000 peter_saad 13347@/community/discussions
My question is this: Where do you draw the line about what you think this person is doing?

I know that the 'correct' answer is to not think anything about person, which I think is almost impossible.

I feel like we take the whole "do not judge" thing a little too far. ]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13191/creationism-vs-evolution Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:41:04 +0000 kirollos3 13191@/community/discussions ( so pray for me guys )


so my question is ( please ) could you give me anything sermon or article in what COPTICS stand for in creation because there is a million way. anything. i need something to know my basics i already know how to disprove evolution but now i wanna know what i belive in.

for examples : do we belive in 6 literal days or billions or "unknown"

Your son kirollos ]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13071/a-troubling-verse-for-many Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:14:08 +0000 user157 13071@/community/discussions
I don't think that means we should not speak in His name
But I think He was referring to those who think they know God and think they are doing His will when they are not
Such as the Pharisees trying to stone the sinner woman or any Christian who judges and gossips and thinks they are doing God a favor
all those who misinterpret the bible to do what they want
or do not even read the bible]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13315/a-question-i-cant-answer Wed, 16 May 2012 19:50:25 +0000 markmarcos 13315@/community/discussions
God is the one who says '' be ! ...and it is !'' why cant he just forgive in another way? how would i answer that question.]]> https://tasbeha.org/community/discussion/13311/prayers-for-the-deceased Wed, 16 May 2012 10:08:37 +0000 Mariarosa 13311@/community/discussions
If there were no futher chances after death (which makes sense to me), then why do we still pray for our deceased? On the other hand, if our prayers for the dead do make a difference, then why did Pope Shenouda affirm on several occasions that "there is no chance after death?"

Thanks:)
]]>