On love without God

It is impossible to replace the absence of God with a love for humankind, because man will immediately say: why should I love humankind?

F.M. Dostoevsky  

Saint Paisios on the role of the teacher

"To be a real teacher - especially in our time - is truly something great. Children are like blank cassette tapes. One can record on them either dreadful songs or divine Byzantine music. The work of a teacher is sacred. A great responsibility lies on his shoulders, and if he is attentive, he can receive a great reward from God. His duty is to teach children the Fear of God. Teachers must find ways to bring the knowledge of God and of their country to children. Let them simply plant the seeds; if you don't see how they sprout, it's alright. Nothing happens without leaving a trace, the time will come when the seeds bud.

And teachers should always behave kindly to children, with leniency, with love. They should try to awaken 'philotimia' (a sense of honour) in children. A child wants love and warmth. Many children are completely deprived of this at home. If a teacher loves a child, then the child will love him in return. And then it will be easier for the teacher to do his job. Our teacher, when we misbehaved, could whip us. But he loved children, and children loved him too. He didn't have his own kids, and he really loved children.

Therefore, mothers and fathers who give birth to many children are worthy of praise. But even more worthy of praise are those true teachers who give 'rebirth' to many children and become mothers and fathers of 'a great multitude of children.' They give society reborn people, and thus society improves."

Saint Paisios of Athos

Happiness

How mistaken are those who seek happiness outside of themselves - in foreign lands and journeys, in fame and fortune, in great possessions and pleasures, in diversions and vain pursuits, all of which have a bitter end! Constructing the tower of happiness outside of oneself is like building a house on ground constantly shaken by earthquakes. Happiness is found within ourselves, and blessed is the man who has understood this. Happiness is a pure heart, for such a heart becomes the throne of God. Thus speaks the Lord regarding those who possess a pure heart: "I will dwell in them, and will walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (2 Cor. 6:16). What can they possibly lack? Nothing, nothing at all! For they have the greatest gift in their hearts: God Himself! (St. Nektarios of Aegina, Path to Happiness).

Leo

"There are three things that are stately in their stride,

four that move with stately bearing:

a lion, mighty among beasts,

who retreats before nothing;

a strutting rooster, a he-goat,

and a king secure against revolt"

- Proverbs 30:29-31

On Fortune Telling

On the so-called Christmas Season fortune telling

Hegumen Job (Gumerov)

What is the Orthodox perspective on the Russian pastime of fortune telling at Christmas?

The desire to foresee, to know the future in advance, has been with man since ancient times. It is impossible to do so by earthly means alone. Man, limited by the laws of the physical world, inevitably resorts to supernatural forces. A question arises which requires a clear and resolute answer: what is the source of our knowledge of the future?

Holy Scripture shows us that the future is known only to God. The dark, demonic forces, as the Holy Fathers teach us, do not know the future. As immaterial beings, they are, however, better able than people to calculate and predict future events. Scripture also shows us the danger of turning to these forces, calling any divination hideous and a brazen sin before God (Deuteronomy 10-12).

In the book of Daniel there is an episode where the king Nebuchadnezzar turns to fortune tellers and magicians in the hope that they will interpret his dreams. Saint Daniel answers him: “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals the secrets” (Daniel 2:27-28).

In order for the Lord to reveal the future to a person, a strict and pure life is necessary, as is prayer and the fulfillment of God's commandments. And then God gives one knowledge of the future, according to his discretion, in the interest of our well-being. In order to enter into contact with demons, no ascetic achievement is required whatsoever. It merely suffices to employ well-known techniques. For this, however, the person pays a very high price – his spiritual health. Sometimes this ends in the person being possessed by demons. Even after repentance a scar still remains in one's soul.

The fortune telling which occurs during the Christmas season does not essentially differ  from divination during other times of the year. Even if people are not aware of it, but rather view it as a kind of exotic game, it does not become inoffensive. For the word has an existential power. Once spoken, it does not disappear, but goes into the infinite memory of God. On the day of judgment it will be presented for condemnation or for exoneration. The word used in magical formulas beckons the demons, even if one does not so desire. The existence of fortune telling in Russia during the Christmas season merely shows that certain sinful costumes can persist, for they are rooted in man's fallen nature.

In his time Saint John Chrysostom warned: “Willingly do not turn to fortune tellers, and if you are invited to them by others, even then do not accept... Man will always want to know the unseen, he especially wants to know about his troubles in advance, in order to avoid falling into distress... But if you resort to fortune telling, you will become unworthy of God's kindness and mercy, and thus you prepare for yourself a great deal of misfortunes.”

On the Love of God

"Love is the icon of the Lord's disciples, the imprint of the servant of God, the mark of the Apostles. By this everyone recognizes them as such."

- Saint Nektarios of Aegina

What is religion?

Religion has been defined by the Swiss Center for Intercantonal Information on Beliefs as "the group of beliefs, rituals, practices and ethical rules which constitute, for their members, a means of entering into contact with supernatural realities and of obtaining answers to questions concerning the fundamental problems of life, as well as questions concerning the origin of the world or the finality of existence" (author's translation of brochure "D'Eglise en Ashram").
...

Undeniably a 'religion', Orthodoxy as the one true religion differs from the others in that it does not cripple man in its rigid system, but liberates him. It does not offer fleeting well-being, but eternal life and love with the Source of life and Creator of all. It does not offer practices and beliefs which put one in contact with fantastic or even demonic supernatural forces, but rather with the Personal Light of God. The bold assumption of 'one true religion' must be reserved for but one system, provided the obvious divergences and contradictions in the paths of the world's religions. And we boldly confess it to be Orthodoxy, not merely because we were born Orthodox, for we must all be born again (John 3:3), or because the word Orthodoxy translates as such, but because of the endless proofs of experience and miraculous signs given to us. This is sealed with faith and expressed in the Tradition of the Church. In the Tradition, in the lives of the Saints, and in the Church we read about, we see and hear of these proofs, and we experience them for ourselves. This experience, and the undeniable logic of the Logos in his Gospel, allows us to make such bold assertions concerning the singular truth of our religion.