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I replaced the quote from Exodus above with the Septuagint version, since the explanation I'm going to post is based on that. It's from Saint Maximus, which means you need to read it multiple times before you can make any sense of it :-) Quote: Question: If God sent Moses into Egypt, why was...

Give God the Glory, as Amadeus would say! :-)

Someone of the spiritual stature of Saint John had no need of the physical visit of the Lord, he was always in His presence in spirit, even more so in the quietude of his prison cell. Also, the question he posed through his disciples was made on behalf of them, he had no doubts about Christ’s...

They are both - the rich man and the woman of revelation - symbols of the sinful soul that wasted her life in pleasures, riches and the vain glory of this world. Lazarus is a symbol of Christ (Matthew 25:40), Whom sinners did not feed, clothe, taken care of, etc (Matthew 25:42-43). The dogs are...

I was going by the (or rather a) Greek text and offered my translation based on a commentary by Saint John Chrysostom. He seems to be using a slightly different text. The verb rise up is in passive voice instead of ευκτική (expressing a wish), which is what the official Greek text goes by (and...

The Greek Septuagint has: 8 Wonder has seized true men on account of me; transgressor arose against the just*. 9 How then is the faithful to hold on his own way, and him that is pure of hands take courage? In other words, if the just suffers like a transgressor what is the point of being...

Not exactly. When someone (VinJ) shows symptoms of spiritual hypoglycemia (confusion, anxiety, despair...), you don't prescribe medicine that is meant to reduce your blood sugar levels, I mean the threats of condemnation that help reduce the lusts of our flesh. Abstractions about the process of...

Amen to that!

He does love us very much and He is very diligent in finding excuses to save people and not condemn them. It is us who judge people harshly. If I may post a story... There was an ascetic elder and anchorite, who had been leading an ascetic life in a desert place for seventy years, in fasting...

Certain words from Laozi come to mind: Overcome by yielding The weak can overcome the strong For only absence can provide The place where everything belongs And thus it is that I can see The worthiness of not contending Yet few will ever comprehend The potency of bending ... Nothing is softer...

Perhaps you 're right... what can I say... God, be merciful to me, a sinner!

Indeed, I am! A certain saying from the Desert Fathers also comes to mind: Once, brethren who had heard of his virtue came to Abba Agathon to see if they could make him lose his temper. They asked him, “Are you Abba Agathon, a fornicator and a proud man?” “Yes, that is true,” the Saint...

Here's the LXX version for reference: LXX Isaiah 28: 9 To whom have we reported evils? and to whom have we reported a message? [even to those] that are weaned from the milk, who are drawn from the breast. 10 Accept thou affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, [and] yet a little...

If you don't mind... I would like to offer a spiritual meditation on that bolded sentence, captivating it as it were to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) - it seems to me you intended it that way, too: Get to work -> Study and pray. Pay the bills -> Offer thanks and glorify God for...

Episkope, I wasn't disagreeing with you. Even if that particular verse doesn't support your point, the fact is that we can't crucify ourselves. I agree! :)

We do the crucifying, there's no ambiquity to the phrase: "οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν." In order for the text to have been translated as, "they that are Christ's (have had) the flesh crucified," it should have been written as "οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν σάρκα έχουν ἐσταυρωμένη*." Having...

Probably not flowery enough... as I can't distinguish the smell of your words... I can see some colorful petals though. :)

Grace and discipline are not mutually exclusive. Those who practice discipline would likewise ascribe their accomplishments to God’s grace as those who are... less diligent or... 'more' discerning. Still, pride has a way to injure both equally. The former through boasting and passing judgment on...

An absolute yes to both questions! I would also add that we shouldn’t worry about not knowing the answer to theological investigations as that of the OP, especially when we have so many other shortcomings and sins we need to correct. As a certain wise man said, “When our soul leaves this world...

Imo, this side of the grave is better to have these impulses of sin and struggle than to be at peace and prone to presumption (pride). I even have a… monkish little story to illustrate the point: Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Dwarf that he had prayed God to take his passions away from him...