Why I Stopped Listening to Modern Music

 

This may or may not (depending on how well you know me) be a surprise to you, but I DO NOT listen to any sort of popular/modern/Western music whatsoever *gasp*. Yup! That means no Lil’ Wayne, Drake, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and even Adele! This may seem as a shock to many, but I have been so much happier since I’ve cut this type of music out of my life.

Before I go into why, let me go on the record and say that I do believe that music itself is beneficial and that there are some modern songs that aren’t so bad. I do believe music has a place in the Christian’s life. However, I think the vast majority of modern music, including the artists I listed above and others of the like, is ultimately detrimental to a person’s psyche, and isn’t worth the minimal benefits that come with it.

I know the argument I’m presenting here is a hard pill to swallow. Believe me when I say that it was for me as well. However, ever since I made the step to get rid of modern music in my life, I’ve never once thought about turning back.

My Personal Experience

As a teenager, I felt that listening to music wasn’t a big deal at all. I used to spend hours on the computer downloading songs and searching for new releases to the point where I had thousands (no exaggeration) of songs on my iPod that I listened to any chance I had: during drives, walks, working out, while in the shower, trying to go to sleep. Literally any chance I had to listen to music, I would, and I know that many of you are/were the same way.

However, as a Christian, there was something that always bothered me. The music I listened to did not match my belief system. Not only that, but I realized later on that it had converted me to a belief system that I didn’t ascribe to and made me a person that I wasn’t. Whether you think so or not, the music you listen to does have an internal, hidden effect on a person. For example, I remember starting out not listening to music that had curse words at all. Eventually, I listened to music that had curse words, but I downloaded the “clean” version which bleeped out the inappropriate words. Later on, I stopped caring about which version of the song I was downloading and not long after that, I started saying those words myself. My priest always had a saying: “Garbage in, garbage out.” Ultimately, what he was saying is that the more bad influence you intake, the more it will come out of your mouth. You can apply 1 Corinthians 15:33 to this: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (NKJV). I found myself doing that. The more I spent time with my music, the more I would develop bad habits. There were lyrics in those songs, that are directly against my faith, but I sang them anyways. I started using the same words as in the songs, and eventually started thinking that way as well.

Why am I saying all of this? Because, unfortunately this is all too common a scenario and I was there. However, the faithful Christian will understand this issue, and will take steps to fix it.

The Problem with Modern Music

Why is modern music so bad? Well, for a number of reasons. The most obvious of which mostly occurs in rap (but even in rock and heavy metal songs). There are horrible and ridiculous lyrics in some songs that are covered under “Free Speech” that I can’t believe people listen to. It isn’t uncommon now to hear a song that is promoting some sort of evil such as drunkenness, hedonism, degradation of women, violence, etc. There are songs that promote lifestyles and behaviors that are not only against Christianity, but against the law itself. I would quote some lyrics, but they are so explicit, that I don’t want to taint this page with that type of language. Suffice it to say that constantly exposing oneself to music with that type of message or language does have a negative effect on a person’s psyche. I’m not saying that listening to a song where someone talks about doing horrible things to an ex-girlfirend (that’s a real song, but I don’t want to link to it) will make you do those things (although it can). What I am saying is that it desensitizes us and, ultimately, dehumanizes us.

It’s not just the explicit language and the content, but it is the mindset itself. Some people think that Taylor Swift is a good person to take relationship advice from or that rappers have some profound political ideas. We tend to worship these people and listen to them when they go outside the scope of music. Why? You would never trust a mechanic for medical advice or ask a dentist how to code an app. So why do we blindly take anything these artists say and apply it to our lives? They’re good at singing, but they are not moral teachers or philosophical guides. Yet, many people treat them as so. They know this too, and they use that to push various agendas such as this famous one. This isn’t even too mention the overly sexual performances that occur on stage, or sometimes, even demonic ones. I don’t think I need to keep going to prove my point.

The point I’m trying to make is that you can’t, in good faith, call yourself a Christian and listen to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Let us remember the words of 1 Corinthians 10:21 which says: You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons (NKJV). How can you go to Church and be against the very things that you say when you sing these things?

The Fundamental Difference between Eastern and Western Music

The music I listen to now is Coptic music. Very old ancient music that, when you look into the history of it, blows any sort of modern music out of the water. There is a fundamental difference in the music I listen to: the words. The words in Coptic music are the focus. They praise God and speak of nothing evil.

Other than this, there is a difference in the composition of the music. Since ancient times, especially in the East, music was composed by first having words, then putting them to a well-known tune (the Psalms are a major example of this). Our church does a great job of this, and it’s for a reason. Sometimes, we may feel in church that the words don’t match the melody, but that’s because the Church is trying to teach us a message. The words in the hymns have deep theological meanings. The tune itself also has a meaning. The tune is secondary though. The tune usually sets the mood and the pace, but the words are the content of what we are trying to express. Essentially, the church is telling us that the content takes priority over the melody. What we say is more important than the music itself.

Unfortunately, this type of mentality is absent in modern music. Music now is made with a beat first, then words are fit into it to match the beat. What’s the difference? The focus isn’t on the content of the song, but on whether it’s catchy or not. That’s why so many people listen to songs with horrible messages. It’s because it sounds catchy rather than having some deep meaning. How do I know that? Let’s take a look at the top song on iTunes right now. That song is “Work” by Rihanna. I highly doubt this song is number one because of some profound lyrics considering that the lyrics of the chorus are:

So me put in
Work, work, work, work, work, work
Ner ner ner ner ner ner!
When you a guh ner ner ner ner ner ner!
Before the tables turn turn turn turn turn turn!
(Lyrics taken from here)

It’s not only me that thinks this! Others don’t understand the lyrics either and are questioning the song in general. Yet, this song is number one on iTunes right now. What does this say about modern music? What does this say about its listeners?

I love the deep meaning behind Coptic Music and the purity of its lyrics. Even though it’ll never be on the Billboard 100, nothing modern society will produce can even touch it!

I encourage everyone reading this to try and put that type of music behind you, so that when you praise with God, you can do it with more than just our tongues, but with our lives as well. We will sing to him with “a new song.” As St. Augustine says:

“Strip off your oldness; you know a new song. A new person, a New Covenant, a new song. People stuck in the old life have no business with this new song; only those who are new persons can learn it, renewed by grace and throwing off the old, sharers already in the New Covenant, which is the kingdom of heaven. All our love yearns toward that, and in its longing our love sings a new song. Let us sing this new song not with our tongues but with our lives.” (St. Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms 33.6)

Some Christmas Facts You May Not Know

 

All around the world, people are celebrating Christmas on December 25th. As some may know, some Orthodox Christians (such as the Coptic Orthodox Church) celebrate Christmas on January 7th. How did this happen and why was this date chosen? Also, how did some of the current customs such as Christmas trees, lights, giving presents, and others evolve and how do they pertain to Christmas? Some Atheists will also argue that Christmas celebrations are purely pagan in origin; is this true? I hope to discuss all these issues briefly in this post.

Date of Christmas

The date of Christmas is the most complicated of these issues. It’s also the one that most Atheists like to point at as an error in Christianity. The first point they will not fail to make is that December 25th is not the day the Christ was born due to the fact that shepherds don’t herd their sheep in the winter. This is true, but Christianity has never claimed that this day (or any other day) is the legitimate birthday of Christ. This misunderstanding here comes from the misunderstanding of feast days in ancient Christianity. Just because Christians celebrate on a certain day doesn’t mean that that day is the actual day He was born. Actually, the most ancient of Christians thought that Christ was born in the spring (possibly March or April) which would solve the problem of the shepherds. There are other theories that place His birth in the autumn, but the most important thing to remember is that Dec. 25th (or Jan. 7th) was never meant to mark the exact day of His birth.

So why/how did the Church come up with the date of Christmas? To understand this, we have to go to the date of Easter. Traditionally, the date of Easter was calculated to be March 25th (Paremhat 29th, according to the Coptic calendar) (which is fairly accurate). Christians, therefore, used this day to celebrate what was called the “Feast of the Incarnation.” This feast was celebrated as a combination of the Feast of Resurrection, Feast of Annunciation, and Feast of Nativity (Christmas). Later on, there was a controversy over when the Feast of Resurrection should be celebrated. Some felt that it should be celebrated on this day (called the Quartodecimans) while others felt that it should be celebrated on a Sunday. At the Council of Nicea, the verdict was decided in favor of celebrating on Sunday. Therefore, Easter is now celebrated on Sunday, leaving March 25th as a celebration of the Annunciation and Nativity. Another reform happened in order to give each feast its own day. This was done simply by moving the Nativity to nine months (the length of pregnancy) after the Annunciation making it Dec. 25th (Koiahk 29th). March 25th is now just the Commemoration of the Annunciation and is also seen as a recognition of the actual day of Resurrection, although the feast is not celebrated on this day.

Coincidently and unintentionally, Dec. 25th happens to be the same day as the Roman Feast of Winter Solstice. Atheists use this coincidence to argue that the Feast of Christmas is actually a pagan feast. Although the coincidence is eerie, it is just a coincidence and the history argues otherwise. (This type of argument is called the “Mythicism Argument,” and I hope to write a separate post on this later on).

So how about January 7th? This is a lot easier. Dec. 25th was Koiahk 29th up until the Julian calendar was no longer used. In order to make a more accurate calendar, the Gregorian calendar (today’s current calendar) was put into affect pushing the date by 10 days, essentially making Dec. 25th in the Gregorian calendar coincide with January 7th in the Julian Calendar. So essentially, both dates are December 25th, depending on the calendar being used.

Christmas Trees

No one knows the exact origin of Christmas trees, and there are many legends associated with how they were introduced. The best we know is that it started in Germany. Although there are some pagan origins to using the tree during the winter solstice, it was merely used as a signal and hope for the coming spring. Seeing this, Christians may have adopted a similar interpretation and used the evergreen fir tree to signify the everlasting hope of Christ who came on this day to deliver us. It was seen as a symbol of eternal life because of the ability of the evergreen to stay lush through harsh winters.

Christmas Lights

Candles have always been used in Christianity for church services for a variety of uses. One common one is to signify Christ, who is the light of the world. The origin of the use of Christmas lights as they are now is not really known. However, one possibility points to the Christians in Egypt who celebrated this feast with lanterns. According to Muslim historian Al-Maqrizi (see page 5-6), Copts of all classes used to celebrate with these lights and with delectable treats (possibly, the origin of Christmas treats as well). These lights signify that in the darkness and hopelessness of the world, Christ came as a light to guide us to hope.

Giving Presents/Santa Clause

It is commonly thought now that giving presents is associated with the Wise Men giving presents to the Child Jesus. However, it is widely documented that giving presents actually occurred on the Feast of St. Nicholas celebrated on Dec. 6 (or Dec. 19th in the Coptic Church). Martin Luther, in his process of reformation, wanted to eliminate any feasts of saints and practices associated with them. However, the practice of giving gifts became so popular, that it was hard to eliminate. Therefore, taking advantage of the feast’s proximity to Christmas, he pushed the gift-giving to the day of Christmas in order to associate with Christ rather than a saint. This rough transition caused there to be a missing “gift-giver” that is associated with the story of St. Nicholas. This is where Santa Claus comes in. The Santa Claus we see today is a fusion of St. Nicholas with some Germanic pagan gods that is very loosely based on this story. As a result, Santa Claus now appears on Christmas.

Conclusion

Knowing these facts now, the Christian can understand some of the beautiful symbolisms behind Christmas. The symbolism of the tree points to Christ’s everlasting gift of himself, the lights, His hope, and the gifts, His generosity. Understanding these things can help us worship Christ in the proper way on the Feast of His Nativity, and appreciate this Feast even more. To read more about other Christmas traditions, this is a good website.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Why is the Wage of Sin Death?

We all know that the wage of sin is death, but have we ever asked the following questions:

Why is the wage of sin death? Isn’t that too harsh of a punishment? Couldn’t a loving God have made the punishment something else?

These are a series of questions that I received a while ago and that many may ask who are both inside and outside the church. Hopefully, this post will answer all these questions. In order to fully answer it though, there are some basic things that need to be understood.

The first thing to understand is that God made man perfect and “very good” (Gen. 1:31, “very good” is only used after the creation of man). When God created man, He created man with the intention of immortality. In Gen. 2:7, we see God giving man the breath of life. This Breath of life is the human spirit & the gift of the Holy Spirit for immortality (I got this from a Coptic Orthodox Theologian). Also, in Wisdom of Solomon, “For God created man for immortality and made him an image of His own eternity” (Wis. 2:23 SAAS). If we understand this concept, than we can move on to answering the question.

Man, as long as he was sinless, portrayed all of the characteristics of God that He gave to us. These characteristics are ingrained in us since we are created in the Image of God (Gen. 1:26). These characteristics are: Immortality/incorruption, rational, free will, authority to rule, and goodness/holiness. We were created with these characteristics before the fall. These are also the same characteristics that the Incarnate Logos would posesss as well. (Note: We were created IN THE IMAGE of God, but Christ is THE IMAGE of God). About this concept, St. Irenaeus says:

“In previous times man, it is true, was said to have been made according to the image of God, but he was not revealed as such. For the Word according to whose image man was made was still invisible. Therefore also man easily lost the likeness. But when the Word of God was made flesh, he confirmed both image and likeness. For on the one hand he truly showed the image by becoming what His image was. On the other hand He firmly established the likeness by the co-assimilation of man to the invisible Father through the visible Word.”
(Against Heresies 5.16.2)

Because of our free will, we corrupted these characteristics when we sinned. This isn’t how God wanted us to live, but to have true free will, we needed a possibility of not living according to God’s way. God gave us that opportunity so that we may choose to love Him instead of having no choice but to love Him.

So here is the punishment for sin: death. Now I can finally answer the question. Why death? There was no choice but death! It had to be death.

Man was living in the presence of God. As a result they lived like gods: perfect, incorrupt, holy, and eternal. When man sinned, we became corrupt and this corruption cannot live symbiotically with immortality. God is life, and is incorrupt. St. Athanasius says it better:

“But men, having turned from the contemplation of God to evil of their own devising, had come inevitably under the law of death. Instead of remaining in the state in which God had created them, they were in process of becoming corrupted entirely, and death had them completely under its dominion. For the transgression of the commandment was making them turn back again according to their nature; and as they and at the beginning come into being out of non-existence, so were they now on the way to returning, through corruption, to non-existence again. The presence and love of the word had called them into being; inevitably, therefore when they lost the knowledge of God, they lost existence with it; for it is God alone Who exists, evil is non-being, the negation and antithesis of good.” (On the Incarnation, 1, 4)

So basically, what St. Athanasius is saying is that the corruption of sin was slowly destroying the goodness of man. The knowledge of good and evil would now give them the ability to sin more and since they were already corrupt, they would not be able to resist sin.

The wage of sin is death, but there are three deaths. The physical, spiritual, and moral death. The death that happened due to sin was all of these but in different ways. The first one that happened was moral death. That’s what I described in the previous paragraph. The ability to sin came to man and man lost his goodness. He lost his morality. Moral death is death to goodness. The second death is a spiritual death. Sin is separation from God because God cannot abide in sin. He is sinless and so if we sin, we cannot abide with/in Him. Therefore, man and God had separated. This isn’t “death” in the way we think. This “death” rather, is separation from the SOURCE OF LIFE, God. Since we’re separated from that source, we are dead.

Now the question is, why the physical death? The physical death is out of God’s mercy. The physical death is necessary due to God’s love. God allowed us to die a physical death in order to protect us from the spiritual death, which came about from the moral death. Can you imagine if we lived eternally in our corrupt state? God used death as a way for us to get rid of corruption. He also used death in order to redeem us.

But God’s love was the reason he ALLOWED us to die. Look at Genesis 3:22-24: “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

This verse is key to understanding death. Because man was now corrupt (knows good and evil), he was taken away from the tree. God made sure that man wouldn’t get to the tree of life after corruption. He sent man out of the Garden and protected the tree with the Cherubim. So why? He did this so that man would not live eternally as a corrupt being.

God created us with those characteristics I mentioned above, but we lost those characteristics when we sinned. Why should we live forever like that? God loves us, and wants to “restore us to our first estate” (as we say in Church). He did this through His death on the cross and through giving us the Holy Spirit.

When we grow in His Likeness, we become more and more like how we originally were through His Grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. Once we are deemed worthy, we become restored through His Resurrection. Then, God will give us eternal life again through the same way he prevented it from us: The tree of Life. Revelation 22:1-3 says, “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.”

So we see that God, at the end, gives us the tree of life when we overcome sin. Death was necessary because we separated ourselves from God, but through His Death he abolished death, raised us with Him, and gave us eternal life. When we say this stuff in church, this is what we mean. If God never allowed us to die, we would never have the opportunity to be raised with Him and live eternally.

Response to Buzzfeed’s “Questions Christians Have for Other Christians” Video

The video embedded below is a video by BuzzFeed that was posted last Saturday. The premise of the video is that some (what some people may call) “Progressive Christians” ask “Other Christians” some questions in a demeaning way with the intent of correcting them. I’ll let the video speak for itself:

What’s sad is that people who would even call themselves Christians would ask questions like these. Since I definitely do not agree with any of these so-called Christians, I guess I’m part of the group they call “Other Christians”. As such, since these people sincerely (I hope) want answers, I’ll do my best to give the Orthodox Christian world view. Overall, I can’t imagine that this video is supposed to be taken seriously. However, there are people that may look at this and find some sort of point to use against Christianity in it, and that’s why I’m posting this.

Before I start though, I want to say that although some of the questions do seem like sincere issues, others are just purely social questions that have nothing to do with Christianity. It seems that in this day and age, Christianity is supposed to fit in with society as opposed to guiding it. I’ll clarify when I answer the questions below which are highlighted in red.

1. Do you really think He’s [God] freaking out because His name is not on a cup, that you get to hold for ten minutes, while you drink a pumpkin spice latte?

I’m pretty sure that the answer is obvious, but in case it isn’t, and you’re really wondering, you can find your answer here.

2. Why does Christian music always sound like a mixture of like Nickelback, and Third Eye Blind?

Once again, I highly doubt that this is a serious question. I would argue that what this person is describing is not true Christian music. The ancient Christian hymns of old are beautiful acapella (sometimes with cymbals in the Coptic Church) compositions that are designed to move the spirit. Here is an example of one from my church in English (just in time for Christmas).

3. Did your devotions actually happen, if you didn’t post about it on Instagram?

This, I will concede, is an issue, if the intention is harmful. Some people like to share Christ in any way possible. Take a look at the example of Sts. Peter and Paul: 

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20 NKJV)

 As long as what is done isn’t to show off your spirituality, but to edify others, than there is no problem. My group of youth have a group text where we share Bible passages and quotes from the early fathers with each other in order to fill each other up. What’s wrong with that? Once again, it depends on the heart of the person posting it, which neither you or I can judge.

4. How come we all love Tim Tebow? I mean I do love him, I just don’t why.

Once again, I highly doubt this is a serious question. We love everyone. We’re Christians it’s what we do. Tim Tebow is a good role model because he’s not afraid to express his faith even when it’s unpopular. I’m not saying he’s a saint, but I’m saying that that’s why Christians support look up to him. What’s wrong with that?

5. Why can’t you just pray? Why does it have to be a prayer, and then like someone in the background being like blow, blow-beow?

I’m honestly not sure what this is referring to so forgive my ignorance on this one. But rest assured that you can just pray. Don’t worry about that. 

6. Yeah how come everyone’s still supporting Donald Trump?

To answer the question: I don’t know. I also have no idea what this has to do with Christianity. Either way, Christians shouldn’t put their hopes in politicians, because there is not one who can do what Christ can. 

7. Why are we so afraid to talk about sex? Sex is good! Have you read Song of Solomon? 

No one ever said sex is bad. But in this sex-crazed society where anything goes, purity is looked down upon as “prude” and “old-fashioned.” Sex is good in the context of a legitimate Christian marriage. In Song of Solomon, the book is talking about the love between HUSBAND and WIFE (notice that they’re married and also a male and female). This is a symbol of God’s pure love for his faithful people and their reciprocal love. The most ancient Christians interpreted this book allegorically to represent Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church. For proper sexual conduct, read 1 Corinthians 5-8. 

8. How come we all love Chick-fil-a?

I don’t (gasp) and I’m a Christian! But once again, it’s a company that stands for its beliefs regardless of what society says. That’s admirable.

9. Why do you think Facebook is an appropriate place to discuss theology? 

I’m not really sure of the issue here, but I guess it’s for the same reason you think BuzzFeed is an appropriate medium for your questions (burn?). My personal Facebook is a representation of my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. It is about me. If I want to speak about theology, I will and can and have the right to, especially in a country that grants that freedom. Why is it an inappropriate place? 

10. Why, when Paul said that we all have our own individual gifts, that we feel the need to fit into this absolutely perfect mold? That’s impossible. 

I think that you’re referring to Ephesians 4:11-16.  If that’s the case, then I suggest you reread it. And of course it’s impossible to be perfect, but we must do our best to imitate Christ. Even though it may seem impossible, nothing is impossible with Christ. Yes, it’s hard, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. We should always grow and perfect ourselves to be pure images of Him. 

11. Why are we as Christians more known by the things we hate, than by our acts of love?

This is a pretty good question, and one that is not unexpected as Christians. We know that as Christians, the world will hate us just as they hated Christ. In fact, Christ himself was hated because he made known the world’s sin to them. All this is what Christ himself said in John 15:18-25. Of course this should not deter us, because Christ has overcome the world. My question to you is, why are we looking to please the world instead of Christ?

UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that I may have not answered this question entirely. For that I apologize, and will include an additional answer. 

Above, I mentioned that “Christ himself was hated because he made known the world’s sin to them.” I’ll expand on this answer to answer the question above. The truth of the matter is that Christians stand against sin. We are known by what we believe in. Therefore, in this day and age, when sin is not only commonplace, but the norm, anybody standing against it may be seen as a threat. It’s more comfortable for us to live how we want, rather than taking moral responsibility for what we believe. In other words, being a Christian means I have to live a moral life and to abstain from things that are now commonplace in the world such as: heavy drinking, cussing, fornication, homosexuality, drug use, etc. Increasingly this world is fighting for “gay rights” and “legalization of marijuana.” Additionally, fornication and cussing are so widespread, that it is strange if someone is not doing these things.

All these things that the majority of the world (U.S.) are fighting for or are participating in are WRONG. We, as Christians should not participate but rather expose these things as evil. Good Christians follow this wholeheartedly, so when they do stand up against evil things, people see that and react violently (as in slandering, and verbal attacks) in order to be able to justify their sin. The media sees this controversy and eats it up. An article that says, “Christians support helping the poor” is not as eye-catching as “Christians are against gay marriage.” Therefore, the media plays a huge role.

Ultimately, St. Anthony the Great sums up what I’m trying to say in the following quote: 

“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’” – St. Anthony the Great, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the time mentioned by St. Anthony, and we are known by what we hate because we are not like the people who love those things.

12. Why do you think Christianity and science are incompatible? If anything, science makes God look a lot cooler.

Ummm… I don’t think that at all. Christianity answers the why questions of life and science answers the how. This is a long discussion, but I absolutely think they are compatible. Since you like cool things, here is a cool video that shows how compatible they are.

13. Why are you so adamant about exercising your religious freedoms, but then get so offended when people of other faith exercise their religious freedoms?

We shouldn’t be. As St. Paul says, we don’t worry about judging those who are outside. However, we do get offended at people who disgrace our faith. Of course, we shouldn’t attack back like what Peter did, because we know that our Lord can defend himself.

14. Why do you feel like I have to constantly be preaching in order to be a good Christian?

I’ll just leave this here. It’s not for me to decide, it’s for you. I’m not sure as to why you’re so worried about my opinion.

15. Is showing my friends love and grace, not allowed to just speak for itself sometimes?

Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t. There is no one way to do something for every situation. Of course it can speak for itself, but sometimes you have to take other measures. We must pray for wisdom and discernment to know when to do which. 

16. How come there’s a church on every block, but for some reason, we can’t figure out a way to work together?

I don’t know what this is referring to, but the answer has to do something with the fact that humans are not perfect and we make mistakes. Everyone expects the church to be magically perfect and gets upset when people in there are not. That’s like walking into a hospital which is supposed to be a place of healing and seeing sick people and getting angry.

17. Why is there so much racism, sexism, and homophobia in the church? Galatians 3:28 says it’s neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. So done’t that pretty much tell you that not of that stuff matters?

There isn’t. At least not in my church. Our church doctrine and the Bible (like the verse you quoted) tell us to not hate anyone. We stand against sin, not people. 

18. Why, when the main message of the Bible is to love one another, that we choose to do the opposite?

It is because we are weak sinners who fall short of the Glory of God. I thought that was obvious. We fail to live up to our standards, but through Christ, we may overcome our sins.

19. How come when we talk about men having several wives in the Old Testament, we say cultural context? But then when we talk about marriage today, it’s strictly one man, and one woman?

Cultural context is not the right answer. God didn’t allow this. Man did. When Christ came, he set the law straight. Read this passage, especially verse 8. 

2o. Why does having a diverse group of friends make me less Christian?

It doesn’t, but St. Paul does warn against it. 

21. Why does the church consider LGBT Christians as less than? I don’t remember there being a demographic of people that Jesus saw as less than. 

They’re not considered “less than” whatever that means, but it is important for them to acknowledge their sin and repent of it. The story of the Adulterous Woman is a good example of how to deal with them. Look at verse 11. Christ tells her that she is NOT condemned but ALSO tells her to SIN NO MORE, not to stay how she is. 

22. You know all that grace and forgiveness and love we’ve all received? How come we can’t find a way to extend that to other people?

These unfounded generalities are honestly getting tiring and wearisome, but we do. I don’t even want to go into how many Christian converts, charities, food drives, missions, etc. there are in the world. Just rest assured that we do. 

23. Why do you feel like love the sinner and hate the sin is an okay thing to say? You realize that’s condescending, and still separating them as an other, right?

Wrong. It is an okay thing to say. Christ himself talks about how he hates sin. I don’t think you can (or would dare to) say that Christ hates the people. He hates the sinful doctrine. Put it this way: let’s say your biological sibling is a helpless meth addict. Wouldn’t you hate the fact that he/she is doing drugs? Does that mean you hate your sibling? People who cannot separate an action from the person seem to be the condescending ones. If your mistakes define who you are as a person, than I feel bad for you.

24. Why do you think you can judge my relationship with God, off of a handful of statements?

I don’t. However, Jesus does warn us about individuals to beware of, and that we should judge by their fruits (actions, words, etc.). But that doesn’t mean we judge your relationship with God.

25. You get mad at me for not being able to back-up what I have to say, but you end up taking scripture out of context so many times.

This is a very subjective battle. Suffice it to say that Scripture is not up to private interpretation. So how should we interpret? Based on what was handed down to us by the Holy Apostles. My Church is apostolic, and therefore, is founded in and by the authority of the apostles.

26. What makes you decide what makes me a good Christian? Last I checked everyone’s relationship with God is personal. 

Not entirely. While we do have a personal relationship with God, we must live as a communal body. We have no salvation outside of the Church. Read this for clarification.

So, there you go BuzzFeed. I answered your questions. I hope that others that have had similar thoughts can see that this type of Christianity portrayed by BuzzFeed is highly individualistic and completely off from the true Christianity that Christ established.

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

 

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, it seems only fitting that this post be dedicated to the holiday. As Christians the act of thanksgiving, or giving thanks, is essential in our relationship with God. Just the very definition of the word implies that the Universal Giver is on the receiving end of the thanksgiving. Something that may not be well-known to Christians is that this holiday was actually established in the United States as a Christian holiday. This post will, hopefully, do two things: Explain the history of the Thanksgiving holiday, and explain the importance of giving thanks in the Christian life.

The History of Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

Most of us who grew up in the United States learned that the first Thanksgiving was between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Although there was a feast between these two peoples, it is poorly documented and not very relevant to the Thanksgiving we have today (sorry to ruin your childhood). In fact, days of thanksgiving were common among Christians and were usually accompanied with days of fasting. Whenever a calamity or tribulation would occur, the Christians would fast, and when deliverance would come, they would celebrate with a feast of Thanksgiving.

The first nationally recognized day of Thanksgiving was instituted by the first President, George Washington. In 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot wanted to establish a national day of thanksgiving. He told Washington:

[I] could not think of letting the session pass over without offering an opportunity to all citizens of the United States of joining with one voice, in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings he had poured down upon them.

President Washington agreed and established November 26, 1789 as a day of nationwide celebration for Thanksgiving and “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God” (source). Later on this day was celebrated by many states at different times, and it wasn’t until President Abraham Lincoln’s time that it became an official holiday celebrated on the same day for all states (in an effort to unite the North and South) on the last Thursday of November. Later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 moved it to the fourth Thursday of November for the purpose of giving merchants more time to sell goods before the Christmas holiday.

Therefore, it can be seen that at its origin, days of thanksgiving are a Christian custom, and the national Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. was originally established as a day when Americans would unite to give thanks to God.

The Importance of Christian Thanksgiving

It is undeniable that thanksgiving to God is an important concept to Christians. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 7:12-15 describes how the Jews used to offer a thanksgiving offering in the temple. Not only that, but all throughout the psalms, there are many instances of giving thanks, one example of which is Psalm 92 (91 LXX). In the New Testament, there are also a multitude of examples of giving thanks to God, but suffice it to say that St. Paul starts every one of his letters (except Hebrews) with some sort of thanksgiving to God. An example is Romans 1:8.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church as well, we start every prayer with “The Prayer of Thanksgiving” (chanted, with lyrics). In the Coptic tradition as well, if it is a leap year, the leap day is dedicated as a day of Thanksgiving to God. Other than this, the underlying emotion or feeling in most Christian feasts, hymns, praises, prayers, etc. is a feeling of thankfulness. For example, on Easter, we are thankful that Christ rose from the dead for us, conquering death and giving us life and hope. The truth of the matter is, every Christian activity must be accompanied with thankfulness to God.

As our liturgy says, “We thank God for everything, concerning everything, and in everything.”

In the Coptic tradition, the congregants, whenever giving thanks perform a hand movement that some may not know the meaning to. Most Copts will know what I’m talking about, but for the non-Copts, I will try to explain (forgive me if I fail). The Copts, when saying the word thanks, will make a hand gesture sort of like this and kiss their hands, then they will flip their hands so that their pointer fingers are parallel and touching and kiss the back of their hands. This gesture is supposed to symbolize the words quoted from the liturgy in the paragraph above. The first gesture symbolizes that we thank God for what he has given us. That’s why the hands look like they’re waiting for something to be put in them. The second gesture is supposed to symbolize giving thanks to God for the things he has kept away from us or prevented us from. That is why we kiss the back of the hands, as if we are telling something or someone to keep away from us. The reason I went through the trouble of attempting to explain this little ritual is that in it we can see the true Christian faith. We can see that the Christian accepts everything God gives him/her with thankfulness and everything that God hasn’t given him/her with thankfulness. The thankful Christian is one that understands that everything God does is for the Christian’s benefit whether it be trials or triumphs, curses or blessings, persecution or praise.

Therefore, having said all this, let us celebrate Thanksgiving Day the Christian way. When we see all the delectable food and our family, friends, and loved ones gathered around the table with us, let us recognize these blessings from God and always be thankful for everything he has given us and kept away from us.