Who had “justified cancellation of major pop culture figure” for February?
If you’re reading this, you have doubtless heard the very disturbing claims made last week by Evan Rachel Wood and a handful of other women against Marilyn Manson. If you haven’t read their various statements, I suggest you do so before reading any further. I would also recommend watching the statements ERW made before Congress and the California State Senate in the last couple of years. If I had been paying more attention, I might have put the pieces of her story together sooner.
Am I disappointed? Extremely. Did…
Canada is in the fifth week of economic and societal shutdown in our fight against COVID-19. We just passed the grim mark of 1000 deaths from the virus, and in my hometown it is spreading with particular virulence in long-term care homes. Even with the depressing numbers we see here, it is nothing compared to what some other countries have faced. I am deeply worried about my grandparents, my older congregants, and my relatives and friends with underlying health conditions. Would I be human if I were not afraid?
But the time has come to start preparing to lift the…
The lamb’s guide to avoiding the slaughter
Every major city in the Western world has some kind of financial district, and while no two are exactly alike, there are traits that run through all of them. They are filled with people who have come to these neighbourhoods with dreams of making it big, but healthy ambition can quickly morph into avarice. Many of the people you meet here are decent enough and possess sufficient moral restraint to not hurt other people in pursuit of money and accomplishments. At least not deliberately. …
A childless aunt’s worst nightmare.
My baby niece died.
What more is there to say? A lot, but how much of the rest really matters?
My sister gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl on December 20, 2019. Niece-y was my sister’s highly anticipated second child, after her three-year-old son. Ever since the day he was born Munchkin Nephew has been the apple of his Auntie’s eye, the person I loved most in the world. So, when my sister told me in May of 2019 that we were going to have a Christmas baby (or as she put it…
Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom
Why HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will – and should – be Queen Consort
While The Duchess of Sussex creates unnecessary havoc within the British monarchy, keeping the spotlight on herself for all the wrong reasons, the other women of the House of Windsor continue to work. HM The Queen, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, HRH The Countess of Wessex, HRH The Princess Royal, and HRH Princess Alexandra have all continued to attend royal engagements and do the job that is being a working royal. For some of these…
Or, why I am not an apologist.
Now that I have began posting my writings on my Orthodox faith, I want to make clear that this is not an apologetics blog. Its purpose is not to convince people that Orthodoxy is the true, Apostolic Faith, or that the Eastern Orthodox communion is the Church that Christ founded. I have several reasons for this, which I will briefly outline below.
1) I am not qualified, because,
a) I do not have any formal, Church-approved education in these matters.
There’s nothing magical about seminary education, but it gives you a chance to…
Sadly, most of the advice you’ve been given, the so-called “reasons” why you should go to university, are antiquated and no longer apply in the post-2008 wasteland in which Millennials now need to find their way.
This is an open letter to all the poor high school students who are applying to university this year. I’m going to tell you what I wish someone had told me, stuff that might have saved my family a lot of money, and me a lot of time and existential angst.
Dear High School Seniors:
This month is the time when you’ll finally be…
How Martin Luther led me to Orthodoxy
For anyone who has not already, it would be best to read my earlier post entiteld Elected by Satan before reading this one, as it will give you some context.
Religious conversion is filled with uncomfortable moments, and realizing that the faith you had previously held so dear is not true and right is surely one of those most difficult of all. I know for me, realizing that the Protestant Reformation had not been the greatest of God’s blessings — the thing that brought us back to the faith of apostles — was…
Some things deserve to be shamed. Should be shamed.
We live in a society that is very resistant to the concepts of right and wrong, and declaring something to be morally right or wrong will get you called “judgmental” and “close-minded.” Well there’s being open-minded, and then being so open-minded that your brains fall out. So you might be wondering what has me riled up about this right now. I’m riled up over proud and shameless adultery and the fact that we don’t shame it anymore the way that we should.
Someone I respect and care about has been dragged…
Escaping the heresy of calvinism
Author’s note: I’ve written several pieces chronicling my journey into the Orthodox Church which I will publishing here over time. It was a very painful journey and difficult to write about. What I will say here is that it began with my former pastor’s teaching of calvinism as the Gospel. If anyone is not familiar with the teachings of john calvin, a quick Google search will give you the very basics. …
