Patriarch JOHN X of Antioch and All the East announces the repose of His Eminence Metropolitan PAUL (Saliba) of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He fell asleep in the Lord on the morning of July 1, 2017, at the age of 77. Tribute Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
The attitudes that are driving the euthanasia lobby are already causing real harm for our elderly.
A bill to legalise euthanasia will be introduced into Victorian Parliament in the second half of 2017. Premier Daniel Andrews was previously against euthanasia but has since changed his mind. (It’s unfortunate how often this happens with our politicians these days.) Government and opposition MPs will be allowed to vote on the bill according to their conscience, which means that you can help keep Victoria free from the ravages of euthanasia legislation.
‘Euthanasia’ comes from two Greek words (eu - good, thanatos - death) which means ‘good death.’ The Orthodox Christian perspective is that the only good death is one in which a person approaches the end of his or her life: in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a member of His Kingdom. Yet today this word has been distorted to mean something entirely different.
Alister McGrath is Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University. After academic work in science, he turned to the study of theology and Christianity. He spoke recently with Josemaría Carabante, of Aceprensa, a Spanish magazine and a MercatorNet partner site. In this interview Prof. Alister McGrath explains how he made the journey from atheism to Christianity and how his faith is consistent with his scientific work.
I have found that modern astronomical discoveries support the belief that Holy Scriptures are inspired by God. In Genesis 22:17 we read of God’s promise to Abraham: I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.
Honest scientists cannot say that science proves there is no God. Atheistic scientists can only say that they believe (by faith) that there is no God (against all the evidence!). The only reason an atheist cannot find God when he or she studies the amazing creation we find ourselves in is the same reason a criminal cannot find a policeman: they don’t want to! (See Romans 1:20) Let’s learn about why science shows there must be a God.
The following thoughts from an essay by Anthony Esolen for the Wetherspoon Institute on the topic “Where is the Virtue?” is a brilliant examination of today’s Western culture and its current attitude to sex. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite: Our culture has become soft. We suppose that sex is too trivial to require virtue, yet we also believe it is so significant that to suggest any restraint upon its consensual exercise is an affront to the most important fount of human dignity...
Here is an interesting interview by Protestant Christian & Scientist Jonathan Sarfati Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D., F.M., with church history scholar Dr Benno Zuiddam about the Early Church Fathers and their beliefs about the first book of the Bible; Genesis and creation. Worth a read.
It is amazing what Orthodox Clergy get up to these days! There have been violent clashes between police and protesters in Kiev, Ukraine this week. All of this, however, was temporarily brought to an end when the Kiev-Caves Lavra Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Melchisedek, and Fr. Ephraim stood on Grushevsky Street in Kiev, getting in between the protestors and the Ukrainian special police force “Berkut.” The priests braved bullets and walked into no-man’s land between pro-European Union integration protesters and President Viktor Yanukovych’s riot police.