Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Christian Nationalism after Christ - Abp Lazar Puhalo

I am offering an opinion that will be controversial but which I want to ask people to think about seriously before they respond. It is possible that the movement of Christian nationalism is led by people who no longer accept Christian apocalypticism and do not believe in the return of Jesus Christ but who wish to utilise these beliefs for both financial gain and political power.

Perhaps they have lost their faith altogether. In such cases, and one will find this in political Christianity, including the Evangelicalism within the Orthodox Church, a “Christianity” that has been repurposed as the basis for a political and social ideology. This is why the essence of Christ's teachings has essentially evaporated in these movements and are no longer the essential dynamic of them. The mantras and ritual expressions remain, but they are manifested as cognitive dissonance. This form of political Christianity is generally manipulated by charismatic leaders who show no real signs of the belief that they profess so violently and emotionally. As a political/social movement, this form of political Christianity is both financially profitable to the unscrupulous pastors, preachers and leaders who utilise it as a "religion business" and a gateway to political power and influence.

A genuine religion industry has developed, primarily but not only in the United States. The repurposing of the gospel for primarily political purposes, essentially the underpinning of a political ideology, has been quite successful in the United States, as has the industrialisation and corporatisation of Christianity. It is questionable whether the leaders of this political religion actually believe in Jesus Christ and his promises.

To be sure, they use the proper mantras and catchphrases, the appropriate ritual language, but there is nothing in their fear and hate sermons, which are simply propaganda speeches, to indicate that they adhere to the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. We find a few elements of this in the Orthodox Church. We will find that political religion eschews the elements of the Sermon on the Mount and in practice, generally oppose the teachings in the 25th chapter of Matthew's gospel. They are far more likely to be advocates of the worst elements and interpretations of Old Testament law, often even trying to justify slavery. Moreover, this brand of Christianity and Christian leader incessantly utilise conspiracy theories, most of which are ungrounded. When such baseless conspiracy fantasies they are presented by such leaders, they take on an aura of substance that they actually simply do not have. This political Christianity also utilizes a contrived "culture wars" much to its economic and the power base advantage.

While the above might be controversial, it most certainly bears more scrutiny and serious-minded contemplation and study. This fear and hate-based political religion does depend on enhancing the cognitive dissonance of its followers, and easily morphs into a dangerous political movement with clearly defined "target enemies." The excesses, the fear and the hate are also primary drivers in the deconstruction of Christianity, which is feeding the growth of atheism and agnosticism, particularly in the United States. Those who wish to follow Jesus Christ and His gospel are being steadily disenfranchised from this politicized Christianity that is dominating America and, to a lesser degree, other countries. Political Christianity ultimately pushes serious-minded and sincere people away from Christ as it undermines and discredits the Gospel itself.

The Trees of Paradise - Abp Lazar Puhalo

THE TREES OF PARADISE, a prologue for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

"Meaning" is so often the missing dimension in religious teaching and deliberations. When religious people debate about the creation narrative in Genesis, they leave a certain emptiness. In discussing the Covenant and the Old Testament in general, they so often lapse into moralism without meaning. Their discourses about the creation narrative are almost always concerned with arguing that the story is literally and scientifically accurate. Seldom, if ever, does one hear an exposition of meaning in such discussions. One does not expect to hear much about meaning from atheists who argue about it, but those who profess to be believers have a responsibility to offer it, and they hardly ever do. Nevertheless, this "meaning" speaks of an existential freedom and an existential responsibility on the part of each human person.

The story of the trees of Paradise presents us with a profound existential metaphor — or, if you prefer, a revelation. Let me present this mystery in the form of an excerpt from one of my own Paschal sermons:

"....I would like to call upon you to reflect on the trees of Paradise. By grace, God bestowed life upon mankind, but the life He gave to our ancestors was not the life of puppets or robots. He bestowed upon mankind an authentic life. Authenticity of life requires freedom. God created mankind from pure love, but love without freedom is mere fiction. Love entails trust and respect. This is the awesome mystery of God's love. The all-powerful author of the universe actually respects the freedom of His creatures. He asks in return for our love, our trust, and our respect.

"Just as there can be no love without freedom, there can be no freedom without choice. When God placed Adam and Eve in Paradise, He placed before them the image of two trees. The first tree is referred to as "the knowledge of good and evil," and the second as the "tree of life." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was withheld from mankind until such time as God knew that Adam and Eve were mature enough to cope with such knowledge. Why was the tree visibly placed before them if they were not to partake of it? Our forebears had the free choice of choosing to respect and trust God, or to mistrust Him and partake of the tree.

"It is obvious that the Tree of Life was also intended for humanity in that this, too, would be given to them in the fullness of time.

The Trees of Paradise - Abp Lazar Puhalo

THE TREES OF PARADISE, a prologue for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

"Meaning" is so often the missing dimension in religious teaching and deliberations. When religious people debate about the creation narrative in Genesis, they leave a certain emptiness. In discussing the Covenant and the Old Testament in general, they so often lapse into moralism without meaning. Their discourses about the creation narrative are almost always concerned with arguing that the story is literally and scientifically accurate. Seldom, if ever, does one hear an exposition of meaning in such discussions. One does not expect to hear much about meaning from atheists who argue about it, but those who profess to be believers have a responsibility to offer it, and they hardly ever do. Nevertheless, this "meaning" speaks of an existential freedom and an existential responsibility on the part of each human person.

The story of the trees of Paradise presents us with a profound existential metaphor — or, if you prefer, a revelation. Let me present this mystery in the form of an excerpt from one of my own Paschal sermons:

"....I would like to call upon you to reflect on the trees of Paradise. By grace, God bestowed life upon mankind, but the life He gave to our ancestors was not the life of puppets or robots. He bestowed upon mankind an authentic life. Authenticity of life requires freedom. God created mankind from pure love, but love without freedom is mere fiction. Love entails trust and respect. This is the awesome mystery of God's love. The all-powerful author of the universe actually respects the freedom of His creatures. He asks in return for our love, our trust, and our respect.

"Just as there can be no love without freedom, there can be no freedom without choice. When God placed Adam and Eve in Paradise, He placed before them the image of two trees. The first tree is referred to as "the knowledge of good and evil," and the second as the "tree of life." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was withheld from mankind until such time as God knew that Adam and Eve were mature enough to cope with such knowledge. Why was the tree visibly placed before them if they were not to partake of it? Our forebears had the free choice of choosing to respect and trust God, or to mistrust Him and partake of the tree.

"It is obvious that the Tree of Life was also intended for humanity in that this, too, would be given to them in the fullness of time.

Female Prophets: Types of the Fallen and Fruitful Church - Lazar Puhalo

The Twelve Great Feast Days:
A Verbal Iconography

When we enter an Orthodox Church, we do not encounter images of the 12 stations of the Cross but the icons of the 12 great feast days. This is because we understand that the entire life of Christ, from his incarnation to his resurrection and ascension, are intimately a part of our redemption and salvation. There is a concept that we consider heretical that understands our redemption and salvation as a juridical execution demanded by God.

However, our redemption and salvation are something completely different than this. The Incarnation of Christ is the beginning of our redemption since he took on fully and completely our human nature in order to redeem his human nature from its alienation from the Divine nature. In Himself, Christ, having the Divine Nature, took on our human nature and, in Himself, reunited the human and the divine, a unity symbolized by the “garden of Eden,” which was lost with the fall of mankind.

We had already discussed the icon as Scripture and demonstrated how to read the canonical icon in such a way that it gives us a deeper insight into the Scripture. There is another form of iconography, one that is presented to us by the Church. The events revealed in the 12 great feast days are a form of verbal iconography. The stories of the events presented in these feast days are really presented in an iconographic form, a verbal iconography. Examining the details of the stories presented in the 12 great feast days presents us with this verbal iconography that, like the visual icons, gives us a deeper insight into the mystery of redemption and salvation. The 12 great feasts also help us to maintain the understanding that it is the entire life of Christ and not simply an hour on the cross that is an integral part of the process of our redemption.

The Birth of the Virgin

The birth of the Virgin is really the beginning of the cycle of the 12 great feast days. There is an ancient symbol we use frequently in illustrations called the “Etimasia,” the “preparation of the throne.” The birth of the Theotokos is precisely the preparation of the throne for the incarnation of God. Christ, being divine by nature, took on our human nature literally. It was not a fiction, an image or likeness of our nature, but our complete human nature in all its fullness. He took on our flesh and blood, our human body, and not a mere likeness or image of our humanity.

This necessitated taking on our flesh and the natural way in the womb of a mother, whence we all receive our flesh and blood.

Female Prophets:
Images & Revelations of the Church

There is a further revelation in this. The Cappadocian fathers and the "Shepherd of Hermas” all understand the Old Testament female prophets as images and revelations about the Church. The Church came into existence with the creation of Eve and Adam and was symbolised as “the Garden of Eden.” With the story of the fall of Adam and Eve from Paradise, we understand that the Church fell into barrenness and fruitlessness. An alienation between the Divine and the human nature took place.

The Old Testament female prophets foretold the redemption of the Church and its renewal.
When God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a holy nation, the fulfillment of this promise could only take place through his lawful wife, Sarah. In this, she became a prophetess and the mother of the holy nation. The promise could not be carried out through Hagar and her offspring but only through the lawful wife of Abraham, the prophetess Sarah, for, the promise was equally given to her.

Hannah

When the priests who served in the Tabernacle, the sons of the judge and prophet Eli, fell into corruption and debauchery, the elderly Hannah, an old and barren woman unable to bear a child, but by a miracle of God, gave birth to the prophet Samuel who would become the replacement for the corrupted and degenerate priests. Hannah was a prophetess who, like the others, revealed the barrenness of the fallen Church but, through her miraculous birth-giving, revealed the coming of the true high priest, Jesus Christ, who would perfect and fulfill the priesthood.

Anna 

Anna was the last of these great prophetesses who would be a type of the fallen Church. Barren, unable to produce the fruit of the womb, she would also be touched by a miracle of God. Being unable to produce a child was an especially heavy burden for Anna and her husband Joakim because they belonged to the priestly caste, so it was considered more shameful for them not to have a child.

As a barren old woman, Anna was also a type of the fallen Church. With her miraculous birth-giving, the revelation and prophecy suddenly pass from a barren old women to a young virgin – Mary, the mother of Christ.

Mary

As a fruitful, childbearing young woman, Mary is a type of the Church and, therefore also a holy prophetess. She is a type of the redeemed and restored Church of the living God. She is the one chosen out of all ages and generations to be the "mother of God" in the saving incarnation. It is from her that Christ will take on his flesh and blood and his human nature. She is the "throne prepared from all generations" for God the Word.

It is fitting in the ekonomia of God that humanity should fully participate in its own redemption, and Mary the Virgin becomes the forerunner of humanity’s participation in the redemption of humanity. Christ has presented to us, through his Church, which is called the "body of Christ," the redemption of humanity from its alienation from God.

We are not forced to accept this redemption, but we are called to enter into it freely. Mary exemplifies this when she freely chooses to be the obedient servant of God in the saving incarnation. She is the initial participation of humanity and the work of our salvation. All that follows in the life of Christ begins on this foundation, and every step in the life of Christ is the process of the working of our redemption and salvation.

The incarnation, the birth of Christ, is the foundation of our redemption. The death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are central but not isolated. The incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Virgin is the manifestation of God's co-suffering love for mankind. This is why the feast day of the "Nativity of the Virgin Mary" is the beginning of the cycle of the 12 great feast days. She is the throne prepared in the will of God from the beginning of the ages for the saving Incarnation. We should celebrate the feast in this context.

The Nonviolent God Is No Mere Projection — Richard Murray

Sometimes I hear the concern from critics that those who advocate for the non-violent nature of God are just projecting their own ideas and desires onto God.

But, here is the thing. Left to my own nature and personality, I definitely AM an eye-for-an-eye guy. I grew up wrestling in school and fighting in bars. I both drew blood and lost blood. So, my own natural bent toward reactionary violence is quite honed, hostile and ever-ready. And, engaging in the verbally violent cross-examinations that practicing law demands has done nothing but show me how to even more effectively shred people who are attacking my clients. 

But, when I first recognized 25 years ago that Jesus lives within me, and that He wanted to transform my heart, things changed. The God who turns the other cheek at my sin-- bar none, has also called me to do the same toward all others-- bar none. And by turning the other cheek, He doesn't ignore the sin at all. Rather, Jesus deals with it directly by overcoming all-evil with all-good.

"Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give the extra garment, love your enemy, pray for those who despitefully use you, THAT you may be sons of your Father in Heaven, for our loving God sends bountiful rain and replenishing sunlight on both the good and the evil, the just and the unjust, THEREFORE be ye perfect AS as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:38-48.

My point is that it's counter-intuitive and contrary, at least in my case,  for my nature and personality to project non-violent attributes onto God. For me to advocate a non-violent image of God is not projection at all since I am not that way by inclination. Projection is a psychological transference of our OWN qualities or faults onto our image of another. In fact, in a way, its Jesus who is projecting His own divine qualities ONTO and INTO us. And that's a good thing.

Beyond Alienation: The Theology of the Octoechos - Lazar Puhalo

THE THEOLOGY OF THE OCTOECHOS
Vladika Lazar

    The hymnology of the "Octoechos” [the “Eight Tones”] continuously focuses us on the alienation of man that occurred in paradise. Satan tempted Adam and Eve, not merely to eat the fruit of the tree, but to lose their trust in God and break the bond of love that united them with their Creator. Although they had been created in the image and likeness of God, they were led into temptation by the promise that they could become "like God." When they accepted this temptation and this false promise, they accepted a counterfeit in place of the gift that God had given them. This incident marks the birth of egoism, which became the root of alienation and all human conflicts and experiences of alienation, not only from the Creator but from other human beings as well.

    Man is a created being, and only God is immortal by Nature. Man can have an immortal soul only by grace. When we became alienated and out of communion with the only Source of life, our mortality took hold. Death is not a punishment given by God. When God told Eve and Adam that if they ate of the tree before he gave them permission, they would “surely die,” He was not prescribing death but describing what would happen if they alienated themselves from the only source of life. The knowledge allegorically ascribed to the tree was intended for mankind “in the fulness of time.

    In this hymnology, we are reminded of the incarnation, the cross and the resurrection as solutions to our alienation, as a deliverance from the power of the fear of death with which Satan holds us in bondage. We also confess Christ to be our true God, one of the Holy Trinity, born of the Father eternally, before the ages. We also proclaim the Virgin Mary to be the “Theotókos,” the one who gave birth to God in the flesh, the one from whom he took upon Himself our human nature, in Himself breaking down the wall of alienation between the human nature and the Divine nature. Christ redeemed us, first of all, from our alienation, conquering the power of death, which was the foremost mark of that alienation. Ransoming us from the power of death, Christ redeemed us from bondage to Satan.

 This Sunday, the 13th Sunday of Pentecost, we sing the hymns of the fourth tone. Although there are several translations from the Greek of these hymns, they all contain the same thoughts and teachings. Let us look at the verses in the hymnology of the fourth tone.

TONE 4

THE VERSES THAT FOLLOW THE CHANTING OF THE PSALM "LORD I HAVE CRIED OUT TO THEE”

 (1)We ceaselessly worship Your life-bearing Cross, O Christ our God, and we glorify Your third-day resurrection; for by this, You have renewed our corrupted nature and revealed to us the way to heaven. You alone are good and the friend of mankind [or, “the lover of mankind.]

 (2)When You were willingly nailed upon the cross, O Saviour, You healed the wound inflicted by the tree of disobedience. When You descended into Hades, You trampled down the bonds of death, as You Are the all-mighty God. Wherefore we worship Your resurrection from the dead, crying out for joy ' glory to You, the Almighty Lord.

 (3)By your death, O Lord, You demolished the gates of Hades and dissolved the realm of death, liberating humanity from corruption, granting the world life and incorruptibility, and great mercy.

 [In these three verses, we are given the key to understanding the mystery of redemption. It begins with the incarnation, in which Christ brings the human nature back into communion with the Divine nature, redeeming it from its alienation. The mark of that alienation is death, and on the cross, Christ ransomed us from the fear and power of death through which Satan held us in bondage. Ransomed from death, we are redeemed from the power of the Evil One. The gates of Hades are demolished and the gates of Paradise are reopened. The cross has become both the weapon against Hades and the key that unlocks the gates of Paradise.]

 (4)Come, all nations and peoples, and let us praise and glorify the third-day resurrection of our Saviour through which we are set free of the bonds of death and by which we have received life and incorruption. Let us cry out, 'O Lord who was crucified, buried and rose again, save us by Your resurrection, O only Friend of mankind’ [or, Lover of mankind].

 (5)Truly, both angels and men glorify Your third-day resurrection, which has illumined the whole universe and redeemed us from bondage to the enemy. Wherefore we cry out, 'O all-powerful Bestower of life, save us by your resurrection, O only friend of mankind. [or, Lover of mankind.]

 (6)You have demolished the brazen gates, O Christ, and shattered the bars [of death], raising up our fallen human nature. Wherefore, we cry out with one voice, 'Glory to Your Resurrection, O Lord.'

 [Let us proclaim again that Christ is one of the Holy Trinity, begotten by the Father before the Universe and time, and incarnate, taking on our human nature through the womb of the Virgin, bringing it into communion with His Divine Nature, rescuing our human nature from bondage to death and alienation from God]

 (7)Your timeless and pre-eternal birth from the Father and Your incarnation through the Virgin is ineffable and beyond understanding; Your descent into Hades is overwhelming to Satan and his angels. You trampled down death and arose on the third day, granting incorruptibility and great mercy to mankind.

 [Confessing Christ's fleshly descent from David the prophet in His incarnation, we see that he calls upon mankind to participate in his own salvation, first of all through the holy Virgin Mary, his assumption of our nature and our call to fulfil the will of God in our own lives. We acknowledge that he is restoring all creation, as Apostle Paul says (Rm.8-19-21 ). We will later learn that at His coming again, He will not destroy His creation but transfigure it, recapitulating it along with our human nature. He has come, first of all, to find us lost sheep, rescue us and bring us back out of our alienation into communion with God. We proclaim in song the dispensation (ekonomia) of God, Who sent his only begotten Son into the world to rescue and redeem those who have been lost. In the words of Saint Athanasios the Great, “He became man so that man could become God,” that is, so that the alienation of our human nature from the Divine nature could be healed and, as Apostle Peter tells us, we have “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)]

 (8)Through you, O Theotókos, David the prophet has become the ancestor of God in the incarnation. In prophecy and in prayers, he sang to Him who works miracles through you, prophetically proclaiming, 'the Queen stood at your right hand." For God has shown you to be the mother of life as He willed to be incarnate from you, renewing the creation, created in his likeness, corrupt and suffering, seeking and finding the sheep that was lost, bearing it on his shoulders to present it to be Father, numbering it among the heavenly hosts and saving the whole world, for he is Christ Who reigns and bestows great and abundant mercy.

 THE APOSTIKHA