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Simply Skeptical
Приєднався 30 сер 2024
Scratching the surface of skepticism in relation to the idea of a personal god or gods. My main goal is to add to the conversation with a new perspective and to create a safe space for further discussion.
Will be releasing Skeptic Sunday videos periodically, each time I attend a different service!
I have received many recommendations for books to review. I created an Amazon wishlist for those recommendations, along with other Faith-related books. If you are interested in providing a book for review, please visit the link.
Thank you for checking out my channel!
Will be releasing Skeptic Sunday videos periodically, each time I attend a different service!
I have received many recommendations for books to review. I created an Amazon wishlist for those recommendations, along with other Faith-related books. If you are interested in providing a book for review, please visit the link.
Thank you for checking out my channel!
First Time at Greek Orthodox Church! --- Skeptic Sunday #3
Welcome to this week's Skeptic Sunday! In this video, I visit a Greek Orthodox church and share my thoughts and reflections on the experience. I discuss the service, its rituals, and my overall impressions.
If there’s another religious service or tradition you’d like to see me explore and review, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below-I’d love to hear your thoughts!
To learn more about my background and the mission of this channel, check out this video:
ua-cam.com/video/b2Ulmg7Xapk/v-deo.htmlsi=IaydQ-JehsRhJcUl
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the channel by sending books for review. I’m excited to announce that my next Skeptic Scholar video will be released soon!
If you’d like to help support the channel and have a book you'd like me to read, you can find my Amazon Wishlist here:
www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6DGQ8K963DPC?ref_=wl_share
If there’s another religious service or tradition you’d like to see me explore and review, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below-I’d love to hear your thoughts!
To learn more about my background and the mission of this channel, check out this video:
ua-cam.com/video/b2Ulmg7Xapk/v-deo.htmlsi=IaydQ-JehsRhJcUl
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the channel by sending books for review. I’m excited to announce that my next Skeptic Scholar video will be released soon!
If you’d like to help support the channel and have a book you'd like me to read, you can find my Amazon Wishlist here:
www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6DGQ8K963DPC?ref_=wl_share
Переглядів: 24 158
Відео
Bridging Beliefs: Catholic and Skeptic Talk Faith
Переглядів 1,1 тис.День тому
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Philosophy For All to explore our shared backgrounds and how our evolving beliefs have shaped our perspectives today. Together, we delve into our personal views on faith, doubt, and morality, uncovering both the common ground and the differences between a skeptic and someone with faith. If you enjoyed this discussion, I encourage you to check out his chan...
I Visited Hell's Gates
Переглядів 3,8 тис.Місяць тому
In this video I detail my trip to Hell's Gates, an outdoor drama/performance hosted by a local Baptist Church. The event is advertised as an alternative to a haunted house. As mentioned in the video, if you have been to a similar event, let me know! I am interested to know if this is unique to my area or something others have experienced. Also, audio quality should be much improved! New mic tha...
The Moral Landscape --- Skeptic Scholar #1
Переглядів 1,2 тис.2 місяці тому
The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values by Sam Harris In this video, I provide a brief summary of the book along with my own commentary about the content. I provide both compliments and criticisms from others about Harris' book. I really enjoyed making this and I'm excited to do more! Sources: www.samharris.org/ "The Science of Values: The Moral Landscape" by Sam Harris Revi...
Attending a (Mega?)Church --- Skeptic Sunday #2
Переглядів 6 тис.3 місяці тому
For additional context, I would like to remind anyone watching that this is my observation and opinion of a single visit to this church. Also, I am paraphrasing the sermon given. I do not necessarily agree with or support all messages shared but I want to be as impartial as possible with all Skeptic Sunday videos posted. Thanks! the Harvard article referenced can be found on their website title...
Who is Simply Skeptical? --- intro video
Переглядів 3,7 тис.3 місяці тому
In this video I provide a brief explanation of my background along with goals of my channel and ideas for future videos. I am so excited to start this journey and I hope you enjoy watching!
First time attending Catholic Mass! --- Skeptic Sunday #1
Переглядів 106 тис.3 місяці тому
This is my first Skeptic Sunday video and I decided to go with a church I have been curious about for many years! I enjoyed my time and would love to go to another service, perhaps at a different location. If you agree (or disagree) with anything mentioned in the video, please let me know below! This is purely for educational purposes (myself included) and I am so excited to be a part of the co...
Correction: the Old Testament was not written in Greek originally but in Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic. It was translated in Greek by 70 scholars in the 3rd century AD. The New Testament was written originally in Greek.
You made a number of valid points. This congregation's point-of-view does not represent what all Christians believe. The first point I present is that in having a person play the position of "God," they broke the second commandment, (see Exodus 20) commanding that no image of God be made of Him. (Maybe they think the Ten Commandments no longer apply? -a result of Dispensationalism.) The second point is that we need to be aware of their misguided framework for interpreting the Bible (a fault of many churches in North America) which is based on the DispensationaIism of the 19th century begun by John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Bretheren, and furthered by Dwight L. Moody, and crystalised in the Scofield Reference Bible. Dispensationalism was a clear break with historic Covenant Theology. Dispensationalists break God's manner of dealing with people into a number of "boxes," as though God is changing His mind throughout time. We must remember that God is perfect, and that with perfection there is no need for Him to change. Covenant theology sees one long redemptive plan, a consistent relational aspect between God and His people from all times and places. From Adam, through Israel (Judaism) into Christianity is one people, the Church. Dispensationalists believe that tribulation begins just prior to Christ's final return. They're often preoccupied with when tribulation is going to begin./ As someone who believes in Covenant theology, who takes the historic amillenial approach seriously, because in dealing with prophetic books like Daniel and Revelation, we are working with sacred literature which is highly symbolic in nature. The numbers and images are to be understood with wisdom, and not taken with absolute literalness. Tribulation began around the time of Christ's ascension into Heaven. We've been in 2000 plus years of tribulation. If we study Church history, it becomes apparent that life has never been easy for believers, especially serious, and rather stubborn-minded Christians, who often had the greatest effect in reforming the Church (the Bride of Christ). A portion of the book of Revelation was fulfilled in 70 A.D., while the rest has been progressively played out in a cyclical fashion over the centuries. As time goes on, like birth pains, an intensification takes place./ A further point should be made that we are not to coerce non-believers through fear tactics to enroll in some sort of eternal "fire insurance." We should not become Christians just to get saved from eternal damnation. That is selfish! We become Christians to serve, to cultivate and develop within the culture, and to develop the relationship with God that was supposed to be there from the beginning as seen in the Garden of Eden. Because of sin, and the resulting proclamation of curse, (see opening chapters of Genesis) there are many difficulties in this life. There is a blessedness in having a relationship with the Father and the Son, made possible through the Holy Spirit, that begins now, and extends into all eternity where there will be a perfect relationship with Him and His people. There is the blessedness of interacting with fellow Christians, helping each other understand and walk faithfully, and helping our neighbours, and speaking to those about the Way to those who will listen, or who are curious about out markedly different way of life. However, there is an urgency in our wanting to "reach" non-believers, and warn wayward Christians, because we know there is Hell. We can understand enough about Hell from reading the Bible, and hearing faithful ministers make reference to it from time to time. It need not be depicted. Escaping Hell should not be the motivation for becoming a Christian. There are not 5 quick 'n easy steps to becoming a Christian. It's a whole way of life.
Story 1 out of 14 The story of success The generation born in year x. You are now 14 years old. The race for success has started. Do you have the maps from your country? Yes. Do you have the maps from your family? Yes. Ok. On your marks 3, 2, 1. Start!!! All of us started going following the instructions from the maps we had. And also what we believed to be right. Days, months, years have passed. I believed that I've done a lot. That I had a resounding success. But what do I see? A sign with the Start word. Actually is exactly the place I have started the race from while at 14 years old. In the end it doesn't look as a success at all. What should I do now? Onan old map I see a little note. The author of the game or race of life answers questions. This looks like a way out of trouble, But what question should I ask as the situation is really ,really bad. I remember now. Many wise men asked the author of the game of life many questions and they put the answers on some maps. Put as much happiness and love in the world as it will come back was one note from them. I believe the maps I have are of no use now. So what if I ask the author of the game of life one question? Dear author of the game of life, please tell me what you would like me to know about this game. Please make me know the answer comes from you. I didn't expect an answer but the answer came and the author of the game of life said, to have success in this game you have to collaborate with me as this game is very complex. Do you see the book on your right? Yes. If you get it you win the game. O actually all of us and for many generations we did pass this little book not understanding what it is. Looking again to the maps I realized that the success is not defined in these maps. Maybe the knowledge about the real success is not yet in the treasury of human's knowledge and is known only to Heaven. So I went I took the book and put it in my pocket. Instantly I knew I won.
Story number 9 Romania, The New Israel and Bucharest, The New Jerusalem Please take this book as an opinion as it is very hard to prove today the things regarding the revealed knowledge from above. Since the things about the revealed knowledge are not under control of people but under control of God I would not go to people to understand them but I would pray to God in a nice way to understand them and to get proofs. Many elders of Romania did speak about Romania being the New Israel and about Bucharest being the New Jerusalem. I read that and I was like this people really, really love their country. They compare it with the top country in the Old Testament. But then heaven told one guy that Romania is indeed the New Israel and that Bucharest is the new Jerusalem. Many prophets told Israel Messiah will come so please follow his teachings. Actually Messiah was one very important subject in many prophecies. So lets read from the Bible Isaiah 9 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Lets read it again Isaiah 9 6 For to us a child is born, ...... and his name shall be called ..... Mighty God...... So to me that means God will come as a child, as a man. And this is a very important thing. So God is a spirit, the infinite spirit. And for the new child, with the new body , instead of having a new soul, God will be his soul. I believe not only God can come into this World incarnated, as a newborn , but also angels can be sent like a new born. So as far as Christianity is concerned, Messiah was Jesus. I don't want to go into the details but when Jesus came there were 2 camps. The wise men not in contact with God said Jesus is not Messiah. A science fiction story about this. One guy was taken to heaven. So he asked Jesus if he should tell about it and Jesus said something like if you don't tell and many people won't tell many would become atheists saying if religion is true they should hear about some miracles. So he told many people about going to heaven and many people went to his mother asking if this is true? Now the thing is how do you expect someone who has not the list of entrances and exits to heaven to give you the truth, if anyone was to heaven? Normally would have been to ask heaven. Same here. How do you expect people who don't see souls to be able to tell if Jesus soul was God or not? On the other camp were the 12 Apostles and God send from after life Moses and Elijah and they confirmed Jesus as being Messiah. More than that God said something like follow my Son. Matthew 17 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” So anyhow in Israel the faction believing Jesus is not Messiah won and the Apostles asked what do we do now? And the answer from heaven was go to Rome and they won there like in 300 years on the time of Emperor Constantine the Great. So Messiah teachings become the official religion of ancient Roman Empire or of ancient Romania. Christianity means followers of Christ or followers of Messiah or of Jesus. As far as I know from heaven and as far as eastern orthodoxy believe Romania kept the true faith or the best faith. People can ask heaven about this. That was important apparently in the Old testament as people that changed faith while having the genetics were known as Samaritans. And maybe as a sign the name today is Romania which basically means Roman Empire. And because Roman Empire or Romania if you want sent many missions to the world to spread Christianity or Messiah's teachings, always even today heaven sends in Romania many prophets and prophecies and Saints. So this is basically why I believe Heaven calls Romania as The New Israel and Bucharest as the New Jerusalem. For more details please ask heaven. A little bit of explanation about God , one God, three persons : God the Father, Jesus or God the Son Holy Spirit or The Spirit of God One man has asked God to explain Holy Trinity to Him. How it is one God and three persons. I believe the answer was something like this, think that your hands have a brain and a personality and you can send one hand to do shopping and another hand to go with children at school. This is how a being with 3 persons will look like. I believe that Jesus name , before being incarnated and named Jesus , was The Word of God or The Word. One man has asked God where did Jesus appear in the Tanakh or the Old Testament. God has responded I believe something like this, asking him to do a search in the Old Testament for The Word or The Word of God to find where Jesus appeared in the Old Testament. I believe one such occurrence is this: Genesis 15 1 After this, ----------the word of the Lord ---------- //my note : or Jesus whose name before incarnation was The Word came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. 2 But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. 5 He took him outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. Another man asked why Jesus did pray to the other persons of God while incarnated and living on Earth I believe the explanation was something like this, that while on Earth Jesus had restrictions on using his divine nature so this he had to fight for humanity in some instances at human level so he had to pray for help to the other persons of God
Restoration of Creation Please take this book as an opinion as it is very hard to prove today the things regarding the after life. Since the things about after life are not under control of people but under control of God I would not go to people to understand them but I would pray to God in a nice way to understand them and to get proofs. As far as I know, beside God there are in this Creation, angels, humans and animals. To me restauration of creation would mean for fallen angels, all of them , to be cured, for humans, all of them, to become immortal and to be in heaven like before fall or better. I don't know what restoration of Creation would mean for animals. Maybe to be restored to immortality and back to heaven. Is there any hope? An old book, Evergetinos gives an hope for fallen angels. In that book a nun cured a fallen angel. Apparently the fallen angels can not easily say to God please have mercy on me and cure me or something on this nature that would cure them. So the nun forced the angel to ask for forgiveness and he was cured. Apparently if fallen angels will say a prayer like the prayer of the thief on the cross they would be cured. But apparently this is very hard for them to do because of the illness due probably to the fall. I know a man and heaven told him how to cure fallen angels and make them restored. One day an army of fallen angels headed toward him and he asked heaven what to do. Heaven said you know how to cure them so cure them. It took less than one minute and the fallen angels become cured and turned the side of the battle becoming his allies. And this is how the war ended. So there is hope for restoration of Creation for angels. Is there a hope for humans? Messiah , Jesus , gave back immortality and entrance to heaven and we have the thief on the cross one of the first men restored and accepted to heaven. One man asked Messiah if he can get the key to Heavens and Messiah said yes. Then he asked Messiah if he can open the Heaven for everyone with this key , and Messiah said yes. Anyhow Messiah said many people after entering Heaven will start doing magic and bad stuff and be taken out of Heaven. And that people need teaching. The man asked Messiah to appoint angels to teach people about Heaven after being admitted so they understand Heaven and can remain there and Messiah Jesus said ok. So my understanding is that right now all people go to heaven at death. So there is hope for humans to be restored as well. So there is hope for restoration of all Creation.
Above circumstances. Opinions with an eastern orthodox flavor Please take this book as an opinion as it is very hard to prove today the things above circumstances. Since the things above circumstances are not under control of people but under control of God I would not go to people to understand them but I would pray to God in a nice way to understand them and to get proofs of them. 1.Moving mountains The Bible describes something that is out of this world , out of what people would expect: Matthew 17 20.... Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. And we have written information that this actually happened to St Mark of Athens in his discussion with Abba Serapion when a mountain moved several km. The story of St Mark of Athens is on the internet. Also we have Simon the Tanner for which this also happened. There are records that he was also able to move the mountain. The story of Simon the Tanner was on internet. 2.Visiting heaven Traveling to heaven and back like in a trip and bringing from heaven something like apples can be above circumstances. 2 Corinthians 12 1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows. 3 And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows- 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. So in the Bible we have Apostle Paul describing a man visiting Heaven. Also we have recorded the life of Saint Euphrosynos the Cook . It is recorded that he was treating all people very well like he treated God, of course without worshipping them, and that he had the gift of visiting Heaven every night . His story is very interesting and can be found on the internet. I did hear that one monastery in Greece has an apple from heaven and having this is also above circumstances. I do believe people are a duality, body and soul. From what I know, at death the body goes into Earth and soul goes to either Heaven or Hell. After last judgment a transformed form of the body will probably join the soul in heaven thus Christians are taught to bury the body at death , rather than burn it. From what I know Heaven is a world of spirits a world of souls. Your soul is , if you want , yourself but if you look at your hands you see light instead of flesh. Also since people get energy in a mode that is a mystery to me, there is no need for respirator, circulator and digestive systems inside the soul. I don't believe there is a esophagus in your soul and when you eat, while you feel the taste of the food , the food dissipates 100% in your mouth possibly becoming pure energy. From what I know you can see, speak and think like you do in this world maybe better. For example I've heard about people that visited Heavens seeing colors not seen on Earth. Also I believe ,in heaven, since you don't need to breath , you can stay in water four hours and when you get out of the water you are not wet. From what I know in heaven there is a hierarchy with Jesus or Messiah as King of Kings in top. Under Jesus I believe there is the position of Senior King and under him the positions of Kings. I believe every position appoints the positions one level under them. The Heaven considers the Kings of Earth as temporary Kings while considering as Kings, the Kings in heaven that have the position for eternity. 3.Visiting Earth after death Looking into the Bible, it looks like the laws of humanity are changing depending on how people behave. When humanity is behaving poorly laws seem to become harsher and when humanity behaves well laws seem to become much better. One of the successes of humanity is when Jesus that Christians believe is Messiah came. For one thing Jesus traveled back and forth between Earth and Heaven many times and this happen across many generations . Even recently people report seeing Jesus or talking to him. I heard about a guy that worked in a store overnight. One night he was thinking to exercise his blessings and blessed people buying some products , blessings for wealth like houses, cars, for happiness, well being, forgiveness of sins and other great things. Apparently he did well that Jesus came from heaven many nights and bought the products that the guy mentioned in his blessing. When the guy befriended some homeless people, Jesus, Messiah, called him friend. My friend. So yes, I believe that Jesus is visiting Earth even today. Many saints reported that they visited heaven and went back. But today we will talk about two special Saints dead for some time that did visit Earth many times. First lets talk about a passage in the Bible saying that St Elijah and Moses came from death to confirm and show humanity Jesus is the Messiah Matthew 17 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Another saint that came multiple times on Earth after his death is Saint Spyridon. Saint Spyridon , lived around year 300 being bishop. The reason I am mentioning him is because I've heard that his uncorrupted body is missing for days and that he was seen in different places by different people walking on Earth, even in recent times. I believe that every year his shoes are changed becoming used . Another Saint I want to talk today is about a Saint deceased in 1980's , Saint Ilie Lacatusu. Translated from Romanian , his name sounds something like Elijah Locksmith. He was canonized recently. Several people report that while they were visiting his grave, the Saint opened the eyes and even talked to people by opening his mouth, tens of years after his death. I believe that one man asked Jesus, why Father Ilie comes back from death while other people don't? The answer from Jesus was I believe , because he asked me to. Probably Father Ilie prayed to Jesus before death to be allowed to come back if it is good in Jesus eyes to help romanians. I believe that his soul descends from heaven every week and he talks with believers, mostly through some people that see him. However sometimes I believe that his soul enters his uncorrupted body and he opens the eyes and mouth and talks.
This life, the school for afterlife. Opinions with an eastern orthodox flavor. Please take this book as an opinion as it is very hard to prove today the things regarding the after life. Since the things about after life are not under control of people but under control of God I would not go to people to understand them but I would pray to God in a nice way to understand them and to get proofs. One man has asked Messiah what is the goal of this life? The afterlife was the answer. In a sense our life is a school where we learn to be good and where our homework is doing good deeds so we get a great after life. In many ways this school resembles the school we went through. For example it has a final exam the judgment and if you pass it you can graduate in Heaven in a great after life. Many things are taught in the school e know about. Anyhow the final exam does not test for everything but for the most important things. Usually in the class before the exam the teacher does a rehearsal of the exam where he insists on the most important things and knowledges, the knowledges and projects you will be asked at the exam. We have in the bible the rehearsal of the final exam in Matthew 25 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ This is kind of symmetry. You are judged by the King of Kings that has higher status than you. What decision to take about you. The answer can be to treat you the way you treated people of lower status or of lower wealth or of lower power than you. So what can matter for graduation are if you fed the poor, if you gave drinks to the poor, if you gave housing to the poor, if you gave clothes to the poor, if you visited the sick and people in prison. Possibly due to the love or mercifulness of the King of Kings there are other ways to pass this exam and graduate to heaven. There was a monk that was lazy. He could not accomplish his duties and many monks around him told him , look int his way you can not graduate to heaven. Time has passed and he was on his death bed. But to everyone surprise he was smiling. Why are you smiling they asked him. I am smiling because the angel told me I have graduated to heaven as I have not judged anyone and Bible says the one who does not judge will not be judged. Another graduation to heaven in a sense a key to heaven was the graduation to heaven of the thief on the cross. He didn't have a great history , not much time but accomplished so much in so little. What he did he collaborated to Messiah and asked Jesus at his death to forgive his sins and to take him to heaven. I do believe this is the key to heaven Dear Jesus please forgive all my sins at death and take me to Heaven. I do believe this is the key to heaven for parents. Dear Jesus please forgive all my parents sins at their death and take them to Heaven. I do believe this is the key to wealth in both lives Dear Jesus please give me at least what I need in both lives and when I need it. Please check on these with Jesus. One man asked Jesus what is one of the important lessons in this life? The answer was to collaborate with me. I believe that Bible says something like this. If you collaborate with God even in desert you'll be like a flower and nothing will bother you. I don't consider collaborating with Jesus going to John and doing what John says Jesus like. NO. One way of collaborating with Jesus is prayer asking for great things for your life the way the thief on the cross did, asking for heaven. Another way is having a good, successful dialog with Jesus the way you have with your boss at work for example. If you don't know how to have a successful dialog to Jesus pray to Jesus so that you know how to have a successful dialog to Jesus and that you will have a successful dialog to Jesus.
Principles of wealth in Heaven A man has donated several books and a vacuum at a monastery. The monk said, of how much wealth you have given. In the same moment the man heard, Say I did not give them I have received them. So he said, Look I have not given them I have received them. After that he went outside. The same calm, loving voice said, I want to explain this to you. What you have in this life ,even if you look at them as yours, are actually borrowed for a finite period of time. For example tell me how some books will be yours in 100 years or in 1000 years or after your going to the next infinite life. But at the same time what you get in after life being yours for eternity, is truly yours. hence I have not given them but I have received them as what you gave in this life to the monastery from Poiana, Brasov, Romania was not yours forever but for a limited time, and you can consider them borrowed for that time, will be given yours multiply times and in multiple ways you need in after life being truly yours. What does the Holy Book of Bible say about wealth in heaven Matthew 6 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So apparently the Bible say make an effort to build wealth in Heaven. One young man having some money , asked heaven what he should invest them into. Into gold, into housing or company actives? Also he asked about the book, The richest man in Babylon. The answer as I know it was this, this life is much shorter that the infinite after life. Thus it makes sense to invest your wealth in after life rather than in this life. The book, The richest man in Babylon he was told, is dangerous as it does not mention how to acquire the wealth in after life but solely on this life. I know many people want comfort and what they need. It makes sense to want this in both lives not only in one life. One man was aware that people can visit to heaven and Hell while living in this life. Even in the Bible we have mentioned one such a visit to Heaven for a period of time , by a living man. Apostle Paul regards this man as very important : 2 Corinthians 12 1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows. 3 And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows- 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. In a way this is great. If you want to build wealth into a place would not be great to be able to see it? aka If you want to build wealth in Heaven or afterlife , would not be great to see it by going to heaven or after life? What Bible say this is possible. I've heard a story about a woman visiting while living her place in Heaven to see her wealth. Being a long time since I've heard this story , I hope I can describe the main idea. One woman becomes a widow. Since she loved her husband, she started making donation in his name and also in her name to the poor. She liked to donate candies to children. She wanted to see if her effort is in the right direction so she prayed , she prayed to Jesus, she was a Christian, to visit Heaven. From what I know people are dual entities made from body and soul. As far as I know in heaven to visit goes the soul while body is on earth, maybe resting. So she visited heaven and saw the wealth she had there including mountains of candies. She was happy and continued her work. I know a man that visited Hell . He prayed to Jesus for this , to see where his neighbors that went to hell are and for this trip to be good. You don't want for such a trip to go south. One night he arrived to Hell. There he saw some men, all in nice suits and with great shoes. One of them said, look I am your neighbor. You don't know me but I know you. He asked why are you all dressed nice. Is there a celebration? One of them responded, look when we were alive we did not give clothes to the poor as Matthew 25 said. Anyhow when we died, the tradition is for our wives to donate the church suits and church shoes to the poor and these are the only clothes we have. This is why we are dressed nice. We see in Matthew 25 the rehearsal of the judgment , the peoples may go through at the end of life. Matthew 25 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ We see Messiah Jesus appreciating people giving clothes, housing, meals, drinks, health, mercy to other people that can not return the favor or would not return the favor , that he calls them blessed and righteous. Also we see them being called to heaven. Also we see the people who did not donate to the poor or to the church being called cursed and being invited to the punishment This is not about the things you take care about children or spouse or family. Matthew 25 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. I know a man who prayed to see where his parents would go in afterlife. He had for his father a vision. He saw his father in hell in a cave with nothing. He asked Jesus why will this happen? He was told that this was because his father did not donated and did not took care of the poor. He recognized this to be true as his father believed everyone should take care of himself. Then the man asked, since he is my father what can be done for him? Pray so that his sins are forgiven at death and that I will take him to Heaven. Dear Jesus please take my father to heaven at his death and please forgive his sins at his death, the man said. This prayer is similar with a prayer in the Bible called the prayer of the thief on the cross with extraordinary results. he was promised to arrive in heaven the same day and he arrive that day in heaven. But Jesus my father will have nothing in afterlife. Not even a cup. What can be done? Ask me to give him what he needs. Dear Jesus please give my father what he needs in heaven. Time has passed and the father died. The man asked Jesus what should I do? The answer was, party because I took your father in heaven. In Christianity the saints are celebrated in the day they go to Heaven and this is a celebration because they were going to infinite happiness. The days have passed and his father birthday came after his death. The man asked how can he give his father as a gift in heaven a house on the beach and a great car? Jesus answered, ask me to give them to him. The man prayed, Dear Jesus please give my father a house on the beach and a great car. Jesus said, just so you know, other people want that too. Ok. dear Jesus please give to all the people a good, beautiful car and a house on the beach in after life. After some time he had a vision with his father very happy driving a car to his house on the beach.
You will eventually want to go back. After my first visit I stopped going for a couple of weeks and I felt empty, at that time I was drawn to go back to that Greek Orthodox Church. The Church is changing my perspective about life, about my walk with Christ. Even if I don’t feel that God is with me at that moment in the Liturgy, or that I don’t see Him working in my life. He is true to His Words that He is with you always, that He loves you, that He is merciful, that He died for you and I and He is alive because He was raised on the third day after His crucifixion. These things will never change. The Orthodox Church emphasizes that being an Orthodox Christian is a way of life, to be in communion with God, partake in the Mysteries of the faith that gives you life, that nurtures your soul and these are all possible because of the Lord Jesus Christ. This world is temporary for us, but being with the Lord for eternity is what we’re looking forward to. That is true joy, true peace and I pray that we get to experience that. Have mercy on us Lord Jesus. May the Lord be with you all and give you all peace!
Αγαπητή γράφεις για Ελλάδα χωρίς να έχεις μετάφραση στα Ελληνικά, καλά Χριστούγεννα
I, like you, had a hobby of going around and visiting religious places and dialoging with different regions. But Orthodoxy, overtime, really won my heart. And now I am an Eastern Orthodox convert. It’s more amazing than what is seen on the surface. Great video!
Ο Κύριος ίδρυσε 1 εκκλησία, όχι πολλές. Και επίσης, δεν υπήρξε "σχίσμα " όπως νομίζουν κάποιοι που δεν ξέρουν την ιστορία. Και επίσης Ορθοδοξία σημαίνει ορθό δόγμα απλά.
I am an Orthodox Christian from Greece and I was surprised there was someone in the entrance asking you about yourself and your back round. Normally noone talks to you. You may just come in and attend.
Others talk about the faith, we live the faith.
Οι θρησκείες γεμίζουν το μυαλό σου με ενοχές, απαγορεύσεις, και πνευματικές απειλές.....
Anything outside Catholicism and Orthodoxy is pretty much a heresy. Orthodox liturgy doesn’t have mainstream songs and irrelevant speeches from members of the church like i have seen in Catholic Churches. It’s purely divine with a number of psalms and passages from the Bible from the cleric and the priest of the Church until the time comes for the Holy Communion. God is everywhere.If you don’t take this seriously, demons will leave you alone. But from the moment you decide to repent and turn to God, demons will wage war on you.
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Actual churches in Greece never have a greeter or at least not one like that we don't care about your background we only care that you came to pray with us we do not judge because we are all sinners therefore all equal and this applies ro the priests. As for the eucharist you only can't take it if you haven't been baptized or not fasted.
You might be agnostic.but you are very spiritual.the Greek Easter is very special.
The first church was Jewish. There are still Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus). They are called Messianic believers. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. I grew up in a Baptist church. The only time they asked for donations is when there is a need. Also the Baptists believe any one who accepted Jesus as their Saviour and is a good believer can take communion. Now I am a Messianic believer.
THE CREED 1. I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. 2. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made. 3. For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. 4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and He suffered and was buried. 5. On the third day He rose according to the Scriptures. 6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 7. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will have no end. 8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets. 9. !n one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 10. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 11. I expect the resurrection of the dead. 12. And the life of the age to come. Amen.
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You can go and visit the Orthodox monasteries in Arizona (St.Andonios) to see the orthodoxy more completely
GOD BLESS HIS ONE AND ONLY CATHOLICH CHURCH ✝️❤ ILL BE PRAYING FOR U 😊 BLESSINGS ALL THE WAY FROM MONTERREY MÉXICO 😃
Greek Christian Orthodox here.This is a part of your puzzle coming to faith.I think that you just received a HUGE blessing from God.Keep seeking God,because God is already doing it-i think.Glory to the Trinity.
Ορθοδοξία means (Straight) and the seccond word means (Glory)....So the correct translation is (Straight to the glory)....
Greek is the best.
I wish there were an Orthodox Christian you could have this style conversation with, but most Orthodox on UA-cam are orthobros that are trying to "win" a debate. If you could talk to an Orthodox philosopher like Dr. Beau Branson or Dr. David Bradshaw that would be great. Blessings! 🙏
Lord have mercy. I'm very sorry you experienced this.
Χριστός Ετεχθη🌺
Hi! I'm a convert in a Greek Orthodox Parish and apparently being late is a thing 😅
We reiterate that the Eucharist is for those baptized Orthodox bc many inquirers are Protestants who view Communion as purely symbolic, therefore anyone can receive it. Unfortunately there's also some who also feel entitled to it like some catholics who, because the Roman Church recognizes and validates Orthodox sacraments, still try receiving Communion in Orthodox churches. This isn't meant to be hate towards any of these people, just a matter of fact.
Thanks for coming by our church and making the video. I appreciate the perspective and feedback. I’m a member and converted from Protestantism (Methodist) 30+ years ago. As the white boy from The Big Fat Greek Wedding, I can relate to a lot of your comments. I laughed about the 1:45 long service and you also said you wondered why people show up late. It turns out that different priests at different churches have very different timeframes for the service. I find it long as well and it’s Priest specific. I think I have a very unique perspective about Orthodoxy and Protestantism. I’d be happy to chat with you about it if you’d like. As one of our members said “we have the best product and the worst marketing”. Not knocking us other than to say that Orthodoxy is much more concerned with the faith than it is in Marketing the faith.
I'm just a few minutes in. First, I commend you for going. Second, there are a few points you have intruded in the history or gotten wrong, that are super important- the first schism was in 451, over the single or dual nature of Christ. Also: the Old Testament was NOT written in Greek, though the New Testament certainly was... I'll keep watching.
You were so thorough! Bravo. So yes, it is all about the Eucharist. But that is just the pinnacle. I myself only take Communion but a few times a year- the Liturgy is about the fulfillment of the 5 senses- the incense, the pageantry, the chanting- about creating a world that is ethereal and therefore a space to pray. By the way, the worship starts with Orthos, so the total is about 3 hours every Sunday. Thank you for going and for your thoughts!
As a Greek Orthodox Christian, thank you for providing an insight into my faith. Happy holidays to you and I wish you a happy new year.
You should try a Byzantine/ Eastern rite Catholic or an Eastern Lutheran church if you liked Eastern Orthodoxy.
Χρόνια Πολλα!Ο Χριστός να μας ευλογεί!
the core of eastern christianity is forgiveness.. the greek orthodox church tradition is to welcome everyone especially those that feel themselves rejected either from their actions or by the actions of a group of people..
Greek Credo is the most elaborated and processed text in all Medieval texts. In the same time the Greek Liturgy is very simple and represents the Crucifixion of JC. It's Ancient it comes from the Christian roots, there's no more Ancient anywhere the whole Christendom.
I'm not Orthodox, but I admire your honesty and pursuit of truth. Peace of Christ from a Latin rite catholic.
"Non denominational" churches have Pentecostal or Baptist theology. They will avoid the label to attract as many people as they can.
@@John_Six in my experience this tends to be the case. I find very little difference between a nondenominational Sunday service vs that of a Baptist when it comes to doctrine
Thank you for the video 😊 would you be interested in hearing/ reading about the recents saints in Greece? For example Saint Paisios or Saint Porfyrios who died around 30 years ago. You will find very interesting I believe the miracles they performed and the huge amount of witnesses ensuring them 🙏🏻
Very nice video. I encourage you to visit often!
An hour long homily??
Not a bad video, however, watching (or listening) to `reviews` made by young people like you about religion, orthodoxy in particular, its such a shock to me how superficial ou are and what are your main objections... Yes you do try to describe as accurate as you can, not blaming you but 1) its really annoying the `disclaimers` you keep puting up, like `you dont want to offend`... This might be a clue that you cant really present a `digested` opinion, youre just making it for a not so particular reason, its like a video about unboxing a pair of trousers you just bought... And 2) its obvoius that you did a superficial reasearch and the sad part of your overall `investigation` or `trip` is that you dont plan to dig in some more. Orthodoxy in America is very fragmentated and still very ethnic. While you can drop your 2 cents on what you saw, that is like 1% of the whole thing, and the rest might or might not be as good. Like you said, unlike catholicism or protestantism, orthodxy hasnt got any central authority so you didnt even barely scratch the surface at all. I remember in early 2000s when first type of cell phones come up, some gave one star review to a very good phone just because it didnt had radio or a second clock alarm to set. Youre just like this when you say the priest had less authority in his homily and you didnt like it. And for that, he cant be a good spiritual leader... This is a very lame observation. And kind of rude tbh. You didnt even met the guy. Of course youre entitled to an opinion, whatever, we appreciate your honesty, even so, but youre just superficial. You kep mentioning twice the polish orthodox church. Really?? Polish orthodoxy??? Thats all you could come up with??? And you say ritual like you mean `ritual`, with quotes. But you don say nothing about big/representative/key figures of orthodoxy and also no historic background, apart a drawing with the 1054 coloured lines... Pff! But you speak about the website, the building, the meal, the greek dances... Lol. So, like, whats your end point with this comparisions among beliefs/religions? You clearly havent got one single clue abut what youre after. You talk about many things but dont go into details.... Its like learning about a topic,m any topic, reading the titles and description from first ten google search engine results... I am really shock by how superficial teens can be this days.... Kind of disrepectful in a way....
Ο Θεός είναι η Αλήθεια, ψάχνοντάς την, θα Τον βρεις. Συνέχισε
I am an Orthodox Christian convert from Protestantism, and I found your thoughts very kind and insightful.
If you’re open to Pete Enns I’d recommend “the Bible told me so” such a good book to start thinking of the Bible in a different way than typical Baptist teachings. I moved to a more liturgical setting (Lutheran, ELCA) and while I had a hard time with the change I found it refreshing
just a fact I pulled up on a search bar...I believe it claims there are 260 million Orthodox Christians around the world.
Greek orthodox mass is the closest act to the ancient Greek tragedy. There are three main types of orthodox mass according to its writer: the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Liturgy of St. Basil, Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a Byzantine Rite liturgical service which is performed on the weekdays of Great Lent wherein communion is received from Gifts (the Body and Blood of Christ) that are sanctified (consecrated) in advance, hence its name. Another interesting point of the orthodox mass is the Creed, concerned as keeping the original Nicean Creed, without the Filioque add by the Roman Catholic Church. Last but not least, the full name of thr Greek Orthodox Church is The Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I very much enjoyed your review on the Eastern Orthodox Church, a lot of similarities to the Catholic Church. Some differences that I observed were that when entering a Catholic Church, the greeters don't question your background, they just say good morning. Also, the Catholic Masses are almost always roughly an hour long, the homilies are about 10 minutes. The only time I see a Catholic Mass go well over an hour is the night before Easter Sunday, where RCIA people become Catholics and the Mass ends up being about 2 hours long. A suggestion for a church to visit in the future is one of the Seventh Day Adventist. Your reports are very interesting and informative.
Because of how sweet you are you have to become an orthodox. Has the sweetest people
It was very interesting to hear an outsider's impression of a greek orthodox service. One hour and 45 minutes is indeed a long time for divine liturgy, although you didn't mention how long the sermon was 😊. In Greece it lasts about an hour. However, on Sundays, due to the fact that the service includes also matins, the total duration is about 2.30-3.00 hours. i guess that's why it's common in Greece for the church to fill up gradually as the service advances. Not many have the patience to follow the service for so long, plus you would have to get up really early. Of course, Ithere's the stereotype that the Greeks are always late too 😅.
Glad to see this video. I thought you were fair in your treatment, and I appreciate seeing an outsider's perspective. I saw your into video and your desire to explore both religious and atheistic perspectives and literature, mentioning Sam Harris, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Jordan Peterson, and Ben Shapiro. If I may make a humble suggestion for a person and literature to check out, look into Jonathan Pageau, and a book by his brother Matthieu, _The Language of Creation._ Jordan Peterson has called Pageau one of the most profound spiritual thinkers he has met. For the book in particular, I think it is valuable in your journey because its goal is to expose the reader to a different way of thinking, an ancient, symbolic, religious worldview that is alien to many modern people. One thing I have noticed in several conversations between atheists and religious people is that they not only talk past each other, but literally think differently. I've even seen this in literature; in fantasy I can usually identify an irreligious author writing religious characters, not (necessarily) because they are disrespectful to religion, but because they literally don't understand how a religious person thinks even when they try. To be fair, many modern people who claim to be religious in truth have a secular worldview that they kind of tack God, Jesus, etc on top of. But if you want to explore faith on its own level, understanding a more religious worldview is important, even if you do not adopt it, to step into the frame and understand it on its own terms. Would recommend. May God bless you on your journey, and may it bear much fruit!