SATAN IS REAL - READ THIS

Reading these and other similar testimonies, many are perplexed. How, they think, can we reconcile more acute senses of the soul with the impossibility for it to repent? The fact is that repentance is more than a mere feeling. Remorse is possible after death, as Blessed Theophylact writes in the above commentary—but it will be fruitless for those who did not repent in their lifetimes. The Venerable Ephraim the Syrian says the same: “There are tears of repentance, when the soul desires eternal good things, and they are very sweet and beneficial. And there are tears of remorse, where (according to the Savior’s word) there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt.8:12), and these tears are bitter and useless, because they are altogether fruitless.”1 The fact is that repentance is not only the awareness of your sins, but also the desire and opportunity to change, to be cleansed from them, to be spiritually transformed. Transformation is possible only by the movement of the human will and the work of grace, and “the time and place for the action of grace is here alone”, as the Holy Fathers wrote. St. John of Kronstadt said: “A terrible truth. Impenitent sinners after their death lose every possibility of changing for good, and therefore remain unalterably given up to everlasting torments (for sin cannot but torment). <…> Who does not know how difficult it is, without God’s special grace, for a sinner to turn from the way of sin that is so dear to him into the path of virtue?... But for the grace of God, what sinner would have returned to God? For it is the nature of sin to darken our souls, to bind us hand and foot. But the time and place for the action of grace is here alone: after death there remain only the prayers of the Church, and these prayers can be efficacious for penitent sinners alone—that is, only for those who have developed in their souls the capability of receiving God’s mercy or of benefiting by the prayers of the Church—that is, the light of the good works which they have taken with them out of this life.”2 Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid wrote: “The sinner is in darkness even in this life, as he has fallen away from the Sun of Righteousness. But as there is still hope of conversion, this is not yet the ‘outer’ darkness. But when he has died and an examination has been made of the things he has done, then the outer darkness in its turn receives him. For there is no longer any hope of conversion, but he undergoes a complete deprivation of the good things of God. While he is here in this life he enjoys to some degree the good things of God, I mean, the tangible things of creation, and he believes that he is in some manner a servant of God, living out his life in God’s house, which is this creation, being fed by Him and provided with the necessities of life. But then he will be altogether cut off from God, having no share at all in the good things of God. This is that darkness which is called ‘outer’ by comparison to the darkness here, which is not ‘outer’, because the sinner is not yet completely cut off from this time onward.”3 Reflecting on the same subject, St. Theophan the Recluse, wrote: “Now or tomorrow death will come, and it will end all that is ours, and will in itself be imprinted on our destinies forever, for there is no repentance after death. We will stand before the Judgment seat in that state death finds us.”4 “The law of life is such that as soon as someone plants the seed of repentance here, even at his last gasp, he will not perish. This seed will grow and bear fruit—eternal salvation. And if someone does not plant the seed of repentance here and passes over with the spirit of unrepentant persistence in sins, then he will remain there forever with the same spirit and reap forever the fruit of it according to its kind—God’s eternal rejection.”5 As we can see from these words, a salvific change after death is possible only for those who, according to St. John of Kronstadt, “have developed in their souls the capability of receiving God’s mercy—the light of the good works which they have taken with them out of this life.” All Orthodox Christians who died in repentance have hope of salvation from hell, even if they did not have time to bring the fruits of repentance sufficient for cleansing their souls and therefore did not attain Paradise: the prayers of the living can help them. Their painful state can be changed. Their “seed of repentance”, albeit small, can bring the fruit of eternal life through the prayers of the Church. The Epistle of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox Faith (1723) reads: “The souls of people who fell into mortal sins and did not despair at death, but once again before being separated from the real life of those who repented, only who did not manage to bear any fruits of repentance (which are: prayers, tears, contrition, consolation of the poor and expression in actions of love for God and neighbors that the entire Catholic Church from the very beginning recognizes God-pleasing and useful), the souls of such people descend into hell and suffer punishment for the sins they have committed, without depriving, however, of relief from them. They receive relief by infinite goodness through the prayers of the Priests and the beneficence performed for the dead; and especially by the power of the bloodless Sacrifice, which, in particular, the clergyman brings for each Christian about his relatives, in general, for all, the Catholic and Apostolic Church brings daily.”6 That is, it is not that the love of God turns away from the sinner after death, but the soul itself changes after death, and if there is no “light of the good works” or “seed of repentance” in it, it will not be able to receive God’s help and be transformed by repentance. The Holy Fathers unanimously write about this. I will give just a few examples. St. Anthony the Great: “What do crying and sobbing mean, if not the boundlessness of cruel and terrible torments? and what is depicted by gnashing of teeth, if not the greatest regret for the sins committed? Then—and this will surely happen—we will begin to resent ourselves, to repent with gnashing teeth, when repentance will not take place, when there will be no benefit from it, when the time given for repentance will have passed.”7 St. Gregory of Nyssa: “After death no one will have a chance to heal the disease inflicted by sin by the memory of God, because confession has power on earth, but it does not exist in hell.”8 St. John Damascene states in his book, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith: “You must know that the fall for the angels is the same as death for people. For after they fall they have no repentance, just as humans have no repentance after death.” Why does this happen? The fact is that the personality cannot change after death. Entering eternity beyond the grave, the soul begins to live according to the law of eternity. St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) teaches that after death a person begins a different way of existence, passing from a temporary life into eternity, immutability: “Death is a great sacrament. It is the birth of a person from this earthly, temporal life into eternity.”9 The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), the Holy Scriptures say about what awaits everybody after this temporary life. The attribute of eternity is the qualitative immutability of phenomena. The qualitative state of the soul acquired during life on earth cannot change after passing into eternity. Therefore, after the death of the body the soul can only change within the limits of the quality that it acquired in earthly life: either to grow in virtue or degrade in sin. He who in his lifetime acquired a penitent spirit and striving for goodness will be perfected in goodness by the grace of God; and he who had no repentance in his soul, but wholeheartedly served his passions, will fall more and more into the abyss of evil. Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) speaks about this in a brief yet very profound phrase: “The life of the brain and the heart and the combined, miraculously coordinated life of all the bodily organs are required only for the formation of the spirit and cease when its formation is completed or its direction has been fully determined10.” The Australian surgeon Pyotr Kalinowsky explained the deep meanings of these words of St. Luke: “These words of Archbishop Luke speak about the most important thing—what gives a person life on earth. Archbishop Luke, having spoken about the purpose of our life on earth, proceeds, saying that after the death of the body in the immortal human soul eternal life and endless development in the direction of good or evil continue. “The most terrible thing about these words of the archbishop is that at the moment of death of the body all further development of the soul in the direction of good or evil has already been determined. In the afterlife, two paths lay before the soul—towards the light or away from it, and after the death of the body the soul can no longer choose its path. The path was determined by human life on earth. <…> However, the sinner’s dark soul, which remains dark even after the death of the body, can no longer change. “This is what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (Jn. 15:1-2). “For a person who realizes that his life on earth is only a part of his life and that in the afterlife he will continue the development begun here, his entire temporary existence acquires a special meaning.”11 St. John Damascene writes about this attribute of eternity: “Further, everlasting life and everlasting punishment prove that the age to come is unending. For time will not be counted by days and nights even after the resurrection, but there will rather be one day with no evening, wherein the Sun of Justice will shine brightly on the just, but for the sinful there will be night, profound and limitless. In what way then will the period of one thousand years be counted which, according to Origen, is required for the complete restoration?”12 St. Theophan the Recluse explains the immutability of the personality in eternity as well: “You forget that there will be eternity, not time; therefore, everything there will be eternal, not temporary. You count the torments for hundreds, thousands and millions of years, whereas there the first minute will begin, and there will be no end to it, because there will be a never-ending minute. The counting will not go any further, but it will be in the first minute, and it will remain like that.”13 Monk Mitrofan explains this phenomenon based on the Word of God: “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise (Lk. 23:43), Jesus Christ said to the penitent thief. It means that every soul upon separation from its body will be either in Heaven or in hell. When? Today, the Lord Jesus Christ said. “How do we understand the word ‘today’? How can it be reconciled with the teaching of the Church about the third, the ninth and the fortieth days? There are days, nights and years on earth, but eternity is either light or dark. Thus, the word ‘today’ means time after death—eternity. The third, the ninth and the fortieth days are on earth, but there are no days in the afterlife. There is only ‘today’ and there is no other day. “The sacrament of death is the door through which the soul, having separated from its body, enters eternity.”14 St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) writes about this as well: “The eternal bliss of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the sinners must be understood in such a way that the immortal spirit of the former, enlightened and powerfully strengthened after liberation from the body, receives the opportunity for unlimited development in the direction of goodness and Divine love, in permanent communion with God and all the bodiless powers. And the dark spirit of evildoers and those who fight against God in permanent communication with the devil and his angels will be tormented forever by being alienated from God, Whose holiness they will finally know, and by the unbearable poison that evil and hatred are fraught with, infinitely increasing in incessant communication with the center and source of evil—satan.

MANY PEOPLE OF VARIOUS AGENTS WILL SEEK TO CONTOL US.

Today is the commemoration of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who suffered and received crowns of martyrdom from the godless satanic authorities, which to this day [this sermon was delivered before the fall of communism in Russia.—Ed.], with the explicit support of the so-called “free world,” oppress our Russian people. A characteristic feature of most of our New Martyrs is that their persecutors did not and do not torture them directly and openly for Christ.

If this or that persecuted person had not been a Christian, if he had not shown fortitude and courage in loyalty to Christ, there would have been no accusations. If he had renounced God and worshipped the idol of Marx and Lenin, then the accusation would have immediately disappeared. One mighty aspiration to God, in love for the Orthodox Fatherland, was the life of our Martyr Sovereign and His August Family in captivity. Our archpastors, pastors, many, many warriors, scientists, and toilers of the earth, burned with fiery zeal for God and the Orthodox Fatherland. Millions of our New Martyrs, who suffered terrible torments, courageously confessed their faith in Christ and fidelity to Him. In our evil time, the diabolical forces fighting against God do not dare to directly demand that modern martyrs renounce Christ. Christians are being charged with crimes of which they are not guilty. Thus, the persecutors maintain a favorable appearance—the martyr suffers, allegedly, not for Christ. But it is clear to the sufferer and to his accusers that it is enough for him, the martyr, to show by word or hint that he is ready, even in the most plausible form, to renounce his faith, to renounce his courageous fortitude in it, and he will be acquitted or exempted from persecution. What is required of us, dear brothers and sisters, in these evil times? One thing is required of us: Faithfulness! Faithfulness to Christ through faithfulness to our New Martyrs as our mentors. The Apostle Paul says: “Remember your instructors and imitate their way of life” (cf. Heb. 13:7). Whoever renounces the New Martyrs and Confessors, regardless of where he lives—in enslaved Russia or at liberty abroad—gives himself into the hands of the theomachists! Don’t forget that! In enslaved Russia, all those who confessed their loyalty to Patriarch Tikhon the Confessor, who did not hide their loyalty or even sympathy for the Martyr Tsar Nicholas II as God's Anointed Christian Tsar, and His August Family, suffered and still suffer for Christ. Renunciation of loyalty to them was tantamount to renunciation of Christ. All the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia reveal to us an example and a way by which the machinations of the enemies of Christ and the enemies of our Orthodox Fatherland are defeated. All of them are now standing before the throne of God, offering prayers for their, and our, earthly Fatherland. Every Orthodox family should now take care to have a book in their home that tells the story of the Russian New Martyrs. In every Orthodox family, parents should familiarize their children with the description of their lives and sufferings. In our evil times, it is necessary to return to the ancient custom of reading the lives of saints in the family and, above all, the lives of our near and dear New Martyrs of Russia. Amen. Bishop Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) Translation by Igumen Seraphim (Bell) Azbyka.ru 2/4/2024

AVOID THE IDEA THAT NO ONE WILL HELP YOU.

Dear Family of Mary! Denis and I have been reading a biography of Padre Pio. And yesterday we came across this extraordinary advice that Padre Pio wrote to one of his spiritual daughters, Anita Rodote, in 1915. As I read Padre Pio's words I was just filled with joy and elation! At last I was able to understand the immense gift each one of us receives at conception! We are given our very own Guardian Angel for life!! I want to share the advice Padre Pio gave to Anita. I am sure it will ignite the same joy in your hearts. Padre Pio wrote: "Have great devotion...to this good angel. How consoling it is to know that near us is a spirit who, from cradle to the tomb, does not leave us even for an instant, not even when we dare to sin. And this heavenly spirit guides us and protects us as a friend, a brother. But it is extremely consoling to know that this angel prays without ceasing for us; offers to God all our good actions, our thoughts, our desires, if they are pure. Do not forget this invisible companion, always present, always ready to listen to us and even more, ready to console us...Always keep him present to your mind's eye. Often remember the presence of this angel. Thank him, pray to him, keep him good company. Open yourself up to him and confide your suffering to him. Have a constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze...Turn to him in times of supreme anxiety and you will experience beneficial help. Never say that you are alone in sustaining the battle against our enemies. Never say you have nobody to whom you can open up and confide. You would do this heavenly messenger a grace wrong." Padre Pio to Anita Rodote - (From Padre Pio, The True Story. C Bernard Ruffin. Our Sunday Visitor, 2018. P. 357) After I read these words, I immediately went into prayer! I asked my Guardian Angel to forgive me for not understanding who he is or how very much I owe him for being with me all these years. I spent some time just repenting, and then asked if I could know his name. I think I was given the answer, and it is wonderful! Now I am spending my day, in the presence of my dear friend from Heaven, and I feel so different, so happy, so blessed, so secure and so humbled!! It is wonderful. Our Lady speaks a lot to us about Heaven. I haven't found yet any reference to our guardian angels in her messages. But she does talk about Heaven being with us. In this message below, she tells us that "Heaven is with you and is fighting for peace in your hearts..." I believe this is a reference to our Guardian Angels!! Here is the whole message: December 25, 2016 "Dear children! With great joy, today I am carrying my Son Jesus to you, for Him to give you His peace. Open your hearts, little children, and be joyful that you can receive it. Heaven is with you and is fighting for peace in your hearts, in the families and in the world; and you, little children, help with your prayers for it to be so. I bless you with my Son Jesus and call you not to lose hope; and for your gaze and heart to always be directed towards Heaven and eternity. In this way, you will be open to God and to His plans. Thank you for having responded to my call." By acknowledging our Guardian Angel, and spending our day with him, we will realize that Heaven is with us, and fighting for peace in our hearts. And with our Angel, our gaze and heart will always be directed towards Heaven and eternity. We are so blessed!!! In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan

If you love your father more than me ....READ THIS !

Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Which is in Heaven (Mt. 10:32-33). He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me (Mt. 10:37-38). Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first (Mt. 19:27-30). The Gospel tells us about some difficult things… that are carried out by the saints. The first or second time I went to Holy Mount Athos, I visited Burazeri—a Russian cell with Greek monks living in it, including two Cypriot monks. At that time, I was trying to decide whether to stay on the Holy Mountain. This was 1976, when the Holy Mountain was completely cut off from the world, and on Cyprus they didn’t even know about the existence of Athos—because, I remember, we had to take entrance exams for school, and my knowledge was so “broad” that for the question about where Christ was born, I wrote on the test: “On the Holy Mountain,” instead of Bethlehem. And why did I write that? Because I had no connection with religion, but I remembered a New Year’s song about Ayavasil (Greek Santa Claus) and the Holy Mountain, or something like that. These things got connected in my head, and I wrote, “On the Holy Mountain.” And when I got there, I began wavering about whether or not I should stay. I both wanted to stay and was afraid to stay, because I kept thinking, what about my mother, what will happen to Cyprus?... I had the thought: “What will happen if a war breaks out on Cyprus and I’m here?” As if I could save Cyprus with my presence… a hero! What nonsense can people come up with! I thought: “And if a war starts, and I’m here? How will I be able to endure it?” I felt like a fighter on the front line of this war! At noon, we were gathering for lunch. And I had such thoughts swirling around my head. At that time, there were no lotus flowers in Cyprus—now there are. And here, one monk of holy life, now reposed, Fr. Ioannikios, a Cypriot monk, said to me: “Let’s go eat a lotus!” “What kind of fruit is that?” I asked. “They don’t have it in Cyprus. It’s the same thing that Odysseus ate and then forgot about Ithaca.” “What are you saying?” I gasped. “Eat it, and you’ll forget about Cyprus!” he said jokingly. But I was so naïve and stupid that I told him I didn’t want any. So I didn’t eat any. I believed him that if I ate it, I’d forget about Cyprus! He told me: “Come on! Eat it—nothing bad will happen to you!” “No, no, it’s out of the question!” I refused. The fathers laughed, so silly and ridiculous my stubbornness was. But I didn’t want to, I couldn’t even think about forgetting Cyprus. So, the words of Christ are heavy… because it’s difficult when you hear: “Leave everything! Leave your mother, father, brothers, children, land, houses, knowledge, everything!” Christ says absolute things here to help us stop being wimpy and become strong, lively people. Behind every person who follows Christ there’s a hidden rejection of many things. You can’t follow Christ unless you decide to give up something. Of course, if you stay in the world, you won’t have to renounce your mother or your mother-in-law—especially her—or your boss, or anyone else, but you’ll certainly have to renounce your will, your passions, selfishness, avarice, sensuality, vainglory—and these things are harder to give up than others. One young man came to us, intending to become a monk on the Holy Mountain. He had renounced his parents, his friends, his degrees, money, only he couldn’t give up his stamp collection! He couldn’t! When the Elder saw a pile of albums in his cell, he asked: “What’s that?” “Stamps, Geronda.” “And why did you bring them here? What do you need them for?” “I’ve loved collecting stamps since I was a little boy.” “Well, alright, since you brought them here,” (and it was winter), “then they’ll be good for kindling the stove! Now, when we light the stove, burn them bit by bit!” And this poor fellow turned pale, then green, then he blushed, and said: “I can’t do that.” “Well, if you can’t, then take them and leave!” That was it! There was no second word from the elders. I went to the man and told him: “So, you left your mother, father, and brothers, but these pathetic little stamps you can’t give up?” And the Elder was categorical: “Either burn them or get out!” And when he saw me coming to him, he added: “And it won’t be anyone else who burns them! You’re not going to give them to Fr. Athanasios to burn them—you’re going to burn them yourself!” I tried to intercede for him: “Isn’t a shame to destroy such lovely stamps? Geronda, he worked so hard to collect them. Okay, so we’re not going to keep them for ourselves—what do we need them for in the desert? But let’s keep them, and maybe some young man will come, and he’ll give them to him to enjoy.” “No! He’s going to burn them himself!” And that’s what happened. If any stamp expert is listening to us, I’m afraid what trouble it’ll give us. But such things aren’t valued there on the Holy Mountain. Christ is absolute in order to help a man be brave… so he won’t be cowardly, fearful, half-hearted. Christ clearly says: Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Which is in Heaven (Mt. 10:32-33). These words of Christ have filled the Church with martyrs. Millions of martyrs who have suffered immeasurable, inhuman torments, and not only adults. Let’s say a man of thirty or thirty-five—okay, he can endure them; he’s being tortured, but he’s a warrior. But little children, little girls? St. Marina was fifteen, St. Barbara was sixteen, St. Irina was a young woman, St. George was twenty, St. Stephen also was twenty. Or babies. St. Cyricus was three; St. Valerian was sixteen-months-old when the emperor took him from his mother and asked: “Who is the true God?” The child replied: “Christ!” Then he threw him from the throne right onto the marble floor, and the child died. A martyr of the Church. A saint. And when they tried to tell St. Cyricus, a child, that Christ isn’t God, he hit the ruler, who then threw him straight into the fire. So, these words of Christ have filled the Church with martyrs. And if they had renounced Christ, what would have happened then? If they had been afraid? St. Barbara was slaughtered by her own father. If this girl, this sixteen-year-old girl had renounced Christ, what would have happened? Of course, she would have lost her crown of life. However, God gave her strength; and strange and incredible though it may seem, know that all this was done by the power of God, and therefore it’s said: Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, that is, “by My grace and power.” God gives man strength. When man wants it, he receives strength. And when he doesn’t want it, he doesn’t receive it. Therefore, when some say, “I can’t,” it doesn’t stand up to criticism. Well, okay, we agree: A man can’t do it. “I want to, but I can’t!” But then it means our will isn’t so categorical, because if we really wanted something, then God would give us the strength to do what we want to do. If we don’t accept strength, that means we probably don’t want it as much as we should, or there are some other reasons that God knows about. In any case, with God’s strength, man follows Christ in an absolute way. As I said before, these words don’t have a literal application to every instance, because someone might say: “Well, okay, but what about us who haven’t become monks and ascetics and live with our mother, father, children, who have land—what will happen to us? Is there really no room for us in the Kingdom of God?” In fact, Christ didn’t say this. He said whoever loves all this “more than Me.” If you love your wife, husband, children, your land more than Christ, then you are truly unworthy of Him. I remember one poor mother whose son decided to become a monk. Fortunately, not in Cyprus, and fortunately not in a monastery that I know. She came crying and saying: “It’s my fault! I took him to church, I took him to Confession. It’s my fault that he went and became a monk.” “You’re to blame, of course, but who else?” I asked her. It’s good that I’m not to blame, as I usually am. But just think how a person might look at it. In the end, it means you love Christ only as long as He serves you. When you want your child to listen to you, to be smart and bring home good grades; when you want to make sure your husband doesn’t go to other women, or your wife to other men, then Christ is useful to you, because He made another “good child.” But if this good child believes in what Christ says here, and, to your misfortune, goes to put it into practice, then the Gospel becomes bitter for you and you start blaming God. Since I’ve been accused many times, and even now, of brainwashing—so they say; you’ve heard about it—they talk about it in season and out of season—then I say: “Well, all right. When they bring me to trial, I’ll take the Gospel with me and say if there’s someone that has to be put in prison, it’s Christ. And what am I guilty of? Was it me who told people to go and become monastics? He said it!” I can complain about Him myself, because I’m a victim myself [laughs], and I’ll even bring my mother along [laughs]—I believed what Christ said and I went and did it. Of course, I only did half of it, because we haven’t finished the rest yet. But we’ve taken the first steps at least. Christ said these things, not man. But so you know that when a man is freed from earthly attachments and loves Christ most of all—and I repeat, not so that you give up your parents and land, but so you wouldn’t love them more than Christ, and so it would be not them but Christ Who determines your whole life, then you can really live in the freedom of God. Then, as Christ says, And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Mt. 19:29-30). God will give you a hundred times more. This is truly a great reality. God doesn’t say anything untruthful; He is the only one Who will never push man away, never betray or disappoint him. We don’t have to say, “You know, we believed Christ, and look what came of it!” This will never happen. Christ is true to His word, and what He said is confirmed to an extraordinary degree, that is, you’ll get not a hundredfold, but even a thousandfold. And not only what you’re able to understand, but also those blessings that are much greater—God gives all of this to a man who out of love for Him overcomes the attraction of this world and confesses Christ. The confession of Christ affects all things, from the smallest to the most complex From making the Sign of the Cross when you sit down to eat, to wearing a cross, to someone asking if you believe in Christ and you answering: “Of course! I believe!”—this is confession. Did you know that if someone asks you if you believe in Christ and you say: “I don’t believe,” even as a joke, you’re deprived of your Baptism? This is a renunciation of Christ! As a rule, you must be chrismated again when you return to the bosom of the Church. Here’s an incident from the life of St. Paisios the Great. His disciple went to sell his handiwork and met some Jews who told him that Christ isn’t God. To get rid of them, because he had no desire to have a discussion with them, he told them: “Well, it’s probably as you say.” When he returned, St. Paisios the Great said to him: “Who are you?” “Father, I’m your disciple!” “My disciple is a Christian. But you’re not baptized. You have no Baptism. Where is your Baptism?” He lost his Baptism. The saint saw it by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and then it required great asceticism and repentance for the grace of Holy Baptism to return and the disciple to again be accepted into the Church. Therefore, the confession of Christ is no joking matter: Either we confess Christ and will be with Him, or if we renounce Him, that means we have cut Him off and are cut off from Him. If we want to return, we have to repent and receive Chrismation again in order to be in the Church again. Here the Word of God is absolute. And it’s that way for our own good, to help us be reasonable people, serious in our relationship with God, consistent and courageous, and so we would put all our trust in Christ. To be continued

WHAT ARE PASTORS DOING REGARDING TO SAVING CHILDREN ?

Christian Pastors Must Stand for Truth, Righteousness, and Morality in the Public Arena January 17, 2017 by Orthodox Editors Fr. Josiah Trenham Christian Pastors Must Stand for Truth, Righteousness, and Morality in the Public Arenaby Fr. Josiah Trenham – You’d be right to ask, I think, what’s a pastor doing at this conservative political conference. I certainly know some of my clerical colleagues are asking what I’m doing here. Some of my own parishioners are probably asking—if they even know—are asking what I’m doing here. The IRS is certainly asking what I’m doing here. That unbiased and non-partisan government agency has been telling lies to clergy for 50 years to keep our mouths shut and to steal freedom of speech in the pulpit. So let me answer that question, what’s a pastor doing here at this conservative political conference. It is perfectly natural for me to be here. Absolutely natural. Pastors and politics are intimately connected and have always been intimately connected in God’s design, from the beginning, in the old and the new covenant, from Israel right through two millennia of Christian history. Where you have politics, you have pastors. It’s only the Johnny-come-lately secularists who would like us to think and act differently

New Russian Law Prohibits Inciting a Woman to have an Abortion

Deputies of the legislative assembly of the Kaliningrad region in Russia have adopted a law prohibiting inducement to abortion in the region. “The law On the prohibition of inciting to artificial termination of pregnancy in the Kaliningrad region was adopted by a majority of votes,” said Legislative Assembly Speaker Andrei Kropotkin. For inciting a woman to have an abortion, with the exception of cases of termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, the law provides for a fine of 3 to 5 thousand rubles for individuals, for officials - from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. The governor of the region, Anton Alikhanov, speaking to deputies with a report on the budget for the next three years, emphasized that increasing the birth rate in the region is one of the important tasks. The search for a solution to this problem, according to the governor, should become a “rallying point” for all political parties and the public. Previously, Mordovia and the Tver region adopted regional laws banning inciting women to have abortions, violation of which provides for administrative liability. In the Kursk region and Crimea, private clinics voluntarily refused to provide abortion services.

A primary mission of the Orthodox Church is to guard the true faith

– A primary mission of the Orthodox Church is to guard the true faith against false prophets, teachings, and practices. To be Orthodox is to be committed to the truth: the truth of the Gospel, the Holy Trinity, the scriptures, and the Holy Tradition The word for today is “false.” In today’s reading of 2 Corinthians 11:5-21, we note how seriously St. Paul takes the false teachers who are misleading the congregation at Corinth. The Apostle is so concerned—and incensed—that he is willing to defend himself on the low level of his adversaries. St. Paul begins his diatribe against those who are pretending to be apostles, “For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles” (vs. 5). Then he writes that he is going to “boast a little” (vs. 16). His boasting will not be “according to the Lord” (vs. 17). In this case, the Apostle admits that, he will not follow the Lord’s direction, but he will speak “foolishly” in the same manner as his opponents. Truth Is a Straight Path: Falsehood Lead to Confusion We learn in this passage that St. Paul’s primary concern was that the Corinthians were being misled by lies and deceptions. Why was that of critical concern? The Apostle writes, “You put up with fools gladly…for you put up with it if one brings you bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face” (vs. 20). In other words, if the truth sets us free, lies take us captive. Deceits catch us and swallow us up in their world of make-believe. Falsehoods honor dishonesty and despise honesty. In short, the truth is a straight path: those who forsake it get lost in a thicket of confusion. The New Testament constantly urges vigilance against false prophets who “will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (vs. 24). From the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to the visions of St. John in Revelation (e.g., vs. 10:13), the warnings are urgent and consistent. The case of the apostasy at Corinth reveals the havoc that these false “disguises of Satan” can wreck (vs. 13). The flock of the Church must be on guard for the wolves of deception in their midst. For Reflection A primary mission of the Orthodox Church is to guard the true faith against false prophets, teachings, and practices. To be Orthodox is to be committed to the truth: the truth of the Gospel, the Holy Trinity, the scriptures, and the Holy Tradition, etc. The witness of the saints and martyrs, the confession of the Creed, and the testimony of the church fathers all serve to protect the faithful from error. Yet, in so far as we are committed to the truth in matters of faith, our dedication should extend to all our speech and conduct (Ephesians 4:23 and 6:14). The commandments charge that we should not “bear false witness” (Exodus 20: 16). Moreover, the Lord Jesus taught that the prohibition against “swearing falsely” covers all oaths. He says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’ for whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). With this lesson in mind how can we who are committed to the truth live and represent the truth in these times of wholesale deceitfulness?

HOW DID ANCIENT PAGANS SEE THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY ?

Let’s face the task of putting ourselves in the place of a pagan of the East and West of the Eastern and western Empire. Let’s “try on his dress”. How would he react to the preaching of the Jewish fishermen? Let’s listen with his ears and think with his mind. Perhaps then it will be possible to understand more clearly how Christianity entered the Roman world, how it penetrated into homes and into hearts. Ancient culture was focused on searching for meaning: philosophy with its inexhaustible existential questions, sculpture with its proportions and search for the perfect beauty, work on the political structure as a search for a form to embody the ideals of society. All this inspired people to look for a standard and an idyll. The Birth of Christ on the outskirts of civilization A magnificent emperor ruled in the majestic Palatine Palace, which opened when the King of Kings and the Lord of all Living Things came into the world in a squalid cave in little known Bethlehem on the outskirts of a huge empire. Delving into the religious history of Rome during the time of Christ and the Apostles, we can find amazing meanings, with which the heads of the Romans were “seasoned”. It is impossible to disregard them, and we also cannot help but marvel at the greatness of Divine Providence, which was preparing people’s hearts to accept the Good Tidings of the Salvation of the world and man. Christ was born in the multinational Roman Empire, which included both the East and the West, absorbed the great cultures of antiquity, their customs and religions. Christ was recorded on the census as a citizen of such an empire in order to attract from the east and from the west… to the Kingdom of God (cf. Lk. 13:29). Caesar and the God-Man Christ The Roman Empire was founded almost on the eve of the Birth of the Lord under Emperor Octavian Augustus (the 30s BC—14 AD). Studying the life and activity of the emperor, in whose days the Savior was born, we admire the greatness of Divine Providence. By the earthly order of things, the minds and the hearts of the citizens of the Roman world were being prepared to accept the Heavenly Fatherland. We will single out several facts from the life of the pagan emperor, which can be considered symbolic and even to some extent “prototypal”. They prepared the pagan hearts to receive the message of the Savior and salvation. 1. We know about St. Isaiah’s prophecy that Christ would bring peace: And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (Is. 2:4). The prophets themselves, centuries before Christ, said of the Messiah, This man shall be the peace (Mic. 5:5). In Rome just before Christ’s Birth and in the early years of Jesus’ life, the idea of ending wars and establishing peace (pax Augusta) were widespread. Thus, in 13 BC, the “Altar of Peace” was set up in Rome. In “The Acts of the Divine Augustus” the Emperor emphasized that during his reign the gates of the temple of the god Janus were closed three times, which meant the end of all wars and was a symbol of peace. Christ, Who brought true peace, deigned to come to earth in the days of the cessation of wars. 2. Christ is the Son of God, God Who came into the world, clothed in our nature and making us His kin. All nations and kingdoms must offer their glory to Him. He brought everyone together before Him: At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (Phil. 2:10). He, the true Son of God, was born under the emperor who called himself the “son of god.” This is what Octavian, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, called himself. In the time of Octavian, the cult of imperial liturgies appeared (“liturgy” means “work of the people” in Greek, because they were performed at the expense of the empire’s population). January 1, 42 BC, the senators proclaimed Caesar god, and Octavian became known as the “son of god”. 3. In the days when Christ God, Who revealed to us the Name of God the “Father”, was an Infant and made His first steps, Octavian received from the Senate the honorary title of “father of the fatherland” (pater patriae—2 BC). Octavian did not choose Mars, the god of war, as his patron deity, but Apollo, who brings order and arranges human affairs. Christ, Who was born at this time, truly arranged all our affairs for good. He is the only One Whom the Prophet Isaiah called the everlasting Father during the foundation of Rome (Is. 9:6). 4. Pagan emperors and kings of Rome bore the title “Pontifex Maximus”, literally “the great bridge builder”—the one who united the earthly with the Heavenly. In fulfillment of the great Pontifex, the cult charged to avoid not only touching, but even looking at the dead, including one’s relatives, which Octavian observed carefully. Let us recall that in the Old Testament, given 1400 years before the Birth of Christ, the high priest of the true God was forbidden to touch the dead, even his own parents. In the paganism of Rome and in the Jewish religion there was a foretaste that death had nothing to do with the true High Priest. It was fulfilled in Jesus. Christ is the Conqueror of death: He came to destroy its power and make the way, the bridge from death unto life (Jn. 5:24). Not only did He raise others from the dead, but He even entered death Himself, and death, trampled down, could not bear His burial that lasted three days. 5. Octavian’s adoptive father Julius Caesar became the first “god” proclaimed in Rome. After that he was killed by supporters of the republic. He wore the purple robe of Jupiter of the Capitoline Hill and went down in history. Let’s recall how the soldiers at Pilate’s trial put a purple robe on Christ—the clothes of Caesar and Jupiter. Christ always called Himself the Son of Man, being God from Heaven. He was put to death. But He rose again, having conquered death and hell. After another victory a statue was erected to Caesar as to the “invincible god” (“pantocrator” in Greek), where he was depicted leaning on a sphere that symbolized peace. Christ, the true “Pantocrator”—the Almighty—enlightened the whole universe, wins all the battles that those who believe in Him wage in His name, and contains the world with His Love. 6. There were oak leaf wreaths in the military halo of glory of Rome—the symbol of Jupiter. A valiant soldier was crowned with it as a reward for saving a fellow soldier on the battlefield. The saved one wove a wreath for him for the great good deed of saving his life. The saved one was supposed to honor his savior as his father. When Emperor Octavian saved the country from civil war, he was regarded as a benefactor. An inscription has survived in Ephesus that calls Octavian “the common savior of all human lives.” Christ is the Savior from the power of death. He alone is the true Savior of all people’s lives. When the Apostles spoke of salvation, all the Gentiles understood the true meaning of this word: salvation from the power of death, the gift of life. From the earthly to the Heavenly—from the emperor to Christ At the turn of the age, Rome was engulfed by a surge of lively religious feeling, and the center of that feeling was the emperor—a living god who brought peace, a good and just winner. It seemed that the whole world was being renewed. At that time, the poet Ovid revived the concept of a Golden Age where people would be faithful to justice without coercion. The emperors who succeeded Octavian Augustus did not come up to the people’s expectations; among them were both worthy men and outright monsters. Both in Judaism and in the Roman State at the time of the preaching of the Apostles there was a “Great longing” for an earthly kingdom with an earthly living and good god. This idea brought both Jews and Gentiles to Christianity. Let’s recall the great Paul and the great former pagan witnesses—the elite of the Roman State: Great-Martyrs George the Victorious, Demetrius of Thessalonica and Barbara. Researchers note that the New Testament authors were already using terms from the imperial cult, explaining the relations between man and Christ the Savior. Pagan religious honors rendered to the emperor, and all the hopes pinned on him, became a reflection of the glory of Christ. Through the Roman State on the earthly level the minds were prepared for the Heavenly message. Earthly values carried a deeper meaning and Heavenly hopes. The desire for purification was the religious motivating force of Rome at the turn of the old and the new eras of mankind, in the years when the Deliverer came, and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be (Gen. 49:10). Christ was killed by the Sadducees because He proclaimed Himself God, but He truly resurrected, and streams of preaching about the great King of Kings flowed into all corners of the empire. These were fervent words supported by deeds, life and miracles. This confirmed the belief that He was indeed the true Son of God, God and the Savior, the Ruler and the Peacemaker. Researchers call the ancient religion the “Old Testament of European Christianity”, and Augustus the “Roman David”—the king and a prototype of the true Messiah. What the prophets had said was fulfilled. The Almighty came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10). Pagans, disappointed in the subsequent decline of Rome, could not but believe this.

KILLING CHILDREN VIA PLANNED PARENHOOD

According to a press release, The Center for Medical Progress has confirmed that the University of Pittsburgh investigated by federal law enforcement regarding a tissue harvesting program using the bodies of aborted children. CMP uncovered documents through the Freedom of Information Act which support the claim it has long made: University of Pittsburgh has been working with Planned Parenthood to criminally harvest the body parts of babies aborted late in gestation. Those documents include email exchanges from late 2021 through early 2022 between leaders of the National Institutes of Health, University of Pittsburgh's senior vice chancellor for research, and the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIS). The OIS conducts criminal, civil, and administrative investigations of fraud and misconduct related to HHS programs. It has the authority to make arrests. In an email dated November 5, 2021, University of Pittsburgh’s Dr. Rutenbar stated, we received a subpoena from requesting similar documentation on October 28, 2021.” The emails uncovered through the FOIA reference this subpoena to investigate fetal organ harvesting at University of Pittsburgh’s funding program. The Genito-Urinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project — studies how the genito-urinary tract develops in utero in order to develop therapies for diseases of the kidneys, bladder, ureter, and urethra. According to an NIH funding award notice from 2016, the GUDMAP research uses the body parts of children aborted between six and 24 weeks gestation. In one year alone, Pitt “disbursed over 300 fresh samples collected from 77 cases.” Pitt promised, “The collections can be significantly ramped up as material could have been accrued from as many as 725 cases last year.” The government gave $600,000 to Pitt for the program. In Pitt’s application to become the fetal tissue “distribution hub” for the GUDMAP program, it advertised to NIH that it would use labor induction abortions to harvest fetal kidneys, record the time the kidneys were removed from the baby’s blood supply, and “minimize” this “warm ischemic time.” “Ischemic time” refers to the time frame in which there is an inadequate blood supply to an. To “minimize” and to “record” this time as University of Pittsburgh advertised that it does, it would be harvesting kidney samples from babies who are still alive, said CMP, rather than from kidneys that had already been cut out from the baby’s body or kidneys that had already been cut off from a blood supply. Babies can and do survive induction abortions in the second and third trimesters. “University of Pittsburgh’s own statements indicating its Planned Parenthood partners use criminal partial-birth abortions to harvest fetal organs to sell for grant money are serious enough that a federal law enforcement agency opened a formal investigation following reporting,”- “If this investigation has been conducted honestly, the facts uncovered may be more horrifying than we ever imagined. Planned Parenthood has cloaked its human atrocities committed against vulnerable mothers and infants under its ‘research’ program for decades — it is time for justice under the law for every level of the taxpayer-funded enterprise of selling aborted baby body parts.” University of Pittsburgh has been involved in human tissue procurement for more than two decades and boasts that it has a “long standing history of collecting, maintaining and disbursing quality samples to research scientists, both in house and outside the University of Pittsburgh.”

SOME PEOPLE WAIT TO KIDNAP YOUR CHILD

In 2020, Aaron Stevenson, then a federal employee of the Department for Homeland Security, started to realize the lies dictating our lives, in February 2021, he blew the whistle on government-sponsored child trafficking, and in June 2022, he was baptized into Christ in the Orthodox Church. “This is what’s basically saved me,” Stevenson said about his path over the past three years. And although he was fired from his very comfortable job with the DHS for coming forward, he says he would absolutely do it again. Aaron Stevenson recently joined his fellow whistleblower Tara Rodas on the Kyle Seraphin Show to talk about the horrifying government program that has resulted in thousands of children becoming victims of sex and labor trafficking. Stevenson recounts how after serving in the marines, he became a federal employee, working for the DHS from 2012 until he was fired in 2023, helping with various programs and various forms of analysis. One program was the International Crime Watchlist, which he worked on from its inception, identifying and tracking transnational organized criminals (cartels, mafias, etc.). Stevenson recalls how in February 2021, he came across a case where a watchlisted person was trying to sponsor a child who had arrived at the U.S. border illegally and unaccompanied. From there, he noticed a pattern beginning to emerge, with criminals (including many sex traffickers) from countries all across the globe also applying to sponsor children. When Stevenson tried to track down whose job it was to address this shocking fact, he couldn’t find anyone, so he took it to the media, first anonymously and later openly. Tara Rodas, a federal employee for decades, explained how she became aware of the child trafficking through first-hand experience. In 2021, the Biden administration knew it had a border crisis on its hands and called on all federal employees to leave their home agencies and go on detail to Health and Human Services (HHS) to help with the mission of taking unaccompanied children into the care of the HSS to be placed with sponsors in the U.S. Fluent in Spanish, Rodas went to an HHS site near the border to spend time with the children, but she learned that the HSS had been handing children over to unvetted sponsors—traffickers, members of transnational criminal organizations—for more than a decade. After seeing Aaron Stevenson’s initial testimony, Rodas also began to report on the cases she was personally seeing at the HHS site, which eventually got her kicked off the site. The official purpose of the sponsor program, Rodas explains, is for children to have a place to live and someone to help them through the court process of claiming asylum. However, since many of the sponsors themselves are criminals, of course they have no intention of helping the children become legal. According to Stevenson, in fact, 90% or more of the sponsors are illegal aliens. What happens, Stevenson and Rodas explain, is that the children are being forced into labor and/or sex trafficking. Some have died and some have been badly injured working in unsafe conditions. The HHS itself admits that it has lost contact with 85,000 of the children placed in this program. Essentially, Rodas explains, the criminal sponsors offer to pay for a child’s trip to the U.S. and give them a well-paying job. But after being smuggled into the country, they find themselves in debt bondage/slave labor, working in horrendous conditions. Often, the children agree to come because the criminal organizations sponsoring them threaten their families back home. Moreover, the children undergo “unspeakable horrors” on the way to the U.S.—some, being so young, are even raped to death, Rodas says. Asked whether his faith inspired him to blow the whistle on the program, Stevenson explains that, in fact, uncovering the truth of the government program helped lead him to faith: I was an atheist from 2010 till about 2020. I was full-on don’t believe it, I would argue with people, yadda yadda yadda. I started seeing all the lies in 2020, and I started thinking about things differently, going forward. Come February 2021, I’m still not going to church, I don’t understand things yet. Doing all these things has brought me back. You can see it [points to icons], I’m baptized now, Divine Liturgy every Sunday, I pray every day. This is what’s basically saved me. There’s no way I could be doing this without the grace and protection of Christ. It’s all thanks to God. And that’s been my take on it. Without that, there’s no way I’d be where I’m at today, either doing this or being able to mentally or spiritually take it. I’d be depressed, I’d be an alcoholic, who knows? But this right here [points to icons] is the way. Stevenson told OrthoChristian that he began to question why he was an atheist in 2020 and realized he had no solid reasons. “So I accepted I was wrong and began to search,” he said. Realizing that God is real, he began to look for an explanation of this truth. “That’s when I learned about Orthodoxy and it’s like it just clicked,” he said. Speaking with Kyle Seraphin, Stevenson further explained that, rather than cracking down on criminal sponsors of unaccompanied minors, the Biden administration is attempting to deregulate the process even further, doing away with sponsor background checks and home visits, and much more. In fact, as the Washington Examiner reported on Monday, December 4, a group of 39 Republican Senators “have called on the Biden administration to cancel a Department of Health and Human Services proposal that would allow the government to stop vetting certain adults who apply to take custody of an unaccompanied migrant child.” “In effect, ORR [the Office of Refuge Resettlement] accepts a sponsor’s representations almost entirely on face value. ORR then delivers the child at taxpayer expense and free-of-cost to the un-vetted sponsor, opening up the possibility that a vulnerable child could fall into the hands of a potentially criminal or drug-addicted sponsor. At this point, ORR considers its work largely done,” the Senators write. To learn more about the problem of child trafficking and about Aaron Stevenson and Tara Rodas’ efforts against it, visit https://truthtrench.org/defendthechildren/

Conservative mom's and dad's win again.

Conservative and very conservative parents are more likely to raise mentally healthy teens compared to liberal parents, according to a new study from the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup. The results drop amid a nationwide mental youth crisis among youth, stemming partly from the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. A report released in February by the NC Child Fatality Task Force found that the youth suicide rate has nearly tripled in two decades. North Carolina lawmakers included additional funding for mental health services in the new state budget. The IFS/Gallup report found that “the most important factor in the mental health of adolescent children is the quality of the relationship with their caregivers.” The key driver is parents who have an “authoritative” style that combines “affection and attentiveness to children’s needs with structure and requirements for pro-social, responsible behavior.” In contrast, liberal parents are more likely to have a permissive parenting style and “are the least likely to successfully discipline their children.” “[C]onservative parents enjoy higher quality relationships with their children, characterized by fewer arguments, more warmth, and a stronger bond, according to both parent and child reporting,” the report concluded. “There is no meaningful public effort to educate parents on the best-practice parenting styles that have long been associated with teen mental health,” said the report’s author Jonathan Rothwell, principal economist at Gallup and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a statement. “The results of our report should be seen as empowering parents to play the lead role in guiding their children to healthy psychological development. Their actions, judgments, and relationships are key to their teen’s mental health.” Importantly, household income, parental education, and race and ethnicity are largely unrelated to the quality of parenting and mental health outcomes for teens, the report found. Data for the analysis were collected from 2,995 parents of adolescents in June and July of 2023. The survey included measures of adolescent mental health, social media use, parental demographics, political views, and attitudes toward marriage, parenting practices, and parent-child relationships.

Woman laughs before her ninth abortion – then she sees her aborted baby

Abby Johnson’s book The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories collects firsthand accounts from former abortion facility workers. The stories vary in theme, each one an abortion worker’s memory of an event that stuck with her after she left. One story here, called “Frequent Flyers,” is about a young woman who had nine abortions. The chapter’s author, who is unnamed, explains how women who came in for repeat abortions at her facility were called “frequent flyers” by the staff. Even though abortion facility workers were committed to promoting and providing abortions, some of them had judgmental feelings toward these “frequent flyers.” An abortion facility worker says: When Angie walks through our doors for her ninth procedure, even those of us whose paychecks were funded by abortion shook our heads and said “Really? Seriously?”… Although it went against my own ideology, I wanted Angie to show some indication of remorse. I didn’t want to feel that way about the numerous women who presented for abortions two, three, or even four times. But nine? That, I felt, deserved at least a slight show of regret or even a bit of good old-fashioned shame. Angie showed no trace of guilt or any kind of distress when she came to the abortion facility. She had laughed through her first abortion, and every abortion since. It was not at all different when she came in for her ninth. The abortion facility worker described Angie’s demeanor: [S]he seemed to regard her visits to our clinic as an opportunity to perform her improv comedy act. “Could y’all just xerox my chart and I’ll fill in the dates?” She would jest. Once the paperwork was in order, Angie would attempt to banter with the girls in the waiting room. “It’s no big thing,” she assured them. “I’ve done it 8 times before, and I have no regrets.” Although I couldn’t help but like Angie, her flippancy appalled me, and she showed no guilt or remorse: Over the years, I had consoled and held the hands of scores of women who approached that same table with much trepidation. Some would weep, their knuckles white as they gripped my hand until it ached. Others would clutch Bibles to their chests and mouth prayers begging for forgiveness, even before the abortionist had begun his work and when their babies were still safe in their wombs. Many times women would climb onto the table and remain limp and unresponsive during the procedure. Mentally, they were a million miles away. And then there was Angie… Angie never even attempted to explain herself. When we would talk to her about birth control and try to set her up with an appointment to explore the matter further, she would just smile and politely refuse with a wave of her hand. Angie was using abortion for birth control, not bothering to learn any other method. She may have gone on to have nine more abortions – but something happened. Angie had no doubt heard pro-abortion rhetoric. She had certainly been told that abortion is only removing a ball of cells, a piece of tissue, or an undeveloped mass. But after her ninth abortion, she was curious and wanted to see the “tissue” for herself. She asked the abortion worker to show her the remains of the abortion, and the abortion worker complied. At 13 weeks, her child was fully formed. I debated about how to arrange the pieces. Would it be best to throw them all together in a clump so that none of the parts would be recognizable, or should I piece it back together as we normally did to ensure that none of the parts were missing. There was no protocol on such things, so in the end I opted to piece the parts back together. Angie’s reaction was not what the abortion worker anticipated: “Thanks,” she said, her trademark smile still fixed on her face. When her eyes traveled to the container, she gasped sharply, and for the first time since she had arrived, Angie was utterly silent. A few moments later her entire body shuddered and gooseflesh was raised on her smooth brown arms. When she reached out her to touch the baby, I tried to pull the dish away. She grabbed my wrist and stopped me. We were both silent for a few moments as she continued to stare at the contents of the dish. I stepped back and Angie fell forward to her knees, her fingers still wrapped around my wrist. The other girls in the recovery run began to take notice, and my discomfort level rose exponentially. Realizing her mistake, the abortion worker tried repeatedly to take the dish containing the bloody body parts away. But Angie held tight to the remains of her child, and wouldn’t let the abortion worker pry it from her hands. The abortion worker said: [Angie] remained frozen on the clinic floor. “That’s a baby,” she said, barely audible at first. “That was my baby,” she said. Her volume steadily increased as a torrent of words poured from her mouth, words that made everyone extremely uncomfortable. “What did I do? What did I do?” she said over and over and began to sob. Some of the girls in the recovery run began to weep along with her. Some covered their faces with their arms or buried their heads in the arms of the recliners. Finally, the abortion facility "workers" were able to tear away the dish. Angie became hysterical. Other abortion workers tried to calm her. Fellow workers rushed to my side to calm Angie down. After a few minutes, it became obvious that she wasn’t going to calm down. We couldn’t even get her off the floor. After discussing it hastily, we decided to drag her to the bathroom. At least the heavy door would stifle her sobs to until we figured out what to do. Angie flailed her arms and legs and her screams reached a fever pitch as we dragged her down the hall. We must have been quite a spectacle for the other girls in the recovery room. Finally we managed to place a still panicked Angie in the bathroom and closed the door. I suggested that she splash some cold water on her face and “pull herself together.” Her cries, although muffled, were easily distinguished through the door. Angie began begging the abortion workers to take her mutilated baby home with her. She did not want to part with her child, even though her child was dead. She pleaded with the workers to give in and let her have the baby. They refused. She continued to sob and wail in the bathroom, disrupting the entire facility. The abortion workers finally went to her paperwork and found her emergency contact – the number the facility was supposed to call in the event of a life-threatening complication. They dialed the number and got her current boyfriend. He arrived at the clinic. It took him 45 minutes to coax Angie out of the bathroom. They both left the abortion facility in tears. Angie never came to the facility again. The writer of the story does not know what happened to her. The road ahead of her, once she realized her responsibility for the deaths of nine of her children, would be agonizing to travel. We can only hope she found healing. From then on, the abortion facility had a strict rule never to show the aborted babies to women. Ultimately, another scene like Angie’s would slow down abortion facility operations and affect the facility’s profits. More women would learn about fetal development, and there would be a decrease in the number of abortions. In order to keep everything running smoothly, quickly, and profitably, the facility banned all women from seeing their aborted babies. Sometime later, the abortion facility worker who showed Angie her aborted baby left the abortion business. She does not give her reasons why, but the story of Angie and her emotional agony no doubt influenced her. How many women go into abortion facilities not knowing how developed their children are? How many repeat abortion patients have no idea their babies were pulled limb from limb and then thrown out with the trash or sold for parts? All of the abortion facility workers that day discovered that the truth is the ultimate enemy of abortion. They were reminded how vital it is to keep the facts away from vulnerable women if abortion is to be sold to them. It was the only way to continue making money off them. Source: Abby Johnson The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2016) 71-77

LGBT IS NOW ILLEGAL IN RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Supreme Court of Russia declared the international LGBT movement to be extremist yesterday, banning its activities within the country. The Court thus granted the request of the Ministry of Justice, reports RIA-Novosti. According to the Ministry, the movement contains “signs and manifestations of an extremist orientation, including the incitement of social and religious hatred.” The decision came into force immediately. According to Interfax, yesterday’s decision “does not affect citizens’ right to privacy and will not entail any negative legal consequences.” Restrictions are related to the need to comply with the prohibition on LGBT propaganda, advertising, interest formation, attracting people to the LGBT movement. The ban is “a form of societal moral self-defense,” said Vakhtang Kipshidze, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for Relations Between the Church, Society, and the Media. “We know from the testimony of many Western Christians who adhere to traditional beliefs regarding marriage and family that the activities of LGBT movements are aimed at displacing the Christian idea of ​​marriage and family from both the public and legal space,” the Church rep added

OCCASIONALLY WE HEAR THE TRUTH

More than 100 years ago, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes observed that popular catchwords can stunt critical thinking for 50 years or more. In his latest book, Social Justice Fallacies, revered economist and scholar Thomas Sowell confirms Holmes’ observation by examining the buzzwords that self-described “social justice” proponents commonly use today. He shows that, despite many years — and in some cases even centuries or more — of evidence revealing these words to be nonsense, our media and cultural elites continue touting them in utter defiance of facts. Social Justice’s False Premise Consider, for example, the very term “social justice.” It is predicated on the assumption that institutional discrimination is the primary reason for differences among groups of people, whether among races, economic classes, or even between the sexes. It assumes that were it not for such discrimination, all races, groups, and classes would be equally represented in all human endeavors. In other words, human beings are equal not only in their nature and capacities but in their ability to develop those capacities. As Sowell documents, however, this assumption is rarely tested empirically. In fact, both the historical record and everyday experience regularly contradict it. For example, not only have homogenous societies had unequal representation among groups of people in various endeavors, but even twin siblings who are raised under the same roof and by the same set of parents show vast differences in aptitude, performance, and cognitive ability. This is because factors beyond both our knowledge and our control — including factors that begin long before birth — heavily influence the development of human capabilities, including intelligence. Culture and Competence Some cultural traditions, for example, go back centuries or even millennia and thus continue to orient the developmental capacities of the people living in these cultures today. For instance, Sowell notes that the Germans have been brewing beer for thousands of years, far longer than most other cultures. It is, therefore, no surprise that they tend to be superior at making beer nowadays. Likewise, for reasons that need not concern us here, Jewish people have historically been significantly involved in matters of finance, where they continue to excel to this day. It is simply folly, however, to believe that government decree could circumvent these longstanding cultural traditions without major catastrophe. Moreover, these “reciprocal inequalities,” as Sowell calls them, rarely amount to one group dominating all fields of human achievement. “Even highly successful groups,” he writes, “have seldom been highly successful in all endeavors. Asian Americans and Jewish Americans are seldom found among the leading athletic stars or German Americans among charismatic politicians.” Cultural Inequalities Aren’t Fair Of course, Sowell quickly adds that this does not mean that life is fair for all groups of people, much less to all individuals, or that there is nothing that can be done about injustices in the world. It does mean, however, that we ought to be humble about the limits of both our knowledge and our power to improve things rather than make them worse. As he points out, “We might agree that ‘equal chances for all’ would be desirable. But that in no way guarantees that we have either the knowledge or the power required to make that goal attainable, without ruinous sacrifices of other desirable goals, ranging from freedom to survival.” Sowell spends several chapters documenting the negative consequences that have followed from decades of government policymakers ignoring the limits of their knowledge. He describes the unintended consequences of minimum wage policies, tax legislation, rent control laws, and policies related to race and sex as well as to welfare, housing, and education. Affirmative Action and Welfare Backfire Take, for instance, the issue of affirmative action in education. Sowell exposes the harm these policies have done first and foremost to the recipients themselves. Minority students who gain acceptance to elite schools for which they are not academically prepared often struggle to keep up with the rigorous pace and demanding workload. As a result, they end up either failing or dropping out. On the other hand, Sowell highlights the positive results that followed from the abolition of affirmative-action policies in California (as decided by voters). “The number of black and Hispanic students graduating from the University of California system as a whole rose by more than a thousand students over a four-year span,” he observes. “There was also an increase of 63 percent in the number graduating in four years with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.” A similar trend followed the growth of the welfare state in the 1960s when both crime rates and out-of-wedlock birth rates exploded in minority communities. The two decades prior to the ’60s, however, saw declining crimes. Out-of-wedlock birth rates were lower among minority groups than among the majority white population. Nevertheless, laments Sowell, “intellectual elites, politicians, activists and ‘leaders’ — who took credit for the black progress that supposedly all began in the early 1960s — took no responsibility for the painful retrogressions that demonstrably did begin in the 1960s.” Beware Man’s Ignorance All this history and much more is packed into this short but critical book, whose single most important insight may be how little we know about the lives of others. We must, therefore, be careful when making policy decisions that have the potential to affect many people — and possibly even whole societies. As Sowell warns, “Stupid people can create problems, but it often takes brilliant people to create a real catastrophe. They have already done that enough times — and in enough different ways — for us to reconsider, before joining their latest stampedes, led by self-congratulatory elites, deaf to argument and immune to evidence. by David Weinberge

DANGEROUS PEOPLE STRIKE AGAIN AT AMERICAN FREDOM !

At publishing time, the FBI refused to comment on horrifying reports that framed passages of religious texts were found hanging on the walls of the home

BENTON, LA — The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that it had discovered terrifying extremist reading material in a raid of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's Louisiana home. "We were very troubled by what we found during our totally legal raid," said FBI Special Agent Curt Schampers. "When our tactical team breached the door of the home, one of our lead agents called our attention to a piece of reading material on the living room coffee table. The reading material appeared to be a thick, leather-bound book that had pages with gold-gilded edges. Clearly some type of radical, religious text. This type of book is normally only found in the homes of truly dangerous individuals." Eyewitnesses reported seeing FBI agents removing the book from the home in a sealed plastic bag for further investigation. "You could see the fear in their eyes," said Johnson's neighbor Darius Anderson. "I heard them talking to each other and saying they knew people who read that book were radical, unhinged fanatics who believe crazy things and want to take over the world. To think Mike Johnson is a part of something like that…it's pretty scary." When asked to comment on what impact this discovery may have on Johnson's ability to serve effectively as Speaker of the House, Special Agent Schampers had only this to say: "This country would look a lot different if the kind of people who read that book were in charge of things."

RUSSIAN AND HELP FOR NEW INFANTS

What benefits do families with kids receive in Russia? Lifestyle Oct 20 2023 sankai/Getty Images Apart from federal monetary payments, many regions have their own presents for having a new Russian citizen. The most unusual ones are on the Yamal Peninsula: there, you get an entire ‘chum’ tent home. Russia has quite a large amount of support programs for families that have newborn children. Regardless of the place of birth, Russians receive federal benefits, as well as each region providing its own additional bonuses. Maternity capital & federal benefits

The main federal payment is the maternity capital, which you can spend on purchasing an apartment, building a house or your child’s education. In 2023, it amounts to 586,946 rubles (approx. $6,000) for the first child and 775,628 rubles (approx. $7,970) for the second child, if the mother didn’t receive maternity capital for the first child; if she did, the second payment is 188,681 rubles (approx. $1,940). Aside from that, there’s also a one-time payment of 22,909 rubles (approx. $235) in 2023. However, you must apply for it within six months of the child’s birth. From the moment the child is born until they reach the age of 18 months, their mother (or father) is eligible to receive a monthly child care allowance – 40% of the average income, but no more than 33,281 rubles (approx. $340). There are additional payments for both low income families and families with multiple children. But, the sum will be different depending on the region. Gift packages In approximately 30 regions of Russia, young parents receive packages with necessary baby items when they have a child. Moscow became the first among such regions, with others following soon after. The packages are different everywhere, but, usually, all the items provided have neutral colors that would fit a baby of either gender. In Moscow and Moscow Region, the packages are large boxes with clothes, diapers, thermometers, bed sheets, bathing sets, etc. You can opt not to take the package and receive a 20,000 ruble payment instead (approx. $205). However, some Moscow parents have noted that the package contents cost approximately the same (if bought separately in a store) and the items provided are of good quality. A gift box in Yamal. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Governor's Press Service Young parents from the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug receive a large package with the symbol of the region – a polar bear – on it. Inside, apart from diapers, bottles and bed sheets, you can find winter overalls, warm winter hats and a thick blanket. And everything is decorated with similar cute bears that you wish you were born in Yamal! You can also opt out and choose a certificate for purchasing baby items with a value of 32,000 rubles (approx. $330). There’s also something called ‘chum capital’ on the Yamal Peninsula, where the families of indigenous people of the North live (the Nenets, the Khanty and the Selkups). This is how the 'chum capital' looks like. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Governor's Press Service Nomad families that have three children or more receive a chum assembly kit. It includes a stove, poles, floor boards, hides, tarp and sleds. The total value is equal to roughly 500,000 rubles (approx. $5,140) and it’s given only once. The Tver Region package, apart from clothing and hygiene products, has many useful little things: a bottle heater, scissors, combs, a bottle cleaning brush and pacifiers. Government of the Tver Region In Samara Region, such packages are given only for the first child; and in Tatarstan and Yakutia – only to low income families. In some regions of Russia, when the mother is released from the maternity hospital, the families are given certificates instead of packages, which they can spend on baby items. For example, in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, you are given a gift card with a little mammoth depicted on it, worth 20,000 rubles (approx. $205). Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug In St. Petersburg, regional payments are sent to a ‘Detskaya’ (‘Child’) card, with which you can pay for purchases both in specialized stores and at hypermarkets that have children’s sections. In 2023, the payment amounts range from 39,000 rubles (approx. $400) to 65,000 rubles (approx. $670), depending on the amount of children. Bonuses for being young & for twins If you live in Perm Territory and you had twins (or more than two kids at once), then, apart from a gift package, regional authorities will give you 122,000 rubles (approx. $1,250) per child. In Volgograd, women who have given birth to their first child before the age of 24, apart from federal payments, receive 50,000 rubles (approx. $514) from the region. The same sum is due for all women, regardless of age, who have had their second child and the first is still younger than three years. If the family has had a third child and they’re older than three years, the family is eligible for a ‘parental capital’ worth 70,000 rubles (approx. $720). A plot of land for a third child Families with a lot of kids (three or more) in Russia can even receive a plot of land in the region where they live. But, the conditions of receiving one always differ. For example, in Moscow Region, only a family that doesn’t own a plot of land yet can receive one. In Rostov Region, only low income families can receive a plot of land. In Krasnoyarsk Territory, families receive it in queued order, however, the plots are not given in the city of Krasnoyarsk itself, but further out. In some regions, instead of a plot, a money certificate is offered.

Homosexuality — Worse than Murder

Homosexuality is Worse than Murder What makes homosexuality so destructive to society? How is it worse than fornication, worse than theft, even worse than murder? Why are the Scriptures and the Saints so vehemently opposed to this particular sin? MORE:Explaining Orthodoxy Family Values Originally appeared at: Global Orthodox Even though good Christians understand that homosexuality is a sin, many of them don't realize just how serious it is. They know it is wrong, and they wouldn't want to do it themselves, but they put it in a similar category as cheating on your taxes, reading dirty novels, or getting drunk at home. They say things like, "It's none of my business", "That's his personal choice", or "Some of my friends are like that, and they are perfectly nice people . . ." They may figure the proper response is just to keep quiet, ignore it, and "try not to judge". But this is not how they treat rape. This is not how they treat murder. If they thought their nextdoor neighbor had kidnapped a child and was guilty of both rape and murder, they would not say, "It's none of my business" or "That's his personal choice." They would be horrified that such a heinous crime had been committed, and they would want to see the criminal brought to justice. Some sins are worse than others. Every sin may be equally forgivable, but not every sin is equally destructive. Stealing a dollar from your employer is bad, but kidnapping a child is worse. Vandalizing a car is bad, but killing a family of five is worse. And according to St. John Chrysostom, abortionists and homosexuals belong in a class unto themselves, even worse than murder. There are a couple ways in which murder and homosexual activity are equally sinful. In both cases: God commands us not to do it. Those who rebel against God in this way will also justify rebellion against God in many other areas of morality. There are many more examples where homosexuality is uniquely sinful and destructive, in ways that murder is not: When God destroys entire cities and civilizations because of the proliferation of this sin, it is not only the homosexuals that get drowned or incinerated. Everyone else gets destroyed too. Consider these Three Ancient Cultures God Destroyed Because of Homosexual Activity, and also Three More Cities God Destroyed for Sinning Like Sodom. The homosexual lifestyle (especially sodomy) damages the human body, and frequently leads to deadly diseases, such as AIDS. Pedophilia is much more prevalent among homosexuals, than among normal people. The more promotion and proliferation that we have of homosexuality, the more widespread problems than we have with the sexual abuse of children. Homosexuals are not satisfied with tolerance. They demand everyone else to glorify them, and ultimately to participate with them. Homosexual behavior leads to acceptance of the transgender delusion, which leads people to sexually mutilate themselves and also to mutilate their children. Homosexuals are intentionally sterile and such unions cannot produce children. Such a lifestyle is fundamentally self-centered. Since homosexual "unions" cannot produce offspring, they recruit from the children of normal children. Thus the movement as a whole is parasitic. Homosexuality (and specifically "gay marriage") is a Christological heresy and ecclesiological heresy. God created marriage as a picture of Christ and the Church. But two lustful men in a bed, unable to produce any offspring, bear no resemblance whatsoever to the relationship between Christ and the Church. Thus the entire "legalized marriage" is an ongoing lie, constantly telling a lie about who Christ is and what His relationship to the Church is. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created Adam and Eve, and presided over the first wedding. God created man and woman to live together as husband and wife, creating multigenerational families who would love God and each other. Society itself rests upon the foundation of marriage and the family. If America destroys the family, and you destroy the very foundation of society. When men and women turn their backs on one another, burning in their desire for same-sex activity, imagining that marriage is a sterile playground where adults can indulge their lusts, they take one of God's most precious gifts to mankind, and they throw it back at Him, spitting on His whole vision of how things should function. (By the way, this helps explain why many Saints compared the use of contraception with homosexual activity. Marriage is intended to be fruitful, bringing many children into the world, not merely using marriage as an outlet for the satisfaction of sexual desires.) Murder — Less Destructive than Homosexuality We see the widespread destruction of society that is caused by all these corrosive aspects of homosexual behavior. Meanwhile, murder does not cause the same widespread effects: God might pring often brings individual murderers to justice, but when He destroys entire cities or civilizations, He doesn't normally suggest that murder is the reason for it. Murderers do not propagate disease. Murderers do not tend to become pedophiles. (Pedophiles, however, often do become murderers.) Murderers don't push the rest of society to praise murder or to participate in murder. Murderers do not generally promote transgenderism or the mutilation of children. Murderers are usually not sterile, and can have children. Murderers rarely recruit others to become murderers. (Inner city gangs exhibit one of the rare exceptions to this.) Murder is an attack on God, because man was created in God's image. But murder is not a Christological heresy, teaching falsehood about who Christ is. (The statements above are in reference to the murder of adults and youth, not including murder of the unborn. Of course, abortion is a specific type of murder, but St. John Chrysostom sets it apart and also calls it "worse than murder". In regard to societal consequences, abortion shares more in common with homosexuality than other forms of murder. Abortion often causes disease, sterility, and various health problems. Abortion supporters recruit others to promote and perform abortions, and they mutilate children. Abortion is popular among pedophiles, to stop children from being born of these illicit unions. Abortion supporters also blaspheme both Christ and His Church — When Christ told the Church, "This is my body", he was referring to the Eucharist, which is for healing and forgiveness. But when abortion supporters scream, "This is my body", they do it for the purpose of murdering the innocent.) Murders are very, very bad. But in general, they are not nearly as destructive to society as homosexual sin is. Homosexuality According to Scripture and the Saints This helps explain why according to the Saints, and also according to Holy Scripture, homosexual sin is worthy of capital punishment, or worse. The Old Testament (Leviticus 20:13), and the New Testament (Romans 1:32) both indicate that people practicing this sin are worthy of death. And this commandment was observed by the greatest Christian rulers. For example, in the life of the holy emperor St. Justinian, who was considered to be an exemplary ruler, we read the following: “Having discovered a number of homosexuals, conducting an investigation and identifying them, St. Justinian had some of them castrated with spears. And for others, he ordered that sharp sticks be shoved into their shameful orifices, forcing them to walk in a public procession through the agora. There were also many officials and senators, as well as many bishops, who had their property confiscated, and who were driven along the agora until they died a miserable death. The remaining people began to fear, and thus they became chaste." — St. Symeon Metaphrastes Logothete, Chronicle, Justinian, 9 Religious writer, St. Maximus the Greek, wrote that Christians are obliged not only to disdain this “godless filth” but also to “anathematize” those who do it and to "burn them with fire". In America mental illness was the label for homosecuals until 1977. These decrees do not contradict the Christian commandments of love and forgiveness. If we were to believe that homosexuals do not need to be punished, then it would also be necessary to advocate the abolition of punishments for other sins, such as murder, theft, etc. From the point of view of secular humanism, there is an essential difference between sodomy and murder: The murderer sins against another person, while sodomy does not formally go against someone's will, since he is engaged in sodomy by mutual consent. However, from a Christian point of view, his sin is even worse, since it defiles the image of God by which he was created. That is why St. John Chrysostom said: "I affirm that these [homosexuals] are even worse than murderers: since to die even is better than to live under such insolency. For the murderer separates the soul from the body, but this man ruins the soul along with the body." — St. John Chrysostom, 4th homily on the book of Romans Harsh words? For some of the Church's greatest Saints there are no words too harsh for this particular sin against God. In the Orthodox Church, St. John Chrysostom one of the best known and most well respected names. He lived more than 1600 years ago, during the 4th century after the birth of Christ. He preached hundreds of phenominal messages, many of which we still have with us today. Though his name was simply "John", his teaching was so highly esteemed that people started calling him "Chrysostom", which is Greek for "Golden Mouth". He preached in favor of many virtues, and he preached in opposition to many vices. To my knowledge, there are only two sins which St. John Chrysostom ever called "worse than murder" — These are abortion and homosexual activity. In his 4th sermon on the book of Romans, St. John says that life as a homosexual is worse than death. While a murderer only destroys a body, releasing the soul, a homosexual destroys both body and soul. He says that homosexual sex is far worse than fornication. Those who practice it lose their very manhood, and make themselves into animals more disgraceful than dogs. Here is a longer excerpt directly from this sermon by St. John: I affirm that these [homosexuals] are even worse than murderers: since to die even is better than to live under such insolency. For the murderer separates the soul from the body, but this man ruins the soul along with the body. And name what sin you will, none will you mention equal to this lawlessness. And if they that suffer such things perceived them, they would accept ten thousand deaths so they might not suffer this evil. For there is not, there surely is not, a more grievous evil than this insolent dealing. For if when discoursing about fornication Paul said, that Every sin which a man does is without the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body. What shall we say of this madness, which is so much worse than fornication as cannot even be expressed? For I should not only say that you have become a woman, but that you have lost your manhood, and hast neither changed into that nature nor kept that which you had, but you have been a traitor to both of them at once, and deserving both of men and women to be driven out and stoned, as having wronged either sex. And that you may learn what the real force of this is, if any one were to come and assure you that he would make you a dog instead of being a man, would you not flee from him as a plague? But, lo! You have not made yourself a dog out of a man, but an animal more disgraceful than this. When a person repents, God can forgive any sin. And when God forgives, we must forgive. We cannot hold a person's past against him. But when a person does not repent, and demands the "right" to live such a blatantly godless lifestyle, a Christian society has no legitimate reason to tolerate it. The unrepentant wicked must be driven out, lest society itself be infected and ultimately destroyed.