Are we ready for faith?

Now faith is the assurance (reality) of things hoped for, the conviction (evidence) of things not seen....

- Epistle to the Hebrews

Personal note: can we imagine that?

When praying

Concerning Prayer

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]

7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

    may your name be revered as holy.

10     May your kingdom come.

    May your will be done

        on earth as it is in heaven.

11     Give us today our daily bread.[b]

12     And forgive us our debts,

        as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13     And do not bring us to the time of trial,[c]

        but rescue us from the evil one.[d]

14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

 

Read full chapter

 

Footnotes

a.           6.6 Other ancient authorities add openly

b.            6.11 Or our bread for tomorrow

c.            6.13 Or us into testing

d.           6.13 Or from evil. Other ancient authorities add, in some form, For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.

 

 

 

Sources:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A5-14&version=NRSVUE

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

Legacy?

Since I was a child, I have heard the word legacy tossed about here and there. I have personally known people who have said they would like to leave a name for themselves when they pass away. Of course, I don’t recall ever challenging the idea, but it did and does make me question why? I have always wondered how they would even follow up on whether they are remembered or not. I suppose the only ones who could confirm this question are those who have already passed on.

This post is basically a meditation on this idea of leaving a legacy. I will keep it brief and share a couple of scriptures with relevance to perhaps make a case for the idea. The first verse is the following from Genesis 6:4, NRSVUE.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

My question here is who were these “heroes that were of old” that existed before the flood of Noah? It seems we don't know their names. Or perhaps we don't have the manuscript which contained their names. We only know about Noah and his family from the same chapter. We don’t really have a specific timeline in the scriptures that even tells us when the flood took place. Perhaps it was ten thousand years ago, or twenty thousand years. We just don’t know. We do not know the names of many people who have lived and died on our planet who came before us.

Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible Ketuvim (Writings) contain a verse that relates to the subject in this post, which perhaps answer the questions I have brought forth. Ecclesiastes 1:11, NRSVUE, reads as follows:

The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.

I don’t know if the foregoing verse answers any questions you may have with relevance to leaving a legacy and making a name for oneself. The verse, however, does answer my questions. Perhaps one can establish a huge presence in the present moment in time, and for a while after one is gone, but eventually there will be no lasting memory. Leaving a legacy? Good luck with that!

Excerpt from Ephesians 6

...for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

- Saint Paul 

Reference:

NRSVUE 

Lots of virtue signaling

Our current society seems to do a great deal of virtue signaling. Yes, there seems to be a whole lot of self-righteous finger-pointing lately. The thing is that all this virtue signaling these days is being done by people who think they are good but are far from perfect towards people who are also far from perfect. The Judeo-Christian Scriptures has something to say about this.

 

1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

                They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds;

                 there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind

                 to see if there are any who are wise,

                  who seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray; they are all alike perverse;

                 there is no one who does good,

                no, not one.

- Psalm 14: 1-3, NRSVUE

 

Psalm 53: 2-3 repeats the foregoing message found in Psalm 14 once again. Moreover, in Roman 3:10-12, Saint Paul repeats it in the New Testament. If one is too self-righteous for Scriptures, I suppose the behavior will not stop. However, I must say that when one points a finger there are three other fingers pointing back in one’s own hand. I will keep this brief and stop here. Blessings!

 

 

Reference:

Bible, NRSVUE Version

Apologies for not posting

Apologies for not posting in May. Back in 2021, I gave a reason whenever that happens in a post. See the following link at Arango's Apologetics Page: On new posts

On new posts

Reference:

https://arangoapologeticspage.blogspot.com/2021/10/on-new-posts.html?m=0

Sharing Reexamining the Papacy

Pope Francis passed away last week. In fact, his funeral is/was this weekend. I don’t really have any comments to make with relevance other than perhaps saying, Rest in Peace. In this post, I simply wanted to share a post from September 25, 2015, that was inspired by him. I hope you enjoy reading. Click on the link below to access.

Unifying the Faith: Reexamining the Papacy

Happy Easter!

He is risen!

An ecumenism perspective

I hope that everyone is doing well. In this post which I decided to title An ecumenism perspective I am simply sharing a video from PatristicNectarFilms on YouTube. This is an ecumenism blog and perhaps it is good to share things on the subject. Before sharing the video, i want to say a couple of things. The following AI Overview from Google states:

The word "catholic" (lowercase "c") means "universal" or "general" and comes from the Greek "katholikos," meaning "according to the whole". When capitalized, "Catholic" refers to the Catholic Church, a specific Christian tradition.

The following link is also a related reference: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/what-does-catholic-mean.

 

With the foregoing being said, let’s go to the video, and I hope you enjoy watching.

(9) A Good Ecumenism - YouTube

References Used in Post:

AI Overview from Google

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/what-does-catholic-mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnwfurtyn3M

Excerpt from Matthew 26

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a rebel? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

- Matthew 26: 53-56, NRSVUE

The Budde Incident

Early this week there was a bit of an uproar with relevance to a homily by Bishop Budde at the National Cathedral. Bishop Budde is bishop of the Episcopal Archdiocese of Washington. Supposedly, the service was held with relevance to a day of prayer. I don’t visit church very often these days; however, I still consider myself an Episcopalian (a Christian denomination that is part of the Anglican Communion). Earlier this week, I had only seen a clip from the sermon. The clip made national news because President Trump and Vice President Vance were present in the congregation during the service. I decided to watch the entire sermon to get a better understanding of the matter. It wasn’t the first time I’ve watched Bishop Budde preach, and I invite all to watch the sermon at the following link: https://youtu.be/xwwaEuDeqM8?si=xKXNj5SrvqHHWO5i. Why the uproar? Basically, during the last couple of minutes, she addressed President Trump directly and pleaded with him to show compassion toward immigrants, the people in our country who are supposedly scared, LGBTQ, children who are afraid parents will be taken away, etc. I am not writing this peace to criticize the opinion of Bishop Budde, but I will give my thoughts on it and address other issues surrounding the matter that perhaps need attention, some of which are relevant to the cathedral itself. I wish to note that with relevance to Jus soli, even in Sweden (the bishop’s birthplace), a child born there does not automatically become a citizen, but for some reason many want the United States to have standards that most countries don’t have.

Bishop Budde has spoken against Trump previously. She even wrote a piece in the New York Times back in 2020, in which she expressed outrage over him going to Washington's St. John's Church. I remember the event well when Trump held a bible in front of the camera. Trump had a bunch of Black Lives Matters protesters cleared out before doing this. The bishop is entitled to her opinion, although I wish the New York Times would also publish hundreds of opinions I have written on my blogs similarly, many of which are objectively based. Anyhow, I provided the link in the references, but it is possible that they removed the piece she wrote. The bishop’s message didn’t have to be given to the president on his seconds day in office, and appeared opportunistic to have given it during a sermon while she was the only one who had access to the pulpit.

Bishop Budde used the pulpit and seemingly assumed that Trump needed to show mercy because she believed he was/is divisive. Her comments assume, which also in a way make her guilty of prejudice and divisiveness in doing so. Of course, I often wonder how much compassion people really have for those who don't agree with their views entirely, although they may agree on many other matters. It's wrong and hypocritical to politicize from the pulpit without allowing rebuttal. If she really believes she has the truth, she also should speak it at any venue instead of picking and choosing as she did afterwards. For example, she had no problem appearing on The View, but she did not appear on Newsmax when invited by Rob Schmidt. I am pretty sure Jesus would have spoken truth at any venue, if invited, instead of being divisive. Does Bishop Budde really want diversity and inclusiveness? This is really the bigger question that has already been answered, but seems to go unnoticed for many years, perhaps centuries.

I've heard some say the National Cathedral is a national forum but is this true? It’s not representative of the nation’s diversity of religions. I will explain. Although, the cathedral claims to be the house of prayer for all people as conceived by the founding fathers, it is the Cathedral of Episcopal Archdiocese of Washington. The liturgy and services practiced are of the Episcopal denomination, which is part of the Anglican Communion. Of course, it is true that all are welcome, and I really mean all. The presiding bishop for Episcopalians is currently, The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, and he is the 28th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He took office on November 1, 2024, for a nine-year term. Call it what you will, but the National Cathedral is an Episcopal forum. It's not 100 percent ecumenical, regardless of claims. If Americans really want diversity, then they should have a national cathedral that is operated by more than just one denomination. If Americans want to be inclusive and ecumenical, perhaps other denominations should be able to operate and run a national cathedral, which doesn’t necessarily have to be the current, unless it's all about power with relevance to the current one. 

Believe me, I love all the history associated with the building and I am also Episcopalian, as previously stated, but I wanted to also share my opinion equally. Moreover, I know the New York Times might not publish me, but it is here for them to view whenever. I will also share this with Bishop Rowe sooner or later. Sadly, a friend who is atheist and extremely reasonable told me the other day that he thinks Bishop Budde is evil. I don’t know if I share the opinion, but he sounded convincing. My personal plea with Bishop Budde is to please do a little self-analysis, and also, I think Trump only wants an apology. Blessings everyone!  

 

 

References:

https://cathedral.org/

https://www.anglicancommunion.org/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/trump-st-johns-church-protests.html.

https://youtu.be/xwwaEuDeqM8?si=xKXNj5SrvqHHWO5i

Psalm 37 Excerpt

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;

    though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

 But the meek shall inherit the land

    and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

- Psalm 37:10-11, NRSVUE 

Happy 2025!

Happy New Year to all!