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Dear Parish Faithful,
Further commentary from Ralph Sidway ...
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Dear Father Steven,
I found this entry of yours most interesting. I believe the secularizing (or perhaps better, "de-sacrilizing") process is so far along and has been gathering momentum for so many decades and generations now, that it is exponentially more difficult now than in decades past for an Orthodox Christian to cultivate a true spiritual life and taste the real 'savor of Orthodoxy' (as Fr Seraphim Rose might phrase it). The analogy of "boiling a frog" comes to mind; if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out, but if you put the frog into a pot of tepid water and slowly bring it to a boil, it will not notice it is boiling until it is way too late!
Another addition to the list of challenges might be "opinion." Thanks to the internet, everyone can share their opinions about anything constantly. Everyone seems to be blogging, chatting, sharing opinions, and arguing vehemently over them, but is anyone listening or being benefited? This surely extends to Orthodoxy, where the temptation exists for us "moderns" to assess and judge the veracity and Orthodoxy of previous generations, even holy fathers and mothers of recent times when we have barely dipped our toe in the sea of sanctity in which they swam. How many have been shipwrecked because they trusted in themselves and their own opinions. This might be a patristic starting point for further commentary on identifying and combatting these seven challenges.
in Christ,
Ralph
