Its Not Easy Being Green
In the interest of being a bit more eco-friendly (that means economy friendly, as in the price of gas is going to kill me), I decided to ride the trike to the store with the trailer. Lilo wanted to join me, and looking at the grocery list, I decided I might just be able to fit everything in the trailer. As it turns out, I could, but the weight was almost lethal. I hadn't downshifted on the front chainring as far as I thought, and I ended up stuck on the steep driveway leaving the store. Fortunately some Good Samaritan pushed the trailer for me, so I could get to the spot where I could successfully downshift. The ride home (all 2 miles) was incredibly challenging, and I still have sore muscles from it. Whether or not I do it next week remains to be seen - but probably will.
I was only kidding a little bit about the being green part. There is also a motivation to not be guilty of such conspicuous consumerism. I don't necessarily buy all of the global warming stuff (notice how it is now morphing into global climate change), but there is an Orthodox notion of not using more than you need. Part of the reason for that is the notion of humility. A humble person won't take more than necessary. I heard a priest the other day referring to some teaching of St. John Chrysostom when he counseled people to only have houses of a size necessary for their families. Small family, small house. I wonder what Al Gore would say about that.
So, taking the car less seems appropriate to the goal of being more humble. It has the fortunate side effect of reducing pollution and improving my fitness level. Many teachings of the Church have these wonderful additional consequences. Fasting is another. Everyone talks about how important it is to eat more vegetables and less meat. Being Orthodox, you can't eat meat for about 1/2 the year, and are nearly vegan for the rest.
One shouldn't be Orthodox because its environmentally friendly, or healthy. Its just interesting that there are these consequences that I suspect are reflective of God's love for us, and were not "designed" in by the Fathers of the Church.
Its a good thing.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Charismatics and Prelest
Recently, I've been hearing more about a revival in Lakeland, Florida. This is a "typical" Charismatic revival with all of the usual elements. You can watch some video here. You have slaying in the spirit, apparent healings, and apparently other miracles as well. This movement is drawing, as is typical, from beyond just Pentecostal/Charismatic believers. There are apparently even AngloCatholics who have been drawn to this.
In many ways, this is not necessarily surprising. I've known many Anglicans over the years who, while AngloCatholic or High Church were drawn into the Charismatic movement. Over the years, elements of the Roman Catholic Church have been drawn in as well. Some efforts, fortunately with less success, have been made to introduce this sort of thing to the Orthodox Church in the U.S. There is a good reason why such efforts have not met with as much success, IMO, in the Orthodox Church, but we'll get to that in a bit. There are two questions I'd like to address first. Is the Charismatic movement in general, and Lakeland, in particular, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and if not, how is it that so many apparently well meaning Christians have been drawn in?
I'm going to take these questions in reverse order, in part because I struggled for many years with trying to understand by what means we were to discern the truth of the Charismatic movement. As an Anglican, I attempted to look to Tradition, but there really wasn't much of a clear Tradition regarding miracles and manifestations of the Spirit. From what I was able to glean, this sort of thing can happen spontaneously to anyone. In the Western Church that seemed to be the case. Generally, most miracles happened to somewhat holy people, but I wasn't aware of any teaching to that effect. At the same time, the mere fact that miracles were happening - or at least appeared to be - seemed to underscore the fact that this was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Within Scripture there are some warning signs, but the only real warnings that I was aware of was that speaking in tongues wasn't supposed to be made too much of, and that things were supposed to be done in good order. Certainly, given what goes on in many Charismatic services, its hard to argue that good order is at all being followed. Also, many such movements place an undue focus on tongues. Is this sufficient, though, to declare that this movement is invalid?
The sticking point in any conversations with people was that there appeared to be miracles. Often, the people in these conversations had experienced some aspect of the Charismatic movement - tongues, being slain in the spirit, or some similar experience. Many of the people I would have these conversations with, especially in Anglican and Roman Catholic circles, would be what you would consider "sober" folks. Not prone to falling for the latest fads or any such things.
I understand then, why people choose to follow these movements. However, something still bothered me. Now, of course, I'm no longer forced to figure it out on my own. I have the Tradition of Holy Orthodoxy to work with. The first key point is that serious spiritual experiences, outside Road to Damascus type experiences (which are great in what they lead to, but also indicate how far off track you are) happen as a result of great spiritual struggle and growth. It is often the case that people will point to the spiritual experiences of St. Peter and the other Apostles. What is forgotten, however, is that they spent several years in the physical presence of the Son of God - in prayer, and struggle. Going without as they moved from town to town. Not perfect by any means, but growing in holiness. They had truly given up everything to follow Christ. If you think about it, it makes sense. We're talking about a close experience of God. Recall the pillar of fire, and how Moses could not look upon the face of God lest he die. How can anyone who has not undergone significant sanctification be able to be in such close proximity the very God of the universe?
Instead, the Christian Church has the concept, largely lost in the West, of "prelest" or spiritual delusion. We understand, from the book of Revelation, that the Antichrist will come, with signs and wonders. It has been said, by some Orthodox radio show hosts, that if you want a spiritual experience, Satan will be glad to provide you with one. In fact, Orthodox tradition is filled with stories of monks being led astray due to their lack of humility. One of note, was related by St. Gregory of Tours. He tells the story of two men living a monastic existence on an island. One was a deacon who had a vision of someone he thought was Christ. Christ told him what a good Saint he was, and that Christ needed him to go lead a healing ministry elsewhere. Rather than check with his brother monastic or seek other spiritual guidance, his pride led him into the trap. He went off under the power of this demon, and did many healings, before his brother was able to point out his error, he repented, and returned.
These problems even go on today. At St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona there was a monk recently who, as a novice, had a vision while working in the kitchen. He went to the Abbot, who told him that the vision was not from God, and that he should ignore it. Rather than be humble and follow the guidance of his Elder, he became angry and ultimately left the Monastery. Today, he promotes the use of psychedelic mushrooms to help return to such spiritual experiences.
Most of the leaders in the Charismatic movement have hardly been living the ascetic life. Many, frankly, have been involved in homosexual lifestyles, drug addiction, and the like. Further, they do not lead people to greater unity, but rather greater confusion. Nothing about what they do resembles the authentic miracles and visions of our Tradition, but rather more like the illusion of the demons.
Unfortunately, since the West has left behind many of the stories of the Tradition of the Church, and have left behind the practice of having spiritual fathers, experienced in the ascetical struggle, to guide the faithful on the way, they have left themselves susceptible to this sort of activity.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Appropriate Comic
There is an online comic about cycling that I enjoy. After the ride this weekend in LA, it seems very appropriate. On Saturday, I just rode back and forth from the hotel and the bike shop. It was a mere 5 miles round trip, but I understand the temp was about 110. Sunday was probably in the high 90's as we were riding along the beach, but still hot, and I did a 40 mile round trip (video to come).
Friday, June 20, 2008
My First Ride Video
Not the best. I have the camera on my helmet, so it bounces a lot. I may try to mount the camera on the trike frame at some point. Also, early morning rides don't work as the camera adjusts the exposure to the sky, not the ground.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Good Story
A good story about one of my fellow online recumbent folks. Enjoy. The video is fun, too.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Black Bomb Returns
The title is a bit of an inside family joke. When we lived in Carpentersville, we had a black bike which was old in those days (35 years ago?). I think I saw one of its brothers in an article today which is what I'm really blogging about.
This 92 year old gentleman's 3-speed Schwinn is now 56 years old. He rides it about 14 miles every day, and takes much longer rides for his birthday (for his 80th, he rode 100 miles up to Oxnard). You can read the whole story here. On top of all that, he's a UCLA alum, so he has to be cool :). This really highlights how much fun you can have cycling instead of driving everywhere.
Friday, June 06, 2008
More Car-Free
A few hours before I paid 4.31.99 per gallon to fill up my truck (~$100 when I was done), I needed to go to the bank to cash some checks. I decided to take my trike and get in a good ride at the same time. Today was a day off, at any rate, so it seemed like a good opportunity. So, I rode this route:
A bit hilly at times, and definitely got a lot of sun, but a good ride, nonetheless. I took it easy heading out, as I wasn't completely sure what I'd run into, and I didn't want to overextend. It turns out that the 6 miles to the bank wasn't that bad. Not as much wind as I'd like, but not bad. Leaving the bank, I ran into more hills than I thought I would (note the slope just before 7 miles - ouch). However, a pretty good ride. The next time, I'll get my average up as I won't be quite so tenuous.