Raymon Geis

Great read Neil my brother! @dirtpoorrobins Gavin is very good at presenting as the most reasonable, charitable person in the room as a rhetorical tool, and I think he’s used it to deliberately obfuscate his real intention. The agenda across all of these dialogues is to get everyone to accept the invisible church and the evangelical gospel as the defining framework of Christianity. Once that frame is established, it works as a get-out-of-jail-free card for any heretical stance a Protestant body might hold. That’s the false dilemma at work: accept the premise or look unreasonable. From inside that frame he then runs a second move on Orthodox people he speaks to specifically. He positions them to either admit to being exclusivist or ecumenical. If they land on either side, he wins. It’s an appeal to emotion wrapped in the appearance of charitable dialogue. He’s very good at seeming like the most reasonable person in the room while doing this, which is what makes it so effective. @PageauJonathan didn’t take the bait, and that’s exactly why pushing on Gavin’s specific commitments was the right call. The moment he has to name what he actually believes as a Calvinist, the whole cloak of Protestant unity unravels. And like you said, that’s when the Orthodox position comes through most clearly. You could actually see where it broke down in real time. When Pageau confirmed that from an Orthodox perspective, Protestants fall into the same category as Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists, Gavin was visibly taken aback. In his framework, belief in Christ automatically confers a kind of insider status. But Orthodoxy isn’t primarily about belief rendering status. It’s about being like Christ. That’s not one denomination staking a claim. That’s a completely different anthropology, and his framework has no category for it.

After 39:20 in this video, something really helpful happens. @PageauJonathan finds a way to get Gavin Ortlund to talk about his commitments as a modern non denominational Calvinist. Gavin admits that he usually tries to avoid this. It’s not his mission. You should watch the video and decide for yourself, but here's what I think might really be going on: Perhaps when apologists from these denominations (FYI, Orthodox Christians do not see themselves as a denomination) enter a parachurch space, there is a temptation to pitch a wider tent. Whether that's intentional or instinctive, I'm not sure. Either way, I would argue that it increases their potential audience by throwing a blanket over a collection of groups that have never fully agreed with one another and calling it "Protestantism." Pushing Gavin on his commitments should be completely fair. We want to know where he's coming from and how his commitments shape his takes. But for apologists who benefit from this cloak of unity, defending their position can expose them to challenges from other Protestant denominations. They are not actually in agreement. In fact, the Orthodox position shines even more clearly in these conversations when the contrasts are drawn out. youtu.be/RtC8ENpbOW4?is…

Soon.

@2m_rvs Praying for you Marvin!

my dearest friends, i am in the hospital, please pray to God for me. His will be done, and please, oh Lord, have mercy.

Once there was a very sick man. This man tried everything he could: diet, exercise and different supplements, and though it helped him feel a bit better, the sickness still persisted and even got worse. Some of his friends told him to see a doctor, but the man was sure he could make himself well. After much suffering, the man finally relented and went to see the doctor. The doctor told him: "There is nothing you can do on your own to heal from this disease. You must take this very bitter pill. The pill will at first feel like you are dying, but you must trust me and the medicine. It will heal you." After much struggle, the man finally accepted and took the very bitter pill. It felt like his entire life was being wasted away, but as the doctor promised, he soon discovered he had new strength in his body, a strength he had not known before. A few weeks later, the man began having symptoms of the disease again. Saddened by this, he called the doctor. The doctor sent him a list of diet, exercises and supplements. The man was shocked and called the doctor again: "You told me there was nothing I could do on my own to heal from this disease!" "You are already healed from the disease, but your body was so affected by it, that you must now persevere in discipline, consulting me and evaluating what your health is. These are not simply rules you must follow, but habits you must develop. If you persevere, you will do better and better and will discover levels of health you could not even imagine. But if you do not persevere, the effects of the disease can still kill you." I have heard different ends to this story. Some say that the man submitted to the discipline and became an athlete. Others insist that he took the rule given by the doctor, applying it to the letter without developing the habits. Others still, say the man only stood by the original statement of the doctor and had "assurance of his health", refusing that his health was dependent on the habits he needed to develop. "Sure, I can maybe follow the rules the doctor gave me" he told himself, "but that is just in gratitude for having healed me." Sadly this man remained sick, though believing he was healed, and never became the athlete he had in fact been born to be.

An Exploration of Modern Dysfunction: What Pluribus is Actually About (link below) In this video, I look at the symbolism of the recent TV show, Pluribus. There's a lot of speculation about whether it's an allegory for AI, the internet, totalitarianism, or resisting tyranny. But I would argue that it's not allegorical at all, rather it's an exploration of a deeper ontological problem: the relationship of the one and the many, the inside and the outside, sameness and difference.

The Glory of Losing Your Head (full video) In this video, I explore the symbolism of decapitation in the Bible and Christian tradition. Beginning with Joseph’s interpretation of the baker and cupbearer in Genesis, we trace a pattern of “lifting up the head” through Scripture, martyrdom, the Eucharist, and ultimately the crucifixion and ascension of Christ.

Symbolism happens.

@walterkirn Good time to have an unrockable world.

The question of AI is the same one that should be asked for all vessels of power, the question Percival is expected to ask: whom does grail serve?

For those who have eyes to see. The latest from the clips channel. Link below.

“Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies?” St Augustine

Noel by J.R.R. Tolkien (1936) Grim was the world and grey last night: The moon and stars were fled, The hall was dark without song or light, The fires were fallen dead. The wind in the trees was like to the sea, And over the mountains' teeth It whistled bitter-cold and free, As a sword leapt from its sheath. The lord of snows upreared his head; His mantle long and pale Upon the bitter blast was spread And hung o'er hill and dale. The world was blind, the boughs were bent, All ways and paths were wild: Then the veil of cloud apart was rent, And here was born a Child. The ancient dome of heaven sheer Was pricked with distant light; A star came shining white and clear Alone above the night. In the dale of dark in that hour of birth One voice on a sudden sang: Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth Together at midnight rang. Mary sang in this world below: They heard her song arise O'er mist and over mountain snow To the walls of Paradise, And the tongue of many bells was stirred in Heaven's towers to ring When the voice of mortal maid was heard, That was mother of Heaven's King. Glad is the world and fair this night With stars about its head, And the hall is filled with laughter and light, And fires are burning red. The bells of Paradise now ring With bells of Christendom, And Gloria, Gloria we will sing That God on earth is come.

@PageauJonathan Soooooo unexpected! May God bless his journey to the Church!

Ok. I did not see this coming.

Any article that mentions Matthew Heimbach in discussing American Orthodoxy and quotes Sarah Riccardi Swartz should be understood as a political hit piece. Enter New York Times.

Preorders open tonight at midnight (ET)! Keep an eye out for links and bonus details!

🤣 Those blinders holding tight.