A central task of Conciliar Post involves the gathering together of Christians from various traditions in order to reflect upon important issues. As author Stephen Sutherland reminded us in a post a few weeks ago, however, we must understand the purpose and appropriate use of ecumenism: “If good rules make for good neighbors and housemates, maybe a clearer understanding of what it means to be ecumenical can do the same here.” The topic of this

I recently decided two things. First, oil-based paint truly scales the great heights of human devilry. Second, if I’m right about that, then the mindset of fear surrounding the surge of foreign unaccompanied minors across the U.S.-Mexican border dances on the very pinnacle. I know that sounds like a non sequitur, but stick with me. My wife and I just bought a house, and it fell to me to repaint the hideous interior. After a

I always had this odd thought in the back of my mind that ran something like, “If the smartest people in the world thought and thought and read and read for a while, they more than likely would turn out atheists. Atheism, though I don’t believe it to be true, is probably what intelligent thoughts lead to.” And so I typed “Atheism vs. Christianity” into YouTube at age sixteen, intent on discovering whether Christianity had

Imago Dei. That mysterious reality that humans are created in the image of God. Perhaps you have questioned—internally or verbally—what imago Dei means on an individual level. Do we look like God somehow? Perhaps the things we do image Him. After all, He made us as sub-creators in His world, cultivators in His garden of the earth.   Since Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories, the Christian community has seen sub-creation as one of the chief ways

Life is strange indeed. The way in which God works through different people guiding their lives in various ways is truly amazing. For a little over a month now, my family and I have been attending Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Winston-Salem, NC. This is especially remarkable considering my attitude towards religion and Christianity only a few years ago. Five years ago this week, I gave up my career as an aircraft mechanic to attend

Rest is important. This may seem too obvious to need stating, but then again, some of my good friends will be surprised that I put rest and important in the same sentence. My personal sleep practices notwithstanding, the psalmist indicates that rest is part of God’s design for us when he says, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives

Several weeks ago, on Saturday, a couple of hashtags that expressed admiration for Hitler and his Jewish genocide were trending on Twitter, including #HitlerWasRight and #HitlerDidNothingWrong.1 These expressions are not limited to the internet; they are also being heard in public, with demonstrators in Paris vandalizing property and chanting, “Death to Jews,” and, “Hitler was right.”2 Right now there are many who are upset over Israel’s ground war against Gaza, but in this anger hatred

The newsfeed on Facebook (or any social media) is a troubling place. News of bombed planes, war in Gaza, murdered clergymen, and school shootings have all claimed prominent space over the past couple months as I scroll through my newsfeed. To quite literally add insult to injury, people post and comment on Facebook in a degrading, self-righteous, and outright obnoxious manner. Most people accompany the news of violence in the world with violence in their