«Satan, the Great Deceiver»

God will judge The Prince of evil on the last day - The Day of Judgment

«Satan can only deceive he cannot pluck us out of the hand of God»

Deceive – to mislead by a false appearance or statement

By Fr. Timothy Evangelinidis

When I was much younger and attending university in my home-town of Sydney (in those days a much smaller and less busy place), I was allocated a particular lecturer who prided himself on being an atheist. «Religion is something for weak people, those who cannot think or live for themselves». Arriving at his first lecture this man proudly announced that with a few premises, sub-conclusions and a watertight conclusion, he would prove beyond any doubt that God did not exist. It went something like this:

God’s Angels and the Devil’s demons

Angels and Demons

God sent us angels to be our traveling companions and our guides in this life, to guard us and protect us from all evil. They are also our most faithful allies in our struggle against the forces of evil.

Fear evil like fire

By St. John of Kronstadt

Fear evil like fire. Don’t let it touch your heart even if it seems just or righteous. No matter what the circumstances, don’t let it come into you. Evil is always evil. Sometimes evil presents itself as an endeavor to God’s glory, or as something with good intentions towards your neighbor. Even in these cases, don’t trust this feeling. It’s a wrong labor and is not filled with wisdom. Instead, work on chasing evil from yourself. Evil, however innocent it looks, offends God’s long-suffering love, which is His foremost glory. Judas betrayed his Lord for 30 silver pieces under the guise of helping the poor. Keep in mind that the enemy continuously seeks your death and attacks more fiercely when you’re not alert. His evil is endless. Don’t let self-esteem and the love of material goods win you over.

Message of the day

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart.

«Albert Einstein»

THE ISSUE OF EVIL AND THE MEANING OF SUFFERING AND SORROW IN OUR LIFE

The Original Sin and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the paradise of Eden. Man's sin was that he turned away from God and trusted the devil. Consequently the Lord has allowed for us to see what the snake really is and how much it is NOT to be trusted.

By Fr. Serapheim Starkoff
All of us encounter suffering in our lives. Sometimes we deserve to suffer, sometimes we do not. Curiously enough, our sufferings force us to reflect upon both their nature and origin; suddenly a world of questions and outlooks appear in front of us.

Suffering is closely connected to the so-called issue of evil in our lives. Where does the evil come from? For this reason, we have to describe the Orthodox perception of the world, based on the Holy Scriptures and Tradition. These two sources exist in unity; they are not religious systems, but a description of the divine economy in the life of the Ecclesiastical community.

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CYNICISM AND THE GOODNESS OF GOD

Like so many other aspects of our spiritual life, emptiness cannot replace fullness. To trust in God and to rejoice in His goodness is an act of fullness, an act that fills the heart with good things.

Fr. Stephen Freeman

I admit to being a child of the 60’s (which means I was born in the early 50’s). I have lived through a period in American history marked by assasinations, abuse of power, incompetence and unrelenting and outrageous pieties from the lips of the impious. As such, like many in my generation, I am tempted by cynicism – an assurance that things are never as they seem but that things seem mainly because someone wants them to seem that way. Of course, cynics rarely have to repent because history frequently supports their suspicions.

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