Doug’s Theological Thoughts

  • Hyper-kenosis

    Hyper-kenosis (an extreme reading of Christ’s self-emptying in Philippians 2:7) and Nestorianism are connected through how each handles the unity of Christ’s person and whether Mary can be called Theotokos (“God-bearer”). They approach the same problem from opposite sides and both risk undermining the claim that the one who was born of Mary is the…

  • Mohammed and Calvin

    Calvinistic theological determinism shares profound similarities with mainstream Islamic theology—specifically traditional Sunni Ash’arite and Maturidite schools—as both frameworks assert that God sovereignly decrees and causes every event in existence. While both systems reject pure cosmic chance, they grapple with the same philosophical tension: balancing total divine sovereignty with human moral responsibility. Key Theological Commonalties

  • Mary in Rev 12

    The earliest and most common patristic reading of the woman in Revelation 12 is the Church (or the people of God spanning Old and New Covenants). A Marian identification appears later and is often presented as complementary rather than exclusive. Earliest interpretations: the Church / people of GodHippolytus of Rome (c. 170–235) is the clearest…

  • Backwards History

    It was the synagogue that kicked the Jewish Christians out. This started during the ministry of Christ Himself. John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.…

  • Icons

    The Seventh Great Ecumenical Council (787 AD) disagreed. The key decree of Nicaea II states that holy images – painted, mosaic, or in other suitable materials – are to be set up in churches, on vessels and vestments, on walls, in houses, and in public places. These include: The principal argument was Christological. Because the…

  • Mary as the Queen of Heaven

    The Old Testament records an official office of queen mother (gebirah, “great lady”) that belonged almost exclusively to the southern kingdom of Judah. After Solomon’s death the united monarchy split. The north (Israel) immediately abandoned the Davidic house and the Jerusalem temple; the south retained both. The split and the two kingdoms Jeroboam I, first…

  • Christian Nationalism

    Early Church Fathers do not comment on nationalism (or on turning nations into Christian political entities with Christianity “twisted in with national constitutions”) in Matthew 28:19. Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) comes nearest to a political-providential reading. He repeatedly cites the verse (often as “make disciples of all nations in my name”) and argues…

  • Christmas trees

    The modern Christmas tree tradition was primarily a German Protestant (especially Lutheran) custom in its early development and popularization. Decorated evergreen trees for Christmas first appear in records from German-speaking regions (notably Alsace/Strasbourg area) in the early 16th century, around the time of the Reformation. An early reference is from 1521 in Sélestat (Schlettstadt), with…

  • The Canon

    The Orthodox have no formal canon since the canon was not determined at one of the Seven Great Ecumenical Councils. There is some variation among autocephalous churches (e.g., slight differences between Greek and Slavonic traditions regarding books such as 2 Esdras / 3 Ezra or 4 Maccabees). For the Orthodox, the emphasis has historically been…

  • Prayer Hours

    Sources such as the Didache, Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, and the Apostolic Tradition (attributed to Hippolytus) show that all Christians were encouraged to pray at set times: New Testament Examples Acts 3:1 “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” Acts 10:9 “The next…

  • Judgment on Cities

    Matthew 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Matthew 11:22But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day…

  • Church Tradition

    2 Thessalonians 2:15 “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” 1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6…

  • Thief on the Cross

    The story of the Wise Thief (St. Dismas) is indeed one of the most powerful witnesses to Christ’s mercy in all of Scripture. We Orthodox venerate him as the first to enter Paradise, and we even take his words into the Divine Liturgy: “Like the thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in…

  • Reply to a Messianic Judaizer

    The Law of Moses was never intended as a permanent, gradually expandable code of righteousness for the Church. It was a temporary pedagogue (Galatians 3:24–25), a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1; Colossians 2:16–17). Christ is the end (telos) of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4). In Him…

  • Hours of Prayer

    The Didache (late 1st or early 2nd century), one of the earliest non-biblical Christian texts, explicitly instructs: pray the Lord’s Prayer “three times each day,” in place of Jewish practices. Historically, early Christians practiced set times of prayer, commonly three times a day (often at the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day—roughly 9…

  • First Century Scribes

    The scribes were not a sect at the time of Christ (1st century CE). They were a professional class or occupational group—experts in the Jewish Law (Torah), teachers, copyists of scriptures, legal interpreters, and drafters of documents—rather than a distinct religious sect with its own unified beliefs or party structure. Scribes did not form their…

  • Tradition

    2 Thes 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 2 Thes 2:15Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or…

  • Gospel Reading

    Today’s reading is the story of the Nativity of St John the Forerunner. LUKE 1:1-25, 57-68, 76, 80Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,…

  • Epistle Reading

    ROMANS 13:11-14; 14:1-4Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not…

  • Nativity of St John the Forerunner

    The phrase “St John the Forerunner” is different than the usual phrase “John the Baptist” used by Protestants. John was the one that came before Christ and announced His Coming was here. He appears at the beginning of the Gospel of St Mark. St Mark 1:2-8 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I…

  • This Generation

    MATTHEW 11:16-20 The Lord said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;…

  • Hearing the Word

    ROMANS 10:11-21; 11:1-2 Brethren, the scripture says, “No one who believes in God will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord…

  • Apostolic Succession of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem

    List of Patriarchs of Jeusalem

  • Attitude in Apologetics

    Fr Paul Truenbach talks about proper attitude in apologetics.