If you ask people how they came to God, they will probably say it was due to a church their parents took them to as a child. Others may talk about their study of the Bible as an adult. Neither of those allowed me to receive the faith. Instead, I came to God through prayer, after feeling the compulsion to pray during a period of darkness and despair.
I didn’t know how to pray when starting out, because I had never done so in my life. All I knew about prayer was what Hollywood movies depict. I did a web search on “how to pray Orthodox,” since I was originally baptized as a child in an Armenian Orthodox church. I found a Greek Orthodox resource called Orthodox Prayer, which has been most helpful for me to establish a beginner prayer rule, especially their handy PDF worksheet. As I learn more about the faith, I have added specific prayers that suit my spiritual needs.
Wherever I live, I assemble a humble prayer corner that is aesthetically pleasing. It consists of two icons (one of the Theotokos holding infant Jesus and the other of Jesus), two wooden crosses, a blessing cross I like to hold while praying, and a prayer rope I use for the Jesus Prayer. In the morning, I pray after waking and then begin my day. At night, I pray once more before laying in bed. I read for some time and right before closing my eyes to sleep, I say one more short prayer that does not make the assumption I will wake the next day:
Into Your Hands, O Lord, I commend my soul and my body. Bless me, forgive my sins, and have mercy on me. Amen.
There is a large gap between the morning and evening prayers where you can easily “forget” about God, especially if you live in a large city and have a day that is filled with distractions. When I come across something that is naturally beautiful, I sometimes recite a simple doxology multiple times: “Glory to God, glory to God in all things.” In other moments, if I feel anger rising within me or am frustrated from having to wait in a long line, I recite the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The Jesus Prayer helps remind me that I’m experiencing no real pain or suffering compared to what Jesus endured, and that only through Him can I overcome the small and big trials of this world.
Another way to remember God during the day is to recite a prayer before and after your meals. If this is a new habit, you will forget to do it most of the time, but if you keep applying effort, it’ll eventually become automatic. Here is a prayer I use before all my mealtimes:
O Christ our God, bless the food, drink, and fellowship of thy servants, for thou art holy always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
And one for after meals, which I sometimes still forget:
Blessed is God, Who has fed and nourished us with His bountiful gifts by His grace and compassion always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
You may be tempted to ask what are the material “benefits” of prayer. Will it make you feel more calm? Will it help you complete more work during the day? This is the wrong approach. I believe the purpose of prayer is to worship your Creator and establish a direct line of communication with God to aid in your salvation. Such communion will help you battle against sin and fight demonic influences that are so prevalent in this world. Through prayer, I also show thanks and appreciation to God for creating and sustaining me. I ask Him to forgive my signs and to have mercy on me while I carry out my mission in this world. I certainly do not ask him for more fame, comfort, pleasure, or ease of life as if he was a genie in a bottle. Unless I am in dire straights, I do not ask him for worldly gain, and if I do, I always add “if it is according to Your will” to stress that it is His will be done, not my will be done.
If you’re new to prayer, I recommend you start with a small base and then build it up gradually. If you attempt too much in the beginning and fail to maintain it, you’ll get frustrated, stop praying entirely, and maybe even lose faith. Instead, warm up your prayer muscles with a nightly prayer that lasts no longer than five minutes. Ramp that up as you gain confidence maintaining the routine. When you have maintained a night prayer rule for a month or two, and feel the need to do more, add a morning prayer as well. Do what you can.
Once you’ve established a prayer rule, you can consider Church attendance and Bible reading for a set amount of time each day (be sure to use a study Bible like the Orthodox Study Bible). Take it slow. Don’t treat your faith as just another material hobby, something to be achieved. I prayed for two months before I stepped foot into a church, and am very careful to add more prayer time or other spiritual deeds. Recently, I tried to add a third daily prayer, but I was not yet ready for it, so I stopped after a few days. That’s okay—I will progress spiritually for some time and try again later. I would only advise you to “force” yourself to do at least one prayer per day (the Lord’s Prayer is suitable) and if that is still too hard for you, ask God to help you pray. Prayer is a gift from Him, so if you would like to pray, ask Him for aid.
Even if you establish a daily prayer rule, prayer will not be easy. You will procrastinate when it’s time to pray and be tempted to rush through it. The demons and your corrupted mind will flood you with distracting thoughts. You may feel that you’re just reciting words instead of feeling them. These problems were even common with the Saints. Start small, build up over the months, and stick with it so that you may develop a relationship with God and fully receive His grace.
Read Next: 12 Things I Learned From Visiting Holy Trinity Monastery In New York
BORING
is not meant to criticize you Roosh or diminish your work. I say this with love. I wish you would stick to secular articles which your users can still find useful spiritually e.g recent articles like ‘clubs are satanic temples’, ‘casual sex causes guilt’. You started well but it seems you are gradually switching to preaching which as the most downvoted comment stated, is honestly boring. I agree with him. At this stage I don’t think you are in any position to advise people spiritually. The journey is long and tough, as you will soon realize. Your faith will shift from one extreme end to another. All honest seekers experience this in their search for truth. It’s better to play it safe now because trust me your beliefs are going to keep changing with time.
I agree with you. He was more grounded last summer, but after Babylon Road he seems to force himself too much, especially recommending and reading Orthodox articles and books almost exclusively. It is good that he found a community and a fundament for his newfound beliefs, but he needs to be aware that the Orthodox church, even though more based than the Catholic church, is also a denomination with many heretical traditions of men. The two biggest churches are not the solution for our cultural climate. Their glory days are past, a remnant of history. While they instill good moral guidance, they also instill idolatry and Pharisaic traditions. And the biggest problem with these Christian denominations is that they killed each other for centuries, just because of slightly different beliefs, land, real estate and politics. Brothers in Christ are not supposed to do that, and I believe that if the Catholic and Orthodox church would come to power, the civil wars of the past would happen again and again until God takes their power away like He does right now.
Please God I pray for a woman a day until I marry then I ask for a meager couple bangs a week until I die
It’s better not to pray for material things that come out of your will. How do you know that God wants you to marry at this time? Or to have a “couple bangs” per week?
I prayed and prayed and prayed for a husband when I was young because I was horny AND wanted kids, wanted my own “ideal life,” etc. and thought I knew what I needed and what I had to do in order to get it.
I got pretty much everything I prayed for… and then some.
And I never could have IMAGINED what it would end up costing me.
Sometimes it feels like God is up there laughing at me, like “LOL you thought WHAT would be good for you??!”
https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/does_god_play_favorites
MUH-MUH TRADCUCK WOJACK GF IS REAL!! I SAW HER FIRST, SHES MINE CUCKS!
“I got pretty much everything I prayed for… and then some”
The current zeitgeist of the West caters to women, so this comes as no surprise.
Garth: the “zeitgeist of the West” actually tried to beat me down for wanting the life I wanted. I thought that I had LUCKED OUT TO THE EXTREME when I found a man who said he wanted to live a modest, rural, traditional sort of life with me, have a bunch of kids, homeschool, etc. (while literally everyone around me was like “OMG NO. U GO COLLEGE. U CAREER. NO BABBY.”).
And so I prayed to God for that man to be my husband and the father of my children. And when that unfolded before my eyes, I thought it was MEANT TO BE.
Turns out he was just lying (see other comment). I done got had. Sigh.
The zeitgeist of the West does not cater to women. It caters to those who fit the mold it pours them into. If you won’t do that, it tries to chew you up and pulverize you until you do.
And why did it cost you so much?
Adrian S: well, I had my sights set on one man in particular – for a lot of arguably good but still worldly reasons. I didn’t just pray for “a husband.” I wanted THAT ONE. And when push eventually came to shove, I put that man before God.
I actually DID *at least most of* the things that the manosphere broadly says that women SHOULD do (chastity, domesticity, femininity, family-focus, religion, etc.)… but God wasn’t truly the center of it. I was angling for an earthly reward, for a “lifestyle” I wanted. And even though that “lifestyle” is championed as a good under the title of “trad life” or whatever – I was driven by the desire to ENJOY LIFE.
It’s easiest to say that my first husband led me down a very bad path in life… and that’s true – but he couldn’t have done that were it not for my own spiritual failings. My every request of God was tainted with worldly desire… how could the things I received in return not be tainted by the world as well?
I still got a LOT of good out of it. I have children, and I have learned much of what will be necessary to teach them BETTER than I was taught, and to lead a GOOD life…
But I certainly didn’t get the “happily ever after” that I was dreaming of in my head; not with that man, anyway. He pretended to be a religious “Trad Chad” – but turned out to be more of a “Soy Roy.” Literally one day he was basically just like “Oh yeah that’s not me, this is me.” Now he’s a good little globohomo bootlicker who is pro-gay, pro-sex-lib, and recently took his innocent 14 year old sister to a pride parade and showed her a bunch of dildos after lying to their father about where he was taking her. And this is the father of my two children. So that’s what I’m up against in terms of influences that I have to work to mitigate as I raise them.
I got a whole lot of hardship and pain and suffering, because that’s what it costs me to protect my children from the circumstances I unwittingly brought them into – EXACTLY what I thought I’d be able to avoid by engineering “my perfect life” in my head and then praying to God to deliver the fruition of all my plans and designs to me.
tl;dr: I suppose it cost me that much because that’s what it took to knock some sense through my thick skull.
Pythagoras warned that when we pray, we should not pray for ourselves; that when we ask for things of God(s) they should not ask things for ourselves, because no man knows what is good for him and it is for this reason, undesirable to ask for things which, if obtained, would only prove injurious.
All the prayers in the world do not negate the effects of the exercise of our free will. Oour choices are not God’s will, but Oours, else He would never have given us free will at all. It’s never easy to suffer at the hands of someone else’s will, even so.
I really enjoyed this article. I’m trying to find my way back to Jesus right now, and practical spiritual advice of this nature is very hard to find. I also never understood the Orthodox Church, but as I age and begin to become aware of malignant spiritual forces in the world (and in myself) I’ve found the Protestant answers lacking — where the Orthodox approach seems much more… comprehensive. Thank you. I’m gonna pray right now that you find a good wife and continue your work reaching out to guys like me.
There is nothing wrong with asking for material things. There are many examples in the Bible where godly men and women asked God for something. For example, the mother of the prophet Samuel asked for a son because she was barren, and vowed him to the priesthood once he was born. Samson, when he stood between the two pillars, asked God for giving him strength one last time so he could kill the Philistines. Asking for material things, if it is in accordance with God’s will, is natural to include in a prayer. Let us say, you would ask God to give you virtuous traits, you would become more godly if granted, but at the same time you would be more popular with the world as well. God knows what you truly need and grants it to you if you pray unceasingly. It is not as if you would ask for a hot wife and a Lamborghini.
Criticism aside, I commend you mentioning to stay humble all the time and not letting your emotions get the best of you. Your example with standing in line is something everybody can relate, and if you do not control unnecessary anger it will add over time, and less able to control your emotions. Reminding yourself unceasingly of the bad thoughts and reactions you get from time to time keeps you on the straight path.
@Vespasian Good points made. Also: good luck in not getting your post removed.
Thank you. Roosh is not the kind of man to censor opposing views, so I will be alright.
And I have to correct myself. I do not believe that asking for strength and growing in virtues is material. Everything regarding the mental, in a God-given way, is inherently spiritual. What is in your mind and how you see the world around you is a spiritual matter, everything that is in the realm of your five senses is the material. Basically, the spirit is intuition, gut, emotion, instinct: the things we cannot see nor properly explain, yet tend to be realer than anything we can see, feel, hear, smell or taste. You can be the richest, most handsome and successful fornicator yet deeply imbalanced. You seek that which is outside to compensate what is lacking inside, and that is character, integritiy, order – to make it short: the Holy Ghost. God.
When I’m alone at home after a long day at work, I find myself praying for erotic fulfillment from Jesus.
He manages to fulfill every time, in every naughty way and then some!
You can also pray for the same and try this erotic fulfillment for yourself. You will be more satisfied than ever knowing Jesus so intimately in this manner 😉
You are such a sad person. I hope you realise one day that you are a a really sad person. Roosh please ban this kind o person from the disscussion.
Not sad at all.
Look, you clearly don’t know Jesus intimately in a way that He can be known.
I’m trying to spread the word on the (very hot) erotic love he provides.
There are many lost men here and if they open themselves to Him (yes, in that way), then there is a real, true, and sexy bounty to be reaped.
I found a video of this guy on the internet, he’s pretty serious about his proselytizing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uj_WkY5Eiw
Hey man, he’s the kind of person who needs God most. Let’s be glad he found a good source here. This may be the only place he even engages with Jesus. All things serve the will of God, even if we can’t understand how.
Is there a armenian orthodox church? I only find Armenian Apostolic.
Armenian Apostolic Church is its offical name.
Brother Roosh, remember too the words of Jesus to not pray as the hypocrites. Remember that God is above us, but He also calls us friends. This isn’t religion, this is a relationship and Faith in our Creator. Speak to Him as a friend, but also remember who He is above you. Just some food for thought Brother. Glad to see you continuing to walk with the Lord.
On a second note, I see the attacks still come in the comments, and they come harder. Probably because, yup, evil man despised his true Creator.
The intention you put behind every action is the most important part.
If it is from a pure source from your heart.
I never pray in the manner of saying preweitten texts that one would repeat like a parrot. I preffer having a direct genuine talk with the creator where i usually start by thanking for everything in my life.
I might even tell god a joke and have a laugh about certain things while i think of him or when something happens and i realize the purpose of it. Many times I’m just getting what i had comming to me for my own previous actions and I’ll thank god for the teaching behind it and laugh about it.
There is the real love. There is no disrespct in this. It is genuine. And still do it in a humble way
It’s an interesting parallel between what you described and the jewish way of ‘talking to God.’
Although I’d note that the formulaic prayers are meant to induce deeper communication with the Holy Spirit by separating the conscious and unconscious mind. You can’t say the same prayer a thousand times and devote your full attention on the words. With repetition and form, part of your mind is freed up to wander, hopefully into greater communion, in a matter of seconds, rather than hours to reach a contemplative state via meditation.
Roosh,
Thank you for this article. It’s heartening to hear you testify to your new life under God’s authority and grace. The insight into your prayer life is helpful to me in my own prayer life. Thank you.
There are many ways to pray but we can also be instructed by those saints who have completed the race before us. It seems Roosh is doing just that – building his prayer life by humbly following the cues that our holy saints have provided us. That’s awesome!
FWIW, a prayer that I have said before and have found helpful during dark times when I didn’t even know what to ask of God nor what to say to Him is a simple, “baaahâ€. Since Christ is our Good Shepherd and we are sheep in his flock, I picture myself as a lost sheep as in Matthew 18 crying out to God for grace (Psalm 77), and then being still and confident in God’s will for my life (Psalm 46) as I wait for the Lord (Isaiah 40:28-31) to come and deliver me.
Nice concern trolling
Hi! Would you recommend praying in a pharisean ritualistic systematic fashion? It seems to me that if there is no strict ritualism in prayer one starts to pray lazily and slack off and ultimately abandon faith altogether.
Roosh,
Good article.
Praying is from God as you say. The church fathers would say the same.
I strongly urge you to listen to Father Hopko and his podcasts. Especially:
Teaching Doctrine in the World:
https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/teaching_doctrine_in_the_world_we_live_in_today_part_1
And
Radical Monogamy:
https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/radical_monogamy
“When you pray you don’t put your mouth where your mind is – you put you mind where your mouth is.â€
God teaches us how to pray and worship Him. He gives us the words. Always has.
God bless you!
I do listen to podcasts often.
It seems the more penance you endure and wisdom you share with the public, the more these demonic manchild reacharounds come out to verbally assault you. Keep up the articles Roosh, I find them fulfilling, this one is particularly interesting because most people do not know how to pray.
Matthew 6:7-8
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few
This is not meant to criticize you Roosh or diminish your work. I say this with love. I wish you would stick to secular articles which your users can still find useful spiritually e.g recent articles like ‘clubs are satanic temples’, ‘casual sex causes guilt’. You started well but it seems you are gradually switching to preaching which as the most downvoted comment stated, is honestly boring. I agree with him. At this stage I don’t think you are in any position to advise people spiritually. The journey is long and tough, as you will soon realize. Your faith will shift from one extreme end to another. All honest seekers experience this in their search for truth. It’s better to play it safe now because trust me your beliefs are going to keep changing with time.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Some conversions are radical, nearly instantaneous occurrences that persist for a lifetime: Paul on the road to Damascus, for example.
I, for one, do appreciate Roosh sharing with us his spiritual journey. This is where he is now. Will he be somewhere else in the future. Probably, And I pray that future place is closer to God. I’m looking forward to hearing about it.
Jesus appeared to Paul and instructed him what to do and preach. He also experienced miracles e.g being healed from blindness. There were also apostles like Peter whom Paul could learn from. These men were way advanced in their faith and experiences with God. They were not just reading books and going to church. They were able to hear God’s voice and get specific words to preach and do. You can’t compare Roosh and Paul.
I am a new convert and a former muslim. I truly relate to you as I am going through the same journey. And i try to pray at least once a day.
God Bless you my Brother.
The Orthodoxy is very close to Catholicism, which seems to put a lot of emphasis on idol worship. This is not true Christianity. You do not need a cross or pictures to pray to Jesus. Just silly non-sense that leads to worship of objects. All you need is to repent and accept Jesus as your savior. All else is idol worship.
For more info: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Russian_Orthodox/orthodox_idolatry.htm
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Russian_Orthodox/ro-idolatry.htm
At least Orthodoxy still incorporates a heavy dose of mysticism and aesthetic ancient rituals, which is sorely lacking in secular and non-denomination churches.
I’d prefer to see a choir and a preacher dressed in robes than a crappy Protestant church with a pastor in some lame casual clothes and bland Christian pop music. Protestant churches also cannot even match the sheer beauty of an Orthodox Church that is filled with icons, candles, altars and incense.
Those are false idols and not Christianity. All that is needed is repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. If what you describe is the only thing available than why go to church?
Your personal interpretations of scripture and your personal analysis of what is required for salvation are just that. Your own. For guidance. You should look yo the churches that put the Bible together. You should look yo the churches that hold the traditions that the apostles taught them. Your interpretations just make you your own pope.
You don’t need a church or Pope to interpret the Bible for you.
Jason,
Please don’t take this condescendingly, but by what authority do you arrive at that conclusion?
The Bible itself states otherwise in 1 Tim 3:15: “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.†The Church, not the Bible, is the pillar and foundation of truth.
Peter, not the Bible, was the “rock†appointed by Jesus Himself, upon which the Church was founded and upon which a continuous apostolic succession since that time has led the Church.
Who decided upon the canon of the Bible? The Church did.
Yes, we do need the Church. Otherwise, we end up in the situation we find ourselves today: a fractured Christian body composed of tens of thousands of different denominations in direct contradiction of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-21: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.â€
In all sincerity, why should I or anyone trust your personal interpretation of Scripture (Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things…â€) when the Bible explicitly states that the Church, not you, is the pillar of truth?
The word of God (Bible) and Jesus, not the church, is the pillar of truth. I am supposed to trust the interpretation of man? Man is not perfect and gets things incorrect. Which is why there are so many denominations. I prefer being non-denominational.
Derek Prince: “Religious Deception” *Must Hear* [Printed Scriptual References]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCvgihgv-Ec
Jason F posted:
My friend, according to the Bible, the Bible is not the pillar of truth. Again, according to the Bible, the Church is “the pillar and foundation of truth”. Here’s the passage in the Bible (again): “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” (1 Tim 3:15)
You and I as Christians both agree that Jesus is the truth because Jesus says He is the truth in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Here’s the thing, though, Jesus as God and Jesus as Truth, established the Church. In fact, He established one body and one Church, not many bodies and many churches. Paul explains in 1 Cor 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
Christ, as head of the body, deigned that the Church serve as “the pillar and foundation of truth”. At the Epiphany, He imbued His Church which He established with the Holy Spirit just as He promised in John 14. He has also promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church.
You can disagree with the Bible and with 2,000-plus years of Christian teaching, but at the end of the day, as another poster pointed out all that you are doing is self-interpreting the Scriptures and making yourself into your own little pope in your own little body without anything to go on but your own feelings.
You’re effectively claiming that you possess the truth and that you’ve got it right. By what authority are you able to accurately assert that you possess the truth and the Church which Jesus Christ Himself established is in error and is in heresy? Why should any of us listen to you?
What is your authority?
But yet you quote from the scripture the truth. That did not come from the church. It came from the Bible.
The Bible was put together several hundred years after Christ’s resurrection, what do you think the early Christians used? Christianity is based on Tradition and the Bible.
The inescapable fact is that the canon of the Bible was determined by the Pope and the bishops meeting together and settling upon which books to include and exclude from the Biblical canon at the Councils of Rome, Carthage and Hippo between 382 and 397.
If you accept the Bible as truth, then you must accept the fact that the Church is “the pillar and foundation of truth”. Why? Because the Bible tells you so.
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” – Acts 17:24-25
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” – Matthew 7:15
“And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.” – Mark 11:17
Jason F,
My friend, I’m not sure how those passages relate to the topic at hand.
I am sad that you have believed lies and distortions about the nature and character of the Church established by Christ. The Bible is correct in 1 Peter 5:8 when Peter says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Jesus calls Satan the “father of lies” (John 8:44) who “deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9).
The “the powers of this dark world” and “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:15) seek to destroy Jesus’ one, true Church. They wage war against it and would like nothing more than to see it reduced to ashes. One of the primary weapons they employ against the Church is falsehood. Your posts are an example of some of the lies used against the Church of Christ.
I believe that you think you have the truth. I promise you that you do not. You have been deceived. I pray that, by God’s grace, you will come to know the Truth.
Maybe you did not read those passages carefully enough.
Tipically protestant to quote outside of context. Check out what Church Fathers make of that.
Those who interpreted thr Bible for them are now split in countless denominations generally known as protestants.
You’re right about the crap Christian pop music. However, at least some of the fundie churches have good sermons… something that seems to be missing from the older, more traditional denominations.
Take your pride and attacks against Christians elsewhere.
What jason is saying is true.
When you become an indoctrinated fanatic without judgement or own criteria you can consider yourself demonly possesed.
Have you got any idea of history of Early Church?
No pride and attacks have been done. I am just stating the obvious truth. Idolatry is not the path to God. Just repent and accept Lord Jesus Christ as your lord and savior.
God bless you brother Roosh!
Read history of Early Church, for at least one thousand years there was only one church, the Orthodox.
We all live in a fallen world and fall short of the righteousness of God in one way or another. In my insomnia and nightmares, anxiety I sleep with the Bible to my chest.
It’s not out of worship of a book itself. It makes me feel closer like someone’s cross, beads or being out in nature.
People worship or put their faith in so many other things even those that call them selves Christian as in Degrees, Awards, Certifications, Titles, Retirement Investments, Sports Teams, Political affiliations, Veteran status, Businesses, Their denomination, Being heterosexual yet filled with other sin.
In the beginning in Genesis Man was meant to eat plants and the animals as well and live in harmony then we fell to sin. No human is free of sin or imperfection even Christians.
You just implied that another Christian is not a genuine Christian because he disagrees with you on interpretation of the Bible. You have officially become an extremist, one who instead of focusing on Jesus’ main goal (conversion & salvation through him), focuses on your strict interpretation of the Bible as law. In all honesty, however, it’s not surprising, you have always been a weirdo/had that extremist aura. In your PUA, you took it to the extreme, which is probably a huge factor behind your inability to start a family today. Instead of using your site to spread the Word peacefully, you have been lecturing visitors, as if you have been a lifelong Christian. Perhaps you should take a break from the online world & focus on improving yourself b4 you go on here admonishing other Christians like Jason for disagreeing you.
Are you free of sin? Who are you to counsel or advise? Take the beam out of your own eye first as it is written.
Paul was an attacker of early Christians having them arrested and judged.
Much of our sin is hidden Roosh was more out there an public and now he has turned to God he should shut up? What hypocrisy!
For myself this is why I left church to get closer to the truth and not man’s religion not to say there are not humble Christians in church but there are also many wicked as well that promote man’s religion over the truth as this is my path currently.
No wonder so many throw the baby out with the bath water as so many “Christians” point fingers yelling for others to wash the dung off of themselves when they are covered in it. I require God’s forgiveness daily as hard as I may try even now, in traffic etc.
I have no hate towards Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses or whatever denomination someone else says are in error. Even Rastafarians believe in God and many believe in Jesus and have denied Haile Selasie as a deity yet so many “Christians: point and judge at their smoking marijuana while they gulp down glasses of wine cheering on their favorite Sports Team even praying for them to win.
Despite all of this I acknowledge and aware of my own sin far from righteousness. I trust I will be counseled for speaking the truth. So be it. Don’t expect any response.
Truth and Blessings to all Amen
Roosh Do you ever get attacked by temptation when you see a beautiful woman that floors you enough that the flesh takes over? What do have you done?
Raised in a atheist family but came to God through the word/prayer and sin and tragedies in life yet still I have desire for women despite now more clearly seeing the evil in many, man and women, myself included.
The Orthodox Church has long gotten over a certain Armenian iconoclast. This is an absurd charge if you ask me, trying to manufacture a conflict, looking for a hole in the whole, as we say in Poland. Idolatry is praying to false gods. As if having sculptures and icons around was somehow damaging to one’s faith in God, why have the church building at all then, maybe go out and pray somewhere in a dessert, maybe the congregation should gather in a different building every Sunday, lest a particular one gains some undue religious significance, but then God had king Solomon build the Jerusalem temple. I’m just a regular, churchgoing Catholic, and the icons we venerate are not idols, they remind, and show us what our faith is about, we were ourselves created in God’s image, and God himself came to dwell among us as a human, Jesus is God’s image, we worship Him in his whole glory, not just the biological body of Jesus alone- as a separate relic. All the incorrupt- by the will of God- bodies of saints bring me closer to faith through my God given senses. Mary the mother of God, and the saints intercede for us, they have not taken the place of God in our worship, they get the respect they well deserve, and it’s not idolatry. Just as we were made to hear the word of God with our ears, we were also made to see everything he created with our eyes. The existence of icons does not, in any way, diminish or diffuse the faith. Satan attacks through the senses, but unlike Protestants, instead of creating an austere place of worship ( no offence meant, I respect all true Christians the same, but in a way reminiscent of a mental hospital room- devoid of any objects that can cause injury to those inside ), we fill the place with religious art which surely won’t ‘injure’ our faith, and is directly opposed to what the forces of evil want us to see and think about.
The world was created beautiful before sin entered this realm- when humans lost their focus on God. An icon, and art in general, and especially sacred art, is an attempt to bring that back- good and beautiful is from God, the desire of it is one huge aspect of humanity, ugly and bad is satanic, think Hell; it’s human nature to stray in his thoughts, and church art keeps your mind focused so you know why you’re there, you always know where you are, and you see all around you, it’s not just another building you could hold a drinking party in. By God’s order, the Ark of the Covenant was adorned with sculptures of the Cherubim. Some icons evoke such deep and pious religious feelings that the faithful receive spiritual and even physical healing- the Black Madonna in Poland or Our Lady of Guadeloupe in Mexico, to give some universally known examples. Where real believers gather [drawn by the icon], God is there among them. When you hold a picture of your child, is it the picture you love and think about, or the kid ? You may treasure and protect it since it represents him, but it’s not about the picture itself. Nobody addresses an icon in a prayer to be merciful on him. It’s the same mistake enemies of Christ have always made, destroying Churches and icons, believing that God would thus have been removed from amongst the people. Faith is within you, and art is but one expression of it. It’s no coincidence the demonically possessed lash out against sacred objects and christian icons.
What one decides to worship is his own choice, irrespective of his surroundings. In the four bare walls of ‘die kirche’, protestants too can forget about God, maybe that’s why they’re often bringing in so many other distractions, even real abominations that scream to you those people have not gathered there in God’s name. Jesus established the Church, not a scattered, fragmented pool of believers, he has chosen his disciples by being out there and meeting with people, he’s instructed them to preach and expand the church body, which nourishes and keeps the faith alive, he has instructed the gathering of his disciples to commemorate him by eating bread and drinking wine which become his flesh when consecrated by a priest, just as Jesus did when he offered them those gifts clearly stating what they were. Yes, strive to build a personal relationship with God, but don’t neglect his Church and the people not yet in it, one does not preclude the other. Rejecting the world and meditating alone sounds Buddhist. In art, and everything else we do, we’re trying to give glory to God, the world he created was good- what we do should be as well. Could the Church exist without art? Under persecutions, in the early days it wasn’t feasible, but to a certain extent. Curiously, church music does not bother Protestants- they don’t argue the sound of instruments is more important than God, maybe because of David who sang psalms and played the harp.
Likewise, I could absurdly ask if you’re not worshiping the written word, the text itself, instead of God, maybe have it all memorized in your head to avoid dealing with physical objects entirely; are you worshiping God, or what God said- the message itself? Like the pharisees who took issue with Jesus healing the sick on a Sabbath, who effectively considered the word, the law, more important than God. You owe the Church not having to take the apocrypha as Gospel, and the Gospels came from within the Church when the divinely inspired authors sat and wrote down what used to be oral history passed among all who belonged to the Church. These nonsensical idolatry charges are brought against two thousand years of the Church’s existence, Christ gave his apostles, and their successors and disciples, the authority to forgive or retain people’s sins, there is a treasure of accumulated knowledge the Church fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, passed down to the faithful, no single human alone can match that God given wisdom, but there’s much for him to draw from it. There was no Greek Bible as we know it, when Jesus told Peter in Aramaic he was the rock upon which he would build his Church, the Church fathers are its pillars, strike the shepherd and the flock scatters.
You’re a man of extremes, Roosh.
#welldiagnosed
God bless you Rposh!
Thank you for your wisdom, keep it up!
Thanks for this article, Roosh. It really helped me understand the practical aspects of prayer.
I was raised in a pretty devout Christian family, but although they meant well, the Protestant tradition I grew up in left a lot to be desired in the prayer department. No one ever presented it in a way that emphasized the importance of discipline and the benefits of repetition. Fell away from faith in college, misspent a few years that I’ll never get back, but thankfully God had better plans for me. I’m starting down the road to Orthodoxy, and I’ve set up a small icon corner for prayer.
Thanks again! God bless.