CONSCIENCE IN MAN THE VERY SMALL VOICE WITHIN ALL MEN

CONSCIENCE IN MAN

THE VERY SMALL VOICE 
WITHIN ALL MEN

      There are many people who  deny the  conscience which is in every man, perhaps the main reason is that it would witness that there is a God, and that He is  close to each of us. Nor do they choose or accept the fact that the conscience has a profound effect on a person’s character, and there are many amazing  responses to the small voice within man. This small voice is the voice of Almighty God, who persuades men to avoid evil and seek what is good.  He is the only Lover of man, who  desires that all men be saved and come to knowledge of truth. He does not will that a single soul should perish in their sins. If we fail to listen to Him through our own conscience, He will not be able to lead us to salvation by His Son, Jesus Christ. Nor will He compel us for he will not do anything to violate the wondrous freedom which He graciously bestowed upon mankind. God does not desire to create slavish robots,  but free man, able to obey or disobey Him, or to love or hate Him, but man in the glory of His image. His  plan is that we all freely struggle to become His perfect likeness. What great honor has been given to all of us by our Creator!

    The human brain is a material organ and is not the source of our  conscience, for conscience is not a material but a spiritual entity. We see the evidence of conscience in a man who commits a crime in his youth, and then confesses it when older. Why? A child may lie to its parent then suddenly blurt out the truth.  Why?  A person has a guilty expression on his face when he speaks a lie?  Why ? The only answer possible is that it is that small voice of God in man, which supports or opposes his thoughts and deeds.

    There is no doubt  that there is a conscience in all people, many of whom do everything possible to silence its rebuke. Another example is when a man decides to cheat another of money or goods, and not want any opposition he decides to keep his plans secret.  Suddenly a voice within him strongly opposes his plans, rebuking him for his decision. Listening to this voice of his conscience,  he decides against cheating his fellow man. He heeded the small voice within.

GREAT FORTY DAYS- OUR JOURNEY TO PARADISE

GREAT FORTY DAYS

OUR JOURNEY TO PARADISE

    The Great Forty Days is the original name of the period called Great Lent. It is a very  important period of our lives, having an  amazing effect on serious and sober-minded people. Although it regulates what and how much we eat, it’s really not about food as much as the acquisition of Paradise lost, for we are  seeking not quickly passing carnal pleasures, but the superior and lasting joy of the spirit.  But what is Paradise that makes it so compelling that we should desire to  return to it?

   Paradise is considered by most people to be a only a physical place. It is invariably described as a sweet and lovely garden, having no storms or rain, no wild animals or dangers, an no sickness or death. Beautiful and sweet smelling flowers abounded,  plants and  bushes yielding berries and trees yielding delicious fruits. These were indescribably sweet and enjoyable, and delightfully satisfying to Adam and Eve, the first formed man and woman. Animals were  tame and harmless,  nor were there storms even a rainy day.  Water was supplied by fountains of water, gushing up into the sunny and clear air for drinking and irrigation. Yet none of these things made it Paradise, for Paradise is far more beautiful than all of these plants and trees. In the divine Paradise there is no need of sun, because God is infinitely  brighter than the sun.  There is no food for Christ is our divine food  satisfying our hunger and drink.

    Paradise’s divine and wonderful beauty was experienced each day as God came and spoke with the Adam an Eve. The light of His countenance was seen and experienced in their intellects and hearts, which were more understanding than their senses. God’s fatherly gentleness and kindness, as He embraced them drawing them to himself, filling them with warmth and delight; the scent of His  holiness intoxicated their souls, sending them into an ecstasy of delight. There was no pain, no sorrow, no death, nothing but the sweetness of life and the joy of Paradise,  for the Creator of the universe and of their existence was with them. O beautiful Paradise, O wondrous creation. 

PROTESTANT GREAT ERRORS AND GREATER HERESIES PART FOUR

PROTESTANT GREAT ERRORS AND GREATER HERESIES

PART FOUR

CONCERNING THE EUCHARIST

"Amen, I say unto you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink." 

   This is an important reason for publishing the series: Protestant Errors and Greater Heresies. First it is beneficial that we all know what the truth is, and are able to defend those truths, for this is our sacred duty. Due to various relationships with Protestant and Roman Catholics, many Orthodox, who do not understand the Faith, can easily be influenced to accept falsehoods, and they many Protestants are highly skilled in quoting passages from the Holy Bible 

    Concerning one of their biggest errors is what the Eucharist is. Without searching the Scripture for the truth, they just proclaim against the center of Orthodox worship which is the Holy Eucharist or Thanksgiving. The Orthodox Eucharist continues to preserve the truths taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles, which have been held sacred in the Church Christ founded for almost two thousand years. From the beginning, the Church celebrated the Eucharist, offering bread and wine mingled with water and offered to the Lord in remembrance of Him, according to His commandment. The Divine Liturgy includes the invocation of the Priest asking the Holy Spirit to change the bread into the Body of Christ and the cup into the Blood of Christ. Of course these prayers are answered as they conform the the commandment of Christ.

 In general, Protestants have not and do not accept these Scriptural truths. There are many other Scriptural truths that they do not accept, such as the requirement of a priesthood, and the seal of the New Covenant which was established by the shedding of the blood of Christ – this is the legacy preserved in the Church and will be supported by the proceeding paragraphs.