Today we begin a series about some of the findings from psychology that describe patterns of thought that incline us towards sin.  We organize our discussion around the article from Aeon (12/5/2018), "The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology" by Christian Jarrettis, the deputy editor of Psyche, and edited by Pam Wintraub.  Enjoy the show!!

Building on the last episode, today's episode is about sins that keep us out of the Kingdom unless repented of, namely sins unto death, and some distinctions that are pertinent to understand in our day. Some sins are so grievous that they require a longer "time to return" to communion, as St. Gregory of Nyssa informs us. In this episode, we learn about those sins and what forms we might find them in today.

What is sin? Do all sins have eternal consequences? [the railway echo continues on and on] Are all sins equal—do they have the same eternal consequence? If I have bad intentions, are my good actions still good? Do even our small sins have an eternal consequence? If we are innocent of the sins that we commit, are we still not affected by them? Sin and culpability. Our hosts tackle these questions and more. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry talks about the need to foster a healthy culture now and laments that we were not better at it sooner. Fr. Anthony agrees but notes that the previous century atrophied some of the institutions that make such an approach seem natural. They also note the way our weakness and the dire state of the world combine with social media to turn the usual Orthodox approach to discernment on its head. Enjoy the show!

This episode delves into the question of the relationship of culture to salvation. Items discussed include the Gospel message from St. Peter on the day of Pentecost and its relationship to our encounter with culture today.

How do we as the Kingdom “not of this world” deal with things in this world such as the culture wars? Our hosts discuss how to tackle the matter of our relationship to culture and in this case a culture “post-Christendom.” How do we deal with it in our homes, or in the workplace? How do we know when to “make a stand” and when not to do so? Whence do we get our barometer, from hierarchy or from monastic prophets? These and other topics are discussed.

Here our hosts discuss how our “worldly” jobs, be they one career or many different callings throughout life, are not worldly at all for the Orthodox Christian, but are part of our sacrificial and royal calling as members of the Royal Priesthood

The place of vacation and leisure in the lives of children of God’s Kingdom. How do we strike a balance? Often vacations are not restful. How do we fit in rest?

The Christian family is the primary way most of us grow the Kingdom of God. We are called to make disciples of all nations but that also means in all nations, in the place where we are. We fulfill this calling by reciprocally nurturing our spouses and raising children to be followers of the Creator and Redeemer of all. The hosts also discuss the role of the family in satisfying Christ's calling to minister to "the least of these" (St. Matthew 25:45). Enjoy the show!

The hosts talk about the logistics of family prayer and individual prayer and the role these prayers play in growing us in The Kingdom. The topics addressed include variations of prayer rules and the extent to which listening to recorded prayers are useful. Enjoy the show!