Categories: uncategorized
Date: 17 January 2005 15:15:51
Maybe if St Anthony can meditate on Christ and thinking of eternal punishment to overcome thoughts of his former life, doubts about his chosen path, concern for his family, and carnal feelings, it will work for me too.
I came looking for comfort in all your blogs. I thought someone might have some answers for me. I didn't think it would be St Anthony.
I read Exploring Orthodoxy and found in it the link to the life of St Anthony.
I really like the idea of learning from the Christians who have gone before us hundreds and a thousand years ago, to discover their traditions passed onto them by the very people who first followed Jesus. However, reading their stuff is difficult, and they do a bunch of strange stuff current Christians of many varieties consider to be not essential, not the most important thing, and in some cases wrong, (and some fling around the word 'unbiblical' to add weight to their argument) - I am not saying who is right or wrong here, just that it's tough me for to believe that any physical object can have the same power as the name of Jesus, because this is opposite to what I have been taught. That's just one tiny thing, there's so much more to these people's lives. Ian also discusses this a little here Anyway, it seems I have learnt something from St Anthony, and how he coped as a believer with some of the same stuff we still go though today.