Glory to God Thoughts and reflections on Orthodox theology and life

Start date: October 2007 1675 minutes, 48 seconds in 173 episodes

Fr. Stephen Freeman is the priest at St. Anne Orthodox Church (OCA) in Oak Ridge, TN. 
His weblog “Glory to God for all Things,” has quickly become one of the most read Orthodox sites on the web, being translated frequently in Romanian, French, and Serbian, by enthusiastic readers. He is also author of the Conciliar Press book Everywhere Present.

Episodes

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Date	Title & Description	Duration
Jun 04, 2013	How the Church Reads the Church People, regardless of their background, sometimes fall into arguments about the Scripture. Fr. Stephen looks at why the Orthodox need to avoid such arguments and explains how the Orthodox should rightly read the Word of God. Click to play	16:44
Apr 25, 2013	History, Post-Modernism and Orthodoxy Fr. Stephen speaks at length about the place of Orthodoxy within the modern world. Orthodox history is unknown to most Americans but has something to say to them and to help them in the healing of their own culture. Click to play	24:15
Apr 09, 2013	Do You Hate Your Father? Fr. Stephen looks at several of Christ's difficult sayings and what they mean. Why is it permissible to call a priest "Father"? Click to play	11:18
Mar 08, 2013	Everything is in Motion Fr. Stephen offers a meditation on the Father's understanding that everything is in motion. What does this mean for the direction of our lives? Click to play	07:40
Mar 03, 2013	Justice Enough? The desire for justice is infinite - because such a desire is one of the passions. Fr. Stephen looks at the problems created by wrong thinking on the topic of justice. Click to play	11:47
Feb 25, 2013	Life in a Sacramental World Fr. Stephen looks at our role as "priests of creation" in a world understood as sacrament. Click to play	12:23
Jan 28, 2013	The Sacrament of the Heart "The whole world is a sacrament," according to Patriarch Bartholomew. Fr. Stephen explores what this means as he examines the Eucharist in the Scriptures. Click to play	13:39
Dec 13, 2012	Rational Sheep and the Word of God When the Church's hymns describe us as "rational sheep," what does it mean? Fr. Stephen offers this meditation on language and humanity. Language is part of our deepest nature - and it is a reflection of God. Click to play	10:05
Dec 10, 2012	Speaking to the Heart Fr. Stephen completes his series on the true and false self, with thoughts on how we can go about "speaking to the heart." Click to play	08:45
Dec 06, 2012	Evangelism and the Ego In his recent series on the true and false self, Fr. Stephen looks at evangelism of the heart.	08:47
Nov 20, 2012	Yet Not I Fr. Stephen continues to look at issues between the false self and our true life in Christ.	15:07
Oct 22, 2012	The Death of the Moral Man Fr. Stephen continues with the topic of the battle between the true self and the false self, looking this week at what it means to be "moral."	11:21
Oct 10, 2012	The True Self and the Story of Me The true self is "hid with Christ in God," St. Paul tells us. What then is the "self" that we live with every day? Fr. Stephen looks at how we create our own identity and how we should seek our true self in Christ.	12:48
Sep 26, 2012	A Secular Death Our modern world is increasingly finding ways to avoid the uncomfortable reality of death. Orthodoxy faces death directly and sees within it the triumph of Christ and His affirmation of His good creation.	08:36
Sep 01, 2012	The Invisible Christian One of the temptations of our secular age is the public drive to make religious faith a "private" matter. Fr. Stephen looks at this tension within our culture and the importance of the Christian public response.	13:26
Jul 01, 2012	The Disappointment of Religion Our feelings and desires are trained by our culture to seek satisfaction. In our spiritual life, we often need to learn how to be disappointed. Fr. Stephen looks at the "disappointment of religion."	09:21
May 31, 2012	To Know What You Cannot Know The goal of the Christian life is true knowledge of God (Jn. 17:3). Fr. Stephen speaks about the mysterious character of this knowledge.	07:31
May 20, 2012	The Secret Life What is the soul? Fr. Stephen speaks about the "secret life" and the mystery of our selves.	06:53
Apr 25, 2012	The Christian Crisis Fr. Stephen speaks about the crisis of a "Churchless" Christianity	08:42
Mar 03, 2012	Smashing Icons On the first Sunday of Great Lent, Orthodox Christians celebrate the return of icons to the Churches. Fr. Stephen looks at the spirit of icon smashing that occasionally infects Christians and various political movements and contrasts it with the spirit of authentic Christianity.	14:37
Feb 23, 2012	The Sacrament of Mercy God engages our world in concrete, practical ways. These "sacraments" are a means of sharing in the Divine Life. Fr. Stephen speaks about the "sacrament" of mercy.	07:20
Jan 21, 2012	The Song of God St. Gregory of Nyssa speaks of man both as singer and song. Fr. Stephen explores how we are the "song of God."	08:01
Jan 14, 2012	Waking Up Drawing on a passage from the writings of the Elder Sophrony, Fr. Stephen looks at the spiritual importance of "waking up." St. Paul reminds us, "Arise, O Sleeper, awake from the dead..."	06:07
Nov 15, 2011	Forty Days Before Christmas - Why We Fast Fr. Stephen looks at the very heart of fasting - not the foods - not the 'how to's' - but why we fast.	07:14
Oct 29, 2011	“The Great Cloud of Witnesses” Fr. Stephen looks at the meaning of the "Great Cloud of Witnesses" whom St. Paul describes as surrounding us as we go about the struggle of the Christian life.	07:41
Oct 06, 2011	In the Shadow of Death Fr. Stephen, having experienced a time of grief in the loss of his father, writes about the faith of Pascha and what it is to which we should look as we await our reunion with those we love.	12:57
Aug 11, 2011	The Unnecessary God Fr. Stephen looks at what it means to live in a relationship of love and freedom, and the problems it creates for our ideas of what is and is not necessary.	06:06
Aug 05, 2011	The Unknown God Fr. Stephen focuses on what we mean when we say, "I know God," and what we do not mean. We must know God - it is our salvation - but what does it mean?	09:37
Jul 11, 2011	Choice, Existence and God Fr. Stephen considers what it means to be a "convert" to the Orthodox faith within the context of modern American culture.	06:43
Jun 17, 2011	Getting Past Religion Fr. Stephen suggests that the heart of our faith and our relationship with God can be found more quickly in such things as music and beauty. We often seek to substitute language about religious doctrine in the place of these more primary expressions of our Christian life.	14:24
May 17, 2011	The Things We All Share Fr. Stephen speaks about the concept of anadoche - the spiritual communion and responsibility we have in one another's lives.	08:16
May 15, 2011	The Hard Reality of the Kingdom of God Fr. Stephen looks at the teaching of Christ on love for enemies and sets it in its proper spiritual context.	10:58
May 01, 2011	The Exchange that Awaits Us Fr. Stephen speaks about the difference between feast days as mere events of the calendar and the reality of the Kingdom of God that awaits us in the Feasts.	06:37
Mar 26, 2011	The Temptations Of Church Fr. Stephen examines what it means that the Church is the nexus of the crucified Christ's love.	11:49
Feb 26, 2011	The Scandal Of Salvation Fr. Stephen looks at particular points within the gospel teaching that are sometimes "scandalous," that is a "rock of stumbling" for believers. He examines how important these points are and how essential for our salvation.	08:00
Jan 19, 2011	Living In-Between Many efforts are made to convince modern Christians that they live "in between" Christ's first coming and His second - and that this "in between" period is somehow different and requires new understandings of the gospel. Fr. Stephen refutes this false understanding and describes where it is we now live.	12:42
Dec 18, 2010	You Never Pray Alone Human beings have their true existence only in communion with God. Our prayer is also a communion - both with God and the whole Church.	13:25
Dec 04, 2010	Why Would Anyone Want To Forgive An Enemy? The forgiveness of enemies is a commandment of Christ and yet something we find almost impossible to do? Why has Christ asked such a thing of us?	07:52
Nov 29, 2010	Now That We Have Come To The End Of The World Fr. Stephen looks at the implications for the "end of the world" found in Christ's preaching and incarnation - and what they mean for us.	10:39
Nov 06, 2010	Mere Existence And The Age To Come What is it that we hope for? Fr. Stephen suggests that there is a true life that can only be had in Christ - which is far more than mere existence.	08:53
Nov 01, 2010	Existence And Truth Fr. Stephen examines the association between existence and truth as set forth in the work of a number of modern Orthodox writers, as well as the Fathers.	08:50
Oct 09, 2010	Knowing What We Do Not Know To know God is the essence of the Christian life according to Scripture - though how we know God is sometimes difficult to describe. Fr. Stephen looks at the moment of hesitation with the words "nevertheless" and "and yet" and the room they provide for such knowledge to be acquired.	06:30
Oct 02, 2010	The Tree Heals The Tree The use of allegory within the Scriptures and the hymns of the Church provides this meditation on how, in Christ, nothing is wasted.	05:00
Sep 24, 2010	Treasure In A Box Fr. Stephen uses the image of a treasure in a box to describe the problems of a purely "historical" approach to the Christian faith.	08:03
Aug 28, 2010	Time And History Returning to a topic that is often mentioned on Glory to God, Fr. Stephen suggests that Christianity is not just a "historical" religion, but something far more.	09:00
Aug 21, 2010	Giving And Receiving Human beings were created to offer all of creation up to God in an act of thanksgiving. Fr. Stephen explores this life of praise.	05:28
Aug 13, 2010	The Double Mystery Of The Cross Reflecting on a sermon of St. Gregory Palamas, Fr. Stephen looks at the significance of the Cross as reflected in the writings of the fathers.	08:05
Jul 24, 2010	You Are Not A TV Show Our digitalized world has created what we now call "virtual reality." The reality that we are called to know is not a construct of our own imagination, but the truth of ourselves as found in Christ.	08:43
Jul 19, 2010	The Mystery Of Goodness What does it mean to be good? Fr. Stephen speaks about the mystery of goodness and how it is only known in Christ.	10:06
Jul 03, 2010	To Tell The Truth Fr. Stephen looks at telling the truth as a matter that goes to the heart of our true existence.	08:45
Jun 26, 2010	The Crisis Of Religion Fr. Stephen reflects on a few quotes from Fr. Alexander Schmemann's For the Life of the World - and the crisis of secularism in which we live.	08:10
Jun 19, 2010	The Price Of The Liturgy A meditation on the words of Elder Sophrony, "Our lives are an endless martyrdom," gives rise to thoughts on the true character of the liturgy.	04:33
Jun 14, 2010	A Secular Communion Fr. Stephen looks at the pressures created by our secular culture - particularly how they affect our communion with God.	06:19
May 29, 2010	Hidden Saints Fr. Stephen looks at the "hidden saints" and the hiddenness of our life with God.	06:58
May 22, 2010	Within A Mandorla Fr. Stephen looks at one of the unique features found in several icons to explore how the Scripture treats these same events. Icons and Scripture carry us much deeper than mere literalism.	11:28
May 15, 2010	Our Selves, Our Souls And Bodies Fr. Stephen looks at the importance of understanding our relationship with God as involving all of who and what we are and not reducing our relationship to a set of ideas.	08:02
May 11, 2010	Praying For The World Numerous elders of the Orthodox Church speak about the common responsibility for sin that we share through our humility and love for one another. Fr. Stephen examines how this can be so.	06:05
Apr 29, 2010	Making Choices Our culture champions our ability to choose. Fr. Stephen suggests that choices are not quite as central in our lives as we imagine.	05:22
Apr 09, 2010	The Mystery Of Pascha Fr. Stephen looks at the timeless and eternal aspects of the feast of Pascha and how it effects our daily lives.	06:00
Mar 27, 2010	The Weakness Of Man Fr. Stephen offers thoughts on how it is we are saved in our weakness rather than our strength.	05:10
Mar 13, 2010	Publicans And Harlots And The Last Banquet Fr. Stephen looks at the image of Christ with the unrighteous gathered around Him and recalls a famous passage in Dostoevsky.	05:59
Mar 06, 2010	Redeeming The Time Fr. Stephen speaks about "redeeming the time" through the constant remembrance of the name of God.	04:06
Feb 27, 2010	Just A Shell Fr. Stephen looks at the proper Othodox understanding of the relation between soul and body and some of the distortions of our modern culture.	05:57
Feb 20, 2010	The Instinct Of Repentance Fr. Stephen contrasts the Scriptural understanding of repentance with many of the modern misunderstandings that crowd our world and suggests ways that our hearts may learn the "instinct" of repentance.	12:00
Feb 12, 2010	Looking For Self In All The Wrong Places There is a modern construct of the self that is something of a delusion. Fr. Stephen speaks about our true life "that is hidden with Christ in God" as taught by St. Paul.	09:07
Jan 30, 2010	The Existence Of God Fr. Stephen offers a reflection on what it means to say that "God exists."	07:07
Jan 16, 2010	The Opacity Of Sin Sin is opaque - it does not allow the light of God to enter and be reflected from our lives. Fr. Stephen looks at the work of God's light within our lives and suggests ways in which we may understand our relationship with God through what the Scripture says about light and darkness.	09:33
Jan 09, 2010	To Remember God The simplest and sometimes most difficult task of the Christian life is to remember God: always, everywhere and at all times. Fr. Stephen looks at this simple practice that lies at the heart of the Orthodox faith.	07:23
Jan 02, 2010	Having Then Gifts Differing It is something of a commonplace for modern Christians to think about their "ministry" and place within the Church. Fr. Stephen looks at this idea in the light of Tradition and offers a different approach.	10:14
Dec 19, 2009	Christmas Throughout The Ages Fr. Stephen offers thoughts on the daily consequences of the "Word made flesh," and suggest ways that we might live Christmas every day of our lives.	07:16
Dec 14, 2009	What The Heart Reveals The heart can see what the eye cannot and can take this unseen things into itself. Fr. Stephen looks at the possibility of joy even when the eye sees nothing joyful.	06:02
Dec 05, 2009	The Treasures Of The Heart Every day we contribute to the "treasure of our heart," for good or evil. Fr. Stephen looks at this and suggests how to nurture the good within our heart.	06:28
Nov 28, 2009	The Good Confession In these brief remarks on this Thanksgiving weekend, Fr. Stephen looks at the essential Christian confession of thanks, "God is good."	03:14
Nov 21, 2009	To Believe The Truth What do the Scriptures ask of us when they speak of "believing?" Fr. Stephen looks at the nature of true believing and its importance for our lives.	05:58
Nov 07, 2009	I Don’t Know About That If you have ever felt like the right words in an argument simply won't come - perhaps you should read these thoughts.	07:10
Oct 31, 2009	The Argument Fr. Stephen shares two stories from the lives of the desert fathers and offers reflections. The grace of God given to us in forgiveness and the Spirit of peace involve the healing of the soul.	07:53
Oct 24, 2009	Poor In Spirit What does Christ mean when He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven?" Fr. Stephen looks at this familiar verse in the context of St. Paul's teaching on weakness and necessity.	09:38
Oct 17, 2009	Knowledge Of God The Orthodox faith is grounded in the experience of knowing God. Fr. Stephen looks at the boundaries of such knowledge and simple path to such knowledge given to us in the Tradition of the Church.	11:20
Oct 10, 2009	The Theology Of The Image Fr. Stephen reflects on the "theology of the image," particularly its importance in St. Paul.	11:09
Oct 05, 2009	The Icon As Truth Fr. Stephen looks at how it is possible to distort an icon and how the distortions within our own hearts effect what we see.	06:34
Sep 26, 2009	Icons And Words Fr. Stephen looks at language and how it can be seen as an icon - serving as a "Window to Heaven."	11:57
Sep 19, 2009	Is The World Literal Or Iconic? How we see the world has much to do with our capacity for wonder. Is what we see all there is - or does it point to something beyond itself?	06:28
Sep 12, 2009	Doctrine And Opinion Fr. Stephen looks at how the teaching of the Church differs from opinion and the process of argument. Doctrine is a "verbal icon of Christ."	06:21
Sep 07, 2009	Prayer - A Personal Thing Fr. Stephen reflects on the meaning of Dostoevsky's statement, "Each man is responsible for the sins of everyone," and its meaning for prayer.	06:49
Aug 22, 2009	The Face Of God Fr. Stephen looks at the deep importance that Christ as the "image of God" carries for our faith and how that image teaches us about the nature of all images.	06:33
Aug 15, 2009	The Last Battle Fr. Stephen suggests that the truly great things are those that are most hidden from our sight - and that the last battle may be fought in the silence of a human heart.	06:06
Aug 08, 2009	Speaking With Authority Fr. Stephen looks at the nature of authority and its root in the reality of the Cross.	08:30
Jul 31, 2009	In The Grasp Of Wonder Fr. Stephen looks at the role wonder should play in the Christian life.	06:04
Jul 18, 2009	The Chief Of Sinners Fr. Stephen looks at what it means to be the "chief of sinners" and the solidarity Christ has with us - even in our sin.	06:24
Jul 11, 2009	Prayer As Communion Fr. Stephen speaks on prayer as an aspect of our participation in the life of God - taking it from words spoken to a presence shared.	09:14
Jul 04, 2009	You Are Not A Bible Character Fr. Stephen looks at a common abuse of the Scriptures - as individuals imagine themselves to be characters in the Bible.	09:05
Jun 27, 2009	The Sacrifice Of Emptiness Fr. Stephen looks at Christ's act of "self-emptying" as described by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians as a way of understanding of how His death frees us from our bondage to sin.	10:25
Jun 20, 2009	The Desire For Justice And The Mercy Of God Fr. Stephen, drawing from St. Isaac and other sources, looks at the Orthodox understanding of the mercy of God and how certain modern ideas of God's "justice" have sought to undermine this Orthodox teaching.	12:29
Jun 13, 2009	Liturgical Knowing Fr. Stephen looks at worship as a means by which God makes Himself known to us.	08:59
Jun 06, 2009	Heaven On Their Minds Fr. Stephen looks at how we should see heaven breaking in on the world in which we live and how the "dim vision" of the face of Christ informs our daily lives.	08:30
May 30, 2009	Engaging Creation Fr. Stephen offers a suggestion for how we should engage the world around us. Rather than living as thinking beings surrounded by inanimate objects - we live as eucharistic people, leading creation in its eternal song of praise to the Creator.	10:08
May 23, 2009	Beauty And The Salvation Of The World Fr. Stephen looks at Icons and Scripture and what they hold in common - in particular their use of beauty to teach us the reality of God.	09:51
May 16, 2009	Personal Issues Fr. Stephen takes a look at how concern for various "issues" often distracts us from the true task of tending to the health of our soul.	10:30
May 09, 2009	The Bells Fr. Stephen looks at the rich texture of Orthodox life and tradition and the peculiar, sacramental place that bells hold within it.	09:06
May 02, 2009	Unbelief And The Two-Story Universe Fr. Stephen offers his observations on the split in our world between sacred and secular (the "two-story universe) and the role it plays in causing unbelief and the role unbelief may play in allowing us to be healed.	07:25
Apr 25, 2009	Singleness Of Heart Fr. Stephen looks at singleness of heart—simply learning to say what is in our heart, practicing integrity within ourselves. Its importance to one's spiritual life cannot be overstated.	08:02
Apr 18, 2009	Take, Eat Fr. Stephen looks at Holy Thursday and the sacrament of the Eucharist and the meaning of Christ's words, "Take, eat."	13:59
Apr 13, 2009	For The Sake Of Envy Fr. Stephen speaks about the role played by envy in the events of Holy Week. Seeing envy as a primary sin in our world, he looks at how the Gospel confronts this error in human thought.	14:37
Apr 04, 2009	Careful Devotion To Christ Fr. Stephen returns to some of his thoughts on life in a world divided into sacred and secular - a world he describes as the "two-storey universe." He offers practical steps on how to practice the presence of Christ at all times and places in a careful devotion to Christ.	09:13
Mar 28, 2009	Personhood And Love Fr. Stephen looks at the teaching of the Elder Sophrony and St. Silouan and what it is they mean by "person." Our existence is rooted in love.	05:16
Mar 21, 2009	Why Does God Sing? Fr. Stephen makes the observation that the Scriptures say that God sings. He then goes on to ask about the place of music in worship and why it is that some modern Christians do not sing.	14:26
Mar 14, 2009	Forgiveness - The Hardest Love of All Fr. Stephen looks at the forgiveness of our enemies and suggests some small steps we can take to cultivate a heart of mercy and extend it towards others.	09:25
Mar 07, 2009	Know God Or No God Fr. Stephen speaks on the utterly essential relationship with God. We must truly know Him.	09:04
Mar 01, 2009	Why We Fast Fr. Stephen looks at the deeper meaning of fasting and its true place in our Christian life.	10:37
Feb 23, 2009	Scripture And The Church Fr. Stephen speaks about the unique relationship between the Church and Holy Scripture. They are integral to one another. We do not remove the Church from Scripture, but neither do we remove Scripture from the Church.	10:43
Feb 15, 2009	The Unholy Land Fr. Stephen looks at the temptations of our secular culture and its invitation to live in an "unholy land."	07:52
Feb 07, 2009	Orthodoxy And Science Fiction Fr. Stephen explains why he considers science fiction as a form of modern theological thought.	12:03
Jan 31, 2009	The Wrath Of God Fr. Stephen looks at the Orthodox understanding of the wrath of God and the patristic teaching that His wrath is nothing other than His love given to us. The wrath is our own hatred for His love. It is an understanding of the good God who loves mankind.	10:10
Jan 17, 2009	Salvation In A Cloud Of Witnesses Fr. Stephen looks at the difference between individual salvation and personal salvation and the deep importance found in the distinction.	15:19
Jan 10, 2009	The Longest Liturgy Fr. Stephen speaks about the "liturgy of the heart" as the longest liturgy of all and the true nature of worship.	13:48
Jan 04, 2009	Bowing In Bethlehem Father Stephen looks at the history and architecture of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and draws lessons for our own humility.	09:01
Dec 20, 2008	The Smallness Of God Fr. Stephen turns our thoughts during this week of the Nativity to the "smallness" of God. God has come to save us through His "weakness" as St. Paul says and invites us to share in that humility.	04:42
Dec 13, 2008	The Soul As Mystery Fr. Stephen looks at the human soul and what it means that it is a mystery - known to God - but not fully known to us.	07:45
Dec 06, 2008	Sitting In A Cave Fr. Stephen reflects on the monastic cave in which St. John of Damascus dwelt and compares it to the "cave" of our heart.	09:18
Nov 29, 2008	The Role Of Icons Fr. Stephen talks about the importance of icons in our modern world - helping us to see and understand clearly the truth of creation and God.	09:32
Nov 22, 2008	The Agent Of Change Fr. Stephen looks at the Christian understanding of power and the marvelous works of God. God's power is utterly unlike that of the world.	19:28
Nov 15, 2008	Cynicism And The Goodness Of God Fr. Stephen looks at the problems presented by cynicism for belief in God. Worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God are very different things.	07:34
Nov 10, 2008	The Normal Course Of Things Fr. Stephen contrasts what we think of as "normal" with the vision of the Christian life described in Scripture and the Orthodox faith.	07:09
Nov 01, 2008	The Voice Of Creation Fr. Stephen looks at creation and its "voice" as described in Old and New Testament and sees what it means for our realtionship with the world around us.	08:29
Oct 25, 2008	Cultures Of Remembrance Fr. Stephen speaks of the Church as a culture of remembrance - not of a dead past - but of death trampling down death.	08:17
Oct 18, 2008	Remembrance Fr. Stephen speaks of the power of remembrance - both the remembrance of wrongs done to us and the remembrance of God. He speaks of how it is that the remembance of God alone establishes us in the Truth.	05:31
Oct 11, 2008	Me, You And The Other Guy The strange relationship of prosperity and piety.	06:55
Sep 20, 2008	How Simple Should Christianity Be? Despite a drive to simplify everything - Fr. Stephen contends that Orthodoxy describes not a simplicity but a fullness of life and invites into that fullness and not just a small religious corner.	08:55
Sep 13, 2008	Truth and Existence: the Consequences Fr. Stephen looks at last week's podcast on truth and existence and the impact it should have on how we live.	05:56
Sep 06, 2008	Truth And Existence Fr. Stephen looks at the Orthodox connection made between truth and our existence and what it means for our life.	07:19
Aug 23, 2008	Humility - The Only Path Forward for Orthodoxy Fr. Stephen looks at the virtue of humility and its place in the life of Orthodox Christianity, suggesting that it is our only path towards union with God.	08:22
Aug 16, 2008	Healing The Heart This week, Fr. Stephen focuses on the healing of the heart as the most essential work in our spiritual lives.	10:15
Aug 09, 2008	The Paradox Of Prayer And The Revelation Of Beauty Fr. Stephen speaks about the paradox of prayer and the personal character it has in our life as well as the personal character of beauty and the resolution of all paradox.	10:58
Aug 02, 2008	In The Last Days Fr. Stephen reflects both on his own generation's fascination with the "last days" and with much of modern Christianity's fascination with the same. He argues that Orthodox Christians should focus on Christ in the Eucharist who is the "One Who Is To Come."	13:17
Jul 26, 2008	The Passion To Consume Fr. Stephen looks at the role the classical Christian passions play in our modern culture - how they shape what we think, how we feel, and many of the decisions we make - even on the unconcious level.	10:26
Jul 19, 2008	The Habit of Prayer Fr. Stephen speaks this week about the "habit of prayer" and the understanding of prayer as communion with God.	06:22
Jul 12, 2008	The Consequences of a Full Faith In this podcast Fr. Stephen looks at the implications involved in living the "Fullness" of the Faith, as taught by the Orthodox Church.	14:01
Jul 04, 2008	The Secret Place Of The Most High God Fr. Stephen explores the importance of holy places both in the temple and in the heart.	10:25
Jun 21, 2008	The Truth of Ourselves Fr. Stephen observes that the real truth of our lives before God is best found in our weaknesses rather than in our strengths.	05:44
Jun 11, 2008	Nothing But The Whole Truth Fr. Stephen looks at Orthodoxy and our lives as a matter of the "Whole" truth, rather than a "one-sidedness." He urges us to press forward into the whole truth of Christ.	09:33
May 31, 2008	Is Relationship with God What We Want? Fr. Stephen looks at the words "relationship" and "fellowship" and notes that they are very "weak" translations of the Greek word koinonia in Scripture. He suggests how we should understand this word in its true, Orthodox sense.	15:21
May 24, 2008	Grace and the Inverted Pyramid Father Stephen comments on some of the thoughts found in a recent work by Archimandrite Zacharias of England. He looks at the "inverted pyramid," the humility of Christ in which authority is to be found not at the top but at the bottom of things, in Christ's bearing the sins of the whole of humanity.	12:30
May 17, 2008	The Silent Sentinels Among Us Fr. Stephen looks at the quiet role played by grace-filled persons in our world. In many ways, God preserves us through the presence of such saints.	11:53
May 10, 2008	How To Read The Church Fr. Stephen continues his thoughts on the Church as the proper interpretation of Scripture. In this talk he looks at how we "read" the Church.	08:57
May 03, 2008	The Orthodox Interpretation of Scripture Fr. Stephen sets for a case for an "Orthodox Interpretation of Scripture" in which the Church itself is seen as the proper way to interpret the Sacred Writings.	09:44
Apr 26, 2008	The Ecclesiology of the Cross Fr. Stephen speaks about the doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology) and how it is best understood by looking at the cross of Christ.	09:48
Apr 19, 2008	Is Hell Real? Fr. Stephen discusses the Orthodox understanding of the difference of heaven and hell and some of its implications for how we speak about them.	12:08
Apr 12, 2008	Will There Be Faith On The Earth? Fr. Stephen speaks of the difficulties and trials of those coming to faith in God and the challenges facing our children.	08:33
Apr 07, 2008	Learning To Sin In this podcast Fr. Stephen looks at the importance of "learning to sin", meaning the importance of learning what it is as a Christian that keeps us from the Kingdom of God.	10:39
Mar 29, 2008	The Sacrament of the Present Moment In this podcast Fr. Stephen speaks of the God who is "everywhere present and fills all things," and the importance of our being open to Him everywhere, always, in all things. (11:52)	11:52
Mar 22, 2008	My Right Brain The Triumph of Orthodoxy is also a triumph of the wholeness of God. (7:40)	07:40
Mar 15, 2008	Salvation By Grace and Just Showing Up Fr. Stephen talks about one aspect of the Orthodox understanding of salvation by grace, and notes that a very large part of it consists in "just showing up," learning to be present to God and to accept faithfully the means of grace given to us. 9:38	09:38
Mar 08, 2008	Giving Thanks In All Things In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about giving thanks to God and its foundation in the belief that God is good. He focuses on four aspects of that goodness.	17:56
Mar 01, 2008	At the Edge of Tradition In this podcast Fr. Stephen speaks about the experience of standing at the "edge" of Tradition as people look at the Tradition of the Church and discuss it, seek to appropriate parts of it, but remain outside of that Tradition. He emphasizes that the Tradition of the faith is nothing other than our union with the True and Living God and His union with us.	07:44
Feb 23, 2008	Eight Things I Should Know Fr. Stephen talks about eight different ways that the divided, "two-storey" universe, a world divided between sacred and secular, effect us as Christians and offers reflections on how we should see and cope with each of them. This is the largest summary of his work to date.	23:46
Feb 16, 2008	All The Fullness of God In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about the Orthodox use of the word "fullness," both as a description of the Church but also, and especially, as a description of what we long for in the Christian life.	09:21
Feb 09, 2008	Christianity In A One-Story Universe - Part 6; Where Do We Begin? Fr. Stephen looks at the aspect of seeing the world in wonder - an experience shared by both Christian and non-Christian and suggests, following St. Gregory of Nyssa, that it is the place where our faith should begin.	09:24
Feb 02, 2008	Orthodoxy and Culture Fr. Stephen looks at the relationship between Orthodox Christianity and Culture and argues that since Orthodoxy is the fullness of the faith, it should also be productive of the fullness of what it is to be human. Healthy Orthodox nations have always had a healthy Orthodox culture.	11:05
Jan 26, 2008	Right and Wrong in the One-Story Universe Fr. Stephen looks at morality and virtue, particularly as understood during the so-called "Age of Enlightenment," and compares it with an Orthodox understanding of right actions in the life of a Christian.	15:04
Jan 19, 2008	What Faith Shall I Defend? Fr. Stephen makes a distinction between the truth of the Christian faith and the many distortions and misperceptions of the Christian faith that surround us. He makes the case that we need only defend the search for the true and living God.	08:01
Jan 12, 2008	A Faith Worth Believing Fr. Stephen describes the one-storey universe as a faith worth believing and addresses the difficulty that people in the modern world have in transitioning from the secularized religions that dot our landscape to a truly integrated religion such as the Orthodox faith.	09:46
Jan 05, 2008	Things Are Not Always As They Seem In this week's podcast Fr. Stephen notes that things are not always as they seem. In our busy world we often only see things in a blur. We want things quickly. He notes that grace has a slowness about it and urges us to "be still" and "know" God.	08:45
Dec 29, 2007	Getting Saved in the Church In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about salvation and the Church in the Orthodox understanding. He states that: "the Church is what salvation looks like," and explains how the Tradition of the Church sees our salvation in Christ as something we work out in the context of the believing community rather than as mere individuals.	17:57
Dec 22, 2007	The Church in the One-Story Universe Fr. Stephen continues his series on the One-Story Universe and looks at what it means for the Church. The Church is concrete and real. The "Fullness of Him that Filleth All in All," is not an abstraction or an "invisible" Church, but rather the very real Church established by Christ.	08:32
Dec 15, 2007	Scarcity and Abundance in a One-Story Universe In this talk Fr. Stephen continues with the imagery of the One-Story Universe, but uses it to challenge our sense of finitude and scarcity and instead boldly proclaims that the risen Christ has raised us to a Kingdom where we are not bound by limits, but by the endless abundance of His love.	09:12
Dec 08, 2007	Time in a One-Story Universe Fr. Stephen continues his series on the modern world's division between things secular and things spiritual, showing that the Orthodox life should be lived not in a "two-story" universe but in a "one-story" universe. This talk looks at our modern understanding of time and how it runs counter to the Church's traditional understanding.	15:38
Dec 01, 2007	The One-Story Universe and Icons: Music from Another Room Fr. Stephen Freeman speaks on icons as doors that open onto other rooms. He also speaks about how we view evil in this understanding of God's world.	13:01
Nov 24, 2007	Struggling in a One-Story Universe Fr. Stephen describes the spiritual warfare that Christians are to engage in as a battle within the heart - which is where we find the very depths of heaven.	10:44
Nov 17, 2007	Christianity In A One-Story Universe - Part 5; Windows to Heaven Fr. Stephen looks at the way icons help us to see the world as it truly is rather than as a window to a "second story."	13:13
Nov 10, 2007	Christianity In A One-Story Universe - Part 4; Christian Atheism Continuing with his illuminating series, in Part 4 Fr. Stephen Freeman discusses those (both non-Orthodox and Orthodox) for whom knowledge of God is but a relationship with a book (albeit a sacred book) or with ideas about God. These people are what Fr. Freeman calls "practical atheists." "Although a person may espouse a belief in God, it's quite possible for that belief to be so removed from everyday life that God's non-existence would make little difference."	12:24
Nov 03, 2007	Christianity In A One-Story Universe - Part 3; God In The Ordinary "It's not until we cease to divide the world into ordinary and extraordinary, into usual and unusual, into sacred and secular, that we will have either the possibility of knowing God, much less living the Christian life." -- Fr. Stephen Freeman	15:02
Oct 27, 2007	Christianity In A One Story Universe - Part 2 Fr. Stephen continues his look at the world from an Orthodox perspective.	16:39
Oct 19, 2007	Christianity in a One-Storey Universe - Part 1 In his inaugural podcast, Fr. Stephen describes the Orthodox view of the world in terms we can all understand.	13:18