Christianity and the One Story Universe

May 2010

What is the Orthodox view of the world in which we live and how are we to live in it? Is God in a distant place uninvolved and uncaring about what happens here or is He “everywhere present and filling all things?”

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Date	Title & Description	Duration
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. Click to play	7:25
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. Click to play	9:24
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. Click to play	15:04
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. Click to play	8:32
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. Click to play	9:12
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. Click to play	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. Click to play	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. Click to play	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." Click to play	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." Click to play	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 Click to play	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. Click to play	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. Click to play	13:18