501 c3 A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing- UPDATED 7/2/15

UPDATE 7/2/2015: Government Crusade Against Churches Begins With Removal Of Non-Profit Status - Click HERE To Read


CHURCHES IN AMERICA ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A 501c 3 STATUS TO BE TAX EXEMPT OR TO RECEIVE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS

Repeat: CHURCHES IN AMERICA ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A 501c 3 STATUS TO BE TAX EXEMPT OR TO RECEIVE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS

Repeat Again: CHURCHES IN AMERICA ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A 501c 3 STATUS TO BE TAX EXEMPT OR TO RECEIVE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS

The Founding Fathers assured that the Church would always be separate from the state and thus not regulated nor controlled by it. Churches are inherently exempt from IRS control or regulation. In a word, the Church does not need the permission nor approval of the United States Government to exist or operate.

Then why has the Eastern Orthodox Church and all SCOBA jurisdictions, and many True Orthodox Churches sold their souls and futures to the government by way of asking the United States Government for permission to exist, thus being regulated by its mandates? This has been done by voluntarily becoming 501c 3 Corporations. The Church would do well to incorporate the words of our Lord:

"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,and to God the things that are God's." Matt 22:21

"I am not the only IRS employee who’s wondered why churches go to the government and seek permission to be exempted from a tax they didn’t owe to begin with, and to seek a tax deductible status that they’ve always had anyway. Many of us have marveled at how church leaders want to be regulated and controlled by an agency of government that most Americans have prayed would just get out of their lives. Churches are in an amazingly unique position, but they don’t seem to know or appreciate the implications of what it would mean to be free of government control." (from the Forward of In Caesar's Grip, by Peter Kershaw)

"It is impossible to have religious freedom in any nation where churches are licensed to the government. " George Hansen, Member of Congress (ret.)

"When a church accepts the 501c 3 status, that church:

• Waives its freedom of speech.
• Waives its freedom of religion.
• Waives its right to influence legislators and the legislation they craft.
• Waives its constitutionally guaranteed rights.
• Is no longer free to speak to the vital issues of the day.
• Becomes controlled by a spirit of fear that if it doesn’t toe the line with the IRS it will lose its tax-exempt status.
• Becomes a State-Church.

From this case we learn that:

• A corporation is “a creature of the State.”
• The State is "sovereign" over the corporation.
• The corporation is “incorporated for the benefit of the public.”
• A corporation is a State “franchise.”
• Incorporation is a State “privilege.”
• A corporation is “subject to the laws of the State.”
• “Its powers are limited by law.”
• It must “obey the laws of its creation.”
• A corporation has no constitutionally-protected rights." (From Hushmoney.org)

Here is the IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A) concerning Churches:

Special rules with respect to section 501 (c)(3) organizations

(a) New organizations must notify secretary that they are applying for recognition of section 501 (c) (3) status

c) Exceptions

(1) Mandatory exceptions. Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to-

(A) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches


The IRS code for churches simply states that,


THERE IS NO IRS CODE FOR CHURCHES!

Notice that the IRS code does not say churches are "exempt", it says they are EXCEPTIONS to the IRS Government regulation. The IRS has no authority to "exempt" churches. It is not for them to say. The reason is:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…"

The Church's sovereign authority is God. So, once again, why are Orthodox Churches in America 501c 3's?

All Metropolitans of all jurisdictions in the United States, all SCOBA representatives, priests, churches, missions, foundations of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church, should remove themselves from the control of the United States Government, resending their 501c 3 status. Do not listen to tax experts or attorneys who may tell you "501c 3's are a good thing and allows the church many liberties". They are either deceived or are deceivers. They are, in effect, wolves in sheep's clothing. They would have you sell your birthright for a mess of pottage.

The continued oppression of the Church in America will continue as subterfuge. 

All religion is being systematically removed from government and public life along with participation of Christian individuals and entities. Any and all things Christian that do not accept the politically correct morality will be deemed as breaking the law. It will in effect become illegal to speak or practice any form of public Christianity. It is the oppressed Christians of other countries of the world who look at the Christians in the United States and say, 

"You fools! Do you not see. Have you not learned from our demise, our plight, our oppression?"

The blindness that has allowed many churches of the United States of America to come under government domination has extended to the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church should lead out in this effort for all peoples of faith to break free of the legal government entanglement, for there will come a time when the noose will be tightened, the rules rewritten based on popular practice and the snare will be set. The Church has been of such little effect in America, allowing it to descend into the depths of depravity and humanistic control because the Church has partnered with evil, submitting to other gods. For those Christians who would refer to Paul's admonition in Romans Chapter 13 that "whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God" and to "render to all their due: taxes to who taxes are due...need to realize that in America, where the Church is concerned, THEY ARE NOT DUE! The church is God's not Caesar's. To be married to the state in this way is for the bride of Christ to commit adultery.

Patriarchs! Metropolitans! Bishops! Priests! Deacons! Laymen! Purify the body of Christ and be holy even as He is holy. Lift up your voices in your meetings, your counsels, your churches, your seminaries, to free the Church from the voluntary submission to the domination of an entity other than the God we serve. In this way the Church will flourish in this country and hearts and governments will be revived to the will of God.

Be in this world but not of it. 

Is God Mad At You?

"Moreover, the very concept of "anger" in relation to God is conditional and anthropomorphic, as we learn from the teaching of Saint Anthony the Great, who says: "God is good, dispassionate and immutable. Now someone who thinks it reasonable and true to affirm, that God does not change, may well ask how in that case, it is possible to speak of God as rejoicing over those who are good and showing mercy to those who honor Him, while turning away from the wicked and being angry with sinners. To this it must be answered that God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for to rejoice and to be offended are passions; nor is He won over by the gifts of those who honor Him, for that would mean He is swayed by pleasure...He is good, and He only Bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him; but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him. By living in holiness, we cleave to God, we are separated from Him. By living in holiness, we cleave to God; but by becoming wicked we make Him our enemy. It is not that He grows angry with us in an arbitrary way, but it is our own sins that prevent God from shining within us, and expose us to the demons that punish us. And if through prayer and acts of compassion we gain release from our sins, this does not mean that we have won God over and have made Him change, but that through our actions and our turning to God we have cured our wickedness and so once more have enjoyment of God's goodness. Thus to say that God turns away from the wicked is like saying the sun hides itself from the blind" (Philokaloa, Vol 1, Text 150; Engl. tr. by Palmer-Sherrard-Ware, p. 352). (Entire excerpt from Orthodox Dogmatic Theology p. 350, by Father Michael Pomazansky, Transated and Edited by Heirmonk Seraphim Rose)

Does The Church Denounce The Performing Arts?

Excerpt from The Orthodox Pastoral Service by Professor Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern) Translated from Russian by Tatiana Pavlova:

The Gospel clearly indicates that the world lies in the evil, that the sin penetrates everywhere, that it is necessary to observe ourselves and to walk “not as foolish, but as wise” and not to become a part of the affairs of darkness. All temptations of the heathen world of “the disorderly cries and drunkenness” must be removed away from Christianity, especially from each pastor. But must we add to this all pleasure, happiness or normal human entertainments? Does the Gospel oppose all merriment? Must we then forbid all happiness, and turn the sermon of salvation thus to a gloomy cloud covering all life? Is it instructive to banish from the whole life or only from priestly habit all entertainment, merriment and searching for the beautiful in life? Must Savonarola be acknowledged as the ideal of the priestly service?

It is hardly necessary to prove that rigorism is not characteristic of the spirit of the Gospel. The example of the Savior, Who attended the suppers of simple people, marriage meals and nowhere denounced merriment, beauty, innocent pleasures of life, — does not justify of the gloomy attitude of the pastors of Savonarola’s type, typical of the Latins, Archimandrite Photius (Spassky) and Constantine Matveevsky.

But if merriment, pleasures, entertainment, and beauty are not forbidden for the simple people, for the flock, then how will a pastor who condemns everything, except piety in the narrow sense, soul saving literature and divine services, be able to understand his flock, how will he not repel it from himself? A priest who values music, theater, exhibitions of pictures and literature only as the evil charms of the devil, will never understand his flock, which lives by these interests. The flock will only stand away and fear such a priest, afraid of his censure and strict scolding at every turn. Such a priest will never be able to understand his flock, or give useful advice about whether one or another phenomenon is good or bad, if they ask him for such advice.

            

The sharpest is the question about the theater. In writings of the fathers, especially in Tertullian and Chrysostom this kind of art meets only irreconcilable and extreme denouncement. How many bitter words Tertullian said to the lovers of theatrical shows! How he condemns all the actors, gladiators, and musicians into eternal fire! Chrysostom is not much softer. But it is necessary to recall what the theater of their times was and whether there exists a certain difference with our operas, dramas and comedies.

If the theater of the second to fourth centuries were, as the folk shows of the Byzantine middle ages, full of rough and sensual details, resembling heathen bacchanalias, this is why the Apostle could speak at that time about “the disorderly cries, yelling and drunkenness” that could not serve to the ennobling of dispositions, and why the church condemned all this and warned the faithful not to fall into this explicit temptation. But theatrical art has something else; if offers medieval mysteries, different religious dramatizations, known in the West and East. These arts came to us through Kiev and Little Russia, but it happened absolutely legally, and the Church was sufficiently opened-minded to tolerate them and even to patronize them. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a look at the historical perspective: the theater of Tertullian’s epoch was full of erotic, immoral elements. The repertoire of our days contains many vulgar and obscene things. However, along with the frivolous repertoire and tempting plays, theatrical literature gave us an enormous number of excellent, purely artistic works. Shakespeare, Racine, Sheller, Pushkin, Chekhov and many others raise the soul above rough feelings, force us to think about something higher, take the spectator away into some other world, distant from banality and prose. It would not occur to sober thinking people to place the opera of our days, the Artistic Theater and serious symphonic concerts with those plays by mimes, gladiators and Bacchanailan dances. If we add to this that the artists themselves very frequently were and are deeply religious persons (Savina, Yermolova, Butova, Sadovskaya, etc.) who served the theater as a form of art, then any generalizations must be made with caution.

Saint Moses Says...

Moses The Black--Moses The Strong--Moses The Ethiopian

"Brethren and Fathers, humility humbles the demons and vainglory exalts them. Whoever deprives himself of esteem and is humble of speech weakens the demon’s power. Whoever is not lowly of mind is mocked by demons. Also, the Lord will not listen, nor receive his petition to whomever prays and does not fix in his mind his own sinfulness. Everyone must keep before his eyes his transgressions and shameless conduct, so as not to judge others in the least, and to fulfill the salvific command of the Redeemer: “Judge not lest you be judged.” Then it is certain that he will be saved in the end."

Give Account For Yourself, Not Others

When will we love people more than we love debating jurisdictional disputes? When will our face to the world look like Christ rather than our chosen jurisdictional logos? When will we pursue the unity of the whole Church over the unity of our own cloistered friends? When will we cease sewing seeds of discord among the brethren?

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

"Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way."

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." + Jesus the Christ +

Should We Treat Schismatic And Non-Orthodox Churches As Enemies?

There is so much vitriolic diatribe in the struggle for the pure orthodox faith. Name calling, accusations, judgement, and slanders abound. Various professing orthodox groups treat one another with suspicion and some orthodox bloggers have as their mission to actively condemn any and all who call for unity. As a blogger, I myself have been called an "enemy of the church". But did not Jesus call for unity? "...so they may be one even as I am one...". Yes, we know that unity/oneness cannot come unless all share in common the orthodox profession, but would not our Lord's desire better be served by all of us striving to bring redemption to the heretics, schismatics and the lost rather than just shouting "Enemy! Enemy"! How can it not be God's will for all of us to have the heart of Saint John of Kronstadt and to share in his prayer?

"Confirm in this faith my own heart and the hearts of all Orthodox Christians: enlighten us to live worthily of this faith and this hope; unite in this faith all the great Christian bodies which have dangerously fallen away from the unity of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, which is Thy Body and whose Head art Thou and Savior of the body; subdue the pride and opposition of their teachers and their followers; grant that they may comprehend with their hearts the truth and salutariness of Thy Church and unite with Her without laziness: join also to Thy Holy Church those ailing from schism, breaking their obstinacy and standing up against Thy Truth with the power of Thy Spirit's grace, that they may not perish in their resistance as did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who opposed Moses and Aaron, Thy servants. To this faith attract all the nations which inhabit the earth, so that with one heart and one mouth all nations will glorify Thee, the One God and Provider of all; unite all of us as well in this faith with the Spirit of humility, piety, meekness, simplicity, impassibility, patience, forbearance, mercy, compassion, and the sharing of joyfulness."

The Lord has convicted me of my sin as of late, wherein I have mistaken the fine line between seeking justice and seeking righteousness. I have confessed my sin and made restitution personally to those to whom God has led. I ask the regular JTO readers, and others who may pass this way, to forgive any such sin or attitude I have displayed in any of the hundreds of articles I have posted throughout the years. 

Schismatics and Non-Orthodox are not our enemies. We must love them into the faith. Speak the truth always, and dogmatically if need be, but speak the truth in love.

Are You Asleep In The Light?

Where are the young prophets in the Orthodox Church? Rise up oh men and women of God and shout the clarion call!

Asleep in The Light

Do you see, do you see

All the people sinking down

Don’t you care, don’t you care

Are you gonna let them drown

How can you be do numb

Not to care if they come

You close your eyes

And pretend the job’s done

Oh bless me lore, bless me lord

You know it’s all I ever hear

No one aches, no one hurts

No one even sheds one tear

But he cries, he weeps, he bleeds

And he cares for you needs

And you just lay back

And keep soaking it in

Oh can’t you see it’s such a sin

’cause he brings people to you door

And you turn them away

As you smile and say

God bless you, be at peace

And all heaven just weeps

’cause jesus came to you door

You’ve left him out on the streets

Open up open up

And give yourself away

You see the need, you hear the cries

So how can you delay

God’s calling and you’re the one

But like jonah you run

He’s told you to speak

But you keep holding it in

Of can’t you see it’s such a sin

The world is sleeping in the dark

That the church just can’t fight

’cause it’s asleep in the light

How can you be so dead

When you’ve been so well fed

Jesus rose from the grave

And you, you can’t even get out of bed

Oh, jesus rose from the dead

Come on get out of your bed

How can you be so numb

Not to care if they come

You close your eyes

And pretend the job’s done

You close your eyes

And pretend the job’s done

Don’t close your eyes

Don’t pretend the jobs done

Come away, come away, come away with me my love

Come away, come away, come away with me my love

The Arts and the Artist- The Christian Misconception

Note: This article is to be credited to another. I typed it years ago with a real typewriter, before the days of computers and printers. I was remiss in not recording the author's name. Whoever he or she may be, thank you for knowing my heart and putting into words this poignant prose. Your words still resound with the truth.

In the arts there should be no segregation of secular and religious subject matter. Reality, like God, is one. This is not an unusual idea . . . Augustine saw the cosmos as one unit divinely infused and all mankind as one brotherhood. He saw reality, spiritual and physical, as moving toward an unfolding of God's purposes.  Reality was cumulative advancement of mankind, materially and spiritually, through time, as history taught God's lessons through experience.  Augustine rejoiced in the goodness of the arts and extolled their virtue as part of God's creation.  To him, all of reality was part of the divine unfolding of history.

Christian artists who agonize over what they should create from the point of view of what is allegedly "Christian subject matter" are engaged in an exercise in futility -- an exercise usually motivated by false guilt bred of bad theology that has divided reality into "secular" and "Christian" and that perceives art as only a useful propaganda tool for evangelism.

For the Christian there is no taboo subject matter any more than there are evil or taboo colors.  Though how we portray each subject is important, as is its context, reality, as it is perceived is fit subject for the artist.  To tell the truth is our only artistic, moral imperative.

There are too few people in the church who comprehend the artistic struggle and encourage Christians to succeed in the arts, there are, however, many Christian guilt-mongers who place burdens on others that they themselves do not bear; their attitude is embolden in the what's -Christian-about-that? school of art critics who do not understand the arts or the daily reality of the artist's struggle.

As artists we yearn for sympathetic Christian critics with a knowledge of art and the historical perspective about art movements necessary to make an intelligent contribution to our work.  Such understanding is, unfortunately, rare.  Instead, we are often subjected to moralistic posturing on the part of Christians who ignorance is only matched by their intransigence.

We as Christians need the help, guidance, and advise of other believers.  But we must be careful, as artists, to have realistic expectations about this human advice.  Just because someone is a believing, practicing Christian does not mean he or she will have the wisdom, knowledge, or sympathy to advise us knowledgeably about our artistic work. Just because someone claims that God has laid something on his heart does not mean God has! The pastor, teacher, friend, or family member may or may not know enough about a particular field of endeavor to give good advise.

Better the knowledgeable advice of a non-believing expert than the heavy yolk of false spiritual guilt imposed by an ignorant believer, however well intentioned. Artistic talent is truly a gift and must be protected, especially against the onslaught of misguided saints . . . It is a tragedy that so many Christians who seek to work in the arts and media receive so little knowledgeable encouragement.

Be Abased

I received the counsel of a priest this week. In confession, he told me to BE ABASED. The Lord also told me NOT to seek justice but to seek righteousness. I have repented. I am forgiven. But I must now make amends for my acts of pride.

Here is the standard of God for me and for all who would walk in the Glory of God.

"In all things and at all times be abased

Seek Righteousness not Justice."

Definition of ABASE
1. archaic : to lower physically
2. : to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem

                                                                                                                Keirkegaard

Philippians 4:12-13

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The great dichotomy: To be strong you must become weak.

Film Review By Ben Andrus

Pasolini’s Gospel According to Saint Matthew

A Review By Ben Andrus

In Pasolini’s masterpiece, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, we encounter Jesus Christ praying in the morning on his knees with his arms lifted, palms open, ready to encounter his Father’s presence. Similarly, early Christian icons depict prayer in the same manner. Though an Atheist and a Marxist, Pier Paolo Pasolini still emerged from a devoutly Roman Catholic culture, and these ancient depictions would be familiar to him.

In this review we will discuss Pasolini’s much beloved film, demonstrate that it is truly a Christian film while also presenting particular problems and inadequacies as a text.

Can a non-Christian artist produce truly Christian art, or must the artist be a believer to transmit the lore of the Faith purely? Certainly there isn’t enough space to adequately discuss this question in this review, but suffice to say that we will approach the topic of The Gospel from the perspective that it is entirely possible for a nonbeliever to create Christian art. Lloyd Baugh, author ofImagining the Divine takes the opportunity to discuss this more thoroughly in his book. He makes three points that are worth repeating here: first the film must be judged on its own merits as a film (does the film accomplish its “mission”), secondly, and apropos our discussion, if The Gospel According to St. Matthew received official sanction by the Roman Catholic Church, then certainly others can produce films of the same caliber. Thirdly, Baugh makes an important point that the question of belief versus non-belief is a complex one. Baugh states, “ The lines of demarcation between belief and non-belief are sometimes very unclear and often include wide areas of grey. Perhaps…the sincere and coherent searching of the agnostic can be a valid position from which to search, to reflect artistically on the Christ-event by creating a Christ figure.” (111-112) Though Pasolini was unequivocal about his Atheism; we must offer the distinction that he was not necessarily anti-Christian (99).

The story of Pasolini’s decision to make The Gospel is a compelling one. Virtually confined to a house in Assisi awaiting preparations for the visit of Pope John XXIII (to whom his film is dedicated) while a guest of Pro Civitate Christiana, a Catholic cultural organization, Pasolini read the Gospel of Matthew straight through like a novel (95). The specific passage of scripture that riveted him was Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Pasolini’s desire was to depict the gospel strictly from the text, a “realist desire to show what lies hidden,” for often this passage glossed over or ignored. In it Pasolini discovered a Jesus who was a revolutionary (Viano 133).

Photographed in stark black and white, the Jesus of The Gospel According to Saint Matthew is a revolutionary. When a Pharisee chides him for healing on the Sabbath, this Christ replies in single-mindedness “ Is it not lawful to do well on the Sabbath.” He gives the Pharisee a scolding look as he (the Pharisee) was an insolent child.  Of course, the aforementioned scripture, the one that first inspired Pasolini to make the film takes prominence. Jesus walks through a city and prepares his disciples for a mission and for a future of martyrdom. The scene culminates with a swelling musical score. Jesus tells his disciples that he has not come to bring peace, but division. The ancient, crumbling city and the rugged hills of southern Italy make up the background.  This film-Jesus is a dynamic energetic figure, less the mystic sage, but ever on the move, and filling the screen space with his intensity. At least one critic has drawn a comparison between the fiery portrayal of Jesus by Enrique Irazoqui and the equally fiery revolutionary Che Guevara (Macnab 62). Truly, Irazoqui is only missing a beret. “Often Pasolini’s camera pictures him from behind, from the point of view of the disciples as they try to keep up with him. Jesus’ words acquire great power because they are spoken as he moves, or as he stops and twists his body to look back at them and us” (Baugh 102). Critic Maurizio Viano conjectures that Pasolini wanted his Jesus to evoke a love/hate relationship with tradition and the Law. “Such a gesture of simultaneous affirmation/negation,” Viano states, “is cleverly emphasized by a recurrent image in Pasolini’s film: Christ’s most often-repeated posture shows him walking decisively ahead, with his back to the camera and his face turned towards it, an image which stresses leadership but also conveys the sense of going ahead while looking back” (141).

Though very intense, this Jesus is not without mercy and compassion and genuine warmth. Jesus smiles happily, obviously full of joy when he is surrounded by the children in the temple. The encounter and healing of the leper—perhaps one of the most poignant, beautiful scenes in the entire film—is compelling. “…There is a marvelous warm exchange of smiles between him and the man.” Jesus also seems to enjoy very much the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and also speaks kindly to his disciples during the Last Supper scene (Baugh 103).

Far from being a complete word for word rendering of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Pasolini’s film is not without its problems. Pasolini completely leaves out the Transfiguration from Matthew 16. Jesus’ mother Mary is also inexplicably present at the Crucifixion whereas in the Gospel she is not. “Here Pasolini is blatantly violating his own rule of absolute faithfulness to Matthew’s text” (101). The disciples, whose presences unfortunately are mostly limited to long camera takes, get short shrift in Pasolini’s film. “The Apostles are not fully developed characters; none of them has a personal story, not even Judas who, as a rule, is the privileged locus of psychological interpretations.” The Pharisees themselves are only shown as virtually faceless, rigid symbols of power (Viano 139).

Though certainly not a Catholic or even a Christian of any stripe, being in fact an Atheist and a dedicated Marxist, Pier Paolo Pasolini dedicated The Gospel According to St. Matthew to Pope John XXIII. Pasolini was convinced that Christianity and Marxism, at there deepest level, were very similar (Baugh 99). Certainly, his film was an attempt to reconcile the two, hence his strong, revolutionary Jesus. Of course if Marxism shows any resemblance to Christianity it is because the religion influenced culture for almost 2,000 years before Marx published his writings. We can affirm that concern for the poor, and speaking truth to power “come with the territory,” when speaking of Christianity. Pasolini’s film, however, remains a beautiful, startling work, both truly representative of the revolutionary figure of Jesus Christ and the revolutionary time it was made.

Works Cited

Baugh, Lloyd. Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ –Figures in Film. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (1997).

Macnab, Geoffrey, Lucy Neville, and Matthew Leyland. “The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Film).” Sight & Sound 12.12 (2002): 62.Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Jan. 2011.

Viano, Maurizio Sanzio. A Certain Realism : Making Use of Pasolini’s Film Theory and Practice. Berkeley: University of California Press (1993).

Ben Andrus is an Orthodox Christian. He is a freelance photographer and is currently studying film in Virginia, USA.

You may watch the entire film on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ewh5k5-gY

Can Bishops, Priests, And Deacons Be Gossips?

GOSSIP: a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. 

"My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed,we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh." James 3: 1-12 

To God's beloved Bishops, Priests, and Deacons: The sacrament you have received does not dismiss you from the obligation to tame your mouth. You do not have license, because of your ordination, to say what you will to another, be it clergy or layman, under the guise of "concern" or another's "spiritual welfare". Speaking to another about a third person's "personal or sensational facts" is as sinful for you as it is the Layman. Whether it be in word or letter, in private, or in a public forum, it is sin.

Orthodox Boy In Motion Picture

Shooting will wrap this week in LA on the film, Gumball. The poignant, humorous, and moving story of nine-year-old Lawrence Ashby, who hatches a plan to save his parents failing marriage, stars Nathan James Sharp, an Orthodox boy, and the grandson of JTO author, Nathan Lee Lewis. Pray for Nathan, his parents, and all Orthodox Christians who work in the film industry.

Seen and Unseen

Venice, California. Where Satan runs to and fro seeking whom he may devour. This is the view from the window of a room in which I was staying. It seems Satan and his minions don't have to hide so much here. They are allowed to advertise and parade in the open. Pray for all of we who are in the film industry--that we may resist the devil and confront him if necessary, and that we will be light and salt in this world.

Saint Genesius pray for us...

The Greatest Spiritual Gift

The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; 5 it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; 10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Advice For People Who Lie

“People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I’ve learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one’s reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one’s master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person’s view requires to be faked…The man who lies to the world, is the world’s slave from then on…There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.” 
― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

“I always say the truth is best even when we find it unpleasant. Any rat in a sewer can lie. It's how rats are. It's what makes them rats. But a human doesn't run and hide in dark places, because he's something more. Lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is.” 
― Nancy Farmer, The House of the Scorpion

“There is beauty in truth, even if it's painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don't teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one's character, one's mind, one's heart or one's soul.” 
― José N. Harris

“Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.” 
― Patricia Briggs, Moon Called

“Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see -egoism, arrogance, conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, intolerance, anger, lying, cheating, gossiping and slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.” 
― Al-Ghazali

"Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow...You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
- God, The Bible

What Is That?

Shame on you if you don't support Orthodox Filmmakers...simply...Shame on you.

Top 10 JTO Posts Of All Time

http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-wedding-rings-on-right-hand.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-i-reject-protestantism-guest.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2013/01/has-god-ever-spoken-directly-to-you.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2007/01/crossing-yourself.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2010/09/where-are-all-orthodox-film-investors.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2007/09/are-mormons-christians.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2008/12/so-whats-with-beard-and-long-hair.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2009/03/metropolitan-philip-where-have-all.html
http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2011/03/world-orthodox-patriarch-of.html

No, Bishop John, We Are Not ALL Prophets

The Rt. Rev. Bishop John, Editor In Chief of the Antiochian Orthodox publication, The Word, recently wrote an editorial entitled "Would You Like To Be A Prophet?" He defines "prophet" in this way:

"A prophet is one who speaks for God. Because of the Resurrection, because we are Christians, because in our baptisms we put on Christ, we are already prophets. It is our vocation as Christians to incarnate the Divine Logos, the Word of God. It is our sacred duty to reclaim the space we live in and to reveal God to the world. It is our life to witness to the good news and share it with all of God’s creation. It is our life to speak Truth and witness to God in His world. It is our job to speak to the world, revealing what God teaches, wants, and is. So our first task is to see how to live as prophets in this time and place..."

Bishop John is confusing, or to be fair, at least not clarifying the distinction, between the gift of prophet and the gift of prophesying. They are distinct gifts. Yes, we all should prophesy, but we are not all prophets.

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles. ARE ALL PROPHETS? Are all teachers, are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?"

Also...

"It was He who gave some to be apostles, SOME to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors, some to be teachers..."

A quick search for the Greek definitions of prophet and prophesy would benefit, before writing an editorial such as this. One may find that a better title might be, Would You Like To Prophesy? So, No, Bishop John, We Are Not ALL Prophets, nor should we "like to be". 

A Father's Pride

My third daughter, Allie, is on the right side of the law. She was recently sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff after a grueling testing period. Her testing was both personal and professional. She is married, has one daughter, and is a talented musician with a heart for helping hurting people. Her sweet demeanor and slender frame belie the fact that she is as tough as nails and can physicality subdue someone twice her size. She now joins the ranks of those sworn to serve the public. Her aunt, and my sister, just retired from a long career as a Chaplain in the Federal Prison system, so Allie now takes up the mantle. Thanks to all who serve and put their lives on the line everyday to uphold the Constitution and preserve the rights and safety of the Communities in which they serve. 

Divine Images Documentary

Here is another great opportunity to support an Orthodox filmmaker, Ben Andrus.

Ben is an MFA candidate at Regent University School of Communications and the Arts. He is a writer, director, and photographer and lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with his family. He has directed photography for music videos, short films, documentaries and commercials, and has written and directed several short films.

His documentary, Divine Images, will explore the lives, materials and techniques of some of the most extraordinary iconographers, as they carry on a ancient tradition in the New World.

Like many other Orthodox filmmakers, Ben is a missionary to the world through the medium of film. You can help Ben raise his modest budget of $10,000 by clicking on the link below. Donations start at $10.

                                       CLICK HERE

Orthodox Boy In His First Motion Picture

Here is an opportunity to support Orthodox Filmmakers and Actors. This young man is from a faithful Orthodox family in the Southern United States. Full disclosure--He is Nathan James Sharp and my grandson! The project is a short film, produced and written by one of my former acting students, Sean Harrison Jones, who came to me at the age of nine. Now working in Hollywood, Sean searched high and low for the right boy to play Lawrence, and chose Nathan. In the film, the idealistic and innocent Lawrence hatches a scheme to reenact the day his parents met as children. His hope is that in doing so, he might save their failing marriage. It is a moving and heartwarming story, that encourages all to look at their own relational issues and how our choices effect those around us.

Through the wonderful internet tool called Indiegogo, which assists Independent Films such as Gumball, you may now easily donate to the project. The budget is a small $12,000. You may give as little or as much as you like and choose what "perk" you want in return. After watching Nathan's video appeal below, go the Indiegogo Link and you can read and see more about it.

God bless you for your support of this Orthodox brother!

Where Hollywood Hits The Kingdom Of God

This is why Christians SHOULD work in the film industry:

Pray For America

...and for patriotic American citizens who are resisting an ever increasingly tyrannical government bent on suppressing personal and religious liberties.

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

The Secret To My 32-Years Of Faithful Marriage

We keep it real with notes like this:

"I don't care about riches, or fame, or success or a name. You deserve so much and I want to give it to you. You are what drives me. You are God's treasure for my life and I have already found what I want....but lots and lots of money would be very nice."

We keep a sense of humor:

Once I was waxing way too spiritual and serious. I profoundly exclaimed, "God is moving", to which my wife quickly responded, "Make sure you get his address."

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! Let your laughter fill the air! Remember, God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, those who are the called according to his purpose.

The Name Above Every Name

"Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow: of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 9-11

Recently, I was in Huntington Beach, California, or "Surf City USA". The Main Street is lined with restaurants and shops that stretch all the way to the ocean and out onto the pier.  On any given sunny day, there are throngs of people moving and milling about in various beach or tourist attire.

It was the last day of my one-month stay in the L.A. area, so I decided to see the beach and smell the salt air one final time. As I rounded a corner in my car, heading for a parking deck, I noticed a woman sitting on a corner bench. She was talking to herself, and making odd movements that seemed to have no reasonable purpose. I had seen this before-every city has it-the mentally unstable person whose mind is wracked with years of deprivation, drug abuse, or demonic infiltration, outcasts of society, not deemed sick enough or rich enough to be hospitalized, yet unable to function in a socially normative way.

After parking, I entered the busy throng by the same corner on which the woman was sitting. Now, my appearance does not always lend itself to obscurity in public. I am accustomed to people looking at me, children pointing-calling me "Santa", quips about my beard,"how long did it take you to grow that", or wondering if I am, indeed, part of ZZ Top. So, when the wild-woman zeroed in on me with outstretch arm, pointing and yelling, I simply walked by and made no eye contact. But, something was different, here. Suddenly, the woman was at my side, shoulders touching-still talking nonsense, walking step-for-step with me. Before I knew it, she had interlaced her arm in mine, as if we were a couple. I then commanded, "No, no. Do not touch. You may walk and talk but, but do not touch". She repeated the sentence back to me, then defiantly yanked on my beard. At this point, I physically removed her arm from mine, repeating my command. In my mind's eye, the action slowed, and I saw it. I had seen this before. So had Christ, so had the Apostles, so have many of the faithful, the righteous, who would walk in the Spirit. Amid the woman's rapid-fire ranting, I leaned over to her ear and said quietly, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be still". Immediately her ranting stopped, and her grip released. She sighed, and said, "Oh". Knowing that, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting, and that we war not against flesh and blood, I was not deceived into thinking this woman could be instantly delivered in a brief encounter.  Being aware, also, of the propensity of a demoniac to inflict physical harm when rebuffed, I took advantage of that moment of "stillness", and ducked into a restaurant. Again, in my mind's eye, the action slowed. It was surreal. The room I had stepped into, was small, still, and empty-only four tables and a counter-no customers-no employees. In a flash, the woman was at the door. Seemingly, out of nowhere, a large young man appeared from inside, darted past me, and stood off the woman, commanding and driving her back out to the sidewalk. He continued commanding and even pushing as the woman defied him. In the confrontation, the woman's pants slipped down, exposing her nakedness. Then she slipped further down the street. I didn't see the large young man return inside my place of haven, so I went to the doorway and looked curiously outside. He was nowhere to be seen, but the woman had moved down the walk continuing her antics. I made a b-line in the opposite direction.

There is a name above every other name-the name of Jesus-King of Kings, Lord of Lords- the name to which all must bow, now, or in the age to come. All will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. This is true even for the other woman, during my California trip, who stuck her finger in my face and said, "You are the devil". But, that's another story for another time.

Prayer Of Saint Ephraim The Syrian

Oh Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, curiosity, love of power and idle talk. But grant to me Your servant the spirit of prudence, humility, patience and love. Yes, Lord and King, grant that I might see my own faults, and to not judge my brother, for You are blessed to ages of ages, Amen.

Brass And Cymbals

It was a wonderful experience to worship at an orthodox Church in Los Angeles last Sunday. The church had actors, writers, producers, directors as members.To know that, somewhere in Orthodoxy, those in the film industry are not disdained for their jobs, but encouraged toward righteousness in their journey to orthodoxy, is a balm. Especially so, in light of my few, but vocal, critics, including at least one priest.

God has called us to go into the all the world and preach the gospel. The larger the visual platform, the greater the audience we have, and the greater the responsibility.  Our lives are constantly on display. Such is the medium of the film industry. We are not all called to monasticism.  I might lean that way, if I were not confident that my wife, of 32 years, would track me down and pull me back home by the neck of my cassock.   

Critics of Orthodox filmmakers are as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, for they have not love or understanding. They must rely on obscure examples like Saint John of Kronstadt's rejection of the Russian Theatre of the late 1800's early 1920's. All of us would reject the Russian theatre of that era. It was the equivalent of the American burlesque show or some version of today's erotic/pornographic films. I have never met a faithful Orthodox filmmaker, who participates in such. 

However, is a painter relegated to depictions of only flowers and lambs, or are they free to show the human plight as well? What of authors? May they write only children's books? And what about actors? May they play only Christian characters, priests or saints? The depiction of an unseemly character is not necessarily the endorsement of their conduct. Who would play Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdelene, or a Roman Soldier, for that matter, if that were the case?

These critics of the filmmaker just simply do not understand what a filmmaker is or what one does,  and I won't waste time explaining. If they really want to understand, they may read the book, Addicted To Mediocrity by Orthodox Christian, Frankie Schaeffer.  But, alas, such critics are Brass and Cymbals! Just noise to the faithful orthodox  filmmaker who must be about his Father's business.

Situational Truth

..."Unfortunately regardless, in our time, it is impossible to convince others that they – may be – mistaken in something. There, in such matters, each and everyone thinks he did the right thing in the situation that had developed. But just maybe it is true, in general? Everyone has one’s own truth". Bishop Agafangel

So, in this, can we learn to not be so accusatory, arrogant, judgmental and Pharisaical? Lord have mercy.

Forgiveness Sunday

"On Forgiveness Sunday many attend Forgiveness Vespers on the eve of Great Lent. They hear on the Lord's teaching about fasting and forgiveness and enter the season of the fast forgiving one another so that God will forgive them. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses (Matthew 6:14).

After the dismissal at Vespers, the priest stands beside the analogion, or before the ambon, and the faithful come up one by one and venerate the icon, after which each makes a prostration before the priest, saying, "Forgive me, a sinner." The priest also makes a prostration before each, saying, "God forgives. Forgive me." The person responds, "God forgives," and receives a blessing from the priest. Meanwhile the choir sings quietly the irmoi of the Paschal Canon, or else the Paschal Stichera. After receiving the priest's blessing, the faithful also ask forgiveness of each other."  (Orthodox WIKI)

Forgive me a sinner.

Where Liberty Really Is

Now  the Lord is that Spirit: 

and where the Spirit of the Lord is, 

there is liberty.

 2 Corinthians 3:17

When any particular person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away; the blindness of the mind, and the hardness of the heart, are cured. 2. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is much more happy. For, (1.) They have liberty: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, and where he worketh, as he does under the gospel-dispensation, there is liberty (v. 17), freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and from the servitude of corruption; liberty of access to God, and freedom of speech in prayer. The heart is set at liberty, and enlarged, to run the ways of God’s commandments. (2.) They have light; for with open face webehold the glory of the Lord, v. 18. The Israelites saw the glory of God in a cloud, which was dark and dreadful; but Christians see the glory of the Lord as in a glass, more clearly and comfortably. It was the peculiar privilege of Moses for God to converse with him face to face, in a friendly manner; but now all true Christians see him more clearly with open face. He showeth them his glory. (3.) This light and liberty are transforming; we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory (v. 18), from one degree of glorious grace unto another, till grace here be consummated in glory for ever. How much therefore should Christians prize and improve these privileges! We should not rest contented without an experimental knowledge of the transforming power of the gospel, by the operation of the Spirit, bringing us into a conformity to the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (from Matthew Henry Commentary)