Thursday, August 8, 2019

Metropolitan Jonah on confession



13 comments:

  1. this is why we loose to the protestants,,,,, delivery, clarity, organization, specific references are what is needed to energie the flock --- i would have thought that a metropolitan would have been more eloquent and scholarly ,,,, after being adjunct faculty at rensselaer at hartford for 35 years,,,i i lectured like this, i would have been dismissed

    when i speak about the eastern churches, if i was so scatterted, my audiences would have eaten me alive

    after 5 minutes i had to turn this embarrassment off Gad save us all

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    1. 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

      2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

      3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

      4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

      5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

      St. Paul to the Corinthians

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  2. r j klancko,

    This is a recording of Met. Jonah giving a relatively informal talk to a small group of people that often turns into a discussion with the group, which is a style he commonly uses. It is self-evident that he is not giving an academic style lecture. His presentations are, in fact, incredibly rich & edifying, if you engage in them.

    Your post is akin to criticizing someone for throwing together a delicious & nutritious but informal meal shared over conversation that got posted on Youtube, and you watch a couple minutes of it & lambast the host for not presenting a formal 5-star culinary masterpiece.

    Your criticism is inappropriate because it is contextually irrelevant.

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  3. If we choose to publicize a talk, informal or formal, it needs to be professional, not rambling and I'll prepared. We do our church and ourselves a disservice by allowing mediocratity ,,,,,,we are loosing our youth,,,,a discredited hierarch should not be promoted,,,,and if a hierarch is/was of national status should their presentation ,,, formal or informal be eloquent and precise? It is just that we need to realize that this is just more fodder for the evangelicals to attract our most intelligent youth. Our standards should not be set so low. As one elderly Russian princess once said to me ,,,"presentation, presentation, it is all about presentation". I was embarrassed by this video.

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    1. Ever read the Fathers?

      St Maximos the Confessor would be "the worst" by your standards. The Fathers typically do not present in direct bullet-point style. They often, if not generally, "take the long way around the barn" because some things shouldn't be crammed into soundbites or talking-points.

      We'll have to agree to disagree on this matter because we are not starting from a shared premise, namely that a tight presentation is what it's all about. You stated that you are a retired professor. I am educated as well (Ivy League degree & practicing physician), and I disagree with you. You can't cite your credentials to turn a subjective opinion into a credible argument. Facts & logic (logos) are the core of an argument. Ethos, per Aristotle, is icing on the cake, but it doesn't comprise the substance of the cake.

      As far as your assertion that Met. Jonah is a "discredited" hierarch you clearly have not done your homework. Please give some consideration to the concepts of "innocent until proven guilty" and "burden of proof".

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    2. When I was approaching the Church I was meeting regularly with the priest. One night I asked him, "What is the Holy Spirit"? We sat and talked for over an hour. I did not feel I had yet gotten an answer but the priest sat back and said, "I think we've accomplished a lot." I was about to protest when I suddenly realized he was right.

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    3. Oh, and that conversation was a real turning point in my decision to enter the Church.

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  6. Where there is charity there is God. Where there is arrogance guess who is present?

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  7. Thank you, Father! God be merciful to all of us!

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  8. Gentle reminder: all people deserve our charity and not just the bishops of our own jurisdiction

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