/christian/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

I'm what you'd call a shitty Catholic (r). Haven't been through confirmation, didn't know a cathecism existed until sometime last year.

But, upon rediscovering faith, I've been applying real perception to the Bible and weekly sermons. This is where I became confused after encountering the concept.

Theosis sounds like my understanding of true Grace. Constant communion with the Holy Spirit, autoprayer, faith to move mountains, etc.

Is there more? Doesn't everybody strive for this kind of connection? Is this every orthodox, or just monks?

>>654165

>call them Vaticans

I think the term you are looking for is papist, amigo. Don't fix what ain't broke.

>>654057

Through spiritual osmosis you *begome* God

>it's heresy

>>654209

>>654214

Pretty sure it's ancient church fathers tier. Should I start quoting or nah?

>>654271

It is only negative to the wood chip but not the fire.

Some people are so detached from God that flowing them with Grace would feel like torture to them.

Imagine a satanic pedo kike actually being filled with God's beauty and not pedophilic perversion. It would be torture to them.

I had a protestant friend tell me he was worried if european football was allowed in heaven. Some people are just so wordly they are not able to do anything with the fire that is the Holy Spirit and they crack.

>>654057

>>654581

curb your autism, darling

>>654581

You need a picture to start a thread. Some people prefer cute girls. And motorbikes.

I found a Vatican II catechism at SVDP today. Will return with results, if you guys are interested.

>>654769

Before even getting past the declaration of faith, the cathecism explains a similar concept.

(From memory)

In the beginning, Man was created with the purpose of being stewards to Creation. As the only creature uniquely positioned in friendship with The Father, we borrowed from the divine nature to perform our duties. The Spirit flowed through Adam and Eve, and it was good.

All sin is likened to the first, in that sin is disobedience of God's command. Even today, disobedience disrupts communion, and Grace is lost. Original sin is literally loss of the initial dose of Grace.

(Independent thought)

Based on this, and the description given of Theosis, it sounds as though when properly executed Theosis is a reinstatement of original Grace.

It's described as though it is beyond apostlistic levels because it is the perfection of our Grace. It is the point at which you have surrendered yourself enough to discard sin entirely, and can freely access divinity as we were originally meant to. Hence the description " caught fire" with The Spirit. This is not dangerous or unholy because by discarding the will to disobey allows perfect fulfillment of God's will.

Sounds like exactly the goal we all should aspire to. I think this is my new area of study.

Corrections? Comments? Anybody else want to focus on this specifically, and trade ideas from time to time?

For me it seems to be a Holy and righteous/right hand path version of the Law of Attraction. Where you don't so much manifest what you want, but by living in communion with God's grace and "listening" when the Holy Spirit speaks you will become the best version of yourself.

I wish there was more about how to actually live in Theosis. All the books I find just support the idea of it and explain what it is but not how to go about it, save for attending Liturgy partaking in Communion and utilizing the Jesus Prayer.

>>662131

>Is it like union with the absolute of eastern religions?

no, this is absolute garbage

>Is it becoming God

no not Big-G at least, small-g one is applied to us already in psalm 82:6

>merely being adopted sons

this is part of it, but not all of it

>Clean your mind from things you can't know, because it is not helpful nor necessary to be a good christian.

Church knows very well about the subject and it was part of apostolic Christianity since time immemorial. And yes, it is helpful to be a good Christian. We got pr*testantism and their meme """"theologies"""" after this concept was forgotten there

Returning to this thread, I see that there's only a passing mention of "The Jesus Prayer." However, the name has stuck in my mind like we had a full conversation.

With my new job, I've bought a book of Bishop Kallistos Ware's writings on the subject. Has anyone read it before? Are there any Orthodox concepts I should review to understand his ideas fully?

I've personally been reading through St Augustine's "Confessions." The book provides a nice account of struggle with sin from someone who won. He approaches a variety of topics, but as of the last two books, it appears his thesis will be "Not loving things as things. Instead loving things as you love God." Or to rephrase, loving God in the course of loving things.

In example, I enjoy riding my motorbike. However, to simply love bikes for the sake of bikes puts bikes above God.

But, loving the headspace riding the bike puts me in; loving the view of God's creation my visor affords me; loving God's children, as I wander and meet more and more. That is to love God BY riding a motorbike.

Or something like that. It's a radical line of thought, coming from the most secular part of the US, but I feel like each day with it brings me a little closer to God.

And if it wasn't obvious already, I'm looking into adapting hands-free methods of meditation/contemplation. I just got a job as a city postman, and it lets me spend all day working on this. Any other recommendations? I'm thinking of reading St Ignatius's "Meditations" also.

From Seraphim's Acquisition of the Holy Spirit;

>…"you had a great desire to know the aim of our Christian life, and that you have asked many great spiritual persons about it."

…

>"But no one," continued St. Seraphim, "has given you a precise answer. They have said to you: 'Go to church, pray to God, do the commandments of God, do good - that is the aim of the Christian life." Some were even indignant with you for being occupied with such profane curiosity and said to you 'Do not seek things which are beyond you.' But they did not speak as they should. Now humble Seraphim will explain to you of what this aim really consists.

"However prayer, fasting, vigil and all the other Christian practices may be, they do not constitute the aim of our Christian life. Although it is true that they serve as indispensable means of reaching this end, the true aim of our Christian life consists of the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God.

…"

It happened last night, Anons. I was up for no reason, tossing and turning in the bed. I have a habit of praying to unwind, and decided to try something different this time.

Understanding, instead of thinking, I offered one of my usual petitions (bring my agnostic girlfriend back into the fold). Except this time, I thought about the apostle's question. "How SHOULD we pray."

I know for a fact The Lord's Prayer is raw power. It has saved me many times from destruction, allowing my soul to cry out when my mind cannot find the words. But this time I combined everything I had learnt about prayer.

From the Rosary, deep in my childhood, I found the quiet space for contemplation. From The Jesus Prayer (the book came) I brought both renewed meaning, AND a commitment to have my heart gaze at the Lord. To bring to bear my love for God with every word.

And finally, the nature of the Our Father dawned on me. I said a prayer in seven parts, addressing seven pleas, with each one running parallel to the meaning behind each verse of the Lord's Prayer.

It worked in so many ways. I felt The Spirit alight on my head, and spread throughout my body. I heard the whisper of God's presence.

My tinnitus frickin changed pitch.

Since then, I've felt a kind of euphoria I can only attribute to actually humbling myself before The Lord properly. There's a lower key warmth that hasn't left since the initial shock, and it is honestly better than drugs.

I feel as though this small gift is literally the mustard seed. Or a handful of talents. It's precious, and I don't want to lose it.

But I know this is only another beginning. So I wanted to share it with you, and encourage anyone else looking.

Don't give up, because when God comes to you, you'll know.

>>691791

Naw, man. Better than sex, and this is just the trial version.

(I know this is a joke, but if it was true---and the best promise your cult can come up with is sex? Really, man?)

>>654057

Don't post anime fapbait here.

>>691818

Yeah. No.

Already through this. People like things. Sometimes these things are different from your things.

And I'm pretty winnie the pooh crude. Some people renounce sin instead of starting perfect.

This picture is wholly unoffensive to me.

(Sage)