Be the Bee #76 | Is Orthodoxy Anti Intellectual? (featuring Sister Vassa Larin)

This week we're responding to another viewer question with help from our good friend Sister Vassa (check out the link to her channel below). Does a love of theology and academic study somehow contradict the mysticism of the Faith? We approach God as complete human persons, and that includes our minds. Reading and studying theology can be a great thing, but it should also be a part of our larger life in Christ. God is more than an idea we think about: He's a person we encounter.
Please visit our good friend Sister Vassa's channel:
/ @vassalarin
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Music:
"Days Are Long," by Silent Partner, KZbin Digital Library
"Magic Marker," by Silent Partner, KZbin Digital Library
End Theme:
"Noahs Stark," by krackatoa
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Videos Credits:
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Photo Credits:
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St Nicholas Planas
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St Basil the Great
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Thanks for watching! God bless you!

[@daviddinsmore6428]

Hello Steve and Sister Vassa, Thank you for all you do. This was a very valuable episode! Always know that your work is greatly needed and appreciated.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

David Dinsmore Thank you so much! Please keep us in your prayers, and let us know if there are any questions or topics you think we should address.

[@VassaLarin]

David Dinsmore Thank you, David! It's so good to hear from you, and your support is much appreciated. SV

[@davidschutt7491]

This is David, the one who asked the question at first. Sister Vassa & Steve, thanks for making this video. I really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work you two!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Dave Schutt Thanks for the question, it was great and thought-provoking! May God always bless you!

[@goshetodimov3689]

May God Bless You Steve, Sister Vassa, And Both Your Families, Amen☦️❤️✝️

[@AnnaSofiaPoloz]

By far, one of my favorite episodes! :-)

[@Spaniels2]

Really enjoyed this episode. So happy you and Sister Vassa put this together. Two great Orthodox souls. :) Thanks Steve and Sister Vassa. Joyous Feast Day Steve!

[@y2am]

+Spaniels2 Thank you!

[@Spaniels2]

+Y2AM You're welcome!

[@znovosad555]

I may not have been able to go to church tonight for Easter but I'm watching all of these orthodox videos. Thanks Steve! I'll be celebrating Christ's resurrection still and will be praying! God bless!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Christ is Risen! May God bless you and help get you to Liturgy next year!

[@znovosad555]

Steven Christoforou indeed he is risen! Христос воскресе! Thank you! God bless! Hopefully next year!

[@patriciaodrudy70]

Loved this week.... Fun and educational, thanks!

[@y2am]

Patricia O'Drudy Thanks for watching!

[@davidschutt7491]

This is awesome! :D

[@vickykentrota9031]

Than you so much for the enlightening videos.Our love to Sister Vassa too.Greetings from Greece.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Thanks for watching. Christ is Risen!

[@hahr2751]

Orthodox theology is very intellectual and it needs a lot of work for western peoole to understand the orthodox church. And it is even more difficult because Orthodoxy wants to reach our heards too. For me as an protestant I can say that I love the orthodox church very much. And I like sister Vasa's explanations and her interviews. God bless you!

[@johnrep9690]

You two looked like you had so much fun shooting this!

[@josephmillraney361]

Steve, watched your interview with Sister Vassa. Wonderful, though you do speak rather fast. Love your channel, and have learned so much despite being Orthodox for the past almost 30 years. Before that, I was Roman Catholic. I am actually with the OCA, but attend a Greek Orthodox Church not that far from my home. Keep up the great work, Steve.

[@goshetodimov3689]

AMEN☦️❤️✝️

[@esawzekarias8698]

I am a othodox Christian and everything said in the video I think is true

[@davidkyrillos318]

I loved this episode, thank you so much for your service :D I just had a quick enquiry. This does explain that christianity doesn't just stem off of thought but that intellect is involved. However what about those that say things like "God's very existence" is just a matter of blind faith and "anti-intellectual" in the sense that it's perceived as blind faith and not off of any intellect ?

[@unicornofthought]

oh man, the music... did not fit the piece and was totally distracting. Unless it's just my headphones, it was way too loud, even if it did have a more appropriate vibe.

[@joshuafritz1386]

I appreciate this. Is it appropriate to mention the "nous"? Perhaps helping westerners to understand noetic theology, the "eye" rather than the "heart" in the western sense?

[@tyxikosgatopoulos3094]

It should be pointed out that in the Old Testament. God tells us that His way of thinking is not our way of thinking therefor our intellect can never match His.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Great point!

[@Castleman711]

This is what I try telling other Orthodox people, and they all freak out on me.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Castleman711 That's unfortunate! Why would anyone do that?

[@TheBowman333]

To Steven Christoforou I am sorry for the way I wrote the comment, but the way it was presented in the video, it seemed as a sales pitch.

[@ElenaMeshcheriakova-de2zi]

Hello, Steve! I’m not sure what is the best way to contact you, so I just decided to leave a comment here. My name is Elena, I’m from Moscow, Russia. I want to thank you for this podcast you make! I think, I’m kinda conservative person, so it was a very unusual way of sermon for me for the first time. But then I got really fascinated by your videos and your way to explain some really tricky theological questions. And, the most important thing, it fells that you are really sincere in everything you talking about! I have a couple of questions for you. First, I’m interested if you use the book “Alphabet of the Faith” by Christos Yannaras? I’ve just finished to read it today and I felt like you use quotes from this book (I mean not literally quotes but notional ones) when you talk about basics of the Faith? I noticed it while watching the episode about the original sin, especially. And second question is about the situation with Orthodoxy in States. In particular, do young people play important role in parish life? I saw your video about summer camps and it looks impressive. Do you experience shortage of young men at all? Thanks again for all this you are doing, Every good thing, Elena.

[@y2am]

Елена Мещерякова Thanks for watching! Our Faith is beautiful and we should try to share it anyway we can, even silly KZbin videos!

[@nickmoser7785]

When is the Orthodox stance on Thomas Aquinas

[@Santurberang]

I'm also worried about what the Church thinks about Modern Boasian Anthropology. I'm an student of Anthropology, and I believe that all cultures and societies are equal have truth and beauty, and we should work to preserve all of our cultural traditions that are good, and transform for the better, doing all in intercultural dialogue and appreciation (in accordance to what St. Justin Martyr said, whatsoever things are rightly said among men, etc.). Is this compatible with Orthodoxy? Also what prayers can you suggest that relate to this very topic? I haven't found any as of now. Thanks!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

To a certain extent, you are right. All things, insofar as they exist, have some connection to God (no matter how tenuous it may be). God is the Existence of existing things, as St Dionysios the Areopagite would say. Similarly, a given culture may embody something of God; it may be a lot, it may be a little. We have to "be the bee," as St Basil taught, and learn to take the good and leave the rest behind. The Church has spread to virtually ever culture across the globe. It has done so, not by uncritically accepting every culture it encounters, but by baptizing every culture it encounters. So the Church will look different in Jerusalem than it does in Athens or Moscow. And just as different Christians may speak different languages, yet in doing so express the same faith in the Lord, different communities may superficially look different yet still be united in worship and truth. For example, styles of iconography and music are different in different Orthodox communities around the world. Does that make sense?

[@vaska1999]

This hasn't really answered the question.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Thanks for the feedback! Could you explain what's still not clear?

[@Santurberang]

My philosophy is Love and Knowledge, and Identifying with All and with None. Is there a similar concept in the Church? I once heard an Orthodox monastic say "all of humanity dwells in me, and when I pray, all of humanity prays"... Is there an Orthodox quote emphasizing the importance of both Knowledge and Love? Thanks Steve!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Forgive me, I'm not 100% sure what you mean. As for the monastic quote you described, that's an expression of the communion we can have in Christ. As St Silouan the Athonite once said, when we grow close to God, the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of prayer and love. Our hearts can become wide enough to fit the entire universe. This is true communion, true union in Christ. Love, of course, is critical in the Church. One of the simplest, and most profound, verses in the entire Scripture is "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). God, as Holy Trinity, is indeed a perfect and loving community of Three Divine Persons united in love. As for knowledge, this is also important in the Church. Yet it is not merely "head knowledge," an awareness of facts and figures. Instead, God invites us to know Him, and we should open our lives so He can know us. Not in an abstract sense, but in the deepest sense of communion and connection. Yet we need to remember that these values of love and knowledge are, ultimately, meaningless apart from God. God is the source of all things, and makes our love and communion possible.

[@Santurberang]

I see. When I say "I identify with all", I express the deepest form of love I can ever express, identifying with all of humankind in its sufferings and joys, and pouring forth my love to the entire human race, as Jesus did. And when I say "I identify with none", I mean that I also separate myself from the world, for I am in it but not part of it, as the Traditions say, and I express divine knowledge and discernment for everything I experience here in this world. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks once again for your answer.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Hmm. If I'm understanding you correctly, I'd recommend "The Life of St Silouan the Athonite." It may be helpful. I'd also recommend visiting an Orthodox parish and speaking the priest. It could be a more fruitful conversation, because you have interesting questions that are hard to adequately cover in a comments thread. God bless you!

[@Santurberang]

Thanks! I will. God bless you and your work too.

[@Blaisesongs]

Great videos. Could do without the annoying music in the background.

[@journeylife7491]

He did not answer the question!

[@deedeeneri8202]

Is the Orthodoxy church against freemasonry?

[@deedeeneri8202]

Twenty Faces to say evil doesnt exist is to exhibit the mind of the spiritually dead inside....not knowing the truth.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

The comment was that freemasonry doesn't exist, not that evil doesn't exist. Let's please not insult each other, and let's please carefully read what others write.

[@deedeeneri8202]

Steven Christoforou do understand that inate evil origins do derive from freemasonry. These two are cut from the same cloth. JESUS did say satan was of this world. LET'S NOT FORGET THESE SECRET SOCITIES teach ESOTERIC FALSE DOCTRINES...that have zero to do with Jesus and the truth He preached. The reason I asked about Freemasonry being involved with Orthodoxy is due in part that Freemasonry has infected every church either from within or introduced false doctrines which brought about false religions. They are prominent in the Catholic Church under the guise of Jesuits and Rosicucian Order Knights Malta. I recently came across articles in which the Orthodox church had recently met with the Catholic Pope Francis ( who is a Jesuit). That being said, I questioned The Orthodox church as to its involvement with these cults as well.

[@corywoehlke]

+Steven Christoforou How ridiculous... "Freemasonry doesn't exist." That is an outright lie. Freemasonry is very real. You come down on someone for being slightly aggressive toward a person who passes a very real subject off as just some conspiracy theory. The fact that you give the liar a pass is absurd.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

I didn't say that freemasonry doesn't exist. I tried to clarify a misunderstanding earlier in the thread, where someone did not accurately read anothers comment. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, we should please read each other's words carefully.

[@juliaaxoxo98]

I'm gonna go there with this question: sex before marriage?

[@orthoglobus]

Julia Adams "If we claim that we have no sin, then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." [1 John 1:8]

[@avszefst749]

I don't get it. There isn't even a God...

[@Nikkidafox]

Avsz Efst Why are you here?

[@avszefst749]

I wanted to know the Greek Orthodox stance on Evolution, so I did a KZbin search, and came across this video in the process.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Let's please keep this civil and kind.

[@larrytidwell5955]

We are all so ignorant that we are not even aware of what we are ignorant of. I am not believing that a one celled organism crawled out of a poisonous ocean into a toxic atmosphere and then said, "Hey, I think I will become male and female unless there was an intelligent force causing it to do so. Anthony Flew used to be the great atheist spokesman until a biologist showed him the workings of the interior of a human cell. His response was, "this could not have possibly happened by chance."

[@annettah13]

(2019 hd)

[@TheWordprophet]

To Steve and Vassa, Please hear these words, in the name of Jesus Christ: There is no god that exists in three persons. No such god exists. The Almighty God is ONE, and his name ONE. God was manifest in the flesh. The name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is Jesus Christ. If indeed you are scholars, and have read the scripture (Holy Bible, KJV), then you will have to confess that what I have written here is God's word. And, if you will repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which will cause you to speak with other tongues and prophesy as the scripture declares, THEN you will be Christians, and THEN, God will reveal the scriptures to you. Until then, to you the scriptures are a sealed book. Jesus Christ is not part of a trinity of persons. Jesus Christ has no Orthodox church, and in his church, there are no nuns. This is a message from a man of God, speaking the word of God, to you. You are welcome to contact me if I may be of service to you in the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you choose to continue rather in the antichrist religion you are serving presently, your blood be upon you. You have been sent God's word this day. Amen.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Thanks for your message. With respect, I'll respond with a few questions: 1. What exactly do you mean by specifying the KJV as the Scripture? Is that the only acceptable English translation? Is English the only acceptable language? Also, what about the books not included in the KJV edition (books included in the Septuagint but not the Masoretic canon)? 2. If Jesus Christ is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, how do we interpret the plain words of Scripture? If the Father so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, did Jesus just send Himself? If, at the Ascension, Jesus promised to send the Comforter (i.e. the Holy Spirit), does that mean He has already returned? 3. Also, who exactly is Jesus Christ, in your understanding? 4. Are you a part of a church? If so, can you trace any of these ideas back to Christ and His Apostles?

[@TheWordprophet]

Dear Steve, Here are the answers to your questions: 1. In any given language, according to the testimony of the scripture, it is not possible for any 2 translations of the scripture, that are worded differently, to both be God's word (2 Timothy 3:16). In English, God's word is the KJV Bible. Other English Bibles that are worded differently are not God's word. There are other writings in the world that are prophetic in nature, and many that are not. We must use the scripture to judge all prophecy. There are no books missing from the Holy Bible. 2. You asked, "If Jesus Christ is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, how do we interpret the plain words of Scripture?" But I never said any such thing. What I said was, according to the scripture, Jesus Christ is the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38 I have never said or implied that the Son of God is his own Father, or that they are the same person. 3. Jesus Christ is the living God, who is come in the flesh to save sinners. (1 John 4:2,3) Any spirit that does not confess this fact to men is of that spirit of antichrist, which is already come into the world. This includes trinitarians who believe that Jesus Christ is 1/3 of the Godhead, and imagine that it was a god called "God the Son" (which doesn't exist) who came in the flesh; rather than the Almighty and only true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4. I belong to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. His church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone thereof.

[@sorchyachorga8337]

I am going to reply to yours with respect as well, if God's word is in the KJV only then do we reject the tyndale bible that came before it? why would 2 timothy 3:16 suggest any two translations not be God's word? If there are no books missing in the holy bible then which bible are you referring to; the protestant bible, the catholic bible, orthodox bible, the Ethiopian bible, Tyndale bible? so then is the KJV the only word of God in English if there were there translations before? why is it that before the virgin birth of Christ (in the old testament) is that God is referred to as Father or Lord? (before Christ was born of the flesh) Why is it that Christ refers to God as father if they are not of separate persons? where does it say in scripture of there not being 3 persons in the Godhead? Why did Christ himself say in Matthew 28:19 that one is to be baptized in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as if they are 3 separate persons? where in scripture does it say that believing in God is Christ alone? Why would you claim that trinitarians who believe that Christ is 1/3 of the Godhead are heretical?

[@larrytidwell5955]

Thank you for your comment. I would suggest that you read more than just the book of Acts. All of Paul s letters start with the expression, "From God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ." If you read Revelations 4&5 you will see a picture of the trinity in symbolic apocalyptic language. What I have observed about your oneness doctrine is that after you argue your point you go back to being trinitarian. How? Why do you say have you got the Holy Ghost instead of have you got Jesus in your life? If you read the New Testament you will also see that not all have the gift of tongues and sometimes when the Christians are filled with the spirit the gifts are manifested diversely (I Cor. 12, 13, 14). And besides all of this you were baptized wrong. The Apostle Peter told us in Acts 2:38 to be baptized in the name of Iesu Christou. He never said that the name could be translated into English.

[@johndemirci3984]

this dude looks like an Armenian

[@BecomeAnOrthodoxChristian]

He is Greek.

[@TheBowman333]

Steve are you running a business or a channel for the Church, trying to sell mugs. You should be ashamed of yourself for using the Lords name and the Church to turn a profit

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

TheBowman333 No one is turning a profit. Any sale proceeds go directly to our Youth and Young Adult Ministries Department, and (very slightly) help offset the costs we incur producing videos, traveling for retreats, etc. Please forgive me for scandalizing you, and for causing you to respond as you did.

[@VassaLarin]

TheBowman333 Hello, TheBowman! I'm sorry you took the time to make that comment, and that I took the time to read it. It's ten seconds I'll never get back. Steven Christoforou walked away from a high-paying job as a lawyer on Wall Street, (having received an undergraduate degree at Yale, and then a law degree at Fordham) to go study Orthodox Theology at seminary, and then to take on a full-time, hardly well-paying job to serve OUR youth, in the Department of Youth Ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. The very few mugs or T-shirts he manages to sell go to cover some minor costs of this ministry. Shame on you, "TheBowman333," who hide behind an anonymous internet-name, that you dare disparage this precious servant of the Lord, who, unlike you, shows his face and his name, courageously professing the name of the Lord. May God have mercy on you, as you sit back in your anonymity and make accusations against Steven, who is courageously spreading His Gospel. Having said all that, I hope Steven removes your message and your phoney name from this feed. SV

[@VassaLarin]

Steven Christoforou God bless you, Steven, for such a humble response.

[@scottzahn880]

Steven Christoforou Seriously though, where can we get those mugs? They rock...

[@archies2971]

*****