Talk 06: Can Ignorance be an Excuse at the Last Judgement?

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Re-edited: 27 January 2012
We live in a time when information is readily available through television, the radio, various publications, and the Internet. The world boasts about acquiring knowledge with expressions such as: ‘knowledge is power’, ‘excel with knowledge’, and ‘knowledge equals success’. Amid this information overload, there would seem to be no excuse for ignorance of any type. Yet many people are ignorant of spiritual topics such as Christ’s Person, His commandments, the Holy Bible, angels and saints, what happens after death, the devil’s warfare, miracles and prophesies, dreams and visions, mediums and sorcery, sin, and even the soul’s salvation as our goal in life.
In this talk, Father Kosmas outlines the reason for spiritual ignorance and the solution. He explains that even though many of the clergy are partly responsible for failing to educate their flocks, Orthodox Christians are responsible for seeking out the truth. The availability of the Holy Bible, the lives of the saints, the writings of the Holy Fathers and the divine services leaves us with no excuse.
The following questions are also discussed: can the dead appear and communicate with the living? What does the Church say about horoscopes? Are there Orthodox who believe the heresy regarding the devil’s salvation? How can God be both Love and Judge? Are fantasy and schizophrenia related? What is the danger of separating one’s spiritual life from one’s daily life?
Other points covered in this talk include: an explanation of mind-reading; psychics and fortune tellers; the danger of witnessing an exorcism; an explanation of the term ‘lunatic’; mediums; science fiction; an account of a man whose house was haunted; the danger of looking for miracles and prophesies; and the centuries-old error of pronouncing various individuals the antichrist.