Fr. Bill's Orthodox Blog – Orthodoxy from the Third Coast – Page 86 – Saints, Seasons, Society, Sins, plus Travels mostly to Greece and who knows what next? by Father Bill Olnhausen

38. The Bodiless Powers of Heaven, Part One

Posted on November 10, 2017November 4, 2022 by Fr. Bill

“Mommy, does Grandma have wings now?” “Yes, dear, when Grandma died she went to heaven and turned into an angel.” Wrong! Statistics say 80% of Americans believe in angels, but I wonder what they believe about them. My wife wisely cautions that when people are grieving is not the time to argue the point with them. […]

37. Lazarus and the Rich Man

Posted on November 3, 2017October 23, 2023 by Fr. Bill

Yes, I know I promised an article on the Bodiless Powers of Heaven this week. But then I saw that this Sunday’s Gospel reading is the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31), and I couldn’t resist. This is one of my favorite parables. Introduction Have you noticed how often our Sunday Gospels […]

36. Protestant Reformation, Part 2 – Where Luther was right, Where he went wrong, and What it all led to

Posted on October 27, 2017October 23, 2023 by Fr. Bill

To my surprise, I am impressed with Martin Luther. He made big mistakes, as don’t we all? and he was headstrong, as aren’t we all sometimes? But I think his intentions were honorable, his heart was good, and much of what went wrong with the Protestant Reformation (which was a whole lot) was not Luther’s fault. […]

35. The Protestant Reformation, Part 1 – How Luther was right and why he went wrong: a case study in what happens when you turn away from the Church’s Tradition

Posted on October 20, 2017October 20, 2023 by Fr. Bill

OK, so it’s going to be very hard to find any icons to include in this article! This year Protestants celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. We Orthodox do not, of course, but may I be allowed to do a little analysis? What caused the Reformation Let’s start 2000 years ago. Saint Paul […]

34. 2007 Trip, Part 2: Patmos – Revelation, Nektarios (on Patmos?!), True Religion

Posted on October 13, 2017October 23, 2023 by Fr. Bill

The Revelation I came home from Patmos with a great tan which must have been a miracle, because my last post implied that I spent all my time there in church – yes? No. Afternoons I found this little beach ‘way away from town – usually had it to myself – and I read. My […]