Category Archives: Practical Christianity

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Первая статья на Religo.ru: о пятидесятничестве и экуменизме


По приглашению Николая Малухи написал первую статью для Religo.ru, и вот наконец она вышла. Думаю, буду писать еще. Спасибо, Николай, за предоставленную возможность. А также спасибо редакторам Religo.ru.

В статье я утверждаю что некоторые пятидесятнические богословские идеи мешают экуменическому движения, а именно 1) поголовное говорение на языках, 2) чисто практическое учение о Духе Святом, и 3) понимание церкви только как духовную реальность. 

Без лишних слов, предоставляю Вам статью. Или можете прочитать оригинальную версию.

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On Christmas giving…


What do you want for Christmas? I heard this question several times in the past weeks from my wife, as well as other family members. I heard this question last year around the same time. And the year before. And before that. And before…

I am sure that sometimes there was something I wanted to receive as a gift and the answer to that question was easy. But not this year. I started thinking about what I want for Christmas, until I came to a shocking realization that I have to think of a gift. Continue reading →

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Social Darwinism, Capitalism, and Progress


Evolution was not Darwin’s original idea; it existed long before him. Neither did he come up with the phrase ‘survival of the fittest.’ Darwin’s achievement was combining these ideas to provide an explanation for a mechanism that drives human evolution. The idea of survival of the fittest, which Darwin applied to biology, was earlier used by economists, who argued for free trade economy. Continue reading →

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Praying for One Another Meaningfully and Responsibly


Praying for one another was pioneered by the apostles (Ja 5:16, 2 Cor 9:14, Col 4:3, 2 Thes 1:11, 2 Thes 3:1) and remained to be an important spiritual exercise among the believers. Needless to say, a vast variety of methods have been developed throughout history and a number of them are still being used today, some are more efficient than others. The main goal, however, is the same: to be such a community where people of faith pray for one another meaningfully and responsibly.

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The Holy Scriptures: Anti-Gnostic Origins and Modern Gnostic Tendencies


The Holy Scriptures

Some Christian communities, such as independent Charismatics or Evangelicals, hold to a simplistic view of the Scriptures, which is that the Bible is inerrant and infallible. However, when it comes to the actual interpretation of the biblical text, the ministers of these communities use quite complicated techniques in their exegesis. Unfortunately, one can notice some gnostic tendencies in those techniques, especially visible in the sermons of the TV preachers.

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Jesus is still weeping: the Christian way of thinking about the earthquake in Haiti


Jesus is Still Weeping

Natural disasters always pose a problem for the people of faith, producing even a faith crisis in some. The ultimate question is: Where is God in all of this?

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St. Nick’s Tears


St. Nick

Merry Christmas to you all, my friends.

Unfortunately, in our culture we had reversed the meaning of the holiday. In the secular sphere, we went from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus, from an example of a humble, Christian servant to a big old man in a red suit who meets our needs. Even more sadly, we had experienced the same conversion in churches: we went astray from the Lord Jesus, the Suffering Servant, the Redeemer, the ultimate demonstration of love; instead we invented a Jesus who is nothing more than a convenient vending machine, always ready to meet our desires.

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N.C. Church Plans Bible Burning


This is sad and horrifying. The Amazing Grace Baptist Church (AGBC) pastor thinks he is doing something great for the kingdom by getting rid of the “heretics,” but, unfortunately, he is unaware of his own heresy. This act will add another peg into the Body of Christ, to divide it even more. The KJV Bible that AGBC holds at high esteem states in Gal. 5:12: “I would they were even cut off which trouble you.” More recent Bible versions give a more specific, and more disturbing (in a good way) translation, but KJV statement fits the situation very well. I wonder if the AGBC pastor has thought of this passage yet? Hmmm…

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Unseen Player


Unseen Player

Imagine a family of mice who lived all their lives in a large piano. To them in their piano-world came the music of the instrument, filling all the dark spaces with sound and harmony. At first the mice were impressed by it. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that there was Someone who made the music—though invisible to them—above, yet close to them. They loved to think of the Great Player whom they could not see.

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