church fathers

Aging

Humorous Yet Serious Reflections on Facing Aging, Retirement, and Death

09/12/2026 Bruce Strom 0

Epictetus advises us: “When the doctor pays you a visit, don’t be afraid of what he might say, and don’t be overjoyed if he says, ‘You are doing splendidly!’” Keep in mind that ancient doctors were not nearly as effective as doctors are today, who study and are supervised for over a decade before practicing medicine.
Epictetus continues: “Don’t be depressed if your doctor says, ‘You are doing badly.’” What does that mean? “It means that you are close to the separation of the soul from the body. What is there to fear in that? If you are not close now, you are going to be close later, aren’t you? Is the world going to come to an end when you die?”
His students asked him: “What if friends of mine in Rome die?” Epictetus answered, “Well, that is just the death of some mortal beings. Do you really expect to reach old age without seeing the death of any of those you love along the way?” […]

Psalm 1 Law as Gospel
Biblical Interpretation

Psalm 1: The Law as Gospel? Church Fathers, Protestant Reformers, and Jewish Rabbis Comment

09/07/2026 Bruce Strom 0

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin observes that, rather than describing what a “virtuous person does, the First Psalm describes what a virtuous person avoids: association with the wicked.” The assumption is “that bad companions generally assert a stronger influence than do good ones.” This psalm does not describe the righteous who avoid the wicked as good or wise. Rather, they are described as happy.” […]

Biblical Morality of Deceiving Those Who Suffer From Dementia In Order to Help Them
Biblical Interpretation

Biblical Morality of Deceiving Those Who Suffer From Dementia In Order to Help Them

09/06/2026 Bruce Strom 0

Often adult children just do not want to lie to their parents. They want to empower them and involve them in the decisions about their care. They expect their parents suffering from dementia to reason with them, and that is impossible.

On rare occasions, you are compelled to tell a white lie for their own good. The commandment is not worded: Do not lie. Rather, it is worded: Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. In part, this reflects the reality that ancient jurisprudence relied heavily on eyewitness testimony, unlike modern jurisprudence that relies more on forensic evidence. […]

Mental Illness, Demons, and Free Will in the Bible and Ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome
Dementia and Alzheimers Disease

Do We Have Free Will? Mental Illness and Demons in the Bible, Church Fathers, and the Ancient World

09/06/2026 Bruce Strom 1

Did the early Christians believe in free will? Or could demons rob them of their free will; just as dementia and mental illness rob modern patients today? The New Testament does not discuss whether we have free will, it simply accepts that we are subject to forces in the divine realm. Jesus often heals those who have lost their minds, driving out their demons. Also, St Paul in his epistles argues for divine determination, which St Augustine later develops into his doctrine of predestination. […]

St John Climacus on Demons, Blasphemy, and Mental Illness: Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 23 ½
Ladder of Divine Ascent

St John Climacus on Demons, Blasphemy, and Mental Illness: Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 23 ½

09/04/2026 Bruce Strom 1

We reflected on a puzzling section of St John Climacus’ step on his Ladder of Divine Ascent on first vainglory, then mad pride. He ponders how highly arrogant pride can lead to a type of madness that can lead to strange behavior. He wondered: Was this caused by demons? He recounts a puzzling situation where a monk starts cursing loudly in the middle of the Divine Liturgy.
However, our saint is reluctant to make a full-throated attack, as he likely sensed that his formerly devout monk was not in his right mind. When modern readers study this, they may wonder: Could this monk be suffering from Tourette’s syndrome, which involves involuntary cursing? Could this be symptomatic of dementia, or another mental illness or condition? These are the questions we will ponder in today’s reflection. […]

St John Climacus on Mad Pride and Vainglory : Ladder of Divine Ascent, Steps 22-23
Ladder of Divine Ascent

St John Climacus on Mad Pride and Vainglory: Ladder of Divine Ascent, Steps 22-23

08/12/2026 Bruce Strom 1

What is the difference between vainglory and pride? Today, vainglory is an archaic word that has not been replaced in common usage, so we usually consider them to be synonymous. Although St John Climacus concedes they are similar, except vainglory progresses to mad pride. He examines vainglory in Step 22, and mad pride in Step 23.
Let us compare the definitions:
Step 22.1. “Some like to distinguish vainglory from pride, and to give it a special place and chapter.” “The only difference between them” is like the difference “between a child and a man, between wheat and bread: for the one is the beginning and the other the end.”
Step 22.2. “With regard to its form, vainglory is a change of nature, a perversion of character, a note of blame. With regard to its quality, it is a dissipation of labors, a waste of sweat, a betrayal of treasure, a child of unbelief, the precursor of pride, shipwreck in harbor, an ant on the threshing floor which, though small, has designs upon all one’s labor and fruit. The ant waits for the gathering of the wheat, and vainglory for the gathering of the riches of virtue: for the one loves to steal and the other to squander.” […]

FDR’s Inaugural Address and St John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, on Fear & Cowardice, Step 21
Ladder of Divine Ascent

FDR’s First Inaugural Address and St John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, on Fear & Cowardice, Step 21

08/06/2026 Bruce Strom 2

The chapter on fear is both one of the shortest and one of the most puzzling chapters of St John Climacus’ Ladder of Divine Ascent. In part, that is because there are many flavors of fears that spring from our most basal fears: the fear of the dark, the distressing, the dangerous.
More common are those fears that cause us to hesitate. Perhaps we fear what others think of us when we champion the good others do not see. Perhaps we fear rejection and failure. Perhaps we fear that past failures will rob us of future success. Perhaps we fear to do good when we are not encouraged. […]

St John Climacus on Insensibility, Sleep, Prayer, and Vigil: Ladder of Divine Ascent, Steps 18-20
Ladder of Divine Ascent

St John Climacus on Insensibility, Sleep, Prayer, and Vigil: Ladder of Divine Ascent, Steps 18-20

07/10/2026 Bruce Strom 1

Father John Mack teaches us: “The labor of prayer is a labor with the thoughts. Our minds are far too lazy and undisciplined. Instead of directing our thoughts and controlling them, we allow them to run free, here and there, wherever they wish to go. So, during prayer, we find ourselves thinking about all kinds of other things.”
We are called to prayer during Divine Liturgy. Do we complain that the service is over an hour? Do we watch our watch rather than our soul? Are we attentive in prayer, are we attentive during Divine Liturgy, paying attention to our prayers, not letting our mind wander, trying not to let our mind wander? We are bidden by Jesus in his Agony of the Garden of Gethsemane to stay awake and pray. […]

St Moses the Black, Desert Church Father, Former Ancient Gang Leader
Early Church Writing

St Moses the Black, Desert Church Father, Former Ancient Gang Leader

05/31/2026 Bruce Strom 0

The old man said: ‘If we are on the watch to see our own faults, we shall not see those of our neighbor. It is folly for a man who has a dead person in his house to leave him there and go to weep over his neighbor’s dead. To die to one’s neighbor is this: To bear you won faults and not to pay attention to anyone else wondering whether they are good or bad.
Do no harm to anyone, do not think anything bad in your heart to anyone, do not scorn the man who does evil, do not put confidence in him who does wrong to his neighbor, do not rejoice with him who injures his neighbor.” […]

The Hymn Inspired by John I AM the Bread of Life
Hymns and Their Inspirations

The Hymn inspired by John, I Am the Bread of Life, with Commentary by Church Fathers and Reformed Preachers

05/27/2026 Bruce Strom 0

John Chrysostom teaches us: “Jesus calls this the true bread, not because the miracle of the manna was false, but because it was a type and not the very truth itself.” “After Jesus says, ‘Moses did not give,’ he does not say, ‘I give,’ but says that the Father, and not Moses, gives.”
“When they heard this, the people replied: ‘Give us this bread to eat.’ They still thought it was something material, and they yet expected to satisfy their appetites, and so they quickly ran to him. What does Christ do? Leading them on little by little, he says, ‘The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’” […]