TOMORROW WE ARE MARCHING IN THE GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE. PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR STARTING POINT EAST 63TH STREET BETWEEN MADISON & 5TH AVENUE. I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.
IF YOU HAVE NOT AS OF YET SENT IN YOUR 2017 STEWARDSHIP PLEASE DO THAT TODAY!
THE 2016 TAX LETTER WENT OUT TODAY SO YOU WILL RECEIVE IT SHORTLY, ALONG WITH OUR GREAT LENT AND EASTER SCHEDULE.
I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS TO REACH OUT TO OUR PARISHIONERS IN HOPES OF RAISING AN OFFERING FOR THE REBUILDING OF ST. NICHOLAS. PLEASE BE AS GENEROUS AS YOU CAN IN YOUR OFFERING FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT REBUILDING EFFORT OF OUR GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE AND OUR FAITH. WE HAVE COLLECTED SO FAR $10,000, AND I THANK ALL OF YOU WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT.
Who’s Watching Our Children 2!
In last week’s message I spoke about what is going on in the United States and our children. This message is a continuation, but I feel it will shock you to learn what our children are thinking about, and how they see the world around them.
The world today has become very diverse, with not one principle or guiding force at its helm. What was once a religiously Judeo/Christian country has now been supplanted by a multitude of religions and beliefs. This is all very confusing to our youth, but not as destructive as those who have taken God out of their life.
Moreover, what the absence of Judeo/Christian fundamental statutes has fostered today is a lack of morality. It is only with God that morals become part of the fabric of our societal norms. Without it morals are replaced with relativism, which then leads to opinion. As a result, what we are left with is a world of opinions and no guidelines for life as the God given Ten Commandments.
What was once understood in our society as taboos under Judeo/Christian morality has now become accepted to many of our youth. For example the HBO series called “Game of Thrones” has opened the door to inter-family relationship. Many of our youth watch this show and it helps to desensitize them to the taboos in our society. There have been many articles written about this subject and the way we become desensitized to something that was previously forbidden
Furthermore, in an interview with both girls and boys in there 20’s, the answer they gave was a result of the minimization of morals and religious Judeo/Christian beliefs. The interviewer asked if a brother and sister had sexual relations would that be okay with them? The answer was “Yes as along as they did not want to have children. Who am I to judge them?” The next group was asked if a mother and son, or a mother and daughter had sexual relations would that be okay with you. Again the answer was “Yes, who am I to judge them as long as they don’t want children. The same went for father and daughter, father and son.
As a result of the deterioration of Western Societal Values and with its replacement of an opinion centered society we have entered into a new arena of what is called Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA). GSA goes against what every western country has previously called taboo. Mr. Keith Pullman in an article entitled: “Gay Marriage and Incest in the US, tries to link same-sex marriage with incestuous marriage by saying that both take place “between consenting adults,” they “don’t hurt anybody,” they are both “subject to discrimination,” and that there is “no rational reason” for their prohibition.”
This is the view of many people today that all is permissible “between consenting adults,” they “don’t hurt anybody . . .” Shockingly, this is the consensus of many of our youth today, which will change their perception of morality in our society. Accordingly, Mr. Pullman’s blog that states very boldly in the header that he is in favor of, “Full Marriage Equality Advocating for the right of consenting adults to share and enjoy love, sex, residence, and marriage without limits on the gender, number, or relation of participants. Full marriage equality is a basic human right.”
Finally, what a very scary statement against our Judeo/Christian beliefs, and it is what all of us are in store for in the future. Morality that has it roots in our Judeo/Christian beliefs has evolved into relativism, and this spawned personal opinion over a belief in a God that they believe cannot be proven. I am sorry to say that this is not the end or the last of this story. Very soon I am afraid more people will agree with Mr. Keith Pullman’s statement and ideology, as I saw the many girls and boys state in the above interview. God help us!