Creation as Sacred Gift

“When the holy elders say that everything was created for human beings, it does not mean that they are given a license to mindlessly subjugate and abuse the natural environment. The environment must be seen as sacred gift,, an arena that could help human beings toward the knowledge of God and their deification, their theosis. When that happens a human being begins to function in accordance to his true nature. He communes with himself, with God, with other human beings, and the whole world.

How does that state manifest itself in a person’s life, Fr. Maximus? Frosoula asked.

The moment love enters the heart, all fears evaporate. That’s the key sign that grace has visited your heart. This is why the saints were so fearless. They loved everybody and everything. They reached that state through continuous prayer. A saint is home with the entire universe. In fact the most awe-inspiring realization is to witness creation being tamed in the presence of saints. Many saints lived peacefully among wild animals without being harmed by them. Saint Gerasimos in Palestine had a lion as a pet. Saint Seraphim of Sarov enjoyed the company of a wild Russian bear and Elder paisios befriended snakes. Phenomena of this sort were and still are common on mount Athos and in the lives of the desert fathers of early christianity. As Abba Isaac the Syrian says, nature has within itself the sense of Adam prior to the fall. Just like Adam, who lived peacefully among wild animals without being harmed by them, human beings who are restored to their primordial, paradisiacal state relate to nature in an identical way.”- Fr Maximos in Gifts of the Desert by Kyriacos Markides.

Darwinism and a Starbucks Coffee Cup

I was surprised that Starbucks printed the following quotation on their coffee cup.

“Darwinism’s impact on traditional social values has not been as benign as its advocates would like us to believe. Despite the efforts of its modern defenders to distance themselves from its baleful social consequences, Darwinism’s connection with eugenics, abortion and racism is a matter of historical record. And the record is not pretty.”-Dr. Jonathan Wells, Biologist and author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design