Find the Eye of the Storm

00:00 Intro/Back from China03:56 Journalism in China & The West09:51 Harmony, rancor, journalism, editorial & social media19:49 Saint Paul to The Church in Rome on quiet living23:07 Vacation vs daily life in a place27:29 Nominalism cannot be the path to social harmony35:57 To love neighbor & enemy we must participate in God's holiness40:12 Humble repentance is the path to a just society43:11 Christianity isn't convenient, look at Syria50:10 Models of church & state53:20 No such thing as Orthodox government54:54 The Church is perfect, stop trying to defend it from itself58:55 The is no invisible church, there is only The Church63:45 Two ways to try to be above the bishops65:27 No, we can't all just get along/ClosingA huge part of the problem with "politics" in The United States is both "sides" have the same underlying assumption: we can't live the good life until everyone agrees with us & the laws reflect our agreement.Fr Symeon's recent trip to visit his family in China provides an opportunity to poke holes in this assumption by discussing the ways in which, simply as a practical example, we can see people living, as St Paul said "...aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands..." in a country most Americans would insist is about as far from what we want our society to be as is possible. Well, if people can do it in China, then Orthodox Christians can do it in the USA, whether the political winds are going their way, or against them.And if we can walk in the way of the life of faithfulness no matter the political climate, then why are we spending so much time getting wound up about it? Maybe what it boils down to, is we're afraid of inconvenience.Reference materials for this episode: St John Chrysostom’s commentary on Romans -12:9-21 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210221.htm & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210222.htm - 13:1-7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210223.htmScripture citations for this episode:Romans - 12:9-21 live in harmony - 13:1-7 be good citizens1 Corinthians - 6:1-11 lawsuitsEphesians - 6:5-9 no slave rebellionsPhilemon - no slave rebellions#china #syria  #journalism #editorial #quietlifeThe Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcasthttps://x.com/podcast_saintshttps://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcasthttps://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcasthttps://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.socialIconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these imagesPrints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.comAll music in these episodes is a production of Generative Soundshttps://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.comDistribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative SoundsCopyright 2021 - 2026