The Perversion of Marriage & The Assault On Christianity

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SCW

Orthodox Curious
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At over an hour long this may be beyond most peoples' attention spans, but there is so much gold that it's worth listening to the whole thing, even if you can't do it in one sitting, as I had to when work and family took priority.

Points that stuck to me (though not necessarily the most important):
  • Marriage is under massive demonic spiritual attack
  • Pornography is incredibly damaging to society as a whole (there is more money in porn than in Hollywood)
  • Children are a blessing, a gift, an opportunity for us to bring them up in God's image
  • Focusing on money, just to end up having to pay for child care anyway, is a complete reversal of what is right and normal
  • Don't worry about having a big house. A good house should be like a good shoe; not so small as to be cramped an painful, yet not so big that you trip and stumble over yourself
 
SCW said:


At over an hour long this may be beyond most peoples' attention spans, but there is so much gold that it's worth listening to the whole thing, even if you can't do it in one sitting, as I had to when work and family took priority.

Points that stuck to me (though not necessarily the most important):
  • Marriage is under massive demonic spiritual attack
  • Pornography is incredibly damaging to society as a whole (there is more money in porn than in Hollywood)
  • Children are a blessing, a gift, an opportunity for us to bring them up in God's image
  • Focusing on money, just to end up having to pay for child care anyway, is a complete reversal of what is right and normal
  • Don't worry about having a big house. A good house should be like a good shoe; not so small as to be cramped an painful, yet not so big that you trip and stumble over yourself
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Does he get into the fact that women aren't pursuing marriage at ages where the institution is considered serious? This has been my one harsh critique of Fr. Josiah. He has courage on all of these topics but it just seems the priests cannot, or do not, ever come out talking about women's role in this.
 
To be fair, he addresses a bit of it at 34:00 and 35:00. Abandonment of the home. He then talks about home structures, usury, lending, debt, etc. I agree with all of this, but the problem is that when you are born these days, you are thrown right into the middle of all of the madness. I don't have to blame anyone to purely state that fact, it just is. We don't live as hunter gatherers, shepherds, or farmers anymore in small villages with a plaza and church at the center, which we walk to - for better or worse. I think it's pretty clear that in the less technological days, things were more wholesome. But there were a lot of things that weren't, since we're human. I don't think it's an unfair question to ask Fr. Josiah, "Father, you are right and I agree, but this is all theoretical at this point." Speaking about some ideal that isn't coming back isn't exactly helpful, though it can remind of us what it is to be more human. I'm not trying to be critical, I'm just trying to be honest. Many good teachings here seem to be more about complaining about modernity rather than doing something like becoming like the Amish or some such actionable thing that would make things "simpler" and more god-like.

Is that not a valid critique? I think this has the making of a new-ish topic and a great thread.
 
Blade Runner said:
Many good teachings here seem to be more about complaining about modernity rather than doing something like becoming like the Amish or some such actionable thing that would make things "simpler" and more god-like.

Is that not a valid critique? I think this has the making of a new-ish topic and a great thread.
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I agree on the actionable part. Where is this happening other than the Amish?

I have seen some Orthodox priests directly attack modernity as a deeply problematic mythos but I haven't yet seen them strongly tie the deep-set ideas of modernity to impacts on the male-female relationship and marriage.

Actionable ideas are difficult. With children it's easier because we have more control. Don't get a TV or severely limit it. Don't get your kids a smartphone. These two things yield results.

Culture is where it is and we are way beyond levers that could be put in place. The irony is that in the past the fact that women just assume the ideas around them and think like the crowd used to help ensure culture stayed in place and nurtured the culture. Only men were striking out on their own in various ways and women acted as a moderation to that. In this upside down clownworld we now have an insane feedback loop where women think what is going on now is normal culture, enforce it, and not only enforce the insanity but are programmed to push it further. You can get women who are on the traditional scale but this cultural status quo is an enormous pressure on them too.

So what is an actionable item? Maybe when you meet a girl take her phone away and smash it?

Joking aside, women in particular should be encouraged to rid themselves of the phone. Notice the controls to keep them, in particular, from doing that. Nearly all events and occasions like sports, birthdays, etc. are now planned on platforms like facebook. Keeping them continually plugged in and re-enforced with ideas of what culture is.
 
Northumber said:
I have seen some Orthodox priests directly attack modernity as a deeply problematic mythos but I haven't yet seen them strongly tie the deep-set ideas of modernity to impacts on the male-female relationship and marriage.
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I do as well, but that doesn't help us very much since more than anything, we're trapped in it. Just like we're trapped in an usury system, which Fr. Josiah also talks about.

I bring up the intersex dynamics all the time. I also detect that there is some egalitarianism in the mindset of many of the older people, and priests. As if being a virgin matters the same with women and men, topics we've talked about. Does a modern woman even ask or think about her husband's virginity being a gift to her? I've never heard this said, which sort of proves the point. And I'm not advocating men to sleep with (other) women before marriage, either. In the video Fr. Josiah also brings up what I have, since the Saints also do, which is that if you don't have people that have kids, you won't have a church any longer. You'd think this would be an important topic to touch on for them.
Northumber said:
In this upside down clownworld we now have an insane feedback loop where women think what is going on now is normal culture, enforce it, and not only enforce the insanity but are programmed to push it further. You can get women who are on the traditional scale but this cultural status quo is an enormous pressure on them too.
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Just totally clueless. My only explanation, which still stands, is that we are at the turning point from the excesses and debasement of the population boom. We just have to cycle through it and it appears to me that God doesn't "care" about it in the way that we think He might, or we do. That's pretty clear and I think it's the mature way to look at it, not black pill, just honestly.
 
Blade Runner said:
Does a modern woman even ask or think about her husband's virginity being a gift to her? I've never heard this said
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In my long experience, no woman has EVER asked about my past history, sex life, or how many partners I've had. They seemed happy that I knew how to "run the show". The only time I was ridiculed is after I became celibate. That in itself reinforced my desire to remain celibate. After becoming celibate of course, then homosexual men started hitting on me...aggressively. What a sick and twisted world.
 
Christos_NIKA said:
In my long experience, no woman has EVER asked about my past history, sex life, or how many partners I've had. They seemed happy that I knew how to "run the show".
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A good woman also doesn't want to know. It sounds strange, but think of it even for a few moments and you'll instantly know this is how life works. That's why I'm confused about why Priests are so unrealistic about this. You can say that there are ideals for every human person while also admitting that certain things are far worse for others. That's just being honest about life and women, as well as men.
 
Blade Runner said:
Does he get into the fact that women aren't pursuing marriage at ages where the institution is considered serious? This has been my one harsh critique of Fr. Josiah. He has courage on all of these topics but it just seems the priests cannot, or do not, ever come out talking about women's role in this.
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I did hear him once mention that the way woman are abandoning their roles in the home is satanic, remember in Orthodoxy we dont usually point to someone else as the problem, we must try focus on our own personal faults and problems.
 
Shaquilleoatmeal said:
That’s vague and doesn’t address women delaying marriage.
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This is sort of what I'm getting at. In passing, hard words will come out but it's not very directed at anyone so it just seems like a criticism of "modernity" yet again. Ok, Father, what are we supposed to do now that women don't want to marry young, marry virgins, maintain a household, etc? I'd rather them just be honest and call it out, and/or say "Yes, we can't recommend marriage until women or their families get this stuff back in order."
 
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