Seraphim Rose on the Matthewites

[Barbara]

Yes, in those days, that could be true. Today, though, almost everyone knows about Photoshopping, so it would be much more difficult for the KGB to use this ancient trick with any chance of success.

And now you know, too, why I zeroed in on the ____ on the beach at Limassol as a threat to British and foreign businessmen, who are great catches for the Russians wanting to get more of a foothold in the UK and Western Europe. Particularly since many Russians did feel they had to leave the UK after the recent several contretemps, Moscow must be scheming to send people back into these strategic areas. Or to develop solid contacts for them amongst respectable English and European men who could provide much help. Particularly if adroitly blackmailed or greymailed [ a term I invented this minute for softer-pedaled blackmail ].

I imagined a conversation as follows, which, by the way, could pop up anywhere at any time :

---

Natasha : Well, hello there ! [ bats false eyelashes at middle aged British businessman sitting under nearby umbrella at beach ]

Nathaniel : Um, excuse me ? [ looks at her askance ]

Natasha : Mind if I join you ? My umbrella is broken and the Cypriot sun is roasting [ pouts, giving him sidelong glances ]

Nathaniel [ gruffly ] I guess so. I won't be here much longer, as I have a business meeting with the Chamber of Commerce at 3 sharp.

Natasha : Oh ! You do ? What might be your line of work, then ?

Nathaniel : I am the head of the Chamber of Commerce in my home town York.

Natasha [ mirrors her target to make him let down his guard ] : How interesting. That's my area of work, too. I am a secretary for the city offices of Blagoveshchensk. It's pretty cold out there in the Far East, so we like to have a spell in the sun whenever we can.

Nathaniel [ sorts through the papers he had been reviewing ] : I had better get going, but, well, what did you say your name was ?

Natasha : Natalia, but call me Natasha. And you are Mr. -- ?

Nathaniel : Nathaniel

Natasha : It must have been fated for us to meet, then, since our names both begin with "Na". Perhaps you would like to meet at the St George bar for a drink later on after the meeting ?

Nathaniel [ calculating that the wife did not join him on this trip, so she might never be the wiser ] In fact, I have nothing else to do on this boring island. Why not, then ? 8 pm at the St George ?

---

One can see Natasha slyly making off with the sensitive documents, copying them and returning them before Nathaniel noticed. She has already secured a promise of an invitation to visit York, hence a coveted UK visa, and has planned her next moves in this chess game.

Meanwhile Nathaniel's wife will be outraged when a Kgb agent shows up at their residence not far from York Minster with glossy photos of her husband and a blond woman hitting the nightlife of Limassol. To prevent that catastrophe, Nathaniel might cave in and agree to cooperate with whatever Natasha, prompted by her controllers, demands he do next to serve the cause of the Russian secret agencies.

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[Maria]

Yes, in those days, that could be true. Today, though, almost everyone knows about Photoshopping, so it would be much more difficult for the KGB to use this ancient trick with any chance of success.

And now you know, too, why I zeroed in on the ____ on the beach at Limassol as a threat to British and foreign businessmen, who are great catches for the Russians wanting to get more of a foothold in the UK and Western Europe. Particularly since many Russians did feel they had to leave the UK after the recent several contretemps, Moscow must be scheming to send people back into these strategic areas. Or to develop solid contacts for them amongst respectable English and European men who could provide much help. Particularly if adroitly blackmailed or greymailed [ a term I invented this minute for softer-pedaled blackmail ].

Perhaps you have coined a new word.

This is how we grow words.

[Barbara]

Yes, because blackmail is a term that gets tossed around lightly, even in joking. True blackmail is a very serious predicament.
So greymail could indicate a few steps down on the scale of danger, but preserving some of the same dynamic.

[Maria]

Yes, because blackmail is a term that gets tossed around lightly, even in joking. True blackmail is a very serious predicament.
So greymail could indicate a few steps down on the scale of danger, but preserving some of the same dynamic.

Much like blackwater is water from septic systems, holding tanks, or sewage-tainted waters such as water used in the washing machine to wash out soiled diapers, greywater is soap laced water that had been used for washing and rinsing dishes. Whereas blackwater can kill people by causing horrible infections and sepsis, greywater may not make one ill or sick immediately, but could cause cancer later on.

By the way, have you ever read Girl Wars by Cheryl Dellasega, Ph. D. and Charisse Nixon, Ph.D. (2003)? Even though Relational Aggression (RA) may not kill a girl, this type of female bullying employs "rumors, name calling, cliques, shunning, and a variety of other behaviors ..." (p. 2), and can lead to aggressive behaviors where the victim can bring a gun to school and shoot the aggressor.

Again, whether we label evil as black or grey, these kinds of sin will condemn us to hell.

[Barbara]

I didn't know that about the 2 different terms. Isn't it awful to think that we use recycled water that has gone through a treatment plant, treating it with who knows what chemicals ?

No, I have never heard of that book, but thank you for bringing it to my attn. I am interested in that field, in fact, but never thought to look up any resource material. Instead, I found myself reading about the case of Skylar Neese, which would have occurred well after the book was published. That was a exception to my utter lack of interest in US news stories. Usually they seem calculated to shock American readers more than the last awful scenario.

Did you hear anything about this story ? In this case, the high school sophomore girl DID get killed. The reason given by her previous best friends was 'they didn't want to be friends with her [Skylar] anymore', an appallingly superficial justification which reveals the absolute decay of American society. The case was undoubtedly more complex than hit the media, but even then the behavior of the 2 teenage girls was nothing short of barbaric.

In my study, I got only so far reading one analysis by an investigative blogger. This man - all credit to him - criticized the 3 16 year olds' social media pictures as provocatively dressed. He quoted disgusting things they wrote on their facebook pages. So the degeneration of American society ultimately produced such shocking behavior.

I didn't read any further, but a contractor told me that the case was featured on a national TV report in which the girls had claimed to hear voices telling them to kill their friend Skylar. Sure sign of demonic possession ! The demons attracted by wearing immodest clothing, swearing, willingness to compromise values in order to get attn. from peers probably took over the 2 girls entirely.

Bottom line that I concluded upon my reading of the blogger's report : in these dark times, it has become dangerous for young women to keep close friendships, for pals could turn on one at any minute. I don't mean those brought up nicely and/or attending private schools. But public schools today must be a --- cesspool, to carry on that image of the blackmail/blackwater.

You remember the infamous firm of security contractors Blackwater, too ? An evil organization through and through, started by a Catholic who considered himself and his employees to be new Crusaders in the Middle East. Delusionary...

[Maria]

I didn't know that about the 2 different terms. Isn't it awful to think that we use recycled water that has gone through a treatment plant, treating it with who knows what chemicals ?

No, I have never heard of that book, but thank you for bringing it to my attn. I am interested in that field, in fact, but never thought to look up any resource material. Instead, I found myself reading about the case of Skylar Neese, which would have occurred well after the book was published. That was a exception to my utter lack of interest in US news stories. Usually they seem calculated to shock American readers more than the last awful scenario.

Did you hear anything about this story ? In this case, the high school sophomore girl DID get killed. The reason given by her previous best friends was 'they didn't want to be friends with her [Skylar] anymore', an appallingly superficial justification which reveals the absolute decay of American society. The case was undoubtedly more complex than hit the media, but even then the behavior of the 2 teenage girls was nothing short of barbaric.

In my study, I got only so far reading one analysis by an investigative blogger. This man - all credit to him - criticized the 3 16 year olds' social media pictures as provocatively dressed. He quoted disgusting things they wrote on their facebook pages. So the degeneration of American society ultimately produced such shocking behavior.

I didn't read any further, but a contractor told me that the case was featured on a national TV report in which the girls had claimed to hear voices telling them to kill their friend Skylar. Sure sign of demonic possession ! The demons attracted by wearing immodest clothing, swearing, willingness to compromise values in order to get attn. from peers probably took over the 2 girls entirely.

Bottom line that I concluded upon my reading of the blogger's report : in these dark times, it has become dangerous for young women to keep close friendships, for pals could turn on one at any minute. I don't mean those brought up nicely and/or attending private schools. But public schools today must be a --- cesspool, to carry on that image of the blackmail/blackwater.

You remember the infamous firm of security contractors Blackwater, too ? An evil organization through and through, started by a Catholic who considered himself and his employees to be new Crusaders in the Middle East. Delusionary...

Yes, from Wiki, I learned that "Skylar Annette Neese was an American girl who disappeared from her home in Star City, West Virginia around midnight on July 6, 2012. Neese's remains were found on January 16, 2013, in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Skylar_Neese

The book on RA was published in 2003. Skylar's murder happened in 2012. It is sad that these school bullying and RA murders are still occurring. I fear the situation is now worse, not better. How can our society improve when it has become godless and openly sinful?

p.s. Be careful as you are getting into politics with the mention of that Blackwater security firm.
Maria,
Administrator

[d9popov]

After the repose of Father Seraphim Rose, there has been an explosion of real knowledge about human genetics and the dispersions of human beings throughout the continents and islands of the earth. (Today, I have been reading fascinating information about the Australian Aboriginals and their genome.) I believe that if Father Seraphim had had the opportunity to look at this new knowledge, a few of his statements about science would have been different. Also, Bishop Augustine of Hippo, who wrote a book that is sometimes called in English, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, was not opposed to consulting non-Christian scientists. Once again, what counts is that we adhere to the dogmas of the faith about God's "very good" creation, humanity' fall into sin through misuse of free will, and our redemption by Christ. These doctrines pertain directly to salvation and damnation. When it comes to non-Christian science, we can pick and choose what seems to be most supported by the evidence and most compatible with divine revelation. Bishop Augustine of Hippo, despite his errors and rationalism at times, had some interesting words on this subject. His point in the quotation below is that a Christian can do damage if he insists on his own bad-science interpretation of Genesis and when he reads that bad-science into the divinely inspired text that did not teach bad-science, but, rather, taught God-given spiritual truths for the purpose of our salvation. "Reading into" the text what the Church does not teach is called "eisegesis," as opposed to "exegesis" which is "interpreting out of" the text. I already mentioned Peter Bouteneff's book because it points to many patristic citations on key doctrines related to creation. I should have also mentioned, lex orandi-lex credendi, that the main teachings of Scripture about how misuse of human free-will leads to a fall in God's good creation is summarized in Orthodox liturgical prayer books. These basic spiritual truths stand firm, despite varying scientific theories. What would not be good would be to insist on false scientific and pseudoscientific theories of the 1800s and of more recent Protestant literalists, whose approaches to Genesis are worlds apart from patristic approaches. Father Damascene Christensen --- the editor, expander, and reviser of Father Seraphim --- was clearly influenced by some of these Protestant approaches, as his text, endnotes, and bibliography demonstrate beyond any doubt. Following Augustine, if we chose to cite science, we should cite good science, not Protestant pseudo-science and heterodox-theology. I fear that what Father Damascene did was to "plug in" patristic quotations into an overall schema that was derived from Latin approaches and Protestant literalist polemics.

AUGUSTINE, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, trans. John Hammond Taylor 1982:
Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of the world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion [quoting 1 Tim 1:7].

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