Orthodox churches should not accept the baptisms of mainline denominations that have chosen to revise their teachings such that they are no longer orthodox in theology or ethical practices. Many looking at this question content themselves with whether the right form of baptism was administered—baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This idea stems from what the Church decided in the Donatist Controversy, that baptism was still valid despite the theological or ethical state of the priest administering it. That decision should be separated from the challenge facing the Church in our day, where the form of orthodoxy is still practiced but the substance of orthodox convictions and practices are rejected. This crisis of the Church today centres around homosexuality and gender ideology, but it is not limited to it. Because of this revision of orthodox teaching in what were once orthodox denominations and churches,...
'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' The Declaration of Independence of the thirteen united States of America , July 4, 1776 In light of July, 2026 being a celebration of 250 years of American independence—really, a celebration of the end of the claim that the king, claiming a divine right to rule, was the law—I would like to offer a few paragraphs on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence’s (1776) phrase that people have natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I have often wondered what this ‘pursuit of happiness’ means. I believe I now know the source and direction of thought in this phrase, and to that end I have updated my essay, ‘Social Cohesion, Populism, and the Church's Prophetic Role in the State’. ...