Intelligence analysts should read quite broadly (not just outside their own message feeds, but also well beyond the boundaries of political science, sociology, security studies, & anthropology). Still, they also need to have a solid grounding in how things work. This list is my first attempt to suggest books that will help set the foundation […]
Consistency and the Psychology of Fallenness
March 25, 2009 By
The Principle of Consistency: People desire to be and look consistent in their words, beliefs, attitudes, and deeds. Active, effortful, and uncoerced are the most effective at determining future compliance. Commitment decisions (even poor ones) often endure because we instinctively add new reasons to justify/rationalize our decisions. (paraphrased from pg. 95, Influence: Science and Practice […]
Saint Petro Mohyla – a defense of his confession
March 23, 2009 By
St. Petro Mohila gets attacked by folks who think he used too many Roman Catholic ideas. Some defend him against this because his blend of theology is uniquely Ukrainian. I defend him because he is an icon of general Christian evangelism. =========== Few people outside of Ukraine know much about St. Petro Mohyla. Most who […]
The Readers Digest and the Psychology of Fallenness
March 4, 2009 By
The March 2009 issue of Reader’s Digest offers up an interesting look at the Psychology of Fallenness. ====== [Please forgive me, a sinner. This essay may be even less coherent and more in need of editing than usual (quite a feat!). In keeping with the essay’s content, I would like to blame Lent rather than […]
Of Mother Earth and the Invisible Hand
February 24, 2009 By
It’s been a real blessing to teach a course at seminary this semester. It’s not just that I love teaching no matter what the context (I do); it is just much more satisfying to work with people who share the same assumptions and goals I do, and to do so in a forum where we […]
On the Spirituality of Sleep
February 3, 2009 By
This month I started teaching a theology class on “Kyivan Spirituality” here in the parish and at our seminary in New Jersey. They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Given how mundane (i.e. non-spiritual) I am, there has been a LOT of prep work involved. St. Theophan describes this […]
Catching Up
January 19, 2009 By
It’s been even busier here than normal over the last couple of weeks. Not only are we are in the midst of our Nativity Season (today is Theophany, when we celebrate the Baptism of Christ) with all the extra services, celebrations, and caroling, but I continue to teach a graduate seminar at the Naval War […]
Life on the Old Calendar
December 29, 2008 By
Introduction: Christmas on 12/25 or 1/7? While the majority of Orthodox Christians in the world use the Julian (aka “Old”) Calendar for liturgical purposes, the majority of Orthodox Christians here in the West join our heterodox and secular neighbors on the “New Calendar”, which is 13 days ahead.* However, a minority of Orthodox dioceses in […]
Soviet atheism and American secularism
December 21, 2008 By
Introduction: thinking about the radical atheism of the Soviet Communists The Soviet Communists were atheist totalitarians. They tried to create a system that would make both faith and the religious institutions that foster it seem silly and superfluous. Given the strength of Orthodoxy in the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, they had to be very intentional about […]
