Tyler responded to me via email and said I could share his response: "I cannot thank you enough for this video. It’s truly life altering to have someone of your stature address me directly and discuss my question in such a thoughtful, well-explained manner. A question I thought would come off as juvenile. It was very nice to hear you discuss love, and loving thy neighbor at the end. This is something I started doing last year. Making a point to just love people. Those I have animosity towards, people I used to hold grudges against, so-called 'enemies', etc. I just realized that holding in this negative emotion just wasn’t any good. So to hear you say that what I was actively doing already is a good path toward Christ, was extremely nice to hear. Thank you Father for taking the time to respond to me, and to address my question in a video. It really means the world to me. Hopefully some day our paths may cross and I can shake your hand and thank you in person. "

@leonkennedy9263

2 ай бұрын

What a beautiful and heart warming response. Glory be to God!

@jlynn5680

2 ай бұрын

Such an amazing response from a thoughtful, respectable, and heartwarming soul. As you have spoken about, there are times when the Holy Spirit will come upon you in your search for...something...I was in the same position at one point. And at the chance of being prelest, I usually hold my tongue about my experience that kinda "shoved" me toward finding God. But I was in a bad place when finally asked out loud to anyone listening. "What do I do?!" The undeniable answer was given to me. I pray that Tyler does not have to come to that place, and that He is blessed in his search for the Truth. 🤍☦️🤍

@jlynn5680

2 ай бұрын

Bless Father... I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I just recently heard about a Western rite sect of Orthodoxy under the guidance of the Antiochian Archdiocese. But then, I also heard that they are self governed. Can you speak on this? And also maybe explain more about them? I love my church and the Eastern rite, and I would never leave unless for some reason they became heretics. Lord have mercy! But I am curious about your views. Thank you.

As an Orthodox convert of almost 10 years and one who has unfortunately not lived consistently Orthodox for a good chunk of that time (for various reasons) this was needed. Please pray for me that I’ll be able to really begin to be Orthodox now.

@vsevolodtokarev

2 ай бұрын

Good Lord, have mercy on Thy servant David and help him straighten his way before Thee.

I know this is the worst pitch ever, but The Brothers Karamazov really does pick up the pace after about 200 pages 😅

@davidstone5595

2 ай бұрын

Good to hear. I'm currently 56 pages in. Not that it's bad. I quite enjoy it.

Remember years back a bunch of my colleagues and I were overseas, and found a low lit smoked filled cigar room with accompanying alcohol. There was an old man sitting alone and seeing our group loudly asked, "Do you young men believe in God?", most of us said no, and he said, "Well, I don't either.. " there was a pause, and he continued, "but, I hope that there is a God." As he began to cry.

I would say the closest thing to feeling the presence of God is that feeling right after the Divine Liturgy. Coming from a protestant background, I thought I had felt God a few times but looking back now it was just emotions, I felt good or had emotional moments. It's a completely different feeling than the Divine Liturgy. When I leave the Liturgy I do feel elated, but the difference is in my love of others. I literally just start loving everyone else, something I never experienced before, it reminds me of Christ's greatest commandments.

This video was a blessing as my wife, kids and I approach the day for us to be received into the Antiochian Orthodox Church thru baptism and chrismation on Lazarus Saturday. But just last night my wife came to me with concerns about this very question regarding the existence of God, and thinks that because of that thought, she may not be ready to be baptized. This morning I woke up to this video being one of the first on KZread. This was definitely not a coincidence. Glory to God for all things! Thank you Father Andrew, please keep us in your prayers.

I really feel this question. I was in that VERY same spot. Agnostic, waiting to be convinced. At a certain point my desire for Christ became such that I just started going to church, listening, praying, and humbling myself. Eventually I had a strong desire to be baptized, and in time I was. I did all of that without ever finding "proof" and without ever "knowing without any doubt". And every day I pray without ever having a "come to Jesus moment" or a vision or anything like that. And even though I never had some singular moment that convinced me and blew my mind, over the years I have had several quiet moments, little glimpses, personal experiences that have shown me God's presence, and over the years I have become convinced that He loves me and that I want to love Him, too. I don't know how to explain these things, or tell you want to watch for, but it took me 42 years of life to get where I am now. Having enough faith to keep going, keep praying and keep thanking the Lord. So, be patient, keep seeking, keep asking God to help you to do His will, and the more you do that, the more you will see all the signs he's put before you. And the miraculous part is, you will come to realize those signs have always been there. The scales may not fall from your eyes all at once, but if you keep moving forward, with whatever faith you have, the light will slowly become brighter. May God bless you and have mercy on you.

i've had a good handful of experiences where i KNEW that god is real. then i forget for a long time... i think any future experiences of KNOWING again will depend on the spiritual work i do in the interim. keep the candle lit, for the master is returning.

@reneewoods6232

2 ай бұрын

Stay close. Don’t wander off.

@alexlight4178

2 ай бұрын

@@reneewoods6232 Yes thank you

The experience of Christ in the Liturgy is a big one

I had many experiences of the presence of God. When I became a born again Christian, the power of God came on me, I felt me knees weaken and I fell down and felt something like electricity going through out my body for about 15 minutes. At that point I knew that God was real and I turned my sinful life around that day! I have had many other experiences of God that are too numerous to tell them all.

My moments were two. The first was when I had struggled against God for a long time, and despite my struggles to do life on my own, I came to the realization that I could not. I needed Him. At that point I was wasted. Tired, spent. And in that condition I called out to God and literally said, “Here I am. You can have me. What’s left of me.” About 6 months later, having developed the habit of setting my radio to listen to Bible teaching every morning, one morning it was a teaching on Psalm 119, about the Word. The ultimate truth of the scriptures. That morning again with a sigh, I said, “Ok God, I give up. Even when I don’t understand it, I commit to believing it and living it.” Those two were my turning points. He has been faithful all these years. Which doesn’t mean I’ve had it all right since then. But in the times following, I have come “to know him,” and now I KNOW. Now you could not convince me He is not real, any more than you could convince me my children are not real. I KNOW them. I KNOW Him.

I agree. Just go to Church. I'm an atheist/agnostic and I've been attending a parish for the last several months. It's amazing. Just go and be open.

@spikestoyou

2 ай бұрын

Yep and once that tingly starstruck feeling from the novelty of it all wears off you’ll be right back at square one. This answer of “just attend church until you believe” isn’t good enough

@harrygarris6921

2 ай бұрын

@@spikestoyou What is good enough then? Because the question of what to do when you're struggling with faith was posed from the perspective of someone who tried atheism and agnosticism and found those to not be good enough either. The point is that it is impossible to "prove" beyond a shadow of a doubt any belief system to someone who is determined enough to be skeptical, so certainty is not even on the table.

@spikestoyou

2 ай бұрын

@@harrygarris6921 wish I knew! But when you’ve been attending an Orthodox Church long enough after being convinced that it’s the “one true church” and you feel no closer to God, and only have more questions and more concerns, and you feel stupid for devoting so much time to going and praying and fasting without seeing or feeling any real progress toward this unattainable goal of becoming united with God, all I’m saying is “keep going” feels like worthless advice. Nothing else works the way the church purports to in life.

@harrygarris6921

2 ай бұрын

@@spikestoyou I mean I can only speak of my own experience but prior to finding Christianity I struggled constantly for years with feelings of hopelessness and despair. Since finding Christianity I have found purpose. I do not know your experience, but I can say for me it does seem to “work” as purported.

@mamafortuin

2 ай бұрын

⁠@@spikestoyou, perhaps your approach to belief in God has been too intellectual/rational/cerebral? Maybe this feeling of not being close to God is the cross you have to bear. Have you experienced any benefit from your time in the church? Have you learned to forgive others? Have you gained patience with yourself and others? For me these have been the greatest miracles in my life. May you have peace in the unknowing and uncertainty. 🙏☦️🙏

Prayer does work. I asked god to remove my ego and he did. That didnt make my evil thaughts go away but still the ego went away. It works. Fasting for jesus also gave me memory and lost years back in a way.

Father, Bless!!! Greetings in the Lord from a fellow Antiochian in northeast Mississippi (St Paul, Tupelo). Thank you for all your wonderful work and may this new venture of yours be Blessed!!!

In order to trust bikes, you have to learn, then practice riding a bike.

I went to an Orthodox Church for about five years. I read all the books. I visited monastics. I went to three services a week. I went to the men’s group on Wednesdays. I prayed. I fasted. The whole experience was often very beautiful and I loved it. I became a catechumen. But the more I recited the Creed, the more I developed a realization that I didn’t actually believe in God. I cried sometimes because I wanted more than anything to believe in God, but I didn’t. I felt totally alone when I prayed. And then all the other supernatural claims became too much of a burden. All the angels and demons and miracles that I didn’t think existed. I just felt like a fraud. So I just stopped going. It makes me sad sometimes, but it felt worse feeling like I’m faking everything. I would really like for God to reveal himself to my heart and give me faith but I don’t have any. I don’t think God exists. I still watch a lot of Orthodox videos like this hoping I might find something that clicks but I haven’t yet.

I'm 18 and I don't come from a Christian houshold (my father tells me about his beliefs in jesus etc but I couldn't tell if he's Christian. ) he's the one who led me to see the film the passion of the christ. Until now I think I was a bit of a believer without really knowing who jesus or god was, but after seeing the film 1 month ago I feel I MUST know the truth, I want to know jesus, I want to know if it's all real, it was never my first concern but now I think about it day and night. I've looked at dozens of testimonies of nde and conversions because I don't have any friends who believe. But I feel like I'm being manipulated, I'm told it's all in the Bible, others say they've heard god audibly, others say reincarnation exists and it's all getting mixed up in my head. Subjects like space or evolution make me feel like I'm nothing and that I'm trying to believe in something that humans have created to not be afraid of death. I'd really like to discuss all this because for me, if there's no god, then there's no point in living today. I'm also told that it's not religion that's important, it's the relationship with God, I don't know who to listen to! I want Jesus to be real and to be with us, I just don't know how to solve this problem of faith.

@frandrewstephendamick

2 ай бұрын

I am glad you are asking these questions! Let me invite you to visit your local Orthodox church and talk with the priest. If you have basic questions about Orthodox Christianity or need help finding a local parish, head to orthodoxintro.org.

Someone said, for those who want to believe in God, I have a thousand reasons to convince them, but for those who don't want, I have none.

It’s St Ambrose of Optina that Elder Zosima is based on not St Tikhon of Zadonsk just so you know, Father.

@frandrewstephendamick

2 ай бұрын

Having just looked this up again after many years, apparently it's both!

Mark 9:24 ..., Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

Fantastic content.🍻☦️

Lord I believe, please help me with my unbelief. It is impossible to be a lifelong agnostic/atheist (like myself) and not hold doubt while also truly believing. That may be true for almost everyone in this age of unbelief. Christ changes men, his greatest of miracles (imo). That’s how you know God is real, in my experience. You are changed in the direction of becoming more like Him, through your encounter of Him (and that may be an intellectual encounter at the start) desiring to become more like Him and be closer to Him (Liturgy, prayer, Eucharist, fasting, almsgiving, scripture, spiritual writings).

26:00 Bravo, father! You explained why rather few people get married these days.

Once you accept the logic that creation, our and everything’s mere existence, is the result of an unexplainable, unknowable Creator in essence you can begin to accept the possibility that the creator can have a particular relationship with humanity. From this perspective the History and Theology becomes real and overwhelming.

I'm loving these videos, great for us who can't sit through the entire podcast.

13:25 thank you father i also cannot get through brothers k

John 7:16 "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." This verse helped me many years ago when I first began to turn towards Christ. I think it sort of goes along with what Father Andrew is saying here. Loved this talk. Thank you. I am a new listener and am considering Orthodoxy. Am presently Evangelical.

Selfless love doesn't require the rational acceptance of specific beliefs. Participation in God is our inherent birthright. That's why many won't necessarily become Orthodox and why many will leave the Orthodox Church. The Body of Christ is not limited by the institutional walls of Orthodoxy. It is simply a means of revealing the truth of reality.

Fantastic video!

Because my life is different with Jesus in it than it was without.

Most frustrating video ever and deep down I knew all of this.

"The knowing is in the doing"

Incredible video

This is off topic but I can’t find a clear answer online. Is the Antiochian church in communion with ROCOR?

@frandrewstephendamick

2 ай бұрын

Yes.

@starstray4326

2 ай бұрын

@@frandrewstephendamick thanks, sorry I’m an inquirer

Amen.

☦️☦️☦️

This will sound trite and anti-intellectual, but I'm going to say it anyway: KNOWING things, with your rational mind, is overrated. You cannot know God with your rational mind. You know Him with your heart, because you WANT to know Him and because you CHOOSE to know Him. Walk down this path, with love and obedience, and you will EXPERIENCE God through His divine energies.

What does "real" even mean? I can only be sure I myself am real - "cogito ergo sum". However, some religions challenge even that reality. How do I know Fr. Damick is real and not a figment of my (or someone else's) imagination? Well, I like fr. Andrew and want him to be real. What he says makes sense to me. When I do what he advises, I receive a tangible benefit to my intangible soul. This does not yet objectively prove he is real. However, if he came to my room and started slapping me on the cheek (which he can't do canonically, but let's presume for the sake of thought experiment,) it would be painful to keep denying his existence. Which is what Christ did to me (save the slapping part - I received some of that only in an impersonal way,) plus series of statistically impossible events (aka miracles) which led me to His Church which was the last place I was interested in. I still haven't met Christ the way I read in stories ancient and recent; for example, reading about experience of abb. Nikon Vorob`ev - who was a bright, educated, and rational young man at the time; cradle Orthodox who became atheist through schooling; was looking for the meaning of life and was not finding it; in his desperation, he cried, "Oh Lord, if you do exist, reveal Thyself to me, and I will serve Thee with all my life!"; which is exactly what another contemporary ascetic, Ven. Siluan advises to the seeking unbeliever. I now know why I have not been honored such appearance - I recently confessed it, again, to a priest. I am still longing for such a meeting; I am a miserable failure if I never meet Christ face to face. And I am running out of time to prepare myself. Please pray for me if you read thus far and felt a pity on me. (And that's another thing I learned through experience - no feeble prayer is ever lost, "even the wing of a fly has weight".)

Do you have any reason for someone to begin participation? Mormonism and Buddhism say that if you participate, you will realize that they are true. They would also ask for "a little faith". So what moves my barometer in the Orthodox direction versus those? You hinted at an aesthetic draw at the end of this video; by that criteria, am I justified in participating in Buddhism because I'm aesthetically drawn to it?

But if one wants to belive in something, one will find evidence for it. It's confirmation bias. One will always find evidence for whatever one wants to believe in. No matter what it is. The fact that Christianity first demands faith, in order to provide any "evidence" for its validity - well, then Christianity is as equally true as anything else. Because anything can seem real if one believes in it hard enough.

@frandrewstephendamick

Ай бұрын

That is not historical Christianity but rather a rather more modern distortion of it and even of what "faith" means. I don't believe in that, either.

"5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:5-8; KJV)

When you confuse a dopamine hit brought about by an emotion for a deity, that's a YOU problem.

@vsevolodtokarev

2 ай бұрын

Good point - that's called "spiritual deception" in ascetics. However, love is not about dopamine, even though many people are erroneously or malevolently degrade love to physiology and hormones.

@mamafortuin

2 ай бұрын

How can everything come from nothing? IMO, It takes much greater faith to not believe in God. It’s a cliche, but true nonetheless. I think the problem of evil is the main stumbling block for agnostics/atheists. Is that yours?

@Jimmy-iy9pl

2 ай бұрын

Why think all religious experiences are caused by chemical activity in the brain? What's your evidence of that?

I totally agree He is real. But also, He/They, Father and Son, have real names: YHWH. How can you call upon His name to save you what you can't call His name?

@frandrewstephendamick

2 ай бұрын

I have no problem referring to Yahweh/YHWH and have done so many times, including in published writing that anyone can see.

Exodus 9:16 YHWH's Name will be declared in all the earth. How are you helping by not saying His Name??