Table of Contents

A Guide to "Theological Letters"

Welcome to Theological Letters. Let me walk you through what you’ll find here.

Orthodox Foundations

• Lecture 1: Basic Terms & Concepts

• Lecture 2: The Gospel According to the Eastern Church

• Lecture 3: Partaking of the Divine Nature “Theosis”

• Lecture 4: Descent into Hades

• Lecture 5: How to Embrace the Life Christ Has Given Us

• Lecture 6: The Saints & Christ’s Descent into Hades

• Lecture 7: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea (325 A.D.)

• Lecture 8: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Constantinople (381 A.D.)

• Lecture 9: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Ephesus (431 A.D.)

• Lecture 10: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Chalcedon (451 A.D.)

• Lecture 11: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Constantinople 2 & 3 (680 & 681 A.D.)

• Lecture 12: The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea (786 A.D.)

• Lecture 13: Predestination & Divine Decree

• Lecture 14: A History of Predestination & Divine Decree in Western Theology

• Lecture 15: A Contrast Between the East & West on Predestination & Divine Decree

About Me

• My Journey to Orthodoxy (1 of 2)

• My Journey to Orthodoxy (2 of 2)

• On Art, Film, and “Aesthetic Cognitivism” — an Interview

Coffee & Commentary

• This segment offers a glimpse inside my personal study journal, where I record reflections on sacred Scripture. Each week, I share a few verses along with the notes I’ve scribbled down.

  • Baptism, Confession, & Time | Mark 1:1-15

  • Fishers of Men | Providence & Purpose | Mark 1:16-20

  • A Demon in the Synagogue | Mark 1:21-28

  • Divine Energy in Human Flesh | Mark 1:29-31

  • Knowing God by His Energies | Mark 1:32-45

  • Carried by Faith of Others | Mark 2:1-5

  • Christ Knew Their Hearts | Mark 2:6-12

  • Dining With Sinners | Mark 2:13-17

  • On Joy, Fasting, & the Bridegroom | Mark 2:18-22

  • Lord of the Sabbath | Mark 2:23-28

  • Divine Anger & Grief | Mark 3:1-6

  • The Calling of the Twelve | Mark 3:7-19

Subscriber Q&A

2026

January

2025

December

November

Dogmatic Theology

• A Brief History of Predestination (1 of 4)

• A Brief History of Predestination (2 of 4)

• A Brief History of Predestination (3 of 4)

• A Peculiar Feature of Providence

• A Brief Word on Providence

• Why Would God Make the Damned?

• Hell, Hades, and Christ’s Descent (Part 1)

• Hell, Hades, and Christ’s Descent (Part 2)

• On Apokatastasis and Universal Salvation

• The Eastern Patristic View of the Soul through the Eighth Century

• On Predestination, John Piper, and the New “Calvinists”

• Can Jesus Sin? The Gnomic Will and Maximus the Confessor

• Athanasius of Alexandria

Practical Theology

• A Brief Word on Providence

• To A Woman Who Lost Several Children

• On Prayer to Saints

• On Magic and Sacrament

Religious Epistemology

• On Belief in Fairies

Philosophy

• On Free Will

• Postscript on Free Will

• On the Problem of Evil

• Does Christianity Have Metaphysical Commitments? (1 of 2)

• Does Christianity Have Metaphysical Commitments? (2 of 2)

Penal Substitution

• Penal Substitution vs. Eastern Patristic Atonement: A Tale of Two Gospels

• Reclaiming the Atonement: Problems with Penal Substitution

• A Philosophical Critique of Penal Substitution

Divine Hiddenness (7 parts)

• When God Seems Silent (part 1)

• Why God Stays Hidden (part 2)

• Proving God (part 3)

• Non-Resistant Unbelief (part 4)

• Scrutinizing the Metanarrative of Divine Hiddenness (part 5)

• The Eastern Fathers & Divine Hiddenness (part 6)

• The Hidden & Revealed God of the Eastern Fathers (part 7)

Art & Pop Culture

• Some Thoughts on “Rings of Power” (1 of 2)

• Some Thoughts on “Rings of Power” (2 of 2)

• Can AI Create Art?

• An Honest Assessment of “Lady Ballers”

• On Art, Film, and “Aesthetic Cognitivism” — an Interview

Audioletters

• I’ve recorded many of my Theological Letters if you prefer listening to reading

  • Audioletter: On Free Will

  • Audioletter: On Apokatastasis & Universal Salvation

  • Audioletter: On Magic and Sacrament

  • Audioletter: Why Would God Make the Damned?

  • Audioletter: The Eastern Patristic View of the Soul

  • Audioletter: On Prayer to the Saints

  • Audioletter: Hell, Hades, and Christ’s Descent (1 of 2)

  • Audioletter: Hell, Hades, and Christ’s Descent (2 of 2)

  • Audioletter: On Belief in Fairies

Misc

• Anthropology, Deification, and Asceticism (1 of 3)

• Anthropology, Deification, and Asceticism (2 of 3)

• Anthropology, Deification, and Asceticism (3 of 3)

• Does Jesus Claim to be God?

• Pain and the Fall of Man (1 of 2)

• Pain and the Fall of Man (2 of 2)

• Slavery and the Order of Nature | An Answer to the Biblical Problem

• The Biblical “Case for Slavery”

• Understanding Nicene Trinitarianism

• Why Resurrection is Incoherent without Deification

• “In the Name of Christ, Stop!” On St. Telemachus and Charlie Kirk

• On Freud’s Critique of Religion (1 of 2)

• The Numinous, Lewis, & Freud (2 of 2)

• Why is Mary Called “Mediatrix” in Eastern Orthodox Theology?

• Entertaining Angels: Tales of Christian Hospitality

• The Ontological Argument Versus the Nicene Creed

• Can the Saints Sin?

• On the Meaning of “Biblical” & Whether Clergy Celibacy Is Biblical

• In Defense of Icons

• Are Inaccurate Images of Christ Not Images of Christ?

Upcoming

• Predestination in the Eastern Fathers

• On Christianity East & West | Lost in Translation

• Were the Earliest Christians Iconoclasts?

• Essence, Energy, and the Eucharist | What the West Forgot

• Becoming Human: On the Redemptive Path of Suffering (1 of 2)

• Becoming Human: On the Redemptive Path of Suffering (2 of 2)

• Begotten, Not Made

• On Mary, Mother of God (1 of 2)

• On Mary, Mother of God (2 of 2)

• Calvin on Apostasy and Temporary Faith (1 of 3)

• Calvin on Apostasy and Temporary Faith (2 of 3)

• Calvin on Apostasy and Temporary Faith (3 of 3)