Huge surge in Americans who no longer believe in God

[Barbara]

I doubt public schools are teaching that awful concept uniformly across the board. Perhaps the ones in liberal states like California ?

Still, compare that with the curriculum of St John's Academy mentioned above, where attendance at all Feast Day Liturgies is required. The school year begins with a moleben at the relics of St John Maximovitch in the Holy Virgin Cathedral. How completely opposite from contemporary public school style, isn't it ?

By the way, I checked and Elder Nektary after being tonsured a monk at Optina Monastery, studied French and Latin !
Along with widespread reading in a wide variety of fields, thus becoming a "Renaissance Elder".
Parents could do worse than have their children imitate the last of the great Optina Elders by learning the 2 languages as well as acquire a more classical type of education

[Luke]

Atheists and Secular Humanists emphasize the divide between religion and science, and are proud to push logic in place of faith.

C.S. Lewis had a lot to say in defense of the faith. He used to be an atheist.
I recently reread The Space Trilogy, which features two atheistic professors of logic (Weston et al) versus Professor Ransom, who is a type of C.S. Lewis. Have you ever read it?

I have not read it but it sounds interesting. I shall place it on my ever growing "to read" list.

[Justice]

When I went to my Jewish school, there were many different types of Jews (I started out really religious) so you had many Atheists and many religious people all compiled together. It made it really weird when discussing topics such as the theory of evolution.

[Barbara]

Back to St John's Academy for a moment, I came across this comment on [ ugh ] facebook one day :

Without a doubt one of the best schools! Some of the things worth noting include very small classroom sizes, teachers are very accessible - parents have daily communications with teachers, top notch academic education, discipline and manners, etc. We are extremely happy with the faculty members and the school itself!"

https://www.facebook.com/St-John-of-San ... 270427687/

Please use the quote tags, not the bold tags, when quoting from a reference.

Thanks, Maria
Admin.

[Barbara]

Nice scene from a 2015 video on the life of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco shows the school and gives a short description by the Matushka who is described as the founder [ last name misspelled ].
This glimpse occurs at 21:40 :



In the video, which features the story of a Soviet actor moved to Los Angeles CA, we see both at the beginning and the end how Soviet-trained emigres to the US brought along their ingrained atheism.

It took a spiritually powerful Saint to completely turn around this actor's thinking ! Now he describes himself as an Orthodox Christian.
Previously, he had played the odious founder of the Bolshevik Revolution in a Soviet film production. The profession of actor, and this particular role indicate no awareness of Good and Evil, let alone of God with the Devil always trying to undermine God's plans. Now, or as of 2015 at least, this actor turned screenwriter, talks of how
'such a small picture' - a postcard of the St John painting which hangs in his former cell at St Tikhon's Church in SF - came 'such a power' [ 1:43 in the clip ] -- a power which turned his world view around 180 degrees.

If only the same could occur for ALL the atheists - and New Atheists - in the country and the world today !

[Maria]

Yes, our God is a God of wonders.

I cannot tell you how many times that I have been in severe pain, only to pray to the Theotokos and to St. Matthew the New Confessor for help.
Within minutes, the pain is gone.