Spiritual Warfare, the Death of the Ego, and Why Bad Theology Is POISON | Fr. Paul Truebenbach
The Orthodox Pill Podcast
14,633 views
Fr. Paul Truebenbach returns to the Orthodox Pill Podcast for a wide ranging conversation on facing apocalyptic anxiety without losing your soul to it, the real meaning of spiritual warfare against the ego, biblical manhood and womanhood in marriage, and why bad theology can poison a person's relationship with God as easily as good theology heals it. Drawing on the lives of the saints, his own struggles as a young convert, and years of pastoral counseling, Fr. Paul offers a grounded, honest picture of what it actually looks like to grow in the Orthodox faith.
Guest: Fr. Paul Truebenbach.
Full conversation with timestamps below. Subscribe for conversations on living the Orthodox faith in the modern world.
00:00 Intro and Opening Prayer
02:48 What History Shows Us About Apocalyptic Fear
05:14 Winning an Argument Does Not Change a Life
07:58 Separation From God Is the Root of the World's Chaos
10:25 Saints Whose Holiness Transformed Nature Itself
13:32 Better to Be Wrong in Love Than Right With Arrogance
15:56 I Was a Terrible Ambassador for Orthodoxy
18:23 It Took Years of Suffering to Understand the Faith
21:06 The Two Questions That Matter Most
24:14 Slave, Hired Servant, and Son: Three Motivations of the Spiritual Life
26:41 Practicing the Mindset of a Son of God
29:02 You Will Not Understand Veneration Until You Do It
32:08 The Zeal That Fades: A Martial Arts Analogy
34:32 The Ego Is a Squatter in the Heart
37:23 Why Fr Paul Tells Every Catechumen to Read the Saints Daily
39:45 When the Demons Attack, That Is Good News
41:08 Crushed by the Weight of the Priesthood, and Grateful for It
45:07 Fiery Saints: Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome
48:01 No Two Saints Are Ever the Same
50:14 Meekness Is Strength Controlled, Not Weakness
52:09 Voluntary Suffering and the Strength of Asceticism
54:04 Fr Paul on Losing Physical Strength and Wanting It Back
58:26 Saint Maximus the Confessor's Five Divisions of Reality
01:01:07 The Transgender Movement as an Antichrist Facade
01:03:05 The Wife Who Makes a Man Want to Come Home
01:06:28 The Selfish Case for the Sexual Revolution
01:08:59 Sacrifice Without Love Is Manipulation, Not Masculinity
01:10:58 The Meaning of Helpmate and Feeling Complete Together
01:13:24 Married Couples Must Rediscover Sacrifice Every Day
01:15:48 Theology and Worship Must Stay in Balance
01:19:30 The Nature of Sin Is Missing the Mark, Not Christ Turning Away
01:22:19 Saint Theophan the Recluse on Why Devout People Turn Bitter
01:23:42 Why Orthodox Morning Prayers Feel Like Medicine
01:26:31 The Cosmic Vending Machine God
01:29:27 Orthodoxy as an Inverted Pyramid, in Reverse
01:31:54 The Bible Read for the First Time, After Becoming Orthodox
01:34:53 Get a Real Encounter First: Go to Liturgy, Talk to the Priest
01:37:45 Mother Gavrilia and Learning Everything Through Prayer
01:40:48 Closing Reflection: Saint Mary of Egypt and Final Blessing
#Orthodoxy #OrthodoxChristianity #SpiritualWarfare
20 Comments
I learned much, but most importantly to learn I need to love praying over my ego and what I would rather want to do.
Fasting is something I’ve done one way or another in life. It’s a familiar but I don’t “love it”. I do like that it makes the day more Christ focused. I suppose that’s a start.
It’s given me something to pray about, ask at our weekly Q&A with father John and a desire to rewatch this episode. There is a lot to digest…and pray about!
this kind of grounds it better, -even talking about "the hard stuff" in comparison to protestantism, as well as indirectly answering my issues w/ roman catholicism while in the explanation and perspectives of Orthodoxy itself..
Spiritual Warfare, the Death of the Ego, and Why Bad Theology Is POISON | Fr. Paul Truebenbach
The Orthodox Pill Podcast
14,633 views
Fr. Paul Truebenbach returns to the Orthodox Pill Podcast for a wide ranging conversation on facing apocalyptic anxiety without losing your soul to it, the real meaning of spiritual warfare against the ego, biblical manhood and womanhood in marriage, and why bad theology can poison a person's relationship with God as easily as good theology heals it. Drawing on the lives of the saints, his own struggles as a young convert, and years of pastoral counseling, Fr. Paul offers a grounded, honest picture of what it actually looks like to grow in the Orthodox faith.
Guest: Fr. Paul Truebenbach.
Full conversation with timestamps below. Subscribe for conversations on living the Orthodox faith in the modern world.
00:00 Intro and Opening Prayer
02:48 What History Shows Us About Apocalyptic Fear
05:14 Winning an Argument Does Not Change a Life
07:58 Separation From God Is the Root of the World's Chaos
10:25 Saints Whose Holiness Transformed Nature Itself
13:32 Better to Be Wrong in Love Than Right With Arrogance
15:56 I Was a Terrible Ambassador for Orthodoxy
18:23 It Took Years of Suffering to Understand the Faith
21:06 The Two Questions That Matter Most
24:14 Slave, Hired Servant, and Son: Three Motivations of the Spiritual Life
26:41 Practicing the Mindset of a Son of God
29:02 You Will Not Understand Veneration Until You Do It
32:08 The Zeal That Fades: A Martial Arts Analogy
34:32 The Ego Is a Squatter in the Heart
37:23 Why Fr Paul Tells Every Catechumen to Read the Saints Daily
39:45 When the Demons Attack, That Is Good News
41:08 Crushed by the Weight of the Priesthood, and Grateful for It
45:07 Fiery Saints: Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome
48:01 No Two Saints Are Ever the Same
50:14 Meekness Is Strength Controlled, Not Weakness
52:09 Voluntary Suffering and the Strength of Asceticism
54:04 Fr Paul on Losing Physical Strength and Wanting It Back
58:26 Saint Maximus the Confessor's Five Divisions of Reality
01:01:07 The Transgender Movement as an Antichrist Facade
01:03:05 The Wife Who Makes a Man Want to Come Home
01:06:28 The Selfish Case for the Sexual Revolution
01:08:59 Sacrifice Without Love Is Manipulation, Not Masculinity
01:10:58 The Meaning of Helpmate and Feeling Complete Together
01:13:24 Married Couples Must Rediscover Sacrifice Every Day
01:15:48 Theology and Worship Must Stay in Balance
01:19:30 The Nature of Sin Is Missing the Mark, Not Christ Turning Away
01:22:19 Saint Theophan the Recluse on Why Devout People Turn Bitter
01:23:42 Why Orthodox Morning Prayers Feel Like Medicine
01:26:31 The Cosmic Vending Machine God
01:29:27 Orthodoxy as an Inverted Pyramid, in Reverse
01:31:54 The Bible Read for the First Time, After Becoming Orthodox
01:34:53 Get a Real Encounter First: Go to Liturgy, Talk to the Priest
01:37:45 Mother Gavrilia and Learning Everything Through Prayer
01:40:48 Closing Reflection: Saint Mary of Egypt and Final Blessing
#Orthodoxy #OrthodoxChristianity #SpiritualWarfare