Read it on Kindle for $2.99
Part of the collection:
The Best of Jonathan's Corner
Read it on Kindle for $2.99
Part of the collection:
The Best of Jonathan's Corner
This is an author's library of free online books, centered on Orthodox books. Whether you want to read online novels, or short stories, or theology and homilies, or other literature, why not look around here?
The most recent addition here is "Physics."
There is also a list of recent additions to this site, sorted by date.
Go to: Orthodox Theology Articles Assorted Creations Journals Miscellaneous Nonfiction Novels Orthodox Humor Satire Short Stories Socratic Dialogue Technology
You can find works from several Orthodox books here, but this section itself is really one big Orthodox book: an anthology of Orthodox mystical theology.
The works in this collection span many types and genres, but overall they can be gathered into three large categories: hymns and poems, odds and ends, curiosities and creative works, and spiritual writing and homilies. Each of these has author's picks highlighted; the author is personally partial to hymns and poems.
If you are looking for a place to start in these attempts to share the Orthodox Church's mystical theology, I suggest Silence: Organic Food for the Soul or Doxology. Both are taken from the hymns and poems section.
Suggested starting points include Doxology, A Pilgrimage from Narnia, Silence: Organic Food for the Soul, and Why this Waste?.
An akathist hymn celebrating St. Philaret the Merciful of Asia Minor, who was generous and merciful when he had much, and remained no less generous and merciful when he had little or nothing.
We may have hospitals to hide death from our eyes, but all of us are moving towards death, even if we are in denial as a society. But there is another way; love is stronger than death.
A poem to hymn the glory of God.
We thirst for glory. There is only one way that thirst is rightly slaked.
A musing prayer about how to open the eyes of an alchemist.
A celebration of the resplendent beauty of the natural world.
A poem about the labyrinth of technology and other things that we have woven into our society.
A meditation on the Maximum Christ we approach and maximum repentance as the true realization of God's maximum ambition for our lives.
A poem pouring forth mystical theology of eternity, time, and that precious moment we call 'now'.
A poem about closed fists, open hands, and true joy.
A prayer and poem about pilgrimage on earth.
A poem about a pilgrimage that begins with C.S. Lewis's Narnia and ever presses 'further up and further in.'
This was a tool I made for myself after realizing I wasn't spending nearly enough time praying through the Psalms. This will pull up different psalms, and there is a a mobile-friendly version too.
A meditation on spiritual discipline and silence as an organic diet for the soul reaching out to the whole person.
A poem that opens when a woman opens a priceless jar of perfume and a thief asks a question that was deeper than he knew: "Why this waste?"
A prayer.
Suggested starting points include The Angelic Letters, The Best Things in Life Are Free, The Most Politically Incorrect Sermon in History: A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, and Technonomicon: Technology, Nature, Ascesis.
A collection of letters from a senior angel to guide a guardian angel watching over a man, as envisioned by an Orthodox Christian. Inspired by C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
A work of mystical theology that looks at life as a great spiritual arena and training ground.
Ever hear a broken record talking about how Orthodoxy has always been a matter of creative fidelity and never a matter of parrot-like repetition?
An exploration, connected with the chalice, of what it means that the best things in life are free.
The Most Politically Incorrect Sermon in History: A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount
A commentary on the Sermon on the Mount intended to unfold just how it appears to be the most politically incorrect sermon ever.
An Orthodox bookshelf covering The Orthodox* Study Bible, some of the Fathers, Neo-Platonism, and one or two works today.
An Orthodox 'Physics', or study of the nature of things, designed to respond to Aristotle's 'Physics.'
A collection of short prayers for different occasions and purposes, offered to and for the Orthodox Church.
Three intimate letters from a father to a son about God, kings, and men.
From Russia, with Love: A Spiritual Guide to Surviving Political and Economic Disaster
The Russian Orthodox Church has a lot of experience living with hard times. This piece talks about not only survival lessons but the spiritual beauty that can come in political and economic difficulties.
We are entranced by technology, and yearn for harmony with nature. But there is more to life than getting technology or taking walks in the woods.
Twelve quotes to explain in particular why Orthodoxy seems to have such a cold response to Catholic ecumenical advances.
Suggested starting points include Creation and Holy Orthodoxy: Fundamentalism Is Not Enough, Exotic Golden Ages and Restoring Harmony with Nature: Anatomy of a Passion, Money, A Pet Owner's Rules, and "Religion and Science" Is Not Just Intelligent Design vs. Evolution.
One thing I have learned as a Christian is what it means for God to look after you.
A look at the hideous strength of C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, and the beautiful strength that is even stronger.
We were made to enjoy contemplation, in more than one sense.
Years back, I wrote a couple of pieces about origins questions. This is a more recent piece that addresses a very specific point about bringing Protestant fundamentalism into Orthodoxy, and it moves away from origins questions towards a more important issue.
You might also read the companion piece, Note to Orthodox Evolutionists: Stop Trying to Retroactively Shanghai Recruit the Fathers to Your Camp!.
Christ's crown of thorns has every relevance to our daily lives. Is it something we can have on our own terms?
A meditation on covetousness, desire, and true happiness.
Dissent: Lessons From Being an Orthodox Theology Student at a Catholic University
When I was studying at Fordham, the question of dissent loomed large. This is an attempt to respond to what was "in the air" at that school.
We have a lot of rights these days. Or at least we think we do, and the list of our rights is growing longer and longer.
What if I told you that people can get along well without thinking in terms of rights?
In Orthodoxy, there are seven sacraments, officially speaking; but there's a great deal of truth in saying that there is only one sacrament, or that there are a million of them. This is a look at one among many of the "other" sacraments.
Exotic Golden Ages and Restoring Harmony with Nature: Anatomy of a Passion
There is a perennial cry in some quarters to reclaim former glory. We thirst for the exotic, but not always in the best places. Do we appreciate what we have?
A meditation on God as the Game Changer who responds to sin, evil, pain, and death by changing the game.
A collection of quotes and reflections on God the Father in light of the spiritual fatherhood in Orthodox monasticism, in its relevance to us today in an economic depression.
I enjoyed Halloween for many years, but it looks different as I begin to understand Orthodoxy.
The Horn of Joy: A Meditation on Eternity and Time, Kairos and Chronos
A meditation on eternity and time.
Would you like to know how to survive an economic depression? People have survived every kind of disaster from recessions to economic collapses. The way they have survived may have had something to do with spirituality and faith. Do you want to dig deeper into how to survive a depression? You might find some answers here.
A look at humor (off-color and otherwise) in the light of Orthodox Christian classics.
An written for the Feast of the Nativity and the Fast before it, about Incarnation that unfurls in deification.
When we pray the Jesus Prayer, God uses it to build silence in our hearts and untangle those things we have knotted inside.
An Orthodox artist looks at art as a variety of icon.
A meditation of mystical theology about kings and kingdoms, monarchs and monarchy.
A homily touching on a subject that doesn't get much treatment for how important it is.
Orthodox Christians may believe in evolution, but when Orthodox claim that the Fathers' overall teaching goes hand in hand with evolution, there is something fishy going on.
You might also read the companion piece, Creation and Holy Orthodoxy: Fundamentalism Is Not Enough.
There is something that is not quite right about the Western Rite in the Orthodox Church. (Really? When they are trying so hard to reconstruct the authentic Western Orthodoxy of the first millenium? Yes!)
An open letter about an elephant in the room that Orthodox are painfully aware of and Catholics seem not to see at all.
Some of us wish, or are tempted to wish, that we lived in the age of the great Christological controversies, or nineteenth century Russia, or perhaps the Middle Ages or the Baroque era.
But God has placed us here and now, and ordained for us our ordinary lives to live out. Has God made a mistake in doing so?
God is like a pet owner who has only two rules.
A look at the pleasure-pain syndrome that for an instant crystallizes in the discussion of the Philokalia under a work attributed to St. Maximos the Confessor.
A look at the venomous hydra called narcissism and pride, by which Satan fell from being an Archangel in Heaven to being the Devil.
It isn't good for us, either.
"Religion and Science" Is Not Just Intelligent Design vs. Evolution
In my own experience, I started from a very scientific background; I have math awards and letters after my name in the sciences. And this science has been the start of a journey of repentance; it is a starting point of things that would find healing in Orthodoxy. And entering Orthodox theology, mystical theology, has meant unlearning not only the content of my knowing but what it is to know at all. Science is cut from the same cloth, or bedrock to, what it was that I needed healing from the Church as I was reconciled from the kind of background one gets in the sciences.
Do Swiss Army Knives offer a lens to see God with?
Take Your Shoes Off Your Feet, for the Place Where You Stand Is Holy Ground
The Fathers see something in the Lord's command to Take Your Shoes Off Your Feet, for the Place Where You Stand Is Holy Ground, and it has every relevance to Great Lent.
What do the Fathers see? And what does it have to do with Great Lent?
Everything we say of God is inadequate. Yet this God who is far beyond anything we can say has a vicar on earth: not the Pope, but every person who crosses our path.
Calvin and Hobbes said, "There's treasure everywhere!"
And really, there is.
One of the moments is long ago. The other one can be right now.
What Makes Me Uneasy About Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and His Followers
A look at what exactly about Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and his followers could disturb an Orthodox Christian.
Among Christians, there's a debate about "headship". And those involved can miss something very important.
(You might also be interested in material from other sections of this website, such as The Christmas Tales, Stephanos, and An Orthodox Looks at a Calvinist Looking at Orthodoxy.)
Free online articles. These articles range over a number of topics, from business communication to unexpected reasons to study mathematics. As well as these, there's another section of miscellaneous nonfiction works. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest AI as an Arena of Magical Thinking for Skeptics: Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Sciece, and Eastern Orthodox Views on Personhood.
The ancient Greeks developed an art of memory that is very good with concrete facts. I wanted to see if I could adapt the principles to be more effective in storing abstractions.
The Administrator Who Cried, "Important!"
You probably know the story of the boy who cried, "Wolf!" Here's an updated version, with a lesson for business communication.
My second master's thesis, from Cambridge. It's theology (or what is considered academic theology at a University, which isn't really theology at all), and touches on a number of interesting areas.
Some of us spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to be human. It's also worth thinking a little about animals.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Real Peace Through Real Strength
Most people—pacifist or not—would agree to the claim that violence should be avoided, and that people should study alternatives to violence. Here's a chance to do just that.
My first thesis in academic theology, looking at how the concept of dark patterns or anti-patterns may illuminate recurring tendencies in the wrong kind of advocate scholarship.
After years of being a pariah and whipping boy, the Blessed Augustine is going through a rehabilitation. This is an essay I wrote where Augustine served to me as a Church Father and as a halfway house between a Western, more philosophical approach to theology and the Eastern, mystical ocean I needed to dive into.
The essay looks at Augustine with respect but calls to task some of the silliness in people who are willing to be selective about Augustine's own words in order to make him look better.
I wrote this for a mailing list where I felt attacked for my beliefs—by people who didn't understand them. This post helped other list members to see why I thought certain ideas should be considered and not dismissed out of hand.
Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh: A Look at Profound Giftedness Through Orthodox Anthropology
To be human is to have a profound gift in the first place, and one that far overshadows what psychology refers to as "profound giftedness". But that "profound giftedness" is both human and interesting. Here's an article looking at it from a theological perspective.
Friendly, Win-Win Negotiations in Business: Interest-Based Negotiation and "Getting to Yes"
A look that takes 'Getting to Yes' interest-based negotiation from hostile settings to win-win negotiations in a friendly setting. Examples are included.
An essay following The Patriarchy We Object To which talks about how feminism might find its home.
Eastern Orthodoxy is both Christian and Eastern. and sometimes other Christians, and the West in general, don't pick up on what exactly this means. A Glimpse into Eastern Orthodoxy is written in the hope of creating a spark of connection.
This was an attempt to think outside of the box. It failed, but there may be something very interesting in how it failed.
An essay I wrote in college about how masculinity and femininity are real, good, and part of how we are meant to flourish.
A look at what the Incarnation means for practical, lived life, and how it may be present or absent in Orthodoxy, Islam, and Protestant Christianity.
"Inclusive" Language and Other Debates: An Orthodox Alumnus Responds to his Advisor
A conservative alumnus answers questions posed by his egalitarian thesis advisor from a minor degree.
A more recent treatment of masculinity and femininity which tries to go deeper, and voice something important that has been unspoken.
Looking at "Stranger in a Strange Land" as a Modern Christological Heresy
An Orthodox Christian reader looks at Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, originally titled The Heretic, as a Christological heresy.
A look at ethical issues connected with icons, Theophany, Creation, animals, and meat from an Eastern Orthodox Christian perspective.
One Presbyterian minister took the time to earn a doctorate from an Orthodox seminary... and wrote some reflections which left me wondering what he'd missed. I think his impressions may be a lot of people's impressions, and I think he's given a pretty candid take.
This note quotes the original reflections (with permission), and posts my reply to what seemed like getting a lot of details right but missing how they fit together in the big picture.
Orthodoxy, Contraception, and Spin Doctoring: A Look at an Influential and Disturbing Article
This article was occasioned by the discovery of some of what programmers ironically call, buried treasure: in this case, current Orthodox positions on contraception often are built on top of the buried treasure. Maybe this buried treasure is, as the definition in the jargon file says, "something that needs to be dug up and removed."
A talk about some of what Orthodoxy can say to feminism.
Heaven is meant to be important to earth.
It sometimes seems easier to think about why work is important, than why play is important. This is an essay on why play is important.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made is written by the doctor who found out that leprosy ravages the body by destroying the sense of touch. He recounts a story about getting sick, letting his foot fall asleep, thinking he had leprosy, realizing his error, and living a life alive to touch as he had never done before. This is part of that story's impact on me.
Un-man's Tales: C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, Fairy Tales, and Feminism
A study of two of the greatest scholar's works that looks at the Un-man's tales in C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, with eyes wide shut.
The West doesn't get Islam...
...and Western efforts to just understand Islam leave us further, not closer, to understanding Islam and Muslims.
Have you ever felt like mathematics was a secret game that everybody but you understood? Here's the secret.
A look at why some people insist on a young earth creation in the face of scientists' constant claims that evolution is the only game in town—and why they're not completely wrong.
This is a "grab bag" of assorted creative works. Other sections have longer fiction and short stories; this offers a colorful collection of things you can't find other places. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest A Dream of Light.
A koan is a unique kind of story that is both short and powerful.
Dreamlike images flow throughout this narrative.
Espiriticthus: Cultures of a Fantasy World not Touched By Evil
An exploration of seven different cultures in a world of pure goodness, a world without evil. This comes to mean seven forms of goodness which are sharply different from each other.
It is, in a sense, a description of the ultimate game.
A short collection of prayers, in French and English.
A twist on the classic Dr. Seuss story.
A poster in the tradition of "How To Be An Artist" and "I Learned It All In Kindergarden".
A marvelously silly game from planet Espiriticthus.
An irreverent look at jobs available in theology.
You've heard of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Modern Major-General"? Here's an update.
The Portal is an interactive story. You're the hero.
A set of vignettes trying to capture romantic impressions like the 19th century Romantics did.
An "early work" collection of poems underscoring something I sensed in Christianity that can be hard to see from the West.
Here are two journals I've kept. If you're looking at a place to start, I suggest Journal of an Awakening.
A journal of a spiritual awakening.
A journal of ideas I wished to record.
Another section has Articles. This section is a "grab bag" of other nonfiction works. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest Actually, to Me, It Is a Very Good Day.
This is from a lecture and "reading aloud by the author" session.
An Author's Musing Memoirs: Retrospective Reflections, Retracings, and Retractions
A letter to the reader about God, some of my flaws, and God's work even in a flawed person such as Yours Truly.
Many people think good web design means making a design that's different from other websites. This article argues another perspective.
A carefully thought-out resource for reviewers for web awards program, on how to best present their programs to the web.
An annotated bibliography of works that have influenced me, that I would like to pass on.
Excerpted from the Journal of an Awakening.
Do you believe that prayer is a good thing, but struggle to enjoy it for more than two minutes? I did for a long time; then something clicked.
A description of mentorship that has more than technique.
This is something I wrote about spiritual discipline and stress. I went to a Bible study that talked about dealing with stress, and when I heard the discussion, I realized that I was living at a much lower level of stress than what was assumed. I thought about how to explain why I experience less stress, and I realized that stress was the tip of the iceberg.
The phrase "The customer is always right!" heralded in good customer service in an age of bad customer service.
Now some companies take "The customer is always right!" in a way that rewards customers who burn out their employees. This is a call to treat employees as human beings and perhaps free them to offer better customer service.
Do you hate spam? Here's a letter you can send to business owners who don't understand why spamming is bad.
This lecture was given at Mensa's Chicago Regional Gathering, and was meant to share several facets of interesting personal experience.
Something I wrote when my brothers were twelve to introduce them to programming. It tries to be very simple—just enough so kids can start tinkering.
There was something I missed in school, and had to invent myself. This book is for bright young people, and their parents, who would want to know what I've learned about thinking.
This section has Christian jokes and humor, and the lighter side of Orthodoxy. If you are looking for a place to start, I suggest Archdruid of Canterbury Visits Orthodox Patriarch. But free to check out the Orthodox books section too.
The confused person's guide to being even more confused about Orthodoxy.
If you don't know what this refers to, do a Google search for "Archbishop of Canterbury becoming a Druid." The issue is more complex than it looks, but not that much more complex.
They're at it. (Again.)
You may have heard of the Evangelicals who studied hard, tried to re-create the Early Christian Church, and rediscovered the Orthodox Church. Here's an update.
Pope Makes Historic Ecumenical Bid to Woo Eastern Rite Catholics
Hot off the trail of the Pope's offer to Anglicans comes a new historic bid, this time aimed at Eastern Rite Catholics(!).
The most convenient way to become an Orthodox bishop.
Satire. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest Religion Within the Bounds of Amusement. You might also like Orthodox Humor.
Hayward's Unabridged Dictionary: A Free Online (Satire) Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce wrote a classic of wit and satire, called The Devil's Dictionary. This book follows in that tradition, and comments on any number of things in American life.
There is a considerable buzz among New Testament scholars among the discovery of a nearly complete manuscript to the book of the Bible called Romans.
Inspired by a visit to a "seeker service." To those unacquainted with Christian lingo, this means a church service which tries to reach out to people seeking God—but "reach out to people seeking God" really means, "put on a circus."
Read a 26th century historian as he extols the poetic beauty of a light bulb, praises Darwinism as a truly great myth... and analyzes a rather strange archaeological find.
A leading nutriceutical supplement MLM announces a line of Kool-Aid for its distributors, containing some of the most powerful plant toxins available to humankind.
Here are short stories you can read online for free. Besides the short stories, there are some works of fiction in the assorted creations and free online novels. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest Unashamed.
This is a piece of wisdom literature about a man who has been searching for the Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, in One Volume, Containing a Careful Analysis of All Cultural Issues Needful to Understand the Bible as Did Its First Readers... and why he is so very unhappy when he finds what he desires.
A dream about another world.
A fictionalized Gospel account set in contemporary America. It tries to convey how genuinely shocking a person is described in the Gospels—and how he'd still be stunning, today.
The story of a traveller moving deeper and deeper into a monastery—in more ways than one.
What, exactly, is the nature of evil? Read about three painters who tried to show it.
There is more to this man than meets the eye. He appears quite ordinary; he's learned that skill well enough...
Stephanos begins when a boy enters a temple to get away from his sister...
Why was a picture of beauty so disturbing?
Abigail loves to sit down at a keyboard and improvise with her father. Why is she afraid one day?
A disillusioned young man wants to escape into another world, a magical world, and finds an old man who might help him.
There's more connecting these three items than you might think. But the differences are more than meets the eye, too.
It really doesn't matter if the situation is ordinarily bad or extraordinarily bad. Not for what really counts.
Socratic dialogue: philosophy with more than a dash of drama. If you're looking for a place to start, I reccommend The Watch.
A dialogue about a "damned backswing" that keeps coming up in life and society.
The Law of Attraction: A Dialogue with an Eastern Orthodox Christian Mystic
In shaky times, many people look to the Law of Attraction. Orthodox Christianity has a way to delve deeper.
A dialogue which has a brilliant alumnus return to his school and discuss philosophy of education with its founder.
A slightly updated look at Plato's Allegory of the Cave... or perhaps not really an updated look at all. Should the most famous piece of Socratic dialogue have been called the Allegory of the Television?
God is spirit, and he invites us to be spirit too.
Veni, Vidi, Vomi: A Look at "Do You Want to Date My Avatar?"
"Do You Want to Date My Avatar?" is a viral music video that is funny and demure by music video standards. At first glance, at least...
On the surface, it's about a watch that has another way of telling time. Under the surface...
Does Einstein's theory of relativity say anything that relativism does not? Or does relativism say anything that Einstein's theory of relativity does not?
Is there a difference that matters?
A sleek car under starlight, a different kind of information technology, a deep, blue-robed host, and the wisdom of a Socratic dialogue in a science fiction world.
Yonder is a science fiction story that starts in a world where mind and body are separate. Or at least that's one way of looking at it. You could also describe it as a miniature Divine Comedy, a journey which begins in Hell and ends in Heaven, but uses none of the traditional imagery: Hell is a place where you can have any pleasure you want, while Heaven is a place with intense suffering.
Here are a collection of works about technology, programming, web design, and hackerdom. You may also be interested in the open source software projects section and possibly Technonomicon: Technology, Nature, Ascesis. If you're looking for a place to start, I suggest Passwords Maker.
It's common knowledge among front-end web developers that Ajax is not necessarily "Asynchronous JavaScript and XML": XML can quite well be replaced by JSON. But JavaScript and client-side scripting languages aren't strictly necessary, and here is a proof of concept.
All I Really Needed to Learn About Programming, I Learned From Java
As I look back on my programming experience, the most important things were not writing low-level serialization routines, or stunning optimizations that drew on deep theory. All I really needed to learn about programming, I learned from Java.
Many people think good web design means making a design that's different from other websites. This article argues another perspective.
It can be surprisingly difficult to make a password that is both strong and secure on the one hand, and not impossible to remember. Sure, if your password is "BQRaW3@8-i--d5bce" it is going to be a hard password for anyone malicious to guess, but that kind of password is hard to remember, and for that matter hard enough to type in!
Passwords Maker makes passwords that are hard to guess but easy to remember. Curious how that is possible? Take a look!
This is a revision of a classic guide for managers confused by hackers they've hired. Not the vandals who break into other people's computers—the other kind of hacker, the law-abiding kind. Haven't heard of them? Here's a chance to do just that.
Something I wrote when my brothers were twelve to introduce them to programming. It tries to be very simple—just enough so kids can start tinkering.
Usability for Hackers: Programmers, Anthropology, and Making Software More Usable
Programmers can easily enough make software with an interface that makes sense only to them. This is a discussion of personal attributes that many programmers can draw on to make software that is much more usable.
Usability, the Soul of Python: An Introduction to the Python Programming Language
An introduction to Python that looks at usability as one of the most fundamental aspects of the language.
Think you've covered the bases in appropriate error pages? 404 and 500 covered professionally? You've still got at least one left.
If someone said, "I wish I were gifted enough that people would start harassing me," the response may be "Huh?"
But that doesn't make the experience any less real.
Texting while driving is dangerous; we've learned that texting is a strong enough technological drug not to mix with driving. But there are other lessons in life besides "Hang up and drive!" This is especially true with the technological drug of the iPhone.