JamesThePersian - Moderator

[James the Persian]

I guess I ought to do one of these also (I'm not generally on at weekends, so this is the first opportunity I've had).

Name - James

Age - 30

Hometown - Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Religion - Orthodox Christianity

Interests - Theology and Church history(as if anyone didn't already know), languages, philosophy, writing (poetry and prose), cooking, gardening, science fiction.

Dislikes - Cricket, Ruby League, soap operas, badly researched revisionist history, misuse of grammar.

Hopefully most people already know me (and there's the interview thread if you want more in depth ideas about my beliefs). You can always PM me or post threads to ask me questions, too. I'll always try to answer as soon as I can.

I'm married with two children and, apart from my faith, they are by far the most important things in my life. I work in IT (I'm a C++ programmer and database designer/developer on VoIP software), although I trained, and worked for a while, as a psychologist.

I don't really know what else to say. If anyone has a question don't hesitate to ask.

James

 

[ChrisP]

You develop VoIP software? Third party Call Manager type stuff or do you design for one of the movers and shakers?

 

[James the Persian]

You develop VoIP software? Third party Call Manager type stuff or do you design for one of the movers and shakers?

I wouldn't say movers and shakers exactly. We're doing alright but it's in the niche market of providing secure communications (i.e. pretty heavily encrypted, peer to peer rather than client server) systems to businesses. Most of our clients are in the UK and Europe at the moment and a lot of them are more interested in secure IM, email and collaboration tools than they are in just the simple VoIP (we do all that). I used to work in CRM and it looks as though my next project might be in integrating a CRM system into the current suite. Currently I'm spending most of my time on documentation, which is a complete bore.

James

 

[ChrisP]

Currently I'm spending most of my time on documentation, which is a complete bore.

James

:yes:

Sorry to hear that James. I'm not much on programming. Love to get my hands dirty, but definitely appreciate some of the tools people like you have produced. Very Very handy.

 

[James the Persian]

:yes:

Sorry to hear that James. I'm not much on programming. Love to get my hands dirty, but definitely appreciate some of the tools people like you have produced. Very Very handy.

I'm more into the database side myself (though I started out in C++ programming). I don't know exactly why, but I get more professional pride out of an elegant and streamlined database than I do out of writing code. Of course writing code is far more enjoyable than documenting it, especially when you're documenting someone else's code (which is what I'm lumbered with at the moment).

James

 

[ChrisP]

*makes cringing face* sorry to hear that. A streamlined database makes for a lot of happy people though rest easy in the knowledge

 

[Quiddity]

What made you leave psychology in practice?

 

[robtex]

James three questions:

1) What languages do you write or speak to some level of profiency?
2) Which philosophers have really had an impact on the way you think or have inspired you?
3) Do you post your poems and prose on the net anywhere?

 

[James the Persian]

What made you leave psychology in practice?

Not being able to really do my best for the patients because everything was about cutting corners and saving money. Also, the fact that professional rivalries played a big part in what therapy could be tried (one of my bosses was incredibly unprofessional in this respect and I had to go over his head to get anything done - if he was the only one that wouldn't have been so bad, but he wasn't). After several experiences where I simply couldn't help someone because I wsn't being allowed to do my job properly I had to throw in the towel. I was beginning to feel rather parasitic, drawing a wage because of people's suffering but not actually being able to help them at all. I decided that it would be more honest to earn my money in some other way and help people as best I could in my own time via charity work. Of course, now hat I'm married, have kids and am an active member of our parish, I don't even have much time for that any more.

James

 

[James the Persian]

James three questions:

1) What languages do you write or speak to some level of profiency?

Romanian pretty fluently (I do the translations into English for our parish council so now I'm even getting my head round liturgical language), German, but I haven't practised it in a while and it's rusty, and Czech very badly. I used to speak Spanish reasonably well but haven't tried in years and I even learnt a little Quechua whilst doing psycholinguistics at uni. Unfortunately, I can't remember much but it's a fascinating language.

2) Which philosophers have really had an impact on the way you think or have inspired you?

To be honest, I can't say that any have had much of an impact. I like reading the arguments and thinking about their implications and I loved studying it at uni, but no one philosopher stands out from the crowd, especially not since becoming religious. The biggest impact on my life has been from the Fathers, especially the Desert Fathers, but I don't suppose they count.

3) Do you post your poems and prose on the net anywhere?

No. Nor would I want to particularly. I'm quite shy about them. I've been told that my poems are quite good by a published poet who used to do workshops at my last workplace, but I always doubt that. She encouraged me to read one publically at an event at the museum in Henley, which was absolutely mortifying. I really don't like to do that kind of thing.

James

 

[Buttercup]

What type of gardening do you prefer...vegetable or flower?

Can you grow tasty tomatoes in England? Is it hot enough?

Are you into garden design at all? Or do you just plant where there's a spot?

 

[James the Persian]

What type of gardening do you prefer...vegetable or flower?

Anything I can eat, so basically fruit, herbs and vegetables. I leave the flower gardening to my wife and just stick to the edibles and any heavy work that needs doing. My ideal retirement would be to a small holding in my wife's home village (we're saving up the money to buy some land there) and I'd like to grow fruit and veg (they have fantastic cherries and plums in the area), keep a few animals (chickens, cows, maybe some pigs - definitely no geese!) and try my hand at bee keeping.

Can you grow tasty tomatoes in England? Is it hot enough?

Only with the aid of a greenhouse and even then they're not great. Unfortunately, I have the most violent hay fever from the pollen of any plants in the tomato family and so I don't grow them (the greenhouse makes it very uncomfortable). The only thing I can grow which causes a reaction and is still worth it is chillies (but I'm addicted).

Are you into garden design at all? Or do you just plant where there's a spot?

I sort of design, but more for sensible places to grow things (especially given that certain plants grown together tend to discourage pests) rather than for aesthetic efect. About the only time aesthetics comes into it is in the herb garden. My wife, of course, has different views.

James

 

[Green Gaia]

Country you'd most like to visit and why?

 

[James the Persian]

Country you'd most like to visit and why?

Peru. I've been fascinated by the Incas since I was a small child and I'd love to see Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman. I'd also love to have the opportunity to see whether I could actually learn some more Quechua from a native speaker.
Coming ain as close runners up would be Russia/Ukraine (for the monasteries and churches), Japan (another childhood fascination was their history) and Israel (particularly, I want to be in Jerusalem for the Holy Fire one year).

James

 

[kevmicsmi]

question. In your opinion, what is the most important, or key element of teaching in the Orthodox Religion you subscribe to?

 

[James the Persian]

question. In your opinion, what is the most important, or key element of teaching in the Orthodox Religion you subscribe to?

I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, but if you mean something along the lines of what it is about Orthodox Christianity that distinguishes it from other Christian groups and makes me convinced that it is true, then I'd say it is the soteriology. It's a massive subject but one in which we differ markedly from western confessions. I can't do it justice here (Note to all. If I don't get the often promised sticky about this aspect of Orthodoxy up some time in the next couple of weeks, please give me a nudge - hard) but I'll give you some ideas.

Salvation for us is not about Christ having been a sacrifice to the Father in our stead, it's not all about the Crucifixion, it's not about sin as crime and God as judge, jury and executioner. It is about Christ becoming Incarnate as man to repair the relationship with God damaged by the fall, it is about the Incarnation in its entirety (conception, birth, life, death and resurrection) with no undue emphasis placed on one aspect and most importantly for me it is definitely about sin as illness and God as the great physician, healing us out of love. Over all, then, for me the difference is that with Orthodox soteriology I can believe in an all good, all loving God without any contradictions (such as eternal punishment for finite sins) whereas with western soteriology, I simply cannot.

Of course, it's also good to note that eastern soteriology is far older than the western version and that's another thing I like about Orthodoxy. The Church does not change with every new fashion but holds on zealously to what has been pased down by our forebears in the faith.

James

 

[egroen]

Are you... persian?

-Erin

 

[James the Persian]

Are you... persian?

-Erin

Nope. I'm a mongrel. It's mostly German and Czech but there's a lot of other strands thrown into the family tree also (English, Scottish, Bretton, French, Slovak, Algerian and Turkish). I was born and grew up in England, married a Romanian (with some Russian and Ukrainian blood thrown in) and now have two even more mongrel children.

My username is due to my patron saint. He is St. James the Persian (the Roman Catholics call him St. James Intercisus because of his martyrdom by being slowly cut to pieces). If anyone's interested, you can read his life here:

http://www.tcgalaska.com/holycrosshermitage/pages/Orthodox_Life/st_james_persian.htm

James