I've started to draft a post on third-article stuff in the western confessions, but even to do an outline of what must be said will take buckets of time.
What I want to focus on is not the filioque--a western error wrt the Person of the Holy Spirit--but the essence/energies problem--a western error relating to the work of the Holy Spirit. But it will take time to document this, even in outline form. I've cracked open my Boethius and Aquinas. Please be patient.
"One hears that, in foreign lands, people are now learning to swim, lying on the floor, with the aid of equipment. In the same way, one can become a Catholic or Protestant without experiencing life at all--by reading books in one's study. But to become Orthodox, it is necessary to immerse oneself all at once in the very element of Orthodoxy, to begin living in an Orthodox way. There is no other way."--Fr. Pavel Florensky
7 comments:
Fr Gregory,
You seem to imply -- though I certainly could be reading you wrong -- that the West's rejection of the essence/energies distinction is not connected to the filioque heresy. This isn't true. The filioque heresy is a direct result of absolute divine simplicity.
I don't know if you're familiar with the work of Dr Joseph Farrell, but his research in this area is remarkably elucidating. His magnum opus, God, History, and Dialectic is, in my opinion, THE greatest intellectual apologetic for the Orthodox Faith out there. Sadly, it's only available as an e-book, but if you (or anyone else who's interested!) can spring the $85, it's certainly well worth it. I cannot stress enough what an incredible resource this work is.
http://dialectic.wordpress.com/ghd/
In fact, in thinking through this whole issue over the last several months, I'm becoming more and more convinced that the Lutheran/Reformed Christological controversies have their root in the West's understanding of God a la absolute divine simplicity. With the risk of being too simplistic, let me try to explain a little. Because of absolute divine simplicity, God's attributes cannot be distinguished from His essence, or, to put it more forcefully, they are synonymous with His essence, therefore for an attribute of God to be communicated to human nature in the person of Christ would be tantamount to saying that the divine essence is communicated to human nature, which sounds an awful lot like Eutychianism. The charge of the Reformed against the Lutherans seems justifiable, despite the defensive Lutheran rejoinder. I'm pretty sure that Chemnitz, in his Two Natures, does indeed say that the divine ESSENCE is communicated to the human nature, which, obviously, isn't Orthodox Christology. He also makes it quite clear that he is happily within the Scholastic tradition of absolute divine simplicity, and sees no problem with it.
And of course, there's no need to point out the Reformed error of Nestorianism. For my money, that's clear as a bell.
Dear Andrew,
Thanks for your comments. I will have to look into Dr. Farrell's work here. I know his material on St. Maximos--difficult and deep, but worth it--but did not know of the book you mention. My little parish does indulge me with a professional expense account. Hmm...
By the way, could you please identify yourself, either in the comments or by sending me an email at stoic1348ATsbcglobalDOTnet? I'd welcome the chance to get to know you. Thanks!
Andrew,
I'm d/ling GHD right now. The file size is massive--250+MB. Do you know Dr. Farrell? Do you know why he's not publishing this as a book, or why it costs $85?
Fr Gregory,
It certainly is a massive tome! Keep in mind when you read it that he wrote it in about two weeks!
I have contacted Dr Farrell several times to ask him to clarify certain things he says. I don't know him personally, though.
As to why it's not being published as a book, I don't know. I'd imagine it's because of the 1) limited number of readers that would be interested in buying it and 2) because of the conclusions he draws in the work (just read the prolegomena).
$85 is actually a great price, given that the work is over 1000 pages.
I am THRILLED that you bought it! I cannot begin to tell you how this work has literally transformed my understanding of Christian theology. Farrell's synthesis has tied up so many loose theological ends in my mind, and for that I'm extremely grateful. Every Orthodox who's intellectually inclined should read it, and every non-Orthodox who wants to give Orthodoxy a fair intellectual shot should also read it.
Do keep me updated as you read through it.
Christ is risen!
Andrew,
I had d/loaded the file in order to see whether it works on my system. But I have decided not to purchase it, for several reasons--I'm willing to share them with you via email.
And speaking of email, I'm still waiting for you to identify yourself--if not on the blog, then via email. Thanks!
Fr Gregory,
I did identify myself via an email, and you responded to it. In going back and looking over what I had written, I guess I didn't make the connection clear enough that I was the selfsame Andrew who had commented here. If it helps, I sent you the email on May 10.
Please let me know why you've decided not to purchase GHD.
Post a Comment