HUMAN LOGIC OR REASON

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HUMAN LOGIC OR REASON

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away
the evils from your souls before My eyes. Cease from
your evils. Learn to do good. Seek judgment and
redeem the wronged. Defend the orphan and justify
the widow. COME NOW, AND LET US REASON
TOGETHER, says the Lord” [Isaiah 1:16-18].

Our All-Merciful and Loving God and Creator bestowed numerous blessings and gifts to man who He created and fashioned him with His own Divine hands. God granted reasoning to man, unlike the animals, which are without reason (‘αλογα). By giving man the power of reasoning, man was able to make prudent choices and decisions which would be advantageous to his spiritual and earthly needs. Man, therefore, acquired the ability to discern between good and evil and those things that go beyond what he sees and to ascertain in depth things which are not seen.

The Christian, however, does not rely on his flawed and imperfect human logic but on the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Human logic should also be infused with divine wisdom to have any merit. Logic can become a serious obstacle to one’s faith and may lead to estrangement from God. God transcends all human logic. The human mind cannot comprehend the mysteries and the ways and actions of God. Orthodox Christianity concurs that human logic has great limitations, for God surpasses all human understanding. Man’s attempt to understand the Divine through philosophy, has instead led him to confusion, and heresy, such as Arianism and Gnosticism. “Philosophy is rational and abstract. It proceeds not from faith, like theology, but seeks to base itself either on the indisputable fundamental axioms of reason, deducing from them further conclusions, or upon the facts of science or general human knowledge.” The source of theologizing is Divine Revelation, which is contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

God Himself reveals to mankind what He wants people to know and how to benefit from it. The holy Apostle Peter writes: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For it these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 1:1-8].

“Being renewed by God’s power, we become “partakers of the divine nature.” This does not mean we become divine by nature. If we participate in God’s essence , the distinction between God and man would be abolished. What this does mean is that we participate in God’s ENERGY, described by a number of terms in Holy Scripture, such as GLORY, LIFE, LOVE, VIRTUE, AND POWER. We are to become like God by His grace, and truly His adopted children, but never become God by nature. According to some Church Holy Fathers, this especially occurs through the Eucharist, for when Christ’s Body and Blood become one with ours, WE BECOME CHRIST-BEARERS AND PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.”

“We that are made worthy to participate in Him [the Holy Spirit] through faith in Christ are brought to perfection as participants of the divine nature, and are said to be born of God, and on that account are given the title gods, not flying up to the glory above us by grace alone, but as already having God indwelling and taking lodging in us, according to what is set forth in the Prophet, ‘I SHALL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK ABOUT IN THEIR MIDST’ (Lv26:12; 2 Cor 6:16).

How do we who know Christ grow in our participation in the divine nature through grace? By the cultivation of a progression of spiritual realities. As in 2 Peter 1:3, VIRTUE refers to the vigor and courage behind attaining moral excellence. AGAPE (LOVE) (v, 7) is adjoined to “brotherly kindness” (affection among Christians), for love of God cannot be perfected except THROUGH LOVE OF ONE’S NEIGHBOR [1 John 4:20]. Made in God’s image and likeness, we are fulfilled by becoming like Him, a process called sanctification or theosis (deification). Being “partakers of the divine nature” [2 Peter 1:4], we are “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Co 3:18).

The holy Apostle John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does NOT love does NOT know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). God is love is not a definition of who God is, but rather describes His relationship to us as our Father. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” [1 John 4:20-21].

Man ought to use reason to avoid disobeying God, sinning, doing harm to others, and acting irresponsibly. Instead to live a more virtuous and pious life, conforming to God’s commandments. God has given us His energy (life) and His personal presence (godliness, or piety, devotion), both of which we may grow in. Virtue (Gk. arete) is spiritual and moral excellence attained by vigorous and courageous faith. “The rewards for the toils of virtue are dispassion and spiritual knowledge. For these are the mediators of the Kingdom of Heaven, just as passions and ignorance are the mediators of eternal punishment. True faith depends completely on God and seeks ways to do good works.

___________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George