The Importance of the Knowledge of God in Gregory's
Thought.
Gregory's doctrine on the ways of attaining a knowledge of God
is one of the most important aspects of his system of theology. This doctrine is
not merely an introduction to his thought. For Gregory man's basic task in life
is to know God, and through this man can achieve salvation and "deification."
The created mind recognizes God and through intellectual contemplation is
united, or reunited, with Him. In this way God is united with man when He
assumes human nature through the human intellect, which is similar to His own.
In his writings against Apollinarius Gregory states that "mind is united with
mind, since this is what is closest to it."
Gregory emphasizes the importance of striving to know God in
both his lyrical prayers and in his theological instructions. As a theologian he
develops an orthodox teaching on the knowledge of God in order to oppose the
extreme positions held by certain groups of heretics, especially the
rationalistic Eunomian Anomoeans and the overly fastidious Apollinarians, who
consider the human intellect hopelessly sinful and beyond purification. "It is
impossible for human reason to be without sin" is the way Gregory of Nyssa
summarizes their thought. To oppose the Eunomians Gregory sets forth a doctrine
of the limits of man's knowledge of God, which can be achieved only through
ascetic discipline. To counteract the teaching of the Apollinarians he stresses
that the human mind is created in the image of God and therefore radiant.
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