Thursday, November 12, 2015
Saint Maximus' four degrees of dispassion
"St. Maximus sets out four degrees of dispassion.
The first type of dispassion is observed in beginners and is “complete abstention from the actual committing of sin.” In this stage the man does not commit the acts outwardly.
The second dispassion, which occurs in the virtuous, is the complete rejection in the mind of all assent to evil thoughts.
The third dispassion, which is complete quiescence of passionate desire, is found in the deified, and
...the fourth is the complete purging even of passion-free images, in those who are perfect. It seems from this passage that according to the degree of a man's purity, the corresponding dispassion is manifested." (1994, pp. 299-300)
posted on this blog:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7389188445839022522#editor/target=post;postID=5390527568632566986;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=20;src=link
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Church grows under persecution?
Quote by C.S. Lewis
(from the Problem of Pain)
the Church grows under the harshest persecution and grows lethargic
Quote by Lao Tzu
the Church grows under the harshest persecution and grows lethargic
and dies when apart from it
C.S. Lewis
1898-1963
Quote by Lao Tzu
“So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.”
State / Church ~ Death Penalty/Mercy...
So we are still left with, what are the boundaries and inter-relationships of the Church and State when it comes to capital punishment?
The historic concensus of the great theologians of the Church, both East and West uniformly affirm the existence of the State as a God ordained power separate from the Church, and its authority to exact capital punishment as an option for the good of society.
One of the quotes from St. John Chrysostom that is usually put forth by anti war and death penalty advocates is, “in our case (as Christians) the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion”. However, the full quote is from “On the Priesthood”:
"Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion”
St. John is not denying the authority of the State, nor its responsibility to punish and restrain the evildoer. What he is saying is the Church does not use force to convert souls.
In the Christian West, St. Thomas Aquinas sums up the consensus of the Western Fathers in his commentary on I Corinthians 5: “if a man be dangerous and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and advantageous that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good, since ‘a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump’ (1 Corinthians 5:6)” (ST II-II q. 64, art. 2).
On the Orthodox side of things, in the “Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church” the Russian bishops underscore St. John and Bill Gould, and essentially concur with the Catholic and Lutheran statements. It says,
“The Church should not assume the prerogatives of the state, such as resistance to sin by force, use of temporal authoritative powers and assumption of the governmental functions which presuppose coercion or restriction. At the same time, the Church may request or urge the government to exercise power in particular cases, yet the decision (to do so) rests with the state…. There are no indications to the need to abolish (the death penalty) in the New Testament or in the Tradition, or in the historical legacy of the Orthodox Church either…. Keeping in mind that mercy toward a fallen man is always more preferable than revenge, the Church welcomes these steps by state authorities. At the same time, she believes that the decision to abolish or not to apply death penalty should be made by society freely, considering the rate of crime and the state of law-enforcement and judiciary, and even more so, the need to protect the life of its well-intentioned members.”
...
“The state does not bear the sword for naught”, St. Paul says. St. John Chrysostom comments on this passage in Romans 13 and says: For he bears not the sword in vain. You see how (God) has furnished him with arms, and set him on guard like a soldier for a terror to those that commit sin. For he is the minister of God to execute wrath, a revenger upon him that does evil.”
Source of Quote:
http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/stevethebuilder/capital_punishment_part_4
Quote by Saint John Chrysostom ~ blessed are the struck!
Quote by Saint John Chrysostom ~ If you would say...
If you say, "Would there were no wine" because of the drunkards, then you must say, going on by degrees, "Would there were no steel," because of the murderers, "Would there were no night," because of the thieves, "Would there were no light," because of the informers, and "Would there were no women," because of adultery.
Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/21940-Saint_John_Chrysostom
Quote by Saint John Chrysostom ~ Force
For Christians above all men are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force...it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.
Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/21940-Saint_John_Chrysostom
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