A Reading Report
on Gregory of Nazianzus’ Orations
2nd
December 2016
Submitted by: Laldanmawia
________________________________________________________________________
Summary
of the Text
This
paper summarized the second theological oration (on God) and the fifth
theological oration (on the Spirit) following the points given by the book.
The Second Theological Oration - On
God
1.
In the First Theological Oration
discussion, theologian of what character he ought to bear and what subject
he/she philosophizes had been laid down. Now we can enter into theological
question on God as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are separately considered or
as illumination to One God, One in diversity, diverse in Unity, wherein is a
marvel.
2. However, such observation or
contemplation can be a sense of dangerous as entering the cloud at Mount (as Moses
going up to Mt. Sinai). That is why, sometimes observing like Aaron did, or
Nadab or Abihu is best. Our discourse must be withdrawn from
other things and engraved on both sides of the stone because the law is partly
visible and partly hidden.
3. Like Moses who climbed the Mount
and faced God but saw the back parts of God, Christian can see only
the back parts of God, i.e. the glory that is manifested in creatures, which is
also like the shadow and reflection of the sun in the water. We are not Moses, a god to Pharoah nor Paul,
that is why for us the complete comprehension of God’s nature is lifted above
to be unreachable God.
4. It is difficult to understand God
and impossible to define God in words even in the teaching of Greek philosopher
Plato.
Further, Gregory thought it is impossible even to express him and conceive him,
because the darkness of this world and the thick covering of the flesh is an
obstacle to the full understanding.
5.
But let this saying be dropped for now. What concerns us is not only the peace
of God which passed all understanding and knowledge, nor thing which God has
stored, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived, nor accurate knowledge of creation, but the nature of God of its
incomprehensible and illimitable, the fact of his being.
6.
We can know now the existence of God through our eyes and law of nature. We see
things, unless God is existed, the creative and beautifully created Universe
would have not come into being. Even though God is not comprehended by human
mind, it is manifested to us that all created things are kept to move. For
anyone who searches for comprehension of God possess the extreme object of
desire, and to which all the life is pressed forward.
7.
Philosophers and theologians are asked how they understand God, as having a
body and all other attributes or as possessing nothing more than we do. Some try to rely on reason. How will
that help to know that he is infinite, formless, intangible, and invisible?
If we restricted him, how can he be an object of worship? Therefore in God,
there is no separation, dissolution, strife and no body.
8.
It will be an insult if we make God a body. Even though he pervades all things
and fill earth as he
himself says that he fills heaven and earth and the Spirit of the Lord fills
the world. We cannot give God a body, because he would be subordinately
contained by the universe or in another body which is not possible. So the
argument concerning about the body has no possible basis at all.
9. Then we see that God is not a
body, that is why we can conceive him as incorporeal. While assuming God as
immaterial, we are not clear about his essence whether unbegotten or
unoriginate or unchanging or incorruptible. Therefore the question about his
being is not answered yet, it is to be considered further. We must go beyond
what he is not and say what he is.
10. Now we are clear that God is not
a body, then we can move on to the examination of God’s position. If we say he
is nowhere, he may be nonexistent, or if we assume that he is somewhere, he may
be in universe or above it. We can continue asking if he is in universe, where
is he before universe is created?
11. The main intention for the
previous arguments is that the divine nature cannot be comprehended by human
reason, and that we cannot even represent to ourselves all its greatness.
This is not because God is jealous of the divine secrets, but because God is
passionless and only good.
12. Whatever knowledge we
have of God comes by great labor in order that we may not throw away easily, because which we acquire easily we
quickly throw away, because it can be easily recovered.
Therefore the darkness of the body comes between us and God for that we may see
little. It is quite impracticable for those who are in the body to be familiar
with objects of pure thought.
13.
We use names for the divine nature.
Every name is conceived with our concept with experience and as such,
imports created features into our conception of God. Our mind
faints to transcend corporeal things, and to consort with the Incorporeal,
stripped of all clothing of corporeal ideas. Every
rational nature longs for God and for the First Cause, but
is unable to grasp Him.
14. Human made themselves, through the
cause, gods and idols like the sun or moon or stars or visible objects or
pictures of ancestors or even Earth elements like earth, air, water, fire, etc.
In the long run, this kind of false worship is confirmed by time. Then worship
of false gods is eventually held to be law.
15.
Many
deified their passions and
wicked sinful emotions. By doing so, sins become ignoble and excusable for them.
People have set up their some god or demon and worship with different
sacrificial laws. Worshippers
are contemptible that they are rational being and have receive grace of God,
but still worship other than God. This happens because the evil one
abused the desire of rational humans in their search for God.
16. Reason receives us to desire
God, to consider things that are visible. It is questionable that who would
order things in heaven and earth and their all movements. People try to
consider the existence of an almighty creator God due to the wonders of the
universe, because its existence cannot be accidental; if so, who will let
ascribe its order? Surely this does not belong to the Accidental. Then it must
be something else but God.
17. Though the
nature and essence of God are not discoverable in this life, Nazianzus thought
we would know them in the afterlife. Revelation through scripture is superior
to reason, but gives only a relative superiority of knowledge of God in this
life, not absolute knowledge.
18.
Can we consider that absolute
knowledge of Divine is there in Enos’ hope of calling upon the name of the Lord,
Enoch’s blessing by being taken up into heaven, Noah’s pleasing God, Abraham’s
offering of the Lord food to eat to the three visitors and Jacob’s dream
of the ladder and even his wrestling with God? These great patriarchs of
antiquity did not comprehend the nature and the pure sight of God.
19. Even prophets
of the old testaments, Elijah who
was permitted to detect the mere presence of God in a light breeze, Manoah who
claimed to see God, Isaiah and Ezekiel who were eyewitnesses of God’s
mysteries, none of these ever stood before the council and
essence of God, or saw, or proclaimed the nature of God.
20.
Paul was taken up to the third heaven, and yet he did not say anything about
his witness, we too should be silent about such things. The only thing Paul
said in this regard was that we know in part and we prophesy in part.
21.
In pursuing the nature of God and the knowledge of the self-existent we keep
running into obstacles. The subject of God is harder to come as it is more perfect
than any other. It is open to more objections. In that sense, Solomon, most wise, discovered that
wisdom was far from him. Paul discloses his discourse with astonishment and confesses
the unsearchableness of the judgments of God. King David, too, confesses in his
psalm the greatness and deepness of God’s judgments saying its foundation
cannot be reach by measure or sense.
22. There are many things we need to consider that address
the relationship concerning human’s member and parts, and also about eye and
ear of how they work to receive a visible object and voice respectively.
Another concern can be given to other senses of human and to the work of human
body, cognition and emotions as well, by which human nature is swaying.
23.
What about the differences of animals from each other in their nature? Some are
herbivorous and some are carnivorous. There are tamable or untamable, teachable
or not teachable, more sense or less sense, and many others can be considered
in the difference of animals to each others. It would be a weary discourse to
go through all the details.
24.
Then what about fish in the sea? We can consider the differences of fishy tribe
of how they live, how they relate with other animals dwell on land. What about
birds of their differences in form, color, ability to show their beauty? Who
create and control them for their respective movements?
25.
What is the cause of birds having nest on rocks, trees or roofs; the creative
works of bees and spiders; the movements and configuration of cranes; the
treasuring of food and wood by ants in their nest? All these are to be
considered.
26.
Look at the differences of plants of how its leaves work, the variety and
lavish abundance of fruits, the power of roots, juices, flowers, odors and how
they can be used as medicines. And to a larger context, the length and breadth
of the earth, the wonderful sea, the beautiful forest, rivers, and all others
on the Earth. Where are all these things and how? More concern about the
foundation of the earth, arrangement of mountains, plains, coastlines, etc, Are
all these the proof of the majestic work of God?
27. Now with respect to the sea, its greatness
and gentleness can be considered in our enquiry about its nature. Different
question can be asked-what collected it? What bound it? Why it remains the same
after receiving all the rivers? Who split mountains for rivers? Why does the
sea never flow or cease to flow?
28. Now moving towards the air, to
heavenly things, to heaven itself and to thing which are above heaven, we can
consider how the winds, seasons, lights, clouds, thunder and lightning are
working accordingly.
29. Another argument is about the sky
and heavenly bodies. Who set the stars in order? Knowing orbits, periods,
waxings, wanings, degress and minutes does not mean we arrive at comprehension
of the realities themselves. What is the cause of the movement of stars and sun?
30. The sun can be considered as
holding the same position among material objects as God does among object of
thought. What are the nature and phenomena of the moon? It rules the night while
the sun takes over the day.
31. The entire system of visible and
invisible and even the intellectual and celestial creation,
that is, angels and ministers as spirits and fires are secondary lights that
can enlighten others. The point is that even if the secondary natures surpass
the power of our intellect, how much more then the first and the only nature.
The
Fifth Theological Oration - On the Spirit
1.
After making an argument for the Son, in the fifth theological orations,
Gregory comes for the definition of what the Holy Spirit actually is.
2. He began by showing the
difficulty of the subject of the Holy Spirit, because of multitudes of
questions. The task of examination and distinguishing is how many sense the
word Spirit and Holy is used and understood in the Scripture. Even though using
Holy Spirit is a little peculiar, it is used in the following subject.
3. Gregory had a great confidence in
the deity of the Spirit and it is begun to teach concerning his Godhead by
fitting to him the name which belongs to the Trinity. Comparing with the light,
the Father, Son and the other Comforter are the true lights which lighten every
people. Then the doctrine of God the Trinity is described in terms of this
light: out of light (the Father), light (the Son), in light (the Spirit).
4.
If one of the Trinity was from the beginning, then the three were so
too. Imperfect Godhead cannot be there. Both "holy" and
"spirit" are characteristics that make Godhead complete. If the Holy
Spirit is not God and if he is same rank with human, how can he make me God, or
join me with the Godhead?
5. The Sadducees denied the existence
of the Holy Spirit, along with angels and resurrection. Greek philosophers
addressed him "mind of the world" or "external mind."
Various Christian understandings are that the Holy Spirit is activity,
creature, God, or they take some neutral position on who or what the Holy
Spirit is.
6. The Holy Ghost must certainly be
conceived of either self-existent or in another. The former position sees the
Holy Spirit as substance, the latter as accident. If he is accident, the Holy
Spirit would be an activity of God, then he will be effected and will ceasing
once effected rather than as effecting. However, if he is a substance, the Holy
Spirit is either creature of God or God.
7. Is the Holy Spirit begotten or
unbegotten? If he is unbegotten, there will be two unoriginates, but if he is
begotten, by whom, the Father of the Son? More questions will come. Some people
used Syllogism to relations within the Trinity that results in absurdity;
particularly the syllogism that followed from either the Holy Spirit is
begotten or unbegotten.
8. However Gregory rejected this
distinction as a false dilemma. He affirmed basing on John 15:26 that the Holy
Spirit proceeds from the Father and he is between the unbegotten and the begotten.
This procession is as much a mystery as the generation of the Son.
9. They argued that the Spirit can
be a Son if there is not something that prevents him to be. But answering them,
Gregory said that there is nothing lacking because God has no deficiency. The
difference of manifestation or rather of their mutual relations one to another,
has caused the difference of their names. Being unbegotten or begotten or
proceeding gives names to persons of the Trinity that the distinction of the
three persons may be preserved in the one nature and dignity of the Godhead.
Another formulation of this is that the three are one in Godhead, and the one three
in properties.
10. If the Spirit is God, then he
should be consubstantial with God. Every attempt to explain this in terms of
creaturely reality is bound to fail. Gregory took a stab at it anyway, using
the model of human generation in the archetypal family.
11. What about Adam, Eve and Seth as
they were creature of God, a fragment of Adam and begotten of both Adam and Eve
respectively. They were persons consubstantial. Each of the three persons was
distinguished from the others and yet there was only one nature. We can use
this example to define the nature of the Spirit.
12. Spirit was not worshiped in
ancient times, that was the concern they raised against Gregory. But basing on
Scripture, it is the Spirit in whom we worship, and in whom we pray because God
is Spirit. Therefore to adore or to pray to the Spirit seems to him to be
simply himself offering prayer or adoration to himself. He is glorified with
one of coequal honor.
13. He also addressed the issue of
how there are not three Gods and how God is not Tritheism. Those who accept the Son as one with the Father but not
the Holy Spirit and being called Ditheists are charged with his answer. The
reason for which they are charge of being ditheists would also be the answer to
the charge of tritheism.
14. There is one Godhead and all
others are referred to one. There is not less or more God; they are undivided
in separate persons, like three suns yielding one light mingled together.
15. Greeks also believe in one
Godhead with many gods just as there are many humans. Such a position is
handled using the analogy of many humans, but one humanity. But this unity is
only conceivable in thought, where the individuals vary from one another by
time and in disposition and even in power.
16. But Greeks’ understanding of
gods and daemons, who work differently sometimes hating children through lust
of rule, are different from that of Christian faith. But each of the three
Persons possesses unity, not less with that which is united to it than with
itself, by reason of the identity of essence and power.
17. Gregory then addressed the supporters
of principle that conceives things of one essence are counted together,
collected into one number; saying that they are not consubstantial. They
overthrew the union of God; by doing that they freed themselves from trouble.
But for him, he even will not abandon the object of his adoration.
18. Their standpoints about “things
of one essence are counted together, but things those are not consubstantial are
reckoned one by one” is condemned by Gregory, and he asked them to unlearn to
use the word three. This meant that three could only be predicated of what is
absolutely identical in nature. Anything else cannot be counted with other
things.
19. Gregory was claimed to be an
old-fashioned enough as he used ‘three’ of that number of thing, even if they
are of a different nature. But he replied them saying that which are not
consubstantial; it is not suitable to use unity of three. He continued to ask
his opponents whether, if they reckon three of something only when that three
all have the same nature, scripture was wrong to refer to Spirit, water and
blood as all three bearing witness (cf. I John 5:8). He proceeded to reduce their
argument from connumeration.
20. In replying grammarians, he
continued to say that one and one added together make two, then two resolved
again become one and one. But theory of mathematics requires that they must be
consubstantial and as well as heterogeneous which are separated.
21. He rejected the argument from
the silence of scripture that it does not, in fact, very clearly pr very often
write Spirit God in express words. That is why he tried to release them from
the inconvenience by a short discussion of things and name, and the use of Holy
Scripture.
22. Gregory described what figures
of speech are and how they appear in scripture. We gave names according to our
own comprehension, we call him sleep, awake, angry, walk, sit from our own
understanding basing on the Scripture. Those powers and activities of God have
depicted for us some other corporeal one.
23. We cannot simply erase something
that is not contained in Scripture, we get such extra-biblical words as
unoriginate, unbegotten and immortal. But in Scripture we have “I am the first
and the last” and “Before me there was no God, nether shall there be after me.”
To accept this passage is to accept his unbegotten and unoriginate. And to
accept that he has no end of being is to accept his immortality.
24. He continued his argument, as
they said twice five and twice seven are ten and fourteen respectively, and to
the rational and mortal animal, they meant human. In line with these scientific
truths, he made his argument that he merely repeat their own meaning when he
answered them their doubts and questions.
25. Taking up a little further, he
explained that why the deity of the Holy Spirit was not expressly set forth in
scripture. He described two epochal events in human history that he likened to
earthquakes. These are the transition from idolatry to the law and then from
the law to the gospel. In each of the two transitions, the change was not made
on a sudden so as to be more permanent, based as it was on persuasion. In each
transition, God allowed the survival of certain elements from the preceding period,
e.g., the first cut off the idol, but left sacrifice; the second, while it
destroyed the sacrifices did not forbid circumcision. In that process, became
instead of Gentiles, Jews, and instead of Jews, Christians.
26. Theology proceeds in reverse
order, adding rather than taking away elements at each transition. The Old
Testament proclaimed the Father openly, and the Son more obscurely. The New
manifested the Son, and suggested the deity of the Spirit. Now the Spirit
himself dwells among us as the Son declared that he will ask the Father and he
will send another Comforter, then the authority of the Spirit shall come.
27. The light of knowledge or order
of theology broke to them gradually which Gregory thought well than proclaiming
suddenly or keeping them hidden. Referring to John 14:12, 26, Gregory claimed
that all things should be taught us by him, especially his own deity.
28. Gregory made his position to worship God
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, three persons, one Godhead, undivided
in honor. If the Holy Spirit is not to be worshipped, he cannot deify us by baptism.
If he is to be worshipped, he is an object of adoration. From the Spirit comes
our new birth.
29. Against the argument from
silence, Gregory claimed that scripture is not silent in the titles it
ascribes to the Holy Spirit, i.e., titles that connote deity. Christ was always
with Spirit. He gave a list of such, including the Spirit of God, the Spirit of
Christ, the mind of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of adoption, of
truth and liberty, etc.
30. Ananias and Sapphira were
punished for having lied to the Holy Ghost, as it is said that those who
blasphemy against Paraclete (the
third Person in Trinity) alone cannot be forgiven. The Spirit is given, sent,
divided, the bounty, the inspiration, the promise and the intercession for us.
31. Gregory could not really find
anything on earth that could be used to compare the nature of the Godhead. When
he used an eye, a fountain and a river, there was no distinction in time and
they were torn away from their connection with each other.
32. What about using the sun, a ray
and a light to define the nature of the Trinity? This can also be misunderstood
that a ray and light are in the sun, so there is tendency to give essence to
the Father, but denied personality to the others and make them only powers of
God.
33. These different examples could
not really be supposed in the Godhead. There is nothing which presents a
standing point to Gregory’s mind in these illustrations. They were very far
short of the truth to him, and he chose to cling himself to more reverent
conception under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, to rest upon few words, to
keep him as genuine comrade and companion, and finally to worship Father, Son
and Holy Ghost, the one Godhead and power.
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