Interesting little post at the Anglican site Virtue Online about the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. For those unfamiliar, the filioque controversy surrounds a single phrase in the Nicene Creed. In the original version of the Creed, the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father". But at the council of Toledo in 589, the phrase was added that in English is translated "...and the Son", meaning that in some sense the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.
The issues are two: Does the Holy Spirit originate from the Son? Is the existence of the Holy Spirit contingent on the Son? (I'm not sure most who use the latter version of the Creed would assert that).
Showing posts with label Eastern Orthodoxy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eastern Orthodoxy. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sunday, April 23, 2006
An Un-Orthodox View of Hell
Frederica Matthewes-Green has written an article called "Why We Need Hell. It has been posted on her own site as well as on Virtue Online. It is an apologetic for the concept of Hell from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. The reality of Hell is something fire and brimstone revival preachers often return to and is a topic which needs to be emphasized from time to time - the notion that there are eternal consequences to our actions. And that is a healthy thing, if it is balanced and not manipulative.
But Matthewes-Green’s article raises some troubling questions about the meaning of the very concept of Hell. I had read before, in Franky Schaeffer's brutal Dancing Alone of an Eastern understanding of Hell which states that Hell is not so much a place where one is punished for his or her deeds and rejection of salvation, but rather is simply a state of natural consequence for the pattern of one’s life. Such a view removes the image of God as an angry executioner. In this view, all human beings wind up in a state of eternal existence in the presence of God, but for some, for those who have rejected God’s grace, His very presence is itself a state of torment. God is described in scripture as a consuming fire, so, according to this understanding, to reject God and then spend eternity in His presence will be a Hellish eternity. Mathewes-Green's article refers to more detailed explanations of this view from Peter Chopelas and Dr. Alexander Kaomiros.
But Matthewes-Green’s article raises some troubling questions about the meaning of the very concept of Hell. I had read before, in Franky Schaeffer's brutal Dancing Alone of an Eastern understanding of Hell which states that Hell is not so much a place where one is punished for his or her deeds and rejection of salvation, but rather is simply a state of natural consequence for the pattern of one’s life. Such a view removes the image of God as an angry executioner. In this view, all human beings wind up in a state of eternal existence in the presence of God, but for some, for those who have rejected God’s grace, His very presence is itself a state of torment. God is described in scripture as a consuming fire, so, according to this understanding, to reject God and then spend eternity in His presence will be a Hellish eternity. Mathewes-Green's article refers to more detailed explanations of this view from Peter Chopelas and Dr. Alexander Kaomiros.
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