Food for thought from St. Athanasius

[Eusebios]

JUst a little food for thought from "On the Incarnation of The Word of God" Ch. 1
The presence and love of the Word had called them into being; inevitably, therefore when they lost the knowledge of God, they lost existence with it; for it is God alone Who exists, evil is non-being, the negation and antithesis of good. By nature, of course, man is mortal, since he was made from nothing; but he bears also the Likeness of Him Who is, and if he preserves that Likeness through constant contemplation, then his nature is deprived of its power and he remains incorrupt. So is it affirmed in Wisdom: "The keeping of His laws is the assurance of incorruption." And being incorrupt, he would be henceforth as God, as Holy Scripture says, "I have said, Ye are gods and sons of the Highest all of you: but ye die as men and fall as one of the princes."
I like to try and read this wonderful treatise during "little Lent" as it is a wonderful reminder of that which we celebrate in this wondrous season.
If you'd like to read it all, with a very good intro by C.S. Lewis, it can be found here
His unworthy servant,
Eusebios.

 

[RobNJ]

Bump!!

 

[countrymouse33ad]

Thanks, Eusebios

 

[Eusebios]

No problem, I love this piece, it reminds me of why we celebrate, and why I submitted to the embrace of the Orthodox Church.

 

[Eusebios]

Some additional thoughts from St. Athanasius:
We saw in the last chapter that, because death and corruption were gaining ever firmer hold on them, the human race was in process of destruction. Man, who was created in God's image and in his possession of reason reflected the very Word Himself, was disappearing, and the work of God was being undone. The law of death, which followed from the Transgression, prevailed upon us, and from it there was no escape. The thing that was happening was in truth both monstrous and unfitting. It would, of course, have been unthinkable that God should go back upon His word and that man, having transgressed, should not die; but it was equally monstrous that beings which once had shared the nature of the Word should perish and turn back again into non-existence through corruption. It was unworthy of the goodness of God that creatures made by Him should be brought to nothing through the deceit wrought upon man by the devil; and it was supremely unfitting that the work of God in mankind should disappear, either through their own negligence or through the deceit of evil spirits.
In Xp,
Eusebios.

 

[Eusebios]

And another tidbit:
He took our body, and not only so, but He took it directly from a spotless, stainless virgin, without the agency of human father—a pure body, untainted by intercourse with man. He, the Mighty One, the Artificer of all, Himself prepared this body in the virgin as a temple for Himself, and took it for His very own, as the instrument through which He was known and in which He dwelt. Thus, taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death instead of all, and offered it to the Father.
In Xp,
Eusebios.

 

[Maximus]

Today on the train to and from my job in Alexandria, I was rereading Warren Carroll's Church history, The Building of Christendom (Volume 2). In reading the section on the Arian crisis, I once again realized how much we owe St. Athanasius and what a model he is for us all.

God bless him! (Although I'm sure He already has!)

What a great great great saint!

Did you know St. Athanasius, although from Egypt, was a little guy with red hair and blue eyes?

 

[ExOrienteLux]

Another beautiful bit:

"When, then, the minds of men had fallen finally to the level of sensible thngs, the Word submitted to appear in a body, in order that He, as Man, might centre their senses on Himself, and convince them through His human acts that He Himself is not man only but also God, the Word and Wisdom of the true God. This is what Paul wants to tell us when he says: 'That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend height and depth, and to know the love of God that surpassess knowledge, so that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.' The Self-revealing of the Word is in every dimension - above, in creation; below, in the Incarnation; in the depth, in Hades; in the breadth, throughout the world. All things have been filled with the knowledge of God."

Thy Nativity, O Christ God, hath shown to the world the Light of wisdom, for by it, those who worshipped the stars were taught by a Star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Orient from on high. O Lord, glory to Thee!

-Philip.

 

[Eusebios]

Thanks Josh!