- Mar 11, 2003
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Regarding the "Evil, Suffering, and the Fall of Man" in "The Orthodox Way" by Bishop Kallistos Ware...I was just reading this...and, well...honestly it didn't, well...seem quite right. Though if the Orthodox Church believes this...I would very much like to know the reasoning - as I realize there are many things that I have seen in a completely different light, due to my Protestant background...
What is this about? Does the Orthodox Church believe that is possible for Satan and the fallen angels, as he puts it, to be reconciled with God??
And for the record - i wish HTML was supported - at least for bolding, breaks, stylizing, etc.
...But, while we are rightly suspicious of any facile resolution of the 'problem of evil', we can find in the account of man's fall, given in the third chapter of Genesis - whether this be interpreted literally or symbolically - two vital signposts, to be read with care.
First, the Genesis account begins speaking of the 'serpent' (3:1), that is to say, the devil - the first among those angels who turned away from God to the hell of self-will. There has been a double fall: first of the angels, and then of man. For Orthodoxy the fall of the angels is not a picturesque fairytale but spiritual truth....Prior to man's creation, there had already occurred a parting of the ways within the noetic realm: some of the angels remained steadfast in obedience to God, others rejected him. Concerning this 'war in heaven' (Rev. 12:7) we have only cryptic references in Scripture; we are not told in detail what happened, still less do we know what plans God has for a possible reconciliation within the noetic realm, or how (if at all) the devil may eventually be redeemed. Perhaps, as the first chapter of the Book of Job suggests, Satan is not as black as he is usually painted. For us, at this present stage in our early existence, Satan is the enemy; but Satan has also a direct relationship with God, of which we knwo nothing at all and about which it is not wise for us to speculate."
What is this about? Does the Orthodox Church believe that is possible for Satan and the fallen angels, as he puts it, to be reconciled with God??
And for the record - i wish HTML was supported - at least for bolding, breaks, stylizing, etc.