Re: Patristic witness

Paul Arveson (arveson@oasys.dt.navy.mil)
Tue, 26 Mar 96 19:00:10 EST

In message <v02130507ad7d972c7ead@[152.131.110.53]> Alice Fulton writes:
> I don't have statistics for how many patristic writers used non-literal
> interpretations, but here is a passage from one of them. The force of his
> argument doesn't depend upon newer developments in linguistics, archaelogy,
> etc.:
>
> When "the Father" of the saints is said to be "in heaven", we are not to
> suppose that he is circumscribed in bodily fashion and dwells "in heaven";
> otherwise, if the heaven contained him, God would be found less than,
> because contained by, the heaven;
...
_____________________________________

Thank you for this, Alice. We can benefit a lot from reading the literature of
the "Dark Ages". At least in terms of theology, they should be called the
"Light Ages", and now we are in a late stage of the Darkening. The evidence of
this is that theological thought today is usually so dominated by an earthly
perspective or human point of view, as you suggest (2 Cor. 5:16).

Today, in order to justify our faith we demand historicity, perspecuity,
inerrancy, objectivity, harmony, etc. -- ironically, the same kinds of things
the positivists tried to claim for materialist science (and failed to find it).

I have some speculations: 1) The Middle Ages were an incubation period,
when the deep philosophical foundations of modern science, capitalism, and
democratic values were being formed, based largely on the meditations of
scholars in this era. 2) It takes a long time for a culture to achieve these
levels of civilization; they can't be imported or adopted quickly. 3) The deep
foundational beliefs upon which these values and presuppositions rest have now
been generally forgotten -- I mean that a) when they are still practiced, as in
science, it is done unconsciously and nobody knows how to justify them; b) when
they are not practiced, nobody knows how to implement them.

So, evangelicals, let's open our minds and hearts to the saints of old.

Paul Arveson, Research Physicist
73367.1236@compuserve.com arveson@oasys.dt.navy.mil
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