First fodder from my Systematic Theology II class. Enjoy! B-)
What does a Christian believe? This is a simple
question, and still there have been thousands of years of debate recorded on
the subject. It is to this timeless question that St. Athanasius of Egypt sets
out to instruct his student, Macarius and it is his answer that we get the
opportunity to listen in on. I myself am not completely unfamiliar with the
writings of Athanasius, having read his “Life of Antony”, and once again, I am glad
to encounter a passionate teacher of the faith communicating our basic
Christian beliefs with eloquence and fervor. I intend in the following space to
bring out a few of the most notable points of discussion in this classic work
of Christian literature and give my humble impressions.
Athanasius skillfully sets up the story of the
God/humanity relationship in a systematic way in order to give Macarius a
framework of the circumstances that humanity found itself in from the beginning:
“This, then, was the plight of men. God had not only
made them out of nothing, but had also graciously bestowed on them His own life
by the grace of the Word. Then, turning from eternal things to things
corruptible, by counsel of the devil, they had become the cause of their own corruption
in death; for, as I said before, though they were by nature subject to
corruption, the grace of their union with the Word made them capable of
escaping from the natural law, provided that they retained the beauty of innocence
with which they were created.”[1]
We see here Athanasius beginning his letter with an explanation of the great
human deficiency to get back to a level of purity that is acceptable to God.
Athanasius goes on to describe exactly what he believes happened
during the incarnation; that is, that God was no less God because he was man
and no less man because he was God. He doesn’t shy away from this paradox. He
continues to illustrate the death of Christ and its significance as the only
option for salvation for humanity due to our lacking aptitude to correct our
relationship with God. Next, Athanasius goes on to explain why the resurrection
was also the only feasible option in truly killing death. On Christ’s death, he
elaborates in many ways including his comments on Christ’s physical health[2],
why it had to be a public death,[3]
and why he had to stay in the grave exactly three days[4].
I am definitely pleased with this little book and indeed
agree with C.S. Lewis in his forward to the book that had all Athanasius ever
done was write this small book, it would have been enough. His refutations in
the last two chapters give some basic apologetic tools for new Christians and
his presentation of what happened in the events of the incarnation are
simplistic and biblical. While I find areas we disagree with, such as his
belief in God’s complete impassibility[5], I
find much more common grounds with Athanasius and have every intention of
recommending this book to any who might need a starting point in digging deeper
in their faith. I find it completely distressing that more churches in western culture
avoid using Eastern Church literature such as this in order to disciple new
converts. We can stand to learn much from those that lived closer to the events
that we stake our faith in. It is our responsibility as modern Christians to
continue this tradition with the basics of the faith that St. Athanasius so fluently
relates in this book.
Thanks for takikng an interest :)
Pax,
The Dread
