“Holy Saturday, Gen. 1:1–13”, Orthodox Bible Study, Session 2, with Dr. C. Veniamin (Feb 13, 2024)

MT Academy “Holy Saturday, Gen. 1:1–13”, Orthodox Bible Study, Session 2, with Dr. C. Veniamin (Feb 13, 2024)

Teaser Recording of the second session of our Bible Study, which took place on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 (at 9 PM Eastern Time).

Discussion of the first reading for Holy Saturday, Gen. 1:1–13. See also the Timestamps below.

It is hoped that these presentations will help the enquirer discern the interwoven character of Orthodox theology and the Orthodox Christian life, and to identify the ascetic and pastoral significance of the Orthodox ethos.

Embark on a spiritual odyssey with us as we weave through the mystical dimensions of Orthodox Christianity's view on the Genesis creation narrative. Grasp the profound concept of creation ex nihilo, where all sprung into existence from the void, through the illuminating teachings of Saint Gregory Palamas and Saint Maximus the Confessor. We unveil the majestic tapestry of the first three days of creation, deciphering the enigmatic name 'Elohim' and unveiling the whispers of the Holy Trinity within the Spirit of God, Ruach Elohim. We draw the lines connecting Christ, the Alpha and Omega, to the Hebrew alphabet's very own aleph and tau, painting a picture of the divine artistry at the heart of everything.

Wander the hallowed halls of the Orthodox tradition with us, where the sacred text of the Bible is not simply read but lived, contextualized by the collective wisdom of the Holy Fathers. In our shared contemplation, we discover the pivotal role of Church services and sacred hymnography in bringing Scripture to life, and how they guide us on our path towards spiritual purification, illumination, and sanctification. Join us in contrasting the ephemeral perfectionism sought by the world with the enduring example of Christ's humility, love, and mercy, as we reveal how the Gospel molds the Church, creating a sanctuary for the Word made flesh.

Finally, we delve into the lived Christian experience, sharing personal reflections on invoking the Lord's name during life's trials, and considering suffering as a crucible for spiritual focus and balance. We navigate the contrasts between Protestant and Orthodox approaches to faith and reason, celebrating the Orthodox tradition of worship and heart-felt experiencing of the divine. As we close this chapter, we stand in awe of the divine mystery, learning to let God be God, and extend our heartfelt gratitude for the companionship of our audience in this journey through Orthodox theology and spiritual life.

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Transcript

Genesis 1: 1-13

Speaker 1 0:00

By the prayers of our Holy Father's . Lord Jesus Christ , our God , have mercy upon us and save us . Amen . We looked last time in an introductory way at the first reading for Holy Saturday and that is the reading from Genesis , chapter 1 to 13 , the first three days of creation . The main point of Genesis is , of course , the creation of the universe and the early history of the human race . So I'm going to recap what we did last time and what I want to talk to you about today is how we read Holy Scripture in the Orthodox Church . So in our first meeting we had said , referring to Genesis 1 , verses 1 to 13 , firstly , in the beginning in our here we have three beginnings , don't we in the history of the universe ? And in fact one of those beginnings goes to before the creation of the universe . So I'm referring to in the beginning was the word . So I'm referring to in the beginning was the Word Enarchi in Ologos . And this beginning of course refers to a period , in inverted commas , which comes before the creation of the universe . The Holy Fathers referred to this as the pre-eternal council . Before the words are spoken , let us make man in our image and after our likeness , before the creation of the universe actually took place . So that is the earliest beginning . The second , of course , is the one that we're looking at from Genesis itself , and the third is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ . Now it is important to remind ourselves that creation , in the Christian context , is out of nothing . God brings this vast universe into being out of nothing . The universe did not pre-exist . Together with God , as we have in certain philosophical systems , as we have in certain religious philosophies , the creation in the Christian context is understood as being ex nihilo . And before the ages , so before eternity , the eternity of creation was brought into being , there was nothing other than God himself . God alone is uncreated . Everything else comes into existence out of nothing .

Speaker 1 3:02

And inesis , chapter 1 , these very first verses , we are introduced to elohim . In the beginning , god created the heaven and the earth . Our text goes through the first day , the second day , the third day . So with the first day we have the creation of light and we mentioned gregory of nisa and gregory palamas , who , among others , teach us that all things were made in an instant . That is to say , the seeds of creation were brought into existence from the very beginning , even if different created things appeared , some sooner and some later in terms of time , and if you are interested in this question , you can see further in my notes to the homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas , page 563 , note 235 , where the foundations of all things were brought into existence at once and the second day the firmament is referred to . It is the creation of the firmament , and God called the firmament heaven . On the third day we have the creation of dry ground . Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear . Heaven and earth appear first . That reminds me of a distinction that Saint Maximus the Confessor makes when he talks about his dualities . There is the created , there is the uncreated , and then the created is further divided and you have the spiritual realm , the physical realm or the sensible realm , and then the sensible realm is further divided into heaven and earth . We have one God .

Speaker 1 5:09

The name Elohim in Hebrew actually means gods in the plural . In the beginning , literally , gods created the heaven and the earth , and it's understood in the Hebrew tradition . Earth , and it's understood in the Hebrew tradition . The plural is used because it refers to the majesty , the grandeur of God , and so God is referred to in the plural , Of course , from the Christian perspective , one cannot help but already begin to think in terms of the Holy Trinity , because there is no other God other than God , the Father , God the Son and God the Holy Spirit . And indeed we mentioned the Spirit of God , Ruach Elohim , which hovered upon the face of the waters . So we have already intimations of Trinity . An interesting footnote to this you know that Christ refers to himself as the Alpha and the Omega in Revelation , at the Hebrew text of Genesis 1.1 , and specifically at the phrase the heavens and the earth . You will see , this is made up of the Hebrew letters aleph and tau , and these are the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet . And so it's said that Christ would have actually referred to himself in Revelation and elsewhere as the aleph and the Tau , which is translated into Greek as the Alpha and the Omega , the first and the last , Et , Aleph , Tau , Alpha , Omega .

Speaker 1 7:18

I like this interpretation whether it's strictly speaking correct or not , I don't mind because it's Christocentric . And , as with the Holy Fathers , this kind of interpretation sees Christ in every word of the Scriptures . And I think that this is fundamentally correct because from the beginning to the end we speak of Christ as the Logos , the Davar Logos Luteo , the Word of God , and in this sense , every word of Holy Scripture is in fact an image of the coming of the Lord , the coming of the Logos , the coming of the Word . It presages , it foretells of the incarnation of the word . It's a proclamation of his coming , it's a harbinger of the coming in the flesh of the Son of God . And God , who is himself spirit , as he tells us in John , chapter 4 , 22 . God is a spirit , the Lord says benevma otheos , and so his coming in his human flesh is significant . The invisible is becoming visible , and it may seem to you a little far-fetched , but words on a page denoting the coming of the Lord . That's a harbinger , a prophecy , a foreshadowing of the Lord's coming , the word who is described in terms of human words , human language , coming , as we say , in the flesh . This is the general shape , this is the general structure of this first reading Genesis 1 , 1 to 13 . And so I wanted to recap that for you

How we ready Holy Scripture

Speaker 1 9:12

.

Speaker 1 9:13

But now I want to go on to talk to you about how we read Holy Scripture , how it is read in the Orthodox tradition . I want this to be distinctly Orthodox in character , which is the reason why I chose to base it on the feasts of the ecclesiastical year . Let's come to this point , then how we read Scripture in the Orthodox tradition . The first thing I'm going to say might surprise you a little bit , or perhaps it won't . We read the Holy Bible in church . That's where we read the Holy Bible .

Speaker 1 9:51

Even when we're reading the Bible at home , even when we're reading it by ourselves , we read it as members of the body of Christ , the people of God , in communion with Christ and with one another . We read the Bible guided by our Holy Fathers . We don't read alone . We seek understanding in reading the Bible from the saints . The Ethiopian eunuch said to the apostle Philip , when the apostle asked him do you understand what you are reading ? The Ethiopian eunuch said to the apostle Philip , when the apostle asked him do you understand what you are reading ? The Ethiopian eunuch replied how can I , except ? Some man should guide me . And he desired , Philip , that he would come up and sit with him , and he did so . He sat with him , he read with him . He did not read alone as such , he was guided .

Speaker 1 10:44

I mentioned that the services of the Orthodox Church help us to focus on the reading of Holy Scripture . Well , the services of the Orthodox Church also interpret the Holy Scriptures for us Whenever a feast , a dominical feast , a mariological feast and other feasts come along . The hymnography , especially , is a commentary on Scripture and particularly , of course , focused on the saving work of Christ . But the Bible is not simply to be read intellectually . It is

Practicing the Commandments of Christ

Speaker 1 11:20

to be lived , first and foremost , by practicing the commandments of Christ , by which we are led to repentance . When we strive to practice the commandments of Christ , we invariably find ourselves lacking , and we come to the understanding that we need God's help in order to live the commandments , especially when it matters , especially when times are hard . And so practicing the commandments of Christ leads to repentance . It also leads to the recognition that the one who gave us those commandments , the one who asked us to live by those commandments , could not be any other than God himself . No one other than God would have the right to ask us to live this way , that is to say according to the commandments of Christ . Why ? Because it becomes evident to us very , very soon that this is not a human way of living , it's a divine way . No one other than god could possibly have the right to ask us to live a divine way . So this is another thing which emerges as we strive to practice the commandments of christ .

Speaker 1 12:47

Yes , I said that the Bible is not simply to be read intellectually , it is to be lived . How do we live it ? First and foremost , by practicing the commandments of Christ , which lead to the purification of the heart , the illumination of the mind , the nous , and to the sanctification of the soul and body . I want to say that the perfection of Christ , which is our goal and which is a dynamic state of being , is characterized by Christlike humility , selfless love and forgiveness . This is very important to bear in mind because it is fundamentally different to how perfection is understood in the world . In the world , affection perfectionism is characterized by a fear of making a mistake or erring in some way . Very important to remember and to remind ourselves , when necessary , that the perfection of which Christ is the example is one of humility , love and mercy , forgiveness .

Speaker 1 14:11

Okay , strictly speaking now holy scripture . Although it is the best image of christ that we have , you know , the place of the holy gospel especially , and the place of holy scripture in general , in the church is very prominent indeed . The Holy Gospel sits on the altar in the Church , the Apostolos , the epistles , the book of the Apostle , where the epistles are read from . That book belongs to the reader , that book belongs to the chanter . It doesn't belong in the altar . It certainly doesn't belong on the holy altar , as does the gospel .

Holy Gospel, Image of Christ

Speaker 1 14:52

The gospel is the image of Christ . It's the best image of Christ that we have , and when we process we carry the gospel as the image of Christ , the life , the example , the teachings of our Lord , God and Savior , Jesus Christ . This has a very special place .

Speaker 1 15:16

Even so , Holy Scripture is not itself the Word of God . It is rather about the Word of God , because it's about the One who came in the flesh to save us . The word of God is not a thing , it's not an idea . It's a person , the second hypothesis of the Holy Trinity who is the express image of the Father , as it says in Hebrews 1.3 , who being the brightness of his , the Father's glory and the express image of his person . Scripture is made up of human language , images and concepts , words which are taken from the created world , which describe our experience of the created world .

Every revelation of God in Bible is Christocentric

Speaker 1 16:17

As I was saying earlier , every theophany , every manifestation of God in Holy Scripture is Christocentric . This is very important . It's Christocentric and it's also Trinitarian , why , Again , there is only one God and in seeing Christ we see the invisible Father . And we cannot see Christ unless we are in the Holy Spirit . Only by the Holy Spirit do we experience Christ , the Son and Word of God . And the Son and Word of God is the express image of God , the Father . So in seeing Christ , we experience the one God , because he's not separate from the one God . There is only one God . When Moses experienced God , when the prophets experienced God , they experienced Christ and at the same time that was a Trinitarian revelation God is one being . There are not three gods , as saint gregory of nisa wrote and entitled one of his treatises that there is not three gods . And this , of course , is a huge question . I've discussed it in various contexts with different people many , many times over .

Speaker 1 17:52

You know the famous Rublev icon . It's a wonderful icon . It's a beautiful icon Strictly speaking . It's not an icon of the Holy Trinity . When you have three men or three angels seated around a table , they can be acting in unison , they can be depicted in harmony with one another , there can be a certain unity implied by the sameness of their physical appearance , but three men or three angels are three separate beings , and this is not the case with God . God , the Holy Trinity , is triune , three in one , so one being . God is one . Hear O Israel , the Lord . Thy God is one Lord . So I think that's very important to bear in mind .

Speaker 1 18:52

What the Rublev icon does is it gives you , in a brilliant , ingenious way , a foreshowing of the mystery of the threeness of God , but it is not at once an icon of the oneness of God and the threeness of God . That's impossible , and in fact it was very late in the history of the church that we had any churches devoted to the Holy Trinity , because there is no icon of the Holy Trinity . You have the baptism of the Lord in the Jordan , where the manifestation of the Trinity is given , you have the Annunciation , you have the Transfiguration , you have Pentecost , and all of them have a Trinitarian character . But to depict the Holy Trinity as such and to convey at the same time the oneness and the threeness of the mystery of the Holy Trinity , that's a crucifixion of the mind . It goes beyond everything . It's not possible . And so churches were dedicated to specific events in the history of our salvation .

Speaker 1 20:03

Every theophany has Christ at its epicenter . It's Christocentric , but it's also Trinitarian center . It's Christocentric , but it's also Trinitarian , and it's important to know that Holy Scripture is a series of descriptions of man's encounter with the uncreated God . So these spiritual experiences are set down in writing , they are described in terms of human language as best as possible , and what is necessary in order to really understand them is a common experience , and this is what the Church gives us . Living in the Church , we grow gradually and we experience the presence of God . You know the grace of God , the cleansing of the heart , the illumination of the mind , the sanctification of our souls and bodies . The touch of the grace of God affects all of these things simultaneously and to the degree to which we humble ourselves and strive to live according to the example of Christ , we grow as well and we enter into the mystery of Christ's passion and of his resurrection . So it's very important to understand Scripture in these terms , because you can get bogged down by all kinds of theories .

Speaker 1 21:24

I want our meetings to be distinctly orthodox character , and I think the way we do that is by studying the Holy Scriptures in the context of the life of the Church , which means in the communion of the saints , and by the Holy Spirit , who sanctifies us and reveals Christ to us . So Scripture is a series of encounters with the living God , described in human language Every theophany , every manifestation of God , every revelation of Christ .

Manifestation of God preceded by prayer and stillness

Speaker 1 22:02

If you notice carefully , it is preceded by prayer and stillness . And my book on the Orthodox understanding of salvation I'm going to read a passage from page 190 , and you will see what I mean when I say that every revelation of Christ is preceded by prayer and stillness by Hezekiah Ezekiah . Prayer and Stillness by Hezekiah Ezekiah .

Speaker 1 22:36

Now , this passage follows after a reference to Saint Sophrony , who talks about the mystery of the Transfiguration as having taken place six days after his utterance , that there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his glory . And Saint-Sephroi points out that for six days , that period , there's no sign of the Lord speaking a word or doing anything . There is silence in the scripture . But that is not the only time we find this period of isihia , this period of prayer and stillness . I'm reading from the second paragraph on page 190 . Now , this simple fact is , of course , attested to not only by the Transfiguration . Not only by the Transfiguration , but throughout Holy Scripture , Beginning with Genesis , we read of the Holy Spirit , hovering in silence upon the waters before creation bursts forth .

Speaker 1 23:45

Following the six days of creation , God rests on the Sabbath , on the seventh day , which is also a foreshowing of the Lord's three-day burial . We notice the silence in Jacob's spiritual struggle as he wrestled with God all night long before meeting with his brother , Esau , who wanted to kill him . After which he exclaims I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved Literally and my soul is saved and my soul is saved . In Exodus , we find Moses and the people of Israel keeping silence before Moses entered the cloud to be with God . Similarly , Joshua and the Israelites kept silent for seven days after they camped outside Jericho before the trumpets sounded and the walls came tumbling down , which was a clear sign that the Lord was working with them , was working with them . And Job's seven-day silence before opening his mouth to speak with power , that is to say to speak inspired by God .

Speaker 1 25:23

And let us not forget Elijah's silence on Horeb and the fact that God was afterwards revealed to him in the still small voice . And , of course , the greatest hesychast of all , the mother of God and ever-virgin , who practiced silence in the temple and through the period before she received the glad tidings of the Annunciation from Gabriel . So she kept silent before and after , and we find the Lord manifesting his power after stillness and silence on the Mount of Olives and in the desert and in the desert . And the resurrection itself takes place after all flesh had been stilled for three days . As we are taught by the beautiful hymn , Let all mortal flesh be still sung in place of the cherubic hymn on Holy Saturday . And the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples at Pentecost , while they too kept silence with one accord in prayer . And to all these wonderful events we may add what the great God-bearer Ignatius of Antioch tells us about the Word of God himself being born pre-eternally of the silence of the Father , quote-unquote in his epistle to the Magnesians . So there we have a whole series of references to great events in the history of our salvation which were preceded by prayer and stillness . And so this is the tradition in which we read and understand Holy Scripture . The saints themselves , the Holy Fathers , take from Holy Scripture , they take from the tradition of the Church , out of which Holy Scripture comes , the living tradition of the saints , and they also have their own personal spiritual experience as well . We see these three elements at work in the writings of the Holy Fathers .

Speaker 1 27:48

So I said I would leave some time . Let's open up for discussion Anyone who'd like to say something or ask a question and we'll see what we can do . Yeah , how do we do this ? How do we live this ? We do this . How do we live this ? And I think the

How do we live according to the example and teaching of Christ?

Speaker 1 28:11

short answer is well , there's a distinction to be made . We have to turn to God as we desire to live according to his example and his teachings . Now , his example and his teachings are very specific , and what we need to know is how to live the commandments of Christ in any and every situation that we might find ourselves in . So here begins this process of learning to call upon the name of the Lord frequently .

Speaker 1 28:43

Saint Sophrony used to teach us that the way to do this is by , when you find yourself confronted with any situation , learning to turn your heart and your mind first to God . So this could be in the form of a very brief prayer , because things come upon us suddenly , situations occur and we have very little time to think . It doesn't have to be a wordy prayer , it's just an inclination of the heart and in fact , at times it can even be a wordless prayer . That movement of the heart , that impulse of the heart is very important , though what happens when that situation arises ? You focus your mind on your heart . It's easier to focus your mind on your heart when a situation that causes pain or some form of suffering happens to us . That's the blessing of pain and suffering in this life . It's easier to focus on the heart and to speak to God from the heart .

Speaker 1 29:50

Otherwise , usually our minds are all scattered all over the place , we tend to lose focus , we are divided . But the Lord provides us with ample opportunities to focus and to learn the culture , to learn to discover our heart and then to cultivate it . So when we speak to God from the heart , when we are focused and we call upon the name of the Lord , we begin to see the results in a very practical way . I say I didn't just give the first answer that came to my mind . I turned my mind first to God and asked for his enlightening , and then I see that the result was good , it was positive . Sometimes you see , oh , I didn't know . I could even say that I didn't know , I even knew that . But God gives you the words and he gives you the understanding to respond to another soul in the right way , in a good way , and the more we see that , the more we learn to practice that , the more we remember to do that . And , by the way , this is the shape of the divine liturgy , this is the shape of the divine Eucharist , what we call the anaphora . When we refer first to God , whatever our concern may be , then it's received by a word , the allogo che in defixis and prayer , Everything is blessed by the word and by prayer . So we see that it's efficacious .

Speaker 1 31:23

Saint Sophrony was very clever . He wasn't saying learn the Jesus prayer , he was saying this . But it leads to the Jesus prayer , it's practicing , it's learning to call upon the name of the Lord . That's the Jesus prayer . So you become increasingly aware of God's presence and that changes the way that you live . When God is present , he's always present . When you know he's present , you're aware of that everything changes .

Speaker 1 31:54

This is what is lacking in our own times discernment . Without turning to God and constantly beseeching God for enlightenment , for understanding , for a word and so on . We lack discernment . And discernment brings balance to our life , to our spiritual life first , but then to everything else , and what we see is , in many cases , people with very good intentions lacking balance , lacking discernment , lacking balance , lacking discernment and having a zeal that's not according to understanding , because we have to learn how to humble ourselves and that's the most painful lesson of all . We want to learn the humility of Christ , but we don't want to learn the humility of Christ , because we already realize that learning the humility of Christ will involve great suffering and we're afraid of suffering . We fear suffering because we fear death .

Speaker 1 32:56

So this brings us right back to the fall of Adam , when Saint Silouan asked the Lord you see that I want to pray but I'm prevented from doing so by the demons . They're appearing in front of me . I can't even make a prostration in front of the icons , you know , the demon appears in front of me . So I would be making a prostration in front of the demon and the Lord says the proud always suffer from demons . Then he asks the Lord to teach him humility , the humility that he tasted when he saw Christ , when he had a vision of Christ during his first year in the monastery , and that was after 15 years of long struggle .

Speaker 1 33:42

So it's all countercultural , it's all very difficult . The world can't help us because the world doesn't understand this . But how to accept injustice , how to learn to humble oneself even when one is in the right . These are things which even some of our Christian brethren , they don't understand . It's radical and , as Saint Sophrony says , unless you are willing to die because the Christian life is martyric , denying oneself , taking up one's cross .

Speaker 1 34:16

These are not metaphors , this is not beautiful , poetic language . This is the crux of the matter to learn to humble oneself . And until we do so , we don't allow God in to work his miracle of transformation . It's very subtle , the spiritual life is extremely subtle and it's difficult for anyone to talk about this . These are very subtle questions , but God gives us ample opportunity , usually through pain and suffering , to learn to do that . When we accept the pain and suffering as from the hand of God , then it's transformed to our benefit . When we learn how to blame ourselves , even when we are in the right , then we enter the stream of Christ's voluntary suffering , because Christ suffered voluntarily and his suffering was innocent . And when we enter the stream of Christ's suffering , then we meet Christ . So there's a downward movement which signifies the dying of the old man and the regeneration of the new . Many deaths have to take place , many regenerations , and this introduces us to the culture of repentance , weeping for our sins , which our society regards as a weakness .

Speaker 1 35:40

I was saying to someone earlier today , quoting something that Father Zacharias said , someone earlier today quoting something that Father Zacharias said on the Holy Mountain If they see someone irritable , they say he didn't wait for his sins last night , Because what is characteristic of someone who is repenting is actually joy . That person is a pleasure to be , with so many paradoxes in the spiritual life . Okay , question my

On the Holy Trinity

Speaker 1 36:08

Protestant family have a problem with the concept of the Trinity . I like your explanation . Can you recommend a book that is clear and concise in explaining the Holy Trinity ? You know , currently we're studying the exact exposition of the Orthodox faith by St John Damascene and in terms of clarity and conciseness , I don't think you can get much clearer than St John Damascene . St Gregory Palamas , the homilies of St Gregory Palamas . But I'll tell you a story . Father Zacharias likes to tell this story whenever I'm with him , but when I was a young lad discovering the Orthodox faith at the monastery , every opportunity I had I would ask the fathers and the sisters about the Holy Trinity , the mystery of the Holy Trinity I wanted to know . And eventually Father Procopio , who was one of the older monks , went to Father Zacharias and said to him tell your little friend that we don't begin our lives with this question . We end our lives with this question . So Holy Trinity 101 , I don't know .

Speaker 1 37:18

You know Protestants , they like to be persuaded in a reasonable manner . First it's as though they say to God I will not believe until I understand . And then , when I understand , then I will accept you . But we don't approach God with our thinking and our reasoning . We approach God through worship and then we enter into the mystery of the life of God . We enter into the mystery of the life of God through worship . That's why I'm taking the approach that I'm taking in this Bible study and I'm daring to call it an Orthodox Bible study , because it's based on worship , not on thinking .

Speaker 1 37:59

And I know it's very difficult for the rationalistic West . The West thinks that the highest part of our being is our reason . Now , I know that there has been a reaction to this , particularly in the Pentecostal movement . There's been a reaction to this , but why ? Because it's so strong . It's not just in scholasticism , it's in all the various Protestant denominations as well , this heavy emphasis on reason .

Speaker 1 38:28

But that is not the highest part of man . The spiritual aspect of man is the highest part of man . But what has happened is we have confused the spiritual power of man with the reasoning power of man and we think it's one and the same . We don't even know that we have a nous . We don't even know that the eye of the soul is not reason and that the eye of the soul is the spiritual power that perceives the presence of God , and that this power is of the heart , because God is experienced in the heart and the light of God is experienced in the heart . This is a power of the heart , it's not a power of the head . Plato and company they didn't know . That's why you have faith versus reason in the Western tradition . Faith versus reason doesn't exist in the Orthodox tradition . So we've lost something in the West that needs to be recovered , and it's the role of the Orthodox Church , the Orthodox tradition , providentially , to bring this back so that we can be healed . We're talking about healing . If we don't have that , then we have religion .

Speaker 1 39:43

Faith in the Western context means religion and , as Father John Romanides used to say , religion is a neurobiological illness . The Orthodox faith is not a religion . Religions are there to satisfy your emotional and psychological needs . But the Orthodox faith is not about satisfying your emotional and psychological needs and it's never been popular . Not popular in the sense that , look , you can't create a mega Orthodox church , because how do you sell the cross , how do you market the cross ? You have to be willing to deny yourself and take up your cross . So St Gregory Palamas , the tradition that he represents , you're not studying Heidegger or Nietzsche or any of those sophisticated philosophers . It's so much harder to deal with . As St Sophronius says about St Silouan , this life is open to all of us , but to live the life of Silouan you have to be as unsparing of your own life as was Silouan . It's a very different context .

Speaker 1 40:56

In my years of teaching , inevitably there would be a number of students who would come from various backgrounds and I noticed that some of them they had a kind of mental list of questions they were hoping that seminary would solve for them , and what I noticed was by living the life it's quite intense seminary life with a monastery nearby , attending the services , Gradually . What happened was there was a kind of reorientation that took place just by virtue of the fact that they were exposed to Orthodox worship , to community life with other Orthodox and so on , and gradually , this reorientation meant that instead of looking that way , they looked that way and it was like God was turning them around to look towards the sun , you know . And then those questions , the multitude of questions that they had . First of all , they ceased to be sort of can I believe or not ? On that level , you know , they ceased to have that character and then they just fell away , Because in the Orthodox tradition , it's okay not to know .

Speaker 1 42:05

It's okay not to understand . It's okay not to understand . You don't have to know everything . You don't have to understand everything . Only God knows everything . God does that , you know .

Speaker 1 42:15

What did he say to St Anthony the Great , One of my favorite saints , St Anthony the Great Lord ? How is it that some die when they are young while others drag on to extreme old age ? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich ? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need ? He heard a voice answering him . Anthony , keep your attention on yourself . These things are according to the judgment of God and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them .

Speaker 1 42:59

You know , when I first read that with Manny Lenny years ago . I found it so disappointing . I thought these are the questions I want to know the answers to . But in fact , if I'm not being too simplistic about it , let God be God . It's okay . God loves us . This is what we know . He cares for us . Anything that happens to us , good or bad , he loves us , he's there . Let God be God . Maybe that's a good note to finish this evening on . Thank you for your patience with me and , as you can see , what we're doing is , in a certain sense , a little bit of a pioneering thing trying to give Bible study a distinctly orthodox character and , with God's help , will study a distinctly Orthodox character and , with God's help , by your prayers , we'll continue to try to do this . Please subscribe to our channel and share with your friends . Click on the join button below our video and become a friend or reader of the Mount Tabor Academy . Support our drive to introduce the theology and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church to the wider community .