tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post4853898992098509375..comments2024-03-12T04:14:16.271-05:00Comments on The Rad Trad: Lesser Known Fathers IV: St. Isaac the Syrian and the Ascetical LifeThe Rad Tradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-86470707259959093122013-08-20T14:07:23.507-05:002013-08-20T14:07:23.507-05:00I apologize, but I completely forgot your comment!...I apologize, but I completely forgot your comment!<br /><br />What St. Isaac writes on hell is very true when you think about it. Recall psalm 138:7 "Si ascendero in caelum, tu illic es; si descendero in infernum, ades."<br /><br />St. Isaac's theology is less Cappadocian and more Syrian in my view. He was greatly influenced by Evagrius and Origen, the same Origen who greatly influenced the Cappadocian fathers, especially St. Gregory of Nyssa. I know all three believed in universal salvation, which went out of fashion in the 15th century, although they believed in it for different reasons: Origen believed in it because of his controversial theory of universal restoration of souls (which he though anteceded the body), including for the Devil. St. Gregory believed that the soul, redeemed by Christ, properly belonged to God and hence could not be lost. I am unsure about St. Isaac's views on the matter.<br /><br />Hans Urs von Balthasar has some following in the Eastern churches for his use of the Greek and Syrian fathers, although some are unhappy and consider his quotations mis-contextualized and dishonest. John Paul II basically expected universal salvation with very little caution about the possibility he was wrong: “Christ, Redeemer of man, now for ever "clad in a robe dipped in blood" (Apoc, 19,13), the everlasting, invincible guarantee of universal salvation.” (Message Of John Paul II To The Abbess General Of The Order Of The Most Holy Saviour Of St Bridget)<br /><br />Benedict XVI is harder to understand. He was part of a movement to rehabilitate Origen, whose condemnation centuries after his death may well have been unjust. I do not really read Josef Ratzinger, though I have read the first two Jesus of Nazareth books and found them less concerned with eschatology than with the immediate Christ presented in the Gospels.The Rad Tradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-35296480713454666802013-08-20T12:09:57.343-05:002013-08-20T12:09:57.343-05:00Trad? Trad? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-44055486652513596902013-08-14T07:22:23.625-05:002013-08-14T07:22:23.625-05:00Checked spam, but nothing.
I've now permitte...Checked spam, but nothing. <br /><br />I've now permitted my e-mail to be visible on my profile.Marco da Vinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092410765851812842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-37048172895436438522013-08-14T05:58:56.257-05:002013-08-14T05:58:56.257-05:00RadTrad,
What do you think of Isaac's eschato...RadTrad,<br /><br />What do you think of Isaac's eschatology? It seems more Cappadocian than Roman.<br /><br />These are some stirring words of the saint's:<br /><br />“As for me I say that those who are tormented in hell are tormented by the invasion of love. What is there more bitter and violent than the pains of love? Those who feel they have sinned against love bear in themselves a damnation much heavier than the most dreaded punishments. The suffering with which sinning against love afflicts the heart is more keenly felt than any other torment. It is absurd to assume that the sinners in hell are deprived of God’s love. Love is offered impartially. But by its very power it acts in two ways. It torments sinners, as happens here on earth when we are tormented by the presence of a friend to whom we have been unfaithful. And it gives joy to those who have been faithful. That is what the torment of hell is in my opinion: remorse. But love inebriates the souls of the sons and daughters of heaven by its delectability.”<br /><br />Was Balthasar influenced by Isaac? What about Benedict XVI, whose eschatological ideas were often more eastern than western?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-80447951484302645292013-08-14T03:18:49.923-05:002013-08-14T03:18:49.923-05:00I'm afraid I did smile at the typo in your sec...I'm afraid I did smile at the typo in your second paragraph - "The Way of the Soup", very ascetical!Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033188305453801842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-88743817011816411222013-08-13T23:53:07.262-05:002013-08-13T23:53:07.262-05:00Mark, I sent you a message that ought to show up i...Mark, I sent you a message that ought to show up in your email. Check your spam, as your email client might think Blogger is send you junk.The Rad Tradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-38491112450273477102013-08-13T23:44:54.339-05:002013-08-13T23:44:54.339-05:00Thanks for recalling St. Isaac! We hear too little...Thanks for recalling St. Isaac! We hear too little of him, sadly.<br /><br />BTW, I've already "followed" the blog? What's the next step to sending a message?Marco da Vinhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092410765851812842noreply@blogger.com