The Moral Idea of the Dogma of the Incarnation
7.
a. One can benefit fro the Savior’s co-suffering love by the conviction that one is individually encompassed in Christ’s heart. Only God could encompass in His heart each and every individual human.
b. Personal sufferings remain fruitless when not united with the co-suffering of the Son of God. His suffering for our sins is our redemption; this is not the case in the sense of an encouraging example.
a. One can benefit fro the Savior’s co-suffering love by the conviction that one is individually encompassed in Christ’s heart. Only God could encompass in His heart each and every individual human.
b. Personal sufferings remain fruitless when not united with the co-suffering of the Son of God. His suffering for our sins is our redemption; this is not the case in the sense of an encouraging example.
- How does Metropolitan Anthony use the example of Christ’s co-suffering love to argue to His Divinity?
- How does Christ’s co-suffering realize our salvation? How does this differ from a merely encouraging example?
1. Metropolitan Anthony uses the example of Christ’s co-suffering love to argue to His Divinity in a manner that has now left Kant far in the distance. The Metropolitan is far beyond pointing out the comparisons between Christianity and with Kant; of the free will of man, the value of virtue and the need to have an example to inspire us on. Instead, with Jesus Christ being God supernatural things are able to take place. Since Jesus is God, his love for all of man is exemplified in the Garden of Gethsemane, his wont to suffer for and with us. My desire to become more virtuous and to overcome the corrupt nature in me that struggles with my desire for virtue can be overcome and it starts with the dogma of the incarnation: that Jesus Christ is God and Redeemer. When one begins here, something supernatural takes place. Christ is no more foreign to me or just a historical example of virtue but supernaturally becomes a part of my being, or more correctly, I become part of His being and am a participant in the Divine nature. Herein is the only way in which the corrupt nature will be defeated – by being united to Christ. All other explanations of Christ not being Divine make it impossible to triumph over the delusions and evil in me.
ReplyDelete2. This co-suffering realizes our salvation in that it is not related to a great idea or moral example but a living God who was incarnate and suffered for our sake in order that we might be drawn up into the Divine nature. The process of my suffering I now know is a “sacred bridge to unification with the Lord.” This is what the Apostles and Saints teach us and have exemplified for us in their own lives. It is not some naïve, hoped-for ideal that is unattainable.
Matthew