St Gregory of Nyssa - just starting out

[Olympiada]

Hi Everyone,

I am about to plunge into the theology of St. Gregory of Nyssa and I am scared. I do not know where to start. Can somebody help me out here? I am primarily interested in his thought on evil.

Thanks
Olympiada

[M.C. Steenberg]

I am about to plunge into the theology of St. Gregory of Nyssa and I am scared. I do not know where to start. Can somebody help me out here? I am primarily interested in his thought on evil.

I've always felt that one of the best texts of St Gregory's with which to begin is his Life of Moses, in which he addresses his understanding of knowledge and the spiritual life - through an allegory of Moses' departure from Egypt and ascent of Mt Sinai. It is a book that gives a good feel for the scope of his thought on spiritual matters, and man's relationship of knowledge to God; and in this sense is a good foundation for looking further into his thought on specific themes.

INXC, ]Matthew

[Ken McRae]

... where to start.

The Nature and Origin of Evil According to the Eastern Christian Church
@ http://www.erces.com/journal/articles/archives/v02/v_02_03.htm

"The theory of evil that lacked an independent substance has found its most developed and deepened form in work of Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, an enigmatic author of the 5th century, the father of negative theology and mysticism. Yet, as early as in 2nd century, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and later in 4th century, Fathers like Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, they all perceived evil as non-existent."

Unbounded and Evil Matter in Plotinus and John Damascenus
@ http://www.theandros.com/unbounded.html

"At first we must put emphasis on the contrary interpretation of matter between Plotinus and the patristic view. Plotinus considers matter as a formless and without limitation entity, comparing it with the receptacle of Platonic Timaeus. The Orthodox interpretation of matter by Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Maximus the Confessor was referred to a creating fact or a contribution of rational qualities.[5]"

The Darkness of Night, or Evil Among Us ~ Fr. George Florovsky
@ http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/darkness_florovsky.htm

"In a world that is created by God, whose laws and purposes are established by Divine wisdom and goodness, how is it possible that evil exists? For evil is precisely that which opposes itself to God and resists Him, perverting His designs and repudiating His ordinances. Evil is, furthermore, that which is not created by God. And since the Divine will establishes the reasons for everything which exists (and this Sovereign will alone establishes "sufficient reasons"), one can assert that evil, as evil, exists despite a lack of reasons, exists without a single reason for its existence. As St. Gregory of Nyssa stated, it is "an unsown herb, without seed and without root." ... etc."

THE STRUGGLE WITH GOD ~ Paul Evdokimov
@ http://www.tuirgin.com/files/texts/orthodoxy/Evdokimov/StruggleWithGod/html/

1 ) "The Scriptures do not teach philosophy. The Bible does not see in evil a simple lack of good or of perfection, a non-plenitude, but a liberty that has failed and has turned into an evil will. In adding the non-existent to the existent, it has perverted this into a malevolent being. However, this perversion, or evil, is not materialized and personalized in the evil one except under certain conditions; men must furnish him with ontological “board and lodging” which means that, thanks to their freedom, men can be conscious or unconscious accomplices in serving a lie. In this real ministry of those “possessed” by evil, beings are diminished so that the Liar may swell and grow."

2 ) "The philosophers have never succeeded in elucidating the problem of evil; they have rather complicated and entangled it. Evil, on the contrary, was never a problem for the Fathers of the Church. For them it was not a question of speculating on evil, but rather of fighting the evil one. The prayer of a saint would be: “Preserve us from all vain speculation on evil and deliver us from the evil one.” ... etc." ( @ http://www.tuirgin.com/files/texts/orthodoxy/Evdokimov/StruggleWithGod/html/node13.html )

3 ) "According to the bold words of St. Gregory of Nyssa, one who is not moved by the Holy Spirit is not a human being." ( @ http://www.tuirgin.com/files/texts/orthodoxy/Evdokimov/StruggleWithGod/html/node13.html )

[Olympiada]

I've always felt that one of the best texts of St Gregory's with which to begin is his Life of Moses, in which he addresses his understanding of knowledge and the spiritual life - through an allegory of Moses' departure from Egypt and ascent of Mt Sinai. It is a book that gives a good feel for the scope of his thought on spiritual matters, and man's relationship of knowledge to God; and in this sense is a good foundation for looking further into his thought on specific themes.

Thanks. Our church has three copies, so I will read that next. I was referred to from Glory to Glory, and I picked that up, so I will start there. I did not know what the Life of Moses was about so I left it alone. Now I need an icon of St. Gregory and a troparia and kontakia.

Olympiada

[Olympiada]

Good afternoon Monachos.net Discussion Community,

I am wondering if anyone can direct me to any feminist scholarship on Saint Gregory of Nyssa?

Olympiada