Philosophers and Understanding God PDF

PHILOSOPHERS AND UNDERSTANDING GOD Through the course of the history of the development of humanity’s way of understanding who God is, especially in relation to our existence, many bright minds emerged. These philosophers used reason in order to understand and explain not only what our human minds...

PHILOSOPHERS AND UNDERSTANDING GOD Through the course of the history of the development of humanity’s way of understanding who God is, especially in relation to our existence, many bright minds emerged. These philosophers used reason in order to understand and explain not only what our human minds can, by far, grasp about the reality of the divine, but also the reason behind humanity’s desire to connect with our Creator. The Reality of God and the Patristic Philosophers The Patristic Period is an era in Church History which pertains to the years when the “Fathers of the Church” emerged. The Fathers of the Church were early Christian men who either attended the ecumenical councils (gathering of Church leaders to discuss matters concerning faith and morals) or who taught through word or writing. They are considered as the most influential teachers of faith in the Church. These people used logic and reason as guides to religious truths. Only Christian philosophers and theologians who lived during the first eight centuries of the Church are given this title. There are dozens of men who bear this title, most of them are saints like Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Saint Athanasius, and Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Some of them are not saints, like Tertullian and Origen. The following fathers, however, have great influences to the Church and to the development of Christian philosophy. a. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) He was the son of Saint Monica. He lived a sinful life before he got converted by Saint Ambrose of Milan, another Father of the Church. Saint Augustine defended the correct understanding regarding the free will of humankind. He fought Pelagianism which falsely taught that we are saved merely by our own works. He explained how God’s grace works in our lives. He also explained the meaning of original sin. He taught that we can reach a better understanding of God by the use of reason. Saint Augustine is well known for his dispercio or dispersion to conversion, which may be read in his Confessiones (Confessions). Throughout his life, he tried to seek the summum bonum (Ultimate Good), which would make him happy and complete. But going through the trades of the world, nothing proved to fill the void he had in his life – thus the realization that “[his] heart [was] restless, until it rests in [the Lord]. The Greeks would have the Telos or their end goal in life for one to achieve fullness of humanity. From his life’s framework, one would see man’s attempt to leave home, only to find out that at the end of the day, has always been a journey back home – where one can peacefully rest. Man was made for God and God is the Ultimate Good. Sin is described by Saint Augustine as a regio dissimilitudinis - a form of remoteness from God, from the good, from home. Man therefore may not be separated from goodness because God, the source of all good things, made us. It is always a journey back home. Our fullness is realized when we are with God – our Telos.  b. Saint Justin Martyr (100-165) Justin was a student of Stoic, Pythagorean, Platonic and Peripatetic Philosophies. Later on, he was baptized as a Christian for he believed “that this philosophy alone was true and profitable.” From his reflections, he saw the human being to have three distinct parts – the Body (Soma), Soul (Psyche) and Spirit (Pneuma). In the Ancient Greek, the Logos is the principle of order and knowledge. Justin said that our Spirit have a remnant of this Logos. This is the person’s ability to reason out. In the Christian sense, Logos is Christ himself – the Word, through which the world was made. “In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John1: 1) Justin proves, that the remnant of Christ in us may be seen in our spirit. This allowed human beings to participate in divine reason even before the “Word became flesh.” This is the logos spermatikos or the “seed of the word”- the reason in man. c. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) Irenaeus, in his work, Adversus Haereses or Against Heresies, portrays God as the giver of life. Man cannot live without life and man may live his life by sharing and participating in God’s works. One may primarily deem this as mere self-actualization of man but it doesn’t end there. One must remember where we came from – God the giver of life. It is a known truth that all of us are made in the image and likeness of God, which is not just a privilege but also a responsibility to fulfill. One must often ask, “How is it to be made in the image and likeness of God?” The nature of God is to give out, not for His own sake, but to be shared by all. In this regard, Christ –the Word, made flesh- came down from the Father to introduce this unperceivable God to us. He revealed God to us through his ministries. Christ then paved a way for God and man to communicate – through Himself. So how can we live life fully? Christ is a perfect example of Man fully alive. It is not just a self-satisfying endeavor, but that of a communal one – to outwardly give, which make present the glory of God. Please watch these videos to learn more about these 3 Church Fathers: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRsjaBTphVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoW9m-67MME Saint Justin Martyr (100-165) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbLKP28sLSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9UZ2tSxcc4 Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx-s6zY9vP4 If you wish to learn more about The Church Fathers, please follow these OPTIONAL links. Images of the links to the three videos are provided below. https://www.churchfathers.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx5Ly8k8wXo&t=126s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tRPF-8qhY&t=28s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61X8HsrIUw8&t=7s