|
WEB 4 - ARCHIVE
Commentary 16 - Page 2 |
||||||
|
HOME . PRAXIS NOW . PRAXIS PAST . CLASSES . EVENTS . BOOKSHOP . WHAT'S NEW . REGISTER . LOGIN |
||||||
|
PRAXIS NOW
Darkness of
the psyche The Hermit's Message
Way of Theosis Psychological method Prayer of the heart
praxis studies
Introductory studies
LOGOUT |
Brave New World For a long time, the importance of this emotional form of education appears first to have declined and then been forgotten. This was directly linked with the influence of Renaissance intellectualism and humanism, which contributed generally to a weakening of the Christian message about human emotional life. Reinforced by the Reformation maxim of ‘the sufficiency of scripture’, this meant that Christ's teaching of what a Christian should be was over-emphasised, but the later teachings on how to attain this, which came down to us from the early fathers of the church were ignored by Western Christendom. But both these elements of the teaching underlay this emotional formation. By the 19th century, the secular world no longer saw any need to educate the emotions - an error from which Western society is now reaping the whirlwind in suffering, and in our alienation from our own children. The process was again described by Palamas in his sometimes flowery language. "But the Evil One, who is always looking for ways to wickedly turn us aside from what is highest, brings to birth charms [1] in our souls, then interlaces them almost inescapably with the ties that are most dear to men of vanity. To some he suggests various and profound understandings of vast knowledge, while to others he suggests wealth, or false fame, or carnal pleasures. The result is that we spend our whole lives seeking these things, and so we never have enough strength left to set our hand firmly to the education which purifies the soul." Those things still happen, but nowadays we usually find someone else to blame for them, or even blame ourselves. It seems at first that this time the saint passes lightly over his prescription. It seems even that he would have simply recommended unceasing prayer, if it were not that most people who read this kind of publication will already know just how difficult that is. [1] Gr. iuggas (Liddell-Scott: "iugx, iuggos…the wryneck, so called from its cry. The ancient witches used to bind it to a wheel, believing that, as it turned, it drew men's hearts along with it…2. metaphys. A spell, a charm, passionate yearning for…")
|
EMOTIONAL
PRAXIS PAST
A New Vision The Ark Text List SITE INFO Recent site changes Search Site |
||||
