Salvation Quote for the Day
I spent a little bit of time today reading Eastern Orthodox material after some comments on previous posts caught my interest. So here’s an interesting quote that I found. I wonder how this sounds to other western ears?
That Augustinian conception about a compulsory salvation or damnation is something inconceivable for Greek Patristic thought, something offensive to God; because it presupposes abolition of man’s self- conditioning ability,???????????. Westerners seem to have disregarded it so much that they did not care to coin a Latin word for translating this term, though ??????????? is the greatest gift of God, for it is the power which enables man to become man.
Personal renewal is impossible without personal participation, without the contribution of that personal being who needs it. Before it becomes the aim and the task of human existence, it cannot become its property. Salvation is not a toy given to a spoiling child; it is a prize gained by an athlete. — Panayiotis Christou, from Myriobiblos Library: Notes on the subject of salvation
To accompany that, it would be great to read this article by the same author on Gregory Palamas. I am claiming no more than my mornings searching as far as knowledge on this material, but I have found my reading thus far quite fascinating.