Festal Orations - Saint Gregory Of Nazianzus

For those who don't know me well, for me to be immersing myself fully into more "traditional" Christian literature is nothing short of a miracle. I've never been one to take anything as a given and have always sought to challenge beliefs, my own as well as the beliefs of others. 

I've always pursued my own interests in music, movies, adventures, people. Call it the "what else is out there" syndrome. Much of it had to do with my formative years of rebellion where I was defined not by what I believed, as such, but by what I was against. I was against most anything that appeared traditional, rote, expected. 

Yet here I am, years later, finally pursuing not rebellion (though the questioning spirit remains) but what it is I believe. I question not to tear down; I question to understand. My questions are more focused, my interest in "everything else" has quieted down and the focus becomes more singular. 

Which leads me, at this juncture, immersed in a series of books from the St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, most recently (today) Saint Gregory's Festal Orations. I was led here, as with many of these, through The Roots Of Christian Mysticism. Troubled by the 'common' understanding of the atonement - I am a worthless hell deserving sinner who deserves to die so Jesus took on what I had coming to appease a pissed off Father - I began to read up on the various 'theories' of the atonement, of which there are many.

There is no singular theory. It is, as far as a I can ascertain, something that has happened as cultures change, and the theology within it, over time. Many books have been written on the subject and I simply do not know the material well enough to present it other than point out a few books which have been especially beneficial in guiding my understanding to a larger fullness.

But it was this that caught my eye:

"Why was the blood that was shed for us, God's most precious and glorious blood, the blood of the Sacrificer and the Sacrifice, what was it poured out, and to whom was it offered?...If it was a ransom offered to the Father, the question arises, for what reason? It was not the Father that held us captive...

It is not evident that the Father accepts the sacrifice, not because he demands it or feels some need for it..." (p.44-45)

A resounding yes.

On a side note, apparently I am potentially an apostate:

On The Necessity Of Penal Substitutionary Atonement

Anyhow, I sought the original from whence the words above came and was led to Festal Orations. Here is the full text from which it came:

"Now then, we will examine an issue and doctrine overlooked by many but in my view very much to be examined. To whom was the blood poured out for us, and why was it poured out, that great and renowned blood of God, who is both high priest and victim?

For we were held in bondage by the Evil One, sold under sin, and received pleasure in exchange for evil. But if the ransom is not given to anyone except the one holding us in bondage, I ask to whom this was paid, and for what cause? If to the Evil One, what an outrage! For the robber would receive not only a ransom from God, but God himself as a ransom and a reward so greatly surpassing his own tyranny that for its sake he would rightly have spared us altogether.

But if was give to the Father, in the first place how? For we were not conquered by him. And secondly, on what principle would the blood of the Only-begotten delight the Father, who would not receive Isaac when he was offered by his father but switched the sacrifice, giving a ram in place of the reason-endowed victim?

It is clear that the Father accepts him, though he neither asked for this nor needed it, because of the divine plan, and because the human being must be sanctified by the humanity of God, that God might himself set us free and conquer the tyrant by force and lead us back to himself by the mediation of the Son, who also planned this to the honor of the Father, to whom it is manifest that he yields all things.

This much we have said of Christ, and the greater part will be revered in silence." (Festal Orations, 45.22)

We - and I am as guilty of this as anybody - go too far sometimes in our explanations and make idols of them, oftentimes becoming as or more dogmatic than those we have accused of the same. I prefer the mystery and I prefer to allow God to be God without imposing my will on Him. The mystery yields more than could a million textbooks on theology; these serve a purpose but only as a guide, a gate, into the mystery.

The Dao. Again.

"The deeper you go, the deeper you go." (my translation)