Saint Mina Holmdel



Reasons for Belief:p 10-11Is evidence helpful?? Can you give some examples in how God used St. Paul who used evidence to bring people to Christ?"Evidence does not save us", but God can and will use evidence to bring us to a knowledge of ChristSt. Paul preached at the Areopagus to various Greek philosophers and pagans (Acts 17:16-34) using the idea of the "unknown God" and made known to them proper understanding of divinity and the resurrection of the dead through Jesus Christ.? He didn't convince everyone: ?"32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” 33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them."St. Paul preached to Jews at Thesalonica for three sabbaths explaining from the Scriptures (17:2), and "some of them were persuaded" (17:4) that Jesus is the Christ who had to suffer and rise from the dead (17:3).Give examples from the Bible ways in which God encourages you to seek Him?"If you seek Him, He will be found by you." (1 Chronicles 28:9)"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)How does the Bible encourage us to defend our faith?"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have...with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)p 13-14; Goal of this book:Learning facts isn't the ultimate end.? If you already believe, the aim of this book is to develop a deeper appreciation and love of God. ?"Pray that it will help you to love Him more with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.? And pray for opportunities to share the truth of God's Word with others."Chapter 2:What are the two views of "truth"?? What is "truth" and "falsehood"? ?1.? Truth is what is true for you.? It's subjective. ?"You have your truth and I have mine".2.? Truth is what matches facts.? It's objective. ?"It's true whether or not you believe it."The second view is the correct view.? Truth matches reality.? We no longer believe in a flat earth because the facts, the reality shows a spherical earth, no matter what your opinion is.Truth is "telling it like it is".? If you say you have $1000, and you only have $100, you're not "telling it like it is."Believing in Santa Claus and reindeer does not match reality.? That is "falsehood".How can we know what is true?1.? Examining all the facts to see what matches realityDocumentations, eyewitness accounts, other evidence are all ways of collecting the facts.2.? Learning to think correctly (logically)God has instituted certain unbreakable laws that operate throughout the universe, especially in math, science, and even music.? God has also instituted certain unbreakable laws of right, or correct, thinking, which are called laws of logic.? One law is called the law of non-contradiction, which states, "Two contradictory, or opposite, truth claims cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense."Personal addendum: ?The law of non-contradiction is true for all things physical.? But when it comes to the divine nature, the law of non-contradiction collapses (you will read later how God is both far and yet near in His nature, please read Metropolitan Kallistos Ware's book "The Orthodox Way", Chapter 1.).? Also, in the laws of physics, particularly deeper sciences of theoretical physics, there are contradictions that do drive scientists insane, such as "Schrodinger's cat".What are some truths about truth?1.? We don't invent truth; we discover it.2.? Our understanding of the truth can change, but truth itself does not change.3.? Truth does not depend on how fervently or sincerely we believe something to be true. "Let God be true but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). ?"That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged." (Psalm 51:4)4.? When something is true, it's true everywhere, for all people, at all times.Three reasons why we need to have the right view of truth:1.? Truth affects our daily life, to avoid chaos, to be taken seriously, to be realistic.2.? Truth affects our eternal life.? What happens after we die?3.? The Bible makes truth claims, and they need to be taken seriously.? Either the Bible's truth claims are true or not.What are some of the truth claims of the Bible? (memorize 3)"Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." (Psalm 31:5)"I have chosen the way of truth;Your judgments I have laid before me....And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,For I have hoped in Your ordinances."(Psalm 119: 30, 43)"I am the way, the truth, and the life.? No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6)"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." (John 15:26)"And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe." (John 19:35)"The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet." (Acts 28:25)"the truth of the gospel" (Galatians 2:14)"But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God." (2 Corinthians 4:2)Society says Christians are close-minded in making truth claims.? How does one respond to this?Every truth claim is narrow.? Belief in the law of gravity is narrow.? Belief that God does not exist is equally narrow-minded.? All religious truth claims are narrow.? Christians are open to all truth, since all truth is God's--all truth flows from His nature.? We are truly close-minded only when it comes to accepting something that is untrue, does not match reality, or does not tell it like it is.Personal addendum: ?Most atheists however do not make truth claims like "God does not exist", but make more agnostic claims like "I have not found anything that proves God's existence." ?So there is a nuance on this, making most atheists "less narrow" in their views.? The way to answer this is they equate the divine nature with the five senses, and does not consider spiritual truths.? This is why logic is limited to a point.? Please read Metropolitan Kallistos Ware's book "The Orthodox Way", Chapter 1.Chapter 3:Personal addendum on p. 27: ?The author introduces a false dichotomy of "evolutionary processes" vs. "created by God".? Replace "evolutionary processes" with embryology, and you will find the false dichotomy. ?"Are we a byproduct of sperm-egg fusion or are we created by God?"The three big questions of worldviews:Where do we come from?Why are we here?What happens after we die?Summarize four key contradictory worldviews:1.? Atheism: ?The universe is eternal.? There is no God, no miracles, no afterlife.2.? Deism: ?The God who created the universe is absent and inactive.? There are no miracles (Thomas Jefferson).3.? Pantheism: ?God made the universe out of Himself. ?there are no miracles, since God is in all; all is part of God. (Hinduism, New Age Movement, Oprah Winfrey)4.? Theism: ?God created everything that is by speaking it into existence; He is an active God who has done, can do, and will do miracles.Personal Addendum 1:??Religions can overlap.? For instance, Islam is theistic which believes in miracles and afterlife, but because there can never be any communion or direct communication between God and creation, it can also a form a deism.? Some of these might essentially not contradict with each other, especially the first three views.? Ready to get your mind blown?? Deism is an atheist who believes in God or morality, and a pantheist is an atheist who believes everything that he can sense is God.Personal Addendum 2:??These are overly simplistic explanations.? One can say it's not simple to just lump Christianity as "theistic", but much better than that.? If Islam is "theistic", it's very weak.? Some Protestants also believe there can not be a direct communion between God and man, which the Orthodox Church fathers calls "deification" or "theosis".? Christianity can more specifically be considered a type of "panentheism", which is a belief that the uncreated and created are essentially distinct, but that the created is filled with God.? As we pray in the third hour of the agpeya, "Oh heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills all things." ?As is written in the book "The Orthodox Way", God is far and near; He is incomprehensible in His essence, but comprehensible in His energies or actions in all things.? We cannot become as God is equally, but we God works in us, and unites us to Himself and fills us with Himself, which is grace.How is God not Santa Claus?God is not someone you pray on His lap, tell Him that you are "good", and then ask Him what you want Him to do for you.? God is a Holy God, a high standard no one can meet. ?"ALL?fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).? God doesn't give us what we deserve, and for that we can be eternally thankful.? We pray to Him (and love Him and serve Him) because?HE?is good, not because we are.Summarize the three basic arguments for God's existence:1. There is evidence that the universe had a beginning.? Something or Someone began it.2. There is evidence that the universe has a design (based on the consistency of the laws of science).? Something or Someone designed it.3. There is evidence of a universal moral law.? There must be a lawmaker.==================================The Orthodox Way:How is Christianity a journey?? What was Christianity called?? How can we discover the truth and live the life of Christianity?In the story of the desert father St. Serapion the Sindonite, he asked a recluse woman who was sitting, "Why are you sitting here?" ?She replied, "I am not sitting, but on a journey." ?Christians are travelers (sojourners), always on a journey.? We are spiritually on the move.? The journey is not in a physical place, but in the heart.? It's not measured in physical time, but into eternity.Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).1.? The Way: ?The religion of Christianity used to be called "The Way". ?"There rose no little stir concerning the Way" (Acts 19:23).? Felix had "a rather accurate knowledge of the Way" (Acts 24:22).? Christianity is not just words of faith written on paper.? It is a way of life.2.? The Truth: ?Because it is a journey, you cannot truly know or discover "the Truth" of Christianity unless you walk in it.? Yes, we need directions, but directions means nothing if you did not use it. ?"The Creed" said Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow "does not belong to you unless you have lived it." ?God must be experienced directly for yourself after you receive the directions. ?"God has children, but He has no grandchildren."3.? The Life: ?We live the life of Orthodoxy in all aspects, such as the symbolic gesture of lighting the candle, the holy icons of the Church, the local parish and architecture of the Church, the prominence of holy martyrdom in the history of the Church.? The Orthodox Church may be an "old tree" of antiquity, but there is also a vitality, a "perpetual resurrection" which matters.? Christ did not say "I am a custom", but "I am the Life".Prayers for journeying:1. ?"O Saviour, who hast journeyed with Luke and Cleopas to Emmaus, journey with thy servants as they now set out upon their way, and defend them from all evil."2.? Coptic Morning Raising of Incense: "Those intending to travel anywhere facilitate their ways, whether by sea, rivers, lakes, roads, by air, or by any other means. Bring them back to a harbour of peace, a harbour of salvation. Graciously accompany them in their embarkation and their travel. Bring them back to their homes, in safety and joy. Participate with Your servants, in every good deed.We also, O Lord, as foreigners in this world, preserve us without harm, tribulations, or worry until the end."3.? Coptic liturgy: ?"And we too who are sojourners in this place, keeps us in Your faith and establish us in Your peace unto the end."Chapter 1:In what contradictory ways can we describe God?God is two poles.? He is "unknown and yet well known" (2 Corinthians 6:9).? The more we know God, the more we don't know Him.? God dwells in "light unapproachable" (1 Timothy 6:16), yet we have a direct personal relationship with Him.? God is the ending point and starting point.? He is the end of our journey and our companion in the journey.? He is "otherness" and "nearness":1.? God is "otherness", far from us,?the farthest?than anything far from us.? He is "wholly Other", invisible, inconceivable, radically transcendent, beyond all words, beyond all understanding. ?"God cannot be grasped by the mind.? If He could be grasped, He would not be God." (St. Evagrius of Pontus).?"The form of God is ineffable and indescribable, and cannot be seen with eyes of flesh.? He is in glory uncontainable, in greatness incomprehensible, in strength incomparable, in wisdom inaccessible, in love inimitable, in beneficence inexpressible." ?(St. Theophilus of Antioch)?"O one and only true God, the lover of mankind; the ineffable; the unseen; the uncontainable; without beginning; the eternal ; the timeless; the limitless; the unsearchable; the unchanging; the Creator of all; the Saviour of everyone." (Coptic liturgy of St. Gregory) ?He is infinitely beyond our reach?by essence.2.? At the same time, God is?nearest?to us, more than anything near to us.? He fills all things, present everywhere around us, and within us. ?"Oh heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills all things." (Third hour of Agpeya) ?He reveals Himself to us?as person, by a personal love relationship.? As Nicholas Cabasilas wrote, God our King is "more affectionate than any friend, more just than any ruler, more loving than any father, more a part of us than our limbs, more necessary to us than our own heart."In what way can God be considered mystery?The more we journey to know God the more we don't know.? It's like being in a dark room, and suddenly, a flash of light blinds us and causes us to stagger backwards (Symeon the New Theologian).? We become dizzy (St. Gregory of Nyssa).? All our normal assumptions shattered.Our minds need to go through a "metanoia", which literally means "a change of mind".? We need to throw away old habits of thinking.? We need a spiritual conversion of the will and intellect.? We need to turn the pyramid on its head.The Greek word "mysterion" is linked with the verb "myein, meaning "to close the eyes or mouth".? Mystery is not a puzzle.? It is something that is revealed for our understanding, yet not understood fully or exhaustively.? Our eyes are closed, but also opened.The sayings of the Desert Fathers in the beginning of the Chapter, about St. Anthony challenging each monk on explaining a verse from the Scriptures, and each not giving sufficient answers.? The last monk Abba Joseph said "I do not know" and finally St. Anthony replied, "Truly, Abba Joseph has found the way, for he said: ?I do not know".What are some Old Testament symbols of God as mystery?Abraham: ?"Go out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1) ?You leave the land of familiarity into unknown territory, with no clear conception of a final destination.Moses: ?Three stages of visions of God:1.? The Light of the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:2)2.? Mingled Light and darkness in the "pillar of cloud and fire" (Exodus 13:21)3. ?"thick darkness" at the top of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:21)So we go from the light of partial knowledge to a knowledge so profound and deep, it can only be described as the "darkness of unknowing". (St. Dionysius the Areopagite)Give a verse and a patristic quote of the wonder of God:"O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy Name in all the earth" (Psalm 8:1)."God's name is not known; it is wondered at." (St. Gregory of Nyssa)What is the "apophatic approach"?"Anyone who tries to describe the ineffable Light in language is truly a liar--not because he hates the truth, but because of the inadequacy of the description." (St. Gregory of Nyssa--hyperbole)Describing God by way of negation.? What God is not rather than what He is.? Recognizing that no words or symbols are enough to describe God.? It balances out the opposite approach, the approach of affirmation (the "cataphatic approach") of what God is.Examples:Cataphatic: ?God is good or just; Apophatic: ?He is NOT good or just by human standardsCataphatic: ?God exists; Apophatic: ?He is NOT an object among other existent objects, but unique in existence.What is the difference between "believe that" and "believe in"?? Why is this important?? What is faith?"Believe that" is informational. ?"Believe in" is FAITH.? I can know about someone or some people in a list.? I may know that they exist.? But I do not know them personally.? It is not not enough to believe that God exists, but to believe in Him.? The Creed does not say "I believe that there is a God", but "I believe IN one God." ?Faith is a personal relationship. ?"I turn to you, I rely upon you, I trust in you, I hope in you." ?That's the Orthodox Creed.? Faith is not a logical argument of the existence of God, but the trust, and assurance, and love of His presence with you.Is faith complete?? Does faith entail without doubt?No!? Because Faith is a personal relationship, like all relationship, it needs constant development and growth.? Some may have faith like a little child, without question.? Others may have doubts, but doubt does not contradict faith.? We can pray "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24).? We might even pray this to the end of our lives.? Doubt does not mean lack of faith, but that the faith is alive and growing.? Faith, like any relationship, means taking risks, advancing boldly.Name one example of an ikon of faith as "personal love":Story of St. Polycarp as he was about to be arrested by the Roman soldiers to be killed, he did not care about himself, but gave the soldiers comfort in sitting down, in eating and drinking.? He was calm and a gentle old man, and prayed for two hours, filled with grace and love of God, amazing the soldiers, and causing the soldiers to feel regret in arresting him.? He remembered their names.? When he was on the stake about to be burned and the governor asked him to disown Christ, St. Polycarp replied, "Eighty-six years I have been His servant, and He has done me no wrong.? How then can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?"Summarize the 3 "pointers" of basic "evidence" for God, why this helps with faith:1.? The world around us (design)--while there are many things that have patterns that can lead into randomness, like shuffling playing cards, in the universe it's the opposite: chaos and randomness leads to order and design.? Who or what is responsible for this cosmic order and design?Unreasonable alternative: ?The apparent order of the universe is mere coincidence2.? The world within us (purpose)--Why do I have a sense of morality or conscience?? Why do I yearn for the infinite?? Who am I?? What am I?Unreasonable alternative: ?Our consciences and yearnings are nothing but social conditioning.3.? Interactions in the world (relationships)--Interactions and personal relationships with others can lead to greater deeper knowledge of each other that is stronger than death.? To say to someone "I love you" is to also say "You will never die".Unreasonable alternative: ?When all life in this planet becomes extinct, all personal relationships and experiences that occurred will be as if they never occurred.Belief in God helps me to understand these three pointers, why the world is what it is, with its goodness and ugliness, why I am what I am, with my nobility and meanness, and why I should love others, affirming their eternal value. ?"Faith in God helps me makes sense of things, to see them as a coherent whole, in a way that nothing else can do."What is essence and energies of God?? What we not mean when we say "energies" of God?The essence of God is the otherness or transcendence of God.? The energies are the nearness, which is the immanence and the omnipresence of God.The essence of God is way in which God knows Himself, the way we can never know God as He is, His nature and inner being. ?The energies of God is the way in which God makes Himself known to us.? It is His operations, His acts of power, His grace, His life, His work in us, making Himself accessible and available for us.Energies are not an "intermediary", a "thing", or a "gift".? It is God Himself manifesting Himself to us, and we partake of Him?as far as it is possible?for a created being.? Energies are not pieces of God.? While the essence is the whole God in Himself, energies are the whole God Himself?working in us, being accessible to us.We cannot know God's essence, but we know Him through His energies.Patristic quotes of essence and energies:"He is outside all things according to His essence, but He is in all things through His acts of power." (St. Athanasius)"We know the essence through the energy.? No one has ever seen the essence of God, but we believe in the essence because we experience the energy." (St. Basil the Great)"Just as the soul in a man is not seen, since it is invisible to men, but we know of its existence through the movement of the body, so God cannot be seen by human eyes, but He is seen and known through His providence and His works." (St. Theophilus of Antioch)What is theosis or deification?? What is it not?"That you may be?partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4) ?We partake of God in His energies, not in the essence.? This means that there is a true and direct union and partaking of God, but we do not and cannot become equal or consubstantial with God.? That is real relationship, oneness and yet distinction.Addendum:??In some fathers, it is okay to say we partake of the divine essence, but we do not or cannot know the divine essence or become the divine essence.? It is only semantical difference, but means the same thing as simplistically saying we partake of the energies, but not the essence, because REMEMBER: ?energies are the essence AND person, the whole God who though by essence inaccessible, works in a person to make Himself accessible personally in a love relationship.? Abouna Tadros Malaty teaches that grace is the self-giving of God in Christ by the Holy Spirit: ?God giving Himself to us, and we take in as much as we can.==================================The Crucified Jesus:***Pray the Preface every time you study in class and read this book at home.***Introduction:The way to approach the Cross:As Moses approached the burning bush (Exodus 3:3), God said, "do not draw near this place.? Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) ?As you approach the Holy Cross and the Crucified Jesus, you must do so in reverence, and remove the sandals of your heart, that is all your worldly attachments.Chapter 1:Contemplate on the sadness of Christ in the Garden in the Mt of Olives?Just as Christ brought glad tidings of salvation after expressing His suffering through sorrow and grief in a garden saying, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death" (Matthew 26:38; Mark14:34), so did:1.? Exiled Jews expressed grief by hanging their harps on the willows (in a garden) by the rivers of Babylon mourning Zion (Psalm 137)2.? David escaped from his son Absalom in the garden near Brook Kidron, and David wept bitterly at the Mount of Olives there (2 Samuel 15:23-30)3.? King Josiah dispersed the dust of the idolatrous altars at this same place (2 Kings 23:12)4.? Olives are bitter, representing suffering, but also good tidings like the dove bringing good news of deliverance after the flood to Noah by an olive pare the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane:1.? Eden--means of joy and rest; Gethsemane--signs of sadness and grief2.? Eden--fertile; Gethsemane--barren3.? Eden--creature found rest; Gethsemane--the Creator found no rest4.? Eden--the beginning of mankind's misery; Gethsemane--springs of happiness for the sons of Adam emanate5.? Eden--Adam was condemned; Gethsemane--Adam's debt was paid by JesusWhat did St. Augustine say about Christ's wisdom and salvation of the sinner?St. Augustine says "How marvelous is the wisdom of the indiscernible God: ?the blameless One is punished for the offense of the sinner; the righteous One is scourged for the crime of the wicked; the upright One bears the guilt of the hypocrite; the Master pays the debt of the bondservant; the Creator recovers what has been discarded by the creature."Describe Christ's humility at the Garden:Christ fell on His face, and prayed, saying 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.' (Matthew 26:38-39)1.? The Son of God, coessential with the Father, fell to the ground on His face.2.? He who is in the bossom of the Father grieves that His soul is exceedingly sorrowful.3.? He, whom all the heavenly powers worship, falls and kneels.4.? Through His obedience, healed the wounds of the disobedience of Adam.Why did Christ ask the Father to let the cup pass from Him?? Was He trying to escape??1.? Christ "prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him" (Mark 14:35) teach us how to pray in tribulation, to sustain us in prayer and to provide us with courage in prayer.2.? Christ did not try to escape His own suffering and death because He had power over His own life saying, "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself, I have the power to lay id down, and I have the power to take it again." (John 10:18). ?3.? Christ also ended His prayer, "Father let it be according to Your will, not Mine" to teach us to find comfort in the will of God, and destroy our disobediences.4.? He accepted fear that the martyrs might receive courage and power in the face of death. ?5.? He accepted the evil done against Him that we might receive goodness. ?6.? He accepted the dishonor that we might receive glory and honor.Give some verses to prove He always anticipated crucifixion (memorize 3)1.? He always knew He would be crucified even before that evening. ?"And My sorrow is continually before me" (Psalm 38:17). ?2.? A prisoner deserving of punishment may expect some hope to escape, but Christ, undeserving always planned for this.? He told His disciples on their way to Jerusalem "the things that would happen to Him" (Mark 10:32). ?"Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priest and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death." (Matthew 20:18).3. ?"For my life is spend with grief, and my years with sighing" (Psalm 31:10)4. ?"He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:38)5. ?"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:14)6.? His words to the sons of Zebedee who requested seat at His right hand: ?"Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink" (Matthew 20:22)7. ?"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.? For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.? They will scourge Him and kill Him.? And the third day He will rise again" (Luke 18:31-33)8.? When they came to arrest Him, "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, 'Whom are you seeking?'" (John 18:4)In what way do the Apostles' reactions in Gethsemane relate to us?After some time in prayer, Christ came back and found the Apostles sleeping, and Christ rebuked them lovingly saying, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?" (Matthew 26:40)1.? Christ advised them saying "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." ?(Mark 14:38).? So He kept an example.? We too must also keep vigil to pray to avoid temptation. ?2.? However, the Apostles slept, and we too become negligent while Christ is long-suffering.? We sleep with the vanities of the world.? And our sleeping adds more suffering to Christ than He is going through.? So Christ stood alone, praying a second and a third time (Matthew 26:44) after finding them continually asleep (Mark 14:40).3.? Christ also teaches us that strong prayers lead to comfort by an angel (Luke 22:43).? When we pray vigilantly, we find that "those who are with us are mor than those who are with them" (2 Kings 6:16).? God promised us, "Because He has set His love on Me, therefore I will deliver Him" (Psalm 91:14).What did St. Jacob of Serug say concerning the bloody sweating of Christ?"To an ill man, sweat is a good sign as it heralds recovery of health.? The sweat of the Son of God fell as He worked to rescue His handiwork from the depth of the abyss.? Adam was afflicted with the sickness of death--Jesus came and perspired that Adam may have rest from his affliction.? Through the Lord's sweat, health was restored to the ailing servant.? In the seat of his face Adam ate his bread (Genesis 3:19), but this sweat which was mingled with sin was not able to bring healing, and so He, who is without sin came and sweat once for all, and saved him from his sins."Give two psalms and a typology of the anguish of Christ?1. "My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me" (Psalm 55:4)2. ?"The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow" (Psalm 116:3)3.? Just as Abraham prepared wood and placed it on Isaac for sacrifice, so did Christ prepare Himself for sacrifice on the Cross.Why is it important that Christ is sinless (3 verses)?? Give some verses of the sinlessness of Christ. (memorize 3)Christ was sinless so that He become sin for us. ?"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) ?"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has lad on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 51:6).? In this way, He takes away our sins so that we may rejoice. ?"The Lord also has put away your sin." ?(2 Samuel 12:13).The smallest sin deserves an eternal condemnation, and Christ took upon all sins, small and great, on His sinless body, and became accountable for them on our behalf through His various sufferings.Verses of sinlessness:1. ?"Because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth" (Isaiah 53:9)2. ?2 Corinthians 5:213. ?"Which of you convicts Me of sin?? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?" (John 8:46)4. ?"the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30)5. ?"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15)6. ?"For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has becoming higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26)7. ?"how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God" (Hebrews 9:14)Give some verses describing the burden of sin and Christ carrying those burdens?Sin's burden:1.? Cain said, "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (Genesis 4:13)2.? King David said, "For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." (Psalm 38:4)Christ carrying this burden:1.? St. John the Baptist said, "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)2. ?"who Himself bore our sins in His own body" (1 Peter 2:24)3. ?"He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2)Addendum: ?Fr. Manasseh was a product of his time. ?He seems to have upheld very strongly the idea that salvation meant holding the guilt and infinite debt of man owed to God. ?Rather, the Eastern Church fathers talked about debt in an analogical sense, as owed to the law of death because of sin. ?God did not need payment. ?Our death was a disease that God came to heal and cure. ?Therefore, do not misunderstand the debt as if paid to God, but paid to death, and when death accepted the payment, it was destroyed. ?St. John Chrysostom describes death like a dragon hungry for souls. ?When it took the soul of Christ, it became sick, and not only did it vomit, but its stomach was burst open in a very destructive manner. ?Christ "paid" the debt in order to destroy it, not to make a bank transaction. ................
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