Bad Advertisement?
Are you a Christian?
Online Store:Visit Our Store
| The Profane Account Given of the Origin of Christ and the Holy Ghost Sternly Rebuked. An Absurdity Respecting the Attainment of the Knowledge of God Ably Exposed. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter XI.—The Profane Account Given of the Origin of
Christ and the Holy Ghost Sternly Rebuked. An Absurdity Respecting the
Attainment of the Knowledge of God Ably Exposed.
Accordingly, after the banishment of the
Enthymesis, and the return of her mother Sophia to her husband, the
(illustrious) Monogenes, the Nus,6733 released
indeed from all care and concern of the Father, in order that he might
consolidate all things, and defend and at last fix the Pleroma, and so
prevent any concussion of the kind again, once more6734 emits a new couple6735
6735 Copulationem: The
profane reference is to Christ and the Spirit. |
(blasphemously named). I should suppose the coupling of two males to be
a very shameful thing, or else the one6736
6736 [A shocking
reference to the Spirit which I modify to one of the Divine
Persons.] |
must be a female, and so the male is discredited6737 by the female. One divinity is assigned in
the case of all these, to procure a complete adjustment among the
Æons. Even from this fellowship in a common duty two schools
actually arise, two chairs,6738 and, to some
extent,6739 the inauguration of
a division in the doctrine of Valentinus. It was the function of Christ
to instruct the Æons in the nature of their conjugal
relations6740 (you see what the
whole thing was, of course!), and how to form some guess about the
unbegotten,6741
6741 Innati
conjectationem. | and to give them
the capacity of generating within themselves the knowledge of the
Father; it being impossible to catch the idea of him, or comprehend
him, or, in short, even to enjoy any perception of him, either by the
eye or the ear, except through Monogenes (the Only-begotten). Well, I
will even grant them what they allege about knowing the Father, so that
they do not refuse us (the attainment of) the same. I would rather
point out what is perverse in their doctrine, how they were taught that
the incomprehensible part of the Father was the cause of their own
perpetuity,6742
6742 Perpetuitatis:
i.e. “what was unchangeable in their condition and
nature.” | whilst that which
might be comprehended
of him was the reason6743
6743 Rationem: perhaps
“the means.” | of their generation
and formation. Now by these several positions6744
the tenet, I suppose, is insinuated, that it is expedient for God not
to be apprehended, on the very ground that the incomprehensibility of
His character is the cause of perpetuity; whereas what in Him is
comprehensible is productive, not of perpetuity, but rather of
conditions which lack perpetuity—namely, nativity and
formation. The Son, indeed, they made capable of comprehending
the Father. The manner in which He is comprehended, the recently
produced Christ fully taught them. To the Holy Spirit, however,
belonged the special gifts, whereby they, having been all set on a
complete par in respect of their earnestness to learn, should be
enabled to offer up their thanksgiving, and be introduced to a true
tranquillity.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|