Notes from Class cont.

In the previous post I spent my religious studies class writing about justification through the Protestant lens with its forensic theory and the Eastern Orthodox view of κάθαρσις and how the Anglican tradition bypasses its Catholic roots and bridges the gape between the West and the East. We left off talking about imputed and imparted righteousness, the latter being developed by the Anglican priest, John Wesley—known for founding the Methodist tradition.

The writing of this note begun by listening to the Lutheran pastor, Dr. Jordan B. Cooper, discuss the Lutheran approach to Θέωσις (Theosis) and the claim (not made by Dr. Cooper) that the Lutheran tradition is the true Western Catholic Church leading me to make a similar declaration about Anglicanism being the true Western Orthodox Church. These next few posts will be writings that I jot down in my religious studies class, which has become a place to record my exploration of Anglican theology as my Confirmation nears.

It will be the subject of the next few posts where I explore Anglican belief, for myself, as my Confirmation nears as well as endeavoring to reveal the Anglican traditions rich beauty and to hopefully try to steer, at least myself, toward an Orthodox view in the proper sense—death to the world: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20). I believe this beautiful tradition has lost a bit of its identity by trying to have a foot in both domains.

In light of appreciating the reality of samsara then I would suggest that the Church’s want to be friendly with the world is, in a sense, bending the knee to the cosmic serpent and becoming one with the endless cycle of rebirth and re-death. If we speak in strictly Christian terms, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

John Wesley called his conception of Θέωσις “Christian perfection.” And it is in no way rejected by the Eastern Orthodox Church, where they affirm that this is, in fact, the goal, of all Christians. This is the Anglican access to this most lofty aim of the Christian life. While Wesley’s “Christian Perfection” may be the subject of a later post for our purposes we need to strive to show the similarities between Orthodox and Anglican theology because Θέωσις is only possible following certain views of justification.

Theology informs mysticism and vice versa. One cannot attain to union with God without knowing and participating in the proper channels which make that possible. High magic slips too far into an existential category of practice where the use of symbols allowing the magician to attain spiritual heights within this system is arbitrary, and no matter how much theory is out there based around the semiotics of magical practice, it does not make the system any less eclectic in a nihilistic way.

And! This system of high magic is based on other religious theory, namely mystical Judaism and Gnostic Christianity… Why not just become that instead of following a system that was cobbled together by magical practitioners of the Victorian Age?

In fact, it is this line of thinking that led me to embrace the Christian religion, emphatically, as a means of attaining union with God. Following Dion Fortune’s advice to go to the source.

I digress. 

My point is Θέωσις is not divorced from religious thought (neither is union with God using a high magical system, either); Θέωσις is predicated on religious thought and the adherence to this thinking… Obedience. Again, this obedience is not what the world believes is the Christian obedience where images of subservient do-gooder are conjured in one’s mind. Holy Obedience hearkens to Christ’s obedience unto death and a Christian’s participation in God through the imitation of Christ. We cannot hope to come to the Father except through Christ.

We cannot hope to come to Christ except through the Spirit that is imbued in us through baptism and is cultivated through living the Sacraments. The Trinity grows within at the same time as we move toward it, moving from glory to glory.

I mentioned earlier that the Lutheran pastor’s Christification is different than the Orthodox conception of Θέωσις, the former being which I believe is the course that the Anglican Church must align with in order to fulfill our divine duty as Christians.

The Orthodox view of Θέωσις, to put it as succinctly as possible, is a want to attain to the state of spiritual perfection Man had in Paradise, the garden of Eden, before the Fall.

The form of Θέωσις that is put forth by the Western orientation, this is not simply made up by this Lutheran pastor, he is delivering the message of the Fathers and Mothers of the West (and East). This form of Θέωσις is a want to attain to a state of spiritual perfection beyond what Man embodied in the garden, a state of spiritual perfection that Man can only attain because of the Fall, not in spite of it.

It is important to note that while Anglicanism does seem to possess much of the Protestant doctrines such as sola fide, as we looked at previously, where one is justified by faith alone. We also saw that the Anglican concept of sola fide is a little bit more nuanced. The Anglican Church does not possess a Catholic problem, or a Protestant problem; it is not the marriage of these traditions, either, instead it uses the language of the West and unites with the East.

Anglican justification supports self-effort. Anglicanism concedes the point that Man is justified by faith, because—again—our works make us a rotary club, but our faith makes us Christians.

It may be controversial to say, but it is not untrue, that works without God are nothing, but the works we do directed toward God, for His glory, or done by the Spirit working through us count for something. The Christian vocation, for this reason, begins with the emptying of ourselves to be imbued with the Spirit of God, imitating Christ so that we, justified, may strive for perfection, just as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Works are done in faith, because good works necessitate faith, because there is only One Who is good, that is God. So, faith is a precursor to the merit of our works. We are not justified by works; our works are justified by faith. Therefore, we are justified by faith, but we lose what do not use, so faith must be applied to our lives through works.

The position that we are justified by faith alone only makes sense if we are regarded according to our works, done in faith; the works of the Spirit done through us.

Sola fide is applicable to our doctrine if sola fide means that one is repentant and coming to God; emptying of themselves to be filled with the love of God, becoming partakers of His Holy and ineffable essence than yes, we are justified by faith alone.

The typical Protestant view of sola fide looks at justification using the forensic theory which states that Christ was punished in the place of sinners, voluntarily submitting to the plan of the Father, satisfying the demands of justice so that God can justly forgive sins and make us one in Him. Lutherans and Calvinists hold this view.

But what of our Orthodox aligned friend, John Wesley?

John Wesley is sometimes acknowledged as holding this forensic theory, but his sermons and writings position him holding a satisfaction theory view, where Christ redeems humanity through making satisfaction for our disobedience by His own exuberant obedience to God. Wesley also affirmed a sort of moral influence theory, which states that Christ’s death was a show of love rather than justice; His death demonstrates God’s love for all and is a call for humanity to repent and come into Him. Wesley also held views aligned with the ransom theory, which states that Christ’s death was a ransom sacrifice paid to Satan, to free Mankind from the bondage of original sin.

The latter theory fell out of favor with theologians around the time of the Great Schism and is theologically problematic for a lot of different reasons, so we do not know what Wesley thought of this, exactly. However, his positions but him more aligned with the Orthodox by imparted righteousness.

The Orthodox view is one of recapitulation; this is a re-ordering of things where Christ is the new Adam who succeeds where Adam failed. Christ’s death rights our course by undoing what Adam did and because of His hypostatic union of divinity and humanity, He opens the door from Man to attain eternal life.

This is, to the Orthodox, Divine Justification.

The moral influence theory coupled with Wesley’s imparted righteousness is, in a roundabout way, a form of recapitulation. The moral influence theory becoming more popular among Anglican theologians, recently, is a sign of the tides flowing Orthodox.

Sola fide rejects spiritual perfection, and this is unfortunate because faith is not a yes or no question. Faith is tested which emboldens the faith of an individual. We do not separate ourselves from Christ by these theories of atonement satisfying justice or paying a ransom to the evil one; we look at His sacrifice as a way for us to become perfect, as Wesley and the Orthodox espouse.

We become like Him through His sacrifice and our own.

Faith without works is dead, because faith alone does not live nor is it dynamic without works which enhance faith. They inform one another and are both needed to strengthen the other.

Finally, works done in faith inspire humility and obedience which justifies us in the sight of God, because a humble and obedient faith is a work: it is becoming like Christ.

This ain’t rotary club.

Si comprehendis, non est Deus