Zur Gotteserkenntnis in der griechischen Patristik
The important byzantine theologian Gregory Palamas bases his theory on the writings of the Greek Fathers, in particular, Maximus Confessor and Basil, and asserts that God can be known only from his acts, only from faith, and only in his existence and not in his essence. It is questionable, however,...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | German |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Ed. Pontificia Univ. Gregoriana
1982
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| In: |
Gregorianum
Year: 1982, Volume: 63, Issue: 3, Pages: 525-558 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The important byzantine theologian Gregory Palamas bases his theory on the writings of the Greek Fathers, in particular, Maximus Confessor and Basil, and asserts that God can be known only from his acts, only from faith, and only in his existence and not in his essence. It is questionable, however, whether he can justifiably base his argument on these texts. What do the Fathers, particularly the Cappadocians and then Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus actually teach? It is a common understanding with the Greek Fathers that man (here below) cannot know God's essence, but rather only his attributes from his works, only that God is, not however what he is. They refer chiefly to Hebrews 11,1 and 6. It is actually Maximus the Confessor who teaches this threefold « only ». This theory appears to run contrary to the fact that the knowledge of God from creation is a natural knowledge and knowledge from faith, on the other hand, is of a supernatural kind. To know God only from his works seems to exclude faith knowledge; to know God only from faith seems to put in question the possibility of a natural knowledge of God. How is this difficulty resolved? Maximus does not analyze the distinction between natural knowledge of God and faith knowledge; they are both ways of knowing faith for him, though each in its own way mysterious and obscure. The solution of the problem of whether man in his earthly existence has the slightest knowledge of the essence of God is found incipiently in Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, and most especially in Gregory of Nazianzus and John of Damascus. It is obvious that knowledge of existence and essence are correlative. A knowledge of God's being is not possible without a, though very incomplete, knowledge of his essence. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Gregorianum
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