Wondering if you are making headway with the second part of "Are the Eastern Fathers Panentheists". I hugely enjoyed the first episode, but it's a bit of a cliff hanger.
Yep, that one is in the queue. There are a number of cliff hangers that I need to finish up after my Leibniz book -- the panentheism piece, Calvin on apostasy, the Mariology one, and the predestination series. All in good time.
I’d like to hear you address more our “passions.” I’m a little confused, how are our passions different from our desires? Are our passions inherently and necessarily wrong, do they lead us to sin by definition? Or, are they like our desires in that the same desire can be used for good or bad depending on what we do with them? How do our desires fit with the Eastern creation narrative? It seems like I’ve heard you (maybe others?) refer to them as our “animal passions.” Do non-human animals have desires and passions or passions only? It’s my understanding that our passions are outside of us and act upon us, is that what differentiates them from our desires? Are we bound to obey our passions but not our sinful desires? It seems to me that my capacity for theosis depends at least partially on my control over my passions and desires, is that correct? How does one achieve this lofty goal? I bet you can get at least three podcast episodes out of all these questions!
A quick question about the Trinity, Nathan, which I can ask again in Q&A, but just a heads up: Do the parts of the Trinity work separately to each other, being of one essence? I ask because of the lovely prayer to the Holy Spirit which names it as the "sacred bond of the Father and the Son", then goes on to say "We believe that when You dwell with us, you also prepare a dwelling or the Father and the Son". Can we have the Spirit dwelling in us without the Father and Son?
A related question about pan/en/theism which springs to mind when I pray another common prayer to the Holy Spirit:: can you clarify the difference between the presence of the Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, "everywhere present and filling all things" and the still apparent need for the injunction which immediately follows to "Come and abide in us"?
If you have already discussed this somewhere, please point me to it. Thanks!
Wondering if you are making headway with the second part of "Are the Eastern Fathers Panentheists". I hugely enjoyed the first episode, but it's a bit of a cliff hanger.
Yep, that one is in the queue. There are a number of cliff hangers that I need to finish up after my Leibniz book -- the panentheism piece, Calvin on apostasy, the Mariology one, and the predestination series. All in good time.
I’d like to hear you address more our “passions.” I’m a little confused, how are our passions different from our desires? Are our passions inherently and necessarily wrong, do they lead us to sin by definition? Or, are they like our desires in that the same desire can be used for good or bad depending on what we do with them? How do our desires fit with the Eastern creation narrative? It seems like I’ve heard you (maybe others?) refer to them as our “animal passions.” Do non-human animals have desires and passions or passions only? It’s my understanding that our passions are outside of us and act upon us, is that what differentiates them from our desires? Are we bound to obey our passions but not our sinful desires? It seems to me that my capacity for theosis depends at least partially on my control over my passions and desires, is that correct? How does one achieve this lofty goal? I bet you can get at least three podcast episodes out of all these questions!
A quick question about the Trinity, Nathan, which I can ask again in Q&A, but just a heads up: Do the parts of the Trinity work separately to each other, being of one essence? I ask because of the lovely prayer to the Holy Spirit which names it as the "sacred bond of the Father and the Son", then goes on to say "We believe that when You dwell with us, you also prepare a dwelling or the Father and the Son". Can we have the Spirit dwelling in us without the Father and Son?
A related question about pan/en/theism which springs to mind when I pray another common prayer to the Holy Spirit:: can you clarify the difference between the presence of the Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, "everywhere present and filling all things" and the still apparent need for the injunction which immediately follows to "Come and abide in us"?
If you have already discussed this somewhere, please point me to it. Thanks!