In working on my own character, it’s so easy to slip away from the goal: am I working on my character just to be a “better person”? Or am I working on my character because more than anything else I want to know and be like Jesus, share in his suffering, and partake in his resurrection?
There's a huge difference there, one I don't always notice.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Not to cast stones, but...
...I had a thought on an unintended consequence of theology.
I wonder to what extent the Eastern Orthodox understanding of theosis (spiritual growth understood as personal divinization) has opened the door to idolization (divinization) of political leaders, especially within political systems oriented toward strong, single leaders?
Not that Prots and Catholics are at all historically pure in this regard, of course. But as an outsider looking in, I am struck by what seems to be a (relatively) even more uncritical stance toward secular leaders within the Eastern traditions, and wonder at its contemporary theological underpinnings.
I wonder to what extent the Eastern Orthodox understanding of theosis (spiritual growth understood as personal divinization) has opened the door to idolization (divinization) of political leaders, especially within political systems oriented toward strong, single leaders?
Not that Prots and Catholics are at all historically pure in this regard, of course. But as an outsider looking in, I am struck by what seems to be a (relatively) even more uncritical stance toward secular leaders within the Eastern traditions, and wonder at its contemporary theological underpinnings.
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