It's fascinating to read the commentary of St. Maximos on the Lord's Prayer, to see the way in which he manages to squeeze an entire theological tradition into the compass of what is really a brief treatise. It inspires me to go back and see which Syriac authors penned commentaries on the Lord's Prayer.
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Just a postscript to say that I've decided to go ahead and apply for the position. Again, I appreciate very very much everyone's thoughts on this matter.
24 October 2012
23 October 2012
thank you, part 2
Thank you again to all who responded to my question, both at the end of last week and over the weekend. I'm giving myself one more day to ponder things. I'm hoping to respond to comments over the next couple of days. It's been fall break here, and we've got a sick kid at home right now.
I was reading last night the commentary on the Lord's Prayer of St. Maximos the Confessor (English translation in Palmer, Sherrard and Ware, The Philokalia, volume 2, pp. 285-305). I'm interested in interpretations of the clause in the prayer about forgiveness. Maximos interestingly links forgiveness with the unity of human nature and the unity of the human will. He says:
... just as God dispassionately forgives His creatures, so such a person [who prays for 'the incorruptible bread of wisdom'] must himself remain dispassionate in the face of what happens to him and forgive those who offend him. He must not allow the memory of things that afflict him to be stamped on his intellect lest he inwardly sunders human nature by separating himself from some other man, although he is a man himself. When a man's will is in union with the principle of nature in this way, God and nature are naturally reconciled; but, failing such a union, our nature remains self-divided in its will and cannot receive God's gift of Himself. (Palmer, et. al., The Philokalia, p. 301).
Note how Maximos speaks of coming to forgive someone as a kind of return to one's true nature. There are also links here with Maximos's Christological teaching, for which he suffered a great deal.
I was reading last night the commentary on the Lord's Prayer of St. Maximos the Confessor (English translation in Palmer, Sherrard and Ware, The Philokalia, volume 2, pp. 285-305). I'm interested in interpretations of the clause in the prayer about forgiveness. Maximos interestingly links forgiveness with the unity of human nature and the unity of the human will. He says:
... just as God dispassionately forgives His creatures, so such a person [who prays for 'the incorruptible bread of wisdom'] must himself remain dispassionate in the face of what happens to him and forgive those who offend him. He must not allow the memory of things that afflict him to be stamped on his intellect lest he inwardly sunders human nature by separating himself from some other man, although he is a man himself. When a man's will is in union with the principle of nature in this way, God and nature are naturally reconciled; but, failing such a union, our nature remains self-divided in its will and cannot receive God's gift of Himself. (Palmer, et. al., The Philokalia, p. 301).
Note how Maximos speaks of coming to forgive someone as a kind of return to one's true nature. There are also links here with Maximos's Christological teaching, for which he suffered a great deal.
19 October 2012
thank you
Many many thanks to all who gave their thoughts on my question yesterday. I appreciate it a lot!
I'm going to take the weekend to think about it further, and decide by Monday morning.
Have a good weekend!
I'm going to take the weekend to think about it further, and decide by Monday morning.
Have a good weekend!
18 October 2012
advice?
Dear Readers,
I find myself at something of a crossroads, and I would welcome any advice you can give me.
A position in Eastern Orthodox practical theology has opened up in the university here at which I used to teach.
Do I apply for it or not?
I have been an acting professor of church history there before, for three years. And a replacement lecturer in Orthodox systematic theology for one year.
I began teaching theology at the postgraduate level in 1993. My field is history of Christian liturgy and asceticism. I have interests and expertise in other areas as well: patristics, systematic theology, comparative religion, ascetical theology, historical theology, ecumenical theology.
When I applied for a permanent professor's position in church history at this university one of the criticisms of my application was that my field was really practical theology and not church history.
I am a good teacher, a good lecturer. I have not published anything since leaving that university in 2007. I haven't been able to find an academic position in my field since 2007. I still have a passion for teaching and research.
I have been the head of the Eastern Orthodox theological house in Cambridge, England, and I've been an affiliated lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. I have studied at Harvard, Oxford, and the University of Notre Dame.
My Finnish is good enough for everyday life; I do not realistically think I can lecture in Finnish right now. I could well be able to if I were to focus on my spoken Finnish.
To be honest, my experience of two previous applications for a permanent position here has led me to the conclusion that at least in theology there are considerations and interests beyond the academic and scholarly that ultimately lead to a candidate's being chosen for an academic position here. I am pessimistic at best about my chances.
I'm genuinely torn about what to do. Thanks for your help.
I find myself at something of a crossroads, and I would welcome any advice you can give me.
A position in Eastern Orthodox practical theology has opened up in the university here at which I used to teach.
Do I apply for it or not?
I have been an acting professor of church history there before, for three years. And a replacement lecturer in Orthodox systematic theology for one year.
I began teaching theology at the postgraduate level in 1993. My field is history of Christian liturgy and asceticism. I have interests and expertise in other areas as well: patristics, systematic theology, comparative religion, ascetical theology, historical theology, ecumenical theology.
When I applied for a permanent professor's position in church history at this university one of the criticisms of my application was that my field was really practical theology and not church history.
I am a good teacher, a good lecturer. I have not published anything since leaving that university in 2007. I haven't been able to find an academic position in my field since 2007. I still have a passion for teaching and research.
I have been the head of the Eastern Orthodox theological house in Cambridge, England, and I've been an affiliated lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. I have studied at Harvard, Oxford, and the University of Notre Dame.
My Finnish is good enough for everyday life; I do not realistically think I can lecture in Finnish right now. I could well be able to if I were to focus on my spoken Finnish.
To be honest, my experience of two previous applications for a permanent position here has led me to the conclusion that at least in theology there are considerations and interests beyond the academic and scholarly that ultimately lead to a candidate's being chosen for an academic position here. I am pessimistic at best about my chances.
I'm genuinely torn about what to do. Thanks for your help.
14 October 2012
Philokalia
I've begun reading the Philokalia again, right now Mark the Ascetic's On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts.
03 October 2012
more about unbiblical dads
Apart from begging the question of what counts as a "biblical" view of fatherhood or male gender roles, saying that being a stay-at-home dad is "unbiblical" stretches biblical exegesis beyond the breaking point.
unbiblical dad
More about this later, just wanted to note an article that quotes a Southern Baptist assistant professor as saying that stay-at-home dads are "unbiblical."
Theologically, biblically, socially, anthropologically, there are so many things wrong with that view I have problems knowing where to begin.
Theologically, biblically, socially, anthropologically, there are so many things wrong with that view I have problems knowing where to begin.
02 October 2012
is it necessary?
Must one accept the Byzantine conjoining of church and state in order to be Orthodox today? Personally I think not, though reading about the Pussy Riot trial and its aftermath makes me realize that not a few Orthodox today would answer yes.
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