Mr
Bryan Fischer on Focal Point today (3 Sept. 2019) made the claim a few
times that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life before the Fall. This is not true. The Church Fathers are quite in agreement
that man was not permitted to eat from that Tree prior to the first sin. Eating from the Tree of Life was to be the
reward for keeping the commandment God gave Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After
they sinned, God banished them from the Garden lest they would also eat of the
Tree of Life and remain alive forever in their damaged, fallen state. But now the Tree of Life has appeared once
again in the world as the Holy Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ:
On the other hand, the
Tree of the Cross is precisely the wood through which the first disobedience
was undone by the One Who died on it in obedience to the will of the
Father. The Tree of Life that was in the Garden was the actual “type” of
the Tree of the Cross on Golgotha. The last Adam—Christ—healed us of the
sin of the first Adam. (As early as Saint Justin the Martyr, it was
taught that the Virgin Mary was the “new Eve” also because of her obedience to
the Word of God). The Cross is therefore “the blessed Wood, through which
the eternal justice has been brought to pass. For he who by a tree
deceived our forefather Adam is by the Cross himself deceived, and he who by
tyranny gained possession of the creature endowed by God with royal dignity is
overthrown in headlong fall” (Sticheron, Great Vespers).
According to a pious
tradition, the place of the skull—Golgotha—is the place where Adam was buried
when he died. The blood that flowed from Christ “baptized” that skull as
symbolic of the sons of Adam (and Eve) being given renewed and eternal life by
the blood shed by Christ on the Cross—the Tree of Life. As we sing in one
of the Litiya hymns for the feast, “The Tree of true life was planted in the
place of the skull, and upon it hast Thou, the eternal King, worked salvation
in the midst of the earth. Exalted today, it sanctifies the ends of the
world.” (We might note here that it is in this light that in icons of the
crucifixion, we generally see the Cross of Christ “planted” on the skull of
Adam, with an inscription that reads “the Grave of Adam.”)
--Fr Steven Kostoff, https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr.-steven-kostoff/wood-is-healed-by-wood
Mr
Fischer did speak correctly about the Fall affecting all the generations
following Adam and Eve. However, he is
not consistent in applying this to his politics. In that sphere he follows the un-Christian
nominalism of the post-Schism, make-it-up-as-you-go West (whether Roman
Catholic or Protestant), which unnaturally breaks apart everything into
disconnected pieces: the local parish
church from the diocese, the nuclear family from the clan, the individual from
society, etc. Thus, he is a big booster
of the idea that the role of government is to protect the rights of the
individual of the present moment. But if
one truly believes that the Fall and Redemption are cosmic events, that is,
that they affect all of mankind throughout time regardless of an individual’s
consent to be affected by them, which is what St Paul the Apostle teaches,
[17]
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.)
-
if one believes this, that men are truly connected to one another in space and
time in a way different than nominalism/individualism teaches us, which is that
men are discreet, unconnected, self-contained points on a geometric plane, then
one’s politics must include concern for the ‘rights’ (if that Modernist word
must be used) of society as a whole, and not just for those living but for the
rights of the departed and those generations that will be born far into the
future as well. This is why kings and
other hereditary officials are so important:
They represent the interests of those other classes of men who get
overlooked in the passions of the moment by the voters and their
representatives in democracies and republics.
And
while on this theme of nominalism, kings, and such, we must also mention a
statement made by Abraham Hamilton, III, today as well, on his program The
Hamilton Corner, which he has made on a number of other occasions: namely, that the family is the first
institution ordained by God, prior to the Church, monarchy, and so on. This again is a result of nominalism, of
breaking things apart that are meant to form one interconnected whole, for the
first family, Adam and Eve, was at the same time the Church and a
monarchy. Adam was king of the creation
and the head or king of his family:
Let us make note here of St. John of Kronstadt's reflection on this subject. He writes, “Why did God allow the fall of man, his beloved creation and the crown of all the earthly creatures? To this question one must reply thus: If man is not to be allowed to fall, then he cannot be created in the image and likeness of God; he cannot be granted free will, which is an inseparable feature ofthe image of God, but he would have to be subject to the law of necessity, like the soulless creations — the sky, the sun, stars, the circle of the earth, and all the elements, or like the irrational animals. But then there would
have been no king over the creatures of the earth, no rational hymnsinger of God's goodness, wisdom, creative almightiness, and Providence.
--Fr Michael Pomazansky, Orthodox
Dogmatic Theology (bolding added), http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0824/_P1J.HTM
Adam
was also a priest of the proto-Church, offering up the creation to God for His
blessing:
As Orthodox Christians we
believe that the Lord is present and fillest all things. Because of the
Incarnation of our Lord, now everything CAN become a means of communion with
God IF we have the eyes to see it and if we are able to offer up our creativity
to God as a priest of creation. This idea is articulated best by Fr. Alexander
Schmemann when, in For the Life of the World he says, man’s primary vocation is
to be a priest of creation who offers up all of one’s life to God in
thanksgiving as we pray in the Divine Liturgy, “Thine own of Thine own we offer
unto Thee on behalf of all and for all.” If, as we embark on our creative
endeavors, we keep in mind these words of St John Chrysostom, “Thine own of
Thine own..” our creative endeavors will themselves become a form of prayer and
honor to our creator .
--Fr Christopher Foley, https://holycrossoca.org/newslet/1106.html
Let
us not be of those who, in their pride, cast off the good teachings of the Holy
Fathers for our own interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. But in our humility, let us show ourselves to
be teachable, to be their lowly and unworthy disciples:
Conversation and
association with neighbors has a great influence on man. Conversation and
contacts with a learned person impart much knowledge; with a poet-many lofty
thoughts and feelings; with a traveler-much information about the countries,
morals, and manners of people. It is obvious: conversation and acquaintance
with the Saints imparts saintliness. “With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself
merciful; with an upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright; with the pure
Thou wilt show Thyself pure” (Psalm 17:26-27).
From now on, during this
brief life on earth, which Holy Scripture did not even call life, but
wandering, become acquainted with the Saints. You want to belong to their
company in heaven; you want to be a partaker of their blessedness? From now on
come into contact with them. When you leave the temple of the body, they will
bring you unto themselves as their acquaintance, as their friend (St. Luke
16:9).
There is no closer
familiarity, no closer bond, than the bond of oneness of thoughts, oneness of
feeling, oneness of goal (I Corinthians 1:10).
Wherever there is oneness
in opinion, unfailingly there is oneness of soul as well, and unfailingly there
is one goal and identical success in attainment of the goal.
Make the thoughts and
spirit of the Holy Fathers your own by reading their writings. The Holy Fathers
attained the goal: salvation. And you will attain this goal in the natural
course of events. As one united thought and soul with the Holy Fathers you will
be saved.
Heaven received the Holy
Fathers into its blessed bosom. By this it gave witness that it was
well-pleased by their thoughts, feelings, and deeds. The Holy Fathers set forth
their thoughts, their heart, their mode of action, in their writings.
Therefore, what a faithful guide to heaven, as witnessed to by heaven itself,
are the writings of the Holy Fathers.
. . .
--St Ignatius
Brianchaninov (+1867). The rest is at http://www.pravmir.com/approach-reading-holy-fathers/
--
Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England,
South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð,
unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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