Rasmussen, Ryan J. wrote:
...................
> Would it help to look at this from a different point of view? We know that
> energy/matter is simply the power of God governed by His will. Everything
> around us is a construct of His power. Each atom, each quark, everything is
> made up of some type of raw power of God. We know through revelation that
> God is eternal, the I Am, and it is supported by the fact that we know that
> energy/matter is indestructible. This raises a few questions in my mind.
There are several problems here. "Creation" is not "emanation": Created things
are not "parts of" God or "out of God." Traditional theology speaks about the divine
"operations" or "energies" but these are not the same as the created operations which
are appropriate to each created think. God does not (normally at least) act direct in
the world but "co-operates" with created things. God's eternity is part of who God is:
It need not mean timelessness but rather God having all the time he wants. The
indestructibility of energy/matter, OTOH, is conditional. If God in his absolute
power chose to he could annihilate the world.
> What does that say about the material/human? form of Jesus... an indwelling
> of the Son of God within a construct of His own power. His flesh was made
> of His own power. He controlled it... literally. And His will can control
> that power no matter what form it is currently residing in (ie water to
> wine, loaves of bread, walking on water, the casting of the lot).
According to the christology of the ecumenical councils the humanity of Jesus
was "of the same substance" as our own. The Sixth Council rejected the idea that there
is only a single divine operation or energy in Christ and insisted that there are the
two operations, human and divine, proper to his two natures, and that together these
accomplish what Christ does.
> Why do we perceive the human form to be some type of complete change in form
> for Him ie "...entered the being of a purely human Jesus." Is there
> anything that is "purely human"? What is "purely human"? Right now I'm
> looking at my hand type this and I'm well aware that it is merely a
> construct of atoms that I am able to govern by my will to a certain extent
> to do my bidding. However, I know the subatomic particles in these atoms
> were once part of the raw power that God used to create this universe. Does
> the fact that these atoms reside in the construct that is my human form
> somehow make them different or special in comparison to the other particles
> in this universe? I think not.
The claim that the Word assumed genuine & full humanity is important for belief
that our humanity is saved through the Incarnation. But as you point out, there are
not sharp boundaries between ourselves and the rest of creation - & correspondingly,
the Incarnation brings about the salvation not just of humanity but of "all things"
(Col.1:20).
> What I'm trying to get at here is that it seems as no big deal for the
> Almighty to take on a form which is ultimately constructed of His power in a
> universe made completely of His power. It seems even more unlikely that by
> doing so He is somehow being completely changed or confined by it.
The "big deal" is the "emptying" of the Word and that "the one who lives forever
has fallen prey to death.
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
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