Divine Accomodation/Condescension

[smad0142]

I know that this is a common tool for interpreting the Old Testament. Are there any verses, or any hints at all, in the Old Testament alone that support divine accomodation as a valid tool for interpretation? Thanks!!

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I know that this is a common tool for interpreting the Old Testament. Are there any verses, or any hints at all, in the Old Testament alone that support divine accomodation as a valid tool for interpretation? Thanks!!

Here is a great link to Divine Accomodation:
diocese-kcsj.org/content/education/office_of_evangelization_and_catechesis/divine_accommodation/

Here’s an excerpt from it:
"In an insightful analysis, Professor Scott Hahn says of God’s “diplomacy” with humans:

“He lets us have His way. He makes concessions and accommodations to our weaknesses that are strategically designed to produce His intentions rather than ours. So if you’re inclined more towards earthly things than heavenly, God will use earthly things and invest them with heavenly symbolism, so that people will love these earthly things and discover in the objects they love a deeper heavenly meaning, at which point God will destroy the earthly thing,[1] for example, the Temple. The Jews were not preoccupied with eternal life and heavenly glory, they wanted earthly power and wealth like most of us. So God sees they want to have a temple so that they can be rich and powerful like all the other nations, who have temples. Okay, build me one which He has built in a certain manner and prescribes the sacrifices in a certain manner all for the purpose of what?”

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I think most people are not even aware of the terms “accomodation” and “condescension” by God.

Basically it means that God is so infinite and great that no human can really understand or know God. Therefore God tries to accomodate himself into human understanding, or condescend so that all can know him.

Ultimately he did this through Jesus Christ, but in the Old Testament he allowed the Jews to offer sacrifices to him, (as the other people did to thier “gods”) in and effort to let them gradually come to know him as a merciful and the true God.

I think this is a beautiful way to see how amazing our God is.

 

[graciew]

I think most people are not even aware of the terms “accomodation” and “condescension” by God.

I think this is a beautiful way to see how amazing our God is.

I wasn´t…This is fabulous! Thanks

 

[CHRISTINE77]

The early Church fathers had a lot to say about it. Augustine said that though God did not desire the Jewish sacrifices, he used them to point to a greater true sacrifice to come - of the Cross. God (as the divine physician), adjusted to meet the needs of the patient (Israel). He comes to the aid of mutuable creatures without Himself changing, commanding or forbidding different things at different times according to the different stages of their disease.

 

[graciew]

The early Church fathers had a lot to say about it. Augustine said that though God did not desire the Jewish sacrifices, he used them to point to a greater true sacrifice to come - of the Cross. God (as the divine physician), adjusted to meet the needs of the patient (Israel). He comes to the aid of mutuable creatures without Himself changing, commanding or forbidding different things at different times according to the different stages of their disease.

Christine,could this then be what I heard as the pedagogy of God?
It is the first time I really understand how it worked…awsome.Thanks.