God's energies

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thinkandmull

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This week I read the Wikipedia articles on eastern views of God’s energies. I am surprised to find that the east believes God can be seen. Anyway, the articles mentioned that the east believes creation of the world out of nothing only makes sense if there are these divine energies. I was wondering if someone could explain this line of thought.
 
Hi again. I don’t know very much about the mysticism or spirituality behind the Christian East, but it’s intriguing.

Since I can’t really say much, I did find some things: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence–energies_distinction
Historically, Western Christianity has tended to reject the essence-energies distinction as real in the case of God, characterizing the view as a heretical introduction of an unacceptable division in the Trinity and suggestive of polytheism. Further, the associated practice of hesychasm used to achieve theosis was characterized as “magic”.
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thinkandmull said:
This week I read the Wikipedia articles on eastern views of God’s energies. I am surprised to find that the east believes God can be seen. Anyway, the articles mentioned that the east believes creation of the world out of nothing only makes sense if there are these divine energies. I was wondering if someone could explain this line of thought.
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The Eastern Orthodox idea is that it is impossible to know God in his essence (ousia), but possible to know God in his energies (energia). The ideas of God are separated from the essence of God by the will (thelemata) that is, ideas are outside the divine essence.

The creation views are:


  1. *]God created from nothing.
    *]Pantheism or panentheism.
    *]God created out of pre-existing matter not created by God.
    *]God created the world out of himself.
    *]The world, substance, or energy always existed and is not created by God.

    The Christian dogma is 1 and creation is by the will, which are energies. God did not create out of himself as in 4, which would be essence.
 
thinkandmull said:
This week I read the Wikipedia articles on eastern views of God’s energies. I am surprised to find that the east believes God can be seen. Anyway, the articles mentioned that the east believes creation of the world out of nothing only makes sense if there are these divine energies. I was wondering if someone could explain this line of thought.
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Be more specific about what you want light shed on. What articles did you read; cite them, and quote from them.
 
I can’t find the exact quote at the moment. One section says that humans have a logos in addition to reason. I am not sure what this means and how it is related to the Energies
 
thinkandmull said:
I can’t find the exact quote at the moment. One section says that humans have a logos in addition to reason. I am not sure what this means and how it is related to the Energies
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Collins Dictionary, logos, noun
philosophy reason or the rational principle expressed in words and things, argument, or justification; esp personified as the source of order in the universe
Word OriginC16: from Greek: word, reason, discourse, from legein to speak
 
Does this relate to Bonaventure’s exemplary epistemology?
 
thinkandmull said:
This week I read the Wikipedia articles on eastern views of God’s energies. I am surprised to find that the east believes **God can be seen. **Anyway, the articles mentioned that the east believes creation of the world out of nothing only makes sense if there are these divine energies. I was wondering if someone could explain this line of thought.
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Why would there be something God cannot do?
 
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