Beatific Vision is = direct connection between God and man, something that in our ordinary state would destroy us.So…
Beatific Vision = Uncreated Grace
Sanctifying Grace = Created Grace
But isn’t grace necessary in any case in order to perceive-or see-God?So…
Beatific Vision = Uncreated Grace
Sanctifying Grace = Created Grace
I would think so, but that would make it created, no?But isn’t grace necessary in any case in order to perceive-or see-God?
Well, I’m not sure exactly how grace works, of course, except that it empowers us to do or comprehend things we would otherwise-by our natural abilities- be unable to do/comprehend. It seems to me, one way or the other, that grace is more than an action or blessing etc-it’s the love of God in action-it’s His life-His Spirit -intimately connected to and working within and through us. I guess some theologians have linked love and grace while others dismiss the idea. But the New Covenant is certainly all about Gods’ Spirit indwelling man-and man cooperating with God in this- and man changing/becoming sanctified because of it, whereas the fall involved mans rejection of God and then losing the control over himself that that relationship had previously maintained, as he became de-sanctified. Just some thoughts.I would think so, but that would make it created, no?
I am not saying that you are wrong. Personnally I think that there is something that is missing in the interpretation from Eastern thought/language to Western thought/language. When I think of energy I think of something that goes out of something else. For example, the energy electricity goes out of a generator. In this example one cannot say that electricity and generator are the same. Same as when it comes to light/sun, magnetism/magnet, gravity/planet, etc. I think that this is where there is so much confusion. I wish that the Eastern translators of Greek to English would have thought of a better word to describe the activity than the word energy. For the word energy always references source and activity and they are never considered the same. I hope this helps you understand where I am coming from.I disagree. Following the teachings of the Cappadocian Fathers (among others), I believe that the God’s essence is beyond human ability to know or describe. I agree that what I have described can be called divine attributes, but I disagree that they are identical to the divine essence. The divine essence is-and eternally remains-unknowable. When speaking of God, there is the divine essence, the three hypostases of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the divine energies. The divine essence remains eternally transcendent. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-the three hypostases-reveal themselves to us through the divine energies/attributes. It is by our participation in the divine energies/attributes that we are deified/divinized.