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The River of Fire [ philthompson.net] By Dr. Alexander Kalomiros Any thoughts on this work?
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I think the author made a very good statement about Divine love, heaven and hell from the Eastern perspective. But I also think his understanding of the Western Christian perspective is flawed as far as everyday, ordinary Western Christians are concerned. They don't think of God as some angry, vengeful being. They understand that God is Just, but that God is also merciful and full of love, and hence He came to us as Jesus in order to pay the price for all our sins --to save us from sin by taking sin upon Himself-- and to open the door to life with God through Jesus Christ's resurrection. That is what ordinary, everyday Western Christians --laity and most clergy-- believe. And that forms the basis of their faith. I think the author of that article missed this core of the living faith in Western Christianity. -- John
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Thanks John.
Any other thoughts on this? I think the article really is worth reading, even if it has a (notso slight) anti-Latin bias...
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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I think it would benefit discussion to quote the parts of the article which (I found) are excellent and inspiring. -- John from section IV Death was not inflicted upon us by God.l3 We fell into it by our revolt. God is Life and Life is God. We revolted against God, we closed our gates to His life-giving grace.l4 "For as much as he departed from life," wrote Saint Basil, "by so much did he draw nearer to death. For God is Life, deprivation of life is death."15 "God did not create death," continues Saint Basil, "but we brought it upon ourselves." "Not at all, however, did He hinder the dissolution� so that He would not make the infirmity immortal in us."l6 As Saint Irenaeus puts it: "Separation from God is death, separation from light is darkness� and it is not the light which brings upon them the punishment of blindness."17 from section XIV One could insist, however, that the Sacred Scriptures and the Fathers always speak of God as the Great Judge who will reward those who were obedient to Him and will punish those who were disobedient, in the day of the Great Judgment (11 Tim. 4:6-8). How are we to understand this judgment if we are to understand the divine words not in a human but in a divine manner? What is God�s judgment?
God is Truth and Light. God�s judgment is nothing else than our coming into contact with truth and light. In the day of the Great Judgment all men will appear naked before this penetrating light of truth. The "books" will be opened. What are these "books"? They are our hearts. Our hearts will be opened by the penetrating light of God, and what is in these hearts will be revealed. If in those hearts there is love for God, those hearts will rejoice seeing God�s light. If, on the contrary, there is hatred for God in those hearts, these men will suffer by receiving on their opened hearts this penetrating light of truth which they detested all their life.
So that which will differentiate between one man and another will not be a decision of God, a reward or a punishment from Him, but that which was in each one�s heart; what was there during all our life will be revealed in the Day of Judgment. If there is a reward and a punishment in this revelation�and there really is�it does not come from God but from the love or hate which reigns in our heart. Love has bliss in it, hatred has despair, bitterness, grief, affliction, wickedness, agitation, confusion, darkness, and all the other interior conditions which compose hell (I Cor. 4:6).
The Light of Truth, God�s Energy, God�s grace which will fall on men unhindered by corrupt conditions in the Day of Judgment, will be the same to all men. There will be no distinction whatever. All the difference lies in those who receive, not in Him Who gives. The sun shines on healthy and diseased eyes alike, without any distinction. Healthy eyes enjoy light and because of it see clearly the beauty which surrounds them. Diseased eyes feel pain, they hurt, suffer, and want to hide from this same light which brings such great happiness to those who have healthy eyes.
But alas, there is no longer any possibility of escaping God�s light. During this life there was. In the New Creation of the Resurrection, God will be everywhere and in everything. His light and love will embrace all. There will be no place hidden from God, as was the case during our corrupt life in the kingdom of the prince of this world.4l The devil�s kingdom will be despoiled by the Common Resurrection and God will take possession again of His creation.42 Love will enrobe everything with its sacred Fire which will flow like a river from the throne of God and will irrigate paradise. But this same river of Love�for those who have hate in their hearts�will suffocate and burn.
"For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). The very fire which purifies gold, also consumes wood. Precious metals shine in it like the sun, rubbish burns with black smoke. All are in the same fire of Love. Some shine and others become black and dark. In the same furnace steel shines like the sun, whereas clay turns dark and is hardened like stone.
The difference is in man, not in God. The difference is conditioned by the free choice of man, which God respects absolutely. God�s judgment is the revelation of the reality which is in man. from section XV Thus Saint Macarius writes, "And as the kingdom of darkness, and sin, are hidden in the soul until the Day of Resurrection, when the bodies also of sinners shall be covered with the darkness that is now hidden in the soul, so also the Kingdom of Light, and the Heavenly Image, Jesus Christ, now mystically enlighten the soul, and reign in the soul of the saints, but are hidden from the eyes of men� until the Day of Resurrection; but then the body also shall be covered and glorified with the Light of the Lord, which is now in the man�s soul [from this earthly life], that the body also may reign with the soul which from now receives the Kingdom of Christ and rests and is enlightened with eternal light" (Homily 2).
Saint Symeon the New Theologian says that it is not what man does which counts in eternal life but what he is, whether he is like Jesus Christ our Lord, or whether he is different and unlike Him. He says, "In the future life the Christian is not examined if he has renounced the whole world for Christ�s love, or if he has distributed his riches to the poor or if he fasted or kept vigil or prayed, or if he wept and lamented for his sins, or if he has done any other good in this life, but he is examined attentively if he has any similitude with Christ, as a son does with his father." from section XVI Saint Peter the Damascene writes: "We all receive God�s blessings equally. But some of us, receiving God�s fire, that is, His word, become soft like beeswax, while the others like clay become hard as stone. And if we do not want Him, He does not force any of us, but like the sun He sends His rays and illuminates the whole world, and he who wants to see Him, sees Him, whereas the one who does not want to see Him, is not forced by Him. And no one is responsible for this privation of light except the one who does not want to have it. from section XVIII As Saint Gregory of Nyssa says, "In the present life the things we have relations with are numerous, for instance time, air, locality, food and drink, clothing, sunlight, lamplight, and other necessities of life, none of which, many though they be, are God; that blessed state which we hope for is in need of none of these things, but the Divine Being will become all, and in the stead of all to us, distributing Himself proportionately to every need of that existence. It is plain, too, from the Holy Scriptures that God becomes to those who deserve it, locality and home and clothing and food and drink and light and riches and kingdom, and everything that can be thought of and named that goes to make our life happy" (On the Soul and the Resurrection).46
In the new eternal life, God will be everything to His creatures, not only to the good but also to the wicked, not only to those who love Him, but likewise to those who hate Him. But how will those who hate Him endure to have everything from the hands of Him Whom they detest? Oh, what an eternal torment is this, what an eternal fire, what a gnashing of teeth!
Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the everlasting inner fire of hatred,47 saith the Lord, because I was thirsty for your love and you did not give it to Me, I was hungry for your blessedness and you did not offer it to Me, I was imprisoned in My human nature and you did not come to visit Me in My church; you are free to go where your wicked desire wishes, away from Me, in the torturing hatred of your hearts which is foreign to My loving heart which knows no hatred for anyone. Depart freely from love to the everlasting torture of hate, unknown and foreign to Me and to those who are with Me, but prepared by freedom for the devil, from the days I created My free, rational creatures. But wherever you go in the darkness of your hating hearts, My love will follow you like a river of fire, because no matter what your heart has chosen, you are and you will eternally continue to be, My children. Amen.
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P.S. I searched the internet for more information about this essay, because it does contain some profoundly good and inspiring material. Apparently, the essay was originally a speech that was given in 1980. The text appears on several websites. The following one gives some background to the speech. http://www.orthodoxpress.org/parish/river_of_fire.htm -- John
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Hi,
I am just going to say that "Western theology" as the author calls it has "produced" people the caliber of:
Francis of Asisi
Ignatius of Loyola
Theresa of Avila
John of the Cross
Francis Xavier
John Vianney
Juan Diego
John Bosco
Maximilian Kolbe
Thesesa of Calcutta
John Paul the Great
And the list could go on and on and on and on.
We must be doing *something* right!
Shalom,
Memo
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Originally posted by Memo Rodriguez:
I am just going to say that "Western theology" as the author calls it has "produced" people the caliber of:
<snip>
And the list could go on and on and on and on.
We must be doing *something* right! This response and others like it from Roman Catholics on the form make me wonder the following: Why does any such articulate article about Eastern theology and an Eastern understanding of a doctrine have to be responded to by a Roman Catholic with a "Look how great the West is" slam to the Eastern outlook? Is this not a forum for Eastern Christianity? Should not participants here be free to post such beautiful and articulate articles on the Eastern theology without reprisals from the West? Perhaps I am out of line and perhaps I will be admonished publically. But really ... I came to this forum to learn about Eastern Christianity. Yet every time something is posted that is "too Eastern" or "too Orthodox" for discussion invariably someone (typically a Roman Catholic) pipes up to say either that the perspective is wrong or to defensively say that "The West is great". Cannot a simple article be left for discussion on its own merits without having to be interrupted for a defense of the Western Church. Especially when the article was not an attack on the Western Church.
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Originally posted by Memo Rodriguez:
I am just going to say that "Western theology" [ . . . ] We must be doing *something* right! Originally posted by Carole:
someone (typically a Roman Catholic) pipes up to say either that the perspective is wrong or to defensively say that "The West is great".
Must there be this kind of offensive exchange of barbs again at this forum ? The article itself was generally brilliant, but not without its flaws. Couldn't we actually discuss its presentation of the Eastern perspective on judgement, the afterlife, hell and salvation ? -- John
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Hi, Especially when the article was not an attack on the Western Church. I am sorry Carole, but did you actually read the article? It is nothing but an attack on Western theology. Shalom, Memo
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Originally posted by Memo Rodriguez: Hi,
Especially when the article was not an attack on the Western Church.
It is nothing but an attack on Western theology.
Shalom,
Memo Memo, I disagree that "It is nothing but an attack on Western theology." There are criticisms and even some polemics against Western theology in parts of the article, especially sections II, III and VI. But, there is more to the article than polemic. There is an interesting analysis of pagan philosophy (section VII) and how that has sometimes corrupted Christians' understanding of God's love (the first half of section IX). The former seems accurate, but the latter I cannot comment on because I do not know enough on the history of religious philosophy. And then, of course, there is the author's excellent statement of and explanation of the Eastern Christian understanding of God's love, judgement, heaven (or hell) and what salvation truly consists of. This can be summarized in a quote from section IX of the article, "Paradise or hell depends on how we will accept God�s love. Will we return love for love. or will we respond to His love with hate? This is the critical difference. And this difference depends entirely on us, on our freedom, on our innermost free choice, on a perfectly free attitude which is not influenced by external conditions or internal factors of our material and psychological nature, because it is not an external act but an interior attitude coming from the bottom of our heart, conditioning not our sins, but the way we think about our sins, as it is clearly seen in the case of the publican and the Pharisee and in the case of the two robbers crucified with Christ. This freedom, this choice, this inner attitude toward our Creator is the innermost core of our eternal personality, it is the most profound of our characteristics, it is what makes us that which we are, it is our eternal face�bright or dark, loving or hating." This idea is elaborated upon in the sections I already quoted above (IV, XIV, XV, XVI and XVII). No, there is more to this article than polemic or praiseworthy illumination. There is a mixture of the two. And I find that fascinating, not only for the individual points but also for how both were maintained in the same mind and expressed in the same article. -- John
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Only after the enviromentalist got after Him for not having the proper work permits to create! Stephanos I 
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It's been ten years since I read that article, so it was nice to see it again. I'm of two minds about it, however. When Kalomiros speaks of his view of what hell is, he can be profound and thought-provoking. But when he blames practically all the problems in the modern world on "Western Theology", he mostly is reduced to stereotypes and attacking straw-men. One must shift through the chaff at the beginning of the article to get to the wheat at the end. Regarding the wheat, I especially liked this paragraph: God is Truth and Light. God�s judgment is nothing else than our coming into contact with truth and light. In the day of the Great Judgment all men will appear naked before this penetrating light of truth. The "books" will be opened. What are these "books"? They are our hearts. Our hearts will be opened by the penetrating light of God, and what is in these hearts will be revealed. If in those hearts there is love for God, those hearts will rejoice seeing God�s light. If, on the contrary, there is hatred for God in those hearts, these men will suffer by receiving on their opened hearts this penetrating light of truth which they detested all their life. My own personal conception of hell has often been being in the presence of God but not wanting to be there - that would surely be hell. So Kalomiros' article really touched a cord with me. However, I do have a problem with this view of hell and judgement. Kalomiros states: The Light of Truth, God�s Energy, God�s grace which will fall on men unhindered by corrupt conditions in the Day of Judgment, will be the same to all men. There will be no distinction whatever. All the difference lies in those who receive, not in Him Who gives....The difference is in man, not in God. The difference is conditioned by the free choice of man, which God respects absolutely. If this is the case, then how does this square with the idea that one must be humble about being a Christian, since Faith is a free gift of God? In other words, if I and a non-believer both received the exact same love and grace, and I accepted it, but the non-believer rejects it, how does that square with the idea, "there but for the Grace of God go I..."? Why should I not be proud that I chose God, unlike the non-believer (according to this view)? This seems to go against the catholic belief that even our initial faith in God is a free gift from Him.
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If this is the case, then how does this square with the idea that one must be humble about being a Christian, since Faith is a free gift of God? In other words, if I and a non-believer both received the exact same love and grace, and I accepted it, but the non-believer rejects it, how does that square with the idea, "there but for the Grace of God go I..."? Why should I not be proud that I chose God, unlike the non-believer (according to this view)? This seems to go against the catholic belief that even our initial faith in God is a free gift from Him. You should be proud, but proud of the Grace accepted not self-pride (the dehabilitating kind of pride). This 'divine' pride is what motivatives the Saints and Fathers/Mothers on their mission of prayer and evangelism. (My thoughts, not necessarily set in stone)...
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Okay, one question though. What is the orthodox position about hell? At school, the theologian told us that there is no hell for Orthodoxy. Every man feels the presence and love of God. But those that died in denial towards Him will feel his presence and love as hell and those who died accepting his love and grace will feel like they're in heaven.
Is this true? And what is the Roman Catholic view on hell?
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Armando, Okay, one question though. What is the orthodox position about hell? At school, the theologian told us that there is no hell for Orthodoxy. Every man feels the presence and love of God. But those that died in denial towards Him will feel his presence and love as hell and those who died accepting his love and grace will feel like they're in heaven. What you describe is what is advocated in this article. How commmon of a belief this is in Orthodoxy, I do not know. And what is the Roman Catholic view on hell? One must distinguish between commonly held beliefs, and "official" RC teaching. In truth, very little about hell (or purgatory) is "officially" defined in Roman Catholicism. For good reason - the biblical record about the afterlife of those who do not follow God is very slim, and there is little in the early tradition about it either. Basically, the official Roman Catholic view can be summed up in two lines: (1) The souls of those who die in the condition of personal grievous sin enter Hell. (2) The punishment of Hell lasts for all eternity. That's it. What exactly hell entails is left to speculation. Another book I've heard recommended, and which I think advocates a similar view of hell as Kalomiros', is C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. I've just put it on hold at the library, and I'm looking forward to reading it soon.
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