The 8 Days of Creation
How the Gospel of John echoes Genesis
I have scruples against calling myself a Writer, capitalized, but I echo Augustine in “profess[ing] to be one of those who, by profiting, write, and by writing profit.” Never especially disciplined or consistent in my writing efforts, never attempting any grand projects, yet over the years I have accumulated piles of notebooks, loose papers, and …
The dance of creation is resplendent with the pattern of chiaroscuro and with the musical motif of sorrow transforming into a melody of joy
I finally have my first proper Winter and I learn some important lessons about Death and the Gospel.
Genesis chapter one is all about purpose. Verses 6-7: “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that above the expanse. And it …
I found an amazing book in my classroom recently–”The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology.” Despite the cheesy name, it really is a fairly comprehensive collection of mythologies from all around the world, and it has beautiful pictures to boot. My imagination was sparked when, beside a snapshot of an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph, I read the following …
IV. Mastery, Meaning and Mystery Following the biblical narrative, the theology of the Fathers always begins with Creation. This is where their profound and crucial understanding of God begins, with the Father Almighty who is in the beginning, Maker of heaven and earth; with His Son, the Word, through whom all things were made; and …
The Church Fathers On Creation, by David Hicks (Part 4) Read More »
III. Basil and the Hexaemeron Now let us turn to S. Basil and his Hexaemeron. The Hexaemeron is the title of Basil’s nine Lenten sermons on the first chapter of Genesis. Although the evidence suggests that Basil delivered these sermons extemporaneously to working men and women, the ancients regarded this as his greatest work, and …
The Church Fathers On Creation, by David Hicks (Part 3) Read More »
II. Are we talking science or philosophy? Now, this argument will not impress the non-Christian or “secularized Christian” for whom science, not Holy Scripture, is the final authority and for whom Nobel prize winners, not Church Fathers, offer the best answers to the cosmogonic questions. So it is not enough for us to have a …
The Church Fathers On Creation, by David Hicks (Part 2) Read More »
I. Why Do We Care What the Fathers Think? In his second letter from prison in Rome, Peter warns at length against false teachers: “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were …