Pain & Logos

Last updated on: November 21, 2013 at 10:24 pm by Matthew Tan

Pain & Logos 2013-11-21T22:24:00+10:00 Matthew Tan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In an interview with the Mars Hill Audio Journal, the Canadian theologian Hans Boersma spoke about the ease with which Christians talk about Jesus as the Saviour, as if he was the great fixer that came to extrinsically fix the cosmos that was previously alright on its own, but now needed fixing due to the stain of sin. To Boersma, this conception of Christ as the repairman to what was a perfectly well functioning clock, has borne many philosophical, social and indeed political fruits, all of which fall under the cultural malady that we call post/modernity.

Boersma suggests that a proper Christian response would require a richer conception of who Jesus is. To this he suggests a return to the ancient Church Fathers, who regarded Jesus as more than just the Son of God, a God who became a man to walk on this earth. To them, Jesus was the Logos or reasoning for everything that was ever created. He was the underlying logic to everything that has existed and ever will exist and it is for this reason that Scripture says that it is in Jesus that “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). In particular, the crucified Christ for the Fathers was not an aberration to Jesus’ life, but its very fulfilment, since by being nailed to the cross he revealed the reasoning of the entire universe, and revealed “all things hidden since the foundation of the world” (Matt 13:35)

And “all things” would include many of the things that we regard as alien to the order of life on earth, including pain and suffering. Indeed, Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, had this to say about pain in her book The Cry of Jesus Crucified and Forsaken:

had it not been for this cross, all…the pain of all humanity, would not have been given a name

It is only in the light of the Crucified is pain seen not as the disruption of the order of the universe, but the privilege standpoint from which to understand that order. Our ability to identify pain as such would not be possible without the pain of the Logos on the cross.

bible

Church and Culture

resources

Previous Post

November 14, 2013

Food: the Last Sacrament

Next Post

December 3, 2013 The Church and Popular Culture: DePaul Winter Course Offering

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category architecture art Augustine Belloc Benedict XVI bible blogs books bourgeois Christianity Campion College Chesterton Christianisation Church and Culture Church Fathers citizen conference conservative consumer culture cybernetics Desert Fathers discipleship distributism drinking ecclesiology economics education environment Evagrius of Pontus formation Foucault George Weigel Girard Graham Ward http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post interfaith Jacques Ellul John Chrysostom Julia Kristeva Latin liturgy mall marriage monasticism Music Narrative news philosophy polis politics pop culture postmodern city postsecular prayer prostestant quote Quotes Radical Orthodoxy resources Rome Rule of St. Benedict saint Saints secular sociology theological anthropology theology transcendance Uncategorized videos William Cavanaugh

Select a Month December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 October 2009 February 2008 December 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who interpreted Pharaoh's dreams in Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Joseph Aaron David