15 June 2010

#5 Lossky

For those who have read the Wikipedia article it includes a brief section on Vladimir Lossky and his work "The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church." Apparently Lossky misunderstands the nature of the issues surround the concept of "Shift." He gets hung up on Constantine's dubious Christian testimony and the Arian resurgence which occurred after his death. Fine, we can call the shift Theodosian or even push it further until the time of Justinian I. It was formalized and institutionalized over the course of centuries and with many setbacks, some coming from within the church and some external. Nevertheless, the genesis of the change, the turning point did indeed begin with Constantine I.
The argument that all nations have the Caesaropapal tendency actually proves my point. Sacralism is a pagan notion. Biblical Theocracy was temporary and can never return. Sacralism is man-initiated construct, a Babel-like attempt to build a heavenly kingdom on earth.
In fact as will be pointed out later we are specifically warned against this in the New Testament. The imagery of Revelation is replete with examples of this idea at work.