{"id":45907,"date":"2016-07-13T12:56:33","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T12:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/?p=45907"},"modified":"2016-07-14T04:28:02","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T04:28:02","slug":"45907","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/?p=45907","title":{"rendered":"PAULOS MAR GREGORIOS: MASTERY AND MYSTERY"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Gregorian Study Circle Meeting<\/h1>\n<h1>Sponsored\u00a0 by\u00a0Sopana Orthodox Academy and Mar Gregorios Foundation.<\/h1>\n<h1>Sophia Centre, Kottayam<\/h1>\n<h1>13 July 2016<\/h1>\n<p><iframe title=\"PAULOS MAR GREGORIOS : MASTERY AND MYSTERY\" width=\"735\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z1P7_Zfzsdw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00403.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-45908\" src=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00403-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"DSC00403\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00403-300x168.jpg 300w, http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00403-1024x575.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00403-70x40.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00405.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-45909\" src=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00405-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"DSC00405\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00405-300x168.jpg 300w, http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00405-1024x575.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DSC00405-70x40.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">PAULOS MAR GREGORIOS : MASTERY AND MYSTERY<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>(A<\/strong>\u00a0presentation by Fr K M George based on PMG book <em>The Human Presence<\/em>, chapter 7<strong>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Paulos Mar Gregorios had always been a\u00a0 staunch critic of the intellectual tradition of the West despite his deep appreciation for the modern European\u00a0 accomplishments in philosophy, science , technology and all other disciplines. A good part of \u00a0his academic and intellectual activity took place \u00a0in a \u00a0predominantly European- American context. His speeches and writings in general assume to address a western audience or all those\u00a0 in the rest of the world who are under the sway of western intellectual and spiritual heritage.\u00a0\u00a0 He always \u00a0made a deliberate attempt to bring out his Asian\/ Indian philosophical perceptions and sensitivity as a counter point to the overarching \u00a0western intellectual heritage. Very early in his theological and philosophical reflections \u00a0his self-understanding as an Eastern\u00a0 Christian firmly rooted in the liturgical, theological and spiritual tradition of his Indo-Syriac Orthodox tradition played a key role. His deep study of Eastern patristic tradition, particularly of saint Gregory of Nyssa and the Cappadocians in general equipped him to challenge the western theological heritage beginning with Saint Augustine. All his writings &#8211; philosophical, theological, historical, ethical &#8211; are marked by his unceasing search for a viable alternative to the haughtily dominant \u00a0Western tradition which, according to him, distorted the authentic Christian faith on many counts and suppressed all other\u00a0 profound cultural world views .<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In his treatment of the theme <em>Mastery and Mystery<\/em> he deals with the question of &#8220;the technological civilisation&#8221; which has claimed mastery over our world. He refers to\u00a0 a report of\u00a0 the\u00a0 International Academy of the Philosophy of Science\u00a0 regarding \u00a0&#8220;the basic cultural problem that\u00a0\u00a0 confronts our contemporaries today&#8221; namely, the\u00a0 transition from the\u00a0 old conception of our ancestors to the new\u00a0 conception of the technological civilization. In the former \u00a0contemplative knowledge\u00a0 is \u00a0the highest form of human knowledge \u00a0while in\u00a0 the\u00a0 latter the highest form of\u00a0 knowledge is the knowledge which gives man the\u00a0 greatest mastery over the forces of nature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The report also speaks of three actors and their inter-relationship. \u00a0In the older conception\u00a0 or world-view ( <em>Weltanschauung<\/em>) there are only\u00a0 two actors: Man and God. But\u00a0 God is\u00a0 preeminent and\u00a0 man is submissive to God. In the second world-view created by modern science and technology there are only two principal actors on the stage: Man and Nature, \u00a0and nature is submissive to man. The all powerful man has dethroned God. Man is now sovereign over his technical accomplishments. In other words the older religious world view is secularised. That means there is no reference whatsoever to God or a transcendent principle in human affairs. Man is supremely optimistic about his ability to control, manipulate and direct the world. Modern man who is very competent in designing and operating machines now seems to consider the whole world as a machine. There is no element of mystery in the machine he designs. He can take it apart \u00a0and reassemble \u00a0it\u00a0 at will. And it is he who decides the application and purpose of the machine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mar Gregorios challenges these\u00a0 exclusive\u00a0 <em>God &#8211; man<\/em> and <em>Man &#8211; nature<\/em> binaries, and contends that there have always been more than two actors at any time\u00a0 in human\u00a0 history. He proposes at least three principal actors- God, man and nature. In \u00a0the continuing dialectic between Mastery and Mystery, he proposes a new\u00a0\u00a0 relationship\u00a0 among the three\u00a0 actors. Rather he\u00a0 is rediscovering a primordial, \u00a0authentic and holistic \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0relationship that had been lost during the triumphant\u00a0 march of human\u00a0 technological progress geared to a &#8220;single vision&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Our modern civilization created\u00a0 a relationship of three fold rivalry between God and man, between man and nature, and between God and nature. According to one point of view the rivalry between God and nature is created by the rich and the powerful middle class in society. They advocated turning to God away from nature and material values as the spiritual calling of man. Religious leaders and theologians supported them in the name of the values of humility, patience, self-control and nonviolence. According to this view the glory of God was in inverse proportion to the glory of man.The more man abased himself, the more God was glorified. Mar Gregorios thinks that this theory was also reinforced by the doctrine of original sin that all men were sinners, and nothing but sinners. Many people with a critical mind, however, discovered that this was a means of keeping the poor in poverty and dependence while the rich and the religious authorities continued to own most of the property and liquid wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mar Gregorios says that we need to overcome these rivalries. Man need not turn his back on God in order to address himself to the nonhuman nature, and conversely turn his back on nonhuman nature to address himself to God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This image, according to Mar Gregorios, is faulty\u00a0 and misleading.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Firstly, nature, man, and God are not three isolated realities \u00a0with space-time boundaries separating them. Man is essentially part of nature. He has no existence apart from nature in which he breathes, eats, drinks, procreates, eliminates his wastes\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Secondly, God is not confined to space-time boundaries. God is the reality that sustains man and nature. God and nature are not opposite poles where man can turn to one pole only at the expense of the other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">According to Mar Gregorios the hidden possibility of the objectification of\u00a0 nature lies at the root cause of the sickness of our civilisation. Nature cannot be reduced to a &#8220;nothing but\u2026&#8221;, that is, nothing but an object given into our hands for safekeeping and good management. It is wrong to make use of any biblical verses to justify human domination and exploitation of God&#8217;s creation. Replacing the concept of domination with the concept of stewardship will not help us much since the question is far deeper than the good management of something outside ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The answer to the dilemma lies in the proper understanding of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. It was \u00a0matter that Christ assumed to constitute his &#8220;historical&#8221; body&#8230;&#8230;the food and water and wine that he took, the air he breathed, the earth and the sea on which he walked. The same material body was transfigured, crucified on a tree , buried in a tomb and resurrected&#8230; Matter and nature participate in the redemptive process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Any \u00a0dichotomy between God and creation is a false one since\u00a0 God includes the whole universe in his creative and redemptive process. The distinction between man and creation is that man has a special vocation as priest of creation and as mediator between the material and the spiritual realities. This doesn&#8217;t mean that man is discontinuous with creation. He is integrally connected to nature as any priest is\u00a0 to the people he represents. &#8220;Christ has become part of creation, and in his created body he lifted up the creation to God, and humankind must participate in this eternal priesthood of Christ&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <em>(to be continued<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gregorian Study Circle Meeting Sponsored\u00a0 by\u00a0Sopana Orthodox Academy and Mar Gregorios Foundation. Sophia Centre, Kottayam 13 July 2016 PAULOS MAR GREGORIOS : MASTERY AND MYSTERY (A\u00a0presentation by Fr K M &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,21,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-dr-paulos-mar-gregorios","category-fr-dr-k-m-george","category-speeches"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45907"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45914,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45907\/revisions\/45914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/malankaraorthodox.tv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}