Lecture IV: Monophysitism/Miaphysitism & Chalcedon, Args. f/ God (Telos/Cos.), Extreme Negations

Описание: In today’s session of St. John of Damascus — On the Orthodox Faith, we pick up where we left off and continue working through the text slowly and carefully, with an emphasis on understanding these passages in their full context through the Tradition of the Church and the mind of the Fathers.

We focus on why created things are changeable, why change implies a Creator who is uncreated and unchangeable, and how St. John’s argument avoids an infinite regress by arriving at the Unmoved Mover—God Himself. From there, we move into Chapter 4, where St. John explains why God is incorporeal (without a body), and why the divine nature cannot be reduced to created categories like matter, motion, or composition.

We also briefly clarify key Christological terms that often come up in theological conversations—Monophysitism, Miaphysitism, and the Chalcedonian confession—not to “win arguments,” but to protect the Church’s confession that Christ is truly God and truly man, and that our salvation depends on the reality of the Incarnation.

Finally, we end with a simple but important patristic point: apophatic theology—how the Church often speaks of God not by defining His essence, but by confessing what He is not, since God transcends every created form of knowledge and language.

Tomorrow: we continue into Chapter 5 and explore St. John’s next argument, including how the Fathers speak about God’s action and divine simplicity.

☦️ Pray for understanding, humility, and the healing of the soul—because theology is meant to lead us into worship, repentance, and communion with Christ.

0:08 – Recap: Yesterday’s topics (EED, ADS/DS, passive potentiality, pure act)
0:31 – Created things change → therefore created (Angels/demons + physical change)
1:23 – Infinite Regress Explained (why “someone created that… and that…”)
3:13 – Universe Can’t Be Eternal: Change, time, and the need for an Uncreated Creator
5:24 – Harmony of Creation: Order, preservation, and governance as evidence of God
6:48 – Telos / Design Argument (purpose implies an architect)
8:42 – Transition to Chapter 4 (God exists, but His essence is unknowable)
11:02 – Chapter 4: God is incorporeal (no body) + why bodies imply change
14:13 – “Fifth body” and the Unmoved Mover argument
15:20 – Christ taking a body: does this mean God changes? (setup)
17:01 – Monophysitism explained (why “one nature swallowing humanity” breaks salvation)
20:38 – Miaphysitism / Oriental Orthodox vs Chalcedon (brief overview)
22:14 – Why “one nature” causes problems (sleep/eat vs divine acts)
28:42 – Apophatic theology: describing God by what He is not
30:43 – “Extreme negation” explained (God is “not good” meaning “beyond good”)
32:55 – Wrap-up: Chapter 5 preview + closing prayer

#theology #philosophy #orthodox #jesus