Grace2U wrote: I would imagine it is sometimes unwise to argue about wordings or exact formulations then, because as human beings we cannot explain God. The Orthodox author was pointing to a scholastic tradition that did not exist in the East, I suppose that where the need to explain absolutely everything comes from. Thanks for the answer, good to know.
Yes, the Eastern tradition is much more wrapped in mystery, and Eastern Christians (Catholic and Orthodox) often chuckle and complain about our western need to explain everything. In their thinking, it is enough to know and accept. Such concepts as salvation by faith alone or faith through works would never occur to an Eastern mindset. It is enough to know we are saved. It is enough to know Jesus commands us to do good. To them, it is essentially irrelevant how we are saved; it is much more important to know that we are saved.
It's sort of like taking a vacation. A Western Christian might say "I'm driving to New Orleans, then I'm flying to Dallas, where I'll change planes and go to New York, then I'm going to fly over to London where I'll have a seven hour layover before I reach my final destination." An Eastern Christian might say "I'm going to Rome". We tend to be more focused on the process. They are more focused on the destination. Neither is wrong, but ours is much more complicated and as such, harder to understand and easier to get wrong. One of the reason a schism like the Protestant "Reformation" never happened in the East is because there is much less emphasis on details to quibble about.
____________________ Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
. Thanks for the answer, good to know.
