Last class we studied Origen, a guy who was dedicated to understanding the Christian message at its depths and contributed the first systemic theology of Christian thought.
Origen lived from 185-251 in Alexandria, a city rich in learning. The wealth of his family allowed him to study, and the martyrdom of his father for his Christian faith must have encouraged his own devotion to the message.
Up until this time no one had really sat down and made sense of Christian thought so one of the responses to Christianity was a mocking disdain of it as a folk religion. Origen's love of study, which included Greek philosophy in addition to Christian thought, prompted him to want to make logical sense of the Christian message. As he shared his understanding, which was strongly based on symbolic and allegorical interpretations rather than a literal interpretation of Scripture, Origen became very popular with over two thousand followers.
As interesting as Origen's past is, what Paul is trying to encourage in our study of Origen is an application to our own lives. What does Origen's understanding of the Good s offer to our lives? Origen encourages the reading of Scripture as a living source that speaks to us, to our personal human condition today.
He uses three themes that could be helpful in interpreting Scripture and our lives.
1. Journey - The Christian life is a journey that we must
travel, rather than being a destination that we arrive at in becoming saved. Origen emphasizes that we must travel though the winter, that is, through difficulties and hardships. During Origen's time this may have referred primarily to the martyrdom that was prominent for the Christian population, whereas for us, our winter seems characterized by becoming more aware of our self- centeredness and learning to surrender our will to God.
2. Growth - Origen likens the three levels of spiritual food available for our growth to milk, vegetables and meat. It's important to 'eat' according to our level of understanding. This means that we need to approach Scripture according to our developmental level. Origen also emphasized that learning leads us to love. As we become aware through learning, we realize how little we matter and how we rest ultimately in God.
3. Warfare - This theme, linked to martyrdom, will be
looked at during our class.