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St. Athanasius the Great: On the Incarnation

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Athanasius plays such a prominent role in the church's history, being the prime defender when the church was slidiing into Arianism.

This elegant and sophisticated presentation of God coming in the flesh will provoke the profoundest of meditation on this miracle of miracles. The reason and subsequent blessings are put forward with Scripture backing up each step of the way.

Monumental work, arguing from Creation to Re-creation.

The historical worth of this work goes without saying, but this edition has been poorly published as a pamphlet with only stapled binding. This work deserves more--at least an intelligent, scholarly introduction should accompany it.

St. Athanasius brilliantly defines the exact effects of the incarnation of the Word as Christ. His work satisfies the needs of those who are intellectual and desire theology, but also provides down-to-earth inspiration for those to whom complex theology does not appeal.

This commentary by St. Athanasius, about the incarnation of Christ, serves well to increase a believer's intimacy with the Lord. My Biblical world view class instructor said it was a must read, and I agree. Reading this book provides the vehicle to understand the awesome demonstration of God's supreme love, summarized in the words of John 3:16.

I happened upon this little treatise as an Advent devotional and my first real primary source investigation of the Eastern pre-schism Fathers. I have, from time to time, called Athenasius `the most important Church Father that no one has heard of.' I found it a stunning work. His connection to and reliance on the scriptures is evident and his soteriology is fundamentally Pauline. There were no uncomfortable moments which are par for the course when reading the increasingly sacramental Western theologians of this era (even in a great exegete like Augustine). While there are certainly signs of who Athanasius is writing against, it reads devotionally as he is consumed with three basic ideas: (1) humans have marred the image of God bestowed upon them, (2) the Word (his ubiquitous focus on Christ as the pre-existent second person of the Trinity) in his Divine fullness took on full humanness to restore that image, (3) and because of this dual fullness was the Word was able to rescue us by his death. This is Christmas reading in the finest sense...or Easter...or a random Tuesday.

The other skill the champion of Nicaea brings to the doctrine of the Incarnation is that of analogy. He uses a string of extended similes to describe the human condition and the enfleshing of the Word. My favorite, and the one that best illustrates his argument, was that of a painter who had rendered his image on a canvas that had faded and cracked by misuse.

The King Jamesish translation is unfortunate and while I generally bristle at `introductory comments' that approach the length of the text, a few words about the historical context of this epistle would increase the breadth of its utility and appeal. Also, the price is a little steep for a short amateurishly bound pamphlet. Since it is a public domain document, there are more modern translations online that you could reproduce for a fraction of the cost at Kinkos. But if that sounds like a lot of work or if you need another few bucks to get you over the free shipping threshold, consider this little text.

"For He was made man that we might be made God."
Chapter 54

I found this little treatise referenced in "The Orthodox Church" by Timothy Ware, and found the quote so startling that I decided to buy the treatise. But no luck in searching in local bookstores, so I had to buy sight unseen on Amazon.com, which is not as risky as you might think, since they have a great returns policy, although I have never had to use it.

This book is really a stapled pamphlet of 92 pages, and has a light gray cover. It seems to be something like a Gideon's Bible, where you get just the Bible with no study helps or background materials. It is published by "Eastern Orthodox Books" in Willits, CA (By Ft Bragg and Ukiah in North CA), so it seems to be a quick religious publication designed for the faithful or as a devotional book as opposed to a scholarly work for the musty theologian. Or the eager truth seeker.

Consequently, there are no introductory essays or biographical notes, which would be helpful for the greenhorn like myself. C. S. Lewis wrote a somewhat helpful introductory essay to this treatise that can be found in the book "God in the Dock," called "On the Reading of Old Books." However, a real brass-knuckles overview such as you would find in a Penguin, Oxford, or Cambridge Classics is absent.

The translation (no translator is mentioned) is a trifle thick and follows the King James-Authorized style of verbiage. My denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, used the KJV, and, since I am such a fan of Shakespeare and Milton, this style of English did not faze me. However, having read J. B. Phillips New Testament and Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf," I am quite open to better translations of the text.

There are also no notes on scriptures cited. We can guess at the biblical references, but the references to Apocryphal books, or the pseudipigraphical "Pastor of Hermas" may be confusing to some. The division into chapters and verses is always, always, always helpful, since it makes reading easier, and it facilitates referencing and cross-referencing ideas.

I found the title "On the Incarnation" not misleading, but an understatement. This treatise covers not only the incarnation, but also the Resurrection, and has some sections with apologetics. I was surprised to see similar arguments that I have found in "The Case for Christ." Nihil Novi Sub Sola!

This treatise has influenced C. S. Lewis, especially his book "Mere Christianity," and his speech "Weight of Glory." We have this statement from the beginning that man was created in God's image (Genesis 1:26), as opposed to plant and animal life, and later on in the Bible it says that we are gods (Psalms 82:6) and that we have been made a little lower than Eloheim (Psalms 8:5-most translations render this as angels, but this is a mistranslation!) John Taylor, third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that we are "a spark of Deity struck from the fire of his eternal blaze." (Gospel Kingdom, 1) There is something here that modern, contemporary Christianity has lost, or at best ignored. A doctrine not taught is a doctrine denied. I am glad to have read this treatise-it gives me a reason to look up and see something else besides smog.