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- <header><a href="/index.html">Theosis</a></header>
- Perennial Philosophy is the view that there is an esoteric
- unity between various traditional religions in the world.
- The first thing quoted when this view is brought up in
- regard to Christianity is John 14:6 where Jesus says:
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- </br>
- "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto
- the Father, but by Me."
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- </br>
- At first this seems like a plausible response. However, one
- practically has to ignore ecumenical creeds to make it work.
- The Nicene Creed states that the Son "for us men and our
- salvation became man". Jesus Christ is the incarnation of
- the Logos, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy
- Trinity. This means that when the man Jesus Christ is
- speaking, it is the Logos speaking. Therefore, this isn't
- proof that the historical person of Jesus Christ is the only
- means to the Father. It is the Son of God who is the only
- means to the Father.
- <br>
- </br>
- Another objection is St. Paul's statement of there being
- "no other name under heaven". However, this is easily
- refuted when looking at the traditional iconography. It
- isn't the name of Jesus Christ at the top of Jesus Christ's
- icons. It is the Greek letters for "the One who is", which
- is a reference to His Divinity. Jesus Christ is only one of
- the Son's Names in the tradition of the church. It should
- also be noted that in Greek "Name" can denote someone's
- character or essence.
- <br>
- </br>
- We also know that the Incarnation is an ever present reality,
- and that Jesus Christ was "slain before the foundation of the
- world". There is nothing in any ecumenical council stating that
- the Logos didn't incarnate as other figures in history. However,
- as Christians, we are to accept Jesus Christ as the "fullness of
- the Godhead bodily"; also we are to accept His death, burial
- (including descent into the dead), and resurrection. None of
- these can for a moment be brought into dispute without entering
- the realm of heresy.
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