О восьми вопросах из Ветхого Завета

Question 1. About how many types of violation of universal human righteousness there are No one violates generally accepted justice, except for the one who, because of passion, violates the foundations of human society, that is, [commits] theft, robbery, fornication, incest, and the like; or nature, that is, [will] insult, beat, [commit] murder, sodomy or bestiality; or the measure of what is permitted, that is, he will flog his slave or son more than he should; drink or eat more than you should; copulate with your wife more than necessary, and the like. Question 2. About the gift of knowledge and interpretation of tongues It is rightly understood that the Holy Spirit therefore first gave to men the “gift of tongues” (Acts 2:4, 1 Cor 12:10, 28), which was established by the agreement and precept of men and which is taught from without through the custom of listening through the bodily senses, in order to show how easily He can make [men] wise through the Wisdom of God dwelling within them. Question 3. About the Word, Wisdom and Plan of God And one more thing. The will of the primordial Word is always unchangeable, since it possesses everything at once. And our will is unstable because it does not possess everything at once; therefore we desire now one thing, now another. In the same way, this Word contained “everything that began to be” (John 1:3), and the very perception [of] man was as foreknown by Him, as if an artist, intending to paint an entire house and thinking about or knowing the place where he should paint himself, already has everything in plan, in preparation, in will, although he will depict all this [subsequently] - each at its own specific time. In the same way, the whole creation and that man himself, who, thanks to a mysterious and inexpressible perception, was supposed to represent the face of the same Wisdom, was always in Wisdom Itself as in the eternal Plan of God, although She produces everything in its time, and “spreads powerfully from one end to the other and arranges everything pleasantly” (Wisdom 8:1); “being in Herself, She renews everything” (Wis.7:27). Question 4: Can a Christian believer wish for his own death? Also [about] how I want to wish for death, if I [could] achieve death the way I would like. He who already has a sound faith and sees what he should achieve succeeds in the fact that he willingly departs from this life. Indeed, seeing what should be achieved is not the same as loving it and wanting to be there already. In whose soul this will happen, it is necessary that he willingly die. Thus, it is in vain that some who already have a sound faith say that they do not want to die in order to succeed; for their very success becomes perfect in the desire to die. Therefore, if they want to tell the truth, let them not say: “I do not want to die in order to succeed,” but [say]: “I do not want to die because I have succeeded little.” Thus, not wanting to die is not advice for believers to prosper, but a sign that they have not prospered. Therefore, let them want what they do not want in order to become perfect, and they will become perfect. Question 5. About what is said in the book of Jesus, son of Sirach (Sir.36:20–23) About what is said in the Ecclesiasticus of Solomon (the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach): “The stomach receives all kinds of food, but food is better than food” (Sir 36:20). He seemed to say what the apostle says: “Test everything, hold on to the good” (1 Thess. 5:21). “As the larynx distinguishes the food of the hunt, so the understanding heart distinguishes false words” (Sir.36:21). Just as food obtained through the labor of hunting is pleasant, so it is pleasant for the heart to catch and expose a lie. “A corrupt heart will cause sorrow, but a man of experience will resist it” (Sir 36:22). It is similar to this: “The heretic, after the first... admonition, turn away, knowing that such a one has become corrupt and sins, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:10–11). For with a corrupt heart he resists sorrow, which makes the love of goodness sad instead of him. “A woman will accept any husband, but a virgin is better than a virgin” (Sir 36:23). “A woman who accepts every husband” is, of course, in those who say: “I am Paul’s; She is [the one spoken of] in the Song of Songs: “My beloved is among the maidens, like a lily among thorns” (Song.2:2). Question 6: What is said in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 9:12) About what is said in the book of Proverbs: “My son! If you are wise, then you are wise for yourself and for your neighbors; but if you go away evil, you will be the only one to draw evil” (Proverbs 9:12). Indeed, the joy that good brothers have about a good brother is good joy. And the sorrow that they have out of love for an evil brother is not evil for them, since in this way they please God. Thus, only those who are evil will draw evil. Question 7. What is said in Deuteronomy (Deut. 25:5-10) About what is written in Deuteronomy: “If brothers live together, and one of them dies without having a son, then the wife of the deceased should not marry a stranger, but her husband’s brother should come to her and take her as his wife, and she will be married. And the child that she gives birth to will remain with the name of his brother who died, so that his name will not be blotted out in Israel. If this man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then this woman will go to the elders of his city and say: “My husband’s brother does not want to raise up his brother’s name in Israel”; then the elders of his city should call him and say to him: “Why do you not want to raise up your brother’s seed in Israel?” And if he stands and says, “I don’t want to take her,” then let his brother’s wife go to him in the sight of the elders of the city, and take his shoes off his feet, and spit in his face, and say in response, “This is what they do to a man who does not build his brother’s house.” And their name in Israel will be called “House of the Shoeless One” (Deut. 25:5–10). [So], the spouse of the Dead is the Church, which Christ left among those first believers and through death and resurrection ascended to the Father. And in order to bear sons, she united with the apostles and governors of all the individual churches. In fact, Christ Himself in the Gospel calls the apostles “brothers” (Matthew 12:49, 28:10; John 29:17), who, acting in it, raised a seed not for themselves, but for their dead Brother, in whose name those whom the apostolic fathers gave birth to by the gospel began to be called Christians, because the apostle. Paul says: “I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). And in order for the name of the Deceased to be preserved, St. Paul said, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” ( 1 Cor. 1:13 ) And whoever rejects this work of mercy and does not want to build the Brother’s house for the multiplication of descendants - as the same apostle says: “You are God’s building” ( 1 Cor. 3:9 ) - then by this type the command is given that the Church should reject the one who rejected such a holy and pious act, and consider him worthy of contempt. For this means that the widow spat in the face of the man who rejected her marriage. And the fact that she took his shoes off one foot was supposed to show that he did not have willing steps in the shoes of the world. After all, it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, who bring good news!” (Rom.10:15) And the apostle says: “Having your feet shod with readiness to preach peace” (Eph.6:15). Question 8. About what is said in Exodus and Deuteronomy (Ex.23:19, 34:26; Deut.14:21) About what is written: “Do not boil a lamb in his mother’s milk” (Ex. 23:19, 34:26; Deut. 14:21). Do not kill Christ, the prophet seems to be exhorting [here], lest the good Israelites class you with the evil Jews from whom Christ suffered. Indeed, the torment of suffering is like fire, which is why it is written: “He tried them like gold.” in the furnace, and accepted them as an all-perfect sacrifice” (Wis. 3:6). This judgment is also confirmed by the Lord, saying: “I must be baptized”, which you “do not know” (Luke 12:50; Matt. 20:22). This is what He meant when He said: “I have come to send fire into the world” (Luke 12:49). Luke 3:16), which should be understood this way: by the purification of sanctification and the test of torment. Christ Himself pointed to the same fire when He was led to suffering and told those who wept for Him that they should rather weep for themselves, thus concluding his speech: “If they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one?” (Luke 23:28, 31). Thus the good [here] are warned against agreeing with the evil in the crucifixion of Christ. For He is called “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). So, “Do not boil a lamb in its mother’s milk” - do not bring the fire of suffering upon Christ on the day He was conceived. For it is believed that He suffered then, that is, on the eighth day of the Kalends of April 3; and from this day until the eighth day of the Kalends of January, 4 when, as they say, He was born, there are nine months, starting from the tenth day. And women's breasts are said to accumulate milk starting from the day of conception. But there is a simpler interpretation [of the words]: “Do not boil a lamb in its mother’s milk.” [This means]: while still a baby and feeding on milk, to whom the apostle says: “I fed you with milk, and not with solid food” (1 Cor 3:2), do not subject him to premature suffering. [This] is, as it were, said to Christ, Who spared the disciples who were still in such a state, in whose place He offered Himself, saying: “Therefore, if you seek Me, leave them, let them go” (John 18:8). And in order to make it clear that they were still weak and not so suitable for suffering, like lambs in their mother’s milk, the evangelist says further: “That the word spoken by Him might be fulfilled: “Of those whom You gave Me, I have not destroyed any” (John 18:9). From this it is clear that if they had suffered then, they would have died; after all, then they did not experience what they experienced later, no longer like lambs in milk, but like rams in a herd. You might be interested in: