On the Soul and the Resurrection

pg. 7

As the new faith spread outside its original Semitic milieu, its adherents had to come to terms with Greek ways of thinking.

Nyssa. One of the major points of disagreement between Christianity and Greek thought was the doctrine of the resurrection. Hence Gregory’s Dialogue on the Soul and the Resurrection provides an example of the encounter between Christianity and Greek culture.

pg. 8

Basil and the two Gregories remained friends and co-workers for the rest of their lives, becoming known as the “Cappadocian Fathers.”

Gregory, for his part, had to get his advanced education at home, primarily from Basil. Perhaps the death of their father had resulted in financial limitations. In any case, Gregory seems to have caught Basil’s enthusiasm for classical literature and philosophy. Not only his brother’s example but also the pagan intellectual atmosphere which prevailed during the reign of Julian the Apostate encouraged Gregory’s interest in Greek culture

pg. 9

in 370 Basil was named Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. He induced his brother and the other Gregory to let themselves be made bishops at Nyssa and Sasima respectively

pg. 10

Basil died on 1 January 379. The Dialogue on the Soul and the Resurrection is set just after Basil’s death, when Macrina in her turn was mortally ill

Second Ecumenical Council (at Constantinople), where a chief issue was the divinity of the Holy Spirit

The choice of a dialogue form shows that Gregory wanted to be recognized as a successor to the tradition of Plato. It has often been pointed out that his dialogue shows many parallels with Plato’s Phaedo. There is also a relationship with Plato’s Symposium, where Socrates becomes the not-so-apt pupil of the wise woman teacher Diotima. Gregory similarly makes himself the pupil of his wise older sister, putting the stubborn and foolish questions into his own mouth

pg. 11

Through the dialogue with Macrina, Gregory attempts to present the doctrine of bodily resurrection in terms of the Platonic philosophical tradition, but also in accord with the biblical revelation. Many readers have felt doubts that he succeeded in integrating his philosophy with his Christianity. Harold Cherniss in particular claims that Gregory was a Platonist in his heart, and that he made an intellectually dishonest concession to his overbearing older sister when he inserted Christian doctrine into his writings. (H. F. Cherniss, The Platonism of Gregory of Nyssa (Berkeley, 1930), 57–58.)

pg. 12

He hoped to be able to show, to his own satisfaction and to that of others, that Christian faith could be intellectually respectable

So why was the resurrection a problem? People raised on Greek modes of thought had difficulty accepting that the body would or could be raised.

The Homeric epics (like the earlier phases of the Hebrew tradition) imply that death is the end of personal existence.

pg. 13

Plato taught in the Phaedo and the Republic that the soul is immaterial and immortal, and that it, rather than the body, is the real person

The idea of bodily resurrection seems to have arisen in Hellenistic Judaism

The belief in resurrection became an issue between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, a fact of which the apostle Paul took advantage (Acts 26). The first Christians were convinced that they had seen Jesus alive after His death. It was from this experience that they developed their doctrine, not from theory

pg. 14

After St Paul, Gregory’s most notable predecessor in writing on the subject of the resurrection was Origen of Alexandria

Origen, following Philo’s example, tried to synthesize Platonism and Christianity

prefer the alternative hypothesis of an ethereal resurrection body. Methodius of Olympus, in opposition to Origen, insisted on the resurrection of a genuinely material body. Gregory attempts to meet Methodius’ objections. He rejects the more eccentric aspects of Origen’s theories (such as the pre-existence of souls), while preserving the basic idea which Origen holds in common with St Paul, that the resurrection body must be somehow finer, purer, and more splendid than the present body.

Gregory’s dialogue begins, like Plato’s Phaedo, with the concrete situation: how do we face the death of a loved one, or our own death for that matter?

while still mourning for his brother Basil’s death, Gregory discovers that his sister Macrina is also about to die.

pg. 15

The heart of the problem seems to be that he lacks confidence in the survival of the soul. He accepts this as an article of faith, but he does not feel convinced. So Macrina proposes a dialogue on the subject of the soul.

throughout the dialogue, Gregory’s emotionalism contrasts with Macrina’s calm self-control.

“Does the soul survive the death of the body?”

The soul is either material or immaterial. If it is material, it will be dissolved along with the body. If it is immaterial, it cannot be contained in the elements

Pg. 19

the denial of eternal punishment was one of Gregory’s (and Origen’s) more controversial ideas.

pg. 20

At this point the dialogue is ready to deal with the resurrection itself. How can it happen? We accept it as a scriptural doctrine, Gregory says, but we fail to understand it.

pg. 21

Now Gregory hopes to bring up the objections which are raised against the doctrine of resurrection

pg. 22

To summarize the whole dialogue briefly: the soul exists and is immaterial and imperishable. It is attached once and for all to the elements of a body. When the elements are scattered, the soul remains in contact with them. Emotions, while not evil in themselves, are inessential to the soul. We must be purified from the fleshly aspects of our life, including the emotions. We will still be able to love God, because that kind of love is an attraction of like to like. Our purification is likely to be painful, because evils have adhered so closely to us, but it will end at least by the conclusion of the present age. At that time we will all be restored to our bodies. These bodies will be made from the same elements as before, but assembled in a new way, or rather in the way they would have been before the Fall.

pg. 23

Gregory’s affirmation that our whole being, body and soul, will return to life, in continuity with our present person but with greater wholeness.

Gregory did not venture to explore the full implications of his idea, which would probably have been too dangerous for him to publish: what could it mean for the corporeality of the resurrection body? Would we choose to imagine that the resurrection body is more like energy than like matter

pg. 24

This translation has been made from the text of Krabinger (1837)