Nazianzus Hermeneutical Strategies

One of the hermeneutical strategies used by Nazianzus is the incomprehensibility of God. God is something that can never be fully described by human words, as the subject of God “is impossible to [express], and yet more impossible to conceive,” as no human can see the face of God and lived to tell the tale on this side of eternity. Nazianzus defines God by what God is, but does not try to “comprehend the whole of so great a subject as this,” because it is utterly impossible. Dr. Valeria A. Karras, an assistant professor of Church History at Southern Methodist University puts it perfectly by saying that “we may know God experientially at least “in part,” that is, that we may experience God to the extent humanly possible,” which gives people …show more content…
The Holy Spirit is “in the category of the Self-existent” in that He is not something that was begotten in time. Nazienzus’ opponents try to suggest that the Holy Spirit is some sort of cosmic accident caused by the will of God, but this is nonsensical. How can an accident fill people like John the Baptist and Sampson to do such mighty works in the name of the Lord, yet be subverted to the role of a cosmic accident? The Holy Spirit is not simply an activity either, for the Holy Spirit “has all the qualities which belong clearly to one that moves” and not simply the qualities of movement itself. If the Holy Spirit is simply a person, but not the divine person, “how are we made perfect in Him,” and how does He conform people into the image of God? This distinction clearly leads to the answer that the Holy Spirit “is neither a creature, nor a thing made, nor a fellow servant, nor any of these lowly appellations,” but instead is the third person of the Trinity that is distinct from the rest finite creation. The entire Trinity, including the Holy Spirit, are “as self-existent Divinity, being unbegotten, uncaused, and without source,” for the entirety of the Trinity has been in existence since the beginning of time, which gives credibility to the divinity of the …show more content…
This must be understood to fully comprehend the nature of God, as God is described often as a Father, and also like a mother. The first person of the Trinity is described in univocal language; that is, He is described in ways that humans can understand his attributes. God is described as having eyes so that people understand that He is watching over them. In heaven, God does not have a physical set of eyes to look at people, but it is conveyed this way to humans so that they can understand the ways of God. The same goes for God’s feet, nostrils, and all other attributes of God; they are simply analogies to help humans understand Godvin our fallen state. Christians must not “consider our God to be a male…because He is called God and Father,” but instead understand that God is simply being described in a way that humans may never fully understand on this side of eternity. Gregory poses the question “[is the] spirit neuter…because it has nothing to do with generation?” The absurdity is clear, which leads to the conclusion that the Biblical authors use analogical language to describe the person of