Is it beneficial for a newly initiated Christian to reflect on lofty spiritual matters?

Is it beneficial for a newly initiated Christian to reflect on lofty spiritual matters?

 

A beginner on the path of faith faces a certain danger: instead of studying the simple and necessary rules and foundations of an active Christian life, they may deviate into pridefulness, begin studying complex spiritual subjects, striving with their feeble intellect to comprehend that which cannot be grasped by reason; they may dare to delve deeply into the Holy Scriptures, interpreting mysterious prophecies. Our mind is so sick and damaged that it must not be given freedom to decide spiritual matters; it is with a simple, almost childlike eye of faith that one must accept the already prepared and thoroughly explained spiritual teachings, as presented by the Church and the holy fathers. It is very dangerous for one to dare, with an unpurified mind and without yet understanding the very foundations of faith, to grasp the roots of subtle and profound truths.

"Faith is not blind, but it is not the one that reasons about matters of faith; rather, it is the one that sincerely and unwaveringly believes, based on the conviction that this is how God has commanded us to believe, just as a child believes the words of their father and mother without reasoning... In essence, reasoning adds nothing to the strength and significance of faith. On the contrary, whoever begins to give more weight to their own reasoning and deliberation in matters of faith thereby diminishes the value of their faith before God, just as one dilutes the strength of wine by adding water. Whoever places great weight on their own reasoning trusts in their mind rather than in God. And, in truth, there is no longer faith there..." says Bishop [St.] Theophan [the Recluse]. [118]

"When the mind, still unpurified by repentance, still wandering in the realm and darkness of the Fall, still unenlightened and unguided by the Holy Spirit, dares on its own, by its own words, from the darkness of pride, to reason about God, it inevitably falls into error. Such error is blasphemy. Concerning God, we can know only that which He, in His great mercy, has revealed to us," says Bishop [St.] Ignatius [Brianchaninov]. [119]

"Do not be wise and highly knowledgeable. To God, the childlike babbling of a soul humbled, so to speak, by the sight of its many weaknesses is more pleasing than the eloquent oratory of a soul puffed up with self-conceit." [120]

"One who occupies themselves with reflections on lofty subjects cannot avoid error, and while considering themselves to be leading a spiritual life, will be far removed from the path of salvation. It is less beneficial to know heaven and earth in detail than to know one’s own shortcomings and sins." [121]

"The devil often implants lofty, subtle, and astonishing thoughts, especially in those who are sharp-witted and quick to intellectual pride. And they, drawn by the pleasure of having and contemplating such elevated thoughts, forget to keep the purity of their heart and to attend to humble self-perception and true self-mortification; thus, being ensnared by the bonds of pride and self-conceit, they make an idol of their mind. Consequently, little by little, without realizing it, they fall into the thought that they no longer need the counsel and guidance of others, since they have become accustomed in every need to turn to the idol of their own understanding and judgment." [122]

But we constantly fall into intellectual pride. What is remarkable is that the minds of modern people are in no way willing to be satisfied with the explanations of spiritual truths provided by Orthodox teaching; to many, they seem excessively strange and impossible, yet they readily accept such fabrications and inventions, foreign to Christian teaching, which strike with their fantastical absurdity and complete lack of common sense.

The nature of the fallen mind is such that it often regards foolishness as the highest wisdom, while mocking true wisdom. Therefore, it is very important for a Christian to retrain their mind toward simplicity and humble-mindedness. Spiritual books should be studied solely with the aim of benefiting one's own soul, to warm the heart and bring it to a feeling of contrition, not for the purpose of displaying oneself as learned before others.

It is very dangerous to interpret Holy Scripture on one's own, to probe with the mind into the understanding of obscure thoughts in the books of the holy fathers—in such cases, demons often whisper distorted concepts to us, and we may suffer great harm and even harm others. Everything unclear should be learned from those who have thoroughly studied the holy fathers, or by reading the commentaries of the saints. It should be noted that almost all heresies began precisely with the incorrect interpretation of Holy Scripture. A beginner in Christianity does not need to understand many questions in all their subtleties.

It is also important to understand that spiritual wisdom is revealed only through the experience of an active Christian life, known in proportion to spiritual growth, as the mind and heart are purified, and not through intellectual effort, as in earthly sciences and speculations. Therefore, one must often turn to the holy fathers for instruction, who have traveled this path in life and have personally tested all this mysterious spiritual knowledge.

 

REFERENCES

118. [St.] Theophan the Recluse. Letters to Various People on Various Matters of Faith and Life. Letter 2, p. 22.

119. Bishop [St.] Ignatius Brianchaninov. Vol. 1, p. 495.

120. Bishop [St.] Ignatius Brianchaninov. Letters to Various People. Letter 3.

121. "Moral and Ascetic Views of Bishop Ignatius" by Leonid Sokolov – Letters in the Appendix, Letter 84.

122. The Invisible Warfare, ch. 9.

 

Source: О тайных недугах души [On the Hidden Illnesses of the Soul], by Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze) (Moscow: Sretensky Monastery: Publishing House of the Moscow Representation of the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery, 1998). Translation from the online Russian edition: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Lazar_Abashidze/o-tajnyh-nedugah-dushi/