Eastern Christian Supply—Genesis, Creation, and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision

Genesis, Creation, and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision

Second Edition

Fr. Seraphim Rose
Edited by Hieromonk Damascene

“This book, compiled and published posthumously, represents one of the most important achievements in the life of the revered Orthodox writer Fr. Seraphim Rose. It is an exhaustive collection of all the relevant material—from manuscripts, transcriptions of tape-recorded lectures, and letters—that Fr. Seraphim produced on the subject of Genesis and creation over the course of nine years, until his repose in 1982. Broad in scope and rich in detail, it can serve as a source book and an invaluable reference for students of Orthodox Patristic teaching.”
—“Editor’s Preface: The Story behind the Book”

CONTENTS

   Abbreviations
   Notes on Citations
   Editor’s Preface: The Story behind the Book
         1. The Intellectual Milieu of Fr. Seraphim’s Formative Years
         2. From the Evolutionary Worldview to the Orthodox Worldview
         3. The Roots of Evolutionism
         4. The Mind of the Holy Fathers
         5. Evolution and Chiliasm
         6. The Holy Fathers on Genesis
         7. Alexander Kalomiros
         8. The Scientific Side of the Question
         9. The “Survival Course” and the Courses of Genesis
         10. The Plan of Book
         11. Developments in the 1980s
         12. Phillip E. Johnson and the Intelligent Design Movement
         13. Evidence from Genetics
         14. A Turning of the Tide
         15. Developments in Russia
         16. A Comparison of Orthodox and Protestant Scientists Who Uphold the Biblical View
         17. The Present Book
         18. This Book’s Primary Contribution
         19. A Spiritual Awareness of Original Incorruption
         20. The Original Nature of Man
   A Note on the Second Edition
   Introduction: Fr. Seraphim Rose and Twenty-First-Century Science
            by Phillip E. Johnson
         1. The Mechanism of Evolution: Mutation and Selection
         2. The Common Ancestry Thesis
         3. Evolution (in the Scientific Sense) Is Inherently Godless
         4. Conclusion: Can Science Tell Us a True Story About Origins?
PART I
AN ORTHODOX PATRISTIC COMMENTARY ON GENESIS
   Editor’s Note
   Foreword: Why Study the Book of Genesis?
   Chapter One: How to Read Genesis
         1. Approach
         2. The Holy Fathers: Our Key to the Understanding of Genesis
         3. Basic Principles of Our Approach to Understanding Genesis
         4. Literal vs. Symbolical Interpretations
         5. The Nature of the Text
   Chapter Two: The Six Days of Creation (General Observations)
         1. Introduction
         2. General Remarks about the Six Days
         3. Why Six Days?
   Chapter Three: The Six Days (Day by Day)
         1. The First Day (Genesis 1:1—5)
         2. The Second Day (Genesis 1:6—8)
         3. The Third Day (Genesis 1:9—13)
         4. The Fourth Day (Genesis 1:14—19)
         5. The Fifth Day (Genesis 1:20—23)
         6. The Sixth Day (Genesis 1:24—31)
         7. The Seventh Day (Genesis 2:1—3)
   Chapter Four: The Creation of Man (Genesis 1:26—31, 2:4—7)
   Chapter Five: Paradise (Genesis 2:8—24)
   Chapter Six: The Fall of Man (Genesis 3:1—24)
   Chapter Seven: Life outside Paradise (Genesis 4:1—6:5)
         1. The Banishment of Adam
         2. Cain and Abel
         3. The Genealogy from Adam through Seth to Noah
         4. The Corruption of Mankind
   Chapter Eight: The Flood (Genesis 6:6—8:22)
   Chapter Nine: The Dispersion of the Peoples (Genesis 9:1—11:26)
         1. Noah and God’s New Covenant
         2. The Generations of Noah
         3. The Tower of Babel
   Chapter Ten: Questions and Answers
         1. The Age of the Earth
         2. Carbon-14 Dating
         3. Geological Strata
         4. A Matter of Models
         5. The Origin of the Heavenly Bodies (Patristic Cosmogony)
         6. Creation Scientists
         7. Various Evolutionary Ideas
         8. The Limits of Biological Change
         9. “Human Evolution”
         10. The Limits of Scientific Inquiry
         11. The Biblical Chronology
         12. The Preexistence of Souls, “Reincarnation,” and Evolution
         13. The Nature of Paradise
         14. Free Will
         15. The Creation of Adam and Eve
         16. The Mind of Adam
         17. Paradise and Heaven
         18. The Devil
         19. Christ’s Spiritual Body
         20. The Firmament
         21. The “Location” of Paradise
         22. Between the Fall and the Flood
         23. The Flood
         24. Patristic Interpretation vs. Modern “Higher” Criticism
         25. The Age of the Patriarchs
         26. Different Interpretations
PART II
THE PATRISTIC DOCTRINE OF CREATION
   Editor’s Note
         1. Evolution as Philosophy
         2. A Clear Definition
         3. Development, Not Evolution
         4. How Do the Holy Fathers Interpret Genesis?
         5. “The Bondage of Corruption” (Romans 8:21)
         6. Divine Vision
         7. The Nature of Man
PART III
THE PHILOSOPHY OF EVOLUTION
   Chapter One: Science and the Holy Fathers
         1. True Theology and Secular Knowledge
         2. Science and Christian Philosophy
         3. Distinguishing Materialistic Fantasies from Scientific Truth
         4. Science as a Lower Form of Knowledge
         5. An Alien System of Thought
         6. The Lack of Philosophical Culture among Orthodox Christians
         7. The Philosophy of the Holy Fathers
   Chapter Two: A Brief Critique of the Evolutionary Model
         1. Introduction
         2. Historical Background
         3. “Proofs” of Evolution
         4. The Theory of Evolution Is Understandable Philosophically
         5. Scientific Faith
         6. The Conflict between Christian Truth and Evolutionary Philosophy
   Chapter Three: “Christian Evolutionism”
         1. Introduction
         2. Pierre Lecomte du Noüy
         3. Fr. Anthony Kosturos
         4. Karl Rahner
         5. Stephanus Trooster
         6. The Roman Catholic View of Original Man
         7. Theodosius Dobzhansky
         8. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
         9. The Chiliasm of Teilhard de Chardin
         10. Teilhardism in the Light of Orthodoxy
         11. “Orthodox” Followers of Teilhard de Chardin
PART IV
SELECTIONS FROM LETTERS
         1. A Key in the Program of Anti-Christianity
         2. Theistic Evolution
         3. A Rival Thought-Pattern to Orthodoxy
         4. A Deep-Seated Primordial Force
         5. The Argument against Evolution Is Not Scientific but Theological
         6. The Real Intellectual Problems of Today
         7. Such “Theology” We Do Not Need
         8. A Product of the “Spirit of the Times”
         9. Looking Forward with an Open Mind
         10. Quibbling over Words
         11. The Holy Fathers as the Answer to Medieval Scholasticism
         12. The Philosophy of the Age
         13. At Last the Real Battle Begins
         14. Love for the Holy Fathers
         15. The Power of This World and Its Fashionable Ideas
         16. Unknowingly Harboring “Modern Ideas”
         17. Genuine Science
         18. Clearing Up Confusion
         19. The Genealogy of Christ
         20. The Larger Idea of Naturalism
         21. Scientists Who Question Evolution
         22. Avoiding One-Sidedness
         23. Three Axioms
         24. Notes from a Dialogue on Evolution
         25. Clergy in Greece against “Orthodox Evolutionism”
         26. People Are Ready to Hear This
PART V
NOTES AND OUTLINES
   Chapter One: Notes on Science, Evolution, and Christian Philosophy
         1. The Incorruption of the First-Created World
         2. Science and the Question of Incorruption
         3. Evolution and “Cosmic Religion”
         4. The “Mysticism” of Teilhard de Chardin
         5. Evolution as the Exact Opposite of Christianity
         6. Why Orthodox Christians Should Not Be Indifferent to Evolution
         7. Paleontology and “Ivory-Tower Orthodoxy’
         8. Which Interpretation of the Fossil Record Makes God a Deceiver?
         9. Man as Qualitatively Different from Animals
         10. The Roman Catholic Idea of the State of Adam (according to Fr. Michael Pomazansky)
         11. An “Inferiority Complex” among Christians
         12. What Kind of Simple-Minded Fools Are We?
         13. For the “Orthodox Evolutionist,” Where Does History Begin and Fables Leave Off?
         14. The Old Testament Chronology
         15. The Missing Evidence
   Chapter Two: Outlines of Proposed Studies
         1. Evolution
         2. Patristic Section
   Afterword: Fr. Seraphim’s Last Talk on Creation and Evolution
   Appendix One: Created in Incorruption—The Orthodox Patristic Understanding of Man and the Cosmos in Their Original, Fallen, and Redeemed States
            by the editor
      I. INTRODUCTION
      II. THE ORIGINAL CONDITION OF MAN
         1. Man’s Spiritual Condition before the Fall
         2. Man’s Physical Condition before the Fall
         3. Desire and Pleasure before the Fall
         4. The Condition of Man’s Mind before the Fall
         5. St. Maximus on Man’s Original Condition
         6. St. Maximus and St. Symeon on What Might Have Been
      III. THE ORIGINAL CONDITION OF THE COSMOS
         1. Patristic Accounts of the Cosmos before the Fall
         2. Animals before the Fall
         3. The Unknowability of the World before the Fall
         4. Man’s Calling to Deify the Cosmos
      IV. THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL ON MAN
         1. The Corruption of Human Nature
         2. The Loss of Grace: Spiritual Death
         3. Physical Suffering, Death, and Decay
         4. The Change in Man’s Physical Condition
         5. Sexual Procreation
         6. The Condition of Man’s Soul after Death
         7. The Change in Human Nature
         8. The Commonality of Human Nature as It Relates to the Fall
      V. THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL ON THE COSMOS
         1. The Dependence of the Cosmos on Man
         2. Subjected in Hope
      VI. “BY MAN CAME DEATH”
         1. Death Is Not from God
         2. The Devil’s Role
         3. Is Death “Natural”?
         4. St. Gregory Palamas on the Cause of Death and Illness
         5. Why God Allowed the Entrance of Death and Suffering
      VII. THE REDEMPTION AND DEIFICATION OF MAN AND THE COSMOS
         1. “Trampling Down Death by Death”
         2. The Commonality of Human Nature as It Relates to Redemption
         3. The Order of Redemption (I): Spiritual Resurrection
         4. The Order of Redemption (II): Physical Resurrection
         5. The Restoration of Incorruption
         6. The Permanent Deification of Man and the Cosmos
      VIII. THE ORTHODOX DOCTRINE OF PRELAPSARIAN INCORRUPTION AS IT RELATES TO ORTHODOX SOTERIOLOGY AND ESCHATOLOGY
      IX. A COMPARISON OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN AND EVOLUTIONIST WORLDVIEWS
      X. THE PERSONAL RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION OF THE ORTHODOX TEACHING
   Appendix Two: Modern Saints and Elders on Evolutionism
            by the editor
         1. St. Ambrose, Elder of Optina
         2. St. Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov
         3. St. John of Kronstadt
         4. St. Barsanuphius, Elder of Optina
         5. Holy Hieromartyr Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky), Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich
         6. St. Nectarios (Kephalas), Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina
         7. Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Verey
         8. Holy Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky), Archbishop of Tver
         9. Holy Hieromartyr Varlaam (Nikol’sky), Holy Hieromartyr Nicholas Pokrovsky, Holy Hiero-confessor Gabriel (Igoshkin), and Holy Hieromartyr Paul Andreyev
         10. St. Nikolai (Velimirovich), Bishop of Zica
         11. Schema-Abbot John (Alekseyev), Elder of Valaam
         12. Holy Hiero-confessor Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Archbishop of Simferopol
         13. St. Justin (Popovich) of Celije
         14. Elder Paisius (Olaru) of Sihastria and Sihla
         15. Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) of Essex
         16. Elder Paisios (Eznepidis) of Mount Athos
         17. Fr. George Calciu
   Appendix Three: Biological Evidence and the Neo-Darwinian Paradigm
            by Yuri Zharikov, Ph.D.
         1. Two Models
         2. The Theory of Evolution
         3. What Is a Scientific Theory?
         4. What Does the Theory of Evolution Predict?
         5. “Facts” of Evolution; or, Can the Predictions Be Upheld?
         6. Conclusions
         7. Kicking against the Pricks
   Appendix Four: The Age of the Earth and the Rate of Geological Processes
            by Alexander Lalomov, Ph.D.
         1. Introduction
         2. Radioisotope Dating
         3. Checking Radioisotope Dating
         4. Possible Reasons for Large Concentrations of Daughter Isotopes
         5. The Rate of Sedimentation Processes
         6. The Rate of Formation of Mineral Resources
         7. Paleontology and Stratigraphy
         8. Conclusion
   Suggested Resources
            by the editor
      I. PATRISTIC SOURCES
      II. SCIENTIFIC SOURCES
         1. Critiques of Biological Evolutionism
         2. On “Human Evolution”
         3. On the History of Darwinism
         4. On the Age of the Earth
         5. On the Dinosaurs
         6. On the Flood
         7. On Astronomy and Cosmology
         8. For the Education of Young People
   Saints and Early Church Writers Cited in the Present Book
   Notes
   Bibliography
   Acknowledgments
   Scripture Index
   Index of Works by Saints and Early Church Writers
   General Index

Item Number: BKP559
Publication data: Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2011
Format: softcover
Number of pages: 1,143
Dimensions (l × w × h): 22.8 cm × 15.3 cm × 5.0 cm
Additional information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 978‒1‒887904‒25‒4

$36.95 (USD)