God and the Existence of Evil

John Chrysostom. “On the Devil”.

Dimitrios Porpatonelis.

1st Edition

Series «Theology in public»

1st Book: God and Man in Christ.

Cyril of Alexandria «That Christ is one»

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2nd Book

God and the Existence of Evil.

St. John Chrysostom. “On the Devil”

Introduction. 6

St. John Chrysostom’s life. 7

Historical background of Chrysostom’s time. 10

Chrysostom and his“On the Devil” homily. 11

Introduction. 12

The Fall as a beginning of evils. 13

God’s charity. 14

The Punishing rod of God. 15

The crucial question. 17

Recapitulation. 19

Introduction.

The third book of this series "Theology in Public" presents a great figure, St. John Chrysostom, and his theological teaching.

One of the most significant sermons of Chrysostom is the one which bears the title "On the Devil." Chrysostom answers the timeless questions about the relationship between evil, demons, man and God. Who rules the things of this world? The answer seems simple, God. But why then is there so much suffering and injustice; why do the poor and the righteous man suffer and the unrighteous and rich man flourish; why do wicked men move unharmed and instead pious and honest men suffer? Since God is omnipotent and benevolent how can the power of evil in the world can be explained. Are demons an independent principle and their wickedness determining the progression of reality, and if so to what extent? On the pages of this homily, Chrysostom gives answers to these questions and also explains how the charity of God is combined with His righteousness.

St. John Chrysostom’s life.

St. John Chrysostom lived in the end of the 4th century. The radiation of his personality over the centuries resulted in plenty of information about his life which was saved. The ecclesiastical struggle between Rome and the Eastern patriarchates on his figure enabled historians to record in detail the events of his life, especially during the years of his diocese in Constantinople and beyond.

He was born in 351. His mother was Anthousa, who was widowed at the age of just 20 years old. Despite her young age, she never remarried and raised her son John demonstrating particular interest on his spiritual education. After the years of his childhood, John pursued higher studies next to famous teachers. He studied next to Libanius and attended the Haskitirion, a famous school in Antioch. Regarding his ecclesiastical life, John was associated with Bishop Meletius and named reader in 372. His secular education was important, as he was taught rhetoric by Libanius and philosophy by Andragathius.

Between 374 and 380, he ascetically lived in a desert having a Syrian ascetic fellow. During this time, he was armed and spiritually prepared for his subsequent pastoral action. In 381, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Meletius of Antioch and focused on teachers' work and writing. In 386, he was ordained priest by bishop Evagrios. Until 398, his activity was both versatile and productive. Initially, he acts against the heretics of Antioch. Moreover, he served in the teaching of Christian faith while his social contribution was remarkable. His fame spread quickly and reached Constantinople.

In 398, Eutropius, a eunuch Prime Minister, wanted to influence the election of the bishop of Constantinople. Eutropius, who knew St. John for his uncompromising character, promoted his arrival in Constantinople and his election to the patriarchal throne.

As bishop, his activity and his offerings were enormous. By his effort, Chrysostom had prominent personalities as assistants. He worked hard both socially and as a missionary. But he had a special feature. He did not adapt to the political leaders and his peaceful life, even as bishop of Constantinople, was not desirable by his contemporary political and social elite. Quickly, dissatisfaction turned into aggressive acts against him. The issue of "Long Brothers" (Egyptian monks who had disagreements with the Patriarch of Alexandria and took shelter under Chrysostom) and the letter of Chrysostom to Theophilus of Alexandria asking him to accept them back, resulted in Chrysostom being blamed from the Alexandrians for intervention in internal affairs of Alexandria’s Patriarchate.

From being a leader of the Church, Chrysostom started to be persecuted by the Church he served. The pretence for his persecution was based on an incident in 401, when he ordained the bishop of Ephesus. His action raised protests and Chrysostom was accused of improper action. Theophilus of Alexandria went to Constantinople, accompanied with many Egyptian bishops. A synod took place and decided upon Chrysostom’s banishment. He was restored soon (13, Oct. 403), when Empress Eudoxia feared the wrath of God for Chrysostom’s unjust persecution after an earthquake in Constantinople. Chrysostom returned but his character remained intransigent and straightforward. When he continued to react against the moral faults of the imperial court, he unleashed again the charges against him. He was exiled again due to an argument that he did not return by conciliar decision after his first banishment.

During his exile from 404 until 407, Chrysostom continued his pastoral work by sending letters and consoling his friends, who were also being persecuted, due to their personal relationship with Chrysostom. On the 14th of September in 407, he died at Komana on account of the constant discomforts. His memory, however, is honored on the 13th of Nov. as his death coincides with the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

After his death, a double schism was created; a social one, due to his fans reaction, and a church one wherein Rome broke off relations with the three patriarchates of the East. In 417, he was restored to the diptychs and thus the church schism was restored and in 438, the transportation of his relics happened in Constantinople where he was honored as a martyr.

Historical background of Chrysostom’s time.

The beginning of St. John Chrysostom’s activity coincides with the restoration of orthodoxy throughout the empire due to Theodosius the Great’s enthronement. Theodosius was an ardent supporter of Nicean doctrine and supported orthodoxy with all his power. During the years of his reign, the Empire’s Christianization ended, and Christianity became the only state religion.

During Chrysostom’s stay in Constantinople, the emperor was Arcadius. However, the Byzantine Empire faced many problems, both economical and military. The major population lived in poverty while Asia Minor lived under the fear of Isaurian invasions.

Chrysostom and his“On the Devil” homily.

Chrysostom's homilies are sermons, delivered both in Antioch and in Constantinople. Listeners recorded his words and then, Chrysostom proofread and approved them. His speech is not a cold dogmatic or moral speech. He tried when he spoke, to be understandable. He did not want to impress with beautiful expressions but rather using very vivid words to transmit his message to the faithful who listened to him. Everyone, who reads his homilies, feels that Chrysostom is addressing them, as if it is a personal letter, received from Chrysostom himself. Chrysostom’s high level of education and his unparalleled rhetorical charisma fits in with this simplicity and the result is impressive. Only when someone reads his homilies can he precisely understand the reason why he is named Chrysostom. His words are indeed gold, truly inspiring and astonishing for their sequence and the power of their meaning. Chrysostom’s speech was watered by his holiness and a reader feels surrendered in his thought.

One of the most characteristic homilies has the title "On the Devil." Its title inclines us to believe that this homily will refer to these evil spirits and describe how they work and their wickedness. But Chrysostom does not struggle to reveal the characteristics of these spirits that fire our imagination; instead, he wants to answer the question; who is responsible for evil? The second major part of his homily refers to the question of theodicy. Why do the righteous and poor suffer while the rich and unjust flourish. Chrysostom’s answer is realistic and clear.

Introduction.

Trying to energize his listeners, Chrysostom praises their thirst for teaching and preaching. He compares this situation with a dinner where plenty of wine is offered. He analogizes his listeners with guests who drink wine, and instead of bringing the party to an end and stopping their drinking, they continually rejoice and increasingly desire more and more. Similarly, the same happens with the preaching of divine word and Christians. As long as he teaches, their desire for listening becomes greater and greater, flaring love to virtue. He mentions that a sermon should not be very short, because in this way the desire of those who want to hear the word of God is prevented. At the same time, a sermon should not extend too much due to the weak faithful’s resentment. However, Chrysostom underlines the length of a sermon is not determined by time but by the audience’s mood to willingly accept the words. The solution proposed is symmetry. It should not take too long in order for believers not to resent it, nor too brief in order not to be unsatisfied by their thirst for God’s word.

Then, Chrysostom reminds them that in the previous sermon he spoke about the Old Testament’s Gospel saints. They did not consider themselves righteous and resent inconveniences, instead they considered themselves sinners and glorified God for both His benefits and the suffering they endured. As examples he states David, Job, and the Apostles Peter and Paul. This is an introduction of the whole issue; in this way, he indirectly wants to reveal the truth about those who resent suffering. They should not resent what God gives because all righteous men suffer injustice in their life. Without offending them, Chrysostom brings forth examples of saints noting that they had not a similar thought that they were righteous, although they were great saints of the Church.

The Fall as a beginning of evils.

Initially, Chrysostom explains the reason why there is misery in the world. Man’s tragedy begins with the fall from heaven. After Adam and Eve fell, man condemned himself to the pain of this life, but God’s charity was the one that brought him back to the earlier blessedness through Christ’s salvific work. The fall was a real ship wreck for human life; though man’s ship was ladened, full of rich goods and every blessing, it was wrecked by an iron arrow of the devil, who accused and aspersed God in the eyes of man. But God’s kindness and charity accepted man again and rescued him from the sea’s waves. This life-saving rescue can only be felt by faith, but by the time of the Last Judgment when the Lord will come with authority having angels at his side, then this belief will be strengthened by the confirmation of a visible experience.

God’s charity.

After Chrysostom had clarified that the evil in the world is not God’s responsibility but man’s decision to depart from Him, he proceeds to describe God’s goodness. The main force causing man’s salvation is His philanthropy. At this point, Chrysostom advocates God’s philanthropy and he quotes some Gospel passages in order to ensure his arguments. In order to enforce his argument, Chrysostom cites two phrases from Ap. Paul’s epistles: "The exaggerated wealth of his grace in goodness." Chrysostom explains that the apostle deliberately used the word “exaggerated” in order to demonstrate this incomprehensible and inexpressible love of God in words. The second sentence is the following one: "The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, protect your mind."

Divine Charity is evident even in the fact that God allowed man to sink. After man’s decision to move against God, God’s next act is also an act of charity, because pain was the only way that allowed man to realize his own mistake and return to God. Through pain’s and suffering’s experience, man perceives the lost wealth and returns to the happiness of communication with God. God behaves like a father, and when his son decides to leave him, He leaves him to be tried by painful situations in order for him to realize his inability to live away from the bliss of his father. Then Chrysostom brings the example of Eve, who, after the fall from paradise and the death of her son Abel by Cain, gave birth to her son and she perceived this birth as a gift of God and not as a common characteristic of human nature. This attitude suggests that after her eviction from paradise, the states of pain and death she felt, led her to recognize the love and bliss enjoyed close to God. Thus, man’s exile from heaven is a necessary means in order for man to experience the sufferings of a life away from God, to repent and return to our Heavenly Father.

The Punishing rod of God.

However, God’s providence sometimes has harsh manifestations. Chrysostom mentions several events from the Old Testament where God is said to punish man, yet it seems He is doing this for educational reasons. Punishments eventually lead to man’s salvation. Even if God’s decisions are unsearchable, the Bible illuminates this aspect of God’s charity. God intervenes punitively because in this way he prevents and inhibits people’s mass progress in wickedness. Similarly, he interferes through pestilences, deaths and other ostensibly evil facts of human life. Ostensibly, because when they drive on repentance, they are not really bad, but a means of salvation. On the contrary, evil is whatever alienates man from God, namely greed, adultery and other sins.

God, and not the devil, is the ruler of the universe, especially regarding human life. Everything appears seemingly bad and people tend to attach the devil’s power to God, as a part of God's providence, a pedagogical punishment. The devil has no power to determine and destroy a man because everything runs from God. For instance, in Job’s story, Satan asks God's permission to test Job. God is the One who permits the visitation of hell and punishment, not the devil. To support this bold phrase, Chrysostom invokes passages from the Old Testament where God allegedly is doing wickedness or evil in a sense of punishment (from Prophets Elijah and Isaiah).

God can be characterized as a doctor because he acts accordingly. He provides the necessary unpleasant drugs but these drugs lead to true health, the health of soul. God punishes the body in order for a soul to become healthy. Judges perform a similarly work deciding penalties for the murders and farmers when they separate the useless branches from the vine. Judges perform a function that heals society and farmers prune the vine in order to help it grow. Thus, even though it seems harsh, they achieve justice and fruitfulness. Since this is the case, why then does someone blame God who works with same purposes and uses the same methods as doctors, judges and farmers?

Chrysostom makes it clear that God is the ruler of every fact and not the devil. This truth was evident in the Gospel narrative in which the pigs rushed to the cliff. This action did not happen with the possessed, when demons were within them. People are not the subject of the devil’s power, but they receive their energy without leading them to a disaster. At this point, Chrysostom invites listeners to recognize in this example both God’s charity and simultaneously demons’ wickedness.

If the devil had the power and ability to govern human issues, this case would lead people to a disaster and an environment in disarray. Instead, harmony has prevailed in the existence of the sun, moon, earth and environment generally, indicating God's providence and philanthropy.

The crucial question.

And what is the importance of nature’s harmony when confusion and disorder characterizes human life, due to pain and suffering? The unjust man enriches at the expense of a poor one, while the righteous is subjected to hardships and calamities.

The answer of this question is the coming judgment and its relevance. The coming judgment gives meaning to these situations and explains these aspects of human life. If virtue was continually rewarded in this life and wickedness constantly condemned, then what is the relevance of the final judgment? Moreover, this rule (namely that the righteous suffers and the unjust flourishes) is not always the case. It applies sometimes and has a specific purpose. Chrysostom analyzes one by one every case and explains why it happens.

A. Sometimes, the unjust people are punished in order for them to be relieved from eternal punishment. Simultaneously, others, who observe their punishment, are admonished and do not follow their example of injustice due to the fear of penalty. Additionally, they understand that the penalty indicates what will be applied to unjust people in the future final judgment.

B. Sometimes the righteous are rewarded and happy. In this way, he becomes a source of inspiration for others. He is a model that inspires Christians to struggle for their salvation and virtue.

C. Occasionally, the righteous people are subject to suffering. This has its own purpose and usefulness. Virtue is God’s reward and not a human achievement. Righteous men should always have it in his mind because it is very easy for him to deviate and believe that his life’s prosperity came from his righteousness. In this way, he and others around learn to avoid being proud of their virtue.

God’s strategy is characterized by two basic principles: Firstly, His pedagogic rod prevents people from thriving on malice and secondly God does not judge people's actions strictly and finally. He offers them a time of repentance and in the final judgment he will apply righteousness. God’s tactics are biblically revealed from Jesus’ words. When He heard about the Jews death from a cliff’s fall, he said that those who were killed were not the only ones who were sinful, but it was made so to be a warning for the rest of men. If God hypothetically punishes people for their sins then none will be saved. "If the Lord observed sin, who can survive." Some sins, like the rebuke toward a brother, the evil stare at a woman, are demonstrated on the vast majority. If God operated completely punitively, then the human race would have been wiped out. A punishment is visited upon a small part in order to emulate the benefit of everyone. The punishment is useful for sinners because it leads to sin’s awareness and repentance. It is useful for the righteous, because it inspires them to strive in struggles and protects them against pride. "Judged by the Lord, we are chastened, in order for us not to be condemned with the rest of the world."

Recapitulation.

This is Chrysostom’s answer against those who support the management of human affairs by the devil. He rejects this claim and attributes the events of human life to God's providence, whether beneficial or seemingly evil. God governs the world according to two principles. Charity and justice. God’s plan, described above by Chrysostom, combines both, while it reveals God’s true love toward man. Only one thing remains. This is man's confidence in God in every event to lead to human progress.

Chrysostom did not only teach trust, but he applied it. His letters, sent during his exile, overflow from confidence in God. In these letters, even though Chrysostom is the one who suffers, however he becomes a comforter for them who bemoan his severities. His confidence in God is changing the way in which he considers the suffering; instead asking comfort, he becomes comforter.

Table of Contents

God and the existence of Evil. John Chrysostom On the Devil

Midpoint