On the Soul and the Resurrection: St Gregory of Nyssa (Popular Patristics)

There are two striking aspects of this dialogue. The first is its strong similarities to Plato's Phaedo (the dialogue which describes the soul, at the end of which Socrates drinks his poison Hemlock, per the ruling of execution by the Athenian court. The second is that the Christian position is being argued not by Gregory, but by one of his tutors, his older sister, Macrina. This is amazing because the conventional wisdom is that women were viewed as being incapable of theological thought. This demonstrates that in 4th century Asia Minor, this was not the case. A sidelight is that this dialogue was written shortly after Gregory's brother Basil died, and there is a suspicion that Macrina was ill when this was written. Both paralleled Socrates' death in the Phaedo.As the title states, the main subject is the nature of the soul. Unlike the earlier reviewer, I did not find many specifics relating the soul to the four classic elements of antiquity. The primary thread which tied the soul together, as it were, is memory, kept pure of strong emotions such as lust and anger. It is memory which is how the body is reconstituted when it comes time for the resurrection of the body. Gregory even seems to ape Plato's notion of hindrances hanging onto the soul as if nailed there, to disfigure and pull down. Gregory uses the image of barnacles which attach themselves to the hull of a ship.The Cappadocians were heavily influenced by Origin in Alexandria, but unlike Origen and Plato, the Cappadicians did not believe the soul pre-existed the body, and this dialogue makes that clear. That is why Gregory's notion of memory as a more psychological fact than as a metaphysical everlasting soul, is the heart of his argument. He even goes so far as to use the adage from the Delphic Oracle "know thyself". If one were following Plato, the emphasis would not be on knowing a personal memory, but on knowing the shared eternal memory of the ideas.

This brief dialogue of St. Gregory of Nyssa is a delightful read. The dramatic setting is Gregory mourning the death of his brother Basil and seeking comfort from his sister Macrina. In an impressive synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine Macrina attempts to justify such difficult Christian doctrines as an immaterial soul and the resurrection of the body.Gregory doesn’t write with the artistry of Plato. The characters are not developed nor is the setting. But it stands as testimony to Christianity as it emerged from persecution and began to combine both the Judaic and Greco-Roman heritage.One final note: It’s interesting that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was proclaimed by St. Paul to the Athenians only to be met with ridicule. Gregory of Nyssa felt the doctrine so difficult that he devoted much of the dialogue to its reasonability. And, to be honest, is there any Christian doctrine more unbelievable in the modern world than that we are all going to rise from our graves to face the Last Judgement by Jesus Christ?Perhaps we are all still Athenians hearing Christianity proclaimed at the Areopagus.

With this book by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, the unwary reader realizes that Christianity, or the thought of the first Christians, found fertile ground for theology in the Socratic tradition, structure, form and even narrative. This book could easily pass for one of the dialogues written by Plato.

Really enjoyed this book on death and life for wicked and righteous. Never really viewed it this way but I would highly recommend this book.

The book itself is a great resource from a brilliant mind, especially if you're interested in how 4th century Christians were thinking about the resurrection, memory, and the role the soul plays in both of these things.BUT.The Kindle version of this is complete crap. Not only is it a different translation than the paperback version it's advertised with, there are no page numbers or chapter breaks. It's just one incredibly long stream of text. It seems someone copied an open source version of this book from a website, pasted it into a document, and then put it for sale on Amazon to make a quick buck. I'm disappointed that I had to pay money for this.

Great Book!!! Well Written!!! Thank You For sending This In To Me!!!

A must read book that offers many valuable insights

Great book!

No problems!!

Very pleased

Enlightened me a lot

Very impressive how a woman in 379 uses physics to show man has an immortal soul