Religious and Empirical Speech in The Hexaemeron

 

    The Hexaemeron is a collection of nine homilies on the six days of creation by St. Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea who lived from 330-379 A.D. Toward the end of the first homily on the words in the biblical creation story which read that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, KJV) St. Basil begins to address the difficulties which arise one when attempts to use an explanatory mode of inquiry to understand the world. He writes that "even if we are ignorant of things mad, yet, at least, that which in general comes under out observation is so wonderful that even the most acute mind is shown to be at a loss as regards the least of the things in the world, either in the ability to explain it worthily or to render due praise to the Creator" (Basil 2022, 18). Prior to saying this, St. Basil explained how an explanatory inquiry into the natural world leads to further questions, for "the farther we advance in our reasoning, the greater is the supporting force we are compelled to bring in" (Basil 2022, 15). These passages taken together illustrate succinctly the limits of empirical speech. Namely, the limit in this mode of speech is that for every explanatory premise we advance, we must provide support. As we expand our explanatory framework, we introduce a greater number of potentially false propositions. It is ever more likely that at least one is false, and depending on the logical flow of our argument, this could undermine our entire model, stop progress, or cripple our scope. 

    The profundity of the phrase that "God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1 KJV) is explored by St. Basil on the level of it having been revealed. In this revelatory mode of speech, one need not chase questions about explanations when considering an object one is observing. With no need to establish how something came about, one is at liberty to explore its deeper qualities. That is, liberated from the bonds of explanation, I am set free to pronounce 'beauty,' 'glory,' or 'wisdom' on something which presents itself to me. That is not to say that explanation and revelation necessarily contradict, but that they perform different functions. Revelation is in this way a means of setting us free from the need to build a coherent model of the universe, for coherency is a given in a universe which has been created by an all-wise Creator. Specifically, within the Christian tradition, the universe is governed by a wise, good, loving, personal, and knowable Creator. It is thus a given that all phenomena in the created world are the overflow of the wisdom, goodness, and love of a Creator with Whom our hearts can converse. If we take all of these as a given, we can begin to appreciate the unique value of any particular instance of a kind of phenomena. For example, I not only know that flowers are beautiful, but that the Creator knew I would look at this flower, at this place, and at this time. Why? Because He loves me. Perhaps for other reasons which pertain to my becoming like Him. Perhaps because He knew it would delight me. In this way, the Christian tradition allows us to experience life in a cosmos of infinite meaning and depth, where even the finest detail connects to the story of Love and His beloved. 

References 

Basil. 2022. The Hexaemaron. Translated by A.C. Way. Sagom Press.

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