Tag Archives: Christopher Hall

Gregory of Nyssa on Prayer

In prayer, a person is present with God, for the person who prays is separated from the enemy.  Prayer safeguards self-control, controls the temper, restrains pride, cleanses us of malice, overthrows envy, destroys injustice, and corrects impiety.  Prayer is the strength of bodies, the prosperity of the home, the good will of the city, the strength of the kingdom, the victory in war, the security of peace, the bringing together of enemies, the preserver of allies.  Prayer is the seal of virgnity, the pledge of marriage, the shield of the traveler, the guard of those who sleep, the courage of those who keep watch, the productivity of farmers, the deliverance of sailors. . . . Prayer is conversation with God, the contemplation of unseen things, the fulfillment of things desired, equal in honor with angels, the progress of good things, the overthrow of evils, the correction of sinners, the enjoyment of the present, and the substance of things hoped for.1

  1. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Lord’s Prayer, quoted in Christopher A. Hall, Worshiping with the Church Fathers (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 142.

The Good News of the Impassible Love of God

In the wake of Moltmann’s The Crucified God (1973), it has become fashionable in some theological circles to celebrate the “suffering” or passibility of God.  In recent years, I have become increasingly convinced that such construals may not actually understand how the language of “impassibility” has historically functioned in the Christian theological tradition and particularly in the work of the Fathers. Continue reading The Good News of the Impassible Love of God