Great people about Christ and Faith
This book is called the Gospel - and such is its eternally new charm that if we, satiated with the world or depressed by despondency, accidentally open it, we will no longer be able to resist its sweet attraction.”
“I think that we will never give the people anything better than Scripture... Its taste becomes clear when you start reading Scripture, because in it you find the whole of human life. Religion created art and literature; everything that was great in the deepest antiquity, everything depends on this religious feeling inherent in man, just like the idea of beauty along with the idea of goodness... The poetry of the Bible is especially accessible to pure imagination. My children will read the Bible with me in the original... The Bible is universal.”
“Only God can fill the vacuum in the heart of every person. Nothing created by man can fill this vacuum. Only God, whom we know through Jesus Christ, fills this void."
“Knowing God without knowing your sinfulness leads to pride. Knowing your sinfulness without knowing God leads to despair. Knowing Jesus Christ leads us to the right path, since in Him we find God and our sinfulness.”
“There are only three classes of people. Some have found God and serve Him; these people are reasonable and happy. Others have not found and are not looking for Him; these are mad and unhappy. Still others have not found it, but are looking for Him; these people are reasonable, but still unhappy.”
“Earthly science must be understood in order to love it, and Divine science must be loved in order to understand it.”
“We own a treasure that has no price, and not only do we not care to feel it, but we don’t even know where we put it. The owner is asked to show the best thing in his house, and the owner himself does not know where it is. This Church, which, like a chaste virgin, has been preserved alone from the times of the apostles, in its immaculate original purity, this Church, which, with its deep dogmas and the slightest external rituals, seems to have been carried straight from Heaven for the Russian people, which alone is able to resolve all the knots of bewilderment and our questions, which can produce an unheard-of miracle in the sight of all of Europe, forcing every class, rank and position in us to enter their legal borders and limits and, without changing anything in the state, give the power to Russia to amaze the whole world with the consistent harmony of that the same organism with which it had hitherto frightened us - and this Church of ours is unknown! And we still have not introduced this Church, created for life, into our lives!”
“Be not dead souls, but living ones. There is only one door to life, and that door is Jesus Christ."
“Christianity is the only refuge of the Russian land from all its evils.”
“Descendants will one day laugh heartily at the stupidity of our contemporary materialist scientists. The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the inimitable deeds of the Creator.”
“For thirty-five years of my life I was in the full sense of the word a nihilist, not exactly a revolutionary specialist, but not believing in anything. But five years ago faith came to me. Now I believe in the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and my whole life has suddenly changed completely... Life and death have ceased to be evil for me, instead of hopelessness and despair, I now feel joy and happiness, which even death cannot take away from me.”
“I read the Gospel a lot and with love, in Slavonic and in Luther’s translation. I read without any guidance, I did not understand everything, but I felt sincere and deep respect for what I was reading. In my early youth I was often carried away by Voltairianism, loved irony and mockery, but I don’t remember ever picking up the Gospel with a cold feeling; at all ages, under different events, I returned to reading the Gospel and each time its content brought peace and meekness to my soul.”
Finding God is not in the Church
In this situation, Russian thought was formed. Many thinkers and philosophers, whose Orthodox roots are undeniable, believed that the Church was “imperfect” or “not modern.” Let me give you a long quote about Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius:
“They had a little secret (almost no one knows about it, it is almost not reflected in literature). This was invented by Zinaida Nikolaevna. She said: since the historical Church is imperfect, we will create a new Church. Only a lady could have such a thought. And they began to create - at first a small circle, the best people of the era came there: Berdyaev, Kartashev, Rachinsky and many others. Then she created a very intimate circle: Dmitry Sergeevich, Dmitry Filosofov - their closest friend, and she. And they began to perform some kind of small divine service at home. Wine, flowers, grapes were placed, some improvised prayers were read - it was like the Eucharist.”[3]
Yes, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, what is described is blasphemy. But I would like to ask a very important question - why did this happen ? Why did such smart and talented people as Merezhkovsky and Gippius not turn to the Orthodox Church, but were in a state of some kind of eternal search for truth? After all, the Church was not persecuted! The Bible and sacred texts are available. In Soviet times, it was extremely difficult to buy the full text of the Bible! And then the churches are open, the priests can preach. But at the same time, the intelligentsia goes somewhere “to the side.” Why?
Sayings about God, religion and faith
Having exchanged heavenly paradise for human existence, I met a unicorn on the way and asked him “life - what is it”? “The way back from a grain to God.”
For everything, my God, I thank you!
While I live in this world, While my soul burns uncontrollably, Every day, getting up at dawn, I thank You for everything, my God! For the fire that beats in my heart, For all the people on the path of life, For everything that is sometimes difficult for me, But helps me grow morally; Because my soul is pure and bright, And, oddly enough, I haven’t accumulated anger, Because I met a good woman And sincerely loved with all my heart.
After all, there is only one life. We are all here without registration. Soon I, too, will merge with eternity... Well, for now, for all my family and friends, I will simply silently pray.
Create in the image and likeness? Oh, I've heard that before.
I heard, I saw, I know. I even realize it.
I remember those who called themselves people. Pathetic creatures. But so different... Some had a mind, others had their hearts dictate their path. And someone was selfish, greedy for power and fame. But…
Oh yes, there is one “but”. Everyone has a soul. No matter what vice overwhelms a person, he always remained himself, albeit somewhere there, in the margins of consciousness.
Almost every one of their number valued their own lives above all else, but because of a broken heart, they could step into oblivion without fear, without hesitation. It was funny to see this. Know and remember.
Oh yes, I remember. I... I'm the same. Almost. Is it a man?
I don't remember. My soul is old and thin, barely holding on to my physical body, under the weight of what I have experienced. But memory and longevity are an eternal punishment for me, for all my deeds. And therefore, I create now. Out of boredom and hopelessness. To entertain yourself at least a little, to find meaning for a brief moment. After all, in order to lay hands on myself, I will never be able to muster up the courage and audacity. Courage to face the darkness, enveloping and empty, like nothingness, and audacity... To look into the eyes of all those whom I will leave.
So... Clay molds, getting your hands dirty. Red, with a little bit of sand and lake mud mixed in. She is wet, even too wet, smears her hands and slips out of my old-age tenacious fingers, knotted with arthritis.
In your own image and likeness, you say?
You can't do this, oh, you can't. Let them be flawed. Let there be the orphans and the wretched, let there be selfish freaks who don’t know love and tenderness and who know how to kill. It doesn't matter who. Each other, prey, those who want to kill them.
And I will make greed their greatest virtue. Let them accumulate, protect, groom and cherish their treasures, which in reality are nothing. A pile of sparkling stones.
By putting lust into them, I will make them multiply a hundred times more than necessary. So that children are a bargaining chip, a reflection of the unrealistic dreams of their parents, so that children suffer and become copies of those who gave birth to them. Let them rape, humiliate, kill, making each other writhe in pain and disgust.
I will give them more than enough pride so that they can pass by the old people who need a crust of bread. So that they forget their own parents, so that they hate those who are lower in status, and forget their unwanted friends.
And to some, very, very few, I will give love and compassion. So that they suffer the most, surrounded by similar things.
Create in the image and likeness? Why, if you want to be a creator?
It is much easier to create your children crippled in order to take care of them and have fun watching them swarm. Like flies in the mud, by God. Oh, well, yes. Pun.
Although, no. I'm not God. I... I'm human. At least, in your own thoughts, it’s worth admitting.
And so... Two figures are ready - male and female. Roughly put together, more schematic than correct.
As soon as I blow on them, puffing out my cheeks and taking a deep breath before doing so, how...
No. And yet, no matter what, I am human.
The man who created these for himself. In the image and likeness. Almost.
Creator. A crooked and blind artist paints pictures while listening to the music played by a wandering musician under the window. Untalented.
Start of the search
Russian philosophy developed in the 19th century. Many scientists argue who was the first Russian philosopher. Basically, they call Vladimir Solovyov, the son of a famous historian and grandson of a priest. The time of formation of Russian thought is a completely special period. The nineteenth century, as it were, prepared the twentieth century. Revolutions, wars, upheavals - the roots of all this have already been laid earlier. And problems in the life of the Church already existed.
And here we are invading a very delicate area. The fact is that there is an opinion that supposedly the entire imperial period in the history of Russia was a purely Orthodox time. " Autocracy. Orthodoxy. Nationality. “- many believe that Count Uvarov’s slogan was actually put into practice in the life of the Russian Empire.
Help our project!
Dear friends, if you like what we do, if you want to help us or just say “thank you” for our daily professional work, please support us financially.
All funds received will be used to pay fees to the authors of articles, improve the operation of the site, and also to implement new ideas.
The donation can be sent by card number: 5536 9138 4633 0682 (Danilov Alexander Sergeevich)
Berdyaev's search for God
Another example of the search for God in Russian philosophy is the works of Nikolai Berdyaev. The great Russian philosopher, widely known abroad and practically banned in the Soviet Union, was in a constant search for God. One of the main themes in Berdyaev's philosophy was the theme of freedom. Human freedom was perceived by Berdyaev as freedom not from God, but the freedom of a person choosing the path of truth. The Russian nobleman Berdyaev believed that the real greatness of man lies in his creatureliness, in the fact that he is God's creation. Freedom for Berdyaev has always been the most important part of life. But he also understood this freedom as freedom in God.
Berdyaev saw freedom only in God, in living according to the commandments, in the Church. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) - it is said in Scripture and Nikolai Berdyaev called for this. Although in his philosophical research there was a place for a free interpretation of Christian truths, nevertheless, in the main thing he was not mistaken.
Freedom in God and freedom from God are two types of human behavior, two types of society. The fruits of freedom from God are too clearly visible in the example of Russian history, when in the name of “freedom” churches were blown up and millions of our fellow citizens were killed.
When Berdyaev died, a half-smoked cigarette and an open Bible were found on his table. In my opinion, an excellent example of the search for Russian philosophy.
