Coming to the end of my year-long theology studies, aside from the range of wacky theology that I have read, one thing that I have especially appreciated has been learning from past masters such as Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Dostoevsky. Whether it’s theology or literature, reading has allowed me to enter the perspectives of geniuses and glean from their synthesis of deep contemplation and love over many years.
At this stage in my life where I don’t have many words which might be of benefit to those who are older and wiser than me, the move I can make is point you to look for much-better, tried-and-tested advice. It is receiving wisdom from those who have come before that is the endeavor of the wise man and woman; I am convinced of C.S Lewis’ words in his preface to Athanasius’s De Incarnatione:
“Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.”
C.S. Lewis
Vladimir Soloviev: A Voice of the Past Speaking Into the Present
Vladimir Soloviev is a particular person whose writing has especially moved me. He was a dear mentee of Dostoevsky, a writer beloved by many Christians for the powerful pictures of the gospel he paints in his writing. Just as Dostoevsky intended his readers to grasp a glimpse of the gospel on which he stood, Soloviev’s writing looks at Dostoevsky’s works from the outside perspective, similarly emphasizing the importance of unity and love.
Soloviev helps us to more clearly see into Dostoevsky’s genius. In particular, Soloviev’s Three addresses in memory of Dostoevsky is a precious monument to their friendship, one which- in love- extended beyond simply the intellectual. In his addresses, Soloviev records that Dostoevsky:
“…loved before all else the living human soul everywhere and in everything, and he believed that we all are of divine origin… Having taken into his soul all life’s evil, all the burden and blackness of life, and having abolished all this by the infinite power of love, Dosteovsky proclaimed this victory in all his works…”
Soloviev continues to expound upon Dostoevsky’s definition of the ‘infinite power of love’ as “[consisting] in the acknowledgment of another as a being of unconditional significance.”
Dostoevsky certainly declares the victory of this true love over self-love; of worship of God over worship of self; and of life over death. He does this in his pouring out the souls of his characters in both huge monologues and the subtlest of interactions– a silence here and there; even an almost intangible presence.
What would it mean to behold others as “beings of unconditional significance” today? The answer, Soloviev says, is found in banishing all traces of egotistical self-love and replacing it with love that gives life; love for God and love for others. When we behold Christ, we will naturally desire to love his image-bearers like he does, albeit our love will always be imperfect on this side of heaven. As Plotinus put it, “the soul that beholds beauty becomes more beautiful”. Jesus promises that when we remain and abide in him, naturally, we will become like a vine that bears much fruit (John 15:1-17).
Instead of chasing after the next big event, life stage, relationship or promotion, we can stand in peace, knowing that what is truly delightful for us is to exude the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In Killjoys, Marshall Seagal writes that: “We can be infinitely and enduringly more happy with Jesus than with anything or even everything in a world without him—even when that world is filled and overflowing with promotions and bonuses at work, on-demand television, all-you-can-eat sushi, grossly accessible pornography, always new and better technology, and countless other goods become gods.”
C.S Lewis echoes Soloviev’s sentiment, writing in The Weight of Glory that:
“It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
I hope you will seek beauty in the old books, beauty which ultimately all points to our creator God who is beauty itself. Despite the swirl of information we are bombarded with each day, you and I can intentionally reach for the timelessly loved pieces of literature and theology that reverberate with God’s truth.
This is the final series from the 2023-2024 Young Writers Cohort, with the authors writing about a topic they feel strongly about.
Photo Credit: Chris Lawton