Saint Basil

Saint Basil in this reading raises some very intriguing points. The first one I would like to discuss is the fact that we should not be ignoring secular readings: “Perhaps it is sufficiently demonstrated that such heathen learning is not unprofitable for the soul” (Basil 3). Unpacking this, it makes sense. Basil goes on to emphasize when authors or poets or songwriters approach virtue, and how that’s a good thing for us to take from them. But that’s not all. In my CHED class we are learning how to best educate people form a Christian viewpoint. A major part of this is knowing how people learn. This involves knowing Psychology and how people develop. Now this may be considered a secular thing, but ultimately it helps us advance the spiritual lives of people. This is why I agree with Basil. Sometimes by adding in things that aren't from a Christian perspective we can gain a more whole understand of what it is, and that can helps us complete our understanding with a Christian perspective. Basil said that when writers extol virtue that we should listen. This is just one example of where adding in that other perspective can be very helpful. I believe that we can gain a more full understanding of who we are by looking at things from all perspectives. God will show up in every part of creation, we can just explore and find it.

Another thing Basil brings up is training.  I love what he says about this. He talks about how a musician wouldn’t train with the way wrestlers do, how that a musician would need to train in the ways they need to, by practicing their instrument. If we are to fight this world, we need to train against it. Against the enemy that is controlling this world right now. This involves us getting out into it, exploring it, learning about it. We must know what we face, and how the world acts. By exploring things outside a Christian viewpoint we are better prepared to not only fight the bad, but also learn how to best help this world see Jesus. It’s very important to do this. If we don’t know what influences our world, we can’t effectively proclaim the gospel. We can be in the world but not of it. We can use technology to reach people, without spreading the hate and judgement that gets spread through it a lot.

The last thing that stuck out to me was his focus on spiritual growth. He says we need to keep our bodies healthy, but only for our spiritual growth. We should be focused on growing our spiritual selves in every aspect. I agree with this. It is okay, and even good, to stay healthy physically, but we need to be focused spiritually. This is really important because, although we live in this world, we are not of this world. We cannot spend all of our time and energy focused on the physical part. Money, health, etc. We must be concerned with our spiritual selves. It is vital to growing as Christians.

Overall, I highly enjoyed the reading. I would love to dive more into Basil’s writings as a whole.