St. Theophan the Recluse: When Enlightenment has Lost its Savor

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Tuesday, November 29(16), 2022
1Tim. 1:8-14; Lk. 14:25-35

“Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out” [Lk. 14:34-35].  Speaking of salt, the Lord refers to His disciples who purify human souls, eliminate moral rot in them, by handing down His precepts to the people.  This process can be properly called enlightenment; then the analogy with salt can be extended, and we get the entire saying re-phrased as follows: enlightenment is good, but if enlightenment have lost its savor, what is it fit for?  Cast it out!...

Enlightenment works as salt when it is based upon godly principles, when it conveys the elements of the Divine teaching, when it learns from the Lord by itself, ─ but if it has changed direction and turned elsewhere, if instead of learning from God it acquires alien doctrines, it means that it has lost its savor.  It is completely useless, infected with folly and deception, and causes putrefaction, rather than purification, of the human souls.

Examples of that are ubiquitous in history.  Why, then, no one seems to learn from experience?  Obviously, our enemy casts darkness on people’s minds and they fancy seeing light in doctrines far removed from the word of God.

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