Related Books: Christianity and Hesychasm,  Prophets, Saints, Sages and Teachers

The Author

I remember when I first began to understand some of the thought that I found in the theological work of Philoponus. I was overwhelmed with the reality that we can lose vital concepts for the development of our thought, that we must learn from the past in real ways if we are going to discuss the future of the race upon the planet. John Philoponus ought no longer to be condemned in the West. I have published a supplementary article to the book with QUODLIBET, an online journal of philosophical theology, for those who want to read more about the Alexandrian scientist.

Vincent Rossi

John McKenna has written a very compelling study on a little known but fascinating 6th Century theologian and scientist, John Philoponus, the Grammatikos (usually translated "the Grammarian" but "the Professor" would probably be more accurate). Philoponus was embroiled in the 6th Century controversies around the incarnate nature of Christ--whether it was more correct to say Christ was of one nature (as the monophysites heretically declared) or of two natures (as the Chalcedonian or orthodox faction maintained). The difficulty was that both parties considered themselves followers of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who used the term "one nature" (mia physis) in a way that superficially sounds monophysite but actually was grounded entirely in the orthodox understanding of the hypostatic union of Divine and human natures in Christ. John Philoponus was commissioned by the Emperor Justinian to write a clarification that would unite the truths on both sides of the argument into one orthodox statement that would end the debate and bring theological peace to the Byzantine empire. The result was Philoponus' The Arbiter. Unfortunately, for his pains John was condemned by both sides, by the Chalcedonians as a monophysite, by the monophysites as a tritheist or believer in three gods. He was ultimately condemned by the 6th Ecumenical Council in 680, over 200 years after his death. Dr. McKenna's book makes a persuasive case for a positive re-evaluation of The Arbiter on its true merits in its own context. He argues that John was not a monophysite, and describes the theological and political complexities of the situation in John's time, his relationship with Justinian, why he wrote The Arbiter and how and why both sides of the debate seemed to have misunderstood him. Philoponus was a great scientist as well as a theologian, whose insights and discoveries in an age of doctrinaire Aristoteleanism astonishingly anticipate modern quantum physics. He developed a theory of impetus that was so advanced the world would take a thousand years to catch up to it. His kinetic theory of light anticipates not only the hesychast understanding of uncreated light, but also post-Einsteinian light theory. John Philoponus developed Cyril's use of physis, nature, in a way that expanded the meaning of the word to mean not only nature as essence (ousia) but also nature as reality or truth or unitive existence (aletheia) so that one could legitimately talk of one nature/physis in Christ, as long as it meant reality or aletheia, truth, not nature qua nature in a static sense.

Mekenna portrays Philoponos convincingly as a great scientific and theological genius, who was tragically misunderstood in his time. Philoponus's greatness, as this reviewer sees it, is not just as a precursor of modern science, but as a harbinger of a way of thinking that transcends conventional science just as it transcends Aristotelean philosophy, Philoponus realized the radical implications and impact of the Christian theocentric cosmology developed by such Greek Fathers as Sts. Athanasios, Basil and Cyril for the conventional Aristotelean science of the time. This new cosmology and science, based on dynamical and relational concepts of space, time and light was integrated in Philopons' theology by his effort to realize the full potential of a post-Chalcedonian Christology which made the hypostatic mysteries the very core of Christian thinking in all dimensions, whether theological, anthropological or cosmological.

John McKenna has written a fascinating study about a mysterious and tragic figure, whose vision, thinking and inventions seem, in the light of today's scientific and theological knowledge, more than a millenium ahead of his time. One hopes that this book will contribute to awakening a much belated appreciation of the achievements of John Philoponus, the Grammarian, an appreciation that will not only help in the theological re-evaluation of this great 6th Century thinker, but also open the door to a creative understanding of the real relations between theology and science. This is a 5 star book.