Complexity and Simplicity
“The Greek word here [for simplicity in Romans 16:18-19] means literally “unmixed”…Thus, St. Paul is saying that in regard to evil, we should not mix evil with good but be pure in our motives, attitudes, thoughts, and behavior…the Gospels themselves, Christ didn’t pay much attention to people’s external image and formal religiosity, but was more interested in the state of their heart. From there proceed “evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit” and so on (Mark 7:21-2). This is why He berated the hypocrites, forgave and ate with publicans and harlots and directed those who wanted to become citizens of His kingdom to look to the simplicity of children.” (Fr. Basil, Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis)
“ ‘It’s complicated.’ This statement sums up much of the modern experience. I don’t think the world we encounter is actually complicated – but our experience is. Simplicity is the reflection of an inner world free of conflicts and undercurrents. The truth of the modern inner-world is that it is generally pulled in many directions.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“… Christ and the apostles do not call us to foolish infantilism or metaphysical dissolution in the Absolute. They speak of the simplicity of the Christian life, which consists in a whole and unwavering following of Christ, in a direct and unyielding standing before the face of God. Man, as God's most perfect creation, is complex, but he can and should become simple without losing his original complexity. Man is called to become simple in his complexity. Man will become simple when his soul becomes simple. The soul will become simple when its mind, intellect, will, and feelings become simple, and when they form a harmonious hierarchical unity of personality. This will happen when Christ dwells in the heart as in a temple, and by His grace He will heal, enlighten, sanctify, transform, and simplify both the soul and the body.” (Priest Tarasiy Borozenets)
“There was nothing the Lord castigated so much as hypocrisy. And rightly so, since He saw in it the greatest deceptive danger, which is the satanic light that appears to be angelic. The power of hypocrisy is, indeed, dreadful. Both for those who experience it and practice it, as well as for those who suffer as a result of it. The reason why it’s so dangerous is that it corresponds to the deepest psychological demand we have within us. We want to appear to be people who we aren’t. Both to ourselves, as well as to God. And so we avoid the truth and simplicity and, naturally, repentance and salvation.” (Elder Meliton Hatzi)
“St. Paul warns us not to let our minds be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). We tend to over think, over analyze, and over intellectualize things, sometimes to the point of absurdity cloaked in what passes for wisdom. It’s nothing more than the delusion that comes from human though turned inward on itself. In the Gospel we see that Christ gave thanks to God for all things and then gave freely of Himself in all circumstances. He pointed to the simplicity of the humility of a little child as the model of discipleship and the criteria for being called the “greatest in Heaven” (Matthew 18:4). God can never be known through analysis, only through communion. This comes from prayer, worship, being fully present, and purifying and uncluttering our thoughts so that they no longer act as a barrier.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
“God is “a Spirit, an incomplex Being . . . not composed of a series or of a multitude of thoughts, or of a multitude of words or creations, but . . . wholly, in one incomplex thought, God.” (Saint John of Kronstadt)
“…every element of the Christian faith is related to and bound up with other elements, in a wondrous pattern of complex simplicity.” (James R. Payton Jr.)
“In my years of following Christ, I have come to the conclusion that many Christians make finding God’s present will for us way too complex. We wrongly believe that it’s only possible for the most talented and the most gifted and the most spiritual to know the heart of God. But in reality, it’s much simpler than that. If we long to see God at work in our present, we merely need to grow in our daily longing for Him.” (Kasey Van Norman)
“The true wisdom, the true understanding of everything that is, is held by He who created everything that is, God the Father, and with His Son through Whom were created all things, and…His Spirit who dwells within Him…Christ made these revelations publicly, in the hearing of all, not in shadowy caves to a few select initiates, nor to only the most brilliant scholars who could comprehend some complex series of metaphysical arguments. Rather, He revealed the great hidden truths on which the world was founded, the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, through parables, through simple analogies to everyday human life...” (Father Stephen De Young)
“We tend to make things overly complex…Christ gave answers in simple terms, the way He preached to us…most Church Fathers, educated in the classical tradition, said simple things simply and complex things clearly.” (Sacramental Living Ministries, Metropolitan Phillip, Professor Anthony Gythiel)
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