I just saw a distinction between theosis and henosis. Thats cool. I had the mistaken assumption that theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy was closer to the deification as found in Psuedo-Dionysius’ via negative and loss of objectivity.
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One need not stop at the creeds. The influence of ancient Greek culture on the early Church also contributed to misogynistic attitudes to women. The Prometheus myth portrayed women as the punishment of the gods on men for stealing fire. Aristotle taught that women were inferior to men both physically and intellectually and he claimed that women’s bodies were “imperfect” and thus morally inferior. The scientists of ancient Greece included Hippocrates, who held the view that women’s bodies were too cold to create semen and thus were morally inferior. Galen also held views of women being physically and morally inferior.
In contrast, Jesus had women disciples on an equal footing with men. Mary Magdalene was the chief female disciple of Jesus and the chief financier of his mission. When Peter and the other disciples denied knowing Jesus and were absent from his crucifixion, Mary Magdalene stood by Jesus at the foot of his cross. The resurrected Jesus chose to reveal himself first to Mary Magdalene and thus to become “the apostle to the apostles”, heralding the resurrection. St Paul included in the baptismal formula the declaration that there was no “male and female” in Christ. Paul also warned about not being conformed to one’s culture, but being transformed by the renewal of one’s mind.
So one has to ask whether the Christian churches of the East, both Greek-speaking and Aramaic-speaking, failed to follow Paul’s command and instead adhered to the junk science of their time.
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