Ninth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This paper investigates how the theologian and secular priest Gabriele Biondo employed in his texts the symbol of Lucifer to express the conflict between reason and faith as the tension between intellect and senses. This symbol indicates the creature inability to confront the mystery of the dual nature of Christ. Biondo distinguishes between two forms of truth. In its first sense, truth can be understood as the uncovering (aletheia) of the actual reality presented before the senses (both spiritual and physical). This meaning is closely related to the notion of perception (Wahrnehmung) as it was developed by the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). In its second sense, truth originates from the creatural intellectual capabilities and, therefore, closely associated with fantasy. Based on this presupposition, Biondo identified in Lucifer two faults. Firstly, his refusal to accept Christ as the Mediator, since he envisaged that the dual nature of Christ allowed for the introduction of temporal elements within the transcendent realm of the Trinity ad intra. Secondly, his active rebellion, based on pride (superbia), directed specifically at the Person of the Son. The conclusion is that, for Biondo, the difficulties produced by the dichotomy between reason and faith can be resolved only by recognizing that the Christian revelation (Trinity ad extra) is inseparable from the Filial obedience to the Father, expressed as the divine Love of the Holy Spirit (Trinity ad intra).