The Word (Logos)

The logos of something is the reason that thing is what it is. Logos is a thing's truth. And Christ is Truth.

The ancient Greeks are known for many things, not least of all their philosophy. Greek pagan philosophy introduced many concepts into the Mediterranean mind, which prepared the people for the coming of Jesus Christ and the divine self-revelation of the Logos. It is similar to how the Hebrew Scriptures pointed, through prophecy, to the birth of Christ from the All-pure Virgin. Both pagan Greek philosophy and the Old Testament prepared the way for the appearance of God, yet neither was complete on its own, because Jesus Christ is the key to understanding them. People like Plato and Socrates have a similar relationship to Christianity as do the Hebrew prophets.

The Greeks were doing something entirely different from other people at the time. Their greatest innovations were taking place in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and ocean-going cities like Athens, where they came into contact with other peoples. Yet Greeks also were the first to introduce vowels into their alphabet, and it is thought that this innovation had a profound impact on their way of thinking. The Greek alphabet is based on the Hebrew alphabet, but Hebrew only has consonants, making it only decipherable by scribes and trained teachers. To other people, the word C-R, for instance, might either be ‘care' or ‘car'. In a way, vowels democratized literacy by allowing anyone to pick up a book and read it with understanding.

Consequently, the Greek people were quite receptive to the Gospel message, delivered to the first by St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. The original New Testament was written entirely in Greek. It is interesting that letters of the alphabet, and words, had such a big influence on the reception and development of Christianity because, afterall, Jesus Christ is the Word of God.

Christ is called the Word of God made flesh, and is referred to the Word for multiple reasons. Born of the Most-holy Virgin, He lived on earth as a man and spoke to humanity. In this way, Christ is the Word because He spoke the thoughts that existed in the mind of God. Through this divine self-revelation, Christ taught us about the Holy Trinity, how we ought to live our lives, and what happens after death. Christ is the Word because He is speech.

But the meaning of the Greek term, Logos, from which we derive the term ‘Word’, is more complex than can be understood by simply the act of speaking. Logos is usually translated as reason. In translating words from one language into another, however, it is important to remember that there is not always an exact match. Sometimes, the translated term may be slightly imprecise, perhaps having connotations which are not present in the original term, or viceversa. Rarely, certain words are untranslatable from one language onto another. In these instances, they are transliterated into the new language, which entails writing the Greek word using English letters.

The most famous example of an untranslatable term is the Greek word, nous, which can mean ‘mind’ but, more specifically, it means ‘rational self-awareness’. Translators often shy away from using a phrase to translate a single term so, for the sake of clarity, the term νοῦς is simply transliterated as nous.

Similarly, logos can be left untranslated and, indeed, ‘logo’ is an English term in its own right. Corporations and other entities have a logo, which is an image—symbol or design—by which an entity is known, without referring to that entity by name. One might say that Christianity’s logo is the cross. A flag could be called the logo of a country, since it calls to mind the land, the people, the language, the history, and perhaps even something even of what the country stands for (like when we see the American flag, we think freedom). A logo takes something large and complicated, and presents it in a simplified form. The best logos would even communicate something about the true nature of a thing.

Corporate logos are quite well-known, such as the golden arches of McDonald’s. While we see nothing more than a letter ‘M’ composed of two golden arches, vastly more than this simple image is called to mind. We may think about hamburgers and milkshakes, childhood memories, or even former job. Whatever we think about, most people will think about anything, except for a yellow letter ‘M’.

So, we see that the term logos refers to an image that—however incompletely—indicates, suggests, or otherwise symbolizes something that is greater or more complex. (Does a logo ‘represent’ something the larger or more complex thing? This feels imprecise, because a logo doesn't stand in the place of something else; it does not re-present the thing).

Of course, logos are not limited to images or symbols. Is a name not a logo? Such as, the word ‘dog' is the logo of the animal known as a dog. For this reason, a concept exists that, if you name something, or otherwise learn a thing's true name, then you can master that thing, because a name helps us to understand something's essence, or essential nature. Furthermore, people usualy think their inner thoughts in a particular language. Out of an infinite number of potential concepts, each language is only going to have a limited number of words for these concepts (that translation problem again). So, whatever language we think in is going to influence our perception.

Why, then, is ‘word' an acceptable translation of the term ‘logos’? What is a word, if not a sound that represents an idea? Moreover, while words are primarily sounds, they are also written as a series of letters.

A word is a logo of an idea. The sound of the word ‘red’ is an audio logo for the color, because we hear it and think about a specific color. The letters r-e-d are a visual logo for the same color. Both the audio and the visual logo of ‘red' suggest the same color.

Upon contact with this logo, people will form the image of red in their mind (nous). Between each person, the shade of red called to mind may differ slightly, but there is a generally accepted range of what is red and what is not red. Red mixed with a little white becomes light red, but when does it stop being red and become pink? When does dark red become crimson or maroon? Or, are crimson and maroon merely flavors of the color red, which describe specific shades while remaining within the spectrum of red?

Philosophically, ideals are like that. An ideal form of something is a mental image of that thing in perfection. But here in the dusty and imperfect world, all we can do is strive for and approximate the ideal, because perfection cannot be achieved.

Consider a small object with a flat surface, supported by four legs? Is this a stool, or simply a small table? What if we add a vertical part, extending up from the flat surface? That's a chair, people would say.

Within our minds, therefore, each person sees the ideal form of a thing, or that thing in perfection. We see the logos of a thing. Then, when we encounter a particular instance of a thing—when we see a chair, for instance—we compare the instance to the logos. The logos, consequently, is a measure by which we determine a thing's truthfullness. Is it truly a chair? While the chair is imperfect—by virtue of the fact that it physically exists and things that exist in time cannot be perfect—is it, nevertheless, a chair? We compare the image to the archetype, to borrow from traditional terminology.

Here, a school of thought known as ‘Nominalism' arises. We shall not say much, except that it claims that names are arbitrary, and randomly applied to things. Therefore, truth is relative, because it doesn’t exist independently but only in the mind of the beholder. This is counter to Christianity, where Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Another distinction should be made in our discussion of logos. The logos suggests the thing, and the thing participates in the logos, but the thing cannot be the logos. It may sound confusing, but it makes sense if you think about it. A chair is a chair; you sit on it. But a chair is not the idea of a chair; it is not ‘chair-iness' itself. A chair is not all forms of possible chairs; a red chair is not a blue chair. Similarly, a person can be generous. A person can even be extremely generous, but he is not generosity itself. The potential range of generous acts exceeds what any one person can do. The image of Santa Claus is closer to the perfect form of generosity, but even this image is limited and Santa falls short of being the complete ideal.

There’s only one exception to this rule, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we see the face of Christ, we see the entire Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit. Christ is the Word of God. He is both good and goodness; He is the Savior and salvation. In this way, Christ is the Logos of God and differs from other logos, since Christ is the fullness of the idea; He is the Word made flesh. He is not only the Son of God, but also the fullness of God—the whole Trinity and not merely the Second Person—because He existed in time, physically as a man, yet He remains always perfect.

Christ is also the Son of man because all of humanity is present in Him. The Person of Jesus Christ includes all human potential, anyone who ever lived or is ever going to live. Within Christ is everything that will ever happen, however this does not imply that sin is present in Christ. Sin has no substance; it is the absence of goodness. Sin is a turning away from Christ (Who is Goodness), in the same way that darkness is the absence of light. While Christ is the fullness of humanity, we, ourselves, are just a little sliver of the ideal and possibilities of humanity.

Yet this sliver is very special, because each person is made in the image and likeness of God. In the mind of God, each person exists as a unique thought, which is the ideal for that person. St Maximus the Confessor referred to these unique ideals for each person as logismoi, a term derived from logos. For every person, there is a corresponding thought in God’s mind of the ideal form of that person. Through Christ, we can spend our lives trying to realize this form. What makes us happy and brings us joy? What gifts do we have to share with the world? In realizing this form, we fulfill our unique ministry on earth.

Each person’s logismoi (perfect form) can never be fully realized, or even fully understood. It is really a personal thing, between each individual and Jesus Christ. For that reason, we cannot judge others, because we do not know that person’s ideal form, although we certainly can support others in trying to achieve it. This is also precisely the conversation that will be had with Jesus Christ on that dread day of judgment, after we die. Christ is going to want to know how close we came to being our true selves and realizing that ideal form. We hope and pray that He will see and recognize His own handiwork in us. Yet, if we corrupt and distort ourselves through bad living, Christ may gaze upon us and cast us out, saying, “I recognize you not.”

An ideal exists in the nous as its perfect form. Each particular instance of an ideal exists physically, in time and space, so it necessarily falls short of the ideal. It is interesting that the Greek term for sin is hamartia, which means to miss the mark. It's like we reach for the ideal, but fall short and miss the mark. That's life itself, really. We try, we fall down, we get back, and we keep going. Anything is possible when we admit our mistakes (confess our sins). Forgiveness is possible because we are working towards perfection.

Unfortunately, since the essence of life is to seek something that is unreachable, life is fundamentally dissatisfying. Nothing that exists in time and space is perfect; anything that brings us satisfaction is fleeting and will again leave us feeling empty. Consequently, most people bounce around, from thing to thing, constantly seeking a distraction to fill the emptiness. There is only one thing that can fill the void and leave us feeling complete for all time. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy us completely and for all time. At some point in their lives, many people will turn to Christ. (The Greek term for ‘turn to' is metanoia, which literals means ‘change the mind and is translated as ‘repent’.) Do they stay with Christ, or is He just another distraction? Without Christ, sone people will eventually hit rock bottom, and all their plans will fail, but the hope is that we can turn to Christ without having to experience this utter disappointment and desolation.

Christ brings satisfaction, in a way that never diminishes or goes away. Even if we fall down, we get back up again. By joining ourselves to Him, we can fill the void once and for all, provided that we are willing to do the daily work of maintaining our relationship with Christ. This daily work includes striving to become that ideal form of ourselves which exists as a thought in God’s mind. Christ helps us to be our best selves because He is perfect. Christ is the Logos.