What is the Christian faith’s view of the human mind?

The answer

In a remarkable phrase, Origen tells us about the role of reason in the life of the believer: “As the eye naturally seeks light and sight, and the body with its natural desires seeks food and drink, so the mind has a natural desire to know the Divine Truth, and to examine the causes of things; this desire is from God.”¹¹²²

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

¹¹²² Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) 2.11.4 (ANF 4:298).

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.