Thank you for the quotes from this and his Homily. I must respectfully say, though, that I found his analysis surprisingly weak. He begins by asserting a hypothesis out of thin air:
This He said, that they might strive to become sheep. Then by mentioning what they should obtain, He maketh these men jealous, so as to rouse them, and cause them to desire such things.
Then, I thought he attempted to "prove" it by somehow showing that the essence of the passage is just an expression, and that what the passage is really all about is Jesus asserting that He is equal with God. Maybe I got lost in the pronouns, but this argument seemed to be 100% opinion to me, not persuasive at all. Were this God's true goal, it makes the entire passage extraordinarily misleading to the innocent reader. It would make it just another in a very long list of passages in which the plain text had zero to do with the Apostolic interpretation.
And then from the Homily:
"As long as we are in the hand of God, “no one is able to pluck us out” (John x. 28.), for that hand is strong; but when we fall away from that hand and that help, then are we lost, then are we exposed, ready to be snatched away, as a “bowing wall, and a tottering fence” (Ps. lxii. 3.); ...
Just the opening statement tells me everything I really need to know about this man on this subject. First, with all due respect, right out of the chute he is blatantly misleading. He says "As long as we are in the hand of God ..." and then connects that to John 10:28. It isn't even close:
John 10:28 : 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. KJV
The preface is an outside conclusion he has drawn from somewhere, not this scripture. The reader who didn't bother to look up the verse would be very misled.
The next obvious problem is that he immediately dismisses the only thing he did accurately quote "no one is able to pluck us out". He says, in effect, that given this God must have a strong hand, but when we prove stronger and leap from it, then ... To me, this is absurd on its face.
But I do appreciate your showing these passages to me. I'm sort of laughing at myself because I can't remember the last time I had this visceral a reaction to one of these. :)
Doesn't look like election or predestination or some eternal security to me. Indeed, from +John Chrysostomos' understanding, it is quite the opposite.
Yes, this might explain it. :) Is it correct then that the Orthodox do not hold to any notion of election or predestination?
I would also like to say here that having read so many Reformed and other Protestant views, it is no wonder the world is becoming secular or searching for alternate religions.
Having a God who makes 'illegitimate' children He wants nothing to do with but throw them into fire is not the kind of 'father figure' any civilized society would hold up as a model.
" Just the opening statement tells me everything I really need to know about this man on this subject. First, with all due respect, right out of the chute he is blatantly misleading. He says "As long as we are in the hand of God ..." and then connects that to John 10:28. It isn't even close:
John 10:28 : 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. KJV
The preface is an outside conclusion he has drawn from somewhere, not this scripture. The reader who didn't bother to look up the verse would be very misled."
Your problem is with the English translation of the Greek verb "pluck" or "snatch". The form is one for a third party actor. The Greek is only referring to third parties, FK, not ourselves and says absolutely nothing about falling out of God's hand, or jumping out, or "plucking oneself" out, all of which could have been said but weren't. +John Chrysostomos understood Greek quite well, FK. As for him plucking his interpretation out of thin air, well all I can say is that his exegesis is consistent with what the other Fathers wrote and believed. When it comes to the idea that one cannot jump out of God's hand, that's simply a Protestant innovation with absolutely no basis whatsoever in the Greek text. No Father ever taught what you propose.
"Is it correct then that the Orthodox do not hold to any notion of election or predestination?"
I think it is safe to say that Orthodoxy does not hold with the notion of predestination as taught by Calvin. Indeed, that has been expressly declared heresy. Election is a more complex matter. Here's a link to an essay on the issue from the GOA website:
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article9285.asp
Its called "The People of God, An Orthodox Perspective. I think it will answer your question.