The Christian Virtue of Hypomone – Transfiguration Community (Bible Study)
hypo – under
menein, mone –
- to remain standing, to stand one’s ground (as in an Olympic wrestling match)
- to endure to the end (as in a race), to last the distance
- under the impact of evil
- under the impact of a burden
- in the face of a hostile and unbelieving culture
- in the midst of seductions and temptations
- to withstand resistance
- to bear or suffer (patience)
- to persevere
- to be immovable
Its opposite is:
cowardice, caving in, colluding,
passive doormat kind of suffering,
running away, to waver, wobble, flee, give way,
to be changed, to pass away, to be transient, perishable
Menein is an active stance, a brave withstanding, a virtue. Hypomone is used 7 times in the book of revelation, as the right and necessary virtue of the faithful i the old aeon (age)
Biblical: the soil that bears fruit under pressure
- Luke 8:15 ‘But as for the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in a beautiful and good heart, and bear fruit in hypomone.
- Acts 14:22
- Romans 2:7, 12:12, 15:4-5
- 1 Corinthians 13:7
- 2 Corinthians 6:4, 12:12
- Ephesians 6:11, 13, 14 The goal of the wrestling with the principalities and powers etc is to stand (used 4 times). The word used here is not hypomone but stenai.
- Colossians 1:11
- 1 Timothy 6:11
- 2 Timothy 3:10
- Titus 2:2
- Hebrews 12:1
- Revelation 2:2ff, 2:19, 13:10; 14:12
Walter Wink – Naming the Powers
Steadfastness in Prayer
Refusal of idolatry
Absolute intransigence – Unbending determination – an iron will.
The capacity to endure persecution, torture and death without yielding one’s faith – one of the fundamental attributes of non-violent resistance.
The power to sustain blows. Obstinacy – Endurance.
Perseverance on the basis of the inner victorious sense that all contrary relationships and hostile forces can be overcome.
The strength that comes from faith, hope and love.
Hypomone is not gritting one’s teeth in stubbornness but the strength to suffer that comes from faith, hope and love. ‘Let your only experience of evil be in suffering – not in its creation.’
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