THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Cyril emphasizes that God, not allowing us to be complacent in our hearts, skillfully guides us to commit to unwavering faith and steadfast devotion. At times, through sound reasoning and teachings that convey the highest truths, He urges us to forsake, or ideally, completely abandon sacrifices and idol worship, as these lead to our downfall and demonstrate a profound sense of guilt and the utmost impiety. At other times, through instilling a healthy fear of punishment, akin to a vigilant guardian, He directs us toward what is pleasing to Him.
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As the blessed Moses proclaimed in Deuteronomy, "These are the ordinances and laws which you shall endeavour to fulfil in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you to possess, all the days that you shall dwell in that land. You shall destroy all the places where the peoples whom you shall possess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under every branching tree; and you shall destroy their altars, and crush their pillars, and burn their groves with fire, and smash the statues of their gods, and destroy their name from that place" (Deuteronomy 12:1-3).
Those wise in the ways of Hellenism and selected individuals, particularly poets, referred to certain spirits, like nymphs, as Oriads and Amadriads. Furthermore, people, seeking to honor their deities, built altars on lofty heights, engaged in the sacrifice of oxen, and surrounded beautiful trees with images and statues of these demons as they offered sheep. However, it was essential for those who followed the true and natural God to dismantle these idols and distance themselves from such practices without fear.
Thus, it is further written, "When the Lord thy God shall destroy from thy face the nations to which thou goest to take possession of them, and thou, having taken them, shalt dwell in their land; then beware lest thou fall into the net, following them, after their destruction from thy face, and seek their gods, saying: 'As these nations have served their gods, so will I do'; thou shalt not do so to the Lord thy God: for all that the Lord abhorreth, that He hates, they do to their gods: they also burn their sons and their daughters with fire to their gods" (Deuteronomy 12:29-31).
The Lawgiver rightly prohibits imitating the misguided and vehemently instructs against the cruel sacrifice of children, condemning the bloodthirsty and false deities that devastate humanity, dismissing even the fundamental laws of love at their whim. "He created all things for being, and everything in the world is salvific, and there is no kingdom of hell on earth... by the envy of the devil death has entered into the world" (Prem. 1:14:2:24). While God’s divine will abolishes death, destroys corruption, and detests the void of existence, "created all things for being," as scripture indicates, those entrapped in delusion by the allure of demons offer to Satan sweet fragrances and the finest incense through their destruction of life itself. Thus, He sought to demonstrate that the actions of the Gentiles were steeped in severe wrongdoing, their nature corrupted, and the sacred laws of familial love violated; consequently, He earnestly beckoned upon those noble ministers who detest evil to honor and diligently embrace His will and words. Such legislation was instituted in ancient times to combat wickedness among them.