A Village of Finns learns of Christianity circa 400 A.D.

Nets were cast, lumber was cut, and wheat was threshed, much as it had been for time immemorial for the people of Naantali. The world beyond may well have changed a great deal, but a mixture of disinterest and difficulty kept the settlement isolated.

Oh, there was much trade, to be sure: Balts, Danes, Geats, Nords, Swedes, and maybe the occasional Sarmatian once in thirty years, but the folk of Naantali never went out of their way to see what these foreigners spoke of. To them, stories had sufficed thus far. For every golden hall, there was a dragon; for every land of plenty, there were jealous trolls and other cretins. If it meant not risking life, limb, and spirit against defiant beasts and fiends of the underworld, the tales and glories of wayfarer’s would do.

But then there came different stories. Golden halls and lands of plenty, to be sure, but they also spoke of a wild joy as well. There was a people, far to the south, down the Dneiper, who claimed to have killed their gods!

No. No, not gods. A god. To them, the God. Such barbarity was repugnant among the most selfish of pillagers! More than this, they celebrated this murder every day they could, by invoking terrible rites that transfigured the humblest of life’s bounties - bread and wine - into flesh and blood of this god. And they would then, with great solemnity, devour it. This mad faith had spread rapidly, and eventually it became the law of the land, despite the best attempts of the kings and thanes to squelch it.

But more was learned of it - this god was slain, yes, but had allowed himself to be. He was not overwhelmed, nor beset by fell magics. It was as if he wanted to die; were these people delighting in the end of their god’s misery when they celebrated as they did?

But there was more! It was said these people were not celebrating death at all, but their god’s return to life. How can this be? Even the gods must die: Yggdrasil withers, and Ragnarok consumes existence, and the new creation arises... But all must be consumed to be renewed, no? Not so according to they.

To these odd men, these “Christians,” a god had let his people murder him and then rise from death. Was this to show his might? That he is beyond life and death?

It seems not. This god had to become man to die at all, and died as such. By being a man, and committing such a sacrifice, all debts had been paid. The sacrifice of animals, and offerings to Odin and Freyja? These were all mere niceties, it seemed; the obligations of man to the divine had been fulfilled by the perfect human sacrifice.

Such was their delight and freedom, then. Oblivion’s jaws had been shut forever; Asgard was not reserved for the few anymore. The former lines had been broken. Aesir and Vanir, man and woman, highborn and lowborn, ancient and new, strong or limp, it no longer mattered. There was a new measure of man’s worth, it seemed - righteousness. A ship was set upon the Dneiper, to journey south to this fabled faith, to the city of Constantinopolis...

Religion and War

The notion of a “holy war” reverberates in the human heart with odd implications. On one hand, we are stirred and ignited with the prospect of the flourishing of goodness with the destruction of evil. On the other, we see how labelling something as sacred can often - intentionally or no - give it a free pass, in regards to its otherwise horrific vices. The temple prostitutes of Sumeria and Babylon, for example, come to mind; were a faith to encourage such behaviour today, I imagine many would flock to it but those of a sincere spiritual mindset would find it somewhere between repugnant and laughable.

Among atheist circles is the concept of the “Flying Spaghetti Monster,” meant to scoff at the words of some believers that say “Well, God has not been proven not to exist, therefore he must,” etc. While such statements do deserve their share of scoffing, the lesson I take away from the Flying Spaghetti Monster is somewhat different: anything can be labelled as sacred, but what actually is? What, in a real way, is truly holy? To bring the question around, what can be a holy war?

A quick purveyance of the Catholic Encyclopedia has no entries at all on “holy war.” The Torah refers to a hundred wars, none of them considered holy. Indeed, that readily misunderstood faith, Islam, has no concept of a holy war, despite popular belief, the term “jihad” referring to the internal struggle of the soul between good and evil. Even the faith most obliged to promote conflict  - Sikhism, which calls its believers to be sacred warriors - never engages a war as a holy or aspirant matter.

The common theme I find, rather, is precisely what jihad means to be the matter of a holy war: elemental and spiritual, with shells of lust and love, with bullets of despair and hope. I imagine militant parallels are used in describing these matters because it is as equally desperate a conflict. A frequently forgotten virtue is the counter to sloth: diligence. The only proper real-world example that can be used in parallel for diligence is conflict and protection.

I think this was understood well in the 7th century; war was not sacred nor profane, it was like a hurricane or an earthquake. It was treated like a force of nature - it was attempted to be understood, dealt with, and from the Church, maybe even communicated with, as we see with the encounter of Attila the Hun. Violence was not something to love and endorse, but not to fear, either.

Now, wars are a human matter, obviously - we do not see mice and cats arraying against each other with spears and bows - yet, I think we should not dismiss the elemental concept of war. If nothing else, it keeps the brutality and excuses of “holy war” at bay. There is nothing sacred about war, and anyone caught in the matter knows that all too intimately. No war is considered sacred unless they who call it such have given themselves over to the abyss, to madness, or both. Fighting can be holy; struggle is enlightening. War is, as they so rightly say, Hell.

The Growth of the Franciscans and Dominicans

Order of Friars Minor

The Order of Friars Minor was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209 with the verbal approval of Pope Innocent III. St. Francis was soon joined by many disciples who he sent abroad. By the time of his death in 1226, St. Francis or his disciples had made their presence known in seven different countries.

Sources:

Catholic Encyclopedia. At New Advent, www.newadvent.org. 20 June 2013.

Ordo Fratrum Minorum. At Ordo Fratrum Minorum, www.ofm.org. 20 June 2013.

A 4th Century News Pamphlet

Note: Sorry about the small text. I had to go a round about way to post this. But if you zoom in (Ctrl +), it is readable.

Not all quotes are historical

The Cloude of Unknowyng

The Cloude of Unknowyng is an extremely intimidating text, coming to the modern audience from an age long past, where Germanic pines still teemed with fey spirits, the basket-hilted sword was a few decades away, and the saints were believed to have fought alongside the men-at-arms and knights. The language is romantic, flowery, exciting, bombastic, demanding, and yet for all this, remains honest and plain. Were I to retitle this book for the modern reader, I would call it “Practical Spirituality 101.”

 The title is possesses, however, is not insignificant to the matters discussed. The “cloud of unknowing” rather means in modern vernacular, a cloud unable to be known: in this sense, God, Heaven, and divinity. These things are, fundamentally, unknowable to us, their magnitude overwhelming and their greatness so remarkable as to be surreal. And yet, to be not able to be known does not mean not able to be comprehended. That is to say, we can learn intimately about a handful of tuna, but to learn everything about the ocean is a task that would split our skulls like a shattered dam.

 For its part, the Cloud of Unknowing elects to examine just these parts: what do we know we can do, as spiritual beings in our garments of flesh and bone, to enrich ourselves and live wholesomely? The repeated answer sounds off like a theme with each chapter - virtue. Nothing else works; nothing else lasts.

 The chapters are organized in such a way as to address various struggles or trials of virtue, with titles as “Which is chaste love; and how in some creatures such sensible comforts be but seldom, and in some right oft,” and “That men should have great wariness so that they understand not bodily a thing that is meant ghostly; and specially it is good to be wary in understanding of this word in, and of this word up.” Some are indeed profoundly short, giving small writs of advice mundane advice one could find in a fortune cookie. Others span long paragraphs, giving myriad examples of conduct or raising and smiting objections.

 If I may be so bold, I would posit that the Cloud of Unknowing was the first self-help book of our world. This is neither to decry the mastery of the work nor endorse the publication of the various sacred texts of Mammon (some books do indeed wish to help souls in pain, yet others hardly veil their “get rich quick” sermons), but a point of fact.

Since the ink dried on the first edition, I hope it will not be forgotten until the true referenced cloud of unknowing has been lifted, when the grey curtains of the mundane are drawn, and divinity welcomes us.

Origen On Prayer

Over the centuries, countless authors have written on the subject of prayer. Saints such as St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thomas Aquinas come to mind. Pre-dating all of these is Origen. Although not declared a Saint by the Church, Origen is a Church Father. He was a prolific writer, whose works are still studied today in the tradition of the Church.

Origen On Prayer is a discourse for anyone who might be just beginning the practice of prayer, or even for those who are accustomed to some form of prayer and would like to deepen it. Well versed in the scriptures, he begins with an overview of the different uses of the words for prayer in scripture. He describes those who say that nothing is accomplished by prayer and is therefore superfluous, gives their reasoning for such an argument, then proceeds to refute it by discussing topics such as: Man’s freewill and God’s foreknowledge, conditions necessary for prayer, and the place of prayer in man’s life. After his refutation he writes about the content of prayer, the recipient of prayer and the objects of prayer. The last half of the discourse is an exegesis on The Lord’s Prayer.

The chapter discussing the objects of prayer is particularly delightful. It seems that discussion on prayer these days centers around asking God for anything and everything. Whatever need you may have, bring it before God and he will help you. Petitioning God is not a bad thing; we can and should ask God for what we need. However, this has a tendency to treat prayer simply as petition for mere things that we want. Furthermore it often sets us up to be disappointed, as the things we desire are not always in accord with God’s will. There is much more to prayer. Origen reminds us that our prayer to God should be for the great, heavenly things. As for the little, earthly things, they will be added unto us.

Also beneficial is the entire section on the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is the greatest way to teach us to pray, as it was given by Jesus himself. In reading any scripture, often commentaries are helpful in opening the scripture up to us for better understanding. Modern commentaries are coming more and more frequently, but the writers of these commentaries are sometimes loose in their interpretation. The best source for commentary is always the Church Fathers. Origen’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer goes at length to explain each phrase, without being too wordy.

While most of this discourse is easily understood and could be a teaching for all peoples of all times, there are a few things that might lead to confusion and also may be considered dated. In one instance, going back to the objects of prayer, Origen goes so far as to say that, “God is incapable of bestowing anything either earthly or little” (p.32). Of course we should pray for the greater, heavenly things, but that does not mean that the omnipotent God is not capable of granting the lesser things as well.

As mentioned before, there are many treatises on prayer. Some are confusing, some are boring, some leave you falling asleep, some leave you exhausted and certain that you will never be able to attain great heights in prayer. Origen On Prayer is none of these. It is a basic discourse on prayer, giving one a simple understanding of what prayer should be. As prayer ultimately is a communication with God, I would recommend this discourse to everyone.

Origen, Origen On Prayer, at Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org/origen/prayer.html. (20 May 2013)

Interview with Justin Marytr

Interview with St. Justin Martyr

 

Time: AD 165 – during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

Place: Rome; tried under the prefect Rusticus, a philosopher and teacher of Marcus Aurelius.

Charge: Bearing the name of Christian.

 

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Interviewer – Welcome back everyone.  You are listening to Meet the Martyrs with yours truly, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery III.  This is the show where we conduct live interviews with Christians who are condemned to death for their beliefs.  Today I am joined live by Justin.

Justin – Thank you doctor for having me on the show.

Interviewer – Justin, can you describe for our listeners today the predicament you are in right now.

Justin – Sure . . . although I wouldn’t call it a predicament so much as a blessing.  In just a few moments, I and six of my companions are scheduled to be executed by order of the prefect Rusticus, under charges brought against by Crescens, a so-called Cynic philosopher. 

Interviewer – What charges?

Justin – Well, if you want my own answer . . . for speaking the truth.  Not that this is a surprise; I have been predicting my death for some time now.  It is a pattern attested to throughout history that those who strive to live according to right reason are hated and often even killed.  Thus evil and unreasoning men killed the true philosophers; certain of the Stoics and in particular Socrates are perfect examples of this fact.  These philosophers were men who in their lifetimes attained glimpses of truth, and by their exhortations to others, which the truth they discovered demanded them to make, they brought the scorn of unthinking men upon their heads.   I knew it would only be a matter of time before they also would kill me and my companions.  Men are not executed for their beliefs – for as you know many varied and contradictory beliefs are tolerated within this empire – but men are persecuted for holding to the Truth.

Interviewer – It seems that a just sentence should only be made in response to some crime.  What crime are you being accused of?

Justin – That is just the point; this sentencing is completely unjust: not only in our case, but Christians all over the empire are being killed not because we are fornicators or adulterers or murders or thieves, indeed, not for any crime at all – in fact Christians are the most exemplary in avoiding these heinous acts.  It is only the name “Christian” which condemns us to be killed.

Interviewer – You say all this, and yet, don’t your accusers themselves claim to be philosophers?

Justin – They are merely pseudo-philosophers.  They do not truly seek wisdom, but rather are lovers of false opinion.  These vile and evil men are willing to condemn others to death for simply bearing the name of Christian, and yet they themselves do nothing to learn the beauty and power of the teaching which that name expresses.  They do not deserve the name ‘philosopher’!  Indeed, they are worse than ignorant slaves; even a slave is wary to press a charge in a matter of which he is ignorant.  However, these men press charges concerning a teaching of which they know nothing – a fact which my frequent debates with them has made evident.  Such willful ignorance is opposed to the very notion of philosophy.

Interviewer – Now, you yourself have been recognized as a philosopher.  Could you tell us how you came to philosophy? 

Justin – Sure . . . I was attracted to philosophy from a young age and thus spent many years studying under the various schools of thought in the Greek philosophical tradition; but these studies never satisfied my desire for truth; the contradictory opinions which I discovered there at times even led me to despair of ever finding the whole truth.  One day, when I had sought a lonely place by the sea to turn some of these thoughts in my mind, I came upon a mysterious man who, enquiring into my downcast appearance, told me to look to the prophets, those men who had lived and taught long before the philosophers.  These prophets, he told me, were holy men, loved by God, who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, were able to communicate the truth – they proved this by predicting many future events, chief among them being the coming of Christ, which were proved true.  After thinking over this mysterious man’s words, I came to realize that the Christian religion was the only true philosophy.  Yes, many philosophers certainly gained and continue to gain access to some parts of the truth (and I do not cease even now to admire and look up to them for their achievements), but with the coming of Word Incarnate, Christ Himself, that Truth is in its fullness found only within the Church which He established.

Interviewer – Did your conversion cause tensions with the philosophy you had spent so many years studying?

Justin – Certainly not.  True, there were points that had to be critically examined, but many elements were true, in fact some pointed almost directly to Christ.  As I have often said, two roads have been leading to Christ throughout history: the Old Testament prophets pointed to Him in typologies; the philosophers pointed to Him as parts to the whole.

Interviewer – Do you see any value now in using philosophy in the Christian faith?  Or is there not rather some danger of mixing pagan thought with revealed truth?

Justin – On the contrary, the real danger is to think that the truth comes in two completely separate and irreconcilable packages.  Obviously this cannot be the case because truth is not truth if it is not one.  Authentic truth is one!  And for this reason, I have no fear of the truths gained in philosophy; inasmuch as they are true, they belong to the Christian heritage: they are “seeds of truth.” In fact, I would not hesitate to call those philosophers who strove to act according to right reason Christians.  On the other hand, you don’t need to look very far to see the result of a religion that is clearly afraid of reason.

Interviewer – Would you mind explaining that?

Justin – It should be obvious to all your listeners that the pagans practice foolishness in their idol worship.  We Christians do not simply make bare statements about our faith, for we are always ready and able to answer any reasonable question put to us.  The pagans on the other hand, practice foolishness on the authority of un-provable myths alone.  They apply the title of “god” to manmade and corruptible likenesses, which, oddly enough, require constant care.  What stupidity, that men should carve and shape gods out of vile materials and demand veneration towards these images!  How do these men worship as creator an image they themselves have created!  Furthermore, their pagan practices often are in contradiction with each other: some of them worship mice and crocodiles, while others do not consider these to be gods, but rather use mice and crocodiles as sacrificial victims to be offered before the real gods, which they believe to be cats.  I’m sure you can see the logic problem here.

Interviewer – I certainly do.  One last question, as I can see that your executioners are already making their final preparations.  Why don’t you Christians all commit suicide, and thus go directly to God?

Justin –  I’m glad you asked, for many are in the dark on this point.  We certainly will go directly to God because we are suffering death in defense of the truth; but we are not bringing death upon ourselves directly.

Interviewer – If you do not will your own death, then why don’t you just offer the incense to save yourselves?

Justin – Offering incense to a false god is an ungodly act and not worthy of those who serve the Truth.  We believe that the true God created us for a purpose: so that we might seek to imitate Him in His perfections and so be found pleasing in His sight.  To either practice idolatry or to commit suicide are both actions which would bring us away from God.  However, to be martyred for refusing to give up the truth for the sake of preserving mere earthly existence is not only pleasing to God, but is in imitation of His Son.

Interviewer – And with those final words, I must let you go.  Thank you Justin for spending some of your last moments sharing your thoughts with our listeners, and I sincerely hope that you attain the happiness which you long for.

Justin – Thank you Dr. Montgomery for having me.  And let me just give a final message to your listeners.  If you have found the Truth, don’t renounce it, even at the cost of your own life.  And if you have not found it, do not rest until you rest in that Truth, without which your life will be meaningless.

Interviewer – And there you have it folks.  That was Justin, philosopher, Christian and soon to be martyr.  Who knows, perhaps they might change his name to Justin Martyr one of these days.  You’ve been listening to Meet the Martyrs; I’m Dr. Montgomery Montgomery III wishing you all a pleasant afternoon.

 

Sources used in the production of this fictional interview:

Justin Martyr, The First Apology & The Second Apology & Dialogue with Trypho, trans. Thomas B. Falls. New York: Christian Heritage, 1948.

Pope Benedict XVI, Church Fathers. San Fransisco: Ignatius Press, 2008.

Eusebius, Church History. At New Advent, www.newadvent.org.

 

Article on St. Augustine and the Manicheans