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Posted by on Dec 10, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

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We often think of prophets as people in robes holding a staff rebuking a king or trying to point out the error of our ways. In this season of Advent, the prophets are taking a different tack.

Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, comments in his interview with Krista Tippett, that Evangelicals are returning to an emphasis on personal AND social morality. He recounted how the Catholic Church had continued to emphasize both at a time in the mid-20th century when Evangelicals focused on personal salvation and morality, while Protestants focused on social morality issues such as racism, poverty, and human rights.

Kay Warren responded to a series of questions about their Saddleback, CA church’s mission to combat HIV / AIDS in Africa. Krista Tippett asked her how she could reconcile issues of sexual promiscuity and the use of condoms. Her answer was telling. Kay Warren made an important distinction between ideal positions on morality and their pastoral application. She said that in an ideal world, abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage were ideal solutions to the prevention of HIV /AIDS. However, condoms can’t be disregarded because they save lives in many situations in which women and men have no real control over the behavior of their spouses.

The Warren’s HIV / AIDS initiative has enlisted the help of prominent people on both sides of the political spectrum. People from the left and the right have groused about the other side being included. However, the Warrens, insist that their mission is not about politics, but faith and compassion for all people.

In a previous interview with Jim Wallis, the author of God’s Politics: How the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and founder of “Covenant for a New America,” Krista Tippett focused on Wallace’s campaign to combat poverty and the dehumanization it brings.

Previous Evangelical leaders, such as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson, have had the ear of the rich and powerful, in addition to the ear of millions of people. Their influence on key political figures from Richard Nixon to the current President Bush has been noted.

According to Krista Tippett, new leaders like Jim Wallace and Rick and Kay Warren now have this same influence, but with a broader message. Wallis not only has the ear of Presidential candidates, but he is close to the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, and the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd. Rick and Kay Warren are also sought out by the powerful. The difference between this new group of Evangelical leaders and the older group is an emphasis on salvation – personal, economic, and spiritual – as brought about by the activity of God in the assembly – the church. Salvation in Christ comes through the community that is church.

These leaders reflect a broader movement among younger Evangelicals, who are emphasizing the transcendent and the immediate dimensions of faith in ministering to people in need as ministering to Christ. According to Krista Tippett, these young Evangelicals are called the “New Monastics” and live in communities emphasizing simplicity and service to the disenfranchised.

People familiar with the history of Evangelicals and other branches of Christianity will realize that there is nothing “new” in these developments. Yet they are wonderful to behold.

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Posted by on Dec 5, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Polarization in the Church – The Kingdom Rent Assunder?

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“A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mt 12:25) Many of the sayings of Jesus are hard to understand or accept. This one seems only obvious.

It is often said that the lack of Christian unity is a major hazard or stumbling block – scandolos or “scandal” in Greek – for those trying to enter the Kingdom or the Reign of God. The good news is that various groups have begun to treat each other as Christians and not as minions of the anti-Christ. The bad news is that major denominations are split over the existence of the brontosaurus in the sanctuary.

Some people say the beast is an elephant because people experience it differently – like the blind men in the fable. For some it is a rope, for others tree stumps, for a few it feels like a snake. The “elephant” school says that issues like same sex marriage, women’s issues, and diversity are actually the result of a single problem – the need to update Christian ethics and not to take the Bible literally. Christian behavioral norms, according to this school, should be influenced by more enlightened cultural norms and follow the primary mandate of compassionate love.

Others say that the beast is the “Beast” of the Book of Revelation and these challenges to traditional Christian behavioral norms are the beginning of the test of the faithful. According to the “Armageddon” school, the Beast will consume the compromisers like so much buttered popcorn. Those who have not “compromised” will be caught up in the rapture and spared the thousand year reign of the anti-Christ.

Between these two extremes there is a complete spectrum of different intellectual and emotional responses to these issues. Many people are inclined to think that all of this started in the 1960s, when the world got turned upside down. For many Catholics, the secular cultural upheaval of the 1960s was nothing compared to the tsunami of the Second Vatican Council. A few think that Pope Paul VI, in ratifying the declaration on religious liberty and changes to the liturgy, committed apostasy and left the Chair of Peter vacant – Sede Vacante. According to the sedevacantists, the bishops appointed by Paul VI and the popes elected by those bishops have no legitimate authority.

At the other end of the Catholic spectrum, there are those who see Vatican II as limiting and redefining the centrality of rule from Rome. Local churches, governed by lay people, with lay presiders at the Eucharist, are seen as an authentic restoration of the Church. In response, Restorationists – including many young people – think that all these problems will go away if we return to the Golden Age of the Catholic Mass in Latin, with everyone praying their rosaries while the sacred mysteries are performed.

The beast in question is actually a “brontosaurus”(or Apatosaurus), because it is a much older and more intractable species than the elephant. It is not the Beast of the Book of Revelation because it is all too confused and political – and it doesn’t have the gaping maw. The “brontosaurus” is the challenge of living the Christian life and being church in a rapidly changing and unstable world. This challenge actually dates back to the Enlightenment in the 1700’s. However, the major denominations could contain it until the industrial revolution. The urbanization of rural agrarian populations, the revolution in transportation and communication, as well as the emergence of history and the social sciences as academic fields of study, raised major questions that divided church thinkers – the theologians and philosophers. One of the most unsettling discoveries was that Christian philosophy and theology – like all human endeavors – have changed over the centuries.

The Catholic church responded by not only condemning the modern world, but also by rehabilitating the logical approach of Aquinas and Aristotle (See Arraj Chapter 2) as a means of presenting and logically defending the faith against any thought or political action that challenged it. Instead of the medieval spirit of inquiry, students got summaries of pre-digested questions and answers. Not all thinkers went along with this, but they were marginalized or condemned. This gave the appearance of well-being, but like a person with emphysema, the overuse of steroids provides comfort while it destroys the bones. On the positive side, Pope Leo XIII and other Christian leaders, led a social gospel movement to protect the interests of industrial workers. This movement continues today, with the “preferential option for the poor.”

When Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council, the Curia had prepared draft agendas and documents for the bishops. No one foresaw that the octogenerian pope, who had been elected as a caretaker, would encourage the bishops to take matters into their own hands in his opening address, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia.

Having chafed under the control of the Curia, the bishops set their own course. Theologians and philosophers who had been silenced or put to the side were chosen to fill the intellectual vacuum. One of the young superstars was Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. The major problem was that this new school of thinking had never been tested in the open forum of discussion and debate. Conservatives did what they could to stem the tide, but the winds of Aggiornamento (updating) filled the sails of the bishops, the clergy, and more importantly, the people in the pews who now became the “laity.”

In the United States today there are approximately 3,300 men in seminary programs studying for the priesthood. There are also 33,000 men and women in graduate ministry and theological programs who are not studying for the priesthood. The vast majority of them share the same classrooms with the students for the priesthood. However, the newly ordained priests tend be in their 30’s and 50’s and are already formed as people. Many of them are more conservative and many bring with them an entrenched clericalism from their Philippine and Vietnamese cultures.

The growth of the Anglican Communion, the Catholic Church, and other denominations in Africa and Asia – the global south – has already created substantial tensions due to the immense cultural and economic differences which support more traditional behavioral codes and religious perspectives.

So the brontosaurus is alive and well – or at least it will be until we deal with these tensions so that others once again can come to know us as Jesus’ disciples by our love (Jn 13:34-35).

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Posted by on Nov 27, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Signs and Symbols – The Advent Wreath

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The first Sunday of Advent (December 2, 2007) is fast approaching. The season of penance and hopeful expectation has probably been observed since the fourth century. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before the feast of Christmas, the Sunday closest to November 30, the feast of St. Andrew.  Advent wreaths appear to have come from the northern cultures of Europe, whose people used evergreen and holly for various wheels associated with the lengthening of days – the coming of the light – at the winter solstice.

The Advent wreath takes various forms. For Catholics, there are three purple candles and one rose candle. The rose candle is for the third Sunday – Gaudete or Rejoice. Protestants tend to use blue candles. Some wreaths have a white candle in the center to signify the birth of Christ. Advent wreaths were primarily used in homes for many centuries and came to churches only more recently.

A different candle is lighted on each Sunday. In our family, we light each one for the first time on Saturday after sunset, which is the liturgical beginning of Sunday. The first week only one candle burns. The second week, two are burning. By the fourth Sunday, all four are lighted, the first getting very short and the others proportionately taller. The passage of time becomes visible through the height of the candles. During all of the hustle and bustle, it is a reminder for us that the Christmas season begins on December 24th and ends on January 6th or the feast of the Epiphany – The Thee Kings.

You can find prayers and devotions for Advent at many sites. The Episcopal Church at Cornell has a wonderful booklet. St. Louis Catholic parish has a series of Advent prayers and observances at their site. Jeanne Woodward has a great collection of Advent prayer, worship, and study resources at The Text This Week. This is an impressive site, with study and worship materials for several denominations for the entire liturgical year.

For a holiday treat, take time away from food, football, and shopping. Go for a walk and gather materials for the wreath with your spouse and the children. Get a hold of some coat hangers, pliers, and some ingenuity to make the ring for the wreath. You can attach the evergreens and holly ( or other materials) with florist’s wire, plastic bag ties, or other wire. The candles can be placed in simple candle sticks inside the wreath. If you are handy you can even make wire ones.

You can sometimes find or order an Advent wreath frame. However, the key is not to create stress. Arrange some candles – don’t worry about the colors – and some greenery – or small potted plants, light a candle, say a prayer for peace, and hope and yearn for the light.

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Posted by on Nov 11, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Saint of the Day – St. Martin of Tours

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November 11 is the feast day of St. Martin of Tours (c.316 – c.397). We know very little of most of the early saints. Fortunately, Sulpicius Severus wrote the saint’s biography before St. Martin died. St Martin was born into a Roman military family in what is now Hungary and was named for the god of war, Mars. Martin’s father, a tribune, was transferred to Pavia, Italy, where the young man encountered the recently legalized religion of Christianity that was still a very small movement. Martin became a catechumen and was preparing for baptism. At the age of 15 he was required to join the army and became part of a distinguished cavalry unit. The famous story of his cutting his military cloak in half to clothe a beggar in Amiens, in what is now France, shows an emerging sense of his Christian vocation, which led to his unwillingness to kill men in battle. This pacifist position was not unusual in the early Church. St. Martin left the army and not only became a Christian, but also went to be a disciple of St. Hilary, the bishop of Poitiers, who was known for his holiness and learning.

The Arians – an heretical group which believed that Christ had not existed from eternity “there was a time when he was not” – had gained substantial strength in Gaul (present day France) and forced St. Hilary into exile in the East. (The emperor Constantine was baptized on his death bed by an Arian priest.) St. Martin returned to his parents’ home in Lombardy in northern Italy. However, the region was a stronghold of Arianism and St. Martin fled to the island of Gallinaria (now Isola d’Abenga) in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is west of southern Italy.

When St. Hilary was recalled from exile by order of the emperor, St. Martin returned to Poitiers in 361. He asked St. Hilary if he could live near Liguge, which was not far from Poitiers, as hermit as he had done on Gallinaria. Eventually, other men were attracted by his example and they formed a community which would later become a Benedictine Abbey. (St. Benedict of Nursia would not be born for another 19 years in 480.) In this early monastic community, the monks lived in caves, shared all things in common, and neither bought nor sold anything. They assembled for the liturgy and meals but otherwise lived in their caves.

Periodically, St. Martin would travel in central and western Gaul, evangelizing people in the countryside. The places he visited later became popular places for pilgrims to visit on their way to the shrine of St. James the Apostle in Compostela, Spain. In 371 or 372, when the second bishop of Tours, St. Lidorius, died, St. Martin resisted the request of the people of Tours to become their bishop. He was literally tricked into it when he agreed to visit a dying woman at the pleading of her husband. When St. Martin got to Tours, he was acclaimed bishop by the people. St. Martin still persisted in his monastic lifestyle by setting up a small hermitage outside of Tours – Montmartier – that would become a larger monastery than Liguge.

While he paid primary attention to Tours, St. Martin would also travel outside his diocese as necessary. On more than one occasion, he went to Trier, in present day Germany, which at the time was the capital of western empire. He went to ask for clemency for condemned criminals in his diocese. St. Martin also asked the emperor to release bishop Priscillanus of Avila ( in present day Spain) to the jurisdiction of Church authorities. Priscillanus had been found guilty of heresy in absentia by the Synod of Saragossa. He and his followers essentially held that the true Christian life had to be that of the celibate monk. Pricillanus’ views appeared to echo those of gnosticism and Manicheanism, which downplayed the value of the physical world and placed the universe in a contest between equally strong forces of good and evil. Although St. Martin had been assured that Priscillanus would be returned to the church’s jurisdiction, the Spanish bishop, Ithacius, got the decision reversed. Priscillanus and his key followers were beheaded. This was the first time that Christians were killed for heresy. St. Martin protested and refused to have anything to do with Ithacius. However, when St. Martin approached the emperor to spare the lives of two rebels, the emperor said he would only do it on the condition that St. Martin would be reconciled to Ithacius. St. Martin complied in order to save the men’s lives, but always regretted the action as a moment of weakness. He died in 397.

The traditional image of St. Martin cutting his cloak to share it with a beggar is only a very small part of his story. His act of charity doesn’t appear to capture the meaning of his vocation and the effect that he would have on the church. In St. Martin we see the model of the monk as Bishop, teacher, and advocate. The selection of a hermit by the people to be bishop would be repeated with St. Augustine bishop of Hippo and many others. St. Martin’s efforts to evangelize the countryside as monk, and later as bishop, would become a model for centuries to come. His combination of learning, holiness, and zeal for the simplicity of the Christian life would be an ideal that Christians and non-believers would adopt in evaluating church officials.

Today we might have some reservations about the elimination of pre-Christian religions, lack of religious tolerance, and the union of church and state. However, we see these things from the long trajectory of Christian history, with a post-modern sensibility. We might take heart in St. Martin’s zeal if for no other reason than our need of some energy in the post-modern malaise.

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Posted by on Nov 9, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Feast of the Day – Dedication of St. John Lateran: Rome’s Cathedral

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November 9 is the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

The Pope’s main Church is St. Peter’s Basilica -True or False? The correct answer is False. Interestingly, the cathedral for the Bishop of Rome – the Pope – is the Church of St. John Lateran. It was originally built in the fourth century on land that had belonged to the Lateran family but had become the property of the Emperor Constantine. St. John Lateran is the oldest and ranks first among the four great patriarchal churches of Rome. The present church was commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1646.

How can you have a feast day celebration for a building? It is not about the stones and lumber. It is a celebration of Latin Christianity’s central parish of its central diocese. In a broader sense, the feast celebrates what the building is and signifies. The church building is an ancient Christian meeting place and symbolizes the center of the vast world wide community that is the Catholic Church.

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Posted by on Nov 8, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Fire, Love and God

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Kevin Drabinski, editor of our local diocesan newspaper, The Observer, has a wonderful reflection on fire, love and God in this month’s edition.

Drabinski begins by looking at the themes of fire, judgement, and the end of history in the liturgical readings for the end of November, and reflecting on the destructive power of wild, uncontrolled fire as we have recently seen it in southern California. The Church year is coming to a close and the readings shift to thoughts of endings. (The last Sunday of this liturgical year will be November 25, the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King.)

Drabinski then writes of the blessings of fire in its controlled state. Fire in this context is warming, comforting, light giving. He says, “One candle, quietly burning, spells hope and warmth. Many a candle, held by the hands of a crowd, is faith itself. And like faith, a candle’s light is never diminished by its being shared.”

Fire is also an expression of love – human or divine. Images are presented of the use of controlled fire in lanterns, processions, and worship. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was accompanied by “tongues as of fire … [which] came to rest on each of them.” (Acts 2:3) The fire of God’s love, however, cannot be managed or controlled by humans. The author of the Song of Songs describes love, both human and divine, as “flashes of fire” and “a very flame of the Lord,” noting, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

This article is worth taking a few moments to read and ponder as we approach the end of another year. When fire and judgement and the end of history are seen through the lens of the Love of God, we can all have hope.

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Posted by on Sep 21, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

St. Matthew the Apostle

St. Matthew by Caravaggio

According to tradition and some internal evidence, St. Matthew was the author of the Gospel that bears his name. He was also the tax collector referred to in the Gospels who turned to follow Christ. Tax collectors of the time were the most reviled of all sinners.

According to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish writer (30 BC – 45 AD), as cited by Maureen B. Cavanaugh in her article, “Private Tax Collectors: A Roman, Christian, and Jewish Perspective”

“They [Romans] deliberately choose as tax collectors men who are absolutely ruthless and savage, and give them the means of satisfying their greed. These people who are mischief-makers by nature, gain added immunity because of their “superior orders,” obsequious in everything where their masters are concerned, leave undone no cruelty of any kind and recognize no equity or gentleness . . . as they collect the taxes they spread confusion and chaos everywhere. They exact money not only from people’s property but also from their bodies by means of personal injuries, assault and completely unheard of forms of torture.”

Tax collectors were independent contractors who frequently got out of control, since there were few safeguards to protect the local populace in ancient society. Interestingly, Ms. Cavanaugh’s article is a cautionary history lesson in the context of plans by the United States government to outsource tax collection to independent contractors.

Jesus’ association with tax collectors was even more scandalous than his association with prostitutes and members of terrorist organizations such as Simon the Zealot. Tax collectors were so despicable that their ritual “dirtiness” defiled everything in a house that they entered. In contrast, a thief only defiled those things that he touched in the house.

After his conversion, Matthew was not free from controversy. His Gospel established a hostile attitude toward Jews that persisted for almost 2,000 years. Since the Gospel According to Matthew refers to the temple and city of Jerusalem in their state before their obliteration in 70 A.D., some scholars conclude that the Gospel was written prior to that year. St. Matthew’s stance toward Jews can be understood in the context of a struggle between Jews regarding adherence to their traditional faith or conversion to Christianity. St. Paul lists himself as a persecutor of early Christians. In fact, his conversion occured while he was on a mission to track down believers.

Douglas R. A. Hare’s monograph “The Theme of Jewish Persecution in the Gospel According to St. Matthew,” asks whether St. Matthew exaggerated the persecution and what effect it had on his theology. Using Christian and Rabbinic sources, Hare concludes that the persecution was directed at Christian missionaries, as opposed to Christians in general.

We see this continuing contest after the destruction of 70 AD in the efforts of St. John Chrysostom to stem Jewish influence in the Christian community in Antioch in the fourth century. It was not until 1965 that the Second Vatican Council, in its decree on relations with non-Christians, “Nostra Aetate” (“In Our Time”), that the Church told her members to adopt a posture of respect and dialog with Jews.

The Gospel of St. Matthew, in its beauty, is a central document in Christianity. The emphasis on Christ as the Messiah and the passing away of Judaism are central themes. Pharisees, those staunch guardians of Judaism from the rampant Hellenistic paganism of the time, won’t make it into the Kingdom before repentant tax collectors and prostitutes.

If we substitute  the words “Faithful Christians” for “Pharisees” we get some idea of how incendiary the message still is today.

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Posted by on Sep 14, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

Feast of the Day: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Exhaltation of the Holy Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

It is almost impossible for Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and many other liturgical Christians to say these words without performing the gesture of blessing – the Sign of the Cross.

I have always liked the stories I first heard in childhood about Constantine’s vision of the Holy Cross –in hoc signo vinces, you will conquer by this sign – and the discovery of the True Cross by his mother, St. Helen.

The images are still fresh in my mind. It is also reassuring to see that there is some historical support for these stories from early church sources. We definitely know that St. Helen (Helena) dedicated the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on September 14, 335 on the site of the Tomb of the Resurrection. The location has the support of many archaeologists as the actual site.

The use of the cross as a central symbol by Christians began early in the life of the church. Early accounts from the first and second century indicate that Christians marked their homes with this sign and blessed themselves and others with it.

For millions of us, this symbolic gesture, like the prayer itself, marks beginnings and endings of liturgy, life, and rites of passage. When we went away on a trip or off to college or on those last steps to our weddings – the parental words still echo – “Here let me bless you” – followed by the sign, the words, a prayer, and a kiss.

My favorite form of the blessing for others came from a Spanish Jesuit. He said that it was used by St. Ignatius’ first companions at times of parting. “May the Holy Trinity bless you, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit – And as far as I am able, I bless you.”

Sites of Interest:

How the feast continues to be celebrated: Antiochian.org

Early uses of the Sign of the Cross: Justus.anglican.org

Catholic Encyclopedia: Newadvent.org

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Posted by on Sep 14, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

St John Chrysostom – Saint of the Day

St. John Chrysostom - Early Byzantine mosaic

St. John Chrysostom (347 – 407) was born in Antioch and spent his life there until he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople. He received a broad education by non-Christian masters in a city teaming with many diverse religious groups.

John Chrysostom was one of the most eloquent speakers and prodigious writers of his time and has had few equals throughout the centuries of Christianity. He was called”Chrysostomos, or “the golden-mouth” because of his eloquence

Points to Remember and Ponder:

  • After Baptism at age 29 he left a promising career as a lawyer and became a monk.
  • Throughout his life he spoke truth to power, calling everyone to a more faithful Christian life. He ran afoul of the powerful and wealthy in Antioch and Constantinople and was harrassed and exiled for his efforts by civil and church authorities.
  • St. John Chrysostom’s preaching was known for its practical application of scripture to everyday life. Earlier approaches had looked at scripture as more of an allegory pointing to a higher truth. He took it more at face value.
  • One of his greatest achievements was the ordering of the liturgy, its music and cycle of readings and prayers. To this day the liturgy of the Orthodox and eastern rite Catholic churches is known as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and has not been changed significantly.
  • St. John Chrysostom worked very hard to differentiate Christians from Jews in Antioch since there was still a very fluid movement between the groups. Some think that this may have set a definite anti-semitic tone in emerging Christianity.
  • St. John Chrysostom is regarded as a towering figure in the Eastern and Western branches of the Church. His feast day is September 13 in the West and November 13 in the East. The three major leaders and teachers of the Eastern church: Sts. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory the Theologian share a common feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs on January 30.

For more information see:

John Chrysostom – Orthodox website

John Chrysostom – Wikipedia

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Posted by on Aug 29, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

St. Augustine: The Once and Future Giant

 

St. Augustine of Hippo by Sandro Botticelli

August 28th. is the feast day of Aurelius Augustinus Bishop of Hippo.

St. Augustine (354 to 430) was one of my boyhood heroes. I read Louis de Wohl’s biography of the saint, The Restless Flame. As a German writer in the 1920’s and 1930’s, de Wohl was immensely successful as a writer of thrillers and he brought this sense of action to his religious historical novels written in English after World War II. I was introduced to Augustine as a man of great learning and action, a man who moved mountains and changed the course of oceans of thought and action.

Later, when I read his Confessions and the City of God in Latin, I met a more complex man, very much at odds with mid-twentieth century psychology. Yes, Augustine was a giant of Western thought, but he was also a major force for movements and institutions that had been blown apart with the end of the modern era when World War II left Christendom in smoke and ashes.

The alliance of empire and church, the oneness of truth that allowed for state violence to save those in rebellious error, the primacy of celibacy, and the utterly fallen nature of humans conceived in original sin are significant positions which post-modern thinkers judge to have been more harmful than helpful.

The development of history as a critical discipline in the 19th century blossomed in the 20th with the tools of science, linguistics, and anthropology. The political, human, and moral catastrophes of saturation bombing, genocide, and nuclear weapons have led to a profound soul searching about what brought us to this point. Needless to say, many of Augustine’s positions came under fire by revisionists.

John J. O’Donnell, in Augustine: A New Biography, presents Augustine as a man of his time, with more warts and wrinkles than a halo. The dreaded heresies Augustine defeated, Donatism and Pelagianism, come in for a revisionist appraisal of their good points. David Hunter, in his review of O’Donnell’s book in America magazine, takes the author to task.

“This Augustine will surprise many readers. The following section headings, although taken from a single chapter, characterize the tone that prevails throughout the whole book: “Augustine the Self-Promoter,” “Augustine the Social Climber,” “Augustine the Troublemaker.” O’Donnell’s Augustine never seems to have outgrown his youthful aggressions and ambitions: “When writing about his first book in the Confessions, he reproached himself for his worldly ambition, even as, with the Confessions, he was carrying out an ecclesiastical version of the same social climbing.” O’Donnell duly documents Augustine’s later associations with powerful Roman generals as evidence of his subject’s lifelong attraction to power.”

O’Donnell has tremendous crediblity as the author of a three volume commentary on the Confessions of St. Augustine. However, his critics excoriate his portrayal of Augustine as less than saintly.

St. Augustine will rise again after this bout of historical criticism because the positive aspects of his legacy, his passionate devotion to Christ, his attempts to build a theology on scripture, the constitution of the human being as being body and soul, and the power of love, will, and memory will all come to the fore once again. From time to time St. Augustine may suffer from our ambivalence, but he is the pivotal ancestor that believers and non-believers in the post-modern world cannot deny.

Take a look at O’Donnell’s profile on the Georgetown University website and select some of the reviews. It’s an eye opener.

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Posted by on Jul 25, 2007

Welcome to Theologika – A Space for All Things Theological

 

“… Every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

– Matthew 13: 52.


Welcome to Theologika, a storeroom – or treasure in some translations – of all things theological, the new as well as the old.

Theologika tries to bridge the gap between the general public and experts in theology, philosophy, religious studies, and the social and behavioral sciences by providing a public meeting place for “scribes instructed in the kingdom of heaven” to meet with people of good will – believers or not.

Theologika is meant to be a haven from the sound and fury in our lives and on the internet regarding questions of Christian belief and lifestyle. It is a place of thoughtful and prayerful retreat to learn calmly what trusted thought leaders have had to say from the earliest days of Christianity to the present.

Our goal is to help you find the best information from trusted authorities across the centuries and the globe. The focus of the site is Catholic and catholic. The upper case “C” refers to the Roman Catholic tradition and the lower case “c” refers to the broadest universal dimensions of the Christian movement and its interaction with all human institutions and learning.

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