Earliest Surviving Christian Bible

[houseisland]

I don't know why but it seems appropriate to add this:

John Donne is one of my heroes.


Wikipedia: John Donne

One of my fav's seems particularly appropriate here: Satire III (Nicely annotated. Don't think of satire exactly in its modern sense, OK?)

Highly recommended:

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/23772


Random House


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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[El_Squid]

I find it fascinating that he begins life a Catholic, reconsiders his faith in the face of life's cruelty and injustice, then ends his life in the Church of England, a dissident branch of the Catholic Church specifically created to justify and legalize the divorces of good old King Hank the Octal.

Considering the punishments involved in openly practicing Catholicism, I would probably change sides as well and join the government sanctioned religion. Part of me hopes I have the courage to stand and be counted, regardless of the consequences, but as Donne, I am but a fallible human with all the frailties thereof. He did, after all, make great contributions to the world.

[houseisland]

I find it fascinating that he begins life a Catholic, reconsiders his faith in the face of life's cruelty and injustice, then ends his life in the Church of England, a dissident branch of the Catholic Church specifically created to justify and legalize the divorces of good old King Hank the Octal.

It was quite normal. The aristocracy and gentry were largely Catholic, either overtly or covertly. There was a balancing act for individuals of faith. What did you do if you were both a Catholic and a loyal Englishman? Gregory wanted you to kill Elizabeth and to be ruled by Spain. What did Donne do? I do not believe Donne's Christian faith wavered, but we know he read with great interest Machiavelli's criticisms, not of the Catholic faith or Christianity per se, but of the self-interested mundane political corporation of the Catholic Church, a business too much involved in the affairs of Cesar and Princes, as it were. Can you remain a member of the Catholic faith and reject its worldly and corrupt representation on earth? If yes, I would argue that Donne remained a Catholic. I would also argue that Luther remained a Catholic in this sense too, but then what do I know?

The nub of the problem is that when an organized religion turns its attention from matters of God and spirituality to money, land, power, politics and casting stones at others, people start getting killed. The word "massacre" in its common usage does not seem to have entered the English language until the 16th century. It is from the French word for a butchery. It's entrance to the English language was probably from the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of the French Huguenots. Normal soldiers refused to kill the women and children. The work was delegated to butchers.


Wikipedia: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

How can you tolerate a Church which is delighted with an event such as the above, a Church whose agents were its instigators? If you believe in God, how can you view the above as God's work? How as the ruler of an independent nation can you tolerate members of a Church whose leader has declared a holy war on you and whose members are plotting/attempting your assassination? All in all, the English were very lenient with Catholics, especially under the circumstances. There were periods of great fear and paranoia which resulted in clamp downs and stepped up persecutions. St Bartholomew's Day was not especially reassuring.

Hmmm .... sounds familiar, doesn't? All 11s and 9s?

Considering the punishments involved in openly practicing Catholicism, I would probably change sides as well and join the government sanctioned religion. Part of me hopes I have the courage to stand and be counted, regardless of the consequences, but as Donne, I am but a fallible human with all the frailties thereof. He did, after all, make great contributions to the world.

Punishments? Yes and no. Yes, they could be severe and cruel. No, they could be almost nothing at all. If you were well off and Catholic, you were at risk of persecution by those who coveted your money and land. If you were Catholic and you were involved in politics, which was always factional and ruthless, you were at risk of persecution. If you were quiet in your faith, often a blind eye was turned -- there was an expressed policy that the state did not want windows into men's souls. There are long lists of Catholic recusants who seem to have suffered very little. I would much rather have been a Catholic in England than a protestant in France. The CIA, KGB, Stasi, and Khmer Rouge in their worst moments never really held a candle to Gregory and his unholy minions.

Evil times. Evil times.

"and if you say that only evil exists
then history will whisper back:
all great things are evil"

田村隆



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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[El_Squid]

Ah, yes. All-in-all a very brutal time period. Always so when it involves fanatics of any stripe. Nothing fuels the fires of evil as does the certainty of being "in the right". I include political, economic and any belief system, actually, as the old saw declares, "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions".

Speaking of which, the Boondock Saints: All Saints Day is nearing its theatrical release. I await this movie with equal parts joyful expectation and chilling dread, as the first one was such a fun, ridiculously over-the-top violent comedy that a sequel just begs to be disappointing.

[houseisland]

Wikipedia: City of God

"Despite Christianity's designation as the official religion of the [Roman] empire, Augustine [of Hippo] declared its message to be spiritual rather than political. Christianity, he argued, should be concerned with the mystical, heavenly city the New Jerusalem — rather than with Earthly politics."


English Text: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.html

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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!