Posted on 09/15/2010 12:55:37 PM PDT by markomalley
Well put Kolo. Placing things into proper perspective is crucial.
All of these early Church fathers come from a period where early Christians suffered incredible repression and butchery at the hands of Jews, often working with Romans. It lasted right up to Constantine.
Well said.I would say that world view was also foreign during the enlightenment and certainly during the formation of our country
From the words of Blessed Saint Hilary of Poitiers...
‘But nowadays, we have to do with a disguised persecutor, a smooth-tongued enemy, a Constantius who has put on Antichrist; who scourges us, not with lashes, but with caresses who instead of robbing us, which would give us spiritual life, bribes us with riches, that he may lead us to eternal death; who thrusts us not into the liberty of a prison, but into the honours of his palace, that he may enslave us: who tears not our flesh, but our hearts; who beheads not with a sword, but kills the soul with his gold; who sentences not by a herald that we are to be burnt, but covertly enkindles the fire of hell against us. He does not dispute with us, that he may conquer; but he flatters us, that so he may lord it over our souls. He confesses Christ, the better to deny Him; he tries to procure a unity which shall destroy peace; he puts down some few heretics, so that he may also crush the Christians; he honours Bishops, that they may cease to be Bishops; he builds up Churches, that he may pull down the Faith. -Saint Hilary of Poitiers
And when the flip side is pointed out it’s denied. How typical. Apparently wallowing in self pity is a badge of honor in some circles.
"If you are confronting someone who has accused St. John Chrysostomos of anti-Semitism, enlightening such a person may be a difficult thing. You will face endless citations from his writings that most simply refuse to put in context. Moreover, there are people who simply refuse to relinquish the idea that anti-Semitism links Christianity, the Reformation, and The Third Reich. This comfortable view of history helps them to avoid that complexity that characterizes the true course of human experience. It also allows them to attribute to the Fathers of the Church a meanness of spirit by which they can separate themselves from the Patristic witness and thus the compelling force of Orthodox Christianity."
Just a couple interesting quotes that I picked up.
And too bad some don’t read history.
Excellent article. Historical and cultural context is unavoidable when judging the past. Nothing short of the equivalent of "being there" will provide an accurate sense of why and what transpried. Judging the past with "the cognitive dimensions of modernity" is a sure way to misunderstand or misuse history. And one cannot overemphasize the importance of knowhing the original language used.
In fact, the body of information required for an accurate picture (and I mean that literally and fuiguratively) is so vast and overwhelming that it can be achieved—to a satisfactiry proximity7#151;only with super computers, crunching information bits no human being alone could process of acquire in his lifetime. We can only aporach a vague idea at best on our own.
And that is why I just let people talk when they choose to do so like the comments upthread. I won't convince them otherwise and, without writing a book that they wouldn't read, I would not be in a position to do so (of course, this assumes that I could pick up an intimate, native knowledge of koine Greek by osmosis and that I then would have several years where I could do the research necessary to authoritatively write such a book)
Sometimes, my friend, you are very wise! :)
“...this assumes that I could pick up an intimate, native knowledge of koine Greek by osmosis....”
Actually, Byzantine Greek...not such a difficult language to learn; it is really quite beautiful!
Excellent, sfa, and supremely Orthodox! We call +Hilary of Poitiers the “The Athanasius of the West”.
Kontakion:
Enduring exile for the Faith delivered to the Church of Christ, you withstood the deceit of the Arians, O holy Hierarch Hilary. By your prayers and your teachings, O defender of Orthodoxy and right belief, convert the Western lands and entreat Christ for us, who honor you.
Apolytikion:
Guide of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and holiness, luminary of the world, God-inspired adornment of Hierarchs, O wise Hilary, by thy teachings thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.
He was also the only doctor of the Church who was married
Some direct quotes....
“For did you not know, that a Jew is so beloved of God, that every time one farts, a thousand Angels dance?”
“First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians.”
“Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues. Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies. This will bring home to them that they are not masters in our country, as they boast, but that they are living in exile and in captivity, as they incessantly wail and lament about us before God.”
“Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.”
“Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. For they have justly forfeited the right to such an office by holding the poor Jews captive with the saying of Moses (Deuteronomy 17 [:10 ff.]) in which he commands them to obey their teachers on penalty of death, although Moses clearly adds: “what they teach you in accord with the law of the Lord.” Those villains ignore that. They wantonly employ the poor people's obedience contrary to the law of the Lord and infuse them with this poison, cursing, and blasphemy. In the same way the pope also held us captive with the declaration in Matthew 16 {:18], “You are Peter,” etc, inducing us to believe all the lies and deceptions that issued from his devilish mind. He did not teach in accord with the word of God, and therefore he forfeited the right to teach.
Fifth, I advise that safeconduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesmen, or the like. Let they stay at home.”
Jews place this kind of thing into the context of carefully recorded wholesale slaughter, simple murder, and abuse. Not much force for some when compared with master’s theses on ancient texts.
If you'll check the previous posts, you'll see I never said anything about Luther.
Nothing for, nothing against. Nothing.
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