Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.  They are included under their most commonly known name. Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Mortimer Cherry: (b. 1925, Alabama, USA – d. 2012; aka: “Mort”) U.S. Marine Corp veteran, steelworker, deacon.  Baptist.

Saint Apollonia: (d. 249, Alexandria, Egypt) Virgin martyr.  Since all of her teeth were violently broken and pulled out during her martyrdom, she is regarded as the patron saint of dentists by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and the Copts.  She jumped into the fire which the mob built to burn her.

Jennifer Carole Ledger: (b. 1989, United Kingdom) Drummer and vocalist in the Christian rock music band, Skillet.

Adam of Eynsham: (b.ca. 1155, England – d. after 1233)  Roman Catholic monk, abbot of Eynsham Abbey, historian, hagiographer.

Phoebe: (fl. 1^st century AD/CE Greece) Phoebe is mentioned only in Romans 16:1,2.  She was either the first, or one of the first deaconesses.  She was serving the church in Cenchrae (the modern village of Kechries, Greece), the port town of the city of Corinth (the modern city of Korinthos, Greece).   Paul sent Phoebe to carry his letter (Romans) to the church at Rome. 

New Years Resolutions

New Years resolutions are the promises that people make to themselves at the start of each new year and then break in the first few weeks of the year.  "I'm going to lose 50 pounds."  "I'm going to be more organized."  "I'm going to learn to tolerate that obnoxious person at work."  Blah blah blah!  Almost no one is able to keep their resolutions until the end of the year.

Although not everyone, even today, keeps the same time reckoning, the modern concept of a solar year of 365 days arose in 153 BC/BCE under the Romans.  It was in 46 BC/BCE that Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar and declared the first of January as the first day of the year.  The month of January was named for the Roman god named Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances.

Returning to New Years resolutions; at my workplace we have a dry-erase board in the main restroom on which people write all sorts of messages.  Currently what is posted is a list of New Year's resolutions.  One of the resolutions, intended to be humorous is "Drive no more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit."  Of course, this started me to thinking.

The resolution is a statement of our current concept of "self-restraint."  We decide we have a right to disobey a law we feel is silly or that is limiting us. What is shows is a disrespect for authority of any sort and an elevation of the self to the place of greatest importance.  Christians are reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 13:1-7,  "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.  Wherefore [ye] must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.   Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."


A deeper reading of Jesus' instruction to "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's ..." includes the traditional explanation of the verse but also notices that He says to give to Caesar (government) what Caesar can legitimately expect: obedience to civil laws; participation in civil activities such as voting, paying taxes, and helping during crises and disasters; possibly participating in the military and/or civil forces, etc.  We are to cooperate with the government unless, in doing so, we would come into conflict with our Christian principles.

In the fourth chapter of Acts,  Peter and John refused to obey the command of High Priest Caiaphas to not spread the name of Jesus.  "But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Acts 4:19-20.

When we feel compelled to disobey the government, the instruction of Jesus to render unto Caesar still stands.  We must be willing to pay the legal penalties for disobeying the law.

Book Comment: The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia

Romans 16:7 says that Junia was "of note among the apostles."  A female apostle?  The early Church Fathers, Jerome and John Chrysostom, thought so.  The Eastern and oriental Orthodox Churches think so.  Desiderus Erasmus thought so.  The majority of textual evidence favors it.  The translators of the King James Version of the Bible thought so.

The name Junia is clearly a female name and was common during the first century.  The male form of the name, Junias, does not occur in the Bible and is only known to have occurred once in the extra-biblical Greek literature.

A female apostle would put a large dent in the world view of many conservative Christians who seem to have forgotten what Paul said in Romans (but they remember his seemingly contradictory statement in Galatians).  The full participation of women in the Church challenged the "order of things" as did many Christian practices.

Pederson points out that many modern commentators feel that Paul, in each of his letters to the churches, was addressing local questions.  The seeming inconsistency between his statements may reflect that fact.

In his letters Paul clearly and often spoke of women who taught and prophesied.  He even sent one woman, Phoebe,  as his official representative, carrying his personal letter, to the leaders of the church in Rome.

Pederson is insistent that this is not some sort of faddish, liberal-feminist reinterpretation of biblical history but a return to the original customs of the churches before an official church hierarchy rose up and imposed, intentionally or unintentionally, the male domination which was the norm in the outside world.

Everything that is possible to be known about the Apostle Junia is tracked down using church traditions, the early Church Fathers, and secular history.  Branching off from this, Pederson chases down whatever information is available on other prominent early female Christian leaders such as Prisca, Lydia, Chloe, Theda, Agnes, and Phoebe.

She is correct in her assertion that, in discarding the veneration of the saints and their relics, protestants have lost some of their connection to their own history.  Pederson calls not for a return to Catholic practice, but for a renewed commitment to studying the lives of the saints.

This is an excellent, well-researched book which is, at the very least, challenging to some very strongly held modern Christian beliefs which may or may not be correct.  Quoting Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage (d. 858), "A custom without Truth is merely an ancient error."
  
Pederson, Rena, The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia (San Francisco: Josse-Bass, 2006)

Crypt of the Capuchin monks

     Beneath the Santa Maria della Concezione del Cappuccini (Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins) church in Rome is a sight which is either appalling or inspirational.  You decide.

     It is an elaborate crypt built between 1528 and 1870 which houses the bones of over 4000 Capuchin monks.  It's what their brother monks did with their bones which is either creepy or a gift to the world.  Guess which the monks thought it was.

     The monks, meaning to demonstrate the temporary nature of earthly life, lined walls and alcoves with skulls, arm bones, and leg bones, made lamps of arm bones, lined arches with skulls, and set up robed hooded skeletons as guards and guides in the tunnels.  It was as if Ed Gein were in charge of the interior decorating.

     The results can be viewed at www.cappucciniviaveneto.it.

Don't Be a Sausage

Silvanus (aka: Silas, fl. 1st century) was probably Peter's amanuensis (scribe) and, according to Roman Catholic tradition, went with Peter and John Mark to Rome in 42 AD/CE. He is also known to have been a companion of Paul. His most famous teaching is "Do not be a sausage which is full of useless things."

We are to devote all of our attention and resources to serving God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Romans 12:11-12; 1 Peter 2:12; Psalms 19:7, 10-11.), so what did Silvanus mean by "useless things"?

In the Christian context a useless thing could, of course, be mindless accumulation of things, but what Silvanus was probably talking about were personal distractions or hindrances to one's Christian witness and/or things about the believer which could cause distractions or hindrances to others.

Useless things to a Christian could be: pride, always having to prove that you are "right," gossip and judgementalism, hobbies which obsess you, failure to forgive (especially when they don't "deserve" it), and church "busyness." Useless things are things you would throw away to lighten yourself when the Devil was chasing you.

Modalistic Monarchism

     Noetus, who was probably from Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey), fl. 180-200, taught the doctrine of Modalistic Monarchism, which said that Jesus was really God the Father, so that it was really God the Father who was born, lived, was crucified, and died.  The teaching was declared to be heretical.

     Modalistic Monarchism found its ultimate expression in the teachings of Sabellius (fl ca 215, in Rome).  His doctrine, known as Sabellianism, taught that the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are the same being in three different manifestations, in effect denying the humanity of Jesus.   Sabellius was excommunicated at Rome, but his doctrine spurred the clarification of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.

     Pope Benedict has announced that bone fragments found in a white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Rome) have been dated to the late First Century or early Second Century.  The burial box contained bones, incense, blue cloth, and purple linen.  The site is the traditional burial place of the Apostle Paul and a cracked marble slab found there says in Latin, "Paul apostle martyr."  

      Church tradition says that Paul was beheaded in Rome.  It is claimed that bone fragments from his head are enshrined in Rome at St. John Lateran Basilica.  It would be very interesting to see if DNA analysis indicated that the bones from the two sites came from the same person.  It would be a strong indication that the bones might actually be from Paul.  It would not be proof.