Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian. Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, their religious beliefs, or their actions. This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Shenouda the Archimandrite: (b. 348, Egypt – d. 466) , aka: Shenoute of Atripe) Anti-Nestorian Coptic Orthodox saint, nephew of Saint Pigol. When he succeeded his uncle as head of the White Monastery there were 30 monks. At Shenouda’s death in 466, there were 2200 monks and 1800 nuns. The monks were employed in their former occupations and the monastery became self-sufficient.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev: (b. 1874, Russia – d. 1948) Christian existentialist. He said that freedom ultimately comes from God and that “the Kingdom of God is anarchy.” He didn’t mean that the way it sounds,; he was strongly opposed to autocratic government, whether czarist or communist.

Aristide Pierre Maurin: (b. 1877, France – d. 1949, aka: Peter Maurin) He was a social activist and the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. He advocated small agricultural communities, saying “there is no unemployment on the land.” He was one of 24 children.

Joel Franklin Mann: (b. 1953, Alabama, USA) Medical technologist, writer, blogger. Member of the clinical faculty of the Jefferson State Community College and of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Jacques Ellul: (b. 1912, France – d. 1994) philosopher, law professor, sociologist, lay theologian, Christian anarchist (he held that absolute allegiance to Christ renders all other laws irrelevant). He believed that modern technology threatened human freedom and Christian faith and took a strongly anti-political stance. A leader of the French Resistance during World War II, he was awarded the title Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1981. He wrote 58 books and over 1000 articles.