Book Comment: Lives of the Saints

 

In his book, Lives of the Saints, Richard McBrien discusses the various understandings of the meaning of the word “saint,” the various Christian and non-Christian spiritualities, canonization of the saints from a Roman Catholic perspective, biographical pictures of the lives of the saints are given, arranged by the yearly Roman Catholic calendar and the calendars of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, as well as other “historically significant holy persons.”

A final section of tables includes a list of feast days of the saints, and the patron saints of places, causes, occupations, etc.

The book will be interesting to general readers interested in Christian history. The book does not have to be read sequentially; you can start on any page and skip around as you wish. There is a glossary and indices of subjects and names.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book: McBrien, Richard P., Lives of the Saints from Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

We Three Kings of Orient Are

 

 “We Three Kings” (original title: “Three Kings of Orient”) is a Christmas carol written in 1857 by John henry Hopkins, an Episcopal rector in Pennsylvania. It is based on Matthew 2:1.

The Bible never says that three kings visited Jesus in a manger on the night of his birth. John and Mark do not mention the incident at all because they talked about Jesus as an adult. Luke talks of the shepherds but not the magi. Only Matthew, in 2:1-16, relates the event, saying that during the time of Herod, who died in 4 BC/BCE, that magi “from the rising of the sun” (the east) arrived to see and worship the king of the Jews, whose star they had seen.

Several questions come to mind:

1.      Who were the magi and how many of them were there?

No one knows exactly who these men were but many later traditions say that they were possibly astrologers from a learned priestly Zoroastrian caste in Persia. They were not occultists but were considered to be masters of the then current understanding of science.                                                     

The idea that there were three wise men possibly derives from the fact that they brought three gifts: gold. Frankincense, and myrrh. Some Christian traditions say that there were twelve magi.

2.      What was the star?

No one really knows. Was it a supernaturally moving star that settled over Jesus’ location? (Matthew 2:9). Was it an otherwise unknown comet? Was it a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (7 BC/BCE) or of Saturn and Venus (6 BC/BCE)? Was it a transient astronomical event like a distant supernova? (The first historically documented supernova observation did not occur until 1006 AD/CE).

3.      Where did the magi visit Jesus?

The wise men came to see Jesus in a house “oikian” (οἰκίαν, Matthew 2:11), not in a manger “phatne” (φάτνῃ, Luke 2:7).

4.      How old was Jesus when the magi arrived?

Luke 2:1-16 describes how, on the night of Jesus’ birth, angels appeared to announce the birth to shepherds who ran to the stable to see the “brephos” (βρέφος). A “brephos” was an unborn child, newborn child, or an infant.

Matthew 2:1-18 relates that that the magi visited the “paidion” (παιδίον) in a house. A “paidion” is a young one, a little one, or a child.

After a message from God warned them about Herod the magi returned home by a different route. Matthew 2:16-18 tells how Herod, in a fit of anger, jealousy, and insecurity about losing his position as king of Judea, ordered what is now known as the massacre of the Innocents. All boys under two years old and younger living in the area in or near Bethlehem were to be slaughtered.

Matthew 2:13-16 tells how God warned Joseph of Herod’s evil plan to kill Jesus. Joseph left for Egypt with Jesus and Mary.

Can You Respond to These Criticisms?

Christian Apologetics is the study of defending the faith against intellectual attacks and explaining biblical truths and concepts to non-believers in ways which they can understand.  It also attempts to give believers a rational footing on which to base their faith.  Some of the attacks are quite harsh.  See how you would respond to these ten criticisms … if you can.  If you cannot, don’t expect that our critics will be swayed by “because the Bible says so.”

http://con-w.com/top-ten-signs-youre-a-fundamentalist-christian/

World's Smallest Church

Madonna Chapel , near Bayou Goula, Louisiana (USA), is claimed to be the smallest church in the world.  Roman Catholic mass is held in the chapel each August 15, but there are no seats or pews and there is only room for one priest and an altar boy (two if the boys are quite small).   Attendees to the mass must stand outside.

The settlement, Bayou Goula, is named for an Italian sugar farmer, Anthony Gullo (aka Goula or Goullo).  In 1890, Gullo prayed to the Virgin Mary to cure his son who was threatened by a life-threatening illness.  Gullo and other residents began to build the church in 1903.

Does anyone know of a smaller church in active use, or now inactive but once in use?

Feast of the Birth of Mary/Nativity of the Theotokos

The Orthodox, Anglican, and Roman Catholic Churches celebrate today as the day of the birthday of Mary, mother of Jesus.  She was declared in 431 by the Council of Ephesus to be the Theotokos, literally in Greek "the God-bearer" or "the God-birther."  Those of some other Christian traditions prefer to call Mary the "Mother of God" or the "Mother of Jesus" because they are bothered by the elevation of any human to what they see as a semi-divine state.  They believe that Mary was blessed to be Jesus' mother, but that she was not a divine or even semi-divine figure.  She was what Jesus called her, a woman (John 19:26). 

Assumption

Today, August 15, is the day of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. The feast was first celebrated in the 6th Century as the feast of the Dormition (Falling Asleep) and was defined as an article of faith and a day of obligation by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in his encyclical, Munificentissimus Deus. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion.

The dogma of the Assumption says that at her death, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was assumed body and soul directly into Heaven, with no need to wait on the Resurrection. Since she was God's privileged Ark, the mother of God, and is held to have been utterly sinless, and since the corruption of the grave is a punishment for original sin, she could not have decayed in the ground.

The Roman Catholic Church cites as scriptural basis for this doctrine the following verses: 2 Kings 1:11, Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5, John 14:3, Psalm 132:8, and Revelation 12:1-5. An interesting point to Protestants is that Mary's death is not mentioned in the Bible at all. Many of the references which Catholics say speak of Mary are interpreted by Protestants as references to the Church or to Israel.

Protestants do not accept the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary and do not believe that there is any scriptural basis for doing so. We believe that this doctrine is a logical sequela of the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, both of which we believe to be unscriptural. We believe that all three come from a very forced, convoluted, "twisty-turny" interpretation of scripture used to justify non-blblical man-made doctrines. This is eisogesis (forcing ideas from outside into the Bible) instead of exogesis (deriving doctrines from and consistent with the totality of scripture).

For further reading:
"The Biblical Basis for Praying to Mary and for Catholic Teachings on Mary," http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/Articles/the_bible_on_the_blessed_virgin_Mary.pdf

Let It Be

"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be." Paul McCartney, "Let It Be," (1970).

Many people think that "Mother Mary" in this Beatles song is Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Paul McCartney, who wrote the song, has explained that the lyrics refer to his mother, who died when he was fourteen.

His mother, Mary, appeared to him in a dream during a period when he and the other Beatles were experiencing some internal discord.  She told him, "It will be all right.  Just let it be."

 

Orthodox Fast Day

Today is the fast day observed by Orthodox Christianity to honor the Holy mother of Jesus.