This is a chapter in Guides to Peace and Justice from Ancient Sages to the Suffragettes,
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Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the Earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted
on account of justice,
for theirs is the sovereignty of heaven.
Jesus in Matthew 5:5-10You heard that it was said,
“You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”
But I tell you: love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you.
Jesus in Matthew 5:43-4But the wisdom from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without uncertainty or insincerity.
And the harvest of justice is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
What causes wars, and what causes fighting among you?
Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?
You desire and do not have; so you kill.
And you covet and cannot obtain;
so you fight and wage war.
You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James 3:17-4:3Shall it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword,
when the Lord proclaimed that he who takes the sword
shall also perish by the sword?
Tertullian, The Crown 11We are educated not for war but for peace.
In war, there is need for much equipment,
just as self-indulgence craves an abundance.
But peace and love, simple and plain blood sisters,
do not need arms nor abundant supplies.
Origen, Christ the Educator 1For we no longer take up “sword against nation,”
nor do we “learn war any more,”
having become children of peace,
for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader.
Origen, Against Celsus 5:33In so far as we conquer the demons
who stir up war and disturb peace,
we perform better service for our ruler
than they who bear the sword.
Origen, Against Celsus 8:246
Probably the greatest exemplar and teacher of peace is Jesus
the Christ.
Jesus has been considered by many to be the fulfillment
of the Jewish prophecies
concerning the coming of a messiah, the
prince of peace.
His birth and his death were both shrouded in
miracle, myth, and tragedy.
Angels were said to have greeted his
mother with the blessing of "peace on earth."
Persian
magi (astrologer-priests) found their way to the child by cosmic
guidance.
He was probably born around 6 BC.
Herod, fearing the
birth of a rival king, had innocent babies slaughtered in Bethlehem.
The baby Jesus, however, was taken by his family to Egypt.
Little
was recorded about his childhood and youth, but it is likely that
he may have studied with teachers in Egypt, Persia, and India.
At the age of twelve he was debating with rabbis in Jerusalem.
When he was about thirty in 27 CE, Jesus appeared
at the Jordan
River to be baptized by John.
While fasting in the desert for
forty days, Jesus was tempted by the devil.
Then he began to call
his disciples and preach.
During the Passover festival he told
Nicodemus that
he must be born from above for the spiritual life.
The Light had come into the world; but those loving the darkness
hated him
because the Light exposed their evil actions.
While
passing through Samaria, he read the mind of a divorced Samaritan
woman;
and he was not prejudiced against her as most Jews were
against Samaritans.
In Cana he healed an official's son from a
distance.
When he preached in a Nazareth synagogue, his neighbors
were angered by his spiritual claims and made him leave.
Jesus
helped the brothers Simon and Andrew catch fish.
In Capernaum
and throughout Galilee he healed the ill and the possessed.
In
a synagogue Jesus cured a paralytic, but some Pharisees
thought
he blasphemed by saying he forgave sins.
He asked Levi (Matthew)
to be his disciple
even though he had been a hated tax collector.
When people complained that he associated with tax collectors
and sinners,
Jesus urged them to learn about mercy.
He explained
that his new teachings,
like new wine, must be put in fresh skins.
When Jesus healed a chronic invalid in Jerusalem,
Jews complained
that he did work on the Sabbath.
Jesus explained that he was only
doing the work of his Father (God).
The Father has given authority
to the human son so that they may have life.
He said that if they
believed Moses, they would believe him,
because Moses wrote about
him.
Pharisees also complained that his disciples ate grain
while
passing through a field on a Sabbath.
On another Sabbath he healed
a man's hand
in a synagogue despite the anger of Pharisees,
asking
whether it is not permitted to do good.
After praying on a mountain,
Jesus chose twelve men
to be his disciples to preach and expel
demons.
Many of the ethical teachings of Jesus are explained in his
sermon on a mountain.
He blessed the poor, the grieving, the gentle,
those hungering and thirsting for justice,
the merciful, the pure
in heart, the peacemakers,
and those who are persecuted because
of justice.
He warned the rich that they have already received
their reward.
Jesus explained that he did not come to do away
with the old law but to teach a better ethics.
Not only should
they not murder,
but they should not become angry with each other;
they should learn to resolve their own conflicts
so that they
can avoid legal trials.
Not only should they not commit adultery,
they should not lust.
Not only should they not break oaths,
they
should not swear at all but simply tell the truth.
Jesus went
beyond the old law of Moses
and advised standing up to one
who
is doing wrong but without using any violence.
You heard that it was said,
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
But I tell you not to resist evil;
but whoever strikes you on your right cheek,
turn to him the other also;
and to the one who intends to judge you and take your shirt,
leave him also the coat;
and whoever forces you one mile, go with him two.
Give to the one who asks you,
and do not turn away from the one
who wishes to borrow from you.1
Not only should they not seek revenge, they should be generous
with their adversaries by giving without asking for anything in
return.
They should love their enemies and be like God,
who loves
the just and the unjust.
Instead of praying in public like hypocrites,
they should pray
secretly and directly to God,
asking that God's will be done.
Also they should do their good works in secret and not publicize
them.
Reward in heaven is better than treasure on Earth.
No one
can serve two masters; either one serves money or God.
Therefore
they should not worry about food or clothing,
for God will provide
whatever they need.
Their first concern should be God's will and
justice.
Instead of judging, they should forgive,
because the
law measures back to you what you give.
Instead of examining the
minor defects of others, they should look
at their own major faults
first so that they can perceive better.
They should pray and search
until they find.
God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
The narrow way leads to life, but the broad roads end in destruction.
They should watch out for false prophets,
who can be discerned
by their actions.
Those doing good produce good results.
Therefore
those who practice his teachings will build on a solid foundation,
but those who do not practice them will be swept away.
In Capernaum Jesus told a generous centurion
that his servant
had been healed.
In Nain he brought a widow's dead son back to
life.
Jesus reproached those in the cities who condemned him
for
being a friend to those who drank.
He forgave a sinner after she
wept and washed his feet
with her tears, telling her to go in
peace.
Many of the healed women and others
supported them from
their possessions.
Some scholars thought he expelled demons by
Beelzebub,
but Jesus explained that a divided house cannot stand
and that he acted by the power of God.
To do so he had to be able
to overcome the negative.
The worst slander is against the Holy
Spirit.
He warned that unclean spirits can return to those possessed.
In the parable of the sower Jesus explained to his disciples
that
their negativity prevents some from understanding the teachings;
others accept the teachings but fall away when difficulties arise;
others are seduced by their worries and the deception of wealth;
and some bear good fruit with patience.
Jesus noted that many
seeds are sown;
but later the harvest will show which bear fruit
and which are weeds.
While crossing the sea, Jesus commanded the
winds to calm down.
He allowed expelled entities to lead a herd
of pigs into the sea.
A woman was healed by making contact with
him,
and he raised a daughter from the dead.
Then Jesus sent out
his disciples in pairs to preach and heal, advising them
not to
take any money but to give and stay with those who welcomed them.
Even when they are brought before authorities,
the Holy Spirit
will tell them what to say.
They should not be afraid of those
who can kill only the body.
Twice Jesus provided food for a large
crowd in the desert.
After staying behind to pray, he crossed
over the water.
When asked about dietary restrictions,
he explained
that food passes through the body;
what people say defiles them
more than that.
In Bethsaida he healed a blind man.
When Simon recognized that Jesus is the Christ,
son of God,
he called him a rock (Peter).
Yet a moment later when Jesus said
he must be given over and killed,
Peter objected; then Jesus called
him Satan.
Jesus said that those who want to follow him must deny
themselves
and be willing to lose their lives in order to save
them.
On a mountain Jesus spoke to the spirits of Moses and Elijah.
Jesus began predicting that he would be killed but would rise
up on the third day.
He said they were free of paying tax yet
allowed Peter to pay the Temple tax
with a four-drachma coin taken
from a fish.
To teach humility, Jesus said the servant is the
greatest.
They should forgive, no matter how many times they are
asked to do so.
During the Jewish feast of tabernacles Jesus preached
in the temple
even though some of the Jews wanted to kill him.
The religious authorities began to debate whether he was the Christ
or not.
To test him to see if he would enforce their law to stone
an adulterer,
they brought a convicted woman to him;
but he forgave
her and persuaded others not to stone her either.
Jesus warned
the Jews that anyone performing sin is a slave to sin.
When he
said that he existed before Abraham, they became so angry
they
were going to stone him; but Jesus left the temple.
He healed
a blind man to show the glory of God.
Jesus sent out seventy-two others in pairs to preach also.
When a lawyer asked who is the neighbor that he should love,
Jesus
told how a priest did not help a man who had been beaten by robbers;
but a Samaritan had compassion and went out of his way to help
the person.
Martha was busy serving and wanted Jesus to have Mary
help her,
but he explained that listening to the teachings was
more important.
Jesus taught them to pray persistently.
When criticized
by a Pharisee for not washing at a dinner,
Jesus reproached the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the lawyers.
He warned against
greed, because
life is more than the abundance of possessions.
He advised them to change their ways, for they might die suddenly.
At the dedication festival in Jerusalem when Jesus said he is
one with God,
Jews tried to stone him; but he quoted the scripture,
"I have said, 'You are gods.'"2
They tried to arrest
him again, and he slipped away.
Jesus taught in parables.
At banquets he suggested being humble,
and he urged people
to invite the poor and disabled to their feasts.
He advised his disciples they must give up all their possessions.
Parables of missing sheep and lost coins made the point
that he
came to save the lost sinners.
The prodigal son gets more attention
from his father
because he needs it more than his brother.
The
wise manager cares more about people than his boss's money.
The
rich did not seem to understand.
So he told how a poor man named
Lazarus died and went to heaven
and got his spiritual rewards;
but the rich man who ignored his needs in life also died and,
suffering the consequences of his actions, begged for mercy.
Then
Jesus went and brought Lazarus back to life.
On the way to Jerusalem,
Jesus cured ten lepers.
Once again he advised praying with humility
and persistence.
He implied that divorcing and marrying again
is like adultery
and suggested that celibacy is best for some.
A rich person was distressed because Jesus told him
to sell all
his possessions and give to the poor.
When the mother of James
and John asked Jesus to let her sons
sit next to him in heaven,
he reminded them
that the servant is the greatest of all.
Dining with the wealthy but generous Zacchaeus,
Jesus told
the parable of the talents
in which the one with five gained five
more,
but the one who hid his talent lost it.
When the king returns,
he orders that those who did not want him
to be king over them
were to be slaughtered.
Jesus did not say this was a parable of
the sovereignty of God,
but rather it seems to be a parable of
how the world works.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem on the first
day of Passover week,
he lamented that the city did not know the
ways of peace.
He predicted that its walls would be razed to the
ground, and this occurred
forty years later when the Romans crushed
the Jewish revolt in 70 CE.
Entering the temple, Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers
and drove out the animals that were being sold for sacrifice.
He said that when they destroyed his temple (his body),
he would
raise it in three days.
High priests and scholars tried to trap
him with difficult questions.
When they asked him by what authority
he taught, he asked them to say
by what authority John baptized,
knowing that people believed in John.
He told parables of working
in a vineyard and implied
that criminals would kill the son and
heir.
Another parable invited people to a wedding.
Herodians knew
that he opposed paying tax to Caesar
and wanted him to admit it
so that they could arrest him;
but Jesus cleverly sidestepped
the question by suggesting
they should have nothing to do with
the Roman money system at all.
Hypocritical Sadducees asked about
the resurrection,
which they did not even accept.
Jesus explained
that death is an illusion, because everyone is alive in God.
Jesus
taught the greatest commandment is love.
He clarified that the
Christ is not the son of David but his lord.
Then Jesus warned the people about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees,
who put burdens on them without helping, who devour the houses
of widows
while pretending to pray, who love honors,
who block
the way with their bad examples,
who value gold more than the
temple, who pay attention to details
while forgetting justice
and mercy, who clean the outside but are corrupt inside,
who build
tombs for prophets their fathers killed and now would kill him.
After commending a poor widow for giving all she had,
Jesus went
back to the Mount of Olives.
There he predicted the wars, rumors,
revolutions, earthquakes, plagues,
and famines that would precede
the sovereignty of God.
When his apostles are delivered, the Holy
Spirit will speak for them.
The good message will be preached
in the whole world before the end.
During the days of affliction
many will claim to be Christs;
but the presence of the human son
will be
as obvious as lightning from east to west,
for everyone
will see the human son coming.
Not even the son knows when this
will happen.
He warned them to be ready and alert.
The wise virgins
keep their lamps shining.
The parable of the sheep and the goats
separates those
who actually love and help others from those who
do not.
The high priests and elders plotted to arrest and kill Jesus,
who told his disciples that everyone must die in order to inherit
eternal life.
Judas Iscariot complained that Mary wasted
expensive
perfume on the hair and feet of Jesus.
Judas told the high priests
that he would give over Jesus.
At the Passover feast Jesus washed
the feet of his disciples
and shared bread and wine with them
as if they were
his body and blood that were about to be sacrificed.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will comfort them
after he dies
and goes to the Father;
they should love one another as he loved
them.
Jesus prayed for them and said they will fall away.
Peter
objected, and Jesus predicted
he would deny him three times before
dawn.
In a moment of confusion Jesus told them to buy a sword
but then said the two they had were enough.
While his disciples
slept, Jesus prayed for a reprieve but affirmed God's will.
Judas
brought a cohort of officials from the high priests
and identified
Jesus with a kiss.
Jesus asked them to let the others go.
When
Simon Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant,
Jesus
healed it and told Peter to put down the sword,
for all who take
up a sword will die by a sword.
Jesus was taken to the high priests Annas and then Caiaphas
for questioning.
In the council Jesus said little but admitted
he is the son of God.
He was condemned, mocked, and beaten.
Peter
was watching but denied three times that he was one of his disciples.
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned,
he regretted his action
and hanged himself.
Then they took Jesus to the Roman procurator
Pilate,
who asked the Jews why they brought Jesus to him.
They
said that Jesus forbade them to pay taxes to Caesar and
that he
claimed to be king; they were not allowed to execute anyone.
Jesus
affirmed that he was a king who came into the world to testify
to the truth.
When Pilate learned that he was a Galilean, he sent
Jesus to Herod Antipas,
who wanted to see a miracle; but Jesus
said nothing
and was mocked before being sent back to Pilate.
He called together high priests and leaders and said that
he was
going to release Jesus because of the feast.
However, the crowd
shouted for him to release the rebel Barabbas instead.
Pilate's
wife warned him not to do anything to Jesus because of a dream
she had.
After the crowd shouted that he should crucify Jesus,
Pilate had him whipped,
dressed in a purple robe with a thorn
crown, and gave him over to be crucified,
the Roman capital punishment
for slaves and rebels.
The governor's soldiers took Jesus to Golgotha and nailed his
arms and legs to a cross
with a sign saying "King of the
Jews." Jesus never resisted and even forgave those
who were
punishing him in their ignorance.
He assured one of the criminals
crucified with him that they would soon be in paradise.
His words
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
refer to
the first line of the 22nd Psalm that prophesied these
events.
Joseph of Arimathea got permission to put his body in
his tomb;
but two days later Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother
of James,
discovered that it was gone.
According to them and several
other accounts, Jesus appeared
to the disciples and others before
ascending to heaven.
After the crucifixion and resurrection the organization of
the Christians began to grow.
They were persecuted by Jews (including
Saul of Tarsus who became Paul),
and some, like Stephen, even
sacrificed their lives as they testified to their faith in Christ.
Led by Peter, Jesus' brother James, and a converted Paul, the
cult increased and spread
throughout the Roman world by peaceful
means even in the face of violent persecution.
Although James was skeptical of his brother Jesus during his
lifetime,
after seeing him resurrected, James (with Peter and
John)
became a leader of the Jerusalem church.
According to Hegesippus,
James was universally called the Just;
he drank no alcohol, ate
no animal food, wore linen garments,
and no razor touched his
head;
his knees became hardened by frequent praying.
The Gospel
of the Hebrews was mentioned
more than any other by the early
church.
A quote from it by Jerome states that after the resurrection
Jesus appeared to his brother James the Just.
When Festus died
about 61 CE, before Albinus arrived,
the high priest Ananus accused
James
before the council and had him killed.
Complaints about
this to King Agrippa caused him
to take the high priesthood away
from Ananus.
A letter attributed to this James emphasizes that faith also
requires works,
though many scholars question whether it was written
by James himself.
It is written to the twelve tribes in the dispersion,
encouraging them to be joyful
because trials testing their faith
can produce steadfastness.
People are not tempted by God but by
their own desires.
James suggested they be quick to hear, but
slow to speak or become angry;
for anger does not work what is
right by God.
They should be doers of the word, not just hearers.
The religious also need to bridle their tongues, because religion
has more to do
with visiting orphans and widows and keeping oneself
unstained from the world.
James exhorted his brothers not to show
partiality to the rich over the poor,
asking has not God chosen
the poor to be rich in faith.
Are not the rich the ones who oppress
them and drag them into court?
Fulfilling the scripture is loving
one's neighbor as oneself,
but showing partiality is to commit
sin and transgress the law.
They should speak and act as those
judged under the law of liberty.
Judgment is without mercy to
those who show no mercy;
yet mercy overcomes judgment.
James asked what benefit faith has without works.
A little
tongue can boast of great things, as a great forest is inflamed
by a small fire.
The wise will show good works in the gentleness
of wisdom.
Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition cause disorder
and vile practices.
The wisdom from above is pure, peaceful, gentle,
open to reason,
and merciful, bearing good fruit without uncertainty
or insincerity.
The harvest of justice is sown in peace by those
who make peace.
What causes wars and fighting among them if not
passions?
Not getting what they desire, they kill.
Coveting without
obtaining, they fight and wage war.
They ask wrongly when intending
to spend it on their passions.
Whoever loves the world too much
makes oneself an enemy of God.
God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble.
Draw near God, and God will draw near you.
Purify your hearts.
Do not speak evil against one another, because
this is to judge the law.
There is one lawgiver and judge who
is able to save and to destroy.
Who are they to judge their neighbors?
Knowing what is right to do but failing to do it is a sin.
Be
patient and do not grumble against one another
so that you may
not be judged.
Therefore confess your sins and pray for one another
so that you may be healed,
for God is compassionate and merciful.
James concluded that bringing back a sinner from error
will cover
a multitude of sins.
Clement of Rome may have known Paul at Philippi.
According to
Eusebius, Clement was the third bishop of Rome from 92 to 101.
His letter to the Corinthians urges repentance,
which can be learned
from past generations.
He recommended humility and advised them
to obey God rather than those
who excite strife and tumult by
adhering to those who truly cultivate peace
and not to hypocrites
who merely profess it.
They should hold to God's will and let
their children be trained as Christians.
Clothing themselves in
concord and humility and always exercising self-control,
they
may stand apart from evil-speaking.
The good worker receives bread,
but the lazy cannot look his employer in the eye.
Cleave to the
holy, innocent and just, and they shall be made holy.
Clement was concerned that the church of Corinth was engaging
in sedition
against its ministers because of one or two persons.
They should return to the practice of brotherly love,
because
love unites people with God.
Love does not give rise to seditions
but does everything in harmony.
They should all pray for God's
mercy and live blamelessly in love
free from human partiality
for one above another.
He implored forgiveness for all transgressions
and asked
the leaders of sedition to respect the common hope.
Clement urged them to do whatever the majority commands,
that
the flock may live in peace under its appointed ministers,
concluding
that
those who caused the sedition should
submit themselves to
the ministers and receive correction.
About 155 CE the church at Smyrna was persecuted,
and the martyrdom
of its bishop Polycarp was described
in a circular letter sent
first to the church at Philomelium.
Polycarp made little effort
to flee.
When he was arrested, he was allowed to pray
for two
hours, causing many to repent.
Polycarp was taken by the Roman
peacekeeper and
had his leg dislocated when he was thrown from
a chariot.
He was asked to revile Christ in a stadium,
but he
confessed himself a Christian,
refusing to repent from what is
good in order to adopt what is evil.
Polycarp gave thanks and
prayed,
but the flames only surrounded his glowing body.
He was
pierced with a dagger, and his blood extinguished the fire.
Jews
objected to the Christians being given his body, and so it was
burned.
By this account Polycarp was the twelfth Christian
martyred
in Smyrna and Philadelphia.
Polycarp's witness and death checked
the fury of people,
and the proconsul suspended the persecution.
Justin Martyr was born about 110 CE in Samaria
although apparently
he was not a Jew.
He studied philosophy and became a disciple
of Socrates and Plato
before being won over to the good message
of Jesus the Christ.
His first defense of the Christian faith
was addressed to
Emperor Antoninus Pius and his philosopher sons
on behalf of all nations that are unjustly hated and abused.
He
began by pointing out that reason directs the truly pious
and
philosophical to love only what is true even if death is threatened.
He adopted the Stoic idea that no evil can be
done to one unless
that person does evil.
Justin wrote, "You can kill, but not
hurt us."3
If they are not convicted of anything,
reason
forbids wronging blameless people.
Justin considered it his obligation
to inform
authorities of Christian life and teachings
so that
he would not be complicit with their mental blindness.
If those
continue to do what is not just after learning the truth,
they
will have no excuse before God.
Nothing can be decided about good or evil merely by a name.
They are accused of being Christians,
but to hate what in Justin's
view is excellent is unjust.
They are not atheists because they
believe in the one true God.
Justin demanded that they be judged
for their actions,
not simply for being Christians.
Like Plato,
Christians believe in judgment after death,
but by Christ instead
of by Minos and Rhadamanthus.
Justin argued therefore that Christians
believe
they cannot escape the knowledge of God;
they live decently
because of the penalties
they would suffer if they did not.
Formerly
delighting in fornication, now they embrace chastity;
formerly
using magic, now they dedicate themselves to God;
before they
valued acquiring property,
now they share with those in need;
before they hated and destroyed one another,
now they pray for
their enemies and attempt to persuade
those who hate them unjustly
to live by good precepts.
Justin noted that many have changed
their violent
and tyrannical dispositions to learn patience.
Justin noted that in the recent revolt the Jewish leader Bar-Kochba
ordered Christians cruelly punished unless they would deny Jesus
Christ.
Justin learned from the prophets that chastisements and
rewards
are rendered to the merit of one's actions.
He did not
believe fate determined such things and
argued that if it were
fatedto be either good or bad,
one would not be capable of both
opposites
nor would there by so many transitions from one to the
other.
In his second defense addressed to the Roman Senate,
Justin
compared Christ to Socrates,
who was similarly accused of introducing
new divinities.
Justin himself had been converted from Platonism
when he heard Christians slandered
and saw them holding to their
beliefs fearless of death.
Justin prayed that his little book
be published,
because it is human nature to know good and evil.
Those condemning Christians, whom they do not understand,
and
inflicting death on them are condemning themselves.
In a long
dialog with the Jew Trypho, Justin described how he studied
Stoic, Peripatetic, Pythagorean, and Platonic philosophy
and how these
led him to God.
A flame was kindled in his soul as he began
to
love the prophets and the friends of Christ.
He then went on to
argue why Christianity
is superior to many practices of Judaism.
Apparently the Cynic philosopher Crescens stirred up a persecution,
which in 165 resulted in the martyrdom of Justin
and six others
who stated they were Christians.
They were brought before the
judgment seat of the prefect of Rome
and were asked to obey the
gods and submit to the Emperor.
Justin replied that obeying the
commandments of their savior Jesus Christ
is worthy of neither
blame nor condemnation.
Justin explained they worship the God
of the whole creation;
they meet in various places;
but Justin
had been communicating the truth from only
one particular home
since he came to Rome.
The prefect Rusticus asked him if he believed
he would ascend to heaven
after being beheaded, and Justin answered
that he was convinced of that.
When the prefect warned them that
they would be punished
if they would not sacrifice to the gods,
Justin said they expected to be saved
by their Lord Jesus Christ
when they came before the more fearful
and universal judgment-seat
of their Lord.
The other martyrs also refused to sacrifice to
idols,
and they were all led away to be scourged and decapitated
according to the law.
Tertullian was born in the middle of the second century at
Carthage,
where he was well educated.
His father was probably
a centurion.
Tertullian went to Rome as a young man and probably
practiced law.
He did not convert to Christianity until he returned
to Carthage near the end of the century.
Twelve Christians had
been martyred at Carthage in 180.
Tertullian was impressed by
the witness of martyrs,
the moral discipline, and the devotion
to one God.
About 197 or so Tertullian wrote a defense of Christianity
addressed to
the rulers of the Roman empire in which he pleaded
for a hearing so that
they would not condemn Christians in ignorance
and therefore unjustly.
He argued that those who once hated Christianity
because they knew nothing about it, after knowing it,
not only
laid down their enmity but became its disciples.
There is an outcry
that the state is being filled with Christians
of both sexes and
of every age and condition,
and this is true because many are
passing over to the Christian faith.
Most criminals are ashamed
of their evils; but Christians are an exception,
usually only
being ashamed they had not been converted earlier.
Christians
alone are forbidden to explain what they did
in order to help
the judge make a correct decision.
All that public hatred demands
is the confession of the name,
not an examination of the charge.
Usually criminals deny the offense and are tortured to confess;
but Christians alone are tortured to make them deny their confession.
Since there is no investigation of one's actions,
clearly the
only crime of a Christian is adhering to the name.
The authorities
are unwilling or ashamed to mention the actual crimes.
Tertullian argued that Romans hate the guiltless and a guiltless
name,
exhibiting violence
and the unjust domination of a tyranny,
because the law to condemn for a mere name is unjust.
He cited
Nero and Domitian as examples of cruel tyrants who persecuted
Christians,
whereas the noble Marcus Aurelius put the law aside
and condemned their accusers.
Christians have kept their secrets
as have the Samothracian and Eleusinian mysteries.
False rumors
have spread of Christian enormities that have never been proven,
such as child sacrifice, which was practiced publicly in Africa
as recently as the proconsulship of Tiberius.
Christians are charged with not worshipping the gods
because
they do not sacrifice for the Emperor.
Tertullian believed there
are no such gods.
He wrote they worship the one God, who is invisible
but created all things.
Christ came once as a lowly human and
expelled devils by a word,
restored vision to the blind, cleansed
lepers, reinvigorated paralytics,
summoned the dead to life, and
made the elements of nature obey him
by calming storms and walking
on the sea, proving he was the Logos of God.
He was crucified;
but he had predicted that, as he did also his resurrection.
His
disciples have spread over the world, as their master bade them;
they have suffered persecution by Jews and Romans.
Tertullian challenged the authorities to search
and see if
the divinity of Christ is true.
If its acceptance transforms a
person to one truly good,
one should renounce what is opposed
to it as false.
Tertullian believed that Christ is coming again
to judge every soul.
The charges recoil on the heads of the accusers
not merely for refusing
the religion of the one true God but for
persecuting it.
Even if their gods exist, is it not generally
held that
there is one higher and more powerful absolute God?
Tertullian noted that empires are acquired by wars and victories
that involve the taking of cities with the destruction of temples
and killing of priests as well as citizens.
"Thus the sacrileges
of the Romans are as numerous as their trophies.
They boast as
many triumphs over the gods as over the nations."4
They have
advanced to greatness by injuring religion.
Tertullian argued that it is unjust to compel free persons
to offer sacrifices
against their will, because honoring the gods
should be voluntary.
Jesus taught Christians to pray for their
enemies
and bless those who persecute them,
and Paul said to pray
for kings and rulers so that they may live in peace.
Augustus,
who founded the empire, would not accept the title Lord.
Tertullian
suggested they give up worship of other beings as divine
except
God so that God will be propitious to the Emperor.
To call Caesar
god is to invoke a curse.
Tertullian went on that in addition
to loving their enemies,
Christians are forbidden to retaliate
if they are injured
lest they become as bad themselves.
Thus who
can suffer from their hands?
He asked if anyone could point to
a single act of Christian vengeance.
Christians even help by exorcising
evil spirits.
Therefore Christians should receive milder treatment
and
have a place among the societies that are tolerated by the
laws
since they are not charged with any real crimes.
Christians
are not interested in affairs of state, because
they acknowledge the one all-embracing commonwealth of the world.
Tertullian described Christian society as a religious community
bound by a unity of discipline and a common hope
that meets together
to pray to God.
They pray for emperors, those in authority,
and
for the welfare of the world in peace,
and they read their sacred
writings.
They are known for loving one another.
All are brothers
by the law of their common mother nature,
though their opponents
are hardly men, being such unkind brothers.
Those who have drunk
in one spirit of holiness
are even more fit to be called brothers.
One in mind and soul, they share their worldly goods with one
another,
having all things in common except their wives.
Their
feasts are known by the Greek term for affection, agapè,
as they benefit the needy in modest gatherings that begin with
prayer to God.
They eat and drink in chastity.
Tertullian also
observed that Christians fast and bind their passions tightly
and assail heaven with importunities;
yet when they have awakened
the divine compassion, Jupiter gets the honor.
Yet the Romans
are the sources of trouble in human affairs,
since they are always
attracting public adversity.
Christians live and work among them
without retreating like Indian Brahmins,
and their arts benefit
the public.
Tertullian believed that Christians alone are without crime,
because they are taught by God what goodness is
and have knowledge
revealed by a perfect master.
They faithfully do God's will enjoined
on them
by a Judge they dare not despise.
He asked why they are
not permitted equal liberty for their doctrines,
which are similar
to what the philosophers counsel—
justice, patience, sobriety,
and chastity.
Christians avoid sexual perversions, as the men
confine themselves to women.
If their speculations are presumptuous,
they should be subjected to ridicule,
not to swords, flames, crosses,
and wild beasts.
Yet even these martyrdoms are their joy, because
they would rather be condemned than give up their faith in God.
Like warriors, their battle is to be summoned before tribunals
to face execution while testifying to the truth.
They are overcome,
but they conquer by dying,
being victorious at the moment they
are subdued.
The unjust killing of Christians is the proof of
their innocence.
Although this cruelty is a temptation to Christians,
the more often they are mowed down, the more their numbers grow;
for the blood of Christians is the seed.
Those who inquire into
their doctrines embrace them,
and those who embrace them desire
to partake
fully of God's grace by giving their blood.
Although
they may be condemned by men,
they are acquitted by the Highest.
Under Emperor Septimius Severus about 202 several Christians
were martyred for their religious belief in Carthage.
Tertullian
may have edited the account of Vivia Perpetua's arrest and visions,
how Felicitas prayed and had her baby a month early, and a description
of
how these two women and Saturas were exposed to wild animals
in the arena before being killed by swords.
It was probably some
time after these events that Tertullian supported
Montanist prophecy
and its strict moral discipline
as he felt the traditional church
was becoming lax and corrupt.
In 204 Tertullian wrote in defense of a Christian soldier,
who had refused to wear a certain crown because
he regarded it
as a pagan act in conflict with his faith.
In "The Crown"
he questioned whether warfare is proper at all for Christians,
Shall it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword,
when the Lord proclaims that
he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword?
And shall the son of peace take part in the battle
when it does not become him even to sue at law?
And shall he apply the chain, and the prison,
and the torture, and the punishment,
who is not the avenger even of his own wrongs?5
He goes on to ask why one should watch others more than Christ
or guard the temples one has renounced.
He suggested that when
one becomes a believer,
the military profession should be abandoned.
Tertullian recommended that Christians serve Christ
rather than
the militia of the Emperor.
He believed that war was the most
evil of all earthly activities
and ought to be avoided in every
case.
Origen was born about 185 probably at Alexandria.
He was well
educated by his father Leonidas, who made him memorize
passages from the Bible, and by Clement in the Catechetical school.
In the persecution of 202 when his father was arrested, Origen
was
restrained by his mother from becoming a martyr by hiding
all his clothes.
He wrote encouraging his father not to change
his beliefs for their sake.
Leonidas was beheaded, and his property
was confiscated,
leaving Origen to provide for his mother and
six younger brothers.
Origen lived with a wealthy woman and earned
money
teaching Greek and copying manuscripts.
Bishop Demetrius
appointed Origen to succeed Clement as
principal of the Catechetical
school when he was only 18 years old.
He attended classes of philosopher
Ammonius Saccas, founder of Neo-Platonism.
According to Eusebius, while he was a young man, Origen castrated
himself
so as to instruct freely young female catechumens.
However,
in 248 Origen wrote one should not take literally the
statement
of Jesus in Matthew 19:12 that some
"made themselves
eunuchs because of the sovereignty of heaven."
Eusebius also
described how Origen fearlessly supported martyrs
and barely escaped
himself on numerous occasions.
Origen arranged for Heraclas to
teach elementary students so that
he could learn Hebrew and devote
himself to advanced teaching and writing.
Origen lived very ascetically,
fasting often, rarely eating flesh, never drinking wine,
having
only one coat, no shoes, and sleeping on the bare floor.
Origen traveled, meeting Hippolytus at Rome in 211,
fleeing
Emperor Caracalla's persecuting visit to Alexandria
by going to
Jerusalem and Caesarea in 216, and visiting
Alexander Severus'
mother Mammaea at Antioch in 218.
Back in Alexandria, the wealthy
Ambrosius was converted from Valentinian
beliefs and provided
Origen with books and seven stenographers.
In 229 he was ordained
a presbyter in Caesarea on the way
to a debate with Valentinian
Candidus in Greece,
where he answered the theory of predestination
by asserting that Satan fell by free will and therefore could
repent.
This caused Alexandrian bishop Demetrius to hold
two church
councils, excommunicating Origen in 231.
Rome and other churches
concurred, but bishops in Palestine,
Arabia, Phoenicia, and Greece
strongly supported Origen.
He pitied and prayed for his enemies,
opening a school at Caesarea in Palestine.
During the persecution
of 235 he fled to Cappadocia and
stayed with the Christian woman
Juliana for two years.
At an Arabian council in 244 he persuaded
Bishop Beryllus
to change his theological position on the Christ.
During the Decian persecution Origen was
thrown into prison, tortured,
and condemned;
the Emperor's death in 251 freed him,
but Origen
died three years later in Tyre.
While he was young in Alexandria, Origen wrote On Principles
(De Principiis),
which except for fragments only exists
in the Latin translation
made by Rufinus in the late fourth century.
In the prolog Rufinus admitted he made changes to make this work
more consistent with Origen's later writings, thus making it more
orthodox.
Origen believed that Christ, the Word of God,
was in
Moses and the prophets before it was in Jesus.
He followed the
apostolic teaching that the soul has its own life
and after departing
the world is rewarded according to its merit
with eternal life or is punished for its crimes in eternal fire.
Every rational
soul has free will and must struggle with opposing influences,
though we may free ourselves from the burden of sins
if we live
correctly and wisely.
In the resurrection the soul rises in incorruptible
glory.
Origen held that the scriptures are inspired and therefore
have meanings
not apparent at first sight which he attempted to
elucidate on various levels.
Origen wrote that every rational creature is capable of earning
praise
by advancing to better things, acting in conformity to
reason,
or of receiving censure for falling away from what is
right
and so becoming justly liable to pains and penalties.
In
addition to humans Origen included among these rational
creatures
the devil and its followers as well as angels.
He believed in
a final consummation in which the goodness of God
through the
Christ may recall all creatures to one end,
including the enemies
that have been conquered.
While the heretical Gnostics separated
the God of the law and justice
from the good God of the Gospels,
Origen perceived only one just and good God,
who confers benefits
justly and punishes with kindness;
for the dignity of the divine
nature must have both justice and goodness.
With free will comes
individual responsibility,
and Origen cited Isaiah 1:11 for the idea
that all sinners kindle for themselves their fire.
No one is plunged into a fire kindled by another.
When the soul
has gathered a multitude of evil works,
the abundance of sins
boils up to punishment.
The mind then can see in signs and forms
a history of its foul and shameful deeds.
Thus the conscience
is harassed and becomes
the accuser and witness against itself.
The first chapter of the third book of On Principles
about the freedom of will exists in the original Greek.
The just
judgment of God urges people to live virtuously and shun sin,
because things worthy of praise or blame are within our power.
In Origen's view the Creator makes vessels of honor and dishonor
not from foreknowledge since that would be condemning or justifying
ahead;
but vessels of honor are for those who have cleansed themselves
and those of dishonor are for those unpurged.
Thus he inferred
that older causes before the lifetime affect the destiny,
and he gave
the example of Jacob and Esau.
Ancient causes lead some to be
born into
better vessels (or circumstances) than others.
Also
by the actions in this life one may earn by reformation
an honored
vessel in the future, or one may fall back to a worse condition.
These ideas clearly imply the doctrines of karma and reincarnation.
To explain wisdom of the world, Origen suggested there are
spiritual powers which use their freedom of will to produce certain
effects.
Those admiring worldly power adopt their way of life
and habits
and thus work for these spirits they serve.
Thus souls
in human bodies may attract different energies
in operations using
a diversity of good and evil spirits.
Humans may be acted upon
by good or evil spirits,
previous to their birth as in the examples
of John the Baptist and Jeremiah;
for souls have free will, whether
in a body or not.
In discussing temptations, Origen described
an irrational component
of the human psyche as well as a rational
one.
The irrational part has two affections - coveting and passion.
The rational and irrational psyches have been called
the good,
heavenly one and the other that is inferior and earthly.
The wisdom
of the flesh is dominated by a material spirit,
which is not subject
to the law of God,
because it has earthly wishes and bodily desires.
These desires can produce mental perturbations
such as ambition,
avarice, envy, pride, and so on.
Origen suggested that the will
of the soul is intermediate
between the flesh and the spirit,
obeying and serving one or the other.
Those yielding to the pleasures
of the flesh become carnal,
and those uniting to the spirit become
spiritual.
As a result of his On Principles Origen would later
be considered unorthodox on four points.
1. Human souls existed previously, and their life in material bodies
reflects the results of previous actions.
2. Christ existed previously and was united to the divine nature
before incarnating as the son of God related in the Gospels.
3. The resurrection will occur in absolutely ethereal bodies
rather than in material ones.
4. All souls, even devils, will finally be restored through the mediation of Christ.
As Origen let his readers choose what they think they should
prefer,
so I too will let readers decide whether these principles
may be true.
When Origen was about sixty, Ambrosius asked him to respond
to A True Discourse by Celsus that severely criticized
Christianity.
In a long work Origen repeated and answered every
charge of Celsus,
whom he called an Epicurean.
Celsus believed
the Jews were barbarous, that through Moses
and others they gained
most of their wisdom from the Egyptians,
and that their god Jehovah
was an inhuman ogre.
He considered Christianity a Jewish superstition
aimed at the uneducated by the self-deluded.
He thought Jewish
and Christian religious beliefs ignored
the intellectual problems
posed by Greek philosophy.
Celsus noted that Christianity attracted
the wicked and shiftless
from the fishermen and tax collectors
who were disciples
to appealing to thieves, criminals, and blasphemers.
He suggested that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier,
who being rejected at home, went to Egypt, where he learned magic.
Later he hawked a contradictory message, failed to overcome his
enemies,
and was abandoned by his disciples to a shameful death.
Celsus argued that ethical teachings of Christianity are nothing
new,
since they could be found in Plato.
Other mysteries like
those of the Egyptians and Persian Mithraism
offered a similar
ascent of the soul to God.
Celsus also accused the Christians
of treason
in their secret and illegal associations,
which supported
the barbarian threats to the state.
He criticized their presumption
to have a monopoly on God,
and finally he asked them to reject
their perverted nonsense
and make common cause for the public
welfare.
Celsus accused Christianity of undermining the Roman
state,
particularly by their refusal to perform military service.
Origen answered these objections by the usual methods
of quoting
scripture and philosophical arguments.
He particularly noted that
if Christianity seduced people,
it seduced them into much more ethical behavior,
making them temperate instead of dissolute,
just instead of unjust,
prudent instead of foolish, and courageous
instead of cowardly,
especially in the struggles for the sake
of their religion.
Origen appealed to the higher natural law as
superior
to the man-made laws of the Romans.
The legitimacy of
the state depends on how well it fulfills the spiritual laws.
Origen argued that Christians do more good
by praying than by
fighting in the army.
Ultimately he hoped for a peaceful society
in which every world citizen
would display Christian virtue so
that state compulsion would disappear.
Origen took the position
that the Christians could convert even barbarians
to justice
and humility by their peaceful methods.
The unity of humanity
must go beyond the Roman empire
of the pagans' concept to include
everyone in the whole world.
Christians, he felt, owed their allegiance
to Christ above the Emperor,
and they could not take up arms for
any cause,
although they could pray for the empire.
Origen also wrote commentaries to many scriptures
such as the Gospels of John and Matthew.
He interpreted
these on the three levels
of the physical, psychological, and
spiritual,
already described as the three parts of humans.
Origen
also wrote an Exhortation to Martyrdom,
encouraging Christians not to be tempted by compromises,
and On Prayer to counter
determinists who believed that prayer had no effect.
Origen wrote
that there is peace when no one lives in discord,
when no one
quarrels, and when there is no hostility or cruelty.
He felt that
the Earth is so infested with war
that peace could be achieved only by God's grace,
and that this would amaze even the angels.
The faith of the martyrs influenced many conversions,
and the
loving fellowship was attractive to many.
As the religion became
stronger, it rivaled the authority of the Roman state.
Many Christians
had to choose whether or not to serve in the Roman army
and obey
the Roman cults which deified the Emperor.
An example of the Christian-Roman conflict over military service
was the case of Maximilian, a twenty-year-old Numidian,
who was called to be enrolled as a soldier in 295 CE.
He declared that
he was a Christian and could not fight.
The proconsul Dion tried
to mark him, but he refused.
Dion gave him the choice of bearing
arms, or he would be killed.
Maximilian asserted that he was not
a soldier of this world, but a soldier of God.
Dion asked him
who persuaded him, and he said that
it was his own mind and the
one who called him.
Dion tried to get his father to convince him,
but the father said his son knew what was best for him.
Maximilian
continued to refuse to bear arms.
Even when he was told that other
Christians are soldiers and fight,
he replied that others may
know what is best for them;
but as a Christian it was unlawful
for him to do evil.
Believing that he was going to Christ, Maximilian
was beheaded.
Three years later the centurion Marcellus threw
away his arms
and refused to obey anyone but Jesus Christ; he
was beheaded too.
Arnobius taught rhetoric in Sicca on the Nubian border southwest
of Carthage.
He converted to Christianity as an adult and wrote
Adversus Gentes (Against the Gentiles) about 303.
The first
two books defend Christianity,
and the next five attack Roman
religion.
Arnobius argued that wars are diminishing because of
Christ's teaching not to
requite evil with evil but even
shed
our own blood rather than stain our hands and conscience.
Savage
ferocity is being softened, as some have begun
to withhold hostile
hands from fellow creatures.
If all people capable of reason would
listen to these peaceful rules,
the whole world may turn the use
of steel into peaceful occupations,
uniting in harmony and respecting
the sanctity of treaties.
Lactantius was born about the middle of the third century.
He studied in the school of Arnobius at Sicca.
He surpassed his
teacher as a master of rhetoric
and was invited to teach at Nicomedia
by Emperor Diocletian.
Since most people there spoke Greek while
he taught Latin,
Lactantius had few students and suffered poverty.
He converted to Christianity during the persecution in 303.
He
was considered an old man about 317 when he settled
in Gaul and
tutored Crispus, the oldest son of Constantine.
Lactantius died
about ten years later
after the Emperor executed Crispus in 326.
The principal work of Lactantius, Divine Institutes,
was designed
to complete the Latin writings of Tertullian, Minucius
Felix, and Cyprian.
The work is dedicated to Constantine, whom
he praised as the
first Roman prince to repudiate errors and acknowledge
the one true God,
restoring justice and expiating the shameful
deeds of others.
Lactantius aimed to direct the learned to true
wisdom
and the unlearned to true religion.
Lactantius began by
asserting it is better to investigate and know
human and divine
things than to be occupied in heaping up riches.
Some have given
up property and pleasures
in order to follow the simple truth without impediments,
believing that truth offers the greatest
good.
Lactantius believed that truth is the secret of the highest
God, creator of all,
and that it cannot be attained by our own
ability and perceptions.
Otherwise there would be no difference
between God and humans.
Lactantius admitted that bitterness is mingled with the virtues
and that
pleasures season the vices, causing some to be seduced
by evils;
but these errors can be encountered by religion.
Philosophy
is more valuable than rhetoric,
because philosophers teach right
living,
which is useful to all, while speaking well is needed
only by a few.
Lactantius found the cause of perverseness in ignorance
of oneself.
He believed religion needs wisdom,
and wisdom cannot
be approved without religion.
He observed the providence of God
in the beauty and design of the universe.
There must be only one
God, because otherwise other gods would be lesser.
He criticized
the licentious behavior of the Roman and barbarian gods,
and he
saw the heavenly bodies, like the sun and moon,
as the work of
the divine creator rather than as gods.
The second book of the Divine Institutes is on the origin
of error.
Lactantius noticed that many people never remember God
until they are in trouble.
He observed that from prosperity arises
luxury
and other vices that lead to impiety.
In the third book
he criticized various philosophers.
Moral philosophy is the most
important,
because these errors really affect one's life.
Yet
daily experiments can teach us what is truer and better.
Philosophers
disagree on what is the chief good.
Lactantius discounted the
goals of pleasure, living according to nature,
and worldly success
as ends shared by other animals.
Knowing and worshipping God is
what elevates humans.
Ultimate happiness is found in immortality,
which is gained by religion in knowing God.
He criticized Stoics
for approving suicide.
Lactantius believed God placed us in the
body, and
we should not withdraw from it except by God's command.
We must endure violence offered to us with equanimity,
because
the death of an innocent person cannot be unavenged;
but taking
vengeance is in the hands of the great Judge (God).
In the fourth book on true wisdom and religion Lactantius argued
that
the example of Jesus and the religion of the Catholic church
are best.
He derived the word "religion" from the Latin
religare, meaning "to bind again."
It is the
bond of piety, because God binds humans to Himself.
Christian
reunion of humans with God is through reconciliation.
The original
unity was separated by sin but has been restored again.
The fifth book discusses justice.
Lactantius noted, "Most
wicked murderers
have invented impious laws against the pious."6
He asked what should be done to those tyrants
who inflicted tortures on the innocent and yet wish
to appear just and prudent when they
are clearly wrong.
Yet the number of Christians has been increasing
and has not been lessened by persecutions.
Because they have not
turned away from God,
the truth has prevailed by its own power.
Certainly these martyrs have demonstrated the virtue of courage.
For Lactantius no one is poor in the sight of God except the unjust,
and no one is rich, except those full of virtues.
Greeks and Romans
did not possess justice,
because they had people differing by
degrees
from poor to rich and from humble to powerful.
Without
equity there is no real justice.
Lactantius believed that riches
do not make one illustrious
unless they make one conspicuous by
good works.
The truly rich use their wealth for works of justice
and charity;
those who seem poor may be rich, because they desire
nothing.
In humility the free and slaves are equal, also the rich and
poor,
because God's sight distinguishes by virtue.
The unjust
and those ignorant of God may abound in
riches, power, and honors, for these are the rewards of injustice;
but they are not perpetual and are sought through lust and violence.
The just and wise do
not desire what belongs to another
lest they should injure anyone
and violate the laws of humanity.
They do not even defend their
own if it is taken by violence.
To bear with injury inflicted
is virtuous.
Lactantius believed that God's injunction not to
kill means that
no just person can go to war nor support any capital
punishment.
He believed that God allowed the persecutions
so that
the people of God could be increased.
Many were driven from their
false gods because they hated cruelty.
They wanted to know what
that good is which believers defended
even to death, preferring
it to everything pleasant and beloved in life
so that neither
loss of goods nor torture could deter them.
In the sixth book on true worship Lactantius pointed out that
knowledge precedes virtue but must be united with it,
because
knowledge is of no avail unless it is followed by right action.
Virtue restrains anger, desire, and lust in order to flee from
vice,
for almost all wrong and dishonest actions result from these
emotions.
Thus crimes and disgraceful actions can be eliminated
if these emotions are calmed by virtue.
Lactantius argued that
it is not virtue to defend the good
or be an enemy of the bad, because virtue is not subject to chance.
He believed that the
philosophers, though they may be naturally good,
are not wise
as long as they are ignorant of God,
the Head of virtue and knowledge.
For him the first duty of justice is to be united with God in
religion,
and the second, to be united with humans, is called
mercy or kindness.
Worshipers of God share this virtue in the
common life.
This brotherhood means never doing evil but always
doing good.
The God of Lactantius prescribes this good as
aiding the oppressed and giving food to the destitute.
A kind God wishes
us to be a social animal,
as all humans require mutual support.
Thus hospitality is a principal virtue, and it is a great work
of justice
to protect and defend orphans and widows who need assistance.
Why fear poverty when the philosophers praise it as a calm life.
Lactantius recommended examining your conscience and healing
your wounds.
God commands repentance, offers mercy and forgives
sins.
The fear of God can free one from all other fears.
Lactantius
questioned some traditional values.
Frugality may arise from the
love of possessing,
and prodigality may give food to the needy
out of pity.
Money may lead to vice if it is spent on one's own
appetites,
but it is a virtue to lay it out well.
Those who give
way to grief and anger in doing wrong
do not fulfill the duty
of virtue.
Whoever tries to return an injury desires to imitate
the very person by whom one had been injured.
How can imitating
a bad person be good?
The wise do not try to remove their adversaries,
which cannot be done without guilt and danger;
but they wish to
put an end to the conflict,
which may be done with justice and
mutual advantage.
Thus patience is the very great virtue of the
just person;
for patience opposes all vices.
For Lactantius the
three passions that drive people
to crime are anger, desire, and
lust.
Those who know Christ may repent and be forgiven.
Repentance
recognizes the wisdom of God's justice.
Those who do the will
of God will be strengthened
in their struggles with a heroic passion.
The seventh and last book of the Divine Institutes is
on the happy life.
Lactantius believed the chief good is the immortality
that only God can grant,
and virtue is rewarded not on Earth but
by life eternal.
Thus ultimately piety is confirmed.
In his Epitome
of the Divine Institutes Lactantius concluded by exhorting
everyone to train themselves for justice, self-restraint, and
virtue
so that an adversary waging war may not be able with
force,
terror, or torture to drive them to senseless fictions;
but they
may uprightly acknowledge the one true God, cast away pleasures,
hold to innocence, be of service to as many as possible,
and with
God as their judge gain incorruptible treasures by good works
and with the merits of their virtue gain the
crown of faith and
the reward of immortality.
After Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity in
313,
Christianity became established as the religion of the Roman
empire,
and the views of Christians on war and military service
changed radically.
Only the Donatists in North Africa remained
pacifists in the face
of "Christian" Roman militarism,
and they were condemned for it
by the Roman church at conferences
in Rome in 313 and in Arles in 314.
Martin was born about 330 to pagan parents in Pannonia (Hungary).
Since his father was a tribune in the army, by Roman law
Martin
was required to serve in the military also.
At age ten against
the wishes of his parents he became a Christian catechumen.
Among
the soldiers he lived like a monk.
Once in winter he tore his
only cloak in half to clothe a beggar
that others with extra clothes
had ignored,
and in a dream he saw Jesus with that cloak he gave
away.
This stimulated Martin to be baptized.
He remained a soldier
for two more years until
Emperor Julian was offering them a bonus.
Martin refused to accept it, saying he could not fight anymore
because he was Christ's soldier.
When Julian called him a coward,
Martin volunteered
to face the enemy unarmed with only the sign
of the cross.
He was arrested; but envoys made peace the next
day,
and Martin was soon released from the army.
Martin went to Poitiers bishop Hilary and was made a deacon.
In the Alps, Martin got lost and was set upon by brigands;
but
his faith in danger converted one of the robbers.
When Hilary
was banished in 355, Martin became a hermit at Milan,
where he
was persecuted and driven out by Bishop Auxentius.
Martin went
to Rome to greet the returning Hilary.
Martin was said to have
revived from death a catechumen, who said that
while he was out
of his body, two angels told the Judge
that Martin was praying
for him; then the two angels brought him back.
In 360 Hilary provided
land at Ligugé,
where Martin established the first monastery
in Gaul.
About 371 the reluctant Martin was elected bishop at
Tours.
When a pagan of consular rank named Tetradius promised
to become a Christian if Martin expelled the demon from his serf,
Martin healed the boy.
As bishop, Martin continued to live like
a monk
and even moved away from the city.
Martin tore down pagan temples and preached
as a missionary
as far away as Vienne.
He was credited with curing the eyes of
Paulinus of Nola.
During a synod at Bordeaux in 384 Martin appealed
to Emperor Maximus
on behalf of the Gnostic and Manichaean Priscillian
and his followers;
but Ossanova bishop Itacius urged they be put
to death.
Although Maximus promised Martin not to spill their
blood,
his prefect Evodius had Priscillian and others beheaded.
Martin continued to intervene in order to prevent
a bloody persecution
of Spanish Priscillianists.
Martin would not join in communion
with the bishops
who were persecuting the heretics to death, and
for a while this conflict seemed to diminish his spiritual powers.
Martin died in 397, and his funeral was attended by two thousand
monks.
He was one of the first non-martyrs to be canonized,
and
he became the patron saint of France.
In ancient Rome the priests had to approve of a war,
and under
the republic it had to be passed by the Senate.
During the Roman
empire the Emperor had the authority to order war,
though it was
supposed to be for defensive purposes.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
Christianized
imperial Rome's theory of the "just war"
by adding that Christians should conduct war
with the moral intention
to punish their enemies.
This convoluted logic was intended to
justify that such violence
still fell under the injunction to
love one's enemies.
Thus for practical purposes the issue of just
war moved to conducting it
in a just manner by avoiding injury
to non-combatants and plunder.
The old Roman conditions of having
a right intention
and declaring it by the proper authority still
applied.
1. Matthew 5:38-42 tr. Sanderson Beck.
2. Psalm 82:6.
3. The First Apology of Justin 2 tr. Alexander Roberts
and James Donaldson in
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume
1, p. 163.
4. Tertullian, Apology 25 in The Ante-Nicene Fathers,
ed. Alexander Roberts
and James Donaldson, Volume 3, p. 40.
5. Tertullian, "The Chaplet, or De Corona" 11 in The
Ante-Nicene Fathers,
Volume 3, p. 99.
6. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 5:11 tr. William Fletcher
in The Ante-Nicene Fathers,
ed. Alexander Roberts and James
Donaldson, Volume 7, p. 147.
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