Tuesday, May 16, 2006

My Tribute to Jaroslav Pelikan, Requiescat in Pace



On Saturday, May 13, 2006, a man I never met, but whose impact on me has been monumental, left this world for the "Undiscovered Country" after a long bout with cancer.

Even as I sit here in my office after a full week of "Don Rags" (the end of semester interviews with students on what they had learned throughout the term), I see a visible reminder of his impact on my career as a church historian-The Christian Tradition series. The volumes that gripped me the most-the first three (The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, The Spirit of Eastern Christendom, and The Growth of Medieval Theology)-influenced my decision to become a medievalist, and to become Orthodox.

It was at a bookstore called "The Bodhi Tree" in Santa Monica where I bought my copy of The Growth of Medieval Theology (I know, how shocking that a place associated with Buddhist and New Age thought should have anything by Pelikan, but I assure you, their holdings are far more ecclectic than one might think). I had graduated with my BA at the time, and wondering about the direction my career as an historian would take. After reading through this volume, I knew exactly what I wanted to do (C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image had a good hand in this too).

One thing that impressed me about Professor Pelikan is that he always took you to the sources, providing easy access to them. He would cite his sources not as footnotes or endnotes, but as sidenotes, with very little commentary, allowing you to check the references for yourself and draw your own conclusions. He was a master craftsman in opening up these texts to you, unveiling them, much as Sister Wendy Beckett does in unveiling a great work of art to her audience. His kind of scholarship drew you into the world of the medieval theologian, and you came out wanting to go to those sources yourself, and make further explorations. His scholarship always invited you to dig deeper, to explore the terrain of this romance known as Christian theology, and to come out tranformed by the experience.

I remember the great stir in the Orthodox world when he embraced the Orthodox faith by chrismation at St. Vladimir's on Christmas of 1998. For many, this seemed like a "validation" and "vindication" of their own faith. But he himself never saw his own conversion to Orthodoxy in those terms. For him, it was just a matter of "stripping away the layers" to the true core of what he had always been. Having begun his life as a Lutheran, and having spent time in the Missouri Synod and ELCA, the search for true catholicity seemed to have illuded him. Indeed, he left the Missouri Synod, he said, on account of their having become "baptists", and ELCA, on account of the fact that they had become "Methodists."

Be that as it may, he never talked about his conversion to Orthodoxy-very refreshing, I think. The "Why I Became Orthodox, and now making money off my conversion by selling you this book telling you about my "journey"" syndrome never found a place in his calm and prudent demeanor. He was just as charitable and gracious as an Orthodox Christian as he had been as a Lutheran. He was never given over to overly simplified views of church history- as a church historian, he knew better than that. This helped him steer clear from overly romantic notions about Orthodoxy. Rather, his conversion can be characterized as a simple recognition of where true catholicity was to be found. Nothing more need be said, as far as he was concerned. He provides a good model for all of us converts of one who cherished what he had learned in his own upbringing, and coming into Orthodoxy rejoicing, not looking back and shouting.

He will surely be missed. I regret never having had the chance to tell him what an impact he had had on my life as a scholar and as a man of faith, and how his works challenged me to integrate the two. I take comfort in the fact that he probably knows that now, and that I will be able to express my gratitude when the day comes when I too must "cross the narrow streams of death."

+Requiescas in pace, magister!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Acts, History and Mythos



An excellent article by my friend and colleague at the Torrey Honors Institute, Dr. Fred Sanders:

“We had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi,” Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “but God gave us boldness to declare the gospel to you.” And they had suffered there: as Acts 16 narrates, Paul and Silas were chained and put into prison in Philippi. What kept them from giving in to discouragement? Paul doesn’t report to the Thessalonians the remarkable events in Philippi: How the power of God took them out of their chains and shook open every door in the prison. Even the prison-keeper became a Christian because of what he saw, and the message Paul and Silas brought.
But did any of it really happen?
It’s a question likely to offend anybody who’s accustomed to take the Bible as a truth-telling document. But it’s a live issue for Bible scholars working in the historical-critical mode. In fact, it’s one of the main things to inquire about, and the answer, if you follow an influential stream of scholarship, is no: the earthquake didn’t happen, it was fabricated by Luke to drive home a spiritual point.

Read the Rrest of the article here:http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/middlebrow/archives/earthquake-of-mythic-proportions-acts-16/#more-95









The Real Work of Opus Dei



There are lies.

Then there are damned lies.

Then there's Dan Brown (and Michael Baigent and the rest of his silly cohorts).

Here's the REAL scoop about the work of Opus Dei: http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=16004

Their mission says it all: Finding God in daily life.

Sounds good to me.

In solidarity with these good brethren, I, a member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church (Western Rite), in good Kennedyesque fashion, proclaim to all: Today, I am a member of Opus Dei! Let this be the cry of all devout Christians everywhere against the silly and baseless attacks on traditional and historic Christianity.

(The above picture is that of the saintly founder of Opus Dei-the recently canonized Spanish priest St. Josemaria Escriva. There is a link in the above website to another website specifically about him and his ministry.)

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev's High Praise for Pope John Paul II

Bishop Hilarion, Beatification, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II, Holy Father












From:
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/527/Beatification_of_John_Paul_II.html?PHPSESSID=21ae2a298d409d4592829b8d0f0eeebe


This address was given by His Grace a year ago, but I think it captures well the murky waters he must sometimes wade through in his attempts to find common cause with Rome in addressing the moral crisis of a post-Christian world. He clearly sees in the witness of the late JPII an ally in the fight for the soul of Europe, and he clearly articulates, more than any other Orthodox prelate, the indispensability of Orthodox involvement.

I have only one critical point to make. His Grace had to meet with the Holy Father back in 2002 to explain to him why a meeting with Patriarch Alexey was impossible at that time-not an easy task, I'm sure. The "Uniate" issue was broached as a reason for the strain in relations. It was agreed that the "Unia" could not be the means of attaining unity between the churches-fine and good. But what to do about the Byzantine/Slavic Catholic communities that already exist? This should not be a problem. Let them continue as they are. Three words: FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE. End of rant.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Neo-Nazis, Christians and Muslims, and Soccer

March by far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) in Berlin (archive pic)


Courtesy of http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4975184.stm

Neo-nazi groups have found a venue to vent their hellish crap-as soccer hooligans. This is what Christian ministers and Muslim imams are doing to address the issue:

"On Saturday there will be a game between Muslim imams and Christian ministers in Berlin - part of the anti-racism initiative."

I'll leave it to your fertile imaginations to picture what such a match would look like.