Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a Cistercian monk who was given the title, Doctor Mellifluus (‘pleasant sounding’). His influence since medieval ages is significant and far spread. Interestingly, Luther remembered Bernard as the greatest of all the fathers of the church after Augustine’. In Bernard we can identify the dominant medieval method of Lectio Divina, engaging with a text through prayer and contemplation, this was a critical as well as devotional reflection. The Sermon one begins with the examination of first part of the first verse, one who dwells in the shelter of the most high. Written in the literary style of sermons, but probably never delivered by him viva voce to any audience. Bernard cites and echoes Scripture even where he is not quoting it and commenting directly upon it, and arguably that is itself a mode of exegesis. Bernard begins by trying to answer the question for, who dwells in the shelter of the most High? This is done by a process which reminds of Apophatic (Negative) theology, method of answering what God is by elucidating what God is not. Bernard explains, “The …show more content…
He further delineates the second part of the first verse ‘He who dwells in the shelter…will abide under the protection of the God of Heaven’ and explains that those who deserve to have this protection will be able to fear nothing under heaven. The exposition further is very interesting where Bernard substantiates the dwelling of Almighty in Heaven, with an allegory of body and head while also recognizing the omnipresence of God. Also, understanding how Bernard describes the difference of terms, ‘dwelling in the presence’ of angels from ‘dwelling in the protection’ for humans reverberates the angelic spirituality of medieval
On the fourteenth of January 1809, Sebastian Wimmer was born in the small town of Thalmassing, Germany. His parents, Peter and Elizabeth Lang Wimmer, were tavern keepers. Sebastian’s desire to help other individuals was apparent at an early age, for he believed he had been called by the Lord to devote his life exclusively to the priesthood. The simple monastic life was enticing! Sebastian Wimmer was an intelligent young man. He attended the University of Regensburg, also known as Ratisbon, where he studied many classical and philosophical courses, and later studied law at the University of Regensburg. A scholarship opened up in the Gregorianum, and Wimmer felt obligated to learn more about it in pursuit of his study for the priesthood. Wimmer took the competitive scholarship exam. He was offered a scholarship and remained there until he completed his theological studies. On the thirty-first of July 1831, at the age of twenty-two, Sebastian...
...n the author diminishing the strong persuasiveness afforded by the logos and ethos in his argument because of his excess of pathos and tone, which is perceived as condescending.
The medieval theologian Julian of Norwich was a mystic, writer, anchoress and spiritual director for her time. She is gaining in popularity for our time as she provides a spiritual template for contemplative prayer and practice in her compilation of writings found in Revelations of Divine Love. The insightful meditations provide the backdrop and basis for her Trinitarian theology’s embrace of God’s Motherhood found in the Trinity. Her representative approach of the all-encompassing unconditional love of a mother who nurtures, depicts Christ as our Mother ascending to the placement of Second hood within the Trinity while giving voice to the duality of God.
The Ontological Argument, which argues from a definition of God’s being to his existence, is the first type of argument we are going to examine. Since this argument was founded by Saint Anslem, we will be examining his writings. Saint Anslem starts by defining God as an all-perfect being, or rather as a being containing all conceivable perfections. Now if in addition of possessing all conceivable perfections t...
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Examining the problems facing Father Rodrigues from a Christian perspective, then, is critical to the endeavor of understanding their significance to him and the Church at the time, and also to passing an ultimate judgment on the validity and worth of the decisions he makes, as many of us seem overeager to do. To that end, this paper will consider, in a Catholic frame of mind, and with attention to the opinions some noted Christian/Catholic thinkers would have held, the difficulties surrounding Rodrigues' apostasy, and his solutions to them. As all of the thinkers are themselves from the medieval era, it is not unlikely that Father Rodrigues, living in the 17th century, would have studied their works.
European Christian Renaissance and Public Theology. " European Journal of Theology 20.2 (2011): 111-118. Academic Search Elite -. Web.
In A short and Easy Method of Prayer, Madame Guyon touches on how one can accept all things God through prayer. Through the simple steps of meditation and reading accompanied by meditation, Madame Guyon teaches the reader how to use those steps to have a relationship with God through the simple steps of meditation and reading accompanied by meditation. Madame Guyon was one of the few female religious leaders in the 17th century France as she was a voice of Quietism and to have a relationship through prayer. The two key biases in this book is reviewing it from a 21st century mind set and this is just one of the many different sources of the religious text from this time period.
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
"EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 & 2." EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
The individual is herein shown as lord and master of the world, of his own and unique world. A world that is at his disposal even until the final moment. The last verse, «I bequeath nothingness to no one», which works as testament (not from that who runs, not from that who abandons, but from that who destroys), goes beyond all of this, maximizing –or even better–making the coherence explicit: If he achieves his aim, there would not be nothing to be bequeathed nor anybody whom to bequeath. Because, in line with the metaphysics of the first person singular, for this individual and his world there have not ever been other than himself.
Thomas Aquinas. Faith, Reason and Theology. Armand Maurer,translator. Mediæval Sources in Translation, vol. 32. Pontifical Institute of Mediæval Studies, Toronto : 1987.
In A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, Madame Guyon touches on how one can accept all things God through prayer. Through the simple steps of meditation and reading accompanied by meditation, Madame Guyon teaches the reader how to use those steps to have a relationship with God. As a person of the Quietism faith in the seventeenth century, Madam Guyon was going against the norm of the church structure. Not only was she advocating people did not need to go to weekly services but she was also going against the male’s leaders of the church. One of the questions this book can help historians to answer is how religion shape everyday life. However, the readers need to keep in mind the biases surrounding this book. This is just one of the many religious
The history of Christianity has always involved turbulence. Not only were there divisions among the members of the religion into different sects according to their own beliefs and ideas, but also, there were struggles between Christianity and the pagan, in which the two opposing sides tried to weaken the other and yield greater influence. These divisions and fierce competitions can be observed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, in which several clashes between systems are shown: a conflict between Christianity and paganism and one between the two different orders – the Benedictine and Franciscan. Moreover, the significance of the society’s mood is also evident: through the application of the concept of discourse, the impact of the societal norms and standards, particularly in the limited setting of a monastery, is depicted.