Theologian Thursday: Julian of Norwich 1342-c.1413

I'm really enjoying Theologian Thursdays, and I hope you are too. It's so fun revisiting the stories and works of some of my favorite thinkers in church history and learning more about them.

This week, it's everyone's favorite anchorite--Mother Julian!

Image from Fine Art America. (Check out that cat!)
Julian was a mystic who lived as the hermit-in-residence at the Church of Saint Julian in Norwich, England.

When she was about 30 years old, she fell seriously ill, and received a number of visions, which she recorded upon her recovery. These "shewings" revealed a theology deeply rooted in God's love for all of humanity--a universalist idea not common in the middle ages. The visions also graphically depicted Christ's suffering, which she said showed his love and gave her strength to withstand her sickness.

Probably one of the most well-known and most powerful visions is one involving a hazelnut:

And in this he showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed to me, and it was as round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: What can this be? I was amazed that it could last, for I thought that because of its littleness it would suddenly have fallen into nothing. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and always will, because God loves it; and thus everything has being through the love of God.

Her conviction that nothing is too small or "mean" to be outside the love of God is comforting and refreshing, especially in a time when many people believed the black plague was God's punishment being meted out on the world.

What You Should Read:

I think the Middle English version is more fun, but it is a bit slow-going due to the unconventional spellings. Additionally, there are plenty of companion texts and annotative commentaries you can find on this work.

Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)

Gender Equality:
The fact that she was a woman, writing and participating in the life of the church in the middle ages is evidence enough. Plus, her insistence that God abundantly showers God's love on all people certainly includes men as well as women. AND, she uses many images of Christ as mother--feminine God-imagery that has unfortunately been popularly discarded.

Environmental Sensibility:
Julian's theology of God's all-encompassing love has often been used to support an ethic of environmentally consciousness. She employs numerous nature metaphors (like the aforementioned hazelnut) and would definitely be at home in a conversation about humankind's responsibility for loving creation.

Heretical Tendencies:
Granted, some of her visions (and maybe the fact that she had visions) are a little out-there, but other than that and the fact she was a woman writing about spirituality, she was committed to a life in the church (literally, she lived in the church) and happily remained there.

General Badassery:
Those visions were pretty intense. And she survived that crazy illness and lived to tell the tale--and tell it to the benefit of the church for centuries to come!

And, as always, a quote:
"All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

, ,

How Can You Not Have a Website???

, ,
Originally, this post was going to be about my trip to Julian, a little old-fashioned, touristy mining town in the hills, and how I visited with some guys from their historical society, and how cool their work is, and how they're digitizing all their stuff. But then I Googled Julian Historical Society to get some info/pictures to use for said post and found out that they don't have a website. Just a blurb on the Julian Chamber of Commerce website,which is, itself, rather... quaint. I was kind of shocked. Even the cemetery has a webpage (literally, one page).

It led me to wonder what exactly they're planning to do with all the data they're digitizing, and how they're going to make it accessible.

It also got me thinking about how the internet has changed marketing and consumption. If you don't have a web presence, you might as well not exist. I, the consumer, cannot find you (OK, full disclosure: I did find a mailing address for the historical society. So I guess I could get in touch with them. But that would require buying stamps.) and because I am a product of a fast-paced, gimme-gimme society, when you don't show up on Google, I give up.

Really, though. Historical societies are, like, my favorite thing. And they make me want to go into archives real bad. I just wish the Julian Historical Society had a way to check out what they're doing when I can't hang out in their little 100-year-old school house office. For now I'll have to make do with the San Diego History Center website. They have a cool historic photo collection.

Anyway, here's a photo of me in front of the Julian Library (which was closed, unfortunately) and cute boyfriend being cute.
    

Theologian Thursday: Desiderius Erasmus 1469-1536

Erasmus is one of those writers you may have run into in a theology class or a literature class. His often humorous exposition of Reformation-era society makes for great reading, plus he was BFFs with Sir Thomas More (of Utopia fame). Additionally, you probably know of him from his highly publicized beef regarding free will/bondage with Martin Luther, the 95 theses guy who will probably get his own post one of these days.

Erasmus was a Christian humanist, dedicated to Renaissance ideals of rational education, which included study of classical languages, and resulted in his publication of a revised Greek biblical text and a corrected Latin Vulgate--quite controversial to the Catholic Church.

The thing I find most compelling about Erasmus is his commitment to truth over contention. Even though he was commissioned by the Catholic Church to speak out against Luther, he pointed out the downfalls of both sides, and while it didn't earn him any friends, he was standing up for what he believed to be right. Furthermore, he believed that this dialectic of respectfully differing beliefs was the very key to a good education and the seeking of truth. He didn't want to lay down a black and white doctrine; he wanted to discuss and debate to bring out truth.

What you should read:
Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)Gender Equality:
Erasmus's goal in translating the Bible was to make it accessible to all. In a letter, he wrote, "I wish that all women might read the Gospel, and the Epistles of Paul."
Environmental Sensibility:
I know pretty much nothing about his view on caring for the environment, but my guess would be that, as an enlightenment thinker, he was more interested in the progress of humanity than love of creation.
Heretical Tendencies:
He wasn't technically a heretic, but he was basically shunned by both the Catholic Church and the Reformers--all because he was trying to reconcile them in the name of God. Regardless, his works were condemned by the Church shortly after his death.
General Badassery:
He stood up to the Catholic Church and Martin Luther all on his own, speaking truth to power and not caring if he was accepted or well-liked.

And, lastly, I couldn't choose just one quote, so here's two:
"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."
&&"Even when everyone applauds you, you should be your own severest critic."