Fathers, Martyrs, And Our Religion Is Better : A New Critical Outlook On The Life Of The

     Lives of the Saints is a story that examines the complexities and tribulations of everyday life in a small town. Throughout the novel, we discover that even the most trustworthy and caring individuals live secret lives behind closed doors, and that the surface appearance of minor communities can be very deceptive. Some people spend their entire adult-lives trying to knock down these doors and discover the truth, but perhaps they are overlooking the key to the lock… our children.

Elisabeth Lesuer was a very faithful, and intelligent woman in the late 19th century early 20th century. Being brought up in the upper-middle class, she was able to be educated privately in languages, arts, and literature. She has also studied much of the Catholic Faith. She meets the love of her life Felix Lesuer in 1886 while he was attending the University of Paris. The two married in 1889. While going to the university, Felix quits Catholicism, but the two had an agreement that Elisabeth can remain faithful, but Felix did not practice in the faith at all. Later in time, though, Felix started giving Elisabeth readings against Christianity weakening her participation in Christianity; One day this backfired on him when handing her Earnest Renan’s History of the Origins of Christianity, the first volume of which, The Life of Jesus, denies Christ’s Divinity. After reading this, Elisabeth does research on this matter, and experiences deep adult conversion, and returns passionately practicing the Faith,which she saw as the truth. Begins writing her spiritual journal in 1899 called Journal et pensées de chaque jour. The journal just showed how committed she was to that faith, even though her social society was against it, and how she would get by being faithful, without making Felix mad, and anyone else against the Faith she knew in her life. Elisabeth’s journal explained why she was so faithful, and how she would study, and pray the Faith in ways that didn’t upset those

In an era of male domination and patriarchy in the Roman society, St. Perpetua’s chronicles in Passion stands out to many historians. St. Perpetua demonstrated her deep faith in Christianity by using it as a means to break through social norms for women imposed by the Roman Empire. Although she is able to overcome the social norms in many occasions of her time in prison, one of her last acts falls right back into societies expectations because of vanity. This is seen when she feels the need to fix her hair before she takes her last breath. Having come from a wealthy family it came to a great surprise to many that she was willing to cut all ties with her family in order to devote her life to God through the Christian faith and oppose the Roman

Saint Catherine is important to Christianity, because she is credited with bringing over two-hundred soldiers and members of the emperor 's family, along with fifty pagan philosophers, to Christ. She was sentenced to die by the spiked wheel, but when she touched it, it shattered, and she was then beheaded. The life of Saint Catherine teaches us that pursuing Christ may not bring riches or earthly honors, but it will bring Heavenly riches, and she is a symbol of perseverance and good.

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas is classified as a hagiography on the martyrdom of two important Christian women. Though this source contains bias, being written by a supporter of the two martyrs, important information lies in the typical Roman Christian’s perspective on religious women. Perpetua, in contrast to Lysistrata, does not derive her power and

St. Julia of Corsica was born in the sixth or seventh century in South Africa. St. Julia was a slave to a man who believed in many Gods. She did everything to was supposed to do happily because she really loves God. St. Julia would not go near a place that celebrated the God she didn't believe in. The governor asked who she was to be rude to their Gods. The merchant told the governor that she was a Christian and she would never depart from her God. The merchant didn't want to give her up because she was faithful.

In her critical analysis of ‘Moral Saints’, Susan Wolf examines the concept of a moral saint in order to understand what exactly a moral saint would be like and why such an agent would be an unattractive individual. More so, she raises questions about the significance of this contradictory figure for moral philosophy. Looking first at the idea of moral sainthood from the ethics of common sense, Susan Wolf then considers what relations these have to the conclusions that can be drawn from both Utilitarian and Kantian moral theories. Having found these relations, Susan Wolf then speculates on the implications of these considerations for moral philosophy (Wolf, 1982, 419-420). As part of my essay, I aim to explore Susan Wolf’s argument of the ‘undesirable and unattractive’ life of a moral saint, and why she speculates such a view. Looking first at the distinguishing figures of the Loving Saint and the Rational Saint to which she bases her underlying characteristics on, I then look into Susan Wolf’s arguments in relation to Utilitarian and Kantian theories and how she speculates their undesirable notions that lead to the idea of moral sainthood. Having explored these speculations, I them aim to conclude on how Susan Wolf’s argument of the ‘unattractive’ moral saint is misunderstood, as she primarily bases her argument based on the idea of moral judgement.

“Thus hath this wydwe hir litel sone ytaught / Oure blisful Lady, Cristes mooder deere, / To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught, / For sely child wol alday soone leere. / But ay, whan I remembre on this mateere, / Seint Nicholas stant evere in my presence, / For he so yong to Crist dide reverence” (509-515). This metaphorical similarity between Saint Nicholas and the Virgin Mary casts Christians as being realistic, moral, guiltless and acquitted from any wrongdoing.

Saint Agnes was a courageous young girl, who grew up in Christian family. From a young age, Saint Agnes was never afraid to stand up for what she believed in. Saint Agnes was fully committed to God, as she often said “Jesus Christ is my only Spouse.” Even when Saint Agnes was being put to death, she never once denied God. Saint Agnes was happy and joyful because she knew death would reunite her with God.

Indeed, the Saints have ever been, are, and ever will be the greatest benefactors of society, and perfect models for every class and profession, for every state and condition of life, from the simple and uncultured peasant to the master of sciences and letters, from the humble artisan to the commander of armies, from the father of a family to the ruler of peoples and nations, from simple maidens and matrons of the domestic hearth to queens and empresses.

The Arts of the Medieval times was mostly portrayed through a Christian’s view. For example, this is very well proved through the symbols of Ecclesia and Synagoga. Ecclesia, represents the church, is “depicted as a proud and victorious women,” while Synagoga, who represents Judaism, is “depicted as a blindfolded women bearing a broken sceptre.” These two images were very popular around Europe and “appeared on ivory tablets, in stained-glass windows, and in monumental statuary.” The distinct differences of the two women encompass a certain Christian supremacy over Judaism. In most if not all cases, Synagoga is portrayed as the murderer of Christ, holding weapons of Satan or ones used during the crucifixion. A very common scene with Synagoga

The first signs of religion date back to 230,000 B.C.E and it has been an influential factor in the decision making in communities since the Neolithic era. Religion is continually used to this day to create moral frameworks for communities, give a sense of togetherness for communities and to give comfort in those in need. However, religion has caused thousands of wars, racism and has created very controversial creational topics that are still debated about today. It is an undisputed fact that religion has an incredible influence on the decisions of society and influences the thought process of a population: “Religion is the opium of the people” – Karl Marx. Is this the end of your introduction? Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a novelette that takes place in Latin America during the 1920’s; it is a non-linear story about the murder of Santiago Nasar. The story explains in a

Saint Edmund Campion, because of his brilliant intellect and faithful martyrdom, converted many into the Catholic faith. He grew to be a scholar, a priest, a true hero, and finally, a martyr. He was very popular back and well-liked by the English people in the sixteenth century, especially by the queen herself. But he used his popularity for good, and was able to convert numerous people by doing so. (Wallace 285) (Waugh 17, 61, 105, 159)

Growing up I learned by example, learning to speak by mimicking what I heard and learning to walk by trying what I saw. For most, their first learning examples are from their parents, and generally boys gravitate towards their father and girls to their mother. Straight out of the gate I was following this trait, with a dad that’s six foot four with hands bigger than my head ever since I can remember that big strong guy I call “dad” has been my role model, and God intended it this way. God is our Holy father and we are supposed to look to him for everything, however this is harder to do when he isn’t that big strong guy you see every day, therefore He gave us earthly fathers, an earthly representation of himself. Why is this important? This patriarchy that God put in place is important because it gives us an earthly version of him that we can look to. A role model whose purpose is to provide for our needs, protect us from harm, and teach how to be a servant of the Lord.

Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.