Hilary Of Poitiers: A Later Patristic Period Theologian Analysis

In Roberta Bondi’s book, To Love as God Loves, in her own struggle with Christianity, she studies the early manuscripts and the lives of the early monastics. These writings shed light and clarity to understanding the love of God.

While Augustine’s interpretation is a classic understanding of the Fall that has had a lasting impact on Western society, in contrast Julian’s nuanced understanding of the Fall has had little influence in most subsequent theological thought until relatively recently. Indeed, it wasn’t until the 20th century that her work began to be broadly in circulation. Even in modern reflections on her theology, many scholars underappreciate or misunderstand her theology. Some theologians even suggest that she is moving towards unorthodoxy. Additionally, although Julian of Norwich is held in high esteem by many scholars and non-scholars, she is not always recognized as a highly complex

“One has to consult the sayings of the Fathers of the Church, as well as other ancient writers. This helps us understand the historical changes which have occurred over the years. Reading the Fathers can give meaning to many of the rubrics, many of which are not carried out properly because of lack of understanding of their meaning”.

Elisheva Baumgarten’s work stands as a model for students and scholars alike in its comprehensive review of little-known writings and other sources from medieval Ashkenazi Jews as well as in its meticulous analysis of the often ambiguous writings. In Mothers and Children, Baumgarten examines a plethora of primary sources to explore the inner dynamics of Jewish families; she then uses this information to draw objective conclusions about the relationship between the Jewish and Christian communities in the middle ages.

In the 16th Century, Europeans had their faith shattered and were forced to realize that there was doubt in what they believed in. From the countless wars being fought in the name of religion, to the once great and wealthy countries that needed to reaffirm their place in the world, ‘all that they had once taken for granted was suddenly cast into doubt’ (446). Europeans were desperately searching for new foundations to put their faith in ‘in the face of intellectual, religious, and political challenges’ (446). This period is an example of the expression “Age of Doubt, Age of Uncertainty”.

When the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church was the only powerful authority not complete disrupted by the attack by barbarians. In fact, the work of great Popes is what helped their power increase even more. The newly christened barbarians, done by the Pope Gregory the Great, inaugurated a new age in Jesus Christ called Christendom. All culture in Christendom conformed to that of the Church’s, and, with its headquarters in Rome, the powerful “papal monarchs”, as they were called, controlled the machine that was the Catholic Church.

As a text written in the early middle ages, the Canon Episcopi by Regino of Prüm was revolutionary in the fact that it exemplified a growing skepticism for magic within the Christian community, and most importantly, it served as a strict call to arms for church officials to identify and eliminate practices of magic within parish communities. As a major theological text in the time where Christianity is finally solidifying doctrine, the Canon Episcopi should both draw upon existing ideas of its predecessors and shape the theological works of its successors. While the works of other theological minds show evidence of a common theme or influence, there is still extreme variability and sometimes even direct opposition to Regino’s themes. While

Hildegard von Bingen, a German prophetic visionary and polymath, lived in the twelfth century at a time when the church was becoming corrupt and unstable. As a young nun in the Benedictine community at Rupertsburg and under Jutta’s tutelage, Hildegard acquired a prolific knowledge of the Christian scriptures as well as the doctrines and theology of the Church. She was able to use this knowledge to shape her ideas and to lobby for church reform. Throughout her life, Hildegard received visions that were believed to have been divinely inspired. She was encouraged to write down these ‘visions’ in her exemplary work, the Scivias—‘Know the Ways of the Lord’— which was approved by papal imprimatur and as such was motivated to carry God’s Work. The

Irenaeus of Lyon was a very influential theologian during the second century. From his defining works changing Christians views on Gnosticism, to his letters concerning Roman priest and controversial topics, Irenaeus began to change the view of Christianity.

Netherlandish use of triptychs—three distinct art pieces that simultaneously exist as individual images and as a collective picture—usually were presented as devotional images and altarpieces. Joachim Patinir’s triptych, The Penitence of Saint Jerome (c. 1512-1515, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY), employs both the same form of traditional triptychs and the Netherlandish tradition of extended panoramic landscapes; however, the triptych breaks traditional convention.

The purpose of the paper is to differentiate between Christ of faith and Jesus of history. New Testament biblical scholars from the 19th Century have been preoccupied by the notion of Christ of faith versus Jesus of History. Jesus of history can be described as the quest for historical Jesus, while the Christ of Faith is the Christ of Christian belief either through the Church or historically. Some traditions even went ahead to argue that the Jesus of History could never be found and therefore the Christ of faith is the only way forward for Christians. On the other hand, those who have been promoting the Jesus of History have often assumed that the historical Jesus is much superior as compared to the Christ of Faith. Despite the key differences between Christ of faith and the historical Jesus, both these aspect have an implication for Western Christianity.

Known as the father of modern liberal theology, Friedrich Schleiermacher was a German theologian, philosopher and biblical scholar who focused his attention on the nature of religious experience from the viewpoint of the individual and human nature itself (Mariña 3). Influenced by German Romanticism, Schleiermacher attempted to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant Christianity (Crouter 261). By doing so, he abandoned the pietistic Moravian theology that had failed to satisfy his increasing doubts and he adopted the rational spirit of Christian Wolff and Johann Salomo Semler. He then became acquainted with the techniques of historical criticism of the New Testament and of Johann Augustus Eberhard, from whom he acquired a love of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. As a result, he began applying ideas from the Greek philosophers to a reconstruction of Immanuel Kant’s system (Mariña 3). On this basis, this essay articulate Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of religion and its relationship to Christianity as described in Speech I: Defense and Speech II: The Nature of Religion of his work On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. The essay will explore Schleiermacher’s rejection of various views of religion held by the despisers, explain his identification of the true religion with feeling and describe his view of the relationship between religion and Christianity.

The rise of literacy towards the end of the Middle Ages brought with it a torrent of individuals ready to think fro themselves and formulate their own theories and ideas regarding God and the Christian faith. For a long time, the church held a near monopoly on literacy and used this to maintain control over people’s lives and beliefs. While some of these new intellectuals created ideas that would forever change the way people envision themselves and their relation to God and the universe, some simply patched together tidbits of ideas that were not born out of deep philosophical inquiry, but had more of an instinctive type of logical grounding. This was the line of thinking that made up Domenico

Anthony Parel’s book, The Machiavellian Cosmos, written in 1992, argues that Machiavelli does not fit the Renaissance description of what a Christian entailed. He like some of the other authors discussed in this book, state that Machiavelli believed “Christianity made the world weak, and encouraged Christians to suffer injuries rather than to avenge them.” The books main discussion depicts heaven as a non-religious place in Machiavellian ideology, instead he hearkens back to the ancients’ teachings on the heavens. Heaven entails astrological connotations in Machiavelli’s works, which gives Machiavelli a “certain type of naturalism.” Parel’s book appears difficult to read, as he makes odd arguments concerning astrology affecting Christianity

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.