Hi Edward. You are surely touching on important themes that the Christian texts support. But is it fair to claim the virtues Paul lists as superior in all respects to what others also teach, either before or since? To think Christian texts are the most superior teaching on all matters of ethics and morality is an irrational and a less than humble attitude to have about ones own religious history and perspective. You discredit Greek thought for example by implying they did not recognize and teach the importance of humility, that humility was looked on with 'embarrassment and contempt.' This is just not so. In a blog type non-technical page of a couple on the subject of Manliness at:
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/25/the-virtuous-life-humility/ the writers have a very solid essay on humility. They begin by emphasizing and giving a very good detailed example in Greek myth on the importance of humility. They begin:
Our popular image of manliness usually consists of a man with a cocky swagger, a rebel who blazes his own path and stands confident and ready to take on the world. “Humility” doesn’t seem to fit into this image. Humility oftentimes conjures up images of weakness, submissiveness, and fear. But this is a false idea of humility. Real humility is a sign of strength, authentic confidence, and courage. It is the mark of a true man.
The Hubris of Achilles
The ancient Greeks often wrote about the importance of humility. A reoccurring theme throughout their literature was the shameful, often fatal effects of hubris-excessive, arrogant pride. For the Greeks, hubris meant thinking you were wise when you were not. One story that drives home the importance of manly humility is Homer’s The Iliad.....the whole article: http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/25/the-virtuous-life-humility/#ixzz19Z8UXjjN
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| Achilles- Hubris Was Considered A Crime In Ancient Athens |
Addendum: A relative new area of knowledge regarding our Christian heritage has emerged. Beginning in the early centuries of Christian history many of the original views and interpretations of Jesus by Christians were labeled heresy by the commanding powers of developing church authority. This resulted in many writings, some of them as old as the canonical gospels, being condemned and burned. The Nag Hammadi Library of early centuries Christian and Gnostic writings was discovered in Egypt in 1945. Only in the last fifteen years have these become available for the public to read and study. Hopefully Christian's today will not have the same lack of humility our forebears did in claiming a superiority over the books that had been humanly named by the Church as the 'Only Word of God.' There is much being learned about the nature of early Christianity from such discoveries. Such learning requires a good measure of humility--- to let voices speak that were once hushed by a superior attitude that lacked humility. A good place to begin seeing what these books have to say are in the writings of Christian scholar of religion Elaine Pagles. One of her books Beyond Belief is a study of the Gospel of Thomas believed to have been written about the same time as some of our canonical gospels in the New Testament
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Edward FudgeMIND THE GAP!
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In 1992, Sara Faye and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to England. We still chuckle about a recording on the London "Tube" or "Underground" (subway) that admonished at each stop, "Mind the gap!" The voice was telling us to pay attention to the short empty space between the train and the platform, across which we had to step as we exited. "Mind"--a word of many uses. You have a mind that reminds you to mind authorities, to mind your business, and sometime not to mind irritations and slights real or imagined. The proper use of the mind (as well as the body) involves what have long been called the virtues. But it all begins with the mind, for the mind controls the body.
In New Testament times, philosophers, students and tradesmen alike discussed the virtues, defined by moderation and the absence of either excess or deficiency. This was part of the common conversation on the streets of Philippi. Little wonder that when Paul writes Philippian believers a letter, he says much about mindsets and outlooks, thought patterns, attitudes and frames of mind. Read through that short, four-chapter epistle sometime and mark every use of the words "mind," "-minded," "think," "attitude, and "purpose." In nearly every case, the original noun, verb, or adjective that those words translate stems from a single Greek root, "phron," referring to the mind. Summing it up, Paul encourages his friends to fill their minds with whatever is true, honorable, just and pure, reputable, excellent and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). Several of those words name standard Greco-Roman virtues.
Paul's language of Koine Greek was a legacy of Alexander the Great, a populist descendant of the classicists, put to good use every day by first-century philosophers. But Paul's message was not the same as the philosophers', any more than it was the message of the Jewish rabbis, although Paul's writings contain clear signs of influence by both. The goal is not the Golden Mean of a balanced life, but life lived well to the praise of God and of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:14-16). For Paul the virtues became incarnate in Jesus (Phil. 2:5). But Jesus redefines the virtues, which still include such traits as truth, justice and beauty, but for the believer also include traits previously viewed with embarrassment or contempt, such as lowliness and humility. Now modeled by Jesus, these traits are commended in other believers and are to be imitated by all (Phil. 2:6-8; 2:19-22; 2:1-5).
Philippi was an imperial outpost--a showcase city designed to model the superior civilization of Rome. Paul borrows and applies that thought also for gospel purposes. Believers are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20), he says, who model that lifestyle before fellow-residents in this dark and twisted world (Phil. 2:15). Spiritually speaking, Paul reminds us to "mind the gap"--this time, the gap between our present level of development and the goal to which God has called us in Christ (Phil. 3:12-16).
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Copyright 2010 by Edward Fudge. Permission hereby given to reproduce and/or retransmit without financial profit and with credit given.
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