These three periods of Christian identity, of the martyrs and early church, the reformers of the mendicant era, and the successes of the Renaissance, have all in some way, shape, or form shaped Christian identity of the modern time.
From the martyrs comes a desire for a deepening of faith. The stories that come from this era serve to encourage their readers to go deeper in their faith, to put even more on the line. The martyrs, held up as examples of the faithful lives, show a path toward perfection of the Christian faith.
The mendicants remind the church of its roots, and of the people it is called to serve. The examples of the mendicants, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Dominic, among others, call to mind the very image of Jesus Christ Himself, and showed their contemporaries a plausible method to truly imitate Christ. While by no means easy, these Christians showed a care for their faith community; while being a church of sinners, the mendicants desired to help Christianity realize its calling of being the sinless church of God.
Finally, the glory of the Renaissance calls to mind the glory of God. Through such human achievement comes a taste of the Divine, a sense that God Himself is truly present in the world of today. Such beauty and mastery of all areas of mankind’s social life could only come about through the help of God. While at the same time recognizing the glories of humanity in this era, the Renaissance also reminds Christians that they cannot become too engrossed in solely the works of humans. If the pursuit of human perfection is not balanced by a relationship with the Divine, it becomes corrupted, leading to the many abuses of power and position found in all areas of the Renaissance.
In comparison with Christian culture of today, the martyrs and mendicants might have an issue with the practice of the faith. Both of these two promote a deepening or enlivening of the faith. The martyrs advocate for a real faith, not just the name of Christian, which can be used one moment and shed in the next. In a current faith community where, as an example, 90% of Italians profess to be Catholic, yet only 12% practice, this aspect of Christian identity needs to be reinforced (tour guide). Christians of today, both within Italy and the larger community, need to embrace the faith, so as to be immovably set on Christ, as an anchor on the sea floor, instead of drifting around on the waters of life. The mendicants agree with a call to action from modern Christians. From those who do practice the faith, they would desire 21st Century Christians to embrace the lowly nature of Christ, the perfect example. The mendicant would not find interest in the beauty of the Vatican, but instead in the homeless, sleeping one street away from the church’s capital. St. Francis would advocate for helping these people, the most vulnerable among us, before helping ourselves out more.
In contrast, Renaissance Christians might be a group that today’s Christians can identify with more. Always obsessed with the newest phone or fashion, the Renaissance Christians could find parallels with their quest for the most beautiful art or highest reaching building. However, the same warning from above applies here as well. Finding God in the glory of the world is a key part of the Christian faith, just balanced by not being too engrossed in these temporal happenings.
All three groups have a message that might aid modern Christians in expressing their faith, however, the current culture must not be regarded as something inferior or wholly different from these three cultures. As Reinhold Niebuhr describes, culture is a social inheritance, humanity builds off of what it has in the past. As such, while different values of these cultures may have been emphasized or degraded in Christianity throughout the ages, each of them has already left an indelible mark on the Christian culture of today.
Photo Credit for the Cross goes to au.tv.yahoo.com
From the martyrs comes a desire for a deepening of faith. The stories that come from this era serve to encourage their readers to go deeper in their faith, to put even more on the line. The martyrs, held up as examples of the faithful lives, show a path toward perfection of the Christian faith.
The mendicants remind the church of its roots, and of the people it is called to serve. The examples of the mendicants, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Dominic, among others, call to mind the very image of Jesus Christ Himself, and showed their contemporaries a plausible method to truly imitate Christ. While by no means easy, these Christians showed a care for their faith community; while being a church of sinners, the mendicants desired to help Christianity realize its calling of being the sinless church of God.
Finally, the glory of the Renaissance calls to mind the glory of God. Through such human achievement comes a taste of the Divine, a sense that God Himself is truly present in the world of today. Such beauty and mastery of all areas of mankind’s social life could only come about through the help of God. While at the same time recognizing the glories of humanity in this era, the Renaissance also reminds Christians that they cannot become too engrossed in solely the works of humans. If the pursuit of human perfection is not balanced by a relationship with the Divine, it becomes corrupted, leading to the many abuses of power and position found in all areas of the Renaissance.
In comparison with Christian culture of today, the martyrs and mendicants might have an issue with the practice of the faith. Both of these two promote a deepening or enlivening of the faith. The martyrs advocate for a real faith, not just the name of Christian, which can be used one moment and shed in the next. In a current faith community where, as an example, 90% of Italians profess to be Catholic, yet only 12% practice, this aspect of Christian identity needs to be reinforced (tour guide). Christians of today, both within Italy and the larger community, need to embrace the faith, so as to be immovably set on Christ, as an anchor on the sea floor, instead of drifting around on the waters of life. The mendicants agree with a call to action from modern Christians. From those who do practice the faith, they would desire 21st Century Christians to embrace the lowly nature of Christ, the perfect example. The mendicant would not find interest in the beauty of the Vatican, but instead in the homeless, sleeping one street away from the church’s capital. St. Francis would advocate for helping these people, the most vulnerable among us, before helping ourselves out more.
In contrast, Renaissance Christians might be a group that today’s Christians can identify with more. Always obsessed with the newest phone or fashion, the Renaissance Christians could find parallels with their quest for the most beautiful art or highest reaching building. However, the same warning from above applies here as well. Finding God in the glory of the world is a key part of the Christian faith, just balanced by not being too engrossed in these temporal happenings.
All three groups have a message that might aid modern Christians in expressing their faith, however, the current culture must not be regarded as something inferior or wholly different from these three cultures. As Reinhold Niebuhr describes, culture is a social inheritance, humanity builds off of what it has in the past. As such, while different values of these cultures may have been emphasized or degraded in Christianity throughout the ages, each of them has already left an indelible mark on the Christian culture of today.
Photo Credit for the Cross goes to au.tv.yahoo.com