“You must above all exercise philanthropy”. This is the echoing theme in Julian II’s Letter to a Priest, a document penned by the last Roman pagan Emperor that outlines his plan to let paganism once again be the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. Constantine began the reign of Christianity in the Roman Empire when he rose to the throne in 306 AD. Julian, by contrast, mightily challenged Constantine’s introduction of Christianity as the dominant faith in the Roman Empire. Julian was Constantine’s nephew and the last pagan emperor of the Empire. His beliefs were strongly philosophical, and though he identified as a pagan, he believed mainly in the allegorical merit of the stories told concerning the gods and goddesses. Julian was not satisfied …show more content…
to simply practice his faith on a personal level; he wanted widespread paganism across the Empire. One part of his campaign for widespread paganism was the reeducation of pagan priests—Julian was in a position of power in the pagan church and felt responsible to implement changes in its structure. He drafted a letter to a pagan priest, the document I will be drawing from in this essay, in order to improve the pagan religion. At the time of his reign, Christianity was widespread and Julian could see what was working for the Christian faith. Julian’s sense is that Christianity derives its power from philanthropy, though the motivations behind their goodwill are amoral. Julian hopes to adapt this practice of philanthropy and apply it with moral intentions, with the daily lives of priests governed by morality, justice, and philanthropy. To conduct the analysis of this text, I will begin by discussing the nature and motivations behind the advice that Julian gives the priest, focusing in on philanthropy and morality. At this time, I will also address the factors motivating the priests’ actions. Next, I will outline the reasons Julian draws from Christian practices and how Julian hoped to bring about positive changes in pagan practices through his proposed tactic of philanthropy. Finally, I will address Julian’s sense of the source of Christianity’s power, and how he intends to adapt and improve upon that power. An important thing to understand about Julian is that philosophy was very important to his worldview.
Much of philosophical discussion in the time period concerned morality, thus morality was intrinsic to Julian’s belief system. Julian gives the priest some pieces of advice that may seem somewhat insignificant or arbitrary, but it is all rooted in a deep understanding of philosophy and ethics. Julian goes so far as to dictate how priests should spend their leisure time. Julian forbids priests from wearing extravagant clothes outside of sacred situations. This is in part to gain the grace of the gods: “For it is not rational that we should misuse, in empty conceit and vain ostentation, what has been given to us for the honour of the gods”. This is an example of seeking “horizontal” benefits from aligning oneself correctly with god or the gods—if someone has the grace of the gods, they will prosper in other areas of life: they will be wealthy, successful in battle, etc. But in this case, there is more to the story. The priest’s dress outside of religious situations affects the public’s view of him and the faith he represents. By dressing humbly, the priest gives the impression that his first priority is not himself or his own comfort, but the gods and the people he aids in his philanthropic duties as priest. Lastly, Julian insisted that only “the most upright men in every city, by preference those who show most love for the gods, and next those who show most love for their …show more content…
fellow men, must be appointed, whether they be poor or rich”. If moral and upright men are appointed as priests, the philanthropy they practice will be rightly motivated. Julian has observed that the Christians’ success is derived from their philanthropy and their morality, and has elected to learn from their example. The changes Julian proposes in his letter, namely the public dress of priests, their leisure habits, and the desired motivations behind their actions among other things are all intended to increase the amount of moral and mindful philanthropy and goodwill practiced by the pagans. “You must above all exercise philanthropy, for from it result many other blessings, and moreover that choicest and greatest blessing of all, the good will of the gods.” However the Emperor also acknowledges that human beings are “by nature a social animal” and should therefore also be naturally motivated to be good to the people that surround them. Julian identified strongly with philosophy and the idea that man had a duty to his fellow man to be good and decent, which offered a third form of selfless motivation behind philanthropic practices. However, there are good and bad kinds of philanthropy, and though Julian observes that the Christians apply philanthropy in order to aid their cause, they do so in a selfish and dishonestly motivated way. Julian believes that with the most moral men in positions of power, the good philanthropy practiced by the pagans will be in opposition to the amoral philanthropy of the Christians. But how can philanthropy be amoral? In his letter, Julian notes that the Christians’ goodwill is motivated by the fact that “they have gained ascendancy in the worst of their deeds through the credit they win from such practices”. He believes that Christians practice goodwill and philanthropy towards the poor and other unfortunates because they want to let their good deeds overshadow their bad ones in the eyes of the public. Secondly, he thinks their goodwill is also intended to lure unwitting people into Christianity despite it not being the true religion. He likens this practice to “[enticing] children with a cake, and by throwing it to them two or three times induce them to follow them, and then, when they are far away from their friends cast them on board a ship and sell them as slaves”. Christian philanthropy is just a sham: “that which for the moment seemed sweet, proves to be bitter for all the rest of their lives”. Julian wants pagan priests to practice goodwill and philanthropy solely out of “love for [their] fellows” and to try to “do good to as many men as [they] are able” . While Julian wants his priests to practice philanthropy just like the Christians, the pagan breed of philanthropy will not be rooted in bad intentions and amoral practices. Julian’s sense is that Christianity’s power and good reputation lies in the amoral manipulation of philanthropic tactics in order to change the public perception of Christianity and to lure people to the wrong faith. The emperor writes that the Christians saw that “the poor were neglected and overlooked by the priests… and devoted themselves to philanthropy”. Though this may seem charitable from the outset, Julian is convinced that their motivations are corrupt. He feels that the power of philanthropy, if applied with moral and just motivations, would allow people to realize that pagan practices are the true path of people who have aligned themselves with the gods. Not only would it bring public approval, it will also bring approval from the gods. Julian goes so far as to say that the philanthropy practiced by the pagans should go so far as to help not only the poor, but also those who have been deemed amoral by society, namely those in prison. “Hence I think that even those who are shut up in prison have a right to the same sort of care; since this kind of philanthropy will not hinder justice”. This breed of philanthropy does more than “not hinder” justice, it furthers it. By practicing moral and selfless philanthropy, Julian hopes to bring justice, and paganism, to the Empire’s society as a whole. Julian’s Letter to a Priest gives specific advice to a pagan priest to further the spread of pagan beliefs across the Empire and to combat the power of Christianity by adapting its own version of certain practices.
Julian believes that Christianity’s power lies in its manipulation of the populace via philanthropy and charity, and that it applies these tactics without moral or pure motivation. Were the pagan faith to use the same charitable tactics but with a good and philosophically moral motivation behind them, paganism would eventually be able to overtake the Christian-dominated Empire as the primary faith. It would benefit from increased public opinion, new followers who had been helped from the grace of the pagan church, and, most importantly, the goodwill of the gods themselves. And, in order to implement this new breed of philanthropy, Julian’s advice boils down to be the most humble, moral, charitable, and dedicated to the gods as
possible.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Julian of Norwich was raised up at St. Julian’s church and lived as an anchoress. In 1373, Julian of Norwich received a serious of visions when she was seriously sick and she would write down these visons which became known as the Shewings or Revelations of Divine Love. Julian of Norwich is the most spiritual and blessed person to live in the fourteenth through the beginning of the fifteenth century because she begs three gifts from God, she is constantly praising God for his unconditional love towards everything, and she wants other people to receive God’s grace better than she did. The three points are the most crucial beliefs to prove that Julian of Norwich was the most spiritual and blessed person to have lived in over half of the fourteenth
Julian of Norwich lived during a time of great fear dominated by economic and physical hardships, feudal era of control, fear of death from the bubonic plague, corruption within the church’s hierarchy and doubt and insincerity was rampant amongst believers. Living a simple existence she depende...
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Eusebius’ account of Constantine’s conversion is comparable to Gregory of Tours’ accounts of Clovis’ and Gundobad’s conversions to Christianity, in the sense that they all initially called upon the “Christ-God” (albeit Gundobad perhaps indirectly) to come to their aid, which he did, during periods of military crisis. The si...
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St. Augustine considers his mother as a crucial factor in his conversion to Catholicism. However through the analysis of his Confessions it leads me to believe that St. Augustine’s mother was not a decisive figure. Monica was in the background keeping him in thought and prayer however Augustine’s watershed moments came as a result of his own examination of readings as well as his conversations with his friends and mentors. Therefore I argue that Monica had delayed Augustine’s baptism and it was his own experiences that allowed him to come to God.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist, often referred to as “the father of modern physics”. He was one of the inventors of the telescope and a strong proponent of Copernicanism. Galileo used his invention to make astronomical observations which supported Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the universe. These discoveries led to a fierce dispute, because they contradicted the theory which was prevalent at the time – that the universe followed a geocentric model, a theory, which had been accepted by the Catholic Church. To address this dispute, Galileo wrote a letter to Tuscany’s Grand Duchess Christina, in which he presented his position on the relation between science and religion, stating that the Bible does not contradict science.
Nearly 300 years separated Ignatius of Antioch and Augustine of Hippo, during that time a lot changed for Christians in the Roman Empire. The church moved from being a criminal religious organization, to a legal religious organization, to the only legal public religion. Christians during this time were always engaging the culture around them—religion, politics, literature, education, etc. This paper will describe the Christian Roman religion before Constantine and after Constantine.
In the "Letter from a Birmingham jail", Martin Luther King Jr uses Thomas Aquinas to distinguish between human law and eternal law. He does this to explain the injustice that is all around the United States. The use of the Treatise of Law is used to justify King when he discussed that human's persons can know the eternal law and that human law is able to be "in harmony" with eternal law.
Ambrose writes a letter to the Priest in the setting of Christianity. He writes this letter to the priest offering pastoral advice on moral issues, which including the discussion on moral problems of wealth and greed” (Wogaman 48). Ambrose starts off the letter by expressing to the Priest how they are to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you” (Wogaman 48). He explains that the unrighteous are relentlessly imprisoned by one’s own principles than by one that may past judgment. Furthermore, Ambrose goes on to express that no one is without troubles and one shouldn’t allow his own his to cause him to fall. He stresses that one own decision should be carefully weighted out so that no regret is found in
Constantine I (February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E.), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E.), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine” . Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity were alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
Constantine was a huge benefactor when it came to the Church. He ordered the construction of many Churches in Rome including St. Paul’s outside the walls and the Basilica of St. Peter in 318 A.D.(Morgan 61-62). Both Churches are built on the spots where both Saints are buried. Constantine wanted to help the church grow and spread throughout the empire. In order to make this easier, he gave tax breaks to priests and made all church land tax free(Morgan 55). He also gave allowances to nuns, monks and others who devoted time to the Church. Even though he never made Christianity the official religion of the empire his conversion was the reason for a massive growth in the Christian population in the 4th century. Even though many people think it was a conversion based on spiritual reasons, it was actually a more political move seeing as many of his soldiers were already Christians and he wanted to be seen as more relatable(Stephenson 14). Also, Constantine wanted to appeal to the large and growing Christian communities within the empire. He feared the Christians would rebel against him if he did not act in their favor. Also, many of his soldiers were converting to Christianity and he did not want a military takeover to take place if he did not act in favor of the Christians. He came to realize through his working with the Church, that there was truth to Christianity and
A Philosophical Criticism of Augustine and Aquinas: The Relationship of Soul and Body The relationship of the human soul and physical body is a topic that has mystified philosophers, scholars, scientists, and mankind as a whole for centuries. Human beings, who are always concerned about their place as individuals in this world, have attempted to determine the precise nature or state of the physical form. They are concerned for their well-being in this earthly environment, as well as their spiritual well-being; and most have been perturbed by the suggestion that they cannot escape the wrongs they have committed while in their physical bodies.