Mysteries of the Middle Ages

Thomas Cahill, in his recent book, Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe, gives a brief introduction to important people and events that shaped the modern world in the areas of Women’s rights, science and technology, and music and the arts. While many historians focus on the negative aspects of the Middle Ages, especially of the corruption of the Popes and the resistance of the Catholic Church to science and progress, Cahill looks at the positive side of the Middle Ages, pointing out many of the brilliant men and women who helped bring change and reforms that laid the foundation for modern society.

Cahill begins the book by laying the historical foundation for the Middle Ages. He explains how ancient Greece and Rome flourished, providing a rich cultural heritage that was nearly forgotten by the fall of Rome to the barbarians. Even though it wouldn’t be until the Renaissance that this cultural heritage was rediscovered, the near millennium between these events wasn’t as “dark” as many have been led to believe. During this time, men and women of great intellect and character continued to make discoveries and add to the cultural development of Europe.

Hildegard of Bingen became a nun at age 8 and lived most of her early life in seclusion in a monastery. However, she read widely and educated herself far beyond any woman of her time, as well as most men. She was outspoken and daring, stepping consistently outside the norms of society and paving the way for the liberation of women in Europe. She also created a new genre of music that was more complex and free than anything the church had ever seen. Even though she lived from 1098 to 1179, she had an influence on the church and society that lasted for centuries.

Peter Abelard was another brilliant man who pressed the envelope by his enquiries and radical theology. While he was constantly harassed for his cutting edge ideas, he never stopped thinking and teaching what he believed was a better understanding of the world and the Bible. Unfortunately, he fell in love with Heloise and married her secretly after getting her pregnant. However, the secret got out and heloise’s father castrated Abelard and he had to live out his days separated from the woman he loved.

Thomas Aquinas was a solid, steady thinker who reshaped Catholic theology by using Aristotle’s ideas as a foundation instead of Plato’s. The newly rediscovered philosopher captivated Aquinas’ imagination and he wrote volumes integrated what he was learning from Aristotle with Christian doctrine. His writings have influenced Catholic doctrine more than any other theologian even to this day.

Dante transformed the world of literature with his Divine Comedy, written between 1308 and 1321. Dante was enamored with the Roman poet Virgil whose Latin style influenced Dante’s Italian style. Dante was also inspired by the love of his life, Beatrice, with whom he never actually had close intimate contact. These two loves shaped all that Dante wrote, the most famous being the Divine Comedy, which describes his journey through Hell, Purgatory, and finally Paradise, in which he places many historical and contemporary figures in one of the three realms. His works have influenced popular Catholic thought for centuries.

Finally, Giotto was a brilliant and prolific artist in Florence, Italy from1267 to 1337. His works are considered the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. His paintings, sculpture and architecture ignited a new artistic movement that lasted centuries.

Slippery Slopes, the Blogosphere, and Women

Susan Wise Bauer, in her article “On Slippery Slopes, the Blogosphere, and (oh, yes) Women,” takes a brave step when she reviews John Stackhouse’s book, Finally Feminist, in Books & Culture, January/February 2007, pages 28-29. Stackhouse has thoroughly researched the issue of women and their role in the church and tries to present a balanced view, neither feminist nor patriarchal. In doing so he has opened himself up to severe criticism from both sides, but especially from conservative Christians. The biggest fear patriarchal Christians have is that by giving in to the feminists not only does Stackhouse reject biblical authority but also opens the door for homosexuals, sending the church down a “slippery slope”. Bauer takes issue with this fear in her review and clearly demonstrates that such fears are unfounded and counterproductive. She feels that Stackhouse does not give in to feminists, nor does he open up the door for homosexuals. Instead, by offering a biblically sound argument for a centrist position, Stackhouse has laid a solid foundation for the study and application of biblical truth to the role of women in the church.

Stackhouse’s main argument is that God revealed himself to man within particular cultural contexts. While not condoning sinful or unjust social practices or institutions, God often let them be and allowed the revealed truth to work and transform those practices and institutions over time. Some examples would be polygamy and slavery. While Christianity today clearly teaches that these two cultural practices are wrong, God allowed men in the past to practice both without any condemnation. However, as the truth permeated the culture, these practices were slowly abandoned.

The New Testament clearly teaches that slaves should obey their masters, not run away or seek to be free. However, the New Testament also teaches that masters should treat their slaves with respect and justice. When the abolitionist movement began using Scripture to condemn slavery, there were many Christians who defended slavery with Scripture. However, the sinful and unjust institution of slavery was abandoned in favor of equality and freedom. Few Christians today would argue for a return to slavery and defend their position with Scripture.

In the same way, Stackhouse sees patriarchal cultural institutions and practices in the same way. There are verses in the New Testament that teach that women should remain silent and not have authority over men. However, the New Testament also teaches that women have a valuable role to play in the church and includes many women who taught and held positions of authority. Just as slavery has been abandoned because its basic premises are unbiblical, so too, Stackhouse holds, patriarchal attitudes and practices should be abandoned because its basic premises are also unbiblical.

Here are some quotes from the article that I found helpful:

“But while the church is striving not to cause unnecessary offense to the unbelievers around it, another dynamic is unfolding, at least within Christian homes and the church: "kingdom values at work overcoming oppression, eliminating inequality, binding disparate people together in love and mutual respect, and the like." And this, of course, is central to Stackhouse's understanding of the "difficult passages" having to do with gender. There is tension between the message of the gospel and the particular commands to the churches. "Paul means just what he says about gender," Stackhouse writes, "everything he says about gender, not just the favorite passages cited by one side or another… . He believes that women should keep silent in church and that they should pray and prophesy. How can they do both? By being silent at the right times, and by praying and prophesying at the right times."”

“Many evangelicals are clinging to patriarchy as God's perfect plan for his people, rather than recognizing it as a sinful and temporary cultural phenomenon. In this way, Stackhouse suggests, we are doing exactly what Paul was trying to prevent: we are hindering the gospel, driving away unbelievers who might otherwise hear the truth of Christ's deliverance and be redeemed.”

“Let me be clear: I am not accusing complementarians of being racists. I am criticizing the slippery slope argument itself, not the motivations of those who make it. The theologians who insist that the commands restricting women are obvious and universal—and if you don't think so, that's your problem—have to do some fancy footwork if they're going to assert that the equally "clear" passages on slavery suddenly became no longer applicable sometime in the 19th century.”

“Stackhouse finds, in the church's changing attitude toward slavery, a proper model for the church's changing attitude toward women. He points out that while women and homosexuals are never linked in the restrictive passages of the New Testament, women and slaves are. Women and slaves in the early church, freed in Christ, were nevertheless encouraged to observe cultural norms to keep the gospel from disrepute.”

“The abolition model is much more useful than the slippery slope. "Slippery slope" is actually the name of a logical fallacy, described by Aristotle, in which a series of events is traced back to an earlier event without any proven causation. I can't possibly be the only evangelical who thinks that it's odd that a logical fallacy should become the chosen metaphor of evangelicals whose primary concern is to see the world as God sees not, not as "the culture" sees it.”


You can read the article at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/001/8.28.html.