Wisdom and Ministry // Moriah Nelson
The recurring theme I saw throughout Erasmus’s In Praise of Folly and The Abbot and the Learned Lady was of self-perceived wisdom and superior status. All of the religious leaders are depicted as men who believe they are wise based on their deeds and certainly not according to the wisdom we see in God’s Word. In The Abbot and the Learned Lady, the abbot is shown saying,
“I’m wise enough-so far as I’m concerned.”, a phrase that goes directly against many Scriptures such as Romans 12:16 (ESV):
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”
We later read in In Praise of Folly that many of the religious leaders were not even literate so maybe Antronius the abbot just missed this command, but I think it is important to note. If our idea of wisdom is not based on Scripture (and not just what we have heard is in Scripture either), we could all decide when we are actually wise, which could be at any given level of maturity, etc.
In Erasmus’sIn Praise and Folly, Erasmus writes down most, if not all, of the flaws he sees in the religious leaders of his day. When specifically speaking of the theologians, he writes,
“They are so blessed by their self-love as to be fully persuaded that they themselves dwell in the third heaven, looking down from high above on all other mortals as if they were earth-creeping vermin almost worthy of their pity.” This jab at the theologians’ belief that they were better than other Christians or people in general made me think of a quote by Jim Elliot, a missionary to Ecuador and martyr:
“Missionaries are very human folks, just doing what they are asked. Simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.” I think his mindset for serving the Lord is more in line with that of the Biblical apostles than the mindset of the religious leaders of Erasmus’ time. Truthfully, we are all united in the body of Christ and not one of us is better than the other. We have all been saved by grace (not by anything we have done) and thus have nothing to truly boast in except the Lord we serve. Disclaimer: it is so easy to be in the mindset of these medieval ministers. We often still get wrapped up in nonessential controversies, we still rely on our religious rituals, we still are sometimes hypocrites, and we can be lured into the world and its pleasures. However, hopefully this week’s reading helps us all see where we can be more faithful to Christ and less dependent on our religious deeds.
I commented on AnnaKate and Breanna's posts.
okay, okay, okay... I just finished my blog post and yessss I agree. I didn't dwell on the religious deeds as you did, but the reading honestly had me questioning a lot within myself, the church, and the way that we display Christianity. I mean, I do GOOD things - but I also do some REALLY BAD things sometimes, and the same crowd doesn't see both decisions. Therefore, if I am giving God the credit for my good deeds, He gets the backlash from the people for my decision, as I have linked myself as a Christian.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! Looking to exalt oneself is the wrong idea, regardless of whether one attempts to accomplish this through religion or not. Many of these church leaders were guilty of hypocrisy. Erasmus even criticized them as becoming a new race of Jews, attempting to outwardly obey the law while fostering corruption on the inside. The call to follow Christ is not one of prestige, and in fact it is quite the opposite. We are called to die to ourselves, meaning we should deny the selfish and sinful desires of the flesh and seek to praise the name of the only one who matters, God.
ReplyDeleteI would add one more danger to the list of ways we could go wrong like the church officials did: overly exalting ourselves through worldly goods. Much like Pope Julius demonstrated in the online handout, it’s hard to consider yourself a servant if you’re living in the highest luxuries the world has to offer while the people you’re meant to serve are poor. I’m not saying it’s bad to have a big house or a nice car, but indulging oneself can be a major pitfall if not watched out for. In Julius’ case, they helped bolster his belief that he was more important than the poor. In our case, it may be as simple as being lead to believe that we deserve better than what we have and, as a result, over committing ourselves to the “American dream” instead of to the poor and lowly.
ReplyDeleteIt's similar to Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians about the parts of the body and the purposes each part has in relation to another. He points out that all parts are necessary, while some stronger than others. Some of us in the family of God will never read Plato or Aristotle; some will memorize their work. The difference is in choosing to believe we are better because of what we know or what we do. Wisdom comes to the humble, never the arrogant.
ReplyDelete