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The
Two-Fold Detour of Christianity in the Fourth Century 05/28/2024 |
Christianity took a two-fold detour in the fourth century. First, when the emperor Constantine became Christian and spread Christianity through the empire in order to make some peace between warring factions of Christians. |
While peacemaking is a good thing, Christianity paid a severe price when it moved from being essentially a thorn in the empire’s side to being a crusade in Christ’s name. New Testament scholar Dominic Crossan wonders aloud if the Nicene Creed called by Constantine was a
“nightmare.” The “desert fathers” movement (beginning third century) and subsequent monastic movement (beginning fourth century) both resisted the dominant imperial |
Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea; the burning of Arian books. From MS CLXV, Biblioteca Capitolare, Vercelli, ca. 825. Wikimedia Commons. |
values of the imperial culture before and after Constantine. The price paid by a so-called “Christian empire” was severe on indigenous peoples, their cultures and religions especially from the time of Columbus on. “Christian empires” of the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, or
Belgian colonizers seldom qualified as something Christ-like. The second shadow that emerged in the name of Christianity in the fourth century was that of Augustine and his cherished Neo-Platonism. |
“The Four Doctors of the Catholic Church: Augustine of Hippo.” Painting by Gerard Seghers. Wikimedia Commons | Augustine planted dualisms of body vs. soul, sexuality vs. spirituality, nature vs. grace, male vs. female alongside his notion of original sin that fashioned a dualistic Christianity that spread in Western Europe and beyond. There were movements that resisted this dualism—Aquinas |
was
key—but as historian Père Chenu laments, it never really took hold in the church. Christianity became less and less moored to Jesus and his teachings and to the original meaning of the Christ event—including the Cosmic Christ and a creation-centered mysticism. |
Unmoored from the gospels, it became moored to the needs of empire-building, including invoking the idea of “redemption” (understood as redemption from original sin) as the rallying cry to conquer peoples of the earth. And preaching that one was doomed to hell if this “redemption” was not accomplished exclusively through Christ. And feeding |
“Columbus Landing on Hispaniola.” In Great Journeys, America, part 4. Intaglio engraving by Théodore de Bry, 1594. Wikimedia Commons. |
the
Doctrine of Discovery (mercifully but belatedly buried recently by Pope Francis after five+ centuries). The Nicene Creed, crafted by bishops under the eye of Emperor Constantine, does show important traces of the Cosmic Christ cosmology, but it astonishingly leaves out the teachings of Jesus. No mention
whatsoever of “love thy neighbor”; “what you do to the least you do to me”; “Be you compassionate as your Father in heaven is compassionate”; the Beatitudes; or justice. One has to look elsewhere for that—maybe back to the gospels themselves? |
See Matthew Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic—and Beyond, pp. xxxviiif., 114-119.
And Matthew Fox, Original Blessing.
And Matthew Fox, Christian Mystics.
Banner Image:
“The Battle of Milvian Bridge,” before which Constantine had a vision promising victory if the sign of the Chi Rho, the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, was painted on the soldiers’ shields. Fresco by Giulio Romano (1520), in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. Photo by Jean-Christophe Benoist, Wikimedia Commons. |
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Queries for Contemplation |
What results do you recognize in history and in today’s world that derive from these two movements of the fourth century? Do you also sense something serious is missing in the Nicene Creed? |
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a
deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly
supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.” –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE. |
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew
is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author,
The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story |
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Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in
Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry.
“Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us in wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion
and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless
Youth.
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality: What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join keynote speakers Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme at the 2024 Creation Spirituality Communities Gathering on “Reimagining Our Story, Hope for Humanity,” live at Cape Cod, MA and by livestream. Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2. Learn more and register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
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