Podcasts about saturninus

Full Text of ReadingsFriday after Ash Wednesday Lectionary: 221The Saint of the day is Saints Perpetua and FelicitySaints Perpetua and Felicity's Story “When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?' ‘No,' he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.'” So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua's mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts. Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced. Perpetua's record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. Reflection Persecution for religious beliefs is not confined to Christians in ancient times. Consider Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who with her family, was forced into hiding and later died in Bergen-Belsen, one of Hitler's death camps during World War II. Anne, like Perpetua and Felicity, endured hardship and suffering and finally death because she committed herself to God. In her diary, Anne writes, “It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Saint Perpetua is the Patron Saint of: WidowsMothers of Deceased Sons Learn more about Saints Perpetua and Felicity! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Today is Friday, November 29, 2024, A Feria, with the commemoration of St. Saturninus, a 4th class feast, with the color of green. In this episode: The meditation: “The Beauty of God,” a preview of this week's episode of The SSPX Podcast God's Use of Instrumental Causality, today's news from the Church: “119th Anniversary of the Birth of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre,” and today's thought from the Archbishop. We'd love your feedback on these Daily Devotionals! What do you like / not like, and what would you like us to add? podcast@sspx.org Sources Used Today: Practical Meditations  (Angelus Press) “A Cardinal's Recollections” (FSSPX.news) https://fsspx.news/en/news/cardinals-recollections-46223 “God's Use of Instrumental Causality " (SSPX Podcast) View on YouTube Listen & Subscribe on SSPXpodcast.com The Spiritual Life- Archbishop Lefebvre (Angelus Press) - - - - - - - Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >> - - - - - - - Explore more: Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional - it's a perfect companion! Subscribe to this Podcast to receive this and all our audio episodes Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channel for video versions of our podcast series and Sermons FSSPX News Website: https://fsspx.news Visit the US District website: https://sspx.org/ - - - - - What is the SSPX Podcast? The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.  - - - - - - What is the SSPX? The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood. Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls. Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it. https://sspx.org

waarin we, mijmerend bij oude ruïnes, zien hoe de antieke wereld grondig door elkaar wordt geschud en ons afvragen waarom het Romeinse imperium verdween.WIJ ZIJN: Jonas Goossenaerts (inhoud en vertelstem), Filip Vekemans (montage), Benjamin Goyvaerts (inhoud) en Laurent Poschet (inhoud).MET BIJDRAGEN VAN: Prof. dr. Jeroen Wijnendaele (expert Romeinse politieke geschiedenis), Prof. dr. em. Hans Hauben (specialist oudheidkunde, Hellenistische en Romeinse geschiedenis), Prof. dr. Sofie Remijsen (specialiste oudheidkunde, Romeinse en Hellenistische geschiedenis), dr. Valérie Weyns (specialiste Hellenistische geschiedenis), Jona Lendering (historicus, journalist, blogger), Laurens Luyten (stem Edward Gibbon en Romeinse auteurs).WIL JE ONS EEN FOOI GEVEN? http://fooienpod.com/geschiedenisvoorherbeginners. Al schenkt u tien cent of tien euro, het duurt tien seconden met een handige QR-codeMEER WETEN? Onze geraadpleegde en geciteerde bronnen: Beard, M. (2016), SPQR. A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books. Londen. Beard, M. (2023), Emperor of Rome. Profile Books. Londen. Gibbon, E. (2010), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Everyman's Library. Londen. Goldsworthy, A. (2017), Pax Romana. Orion Publishing Group. Londen. Goldsworthy, A. (2010), How Rome fell. Death of a Superpower. Yale University Press. Yale. Wijnendaele, J. (2012), Romeinen en barbaren. De ondergang van het Romeinse rijk in het westen. Standaard Uitgeverij. Antwerpen. Heather, P. (2009), The Fall of the Roman Empire. A new History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford University Press. Oxford. Harper, K. (2019), The fate of Rome. Climate, disease and the end of an empire. Princeton University Press. Princeton.Beeld: Wikimedia CommonsOverzicht van de officiële keizers in de 3de eeuw: Alexander Severus (222-235), Maximinus Thrax (235–238), Gordian I en Gordian II (238), Philip the Arab (244–249), Decius (249–251), Trebonianus Gallus (251–253), Aemilianus (253), Valerian (253–260), Saloninus (260), Claudius Gothicus (268–270), Quintillus (270), Aurelian (270–275), Tacitus (275–276), Florianus (276), Probus (276–282), Carus (282–283), Diocletian (284–305)Overzicht van tegenkeizers en troonpretendenten in de 3de eeuw: Sallustius (c. 227), Taurinus (datum onzeker), Ovinius Camillus (mogelijk fictief), Magnus (235), Quartinus (235), Sabinianus (240), Iotapianus (248), Pacatian (248), Silbannacus (datum onzeker), Licinianus (250), Priscus (251–252), Valens Senior (datum onzeker), Ingenuus (260) , Macrianus Major, Macrianus Minor en Quietus (260-261), Regalianus (260), Balista (261), Piso (261), Valens (261), Memor (261), Mussius Aemilianus (261-262), Celsus (mogelijk fictief), Saturninus (mogelijk fictief), Trebellianus (mogelijk fictief), Censorinus (269–270) (mogelijk fictief), Sponsianus (datum onzeker), Domitianus (270–271), Felicissimus (271), Septimius (271) in Dalmatia, Urbanus (271) (mogelijk fictief), Firmus (273), Bonosus (280), Proculus (280), Saturninus (280), Sabinus Julianus (283-285), Amandus and Aelianus (285), Carausius: (286–293), Allectus: (293–296), Domitius Domitianus: (297), Aurelius Achilleus: (297–298), Eugenius: (303)Keizers van het Gallische keizerrijk (tijdelijk afgescheurd deel van het Romeinse Rijk): Postumus (260–269), Laelian (269, usurpator), Marius 269, Victorinus (268/69–271), Domitian II (271, usurpator), Tetricus I (271–274), Tetricus II (273–274), Faustinus (273-274, usurpator)Keizers van het Palmyreense keizerrijk (tijdelijk afgescheurd deel van het Romeinse Rijk): Vaballathus (267?-272), Zenobia (272-273), Antiochus (273)Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Third Week of Lent Lectionary: 240The Saint of the day is Saints Perpetua and FelicitySaints Perpetua and Felicity's Story “When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?' ‘No,' he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.'” So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua's mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts. Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced. Perpetua's record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. Reflection Persecution for religious beliefs is not confined to Christians in ancient times. Consider Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who with her family, was forced into hiding and later died in Bergen-Belsen, one of Hitler's death camps during World War II. Anne, like Perpetua and Felicity, endured hardship and suffering and finally death because she committed herself to God. In her diary, Anne writes, “It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Saint Perpetua is the Patron Saint of: WidowsMothers of Deceased Sons Learn more about Saints Perpetua and Felicity! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

A document from the early Church called “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity” was so popular in the North African church that St. Augustine complained that it was more widely read than the Gospels. Perpetua was a prosperous  young woman, married and the mother of a newborn son, who lived in Carthage in the late second century. Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity (a slave and expectant mother), and their companions, Revocatus, Secundulus, Saturninus, Saturus, and Rusticus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. As a result, they were arrested and sent to prison to await trial. Join us as we follow the lives of the Saints. Throughout history, these remarkable and often revered individuals have left an indelible mark on the tapestry of human civilization. These exceptional individuals, spanning various cultures and eras, have played a pivotal role in shaping the course of history by exemplifying the highest ideals of humanity.Checkout the video version at:https://www.youtube.com/@DWHolySaintsSupport the showThis Podcast series is available on all major platforms.See more resources, maps, and information at:https://www.dwworldhistory.comOutlines, Maps, and Episode Guides for this series are available for download at:https://www.patreon.com/DWWorldHistory

Catholic Drive Time - 877-757-9424 Date – Wednesday, November 29th 2023 – St. Saturninus INTRO – Happy Wednesday When someone uses the OH MY GOD statement. I say Praise be His Holy Name. I dare you to say it. And – at 15 past the hour, Eric Adams Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman 30 Years Ago, Sued For $5M | Exorcist warns against attending Taylor Swift concerts due to witchcraft Also – at 30 past the hour, Michael Hitchborne Lepanto Institute Oh Yeah – at 45 past the hour, Adrian Social Media IG: @ffonze Twitter: @AdrianFonze Facebook: Adrian Fonseca YouTube: Adrian Fonseca YouTube: Catholic Conversations Visit our website to learn more about us, find a local GRN radio station, a schedule of our programming and so much more. http://grnonline.com/

This is part 6 of the Early Church History class. In the latter half of the second century, two kinds of Christians arose to defend the faith. On the one hand, apologists wrote defenses of Christianity directed at the Roman government. They responded to rumors, arguing that Christians were decent people who should be shown toleration. On the other hand, heresy hunters (or heresiologists) began to combat Christian groups that diverged significantly from apostolic Christianity, such as the Gnostics, Valentinians, and Marcionites. Today we'll briefly overview this fascinating period of Christianity when persuasion not coercion was the means to defeat one's opponents. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43mIuUVqCK0&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=6 —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on Christian history More classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Apologists (Defenders) of the 2nd C. - Quadratus (130?)- Aristo of Pella (c. 140?)- Aristides (c. 145)- Miltiades (c. 160-180?)- Justin Martyr (d. 165)- Athenagoras (c. 170-180)- Melito of Sardis (c. 170-180?)- Appolinaris of Hierapolis (170-180)- Tatian (d. 180?)- Theophilus of Antioch (c. 180-185)- Epistle of Diognetus (150-225) Quadratus of Athens (130) - addressed book to Hadrian (r. 117-138)- claimed to know people healed by Jesus Epistle of Diognetus (150-225) - author ideas: Hippolytus, Aristides, Pantaenus- common criticisms are that Christians are incestuous b/c we call each other brother and sister, cannibals b/c we eat body and blood of Jesus, atheists b/c we didn't believe in the gods, politically subversive b/c we didn't honor the emperor by offering incense to his statue- Diog. 5.1-17 provides an excellent example of an effective apologist Justin Martyr (100-165) - Stoic -> Peripatetic -> Pythagorean -> Platonist -> Christian- founded a school in Rome- claimed Greek philosophers accessed truth of the Logos, thus Christianity is not a novel religion- Justin addressed his case to the Roman emperor and his sons and the senate and the Roman people (First Apology 1.1-2)- Dialogue with Trypho employed the idea of heresy as defined by a key belief—resurrection (see chapter 80) Heresy Hunters - Justin (140-160)- Irenaeus (180-199)- Tertullian (200-213)- Hippolytus (200-230)- Eusebius (324)- Epiphanius (374-377)- Theodoret (452-453) Standard Arguments - too complicated- trace beliefs to heresiarch- unnatural interpretation of scripture- can't trace beliefs back to the apostles- perverted truth leads to perverted morals- new generations recycle old heresies Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202)- Argued against Valentinus, Marcus, Ptolemaeus, Saturninus, Basilides, Carpocrates, Cerinthus, Ebionites, Nicolaitans, Cerdo, Marcion, Tatian, the Encratites, Orphites, Sethians, Cainites, and others- Against Heresies (aka. The Refutation and Overthrow of Falsely Called Gnosis) intended to equip church leaders to protect their unsuspecting flock from getting tricked into believing any forms of Gnosticism Review - Apologists focused on defending Christianity against outsiders by writing to the Roman authorities and laying out a case for toleration.- Justin Martyr taught that Christianity had continuity with Greek philosophers who also accessed the Logos.- Heresy hunters (heresiologists) defended Christianity against insiders who had differing beliefs from theirs.- Christians fought heresy by using key beliefs they knew their opponents couldn't affirm and by labelling them.- Justin and Irenaeus emphasized resurrection and an ultimate kingdom on earth to exclude those who held varieties of Gnostic beliefs.

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Second Week of Lent Lectionary: 231The Saint of the day is Saints Perpetua and FelicitySaints Perpetua and Felicity's Story “When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?' ‘No,' he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.'” So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua's mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts. Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced. Perpetua's record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. Reflection Persecution for religious beliefs is not confined to Christians in ancient times. Consider Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who with her family, was forced into hiding and later died in Bergen-Belsen, one of Hitler's death camps during World War II. Anne, like Perpetua and Felicity, endured hardship and suffering and finally death because she committed herself to God. In her diary, Anne writes, “It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Saint Perpetua is the Patron Saint of: WidowsMothers of Deceased Sons Learn more about Saints Perpetua and Felicity! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Walking with the Saints Podcast | Feast of St. Perpetua, Patron of all mothers, expectant mothers, ranchers, butchers and Carthage Catalonia l March 7 During the first years of Christianity, it was dangerous to be a Christian in Africa and in any country under the dominion of the Roman Empire. Christians were being severely persecuted by the Roman emperors. St. Perpetua, our saint for today, was one of the Christian martyrs from Carthage Africa. Perpetua wrote the account of her own life and arrest, and was among the earliest Christian writers whose testimony of the persecutions survived. She was born in 108 from a pagan father and a Christian mother. Her name is associated with Felicity, another martyr from the same place and three others who were executed at the arena on the same date. Perpetua was a young married noble lady with one son. She was already baptized when she was arrested. Felicity, her slave, was a widow, a catechumen, and eight months pregnant. The other slaves, were Revocatus, Saturninus, and Secundulus. Perpetua's father did his best to induce Perpetua to apostatize but he failed. Perpetua was anxious over her baby but she entrusted him to the care of her mother. Felicity, who was pregnant, feared that she would not be among those to be martyred since it was prohibited to kill pregnant women. But luckily for her, she gave birth before their execution and entrusted her son to a woman in Carthage. At the time of their arrest they were still studying the Catechism. They were baptized in prison by their teacher who came to the prison and was later martyred together with them. As penalty for professing the name of Christ, the newly baptized Christians were sentenced to death. Yet, with God's peace in their hearts, they remained serene in the face of their fate .While in prison, Perpetua had visions of the ladder going up to heaven, and of her brother who died as a child and was now enjoying the heavenly bliss. Another vision was about an Ethiopian which she fought and conquered. It meant to her that she had to fight the devil and win. Meanwhile, two deacons succeeded in bribing the jailers, so the prisoners were transferred from the crowded and dark dungeon to a more habitable place. Their families were also permitted to visit them. Perpetua's mother and her brother came with Perpetua's son in her mother's arms. The jailer allowed her to nurse her baby and to hold him for few hours. Hearing about the visit to the prison, Perpetua's father also visited her, imploring her to give up her faith, but Perpetua remained steadfast in her belief. The following day, Perpetua's father came again bringing her son, attempting for the last time to induce her to give up and follow the desire of the procurator, but she refused to sacrifice to the idols and the executioner had to remove Perpetua's father by force out of the prison .Then the day for the execution came. It was March 7, 203. Many pagans came to the arena to mock the Christians. When the prisoners were being marched to the amphitheater for execution, they were serene, joyful, rather than fearful. Their serenity and calmness inspired their jailer who was converted. At the demand of the pagan mob, the prisoners were first scourged; then a boar, a bear and a leopard were set out for the men. Wounded by the wild animals, they gave each other a kiss of peace.

[25]And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; Et erunt signa in sole, et luna, et stellis, et in terris pressura gentium prae confusione sonitus maris, et fluctuum : [26] Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; arescentibus hominibus prae timore, et exspectatione, quae supervenient universo orbi : nam virtutes caelorum movebuntur : [27] And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. et tunc videbunt Filium hominis venientem in nube cum potestate magna et majestate. [28] But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. His autem fieri incipientibus, respicite, et levate capita vestra : quoniam appropinquat redemptio vestra. [29] And he spoke to them in a similitude. See the fig tree, and all the trees: Et dixit illis similitudinem : Videte ficulneam, et omnes arbores : [30] When they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; cum producunt jam ex se fructum, scitis quoniam prope est aestas. [31] So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Ita et vos cum videritis haec fieri, scitote quoniam prope est regnum Dei. [32] Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. Amen dico vobis, quia non praeteribit generatio haec, donec omnia fiant. [33] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Caelum et terra transibunt : verba autem mea non transibunt.

Saint Of The Day With Mike Roberts!

Militia; Voluntary government; Statutes; Law of Nature; Rights and responsibilities; Oregon Measure 114; Health Crisis; Ministers of the beast; Protecting your community; Having a free society; Roman government offices; "genus"; Volunteers vs mercenaries; Big and little tyrants; Jesus as king; Following His way; Listening to God; Becoming the light to the world; Listening to Holy Spirit; Meditation; Francis of Assisi; Strengthening community; Premonition; Keeping the commandments; Covetous practices; Whose side are you on?; God's purpose for you; Rome and Tarquinian kings; Usurpation; Commitment to serve your fellow man; Doubting the lie; Atheists; Conversions; Pacta servanda sunt; Persecution of Christians; Police in the kingdom?; Saturninus trials; Organization of Roman government; Degeneration of the people; Returning every man to his family; Repent and seek the Kingdom of God.

Mark Eight: Biblical Worship by William Klock On February12, A.D. 304 a group of men was brought before the Roman proconsul in Carthage.  The charge against them read, “These men, being Christians, have held an assembly for the Eucharist, in violation of the edict of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian.” “What is your position?” the Proconsul asked of the first prisoner. “I am a senator,” the man responded.  His name was Dativus. “Were you present at the assembly?” “I am a Christian and I was present in the assembly.” Immediately, the Proconsul ordered him to be hung on the rack, where barbed hooks tore his body.  After that, Saturninus, the presbyter, was brought in and asked, “Did you, contrary to the orders of the emperors, oversee the assembly of these men?” Saturninus responded, “Yes.  We celebrated the Eucharist.” “Why?” asked the Proconsul. “Because the Eucharist cannot be abandoned,” said the presbyter. Immediately he, too, was taken to join Dativus on the rack. Next, Felix, one of Saturninus' sons and a reader in the church, was brought before the Proconsul.  “I am not asking if you are a Christian.  That's not my concern.  But were you at the assembly and do you possess copies of the scriptures?” Felix answered, “As if a Christian could exist without the Eucharist, or the Eucharist could be celebrated without Christians!  Don't you realise that a Christian is defined by the Eucharist?  We cannot exist without it!  And we always read the Lord's scriptures when we assemble for the Eucharist.” The Proconsul flew into a rage and ordered Felix beaten with clubs. Lastly, Hilarion, another son of Saturninus, was brought before the Proconsul.  “Will you follow your father and your brothers?” He was asked. “I am a Christian,” he boldly said, “And I became one, along with my father and brothers, of my own will.” The Proconsul bellowed out threats of torture.  Little did he know that he was not going up against men, but against God himself in his holy martyrs.  The Proconsul ordered the boy taken away and for his hair to be shorn and his nose and ears to be cut off. And Hilarion simply replied, “Do what you will.  I am a Christian.” And as he was led away, the whole court heard the boy crying out with joy, “Thanks be to God.”  In all, forty-nine members of the church in Abitinae were martyred on that day and in the days that followed.[1] The story of those brothers and sisters is not unique.  From the time of the Apostles until the time of Constantine, Christians gathered together to worship—to read the scriptures, to pray, to sing, to eat the Lord's Supper—and they did so under threat of violence and sometimes even martyrdom.  “Day by day we are besieged; day by day we are betrayed,” wrote Tertullian.[2]  But no matter the risks involved, Christians continued to gather.  They had found the treasure hidden in the field.  They had found the pearl of great price.  They had given their allegiance, to the exclusion of all others, to the Lord Jesus.  And they lived in sure and certain hope that his kingdom was coming “on earth as in heaven”. What brought them together?  If it was just a longing for fellowship with God, they could do that at home in private.  They could pray, they could sing.  Those were the days before mass-produced Bibles, but they could, at home, recite passages from memory or read hand-copied portions of scripture.  But they risked their lives to gather together for corporate worship.  It was the Lord's Supper that reminded them, as it does us, “that we are true members of the mystical body” of God's Son.  St. Paul uses that language of the body a lot.  As we are in Jesus the Messiah, so we belong one to another.  We are a family, a covenant people with a God-given mission that cannot be accomplished unless we all bring our parts together to build up the whole.  And the Lord's Supper reminded them that it was all absolutely worth it, because the Supper recalled the events—the death and resurrection of Jesus—in which God poured out his love, his grace, his mercy and revealed his faithfulness in all its—in all his—glory, while also pointing them to his future glory when he will finish what he has begun and set all things to rights.  No command of Caesar could compete with the glorious calling of God. Yes, the New Testament commands us to gather together for corporate worship.  Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us: Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.   And Paul so frequently, particularly in Romans and 1 Corinthians, stresses our unity in Jesus and the nature of the Church as being like a body in which we all have our part.  But even without those commands and instructions to gather together, the Lord's Supper reminds us who we are, that we're not loners, that Christianity isn't just “me, my Bible, and Jesus”, but that we are a covenant people knit together in love and grace in Jesus and the Spirit.  Even if all we had was the Lord's Supper, we would still be compelled, like those early believers, to gather together to worship the God who reveals himself in and through Jesus. So we've been looking at the marks of a healthy church.  If we don't gather, there is no church.  The Church gathers to worship.  Period.  So the question is not whether or not we will gather, but what our gatherings should looks like.  What does the Bible tell us about corporate worship? Well, first, there's no book or chapter in the New Testament that gives us specific instructions outlining liturgy or posture, how often we should observe the Lord's Supper, how many songs we should sing, how long the sermon should be, or anything like that.  The New Testament does have plenty to say about worship, but what it says is largely about our unity in worship, our serving others in worship, giving ourselves as living sacrifices in worship—and when it comes to specifics, it's usually Paul stepping in to tell churches what not to do.  The Bible gives us freedom in our worship, and so some churches use a liturgy with set prayers and others use a set order of service with extempore prayers, some churches have elaborate ceremonial—whether that involves incense, postures, vestments, and the like or fog machines, high-tech lighting, dancing, and multi-piece bands, while other churches do things very simply and without any fuss.  We are free to construct our worship—within reason—so long as it glorifies God and has him at its centre and focus.  In light of contemporary trends, biblical worship, it must be stressed, involves the people of God as participants.  Worship is not a show or a concert. Now, I could just end things here by pointing you to the Prayer Books in the pew racks in front of you.  What does biblical worship look like?  It looks like the Book of Common Prayer.  It could look like something else, but the BCP is the finest example of biblical worship I can think of.  Our liturgies have survived virtually unchanged for five-hundred years and continue a liturgical tradition that goes back at least a thousand years before that.  It has proved itself.  The only reason people started tampering with the Book of Common Prayer was because their theology changed—and not for the better.  There's a reason why Lutherans, when they needed a common service in English, borrowed heavily from the Common Prayer tradition.  There's a little book titled The Minister's Handbook, which is popular with free-church ministers.  It's essentially a prayer book for people who don't have the Prayer Book and need to know what to do and say at a wedding or a baptism.  It's mostly just excerpts from the Book of Common Prayer.  When the United Church drafted its Book of Order, it borrowed heavily from the Book of Common Prayer.  Brothers and Sisters, never take our liturgical heritage or the Prayer Book for granted.  It is, arguably, the richest treasure of worship ever produced by Christendom.  And virtually all of it is from the Bible, either directly quoted or paraphrased in some way. But I don't want to just defend the Common Prayer tradition, or liturgy in general, this morning.  Why has the Book of Common Prayer stood the test of time?  Because it brings together the elements of biblical worship.  But what are those elements?  Well, let's look at our controlling narrative again.  Good worship not only tells the story, but involves us in it.  Think back to those forty-nine martyrs in Carthage.  This is what compelled them to gather together even though it meant death. So, once again, think back to the beginning.  God created human beings to bear his image.  That means to serve as his regents in Creation—in this temple that he built for himself.  This is why St. Paul writes in Romans that Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  When we rejected our vocation, Creation lost her stewards and the Lord lost his priests.  Everything fell apart.  But in the midst of the darkness, the Lord called forth Abraham and created a people for himself.  He delivered them from slavery in Egypt, he gave them his law, and most importantly, he took up his dwelling in their midst.  And as they lived to give him glory and to witness his presence and his mighty deeds, they became a light to the nations, looking forward to a day when nations would come streaming to the temple to know the living God for themselves and to give him the glory he is due.  The prophets looked forward to the day when the knowledge of the Lord's glory would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Old Testament Israel gives us models for biblical worship.  We see her songs of the Lord's mighty deeds—songs like the Song of Moses or the Psalms.  We see her prayers for deliverance—from her earthly enemies and from the sins and the lack of faith that so often compromised her witness—prayers for deliverance made in faith and rooted deeply in a sureness of God's covenant faithfulness.  We see her songs of hope, knowing the Lord's past faithfulness, and looking forward to the day when he would not only save Israel, but set all of Creation to rights.  But most importantly for us, we see Israel's story reach its climax in Jesus—and in his death, his resurrection, and his ascension.  This is our exodus.  As Israel was delivered from her bondage to Pharoah, so the cross and the empty tomb are our deliverance from sin and death.  Baptism is our Red Sea and the Lord's Supper is our Passover, whereby we participate in God's mighty deeds and find our place in his covenant people.  And now, like Israel, we sing and we proclaim what he has done to give him glory and to make him known that others will be moved to give him glory too.  Everything we do as his people is meant to give him glory—or it should!  Think of Jesus' words in John 15:8, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Now, how does that controlling narrative, how does that story shape our worship?  First, it means that word and sacrament will be at the centre of our worship.  The Bible never tells us directly how frequently we should observe the Lord's Supper, but the implication of what we read in Acts and the Epistles certainly suggests that the first Christians observed it at least every Sunday.  The English Reformers, particularly Thomas Cranmer, designed our liturgy around a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper, but people were so used to only participating in the sacrament four times a year that weekly Communion didn't take and Morning Prayer became the staple of weekly worship in most Anglican churches until the Twentieth Century.  Whatever the case, biblical worship will include baptisms, whenever they are called for, and the Lord's Supper on some sort of regular schedule.  The one thing we can't do is discard them entirely.  If we fail to observe the sacraments we disobey Jesus himself and cease to be a church.  I think when we realise that the Supper is as an act of covenant remembrance and renewal, it becomes more natural to observe it weekly. Biblical worship listens to God and tells the story.  That means it will include the reading of scripture.  Always.  Preferably at least a passage from the Old Testament and another from the New—and preferably tied together so that we see the interconnectedness of the old and new covenants and the faithfulness of God is revealed to his glory. Brothers and Sisters, our calling as God's people is to glorify him and to proclaim his mighty deeds and the good news about Jesus so that the world will give him glory.  We can't do that unless we know who he is and what he's done.  And that doesn't just go for corporate worship.  Scripture ought to be central to our lives in general.  We ought to be steeping ourselves in God's word on a daily basis—listening to him—so that we can know him and what he's done.  I don't know if it's because we're lazy or if we think that Christian maturity comes by osmosis or just with time, but Brothers and Sisters, if you don't feed on God's word, you will not grow.  It's the Spirit who grows us, but he grows us with the word.  Steeping ourselves in the word during the week is one of the ways we prepare ourselves to gather together on Sundays.  One of the trends of contemporary worship is this idea that the service has to start by getting the worshippers in the “right” mood.  That's borne in part out of the faulty notion that good worship makes us feel a certain way, but I think the bigger reason for this is that too many of us simply aren't preparing for worship over the six preceding days of the week.  We treat worship as a Sunday thing, then we go home and unplug ourselves from God and from his word and from prayer until Sunday comes around again.  That's not the kind of life that drove Saturninus and Dativus and their congregation to risk death in order to gather at the Lord's Table. So the reading of the word will be central.  And so will the sermon.  Biblical worship will include a sermon that explains and applies the word.  There's nothing inherently holier about a longer sermon than a shorter sermon, but good biblical exposition and application takes time and it rarely happens in the ten- or twelve-minute homilies that have become commonplace today.  And as much as modern people may think it's the Anglican way, it most definitely is not.  I've edited several volumes of sermons by popular Anglican preachers of the past and you'd be hard-pressed to read those sermons out loud in less than an hour.  Let me stress that those were popular preachers.  A few centuries earlier, in the decades following the Reformation, it was common for people to hear a sermon on Sunday morning, go home for lunch, and then return to the church to hear another sermon or two in the afternoon.  Puritan preachers were often given hourglasses—as in they actually measure out a full hour—and were told how many turns of the glass they could preach.  Because God's people were hungry for his word.  Today we've lost that hunger and it's no wonder that the Church in the West is foundering and that we struggle to tell the story anymore.  How can we proclaim what we don't know? The second focal point of our biblical corporate worship is the sacraments—particularly the Lord's Supper.  Baptism, when it is done, ought normatively to take place in the corporate gathering, because it is the rite by which we are included in the covenant people.  It is our Red Sea by which we pass from bondage in Egypt into life in the presence of the Lord and his people and it's right that those people be there to welcome each new member as he or she rises from the sea.  I pray that we would have reason to do that every Sunday someday, but in the meantime we include baptism as necessary.  But weekly observing the Lord's Supper, well, it is meet and right so to do. Word and sacrament complement each other.  Different churches and different preachers will take different approaches to how we read scripture.  We use a lectionary.  Others may read through whole books of the Bible systematically week by week.  However we do it, though, our reading of the word will range over all sort of subjects and genres and not everything we'll read is about the gospel—at least not directly.  The focus of the readings and the sermons will cover all sorts of different subjects—and that's good.  But the Lord's Supper (and baptism, when the occasion arises) grounds us week in and week out in the death and resurrection of Jesus and reminds us what he's done for us and who he has made us.  As the annual observance of the Passover was for each generation in Israel a new participation in the events by which the Lord had made them his people, so each observance of the Lord Supper is for us a new participation in the events by which Jesus has delivered us from sin and death.  And notice that there's both a vertical and a horizontal element to that.  When we come to the Table we are reminded that we belong to God through Jesus, that he has redeemed us and made us his own, but it also reminds us of the horizontal—that he has made us a part of this covenant people called the Church and that we are brothers and sisters in Jesus, and that we belong to each other, that we are one body.  At the Table God's love is poured down on us, but then it also flows out horizontally from each of us to the others. The scripture lessons and the sermon can't cover these fundamental truths every single Sunday, but we are reminded and confronted by them every single time we come to the Lord's Table.  Our culture today is almost entirely oriented on the individual and that his infected Christian thinking and the Church.  We have no trouble remembering the vertical—me and God—but we too often downplay or forget altogether the horizontal—the fact that even as God saves us individually, in doing so he makes us part of a people who cannot be effective in our mission and who cannot ultimately be healthy if we do not live this new life together as a family.  Again, this is a powerful corrective to modern error.  Too much of contemporary worship is people coming together to sort of have their individual worship experiences in a group setting.  Worship has become a performance.  The lights are turned down so we can't see each other—we just focus on the “leaders” at the front.  The band—or in some places the choir or the organ—is so loud that you can't hear yourself sing, let alone the person next to you.  A friend of mine who advocates that kind of worship tells me that it's an “immersive” model in contrast to a “participatory” one and that it's just how our culture has gone.  In folk cultures everyone is involved in music, but in ours, music has largely been relegated to professionals.  The rest of us just sit and listen.  Even at home, we put on our headphones, close our eyes, tune everything else out, and immerse ourselves in the performance.  Brothers and Sisters, that may be the way our culture has gone, but the Church cannot go there.  That “immersive” model of worship is incompatible with biblical worship in which we all participate.  Worship is not a concert or a show for the worshiper to passively receive.  Worship is the service of God's people to him.  The lights should be on so we can see each other.  And the accompaniment should be just that: accompaniment.  It shouldn't drown out our voices, because the most important thing about congregational singing is that it's just that: congregational singing—our voices raised together as one to give God the glory he is due. I think if we get these two things right in our worship—word and sacrament—we will get the story right and that's really what it's all about.  As we hear his word, God draws us in with the story.  In Baptism and the Lord's Supper he incorporates us into the story and gives us a place in it.  And now equipped by word and Spirit, he sends us out to tell the story ourselves so that others will be drawn in.  There are other essential parts to worship—we sing and we pray, we confess our sins and receive assurance of pardon, we bring our tithes and offerings—but they revolve around the word and sacrament that stand in the middle.  They are our response to the story, to what God in Jesus has done for us and for the world.  Each of those parts of our worship could merit a whole sermon on its own, but I just want to close with one example, again taken from our Common Prayer tradition, and that's the Gloria. When the Prayer Book was first written in 1549—and for a long time thereafter—there were no hymns.  Much of the liturgy itself was sung.  The Psalms were sung.  But there was one hymn included in the liturgy for the Lord's Supper and Thomas Cranmer made sure that it stood at the end of the service, because the hymns we sing in worship are essentially response to what God has said and done in word and sacrament.  In the service we hear his word and he renews his covenant with us at the Table, and then we sing in response, “Glory to God in the highest”.  This is what he created us to do.  When Jesus gave his life on the cross and rose from the grave, it was to create a people, full of God's own Spirit, who will give him glory.  And, Brothers and Sisters, we give him glory—it starts here on Sunday, but ought to carry on in our whole lives the rest of the week—we give him glory that one day all the nations will give him glory too. Let's pray: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleans the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen. [1] Adapted from the Acts of St. Saturninus in Migne, Patrologia Latina, Vol. VIII, 688ff. [2] Apology 7.

In today's daily episode we discover the early Gnostic teachers Lucious Charinus, Menander, Saturninus, and Monoimus.  Who were they? What were their teachings?  Tune in for more ungraduation! My website: https://ungraduated.com/ Ungraduated Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ungraduated-Finding-dropping-outdated-systems-ebook/dp/B09SXCBY6R/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28QTYUU7T5BN4&keywords=ungraduated+book&qid=1655499090&sprefix=ungraduate%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1 Join the Ungraduated Living Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454790476338234

Dividing the people; Altering facts; Events of Acts; Mark Antony and Cleopatra; Debasing money; Acts 21:25; Benefits brought by sacrifice; Pious duty to father; Roman grain projects; Russian oil projects; Ukrainian corruption; Gaps in our knowledge of history; Temple functions; Real religious services; Temple at Ephesus; Saturninus; Sharing meats; Temple of Social Security; Sacrifice to idols; Rampant suicide; Meat with blood in it; Christ's commands; Are you living Christ's way?; Welfare snares; The Saul Syndrome; "Masses"; Earning liberty; God's gifts; Shows of death and destruction; Strengthening the poor; Early Christian Republic; Bank notes; Israelites in Egypt; Understanding what we're doing; Are you devouring your neighbor?; Repenting from Anti-Christ spirit; Buddha; Being a human resource; Seek the solution.

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the First Week of Lent Lectionary: 224All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saints Perpetua and Felicity“When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?' ‘No,' he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.'” So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua's mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts. Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced. Perpetua's record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. Reflection Persecution for religious beliefs is not confined to Christians in ancient times. Consider Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who with her family, was forced into hiding and later died in Bergen-Belsen, one of Hitler's death camps during World War II. Anne, like Perpetua and Felicity, endured hardship and suffering and finally death because she committed herself to God. In her diary, Anne writes, “It's twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Saint Perpetua is the Patron Saint of: Widows Mothers of Deceased Sons Click here for more on Sts. Perpetua and Felicity! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Actors and Real Life Boyfriends Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Chicken & Biscuits) & Ryan Spahn (Daniel's Husband) stop by Baring It All with Call Me Adam for an open, honest and lively conversation about: Starring together in the new Off-Broadway play Jane Anger What it's like to be boyfriends and work together in the same show Their Love Story Tips for Actors and Playwrights Jane Anger plays at the New Ohio Theatre in NYC (154 Christopher Street) through the recently extended date of March 26! Click here for tickets! Connect with Michael: Facebook Twitter Instagram Connect with Ryan: Twitter Instagram Like What You Hear? Join my Patreon Family to get backstage perks including advanced notice of interviews, the ability to submit a question to my guests, behind-the-scene videos, and so much more! Follow me @callmeadamnyc on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Visit https://callmeadam.com for more interviews Special Thanks: My Patreon Family for their continued support: Angelo, Reva, Alan, Marianne, Danielle, Tara, Alex, and The Golden Gays NYC. Join the fun at https://patreon.com/callmeadamnyc. Theme Song by Bobby Cronin (https://bit.ly/2MaADvQ) Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell (https://bit.ly/2YNI9CY) Edited by Adam Rothenberg Outro Music Underscore by CueTique (Website: https://bit.ly/31luGmT, Facebook: @CueTique) More on Michael: Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits, Grand Horizons, Torch Song, How To Succeed... Off Broadway: Buyer & Cellar, Government Inspector, Angels in America, The Temperamentals TV: Ugly Betty, Younger, Modern Family, Good Wife/Fight, Hot in Cleveland. Movies: Single All The Way, Swan Song, Lavender, Decoy Bride, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, He's Way More Famous Than You. Michael has played Shakespeare's Hamlet, Mercutio, Roderigo, Saturninus, Flute, Boyette, Horatio, Hastings, Benvolio, Demetrius, Chiron and now the Bard himself!  More on Ryan: Off-Broadway: Lessons in Survival, Mr. Toole, How To Load A Musket, Moscow x6, Daniel's Husband, Summer and Smoke, Still at Risk, Exit Strategy, Gloria. Film: The Raging Heart of Maggie Acker, Shirley, Abducted, Nora Highland (writer/director), He's Way More Famous Than You (co-writer), Grantham and Rose (writer), Woven (co-writer). TV: Chicago P.D., Modern Love, The Bite, The Blacklist. Ryan's been published by Rotten Tomatoes, IntoMore, Talkhouse, Metro Weekly, American Theatre Magazine and USA Today. P.S. This interview was originally presented on Instagram Live Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the story of how Gaius Marius went from being the Greatest Man in Rome to Public Enemy #1.But Marius, usually master of the political narrative, ended up having his story written by his political rivals.  What was the true character of this surprisingly elusive figure?What is worth imitating? What is worth avoiding?  Before fully answering these questions, we must understand the details of his story, one of the most dramatic and memorable sequences in all of Plutarch's lives.On today's podcast: One way to respond when you're being undermined The problem with putting off legitimate political complaints  Marius, Drusus, and the beginning of the Social War  Sulla, Marius, and the beginning of the Civil War  Marius' harrowing escape The prophecy about Marius' 7 consulships The Bloody Return of Marius Links: Thanks to our sponsor - ideamarket.io -  @ideamarket_io on twitter! Thanks to our guest narrator, Justin Murphy! visit otherlife.co, indiethinkers.org, or @jmrphy on twittter

Photo:  Detail of a bas-de-page scene of Saturninus and Sisinnius before a judge. Image taken from f. 284v of Psalter (The Queen Mary Psalter). Written in Latin, with French image captions. 13/13   #ClassicUkraine Gaius & Germanicus   SATURNINE KIEV DEFEATED  1/22/22 #Londinium90AD: Saturninus of Germania Superior and Zelensky of Ukraine defeated.  Michael Vlahos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Antonius_Saturninus In January 89, Saturninus led a revolt. He expected his Germanic allies to cross the Rhine to support him, but they were prevented by a sudden thaw of the river, and the revolt was quickly put down by Domitian's generals Lucius Appius Maximus Norbanus and the future emperor Trajan. Afterwards, Norbanus burned Saturninus' letters in an attempt to avoid implicating others. However, Domitian had numerous others executed with Saturninus, displaying their heads on the rostra at Rome. . . .  Domitian went to war against the Chatti in 83–85, who were north of Frankfurt (in Hesse, named after them). At this time the first line, or continuous fortified border, was constructed. It consisted of a cleared zone of observation, a palisade where practicable, and wooden watchtowers and forts at the road crossings. .

Photo:  Remains of a Roman aqueduct similar to those found in Mogontiacum (present-day Mainz), capital of Germany Superior. @Batchelorshow #Londinium90AD: Saturninus of Germania Superior and Zelensky of Ukraine defeated.  Michael Vlahos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Antonius_Saturninus In January 89, Saturninus led a revolt. He expected his Germanic allies to cross the Rhine to support him, but were prevented by a sudden thaw of the river, and the revolt was quickly put down by Domitian's generals Lucius Appius Maximus Norbanus and the future emperor Trajan. Afterwards, Norbanus burned Saturninus' letters in an attempt to avoid implicating others. However, Domitian had numerous others executed with Saturninus, displaying their heads on the rostra at Rome. . . .  Domitian went to war against the Chatti in 83–85, who were north of Frankfurt (in Hesse named after them). At this time the first line, or continuous fortified border, was constructed. It consisted of a cleared zone of observation, a palisade where practicable, wooden watchtowers and forts at the road crossings.

Sertorius - the greatest Roman rebel - was a commander whose story inspired both Beethoven and Machiavelli. As Beethoven realised he was going deaf, he turned to the ancient philosopher, Plutarch, and his work, Parallel Lives, for inspiration.Plutarch's biographies gave Beethoven the strength and determination to carry on, to cope, to overcome his aural tragedy and go on to become one of the greatest composers of all time. But what is it about Sertorius' story that Beethoven, and many famous and ambitious people who followed him, admired? What can we take from Sertorius' story that will sharpen us, and prepare us to face the present, whatever it throws at us?“Sertorius was a traitor in the eyes of many, and a hero to others. He went on to be perhaps the greatest Roman Rebel, and certainly he was the greatest Roman Guerilla warrior.”We start with his early career.We meet Sertorius as he attends his first triumphal parade. We hear about that hot August day in 105 BC when the Romans were defeated by the Cimbri in battle. We learn that as a kid from Nursia, trying to get ahead in this world, he was looking for ways to stand out in front of the people who could make or break his career. But when there weren't any great battles where he could win glory, he realized he'd have to create an opportunity. When he met with setback, he knew there was no use wallowing in resentment, waiting for yet another big shot to notice him. “He focused on what he could control, and that is… honing his craft, the art of war.”On today's podcast: How world class performers deal with setbacks Why Beethoven turned to Plutarch  What Sertorius can teach us about learning to defy fate The Battle of Arausio and the Cimbrian Wars The rise and fall of General Gaius Marius Saturninus the rogue Tribune The Gold of Tolosa The origins of the Roman Civil War Links:https://ancientlifecoach.com/Sponsors The Paideia Institute - classical tours and classical language teaching  www.paideiainstitute.org 

It's time to grab another book Off the Shelf with ISC! In today's episode of Off the Shelf, ISC Ensemble Member, William Elsman, reads to you the spine-chilling tale of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat." Known for his stories full of mystery and macabre, Edgar Allan Poe take audiences for a disturbing ride in "The Black Cat" as the unnamed narrator's strong affection for his pet black cat turns deadly. William Elsman- as a company member with ISC, William has performed several seasons with the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Favorite roles include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Simonides in Pericles, Saturninus in Titus Andronicus, Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Angelo in Measure for Measure. Regional credits include work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (School Visit Program), Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Sierra Madre Playhouse, A Noise Within (understudy, Macbeth), Sacramento Theater Company, The Mountain Play, Capital Stage, Sierra Rep, SF Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare Company and the Pennsylvania and Texas Shakespeare Festivals. He has also taught acting at New York Film Academy, and as a private coach or guest instructor. BFA, Rutgers University, MFA, University of Delaware. www.williamelsman.com When asked why he selected this short story to read, William Elsman responded, "During this pandemic, I've kept busy (and employed) performing audiobooks. I began to reflect on how reading out loud was something that I'd always delighted in, even when I was very young. I was introduced to Edgar Allan Poe in the 7th grade, and am grateful to my teacher, Mr. Ferraro, for tasking me with the assignment of memorizing and reciting the opening lines from "The Tell Tale Heart." It was great fun, and it paired well with my desire to perform. We explored several of Poe's stories, and the words had an arresting quality that grabbed my attention with their macabre musicality. I was also captivated by the peek they afforded into the minds of those eccentric and disturbed characters. It felt dangerous to read, but also thrilling!" Enjoy this week's hair-raising Art Break. Follow us! Website: www.iscla.org Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

Forefeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple .............................................................................................. 6 Martyr Tryphon of Lampsacus Near Apamea in Syria ......................................................................................... 6 Martyrs Perpetua, a woman of Carthage, and the Catechumens: Saturus, Revocatus, Saturninus, Secundulus and Felicitas ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Venerable Peter the Hermit of Galatia Near Antioch, in Syria ............................................................................. 9 Venerable Vendemianus the Hermit of Bithynia .................................................................................................... 9 Venerable Brigid (Bridget) of Ireland ................................................................................................................... 10 Saint Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov ........................................................................................................................... 11 Icon of the Mother of God “Socola” ...................................................................................................................... 11 Saint Seririol of Wales ............................................................................................................................................ 13 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/an-orthodox/message

Good morning and welcome to Waking up with the Saints! Today we'll be talking about St. Saturninus, an awesome Saint that shows us to live with Faith far above fear! Thanks for listening, God bless! :D

The viciousness of the mob is one of the darker themes in Roman history. There was the angry crowd that tore Saturninus to pieces during Marius’s time. There were the grieving, angry citizens who, riled up by Mark Antony’s funeral oration after the death of Caesar, murdered the poet Cinna just because he had the same name as one of the conspirators. It’s scary what a group of people can do when the unwritten rules of civil society break down. There is perhaps no better day to think about this than Black Friday in America. Fresh off the gratitude of Thanksgiving, we decide to reward ourselves by greedily gorging on stuff. It is hard to think of a day whose entire purpose sits in greater conflict with the Stoic notion of sympatheia. The same people who were previously sitting peacefully with their family are now ready to engage in hand-to-hand combat over a deal on a flat screen television. Instead of enjoying the time off, people have been lined up for hours in the cold to buy more and more crap they don’t actually need, at lower and lower prices. Not to replace the crap they bought last Black Friday, mind you, but to add to the pile. The only cost Black Friday shoppers don’t mind paying for these savings? Yelling matches, countless traffic accidents, and the collateral damage of retail employees being trampled to death. (There’s a website that tallies ‘Black Friday Death Counts’ if you’re really curious.)As Marcus wrote in Meditations, “What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee.” It’s hard to argue that Black Friday is good for anyone or anything but the bottom line of big business. So instead of following the masses on a shopping spree—and possibly a killing spree—it would be nice if you spent this morning thinking about the bigger picture—the biggest picture.We should be humane to each other because we are all human, all part of the same larger body. We spring from the same soil and will each return to it alike one day. When we forget this, it not only hurts other people—makes countless millions mourn—but it hurts us as well.“Revere the gods, and look after each other,” Marcus Aurelius reminds us. “Life is short—the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good.” That is what sympatheia is about. That’s what Oikeiôsis, affinity for your fellow humans, is about. We should live that every day, frankly, but we should be especially mindful of it today. As the exact opposite of a Black Friday deal, we’re selling our Sympatheia coins at full price at Daily Stoic, until Monday December 2nd 6am. BUT, if you buy one, we’ll give you another one free to give to a friend, family member, or colleague who could benefit from it.As we begin the holiday season, we hope you keep this concept in mind when you’re dealing with difficult in-laws, travel delays, or crowds and long lines. Don’t let the modern spirit of materialism and selfishness infect you. Instead, we must all focus on reminders that we are not alone, that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that there is a greater good to which we all owe a duty, above and beyond our own selfish co

It’s a fitting warning about man’s nature that in the Old Testament, God would command his followers, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil,” and to resist the pull of the multitude when they persecute someone on false charges, only to find thousands of years later that this would be the fate of the man who claimed to be his sonThis idea that the judgements of the mob were dangerous and must be avoided is a timeless theme in the ancient world—and one that appears both in the Bible and in the writings of the Stoics. Only a few generations before Jesus, the Stoic Rutilius Rufus was brought up on and convicted of obviously false charges by corrupt political enemies. Around the same time, in one of the first signs that the norms of the Roman Republic were collapsing, a mob gathered and stoned to death a man named Saturninus. Marius, the consul who encouraged Rufus’s demise, was powerless to stop the mob justice he had ridden to power on. By Jesus’s time, the mob was a political force in the Roman empire. It could be pandered to. Riled up. Used to do one’s dirty work. It was a feared and ominous presence. Just a few decades after the mob killed Jesus, Seneca would write that “consort with the crowd is harmful; there is no person who does not make some vice attractive to us, or stamp it upon us, or taint us unconsciously therewith. Certainly, the greater the mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger.” Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is filled with admonishments to ignore the jeers and the cheers of the mob, to think for himself, to avoid the violent spectacles they demanded in the form of gladiatorial games, to do the right thing even if everyone else is insisting (or getting away with) the wrong thing.If only this advice was not relevant today. Unfortunately it is. We have a mob which sways our culture—online and in real life. These are people who attend speeches on college campuses with the intent of disrupting and shutting them down. These are people who march with tiki torches and chant slurs and epithets. These are people who use social media to bully and intimidate. These are people who shout for violence and demand retribution. These are people who are incapable of mercy or empathy or forgiveness. It would be nice if their numbers were few—but they are not. They are legion, and they exist on both sides of the political spectrum (indeed, they often hold contradictory views on various issues and share the same nihilism whether they are extreme left or right). In some cases, they are often the majority view and their pressure costs people their jobs, forces them into hiding, or convinces them to keep silent. They claim to be protecting our way of life...as they destroy it before our eyes. Which is why today and every day we should heed these Stoic (and Biblical) reminders to avoid the mob, to think for ourselves and to stand up for what’s right, especially when the mob is doing evil. When you find yourself on the side of the mob, pause and reflect. Ignore their venom. Speak out.

Den här veckan: Tina berättar om en hiskelig attack, Louise går igenom Jugoslavien och tillsammans gör de narr av en sexåring som läspar. Dessutom är det en speciell namnsdag och vi ger Saturninus lite nya grejer att vara skyddshelgon för. Häng med!

El titulo del episodio de esta semana es “Compra Uno y Llévate Uno Gratis.”En el último episodio  tocamos brevemente un hereje llamado Marción. Fue uno de los primeros en introducir una enseñanza falsa que se convirtió en un gran desafío para la creciente Fe Cristiana; este movimiento errante era conocido como el Gnosticismo.Marción era el hijo del pastor de la iglesia de Ponto, en la costa sur del Mar Negro. Él era propietario de un barco de vela y despachaba carga y pasajeros a lo largo de todo el Imperio. Alrededor del año 140 d.C, el padre de Marción lo expulso de la congregación. Esto fue el resultado de la seducción de una mujer joven por Marción, o sus ideas cada vez más heréticas, o ambos. Cualquiera que sea la razón, el se trasladó a Roma, donde era un desconocido y su reputación era intachable. Cuando hizo una gran contribución a la Iglesia de Roma, eso también ayudo a mover las ruedas de su aceptación como miembro de buena reputación.Pero Marción pronto comenzó a exponer ideas que se apartaban de lo que enseñaban los ancianos de la iglesia. En sus viajes anteriores, Marción había sido influenciado por un maestro llamado Cerdo, uno de los primeros defensores de lo que hoy se conoce como el Gnosticismo.Ahora, permítanme ser claro, el Gnosticismo era más una tendencia religiosa que un movimiento unido con un conjunto de doctrinas centrales. Mientras que los Gnósticos celebró un conjunto creencias básicas comunes, ellos las interpretaban de muchas maneras diferentes. Esto hace difícil describir al Gnosticismo. En general, podemos decir que fue una mezcolanza deFilosofía Griega,Cultos del misterio orientales, yTerminología De la filosofía Griega, los Gnósticos tomaron prestado la idea de que toda la materia física era intrínsecamente e inalterablemente mala, mientras que el reino espiritual fue igualmente, inherentemente & inalterablemente bueno. Del ocultismo y cultos del misterio oriental esotérico tomaron la idea que existía un cuerpo de conocimientos secretos que cuando los entendías te concedían la iluminación. Esta iluminación fue el equivalente Gnóstico de la salvación porque esta iluminación liberaba la conciencia de la mera existencia física a una especie de espiritualidad permanente.El gnosticismo tomó su nombre de esta idea de "salvación a través de la iluminación." La palabra griega "gnosis" significa 'conocimiento'.Porque el movimiento Cristiano estaba creciendo rápidamente, los Gnósticos adoptaron formas y términos Cristianos como una astuta táctica de marketing, esperando a empeñar sus ideas como una forma élite del Cristianismo. La estrategia funcionó y el Gnosticismo se arraigó en varias congregaciones igual que lo hacen los vientos de falsa enseñanza en cada generación.Marción fue uno de los primeros en introducir elementos Gnósticos en su altamente editada forma del cristianismo. Tomando de las enseñanzas de Cerdo, el propuso 2 diferentes dioses; un airado, vengativo la deidad del AT, y una figura cálida, amorosa de padre del NT. Siguiendo la línea Gnóstica, Marción, dijo que el cuerpo físico era malvado y promovió una ascetismo riguroso que negaba todo placer físico. Los seguidores de Marción tomaban la comunión con agua porque el vino era demasiado sabroso. Fueron tan extremos para decir que incluso el sexo dentro del matrimonio era tabú.Marción afirmaba que Jesús no nació de María. El dijo Jesús apareció en Capernaúm en el año 29 d.C. como un hombre adulto. Tengamos en cuenta que = Jesús solamente apareció. Marción decía que Jesús no tenía un cuerpo literal. Él no podía ya tener un cuerpo físico, el cuerpo era malo. Jesús apareció solamente, o parecía tener un cuerpo; en verdad, él era más fantasma que tangible.Esta creencia se le llama Docetismo; una de las primeras formas de Gnosticismo. Docetismo proviene del significado de la palabra parecer. Marción dijo que la muerte y resurrección de Cristo no era literal; no lo podía ser porque Jesús no era corporal. Era sólo un manifestación  fantasmagórica del amor y el sacrificio de Dios. Aunque la Iglesia de Roma rápidamente se dio cuenta de la teología errónea de Marción y declaro sus ideas heréticas en el año 144 d.C. , sus ideas se propagaron y Marción creó una falsa Iglesia en partes de Italia y  Asia Menor donde los cultos de misterio orientales eran populares. Congregaciones Marcionistas llegaron tan lejos como Egipto y Arabia y seguían funcionando hasta el comienzo del siglo IV.Marción fue sólo una de las corrientes del Gnosticismo que se desarrolló durante el segundo y tercer siglos para desafiar a la Ortodoxia Cristiana. La principal característica de todos los Gnósticos era su marcado dualismo, separando lo físico y lo espiritual en reinos totalmente divergentes. Ellos creían que el reino espiritual contenía una jerarquía de seres espirituales que estaban  en diferentes niveles en el camino hacia arriba, hacia un trascendente y supremo Espíritu. Este Dios trascendente habia dado lugar a una deidad inferior, y esa había hecho lo mismo, y así sucesivamente a lo largo de miles de emanaciones espirituales hasta que hubo un espíritu lo suficientemente distante del Espíritu original para ser tan bajo como para ser capaz de crear el universo físico. Algunos gnósticos como Cerdo y Marción, decían que este humilde Espíritu creador fue el Dios judío del Antiguo Testamento.Los Gnósticos creían que chispas de la divinidad, pequeñas porciones de espíritu puro estaban encerrados dentro de algunos, pero no todos, seres humanos. Aquellos que lo tenían, ellos decían, se podían convertir en Gnósticos. Esta era otra ingeniosa táctica de marketing; después de todo, ¿quién no quiere pensar que tienen un poco de chispa de algo especial? Así entonces fueron tentados a ir al gnóstico para demostrar que lo tenían. El siguiente paso era pagarle a uno de los maestros gnósticos la cuota necesaria para aprender la Gnosis, es decir, el conocimiento secreto, lo que podría soplar sobre su chispa divina para convertirla en un fuego ardiente.Voila = Iluminación!Era una antigua versión de, "La primera lección es gratis, pero si quieres ir mas profundo, bueno, eso te va a costar. Oh, y por cierto, si eres inteligente, claro que te vas a unir a nosotros, porque eso es lo que hacen los inteligentes que tienen la chispa divina. Deseas ser uno de los especiales o ¿no? Además, regístrate, paga la inscripción y estás dentro! Ah, y por si fuera poco - si te inscribes hoy, tienes el 50% de descuento."Bueno, obviamente, yo añadí la última parte, pero una vez que te das cuenta como eran los maestros Gnósticos realmente no se sorprenderían si tenían versiones antiguas de todos los trucos de ventas moderna. Planes familiares, Plan Comprar Uno, y Consiga Uno Gratis, Sin gastos de envío.Para los Gnósticos, la Iluminación era igual que la Salvación. Fue la realización que no eran meramente seres humanos carentes de la chispa divina, tan poco mejor que animales. Ellos eran espíritus atados a la tierra destinados a re-emerger en la Jerarquía Divina, esa serie de emanaciones del supremo y trascendente, Dios. El Gnosticismo fue una progresión escalonada de crecimiento espiritual por el cual miembros aumentaban su rango, pagándole a sus guías Gnóstico más y más para aprender cada vez más poderosa Gnosis. Si esto suena parecido a un grupo religioso moderno que se llama a sí mismo un nombre similar = algo parecido, a → Conocimientologia = bueno realmente no hay nada nuevo bajo el sol._________________________________________________________________________________________________________El gnosticismo presentó un desafío a la Iglesia por un par de razones.Primero = Los Gnósticos usaban muchos de los mismos términos que cristianos usaban. Esto confundía a los nuevos cristianos y aquellos que no eran enseñados correctamente. Es algo que hacen las pseudo-sectas cristianas hasta este día. Ellos utilizan vocabulario ortodoxo pero le dan diferentes significados a las palabras..Segundo = Es la naturaleza humana el ser atraído a lo que es secreto, oculto y misterioso; y eso era  el fundamento principal de los Gnósticos.Tercero = Los gnósticos creían que eran superiores a los demás. Este apeló al orgullo en nosotros que siempre esta presente. La Biblia enseña que el hombre fue creado en la imagen de Dios y destinado originalmente para la gloria. Hay un sentimiento latente de un llamado a la gloria que perdura en el alma de todos nosotros. La grandeza nos atrae a todos. Los Gnósticos decían que eso era la chispa divina y sólo ellos podían activarla.Cuarto = La naturaleza humana supone que algo tan importante como la salvación tiene que ser costoso. No hay tal cosa como una comida gratis. El Evangelio Cristiano nos enseña, que aunque la salvación es por la gracia de Dios y es un regalo para nosotros, fue sumamente costoso para Dios porque le costo la vida de Cristo. Pero muchos no entienden esta parte y piensan que la gracia es totalmente gratuita. El mensaje del Evangelio sobre la salvación por gracia parece dudoso y débil para aquellos convencidos que tiene que haber trabajo involucrado en alcanzarlo, comparado con la campaña Gnóstica de "Pagar por Jugar".Lo que viene como una sorpresa es darnos cuenta que el primer real desafío doctrinal al Cristianismo no fue sobre la deidad de Jesús. Fue sobre su humanidad. Hoy en día, la controversia mayor es sobre si Jesús es Dios. Es fácil verlo como un hombre. Lo más difícil es entender cómo lo humano y lo divino se unen en la Encarnación, así que esto se convirtió en uno de los principales puntos de enfrentamiento con los no cristianos y los cultos orientales. El Docetismo de Marción y otros Gnósticos mantenían la divinidad de Jesús, pero negaban su humanidad.Ahora permítanme darles un poco de información adelantada de uno de nuestros episodios futuros al llegar al 4ª y 5ª siglo. Resulta que las batallas en las cuales entró la iglesia de cómo entender la doble naturaleza de Cristo se convirtió en un período de la historia de la Iglesia sangriento y polémico. Uno de los Concilios de la Iglesia le es dado apodo, “el Sínodo gánster“ porque los líderes de la iglesia que asistieron llegaron a golpes sobre esta cuestión. ⇒ momentos divertidos!Regresando al Gnosticismo . . .Otras corrientes del Gnosticismo enseñaban que Jesús y Cristo eran dos entidades separadas. Jesús fue sólo un hombre con una madre humana y padre,  pero Cristo fue un espíritu que descendió sobre el hombre Jesús en Su bautismo, ministró a través de él durante 3 años, luego partió en el Huerto de Getsemaní. Así que el hombre que murió en la cruz fue solo un caparazón gastado; su muerte no logró nada en términos de la salvación. Estos gnósticos creían que el espíritu de Cristo o la conciencia de Cristo continuaba habitando en la vida de sus líderes y podía venir a quienes mostraban suficiente iluminación.Como Marción con su lista abreviada de los libros aprobados de la Biblia, que consideramos en el episodio anterior, los gnósticos editaban porciones del NT y quitaban todo los que hablaba de Cristo en el mundo físico. Él no podía haber escrito en el polvo de la tierra o haber comido después de la resurrección, porque bueno, los espíritus no hacen ese tipo de cosas. También tenían que insertar episodios en la historia de Jesús, que daban una apertura para su teología aberrante. La reciente oleada de Evangelios alternativos que han salido en las noticias son en la mayoría escrituras Gnósticas conocidas por la primera iglesia, pero rechazadas por su origen agregado y dudoso propósito gnóstico. No fueron incluidos en el canon del NT porque no cumplían con los criterios que se utilizaban para validar los escritos aceptados del Canon Bíblico.Como he mencionado, hubo varias ramas o corrientes del Gnosticismo. Eran diferentes en todo tipo de formas. Una de las principales divisiones era en torno de cómo tratar con el núcleo de sus creencias sobre la maldad intrínseca en todas las cosas. Un grupo creía que la manera correcta de responder era teniendo un estricto ascetismo que evitara el placer físico. Sólo comían más alimentos sin mucho sabor, bebían bebidas insípidas, vestían ropas incómodas, se abstenían de sexo y evitaban cualquier tipo de estimulación de los sentidos que se consideraban placenteros.El otro grupo era una cambio de 180° del ascetismo. Estos gnósticos se sumergían en el placer físico. Decían que el ascetismo era inútil, pues si era placentera o no, el contacto con el mundo era inalterablemente malo- así que no importaba! Si estaba todo mal, quizás era bueno disfrutar de ella! Estos gnósticos hicieron su objetivo sumergirse en el placer, y esto muchas veces significaba caer en todo tipo de inmoralidad. Ellos pensaban experimentar la iluminación de todos modos, y esto demostraría que su conciencia estaba divorciada de su cuerpo. Estos gnósticos decían que su chispa divina era como una perla que no podía ser manchada por el lodo del mundo. Por supuesto, esto era bastante atractivo para personas que deseaban continuar en pecado y creer que iban al cielo cuando morían.En medio de estos dos extremos, encontramos las otras corrientes del pensamiento y enseñanza Gnóstica._________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hasta el siglo 19,  la mayoría de lo que sabíamos acerca de los Gnósticos venia de los líderes Cristianos como Ireneo y Orígenes que refutaban sus ideas.Esto es lo que el Padre de la Primera Iglesia, Ireneo, escribió acerca de los Gnósticos en el prólogo de su trabajo; "Contra las Herejías".“Estos hombres falsifican los oráculos de Dios, y demuestran ser mal intérpretes de la buena palabra de la revelación. También derrocan la fe de muchos, arrastrandolos lejos, bajo pretexto de conocimiento superior, de El que redondeo y adorno el universo; como si tuvieran algo más excelente y sublime para revelar, que el Dios que creó el cielo y la tierra, y todas las cosas en él. Por medio de palabras engañosas, ellos astutamente seducen los de mentes simples para investigar su sistema; pero ellos no obstante los destruyen torpemente, mientras los inician en sus blasfemas e impías opiniones . . . Y estos simples son incapaces, incluso en estas cosas, de distinguir la mentira de la verdad.”_________________________________________________________________________________________________________Como les habia dicho, hasta hace poco, casi todos lo que los historiadores sabían sobre el Gnosticismo antiguo, fue lo que los que se oponían decían acerca de ellos. Pero despues, hace varias décadas, los antiguos manuscritos Gnósticos comenzaron a salir a la superficie. Los más notables son el Codex Askewianus, el Evangelio de María Magdalena, La Sabiduría de Jesús, y los Actos de Pedro. En 1946, una colección de manuscritos gnósticos fue descubierta cerca de Nag Hammadi en Egipto. Les dieron una fecha de haber sido escritos a finales del siglo 4.Simon Magus, mencionado en Hechos 8, fue catalogado por los primeros cristianos como el iniciador del Gnosticismo y, de hecho, pudo haber tenido una mano en la mezcla la filosofía griega, los misterios oriental, y el lenguaje cristiano en un espiritualismo hecho en casa. Después de Simón, otro maestro gnóstico llamado Menander le dio seguimiento y elaboro sobre el trabajo Simón. Saturninus trajo el gnosticismo a Antioquía de Siria, donde una floreciente comunidad Cristiana ya existía.Cerinthus propago el Gnosticismo en Asia menor y, como hemos visto Cerdo & Marción trajeron las ideas Gnósticas a Roma.Donde el Gnosticismo prosperó fue en la ciudad de Alejandría en África del Norte, la segunda más grande del Imperio Romano y una ciudad muy influyente. Alejandría era un centro de cultura y aprendizaje y la presencia allí del Gnosticismo avanzo considerablemente su alcance.Las condiciones áridas del norte de África también facilitaron la preservación de documentos, por lo que algunos de nuestros manuscritos más antiguos del NT provienen de esa región. Algunos eruditos conservadores creen que estos manuscritos aportan evidencias de manipulación gnóstica porque tienden a excluir a las porciones de los Evangelios que hacen referencia a la existencia  de Jesús corporal, así como aquellas partes las epístolas del NT que hablan sobre la vida de fe que afecta al mundo físico.Pero el resultado neto del Gnosticismo en la Iglesia fue en aclarar lo que los Cristianos creían acerca de la humanidad y deidad de Cristo y la naturaleza de la fe. Desafíos Gnósticos movieron a los líderes de la Iglesia a determinar qué libros eran Escritura y también que eran las doctrinas esenciales. Aunque la causa de la ortodoxia fue avanzada por confrontar las ideas del Gnosticismo. Las ideas gnósticas se arraigaron en algunas iglesias y a principios del siglo 4, cuando el cristianismo fue finalmente liberado de la persecución del Imperio, los líderes de la iglesia se dividieron sobre algunas de las ideas que el Gnosticismo había insertado en la iglesia.Pero ese es un asunto para un episodio futuro.

Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Perpetua of Carthage - Vivia Perpetua was a catchumen (i.e. a convert not yet baptized), well educated and from a prosperous family, about 22 years old, married and apparently recently widowed, with a child at her breast, and with two brothers and both parents still living. (Her father was not a Christian.) Felicity was a slave woman in advanced pregnancy. With them were Revocatus (also a slave), Saturninus, and Secundus. They were arrested and placed in a dungeon, but after a few days two deacons visited the prison and by a gift of money to the jailers arranged (1) that they should have an interval in the better part of the prison to refresh themselves, and (2) that Perpetua should be allowed to keep her child with her. Perpetua had a vision in which she saw a golden ladder, guarded by a fierce dragon, but she climbed it, stepping on the dragon's head to do so. At the top, she found herself in a green meadow, with many white-robed figures, and in their midst a shepherd, who welcomed her and gave her a morsel of cheese from the sheep-milk. She awakened and understood that their martyrdom was certain.

Christianity – NOT a religion (what!?); "Religion" defined – today, and in 1913, and in 1856; What should have been for your welfare... ; It's not stealing (but it's still covetousness); Until John the Baptist... ; Gotta do a little overtime; Why Christians were persecuted (what Christ was really saying/doing) vs temples of Corban of the Pharisees; Ceremonies, or actually fulfilling our duties; What the "needy" really need; Repeat; Obligations to fellow man; Good "therapy"; Heal breach in the land; Essentials first; Staying afloat in world flooded in covetousness; "Piety" relates to our Father (Which? Who art in... where???); Spirit of "outcome based education" running amuck; The Way to freedom; Find someone you trust/tells you the truth; Care through faith/hope/charity; Not going to public religion/welfare offices of the day; "Augustus was sensible..."; How/why thinking relates to freedom; Care of all real needs (even without "miracles"); Pure, private religion – still legal (so far); Know which God/god you love; The Way out; Start taking steps; "Pignoration" defined and expounded upon; What we've been doing (needs to change); Two roads – same road, different orientation/direction; Kind/type of religion (road) determines direction; Saturninus; Historical explanation of Christianity; Romans Study (link to audios); Two sides, one coin; Have to forgive (and can – if we come together); Strive!; Purposes of tithe; Can only say, "Hopefully"; Grandchildren in public school?; Would not apply (pray) to public temples; Investing in KoG; Freewill offerings is The (only) Way.

1. Introduction (Hortensia) | 2. Classical News (Hortensia) | 3. The Roman Calendar, part 1 (Saturninus) | 4. Plinian Rough Mix (Meredith Bragg) | 5. Aeneid (Anna) | 6. Sign off (Hortensia)

This week's episode is titled “Buy One, Get One Free.”In the last episode we touched briefly at a heretic named Marcion. He was one of the first to introduce a false teaching that would evolve into a major challenge to the emerging Christian Faith; that errant movement was known as Gnosticism.Marcion was the son of the pastor of the church in Pontus, on the Southern coast of the Black Sea. He was a ship-owner sailing passengers & shipping cargo throughout the Empire. Around AD 140, Marcion's father disfellowshipped him from the congregation. This was the result either of Marcion's seduction of a young woman, his increasingly heretical ideas, or both. Whatever the reason, he relocated to Rome where he was unknown & his reputation was untarnished. When he made a large contribution to the church at Rome, it greased the wheels of his acceptance as a member in good standing.But Marcion soon began espousing ideas that diverged from what the elders taught. In his previous travels, Marcion had been influenced by a teacher named Cerdo, an early advocate of what today is known as Gnosticism.Now, let me be clear, Gnosticism was more a religious trend than a united movement with a settled set of doctrines. While Gnostics held a common set of core beliefs, they interpreted them widely. This makes describing Gnosticism difficult. Generally, we can say it was a mash-up of àGreek philosophy,Eastern mystery cults, andChristian terminology. From Greek philosophy, Gnostics borrowed the idea that all physical matter was inherently an unalterably evil, while the spiritual realm was equally, inherently & unalterably good. From esoteric & occult Eastern mystery sects they took the idea there was a secret body of knowledge that when understood granted enlightenment. This enlightenment was the Gnostic equivalent of salvation because it liberated one's consciousness from mere physical existence into a kind of permanent spirituality.Gnosticism took its name from this idea of “salvation thru enlightenment.” The Greek word ‘gnosis' means ‘knowledge.'Because the Christian movement was growing rapidly, Gnostics adopted Christian forms & terms as a sneaky marketing ploy, hoping to pawn off their ideas as an elite form of Christianity. The ploy worked & Gnosticism took root in several congregations just as winds of false teaching do in every generation.Marcion was one of the first to introduce Gnostic elements in his highly-edited form of Christianity. Drawing from Cerdo, he proposed 2 different gods; an angry, vengeful OT deity, & a warm, fuzzy father-figure of the NT. Toting the Gnostic line, Marcion said the physical body was evil & promoted a rigorous asceticism that denied all physical pleasure. Marcion's followers took communion by drinking water because wine was too tasty. They went so far as to say even marital sex was taboo.Marcion claimed Jesus was not born of Mary. He said Jesus appeared at Capernaum in AD 29 as a grown man. Note that = Jesus only appeared. Marcion said Jesus didn't have a literal body. He couldn't since being physical, the body was evil. Jesus only appeared, or seemed to have a body; in truth, he was more phantom than tangible.This is called Docetism; one of the earliest forms of Gnosticism. Docetism comes from the word meaning to seem. Marcion said the death & resurrection of Christ weren't literal; they couldn't be since Jesus wasn't corporeal. They were just a phantom demonstration of God's love and sacrifice. Though the church at Rome quickly became hip to Marcion's theological shenanigans & declared his ideas heretical in 144, they gained some traction and Marcion set up a counterfeit church in both Italy & in Asia Minor where the Eastern mystery cults were popular.  Marcionite fellowships reached as far as Arabia & Egypt & were still operating well into the 4th Century.Marcion's was only one of several streams of Gnosticism that developed during the 2nd & 3rd Centuries to challenge Christian orthodoxy. The main feature of all the Gnostics was their sharp dualism, splitting up the physical & spiritual into utterly divergent realms. They believed the spiritual realm contained a hierarchy of spiritual beings who were layered upward toward a transcendent & ultimate spirit. This transcendent god had given rise to a lower deity, which had done likewise, & so on over thousands of spiritual emanations until there was a spirit distant enough from the origin to be so low as to be able to create the physical universe. Some Gnostics like Cerdo & Marcion, said this lowly creator spirit was the Jewish God of the OT.Gnostics believed that sparks of divinity, little portions of pure spirit were locked inside some, but not all, humans. Those who had them, they said, would become Gnostics. Another clever marketing ploy; after all, who doesn't want to think they have a little spark of something special? So, they were tempted to go Gnostic to prove they did. The next step was to pay one of the Gnostic teachers the requisite fee to learn the Gnosis, that is, the secret knowledge, so they could have their divine spark fanned into full flame.Voilà = Enlightenment!It was an ancient version of, “The first lesson is free, but if you want to go deeper, well, that's going to cost you. Oh, & by the way, if you're smart, you WILL join us – because that's what smart holders of the divine spark do. You want to be one of the special one's don't you? Well, sign up, pay the fee & you're in! Oh and BTW – if you sign up today, it's half off.”Okay, I obviously made that last part up, but once you realize what the Gnostic teachers were all about, you wouldn't' really be surprised if they did have ancient versions of all the modern sales gimmicks. Family & group plans, Buy One; Get One Free, No Shipping.For the Gnostics, Enlightenment equaled Salvation. It was the realization they weren't mere humans devoid of the divine spark, so little better than animals. They were earth-bound spirits destined to re-emerge with the divine hierarchy, that series of emanations from the supreme, transcendent God. Gnosticism was a stepped progression of spiritual growth whereby members increased their rank by paying their Gnostic guides more & more to learn increasingly powerful gnosis. If this sounds similar to a modern religious group that calls itself by a similar name = Something like, uhhh à Knowledgeology = Well there really is nothing new under the sun.Gnosticism presented a challenge to the Church for a couple of reasons.First = Gnostics used many of the same terms Christians used. This confused novices and those not properly taught. It's something pseudo-christian cults do to this day. They use orthodox vocabulary but pour different meanings into the words.Second = It's human nature to be attracted to that which is secret, hidden & mysterious; and that's what the Gnostics were all about.Third = The Gnostics believed they were superior to others. This appealed to ever-present pride. The Bible teaches that humans were created in the image of God & originally destined for glory. There's a latent sense of a call to glory that lingers in the soul. Greatness beckons us all. Gnostics said this was the divine spark & only they could activate it.Fourth = Human nature assumes something as important as salvation has to be costly. There's no such thing as a free-lunch. The Christian Gospel says while salvation is by God's grace & free to us, it's supremely costly to God because it cost the Life of Christ. But many miss this & think grace is utterly free.  The Gospel's message of salvation by grace seemed thin & weak to those convinced there had to be work involved, compared to the Gnostic campaign of "Pay to Play."What comes as a surprise is to realize the first real doctrinal challenge to Christianity was not over Jesus' deity. It was over His humanity. Today, most controversy is over Jesus being God. It's easy to see Him as a man. What's more difficult is to understand how the human and divine come together in the Incarnation, so this becomes one of the main points of contention with non-Christian and the cults. The Docetism of Marcion and other Gnostics maintained Jesus's divinity but denied his humanity.And let me just give a bit of a teaser for some of our later episodes when we get to the 4th & 5th Centuries. Turns out the battles that went on in the church over how to understand the dual nature of Christ became a bloody & contentious period of Church history. One of the Church Councils is nick-named the Gangster Synod because the church leaders who attended it beat each other up over this issue. è Fun times!Back to Gnosticism . . .Other branches of the Gnostics taught Jesus & Christ were 2 separate entities. Jesus was just a man with a human mother & father while Christ was a spirit that descended on the man Jesus at his baptism, ministered thru him for 3 yrs, then departed in the Garden of Gethsemane. So the man that died on the cross was just a spent shell; his death accomplished nothing in terms of salvation. These Gnostics claimed that the Christ-spirit or Christ-consciousness continued to inhabit their leaders & could come upon anyone who showed sufficient enlightenment.Like Marcion with his abbreviated list of approved books we considered in the previous episode, the Gnostics edited portions of the NT that spoke of Christ's physicality. They couldn't have Him writing in the dust of the ground or eating after the resurrection because, well, spirits don't do those kinds of things. They also had to insert episodes into the Jesus-story that gave an opening for their aberrant theology. The recent spate of alternative Gospels that have made the news are for the most part Gnostic Scriptures known to the early church but rejected for their spurious origin and dubious Gnostic purpose. They weren't included in the NT canon because they didn't meet the strenuous criteria used to validate accepted writings.As I mentioned, there were several branches or streams of Gnosticism. They differed in all sorts of ways. One of the major divisions was on how to deal with their core-belief in the inherent evil of all matter. One group believed the proper way to respond was by a strict asceticism that avoided physical pleasure. They ate only the most bland foods , drank tasteless beverages, wore uncomfortable clothes, abstained from sex & avoided any stimulation of the senses deemed pleasurable.The other tendency was a 180° reversal of asceticism. These Gnostics immersed themselves in physical pleasure. They said asceticism was pointless because whether it was pleasurable or not, contact with the world was unalterably evil – so it didn't matter! If it was all evil, might was well enjoy it! These Gnostics made it their aim to so immerse themselves in pleasure, and this often meant indulging in the grossest kinds of immorality, that they'd experience enlightenment anyway, and this would prove that their consciousness was divorced from the body. These Gnostics said their divine spark was like a pearl that could not be stained by the muck of the world. Of course, this was quite appealing to people who wanted to continue in sin and believe they were going to heaven when they died.Spread between these extremes, were other branches of Gnostic thought & teaching.Until the 19th Century most of what we know about the Gnostics came from Christian leaders like Irenaeus & Origen who refuted their ideas.Here's what the Early Church Father, Irenaeus, wrote about the Gnostics in his preface to his work; “Against Heresies.”These men falsify the oracles of God, and prove themselves evil interpreters of the good word of revelation. They also overthrow the faith of many, by drawing them away, under a pretense of superior knowledge, from Him who rounded and adorned the universe; as if they had something more excellent and sublime to reveal, than God who created the heaven and the earth, and all things therein. By means of specious words, they cunningly allure the simple-minded to inquire into their system; but they nevertheless clumsily destroy them, while they initiate them into their blasphemous and impious opinions . . . and these simple ones are unable, even in such a matter, to distinguish falsehood from truth.As I said, until recently, pretty much all historians knew of ancient Gnosticism was what it's opponents said about it. Then, several decades ago, ancient Gnostic manuscripts began to surface. The more notable of these are the Codex Askewianus, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, the Wisdom of Jesus, & the Acts of Peter. In 1946, a collection of Gnostic manuscripts was discovered near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. They were dated to the late 4th Century.Simon Magus, mentioned in Acts 8, was labeled by early Christians as the originator of Gnosticism and may indeed have had a hand in blending Greek philosophy, Eastern mysteries, & Christian lingo into a home-spun spiritualism. After Simon, another Gnostic teacher named Menander followed up on & elaborated on Simon's work. Saturninus brought Gnosticism to Antioch in Syria where a thriving Christian community already existed.Cerinthus spread Gnosticism in Asia Minor & as we've seen Cerdo & Marcion brought Gnostic ideas to Rome.Where Gnosticism thrived was in the North African city of Alexandria, the Roman Empire's 2nd largest & a highly-influential city. Alexandria was a center of culture & learning & Gnosticism's presence there greatly advanced its reach.The arid conditions of North Africa facilitated the preservation of documents, so some of our most ancient manuscripts of the NT come from that region. Some conservative scholars believe these manuscripts bear evidence of Gnostic tampering in that they tend to exclude portions of the Gospels that reference Jesus' corporeal existence, as well as those parts of the NT epistles which speak of the life of Faith affecting the physical world.But the net result of Gnosticism on the Church was the clarification of what Christians believe about the humanity and deity of Christ & the nature of faith. Gnostic challenges moved Church leaders to identify which books were Scripture as well as what makes for  essential doctrine. Though the cause of orthodoxy was advanced by confronting Gnosticism, Gnostic ideas became entrenched in some churches and by the early 4th Century, when Christianity was finally removed from under the heel of Imperial persecution, Church leaders were split over some of the ideas Gnosticism had inserted.But that's a matter for a latter episode.

El titulo del episodio de esta semana es “Compra Uno y Llévate Uno Gratis.”En el último episodio  tocamos brevemente un hereje llamado Marción. Fue uno de los primeros en introducir una enseñanza falsa que se convirtió en un gran desafío para la creciente Fe Cristiana; este movimiento errante era conocido como el Gnosticismo.Marción era el hijo del pastor de la iglesia de Ponto, en la costa sur del Mar Negro. Él era propietario de un barco de vela y despachaba carga y pasajeros a lo largo de todo el Imperio. Alrededor del año 140 d.C, el padre de Marción lo expulso de la congregación. Esto fue el resultado de la seducción de una mujer joven por Marción, o sus ideas cada vez más heréticas, o ambos. Cualquiera que sea la razón, el se trasladó a Roma, donde era un desconocido y su reputación era intachable. Cuando hizo una gran contribución a la Iglesia de Roma, eso también ayudo a mover las ruedas de su aceptación como miembro de buena reputación.Pero Marción pronto comenzó a exponer ideas que se apartaban de lo que enseñaban los ancianos de la iglesia. En sus viajes anteriores, Marción había sido influenciado por un maestro llamado Cerdo, uno de los primeros defensores de lo que hoy se conoce como el Gnosticismo.Ahora, permítanme ser claro, el Gnosticismo era más una tendencia religiosa que un movimiento unido con un conjunto de doctrinas centrales. Mientras que los Gnósticos celebró un conjunto creencias básicas comunes, ellos las interpretaban de muchas maneras diferentes. Esto hace difícil describir al Gnosticismo. En general, podemos decir que fue una mezcolanza deFilosofía Griega,Cultos del misterio orientales, yTerminología De la filosofía Griega, los Gnósticos tomaron prestado la idea de que toda la materia física era intrínsecamente e inalterablemente mala, mientras que el reino espiritual fue igualmente, inherentemente & inalterablemente bueno. Del ocultismo y cultos del misterio oriental esotérico tomaron la idea que existía un cuerpo de conocimientos secretos que cuando los entendías te concedían la iluminación. Esta iluminación fue el equivalente Gnóstico de la salvación porque esta iluminación liberaba la conciencia de la mera existencia física a una especie de espiritualidad permanente.El gnosticismo tomó su nombre de esta idea de "salvación a través de la iluminación." La palabra griega "gnosis" significa 'conocimiento'.Porque el movimiento Cristiano estaba creciendo rápidamente, los Gnósticos adoptaron formas y términos Cristianos como una astuta táctica de marketing, esperando a empeñar sus ideas como una forma élite del Cristianismo. La estrategia funcionó y el Gnosticismo se arraigó en varias congregaciones igual que lo hacen los vientos de falsa enseñanza en cada generación.Marción fue uno de los primeros en introducir elementos Gnósticos en su altamente editada forma del cristianismo. Tomando de las enseñanzas de Cerdo, el propuso 2 diferentes dioses; un airado, vengativo la deidad del AT, y una figura cálida, amorosa de padre del NT. Siguiendo la línea Gnóstica, Marción, dijo que el cuerpo físico era malvado y promovió una ascetismo riguroso que negaba todo placer físico. Los seguidores de Marción tomaban la comunión con agua porque el vino era demasiado sabroso. Fueron tan extremos para decir que incluso el sexo dentro del matrimonio era tabú.Marción afirmaba que Jesús no nació de María. El dijo Jesús apareció en Capernaúm en el año 29 d.C. como un hombre adulto. Tengamos en cuenta que = Jesús solamente apareció. Marción decía que Jesús no tenía un cuerpo literal. Él no podía ya tener un cuerpo físico, el cuerpo era malo. Jesús apareció solamente, o parecía tener un cuerpo; en verdad, él era más fantasma que tangible.Esta creencia se le llama Docetismo; una de las primeras formas de Gnosticismo. Docetismo proviene del significado de la palabra parecer. Marción dijo que la muerte y resurrección de Cristo no era literal; no lo podía ser porque Jesús no era corporal. Era sólo un manifestación  fantasmagórica del amor y el sacrificio de Dios. Aunque la Iglesia de Roma rápidamente se dio cuenta de la teología errónea de Marción y declaro sus ideas heréticas en el año 144 d.C. , sus ideas se propagaron y Marción creó una falsa Iglesia en partes de Italia y  Asia Menor donde los cultos de misterio orientales eran populares. Congregaciones Marcionistas llegaron tan lejos como Egipto y Arabia y seguían funcionando hasta el comienzo del siglo IV.Marción fue sólo una de las corrientes del Gnosticismo que se desarrolló durante el segundo y tercer siglos para desafiar a la Ortodoxia Cristiana. La principal característica de todos los Gnósticos era su marcado dualismo, separando lo físico y lo espiritual en reinos totalmente divergentes. Ellos creían que el reino espiritual contenía una jerarquía de seres espirituales que estaban  en diferentes niveles en el camino hacia arriba, hacia un trascendente y supremo Espíritu. Este Dios trascendente habia dado lugar a una deidad inferior, y esa había hecho lo mismo, y así sucesivamente a lo largo de miles de emanaciones espirituales hasta que hubo un espíritu lo suficientemente distante del Espíritu original para ser tan bajo como para ser capaz de crear el universo físico. Algunos gnósticos como Cerdo y Marción, decían que este humilde Espíritu creador fue el Dios judío del Antiguo Testamento.Los Gnósticos creían que chispas de la divinidad, pequeñas porciones de espíritu puro estaban encerrados dentro de algunos, pero no todos, seres humanos. Aquellos que lo tenían, ellos decían, se podían convertir en Gnósticos. Esta era otra ingeniosa táctica de marketing; después de todo, ¿quién no quiere pensar que tienen un poco de chispa de algo especial? Así entonces fueron tentados a ir al gnóstico para demostrar que lo tenían. El siguiente paso era pagarle a uno de los maestros gnósticos la cuota necesaria para aprender la Gnosis, es decir, el conocimiento secreto, lo que podría soplar sobre su chispa divina para convertirla en un fuego ardiente.Voila = Iluminación!Era una antigua versión de, "La primera lección es gratis, pero si quieres ir mas profundo, bueno, eso te va a costar. Oh, y por cierto, si eres inteligente, claro que te vas a unir a nosotros, porque eso es lo que hacen los inteligentes que tienen la chispa divina. Deseas ser uno de los especiales o ¿no? Además, regístrate, paga la inscripción y estás dentro! Ah, y por si fuera poco - si te inscribes hoy, tienes el 50% de descuento."Bueno, obviamente, yo añadí la última parte, pero una vez que te das cuenta como eran los maestros Gnósticos realmente no se sorprenderían si tenían versiones antiguas de todos los trucos de ventas moderna. Planes familiares, Plan Comprar Uno, y Consiga Uno Gratis, Sin gastos de envío.Para los Gnósticos, la Iluminación era igual que la Salvación. Fue la realización que no eran meramente seres humanos carentes de la chispa divina, tan poco mejor que animales. Ellos eran espíritus atados a la tierra destinados a re-emerger en la Jerarquía Divina, esa serie de emanaciones del supremo y trascendente, Dios. El Gnosticismo fue una progresión escalonada de crecimiento espiritual por el cual miembros aumentaban su rango, pagándole a sus guías Gnóstico más y más para aprender cada vez más poderosa Gnosis. Si esto suena parecido a un grupo religioso moderno que se llama a sí mismo un nombre similar = algo parecido, a → Conocimientologia = bueno realmente no hay nada nuevo bajo el sol._________________________________________________________________________________________________________El gnosticismo presentó un desafío a la Iglesia por un par de razones.Primero = Los Gnósticos usaban muchos de los mismos términos que cristianos usaban. Esto confundía a los nuevos cristianos y aquellos que no eran enseñados correctamente. Es algo que hacen las pseudo-sectas cristianas hasta este día. Ellos utilizan vocabulario ortodoxo pero le dan diferentes significados a las palabras..Segundo = Es la naturaleza humana el ser atraído a lo que es secreto, oculto y misterioso; y eso era  el fundamento principal de los Gnósticos.Tercero = Los gnósticos creían que eran superiores a los demás. Este apeló al orgullo en nosotros que siempre esta presente. La Biblia enseña que el hombre fue creado en la imagen de Dios y destinado originalmente para la gloria. Hay un sentimiento latente de un llamado a la gloria que perdura en el alma de todos nosotros. La grandeza nos atrae a todos. Los Gnósticos decían que eso era la chispa divina y sólo ellos podían activarla.Cuarto = La naturaleza humana supone que algo tan importante como la salvación tiene que ser costoso. No hay tal cosa como una comida gratis. El Evangelio Cristiano nos enseña, que aunque la salvación es por la gracia de Dios y es un regalo para nosotros, fue sumamente costoso para Dios porque le costo la vida de Cristo. Pero muchos no entienden esta parte y piensan que la gracia es totalmente gratuita. El mensaje del Evangelio sobre la salvación por gracia parece dudoso y débil para aquellos convencidos que tiene que haber trabajo involucrado en alcanzarlo, comparado con la campaña Gnóstica de "Pagar por Jugar".Lo que viene como una sorpresa es darnos cuenta que el primer real desafío doctrinal al Cristianismo no fue sobre la deidad de Jesús. Fue sobre su humanidad. Hoy en día, la controversia mayor es sobre si Jesús es Dios. Es fácil verlo como un hombre. Lo más difícil es entender cómo lo humano y lo divino se unen en la Encarnación, así que esto se convirtió en uno de los principales puntos de enfrentamiento con los no cristianos y los cultos orientales. El Docetismo de Marción y otros Gnósticos mantenían la divinidad de Jesús, pero negaban su humanidad.Ahora permítanme darles un poco de información adelantada de uno de nuestros episodios futuros al llegar al 4ª y 5ª siglo. Resulta que las batallas en las cuales entró la iglesia de cómo entender la doble naturaleza de Cristo se convirtió en un período de la historia de la Iglesia sangriento y polémico. Uno de los Concilios de la Iglesia le es dado apodo, “el Sínodo gánster“ porque los líderes de la iglesia que asistieron llegaron a golpes sobre esta cuestión. ⇒ momentos divertidos!Regresando al Gnosticismo . . .Otras corrientes del Gnosticismo enseñaban que Jesús y Cristo eran dos entidades separadas. Jesús fue sólo un hombre con una madre humana y padre,  pero Cristo fue un espíritu que descendió sobre el hombre Jesús en Su bautismo, ministró a través de él durante 3 años, luego partió en el Huerto de Getsemaní. Así que el hombre que murió en la cruz fue solo un caparazón gastado; su muerte no logró nada en términos de la salvación. Estos gnósticos creían que el espíritu de Cristo o la conciencia de Cristo continuaba habitando en la vida de sus líderes y podía venir a quienes mostraban suficiente iluminación.Como Marción con su lista abreviada de los libros aprobados de la Biblia, que consideramos en el episodio anterior, los gnósticos editaban porciones del NT y quitaban todo los que hablaba de Cristo en el mundo físico. Él no podía haber escrito en el polvo de la tierra o haber comido después de la resurrección, porque bueno, los espíritus no hacen ese tipo de cosas. También tenían que insertar episodios en la historia de Jesús, que daban una apertura para su teología aberrante. La reciente oleada de Evangelios alternativos que han salido en las noticias son en la mayoría escrituras Gnósticas conocidas por la primera iglesia, pero rechazadas por su origen agregado y dudoso propósito gnóstico. No fueron incluidos en el canon del NT porque no cumplían con los criterios que se utilizaban para validar los escritos aceptados del Canon Bíblico.Como he mencionado, hubo varias ramas o corrientes del Gnosticismo. Eran diferentes en todo tipo de formas. Una de las principales divisiones era en torno de cómo tratar con el núcleo de sus creencias sobre la maldad intrínseca en todas las cosas. Un grupo creía que la manera correcta de responder era teniendo un estricto ascetismo que evitara el placer físico. Sólo comían más alimentos sin mucho sabor, bebían bebidas insípidas, vestían ropas incómodas, se abstenían de sexo y evitaban cualquier tipo de estimulación de los sentidos que se consideraban placenteros.El otro grupo era una cambio de 180° del ascetismo. Estos gnósticos se sumergían en el placer físico. Decían que el ascetismo era inútil, pues si era placentera o no, el contacto con el mundo era inalterablemente malo- así que no importaba! Si estaba todo mal, quizás era bueno disfrutar de ella! Estos gnósticos hicieron su objetivo sumergirse en el placer, y esto muchas veces significaba caer en todo tipo de inmoralidad. Ellos pensaban experimentar la iluminación de todos modos, y esto demostraría que su conciencia estaba divorciada de su cuerpo. Estos gnósticos decían que su chispa divina era como una perla que no podía ser manchada por el lodo del mundo. Por supuesto, esto era bastante atractivo para personas que deseaban continuar en pecado y creer que iban al cielo cuando morían.En medio de estos dos extremos, encontramos las otras corrientes del pensamiento y enseñanza Gnóstica._________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hasta el siglo 19,  la mayoría de lo que sabíamos acerca de los Gnósticos venia de los líderes Cristianos como Ireneo y Orígenes que refutaban sus ideas.Esto es lo que el Padre de la Primera Iglesia, Ireneo, escribió acerca de los Gnósticos en el prólogo de su trabajo; "Contra las Herejías".“Estos hombres falsifican los oráculos de Dios, y demuestran ser mal intérpretes de la buena palabra de la revelación. También derrocan la fe de muchos, arrastrandolos lejos, bajo pretexto de conocimiento superior, de El que redondeo y adorno el universo; como si tuvieran algo más excelente y sublime para revelar, que el Dios que creó el cielo y la tierra, y todas las cosas en él. Por medio de palabras engañosas, ellos astutamente seducen los de mentes simples para investigar su sistema; pero ellos no obstante los destruyen torpemente, mientras los inician en sus blasfemas e impías opiniones . . . Y estos simples son incapaces, incluso en estas cosas, de distinguir la mentira de la verdad.”_________________________________________________________________________________________________________Como les habia dicho, hasta hace poco, casi todos lo que los historiadores sabían sobre el Gnosticismo antiguo, fue lo que los que se oponían decían acerca de ellos. Pero despues, hace varias décadas, los antiguos manuscritos Gnósticos comenzaron a salir a la superficie. Los más notables son el Codex Askewianus, el Evangelio de María Magdalena, La Sabiduría de Jesús, y los Actos de Pedro. En 1946, una colección de manuscritos gnósticos fue descubierta cerca de Nag Hammadi en Egipto. Les dieron una fecha de haber sido escritos a finales del siglo 4.Simon Magus, mencionado en Hechos 8, fue catalogado por los primeros cristianos como el iniciador del Gnosticismo y, de hecho, pudo haber tenido una mano en la mezcla la filosofía griega, los misterios oriental, y el lenguaje cristiano en un espiritualismo hecho en casa. Después de Simón, otro maestro gnóstico llamado Menander le dio seguimiento y elaboro sobre el trabajo Simón. Saturninus trajo el gnosticismo a Antioquía de Siria, donde una floreciente comunidad Cristiana ya existía.Cerinthus propago el Gnosticismo en Asia menor y, como hemos visto Cerdo & Marción trajeron las ideas Gnósticas a Roma.Donde el Gnosticismo prosperó fue en la ciudad de Alejandría en África del Norte, la segunda más grande del Imperio Romano y una ciudad muy influyente. Alejandría era un centro de cultura y aprendizaje y la presencia allí del Gnosticismo avanzo considerablemente su alcance.Las condiciones áridas del norte de África también facilitaron la preservación de documentos, por lo que algunos de nuestros manuscritos más antiguos del NT provienen de esa región. Algunos eruditos conservadores creen que estos manuscritos aportan evidencias de manipulación gnóstica porque tienden a excluir a las porciones de los Evangelios que hacen referencia a la existencia  de Jesús corporal, así como aquellas partes las epístolas del NT que hablan sobre la vida de fe que afecta al mundo físico.Pero el resultado neto del Gnosticismo en la Iglesia fue en aclarar lo que los Cristianos creían acerca de la humanidad y deidad de Cristo y la naturaleza de la fe. Desafíos Gnósticos movieron a los líderes de la Iglesia a determinar qué libros eran Escritura y también que eran las doctrinas esenciales. Aunque la causa de la ortodoxia fue avanzada por confrontar las ideas del Gnosticismo. Las ideas gnósticas se arraigaron en algunas iglesias y a principios del siglo 4, cuando el cristianismo fue finalmente liberado de la persecución del Imperio, los líderes de la iglesia se dividieron sobre algunas de las ideas que el Gnosticismo había insertado en la iglesia.Pero ese es un asunto para un episodio futuro.