Paradise Cafe Discussions - A Place For Bible Research And Christian Encouragement

I was wondering, who is your favorite figure form Church history, from A.D. 100 until today? I don't mean who do you necessarily agree with most doctrinally, but who do you like the most? Who is most interesting to you? Who fascinates you? Who inspires you to be more like Christ? Why them?

For me, it's Martin Luther. I'm so very impressed with his courageous stand against the Catholic Church. I find his brash boldness and tactlessness at times quite funny. While there are a few areas I think his beliefs were wrong, you can't expect perfection coming out of such darkness, and knowing what he came out of, it's very surprising he had as much correct as he did.

Here's a video from the movie Luther. This is their treatment of the Diet of Worms.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...236057929#
(How many of us here know exactly what Martin Luther was going through at this stage. Why? Because haven't many of us had our own 'Diet of Worms'?)


What about you?

Grace and peace to you,

Matt

For me it would be St. John Chrystostom, one of the Three Hierarchs and a Doctor of the Church.

St. John is known in Christianity chiefly as a preacher, theologian and liturgist, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Hmmm....I was thinking of saying, Sir Thomas More, who was Luther's nemesis. Since seeing "A Man for all Seasons" starring Paul Schofield and admiring his stand for his conscience and not realizing the sanitized nature of the history we learned in school, he was a favorite of mine.

But yikes!:shocked: The internet does make more details available to us.

Here is an unexpurgated dialogue between Luther and More that wouldn't be allowed here even in the controversy room.

Luther, in his book Against Henry:
“[The king] would have to be forgiven if humanly he erred. Now, since he knowingly and conscientiously fabricates lies against the majesty of my king in heaven [Christ], this damnable rottenness and worm, I will have the right, on behalf of my king, to bespatter his English majesty with muck and dung and to trample underfoot that crown of his which blasphemes against Christ.”

More responded thus:
“Come, do not rage so violently, good father; but if you have raved wildly enough, listen now, you pimp. You recall that you falsely complained above that the king has shown no passage in your whole book, even as an example, in which he said that you contradict yourself. You told this lie shortly before, although the king has demonstrated to you many examples of your inconsistency ....

But meanwhile, for as long as your reverend paternity will be determined to tell these shameless lies, others will be permitted, on behalf of his English majesty, to throw back into your paternity's filthy mouth, truly the dung-pool of all dung, all the muck and filth which your damnable rottenness has vomited up, and to empty out all the sewers and privies onto your crown divested of the dignity of the priestly crown, against which no less than against the kingly crown you have determined to play the buffoon."

There's more, and it gets worse. Maybe we're not so bad after all.:P

Rez

PS...

I'll have my worms toasted crispy and served with BBQ sauce, if you please.:eat:

The rhetoric of the late middle ages and early renaissance is quite brutal. They obviously didn't believe in political correctness. (And if Luther lived today he'd have some harsh words to say about political correctness too.) Truly whoever said it was right when they said that Luther was "a bull in a china shop". The dialogue and rhetoric is sometimes so shocking and offensive to modern ears it's funny. I just can't believe that people were THAT blunt. I suppose his heart was in the right place.

Grace and peace to you,

Matt

I gotta say, that Luther is one of my favorites. I find more useful quotes from him than from anyone else, outside of the Bible. Here's an example:

To a friend of the Reformation Luther wrote:

If I remember, this was said to someone who asked him how to study the bible.

....and I loved the movie "Luther". Luther was played by the same actor who stars in the TV series "Flash Forward". Well worth renting.

Love,
Rez:siskiss:

easy for me.... Lady Jane Grey!

Here is a video about my favorite figure from Church History:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z15FlTONVo


Do you know him?


In Christ

abe