the dope on popes…
March 14, 2008
have a look at right hand column in the list of popes on wikipedia. i did and it really struck me that until Constantine decreed otherwise, the vast majority of popes were murdered. we can assume that for whatever reason, they represented a threat in the eyes of the establishment elite.
along comes Constantine and things suddenly change. the orthodox faction enjoy increasing political power and begin a programme of persecution and murder themselves, this time on their more unorthodox & gnostic brethren.
this raises a number of possibilities and questions:
why were the early church such a threat to the elites?
why isn’t the “1st world” church a threat any more? Blaire and Bush expouse a christian allegiance publically & proudly.
did the more gnostic brethren refuse to play the political game and pay the price for it?
why did the persecuted become the persecutors?
…and can we trust an orthodoxy who’s hands are stained in blood? by their fruits….
David was not allowed to build the temple due to blood on his hands so maybe the mantle of the church was taken away from the orthodox when they developed a taste for blood.
i don’t know but it’s lunch time….
March 14, 2008 at 2:35 pm
My rather in depth study of the early church has convinced me that the church of the late 3rd and 4th century was no less than another political structure in the hands of the emperor. This is at best very similar to the Catholic Church of today; at worst, a spiritually based (at one time) organization (ecclesia) which had become totally devoid of spirituality by the early Middle Ages.
March 14, 2008 at 7:26 pm
bon appetit !!