The Cruel Hand of God:
Secular Themes and Compassionate Leadership in San Manuel Bueno, Mártir and The Plague Miguel de Unamuno’s short story San Manuel Bueno, Mártir and Albert Camus’s tour de force The Plague describe towns whose leaders employ drastically different methods to combat their communal maladies. The Plauge’s Dr. Bernard Rieux relies on an unrelentingly harsh process of physical healing, driven not by his empathy for the individual but by his compassion for humanity. Unamuno’s priest Don Manuel shrouds his village in the warm embrace of religious serenity, complicated by only one fact: the priest does not believe in God. Despite these divergent philosophies, both characters aspire to their own notions of what constitutes “secular sainthood.” Because of the inherent imprecision of such a phrase, the reader is asked to determine what truly determines a “secular saint.” Is it someone who is portrayed by the populace as a religious martyr but who actually is quite secular (hereafter known as the “Don Manuel interpretation”) or someone who is seen by the populace as cruelly detached and unemotional but is actually a hero (Rieux’s guiding philosophy)? Alternatively, one could be drawn to the possibility, as I am, that neither truly constitutes secular sainthood.
In attempting to determine the success of both Rieux and Don Manuel in the quest for beatification, one may explore a dichotomy familiar in the theological cannon: whether God ought to be kind, as He is
Luis Jimenez’s piece titled El Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd) from the Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery represents the react against the seminal post-war American movement. The works of art were chosen by a Contemporary and Modern collection created during the past century. The commonality amongst the works of art that lead to them being displayed together was the abstract expressionism; all the paintings reacted against the seminal post-war American movement. This piece was made in 1998 as a depiction of the murder of Esequiel of Redford, Texas while he tended his goats. The piece’s present location is the Arkansas Arts Center, and its original location is the Lawrence Lithography Workshop in Saint Louis, Missouri. The piece is water color and crayon on paper, and it can only be seen from one side by looking up because it is hanging on the wall. The subject of the work of art by Jiménez is a young man tending his goats
( The Spread of Christianity was the most significant purpose of Cabeza De Vaca’s account)
Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teodulo Franco Bahamonde, or more commonly Francisco Franco, was born on December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, Galicia, Spain. Franco was born to Nicolas Franco y Salgado-Araújo, a Spanish Naval Officer, and María del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade, an upper middle class Roman Catholic.
On June 17, 1527, Cabeza de Vaca set sail on the order to conquer and govern the lands from the Rio Grande to the cape of Florida. However, during his journey he encountered much devastation such as the wrecking of his ship which resulted in his separation from the majority of his Christian companions. Praying to God after every ordeal, Cabeza routinely sought after his Christian religion to guide him through his unexpected journey. While traveling through the interior of America, he also encountered many native tribes which inhabited the land. While most of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century spread their religion through warlike ways and rearranged societies
Wolf’s argument against the moral saint ideal has a critical flaw, and that is her objection’s conclusion. Wolf’s conclusion states that a moral saint does not live the good life, however, the “good life” does not have any universally agreed upon definition that needs to be met in order to be true.
One important indicator on the Catholic Church’s stance on Liberation Theology and general social activism in Latin America will be to see if Archbishop Oscar Romero is accepted into sainthood. The iconic and controversial religious leader worked tirelessly to help the lower-class in El Salvador. His teachings and beliefs that the marginalized peasants should be treated justly made him a living legend among his countrymen and isolated him from the nation’s corrupt elites. Although he never specifically condoned violence, his sermons played no small part in fomenting a bloody peasant uprising and civil war that raged for over a decade. In the last few years, a strong effort has been made to canonize Romero. Although he is revered not only in his own country but throughout the world, there exist a few issues that could possibly preclude him for becoming a saint. He is still strongly disliked by the vast majority of the wealthy and powerful ruling class of El Salvador, he, indirectly and inadvertently, helped bring about a violent conflict that ravaged his nation and, perhaps most importantly, his canonization may appear to be a carte blanche validation of Liberation Theology and the Marxist uprisings that were often associated with the movement. The canonization of Oscar Romero will redefine the seminal ideal of a modern-day saint and could quite
One of the most outstanding characteristics of humans is that we have a moral conscience- the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, as well as understand the consequences of actions beforehand. Nonetheless, religion remains important to society because it helps to refine and provide a deeper understanding of humans’ moral responsibility. There are instances where either people ignore religious practices in favor of reason and logic or follow only religious teachings that suit a particular situation. Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella that typifies the failure of religion to unify people and provide a common course for understanding life. The story talks about Santiago’s fight against fate and the probability of escaping death that is foretold beforehand. The priest symbolizes religion in the novella and readers observe that his actions are similar to those of ordinary people. Ordinarily, we expect the priest to uphold religious practices and bring people together when society is divided on an issue.
Later, Williams begins a dialogue about religion. The translated dialogue speaks firmly about the existence of the Christian god and the affirmation of those beliefs. The author is a clear devotee of Christianity. And although he
In Lasallian schools the core principle of concern for the poor and social justice invites students and staff to be in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering injustices. This means that people should have awareness of the poor and those who are victims of injustices and respond to their needs by means of community service and advocacy. This core principle is illustrated in the novella, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr” by Miguel de Unamuno. The main character, Don Emmanuel is the parson of the city of Valverde. The congregation of this parish look up to Don Emmanuel, admire him, and are overtaken by his words in mass. However, the narrator reveals that Don Emmanuel was not a man of faith. “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, presents a story of a young man who one day wakes up and is transformed into a bug. As a result of this transformation, he is mistreated by his family and considered useless in society. In the case of Saint Emmanuel the Good Martyr, there is a character that does not believe in God, yet practices concern for the poor and social justice on a daily basis. On the other hand, we have a character that yearns what Don Emmanuel gives to the citizens in Valverde, care and concern.
Saint Augustine, one of the best scholars of the early church, portrayed the Trinity as practically identical to the three sections of an individual: personality, soul, and will. They are three unmistakable viewpoints, yet they are conjoined and together constitute one bound together individual. The purpose of this research paper is to further emphasize, highlight, and defend St. Augustine’s conclusion that the Holy Trinity is one God existing in three persons according to the meeting at the Council of Nicea 325.
Medieval philosophers developed very precise notions of God and the attributes that he has, many of which are even now well-known among believers. For example, God is all-powerful all-knowing and all-good Other commonly discussed attributes of God are that he is eternal, that he is present everywhere and that he has foreknowledge of future events. While these traditional attributes of God offer a clear picture of the kind of being that he is, many of them present special conceptual problems, particularly when we try to make them compatible them with potentially conflicting facts about the world.
In conversation with Daniel Migliore give an account of what it means to confess that God is triune. Give care to an explication of “economic and immanent trinity,” and perichoresis.
The theist, therefore, appears to be faced with a choice between a view which implies a kind of moral chaos and a life of moral immaturity, and one which belittles an Almighty God. One attempt to resolve this dilemma turns on the distinction
It is in Clarke’s short story “The Star,” that we see the Jesuit priest question his faith because of his lack of understanding of the will of God. As a priest, he lives his life having faith that God is who the Bible says he is, but this faith was shaken
Saint Augustine is undoubtedly one, if not, the most important theologian in church history. His writings have greatly influenced Christian theology and understanding of God. Saint Augustine laid out some theological doctrine that has helped shaped Christian’s perceptions of sin, grace and salvation. Ironically, some of his theological postulation emerges from his controversies with different opposing camps on the aforementioned subjects. However, in this paper, the primary focus will be on his controversy with the Pelegians. The Pelagians taught that God’s given grace before the fall, combined with the willingness of man to choose good over evil, is enough to earn man salvation. The Pelagius position places emphasis on man’s ability to work out his own salvation,