The Hero and the Saint Paul and Augustine - 656 Words

The Hero and the Saint: Paul and Augustine The idea of the hero in Greco-Roman culture was integrated into the idea of the saint (in the process of conversion and totalization) by way of Christianitys adoption of and ancestry in the Greco-Roman culture. As Professor Ambrosio indicates, The need and the search for meaning is shared by all human beings (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). Thus, it is no surprise to find that a pagan Greco-Roman title is applicable to a Christian whose virtue is viewed as greater than that of ordinary men just as the hero is viewed as greater (in fame, bravery, strength) than ordinary men. The fact that two of early Christianitys most heroic figures (St. Paul and St. Augustine) were Roman makes this integration even less surprising. This paper will discuss the way in which the hero is integrated into the idea of the saint by comparing Saul of Tarsus with Augustine of Hippo two men who underwent a conversion and rose to heroic or saintly heights in terms of Christian virtue. Professor Ambrosio asserts that Sauls vision establishes a direct connection between Pauls question, Who are you, Lord? and Jesus as the one who is being persecuted in the person of those who have faith in Him (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). This direct connection is what ultimately helps transform Saul into Paul a new man. Christianity, in other words, is the religion of throwing off the old man and putting on the new. The new, of course, is Christ which is whyShow MoreRelatedSecular Sanctity and the Meaning of Life3110 Words   |  12 Pagesï » ¿The Meaning of Life Introduction The secular saint, like the hero saint, is motivated by love. While Augustine tells us that the hero saint is moved by love for God, the secular saint as the humanist thinkers of our modern age assert is moved by love for self and/or fellow man. Thus, love appears to be at the heart of the meaning of life. Throughout history love has been given many different names. For the pagan Greeks, there was eros (erotic or sexual love), agape (spiritual love), and phileosRead MoreSt.Jerome Essay4572 Words   |  19 PagesJeromes Vulgate, all Latin translations of the  Old Testament  were based on the Septuagint not the Hebrew. Jeromes decision to use a Hebrew text instead of the previous translated Septuagint went against the advice of most other Christians, including  Augustine, who thought the Septuagint inspired. Modern scholarship, however, has cast doubts on the actual quality of Jeromes Hebrew knowledge. Many modern scholars believe that the GreekHexapla  is the main source for Jeromes iuxta Hebraeos translationRead MoreDr Martin Luther King Jrs Influence on the Social and Political Culture of the Country2658 Words   |  11 PagesIn the letter, Kings arguments are air tight. King refers to Christian saints like Augustine to prove his case and highlight the un-Christian nature of racism. King also compares himself to Paul, who is widely credited with the creation of the religion of Christianity (as opposed to Christs own reformulation of Gods spiritual covenant with humanity). In the letter from Birmingham jail, King writes, just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to theRead MoreVan Gogh And His Works2225 Words   |  9 Pagesto Arles in 1888, where he wanted to start a colony of artists who would all live and create together (Department of European Paintings). This community did not actually come together because no one went to work with van Gogh. However, Vincent’s hero Paul Gauguin did visit a nd work with him. When van Gogh heard of this news, he became excited and optimistic. In preparation for Gauguin’s visit, he created a series of bright yellow sunflower paintings. It was his intention to decorate Gauguin’s roomRead MoreAwareness6564 Words   |  27 PagesScientific Research Fund (FNRS) and Ph.D. candidate at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. 2 Paul Ricoeur, Memory, History, Forgetting, transl. Kathleen Blamey and David Pellauer (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2004) pp. 96-120. 1 subjective experience and memories belong to the individual, helping to build identity by differentiating this individual from others. As Augustine pointed out, the notion of reflexivity thus lies at the root of memory.3 The development of thisRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pages The existentialists, however, are aware of the necessity of their independance. They may still visit their parents, but not with such routine or need. As British writer  Anita Brookner  put it: * Existentialism is about being a saint without God; being your own hero, without all the sanction and support of religion or society. * Existentialism can exist within and outside of religious context because it focuses on the individual within the concepts of human nature and the struggle for lifeRead Moresecond sex Essay13771 Words   |  56 Pagesof their own; and they have no such solidarity of work and interest as that of the proletariat. They are not even promiscuously herded together in the way that creates community feeling among the American Negroes, the ghetto Jews, the workers of Saint-Denis, or the factory hands of Renault. They live dispersed among the males, attached through residence, housework, economic condition, and social standing, to certain men ? fathers or husbands ? more firmly than they are to other women. If theyRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagesdepend on—are contingent on— characteristics of the external environment in which the organization operates. Another milestone in management theory was the development of contingency theory in the 1960s by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker in Britain and Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch in the United States.43 The crucial message of contingency theory is that there is no one best way to organize: The organizational structures and the control systems that managers choose depend on—are contingent on—characteristics