What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • White Smoke

    Love and prayers to friends in the Roman Catholic church on the election of the new pope. It was lovely to see the people in Rome greet him.

    The airwaves are going to be full of speculation about what he will be like and full of things he has said in the past. The truth is, there is no knowing whether how he has been will be how he will be. It just doesn’t always work like that. Things happen.

    It is interesting to think about there being a Jesuit pope. Like many an Anglican I’ve received quite a lot from the Jesuits – in my case, retreats, spiritual direction, methods of prayer, friendship and massage. I’ve found most Jesuits I’ve encountered to be intelligent, funny and purposeful. They also are formed in quite a distinctive way spiritually. This pope is likely to think things through quite differently to some popes just because of that. It will be fascinating to see how it all pans out.

    He appeared to be a calm man and that will surely be needed. It was good to see someone call the people gathered in Rome to pray as his first act. He seemed to call us all to pray, Roman Catholics and others alike. Let us hope that he is indeed the great bridge builder (pontifex maximus).

    We’ll be praying for him. Just as he requested.

     

5 responses to “St Strumpet?”

  1. Mary Brown Avatar
    Mary Brown

    How about the wife of Jesus, airbrushed out of the story by later misogynist Christians? See Starbird, M “The Woman with the Alabaster Jar” and other books by her. She is an ex-Catholic who set out to refute the Holy Blood, Holy Grail story and ended by being convinced that Jesus and Mary were a married pair (and an archetype of the male/female balance principle). There’s a wonderful window in Kilmore Church, Mull. Check it out – whoever created it intended it to represent J and M as husband and wife, and M is clearly pregnant. Of course, there is no unchallengeable evidence that Jesus was married, but what I would like to ask the sceptics is why, given that He was the word made flesh and dwelt among us, is it unacceptable for Him to have been a sexual being? Why have later Christians considered sexuality, even in a loving relationship, to be something disgusting? Because they have, we are now stuck with the nasty views of the NotW brigade that sex is either an acceptable leisure activity or something gross. As Margaret Starbird points out, if we restored Mary as Jesus’ beloved consort we would be creating a much more wholesome myth!

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      It is a little like the arguments that might be made of the relationship between Jesus and the beloved disciple though, isn’t it? All very attractive and neat if you come from a particular point of view but not really backed up with enough evidence apart from modern presumption, presupposition and desire.

      Reply
  2. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    I think the arguments on Jesus being married are very far from being liberationary. Rather, they’re the natural end-point of the Evangelical mindset that homophobically (and unbiblically) divides the world into Normal Heterosexual Married types and the demonised Other. “It is better to marry than burn” might have some mysognistic readings conducive to the fundamentalist world-view, but it hardly most naturally supports the idolatarisation of particular heterosexual relationships.

    If I had a pound for every time a nominal Sola Scriptura type had told me that St.Paul had to have been married (presumably because Our Lord’s asceticism and disinterest in heterosexual marriage is bad enough) then I would be a very rich man indeed 😉

    Interesting post Kelvin! Had no idea that St.Mary M even had red hair Perhaps she could be reclaimed as the Patron Saint of Gingers and Other Persecuted Minorities? 🙂

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      Oh, her hair was red, Ryan. Flaming Red I believe.

      Reply
  3. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    How reginal! 😉

    Reply

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