A Brief Overview of the Life of St. Anselm, pt 2 of 2

A Brief Overview of the Life of St. Anselm, pt. 2 of 2

Perhaps Anselm’s greatest legacy is not in his historical significance, but rather his theological contributions.  Anselm’s main method of theological argument was dialectic reasoning, a popular method of debate and proof in philosophy using logic and reasoning.  The steps of dialectic involved putting forth a thesis and endeavoring to prove the thesis by overcoming objections.  If all objections were overcome, then the statement could be assumed true.  It was often used in debate, with one party offering objections and the other refuting those objections[1].  This dialectic reasoning can be seen in all of Anselm’s works, and he often sought proof of his theological thesis without the aid of scripture.

His first work, De Grammatico (1070) was written while he was yet a monk of Bec.  It was simply an introduction to the use of dialectic, based on the textbooks of logic from Aristotle and Boethius.[2]

Monologion (1077) began as a record of his teachings in the form of a meditation.  At the request of his students at Bec, Anselm recorded these insights.  In this we begin to see Anselm’s methodology in intertwining faith and logic.  Monologion does not make use of scripture, but rather makes a proof solely with reason.  He showed that faith is necessary to develop reason, and that reason should not be used to define faith.  Welch summarizes it by saying, “The truth that is received by faith and the truth which is discovered by intelligence are both of God.  They cannot finally conflict, simply because they come from the same source.”[3]

Proslogion (1078), in companion to the previous work, set forth an ontological argument for the existence of God.  Once again making use of logic and reason, this work showed that God could not not exist.  At the core of this argument is the “something than which nothing greater can be thought”.[4] If what exists outside the mind is greater than what is in the mind, then the highest conception of the mind cannot be greater than the highest form of existence outside the mind.  Therefore, “something than which nothing greater can be thought” must exist outside the mind, and this something is God.

During his first exile as archbishop under Rufus in 1097, Anselm completed his treatise Cur Deus Homo (1098), translated Why the God-Man.  It is arguably his “greatest intellectual achievement”.[5] Cur Deus Homo was written largely in response to the theologian and philosopher Roscelin, who challenged that, “the three persons of the trinity were either so separate that they could be said to be three Gods, or so united that all three must have been incarnate in Christ.”[6] The challenge was born out of the inability of dialectic reasoning to reconcile the trinity.  Anselm, up to this point, had not yet voiced his views on the subject, perhaps because he knew of the dialectic problem with the trinity.  In order to complete his theology and counter the statements of Roscelin, it was necessary for him to fuse his metaphysical arguments for the existence of God with the physical incarnation of Jesus, to which Cur Deus Homo is assigned.

The arguments and theology in Cur Deus Homo can be summarized by the following ascertains.  Through disobedience, man has fallen out of the blessing of God.  Since this compromises God’s purpose of creation, redemption must be made and the redemption must be “as great as the debt has been grievous.”[7] Since it was man’s disobedience, it falls to man to bring redemption.  But man is incapable of offering anything greater than his disobedience.  Therefore, man cannot provide the redemption, but yet he must.  Only God is great enough to redeem the disobedience.  “Since only God can, and only Man ought to make this offering, it must be made by a God-Man.”[8] This argument not only supports the incarnation as a reality, but proves that it is necessary.  Anselm’s work also asserts redemption not as the popular opinion of a debt to be paid to the Devil, but as the fulfillment of divine requirements for holiness.

Anselm’s method of theological arguments was revolutionary in the church.  Though dialectic had been used by previous theologians in the early church, it had been used primarily as a means of defense of the faith beneath the attacks of secular philosophers.  Anselm took a different approach to the use of dialectic.  Instead of defending his faith, he used logic and reason to prove his faith from a purely philosophical and scholastic point of view.  This premeditated union of philosophy and theology changed the church’s approach to theology even to this day.  Indeed, students of modern Christian apologetics would do well to study Anselm’s methodology and arguments.  Such approaches to providing proof of Christian faith are very convincing to the modern atheistic and scientific world.  It is proof by reason and not by scripture that the world demands, and Anselm has provided a means of developing such proofs.

This troubled youth, who became a student, a monk, an abbot, and then an archbishop, is a striking example of what God can do through a dedicated life.  Though there is little of significance in the historical study of Anselm, his life can be a testimonial to the power of God to transform a person into a world-changing instrument.  His writings did indeed change the world.  From the humble students at the abbey of Bec, to kings of England and the popes of Rome, to students and professors of theology a thousand years later, Anselm’s works not only survive, but thrive.  Though his arguments are often debated and sometimes refuted, it cannot be denied that his methodology in building proofs has become integral to theological debate.  Even though his death may have deprived the world of one of the greatest theological minds, his legacy still lives that we may “learn how precious is his death in the sight of the Lord.”[9]

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[1] Peter Coffey, The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908), s.v. “Dialectic,” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04770a.htm (accessed October 27, 2009).

[2] R. W. Southern, Saint Anselm and His Biographer (1963; repr., London: Cambridge University Press, 1966), 15.

[3] A. C. Welch, Anselm and His Work (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1901), 66.

[4] Southern, 60.

[5] Southern, 77.

[6] Southern, 79.

[7] Welch, 174.

[8] Southern, 93.

[9] Eadmer, The Life of St Anselm: Archbishop of Canterbury, ed. R. W. Southern (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons LTD, 1962), 153.

A Brief Overview of the Life of St. Anselm Pt. 1 of 2

A Brief Overview of the Life of St. Anselm

By Keven Newsome

In partial fulfillment for the course HIST 5200 History of Christianity:  Early and Medieval

Instructor:  Dr. Rex Butler

The millennium drew near, and the Christianized world waited with bated breath for the return of Jesus.  When the year 1000 came and passed, disappointed theologians across France assembled to recalculate their apocalyptic expectation, declaring that Jesus would return at the millennium of his crucifixion, the year A.D. 1033.  There were calls for peace and mass pilgrimages to Jerusalem to await the expected King as this newly decreed apocalypse approached.[1] Beneath this hope of the Lord’s second coming, a woman named Ermenberga conceived a child.  Then, as the realization that Jesus would not return settled through the land like dense fog, Anselm uttered his first infant’s cry.

The world was changing.  The once great Byzantium Empire, glorious at the beginning of the millennium, began to fade beneath the shadows of greater empires.[2] The Vikings enjoyed tyranny in the Arctic Seas.[3] The papacy saw the election of seven popes from 1045 to 1049.[4] The church would split in 1054 into the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy.[5] William conquered England in 1066,[6] and in 1095 the Crusades would begin[7].

The Middle Ages thrived.  It was a time that would breathe life into the great mythologies of King Arthur, Beowulf, and Robin Hood… a time characterized by jousting and court bards, adventures and legends, nobility and peasants, knighthood and chivalry, castles and hamlets.

Throughout all of this, Anselm would become known as one of the “greatest men in Europe”.[8] His courage beneath the oppression of nobility, would assert the church’s authority, and his apologetic insights have impacted theologians to this very day.

In the little town of Aosta, Burgundy, in the year 1033, Anselm was born to parents Ermenberga and Gundulf.  Though it is not known for sure, circumstantial evidence about his extended family and the origin of his name, lead historians to believe that Anselm was of noble birth.[9] Even so, what nobility he had quickly diminished when King Conrad II of Germany conquered his homeland.  Little else is known about the early years of young Anselm.  At home he had a sister named Richeza, and he often quarreled with his overly critical father.  Later in life, he demonstrated little love for his alpine hometown or its traditions; however, he often spoke fondly of the mountains.  Mannerisms in his early writings seem to indicate a classical education, but he showed no passion for its use.[10] He also had ambitions to become a monk and scholar[11], ambitions his father most likely quelled.

Tensions with Gundulf came to a head in 1056 when, not long after the death of his mother, Anselm left Aosta forever.  At only twenty-three, Anselm crossed the dangerous Alps to France, where the family of his mother resided, choosing not to take the easier road to the south toward the family of his father.  According to Eadmer, he spent three years partly in Burgundy and partly in France, searching for his place in the world.[12] He found that place at the monastery of Bec in Normandy in 1059, and there his life would truly begin.

The theological world smoldered with the debates of Lanfranc, the abbot of Bec, and Berengar of Tours, the archbishop of Angers.  Though the subject of their debates is of some significance, it was their style of debate that attracted Anslem.  Both men utilized calculated logic to present their arguments, a practice most theologians of the time did not follow.  Berengar had revived classic dialectic, and Lanfranc, though not using dialectic, demonstrated a deep understanding of dialectic framework in his counterarguments.[13] This fusion of logic and theology excited the young Anslem, and he joined the monastery of Bec, submitting to Lanfranc as an intellectual pupil only with no intention of adopting monastic life.  It is likely that Anselm learned a good deal about dialectic and the use thereof in theology from Lanfranc.  Though Anselm was originally a neo-Platonist, Lanfranc taught him how to apply an Aristotelian argument to theological issues.[14] This, combined with evidence of a classical education, gave Anselm a foundation from which to build his philosophical and academic career.  In contrast, neither Lanfranc nor Berengar were philosophers, only theologians.

News of the death of his father caused Anselm to take a hard look at the direction of his life.  The childhood idea of monasticism returned, and he decided to become a monk.  After resolving to this life change, it was still left to be decided where he would take up his new residence.  Though study under Lanfranc invigorated him, as a monk under Lanfranc all hopes of becoming a teacher would be eclipsed.  There simply was not room for two philosophical theologians at the same abbey.  Another monastery in Cluny was a consideration, but the vigorous monastic routines practiced there would not give Anselm the scholastic opportunities that he sought.  In the end, he appealed to the archbishop of Rouen, Maurilius, to make the decision, and Maurilius assigned him as a monk of Bec in 1060.  For the next ten years the new monk of Bec would be silent in teaching and writing, devoting himself solely to study and prayer in his new monastic life.

In 1066, William the Conqueror extended his conquest to include England.  In an effort to assert his rule, he began a campaign to import leaders from his native land and establish them in the newly conquered land.  Thus Lanfranc was summoned by William to leave Bec and was appointed to the Abbacy of St. Stephen’s at Caen[15] and later as archbishop in Canterbury in 1070.  This had a tremendous impact on the philosophically minded Anslem, because at age thirty-three he found himself in the position of fulfilling Lanfranc’s duties, first as prior and then as abbot.

Anselm breaks his silence in 1070 and begins to write.  It is during this time of his life that he produces some of his most influential scholarly works, establishing himself as a major contender in both philosophy and theology.  What at first seems like works of astounding revelation, are in fact the product of years of careful study and contemplation.  It was during this time that he wrote DeGrammatico, Prayers and Meditations, numerous correspondence, and just before becoming abbot he produced Monologion & Proslogion.

In 1093, amidst controversy and political intrigue, Anselm was elected archbishop of Canterbury.  The previous archbishop, Lanfranc, had died four years earlier and the post had remained vacant while others bickered over who should fill it.  Anselm, now 56, wielded the post with all the shrewdness of a politician and the wit of a philosopher.  He slowly extended the primacy of Canterbury much further than his predecessor.  Much of this expansion was due to the weak authority that the distant pope could exhibit in England.  Having declared the Crusades in 1095, the pope’s attention was often to the Holy Land.  Thus, in the matters of feudality and land disputes, it often fell to Anselm to make such judgments, strengthening the authority of the church in England.  Under Anselm, the jurisdiction of Canterbury extended into Wales and Ireland.

It was under King William Rufus that Anselm began his archbishopric, and immediately conflict began.  Though already elected, Anselm would not be officially recognized as the new archbishop until he had received the symbolic pallium from the pope, an event that had to be approved by Rufus since the pope resided in an opposing country.  An additional problem here lies in the fact that there were two rival popes at the time.  Clement III claimed the papacy in Germany, but it was Urban II of France whom Anselm recognized.  The question remained, however, who Rufus would recognize as the pope.  To allow Urban II to send the pallium to Anselm would be equitable to recognizing Urban II.  As a result, Rufus tarried as long as possible, testing the political waters and not wishing to make a hasty alignment.  Rufus eventually relented and recognized Urban II, allowing him to send the pallium to Anselm.  In this, Anselm won his one and only victory with Rufus.

On three separate occasions Anselm and Rufus clashed concerning the state’s authority with church property and finances.  Rufus sought to make use of the church’s estates, but Anselm resisted.  At the root of these conflicts was a basic disagreement about the separation of church and state.  Did the state have ultimate authority over the property of the church?  Anselm fought to maintain the church at Canterbury as autonomous from the state, struggling to keep the church’s properties in tact from the iron grip of Rufus.  He could not defeat Rufus, and so his authority diminished to the ordinary routines of his Episcopal duty, and the church’s assets were slowly confiscated.  Anselm desired to council with the pope in regards to this, but again he was at the mercy of Rufus’s permission to leave the country.  Many times he was denied leave, but the persistent Anselm eventually won his journey to Rome in 1097, effectively sending himself into exile.  It was during his first two years of exile that Anselm produced his most influential work, Cur Deus Homo.

In 1100, news came to Anselm that Rufus had died, and the new king Henry I sent an invitation for Anselm to return.  According to Southern, “Anselm came without delay.”[16] Anselm received a hero’s welcome from the people, and Henry greeted him with the utmost respect.  With rival nobility strong enough to take Henry’s throne, it was Anselm’s support for him and popularity with the people that solidified Henry’s rule.  Yet when Anselm arrived in England, Henry expected homage to which Anselm would not give.  The papal decree of 1099 had forbidden any clergy from paying homage to any lay person, thus ascribing the church’s supremacy over the state.  Henry could not afford to antagonize Anselm because of his precarious political position, so he relented for a time.  Negotiations ensued between Anselm and the pope in regards to the king, but instead of recanting the pope only continued to underscore the decree of 1099.  Tensions between Henry and Anselm tightened.  As Henry’s political strength grew, he applied more pressure to Anselm for homage.

Once again, Anselm left England in order to seek direction from the pope in 1103, and again he would enter into exile.  Canterbury’s lands and assets were immediately seized by the king.  The decree of 1099 had also condemned lay people from exercising authority in the church, and this, in addition to the seizure, brought Anselm to seek the king’s excommunication.  The pope would not approve the action, though, and when a new pope took office, the decree of 1099 was recanted and King Henry I pardoned.

Anselm returned to England in 1106, and the king restored all of Canterbury’s land and assets.  Animosities were resolved and all was forgiven.  With no conflict, Anselm lived his last few years is peace, enjoying the duties of his archbishopric.  He died in 1109.

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[1] “Eschatology,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/192308/eschatology (accessed October 27, 2009).

[2] R. W. Southern, Saint Anselm and His Biographer (1963; repr., London: Cambridge University Press, 1966), 1.

[3] Anna Ritchie, “Loot: Why the Vikings Came to Britain,” BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/conquest/viking/loot_01.shtml (accessed October 27, 2009).

[4] The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911), s.v. “The List of Popes,” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12272b.htm (accessed October 27, 2009).

[5] Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Prince Press edition, Peabody, Massachusetts: Prince Press, 1984, 251.

[6] Gonzalez, 313

[7] Gonzalez, 293

[8] Southern, 4.

[9] Southern, 8-9.

[10] Southern, 5.

[11] Southern,11.

[12] Eadmer, The Life of St Anselm: Archbishop of Canterbury, ed. R. W. Southern (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons LTD, 1962), 8.

[13] Southern, 17.

[14] Southern, 22.

[15] Henry Birt, The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910), s.v. “Lanfranc,” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08784c.htm (accessed October 27, 2009).

[16] Southern, 163.

Marcher Lord Select

Winter is being entered in this contest.  Please register at The Anomaly, to participate and vote in the competition.  Be sure to vote for Winter!!

Marcher Lord Press Announces Marcher Lord Select

(Colorado Springs, CO)–Marcher Lord Press, the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction, today announces the debut of a revolution in fiction acquisitions.

“Marcher Lord Select is American Idol meets book acquisitions,” says publisher Jeff Gerke. “We’re presenting upwards of 40 completed manuscripts and letting ‘the people’ decide which one should be published.”

The contest will proceed in phases, Gerke explains, in each subsequent round of which the voters will receive larger glimpses of the competing manuscripts.

The first phase will consist of no more than the book’s title, genre, length, a 20-word premise, and a 100-word back cover copy teaser blurb. Voters will cut the entries from 40 to 20 based on these items alone.

“We want to show authors that getting published involves more than simply writing a great novel,” Gerke says. “There are marketing skills to be developed–and you’ve got to hook the reader with a good premise.”

Following rounds will provide voters with a 1-page synopsis, the first 500 words of the book, the first 30 pages of the book, and, in the final round, the first 60 pages of the book.

The manuscript receiving the most votes in the final round will be published by Marcher Lord Press in its Spring 2010 release list.

No portion of any contestant’s mss. will be posted online, as MLP works to preserve the non-publication status of all contestants and entries.

Participating entrants have been contacted personally by Marcher Lord Press and are included in Marcher Lord Select by invitation only.

“We’re also running a secondary contest,” Gerke says. “The ‘premise contest’ is for those authors who have completed a Christian speculative fiction manuscript that fits within MLP guidelines and who have submitted their proposals to me through the Marcher Lord Press acquisitions portal before October 29, 2009.”

The premise contest will allow voters to select the books that sound the best based on a 20-word premise, a 100-word back cover copy teaser blurb, and (possibly) the first 500 words of the book.

The premise contest entrants receiving the top three vote totals will receive priority acquisitions reading by MLP publisher Jeff Gerke.

“It’s a way for virtually everyone to play, even those folks who didn’t receive an invitation to compete in the primary Marcher Lord Select contest.”

Marcher Lord Select officially begins on November 1, 2009, and runs until completion in January or February 2010. All voting and discussions and Marcher Lord Select activities will take place at The Anomaly forums in the Marcher Lord Select subforum. Free registration is required.

“In order for this to work as we’re envisioning,” Gerke says, “we need lots and lots of voters. So even if you’re not a fan of Christian science fiction or fantasy, I’m sure you love letting your voice be heard about what constitutes good Christian fiction. So come on out and join the fun!”

Marcher Lord Press is a Colorado Springs-based independent publisher producing Christian speculative fiction exclusively. MLP was launched in fall of 2008 and is privately owned. Contact: Jeff Gerke; www.marcherlordpress.com.

Someone Else

Am I the only one who ever wonders, or do you also, if I’ll ever be the Christian I truly long to be?

Really, in my heart, I LONG to live a life that mirrors Christ.

I see hurting people, and my heart breaks with them.  I know I can do nothing but pray for them.  I see people in need, but normally can’t help them.  Is prayer enough?

I love people, deep in my heart, even when their exterior may frighten me.  Is it wrong to think those fearful thoughts?

Do I give up too quickly when people won’t listen to the Gospel?  Probably.  Why do I get so frustrated?

Would someone walking past me on the street know Who rules my heart?  Not likely.  I do try to smile and say a kind word, but is that enough?

I SO want Christ’s love to just pour out of every part of me!  I want it to just spill forth onto others.  I want everyone to feel this love that I feel.

But, I’m not good enough.  I never will be.  I still sin every single day.  Somedays I wonder why, but the answer is so simple.  I’m human.  I’m not Christ.  He is and was the only perfect, completely perfect, person to ever walk on this sin-filled planet.

No matter how hard I try, I will always give in to sin at some point.

So, as long as I have faith and do all that I can, even if it many times is only prayer (of course prayer is a very powerful tool), I’m succeeding.

My prayers may bring comfort to the hurting through someone else.  A simple smile and a prayer for someone who may frighten me, could bring them into a less frightening mood and in the company of some who will speak the Gospel to them.  Speaking what I can of the Gospel before someone cuts me off or changes the subject, still plants a small seed that will grow in time, maybe to be harvested by someone else.  Smiling at people I pass throughout the day may encourage another believer and send him or her in the path of someone else.

And, eventually, I could be the “someone else” in the story of another believer like me.

Just a thought.
-De

Quo Vadis (1951)

Where Are You Going?

(I’m Going To See A Movie)

a movie review

by Keven Newsome

Quo Vadis, the 1951 historical epic released by MGM, may not be a title you are familiar with.  Through the wastefulness of Hollywood and the disconnect with the current generation and movies of “antiquity”, it’s no wonder that this film has sunk into underground status with certain history or religious buffs.  But with eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and a Golden Globe win for Best Cinematography, Mervin LeRoy’s adaptation of Nero’s persecution of Christians should not be forgotten.  Having watched it for the first time recently, Quo Vadis has become a permanent fixture in my video library.  Though the media may be inundated with critiques and reviews of various movies including this one, it falls my task to provide my own, such as it may, of LeRoy’s overlooked masterpiece.

Nero is portrayed by Peter Ustinov, who delivers an outstanding and convincing performance as the eccentric and, somewhat, neurotic Emperor.  Though his acting credits are bountiful, it is hard to know whether to give the credit of this role to Ustinov or LeRoy.  But a better Nero, I do not believe, has ever been filmed.  The eccentric tendencies, beats, and nuances come across to the viewer in a way that really puts Nero’s state of mind in perspective.  Johnny Depp would be proud.

The criticism that comes from this role, stems from the directing and from the script.  Understandably, a work of historical fiction, be it in print or in film, seeks to encompass as many historical events as possible within the target time period.  Subsequently, events that are separated by years tend to be squeezed to within months, weeks, or even days of each other.  So it is with Quo Vadis.

When the movie opens we see Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) returning to Rome from Britain, where he led Roman forces against a barbarous uprising.  This uprising referred to is the Boudicca’s Revolt.  This revolt, expertly expressed in the historical fiction Imperial Legions, by Andrew Seddon, occurred around 60 AD.  The burning of Rome did not occur until 64 AD.  Nero’s second wife Poppaea (Patricia Laffan) did not die until 65 AD, and Nero died in 68 AD.  Even given into account travel time, Quo Vadis funnels all of these events into a matter of weeks, or at most maybe a month or two.

One major inaccuracy on the part of LeRoy, is the fact that Nero was worshiped as a god.  Historical records show that though Roman Emperors were worshiped post mortem, it wasn’t until 81 AD that Emperor Domitian demanded to be worshiped while he yet lived.

But perhaps the biggest historical step-out, concerns the burning of Rome.  According to LeRoy, the fire was a premeditated and carefully calculated plan to rebuild the city in Nero’s honor.  He even shows Nero arriving to Rome while the flames still raged and singing a song with his lyre to commemorate the accomplishment.  Though these ideas are wonderful legendary material that add to the villainy of Nero, the historian Tacitus tells us they are not so.

As far as other historical accuracies concerning Nero, it is legendary that he did kill Poppaea but not confirmed, though the acts of killing his mother and first wife are generally considered accurate.  According to Tacitus, Nero was actually in Antium at the time of the fire, and he was actually deposed by Galba.  Christians were burned, but were rather used as “lighting” for the city instead of being burned in the arena.  Nero did die by assisted suicide, though it is reported he stabbed himself in the neck not the chest.

Concerning Christianity and the portrayal thereof, LeRoy paints a sympathetic and accurate, albeit Catholic biased, picture.  Christians are shown to be of all walks of life, from Generals to slaves, Romans to Jews to Ligians.  There are references to Christians as being a “sect” of Judaism and as having “foul rites”, both of which are confirmed opinions of the Roman people in the first century.  The drawing of the Icthus is shown in the movie, and is historically known as an early Christian symbol to secretly reveal oneself to another Christian.

LeRoy, however, shows us the hand gesture of the cross and shows us baptism using the Trinitarian Formula.  Both of these are generally considered Catholic in nature, but are they historically accurate?  In regards to the hand gesture, some early writing from Tertullian suggests it may have been in practice as early as the second century.  But placing it in the religious practices of mid-first century Christians is a stretch at best.  In regards to the Trinitarian Formula, Jesus himself set the standard in the Great Commission (Mat 28:16-20) and it has been the standard baptismal formula for most churches ever since.  However, Paul’s method of baptism, as shown in the movie, can be a source of long debate that is outside the scope of this evaluation.

An interesting perception of the Christians is that they were decidedly anti-war and completely anti-violence.  Though this may be true, similar attitudes in today’s culture are viewed as liberal and anti-American.  The question must be asked, did LeRoy put anti-war propaganda into his film?  With World War II only six years past and tensions on the rise in Korea, in 1951 he very well could have been pushing the angle.  Other movies that year, including The Day the Earth Stood Still, with its overt anti-war message and A Streetcar Named Desire, flouting marital abuse, make Quo Vadis the perfect completion to a “peaceful” trilogy of films.

A few other miscellaneous historical items in Quo Vadis are worthy of note.  It must be said that director Mervyn LeRoy took his team to Rome for the filming of this movie, ensuring that the background, scenery, and culture could be as accurately portrayed as possible.  The film does an excellent job of showing the overt lascivious morality of the Roman Empire.  A brief live depiction of DaVinci’s painting of the Last Supper can be found.  And Vinicius and Petronius can be seen playing chess.  This last is rather humorous because a simple Google search will yield many results as to the origin of chess… none of which place it any closer to the first century than the mid third century in Persia.

In conclusion, the story of Quo Vadis is an excellent tool for the study of early Christian and Roman interaction, and an excellent portrayal of the Emperor Nero.  This story, however, is not just confined to LeRoy’s film.  Quo Vadis is the 1895 Nobel Prize winning work of author Henryk Sienkiewicz, in 1925 the first screen version came to life in Finland, in 1985 Quo Vadis was a mini series in Italy, and in 2001 Polish director Jerzy Kawalerowicz brought a new screen adaptation to life that won three awards in Poland.  This story will not go away lightly, and is subject to a new American adaptation any day now.  Of course, only if secular Hollywood can pull all the Christianity out of it… to which it would destroy the integrity of the movie.  So perhaps they shouldn’t.  Oh well.  Guess we’ll have to enjoy the 1951 version a little while longer.

Bibliography

Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Cavazzi, Franco. “Emperor Nero.” The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire. http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero-index.html (accessed October 4, 2009).

Coffman, Elesha. “What is the origin of the Christian fish symbol?” ChristianityToday.com. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/asktheexpert/oct26.html (accessed October 4, 2009).

Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Prince Press edition. Peabody, Massachusetts: Prince Press, 1984.

IMDb.com. “Peter Ustinov.” The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001811/ (accessed October 4, 2009).

IMDb.com. “Quo Vadis (1951).” The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043949/ (accessed October 4, 2009).

IMDb.com. “Quo Vadis? (2001).” The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282108/ (accessed October 4, 2009).

Seddon, Andrew. Imperial Legions. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.

Thurston, Herbert. “Sign of the Cross.” The Original Catholic Encyclopedia. http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Sign_of_the_Cross (accessed October 4, 2009).