S
spauline
Guest
*The innovations of ancient Greece, mainly Philosophy and Art [including Drama and Athletics], can either glorify God or be used against Him *
**The Leopard, the Woman and the Wings - **
**Aid to the Church or “Lying Signs and Wonders” **
In the vision of chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel, the prophet sees apparitions, in the form of beasts, of the various pagan empires from the Babylonian time up to pagan Rome, when the Christ comes. The third beast is a leopard with four heads and four wings, symbolizing ancient Greece (by orthodox, Traditional scholarship). Now, the leopard symbolizes the great swiftness of Alexander’s conquering. The four heads imply that Alexander’s Greco Empire was partitioned into four main divisions, according to his four main generals who succeeded him after his premature death. However, since the leopard already symbolizes speed of conquering, we could anticipate an alternative meaning to the four wings.
I see the four wings as that which naturally elevated Greek culture: Philosophy, Art, Drama, and Athletics.
In Revelation 12, the Woman is given two wings and flies to a rest. Catholic Tradition ascribes the woman to not merely the Virgin but the People of God. Hence, in Catholic Christendom, the Catholic Church took Philosophy and Art from the Greeks and Christianized them, enabling Her to flourish in the Middle Ages.
Now, many Fathers have foreseen the “lying signs and wonders of antichrist”, as in 2 Thess 2, to be literal demonic prodigies (supernaturally miraculous deceptions of demons) that the literal Antichrist will perform, as if to mock the miracles of Christ. However, do the lying signs and wonders of Antichrist need to be literal demonic prodigies? Are not the wonders of the material order sufficient, namely, *modern science *, and how it impacts Art, Drama, and Athletics?
For, has not humanity repeatedly allowed itself to be deluded and misled by the seduction of the material world itself, taken apart from God’s mystery and love and seen only for its brute superficialities, that is, for selfish ambition and glory? Or, does not the Whore of Babylon figuratively take the Creation and exalt it above the Creator? More precisely, does not the modern materialistic world take the Arts, Drama, and Athletics and exalt them above the Lord that made us all? Do not the seduction of materialistic wonders give man a reason to live independent of God, even without demonic prodigies?
Therefore, what are the lying signs and wonders of “the man of sin” except the monster guitars that flood sports stadiums, man’s infatuation with athletics to the detriment of pursuing his faith, the endless cycle of film and television…–that give man seemingly limitless access to entertainment, at the expense of seeking the true fulfillment of faith?
On the other hand, are art, drama and athletics *intrinsically *evil? No! For the Woman, that is, the *chaste *Woman, the People of God, *can use all of them *. Which is another way of saying this, taking the example of the internet and printing press: the problem is not the internet or the printing press *themselves *. By themselves, the internet and printing press are morally neutral. The problem is this: the same internet that can be used for religious dialogue can *also *spout endless sources of pornography, just as the same printing press that can print Bibles and Catechisms can be used to print *immoral magazines *.
In a similar vein, the same situation is present in *all *of Creation. Do we condemn the Creation itself, as the Gnostics, simply because man, in his sinful tendency, constantly exalts it above the Creator? No, the Creation is good of its own accord. It is *how *humanity *relates *to the Creation that matters!
So you want to build a high structure. In and of itself, that is morally neutral. But *why *are you building the structure? To glorify yourself above your creator, as if to imply that the high structure can satisfy your ultimate longing (as in the Tower of Babel)? Or are you building a magnificent Cathedral to glorify the Little Flower, who bore the grace of God’s beauty within her, thereby glorifying the God that saved her?
Hence, the same Philosophy, Art, Drama and Athletics that the Greeks (and derivatively the modern Eurocentric world) used (or use) to glorify man and his selfish pride, whether in literal paganism or the modern neo-paganism, can be elevated by the Church to assist man in serving and loving God and neighbor.
In other words, the same Hollywood producers who use millions of dollars to create special effects that in the end are nothing but useless fodder for quick-witted sarcasm in the face of dozens of escaping-death-by-inches episodes could be used to create the beauty of Marian Apparitions or Biblical Miracles, or stories of saints who died as martyrs to bear witness to God.
Just as the same selfish athletes who boast of their strength and skill for its own reward could rather unite their struggles for God and offer up their pain in training and playing for God and souls, rather than seeking their own worldly glory.
Just as the same philosophy that confounded the Greeks was harnessed by the Church as a stable weapon of reason upon which to base theology and argumentation to support the truth, the Catholic dogma and doctrine.
…
**The Leopard, the Woman and the Wings - **
**Aid to the Church or “Lying Signs and Wonders” **
In the vision of chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel, the prophet sees apparitions, in the form of beasts, of the various pagan empires from the Babylonian time up to pagan Rome, when the Christ comes. The third beast is a leopard with four heads and four wings, symbolizing ancient Greece (by orthodox, Traditional scholarship). Now, the leopard symbolizes the great swiftness of Alexander’s conquering. The four heads imply that Alexander’s Greco Empire was partitioned into four main divisions, according to his four main generals who succeeded him after his premature death. However, since the leopard already symbolizes speed of conquering, we could anticipate an alternative meaning to the four wings.
I see the four wings as that which naturally elevated Greek culture: Philosophy, Art, Drama, and Athletics.
In Revelation 12, the Woman is given two wings and flies to a rest. Catholic Tradition ascribes the woman to not merely the Virgin but the People of God. Hence, in Catholic Christendom, the Catholic Church took Philosophy and Art from the Greeks and Christianized them, enabling Her to flourish in the Middle Ages.
Now, many Fathers have foreseen the “lying signs and wonders of antichrist”, as in 2 Thess 2, to be literal demonic prodigies (supernaturally miraculous deceptions of demons) that the literal Antichrist will perform, as if to mock the miracles of Christ. However, do the lying signs and wonders of Antichrist need to be literal demonic prodigies? Are not the wonders of the material order sufficient, namely, *modern science *, and how it impacts Art, Drama, and Athletics?
For, has not humanity repeatedly allowed itself to be deluded and misled by the seduction of the material world itself, taken apart from God’s mystery and love and seen only for its brute superficialities, that is, for selfish ambition and glory? Or, does not the Whore of Babylon figuratively take the Creation and exalt it above the Creator? More precisely, does not the modern materialistic world take the Arts, Drama, and Athletics and exalt them above the Lord that made us all? Do not the seduction of materialistic wonders give man a reason to live independent of God, even without demonic prodigies?
Therefore, what are the lying signs and wonders of “the man of sin” except the monster guitars that flood sports stadiums, man’s infatuation with athletics to the detriment of pursuing his faith, the endless cycle of film and television…–that give man seemingly limitless access to entertainment, at the expense of seeking the true fulfillment of faith?
On the other hand, are art, drama and athletics *intrinsically *evil? No! For the Woman, that is, the *chaste *Woman, the People of God, *can use all of them *. Which is another way of saying this, taking the example of the internet and printing press: the problem is not the internet or the printing press *themselves *. By themselves, the internet and printing press are morally neutral. The problem is this: the same internet that can be used for religious dialogue can *also *spout endless sources of pornography, just as the same printing press that can print Bibles and Catechisms can be used to print *immoral magazines *.
In a similar vein, the same situation is present in *all *of Creation. Do we condemn the Creation itself, as the Gnostics, simply because man, in his sinful tendency, constantly exalts it above the Creator? No, the Creation is good of its own accord. It is *how *humanity *relates *to the Creation that matters!
So you want to build a high structure. In and of itself, that is morally neutral. But *why *are you building the structure? To glorify yourself above your creator, as if to imply that the high structure can satisfy your ultimate longing (as in the Tower of Babel)? Or are you building a magnificent Cathedral to glorify the Little Flower, who bore the grace of God’s beauty within her, thereby glorifying the God that saved her?
Hence, the same Philosophy, Art, Drama and Athletics that the Greeks (and derivatively the modern Eurocentric world) used (or use) to glorify man and his selfish pride, whether in literal paganism or the modern neo-paganism, can be elevated by the Church to assist man in serving and loving God and neighbor.
In other words, the same Hollywood producers who use millions of dollars to create special effects that in the end are nothing but useless fodder for quick-witted sarcasm in the face of dozens of escaping-death-by-inches episodes could be used to create the beauty of Marian Apparitions or Biblical Miracles, or stories of saints who died as martyrs to bear witness to God.
Just as the same selfish athletes who boast of their strength and skill for its own reward could rather unite their struggles for God and offer up their pain in training and playing for God and souls, rather than seeking their own worldly glory.
Just as the same philosophy that confounded the Greeks was harnessed by the Church as a stable weapon of reason upon which to base theology and argumentation to support the truth, the Catholic dogma and doctrine.
…