[Lcc-general] Eat saint became saintly unless he first th

Thu Dec 24 11:31:02 CET 2009

Against all her enemies, and became again the Church militant as she was
before Golgotha when the Lord led her in person. This is the second
Church, to which also we all belong. Historically, this Church is the
second, but organically and dogmatically she is absolutely one with the
first Church. Let us see now what were. THE EXTERNAL CONFLICTS OF THE
MILITANT CHURCH For the quantity and quality of the conflicts are the
conditions of the dramatic life of a person as well as of a society.
Well, the Christian Church had plenty of the most extraordinary
conflicts, external and internal. Among the gravest external conflicts I
reckon her conflicts with Patriotism and Imperialism. The first
Christians were persecuted most fiercely by the exclusive Jewish
patriots, as all good Christians always have been persecuted by
exclusive patriots. For it is an essential characteristic of a true
Christian not to be an exclusive patriot, exalting his own nation and
despising all others. Oppression and suffering are the best soil for a
too excited Patriotism. Such a soil was Israel in the time of Christ and
the first Church. All parties were united against Christ and His
followers upon national and patriotic grounds; the Pharisees, the
Scribes, the Sadducees and the ignorant people, believers and
sceptics--they all accused Christ of "perverting the nation." They
accused St Paul of the same crime. Yet St Paul it was who dealt with the
question of Jewish Patriotism very courageously and minutely. Patriotism
i
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