FROM THE EDITORS
Marshall Shelley
October 1, 1988
I worked my way through seminary as a night-shift copy editor with The Denver Post. Commuting from the numinous to the newsroom produced some unusual contrasts. On weekends, when the football scores were coming into the sports desk, I often had to grin at the headlines on some of the parochial league games: ST. JOSEPH WHIPS HOLY FAMILY. Or ST. FRANCIS CLOBBERS CARDINALS. Not exactly what I'd been reading about those saints a few hours earlier. As a divinity student (and son of a church historian) I saw even professional sports cities with different lenses. For me, San Diego, St. Louis, San Francisco, and San Antonio all testified as much to church history as sports history. Even today, when Dad and I talk, the conversation often mingles saints and superstars. Ever since I first read Polycarp's unflinching responses to the Roman proconsul who would sentence him to death, or the story of Loyola (his leg mangled by a cannon ball, he found a book on the life of Jesus and decided to become a soldier of Christ), I've been fascinated by the saints. In his book All the Saints Adore Thee, Bruce Shelley (the aforementioned historian) puts this matter of sainthood in perspective: "Saints have always been part of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox experience. … Protestant piety seems dull by comparison. Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and other Protestants must cultivate their love for God somehow without the help of thousands of these colorful characters out of church history and folklore. "A 'saint' came to mean one who has been 'canonized,' which means the person's name was included in the Canon of the Mass. This list of recognized 'saints' was the original way the churches identified their heroes. The passing of the centuries, ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 18,013 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
