Well worth a watch. For one, Robert Bartlett (a Professor at St. Andrews) is an excellent teacher and lecturer. For the historian it gives what seems to be – I'm a modernist, so I'm not sure – a good summary of the role of religion in the medieval mind. Even today it is difficult for many, even the religious, to grasp the prevailing socio-psychological nature of the medieval church and medieval religion. One of the major points I was taught while doing my undergraduate degree was the importance of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. It marked the end of the Thirty Years' War in central Europe, and the first time at which secular rulers were unequivocally placed above religious ones. After all, beforehand all your secular ruler could do was kill you.
It's also a challenge theologically; to what extent are we all accepting of the supernatural as a real element within our lives, or dedicated to combat with evil and the Devil as described in this programme? David Harris, the Rector of St. Leonard's (my church here in Exeter) gave what I thought was a thoughtful and engaging sermon last Sunday on what we as modern Christians can take from 1 Kings 17: the account of Elijah's works during the famine the Lord sends over Israel (in the reign of Ahab). The chapter concentrates especially on the prophet's time with the widow of Zarephath.
David's sermon can be found here: http://www.stlens.org.uk/index.php?option=com_sermonspeaker&Itemid=53&myussp=3
In 1 Kings there is a great linkage between the supernatural and the natural. Elijah's needs are taken care of by the ravens in the Kireth Ravine, and by the natural bread and oil of the widow. One of David's points though was how the chapter shows us the Lord is the Lord of Death, as well as life. Now this sounds a little ominous, but I would agree with David that it is something Christians need to consider and can draw great comfort from. In Kings Elijah revives the dead son of the widow, who then comes to accept that the God of Israel is in fact all-powerful. This shows the power of God over death, linking forward to the other resurrections in the Old and New Testament and ultimately to the Resurrection of Christ.
Now there is much wrong with the medieval Christianity that Robert Bartlett outlines. The belief in Purgatory is now challenged by Protestants, who believe that there is nothing within the Bible to indicate its existence. From Purgatory too, at least in the medieval age, the idea that actions could be taken on Earth to atone for the sins of the deceased. There is some evidence for that – 2 Maccabees is supposed to support the argument for those. This leads to Indulgences though – effectively payment for the remission of sins, which is contrary to the very nature of what happened on the Cross. The reliance, and praying to, Saints is also quite disturbing. Where they may have been de jure elders of the faith, in de facto terms they often come across (admittedly to the modern ear) as minor deities.
Yet at its very basic level here we have a strong belief in the supernatural as real rather than abstract; the difference between the legalism of the Pharisees and the natural faith of Elijah. In my eyes we may not want to go back to the exact beliefs of those medieval British Christians, but the fundamental spirit that motivated them may have been something we've lost.
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