Thomas More

This week in HS502 we learned of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII (who beheaded him in 1535.) More was held up by his contemporary, the humanist Erasmus, as omnium horarum, or "a man for all seasons".

Well, maybe not ALL seasons. Not, probably, for postmodernity, where timeless truth is impossible to hold respectably, and devotion to the common good is trumped by the expediency of individual good.

One biographer, Daniel Taylor, had this to say about the similarity between Henry VIII (an adulterer and usurper of the papacy, who needed Thomas More to publicly affirm Henry's divorce, and "compromise his principles so that Henry's own compromises will be acceptable"), and that of our cultural desire today to have flawed and fallen idols. 

He says:

So true. Finding hypocrisy in others lets us off the hook.  We secretly love to see the Ted Haggards and Bill Clintons of the world fall from positions of respect because of character weaknesses, so that we can feel more comfortable with our own flaws.  After all, if our leaders are no better than us... why should we change?

That, brothers and sisters, is comfort food for the fallen soul.

And very like me, I might add.  The hypocrisy part, I mean.  :(

Oh, and... one more thing.  After calling More a "Catholic fundamentalist", another reviewer (David Lyle Jeffrey) had this to say about our contemporary use of the term "fundamentalist":

Hear, hear.  There are as many fundamentalists of liberalism and atheism as there are of conservatism and religion.  The fundamentals they hold to are different; attitudes toward those fundamentals (and toward those who don't share them) are not.

Ha - maybe it's only us moderates and doubters who aren't prone to fundamentalism, because we don't believe anything too strongly.  

Hm.  Not sure that came out quite right...