persecution and work

Emily,

Yes, he is moving fast. In the intro he wrote a couple of sentences about the Orthodox Church's lack of a reformation, and I was ready to read up on Orthodox Church history. Another day.

I agree about "the more things change, the more they remain the same." Nothing new under the sun.

I wish I had some insightful response concerning the persecution of Jews by Christians, but I have none other than to agree, yes, it was a horrible tragedy, something that is many times overlooked when we talk about our Christian tradition. Or putting folks to death -- like Hus. God forgive us. Lots of executions ahead in these pages?

Thanks for bring up the confraternities, or the trade guilds. I had no idea that they were created to help poor tradesmen have a system to support the prayers for getting out of purgatory business, at least at the beginning.

I must admit that purgatory is not a concept that I easily get. I didn't mean to be disrespectful, but when I read MacCulloch's explanation, I was reminded of Christopher Durang's explanation in his satirical play, Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You, particularly the part about infants who died before they were baptized.

So tonight I will delve into Chapter Two. Sure beats reality television.

Don