Is That Triumphalism I Smell?
Catholic World News waxes rhapsodic over the new Pope’s coat-of-arms.
“An especially distinctive element in the new papal coat of arms is a bear with a pack-saddle, the so-called ?Bear of Corbinian.” There is a charming legend involving a bear that is told about Bishop Corbinian, who preached the Christian faith in the ancient Duchy of Bavaria in the 8th century and is honored as the spiritual father and patron of the archdiocese. It is said that while he was traveling to Rome a bear mauled his pack-animal. The saint then rebuked the wild beast, and commanded the bear to carry his packs to Rome. Once he arrived there, however, he let the bear go, and it lumbered back to its native forest. The meaning of the legend is clear: Christianity tamed and domesticated the ferocity of paganism and thus laid the foundations for a great civilization…“
Thanks for all that civilization Christianity! I’m going to go read that part in the history books where Constantine finds an empty patch of ground and totally creates the whole idea of civilization! It is SO awesome. Laws, government, medicine, science, art, like the power of Jesus was really flowing through him to be able to invent all the stuff from nothing.
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