And what about Mary Magdalene?
Meg
> In a message dated 01/16/2000 9:30:04 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
> > I'm not aware that the church has ever taught that the saints were perfect,
> > except for Mary. One immediately thinks of Peter's denial of Jesus. It's
> > certainly an imperfection on an apostle's part to deny the Lord and one
> > hardly deniable on the church's part.
> >
> > Bro Thomas
> Thank you, Bro Thomas. I was thinking of Augustine's Confessions, but your
> example is better. Peter, who denies the Lord and becomes the first Pope,
> always reminds me of Aaron, who makes the Golden Calf but becomes High Priest
> of Israel. I always understood both stories to mean that there are no perfect
> human beings (except as you've noted Mary), and even those elevated to the
> highest religious post will have some kind of imperfection that has to be
> called to the reader's attention. It's a call to humility, maybe, to
> remembering that only God is perfect. When I was young, the story of Aaron
> confused me. I couldn't understand why a person who had done something wrong
> would be chosen as the high priest. Both stories are very nuanced. One has
> to think about them.
> pat sloane
Margaret Cormack [log in to unmask]
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion fax: 843-953-6388
College of Charleston tel: 843-953-8033
Charleston, SC 29424-0001
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