Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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In Reply to: PLEASE POST YOU FIRST REQUIRED POSTING AS A REPLY TO THIS posted by TOM BACIG on December 13, 1998 at 19:30:06:
Thomas á Kempis' view of God in Imitation of Christ is that humans should do God's will. Humans should give to got everything they have so that they will be rewarded in heaven. Man must "learn to despise outward things and to turn thee to inward things and thou shalt see the kingdom come unto thee," in other words give all earthly things and turn yourself over to God. If you do, á Kempis believes that you will enter the kingdom of God.
That is the way the monks felt in "the Name of the Rose." They believed that if you gave everything you had to God then you would be rewarded in heaven. That may have been part of the reason why the deaths scared them so much. They were afraid that they were being punished by god for not giving him enough. That is also why they may have been so quick to blame the devil. It was easier for them, with their religious belief, to fear the deaths as the devil trying to get them to turn away from God.
Pico della Mirandola's view of God in Oration on the Dignity of Man is slightly different than á Kempis'. Mirandola learned more towards man being equal to God, "man is the intermediary between creatures, the intimate of the gods, king of the lower beings." To Mirandola man was almost equal to God in that man could do everything God did because man was created in his image.
It seems to me that this could be how the Inquisitor, Bernardo Gui, felt in "the Name of the Rose." It was almost as if Bernardo thought that because he was the inquisitor the decisions he made would be the same ones that God made therefore he was equal to God. He felt that in doing the things he was doing he was doing god's will so he was right and William was wrong. I would have to disagree with Bernardo's view of that. I think William was more like God because he searched for the truth as I believe God would do.
Personally I don't really agree with either á Kempis or Mirandola's view of God. I believe that God created everyone and everything on this earth but not so that we could give everything we have to him. I think he did it so that people could live their lives to the fullest and be happy. I believe that he put people on this earth to enjoy his creations and this in turn makes him happy.