Wisdom and Woe

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet, ranked among such great intellectual and philosophical theologians such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. After 1567, when he joined with Teresa of Ávila to institute reforms in the Carmelite order, opponents of the reform had him arrested, imprisoned, and subjected to public floggings. His ordeal lasted for nine months, but it provided the foundational experience for much of his subsequent poetry and spiritual writings.

"The Dark Night" ("Noche Oscura," c. 1577) is his poem and commentary of the same name, a masterpiece of mystical Christian literature. He coined the term "the dark night" to describe a painful series of purifications on the spiritual journey towards union with God. In the first phase (the night of sense), the soul begins to practice self-denial and detachment from worldly desires. In the second phase (the night of spirit), the divine light reveals the soul's own imperfections and sins. During this process, the soul suffers great anguish, feeling abandoned and forsaken, but perseverance promises an ultimate revelation of peace, love, and knowledge of God.

The writings of St. John have influenced centuries of theologians, philosophers, artists, poets, and psychologists. The concept of "the dark night" has been adopted to mean an intense period of personal crisis, emotional hardship, and/or deep introspection. Joseph Campbell states "The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation. When everything is lost, and all seems darkness, then comes the new life and all that is needed." Night-evoking places--e.g., the abyss, a cave, prison, or belly of the whale--are regarded as both tomb and womb, death and renewal, on the way through Campbell's hero's journey.

Dark Night of the Soul:

Ethan Allen (1738-1789) was a farmer, businessman, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, politician, and American Revolutionary War hero. After he and his "Green Mountain Boys" made their celebrated capture of Fort Ticonderoga from the British, Allen led an attack on Montreal. But at the Battle of Longue-Pointe, his forces were scattered and he and thirty of his men were captured. He spent nearly three years languishing in British prison ships, under execrable conditions, before he was released in May of 1778.

Allen's Narrative of Captivity (1807) recounts these events, providing both a personal testament to the power of endurance and a crucial primary source on the realities of the early war. What particularly distinguished his account from earlier "captivity narratives" (such as that of Mary Rowlandson) was its focus on politics and patriotism, rather than on religious faith and perseverance. It became a bestseller, helping to galvanize the American spirit against British cruelty, and promoting the cause of his fellow Revolutionaries.

A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity:

In The Age of Reason (1794-1807), Thomas Paine portrays the Bible as a human construct full of historical inaccuracies, moral contradictions, and "fabulous" myths. He critiques supernatural revelation and institutionalized religion as tools of manipulation, instead advocating a theology based on reason and observation of the natural world, where "man's mind is his own church."

He wrote the first part of the book while imprisoned during the Reign of Terror, hoping to provide a rational alternative to the total atheism then prevalent in revolutionary France. Nevertheless, by presenting his views in a popular and irreverent style, using lucid and often humorous prose, Paine earned a reputation as an agitator and blasphemer. His commentary on the Book of Jonah is representative: "The story of the whale swallowing Jonah... borders greatly on the marvelous; but it would have approached nearer to the idea of a miracle, if Jonah had swallowed the whale."

Paine narrowly escaped execution in Jacobin France, where his views were perceived as not radical enough. But the British government, fearing that his influence was too radical, prosecuted printers and publishers of his book. Meanwhile, in the United States The Age of Reason became a best-seller, spurring a brief revival of Deism, but damaging his legacy over the long term.

Schedule:

• Week 1 (March 29): Part 1
• Week 2: Part 2

The Age of Reason:

In The Age of Reason (1794-1807), Thomas Paine portrays the Bible as a human construct full of historical inaccuracies, moral contradictions, and "fabulous" myths. He critiques supernatural revelation and institutionalized religion as tools of manipulation, instead advocating a theology based on reason and observation of the natural world, where "man's mind is his own church."

He wrote the first part of the book while imprisoned during the Reign of Terror, hoping to provide a rational alternative to the total atheism then prevalent in revolutionary France. Nevertheless, by presenting his views in a popular and irreverent style, using lucid and often humorous prose, Paine earned a reputation as an agitator and blasphemer. His commentary on the Book of Jonah is representative: "The story of the whale swallowing Jonah... borders greatly on the marvelous; but it would have approached nearer to the idea of a miracle, if Jonah had swallowed the whale."

Paine narrowly escaped execution in Jacobin France, where his views were perceived as not radical enough. But the British government, fearing that his influence was too radical, prosecuted printers and publishers of his book. Meanwhile, in the United States The Age of Reason became a best-seller, spurring a brief revival of Deism, but damaging his legacy over the long term.

Schedule:

• Week 1: Part 1
• Week 2 (April 5): Part 2

The Age of Reason: