distortions of Christianity.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 307, 13 October 1888, Page 3

distortions of Christianity.

Tub preposterous idea that utterly useless self-inflicted suffering gave a man a claim to special felicity in the eternal life after death, caused many Christians of the first conturies to subject themselves to most severe deprivations and pain?. To have any enjoyment in this life was considered sinful, and they only were looked upon as good Christians who made their e>istence miserable. Bishop Zeno, of Veronna, informs us that this morbid view of Christianity was entertained generally in the fourth csntury, and that it was believed to be ' the highest glory of Chiistian virtue to tread native underfoot.' Because our Saviour was iccorded to have stayed foity days in the desert and to have lasted, it became quite a fashion to retire to the desert and ' to tread nature under foot.' The deserts of Syria and Egypt were crowded with self-tormenting 'saints.' The sufferings which these poor lunatics invented for themselves, and the fortitude with which they endured them, are wonderful. Oneot them -he has his placeasa saint in the almanac — lived for fifty years in a subterranean cave, without evei seeing the friendly light of the sun. Others buried themselves to the neck in the glowing sand of the desert, or sewed themselves up in fur. Many burdened thsm&elves with heavy chains. St. Eusebius always carried two hundred and sixty pounds of iion about his body. One Thalala?us forced his body into the^hoop of a cart wheel, and remained in this highly usetul position towards society for ten years. Alter this he took up hio dwelling in a narrow cage. Some made a vow not to speak a word for years, and not to look at any face ; others bound themselves to jump about on one leg. St. Barnabas's by some accident, got a shat p stone in his foot, which caused him immense pain. He rejoiced, and would not have it removed. Other saints slept on bundles of thorns, or tried not to sleep at all. Simeon, the son of an Egyptian shepherd, ate only every Sunday, and wound round his wai&t a rope so tight that boils bioke out all over him, which smelled so odiously that nobody could btar Ins saintly company. This Simeon w<is an ambitious saint ; he became the leader of a peculiar class, the Stylites, or column saints. lie first perched himself on a column only four yards high, but his columns grew with hi& madness. When his insanity reached its utmost degree, his column had lisen, or is represented to have risen, to the height of 40 yards ; on this he managed to keep alive for 30 years ; but it is difficult to understand how he could sleep without falling oil. One of his fa\ouriie recreations was to bow as low and as often as he v»as able in prasing. An eye witness counted 1,244 of his bows, but then gave up counting. Simeon at last succeeded in fasting lor 4C days. It is, however, well-known that lunatics can fast & very long time. When Simeon became too weak to stand upright, ho had a post erected on the top of hi 3 column, to which he was attached in an upright position with chains. This madness found many imitators in the Orient, but only one in Europe. He was a native of Tier : the bishop of that city, however, would not acknowledge him as a saint, but treated him simply as a fool.