Origen (185 - 254 A.D.) gave up his job, slept on the floor, ate no meat, drank no wine, fasted twice a week, owned no shoes, and reportedly castrated himself for the faith.

Origen: Biblical Scholar and Philosopher

Origen, Illustration from "Les Vrais Portraits Et Vies Des Hommes Illustres" by André Thévet

"We who by our prayers destroy all demons which stir up wars, violate oaths, and disturb the peace are of more help to the emperors than those who seem to be doing the fighting."

Origen from http://www.origenes.de

This third century "religious fanatic" gave up his job, slept on the floor, ate no meat, drank no wine, fasted twice a week, owned no shoes, and reportedly castrated himself for the faith. He was also the most prolific scholar of his age (with hundreds of works to his credit), a first-rate Christian philosopher, and a profound student of the Bible. 

Child prodigy Origen Adamantius ("man of steel") was born near Alexandria about A.D. 185. The oldest of seven children in a Christian home, he grew up learning the Bible and the meaning of commitment. In 202 when his father, Leonidas, was beheaded for his Christian beliefs, Origen wanted to die as a martyr, too. But his mother prevented him from even leaving the house—by hiding his clothes. 

To support his family, the 18-year-old Origen opened a grammar school, copied texts, and instructed catechumens (those seeking to become members of the church). He himself studied under the pagan philosopher Ammonius Saccas in order to better defend his faith against pagan arguments. When a rich convert supplied him with secretaries, he began to write. 

Bible student and critic 

The Hexapla by Origen

Origen worked for 20 years on his Hexapla, a massive work of Old Testament analysis written to answer Jewish and Gnostic critics of Christianity. An examination of Biblical texts, it had six parallel columns: one in Hebrew, and the other five in various Greek translations, including one he found at Jericho in a jar. It became an important step in the development of the Christian canon and scriptural translation, but unfortunately it was destroyed. So massive was it that scholars doubt anyone ever copied it entirely. 

This painting by the Workshop of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, depicts St. Jerome in his study.  Jerome asked "Has anyone read everything that Origen wrote?"

This first Bible scholar analyzed the Scriptures on three levels: the literal, the moral, and the allegorical. As he put it, "For just as man consists of body, soul, and spirit, so in the same way does the Scripture." Origen, in fact, preferred the allegorical not only because it allowed for more spiritual interpretations, but many passages he found impossible to read literally: "Now what man of intelligence will believe that the first and the second and the third day … existed without the sun and moon and stars?" In any event, Origen's method of interpretation became the standard in the Middle Ages. Origen's main work, De Principiis (On First Principles), was the first systematic exposition of Christian theology ever written. In it he created a Christian philosophy, synthesizing Greek technique and biblical assumptions. Add to these massive works his homilies and commentaries, and it's clear why he was reputed to have kept seven secretaries busy and caused Jerome (c.354–420) to say in frustrated admiration, "Has anyone read everything that Origen wrote?" 

Heretical church father? 

The Castration of Uranus: fresco by Vasari & Cristofano Gherardi (c. 1560, Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence).  Origen is reported to have castrated himself.

Origen has always been controversial. His reported self-mutilation, in response to Matthew 19:12 ("… there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven….") was condemned as a drastic misinterpretation of the text. In Palestine he preached without being ordained and was so condemned by his bishop, Demetrius. When on a second trip, he was ordained by the same bishops who had invited him to speak the first time, Demetrius sent him into exile. 

While some of his writings are thought to have been hypothetical, Origen did teach that all spirits were created equal, existed before birth, and then fell from grace. Furthermore, "those rational beings who sinned and on account fell from the state in which they were, in proportion to their particular sins, were enslaved in bodies as punishment"—some demons, some men, and some angels. He also believed that all spirits, even Satan, could be saved. "The power of choosing between good and evil is within the reach of all," he wrote. 

An attempt at a depiction of The Trinity.

Most notably, however, Origen described the Trinity as a hierarchy, not as an equality of Father, Son, and Spirit. And though he attacked Gnostic beliefs, like them, he rejected the goodness of material creation. 

VI Surikov . " Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople ." The sketch for the painting of the church of Christ the Savior (1876).  The council pronounced Origen a heretic.

Three centuries after his death, the Council of Constantinople (553) pronounced him a heretic: "Whoever says or thinks that the punishment of demons and the wicked will not be eternal … let him be anathema." 

Some contend that Origen was merely trying to frame the faith in the ideas of his day; still his works were suppressed following his condemnation, so modern judgment is impossible. 

Despite such condemnation, Origen said, "I want to be a man of the church … to be called … of Christ." His Contra Celsum, in fact, is one of the finest defenses of Christianity produced in the early church. Answering the charge that Christians, by refusing military service, fail the test of good citizenship, he wrote, "We who by our prayers destroy all demons which stir up wars, violate oaths, and disturb the peace are of more help to the emperors than those who seem to be doing the fighting." 

Trajan Decius (201 – 251), was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251.  He had Origen imprisoned and tortured.

The authorities, however, were not convinced: in 250 the emperor Decius had Origen imprisoned and tortured. He was deliberately kept alive in the hope that he would renounce his faith. But Decius died first and Origen went free. His health broken, Origen died shortly after his release.

Source:

Galli, Mark and Ted Olson, eds. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2000, pages 286-287.  

Why are some homeless and drunkards happier than many other people? Augustine asked the same question in Milan 1,600 years ago.

The Singing Beggars by Russian painter Ivan Yermenyov c. 1775

The beggar had reached the goal of peaceful happiness while Augustine's ambition was causing him pain and trouble

A beggar in 1880s Tehran, photographed by Antoin Sevruguin

My misery was complete and I remember how, one day, you (God) made me realize how utterly wretched I was. I was preparing a speech in praise of the Emperor, intending that it should include a great many lies which would certainly be applauded by an audience who knew well enough how far from the truth they were. I was greatly preoccupied by this task and my mind was feverishly busy with its harassing problems. As I walked along one of the streets in Milan I noticed a poor beggar who must, I suppose, have had his fill of food and drink, since he was laughing and joking. Sadly I turned to my companions and spoke to them of all the pain and trouble which is caused by our own folly. My ambitions had placed a load of misery on my shoulders and the further I carried it the heavier it became, but the only purpose of all the efforts we made was to reach the goal of peaceful happiness. This beggar had already reached it ahead of us, and perhaps we should never reach it at all. For by all my laborious contriving and intricate manoeuvres I was hoping to win the joy of worldly happiness, the very thing which this man had already secured at the cost of the few pence which he had begged.

The beggar was cheerful and had no worries while Augustine was unhappy and full of apprehension

Homeless man in Anchorage, Alaska.

Of course, his was not true happiness. But the state of felicity which I aimed to reach was still more false. He, at any rate, was cheerful, while I was unhappy: he had no worries, but I was full of apprehension. And if anyone had asked me whether I would rather be happy or afraid, I should have replied that I preferred to be happy. But if I had then been asked to choose between the life which that beggar led and my own, I should have chosen my own life, full of fears and worries though it was. This would have been an illogical choice and how could I have pretended that it was the right one? For I ought not to have preferred myself to the beggar simply because I was the more learned, since my learning was no source of happiness to me. I only made use of it to try to please others, and I only tried to please them, not to teach them. This was why you broke my bones with the rod of your discipline.

Looking for happiness in honour instead of honour in God is not true honour

Sleeping homeless person in the corner of Cologne Cathedral, Germany, 2010

My soul, then, must beware of those who say that what matters is the reason why a man is happy. They will say that it was drunkenness that made the beggar happy, while my soul looked for happiness in honour. But what sort of honour did it hope to find? Not the kind which is to be found in you. O Lord. It was not true honour, any more than the beggar's joy was true joy, but it turned my head even more. That very night the beggar would sleep off his drunkenness, but mine had been with me night after night as I slept and was still with me in the morning when I woke, and would still be with me night and day after that.

The beggar was happier than Augustine.  The beggar was cheerful while Augustine was anxious.  The beggar earned his wine by wishing people good day while Augustine fed his pride by telling lies

A man holding a sign using self-deprecating humor for begging

Yet I know that it does matter why a man is happy. There is a world of difference between the joy of hope that comes from faith and the shallow happiness that I was looking for. There was a difference too between the beggar and myself. He was certainly the happier man, not only because he was flushed with cheerfulness while I was eaten away with anxiety, but also because he had earned his wine by wishing good day to passers-by while I was trying to feed my pride by telling lies.

William Hogarth's Gin Lane, 1751

On this occasion I told my friends much of what I felt about these things. Often, by observing them, I was made aware of my own state, and I was not pleased with what I saw. This made me sad and my misery was redoubled; and if, by chance, fortune smiled upon me, I was too disheartened to seize it, for it would take to flight just as my hand was ready to close upon it.

Source: Saint Augustine. Confessions. Translated by R.S. Pine-Coffin. London: Penguin Group, 1961, Book VI, pages 118-120.

Why was Elizabeth Fry so concerned about the conditions of prisoners?

Elizabeth Fry, by Charles Robert Leslie. 

" … to form in them, as much as possible, those habits of sobriety, order, and industry, which may render them docile and peaceable while in prison, and respectable when they leave it."

To Visit the Imprisoned by Flemish artist Cornelis de Wael c. 1640

In the early 1800s, English prisons were pits of indecency and brutality. The idea was to punish, not reform prisoners. Most people thought this was the way things should be or believed nothing could be done to change the entrenched system. Elizabeth Fry disagreed on both accounts and pushed for a number of prison reforms we still practice today.

Horrifying conditions

Gustave Doré's image of the exercise yard at Newgate Prison (1872).

The daughter of an English banker, the 20-year-old Elizabeth married Joseph Fry, a wealthy tea dealer. Children came quickly, eventually numbering 11. When she had rededicated her life to Christ at age 18, she wanted to help the downtrodden. So as a young bride and mother, she gave medicine and clothes to the homeless and helped establish the Sisters of Devonshire Square, a nursing school. In 1813, at age 33, her attention turned to the female prisoners in London's Newgate prison. She began to visit the prison almost daily, and what she found there horrified her.

An execution taking place at Newgate prison

At Newgate, women awaiting trial for stealing apples were crammed into the same cell as women who had been convicted of murder or forgery (both capital crimes). Women ate, defecated, and slept in the same confined area. If an inmate had children, they accompanied her to prison and lived in the same inhumane conditions. For those without help from family, friends, or charities, the options were to beg and to steal food, or to starve to death. Many women begged for alcohol as well, languishing naked and drunk. The sight of children clinging to their mothers as they were dragged to the gallows was a scene replayed time and again.

Better life for inmates 

Fry reading to inmates in Newgate prison

Prison officials warned Fry of the risks she was taking in visiting prisons (exposure to violence and disease), but she waved the warnings aside. Besides comforting women, she taught them basic hygiene and to sew and quilt (so they might earn a living when they were released). She read the Bible to inmates and gave Bibles away. She intervened for women on death row, and if her pleas were unsuccessful, she accompanied women to the scaffold and comforted them in their last moments. 

A scene in Newgate Prison, London

To expand her efforts, in 1816 she founded the Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners of Newgate "to provide for the clothing, instruction, and employment of the women; to introduce them to a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and to form in them, as much as possible, those habits of sobriety, order, and industry, which may render them docile and peaceable while in prison, and respectable when they leave it." Specific reforms she campaigned for included: separation of men and women prisoners, paid work for inmates, women guards for women prisoners, and the housing of criminals based on their crimes.

Beyond Newgate 

Fry's statue in the Old Bailey

To nineteenth-century observers, Fry's efforts produced a miracle: many of the reportedly wild and incorrigible inmates became, under her care, orderly, disciplined, and devout. Mayors and sheriffs from surrounding regions visited Newgate and began initiating reforms in their own prisons. In 1818 Fry gave testimony before the House of Commons on the state of English prisons, which contributed to the Prison Reform Act of 1823. Fry's concern extended to women in half-way houses, where she introduced education, discipline, and Bible instruction. She helped establish a night shelter in London (1820) and formed societies to minister to vagrant families. She also promoted her prison reform ideas in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Until her death in 1845 at age 65, she visited every convict ship that carried female prisoners to the British colonies. Fry's ideas inspired subsequent generations to combine social work and gospel proclamation and reshaped how prisoners have been treated, ever since.

Source: Galli, Mark and Ted Olson, eds. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2000, pages 286-287.  

Belief in a transcendent Supreme Being exists in Traditional Religions

The Core of Monotheism

"God the Father", a representation of the theistic version of God, by Ludovico Mazzolino (1480 – c. 1528)

A belief in a Supreme Being is central to traditional religions; lesser deities exist, but they serve the Supreme Being.  Though he may be called by a multitude of different names, the Supreme Being of the ancient world has always been at the center of religious belief.  Most view him as a father above all and removed from all (transcendent), but some consider him approachable (immanent).  He is the creator of all things, including lesser gods and spirits.

All civilizations have evidence of belief in a Supreme Being

The Origin and Growth of Religion (1931) by Wilhelm Schmidt (1868 – 1954).  Schmidt was an Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist. 

Belief in the Supreme Being can be found culturally and historically in almost all civilizations throughout history.  German scholar Wilhelm Schmidt details this collective recognition in his Origin and Growth of Religion:

• The Supreme Being is generally acknowledged as creator, and called Father in every primitive culture where He is addressed.  He lives somewhere above the earth.

• He is a being, so his physical form cannot be accurately represented.  He is described as invisible, like the wind, or like fire.

• He is eternal: He existed before any other being, and He will not die.

• He is all powerful and all knowing.

• He is Good, and all good comes from Him, including moral law.  He is unalterably righteous.

• He despises evil, and it must be kept far from Him.

• He is the Just Judge.  Human beings are separated from Him by past offenses, and they abandoned Him for lesser, more accessible gods; yet primitive religion retain His memory as the Sky-God.

The Sky God known throughout the world

Jupiter, the sky father of Greco-Roman religion and mythology, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres 

This "Sky-God," known today in Africa as Pa Karumasba or the Supreme Creator, designed this world for the pleasure of human beings, and Africans believe they owe him reverence and thanks for his creation.  Sacrifices are made to him in order to ensure his continued blessing on both the land and the people.  Life should be centered on pleasing the Creator by following the moral laws he introduced from the beginning.  "There are many things held to be morally wrong and evil, such as: robbery, murder, rape, telling lies, stealing, being cruel, saying bad words, showing disrespect, practicing sorcery or Witchcraft, interfering with public rights, backbiting, being lazy or greedy or selfish, making promises, and son on."  In the African worldview, religion is life and life is religion.

Source: Martin, Walter, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden. The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008, pages 474-475.