Status Updates From Jesus through Medieval Eyes...

“representations of Jesus as Judge were still meant to provoke fear. Yet holy fear has nothing to do with loathing oneself, identifying as disgusting insects, or wearing short shorts. There is a fear rooted in wisdom, the wisdom of the body and of our own limitations. Jesus the Judge reminds us of our divine community and invites a fear that guides us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”

“Suspicion often leads us to truth. But suspicious reading, especially antagonistic suspicious reading, has its limits when it becomes the primary, first response to foreign ideas. When we read books from other times and cultures, we must deliberately practice an initial openness while we read. Treasure your surprise.”

“Why explore medieval poetry and theology, in contrast to returning to the early church, the Reformation, or another familiar time period? Those readings would help us too. But the medieval period and its writings, thought, and art are especially foreign to most of us—and they’re weird and fun. Naturally, as a medievalist, I am a little biased.”