Friday, October 15, 2004

Christian Heritage - October 14 - The Power of the Cross

It's baaaack!

"Unknown strangers, poorly dressed and without contacts, traveled all over the world proclaiming someone who had been crucified, and offering a life of fasting in place of drunkenness, and irksome self-restraint in place of sensuality. It can hardly have been easy for those addicted to such vices to receive these exhortations to renounce them and live upright lives. And yet whole peoples seized upon this teaching, whole nations embraced it.

"What was the treasure the apostles cherished? The power of the cross. He who sent them had given them no gold — that is to be found in the courts of kings. Instead he gave them something kings are incapable of acquiring — he gave mortal men the power to raise the dead and cure the sick. Compare the earth of kings with that of the apostles; notice the difference in the nobility they both possess: the king enjoys great renown; the apostles are humble but, mortal men though they are, they do the works of God by the power of God. They raise the dead, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, cure lepers, and by these signs banish infidelity and implant faith. Disbelief in the face of these miracles recorded in scripture would be truly astonishing."

Eusebius of Emesa (AD 263-340), Or. 14, 7-8

Eusebius was the bishop of Caesarea and is chiefly known for his Ecclesiastical History.

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