Julian of Norwich as a Modern Day Witness
Julian of Norwich as a Modern Day WitnessJulian of Norwich As A Modern Day Witness
I have chosesn “A Book of Showings” by Julian of Norwich as my reader response topic because her writings have struck me as the most interesting because of her place in history as an anchoress as well as what she has to say as far as her faith. What she says in her book have touched me to the heart as well as in the mind because I, being a person of faith am often embarrassed to declare myself a member of a church and she gets to the heart of things.
As an anchoress, Julian escaped from the world and all of the influences in it and she found solitude in her faith. This was difficult then as it is now. While I don’t feel that secluding onesself from the world is necessarily a good thing, for Julian it was. First of all, the conflicts that were going on between the Catholic and Protestant church were confusing to the average people of England and oftentimes they were swayed by what was popular belief and not what they truly felt. Julian’s seclusion allowed her to discover exactly what she believed and to stick to it.
Whether or not her visions were real, I find her interpretations of them inspiring. In Chapter 3, Julian sees Christ and His crown of thorns with blood flowing down and she finds peace in the prospect of death. At one point she says, “I saw that he is to us all thing that is good and comfortable to our help”(358). It shows her peace with death and the comfort in knowing that Christ is her comforter. It seems hard to believe that just anyone would be peaceful at the prospect of a painful death without a greater being there giving the peace and the comfort.
Julian refers to Christ as homely and courteous which seems odd, but at the same time it reveals the closeness that is possible with Christ. He is not just a being somewhere out there and He isn’t just a prophet who came to earth, according to Julian, he is a friend, someone who can be as close as you want Him to be.
Julian also refers to sin in her writings and I find her concept of that interesting because as humans, we want to believe that sin is not real and that we are not capable of it because we are not murderers, rapists, or robbers.”Often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the beginning of sin was not letted” (360). She portrays that misunderstanding on our part and recognizes and allows for it, rather than arguing it or stating a fact or a truth. It is purely a question on her part. At that time and every year after, religious people have tried to answer those questions and to define them. I don’t really think they can be completely defined and Julian of Norwich understands that; she has faith in God and that satisfies her.
Julians comparison of one’s relationship with Christ as a relationship of motherhood is also inspiring because the vision of a mother is kind, loving, caring, and affectionate and to her, Christ is all of these things. Rather than thinking about the rules and regulations set by the church, Julian focuses on what is important in matters of faith. “And all is one love”(363).
Julian’s focus is more on the relationship than on the religion which is important today because so often people are negative about the legalism of the church as a whole. I am not one to impart my beliefs on someone else, and I don’t just claim to be a Christian. My faith is based on the relationship that I have and I attempt to stay of out those arguments that are not truly important in the big picture. Julian understood this. Never once does she refer to the church or it’s teachings. All of her faith is her own and no one else’s and that is admirable.
Some people then and now may think that Julian is a crazy lady with visions and dreams and all and that is quite understandable, but I don’t find Julian’s writing to have a political or social agenda. I don’t even think her writing has a religious agenda because she isn’t trying to make people believe in what she is saying. She is merely interpreting things that happened to her and telling us what she thinks. This was probably unusual in her time as it is now; people then had agendas as people now have agendas. Her writing is simple and to the point.
Julian’s book isn’t difficult to read because the language isn’t very complex. While the version we read for class is in modern English and easy for us to understand, I think this writing in Middle English would have been easy for even the most elementary reader of her time to comprehend. This tells me she wasn’t attempting to reach people of high rank, but just telling a story, as if to a friend. Her experiences in this book are not based on what people think, but her own perceptions.
Julian of Norwich is a truly admirable person,especially in comparison with her counterpart, Marjory Kempe. When these two women are looked at together, it is easy to see which one is driven by outside forces such as society, the church, and political agendas and which one is focused on what is important. Julian of Norwich wins out in character and purpose.
Julian takes her experiences and interprets them in her book. Unlike the other pieces we have read this semester, Julian lacks any agenda but her own feelings which is unusual and interesting. Her simple faith and peacefulness are a modern day witness to what true faith should be.
Julian of Norwich As A Modern Day Witness
I have chosesn “A Book of Showings” by Julian of Norwich as my reader response topic because her writings have struck me as the most interesting because of her place in history as an anchoress as well as what she has to say as far as her faith. What she says in her book have touched me to the heart as well as in the mind because I, being a person of faith am often embarrassed to declare myself a member of a church and she gets to the heart of things.
As an anchoress, Julian escaped from the world and all of the influences in it and she found solitude in her faith. This was difficult then as it is now. While I don’t feel that secluding onesself from the world is necessarily a good thing, for Julian it was. First of all, the conflicts that were going on between the Catholic and Protestant church were confusing to the average people of England and oftentimes they were swayed by what was popular belief and not what they truly felt. Julian’s seclusion allowed her to discover exactly what she believed and to stick to it.
Whether or not her visions were real, I find her interpretations of them inspiring. In Chapter 3, Julian sees Christ and His crown of thorns with blood flowing down and she finds peace in the prospect of death. At one point she says, “I saw that he is to us all thing that is good and comfortable to our help”(358). It shows her peace with death and the comfort in knowing that Christ is her comforter. It seems hard to believe that just anyone would be peaceful at the prospect of a painful death without a greater being there giving the peace and the comfort.
Julian refers to Christ as homely and courteous which seems odd, but at the same time it reveals the closeness that is possible with Christ. He is not just a being somewhere out there and He isn’t just a prophet who came to earth, according to Julian, he is a friend, someone who can be as close as you want Him to be.
Julian also refers to sin in her writings and I find her concept of that interesting because as humans, we want to believe that sin is not real and that we are not capable of it because we are not murderers, rapists, or robbers.”Often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the beginning of sin was not letted” (360). She portrays that misunderstanding on our part and recognizes and allows for it, rather than arguing it or stating a fact or a truth. It is purely a question on her part. At that time and every year after, religious people have tried to answer those questions and to define them. I don’t really think they can be completely defined and Julian of Norwich understands that; she has faith in God and that satisfies her.
Julians comparison of one’s relationship with Christ as a relationship of motherhood is also inspiring because the vision of a mother is kind, loving, caring, and affectionate and to her, Christ is all of these things. Rather than thinking about the rules and regulations set by the church, Julian focuses on what is important in matters of faith. “And all is one love”(363).
Julian’s focus is more on the relationship than on the religion which is important today because so often people are negative about the legalism of the church as a whole. I am not one to impart my beliefs on someone else, and I don’t just claim to be a Christian. My faith is based on the relationship that I have and I attempt to stay of out those arguments that are not truly important in the big picture. Julian understood this. Never once does she refer to the church or it’s teachings. All of her faith is her own and no one else’s and that is admirable.
Some people then and now may think that Julian is a crazy lady with visions and dreams and all and that is quite understandable, but I don’t find Julian’s writing to have a political or social agenda. I don’t even think her writing has a religious agenda because she isn’t trying to make people believe in what she is saying. She is merely interpreting things that happened to her and telling us what she thinks. This was probably unusual in her time as it is now; people then had agendas as people now have agendas. Her writing is simple and to the point.
Julian’s book isn’t difficult to read because the language isn’t very complex. While the version we read for class is in modern English and easy for us to understand, I think this writing in Middle English would have been easy for even the most elementary reader of her time to comprehend. This tells me she wasn’t attempting to reach people of high rank, but just telling a story, as if to a friend. Her experiences in this book are not based on what people think, but her own perceptions.
Julian of Norwich is a truly admirable person,especially in comparison with her counterpart, Marjory Kempe. When these two women are looked at together, it is easy to see which one is driven by outside forces such as society, the church, and political agendas and which one is focused on what is important. Julian of Norwich wins out in character and purpose.
Julian takes her experiences and interprets them in her book. Unlike the other pieces we have read this semester, Julian lacks any agenda but her own feelings which is unusual and interesting. Her simple faith and peacefulness are a modern day witness to what true faith should be.
Julian of Norwich As A Modern Day Witness
I have chosesn “A Book of Showings” by Julian of Norwich as my reader response topic because her writings have struck me as the most interesting because of her place in history as an anchoress as well as what she has to say as far as her faith. What she says in her book have touched me to the heart as well as in the mind because I, being a person of faith am often embarrassed to declare myself a member of a church and she gets to the heart of things.
As an anchoress, Julian escaped from the world and all of the influences in it and she found solitude in her faith. This was difficult then as it is now. While I don’t feel that secluding onesself from the world is necessarily a good thing, for Julian it was. First of all, the conflicts that were going on between the Catholic and Protestant church were confusing to the average people of England and oftentimes they were swayed by what was popular belief and not what they truly felt. Julian’s seclusion allowed her to discover exactly what she believed and to stick to it.
Whether or not her visions were real, I find her interpretations of them inspiring. In Chapter 3, Julian sees Christ and His crown of thorns with blood flowing down and she finds peace in the prospect of death. At one point she says, “I saw that he is to us all thing that is good and comfortable to our help”(358). It shows her peace with death and the comfort in knowing that Christ is her comforter. It seems hard to believe that just anyone would be peaceful at the prospect of a painful death without a greater being there giving the peace and the comfort.
Julian refers to Christ as homely and courteous which seems odd, but at the same time it reveals the closeness that is possible with Christ. He is not just a being somewhere out there and He isn’t just a prophet who came to earth, according to Julian, he is a friend, someone who can be as close as you want Him to be.
Julian also refers to sin in her writings and I find her concept of that interesting because as humans, we want to believe that sin is not real and that we are not capable of it because we are not murderers, rapists, or robbers.”Often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the beginning of sin was not letted” (360). She portrays that misunderstanding on our part and recognizes and allows for it, rather than arguing it or stating a fact or a truth. It is purely a question on her part. At that time and every year after, religious people have tried to answer those questions and to define them. I don’t really think they can be completely defined and Julian of Norwich understands that; she has faith in God and that satisfies her.
Julians comparison of one’s relationship with Christ as a relationship of motherhood is also inspiring because the vision of a mother is kind, loving, caring, and affectionate and to her, Christ is all of these things. Rather than thinking about the rules and regulations set by the church, Julian focuses on what is important in matters of faith. “And all is one love”(363).
Julian’s focus is more on the relationship than on the religion which is important today because so often people are negative about the legalism of the church as a whole. I am not one to impart my beliefs on someone else, and I don’t just claim to be a Christian. My faith is based on the relationship that I have and I attempt to stay of out those arguments that are not truly important in the big picture. Julian understood this. Never once does she refer to the church or it’s teachings. All of her faith is her own and no one else’s and that is admirable.
Some people then and now may think that Julian is a crazy lady with visions and dreams and all and that is quite understandable, but I don’t find Julian’s writing to have a political or social agenda. I don’t even think her writing has a religious agenda because she isn’t trying to make people believe in what she is saying. She is merely interpreting things that happened to her and telling us what she thinks. This was probably unusual in her time as it is now; people then had agendas as people now have agendas. Her writing is simple and to the point.
Julian’s book isn’t difficult to read because the language isn’t very complex. While the version we read for class is in modern English and easy for us to understand, I think this writing in Middle English would have been easy for even the most elementary reader of her time to comprehend. This tells me she wasn’t attempting to reach people of high rank, but just telling a story, as if to a friend. Her experiences in this book are not based on what people think, but her own perceptions.
Julian of Norwich is a truly admirable person,especially in comparison with her counterpart, Marjory Kempe. When these two women are looked at together, it is easy to see which one is driven by outside forces such as society, the church, and political agendas and which one is focused on what is important. Julian of Norwich wins out in character and purpose.
Julian takes her experiences and interprets them in her book. Unlike the other pieces we have read this semester, Julian lacks any agenda but her own feelings which is unusual and interesting. Her simple faith and peacefulness are a modern day witness to what true faith should be.