henning@acsu.buffalo.edu (Karl diabetic Henning) (05/05/91)
Joseph H Buehler writes: >I sometimes suggest to my friends that we should revive public >confession, as the early Church did it. It would help bring back a >little known virtue, perhaps -- humility. Since the people who practice humility do not therefore nose it to the world, and since people seldom noise the humility of another to the world unless for purposes of drawing an unflattering comparison to a third party, it should not surprise you that it is not a highly publicized virtue. [Speaking of highly publicized virtue,and reflecting for the nonce on all the noise about the "right" to exercise public prayer ... it's odd that (many) xians should be so public about a form of "ceremonial worship" which their very namesake warned against] The fact, however, that humility is not a "high-profile virtue", does not imply that it is little known. That seems merely to reflect your bias concerning your fellow men. Lest I seem merely harsh in this reply, I should add that "humility" is one of those slippery, relativistic virtues, which many xians do society te disservice to consider an absolute thing-in-itself. In practice (cf. the excerpted article above) "humility" tends to be cited negatively -- as a criticism of a specific action. In some of these cases, for instance, the "fault" (if there be any) lies not with the accuser's lack of alleged humility, but in mean-spirited jealousy on the part of the accuser. At any rate -- if you observe all too few cases of "humility", you may be in the wrong crowd. I see it in practice daily. Humility is not so much a "virtue", as a social skill, perhaps. kph PS/ I disagree also with the premise that reinstating public confession (even just among practicing xians) would represent a step forward. However, if one's real aim is not humility, but humiliation, the ordeal of public confession is a strong plus. I, for one, don't get a thrill out of seeing Swaggart or Bakker publicly fried for their crimes -- but I do shudder to think that such men have such adoring and uncritical sheepfolds. -- "The study of crime begins with the knowledge of oneself. All that you despise, all that you loathe, all that you reject, all that you condemn and seek to convert by punishment springs from you." -- Henry Miller