Last time in class we talked about how Ambrose, Bishop of Milan and primary force in the conversion of Augustine, argued for using the "Egyptian's gold" for furthering the work of Christianity. The allusion is to Moses' commandment to Israel to take gold, silver, and clothing from the Egyptians as they made their great exodus after Passover (Exodus 12:35-6). The Egyptian gold Ambrose referred to was the intellectual architecture laid out by the Greeks and Romans in philosophy, literature, education, and, of course, rhetoric.
The story has made me think of Mormon apostle Elder M. Russel Ballard's talk at BYU-Hawaii's graduation ceremony in December 2007. Elder Ballard uses the same argument about the Internet and blogging as Augustine uses about eloquence. What parallels do you see?
No comments:
Post a Comment