Cyprian On the Unity of the Church pt 2

Since the Lord warns us, saying, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and since He bids us to be simple to harmlessness, and yet with our simplicity to be prudent, what else, beloved brethren, befits us, than to use foresight and watching with an anxious heart, both to perceive and to beware of the wiles of the crafty foe, that we, who have put on Christ the wisdom of God the Father, may not seem to be wanting in wisdom in the matter of providing for our salvation?

For it is not persecution alone that is to be feared; nor those things which advance by open attack to overwhelm and cast down the servants of God. Caution is more easy where danger is manifest, and the mind is prepared beforehand for the contest when the adversary avows himself. The enemy is more to be feared and to be guarded against, when he creeps on us secretly; when, deceiving by the appearance of peace, he steals forward by hidden approaches, whence also he has received the name of the Serpent.
 
That is always his subtlety; that is his dark and stealthy artifice for circumventing man. Thus from the very beginning of the world he deceived; and flattering with lying words, he misled inexperienced souls by an incautious credulity. Thus he endeavoured to tempt the Lord Himself:  he secretly approached Him, as if he would creep on Him again, and deceive; yet he was understood, and beaten back, and therefore prostrated, because he was recognised and detected.

Unity of the Church 1

Perhaps the modern reader of Cyprian will be surprised to see how he starts.  Not, as we might imagine, with an analysis of the “politics” of church-land, but with a survey of the spiritual geography.  He draws our attention to the “wiles of the crafty foe” – the spiritual reality which “has received the name of the Serpent”.  This is a very different starting point than most of us are used to.  Cyprian tells us to look to the spiritual world.

So did the devil make him do it?  That’s really what Cyprian is talking about.  “The world is full of dangerous things” said Gandalf to Gimli.  Many of us would not even really think about the possibility of, well, evil and temptation personified in a creature.  This tempter is identified as the Satan of the 3 temptations in the wilderness.  Clearly, Cyprian thinks that there are spiritual forces which, in the old language, seek to corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.  Many of us have been to baptisms where reference is made to “Satan and all his works”.  And yet how many can take seriously, if at all, that this refers to some sort of actual creature?  People will have different takes on this:  some skeptical about such things, others offering metaphorical interpretation of such “spiritual realities”, and still others will simply say that there is such a thing as a fallen angel, who happens not to like God or people very much, and whose activity is much more hidden from sight. Cyprian tells his readers that the main problem is that we must recognize and detect such spiritual forces.

There is a great deal of wisdom here.  It is the less obvious and more subtle temptations which can be the most dangerous.  Sort of a spiritual version of some kind of bait and switch.  Most of us tend to be aware of our “obvious” faults.  But maybe we need, both individually and as a body, to become more aware of what the psalmist called “my secret sins”.

Cyprian contrasts these dangers with the open danger from persecution, and bids his reader remember that “it is not persecution alone that is to be feared; nor those things which advance by open attack to overwhelm and cast down the servants of God.”   

related posts: intro, pt 1

Comments

[alex]

It's almost like he is saying that the political issues of his day are more of a SYMPTOM, rather than being the main issue. I think many of us get side-tracked in dealing with SSB rather than talking about loving God and loving our neighbours. I think many of the issues we are dealing with are a result of a different understanding of God, scriptures, and our role in the world. I'm interested to read more.

[joseph]

What you have hit upon, alex, is what many call the "presenting issue". SSB is a presenting issue - it is the issue that comes to the surface when people have different presuppositions about Scripture, etc. And I think Cyprian is right to point out that there are always spiritual issues involved.