It seems that another great influence in the life of Athanasius dates from the period of the persecution, and may have been actually a result of it.  The persecuting of the third century had driven many Alexandrian Christians to take refuge in the Egyptian desert; and some had found there a life so congenial to Christian piety that, when the danger was over, they did not return.  Thus was born monasticism which was destined, when persecutions were past, to take their place as the leaven of the Church’s life.  The impetus to asceticism continued in the interval of peace; and thirteen years before Athanasius was born a young Copt of the name of Antony had taken up his abode as a solitary in a ruined fort at Pispir, on the right bank of the Nile. (more…)

Commenting on Romans 5:3-5, Augustine said,

Who can hurt such a man? Who can subdue him? In prosperity he makes moral progress, and in adversity he learns to know the progress he has made. When he has an abundance of mutable goods he does not put his trust in them, and when they are taken away he gets to know whether or not they have taken him captive (Of True Religion).

O how easy it is to be taken captive by an abundance of mutable goods.  And O how abundant everything is in America.  As any good Presbyterian, I love Christian freedom.  But I’ve found myself using it as an excuse to ignore the massive problems in my heart by not denying myself those things which hold me captive and simply waving the banner of Romans 14 over my idols.

The following video is for my own encouragement.  It’s too easy for me to forget the cross when I’m surrounded by Disneyland.

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