[Magdalen] Salve Regina.

[Simon Kershaw]

Whilst I broadly agree with what Roger has written, I'm going to quibble 
slightly with his last sentence:

  "Revelation seeks to convey a vision of how the history of the world 
could end."

Is it? I'd say that Revelation is a piece of Apocalyptic literature. 
Perhaps it was intended by its writer to say something about the then 
present state of the Church and world, written in a style which uses 
language about the future.

simon

On 2019-08-19 10:12, Roger Stokes via Magdalen wrote:
> On 19/08/2019 09:57, Simon Kershaw wrote:
>> On 2019-08-16 19:22, ME Michaud wrote:
>>> I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, 
>>> and a
>>> crown of stars on her  head.
>> 
>> And ...?
>> 
>> Only by very belatedly reading back into the text can this been seen 
>> as being about Mary.
> 
> That happens way too often, and in different contexts. Consider the
> number of times Scripture has been cited as evidence that the world is
> about to end. Gamaliel's advice to the Sanhedrin and the observation
> that others before Christ had claimed to be the Messiah so it's best
> to see how things develop is sage advice. As for the Assumption or
> Dormition of Mary, that is a story that has a very long history. I
> would not expect it to be included in the Bible because it would be a
> side issue to the main purpose of what was written. The Gospels were
> to recount what Jesus said and did. The Acts, likewise, the history of
> the Early Church. The Epistles generally were advice to local churches
> or to individuals. Revelation seeks to convey a vision of how the
> history of the world could end.
> 
> Roger

-- 
Simon Kershaw
simon at kershaw.org.uk
St Ives, Cambridgeshire