Thursday, March 26, 2020
Cyprian on How Christians Deal with Adversity
Here’s another gem from Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258) in “To Demetrian.” The pagans were blaming Christians for a run of plague, drought, and pestilence that had stricken the land. According to the pagans, since Christians had abandoned the old religion, the gods were exacting vengeance. Cyprian, however, seizes on the circumstances to explain how Christians respond differently than pagans to adverse circumstances:
On the other hand, there is no pain from the outbreak of present evils for those who have confidence in future good things. In sum, we are not terrified by adverse events, nor are we crushed by them, nor do we grieve about them, nor do we complain in any natural disaster or physical sickness. Living by the Spirit rather than the flesh, we overcome weaknesses of the body with the strength of the soul. We know and are confident we are being tested and strengthened by means of those very disasters that place you on the rack and harass you (p. 87).