Category: Church History
Why the Church Is Always Under Fire: From External Persecution to Internal Trenches
Whoever studies the course of Western history cannot avoid one fundamental, bewildering fact: the Catholic Church stands in a permanent state of siege. From the bloody arenas of the Roman Empire, through the guillotines of the French Revolution and the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century, to the refined psychological warfare of the modern secular…
A Sermon Against the Lies of Power: Chrysostom’s “On the Statues”
What happens when the most powerful man in the world — the emperor — turns his wrath upon your city? When fear stalks the streets, and the threat of bodily harm is no idle word but a real possibility? In such a moment of crisis the truth seems a luxury, and the lie a shield.…
Augustine: “Against Lying” (Contra Mendacium)
A little white lie, a “necessary” untruth to ward off a greater evil. Is it permitted? Augustine of Hippo gives an uncompromising answer: no. In his sharp treatise *Against Lying* (*Contra Mendacium*) he addresses those who suppose that lying is permissible — for instance, to unmask heretics. He argues with great fire that every lie,…
Augustine: “On Lying”
Here we offer a translation of Augustine’s *De Mendacio* — “On Lying.” The rendering aims to remain as literal and full as possible, so as to preserve the style and depth of Augustine’s reasoning. The question of the lie is a great one, and the saint shows, with patient and rigorous argument, why falsehood may…
