Essay Sample on Themes of Devotion and Suffering in The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

Introduction

The Letters of Abelard and Heloise contains themes that portray allegiance to religion, the suffering of Christians, and devotion to serving the Lord. Abelard and Heloise had been initially married but later divorced. They stayed for a long time before they started writing the letters to each other. The first letter by Abelard was addressed to Philintus and was intercepted to Heloise, and henceforth, Heloise replied through a letter to Abelard.In the first letter to Philintus, Abelard recounts Philintus's suffering and plans to console him by discussing the problems. Abelard also stated that he was also going through problem after he divorced Heloise. As such, the letter was written to console Philintus for his suffering. Both Abelard and Philintus were devoted Christians and had persevered through a lot of problems. Therefore, the letter provides an overview of the suffering of both Abelard and Philintus as devoted Christians.

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Similarly, Fox's book of martyrs discusses a scenario of the suffering of martyrs. Hunter and Tomkins were martyrs who experienced a lot of suffering for their faith.Thomas Tomkins as one of the martyrs was summoned before inhuman Bonne where he was tried for his belief. On the other hand, Hunter had been summoned for refusing to take the Holy Communion and believing in the true gospel. Before the inhuman Bonner punished William Hunter, he was persuaded to concede to the accusations. However, he was refused to do so which prompted the Bonner led by a bishop punished them. A similar situation happened to Pygot, Knight, Lawrence, and Higbed and had been detained with Hunter and Tomkins. The trials and punishments Tomkins, Hunter, Pygot, Knight, Lawrence, and Higbed were due to their faith and devotion to Christianity.

Elizabeth was arrested on January 15, 1549, and presented before the council to confess to allegations. First, she was asked to take an oath to answer whether she had a husband. However, she declined to take the oath as it was contrary to her Christian beliefs. The council was made up of religious leaders who proclaimed that Elizabeth was a teacher who taught against the appropriate Christian beliefs. She contrasted the beliefs of the members of the council as she did not want to take the oath and the sacrament. Similarly, she was requested to confess to the allegations in a bid to be forgiven by the council. However, she remained firm with her beliefs and refused to confess to the false allegations. This was a scenario of a staunch Christian being tried by the religious leaders who perceived themselves as righteous.

Death Due to Faith

According to Bayle (2011), Abelard was a true believer and a highly educated man. He lived under the directions of the monks. After he divorced with Heloise, his reputation was ruined, and the Counsel of Sens began to oppress him. Subsequently, during his career, Abelard developed enemies who would then become his enemies and also highly questioned his beliefs. Consequently, he was compelled to retire early in his career as a teacher. Even after retiring, his enemies were still determined to persecute and destroy him. The Council of Sens led by the Archbishop was among the people opposing Abelard. In a bid to ensure his enemies did not succeed, Abelard sought to address his critics through a public address which he was granted. Eventually, Abelard was killed for his beliefs.

In the book by Foxe (2007), a bishop led the inhuman Bonner in the trials of the martyrs; Tomkins, Hunter, Pygot, Knight, Lawrence, and Higbed. He believed that the Tomkins, Hunter, and the other martyrs did not live according to Christian teachings. As a result, the inhuman Bonner including the bishop believed that they had the power to condemn them for their "unrighteous" actions. The inhuman Bonner would prompt the martyrs to denounce their faith. However, their firm beliefs made them continues to believe in the righteous. As a result, inhuman Bonner ended up giving the order to burn Tomkins, Hunter, Pygot, Knight, Lawrence, and Higbed for they did not confess to the allegations and the claims. Therefore, their faith and beliefs contributed to their death; a prosecution which was ordered by the esteemed religious leaders.

As for Elizabeth, after being brought before the council and answering all the allegations, the Lords of the council still ordered for her execution. Although Elizabeth did not live as per the guidelines of the Lords; when she was brought before the council she answered all the questions while referring to Bible verses which the Lords confirmed that they were right. However, for failure to confess about her baptizer, the council concluded that she was to be drowned to death as a means of offering her body to God. Therefore, it is evident that in all the three scenarios, the servants of the lord had to undergo a lot of suffering for their faith and were eventually condemned to death making them martyrs.

References

Bayle, P. (2011). LETTERS of Abelard and Heloise. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35977/35977-h/35977-h.htm

Braght, T. J. (1837). The Bloody Theatre, Or Martyrs' Mirror, of the Defenceless Christians: Who Suffered and Were Put to Death for the Testimony of Jesus, Their Savior, from the Time of Christ Until the Year AD 1660. David Miller.

Foxe, J. (2007). Fox's book of martyrs: G. Virtue.