@badbede@deacon.social
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badbede

@[email protected]

The Venerable Bede was probably the most learned person in England while alive ... I'm not him. ;-)

I serve as a volunteer pastor in a non-denominational, charismatic church in Bellevue, Washington. I'm very much boringly orthodox in my theology; small-c catholic.

I love church history, Corrie Ten Boom, 90s Hillsongs, Acts is probably my favorite book of the Bible, and I think 5-point Calvinism is super weird.

I'm married with three kids and raise a flock of chickens.

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badbede, to random
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One of my favorite historical people is Matteo Ricci. He joined the Jesuits at a young age and spent several years in Goa in India before traveling to his intended destination of Macau.

Upon his arrival, the Catholic mission in China had limited success. There were few converts and the emperor did not allow the missionaries inland.

Unlike his colleagues, Ricci spent time studying the language and culture of China. He became an expert in the Chinese classics. 1/x

badbede,
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He adopted the persona of a Chinese scholar, all the way down to the flowing beard and robes. He won acclaim among Chinese intellectuals for introducing Western scientific ideas, including more accurate astronomical models and translating works such as Euclid's Elements to Chinese. He could predict solar eclipses! He created the first world map in Chinese. He also taught the "memory palace" technique, which no doubt helped him organize his vast knowledge. 2/x

badbede,
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Ricci's goal in all of this was to meet the Chinese people on their own terms. He used Confucian concepts and referred to the Christian God as 天主 (Lord of Heaven), a term and concept that they already recognized from their earliest history. It very much reminds me of Paul's approach in the Aeropagus where Paul quoted Greek poets and said: "What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you." 3/x

badbede,
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Eventually, Ricci was invited to serve the emperor in the Forbidden City where he found more converts to the faith. He died at age 57 and was buried with respect.

His mission in China wasn't easy, either. He faced many setbacks and opposition from both the Chinese authorities and his own Jesuit order. He was physically in danger many times.

I leave you with this great article on Ricci's scientific contributions to Chinese knowledge: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/matteo-ricci-and-astronomy/

4/4

badbede,
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@jameshowell Glad you enjoyed it! If I do a similar write-up, I'll be sure to add more hashtags. Thinking about one on Cleon, the original demagogue from ancient Athens.

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