Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 3) - V - The shows

Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 3) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read 'The shows'.

My summary
Today Tertullian condemns the Roman circus.

Firstly he addresses the Christian argument that because the circus is not specifically condemned in the Bible it isn't a problem for a Christian to attend.

Then Tertullian's primary point is that the games are strongly associated with idols.

And as if that wasn't sufficient, Tertullian gives further reasons why the circus is wrong, including:
(i) the fact that passionate excitement is encouraged;
(ii) the immodesty of acts;
(iii) the cruel and fierce nature of events;
(iv) the poor company you must be a part of in the crowd;
(v) the hypocrisy associated with acting;
(vi) the persecution of Christians often occurs.

What grabbed me
I found it interesting that early Christians used the argument that if something is not explicitly forbidden in Scripture it must be permitted: 'Fortified by this knowledge against heathen views, let us rather turn to the unworthy reasonings of our own people; for the faith of some, either too simple or too scrupulous, demands direct authority from Scripture for giving up the shows, and holds out that the matter is a doubtful one, because such abstinence is not clearly and in words imposed upon God’s servants. Well, we never find it expressed with the same precision, “Thou shalt not enter circus or theatre, thou shalt not look on combat or show;” as it is plainly laid down, “Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not worship an idol; thou shalt not commit adultery or fraud.”But we find that that first word of David bears on this very sort of thing:  “Blessed,” he says, “is the man who has not gone into the assembly of the impious, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scorners.” Though he seems to have predicted beforehand of that just man, that he took no part in the meetings and deliberations of the Jews, taking counsel about the slaying of our Lord, yet divine Scripture has ever far-reaching applications: after the immediate sense has been exhausted, in all directions it fortifies the practice of the religious life, so that here also you have an utterance which is not far from a plain interdicting of the shows.'

People still use the same kind of argument today for many unfruitful activities.

But Scripture provides sufficient principles for us to carefully weigh every behaviour we may indulge in.

Next week's reading
Read 'The Chaplet' and 'To Scapula'.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.