Attacks on faith

I was reading about the Hussites the other day, and it struck me that one of the things that seems to have driven the religious conflict was "trying to take the faith away from us."

Never mind the establishment--they were the "money-changers in the temple", and the Hussites threatened their extortion scheme. Of course they were violently angry.

But a lot of ordinary folk became deeply involved.

On the one hand, the Hussites were taking away the rituals and traditions that were still central to many people's lives. Not all the priests were money-hungry, and people could see that.

On the other hand, the rapacious corruption of the religious leaders and of the framework they built was taking the soul out of the religion, and many people felt that loss deeply. They wanted the soul back. And the leaders were making innovative changes: the congregants were now officially banned from receiving the Eucharist in both kinds. So the "rebels" also were standing up for tradition: both the tradition of the spirit of the faith and of the letter of the practice.

It may not surprise the reader to find that my sympathies lie with the losers here. But I think I understand the hostility to them.

I may wait a long time for the canonization of St Huss or St Wycliffe. Unfortunately.