Preparing Christianity for the barbarian winter

Faith & Reason in the Barbarian Winter

by David Foote

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480-524), best known for his Consolation of Philosophy, is one of the most fascinating and puzzling figures from Late Antiquity. He was born in that time of transition in Western Europe that brought an end to the Roman Empire and saw the rise of the barbarian successor states, which have ruled the western world to this day. He died as one of that period’s most celebrated victims. Put to death on October 23, 524 by Theodoric, the Arian king of the Ostrogoths, Boethius is considered a martyr in the liturgy of the church of Pavia. And yet there has been a strong tradition in modern scholarship that has viewed him as a thinly Christianized member of the Roman elite who reverted to paganism at the end of his life. What does such a seemingly ambiguous voice have to say to us? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Let us begin with a brief look at Boethius and the troubled times in which he lived.
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For us, who live on the other side of the modern age, with the unpleasant aftertaste of Enlightenment “rational religion” still lingering, Boethius could make us a bit uncomfortable, and understandably so.  But the winds have changed. The “Age of Reason” has passed; Hellenistic wisdom is all but lost. With new forms of political expediency and irrationalism looming on the horizon, it may be time, once again, to attend to the rational substructure of Christianity before winter catches us by surprise.