Today in Lent Madness, we will finally answer that age old question: Theologian or Nurse? Okay, there's a lot more to Anselm of Canterbury and Florence Nightingale than these two labels, so you'll just have to read on.
In yesterday's action, Henry Budd left Cecilia singing the blues as the patron saint of music lost in a close battle 53% to 47%.
Shockingly (or not so shockingly if you're a longtime Lent Madness participant), we encountered our first case of voter fraud as 546 votes for Cecilia were removed after the ever-vigilant SEC noticed a discrepancy. It was a youthful prank and said youth has since confessed and been absolved. Frankly, there are worse ways for teens to get into trouble on the internet than voting too many times for a saint in Lent Madness.
However, this will not be tolerated and perpetrators face being cast into the outer darkness of Lent Madness where there will be weeping and gnashing of brackets. Do everyone a favor: vote once. If you're particularly enthusiastic, get all your friends, neighbors, and even your enemies (the ones we're supposed to love anyway) to cast a vote for your favorite saint. Big Lent is watching...
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk and theologian of the medieval Church. Born in the eleventh century in a region of France that is now part of Italy, he entered the Abbey of Bec as a novice at the age of 27. Later, he became abbot and was known for his skillful leadership and his kind, loving discipline toward the monks. He was also known for his very public squabbles with the monarchs of England during his time as the Archbishop of Canterbury, defending the Church’s authority to appoint leaders and manage its own wealth. For his resistance to the English kings, he was exiled twice.
Marrying his Neoplatonic worldview with Aristotelian logic, Anselm is considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Middle Ages. He espoused a philosophy of “faith seeking understanding,” by which he meant people’s love of God inspired them to pursue deeper knowledge of God. Anselm is especially known for two highly influential theological arguments. The first argument—Proslogion—explores the existence of God. Secondly, his treatise Cur Deus Homo irrevocably shaped the development of Christian theology by arguing that Jesus’ crucifixion was necessary to atone for humankind’s sin. Anselm argues that through sin, humans offended God, and God is owed restitution for this offense—but we have nothing with which to make such a payment. Personal acts of atonement will not suffice. Only God can pay off such massive, crushing debt. As God is merciful, atonement is made with the self-sacrifice of the sinless, human, and divine figure of Jesus. Anselm’s theory was criticized by his contemporaries and continues to trouble some theologians, even as it has formed the backbone of much of Christian
theology for a millennium.
Anselm died in 1109 on Spy Wednesday (the Wednesday in Holy Week) and was laid to rest at Canterbury Cathedral. The exact location of his relics today is uncertain—they were removed after a cataclysmic fire in the 1170s. Anselm’s feast day is April 21.
Collect for Anselm of Canterbury
Almighty God, you raised up your servant Anselm to teach the Church of his day to understand its faith in your eternal Being, perfect justice, and saving mercy: Provide your Church in every age with devout and learned scholars and teachers, that we may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Florence Nightingale
Known as “The Lady with the Lamp” for her work as a nurse during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, in 1820 to a well-connected British family. Despite her upper-class background, Nightingale heard a call from God in 1837 to serve and care for others. Nightingale was expected to marry well, produce children, and carry on the family legacy. Instead, she boldly answered the call she heard from God and became the founder of modern nursing practice.
Born out of her experiences of tending the wounded during the Crimean War, Nightingale began documenting the effects of sanitary conditions on wartime injuries. Nightingale is said to have reduced the mortality rate during the war from 42 percent to 2 percent by addressing hand washing, water contamination, and sterilization of surgical materials. These ideals of sanitary care continue to this day in modern healthcare practice.
Nightingale documented her theories on nursing care in numerous publications—the most famous is her treatise, Notes on Nursing. These theories led her to establish the Nightingale School for Nurses at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London (now part of King’s College, London). This began a process of social reform that opened the door for women, providing them with skills that led to careers outside of domestic service work or factory positions. By providing a skilled nursing force, Nightingale improved healthcare disparities in London and implemented workforce healthcare (now occupational and public health nursing practice); she also advocated for hunger relief in India and worked to abolish prostitution laws that targeted women.
Nightingale was raised in the Church of England and was greatly influenced by Wesleyan ideals. Nightingale believed that her faith was best expressed through the care and love of others. A believer in universal reconciliation, Nightingale is said to have comforted one prostitute who was concerned about going to hell. Nightingale said, “Oh, my girl, are you not now more merciful than the God you think you are going to? Yet the real God is far more merciful than any human creature ever was or can ever imagine.”
Collect for Florence Nightingale
Life-giving God, you alone have power over life and death, over health and sickness: Give power, wisdom, and gentleness to those who follow the lead of your servant Florence Nightingale, that they, bearing with them your presence, may not only heal but bless, and shine as lanterns of hope in the darkest hours of pain and fear; through Jesus Christ, the healer of body and soul, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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337 comments on “Anselm of Canterbury vs. Florence Nightingale”
Theology or medicine-medicine or theology? The choice is tough, but I'll go with Florence. As a genealogist, I can't help but think of the many descendants of those in the Crimean War who were saved by Florence's innovative nursing skills. Hopefully some are aware of this miracle, and many are Christians.
You do make it difficult don't you. I love St. Anselm. But I believe the works of Florence makes her worthy of my vote.
Florence was a lovely, hard-working lady who was the bright light of the Crimean War--Britain's Vietnam.
Howsoever, the 2% mortality she is credited with is far beyond unbelievable. Moreover, her influence on the misogynistic male doctors of the era was maybe 2%. Even the work of a male physician, Dr. Joseph Lister, some years later had little impact and it took constant efforts by others to take mortality from sepsis down to under 50%.
While theologically off the mark, i'm not a fan of sin. Healing all the way. Florence!
I cannot vote today. Anselm is one of the main reasons Episcopalians do not have to park our brains at the door to the church, but Florence made such huge strides for women and health science that I cannot choose.
Florence because of what she said to the prostitute, International Women's Day, and reducing the mortality rate during the war by sanitary practices that continue today. Florence (like Constance) would go!
While I have a huge respect for St. Anselm and almost went his way -- (maybe in a different bracket match up) I was touched by reading about Florence. What Florence said to comfort the prostitute that she was aiding, and all her dedication to improving and saving the health of others. She is a wonderful example of Christian charity and devotion.
Florence was also the name of my sweet mother in law, so yet another deal breaker for me.
Have to go with Florence she made a major breakthrough on health and sanitation. In a time when we'll to do women we're told to sit and let the men do the work or if nursing that the doctor(a guy) knew more. Go girl!
*Pendantry Alert*
There is a typo in the intro part of this post.
It reads:
Do everyone a favor: vote once. If you’re particularly enthusiastic, get all your friends, neighbors, and even your enemies (the ones were supposed to love anyway) to cast a vote for your favorite saint. Big Lent is watching…
It should read:
Do everyone a favor: vote once. If you’re particularly enthusiastic, get all your friends, neighbors, and even your enemies (the ones we're supposed to love anyway) to cast a vote for your favorite saint. Big Lent is watching…
I know full well that that typo is fixable! If Big Lent is really watching, Big Lent should take a moment to fix the typo.
were =/= we're
Were is the past tense of was.
We're is the contraction of we are.
#WordsMatter & #ApostropesMatter too!
I see the SEC has seen the error of their typing ways and have deployed the apostrophe to where it belongs.
Florence got my vote for what she has done for the medical/nursing practice and for women in general. She also demonstrates beautifully that one does not have to be a "religious" or member of clergy to fully respond to God's calling. Too few lay saints honoured.
She is (was, and perhaps still is) acting out her baptismal ministry, as we all should. She's a great model for that. It's worth emphasizing that.
These are my thoughts as well. We do not lean on our education and understanding as the basis for our faith. Rather, it adds to my faith to become more educated about what I believe. Anselm, truly one of the saints who have gone before us whose voice echoes down to us through the centuries.
Florence Nightingale is an example of the Gospel in action. Plus, the Florence Nightingale museum in London is utterly fascinating. Go, girl: International Women's Day.
I did not vote for Anselm because I think we are still suffering from his idea that our sin debt was so huge that only God (Jesus) could repay such a debt. People still struggle to get out from under this idea. What a barbaric God he believed in to think that he demanded a blood sacrifice.
I voted for Florence be cause of her contributions to medicine and nursing. Being a nurse, it was a no brainer for me. Go Florence! Go Nursing!
Did you plan Nightingale's Lent Madness debut this year for World Women's Day? This was the toughest contest yet of the year. I finally chose Florence because she was the FIRST person to perform her service. Anselm's contribution was seminal but he was neither the first nor the only one.
I too am deeply disturbed by atonement theory. I cannot vote for the person who launched this on the world, even if his original thoughts have been distorted. It sure doesn't hurt that his opponent is the awesome Florence Nightingale. Her comment to the prostitute about God's mercy clinched it!
Whoa! So many comments today! Anselm is important, and we need thinkers who can try to put into words the beliefs most of us, certainly myself, need faith for, yet they try, and often succeed using philosphy and logic to carify what can be so confusing for me to explain. Yet, how could I deny my vote to Florence who was such a pioneer for women, health, and sanitary conditions. The fact that she did this with love and faith in her heart makes her a saint in my book!
I hated to see these two paired against each other. Their relevance and influence in different ways are both important in Christian living. I had a difficult time in voting but did go for Nightingale. Still I hold Anselm in high esteem.
I voted against Anselm for the many problems I have with his sustitutionary atonement theory. I also admire Florence as a nurse who argued with the doctors and, finally, got them to admit she was right. I'm having surgery later this week and it would not be near so safe without the efforts of Florence Nightingale
As so often it seems the SEC selects the initial matchups to force us to consider contributions to the Church itself as against actions that move society in directions considered consistent with the Gospel.
Life puts us in these positions too.
No, Anselm's most well-known beliefs have caused us trouble for a millenium now. I appreciate his other efforts and I vote this time for the mercy that served the wounded two centuries ago and the practices that continue to save lives today. Florence!
My name is Zoey and I am six. I voted for Florence nightingale because I like how she was rich but chose to do good work and Gods instead by becoming a nurse.
This is a choice? Substitutionary atonement to appease a vengeful God vs. universal reconciliation with a merciful God? Florence gets my vote easily.
We'll said. Thanks.
I voted for Florence. Always wanted to be a nurse. She was one of my childhood heroes. Never made it to nursing; but was a home health aide, so I did get to, in a lesser sense, take care of the sick. She was right out there, helping as Jesus would. I especially loved her reply to the prostitute. I have often thought that, when people talk about being tortured in hell. I'd think, could YOU do that to people? If YOU couldn't, how can God, who loves us with a love far beyond our understanding? Florence Nightengale...a great blessing in this world.
What's not your like about Florence, but I still had to vote for Anselm. His philosophy has been important to our understanding of God, and he was a strong champion of the church in days when secular rukers often tried to interfere.
In honor of my daughter-in-law, Brittany Hilton Marvin, R.N., I humbly vote for Florence Nightingale, "The Lady with the Lamp." Providing Tender Loving Care (TLC), especially at night, is the service of Christ.
I think I recall hearing that Florence N. wasn't voted for inclusion into Episcopal official commemorations several times but I don't remember exactly why. Glad she won today.
This last weekend the keynote speaker at my Diocesan Convention was Chaplain Becca Stevens, the founder of Magdalen House and Thistle Farms in Nashville, Tennessee. Magdalen House offers two years' free housing and support to women who are victims of sex trafficking, and Thistle Farms gives them employment so that they can support themselves after graduating the program.
Given Florence Nightingale's support of London prostitutes, I just had to vote for her.
In honor of Florence, google Thistle Farms and support them.
Thanks for this shout for Thistle Farms, Paul.
I'm going with the Flo........
Both of these holy people are known for promoting understanding - understanding of the Incarnation and understanding of our own bodies and healing. Two things tipped me over to Florence Nightingale (besides that she has the same first name as my grandmother): 1) this being International Women's Day, and 2) her promotion of universal reconciliation, especially to people on their deathbeds. That is true Christian charity.
I may be cast into outer darkness for saying this. But I am troubled by how many people say they are voting for a saintly candidate because she is a woman ... or because she is African American ... or because he is First Nations.
As a woman, I wonder, how would we respond if a white man said he was voting for one of the brackets because the saint was a man? Would we call him sexist?
How do we deal with our biases? Are some biases deemed ok and others not?
I don't know the answer, but some of the comments through this Lent Madness season have made me ponder this question.
Mind you, I'm a bleeding heart liberal. But I am finding some of the biases here troubling.
There is a difference between bias in favor of one's own group, and choosing to favor a marginalized or underrepresented group. The former is personal preference; the latter is structural redress.
This is a good twitter thread that discusses the difference: https://twitter.com/sarahmei/status/838446409003118592
Also, one of the things I like about Lent Madness is that there is such a variety of reasons for people to vote for a saint, from the sublime to the banal, and there is no wrong reason, really. After all, the saints already have their crowns in heaven! So if a white man said he was voting for a saint because he was a white man, well, I'd class that as "voted for the saint I can most identify with" -- nothing wrong with that! 🙂
Oops. I voted twice - but it happened by mistake. (I voted, was out for the evening, came home intending to check whether Anselm had made a last-minute surge in votes, and was surprised to see that my browser opened to the "vote" page instead of showing totals. Had I clicked on the "show totals" button earlier, and never voted at all? So I voted - or tried to - and got flagged.)
I have to go with Florence Nightingale in honor of our current turmoil over health care and in honor of all who are called to the nursing profession. They are all saints in my book. I also have problems with that whole substitutionary atonement thing.
You realize it's the "Day Without Women" events. We have to support a woman on this day! and with the ACA on the chopping block, her relevance is even more important.