Whew! So far, this has been a week of close battles unparalleled in Lent Madness history. On Monday Mechtild of Magdeburg defeated Odo of Cluny 52% to 48%. On Tuesday Raymond Nonnatus bested Moses the Black 51% to 49%. And yesterday Augustine of Canterbury snuck past Scholastica 51% to 49%.
This heart-pumping saintly action is enough to make you want to do some yoga. Or deep breathing exercises. Or drink some chamomile tea. Something calming! But instead, the battles just keep coming. Today it's the scrappy Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky taking on the heavyweight Martin Luther. Is an upset in the making? Another tight race? Or will a blowout break the string of hotly contested, halo-busting battles?
Note that yesterday's battle was not without controversy. The following was posted by the Supreme Executive Committee:
The SEC noticed an irregular surge of votes for Scholastica around midnight. Well over 6,000 votes were found to be cast irregularly in an attack using bots around the world. We have removed what we believe to be the correct amount of votes, and will continue to monitor this race. One person, one vote. If you break this rule, your votes will be removed and you will be cast off into the outer darkness of Lent Madness.
We are confident in the final result. But remember, Big Lent is watching.
Joseph Schereschewsky
SIJ Schereschewsky was a cleric, missionary, and renowned translator of the prayer book and Bible. He knew 13 languages, and spent the last twenty years of his life typing out his translations with the fingers he still could move. (Sources vary on whether it was one or two fingers. Either way--that sounds hard.)
First off, his last name is pronounced “Share-es-shev-ski”. Think of Duke men’s basketball’s famous head coach from that OTHER bracket game for reference.
Schereschewsky’s translation of the Bible into Mandarin was so well-done that it became the standard translation that is still in use today. It took him from 1862-1875, so all that time was clearly justified. But he didn’t stop there. He believed that people couldn’t be truly faithful without also being educated, so he founded St. John’s University at Shanghai, and then went to work translating everything also into Wenli--another Chinese dialect. It was the Wenli manuscript that he meticulously typed out using two fingers, after Parkinson’s disease left him entirely paralyzed. The disease had caused him to resign his seat as the bishop of Shanghai, but he was determined that it should not stop his ministry. He produced over 2,000 pages just by sitting in his chair, and hen-pecking.
His contemporary biographer describes him thus: "paralysed in every limb, and with his powers of speech partly gone, sitting for nearly twenty-five years in the same chair, slowly and painfully typing out with two fingers his Mandarin translation of the Old Testament and Easy Wen-li translation of the whole Bible."
Schereschewsky grew up Jewish, and until his conversion, intended to be a rabbi. This affinity for Judaism didn’t disappear after his ordination; while in China, a small group of Kaifeng Jews--a tiny minority of Jews who emigrated to central China from Persia in the Middle Ages, came to visit him. This began a friendship, and Shereschewsky gave their community the Hebrew Scriptures that he translated into Mandarin. The community termed it “The Two-Finger Bible” because of Schereschewsky’s disability. This also contributes to the longevity of his biblical translation. Because he knew Hebrew, and understood midrash and rabbinic ideas, modern scholar Irene Eder notes that his version “can be regarded as the only Chinese Old Testament to reflect not only the traditional Jewish text but to also included elements of the Jewish exegetical tradition.”
Regarding his work, he said, “I have sat in this chair for over twenty years. It seemed very hard at first. But God knew best. He kept me for the work for which I was best fitted.”
Martin Luther
Martin Luther’s life was filled with quirky meanderings. The path of his life bemused even him, “I am the son of a peasant…and the grandson and the great grandson. My father wanted to make me into a burgomaster. He went to Mansfeld and became a miner. I became a baccalaureate and a master. Then I became a monk and put off the brown beret. My father didn’t like it, and then I got into the pope’s hair and married an apostate nun. Who could have read that in the stars?” (Table Talk).
When he discovered that the people living around Wittenberg were not properly schooled in the basics of the faith, he wrote the Small Catechism, proposing this learning regimen “Children should be taught the habit of reciting [the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Our Father] daily... Until they recite them they should be given nothing to eat or drink.”
Luther took his faith and work seriously, but he also loved life: “Tomorrow I have to lecture on the drunkenness of Noah, so I should drink enough this evening to be able to talk about that wickedness as one who knows by experience.”
“Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to.”
And, scholars throughout history have been amused, occasionally appalled, by his scatological humor and insults: “Almost every night when I wake up the devil is there and wants to dispute with me. I have come to this conclusion: When the argument that the Christian is without the law and above the law doesn’t help, I instantly chase him away with a fart.” (Table Talk)
“Perhaps you want me to die of unrelieved boredom while you keep on talking.” (Luther’s Works)
And, some things haven’t changed even 500 years after Luther so pointedly highlighted time-wasting meetings: “If you who are assembled in a council are so frivolous and irresponsible as to waste time and money on unnecessary questions, when it is the business of a council to deal only with the important and necessary matters, we should not only refuse to obey you, but consider you insane or criminals.” (Luther’s Works).
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326 comments on “Joseph Schereschewsky vs. Martin Luther”
ROFL~Go Luther!
How can I not vote for one whose name rhymes with that of Coach K! And like Coach K, Joseph S. experienced success and overcame adversity.
OK, as long as you recall that Coach K. is, like Luther, a battler with devils, especially blue.
Somehow it doesn't seem right that we should talk so much about beer and not about the Luther Bible -- the German translations largely responsible for regularizing the German language -- especially when Luther is up against the language saint. But the funnies are good.
I'll drink to that!
Ditto!
I think there might be a two-fingered typo. Instead of "hen-pecking" he probably was hunt-and-pecking!
Martin Luther - for drinking and farting the devil away!!!!
Is this an Episcopal Plot?
The quotes attributed to Martin are a bit too much for me! Although I have only gotten 1 out of the 5 saints in the Saintly 16, I am casting my vote for Joseph...he labored so long to get the word out in a language people could read and understand. That, my friends, is dedication, not frivolous one bit!
Although Sam is certainly deserving, Martin's view of time wasted discussing minutiae in meetings got me. My peeve as well. Amen to that, Martin.
They are both good, but it is the 500th anniversary if the Reformation, so this year, Luther it is!
Sam S. is very appealing and I'd vote for him if he were up against anyone else. But it's hard to vote against the leading figure of the Reformation in his anniversary year. Without him, the religious denominations that most of us belong to probably wouldn't exist.
Finally an intelligent response! Sad how few people seem to understand Luther's contribution. Maybe Episcopalians are more Catholic than they think they are.
Good point. As an Episcopalian, I know that I'm more Catholic than I think I am.
Love your comment!! Me too!
On an aside though. I voted for saintly Sam. Having had a father who drank more than enough to engage the devil in our home, I found Martin's comments very disturbing.
Am I wrong thinking without Luther daring to translate Scripture into Deutsch, Fr. S would not even Harper thought to translate it into anything else? Isn't Luther the origin of 'Scripture in our own language'? Or do I have him confused with Wycliffe? (Still not sure how I'm voting...)
.'..not even HAVE thought...' Must proofread before iPad runs off with the language!
Nevertheless, the idea of harpering a thought has its appeal!
How do you embed the video directly into the text box? Please explain.
When I copied the link from YouTube, it just appeared.
Thanks.
Lisa Keppeler does! See the comment she posted earlier this morning with a parody of "Lobachevsky."
We certainly have Luther to thank for getting bibles into the hands and minds of the laity. Prior to him, the non-clergy were not trusted with Holy Scripture. His radical views altered the world!
Of course the Church was crying out for reform in Luther's day; for reform in its theology, liturgy, spirituality, and internal politics. There's no doubt about it. But the bitterness and lovelessness in Luther's rhetoric helped to ensure that the reform was accompanied by Christians breaking communion and fellowship with each other. I don't think we should ever honour the breach of fellowship for which Luther was responsible.
Luther claimed that one should sin boldly (so that grace may abound). That is my motto. Had to vote for him.
I'm right there with Luther on the meetings quote! Still, I went with Schereschewsky because of his passion for finishing his translation task and his inclusion of a minority Jewish population in China. May the best saint eek out a victory!
Joseph for his ecumenical heart.
Wow! Luther's humor tipped the scales for me this morning!
I've had a grudge against Martin Luther my whole life, but I keep finding myself obliged to vote for him after learning more about him from the Lent Madness blogs. Maybe Lent Madness can help me get past my prejudices and see what good there was in the man. Thanks.
This friend speaks my mind. Though I haven't yet decided for whom to vote.
With apologies to Tom Lehrer:
One mensch deserves the credit,
one mensch deserves the fame,
and Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky is his name! (two fingers -- Oy!)
To the Supreme Executive Committee: HELP. I accidentally posted several hymns in place of the one for today. Please delete so I can post just the one. Thanks! Diana
I think I took care of this? Just one?
Thank you so much, Tim. Re-posting just ONE hymn and voting just once.
Lisa- WONDERFUL! I've appreciated Tom Lehrer for years, but you really nailed it. Thanks.
Ha ha ha!
I wrote a paper on Lobachevsky when I was in junior high school. Most of what I read about him was intensely boring. Thank you, Tom Lehrer, for amusing me when I was twelve years old, and thank you, Lisa, for reminding me of the song!
Thanks for the Tom Lehrer link. And I believe also that Lehrer's song was, itself, a parody of a Danny Kaye routine.
So it looks like God helped Joseph S turn lemons into lemonade, which apparently Martin Luther would drink after adding a little something to it. Interesting choices.
My favorite attributed to Martin Luther: Sin boldly, but rejoice more boldly still in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And he gave us "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!"
When it comes to Joseph Schereschewsky, one should remember there are actually two saints involved. It took someone, namely his wife, to advance the typewriter row by row and remove and replace the sheets of paper. A Chinese character manual typewriter is not a simple machine to operate.
Joseph Schereschewsky'a wife is an example of enduring love for all clergy wives everywhere.
Great point!
Thank you for your observation, Diane.
Wow. Thanks, Diane, for showing us that Joseph's wife was an indispensable partner in his translation of the scriptures.
I had not expected Lent Madness and the #ThanksForTyping conversation on twitter to collide, but there you have it!
Martin and Lewis make a great comedy team today, but for me it's Just a Saint Named Joe who has stolen my heart. He shared the word in so many ways and so many worlds. He overcame disease, resisted despair, and advanced his own digital ministry. I'd love to see a Golden Halo on this guy, and some giant purple Schereschewsky foam fingers in the Lentorium.
Joseph Schereschewsky, of course.
I am more of a Martin Luther boy myself, but I am glad that you are voting, and I respect your opinion. I am 12.
I protest this travesty!!!!
To the Supreme Executive Committee: HELP. I accidentally posted several hymns in place of the one for today. Please delete so I can post just the one. Thanks! Diana
This is the first time that i was not so much able to vote for someone as i felt the need to vote against Luther. I had to do this based on the fact that Luther was an antisemite. He wrote a number of papers that were full of antisemitism, papers that Hitler later used to justify his "final solution". This is well documented if you do not believe me.
You are absolutely right, Anthony. It is an ongoing grief to me that so many who claim to follow Jesus justify hatred of Jesus' people - and our ancestors in faith.
I agree, Anthony--especially since Schereschewsky was a Jew who converted but still embraced his Jewish heritage--even translating the Hebrew Scriptures for Chinese Jews.
Loved Luther's humor and attitude towards time wasting but really hated his idea that children should not be fed until they learn the catechism. Had to go with Joseph Schereschewsky for his quite and steadfast faithfulness.
I really like Joseph C., and I am somewhat appalled by Martin Luther's quote about children, although perhaps it was in jest like some of the other quotes. However, I don't think Joseph C. would have even been allowed to accomplish his greatest works without Martin Luther breaking the way (translate the bible? The nerve!), so I'm going with Martin.
I HOPE his quote re: children was in jest, along the line of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal."
I agree. The blogger makes Luther seem mean. Had to go with gentle Bishop Sam!
Tyndale, Bede, and others translated the Bible into English long before Luther; and Jerome's Vulgate was a translation too. True, the Church in Luther's time disapproved, but translation was nothing new.
Knowing 13 languages gets my vote for 'Sam.'
Since it is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation which rippled across
Europe and the world my vote went to Martin Luther!
What an ironic matchup: a Jewish convert who treated Jews with respect, whom Luther would have celebrated for his conversion, against an anti-semite. Lots of quotations from Luther in the above description. Here are a few more, written after Luther concluded that treating Jews with compassion wouldn't result in wholesale conversion, and therefore, felt that perhaps "sharp mercy" would work better (quotes edited for brevity, not to distort the message -- full quotations can be found by Googling):
"First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians....
"Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues. Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies....
"Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them....
"Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb....
"Fifth, I advise that safe conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesmen, or the like. Let they stay at home [one presumes, given the second item quoted above, that "home" means a barn or open space with a roof, as their houses are to be razed]....
"Sixth [in which Luther suggests robbing Jews and bribing them to convert], I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. The reason for such a measure is that, as said above, they have no other means of earning a livelihood than usury, and by it they have stolen and robbed from us all they possess. Such money should now be used in no other way than the following: Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred florins, as personal circumstances may suggest. With this he could set himself up in some occupation for the support of his poor wife and children, and the maintenance of the old or feeble. For such evil gains are cursed if they are not put to use with God's blessing in a good and worthy cause."
I was baptized in the Lutheran church, but once I learned of this history I stopped being a fan of Luther. Despite his heroic status, I think he fails to represent Jesus' teachings or example. Schereschewsky, on the other hand, well represents Jesus, and therefore he gets my vote.
As an Italian-Irish Lutheran convert from Catholicism with Jewish ancestors, I'm quite sensitive to the rightful disdain over Luther's anti-semitism, but it should be noted the writings quoted above were in his later life when mental illness likely had set in and he was frustrated that the theology of the Reformation hadn't resulted in jewish converts. This doesn't excuse them, but Luther is the same person who wrote: “…[M]any people are proud with marvelous stupidity when they call the Jews dogs, evildoers, or whatever they like, while they too, and equally, do not realize who or what they are in the sight of God.” In early writings, he advised kindness toward the Jews in that Jesus Christ was born a Jew, but to be fair, his aim was often to convert Jewish believers to Christianity. Martin Luther was a complicated person of his time with opinions evolving and changing throughout his life - not all of them cogent or good. If you can't get past his anti-semitic ideas (similar to those of his contemporaries and a sin of which our entire Christian faith and heritage has been stained with), so be it, but there is much more to this sinner-saint. In the end, I trust God was gracious to him. Compare the United Kingdom, where the persecution of English Jews dated back at least to the Medieval era of King Edward I. He decreed that all Jews in his kingdom must wear a yellow star to identify them in public. All the heads of Jewish households were arrested, many taken to the Tower and executed. Finally, in 1290 King Edward banished all Jews from England (at least he tried). Anti-semitism remained rife in the English church of the Reformation period and beyond. In 1994, the ELCA made a formal apology for our anti-semitic heritage and complicity: http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Declaration_Of_The_ELCA_To_The_Jewish_Community.pdf?_ga=1.246712580.1608936930.1435154425
Thank you for educating me about Martin Luther's earlier writings advocating kindness to Jews, Lou. I'm still going through the comments while I try to decide which candidate to support, and yours is very helpful indeed.
And now in the USA we have a surge of anti-Semitism and a notorious anti-Semite in the White House as an advisor to the president.
I chose Joseph Schereschewsky because he last name is kinda funny but also cool. And I have a cousin named Joseph