Posted on 03/11/2009 1:11:11 AM PDT by Cronos
Swiss prostitute Griselidis Real will keep the company of theologist Jean Calvin and writer Jose Luis Borges in the afterlife
Former Swiss prostitute and human rights activist Griselidis Real was buried next to theologist and religious reformist Jean Calvin at the famous royal cemetery in Geneva, media report on Tuesday.
Griselidis Real died in 2005 and seeing how she gave up on her career of a prostitute, she became famous by establishing a charity institution in the 70s with which she helped male and female prostitutes.
- Writer, painter and prostitute – is her epitaph and the decision on moving her remains next to the founder of the Calvinist Protestant Church did not go by without criticism.
An official explained that the decision to move her grave was a sign of gratitude to Griselidis Real for her charity work and not an accolade for her former profession.
Prostitute and a minister
Opponents of this move have a problem with the founder of the Protestant Calvinist Church resting next to a former prostitute.
Real was born in 1929 in Lausanna, had four children and stopped being a prostitute when she turned 66. She wrote several books on her profession.
Some 200 persons attended the transfer of her remains, while Real also rests in the company of other prominent figures, because Argentinean writer Jose Luis Borges was also buried there, along with childrens` psychologist Jean Piaget and UN Ambassador for Iraq Sergio Viera de Mello, who was assassinated in 2003.
Calvin not only was a theologian... his teachings also helped shape modern capitalism.
It's pretty much put up or shut up at that point, isn't it? Or is that put out...? Most likely, vaginal prolapse forced the retirement.
I’ve not read that before — please could you elaborate — I’d like to know more about that.
Max Weber wrote 1920 a book on Calvins influence on capitalism. The entire book is aviable online for free: Max Weber: The Protestan Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
“One of the cornerstones of Calvinism is that achieving earthly wealth is a sign of ones salvation”
I’ve not heard that about Calvin’s thinking before. Does that mean he is the progenitor of the “prosperity gospel”?
Could be put that way. Earthly success and material wealth were indicators of salvation. Little surprise that this message found a great audience among the manufacturing middle-class and traders in France (Huegenottes) and the Low countries.
I was going to write, “Was she an unrepentant Prostitute, or a REFORMED Prostitute?” Then I realized all the Calvinists would think I was making a funny.
Yeah, I would think that’s pretty much retirement age. Which makes me also wonder whether her “charity” wasn’t in reality closer to a retirement plan.
“Swiss prostitute Griselidis Real will keep the company of theologist Jean Calvin and writer Jose Luis Borges in the afterlife.”
Clever opening but likely inaccurate.
Strange. He was a clever man. You would have thought he would have realised it was the theological equivalent of a pile of donkey droppings.
LOL!
So Calvin was the first prosperity preacher?
Sorry, but unless you’ve phrased this abominably poorly, this makes me think far less of him, not more of him. And it’s quite a reach from glorifying acquisitiveness to saying he founded capitalism.
There’s always a tension as to whether capitalism refers to free markets or plutocracy; take care your wording doesn’t malign Calvin and free markets in one breath.
There’s always a tension as to whether capitalism refers to free markets or plutocracy; take care your wording doesn’t malign Calvin and free markets in one breath.
As both a Protestant (though not Calvinist) and Capitalist I speak of both with honor.
As a Calvinist, I’m thinking she’s a pretty good example of Unconditional Election.
Calvinism and Reformed Protestantism frown very heavily on laziness and idleness for Biblical and practical reasons. People who are sitting around with nothing to do are much more likely to get into trouble than those who are engaged in a useful activity. This mindset may be a reason why the Puritan colonies quickly thrived while government run colonies and colonies filled with “get rich quick” schemers struggled.
Financial independance and stability are seen by Calvinists as signs of an individual’s work ethic. A financially stable man is a hard working man. A poor man is a lazy man. It is understood that these are generalizations, and Calvinists accept that there are other factors at play.
Hard work is considered a virtue in and of itself. To the Calvinist, acquiring a lot of material wealth is discouraged. Materialism is not a Protestant virtue (unfortunately too many Protestants missed that lesson in Sunday School). Being productive is the point; not having the latest and greatest toys (remember that Reformed Protestants traditionally are rather austere- think of the Amish as extreme examples).
Excellent points.
I would suggest though that the idea that “A financially stable man is a hard working man and a poor man is a lazy man, but it is understood that these are generalizations, and other factors at play.” is one that needs to be emphasised more though. This properity gospel nonsense is incredibly damaging, both to individuals and to institutions.
Calvin does not frown on great wealth, but warns of the danger of worshipping only money and abandoning God. Material wealth is good but must not replace God in man’s heart.
Some comments on Calvin and Wealth:
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/calvin-and-wealth/
I shouldn’t’ve used the word “founded”; it gives the sense of a singular and completed action. But what makes you think that previously regarded material success as religiously unacceptable? To the contrary, Catholicism hailed those whose wise rule promoted wealth for their great actions funding the defense of civilization against the Muslim onslaught, as patrons of the church and of the arts, as fostering a healthy, well-fed, militarily capable and loyal citzenry... The church saw all these as vital to a successful civilization, so highly regarded the industriousness that made them possible.
As Luther was scorning them for wealth and decadence, you’d have Calvin scorning them for being hostile to commercial success? I think, rather, the core of the notion of the “Protestant work ethic” was based on priorities:
Previous to the mini ice age, the Muslim onslaught, the plague, etc. (I’ll let historians work out which were the causes and the effects), Catholicism had achieved a fairly stable wealth and population in Europe. The wealth was meager, but basic needs were far better than recognized by those on the other side of the horrors of plague and Muslim invasions. Religious festivals were so frequent in many places that people worked an average of only four days per week.
The decline of this order brought horrors: Lifespans collapsed from 50 years to 30 years, and workweeks in industrial conditions became horrific. The bravery of early colonists was as much desperation that there had to be a better way of life. Meanwhile, the extravagance of kings, both Catholic and Protestant, exploded.
Again, I blame this neither on Catholic nor Protestant; but I give glory to God for America. Sheltered from the greatest excesses of this era, she solved first the political problem (through Democracy), then the economic problem (through Ford’s genius that a working class that can buy products will provide a market for the owning class to sell them to).
You think she was among the elect?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.