Ara Balears in English - Christianity

'Do not touch me'

Joan Mesquida — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:31:11 +0000

“Do not hold me” is the request that Jesus of Nazareth makes to Mary Magdalene, which we can read at the end of the Gospel according to John. It is one of the most captivating and mysterious moments in the entire Bible. Two days after Jesus’ crucifixion, the news of the empty tomb spreads as much among his followers as among his executioners. The death of the Galilean preacher has been extremely cruel. The cross was a Roman torture device meant for enemies of the Empire and a curse for a Jew, to die exposed like a wild beast. The account of Jesus’ Passion is of extreme violence exercised from the most ingrained masculinity. The betrayal of Jesus, the reaction of the followers with the sword, the trial, the mockery and torture, gambling for the tunic with dice... all of it paints a ruthless world in which women are silent witnesses.

The irruption of God

Joan Mesquida — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:30:10 +0000

For many people, Christmas is a cherished family celebration. For Christians, however, it commemorates the birth of Jesus, but the profound significance of this event—the extraordinary intrusion of God into human time—is often overlooked. Humans live marked by the passage of time, as indicated by nature's cycles of days, months, and years. The biblical tradition breaks with this cyclical view and presents a linear narrative in which God promises his people dominion over other nations. But while in biblical stories God addressed the patriarchs or Moses, over the centuries the Hebrews witnessed God's withdrawal, leaving them alone to face the hostility of other peoples. Christianity continues this history of salvation, yet even today many believers perceive God as a distant and inaccessible being. God is not a "someone," as in the time of Moses, but a "what," an idea or a force that can inspire or encourage us. However, we maintain the idea of the linearity of time in history, although instead of leading us to divine glory, we now think more about technical and social progress. The future depends on us, and God, at most, acts as a spectator.

Zweig vs. Calvin

Joan Mesquida — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 17:16:15 +0000

Christianity, the religion that has shaped Western civilization for two millennia, suffered a severe setback a little over five hundred years ago with the Protestant Reformation. In many places, the Reformation was seen as a liberating moment and an affirmation of the value of human conscience, although in others it met with violent reactions. But the Reformation has many shadowy areas, and one of the darkest was the theocratic regime imposed by Calvin in the city of Geneva, brilliantly recounted by Stefan Zweig in his book Castellio vs. Calvin (The Second Periphery, 2025).

Erasmus against war

Miquel Àngel Ballester — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:08:23 +0000

One of the issues that most concerns Erasmus of Rotterdam is war. His reflections on this topic have a timeless interest. One of the most representative sayings of this concern is that "war attracts those who have not experienced it." In this long proverb, he expounds on the origin and evolution of violence since prehistory, the causes of war, contrasts the warrior and the Christian, and strives to demonstrate that the Gospels provide reasons in favor of peace and charity. He also devotes parts of his anti-war discourse to combating the arguments of war apologists. And he does not miss the opportunity to propose some global solutions, such as creating international organizations with the purpose of fostering understanding between peoples, laying the foundations for a peaceful relationship with the Turks, and exercising effective control over the absolute power of monarchs that would prevent unilateral declarations of war.