Christians: 4 -- Faith and Fear

Series: Christians Series

Duration: 37 min.

Genre: Educational

Year Published: 1976

Creator: Granada Television International

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Examines the dichotomy of medieval life as great art treasures and a strong religious philosophy coexisted with poverty, ignorance, and fear. Presents such examples as extravagantly wealthy feudal and cathedral architecture versus abject peasant poverty; communal expressions of faith demonstrated by building ornate Gothic cathedrals as opposed to singular expressions of faith through pilgrimages; the status afforded shrines housing important holy relics and the unscrupulous methods often employed to obtain them. Directs attention also to other contradictory aspects of medieval religion and philosophy: the need for undergoing penance to avoid the devil, and the purchase of indulgences for the remission of sins; the religious materialism juxtaposed with the natural poverty and simplicity philosophized by the Franciscans; and spiritual obsession with the afterlife due to daily contact with sickness and squalor. Presents works of art, architecture, jeweled caskets housing relics, and tapestries inspired during the medieval era.

Complete Record: First released in England A survey of Christian church history during the Middle Ages. Juxtaposes the great religious faith and architectural and artistic achievements of this period with its abject poverty and ignorance