The characters are members of the Royal court in the early 16th century, the prominent religious influencers of the time and the court hangers-on wishing to curry favor.
These characters all exhibit a piety in their daily lives that is not common in today’s Sunday-only religious mentality. They wear religious relics and medals, they are inspired by some saint or another, and they pray over daily actions and decisions that have to be made. This reminded me of the daily life that was part the Hebrew characters of the Old Testament. Life was a journey with God walking along side you.
The author also portrays the social and political ambiance of the time. As this aspect of their lives is portrayed I got the sense that the displays of piety and religious fervor were just a crust over an unreal piety; one that did not really convey a true sense of the Christian Spirit.
Under this surface crust of Christian devotional practices lied a concern for social positioning and financial endeavors. They displayed a jealousy of and a pursuit of political power and contrived conniving actions in pursuit their objectives.
This started out as a sort of book review. Maybe I could post it on Amazon. But as I inked these thoughts the question formed in my mind, “Are we really any different today?”.
I think not. Although perhaps our crust is a little thinner.
