Reference no: EM133318597
Questions
1. "I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos." - Sir Thomas More What is conscience? How is conscience tied to free will? Should the law allow room for one to act according to his conscience? Is a law just if it does not allow for a freedom of conscience?
2. More argues that it is his full person, his very being, that is being led by his convictions. He must be true to himself as a Catholic man, led by the God-given authority of the Church. Should our understanding of morality (i.e., the moral laws of God) affect our lives in this way? Is morality simply a gesture, or should it become part of our entire being?
3. During the trial, More and Cromwell discuss the nature of More's silence regarding Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn. More ends the exchange, saying, "The world must construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the law."
Could silence be an option for Catholic politicians, or could they be condoning unjust/wrong laws through their silence? Should politicians be silent regarding their personal convictions on various political issues?
4. In 1935, 400 years after More's death, Thomas More was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Why is heconsidered saintly by the Catholic Church? Was it because he went beyond human politics, conforming instead to what he understood as God's truth? Can More rightly be considered a martyr, as he died for this truth?
5. G. K Chesterton wrote in 1929 that "Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years time. He may come to be counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history. For he was above all things historic; he represented at once a type, a turning point and an ultimate destiny.If there had not happened to be that particular man at that particular moment, the whole of history would have been different." Do you agree with Chesterton regarding More's importance in history, and his effect upon today's society?
6. Some consider More a "plaster saint" - the perfect example of blind loyalty to the political authority of the Catholic Church. Others, recognizing that More stood up to the egotistical Henry, admire him for his abilities to play the complex political role of a Catholic politician; his name was even added in 1980 to the Church of England's Calendar of Saints and Heroes.
How might More, as portrayed by Paul Scofield in the film, be considered "saintly" by non-Catholics?
7. In 2000, Pope John Paul II declared More to be the patron of statesman and politicians. Despite the fact the More was responding to the political issues of the 16th century, how might More be an example to politicians today? He considered himself a loyal subject in a monarchy; is his behavior relevant to statesman in other forms of government?
8.One of More's contemporaries, Robert Whittinton, said this of More: "More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning.I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."
Robert Bolt, the author of the original play, and later the film's screen writer, chose the title from Whittinton's description. Do you think it an appropriate description for the saint?
9. The film centers on More's refusal to declare Henry's marriage to Anne as legitimate, "It is not for the Supremacy that you have sought my blood, but because I would not bend to the marriage!" How might one consider the depiction of marriage in the film? Is it ultimately portrayed as something sacred under the law of God, as More argues, or is portrayed as something easily changed according to a legal declaration? How do the married characters contribute to this depiction?
10. In his last conversation with his daughter Meg, Thomas More declares that his position on the Oath of Supremacy is not simply "a matter of reason. Finally, it's a matter of love." How does More, an intellectual saint known for his witticism and great strength of character, act out of love? Is it love that makes a saint? And, ultimately, a trustworthy and sincere politician?