In Chapter 11 we begin to enter into some of the thornier aspects of Julian's thought. Again, one of the reasons I'm doing this series is because we tend to dip into Julian to grab the parts of her Revelations that suit us. This is especially true among progressive Christians and spiritual-but-not-religious types. I've already pointed out one place where Julian doesn't sit well with many of her contemporary readers: her fixation upon, and absorption with, the gruesome and bloody aspects of Jesus' crucifixion. Here in Chapter 11 of the Revelations we encounter another aspect of Julian's theology that might chafe a bit.
This concerns Julian's view of God's providential ordering and stewarding of the world.
As Julian says right at the start of Chapter 11: "I saw that He is in al things." A bit further on she elaborates: "For I saw treuly that God doth al thing be it never so litil. And I saw truly that nothing is done be happe, ne be aventure, but al thing be the foreseing wisedome of God." My translation: "For I saw truly that God does all things, be it ever so little. And I saw truly that nothing is done by chance or accident, but all things are by the foreseeing wisdom of God."
You can see, I expect, some Calvinistic clouds rumbling on the horizon.
Julian sees that God is in all things. More than that, nothing in this world happens by chance or accident. Everything that exists and happens is due to the wisdom and foreknowledge of God. This insight, as we'll come to see, is deeply consoling to Julian. It is the theological foundation of her "al shall be wele" optimism. And yet, as I'm sure you're aware, such a view of providence has a few problems.
For Julian, the most acute problem is the question she raises at the start of Chapter 11, and it is the issue she will wrestle with throughout the rest of her showings. Specifically, right after she confesses that God is in all things, Julian asks: "What is synne?"
If God is in all things, and all things come about through God's providence, then where does sin come from? What is sin? Much of Julian's Revelations will be taken up with trying to answer that question. It's very similar to the struggle Augustine described in his Confessions regarding the origin of evil if God created everything good.
"Se I am God; se I am in al thing; se I doe al thyng; se I left never myne hands of myn werks, ne never shall withoute ende; se I lede al thing to the end I ordeynd it to fro withoute beginnyng be the same might, wisdam, and love that I made it. How should anything be amysse?"
"See, I am God. See, I am in all things. See, I do all things. See, I never lift my hand from my works, and never shall without end. See, I lead all things to the end I ordained it from without beginning by the same might, wisdom, and love that I made it. How can anything be amiss?"
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