Greece Journal #5: Rome

I made it to Rome and after a day at the Vatican, a day visiting the Colliseum, and the place Paul was put in prison and wrote 2 TIMOTHY, my reaction towards Rome is Simple….. I am sad. Truly, deeply, grievously sad. The idols of Greece, Apollo (sun god) and Athena (goddess of wisdom) mark every turn and painting and statue in the Vatican, and they are plenty. When Rome destroyed Greece they simply took their gods. And, when Michealangelo decided to paint Christ and Mary, the only models he had were that of Apllo and Athena. Therefore, every time you are looking at a mural of Christ it is nothing more than the god Apollo. The worship of the many gods and goddeses of Rome pre-christianity found there place under new names like JESUS and MARY, and although you do not have the pornography lining the streets in Rome you do have something else…..IDOLATRY! I tell you there is a false sense of security in the people of this city because they believe that their belonging to the church is what saves them. I was so MAD when my tour guide showed me a sealed shut door entering into St. Peters. This door is only open every 25 years. Once every 25 years the door is opened (called jubilee) or all those that walk through it they are totally forgiven!!! WHAT THE!!!!! Are you kidding me?? I asked my guide if she believed this. She said she didn’t, but it is tradition!!!!!! A tradition that leads to hell…. I then listened to her jokingly tell some college guys in our group that they could sin all they want and then come back in 16 years and they would be forgiven. How many people are decieved by what thay percieve as the church! How many people in the U.S. are deceived by what they percieve as their own church due to bad doctrines of men! TFAB – we must be strong, we must be rooted in the Word, and we must continue in that which has been graciously entrusted to us. We are so blessed to have these pages at our fingertips. We are so blessed to have the Word that points to the living Word – Jesus CHRIST! May we never take what we have been given in this time in history for granted. If I ever start tweaking the Word, please JUST SHOOT ME! Seriously for the benefit of the body, do a little surgery! Walking through church after church after church gave me this particular fealing that I am walking into what Jesus called the Pharisees, and that is WHITE WASHED TOMBS.. The churches are enormous, the paintings are beautiful, but whats inside just might kill you!

All that said, my reaction to Rome and the church aspect of it – I am sad! Going to the Colliseum and knowing my brothers and sisters were likely torn apart and slaughtered there saddens and sobers me.

Now if my wife was here and we were walking the streets together, listening to the sound of the musicians playing in the streets, and having a romantic dinner in some amazing ristorante…..that would give me a different picture of ROME – “that’s amore”… but instead I am with Glen…Great guy, loved my time with him, but need I say more? =)

This has been a great trip in which I have gleaned many insights, some of which I will share with you when I get back home, and some that will come out over the rest of my life as I teach. I know that I have left out Corinth and Athens, but I will discuss those next Wednesday night. And, I have a cool new insight on somthing in scripture from 2 Timothy 4 that I cannot wait to present. You apologetic guys will love it!

After taking in all of Greece and Rome, I have decided that the fellowship would benefit most from a trip first off to ISRAEL. So for those of you that have been reading this we are looking at doing a trip around this time next year. Brochures and info will be coming out in the upcoming months. I am hoping to do it for under $3,000 a person for 14 total days including flights, hotels, breakfast and dinner. Greece is great but Israel ROCKS!

I miss you TFAB, and am ready to be back home. Brett, who I heard did a great job this past week, will be teaching again on Sunday. I am going to try to get over this nasty bug that I caught and have had for the past week. I look forward to seeing you soon.

GRACE
Loren