Pastor’s Blog

Philosophy

New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy, by Robert J. Spitzer

The Physics of Immortality, Frank J. Tipler

Religion/Spirituality

Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom

Jesus Wept: When Faith and Depression Meet, by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton

Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches, Milfred Minatrea

A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope, by Peter L. Steinke

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard J. Foster

The Naked Now, by Richard Rohr

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Richard Rohr

Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, by William Dalrymple

Guide for Grief: Help in Surviving the Stages of Grief and Bereavement After Loss, by Rodger Murchison

Fiction

The Book of Sorrows, by Walter Wangerin

The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

Poetry

The Back Chamber, by Donald Hall

Leadership

The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller

Ecology

The View From Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, by Carl Safina

Drifting Into Darien, by Janisse Ray

Miscellaneous Non-Fiction

Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky

Harlan Hubbard, by Wendell Berry

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Travels in Siberia, by Ian Frazier

Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan – and the Path to Victory, by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer

Last weekend Amy and I did something that was good for our marriage and good for our souls. We were having an early lunch together right after yoga class and I reminded her that I did not have any commitments that day or the next. Furthermore Aaron would be away at the church’s Jr-Sr. retreat so we had two days to ourselves. After a bit of exchanging comments like, “I don’t know, what do you want to do,” we decided to swing by the house, hastily pack a bag, and head up to the North Georgia mountains and spend the night in a cabin – all without making any kind of reservations. Not only did we find a delightful cabin, but we found a music venue in Dahlonega that had as their special guests a guitar duo we had heard on NPR this past fall (Storyhill, in case you are curious. You listen to their music on www.storyhill.com ).  

It was not a complicated weekend. The music venue was a small restaurant that seated maybe fifty people all to listen to two guys with two guitars sing into two microphones. The cabin was sparse, rustic, but cozy and warm overlooking a creek in the mountains. We did a bit of shopping, but spent very little money on the pottery, fudge, and beef jerky we brought home. We both agreed it was one of the best weekends we have enjoyed together in a long, long time.

It is amazing how often the simple things are also the best things. Yet just as often we tend to enslave ourselves with the burdens of complexity. In Ecclesiastes 7:29 we read: “This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” (Good News Translation)

One of the most tangible ways we add to our burdens is through our possessions: we either want more or are laboring to protect what we have or are deprived and stand in need or want. Do you own your possessions or do your possession own you?

Simplicity has been on my mind lately, and not just because I am planning to preach on it this Sunday as one of our New Year’s resolutions to “Live More Simply.” According to Richard Foster, there are at least three ways Christians are to practice an inner attitude of simplicity: 1)to receive what we have as a gift from God; 2) to know that it is God’s business, and not ours, to care for what we have; and 3) to have our goods available to others. (Celebration of Discipline, pp. 88-89)

More and more I am noticing I have cluttered up my life, oftentimes with stuff – books, trinkets, gadgets, and toys. It is not that my stuff is bad, but that most of my stuff have become symbols of unnecessary burdens and distractions. Furthermore we need more space just to house our stuff – how crazy is that? No, I may not be liquidating and divesting all my things anytime soon, but I am looking more and more of what I need to do (or not do) so that I can live closer to the earth and closer to the ones I love without distractions and things getting in the way.

More important than anything else you or I do, however, is to heed the words of Jesus: “Seek first the kingdom of God…and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Matthew 6:33) May we seek together, and I am…

Simply yours,

Greg

Emerging out of a green tunnel of mountain laurel along the AT

Most every year, following Christmas Day, I try to take a few days and backpack up in the mountains of North Georgia or North Carolina. I admit that it is, weather-wise, somewhat of a gamble. In years past I have found myself trudging through snow and generally frozen to the bone. Other times I find those last days of the year unseasonably warm. This year was a bit normal I suppose. Along with a friend, I trudged through some light snowfall, a little rain, and through a lot of clouds. Still, a bad day in the mountains is a good day overall. On our last night of the hike was were forced to dine inside our tents while rain sputtered outside. The fear of bears looking for food in my sleeping bag was sublimated by my wanting to stay dry and reasonably warm. A rising sun (and no bears) greeted us the next morning and on New Year’s Eve I emerged from the mountains – a bit grimy and, shall we say, smelling a bit woodsy – and joined my wife as we heralded in the new year with dear friends.

A New Year…a clean slate…an opportunity to do something new…or start over again. On the one hand it is just another day on the calendar. Some of you may not have had any time off in the last week or so, and so the transitions means little. Yet the days are indeed getting longer, and like a blank canvas they stretch before us waiting our creative marks.

We mistakenly assume that Christmas marks the end of the holidays and soon thereafter it is get back to routines, back to work, back to the same old, same old. Most of us by now have already taken down all the directions and the boxes are back in the attic to keep silent vigil through the long months of winter, spring, summer and fall.

Christmastide – the season many Christians around the world are still observing – is about beginnings, not endings. Not only is it the beginning of the year for the Church, it is a new beginning for each life.

What will you do with this fresh start before you? How will you seek to live more deeply, be more mindful, love more authentically? Christ has come not just in history, but comes to each of us so that we may walk more closely with God and more lovingly with our neighbor.

There is more story to tell. The year before us awaits our footprints as we trek through 2012. May Christ accompany you on the journey, through whatever may come your way.

 Greg

There are plenty of places where I am completely out of my element: department stores, especially the cosmetic section; a golf course, any golf course; and watching an episode of “Glee” on television. I do not pretend to be adept in any and all environments. Barns, however, I know about. I was practically, much to the chagrin of my beloved wife and other refined folk, raised in a barn. The dairy barn of my childhood was unbearably hot in the summer, with the body heat of twenty cows mixed in with the stifling air perfumed with grain, dust, and goodness knows what else. In the wintertime it could be equally miserable. Often cold and wet, the only source of warmth was a small gas heater that thawed our wet hands in between milkings. On particularly bitter days the end of a cow’s tail could provide an uncomfortable swat if the dangling mud and manure was frozen. Nonetheless the barn was more or less home for a good portion of my childhood and it was in the barn that we shared stories, memories and passed along wisdom.

A stable is a more polite word for barn, but it is basically the same thing: housing for livestock. Even the cleanest of stables are nothing more than a barn filled with the sights, sounds and, yes, smells of animals.

Quite an amazing beginning for the birth of God, don’t you think? Over the centuries we have domesticated our stables and imagined them as quaint Italian villas along a hillside, forgetting or not really considering that it was just a barn. Perhaps we have overlooked the fact that stable is not actually mentioned in the birth narrative of Jesus – not once. All we have to go on is that Jesus was placed in a manger. In fact the Gospel of Luke mentions this three times, not wanting us to miss the point. Of course mangers were not in living rooms or inns, but in barns. When Luke tells us that God incarnate was placed in a manger, he reminds the reader, “because there was no room in the inn.” (2:7b)

God is not always where you think, because too, too often we do not have room either. We crowd God out with our own proclivities and biasness. Smug self-assurances masquerade our insecurities all the while not realizing God’s blessing is somewhere else. The Gospel gives us this simple little statement about there being no room in the inn and it became a symbol for Luke; a theme. Luke takes this one line, “There is no room in the inn,” and writes how this phrase was recurrent throughout Jesus’ ministry.

There was no room for Jesus in the economic world. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:25

There was no room for Jesus in the legal and religious realm. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2

There was no room for Jesus in ordered society. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. Luke 23:24

Making room for the Holy is, I believe, a lifelong quest. We do not just emerge from the baptismal waters and say, “Well I have arrived!” Just when we think we have constructed an abode for the divine we realize our mangers are too small and God is on the move and the inn is never going to hold it all.  

We are also about the task of making room for others, which is not easy either. Like a crowded elevator that opens up for more passengers to squeeze in we wonder, is there room for one more?

If we are not careful we may squeeze others out, and like the caricature we hold of the crotchety old innkeeper, we snap, “no room!” I see those who cannot find room nearly every day. I walk by them, step over them and pretend to look the other way. I am not just talking about homeless. I am talking anyone who feels like they do not belong – the hopeless, the friendless, the seeker and searcher.

Our calling – I contend our very purpose – as those who have come to the stable and gathered round the manger is to make room for one more. It’s a crowded stable, but there is always room for one more in God’s Holy Gathering.

May your home, your barn, your manger always have room for others, and thanks be to the Lord, that Christ has made room for you and me.

 Greg

How have your “Holidays and Holy Days” gone so far? For me they officially started with the annual Jr.-Sr. Backpacking Trip (which has now been dubbed “Back to the Wild”). It was a great walk in the woods for a few days and the only incidents encountered were a few tents that leaked. Still, everyone in the group maintained a great attitude and I returned with the same number of campers I left with.

There was one casualty. On the first day of hiking my hands were starting to swell a bit, which is not unusual given the amount of sodium ingested in a typical meal around the campfire, and so I slid my wedding band off and put it in my pocket. Later that evening at Betty Creek Gap where we were setting up our tents for the night I reached in my pocket to retrieve the ring. You guessed it…gone. There is probably little need to elaborate further. Suffice it to say my wedding ring appears to be lost forever. This was the original ring Amy placed on my finger over 23 years ago and outside of occasional events like this hiking trip, I have never had the need to take it off, even briefly.

Amy was understanding, even sympathetic towards me. She knows how sentimental I am. I can replace the ring with another ring that will look like it, but it will not be the same ring. It is just a symbol, I know, but it is an important symbol of a promise that I am to keep until death. For years I could look down at my left hand and have this modest reminder of who I belong to. Now all I have left on my hand is a worn indention around my ring finger where the ring once rested. My wedding band, now gone, has still marked me for Amy.

All of life we are marked by other people, other events, and other seasons. This season of Advent is a time of holy marking, but sometimes even that gets “lost in the wilderness.” Here are a few suggestions towards marking Advent in your days and weeks leading up to Christmas and consecrate them over to God with thanksgiving.

• Embrace the Crowds – Instead of dreading shopping and fighting crowds and traffic, say a prayer of thanks that you are surrounded by so many for such a common cause. Each one is a reason for Jesus. Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them…”
• Remember and Give Thanks Use your decorations as windows of memories and spend some time this month recalling a favorite recollection and say a prayer of thanks. Jacob did this with a rock that he called “Bethel.” (Gen 28)
• Enjoy your food. Ecclesiastes 3:13 “…moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” There will be plenty of time to diet, in the meantime be grateful and mindful.
• Look for the Good News and Tell it! Of course there is bad news, but bad news is not the only news or the last news so celebrate the good news. Luke 2:10 “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
• Laugh with Others and at Yourself There is a reason we greet one another with “Merry Christmas.” Laugh at the imperfections and remember that nobody has the perfect Christmas.

My wedding band is long gone and it will be replaced. In the meantime I have this marking that reminds me of the promises I made years ago where I said, I do. Well, I still do. Mark this season in such away that when the boxes are put back up in the attic, there is a lasting impression that will see you into the New Year.

Peace on earth and peace to you,

Not so many years ago when my boys were toddlers the church I was serving as pastor was very close to our home, which happened to be the church’s parsonage. Most everyday I would go home for lunch with Amy and the boys. These were very simple years of ministry. Neither the church nor my schedule was unduly demanding and our routines as a family mirrored the same simplicity. More than once when I would push away from the table after lunch head back to the church, one or both of my sons would grab my leg and start crying asking me to not leave. They would rather have me at home all day, but I knew (or I thought) that was just unreasonable. I still remember clearly seeing them stand behind the glass door at the back porch crying and waving as I was pulling out of the driveway. “For goodness sake,” I thought, “I will be home in just a few hours.”

I thought about this image as I was leaving Young Harris College last weekend. Amy and I enjoyed a beautiful time with our oldest son for “Family Weekend.” We met his professors, saw his dorm room (no comment), and met his many friends. While I know he was glad to see us, we could tell after a day or so that we were starting to get in his way. Right after Sunday lunch we were wrapping up our weekend together and saying our goodbyes. By the time we were driving off the college campus, my oldest had already turned his back and was walking with his friends to his future.

“For everything there is a season…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Today as I write this article it is my youngest son’s birthday – 17 years old. He cannot be that old, I am thinking to myself, which is just another way of saying “I cannot be old enough that my youngest son is now 17.” For goodness sakes, I remember clearly when I was 17. While he still has well over a year before he too walks away from home to the future waiting for him, I am seeing, like leaves starting to change in the fall, his own turning. Long gone are the days when I had sons begging me to stay home for the afternoon. I guess now is the time we should cue the song, “Cats in the Cradle.”

“For everything there is a season…” This is life, right? Things, people, and places come and go. Blessed is the life that goes through the changing seasons with loved ones who are also on this same pilgrimage. Everything and everyone is part of this movement of change. The strength of the church is not that it is an unmovable rock, but that we are founded about God’s unchanging love in our ever-changing lives. In times of cataclysmic upheaval and in times of gentle transitions we still have the same thirst and longing to know: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

We are always changing and even how we see and relate with God changes. We mature, gain life experiences, confront disappointments, and discard things that not longer work. While God remains constant, God is nonetheless relating in ever-changing ways; “…they are new every morning…” I find great comfort that as this globe keeps turning and the stars keep spinning and those whom I love the most grow up and grow old, there is an abiding, steadfast Love that will not let me go.

These are some of the things I think about sitting on my back porch to the world.  Amen.

Our wake-up call roused us at 3 AM in order to have time for a cup of coffee before boarding our bus for one final journey – to the airport and then home! We left Athens around 7 AM and landed three hours later in Paris for what was suppose to be a four hour layover. Unfortunately the airline moved us all to a later flight and our layover was extended for another three and half hours. The good news is that we had a day in Paris. The bad news is that we could not leave the airport. We consoled ourselves with the reality that a good flight is one that will get us home safely. Indeed we arrived back at FBC Augusta around 12:40 AM and by 1:30 AM I was in my own bed fast asleep.

Milton Martin atop Mars Hill where Paul preached a sermon based on an idol to "an unknown god." (Acts 17:23)

Our journey is complete but our fond memories will continue to bloom as we reflect on this great experience. We followed Paul through a beautiful land. His message then and now continues to transform generations of followers of Jesus. Our guide reminded us that during the period of pagans, Greece was defined by its wisdom. Christianity introduced the time of love. May they define our footsteps as well.

The remains of the synagogue in Corinth where Paul spoke

As you readers know one of our stops was in Ephesus. It was there that Paul penned the following words: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God– what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

The ruins of Ephesus, with the theater where Paul was tried and expelled from the city

 Grace and Peace,

Greg

Before I get to Day 12 let me say a few concluding words about Day 11. We headed for a “late” lunch at 2 pm. I believe I have mentioned before but Greeks eat both their lunch and supper much later than we do. In fact, it is fairly common for the traditional suppertime to be around 9 pm. Our drive back to Athens was a good two hours and so by the time we arrived most of us were good and tired. There was some time to jump in a very chilly pool and then freshen up for an evening in Athens.

We had arranged a supper at a family diner that provided live folk entertainment, complete with a band, dancers and singers. The meal included dishes of veal, feta, and stuffed peppers. Of course what was most memorable was the entire group laughing, clapping, dancing (well some of us) and shouting “Opa!” at every opportunity. We were back at our hotels by 11:30 pm, and this writer/tour guide/pastor was pooped!

Day 12

This morning we were out for a final day of a sightseeing tour of Athens including the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Our stop at Mars Hill where Paul addressed his followers was most memorable. Aeropagus in Greek or Mars Hill as called by the Romans is a bare marble hill next to the acropolis in Athens. Acts 17:15-18

In Paul’s day Epicurean Philosophy was known among the thinkers of Athens. Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) founded one of the major philosophies of ancient Greece. The Epicureans originally taught that the supreme good was happiness. By Paul’s time, however, this philosophy had degenerates into a more sensual system of thought. For an Epicurean death was final. There would be no judgment, no after-life, just nothing. You can see it is not much of a leap to conclude that one’s whole purpose is to be happy while you can.

Stoic Philosophy or stoicism – Founded in Athens by Zeno in early 3^rd century. In Stoic philosophy, it was taught that people should live in accord with nature, recognize their own self‑sufficiency and independence. The cosmos was determined but humankind had a fee will. The origins of Stoicism were pantheism. How one believed was less important as how one behaved and so ones political and social life needed to be as orderly as the cosmos.

At its heart, both beliefs excluded a personal, interactive God. The gods, so the thinking went, just really don’t care and furthermore are not going to get involved. The only thing for us to do is to come up with ways to survive.

All this was happening on a place the Romans would call Mars Hill and the Greeks would call Aeropagus.

But Paul saw something else: an altar whose inscription read, To an Unknown God. Instead of condemning their idolatry Paul used it as a way to relate.

We then made our way to and up the Acropolis and toured the ruins including the famous Parthenon. What a site.

We visited Phaleron Bay, where every ship that arrived into Athens anchored, including those that carried Paul to and from Athens.

 Tonight we enjoyed one final meal in Athens together at a local Taverna in the Plaka out underneath the stars and among the many vendors that give Athens its character. Our footsteps are finally coming to an end and Greece and we will be up at 3 am to catch our flight home! What a lovely thought.

I finally have internet access! How did the world get along so long without it? Anyway, we have had a long day today and it is now 11:31 PM in Athens. Nonetheless, below is an update of our last several days. Sorry there are no pictures. I will have to add them later.

Day 7

For the next four days we are out to sea and visiting some of the many islands that are part of Greece. Our ship is modest compared to most cruise line with just over a thousand passengers. Like everywhere else we have traveled there is plenty to eat, although there are a few in our group – including yours truly – who still smuggle fruits, rolls and muffins in our backpacks, just in case.

We left our dock shortly after 11 am and traveled for about seven hours before reaching the beautiful island of Mykonos. Here I must admit is a place in Greece that as far as I can tell Paul, nor any of the other apostles ever traveled. Too bad, because this is one beautiful place. Narrow streets filled with shops of every variety. Making our way into the little town there were several little restaurants that specialize in all sorts of fish products, especially octopus. Since the food on the ship is covered, I am too cheap to eat off of the boat. Too bad beause grilled octopus looks good. We will have to try that when we get home.

Nighttime came quickly and thankfully our bunks (or is it perch) were a comfortable respite for the evening.

Day 8

We awoke for breakfast near 5:45 AM ready for our morning in Ephesus, Turkey. By seven AM we were off and running (well, walking) in the footsteps of Paul once again. This was probably one of the most impressive of ancient ruins as it relates to Paul (and John the Apostle). We viewed the remains of markets, houses, latrines and we read in Acts 18-20 that Paul was taken to the Great Amphitheater where he was arrested and cast out of the city. While in Ephesus Paul is thought to have authored several of the epistles in the New Testament including 2 Corinthians and Galatians.

Ephesus was part of Paul’s second missionary tour and we read about Ephesus in Acts 18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:32; 16:8; The Epistle to Ephesians; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:18; 4:12; Revelation 1:11; Revelation 2:1.

Of course we recognize Ephesus in the Bible as the recipient of Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians or more colloquially “The Book of Ephesians.” This letter may not be specifically for the church in this city, but a general letter to many churches. Part of its purpose was to guide the new believers into mature converts.

Ephesians reminds us that while we may think of the church in many ways – a place of brick and mortar, a country club, a members only society – it is essentially the body of Christ.

Additionally this ancient city is home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but today is only a single Roman column.

Ephesus is also a sacred site not just because of Paul, but also John the Evangelist and Mary. Here John was arrested during the persecution of Christians by the had of the Roman emperor Domitian and around 95 AD he was banished to the remote island of Patmos where he lived until his reprieve two years later.

By 11:30 we were back on the ship and within 30 minutes were heading to our next stop, Patmos. Of course most of us recognize Patmos as the island as the site of the apocalyptic Revelations of John (referred to by some as the Evangelist, the Divine, or simply the apostle).

Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Today A small island with a population of about 2,500, Patmos has managed to remain one of the least touristy of the Greek islands. The Monastery of St. John is nearby Cave of the Apocalypse, where the revelations took place. Our guide throughout Greece remarked that Patmos is still an island of near-exile, especially during the year when it is not tourism season.

The Monastery was established in the 11^th century and within its wall are frescoes that date back several hundred years. The walk to the monastery was a winding labyrinth of paving stones and very tight corners. The nearby cave was quite simple, with markings of where John kneeled, prayed and even rested. While no one knows for sure if John actually occupied the cave (this is the only place on the entire island that tradition points to) we know that this island was the location for John’s apocalyptic revelations. John also spent much time in Ephesus which was probably where many of his other writings took place, including the Gospel of John, and 1,2 and 3^rd John.

While the book of Revelation is, I admit, complex, mysterious, and bizarre, it need not be avoided. It is I think subject to gross misinterpretation using it to defend near-heretical beliefs such as dispensationalism as well as manipulating it to predict the end of times. 

The occasion of the writing of Revelation was the persecution of the early Christians both happening and perhaps the authors prediction of what will happen. It was a letter both to encourage as well as to warn. It also points to a hopeful end.

Back to Patmos: it has not been the object of much excavation, and was virtually abandoned by the 6^th century until a monastery was established in the 11^th century.

The day on the island was a physical one for many of us and so boarding the ship that evening provided a fitting respite for the rest of the evening.

Day 9

This was our first morning where, as a group, we did not have to set alarms or ask for a wake-up call. It was nice to begin the morning easy enough, instead of rushing to meet a guide for our next stop. Today we are spending on the island of Rhodes, which from Paul’s perspective, was merely a harbor where he landed during his voyages.

In the Bible it is only mentioned once, in Acts 21:1 – When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

In spite of its rather thin presence in the Bible we spent the day in Rhodes, which turned out to be time well spent if one wanted to shop. Its layout was largely from medieval times, but the shops were abundant and mostly modern. This was a day that involved much walking, which is good considering the amount of food we are (okay, maybe just I am) taking in.

Day 10

This morning we disembarked for Crete and out of all the places we have visited this has been the most disappointing. It is an ancient island with great history, but it was hard to fully capitalize on this with only four hours allowed on shore. Nonetheless Amy and I, along with a few other pilgrims, visited the Church of Titus, where Titus’ (yes, the one and the same in our New Testament) skull is kept as a relic. I only got to see his skull cap, but I will take their word that it was Titus.

Crete is also where the Palace of Knossos, the mythical Labyrinth of King Minos and the seat of ancient Minoan culture, is located.

In the Bible we read about Crete or Cretans speaking their own language on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:11)

Later on Crete is mentioned in Acts 27 where Paul warned the pilot of the ship to harbor there. Instead they ran into a storm and eventually ship-wrecked off of Malta.

Finally it was Crete where Paul appointed Titus as an overseer among the elders throughout the towns on Crete (Titus 1:5, 12)

As an aside in Titus Paul quotes a saying “Cretans are always liars” (1:11) which is called the Epimenides paradox. It is a paradox because for a Cretan to say all Cretans are always liars is a logical contradiction.

In my own opinion, Crete was my least favorite of the islands, but it was still unique and interesting in its own way.

Santorini was one of my favorites, although there is nothing biblically significant about this beautiful island. To get to it we had to take a tender from the cruise ship to rocky coast – only a few hundred yards away. The town itself was on top of the island and there was one of three ways to get there: 1) a forty-five minute steep and winding walk; 2) ride a donkey that only understood Greek commands or 3) take a two minute cable car. We chose the latter. It was worth the four euros a piece to enjoy the magnificent view. Like every place we visited there were plenty of places to shop, but truthfully I am about “shopped out.”

Later that evening, just as the sun was setting we took a tender back to the cruise ship, enjoyed our last supper on the ship, and packed our luggage for “Day 11.”

While one needs to “cruise” in order to visit such sites as Patmos and Ephesus, I do miss having time together as a group over meals and tours by bus. We will return to that schedule tomorrow.

Day 11

Disembarkation was happily uneventful, and soon we were back on our bus with Nicholas driving and Giorgia guiding us to our day’s itinerary which included Corinth and Mycenae. The ruins of ancient Corinth was a delightful surprise. Present day Corinth relocated close to the coast following a massive earthquake in 1858. Ancient Corinth – the one where Paul trod – is just a few miles away, along the foot of a mountain. There are the remains of a once active and vibrant city.

Corinth is an ancient city first inhabited between 5000-3000 BC.

Corinth is mentioned in Acts 18:1; 19:1; 1 and 2 Epistle to the Corinthians; 2 Timothy 4:20.

It is thought that by the time Paul arrived in Corinth there were as many as 800,000 residents. It was the capital of Roman Greece, equally devoted to business and pleasure, and was mostly populated by freedmen and Jews. There is a marble slab, now on display in their fine museum, with an inscription of “synagogue” in ancient Greece along with three engravings of menorahs. In all likelihood this is where Paul worshipped and spoke while in Corinth.

The Apostle Paul visited Corinth in the 50s AD. It was probably during this second visit in the spring of 58 that Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, written from Ephesus, reflects the difficulties of maintaining a Christian community in such a cosmopolitan city.

Corinth became an important city in Paul’s mission, with many receptive to the message of Jesus as Messiah. He stayed there a year and a half. We stood on the Bema – the one and the same – where Paul stood facing the officials of Corinth defending his beliefs. Nearby a short devotion was shared along with some good old FBC singing.

Perhaps what is most known about Corinth is the church that Paul started there and the recipient of two letters, known in our Bible as 1 and 2 Corinthians.

In spite of Corinth’s importance for early Christianity, there are no sites to speak of giving evidence of the church that once gathered there.

After many pictures and a great presentation by our guide, we boarded our bus and headed for the ancient ruins of Mycenae, which date to about the 15^th century B.C.! We climbed the hill (there are many hills and mountains throughout Greece) and passed under the famous Lion’s Gate with the remains of its massive walls. A short distance over we made our way to Tomb of Agamemnon, shaped as a beehive when viewed from the inside. Mycenae is a tremendous example of masonry skills that are hard to comprehend even today.

Sunset from our Hotel rooftop in Athens

Today is our day for ancient Delphi – a place of “mythic” legend. This is not saying much since I suppose most all of Greece is the stuff for mythic legend.

Perhaps what is most mythic of all is the quantity of food I am taking in! Large breakfast buffets followed by marvelous and unique lunches and of course breaks in between before finally concluding the day with a big supper. As they would say in Greece, “Opah!” – which no one knows what it means but somehow the collection of vowels and consonants succinctly sum it up.

Following breakfast and after loading the bus we gathered alongside the Harbor of Itea (which means willow) and held a brief worship service. I used Philippians 2:1-11 as the text and we reflected on not only the land in which Paul traveled, but the call of Paul to take on the mind of Christ. Together we prayed for those who lost loved ones on that fateful day 10 years ago as well as this world which is still filled with uncertainty. We closed with Keith leading us in singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” and after the benediction we departed. Several “old men” of Greece were near-by and smiled and greeted us after we worshiped. There presence and indulgence of all these tourists holding a worship service while they were visiting was a simple and nice gesture of hospitality.

The Treasury of Apollo in the background

Fifteen minutes later we were in the ancient town of Delphi, which was once a thriving town and is now just a small village of about 2000. Delphi, according to the Greeks, is considered the center of the world and alongside Mount Parnassus there is a marble cone called the “belly-button” which marks the center (yeah, I know, it sounds disgusting). The symbol of both Greeks as well as the Orthodox Church is the two-headed eagle which goes back to this notion of an eagle looking upon both sides of the word. While the morning was still pleasant in temperature we spent the time clamoring over the remains dating back more than 2500 years. We viewed ancient columns, Temples and Treasuries, most of which were dedicated to the mythological god Apollo. Several of us hiked up near the top of the mountain to view the ancient Stadium, where athletic games were held several centuries before the time of Christ. The Pythian Games were second in importance only to the Olympics.

The "Bellybutton" of the world - now you know because now you have seen it.

Amy and I racing to the ancient Stadium of Apollo

This week I have felt rather guilty for not finding the time to jog or exercise, but today I burned a few extra calories with the walking and climbing. It was a nice “rest” for us to enter the museum and view the many artifacts recovered from the ruins. There was even a section of stone naming the governor Claudius and the proconsul Gallio, both of whom we read of in Acts 18:1-17.

The Temple of Apollo

I have traveled to Israel twice, Rome once, and now I making this journey through Greece. It is a big world in which we live and yet our culture has much indebtedness to the contributions of the ancients. Our art, politics and commerce has been shaped by these cultures. Even our faith has been forged out of the experiences, language and reactions to those who have come and gone before us. We are following Paul’s footprints, but I cannot help but wonder what footprints are we leaving behind? I certainly appreciate this privilege to travel here, for it is rounding out my experiences between geography and Bible. I will never read the New Testament the same way again.

This would not be a travel blog if I did not include some of our meals. Today was particularly special. Our lunch was held Angelo’s House, where we met the owner and his wife (who was the cook) – both of whom seemed delicately worn with age and hard work doing something they love. There expansive place looks and feels “Greek” from the moment you walk in the door. While viewing the gorgeous range of mountains we enjoyed fried cheese, Zucchini balls, meatballs with cheese, stuffed grape leaves, egg plant, Greek salad and several other dishes whose name (or identity) escape me. The dear “cook” posed with the group after our meal, and hugged and kissed the cheeks of many. I was offered a handshake – I must have looked a bit suspect.

Our guide is front right and the Greek mother who was our cook is beside her

After a little shopping across the road, we made our way to our hotel in Athens.

Early tomorrow we board a ship to visit four of the more than 200 populated islands that make up Greece. I am unclear about internet connection so it could be that postings for Day 7-10 may be delayed. Thank you for reading and keeping up with our travels. It is a pleasure and honor to share them with you.

Grace and peace,

Greg