Sophia Teknou

My major motion picture… a horror film (about archeology)

2010-07-12T11:41:00.002-05:00

So a short little note from today… last week I had been working on excavating a tabun. So today I was working on articulating a wall. Lo and behold… I found more pieces of tabun which had been covered by some rocks and a lot of dirt.

I feel like I am in a bad horror movie in which everywhere I turn I keep finding pieces of tabun! Yikes! I can see it now: I go to the other side of the area and discover some tabun, so I move to another place and of course… more tabun! No matter where I move I see tabun and the camera circles… and then I scream and run away.

Unfortunately I am not allergic to tabun (maybe I should pray about this) because it is such a pain to articulate when it keeps breaking on me. I tried to tell Mario that I was allergic to it at dinner today, he didn’t believe me… :-(

Some of my area-mates are fed up with the tabun and want to destroy it once the official photos have been taken and the measurements and drawings are complete. I think a sledge hammer may be in order (believe me.. pictures of destruction will be coming soon). And then, when it is destroyed, I will hopefully never see one again (or if I do I might have nightmares).

P.S. Biblical Archeology has linked our blogs to their site! My blogs are posted at http://digmegiddo2010.wordpress.com/

Jerusalem Adventures

2010-07-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

While all the people are at the World Cup final, I am sitting on my computer and blogging about my weekend. I had an absolute blast. Thursday afternoon, we got back to the kibbutz, showered and then boarded the bus to Jerusalem. For those of you who don’t know, I was in Israel last May (2009) but I enjoyed my time there and wanted to go back. What an experience!

I went on and found us a really cheap hostel outside of the Damascus Gate. It was in the Arabic area and we had to fight our way through a food market to get to the entrance. However, the inside of the hostel was great! It had a very Arabic feel to it, the staff was nice, and we met some really cool people.

The first night some of us met up at a place called Papa Andrea’s for some pizza and cheeseburgers (Yay for non-kosher!! …no offense but I like cheeseburgers). Then we went over to the new city to a bar and enjoyed a relaxing evening of talking, drinks, and hooka. I called it a night rather early and then the next day played tour guide to some of my friends. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, and also made it just in time for the City of David and Hezekiah’s tunnel. We also spent some time shopping.

While we were walking around some guys asked us directions and it turns out that they are digging at Tel es-Safi. We started walking along with them and ended up going to a bar/café and having a few drinks together. Ironically, the Megiddo crew is traveling down to Tel es-Safi on Friday for a field trip!

Saturday we went to the Rockefeller Museum and did some more shopping before meeting the group to wait for the bus (it was over an hour late!). Then this morning it was back to digging.

Overall, we had a lot of fun this weekend and met a lot of really cool people. Well off to bed again. L’hitraot!

Har-Megiddo-ville

2010-07-07T15:08:00.000-05:00

“Digging away again in Har-Megiddo-ville, Searching for some lost pottery shards…”

This song seems to keep running through my head all day long (thanks Matt!). What an adventure!? If you would have told me two years ago that I was going to be working on an archeological dig I would have laughed at you. But here I am ready to tell you about all of my adventures in the tel of Har-Megiddo.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mandy I am a seminary student from Minnesota but I currently live in Chicago. My forte is Hebrew Bible and I have a fascination with classical history. I love long walks on the beach and… oh wait, I am sure you don’t care about that.

Well on the first day at the kibbutz we were divvied up into 4 groups which would work on 4 different locations of the tel. I was assigned to Area K. (The best area of course! We even have a pirate flag to prove it!) When we met our area supervisors, Mario, Rob, Matt, and Kristine, we were instructed that Area K has four goals/expectations:

1) Fun
2) Safety
3) Learning
4) Archeology

Thankfully for all, this is true. We have a lot of fun in Area K. We are currently working through K-9 (Haha!) which is supposed to be the last stratum of the Late Bronze Age (stratum start from the top and go down so the higher the number the lower we are in the ground… but forget strats 1 and 2 because they were removed by the University of Chicago if I am not mistaken).

So Sunday morning we were up at about 4:30am and on the bus by 4:55. By the time we arrived at the tel the sun was just about to come up over the horizon. We took the long walk up the tel (and of course with my lunch Area K was the furthest walk), put on our sunscreen and got ready for work. We put the shade up and then we were given a short overview of the tools and how they work (you know I would have thought that I knew how to use a Pick Axe but it is harder than I thought!!) After that I was assigned to work with Glen on leveling a bulk (to remove the last bit of the K-9 level). We worked well as a team and got through quite a bit of that bulk on the first day. We didn’t find a lot of pottery shards but I did find something bronze that was in the shape of an angel fish (that probably wasn’t its original shape but that is what it looks like now!).

On the second day (near the end of the day) I discovered a taboon (also spelled tabun). It is an oven, which I have been told was for bread, but in case that isn’t correct, here is the Wikipedia definition:

“A clay oven, shaped like a truncated cone, with an opening at the bottom from which to stoke the fire.” < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboon>

Unfortunately, the location of the taboon could not have been in the worst spot! Our bulk was the major path to get to every square and everyone used that spot as a place to step. Even with an empty sandbag and bright colored dustpans to block it, over half of the Area stepped on it! (It ok though because these ovens do not hold their shape very well and crumble as they are dug up… they couldn’t go in a museum even if it was worth it). Even Mario (our area supervisor) kept stepping on it! Of course when he did so he would let out a short curse and everyone would laugh because it was so funny! In our bulk we also discovered a plaster floor which was not to be stepped on either… there were constant reminders of “Don’t step on the plaster!” and “Don’t step on the taboon!” and “Stop!” (Maybe you just needed to be there to understand the humor of this…)

Anyways… some of you are probably curious as to what we are looking for and what is kept when we are digging (I know I was!) Obviously we keep pottery shards, especially ones with painting, writing, or distinct features (lips, handles, etc.). We also keep pieces of flint and bones. Now don’t freak out, the bones we find are typically animal bones, and even if they weren’t we would still classify them as animal bones because it can be hard to tell the difference. (Plus if we find human remains we might get shut down for awhile to allow for a proper burial, which is just too inconvenient with only 3 weeks left of the bi-yearly 7 week season). We also have been keeping large pieces of charcoal (must be bigger than a quarter) and burned seeds. Rocks and dirt are usually disposed of (unless they have ash and can be carbon dated), but anything else that is cool is usually kept, like bronze.

Today when we were digging out the area around the taboon we found 3 more pieces of bronze (which is now a bright forest green) and two of them were flecked with red, purple, and blue coloring that can most likely be attributed to copper (according to the expert area supervisors). They were really pretty! Those are my most interesting finds right now…

On a lighter and final note, my neighbor in both the kibbutz and the Area is named Candice and for some reason Mario made us become one entity, also known as Mandice. At one point when Mario was calling my name from across the area he went “Candice! No, Mandice! No, Mand… (bleep) this! Amanda!”

On that note, I am going to bed before I fall asleep at the computer. It has been a late night and I have to be ready for another day of digging tomorrow and then we will be off to Jerusalem for the weekend! I can’t wait!! Until then, Ciao! …Wait wrong language… Lilah Tov and L’hitraot!

Red Shoes at Graduation

2010-05-08T14:40:00.004-05:00

For those of you who have not seen this, one of my seminary friends posted this on her blog (Click on the title for the link). It is about why all the seminary folk wear Red Shoes for special events, specifically graduation and the like. It is a fun tradition (especially because I love shoe shopping and now have 2 pairs of Red Shoes!!) I hope you enjoy!

Was Noah's Ark Found?

2010-04-28T11:01:00.002-05:00

I must point out that I am with Dr. Cline! Great Interview! P.S. This summer I will be on a dig with him in Israel!! :-)

Day 15- Last Day

2010-01-24T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today was our last full day in Rome… :-( It is hard to fathom going back to Chicago.

This morning we went to the English speaking Methodist Church right across the river from Castel Sant' Angelo. Rev. Trevor preached on 2 Chronicles 20:2-25 and it struck home for everyone. It was a wonderful sermon about trusting in God and learning when to listen and just "do nothing." After the service we joined the congregation for a potluck lunch. It was delicious! (and of course free, which was comforting).

From there we headed back to the hotel and spent some of the afternoon packing for leaving. Then at about 3:30 we headed over to Santa Sabina (on the Aventine) because we missed it the other day to some movie filming.

Santa Sabina was built in the 4th or 5th Century. The wooden doors to the church are from the original building and have the very first depiction of Jesus' crucifixion. The columns inside the church are from the temple to Juno (possibly the same one we saw under San Nicholas but we're not sure). The church was redecorated in the Baroque era but those decorations have been removed and the church is very plain in comparison to many of the other churches. However, the fresco in the apse gives the church a lot of warmth due to the bright colors. Strangely, we noted that the church does not have any major depictions of the crucifixion other than the door and a very small crucifix that is a modern addition.

After Santa Sabina, we walked to the park around the back to look over Rome one more time. Then we headed back to the Circus Maximus and we took the Metro up towards Piazza di Spagna and met with the council called Churches Together in Rome, which is an ecumenical council of the English speaking clergy in Rome. It was really cool to hear about the ecumenical dialogue going on in Rome. This week is the week of prayer for church unity and so the council hosted an ecumenical service in honor of it. The preacher for the service was the Scottish Presbyterian Pastor of Geneva, Switzerland. He spoke about John Calvin's desire to keep church unity.

After the service and refreshments, we asked the clergy on the council to join us for dinner. What a wonderful experience!? We all enjoyed ourselves and had a great time talking to the clergy. I was sitting between Willie (from the Scottish Presbyterian Church in Rome) and Dave from the American Baptist Church in Rome. It was a great way to end our last day in Rome.

Then I headed over to La Botticella and caught the first half of the Vikings game to finish off the night.

Day 14- Free Day #2

2010-01-23T21:00:00.001-06:00

*Note Day 13- incomplete at this time...

Today was just a relaxing day. We slept in late and ran a few errands in the morning (mail, souvenirs, etc.). After those errands a few of us took the metro down to the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, which is from the 12th Century B.C.E. It is a mausoleum from a rich family that wanted to have an Egyptian pyramid to bury their dead in. However, this pyramid is made of brick and covered in marble… very Roman.

Right next to that is the protestant cemetery of Rome. This is where the writers Keets and Shelley are buried, as well as many other famous Roman writers. I enjoyed it because it was a cat sanctuary as well as a cemetery. We made lots of cat friends there!

After venturing around the cemetery for awhile we grabbed some lunch and walked towards the Baths of Caracalla. These baths are some of the largest remains of Roman buildings. The baths are much like what we would consider a modern spa + gym + library + art gallery. Not only was it a place for people to come and pamper themselves, it was also a social environment for Romans.

After that, we spent much of the evening relaxing. It was just a wonderful day in general.

Day 12- The Vatican

2010-01-21T21:00:00.000-06:00

Happy St. Agnes' Feast Day!

Today we spent the entire day at the Vatican. I have a lot of notes so I will be summarizing what went on as best I can, but be warned that there is a lot of information!

The first thing we did was go on a tour of the Scavi underneath the Vatican (remember Scavi means excavations). Our tour guide talked really fast and so I have like 8 pages of notes from her talk. Later I found out she was from Minnesota and I realized why she talked so fast! Haha!

Here goes: The Vatican gets it name from the land, the Vatican Hill and the Vatican Valley (P.S. The land is now mostly flat… getting to that later). St. Peter's Basilica is on top of the land that was originally the Circus of Nero. This was where Peter would have been martyred and he was buried on the Vatican Hill. The obelisk in the center of the piazza out front was from the center of the circus but was moved from it's original place (which was across from the Scavi office).

During the time of the emperor Hadrian a pagan cemetery was built up in the area (although Christian family members were also buried there). We saw this thing called the Trophy of Gius (trophy meaning victory and used to decorate the graves of martyrs). Gius, a prominent Christian mentioned in Romans 16:23, built a trophy over St. Paul and St. Peter's grave sites (during the time of Marcus Aurelius). The trophy is at a strange angle to the grave (approx. 110 degrees) which is evidence that it was built after the grave itself, and the bricks are stamped with Marcus Aurelius' stamp.

One of the first things we saw an in the Scavi was an Egyptian Mausoleum which had the God of Horus and the Ankh (a T with an oval on the top that looks like a cross) which is an Egyptian sign for life. We do not know who was buried there because when Constantine built the first basilica in the area he built a 9 foot wide wall (and the length of a football field) over the entrance and ruined countless other tombs.

The Scavi is not a catacomb (which has and always will be underground), it is a Necropolis. (The pagan belief is that souls remained with the ashes and therefore the mausoleums are known as a Necropolis or dead city where the souls live. This is why the mausoleums are so beautiful and look like houses, to make the soul comfortable. The mausoleums had familial remains, some with up to 170 different people!) The Necropolis would have been at ground level.

Constantine had a dream where God told him to conquer with the Xi Rho symbol (X-P crossed) and so when he did conquer at the Milvian Bridge he started building churches with prominent figures graves underneath the altars. Since Peter was buried there, instead of moving the bones Constantine starts to deconstruct the hill and level the land. When he did this he buried the Necropolis and it was forgotten for a long time.

Ironically in the one solely Christian Mausoleum in the entire excavation had been discovered in 1574 when they were working on the floor of the basilica and a part collapsed into the mausoleum. However, it was normal for this to happen in other churches and so they filled it back in and it was forgotten again.

In 1939 Pope Pius XI was about to die he requested to be buried next to Pope Pius X. However there was no room so they started to dig, because you never deny a pope their last requests. When they started digging they found some mausoleums. However due to the political issues with Mussolini, the Vatican excavated in secret, by hand for 10 years.

Problem: When they were trying to excavate St. Peter's tomb they had a few issues. They could not get at it from all four directions!! They also could not get there from above. The only solution (which was not very well accepted) was to come in from the bottom. They found lots of evidence that this was the area, viewing hole, coins, etc. (also animal remains because that was where they disposed of the animals from the circus). Once they did get in the encountered another problem… Where were St. Peter's remains??

They found a tomb next to St. Peter's that is supposed to be St. Linus'. They also found a wall (called the graffiti wall because it has graffiti all over it). Inside the wall were 30 bone fragments that were remains of a man, from about 2000 years ago, about 60-70 years old at the time of death, of a robust build (possibly a fisherman), and there were no feet bones. Found him! Ironically, on the graffiti wall someone wrote "Peter is here" in Greek. (Sorry, like I said, I tried to summarize quickly...).

After the Scavi we went upstairs to St. Peter's Basilica. It took 120 years to complete the current basilica. It was designed by Michelangelo but he dies before it was completed. The canopy over the altar was created by Bernini. After walking in, immediately to the right was Michelangelo's Pieta where Mary is holding her son Jesus in her arms right after he had been taken down from the cross. It was the only work of Michelangelo that was signed.

Information dump: St. Peter's Basilica is the tallest dome in the entire world and 148 popes are buried in and around the basilica. The altar directly above St. Peter's tomb is reserved specifically for the pope. And there is an Italian tradition to touch the feet of Jesus on statues and sculptures.

Ok moving on… We went to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Most of the Museum was interesting, but not a lot had to do with early church history, so I don't have a lot to say about it. However, I do have a lot to say about the Sistine Chapel (since the tour guide spent 45 minutes talking about it).

The Sistine Chapel was built in 1475 by Pope Sixtus IV. It is the pope's personal chapel and is entirely frescoed. It is used for conclave (deciding of the new pope). It was the first time ever that painting looked like architecture. Michelangelo took 53 months to complete his projects (and closed everyone out while he did it). After completing the work he had permanent physical problems after working on the ceiling.

The Last Judgment (behind the altar) has 410 people painted into it. It took 40 years to restore it fully (recent activity). Most of the people in the painting were nude (later people came in and painted clothing on them… how rude!) Pope John Paul II said that the fresco displayed the essence of the human body.

Funny Story: The judge of hell in the painting was the cardinal who chastised Michelangelo for not allowing anyone to see the painting and was saying bad thing about Michelangelo to others. After our tour, we went back to the Raphael Rooms and saw the painting by Rafael with Michelangelo front and center looking disgruntled. Quite Funny.

After that we climbed up to the top of St. Peter's Basilica dome and watched the sun set over Rome. It was beautiful! Although the climb was disorienting with leaning hallways and lots of spiral staircases. When we got back down we stopped by the gift shop and then headed towards Piazza Navona. We had dinner nearby and then stopped by La Botticella for a drink before heading back to the hotel to sleep.

Day 11- On the Aventine and Galleria Borghese

2010-01-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today we had a shorter day. We walked over to the Aventine hill (one of the seven) and went first to San Theodore, which is a Greek Orthodox Church in Rome. It is one of the oldest churches in Rome and was in the land that was primarily Greek people. St. Theodore was a soldier under Diocletian when Rome was trying to purge the legions of Christians because they were against the pagan gods. The commanders required that everyone sacrifice and St. Theodore refused. However, since he was so young, they asked him to reconsider and gave him a few days to think about it. In that time Theodore burned down a pagan temple. He was then martyred in February 17th, 306. People now bring their sick children to this church for healing.

Afterwards we walked by the Circus Maximus. The next place we went to was Santa Prisca, which is another Title Church. This could be the site of the house of Prisca from the New Testament, and which would have been a place where Paul and Peter came. This house/church was possibly built on the site of a Mithraum. The church itself was very basic.

After that we headed towards Santa Sabina (another Title Church) which is one of Jim's Top 5 Churches. Sadly there was a movie being filmed in front of the church so we couldn't get in… so I will save those notes for another day. Instead we went to the park around the back and overlooked the Tiber and the city. HBO Rome Note: We saw the area where the main characters would have lived down by the river.

After the nice view, we walked over to Santa Maria in Cosmedine. This church was given to the Greek Christians when they came to Rome after persecution in the east over the discussion of icons. The most well known thing about this church was the Mouth of Truth out in front of the church. If you have ever seen the movie Roman Holiday this may come as a reminder. You put your hand into the Mouth of Truth and profess your love. If it is a lie then the mouth will bite your hand. Really though, it is just a sewer cover that has the face of a god on there (probably Neptune).

From there we saw the Forum Boarium which has 2 temples, one is round and the other is rectangular. The round one is a temple to Hercules Victor and was the center for the olive trade. The rectangular one was to either Fortuna or Portuna (unknown) and was the center for flower trade. They are very well preserved amazingly.

After that we headed back to the hotel for a few minutes and then some of us took the opportunity to visit the Galleria Borghese in the Villa Borghese. This was our first opportunity to ride the bus and it was an adventure. Right now the Galleria is having a Caravaggio and Francis Bacon exhibit (Bacon wasn't much to see but the rest was cool!) We saw some Bernini's and Caravaggio's. Overall it was worth they extra few euros to do.

After that we did a little shopping and dinner and then went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Day 10- Ostia and St. Paul

2010-01-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today was another bus day. We got on the bus and headed out to Ostia Antica which has remains of an old port city. The city is between the Mediterranean and the Mouth of the Tiber river (although the water is a little further away from the city now. This is the place where Augustine and his mother Monica went to wait for a boat to take then back to North Africa. In his confessions, Augustine tells us that his mother came down with a fever there and died. There is a memorial near the theater for her.

The city was built around 600 B.C.E. and was used until around the 6th Century C.E. when the port was no longer in use and the city fell into disuse. Amazingly, the city was never built over so the city has been sitting there in ruins for about 1500 years. We saw a lot of cool things, including some of the oldest public toilets ever (and I have some great pictures of this!) On the site is also the remains of a 4th Century Christian Basilica that is probably where Augustine and Monica worshiped while in Ostia.

After lunch and some exploring we boarded the bus and went to Tre Fontana which is the site of 3 churches that surround the area where Paul may have been beheaded (although there are 2 different spots that claim this). The first church we went to was called the Stairway to Heaven, the second was called Vincenzo and Anastasia which has 3 fountains inside (legend say it was where Paul's head bounced but was later disproven). The last place was the Basilica of 3 Fountains… which does not have 3 fountains.

The last place we went to was called St. Paul outside of the Walls. This is the site of St. Paul's tomb and is the other place that claims to have been where Paul was beheaded (Note: Paul was a Roman citizen so he would have been beheaded while Peter was not so he was sentenced to crucifixion-Peter asked to be put upside down because he was unworthy to die in the same way as Christ). This church was absolutely beautiful! Words are difficult to describe what was going on in this church but I had a lot of time for spiritual reflection and it was wonderful!

When we got back we relaxed and had an early night.

Day 9- Big Churches Day

2010-01-18T21:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Feast of St. Prisca Day!

Today we started off by heading over to Santa Croce in Gerusaleme. This church was built in the 4th Century by St. Helena (Constantine's mother). It was and is meant to be a pilgrimage church for people who will never make it to Jerusalem. In St. Helena's travels to the holy land she found a lot of relics related to Christianity and quite a few of them are housed in the church. These relics include: A piece of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, the cross beam of the good thief, the plaque above Jesus' head, the accusing finger bone of St. Thomas, thorns from the crown on Jesus' head, and a nail from the cross of Jesus. This church also has the personal chapel of St. Helena.

After that we went down the road to the official Cathedral of Rome called San Giovanni in Laterano. The land was originally owned by the Laterani family (who were really rich) and it was given to Maxentius when he married into that family. When Constantine won the Battle at the Milvian Bridge he took the land and gave it to the church. This site became the first papal apartments and were used until 1305. The church is dedicated to both John the Baptist and St. John the gospel writer and housed all 5 of the Lateran councils (pre-Vatican councils).

The church has 3 different parts, the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs), San Giovanni in Fontana (St. John's fountain), and the Basilica. The Scala Santa houses the stairs to the Pretorium (from the New Testament during Jesus' passion story) brought back by St. Helena. Of the relics brought back to Rome by St. Helena these are the most likely to be real. The 28 stairs are now covered by wood with slits to stick your hand in to touch the stairs. The only way you are allowed to climb the stairs is on your knees (as a penance). Most of us did climb the stairs and I have to say OUCH!!!! I understand why it is a penance, although it was a cool experience.

The next place we went to was San Giovanni in Fontana, which was the first stand-alone baptistery (as in a building meant only for baptisms). It was the only place people were allowed to be baptized in the 4th Century (and they were only allowed to be baptized on Easter).

The last part of the area was the Basilica. Above the altar was a piece of the wood from the table of the last supper. There were also pillars from the temple of Trajan under the organ. Above the bookshop was the tomb of Pope Innocent III who was the peak of papal power.

From there we had lunch at this little place called I Clementini (which is supposedly where all of the Irish priests go to eat… didn't see any sadly). It was across the street from San Clemente which was were we went next. This is one of Jim's top 5 churches and also one of his top 10 places in Rome. It is also a Title Church. It may have been named after the man Clement that was mentioned by Paul in the New Testament but it is unknown. What we do know is that the emperor Domitian's cousin and family were Christians who were martyred; one of the slaves of that family was freed upon the cousin's death and took the name Clement. This Clement wrote 1 Clement, was exiled from Rome in 98 C.E., and was the first bishop in Rome. Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown in the Black Sea. In 861 C.E. his body was "found" on the beach by a guy named Cyril who then died. Both of these men are buried in the church.

Below the church there are 4 levels: a 4th Century church (used until the 11th century), 3rd Century remains of a Roman street and the house of Clement, a Mithraum (pagan temple), and finally remains of a 1st Century street with evidence of the fire of 64. The 4th Century church was probably built by Constantine and the top of the original basilica is cut off to build the modern church. A Mithraum is a temple to the God Mithras who is depicted as slaying a bull. The cult of Mithras was a very secret cult, sort of like masonry. Sadly it was really confusing to figure out anything but the 4th Century church and the Mithraum so I didn't realize when I saw the house or streets….

I have to say the San Clemente was probably one of my favorite places in Rome also. It was beautiful in the Scavi (excavations) and I could really feel the spirit's presence in that 4th century church.

After that we were done for the day so we had dinner and a few drinks and then went to bed.

Day 8- "Spooky Day"

2010-01-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

This morning during our class time Jim said that today was going to be a "spooky" day. The first place we went to was the Trevi fountain (which was not spooky… oh well) but is at the end of a 2000 year old aqueduct. It is probably the #2 place for filming movies in Rome (maybe tied wuth the Colosseum). The superstition is that you are supposed to throw a coin over your shoulder not for good luck but to ensure a return to Rome. We took lots of photo opportunities and one of the group that was really good.

Then we headed towards the Capuchin Crypt. The Capuchin Crypt is a cemetery-ish where the monks ran out of room to bury their dead so they took the resting bones out of the ground and made artwork on the walls of the crypt so they would have more room to bury. Like I have mentioned before, the skeleton is a Medieval symbol to remind people of their mortality. This was a perfect way to do this. The monks are Franciscan and St. Francis used to sign his letters with a skull (fitting right?). The artwork along the walls carries a lot of theological imagery, such as a winged hourglass and crosses made of bones. They even made the Franciscan crest out of bones (two crossed arms, one sleeved and the other bare-representing Jesus and St. Francis' arms). It was a little sick, but also really cool. After being reminded of our mortality for awhile, we headed to an English-speaking Scottish Presbyterian Church.

After church we headed out towards the Vatican to Castel Sant' Angelo. It was originally built by the Emperor Hadrian (after Trajan) as a mausoleum for his family. Later it was converted into a papal palace by Pope Gregory the Great. It has a large bronze statue of the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword which Pope Gregory the Great saw in a dream that indicated the end of the great plague. Throughout time it has served many different purposes but is specifically known for the Vatican Corridor which is a long passageway that connects the papal apartments at the Vatican to the Castel (also known by us as the "Pape-Escape"). This was featured in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (don't want to give away anything else about the book… sorry). The cool part is that you can go up to the top and have a good view of the surrounding city.

From Castel Sant' Angelo we walked over to the Piazza del Spagna which has the large Spanish Steps. This area is like the Rodeo Drive of Italy (and we got to do some shopping around there!). Also in the area is the first McDonalds in Italy… we had to stop in and it was HUGE!!! They have their own pastry area and a gelataria away from the main order place. (P.S. I have yet to eat McDonalds in Italy and I plan to keep it that way!!)

After that we walked to Piazza del Popolo and saw another wonderful view of the city at dusk. Legend has it that Nero was buried in this area near a tree and the people who lived around there thought that it was haunted by Nero's ghost and so some Christians cut down the tree and built a church over the top of the site. That church is Santa Maria del Poplo and it has Caravaggio's paintings of The Crucifixion of St. Peter and The Conversion of St. Paul. Also the obelisk in the center of the Piazza was from the Circus Maximus.

We had a group dinner around Piazza Navona with way too much food and then headed over to La Botticella to watch the ending of the Vikings game! Woot we creamed the Cowboys! (and I am going to watch the game Sunday night!)

Day 7- Free Day #7

2010-01-16T21:00:00.000-06:00

Yay for a day of sleeping in! Today we had planned on visiting a museum called the Crypto Balbi (mostly because it was free). When we headed out there we found out that we had to wait at least and hour to have an escorted tour. So we decided to walk around until we could get in. We headed south towards the river and stumbled on the Fountain of Tortoises which is a fountain with turtles on it… no way! The turtles were probably added later by Bernini but that is just speculation.

We then walked towards the Theater of Marcello which is a theater built by Augustus in 23 B.C. and is near the river. On the way there we walked through the Jewish Ghetto (accidentally) and stumbled on the Portico of Octavia which was also built by Augustus for his sister. We walked through the archeological area and then found the theater we were looking for.

We were close to the river and so we decided to walk towards it and we stumbled on a little church, called Saint Nicholas in Prison, next to the theater with exposed columns that were obviously old. We stopped in and found out we could see some remains below the church. Problem was that the tour was in Italian. However, the couple that toured with us spoke Italian and English and so they translated for us.

Turns our that this church is built over the remains of 3 pagan temples! The site has been closed for the last 3 years for excavations and so our professor had not even seen the site before. The 3 temples (from South to North) were the Temple of Hope, the Temple to Juno (the goddess of war and wife of Jupiter), and the Temple to Janus (a two faced god and the oldest temple from roughly 200 B.C.E.). It was so cool! There were also remains of the original streets that ran in between the temples and little cubbies that housed money changers in the day.

The original church was built in 600-700 C.E. but none of that church remains. However, the church was rebuilt in the 1500's. We noticed some holes in the ceiling (the floor of the church) that were boarded off and the tour guide told us that the holes were from when the church used to place their dead under the church. Supposedly they would just drop the bodies down into the hole because many could not afford a proper burial. Some of the bones are still down in the pit and we were able to see them.

In the upstairs of the church there are a bunch of columns that were taken from other temples and churches to build the 1500's church (so none of them matched). On one of the columns was an inscription probably from the 1100's that details a priest's donations to the church and all he asks is that he be buried at the base of the column. But the rest of the story was lost in translation. Overall, it a very cool find!

Then we headed back to the Crypto Balbi and toured that. It was really hard to figure out what was going on there and it was not very interesting… oh well. After that we went back to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Day 6- Pompeii

2010-01-15T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today we took a 3 hour bus ride down the coast (past Naples) to Pompeii, by the way it was really cold!!! For those of you who do not know Pompeii is near the western coast of Italy and is at the base of Mount Vesuvius. The city itself dates back to the 700's B.C.E. and eventually became the "summer houses" for rich senators and also a retirement place.

However, in 62 C.E. Pompeii experienced an earthquake that demolished some of the city. After rebuilding, in 79 C.E. Mount Vesuvius erupted (blowing off over half of the mountain), entirely burying the city of Pompeii. The excavations for the site have been going on for over 200 years.

The city is practically X-Rated in the modern sense because there are lots of dirty pictures and inscriptions. There are also lots of frescos and most of the city is still somewhat intact. Some of the coolest things we saw were casts of humans that were killed by the volcano (the flesh deteriorated and left an empty hole which archeologists filled with plaster to create casts).

I hate to say that all archeological sites are the same but in Pompeii it is hard to explain what we saw except to say that after 4 hours we were really tired and cold and I have a lot of pictures to recreate the story for me. So that is really all I have to say about Pompeii. We got back on the bus, rode for 3 hours, and then had a group dinner. After that we grabbed some gelato and went to bed.

Day 5- The National Museum and More Churches

2010-01-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today we went to some more churches. We started out at the Church of Santa Prassede, which is another Title church named after one of two sisters that was martyred (for what a title church is see blog from Day 1). The most important thing about this church was that it has the base of the column that Jesus was supposedly whipped on. It was brought to Rome from the holy land when St. Helen, Constantine's mother, travelled there (she brought back a lot of stuff!) Interestingly, the mosaic in the apse above the altar looks similar to the one of Saints Cosma and Damiano from the Roman Forum. The differences are that the Saints are women and the one who is presenting the church and the deacon are different (see blog from Day 2). Also in the mosaic has a phoenix in the same spot as the other church. The mosaic is dated back to the 6th century and could have been by the same artist.

From that church we went to the Church of Santa Suzanna which is the American Catholic Church. Here we met for our second ecumenical dialect with Father Greg. If I have not mentioned it before, the Vatican assigns certain catholic churches to different countries which then have to supply the priest to the parish. This church is also a title church. It was named after Suzanna, a martyr who chose a vow of chastity and was murdered for it. Father Greg was very funny and had a lot of great things to tell us about the society in Rome and how difficult it is to marry and divorce in this country. He also discussed some of his relations with the Vatican and other American and English speaking churches.

From there we made a short stop at the Church of Santa Maria della Vitoria and saw Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Funny story: the statue is not at eye level but placed up in order to sort of obscure St. Theresa's face because she is in the middle of a revelation and it looks as if she is in the middle of an orgasm (not my words…)

After that we went to Santa Maria degli Angeli which was built into the baths of Diocletian. This church was huge!!! The columns are from the original baths and go to the original floor so the "bases" of the column are fake because the column goes deep into the floor. This church was really cool because it had on display a pendulum based after Galileo and a lot of history on the subject (probably temporary). It also had a permanent meridian line that has a demonstration of a sun dial at noon everyday. We were there at the perfect timing. (A little old nun who did not speak any English dragged me over to show me the demonstration… I later found the information about it). Also right by the entrance there is a different kind of sun dial in a stained glass ceiling. Pretty cool!

From there we went to lunch and then headed to the National Museum. In the upper level there were a whole bunch of frescos and mosaics and in the basement there was a large exhibit of coins! So cool!! (Other than that I was kind of bored there…)

The second to last stop was Santa Prudenziana which is the sister church to Santa Prassede. This is also a title church. The only significant history about this church was that Peter and Paul may have stopped there and Peter may have administered the sacraments there. It also has some 4th century mosaics.

Then we headed back to Santa Maria Maggorie (from Day 1) and saw the manger piece which we did not see before. We also saw Bernini's tomb which was very humble (the Latin made it sound like that was the intention). We also walked around in the lower level museum but there was not much to see that was of any significance (Although the arm bones of 2 of the gospels writers were down there… or at least that is what they claim… I highly doubt it).

For dinner and fun me and a friend walked out the Piazza Navona, had some pizza and went on a search for a bar called La Botticella (recommended to me by a friend). We did find it and realized that it is on the International Steelers Bars Tour. This place is pretty famous for Steelers fans (too bad I had never heard of it… Go Favre!). It was an American-ish bar that is popular for American students studying abroad. We met the bartender Giovanni and had a wonderful time! Hopefully we will stop by Sunday evening so I can catch some of the Vikings game!

Day 4- Museum, Piazza Navona, and The Pantheon

2010-01-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today we hit a lot of cool places!! Sadly though it was drizzling most of the day so we cut some of our free time short in order to avoid the cold. It has been cold the last few days but good news is that the weather man said the temperatures should be rising tomorrow!

After breakfast we made our way down towards the Roman Forum and stopped by the Nerva Forum for some pictures (Nerva was an emperor), then to the Imperial Forum (of Caesar Augustus, which was created around the time of Jesus' birth). From there we walked over the Forum of Trajan and saw the remains of a temple and the column of Trajan which has a gigantic frieze going spirally up the entire length of the column. Inside is a spiral staircase which goes to the top. The base of the column was once called a church because the remains of Trajan are in the base (however, it is the size of a closet and the title was later removed).

Across the street from Trajan's forum was a museum that has the original markets of Trajan which was a 6 story shopping complex. (Not as big as the Mall of America but taller at least!) This place was incredibly preserved! I could just imagine walking down the hallway and seeing the shops in the rooms. The markets were later converted into a convent.

From there we walked by a prison that most likely held Peter and Paul when they were incarcerated. (Not at the same time of course… and Paul's second incarceration, not the first when he was under house arrest). Sadly it was closed so we were unable to go inside.

So we walked up a long flight of stairs to the Capitoline Hill Museum. Inside the museum we saw the original statue of the She-Wolf. The story goes that the original inhabitants of Rome (before it was a city) Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves. The statue at the museum (and lots of other paintings there) depicts the babies nursing on the she-wolf. We also saw the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, some walls from the Temple of Jupiter, lots of ancient jewlery, and a view of the Roman Forum (see Day 2's blog) from the Tabularium.

After the museum we walked to the base of the Capitoline Hill and saw the remains of an ancient Roman apartment building. From there we walked by the Largo Argentina. This archeological site has the remains of 4 pagan temples; although no one knows to which god they were dedicated (therefore someone creatively re-named them "A", "B", "C", and "D"). Behind one of the 4 temples (most likely the one called "B") Julius Caesar was assassinated.

After the Largo Argentina we walked towards Piazza Navona, which is one of the more popular places to film movie scenes in Rome. The Piazza Navona was originally the Circus of Domitian. It is shaped like a horse race track and was the site of many Christian martyrdoms. Today most of the original circus is gone, however, the base of the stands at the north end of the circus are visible underneath an office building. The Piazza houses the Fountain of Four Rivers which is a Michelangelo statue.

Since it was rainy we did not spend much time walking around (plus we had passed the area before). However, lunch was "on Papa" (for those of you who understand the reference it was funny) at a place that supposedly has the "Best Lasagna in the World." I did taste a bite, which was good, but I went for Rigatoni with Cheese, Tomato Sauce and Bacon (aka Prosciutto). It was delicious!!

After lunch we walked to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was originally built by Agrippa as a temple to all of the gods. It is a large cement building that had a domed roof (with a 9 meter hole in the top that acts as a calendar and a sun dial). The building burnt twice and so the current building was rebuilt in 126 C.E. by Hadrien (who was the emperor after Trajan). Some of the columns in front of the Pantheon were taken from Nero's baths. Inside the Pantheon are the tombs of some of the first kings of Italy. In 609 C.E. the statues to the gods were removed and it was converted into a Roman Catholic church. (Upon personal reflection I realized that it did not feel like a holy site or sacred place, nor did it feel like a church. It was just a mad house!)

After exploring the Pantheon and taking some cool pictures we were able to wander around the piazza. We stopped at the Tozza D'oro (spelling?) or the "Golden Cup" and had the proclaimed "Best Coffee in Rome." Ironically it is Brazilian coffee and it was still delicious!

After the wandering around we walked to the Church of Saint Augustine. Inside was the tomb of Saint Monica (Augustine's mother) who is the patron saint of motherhood (and mothers who pray for their children). We also saw our first Caravaggio painting which was "Mary and the Pilgrims". Above the alar of this church is an icon that was stolen/smuggled/removed (no one knows which) from Haggia Sophia in Constantinople before it was taken over by the Turks and turned into a Mosque.

Our last stop on the way back was to Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This church (which was originally not on our agenda) has the Bernini (I think) elephant statue out front. The name means the Chruch of Saint Mary over Minera and was named because the church was built over a temple that was probably to Minerva. Inside the church is a Michelangelo statue of Jesus. Funny story: Jesus was originally nude, but that was found offensive so someone placed a gold loincloth over his genitalia. Below the altar of the church is also the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena and around the church were a lot of Bernini pieces of art.

From there we went back to the hotel, picked up some Panini for dinner and relaxed for the evening.

Day 3- The Catacombs

2010-01-12T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today we went to some of the catacombs. I figured I would start by explaining the history of the catacombs so you can understand the full beauty of them. The catacombs are basically underground cemeteries used by early Christians. In the Roman world before Christianity the pagans (non-Christians) would cremate their dead and place the ashes in urns (or possibly scatter them somewhere). However, early Christians believed in the imminent return of Christ to the earth. When Christ returned the dead would rise again (this is called bodily resurrection). Therefore, the Christians would not cremate their dead in order to preserve the body for Christ's return.

The catacombs were called dormitories (vs. crematories) because Christians used the euphemism "sleep" to talk about death. The higher levels are actually the oldest levels because at they filled up the space, they had to move lower in order to create more space. It is an urban legend that Christians hid out/lived down there. They also probably did not worship down there. This is because the Roman government knew about the catacombs, therefore, there was no place to hide. Most of the catacombs were only rediscovered a few hundred years ago. (This is because Constantine had churches built over the catacombs).

The catacombs were a popular place to bury martyrs. From there, Christians would want to have their families and themselves buried near these martyrs. Early Christians would celebrate the death day of martyrs (but they called it their birth day and would have a feast (more like a picnic) over the catacombs. This is the beginning of feast days for martyrs.

There were 3 different types of "graves", the first being a long thin hole that is closed off by tile, bricks, or marble. These holes are close together like bunks in a submarine. The second type is a family tomb which has an arch on the top and either sarcophagi or holes within the tomb. Then there were sarcophagi that were placed in larger rooms for the more wealthy. These tomb rooms there are some of the earliest depictions of Christian symbols and Biblical artwork. Some of these symbols are the fish, the olive branch, the peacock (a symbol of life), the good shepherd (Jesus with a sheep on his shoulder), and the Iota Xi Theta Upsilon Sigma. There are also biblical depictions of Madonna and Child, the raising of Lazarus, the fiery furnace, Jonah and the whale, etc.

The first catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla on the northern side of Rome. In this catacomb was the first painting of Madonna and Child. Also it was the only other place in Rome to have a phoenix as a Christian symbol.

The second catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Callisto which was the largest of all of the catacombs with about half a million people buried there. Also, there are 13 miles of tunnels in that catacomb. There is a hall of bishops which had 9 bishops buried there.

The last catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Sebastian. This catacomb was most likely the original burial place of Peter and Paul. The catacomb had 3 room-like areas that show the transition from crematoriums to cemeteries; there were urns filled with ashes that were buried in the catacombs. Above this catacomb is the church of Saint Sebastian which has probably the last Bernini sculpture (the Bust of Jesus). It also has the original stone believed to have the footprints of Jesus. These footprints were from when Jesus appeared to Peter on the Appian Way heading outside of Rome. Peter saw Jesus and asked "Quo Vadis?" or Where are you going? And Jesus told Peter that he was going to Rome to be crucified again. Then Peter went into the city because he understood that it was his time to die. Peter was then crucified upside down. The Quo Vadis church (which we visited later and which is on the site of this revelation) has a replica of this stone in the floor of the church.

From the Quo Vadis church we went to the English speaking Methodist church and discussed their ministry and the Catholic and Methodist relations in Rome. The Reverend Dr. Trevor (last name being withheld) has a very interesting story that I wish I had more time to go into but I do not… sorry! From there we made our way back to the hotel after stopping for a snack/dinner by the Pantheon.

Day 2- The Roman Forum and Colosseum

2010-01-11T21:00:00.000-06:00

Sleep came easy to most of us last night and the jet lag is finally dwindling away! This morning we had breakfast in the hotel (with no nutella… it was a little sad). After breakfast we met up in the lounge to discuss the day's itinerary.

One of our group members asked how the priests are decided for the church and where all the funding comes from for upkeep. The churches are actually the property of Italy (not the Vatican) who pays for the upkeep. The churches are also assigned to a country (by the Vatican) which supplies the priest. The priest is also a liaison to the pilgrims from their country who come to visit.

Then we had a moment of prayer and a reading from Acts 12 which talked about Peter's release from captivity in Jerusalem. Most of the notes I have for each of the places on the itinerary I will include as I go through the day's activities.

The first place we went today was the Church of Santi Cosma and Damiano. This church is significant because it is built into a 3rd century pagan temple (possibly to Romulus). The saints were surgeons and legend has it that people would sleep in the church and be miraculously healed in the morning. This is part of the Roman Forum which was the marketplace, social area, and political center in the time of the Roman republic (before the emperors came in and started creating their own forums). The forum held many pagan temples, and so it common for the early church to build into or on top of the remaining temple.

Above the altar is a large arch that is a mock of a triumphal arch to signify the triumph of the church over the empire. There is an image of Peter and Paul above the altar as well as a depictions of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Above the arch is the Lamb of God as portrayed in the Apocalypse of John (aka Revelation) . This church is the first time that Jesus is portrayed as a "hippie" with long hair and a long beard, in earlier depictions he is much younger looking. Also in the mosaic there is a flamingo looking figure. This is actually a phoenix (a fictitious bird which is supposed to have burned to death and been reborn of it's ashes) and it represents resurrection. This is one of only 2 places where the phoenix is present in Rome.

Then from there we walked into the Roman Forum which was built/renovated mostly by Julius Caesar. First we went to the Arch of Septimius Severus. This was built in 208 C.E. Arches were built originally in times of triumph and the emperor would parade through them on the Via Sacra (Holy Way or Holy Road). The Via Sacra is the main road that runs through the forum and some of the original paving stones still remain. Also, in the forum we saw the remains of pillars from the Temple of Saturn. We also went into a recreation of the Curia (senate house).

As we were walking towards the other side of the forum we saw the remains of the Temple of Vesta, which was round. In this temple there were 6 keepers of the hearth fire of Rome (which was never to go out under penalty of death). These keepers were young women called the Vestal virgins. The were hand picked by the emperor around their 10th birthday and were to remain virgins for 30 years. They were said to have veto power over the emperor in the Colosseum. If a Vestal virgin was caught with a lover they were buried alive.

The largest forum building was the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. The building was started by Maxentius and (after the Milvian Bridge incident) was completed by Constantine.

The Arch of Titus is one of the more famous arches in Rome because it depicts the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. with a frieze of Titus carrying the Menorah from the temple into Rome.

From there we went onto the Palatine Hill which was where all of the palaces and rich homes were built. This is one of the 7 famous hills of Rome (which is symbolic of 7 in some apocalyptic literature). We found quite a few fleur-de-lis on this hill including some around a sun dial. We visited the palace gardens and saw the holes for ancient huts believed to be the from some of the first civilizations in Rome.

We also visited the House of Livia (and Augustus?). This home still has frescos on the walls dating back over 2000 years. This was Livia's family's home and Augustus could have possibly lived there before he was emperor. We then went down the Crypto Porticus, which is the place where an emperor (forgot who) was killed.

From the forum, we stopped for a quick lunch and made our way to the Colosseum for a guided tour. The Colosseum, which is officially called the Flavian Amphitheater after the emperor Flavian who commissioned it, gets it nickname from the large bronze statue of Nero that used to be next to it. However, no one really knows what happened to that statue. The Colosseum in Nero's time was a manmade lake (made by Nero). When the Colosseum first opened there were 100 days (straight, 24 hours a day) of games.

Some of these games included gladiator battles, hunting games, etc. After the 100 days, politicians would then throw their own games in order to gain favor with the people. The Colosseum was one place in which the people of Rome could voice their opinions (they could even boo the emperor and not get killed!).

The gladiators that fought in the Colosseum were the best of the best. If one made it to the big stage
(like Broadway in a sense) then there was not a "fight to the death" battle. Gladiators were usually condemned criminals, slaves, or thrill seekers (and possibly a lifestyle to avoid debt/death). And while they may not have been "noble" they were similar to the professional athletes of our time.

After the Colosseum we saw the Arch of Constantine, which depicts a final battle of the Milvian bridge on the side, and the Ludus Magnus, which was the barracks for the gladiators. Then we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

For dinner a bunch of us went to a "bar" which is not like a typical American bar but is more like a fast food pizza/Panini place. Then some of made our way to an Irish Pub (free internet! Yay!) and then made a gelato run to finish off the night!

Day 1- Arriving in Rome

2010-01-10T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well we made it Rome okay! Quite a few "jet-lagged" people in our group (myself included) but we are here!

Our trip is a spiritual pilgrimage/cross-cultural experience/history course. Before we left we were asked to watch Gladiator (which is NOT historically accurate, or even close to it), Roman Holiday, Quo Vadis (a 1951 Technicolor movie about Nero's fire, which is also NOT historically accurate, but is very good anyways!), and Hudson Hawk (which is up there in the horribly stupid, but entirely hilarious 1category). Each of these movies is a must see! We were also asked to read some books (depending on where your credit was going to depended on what books you should read).

From all of these things I realized how little I really knew about Rome! I had forgotten much of my "Roman Empire" history lessons from grade-school. So I started watching the HBO series "Rome". Coolest thing about the DVD Box set is that there is an option to have a commentary that is called "All Roads Lead to Rome" that is similar to VH1's Pop-Up Video. Love it! I have learned so much from that! Amazingly it is only the first day I am already overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have seen. So onto the itinerary…

After leaving the airport, we went straight to the MVSEO DELLA CIVILTA ROMANA or "The Museum of Roman Civilization" (forgive my Latin and Italian in the time here… it may not be entirely accurate, I only speak Koine Greek, Hebrew, and English). In this museum we saw a lot of replicas of ancient buildings and graffiti, etc. Two of the coolest things we saw (other and an entire room dedicated to Julius Caesar and another one dedicated to Augustus) were:

1) a 4th Century Model of Rome (Constantine's era; gave us a good idea of what Rome looked like around the time of the first churches)

2) a replica of a household shrine to a family's gods (at least I think it was a replica… We found it on the way to the restroom and the area was under construction so there was no sign on it.)

After leaving the museum we drove by the Square Colosseum (used as the Mayflower building in the movie Hudson Hawk). The area where this and the museum are located is called the EUR. It was Mussolini's attempt to create his own political forum outside of the actual city of Rome. The bus then took us to our hotel so we were able to check into our rooms. We all dropped our

things off and went next doors for our first meal of real Italian pizza. YUM!!

Then, after some freshening up/nap time (because we all needed it) we walked over to the church San Pietro in Vincoli or Saint Peter in Chains. It is called thus because the altar

has chains that are supposedly from Peter's imprisonment in Rome and/or Jerusalem (there is a debate over which and legend says that it is both and that the chains were miraculously fused together… take it as you will). This church is called a "Title Church" and is one of 25 in Rome. These churches are supposed to be built on top of 1st-3rd century house churches (before Constantine made Christianity legal per se). These churches are typically named after the owners of the house or after a patron or after a martyr.

Inside of this church is the famous Michelangelo's Moses. Fascinatingly, this depiction of Moses has horns. I know right!? According to some Dan Brown book (I think The Lost Symbol) this is because of a Hebrew mistranslation… I am not positive because my Hebrew is not up to par yet, but that is one theory as to this mystery. Another cool thing I noticed in this church was a depiction of skeletons along the left wall. I was told this is a Medieval and is meant to remind people of their mortality as they walk by. Cool stuff!

The next church we went to was San Vitale which is another Title Church. This church was dedicated to Saint Vitalis' family. The story goes that he was tortured on a rack and then buried alive. The is a 5th Century church (around 400). Entering this church we had to walk down a large flight of stairs which illustrated the rising street levels throughout time. The church is known for having very elaborate nativity scenes.

The next church we went to was the Basilica Papate Di Santa Maria Maggiore or the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. This church has the tallest bell tower in Rome. It is one of 4 places that the pope will celebrate Mass. The parts of the ceiling of the Basilica were made from the first shipment of gold sent to Spain from the "New World" (from Christopher Columbus). This church also has a statue called the Ave Regina Pacis or the Queen of Peace. This is a statue of the baby Jesus and Mary, who is holding up her hand for peace. It is interesting to point out that Jesus is holding up an olive branch. This statue was created at the end of WWI.

In the front of the church there is a 5th century mosaic depicting the nativity scene. Along the sides of the church there are also mosaics of different Old Testament stories. In the altar itself there is a piece of wood that is supposedly from Jesus' manger in Bethlehem.

We were unable to see Bernini's tomb (sad day) which is somewhere in the church because it was closed

off. However, I ventured into a baptismal area (by the entrance to the museum) and found a very cool fountain thing and behind it was the all seeing eye (a pagan-ish symbol, it is on the

top of the pyramid on the back of a U.S. $1 bill). Dan Brown relates this symbol to masonry and creates or feeds into the lore.

Outside of the church, we discussed the differences between Basilicas and Cathedrals (Basilica is named after the shape which is rectangular and is Roman in origin vs. Cathedrals which house bishops). We also saw a column in front of the church which is from the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine.

From there we headed back to the hotel (and took a short detour for gelato… of course!)

Across the Sea!

2010-01-07T01:51:00.001-06:00

I apologize for the lack of posting in the past few weeks. I have been taking some time away from academic work in order to relax and enjoy my break. On Saturday I will be boarding a plane to Rome and I will resume blogging. I pray that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! That is all!

Paul's Eschaton... Come now?

2009-12-10T13:50:00.002-06:00

I was having lunch with a friend today who wanted to discuss our final exam for New Testament. It was a take home exam (only 3 essays at no more than 3 pages single spaced). I thought it was funny when he said that after studying more about Paul's eschatology (in Romans, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, etc.) that he wished for the eschaton to come. No one said it was going to be a bad day! Actually it sounds wonderful to be redeemed by God and brought up into heaven so we wouldn't have to do the rest of these finals from H-E-L-L!

It is a little paradoxical to have hellish finals in a seminary... but that is what they are. I have not had much time to do anything but bury myself in books in the last few weeks. Thus I apologize for not blogging. I will resume blogging when I am done with all of these papers.

(P.S. I still have a paper to write about Matthew 25:31-46 so if anyone has any resources that will help let me know!)

"Love/Hate" relationships, the Escaton, Pop-culture, and Mayan Calenders

2009-11-29T13:11:00.007-06:00

Okay... so I am on this whole pop-culture theme in the last few days but I hope that everyone is enjoying it! (Me and pop culture are not usually close... I tend to be in my own world).

Here goes... The movie 2012 is in theaters and has the population in an uproar. This entry will contain NO spoilers because I refuse to see this movie (until it comes out on DVD and I can get it at a redbox for $1).

In his sermon this morning, our pastor was discussing the "Love/Hate" relationship people have with the end of the world. No one wants it to come, people want to hide from it or try to stop it. But, nonetheless, people love to fantasize what will happen. They even make major motion pictures about it. (i.e. 2012, I Am Legend, Knowing, and the list goes on...). Why?? No idea!

However, what I can tell you is that people are freaking out way too much about 2012. I am sorry, Christianity never met the Mayans... two different continents at two very different times. People are mixing up the Christian Scriptures with a Mayan rock! (See cartoon)
Christians, if you read the scriptures literally (which I usually do when the meaning is obvious) Matthew 24: 29-31 and 36-39 says:

29 ‘Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

36 ‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

So obviously if you follow the scriptures then December 21st, 2012 is not be the coming of the end, because no one will know the time! Obviousness here.

Also a brief history lesson for those who do not know much about the Mayan Calender, the calender does not "end" but actually shifts into it's final stage. Each of these rings, moves inward at a certain point in time. The last ring ends on APPROXIMATELY December 21, 2012 (this is due to dating differences that we can only estimate) and shifts us into the final stage of the calendar. Nothing of significance happened at the times when the stages shifted in previous history (that we know of) so we can assume that the shift will not be entirely evident.

For those of you who remember, a similar pop-culture issue around the year 1999 left much of the world in panic. Y2K was coming! The shift into a new millennium (not really... the shift did not actually happen until 2001 because there is no year Zero). But still people were freaking out that computers would crash and the world would be ending. Popular books like the Left Behind series helped people to freak out even more. And what happened on January 1st, 2000. Nothing! Some computers went back to the year 1900, but the problem was fixed almost immediately. Man did a lot of people look like idiots!?

So for anyone who is freaking out about this. Consult historical data... nothing is going to happen. But I did hear there is going to be one hell of a party at the Mayan pyramid! (If you want to go I will try not to laugh... but I will probably fail).

Hidden Meanings, Masonic Secrets, Google and Enlightenment

2009-11-27T22:56:00.014-06:00

He has done it again! Another best selling book by Dan Brown about Robert Langdon's journeys to find secrets surrounding the mysterious history of faith. (Note: Spoiler alert! Just got done reading the book myself and I am glad no one spoiled it for me so don't read below unless you want to know what happens... and if you want to know what happens that is cheating in my opinion. This is not sparknotes.com, it is my blog so don't expect to get all the information... ok back to the point).

Sadly, what I would like to inform people is that if Robert Langdon had known his Bible and the origin of languages better, he would have understood for himself that what Katherine and Peter Solomon were telling him was not logical. (Mental image of the new Star Trek movie where Spock looks at the Captain and says "His logic is sound"... but in this case "His logic is not sound").

Sometimes I wonder how much of the information that Dan Brown presents is his own opinion (which he has no scholarly proof of), his made-up ideas (which are quite far fetched), and stuff from poorly informed (and un-scholarly) websites he found by Google-ing (or on Wikipedia... not scholarly either!).

Don't get me wrong, I really do love the concept of fictional books that relate historical questions or myths to modern life. (If you are looking for other authors like Dan Brown try Raymond Khoury and Kate Mosse). But I tend to find it more entertaining when I come at then with a quizzical eye, ready to question if what I am reading is true.

Sometimes, an obvious slip up occurs and I can tell that the author is clueless on the subject (like when Raymond Khoury tried to tell us that the Second Temple of Jerusalem was more beautiful than the first... nope sorry, people were distressed by how "ugly" it was in comparison to the one Solomon built). Other times, there is a subtle consciousness that he may not be right and the desire to look it up in a textbook or in the case of this book, the Hebrew and Greek Lexicons.

I wish I could quote the page numbers that cited some of the slips, but I was listening to the audio-book on a long drive... which made it more difficult for me to find them. However, I will mention one slip that had me almost crying I was laughing so hard. Robert Langdon and Katherine Solomon are discussing what had been deciphered from the stone pyramid. It was Latin (which is one language I do not know but bear with me), and it read "Jeova Sanctus Unus."

Katherine translates this as "One true God" but it may also mean "God's holy one" (contextually is more often the first use but it needs to be noted that it has been translated the other way as well). But the funny part is when Katherine goes on the mental process of what "Jeova" means. She relates it back to Hebrew "Jehovah" which she says is a Hebrew name for God in the Old Testament. Haha!

Ok Hebrew scholars... what is the problem with this word?? Firstly, it is not a word! Properly transliterated it would be "Yehowah" (The J goes to Y for yod, the V goes to W for waw) Ok now, take out the vowels, because Hebrew was originally consonantal, and you get Y-H-W-H, the divine name. This name was never to be spoken, so instead the reader would say "Adonai" when they got to the name in the scripture readings. When the Masoretes came around and added their systems of vowels to the consonantal language, they added the vowels of "Adonai" to YHWH. Many years later some people misread this as "Yehovah". (Please note that the transliteration above may not make much sense because the vowels' English equivalents are spelled differently but the pronunciation makes sense if you think about it).

There are more language goofs, plus a few smatterings of misquoted Bible passages, and quite a few misinterpreted apocalyptic passages. What is the point I am trying to get at? A word of caution to those who read these books religiously (haha no pun intended), but make sure you take everything at face value, do not read too much into these books. Remember that they are works of fiction, meant purely for entertainment. If you want to know more, use JSTOR or Google Scholar to find the information from a trusted source. (And word of advice to Dan Brown and his editors, you are probably making millions from these books, maybe it is time to hire a religion scholar to help you do the proper research so you are getting crap from the religious circles! Someone like Me? Wishful thinking I know!)

Well, I will leave you with a very good discussion that I have redacted (just like on the CIA server in the book... I am good at this sort of thing...)

Peter Solomon: "If the Bible does not contain hidden meaning, then why have so many of history's finest minds... become so obsessed with studying it?"

Robert Langdon: "Peter, you know I find this topic fascinating. and I can understand that it might be tempting for bright minds to imagine the Scriptures contain hidden meaning, but it makes no logical sense to me.... Teachers teach... We speak openly. Why would the prophets-the greatest teachers in history-obscure their language? If they hoped to change the world, why would they speak in code? Why not speak plainly so the world can understand?" (pages 490&491).

Langdon has an interesting question (and I don't think Solomon's answer was right so I did not want to include it). Gnostics searched for a hidden meaning within the words spoken by Jesus and they were considered heretics... so wouldn't finding a hidden meaning in the text be like looking for this secret gnosis (aka Enlightenment)?

Biblical scholars are not searching for a deeper meaning, we are searching for better ways of understanding the way the text was meant to be understood... if that makes any sense... That is how Biblical scholars differ from the people Dan Brown mentions in his book. Because we are not trying to find the secret meanings... we are trying to understand the facts.

P.S. Again I want to say I was not trying to be harsh to Dan Brown... the book was wonderfully written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it was fictional, so please remember that.

Rainbows in Jesus' Teachings

2009-11-15T11:19:00.005-06:00

(No, Jesus does not reference the story of Noah... but on a side note I did watch Evan Almighty the other day... funny movie!)

Now I don't normally come home and blog immediately after church, I like to eat breakfast first. But I am doing this as a special favor to Suzanne, with whom I had this conversation, and for Scott, who preached this morning which prompted the conversation with the former. (P.S. Great job Scott! I hope you enjoy my reply).

This week's Gospel reading was from Mark 10:17-22, which is the story of the Rich Man who asks Jesus how he can obtain salvation and Jesus tells him to sell all of his possessions and the man leaves distressed because he has so much. Scott did an excellent job of relating this story to the questions of "What" and "How". The man is asking the postmodern scientific questions of the 21st century American mindset (mind you in 1st century Palestine... wow was he ahead of the times!?).

I had ranted in a previous blog about the black and white v. grey areas. Black and white referring to the hard sciences (like physics and chemistry), the "What" and "How" and the grey referring to the soft sciences (like psychology, but in the case of the former blog it was Pastoral Care). But what I realized this morning is there is another element... COLOR! (Yikes! Cower and hide!)-- Note: I am going to adjust the definitions from the former blog. Pastoral Care is colorful, not grey... which then makes much more sense if you keep reading!

Scott and myself come from the mindset of black and white. It is amazing how we ended up in religion, which is VERY colorful. (Mom, this may be the subconscious reason as to why I like wearing black, white, grey, and brown... Just in case you were wondering!) I am realizing that the reason I am drawn to Bible (and Scott may be also) is because it tends to black and white. It is written down. We can use the historical critical, literary critical, source, and socio-anthropological methods to figure out what is really going on in the text. We are okay with the text becoming grey in some areas because it makes for more interesting scholarly debate. (Yes, I know I am a nerd but moving on...)

People like myself tend to shy away from color. It is too much for us to grasp. It is easier to deal with different shades of grey (because they are all lighter forms of black or darker forms of white it you think about it). But some scholars, like Suzanne, are able to take these forms of grey in the text and give them color through forms like narrative criticism. It makes the text come more alive and opens up the debate significantly. The question that I would associate with the colors is not "What" or "How" but "WHY?"

A good scholar can take their box of 64 Crayola crayons and color the answers to that question. Now me, I am not ready for that... I like the box of 3 that comes free from Buffalo Wild Wings with the kids menu, Red, Blue, and Green. Maybe eventually I will be able to move to the box of 4 from Perkins, and then to the box of 8 sold by Crayola.

What I am trying to say is that some people are colorful. The black and white does not interest them... or maybe they could never do a grey-scale picture. Then there are the others who prefer the grey-scale and hide under blankets when presented with the 64 Crayolas. (I think colors are worse than the boogie-man.... and by the way, why do kids need that many colors? A Macaroni and Cheese crayon? Really?)

But anyways, the question of "Why", this color that we are presented with is important. Like Scott says, Jesus is not telling the man a black and white answer. Jesus is trying to remove the power that this man's wealth has given him so that he can see that Jesus, his salvation is right in front of him. (I wish that Mark would have followed up so we can hear the end of the story, but that is beyond the point). Jesus' answer was colorful when the man wanted it to be black and white. That is probably why he was distressed when he left Jesus' sight.

In the same way, I prefer to hear the black and white answer. Slowly I am introducing color into my scholarship. It is uncomfortable for me, but not everything is black and white. And, color does make life and scholarship a lot prettier.

Bound for a world called Academia

2009-11-02T21:30:00.004-06:00

(Movie announcer voice with fantasy movie music in the background) "The journey of one young adult through seminary bound towards a world called... Academia. A world full of books and papers, where imagination brings forth power..."

Haha, right. I wish it were that glorious! I found out that my destination was this world called Academia. A world of facts and scientific reasoning (although applied mainly in my path to literature).

Why bring this path up?

Because recently, I have been struggling to handle the midterm assignment in my Pastoral Care class. I don't deal well with not having concrete answers, or a real way of deducting these concrete answers. Pastoral Care is a "touchy feel-y class" according to my friend Suzanne.

In the midterm we are doing a case study on a "grey area." You must create a cultural context, then figure out the developmental issues, the psychological issues, the theological issues, write a follow-up session, write a prayer (yikes!), and pick a psalm to help the person (which is a struggle for someone who does not like to take scripture out of context-says the academic).

I am not called into Pastoral ministry and I can't stand this class because the professor expects that we all are (mind you the name is Pastoral Care, but it is a requirement for all MDiv students and MTS's have to take 2 courses in "touchy feel-y"). But seriously, how are you expected to get a grade on something that is situational?? Depending on who you are and who you are working with and the situation they are in, the way to handle the situation will be different!

One of the admissions counselors told me when I was talking about Pastoral Care that I will probably get an A- with the note:"too intellectual" because I that is what I have always been taught. He said it would be the worst grade I will get in seminary... and part of me hopes he is right, because if I get a good grade on this it will be a miracle (yes, the kind that Jesus did).

"Things are Looking Up"

2009-10-28T11:52:00.002-05:00

As I reflect on my last week or so, I am reminded of a wonderful song by Gershwin, "Things are Looking Up." It goes a little like this:

Things are looking up!
It's a great little world we live in!
And I'm happy as a pup since [life] looked up at me.
(I changed the word in brackets to life instead of love because that is what the way it should go...)

Life has looked up at me. I got a work study job (finally!) in the library working on the "Friends of the Library" program that is non-existent at this point and also putting together shelving in the remodeling process. I also just got a job at Buffalo Wild Wings (again) working as a server when the new store down the street opens up! I am also finally starting to settle into a groove of when and how to study. I got into all of my classes for the spring (which did not happen for this semester, lucky it turned out okay though). Plus I am going to be able to afford to go to Rome and Israel in the next year. I am very excited! Hopefully things remain on the upside!

The use of O.T. vs. H.B.

2009-10-22T14:30:00.002-05:00

Okay... I need to do a little bit of complaining about something that has been bothering me for quite some time. In my Masters of Theological Studies program the title of my specialization is "Old Testament" (it is labeled on my grid for graduation). The first time I saw that I just said "Hmm... that is interesting" because it had been quite some time since I had seen the terminology "Old Testament" used in an academic setting. Then I saw it again as the title for a class. I thought "Okay, this is getting ridiculous!"

I prefer to use the title "Hebrew Bible" to avoid offense and because that was what I was taught in undergrad (BTW Thanks Jessica!). I understand that in churches the congregations will probably never call that section of the Bible the "Hebrew Bible" (because of tradition and lack of offending) but in the world of academics it is a different world.

In Academia, the use of "Old Testament" is like a taboo. It shows a lack of respect for the Judaism due to the negative connotations associated with the word "old." In a book I am reading for my New Testament class called The Misunderstood Jew, the author Amy-Jill Levine (a New Testament scholar who is Jewish herself) emphasizes the same points as I have noted above.

I am tempted to bring forth a few complaints to the administration about this! "Old Testament" is offensive and it also could look bad on my transcript when I submit it to certain PhD. Programs. (Not to mention the grid itself really isn't set up well).

I will mention that when referencing the Septuagint (Greek Translation of Hebrew Bible) the term should be Septuagint or Septuagints... But that is just a random note...

Okay... Rant Over.

Baseball and Hebrew

2009-10-20T13:05:00.009-05:00

So for those of you who have access to and can read my Facebook page, you may have noticed that I like baseball.... a lot. (Twins fan for life!) I tend to make analogies that relate back to baseball. (P.S. if you don't know a lot about baseball I am sorry... google the terms? Some examples: I am up to bat, he is on deck, it threw a change-up, etc.)

The one most recently used on my Facebook wall was: "Every time I start to get the pattern it throws a curveball." This was in reply to working on my Hebrew homework and wanting to throw something against a wall (which is not a good recommendation if you have neighbors).

Let me set the situation for you.... We are in Chapter 5 of Seow's A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew, learning about Geminates and Segolates (I do not expect you to know what that means). But, what bothered me was when I previewed the vocabulary for that chapter and we came to the word for father: 'ab (the b is pronounced with a v sound).

When I looked at the definition it named the plural as 'abot (same v pronunciation). The ending -ot is typically a feminine ending... but it was on a masculine word!! WHAT!? Confused to the extreme. I had to bring it up in class and the reason for this is because "That is what the language does!"

I do not blame the professor for that answer... I blame the person who originally made this the rule! I hope it was a woman and that she was thinking "I am going to give it a feminine plural ending because when you get too many men in a group they act girl-y." (No offense to any of the men who are reading this).

But if that wasn't the case I am not happy... Why? Because there are straight explanations (fastballs, makes sense) and there are messed up explanations (curveballs, don't make sense) and that was definitely a curveball!!!

Language as a Tool for the Ancient World View

2009-10-08T13:56:00.009-05:00

I was listening to my iVocab Hebrew last night to help myself practice the new vocabulary. I had not looked at the chapter (I have a whole system of listening to the vocab, then listening to the narrated Powerpoint presentation, then actually reading the book). Therefore, I had never seen the words except on the flashcard on my iPod.

I had the flashcards on shuffle so that I could not memorize them in order. But somehow two words were put next to each other that made me laugh quite a bit. The words were (in the closest English transliteration I can type) mayim and shamayim. Mayim means water. Shamayim means heaven.

I was brought back to my Introduction to Bible class from undergraduate where we discussed the first creation story in Genesis. God creates light and darkness. Then he separates the waters above from the waters below (with a dome). The ancient world view coming through was that there is water in the sky because it rains.

Therefore, I found it hilarious that the word for heaven has the root of water. The ancient world view have been embedded in the original language. This can also be seen when looking at the creation story. God creates man, (Hebrew: adam) from the soil of the earth (Hebrew for soil: adamah).

Now it all makes sense!

It's Greek to Me!

2009-10-06T13:40:00.009-05:00

I am sorry I have not blogged recently. Homework has kept me quite busy (and a sick cat). Recently, I have been spending a lot of time looking at Seow's A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew.

I love my Hebrew class! The first 5 lessons we spent immersing ourselves in the Hebrew language (similar to a Spanish class where the teacher says something, you repeat and then learn the meaning). But those five classes are over... and now we are looking at the written language.

Ever heard the saying "It's Greek to me!" Seriously, I wish I could say it was that simple! The language may look different but it definitely is not Greek! (although the Hebrew "gimmel" does look a lot like a Greek "lambda").

I am not struggling... yet. But there has been lots of iPod flashcard studying recently and there is plenty more of that to come. I wish learning biblical languages were a little easier! Too bad they are mostly dead languages!

Reading and Chess

2009-09-22T12:54:00.004-05:00

In the last few weeks I have realized how much reading I will have to do weekly in order to keep up on all of my classes. Honestly, when people told me seminary is not easy they were right! Now the classes themselves mostly make sense and are not too terribly difficult. But mix a social life with reading and taking care of a sick cat (well in my case only) and one realizes that there is not enough time in the day. But seriously, I am doing the best that I can.

I just recently switched to the Masters of Theological Studies program (from the Masters of Divinity program). And I realized that there is a bit of my character that can explain why. First let me explain the context.

When I was reading for my New Testament class, I noticed that what the author was talking about reminded me of the game of Chess. I got to thinking about that game and remembered that it is a game of waiting. The game of chess usually takes quite a long time if played with equal opponents. I thought to myself.. "Maybe that is why I do not play that game... I am not a patient person."

I try my hardest to be patient but I like to get things done. People who know me know that I tend to walk fast, drive fast (I can't stand being behind slow people!!), and in general just try to do things as quickly as possible.

Thus, when I get to do lots of reading, I want to get it done as quickly as possible. I have no patience for wordy books (ie. my Pastoral Care readings) and therefore I get frustrated.

My patience is also why I switched to a Masters of Theological Studies, I want to get done with my masters as soon as possible (while not wasting my time... like by reading the books mentioned above).

One of the sermons from last week said that we as seminary students need to learn to wait. I agree, in part. My seminary experience will be sort of like a game of chess. Strategic planning (mixed with a bit of impatience... no matter how hard I try to be patient), making the right moves, and lots of learning by observation.

Hopefully by the time I graduate I will be a chess master.

Hellenism v. Medieval Prospective

2009-09-15T13:50:00.004-05:00

Hellenism means Greek Culture (no it is not a swear word!)

I do not believe in irony. So it is nor ironic that today (9/15) at chapel the Gospel lesson was from Mark 9:30-37 [there are links of the right side of the screen for different Bibles so you can look it up]. This story is similar to the verse from Mark 10:15 that I used to name my blog. Understanding the culture of Jesus' time is important in fully understanding what Mark truly means when he was writing these verses.

Firstly, you must realize that the culture of Jesus' time is VERY different than the American culture. In my New Testament class we are discussing the Greco-Roman culture and how it affected the way the scriptures were written. This is a prime example!!!

When we approach these verses we bring with us the idea that children are wonderful beings. We all wish we could be children again at some point in our lives. This idea was not present in the cultural mindset until the Middle Ages. (Hence Hellenism v. Medieval Perspective).

In the Hellenistic culture, the social status was very different. If you notice the triangle on the right, above the big black line was the portion of the Roman empire that were citizens. At the top is the Emperor. Below him, would be the senate (all males). The rest were adult male citizens (it was rare for women to be considered citizens although it did happen sometimes). Below that line were male non-citizens, slaves, then women and then children. Children were the lowest of low in the Hellenistic culture. They were disgusting, they cried all of the time, needed lots of attention, and also could not reciprocate the help given to them.

Therefore, in Mark 9:30-37, when Jesus asks his disciples to serve a child he was going against the norm. In that time, people who served only served those who could return the favor. (Notice the change in perspective when reading the title of my blog in the Hellenistic mindset).

Jesus says in these verses that to become first you must come last, to be like a child. This does not mean to act childish. He asks them to disregard their status in the society and to serve all people, regardless of their ability to return the favor.

Servitude is the life we seminarians have all chosen when going into our ministry. We need to forget our status in life in order to become like children. That is what Jesus asks all of his disciples to do.

Derivation of Sophia Teknou

2009-09-15T12:57:00.005-05:00

Some people have asked me "Where does the blog name come from?" The word "sophia" is Greek for "wisdom." The word "teknou" (pronounced tech-new) is the genitive form of "teknon" which means "of a child." Therefore the direct translation would be "wisdom of a child." But why the title you may ask? Simple.

Reason #1: When I took Greek in undergrad, the book we used was Bill Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek. The font we downloaded for the class was called "TEKNIAGREEK." Mounce used this name because we were his "little children" learning Greek. That word always stuck with me.

Reason #2: Sophia is a beautiful word. I have always wanted to name one of my daughters that name (if I could find a husband first that would help). It is the word for wisdom and that is what I am striving to gain in my seminary experience.

Reason #3: When I was at orientation, I looked around the room and I knew I was one of the youngest students in my class. (I am not saying that I am THE youngest but in comparison to the average age I am young). Although I don't like to call myself a child the term was fitting. I am a child in my faith and life journey.

Reason #4: When we were at the "Sexual Ethics and Boundaries" Workshop (a requirement for all new students), one of the professors put the verse of Mark 10:15 [see above] and I decided then to name my blog after this verse.

Introduction to my blog

2009-09-14T14:25:00.004-05:00

Welcome! I am so glad that you have decided to read my blog! This is my way of projecting the ideas and lessons to which I have been subject throughout my seminary career. I will discuss different issues of my personal life as well as the different experience in classes, chapel, and other organizations.

My goal is to include my readers in this journey. Feel free to comment, ask questions, etc. I welcome any opinion that is other than my own.
My only request is that if you read, you also pray for me in my journey. God Bless and I hope you enjoy!