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bdw3355
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Name: Ben
Country: United States
State: Kansas
Metro: Manhattan
Birthday: 8/2/1983
Gender: Male
Interests: Music...I played in various ensembles at K-State, including Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Band, and Marching Band. I arrange music for church--I play the piano for the rock band and arrange for horns and strings.
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
12/29/2005
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| So, I'm sorry that I haven't posted like I thought I would, however, here's an amazing story that I thought I HAD to tell you.
I know very little about the entire history of Kalavryta, the city we
visited in Geece. All of the masterclasses took place in this little
skiing village. I don't know what the city did before it was a ski
city. It was likely just a farming village--it is in a valley between
many mountains. In fact, it was one of the most mountainous villages I
have ever seen, including towns in the Rockies. These mountains are
very tightly spaced, and the valley of Kalavryta is the only major
valley that I noticed while driving to and from this village.
By the way, for those of you that are interested, the village's name I saw throughout the town looked like this: ΚΑΛΑΒΡΥΤΑ
The story I heard about this village goes like this. Around 1943 or so,
the German Nazis believed that this location was a jumping point for
allied troops into the Mediterranean. On the 13th day of December,
1943, a terrible event occurred in this city.
This is a picture of one of the memorials to this sorrowful event in the life of this village.
The Nazis ransacked and burned this little village. This is not
unsurprising, in fact, war occurs like this on occassion. However, this
seems to not have been enough to appease the Nazis. The very blunt
story is that the Nazis kidnapped, shot, and killed every man in the
village that was of fighting age. They also kidnapped the rest of the
village people--the women and the children and locked them in the
church that is located in the center of the village. The Nazis brought
the men up to the point where this memorial now stands. It was here
that the Nazis decided to carry out this act of hatred. The legends say
that this was done because it was the best view of the village as it
was burning and amid a violent chaos. My first picture on this entry
shows that view of the village. When I was told this story while at
this memorial I could not inhibit emotions. This was perhaps one of the
saddest stories I have ever heard.
This is a picture of the church in the center of the village.
This is a memorial to the young men that died. As you can see, not one
from this frame is over 18. Some of them are as young as 13.
Not everyone died that day in the village. In fact, as the chaos of the
fire and kidnapping occurred, the legend says that an Austrian or other
non-Nazi posing as a Nazi soldier actually let the women and children
free from the locked church building. Thus, many artists' depictions of
this event have been made with women and children attempting to cope
with such an enormous loss--the loss of their homes and their fathers,
husbands, and grandfathers. This next photograph of a sculpture in the
village center is just such a depiction.
This picture depicts a mother with two children carrying their dead
father back to the village. This is one of the most powerful pieces of
art (music or otherwise) I have ever experienced.
These are a few more pictures from the memorial area.
The numbers in white at the base of the cross read 13-12-43, for the 13th day of December, 1943.
This is a more complete picture of the memorial. There are memorial
walls facing the opposite direction. The wall of young men's names and
ages is one of those walls.
This is a depiction of a woman coping with this tremendous loss.
Every year, the people of Kalavryta pay tribute to this event with a
memorial gathering. It occurs annually on the 13th of December. We
arrived in Kalavryta on the 3rd of January, so it had been about 3
weeks since the memorial event. We saw advertising posters throughout
the city. I took a picture of one, thinking I would not be able to get
one to take home with me. Luckily, Andy and I repeatedly asked the
leader of the workshop if there were any extras. He gave these posters
to anyone that wanted one. I have it now, sitting in my house. If you
come to see me, I will most certainly show it to you. This, too, was a
very emotional artists' depiction of the event. It's not a very good
picture, but you can come visit me and I will show you the real thing.
This is perhaps not a post you will enjoy reading, but one you will
think about for some time. I know that I will think about it for a long
time to come.
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| For those of you hoping to see/hear more pictures/stories from Greece,
this isn't quite it. I've been reading this book and posting thoughts I
have while I read it. In part, it's like doing a book review like I
would for MCC, and I'm really enjoying it. So, here's notes from the
book from the part that I read during the trip.
11. Quote:
"How quickly Peter went from being the spokesman of God to becoming
Satan incarnate. That's what happens when power comes to those who
aren't used to it" (46).
Peter acknowledged that
Jesus was Christ/Messiah, but conceived of a Messiah that would save
the Jews from oppression via military/political power--restoring the
Kingdom of David. He does not understand the task Jesus had before him.
Reeves does not mention this, but is exactly right in his assessment of
Peter's power-hungry attitude.
12. Quote: "All of us want our lives to count for something. The only way we can find meaning for living is in dying" (48).
An absolutely powerful
statement! "Take up his cross" (Mt. 16:24) ---> Live for the dying!!
---> "Live like you were dying." Die yourself in Christ's service.
A cross in this context means only one thing--death. It does not mean a "burden" one must bear. Great proof of solid exegesis.
13. Quote:
"Jesus had a death wish. The disciples didn't want to believe it. As
long as Jesus was alive, their dreams of kingdom glory could come true"
(57).
Wonderful insight based on
solid exegesis! The 12 didn't want Jesus to die, because their concept
of a political/military Messiah would be useless--as would their hopes
of sharing in the glory of such a worldly kingdom. The 12 did not
understand Jesus' true meaning of Messiah.
14. Quote: "...when
disciples disciple, Jesus is present--even to the last day. The student
becomes the teacher. The kingdom of heaven is established on earth.
Jesus is present in his absence. The end of the story is our beginning"
(65).
Powerful and profound
statement! When a disciple disciples, Jesus is present--similar to an
above statement ---> reading Matthew IS the presence of Jesus.
This is the end of the section on Matthew. I have notes for the rest of
Mark also, but I don't have time right now to put all of them up yet,
so it will wait. Bye for now--hope your Sunday went well and you don't
like Peyton Manning.
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| Pictures from the Ancient Agora (Acts 17:16-34)
"So he [Paul]
conversed in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearers and in the
agora day by day with those who chanced to be around. Some
of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also met with him. Some asked,
'What would this charlatan be at?' Others said, 'He seems to be
advertising foreigh divinities'--because he was preaching the gosple of
Jesus and the Resurrection. So they laid hold on him and brought him to
the Areopagus. There they said, 'May we know what this new teaching is,
of which you speak?' " (Acts 17:17-19, translation by F. F. Bruce)
This was the one place in Athens I desired to go the most. The
translation of agora is "marketplace," and as you can tell from many of
the pictures, this was a vibrant and popular place to be. My Acts
professor, Dr. Donn Leach (who also taught my parents when they were at
MCC) says that this place was the were governement officials would
issue edicts to the common people. Also, the biblical text says that
these people would sit--all day long--talking about philosophy
(17:21). This speech by Paul is important because it demonstrates
Paul's attempt to adapt the gospel message to a philosophical
audience--actually, adapting the message from culture to culture. As
you can see from reading the text of Acts, this message is much
different from others presented in the history.
So, here's some pictures.
Ok, this gives you an idea of what it looks like. This is a picture from the monument park at the entrance to the agora.
This is a picture from Aries Rock = Mars Hill. This shows a picture
from the opposite direction as the picture from the monument. This
picture was taken on the way down from the Acropolis. Later we would go
into the agora and take some pictures from there.
This is my picture from the same spot.
This is a picture of the pillars that used to hold up a 1st c. AD Music
Concert Hall in the middle of the agora. These pillars go up about of
third of the actual height of the building. These are all that remain.
This would have been a major part of the agora that Paul visited.
This is a picture from what would have been the audience--looking at the stage floor.
This is the best preserved location in the agora. It is the Temple of
Hephaistos. This temple was dedicated to the Greek god Hephaistos and
was built in the 5th c. BC. It would have been standing in the agora
during the time of Paul's visit. This temple is on a hill overlooking
the agora. One could not walk into the agora without noticing its
stature. This is an example of the way in which the ancient Greeks
would have deified their gods with monuments, statues, etc. The
Parthenon, for example, was built for the worship and as a monument to
the Greek god Athena. (Pictures to come)
This is a favorite picture of mine between the pillars and the actual building of the temple in the agora.
This is a picture from the hill where the Temple of Hephaistos stands.
The ruins in this picture are of civic and governement buildings. This
may have been a location where people would have talked about
philosophy--all day long.
Here's a great shot. The agora marketplace is in the foregroud. The
hill where the parthenon and the rest of the acropolis sit is in the
background.
These two pictures show an ancient street in the agora.
The Church of the Apostles sits on the south side of the agora. Built
in roughly 1000 AD, this church is a monument to the work Paul did on
this very site. The Catholic church has traditionally built churches on
the exact soil of important locations, and this is no exception. Other
examples occur in Israel and other places, as my parents can attest
from their recent trip to the Holy Lands.
From behind the Church of the Apostles, you can see Aries Rock = Mars Hill.
The amazing thing about going to Greece is seeing how history,
Scripture, and archaeology all line up. The Biblical texts measure up
to the history and archaeology. These types of events are absoulutely
amazing to me, and I hope you will enjoy them as well.
These are the best pictures I have from the agora. If you want some of the others, email me at bdw3355@ksu.edu
and I will do my best. Family members can expect a slideshow...similar
to the one my parents gave during Thanksgiving this year. I have more
stories and pictures, but this was the most important one to me. Feel
free to show this site to others, email it, etc. You may also use these
pictures however you like.
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| Ok everyone, I'm back from Greece. I'm tired and I get to teach
elementary school today. Yea!!.... Pictures, stories, all kinds
of good things, but just a preview, I went to Corinth (didn't spend
much time there at all  ), Patra (where the
legend says the apostle Andrew taught and was eventually killed in
66AD), and Athens (esp. the Mars Hill area). So look forward to that.
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| This book is wonderful, and Reeves gives great insights on a topic of "eternal significance." That's been somewhat of a catch-phrase for me during the last couple of months. I've been pondering direction--teach music in a public school...graduate school...work in a church directly. I wasn't sure, however, it needed to have "eternal significance." A Genuine Faith is directly tied to a concept that is of the highest significance...becoming and making disciples of Christ. Good news: I read more of the book during the OU-Oregon game tonight, so...more notes for you to ponder.
8a. Quote: "Miracles were performed because people believed..." (33).
Great insight! The Roman soldier in c. 8 is a great example! This is a wonderful theme throughout Matthew.
8b. Quote: "...disciples know who Jesus is" (33).
"Who is Jesus? How do you know him? This takes us directly back to the purpose of the book--the Gospels contain the answer. This also leads us to my next note (though I did not know it yet!).
9. Quote: "Did you [Peter] honestly believe that Jesus would have let you drown?" (38).
Jesus was disappointed that Peter thought he had to call on Jesus to save him. Why?
- Of course a father saves his son.
- Of course God saves his creation.
- Of course a builder saves his tower.
- Of course Jesus saves the life that will be an instrument to spread "The Way."
Peter need not worry. Of course Jesus will save him. As a result, Peter and the rest of the disciples see who Jesus is. "Truly you are the Son of God!" (14:32-33). Jesus saves his creation! It goes without saying!
10. Quote: "It took another test in a boat tomake them see: 'You are certainly God's Son!'" (40).
Finally, The Twelve understand! This is confirmed by Peter in 16:16--wonderfully referenced by Reeves (41).
I'm going to bed now. In the morning Sharyn and I are going back to Kansas to enjoy the New Year there with friends. The next day is the Greece trip--wait for the pictures. I'm really going to miss my wife. | | |
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