Seeing the Ancient Sites
I have often dreamed of the time when I'll have the money to fly around the world and see the ancient sites from worlds long ago. But I've been struck lately on the significance of the sites that most tourist spend their savings accounts on: Manchu Picchu in Peru, the Parthenon in Greece, the Colosseum in Rome, the Pyramids in Egypt and the Aztec pyramids in Mexico. I would love to stand at these places and revel in the fact that these places have stood for millennia, but.....when I learned my history, and learned why these places were built and what occurred at these places, that little voice inside my head starts to voice its objection. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that this world, and its existence can be boiled right down to its core: the battle between good and evil (the God of Light and the Lord of Darkness). I know that none of these site were built for the glorification of God, which means there were built either for the glorification of men, or the glorification of other gods; in either case, they were not built for the glorification of God. If that is the case, how can I go and marvel at the creation of something that was built for the sole purpose of idolatry? To visit as a tourist knowing that I am standing on a site that was built for evil sets off that little voice in my head.
Here is a mini history synopsis: The Parthenon that stands on the Acropolis in Athens was built as a temple to Athena; the pyramids in Mexico were built by the Aztecs to worship their deities and provide human sacrifices; the Roman Colosseum was used for the slaughtering of humans and animals, all for the sake of entertainment; the Pyramids at Giza were built as tombs for the Pharaoh and his sons, as lasting monuments to their greatness, and where hundreds of men lost their lives during the building process.
So, I would still like to travel to the distant lands, and see the relics that remain standing from another era, but I have my apprehensions. Maybe I'll spend my money traveling to remote places that display God's handiwork rather than man's. A sunset that fills the horizon of a calm flat ocean appeals to me more than seeing a place where people worshiped idols and killed one another.
I have often dreamed of the time when I'll have the money to fly around the world and see the ancient sites from worlds long ago. But I've been struck lately on the significance of the sites that most tourist spend their savings accounts on: Manchu Picchu in Peru, the Parthenon in Greece, the Colosseum in Rome, the Pyramids in Egypt and the Aztec pyramids in Mexico. I would love to stand at these places and revel in the fact that these places have stood for millennia, but.....when I learned my history, and learned why these places were built and what occurred at these places, that little voice inside my head starts to voice its objection. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that this world, and its existence can be boiled right down to its core: the battle between good and evil (the God of Light and the Lord of Darkness). I know that none of these site were built for the glorification of God, which means there were built either for the glorification of men, or the glorification of other gods; in either case, they were not built for the glorification of God. If that is the case, how can I go and marvel at the creation of something that was built for the sole purpose of idolatry? To visit as a tourist knowing that I am standing on a site that was built for evil sets off that little voice in my head.
Here is a mini history synopsis: The Parthenon that stands on the Acropolis in Athens was built as a temple to Athena; the pyramids in Mexico were built by the Aztecs to worship their deities and provide human sacrifices; the Roman Colosseum was used for the slaughtering of humans and animals, all for the sake of entertainment; the Pyramids at Giza were built as tombs for the Pharaoh and his sons, as lasting monuments to their greatness, and where hundreds of men lost their lives during the building process.
So, I would still like to travel to the distant lands, and see the relics that remain standing from another era, but I have my apprehensions. Maybe I'll spend my money traveling to remote places that display God's handiwork rather than man's. A sunset that fills the horizon of a calm flat ocean appeals to me more than seeing a place where people worshiped idols and killed one another.
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