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During Telemachus' Life The Gladiatorial Games ... PRO
Contributed by Karl Eckhoff on Nov 13, 2003 (message contributor)
During Telemachus’ life the gladiatorial games were very popular. People were fascinated by the sight of blood and gore upon the arena floor. And that alone was enough to bring the criticism of bishops and priests from within the church. But worse than all of this was the fact that most of the gladiators who fought in the arena were not there voluntarily. Most were slaves, political prisoners, those considered to be the dregs of the society who were forced to train and fight for their lives for the sheer entertainment of others, many of whom were Christian. Emperor Honorius was well-known as a Christian and yet he sponsored the games and many of his fellow Christians sat in the most prominent seats within the arena.
Telemachus wondered if there could possibly be anything further from the Spirit of Christ than the total disregard for the lives of these men on the part of his fellow believers. So disturbed was he that he felt something had to be done about it. Something more than just words condemning. So he set out for Rome.
When Telemachus entered the city, the people he met had gone mad with excitement. "To the Coliseum!", they cried out. "The games are about to start.!" So Telemachus followed the crowd and was seated among all the other people when the gladiators came out into the center of the arena. Everybody was tense. Everybody was silent as the two men faced each other. The men drew their swords. The fight was about to be on and it was expected that one of them would be dead within minutes.
But at that very moment Telemachus took a fateful action. He rose from his seat and ran down onto the arena floor. Holding high the cross of Christ, he threw himself into a position between the two gladiators and cried, "In the name of our Master, stop fighting!"
The two men put their swords away, but the crowds went wild. Telemachus had robbed them of their bloody entertainment which they were determined to have in one way or another. If it wasn’t going to be the life of one of these men it was going to be the life of the monk. And they took it.
Far down in the arena lay the battered body of the monk. Suddenly the mob and the spectators who had remained in their seats grew quiet. A feeling of revulsion at what had been done...
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A Custom Of The Natives In New Guinea Is Told. At ...
Contributed by Lou Nicholes on May 25, 2005
A custom of the natives in New Guinea is told. At certain times they have rituals, songs, and dances. They work themselves up into a frenzy and the ritual culminates in what are called “the murder songs,” in which they shout before God the names of the people they wish to kill. When the natives ...read more
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I Read About A Man Dreaming About The ...
Contributed by Melvin Shelton on Jul 17, 2004
I read about a man dreaming about the crucifixion of Jesus. He was telling in detail how that Jesus was beaten, and the people shouting crucify him. He saw the back of the soldier as he was driving ...read more
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We Have All Heard The "Good New!"..."Bad News!" ...
Contributed by Byron Maynard on Apr 9, 2005
We have all heard the "Good New!"..."Bad News!" aphorisms. Here’s one with a little different twist. I have some "Bad News!...Good News!...Best News!" for you... The bad news, you are dying! It’s no joke, biologist tell us that every day, to some extent, each of us are dying...The cells and ...read more
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In The Fifteen Hundreds There Was A Protestant ... PRO
Contributed by Brad Beaman on Jul 24, 2003
In the fifteen hundreds there was a protestant reformer in England by the name of Hugh Latimer. He was known as a great preacher of his day and he had many opportunities to preach. One of his opportunities was to preach before the King Henry VIII of England. He thought about his great ...read more
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The Church Is Like Noah's Ark: The Stench Inside ... PRO
Contributed by Lynn Floyd on Jul 29, 2003
“The church is like Noah’s ark: The stench inside would be unbearable if it weren’t for the storm outside. It’s true—sometimes we stink and the world is stormy. But as imperfect as we are on this side of heaven, the miracle is that God in fact chooses to ...read more
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