2008 California Election Forum

I recently received an interesting piece of commentary from an acquaintance that I thought Reality Alert readers would find interesting:

"I'm beginning to understand why Christianity was such a big hit [in Roman times]...

"I've been watching the HBO series Rome. Not a single segment goes by without some scene of perversion or violence.

"'Centurion, how would you recommend we find our eagle?' Caesar asked one of his subordinates. The eagle was the Roman army's standard, presumably stolen by the Gaulic terrorists).

"'I guess we should crucify one man from each tribe...and continue doing so until someone tells us where it is,' replies the solider. And so, the crucifixions began...and the eagle was returned.

"It was a mean time to be alive. Pity, charity, brotherly love...there are few signs of them. All a man could count on was force of arms...power... bodyguards. At least, that is the impression you get.

"Last night, I went to see my daughter in a play: The Tales of Ovid. Here again we find the ancient world full of unpleasant things. A young woman pretends to be someone else so she can sleep with her father. A man rapes his sister-in- law and then tears out her tongue so she cannot speak of it.

"The sister-in-law later gets revenge by killing his son...and cooking him for the man to eat. King Midas is almost brought to death by his own greed, and then forced to wear asses ears. And Narcissus, so in love with his own image, he is ruined by it.

"I would tell you more, but I was so unsettled by the sight of my daughter in partial undress that I could barely watch. Nudity may be in fashion on the London stage, but a father shouldn't have to see some things."

I've since thought about how right he was about ancient times.

With so much murder, wickedness and unbridled lust around back then, no wonder Christ's message was so gratefully received.