Chapters 5-7

While reading chapter five, I had to stifle a few laughs.
I spent my first year in college at Miami University, and I spent a good amount of that time that year as a part of an organization it would have never previously occurred to me to join: Miami Hillel.  My friends, upon hearing this, have always wondered what could have possibly possessed a then- halfheartedly practicing Christian freshman to become actively involved in the Jewish club, and my answer is academic.  That autumn semester, I took a cultural anthropology course that required us to spend time with a group of people not immediately in our circle of friends or comfort.  We were to carefully observe their behaviors, and, when asked, behave in the same manner.  At the end of the course, we would write a rather lengthy paper on what we learned from this experience.

My time at Hillel was a learning experience that never left me with a shortage of close friends, a home away from home, and delicious food.  However, I made a few devastating, and often embarrassing, mistakes which would have me learn the hard way about Jewish traditions.  For example, I remembered one evening on my way back from the gym that I had planned to observe the Yom Kippur service.  When I stumbled in part-way through, fully fed and well-exercised, dressed in bright blue sweatpants and a t-shirt, I knew instantly that I had made a big mistake.  Learning about the origins of this ceremony, as well as the Sukkoth huts, brought back a lot of warm and funny memories.  It also provided insight as to why some of the students clung to tradition so closely, even if they no longer believed in the religious doctrine. 

"Antioch in Judea" somehow struck my interest, and I was able to read the entire chapter smoothly (while staying focused!).  I have never considered the Greek influence on Jerusalem, and would never have imagined them setting up an arena in the city for the Olympics.  Yet, now that I think back on it, I am aware that by the time the gospels were written, Greek was the lingua franca of the land, and much of Jesus' teaching appealed to Greek thought.  It was very cool to see how the Greek concept of education was employed, keeping Jerusalem a progressive city.  I am pretty taken with the ancient Greeks, so I appreciated learning this history.

The title of chapter seven, "Destruction," was at once appropriate and strange to me, since this is the period of history in which Jesus lived and died.  I sense a certain irony in the title, since it involves the coming of a man who promised to bring unity and peace.  I was surprised to hear about the positive legacy of King Herod, who is cemented in my mind as an evil baby killer.  The details of the Temple he built sound nothing short of awe-inspiring, and I am looking forward to seeing the walls that remain!