Wagging Tongue

 She stopped in her tracks.

She looked shock.

Her eyes narrowed.

She turned and walked away.

What did I say?

I tried to think back.

Did I offend?

By her response, yes.

She was hurt, deeply.

If only I could silent my tongue.

God's Breath

                                                         God breathes life into Adam.
                                                         Newborns scream that same breath
                                                                           into their lungs.
                                                         Resuscitation breathes that same
                                                                           breath to life.  Again
                                                                           and again.
                                                         

We pray.

Early Christian Consciousness

 Our favorite author, Anonymous, wrote an Apology dissertation, known as To Diognetus.  It has been renowned for its resonance with current Catholic theology.  Mind you, it's dated 160-200 AD. I imagine there were all sorts of ideas running loose, so the apologists hammered down the Apostolic teachings.  

It criticized pagans, atheists, Jews, etc. Anonymous explains the nature of Christianity as "love."  How's that compared to the other early religions?  

Do you think the citizenry laughed at these Christians?  Probably some did, some still do, but actually, paradoxically, the followers of Christianity multiplied exponentially.

The Physician of Nineveh by Glenn Cooper has something for everyone.  It has history.  It has romance.  It is an action thriller.  It has fantasy.  It has science.  It has time travel.  It has a happy ending--for all.

The major characters are a physician from the seventh century, BC, and a scholar specializing in Assyriology, Kate Mayne, from the twenty-first century, AD. They meet through time-travel.

See, Mannu the Assyrian physician uses black magic to travel through time, to find a cure for King Ashurbanipa's favorite concubine.  He lands in London, where Kate finds him.  Kate, scholar, that she is, thinks her dreams have come true.  The drama comes in when the King's enemies follow Mannu to make sure he doesn't succeed in his quest.

The story is different, and like I said, it has everything.

Melito

 Melito was the first bishop of Sardis, in Asia Minor.  Sardis, once was capital of Lydia, a wealthy capital in modern day Turkey. It one of the Seven Churches of Asia, in Revelation.  King Croesus's wealth was known in Sardis.

Did you ever hear of it?  Keep that in mind and meditate that "All is passing, only God abides."  

Melito, as other evangelists, was writing Apologies, defending the faith in the second century.  Most of what he wrote is lost.  What remains is his Apology, or some of it.  From it, we understand that he mentions the existence of cooperation between the church and the Roman Empire.  One gets the idea that God predestined that the church was formed specifically to flourish during the Constantine era and after, giving rise to the Holy Roman Empire.  Do you want to call this political theology?

Scientific Find

 Popular Mechanics has an article that highlights Christianity, as early as the third century.  A skeleton was found in Frankfurt, Germany, wearing a religious medal--a cross.  The skeleton is dated 230-279 AD, which means that Christianity had spread as far north to Germany by that century.  During that time, the Emperor, Nero, was persecuting Christians.  So for anyone to wear a Christian symbol was very brave, if not foolish.  His or her, faith, must have been very important.

It is not only a cross; there is a Latin inscription, on it.  Translated: 

(In the name?) of Saint Titus.

Holy, holy, holy!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God!

The Lord of the World

resists with [strength?]

all attacks(?)/setbacks(?).

The god(?) grants well-being

Admission.

This rescue device(?) protects

the person who is

surrenders to the will

of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,

since before Jesus Christ

all knees bow: the heavenly ones,

the earthly and

the underground, and every tongue

confess (to Jesus Christ).

Who is St. Titus? He was a disciple of Paul.  He carried Paul's letters and organized and helped Paul.  There is no description of how he died.  

Interesting is the award, Cross of St. Titus.  This award is given to chaplains, who offered "meritorious contributions to the unique and highly visible Unit Ministry Team Observer Controller Program. The award recognizes the great importance of realistic, doctrinally guided combat ministry training in ensuring the delivery of prevailing religious support to the American Soldier."
Wikipedia

  I guess the idea for the Cross of St. Titus was because of the companionship, support, dependability, and trust, that Titus gave to St. Paul.

                                                             St. Titus as Bishop of Crete.

Burdens

 Thank God, I'm here and now, not living during the times of the novel, The Calamity Club by Kathern Stockett. The depression era was hard, but the degradation Blacks, women, children, and those intellectually challenged, had to endure, broke my heart.  

The story in The Calamity Club tells it all.  The limited job opportunities, women had no choice, but to accept.  How orphans were treated. How Blacks were treated.  And I learned a new vocabulary word--miscegenation.  

Miscegenation: Derived from Latin miscere ("to mix") and genus ("race"); historically used in laws banning interracial marriage

The story begins with a little girl, Meg, being left alone.  Her mother didn't come home.  Eventually, she is sent to an orphanage, that must have been inspired by Charles Dickens.  The people in that town, the boss lady, Garnett, volunteers, Birdie and Frances, and the people who eventually adopt Meg, are all unforgettable people.  I loved all the characters.

In fact, I love everything about the book.