Classics – Page 8 – Remember, My Lord

Brotherhood, camaraderie and friendship are important values to me. So today during a business meeting I thought about the different attitudes to friendship and brotherhood I’ve encountered:

Jesus takes a very counter-cultural attitude to friendship – it can be a hindrance to following Jesus (Luke 14:26). Brotherhood is not determined by blood, or shared experience, whether hardship or pleasure; rather is it determined by a shared purpose in doing the will of God (Mat 12:48-50). There is however also something sacred in brotherhood, to love and care for one’s brothers is to do the same for Jesus (Mat 25:40). Jesus defines love as laying down one’s life for friends, while at the same time calling his friends to do the same for each other, and in so doing, become closer to Jesus (John 15:13-15). And finally Jesus insists that his followers should not love only their friends, but should show sacrificial love to enemies as well (Mat 5:43-48). Continue reading “on friendship and brotherhood” →

‘The winners write the history books’ may be a cliché but it is pretty true, come to think of it.

I’d been reading In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland not too long ago, and his look at the historicity of the Koran was pretty new to me. In Islam, the Koran is supplemented to a large extent by the hadiths, which are sayings attributed to Muhammad and for that reason carry a lot of authority. Hadiths can be taken alone or can be used to interpret the Koran.

Holland argues however that for all the vicarious authority the hadiths carry, very few of them can concretely be traced to Muhammad, which to my mind raises questions about their historicity (and validity) to begin with.

Which got me thinking – most cultures in this world will fudge with history if they think they can get away with it, and/or if it suits them. Continue reading “on re-writing the past” →

Quick post: anyone notice the ending to the film Gladiator and its vaguely gospel message? Nevermind the Christ parallels with Maximus in the last few scenes – dangling cross-like from chains (something mentioned in the DVD commentary), stabbed in the side, died to free his men, etc. – that’s just playing around with religious imagery.

But did you notice Juba’s parting words at the very end of the film?

He says to Maximus, now in the afterlife, whose death has saved Juba from execution, “Now we are free. I will see you again, but not yet… Not yet.” He then leaves the place of death and slavery to live his life as a free man.

That is, in a nutshell, the gospel message.

Probably a coincidence, but it would be awesome if the script writer had actually been trying something there.

Every Classics student worth his salt (and the general public now too, thanks to the film 300) has heard of the anonymous Spartan mother’s command to her son after handing him his battle shield:

“Either with this or on it.” Continue reading “on greek shields” →

Tag: Classics

on friendship and brotherhood

on re-writing the past

on the ending to gladiator

on greek shields