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| Our group! Micaiah, Sam, Brett, and I. |
We got a week for a travel break in November, which was such
an amazing blessing! I was able to go to Greece with three of my friends
(Brett, Sam and Micaiah), and we had a total blast! We started out our trip in
Athens, where we stayed for four nights. During those days, we toured around
Athens, but also took a day to spend in Corinth as well. Then, we traveled to
the port at Piraeus and hung out there for a day while waiting for an over
night ferry to take us to Crete. We stayed in Crete at a little village called
Elounda where Brett’s dad’s cousin lives! We got to tour around and see a lot
of the sites, but we also just got to relax and take things slowly, which was
an immense blessing. There were so many things we saw that I loved, so I’ll try
to narrow it down to some of my favorite experiences.
Athens: Acropolis and Areopagus
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| The Parthenon atop the Acropolis |
Athens is probably most well known for its enormous
Acropolis that towers over the city, proudly declaring its paganism and
idolatry. We went up to see it on our first full day in Athens, and I was just
astounded by the sheer number of gods that were represented by different
temples, monuments and statues. The architecture was beautiful, and I was
astounded by the ability of the artists to make such intricate designs in stone
and marble! But despite the external beauties of it, the intrinsic nature of
such idolatry is heart breaking and wicked.
Understanding this brings a lot more significance and depth
to Paul’s words in Acts 17. He preached this sermon on “Mars Hill,” aka the
Areopagus, which is basically a giant rock near the Acropolis that has a
tremendous view of the Parthenon. We went up the Areopagus and read Acts
17:16-34, which records Paul’s time in Athens and his address to the Athenians.
He stared out by addressing the fact that the city was full of idols, and even
had an altar to “the unknown god.” Paul used their idolatry as a way to share
the truth of the One True God with them. He said in verse 24,
“The God who made
the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not
live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he
needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and
everything in it.”
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| Sitting on the Areopagus |
The power of these words struck me as we read them, with the
Acropolis in perfect view. There on that mountain were tons of temples
constructed to house and serve the various gods of the Greek pantheon. Yet this
God that Paul proclaimed, and whom I believe, is different than all of them,
because He does not depend on man for His home or His wellbeing. Man cannot
offer anything to God that He does not already have or posses. He doesn’t need
anything from us, yet those other gods were completely dependent on man,
because they were false. They were mere wood, stone and metal, formed and
fashioned by man. This concept definitely sounds much like Isaiah 44, where
Isaiah is mocking the whole notion of idolatry. He says that a carpenter goes
and gathers wood and uses half of it for a fire to warm himself and make his
own food, and then uses the rest to make an idol and he falls down to it and
worships it. This whole concept is absolutely ridiculous and doesn’t make
logical sense. In this god-man relationship, it is the man who is making the
god, yet it is also the man who is serving the god. Isaiah 44:21 provides an
important contrast to this:
“Remember these things, O Jacob and
Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant.”
God formed and created Israel, and therefore Israel shall
serve Him. The maker does not worship its creation! The creation worships the
Creator. This has some Romans 1 ideas too J So cool!
Anyways, I really enjoyed being on the Areopagus and
contemplating these things. It really contextualized Paul’s words and brought
an even greater appreciation for the revelation of God’s truth that has been
revealed to me. I don’t deserve to know God, nor would I be able to know Him on
my own. If left to myself, I too would be an idolater and would reject the
truth. Yet for some reason, God saw fit to make Himself known to me so that I
could enjoy His truth, peace, forgiveness and salvation forever. Praise the
Lord!
Corinth
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| Temple of Apollos at Ancient Corinth |
We had quite an adventure trying to get to Corinth! We had
to take a long distance bus from Athens to the modern city of Corinth, but
because of a big misunderstanding, we stayed on the bus too long and actually
drove past Corinth! So we had to get on another bus to get to Corinth, and then
from there took a bus to the site of Ancient Corinth.
Ancient Corinth was really interesting! Like the Acropolis
and the rest of Greek culture, there were still tons of idols and temples
dedicated to various gods. There were even remains from a temple that was
simply called “Temple E” because they weren’t even sure which god that temple
was dedicated to. The main attraction at Ancient Corinth was the giant temple
of Apollos. It was very impressive, indeed! Again, I am absolutely blown away
by the architectural feats that the Greeks were able to pull off! I’ve never
seen so many pillars in my life, and they were all beautiful and unique. Also
at Ancient Corinth was the Bema where tradition says Paul stood when he
preached to the Corinthians. We sat next to the Bema and read Acts 18:1-17.
Paul went from Athens to Corinth, which is really cool, because that’s exactly
what we got to do! Just like at the Areopagus, there was a full view of the
temple of Apollos from the Bema seat. When Paul preached to the Corinthians, he
had a clear view of their true spiritual condition as he was talking, because
it was all around him! But despite all that dark paganism, there was certainly
a glimmer of hope, for the Lord told Paul, “Do not be afraid, but go on
speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to
harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” Even with the
rampant idolatry, God chose to reveal Himself to the Corinthian people, and
chose to save them through the words and ministry of Paul! God is so good! He
is able to save us from the depths of our sin, the hardness of our hearts, and
the blindness of our eyes.
We also got to go up to Acrocorinth, which is the Acropolis
(high place) of Corinth. There were remains from a giant fortress up there, and
it was really fun to just climb around and explore! We had a tremendous view of
the surrounding area and the sea. It was absolutely beautiful.
The Gospel in Greece
We were in Athens for one Sunday, and we really wanted to go
to an evangelical church. So on Saturday night we got online and tried to find
any churches in the area. Micaiah
stumbled across one called Trinity International Church and it looked really
good! So our plan was to go to that church, and then afterwards, we’d rent
bikes and ride around Athens.
The church was amazing! There were maybe 10 people in that
room besides us, so it was an extremely small body. The teaching was absolutely
solid! The pastor was half Greek and half South African, and was very
articulate, and you could tell that he really loved God’s word and that
congregation of believers. We were able to talk to him after the service, and
he said their church used to be huge when there was an American military base
in Athens, but once the base closed down, their body shrunk significantly.
However, they were still so joyful and loving! They have a huge focus on
reaching out to the Greek population, and had just recently started a Thursday
night bible study in Greek that they were trying to invite people to. We really
enjoyed being able to talk to them and get to know them. I wish I would have
gotten a picture, because it was such a sweet moment, and probably one of our
favorite memories from the whole trip!
After church, we did rent bikes and we had a fun time riding
around Athens, stopping at a few stops, including the prison that held
Socrates! But the best part of the whole bike rental was at the end when we
returned them, because we got to share the gospel with the guy who rented us
the bikes. We had told him that we were students, and then told him that we
were studying the Bible. He ended up asking us why we were studying the Bible,
which led into an hour long, amazing discussion! He was so fun to talk to
because he was an attentive listener, but he also asked a lot of really good,
honest questions. He grew up in a Greek Orthodox home and church, but has since
rejected all things pertaining to God. He was a relativist to the max, and
didn’t believe that there was any God active in this world (and if there is a
God, then we all have reason to be mad at him). Sam was especially good at
engaging him with some really good, thought provoking questions. The
conversation went really well and he was really thankful that we were willing
to sit and talk with him for so long. We left him with the encouragement to
read the gospel of John to learn about who Jesus is, and we also encouraged him
to go to Trinity’s Thursday night Greek bible study. He seemed like he would
honestly consider doing both of those things, which was really encouraging. The
seed has been planted, and now we can only pray that the Lord will cause it to
grow. I really hope we see Manos in heaven some day! What a sweet moment that
would be!!
Crete – Elounda by the Sea
We took a ferry over to Crete, and then took a very long bus
ride all the way down the coast of Crete to where Ann (Brett’s dad’s cousin)
lives in Elounda. It was amazing to be able to see the entire, beautiful coast
of Crete! It looked just like I imagined Greece to look, which white houses
cascading down the hills into the sea. It was amazing.
Elounda was an adorable little village right on the sea. It
had its own little port, and a lot of cute coffee shops and restaurants. It was
so quiet and empty because it wasn’t the tourist season. Sadly, most of the
stores and restaurants were closed, but there was still plenty for us to do.
Ann is also just as sweet and beautiful as the village in which she lives. She
was so kind and hospitable, and literally even gave up her own bed for us! She
cooked for us as well, and did everything she could to help us have an enjoyable
time. Brett and I had a great conversation with her about her Greek Orthodox
faith and we were really interested to learn about what the church teaches. We
really enjoyed getting to know her and spend time with her. We even got to make
a Thanksgiving meal for her, since we were there for Thanksgiving. She’s
originally from England, so she’d never had an American Thanksgiving before,
nor had she ever had pumpkin pie before! So we had a good time introducing her
to such wonderful amenities.
Our time in Crete was very relaxing, but we still definitely
took time to go out and do some things too. One day, we hiked over to a
Koliketha beach, which was so beautiful! It was a little bit chilly, but Sam
and I still decided to go swimming, while Brett and Micaiah watched from the
shore. On our last day in Crete, we took a trip with Ann over to Spinolonga
Island, which used to be a Venetian fortress, and was then turned into a
housing place for all the lepers of Crete. It was an amazing place with an
unbelievable story, and we really enjoyed going there.
After the Break
After Crete, we headed back to Yad HaShmonah! I have to
admit that my attitude in returning to Israel was less than excited. Our time
in Greece was so fun and amazing, and I knew that the next two weeks were going
to be exceptionally difficult because it would be nothing but finals and
projects, with hardly any breaks. Even before going to Greece, I was getting to
the point where I was ready to go home, and so that feeling just grew even
moreso after getting back from Greece. But with all that said, looking back now
I can definitely say that I enjoyed my last two weeks at Yad HaShmonah. Yes, I
had lots of projects to finish and tests to take, but it’s so hard to complain
when it’s the BIBLE that I get to study in such tremendous depth! I’m planning
on putting up a blog post about my creative project that I did for one of my
classes … just as a little teaser … I copied a page of an extremely important,
ancient document, and I learned a lot about it! I loved that project, and it’s
kind of started me on a nerdy obsession with the topic. ;)
Anyways, there are several more blog posts I plan on putting
up, even though I’m home from IBEX. So if you’d like to continue to read about
my adventures, reflections, memories and lessons learned, then stay tuned!
Thank you again for reading!
