let's play..."What's Lynette Researching Now?"

I can't tell if you all are sick of hearing about my research or are so deeply intrigued by it that you neglect to post, as the prophet Ezekiel could only sit in silence for seven days having seen the Lord (although the comparison is thin). Either way I'd like to dig my head out of a few primary resources and bring to the surface a little gem I'm going to call Theological Bedtime Stories. Travis, you'll like this one.

Right now I'm researching for my very last academic paper. From here on out I'm only accepting cash and publication rites for my papers rather than grades. The title is something like "the development of the veneration of the saints in the 3rd and 4th centuries," although the real title will be properly capitalized and contain at least one pun. So for the past few days I've been following some suggested primary resources and reading the likes of Origen, Tertullian and Augustine. It's been a balance of both gratingly boring and somewhat intriguing. One intriguing aspect was reading firsthand a story my theology professor would tell us in class, over and over again. I can see him very vividly, though in my mind there is a bit of a theological fog around the room, waving his hand in the air and saying "Away with the Atheists." You see, a long time ago in a land a far way from here there lived a man named Polycarp. He was highly esteemed in the Christian community in Smyrna and equally highly loathed by those who were not Christians. He was also a very old man. Now persecutions broke out in the early church and people were tortured and subsequently martyred for confessing themselves as Christians. Polycarp had tried to hide out in several farms outside the city and there prayed fervently and received a vision of how he would die. His pillow was in flames marking his own end. When he was caught and brought into the stadium he was told to renounce Christ by saying to the believers, "Away with the Atheists." Now at that time Christians were persecuted because they would not sacrifice to the emperor who was believed to be a god, and the god of the empire. Because they would not sacrifice they were called Atheists. When called to commit this act Polycarp turned instead to those in the stadium cheering his death, held up his hand and shouted, "Away with the Atheists." And now without properly citing I'll quote a bit verbatim from "The Martyrdom of Polycarp."

"But when the magistrate persisted and said, 'Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ, ' Polycarp replied, 'For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?'"

In my mind I'm trying to combine my last paper with this current one and figure out how to tell these stories if not to the kiddos at church at least to my children when the day comes. This morning I taught our 3-year-olds at church to point to themselves and say, "I am the church." I'd also like them to know who else is part of the church and what they did. People like Polycarp of Symrna.

Alright, enough rambling. Back to work.