I love the old "sword and sandal" films, but I usually end up gravitating toward The Robe and its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators. I often forget about Quo Vadis, which I went back to last night - and it's actually a better film, for a lot of reasons. It's slightly more historically accurate (which is to say it perpetuates fewer myths about the early Christians and weaves in the history of Rome a little more). But it's fiction - the story is from a novel, which is based on one of the apocryphal acts documents from the early Church. In a document called The Acts of Peter, there is the story of Peter meeting the risen Jesus on the Appian Way on the outskirts of Rome. It's a pious legend (or is it?) but nevertheless the spot where it supposedly happened is marked by a small chapel on the Appian Way out by the catacombs.
Anyway, the point is - it's a great movie, worth your time. That is, assuming you like old movies where the Christians are the good guys ;^)
Dear friends - Please take 10 minutes to watch this personal update from me:
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
I hope to have another installment of THE JOURNEY up this Saturday - here's the text for the rest of the chapter - I didn't bother with the colored text since this is all from the Gospel of John.
