Karen Osborne & Estera Decean
I have now been to both the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge and both places have left me awe-inspired. I do not use that term lightly. I am not awed so much by their size or the attention to detail or the sophisticated engineering, though all of these things do cause pause for pondering. I am awe-inspired because of the evidence these pagan cultures left that indeed God lives.
This is a rather shocking statement on many levels, yet, this is how I see these architectural ancient wonders. As everyone now knows, the pyramids were burial chambers which revolved around the whole afterlife beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians. They were elaborately decorated on the inside and there were even dummy tunnels added to confuse would be robbers. Of course, the building of these things was quite a feat. Who knows how many people it took, how many hours and how much planning to get each huge block of stone from the quarry into its proper place. Amazing in and of itself.
Similarly, many now believe that Stonehenge was used as a funerary facility. It was built and changed over time, but they have now discovered graves and there are barrows all over that area which are huge mounds of mass graves. Like the Egyptians, the ancient peoples of England had to use a great deal of ingenuity and planning to get those huge stones to the site and make them stand in their current vertical positions; again, an amazing feat.
As fascinating as all of this is though, it pales in comparison to the essential purpose of these places. In Egypt one can see how all of life was based on the beliefs of the people. How their hopes for eternity influenced every aspect of life. Of course, we know a great deal more about the Ancient Egypt than we know about Ancient England since there is a written record. However, all indications are that they had beliefs and hopes for eternity as well. Perhaps they believed the community would be together always and this is the reason for the mass graves. Perhaps they thought there was no way for the soul to escape after death buried under ground and this is the reason for the mounds. Whatever they believed, the facts remain that a great deal of energy and effort was put into preparing for what was to come.
It is this very fact that leaves me awe-inspired. It is such a forceful demonstration to me that God has written eternity on our hearts and that we all have an undeniable need to come to terms with what happens to us after death. Human cultures have always devised ways of expressing this need and these expressions have had something of an eternal character of their own. They have lasted thousands of years; standing there for the rest of us to ponder.
C. S. Lewis loved Mythology for a similar reason. He saw it as having pieces of the truth which when considered carefully pointed to the reality of Christ. The Myth breaking into history and becoming a reality; that is what he saw Christianity as being. This is essentially how I see these ancient sites as well. Every time I get the opportunity to visit one of these I leave them in a spirit of worship and praise. I am so thankful that the human heart really is open to His truths, even if it doesn’t quite grasp them.
I also realize that people are no different today, but are just seeking eternity in different ways. If we can relate to how they are doing this it will make it easier to impart the truth of the gospel to them, for we will have a common place to begin the discussion. So what are our Pyramids and Stonehenges today? How are people living for the afterlife, perhaps without even knowing it? How are they demonstrating their need that is written on their heart? If we can answer these questions, I believe that there is one less barrier to the Gospel that we have to overcome when interacting with those around us.
Karen and Bill Osborne have been leading the Glenwood Inklings for three years. She enjoys discussing philosophy and apologetics with friends & family and is a voracious reader. She plans to become a lawyer and recently spent time touring with the C. S. Lewis Society in England.
July 12, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Very good thoughts, Karen. You express them well. It is, as you say, very strong proof that eternity surely has been part of man’s “id” since the beginning of time.
Your points also make me think about Hollywood’s take on dying and what lies beyond. Their pitiful “monuments”, such as movies like “The Bucket List”, “The Notebook”, and the recent “My Sister’s Keeper” are much less defined, aren’t they?
There is no longer, outside of true Christianity, a defnite sense of where all of humanity is headed, how to prepare for the inevitable. Just vague quips like “See you later”, “I don’t know what happens, but I’m sure it’ll be alright.”, “I will see her again”, but none of these is rooted in even a semblance of pagan belief. Just some vacuous and unfounded hope. A wish, instead of a hope.
At least the ancient Egytians and Druids had a theology and a somewhat concrete idea of what happens and how to prepare for it, even if it was wrong. Many today don’t even have a belief about this that they can articulate with any sense of reasoning behind it. A sad state of affairs, indeed.
July 13, 2009 at 2:58 pm
It’s true that many have only vague ideas about these things, but my husband and I are learning more and more that even those vague ideas can be springboards for conversation. Many more people than we realize want to talk about these things and maybe a simple, honest conversation that shows interest in their views, with lots of pointed questions is enough to get them thinking and searching.
The movies you mentioned above could be great ways to involve people in this most important of conversation. What other kinds of ideas can we come up with as ice breakers?