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Traveling during the night is boring no matter where you are. I should have slept, but events before leaving kept me wide awake. Fortunately in Memphis, where the bus arrived in the morning, two of my worries were dispelled. I was able to see my luggage, therefore nobody stole it, and the bus for Harrison waited for us. But, before learning all these, was a long time, I had felt a lot of anxiety so that I was exhausted early in the first hours of the morning.
Memphis, seen in full speed from the bus and with my mind stressed by worry, it did not appear to me interesting at all. Surely it is a false impression. Memphis is not only Elvis Presley’s town but also a great and important town, at least from the economical point of view. Surely, it deserves much more attention, but right now I am not in the mood for such considerations. Maybe I will have the opportunity to do it later. Memphis is the entrance gate to the Mississippi delta and this is enough to think about its importance. Its suburbs draw the attention to the fact that it is an agricultural center as well. After a ring of depots and enterprises, an area of elegant dwellings appears, with much orderly place around. The high life lives here. Yes, Memphis is a large town.
I am traveling on towards Harrison. That means that, immediately after Memphis, comes Arkansas, name with ample resonance in my ears, I do not know why. Probable from the movies! For the beginning, we are crossing a dull flat area, in which one could hardly note something of interest without becoming bored. With due respect for people who live on plains, it is boring not to have something on which you can prop up your view. Now it is autumn and the harvest is already gathered, so the fields are perfectly an even gray flat surface. Very occasionally, small groups of houses appear, some poorer, other wealthy, but both alike without nothing more around than is necessary for work, namely cars and farming machinery. Extremely seldom, there are two or three trees, almost without shadow. Four trees together are already a luxury. Beside some of the poor houses one can see oil burning cars and old, rusting machinery. The beauty and elegance of Georgia remained away.
Bill’s mother comes in my mind with her strong faith. Nowadays European civilization is considered to be a result of Christian doctrine. Is this assertion quit so true? Europe was under the full Christian doctrine during the Middle Age. The subsequent development started at the same time with the Renaissance, and one of the main aims of the Renaissance was just to diminish the role played by the church. This aim was necessary due to the mistakes that Christian Church had made during the Middle Age. Among the most important ones, there are the culture of a rigid hierarchy of a pyramidal type and its implications in politics. That’s why European people are no longer believers, but to a small degree.
On the other hand, we could not ignore the role of the religion in our culture and morality. Almost all old paintings and musical works have topics from the Bible and religious topics still inspire nowadays’ painters and authors. At the time being more than in the past— due to the lack of a moral motivation— increasingly people come back to the old faith. That’s interesting and proves people’s need to have a sense for their life. Most of them find it in the faith, particularly because the faith is not linked to politics any longer.
Christianity brings an innovation. Unlike oriental faiths, where the Universe is stable and life is conceived in an endless cycle, in Christianity a being’s life is unique. He has and beginning and of course an end. The idea of singleness has great moral implications. All people will go in front of God for a final judgment. He will weigh everybody’s deeds and will give him a new life in the heaven accordingly to his deeds. In this way, people’s life gets a sense. There is no longer a convict that has a miserable life forever. From some passive, apathetic persons, they have become active people. It could explain the progress of Europe in the good sense and their bad deeds like wars, colonial conquest, etc. Is the Christian meaning a good one? We will never know.
Pray or meditate? The word ’meditation’ does not have meaning in Christian doctrine. It is peculiar for oriental faiths where people meditate to purify himself/herself for a future life. A Christian does not meditate but prays. During his prayer, he implores God to help him. People without much will, lazybones, or dishearten implore more often God’s help. Trustworthy people instead usually forget about God, thinking that they succeed by themselves. They remember Him only before an important but uncertain trial. Then, they ask for God’s help to overcome the moment, or to conquer an enemy, even if this battle is contrary to the Christian doctrine. It makes me to think that our emotional mood needs the faith.
In oriental faith, the salvation is individual. Consequently, a good believer insulates himself from the society; he lives in seclusion. Its religion tells him to not make bad acts and not to make good ones. Christianity resolved this. From this reason, Christian believers live together, as one could not be good to himself. He needs a recipient for his kindness.
History was introduced by the Judaism and Christianity: there was a beginning, and will be an end. Everything we do happens within this period of time, and we do it together. We are not some individuals living temporary in an infinite Universe, like in Hinduism. We live together in a limited period of time. Maybe we should think more about it. Man becomes man but by his community’s virtues (Socrates).
As the Bible is unique, there is the impression that it is for all the people. Today, every book has an address: books of chemistry, books of geography, books for children, for grownups, etc. Nobody read a book that is supposed to not be addressed exactly to him. No one write a book without an address. Even while an author is writing a book, he has in mind someone who will read his book.
Was God wrong thinking that Bible could be for all the people? No, God was not wrong, but when the Bible was written the number of those who were able to read was very small. They used to be the scholars of that time. Consequently, Bible had an exact address, just a very narrow one. Those wise people, who were scholars, scientists and priests, should read the Bible and convey its philosophy to common people, according to their understanding. They should use some reasons and parables for children, other ones for adults, some for the ignorant and other ones for those with some knowledge. Even Jesus chose ordinary men as disciples, as he wanted to convey his teaching toward even more simple people. (The reciprocal statement is not true at all. Stupid people will never convey something to the others, not even religious ideas, despite of some neo–Protestant missionaries’ pretensions.)
Unfortunately, in the meantime, the wise priests disappeared and only simple ones have remained. This happened particularly during the Middle Age, when the clergy joined with the political power and caught the taste for power and richness. What happened afterwards has nothing in common with the genuine wisdom of Bible.
What is the situation today?
Nowadays, almost all people are able to read and write. Yet, are they all prepared to understand the wisdom of the Bible? Is it enough to read the Bible? Surely, not! A tutor is necessary. Bible will always be the tutor’s "manual of reference". The tutors first have to understand its spirit, because Bible must be understood in his spirit, not in its letter.
Yes, it is true that the apostles were illiterate. Just from this reason, they were the best for conveying Jesus’ message inside the society where they came from. Literacy would have been of no use. On the contrary! Nobody would listen to them. But nowadays most people are able to read. Someone similar to an apostle would need to have some master degrees in several fields, probably.
Bible appeared in a certain historical period, when people used to have a certain mentality, some conceptions specific for that time, and was educated according to the doctrines of older religions. In order to make the new ideas understandable, the Bible had to use the language of that time, and needed to combat the bad customs of that time. Today, mankind is different. Not better, but different. The church ought to refer to our customs – good or bad – and to select from the Bible these parables that are still of nowadays interest, or match with our life’s questions.
There are many reasons to read the Bible now. Here is one of them. The great masters painted mainly biblical scenes. As the most numerous old paintings feature biblical subjects, it is almost impossible to understand the history of the art, without knowing something about the Bible. But there are many deeper reasons. It is true, the Bible seems to be obsolete now, but this is not true. The priest did it putting the science against the faith. Science and faith may stay together, if we wisely interpret the Bible according to our real life.
Some things are easy understandable. For example, the Bible said that Jesus would come to Earth and rule as a king. Why "as a king"? Because kings used to be the maximum that a man could be at that time, the maximum, which men could imagine. How would it sound if it had been said "as a president"? Ridiculous, of course! We say king, but understand the maximum of power and — maybe —wisdom. And so it happens with almost everything from the Bible. Consequently, let’s speak about the significance and not about the story!
In ancient Greece, as people used to believe in gods, they were saying that Olympus is the place where gods live. But Olympus is a mountain not so high, and soon people climbed on its top. Then, the priests changed the expression and said that gods live somewhere far away, in a place like a mountain.
Such things happened many times, and the priests have to adapt the ideas to new discoveries, otherwise they lose their credibility. The first Christians believed that God is in Heaven, and the Heaven is in the sky. It was all right as long as the Earth was thought to be flat and in the middle of the Universe. Now, the sky is vaguely defined and nobody is curious to know where the Heaven is. Unfortunately, the priests only in the 15th century hardly understood and accept to change their old ideas. Much too late! Their credibility had been already lost
Of course, nobody believes now in Mythology. But our ancestors did believe it. We must know the way in which they thought in order to understand them and their works. Also, we must know the most important fairy tales of people from wide world; they are filled with life’s philosophy.
Some major themes are to be found in any religion, like the deluge. They are the same, but with small differences. Just in these differences we could find deeper philosophical meanings of the religions. By understanding Mythology and Christianity we understand the development of our civilization.
The human nature is described to be sinful. It is not only the Bible and Judaism that do it. Oriental faiths do the same. I often asked myself why? The single explanation that I found is the feeling of guilt by the parents, which know better when and how they conceived their children.
Fortunately, Christianity does not emphasize this idea, and say that Jesus sacrificed himself for it, so that we are responsible only for our mistakes, not for some imaginary ones. It would make us more responsible.
Jesus wanted to show to the people that we are able to fight against our bad temptations. The Catholic churches are full with images of Jesus’ sufferings, but they lost the message. The Orthodox Church was less influenced by Western doctrine. Here, the Ascension is the central image. This is a more optimistic message: there is a future, therefore there is chance, Jesus will come again, but not possessed and massacre most people— as most neo–Protestants threaten us—but as the Son of a well–intentioned God. Jesus gave us dignity to stand right, but responsibly.
The idea of an inherent sin is inherent itself. Most old religions contain it. The abandon of this idea is just one of the most important news that Christianity brought. Jesus died for it, consequently the problem is solved, and the topic is closed. To insist on this point means not to understand what Christianity really is. We are not indebted to make sacrifice for imaginary reasons. Instead, we are responsible for our mistakes. Peter says: "... your sins may be forgiven" (Acts 2:38). Yours and not some inherent ones! Following Christ’s way, we propose to ourselves not to make other mistakes. Jesus Christ gave us the dignity to stand right, but responsible.
Yes, God is forgiving; he always gives us a second chance, but, for it, we must repent and promise (to ourselves firstly) not to fall again in the mistakes, but to follow God’s way.
I am a man from the mountains. This explains my lack of understanding for the plains. But this is my problem, and not the lowland people’s one. Octavian Paler, a Romanian writer, wrote a very nice essay about the role of the mountains in the development of characters. The mountain is the Romanians’ Parthenon, he says. That does not mean that people of the flat land do not have character. They do and, interestingly, just working the dust of the field moulds the man. I appreciate it but I notice that they are different. On the mountains, people rise every day but they take care to return home at night. On the plains, people need patience to sow in spring and wait till the autumn for harvest, if the weather has been kind. A mountain man is a fighter with many difficulties, even with wild animals sometimes. A farmer is a hard worker too, but he is more of a fatalist, because his harvest depends on the weather. Somebody said that with the mountains the earth raises to the sky and, by means of the people, the sky (God or gods) descends onto the Earth. I quote this from memory, perhaps it is not an exact quote, but that’s the general idea.
Jonesboro is the single more important locality on my way. Gradually, we draw near the mountains. That’s different life! The road is narrow and the vegetation abundant. The bus is almost empty. The area become increasingly picturesque, and shows to good account from the tourist point of view. There are numerous lakes with dozens of boats and villas for leisure. One can hire a boat, but it seems to be almost cheaper to buy one. I understand now why I saw many boats beside houses in areas without a lake nearby, even sometimes in the desert. People bought their boats while on vacation and brought them home, hoping to have another opportunity to use them later. Mostly, it remained just a wish, while the boats corroded.
As we advance into the mountains, the resorts occur less frequently. Instead, small mountain localities appear, smaller and smaller, and progressively poorer. Some of them are so disadvantaged that I am wondering how such a thing is possible in the midst of the United States. Beside the road there are some stalls selling second–hand items, maybe even third–hand. At first I thought the sellers were Indians, but they were white people and do not sell handicrafts, but worn out things. As a matter of fact, handicrafts could not be sold, because the tourist area remained far behind. We are now on a secondary road, without tourist traffic. The buyers could not be tourists, but other natives, still poorer than the vendors.
At last, I got to Harrison. The bus station is only a room in a wasteland, where the bus stops for a few minutes. Despite being in the mountains, it is warm and pleasant. The last of my uncertainty is over. Sheila is waiting for me in the station. I am saved!
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