A Day In Pompeii

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 1:29 am by Tara Edelschick

A Day In Pompeii 2011-12-08T01:29:08-07:00 Tara Edelschick

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I took the boys to see “A Day In Pompeii,” a great new exhibit at the Museum of Science. Gladiator masks, great videos, an audio tour for kids, and casts of dead people suffocating to death. What could be better for seven- and eight-year-old boys, yes?

As I marveled at the frescos, though, the boys looked bored. I tried to give them a sense of history and awe with, “But guys, these paintings were probably around when Jesus was on the planet. Remember, Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., and Jesus died around 33 A.D., so it was only forty-six years later. And remember that the Roman empire was in charge when Jesus was alive. So these artifacts show us a bit of the culture of the Roman empire at the time they were occupying Jerusalem.”

“And Roman soldiers killed Jesus, right Momma?”

“Yup. And Roman soldiers also destroyed the temple in Jerusalem a few years before Vesuvius.”

I was trying to give a historical context here. I really was. I was not trying to foment any anti-Roman sentiment. Really. I just wanted the boys to connect what they were seeing in the artifacts all around them to a story they already knew. That, unfortunately, is not quite the connection Ezra made. I know this because he announced at that top of his lungs, “Oh, Momma, can I tell you something? I figured it out. God blew up Pompeii to punish the Romans for killing Jesus and wrecking the temple.”

The Hindu woman standing next to us smiled sweetly and waited to hear my reply.

“Well, Ez,” I answered, “I can see why it looks that way to you, but it’s usually a bad idea to claim to know the mind of God, especially because the Bible says that things that look like punishment to us may not be a punishment at all.”

That answer seemed to satisfy the Hindu woman. She nodded, smiled again, and walked on. I don’t think Ezra was convinced, though. He walked around the rest of the exhibit shaking his head and muttering under his breath, “They really shouldn’ta killed Jesus.”

Ah, yes. Just another day in Pompeii.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 2, 2011

The Name Of Your God

Next Post

December 9, 2011 Performance

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Reflections on "Mind In The Making" by Ellen Galinsky Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz