Bread and Circuses

Next week, I start a new small group series at church, which looks at the various locations where the early church started. I had a thought today and it grew into a devotion that I'll share the first night. Here's your early look:


One of my top-5 favorite movies of all time is Ben Hur. Who can forget the heart-pounding chariot race where Charlton Heston's childhood friend, turned enemy, is killed? That huge oval-shaped stadium is called a circus, and it's different from the circular Coliseum. But it served the same purpose. Races and gladiator events were the venue that attracted tens of thousands of Roman citizens.

Juvenal was a first-century AD Roman satirist, a kind of exalted comedian, who commented on life in the Empire. He once said, "Give them bread and circuses, and they will never revolt." The emperors gave the citizens food for their stomachs and entertaining distractions for their minds. Meet their basest needs and they'd never have to worry about Rome's citizens ever realizing they were living far short of their potential.

Two thousand years later, I see parallels between Rome and America. Our progressive elites, like emperors, built their power base by controlling all the institutions that we used to trust. Government - Education - News - Entertainment - Military. Some among us saw it happening, but most didn't. Their basest needs were being met by the elites, especially over the last couple of years. They got their bread, in cold, hard cash, thanks to the trillions of dollars being pumped into the economy.

Today's Circus distractions? Recreational marijuana - drag queens reading to kids in the library - demonizing of history - record-breaking trans swimmers - socialization of everything - politicians giving a thumb's up to modern gladiators in rioting cities - a woke military. I could go on.

The first chapter of Ecclesiastes includes a great line..."there is nothing new under the sun." Well, that goes both ways. We can see the same sin now that we read about back then. But we can also use the same prayer now that we read about back then.

There was a group of people 2000 years ago that accomplished something. They were Christians and they changed Rome and the world. What do our catacombs look like today? Will we come out, like they did? Will we at least change (our city)?

joecool wrote:
The first chapter of Ecclesiastes includes a great line..."there is nothing new under the sun."

Isn't that the truth. We sometimes think of things as new, because we havent seen it before. But its not new.
Transgenderism goes all the way back to the Babylonians & probably before.
New drugs come & go-but they or soemthing similar was around before.

joecool wrote: Two thousand years later, I see parallels between Rome and America. Our progressive elites, like emperors, built their power base by controlling all the institutions that we used to trust. Government - Education - News - Entertainment - Military. Some among us saw it happening, but most didn't. Their basest needs were being met by the elites, especially over the last couple of years. They got their bread, in cold, hard cash, thanks to the trillions of dollars being pumped into the economy.

I have often thought the rise & recent decline of America mirrors the Roman empire in many ways.


It is a sad state of affairs. What this country needs most is Christ. What the progessive rulers hate most is Christ. Because they are on the other side.

ccm2361 wrote: Isn't that the truth.

Truth
Revealed
Uncompromisingly by
The
Holy Trinity

I can't add much to JoeCool's original description; I have seen it, myself, prior to this thread.

Feed and entertain the Masses, so that they won't cause trouble for a debauched Ruling Class. About the only additional factor that I can throw in is making "gods" of athletes and entertainers, who will make "godly" proclamations in support of the corrupt Ruling Class (and masses of non-thinking population, who will gladly parrot what they hear from "the gods").

Claymore wrote: ...trouble for a debauched Ruling Class.

Inevitably, they will have their "Et tu, Brute?" moment. The left is already turning on itself. But, will they even care? Or will it be a conditioned, "We, who are about to die, salute you."