Last fall I was privileged enough to take a trip to Greece and Israel with Mars Hill Church and Pastor Mark Driscoll. The trip was full of opportunities to see the bible I read come to life. It was faith building as the trip allowed me to see places and historical artifacts which brought great reinforcement to the scriptures. One of the most awkward and powerful moments was a room full of carvings from the ancient city of Corinth. As we walked into this room with out sweet little middle aged greek female translator the room was covered with penises. The above picture does not do it justice really. The situation became very awkward as we stood in this room and every one was thinking the same thing but no one really said anything or knew how to ask. After a long historical explanation about Corinth our translator finally brought it around to all the carvings in the room. The carvings were actually found on a dig with lots of other body party but primarily reproductive organs. The location of the dig was actually a temple to a medicinal god. Carvings of whatever body part was sick or injured and needed healing were brought as an offering to the healing God. As the translator began to explain more and more the biblical ramifications became clearer. Due to the fact that so many of the offerings were reproductive organs historians believe was a sign of many sexually transmitted diseases among the Corinthians. Now lets throw the bible on top of that. Remember the church in Corinth was crazy especially when it came to sex, from sex with their in-laws to orgies in place of communion. This room full of body parts and in particular penises will be a place I never forget not just because of how crazy a sight it was to see rather it was one of those special places where historians and the bible line up and agree in their accuracy. By far one of my favorite memories of the trip.
