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Lost Letters of pergamum reflection essay

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The Lost Letters of Pergamum : A Story from the New Testament World

Introduction

Pax Romana , based on the context of Bruce W . Longecker 's ' The Lost Letters of Pergamum , characterizes the clash between two kinds or facets civilization and codes of morality . Underneath the extensive interlude of relative peace during the centuries-old reign of the Roman Empire was an evolving new face of belief and of moral inclination that would trigger the emergence of Christian civilization . The coming of the Christian faith during the

twilight of the Roman era signaled the looming conclusion of barbarism , Caesarian politics , brutal military rule , and ruthless social system that only glorified the wicked , the well-placed elite , the ruling senators and the noblemen

In this particular novel , Longecker introduced a new type of story-telling wherein he logically and methodically blended biblical facts and fiction . This distinctive style of the author is not to challenge the passages in the Holy Scripture or weaken the foundation of the Christian faith , but to introduce an interesting way of learning the bible and of finding its underlying purpose . This purpose was thus successfully achieved by Longecker , as his book undeniably drew more believers to discover the meaning and essence of the bible

Longecker did not just rest on the interesting conversations between Saint Luke , one of the faithful and ever loyal disciples of Jesus Christ , and Antipas , an affluent trader and landlord of the city of Tyre (now Pergamum , he also focused on the abstract side of his writing goal , which is to illustrate the struggle between good and evil , and the clash between blind materialism or secularism and spiritual virtues

This struggle was clearly narrated through the conversations between Saint Luke and Antipas , a name mentioned in the book of Revelation Revelation Chapter 2 , verse 13 states - I know where you dwell , where Satan 's throne is and you hold fast My name , and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas , My witness , My faithful one , who was killed among you , where Satan dwells

Longecker used this particular line as the foundation of the book 's fictional character - Antipas , the `faithful witness ' of Saint Luke But beyond this characterization , the purpose of Longecker is to show the struggle within Antipas who , from being a role model of the Roman Empire and who embodied the moral codes of his time , was able to see the light in the words of Saint Luke and thus converted to Christianity Like Jesus Christ 's faithful disciple , Antipas , the ever loyal witness of Saint Luke , died a martyr

Socio-political system of the Roman Empire

One of the letters of Antipas to Luke illustrates the system and condition of his time . Here , he mentioned about the condition of the birthplace of Jesus Christ , Nazareth , as not impressive ' including the low quality of life of the place (Longecker 62 . There are also cruel depictions of the Romaic social system wherein the artisans and lowly peasants struggled to...

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