The book of Acts records the conflict between the first Christians and the pagan communities they were evangelizing. Those communities said they were advocating customs unlawful for Romans to adopt (Acts 16:20), that they were “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
Have you ever wondered what they meant by that?
An article in the BBC News today describes the excavation of a mass burial of 97 infants in the Thames Valley of England. Archaeologists believe might have been a brothel. Key quote:
And infanticide may not have been as shocking in Roman times as it is today.
Archaeological records suggest infants were not considered to be “full” human beings until about the age of two, said Dr Eyers.
Let’s hear it for turning the world upside down.
Amen, Luke.
When I think of Jesus saying, in Mat. 19:8, that Moses permitted divorce because “your hearts were hard,” it makes me wonder: how much different were we, back when life was hard and death was common (as, admittedly, it still is in some places)? Presumably the Romans didn’t feel the same about their 18 month old children as we do about ours. How is that possible? I don’t know. I’ve been assured that people everywhere “love their children just the same as you do, and want the same things for them.” Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t seem likely.