Agora, A Powerful and Relevant Message

As you may have gathered from the title, I've just seen Agora (starring Rachel Weisz). And I highly recommend you see it and see for yourself.

PLEASE BE WARNED: THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

It is based on the story of Hypatia who was a Mathematician and Astronomer. She also invented the Hydrometer which is used by Engineers (such as myself) to measure the Specific Gravity of liquids. She was a pagan - in that she did not follow the Christian faith. So she may have been an aetheist for all we know.

The basic story of her life is that she was a tremendously intelligent person for her time, she made many astronomical and mathematical breakthroughs - many of which we still build on today (hyperbolas, parabolas, conic sections, and ellipses). Cyril of Alexandria (later the Pope of Alexandria) made accusations that along with her 'paganism' and her influence on the Prefect of Alexandria, riled up the Christian church against her. She was captured on her way home by a mob led by the Pope's assistant, stripped naked, dragged through the street, her skin was scraped off with shells and broken pottery, her body tore up and burned in the streets.

I believe that many of the themes and actions brought up in the film completely reflect what is happening to our society today. Look in the media, we see reglious fundamentalism breaking out in western society and flourishing in the Middle East. Many people are so disenfranchised with their life, being unable to cope with the pace of change in society and the loss of influence in society. In the film, we see that many of the people who have converted to Christianity to start with were the disenfranchised, the lower ends of society. And we know this is true because of the life of Jesus. He came for the people who society has rejected, the down and outs, etc.

We also see the struggle between the fundamentalist leader of the church and the moderate Prefect of the city. This is so true of what is happening today. The actions of the few is casting a shadow over the many who are normal members of society.

Another thing that was brought up in scripture is the twisting of scripture. We do not know that this occured for a fact at the time, but we do know that the truth of the Gospel of Jesus was completely overlooked, we know this because of the actions of the Church throughout the ages. Christ taught his disciples to turn the other cheek, that we are all equal and to love one another he loved us. The Bible also says that For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" Ephesians 6:12 - KJV. This means that Christians are not to take up physical weapons and slay each other but that the fight is a purely spiritual one. WHY then was the blood of non Christians shed?

I know this is a very difficult issue and as a Christian I always try to comprehend what was going through the heads of these leaders of the Church?

All through history we have seen blood spilled in the name of Jesus, The Crusades, the Holy Roman Empire (as seen above), the church killing scientists who tried to improve society, astronmers who dared to say that the Earth was round and we lived in a heliocentric galazy. Why has religion or faith tried to hinder progress?

I know that this post has started in one place but wound up in another completely but I really want to open up a debate and get people thinking about what they really believe? Is it merely a religion, a lifestyle or a tool for gaining the control of minds and hearts.

This is not an attack on any particular religion, faith or belief system but a series of questions that I feel we need to answer and use to re-evaluate society with. We gained rationality during the Renaissance or the Enlightenment, but I fear at times that we are loosing it.

RIght now there is soo much just firing off in my head, and I needed to get it down and out there. I apologise if this just seems to be the ramblings of an insane person, please be assured it is not!

Daniel x

Please check out the following for more information:

www.maa.org/pubs/Calc_articles…
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/wom…