The Congruency of Destruction

The Congruency of Division

1/17/14

It takes hard work to build a village or a community.  The completed work does not occur over night either but long and lasting strength and faith all tied into unity in order for this project to be accomplished.  The human individual is just as complicated and delicate yet their spirits are everlasting and will be looked upon as the defining points in history.  Humans are the center of the world for without them nothing would exist, but while we continue to learn to accompany each other, indulgences arise which threaten the entire existence of the community, and what remains after the destructive capacity of the human will to prove that they are correct, leaves an empty hole in the heart of God.

The historical example that I am going to use in this article dates way back before the modern era.  This time frame is one that has witnessed the rise and fall of the Greek Empire and is now about to see the expanse of the Roman Empire emerge as the newest and largest empire that mankind has ever witnessed.  In between this empiric growth and the modern age of mankind comes a leader named Alexander whose ideas and wishes eventually encompass a vast amount of wealth, land and peoples, all at his command and desires for his pleasure.  His approach to this newly gained status allows him to be accepted by the peoples that he has conquered and for these people to view him as one of “us”, like a deity instead of being referenced as an invading king or military adjutant weighing the population’s every move.

The popularity of Alexander is enormous and his assuredness of himself fits like a hand in glove and it is soon hereafter that he decides to build a city in his own likeness and then call it Alexandria.  The planning of Alexandria took a very short time to lie out but as anyone knows it took some time to complete.  The plans for the city were stored in Alexander’s head and then meticulously executed over time.  His ideas were brilliant and by the time the city was complete, Alexandria was set to become the world’s largest metropolis after Rome itself.  One can even call this seaside metropolis a city upon a hill for every person who sought any type of wisdom gathered here to learn from the other leaders, slaves, Muslims, Christians, Pagans, etc who had a desire to learn about the unknown.

Alexandria did not immediately become the large and famous intellectual center from its beginnings, it took time and through the advancements of the age and people willing to understand each other instead of fighting amongst themselves to become the true gathering place for all cultures.  The city struggled for any type of help while it was in its fledgling state.  Many people did not enjoy the luxuries that would be for the taking years down the road for this young city of almost 2300 years now was still considered to be a very young city on an ancient and divine land.  Many could never imagine how great and dominate this city would become; all driven from a very young ruler who found himself in favor with the public of the area.

The wealth of the town centered on the manmade port that Alexander so brilliantly built.  The port served as the toasting place to the world as every ship from nation after nation filled its bay with commerce, trade and foreign cultures.  Multitudes of people flocked to the city and began to seek out the many treasures of knowledge that the city had to offer.  As Alexandria grew in numbers so did its popularity as a cultural and philosophical environment, which in turn enticed many more societies to invade its shores.  Yet somehow, the congruency of its inhabitants thrived in such a manner of unity that almost second to none during that time.  Mutual respect and dignity was served on a continual basis each day and was offered to each individual that wished to feast from its plate.

There were daily lectures, meetings, talks and debates that filled the streets and gathering places throughout the growing city.  Soon it was decided that all of these ideas and thoughts from different cultures needed to be written down and kept so that after the people had returned to their abodes that one may remember what was said by reading the transcribed texts that remained.  A center storage place was contemplated, then designed and finally built to house all of these documents that would become one of the largest document storage places in the world.  The Library of Alexandria, as we know it, was born and became even larger of an attraction than the city itself, for if a person wanted to read anything that any scholar who had visited the city or even see and talk with a famous lecturer, they could do so while attending the halls of the library.

The common talk amongst the people of the city proved that anyone who wished to be a part of this cultural epicenter could participate and be accepted and in turn adds to the vast array of cultures and serves as another potential source of influential knowledge.  This concept of unity and relationship was moderated by an atmosphere of respect with intimidation not being allowed to form by any means, yet there were those that feared the worst and warned against further dealings with outsiders who might bring in ideas that might be harmful to the metropolitan linchpin between the East and West.  Alexandria was now affixed as a major city within the growing Roman Empire and its influence within the empire was growing proportionally as well.

The library became the centerpiece of Alexandria’s democracy that demonstrated and lured millions of visitors from around the world.  The growth of the city and the amount of constant foreign seekers was the backbone of how a democracy can birth, grow and maintain a relationship between a multitude of represented cultures while keep at bay the differences that each culture brings; this concept is still viable today if only personal ambitions and selfishness are kept out of the equation.  How marvelous it would be to sit down and to have a decent conversation with a person who comes from another part of the world and just learn about their lives and how they had lived up until that point in time.  How hard would it be for a person or group to tell a story about their race and not have anyone feel ashamed enough of themselves to object to or be offended by what they have done in their homeland?  Any scholarly culture that really wants to understand each other will not hide their faults from inquisitors nor will they storm out yelling at the biased opinions that others have towards their beliefs.  We may not like everything that another culture presents their sword at our dinner table but as humans we need to understand why they have brought this item instead of immediately reacting to the conditions.

Anyone who has studied or read about history will acknowledge the fact that at some point in time, no matter what the situation or condition some human will get a wild hair and do their best to disturb a great setting.  The problem is that we humans forget the mission that we all have with each other and instead take matters into our own hands and through our own self proclaimed popularity try to change views according to how we feel that they should be accounted for.  The world of Alexandria came crashing down in this type of manner when a young priest was ordained within the city limits as the Christian representative of God’s Church got such a notion in his thinking.  The footing for this malicious cleansing came at the expense of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people all because some ideas did not correspond with a recovering persecuted organization’s belief.

The example that I am using here pits the Christians against a metropolis and everything that both entities stood for.  However, I have also demonstrated that when a humble beginning turns into a power struggle, humanity itself will be harmed as history records in countless frameworks.  It is this stage that I am bringing into light, not the fact that the Church takes center stage in the downfall of this story but what power and the ability to create a firestorm through this power that is so damaging to everyone involved.  There is no example what-so-ever that Jesus demonstrated this kind of power-grab while He was on this earth.  Jesus came to this earth by choice, not by command and there is a huge difference that we need to understand here about these two principles.  So, why do Christian leaders believe that they should be different from the person who established the restoration process?

Cyril of Alexandria who became the Bishop of Alexandria proved to be a leader that excited division not only amongst the people of the city but also in the community of Christians.  The persuasion of Christians towards the Jews for killing Jesus was the ignition that Cyril used to begin his purge of this group.  While this notion was considered to be a hot topic during that day it was not even close to what Jesus commanded His church to complete.  Never did Jesus ever say to His followers to avenge His death, so why do we take it upon our hearts to do anything different from His words?  Cyril continued his divisive mannerisms against the Jews and eventually these intrusive actions spilled over into other parts and sectors of the city’s populations.

After a short while the uprising of Cyril came to include the pagans and other cultures that were represented within the city.  Cyril stirred up so much controversy that many feared that at any moment the city would burst into a violent storm and that everyone would be against everyone else.  The boiler room continued its forcing the flames of hate throughout the city and the tensions of the groups only increased as each day passed.  The evidence against the Jews, according to Cyril was overwhelming yet no real evidence was ever discussed publically and in a fair setting nor is there any evidence that remains after the city was destroyed concerning the Jews.  It is not hard for one to imagine the heated passions a certain topic can raise within an individual, group or government so as the natural progression of human activity progresses, the only step available after the name calling processions have been used up, is violence.  This popular city was at its peak when the Christians felt that they had had enough lies and blasphemous talk. 

So when the next step came into life the tensions spilled over into every group that was represented within the city and the worst fears of the general public was surfacing at a breakneck pace.  Violence and death began to reign throughout the streets of Alexandria and everyone who made their presence in the city was at risk of losing their life.  The Christian’s hatred for the pagans and the philosophers grew enough to take a popular philosopher and teacher of students into captivity and then eventually have a mock trial and immediately executed her.  Their torturous actions did not die there, they continued to drag her through the streets until they stopped to dismember her body and burn her remains as a witch would “deserve.”

How can a person or movement gain so much access and control over others and continue to effectively destroy another group that sees things or has different opinions than the attackers?    It is a human phenomenon that is really not hard to understand but many fail to grasp this concept because if they do, then they would realize that everyone has fallen into this monstrous category and should be subject to our own destruction.  It is the personal choice of an individual that separates or brings together from others.  The Church is supposed to be separated from the Church but by no means should it be violent against those who come into conflict with their beliefs, unless the Church is attacked first and then she has every authority to defend herself, but in this case, that was not what transpired.

While I picked an example of the Church to illustrate this topic, we all need to understand that the example for this article could have come from any aspect of human existence.  And if one is to be honest this type of setting is currently being portrayed throughout the western societies of the world today.  There is not a day that goes by that we read or watch groups of people arguing about who is correct and what kind of names that they can place onto others who do not see things as they do.  How many stories do we hear about in which one view or another is totally bombarded and labeled as inferior to another?  How man hostile activities are we now witnessing across the globe in the name of God, liberalism, conservatism and hundreds of other causes?  Can’t we see that these types of activities are purely destructive and will eventually lead to the next step after name calling?  Read history and study how humans reacted to instances like Alexandria and then follow the timeline all the way up to today.  What do you see when it comes to the actions of humans that are placed in similar situations?  The exact same thing as occurred in Alexandria.

After the Christians rose up against the Jews and Pagans within Alexandria, their violent rage against the city resulted in the complete destruction of the city.  As I stated above Alexandria was in her prime and was thriving as the jewel of the new world.  Yet, after all of the name calling and violence that soon ensued, Alexandria never recovered completely and never again rose to the status that it shared with Rome.  Yes, Alexandria survived the destruction of her beloved library and teaching grounds and is still alive today, its status shall never be regained and its loss of congruency amongst the nations is lost forever.

I firmly believe that our society is now at this point and if we do not wake up and recognize that the path we are travelling on is leading us to destruction, this total destruction will occur to us.  All standards are being met for this to occur and it is only a matter of time before the cauldron opens up and engulfs the world.  Alexandria was an enormous city, but it was only a city.  Our society is the culture of the world and has set the tables for every other country to try to achieve and through our stupidity and selfish actions we are allowing the Alexandria march to be unleashed upon the entire world and not just a city this time.

There is an answer to our problems and a common ground that all of us can agree upon and that is we need God back into our lives.  Not as the Church of St Cyril tried to accomplish but one that has compassion on all people yet at the same time brings into light the differences of right and wrong.  Man’s laws are futile and can be easily overridden with a stroke of a pen, but God’s laws are eternal and everlasting and should be recognized by everyone as such.  Not to have God in “control” of our lives but to provide guidance for our lives so that we all may understand and live in true peace.  There is no question that the Church made huge mistakes during the time of Cyril and there is also no question that mankind has made the same mistakes throughout our history.  There is a way that we can change this progression and that is through God Almighty.

A person’s choice is just that, the willingness of a person to fill in her or his own blanks when it comes to the passions that they have.  It is also that person’s choice to do their best in an orderly fashion while trying to accomplish this feat.  Jesus made the choice to walk this earth and to proclaim the Kingdom of God, Covenant, salvation and restoration to all that would listen and desired to understand.  He did not take sides nor did He destroy the inner sanctuaries of whom He considered to be desirable; you and me.  Jesus understood and thrived upon His authority while He was on the earth, according to Kingdom standards, not mankind’s standards.  There are two guarantees that we should keep in mind.  The first guarantee is that if we do not choose God’s ways for our lives, destruction shall engulf our world and we will have no choice but to accept our own defeated fate.  The second guarantee is that God has promised to restore our land, our inner land, if we only humble ourselves and ask for His forgiveness, turn from our wicked ways and acknowledge Him as our only hope in life.  It is an easy process and very simple to complete.  Where does our congruency lie?  Is it in life or is it destruction, the choice is ours to make.  Remember that God love you and that Jesus loves you!! 

DLB