All the news the New York Times "forgot" - to print

Sunday, January 22, 2006

"Losing his own soul": Was it really worth it?

In 44 BC, Julius Ceasar, the first citizen of the Roman State, was assassinated. In his will, he stated that a young man by the name of Octavian was to be his heir. At that time, Octavian was little more than a "skinny, 19-year-old college kid" (Frances Titchener, A History of Ancient Rome).

Octavian, went on to form an alliance with the veteran general Marc Anthony. To raise funds, the pair began executing supposed "enemies of the state," permitted them to effectively steal private estates from citizens to fund their armies.

Soon after, Octavian was proclaimed to be "Ceasar Augustus" over the Entire Roman Empire, thus gaining authority over most of the known world. His reign of over 40 years was remarkably peaceful.

But Soloman's proverb that "The spoil of the wicked catcheth them" (Prov. 21:7 YLT) proved remarkably true in Augustus' case. He died in AD 15, possibly poisoned by the hand of his own wife Livia.

For Octavian, the pleasure resulting from sin was real but temporary. God's judgement will be eternal.

Jesus asked: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). The logic is compelling. But do we really believe this today?

Labels: ,

8 Comments:

Blogger QueenOfLillyFlowers said...

neat post,rex!

Sunday, 22 January, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it looks like Julius Ceasar in that picture is empty inside.

Monday, 23 January, 2006  
Blogger Narniagirl said...

If Julius Ceasar wasn't killed so suddenly, he might have actually done some good for Rome. One the men who helped kill Julius also tried to criple Augustus, thus weakening Rome and dividing it into two parts. If Julius hadn't been killed, our world history would be very different!

Monday, 23 January, 2006  
Blogger Narniagirl said...

Hey Tash, your link to my blog doesn't work!!! You might want to fix that

Monday, 23 January, 2006  
Blogger Silas said...

It works now.

Monday, 23 January, 2006  
Blogger Silas said...

Closing the polls...

Which of these villains in C.S Lewis book "The Last Battle" is the worst?
Shift (5) 8%
Tash (24) 40%
Puzzle (31) 52%

Total Votes: 60

Tuesday, 24 January, 2006  
Blogger Narniagirl said...

You ended the poll before Tash could win!! Sneaky..

Wednesday, 25 January, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Poor, poor Puzzle he did'nt no what he was doing, hes not a villian.

Wednesday, 25 January, 2006  

Post a Comment

<< Home