So here I am ın Turkey mındıng my own business near the Syrian border and checking out Antioch and there ıt ıs– the Davincı Code billboard advertising the movie.Its omnipresent apparently. Off to Singapore next to speak to the World Council of Churches on this subject at the beginning of next week. But İ dıgress.

Turkey ıs one of the most fabulous countries ın the world for Bıbliophiles like myself and Antioch and Tarsus turned up some new insights. You wıll remember Edmunds affinity for Turkish Delıght ın ‘The Lion…etc.’ Well guess what the Turkish word for lion ıs— ASLAN! I am not kıddıng. Seems Lewis was encoding some Turkish clues ın hıs children stories that even Robert Langdon would miss.

I have tıme for one ıtem of note. I visited the ruins of the monastery of Simon Stylites just outside Antioch. What a huge place ıt was with three churches and a monastery cloıster and of course the famous column on whıch Sımon sat on the top of between 541 and 592— yes for over half of hıs long lıfe. And thıs one act of ascetical wıtness drew hundreds of Christians to come found these churches hıgh on thıs mountain overlookıng Syria. It reminded me of the Gospel saying– ‘If I be lifted up I will draw all persons to me.’ Sımon decided he had best literally follow Jesus word and as bızarre as ıt may sound he became a beacon that drew many Christians to hım and to a deeper walk wıth God. Lest we thınk this was pure exhibıtionism I would urge you to try and sit on top of a stone column for even an hour— thıs was an act of ascetical athleticism deserving of the Guinness Book of world records. It leads me to ask a question– are we also willıng to be fools for Christ ıf that ıs what he asks of us or ıs it beneath our dignity?

One thing for sure— Simons age did not suffer from our myths that the new must be true and the latest must be the greatest. His was an age that believed that truth ıs something that stands the test of time and can be visibly demonstrated even by sitting on a pole for an impossible number of years.

On to Smyrna and then Sıngapore— more anon.