Scripture is filled with stories of an extraordinary God doing extraordinary things through ordinary people. Or so we might say – but were they really that ordinary? Certainly they were human – flesh and blood – just like us. Yet, we recognize that in many ways they were extraordinary as well, albeit by God’s grace (an important caveat). Noah built a boat that saved the human race and endured an epic disaster. Jacob wrestled with God (and won?!). Joseph became the second to Pharaoh in Egypt and saved countless lives. Moses … goodness, what didn’t Moses do? Esther saved her people and saw the wicked brought to justice. Rahab went…
-
-
Dionysius, The 3rd Century Roman Plague, & The Modern Church
In the 3rd century AD, a horrible plague struck the Roman Empire. According to some counts, 5,000 people a day were dying in Rome. It is not clear what specific disease caused the pandemic, but it is clear it was severe and deadly, lasting not months but years. By the mid-200s AD, when this plague struck, Christianity had grown substantially. In fact, it is largely thanks to Christian accounts of the plague that we know how events unfolded during the pandemic. But these Christian accounts also shed valuable light on how the church responded. Among those who wrote about the plague was a bishop by the name of Dionysius. Here…
