Flavius Claudius Julianus

One of my favorite historical figures is the Emperor Julian. Flavius Claudius Julianus, to be precise. He succeeded the Contantine line of emperors and did his best to reinstate the traditions of old Rome and to rid the Empire of the taint of the new and intolerant philosophy that had poisoned the nation. His life was tragic and brief. But he tried to put things to rights. He came close. But most often, the bad guys win. And so it was with the struggles of Julian.


The idea of an incarnation of God is absurd: why should the human race think itself so superior to bees, ants, and elephants as to be put in this unique relation to its maker? . . Christians are like a council of frogs in a marsh or a synod of worms on a dung-hill croaking and squeaking "for our sakes was the world created."

Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus

Look!

By

James Robert Smith

Look how FAR

we’ve come,

they brag

(as if they’d done it themselves).

Jumbo jets!

Computers!

DVD players!

Interstate highways!

Skyscrapers!

Sewage systems!

Automobiles!

Modern medicine!

MORE computers!

Cell phones!

Satellites!

Space stations!

Planetary probes!

We’re great! We’re #1,

they say.

But do they EVER

stop to think

that we should have

achieved all that

stuff

500 years ago?

1,000 years ago?

That we should be

sitting, perhaps,

in the lap of luxury in

Paradise,

either here on Earth

or in orbit around

Betelgeuse? or Barnard’s Star?

or Proxima Centauri?

Or hauling black holes

around the Universe like tinker toys

while God kisses our ass?

No. I doubt

that ever occurs

to them.

Viva Morales!