Epistle for May 13, 2005
Posted by: info <info@...>
Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay
Foundation May 13, 2005
Holy Ground Interview
DEMETRIUS the Silversmith
Pillsbury Classes
Curt Scarborough's HOLY GROUND INTERVIEW
Featuring today's special guest
DEMETRIUS THE SILVERSMITH
CS Demetrius, as a wealthy merchant in Ephesus, how do
you explain
your personal involvement in a riot that threatened
to destroy the
city? Were you a demonic atheist, violently opposed
to God?
Demetrius I wasn't an atheist! In fact, I was a believer in the
goddess Diana.
CS The Roman goddess of hunting and the moon?
Demetrius Yes. I usually sculptured her in silver as a beautiful
young woman in
hunting clothes, often accompanied by a deer or
hunting dogs.
CS I seem to remember she also was the goddess of
sorcerers, witches,
and ghosts . . . worshiped at crossroads in the dark
of night.
Demetrius In that form, she was called Hecate, but not in Asia Minor.
In
Ephesus, we constructed a magnificent temple to her
. . . one of the
wonders of the ancient world.
CS Did you really believe in that pantheon of gods and
goddesses?
Surely an intelligent person couldn't worship an
object he'd made
with his own hands!
Demetrius Those idols were mere reminders of the goddess Diana. What
I really
believed in was the money I made selling those
souvenirs!
CS Demetrius, tell us your memories of the events Dr.
Luke wrote about
in the nineteenth chapter of Acts.
Demetrius It was ironic that the first Christians in Ephesus were a
small group of
believers started by Apollos . . . not Apollo, the
brother of Diana.
CS He was assisted by Aquila and Priscilla, I remember.
Demetrius Within a few weeks, Paul and his party appeared in the
city, where he
organized a church and remained there as pastor for
two years.
CS Did you immediately try to "tar and feather" Paul, and
"run him out of
town on a rail"?
Demetrius How quaint! At first, we ignored him as an insignificant
irritant. But then
his reputation began to grow. Through his God,
Jesus, he healed many
people of their diseases . . . in fact, some folks
claimed to have been
healed by mere contact with handkerchiefs that he'd
touched.
CS Then there was the episode with the seven sons of
Sceva.
Demetrius Sceva was the Jewish chief priest there in Ephesus. His
sons tried to
perform an exorcism in the name of the Jesus whom
Paul served, but the
demon overpowered them. They fled into the street,
naked!
CS That's when you decided to get rid of Paul and his
followers?
Demetrius Soon after that semi-humorous incident with Sceva's sons, a
religious
awakening swept through Ephesus. Multitudes were
being convicted
to the gospel Paul preached. The most troubling
aspect of this great
revival was that the new Christians were burning
their black magic books
and abandoning their worship of Diana.
CS It was hurting your business.
Demetrius Drastically! So I called together other members of the
Silversmith Guild,
and we voted to put a stop to Paul's nonsense.
CS What did you do to protect your lucrative source of
income?
Demetrius We played on the superstitions of the street people. We
spread the rumor
that Paul and the followers of The Way were planning
to destroy the
temple of Diana.
CS That wasn't true.
Demetrius Business is business! We got the populace chanting "Great
is Diana, of
the Epehsians!" The whole city was filled with
confusion, and they
seized two of Paul's associates, Gaius and Aristarchus, and rushed them
into the amphitheater for a quick trial and execution.
CS Where was Paul during this time?
Demetrius We found out later that some of his friends, who were
officials of the
province, had begged him to stay out of sight.
Finally, another man in
Paul's party, named Alexander, appeared and tried to
speak to the crowd.
But our boys kept the crowd stirred up, and they
shouted so loudly that
Alexander gave up trying to make a defense.
CS What happened?
Demetrius The City Clerk finally appeared and order was restored. He
pointed out
that everyone knew Diana was the great goddess
fallen down from her
father Zeus, and that her temple in Ephesus was the
most sacred spot
in the world, outside of Rome. He told everyone to
disperse.
CS Did you keep agitating the crowd?
Demetrius He knew what was really behind the riot, and he challenged
me and the
Silversmith Guild to prefer charges against Paul, if
we really had proof
that he had broken any Roman laws.
CS Did that shut you up?
Demetrius He threatened to report us to the Emperor, and we certainly
didn't want
that kind of trouble. We dispersed; the next day,
Paul left town.
CS So, you and your business associates won the battle?
Demetrius Not really. The more we persecuted those followers of
Jesus, the more
they multiplied! In fact, I myself eventually
became a believer!
CS Really!
Demetrius I surely did! The Apostle John, who was bishop over the
seven churches
of Asia Minor, mentioned me in his third epistle.
He wrote "Demetrius has
a good testimony from all, and from the truth
itself."
CS Demetrius, do you have any words of wisdom to pass
along to us?
Demetrius The gods of this world are false, but the demons behind
them are real!
I discovered there is only one true and living God,
revealed through His
resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit kept
convicting me of my
sins, and finally I surrendered my heart to Jesus.
I couldn't beat Him,
so . . . through God's grace and mercy, I joined
Him.
Institute of Theological Studies
After more than a year of investigation of Christian higher educational
resources, the administration, faculty, and Board of Regents of Pillsbury
College & Seminary decided to add to our present courses the curriculum
developed by the Institute of Theological Studies of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We have studied and are in full agreement with the ITS Statement of Faith,
and with its Vision, Mission, and Purpose Statements.
The Institute of Theological Studies is not a school; rather it is the
world's leading network of distance learning theological education
resources. ITS courses meet the highest graduate level requirements of
theological education, and all ITS courses have been developed and approved
by the Dean of 24 large participating schools, including Covenant
Theological Seminary of St. Louis, Missouri, The 58 courses (24 lectures
each) were recorded by a virtual "Who's Who" of evangelical theologians, and
are available on audio cassette, CD-ROM, video, or the internet.
Over 100 Bible Colleges and Theological Seminaries use ITS curriculum.
Among these schools are five Southern Baptist seminaries (Midwestern in
Kansas City, MO, Southern in Louisville, KY, Southwestern in Ft. Worth, TX,
Southeastern in Wake Forest, NC, and Golden Gate in Mill Valley, CA,)
Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, Wheaton Graduate School in
Wheaton, IL, and many other very prominent schools also use ITS curriculum.
Pillsbury has no intention of entering into competition against these great
theological institutions.
However, these 100 colleges and seminaries that endorse and use ITS
curriculum primarily are on-campus schools which allow students to take only
a few select ITS courses by distance learning. Pillsbury will stand
uniquely as a degree granting institution that offers all 58 ITS courses in
six areas of concentration by distance learning, leading to an accredited
Master of Ministry of Doctor of Ministry Degree.
For more information call Dr. Scarborough at 314-739-1121 or email
info@freewayfoundation.org
"One of the most obvious facts about grownups to a child is that
they have forgotten what it is like to be a child."
- Randall Jarrell
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