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The bloodlust never leaves

    Rage stacked upon rage never rids oneself of rage. Vengeance stacked upon vengeance never rids one of vengeance. (that felt like a Clone Wars opening)

     "Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them." - Deuteronomy 32:35 

    As Christians, we are taught to leave disasters are wrong doing to this extent in God's hands, but ancient Greek culture did not have the same vital view that leads to the relative peace of today. Throughout the Eumenides we see the furies with this insane level of bloodlust stirred awake by the ghost of Clytaemnestra. This idea of being hunted makes me shudder to the core. We see this unnatural addiction to the shedding of blood and Apollo acknowledges this in the way he views and converses with the furies and their leader, "Go where heads are severed, eyes gouged out, where Justice and bloody slaughter are the same...No god will ever Shepard you with love." (Aeschylus, 183-195)

    He sees them as scum. I kind of picture the way he views them as not too dissimilar the way we Christians see or should see demons. He has this sense of "yes they are powerful but are deserving of no respect" paired with a full confidence in the abilities the dwell within him to overcome their power. 

    I am reminded of Romans 12:17-19 where Paul encourages us not to repay evil with evil but to inspire others in good things and live peacefully with all men in the full confidence that God will Avenge where vengeance is needed. We live a completely different life under the teachings Ancient Greeks would have seen as extremely radical and frankly stupid. We are exceedingly blessed by the peace from the strife of even modern life that God's word provides us with. We don't have the worries of vengeance or furries coming to kill us. Instead we have the goal of pursuing the nations with the gospel and showing the peace of the LORD Jesus Christ. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on the way we view demons and the peace we have as an escape from vengeance. 

edit- I commented on Abbie Hedden and Hailey Morgan's blog. 


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