Baylor Jazz in Greece, Day 5

Today started out early, and Sophia, our guide from Corinth, came back to take us to the Acropolis Museum.  It was amazing.   All bits and pieces of the Parthenon and the Acropolis.  She told us all about the history of this site and all about the architecture and art of this amazing place.

Sophia was amazing!!  Look at how well everyone listened!!

 Then it was up to the Acropolis....

 This is the Theater of Dionysus in the Acropolis, and the major theater in all of Greece.  All Greek tragedies and comedies would have had to have been premiered here.  

Sitting in on a play!

This is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.  Theater performances were in amphitheaters, music performances were held in the Odeon.  This is still active and the Foo Fighters played here a couple of nights ago.  The stage is set and the pit is set for the Opera La Triviata.

 The Temple of Athena-Nike

 The Parthenon!!!!

 This dates back to 447 BC!!!

We had to get this pic!!

 And this is the cover of the first Baylor Jazz album

Check out this photo.  It's pretty good if I do say so myself!

Our Charlies Angels, the Ladies of Baylor Jazz!

The Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon who fought to be the God of Athens.  Athena offered an olive tree (the first olive tree) and Poseidon offered salt water (the sea).  They chose Athena. 

This is Mars Hill, right next to the Acropolis.  This is where Paul preached to the Athenians in Acts 17

 The View of Mars Hill from the Parthenon

 This is Brandon reading from Acts 17.  The passage there Paul stood on this rock and preached to the Athenians standing on the ground where we are standing.


 In Athens
 

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.   19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.”  21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)  22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.  24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.   28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’  29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.  30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”  32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  33 At that, Paul left the Council.  34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Pastor Giotis, from the First Evangelical Church of Athens, our amazing host, reminded us that we are doing just as Paul did. Paul did not speak to or convert huge numbers of people.  The Bible tells us that "some" of them became followers.  Dionysius, one of these, has the main road leading to the Acropolis named after him.  We are playing in places all over this beautiful city and maybe bringing "some" people to the church.  And who knows, maybe 2000 years from now, that part of Athens might be named after the person we brought to the church, because we played "Jazz for Jesus!"

Baylor Jazz on the top of Mars Hill, once again standing in the footsteps of Paul

Sic'em Jazz!!

Now it's our turn!  Here are some pics from our performance this evening:

 

 I love the way that kids in every culture dance to Jazz!!

 Ivan meeting some new friends!

 

Austin talking to one of our new "fans" 

What an amazing adventure!  

Tomorrow, we sleep in (yes!!!), go souvenir shopping, and we perform in a church in Glyfada!

Thanks for following us, 

The Baylor Jazz Ensemble