The movie’s sound suddenly went down, but a quick-thinking somebody near the front eased the tension, breaking the silence by making noises that matched the screen action – until it also went blank.
The house lights came up, cinema management apologised, and the movie soon restarted.
It can be frustrating at concerts or special events when the sound is lost or distorted. But ancient Greek sound systems have never failed in over 2500 years.
While visiting Greece 12 years ago, I experienced the acoustics of a hillside amphitheatre at Epidaurus.
There were no microphones anywhere, but even 40 rows back I could hear every word from the stage!
When it was built around 500BC, the world was a quieter place. But further north in Athens, philosophers like Plato were making plenty of noise.
Promoting spiritual ideals, philosophers dismissed all material things as evil.
But Plato went further, asserting that our physical world was only a shadow of the real, spiritual world, a view that today describes relationships without physical expression as “platonic”.
The Allegory of the Cave illustrates Plato’s thinking – describing people inside a cave, captivated as they watch shadows moving across its back wall.
The shadows – cast by people or objects moving past a fire burning inside the entrance – are so entrancing that nobody thinks of leaving the cave to explore the world outside.
His allegory might suggest a primitive concept of our cinemas today, but it more clearly reflects how we will reduce our worldview if we idolise celebrities whose fame mostly comes from portraying other people.
It is ironic that the results of Plato and his philosopher friends have diverged from their intentions.
They stressed the importance of spirituality, but people mostly heard that it was too distant from their world, and dismissed spirituality as vague, remote, or maybe only relevant for a select few.
By contrast, Jesus stepped into our world as one of us to bridge the distance with his love and to invite anyone to discover how his spirit can bring inner harmony to our everyday grind.
His teaching and miracles also reveal God’s offer to guide us through challenges, so we may learn to help people around us and interact with them with credibility and respect.
Then even those who are ready to quit may step out of their shadows and allow his light to show them new hope for the future.
Noel Mitaxa
On behalf of a church near you, inviting you to explore God’s love
