Rome, DAY 2
		Today was even more unbelievable than yesterday.  We woke up early again and assembled at the door to our hotel before heading across the street to la Termina, the main train station in Rome.  From there, we had a first hand taste of morning rush hour craziness on the Metro as we pushed and squeezed our way onto the train.  We arrived near Vatican   City and walked the few blocks to St. Peter's Cathedral, the indescribably massive church that is the Vatican.  We gathered  in the main square of the complex, almost completely surrounded on two sides by the sweeping arms of columns and statues designed and built by the Renaissance master Bernini.   The huge "Arms of Bernini" are meant to encompass and welcome the believer, and they draw the eyes to the Egyptian obelisk in the center, with the monstrous St. Peter's in the distance.  The cathedral, begun in 1503 by Julius II, took 130 years to complete, and is easily the largest church of its kind in the world.  Its huge dome reaches high into the sky, and comes within 20 feet of the height of the Great Pyramids at Giza; however, the dome doesn't quite seem that large because of the sheer size of the complex surrounding it.
		As we toured this headquarters of the Catholic church, I learned more about their religion than I had ever known before, and it has only convinced me even more of the fallacy of their beliefs.  Catholicism has long been the main religion of Rome and has had its headquarters in the current Vatican for hundreds of years now.  The Pope is the head of the church, and is held to be the stand-in for Christ on Earth, an idea that began to emerge as early as the 5th century when some select elders slowly gained pre-eminence over the others.  "First Among Equals" is the saying that applies, although I personally believe that logic to be pretty screwed up!  By the end of the 5th century, there were 3 different lists which claimed to be the correct lineage of the Popes, beginning with Peter.  They are also really big on the "keys to the kingdom", mentioned in Matthew 16:18, which they interpret as Christ appointing Peter as the first Pope.  All over the Vatican complex, both inside and out, are sculptures of these keys, so I guess Heaven must have a lot of locked doors!  Outside the entrance to St. Peter's are a large statue of Paul, holding a sword, and an equally large statue of Peter, holding a set of keys of course.                   Upon entering the cathedral I was utterly amazed.  The sheer size of the building is mind-boggling and the amount of money that must have gone into it is hard to fathom.  In fact, much of the funding came directly from the pockets of the members of the congregation, an idea which provided a lot of heat to the fire that was brewing with the Protestant movement.  Inside and off to the right is the famous "Pieta" statue by Michelangelo.  The Renaissance master sculpted the scene 4 times in his lifetime, however this one is absolutely perfect.  Polished to a beautiful shine, the sculpture depicts a larger-than-life Mary holding a dead Jesus, who seems to be slipping from her lap.  The style used in the sculpture is a trademark of the times, as Michelangelo decided to depict an "ideal" Mary rather than a truly realistic one.  The woman of the sculpture looks like a 20 year old WNBA player, with massive, strong hands.  However, because of the skill of the sculptor, it seems very natural, even though the woman looks younger than the lifeless son she is holding.  Uniquely, the sculptor's name can be read, inscribed across the chest of Mary.  According to the story, Michelangelo overheard some people discussing the piece and were attributing the masterpiece to another artist.  The young and proud sculptor was not happy with this notion, so he snuck in during the night and signed the work--an act that was never done at that time.  So, the piece will forever bear the name Michelangelo, a testament to the amazing abilities of the then-20 year old sculptor from Florence.
		As I wandered around the interior of the cathedral some more, I came across several glass cases which display some of the dead Popes, their waxy faces only a shell of their former selves.  I found this to be rather creepy, and that the same time ironic since the men who were supposedly Christ on Earth are forever entombed, unlike Christ who has no tomb.  Also in the cathedral is a famous bronze statue of St. Peter, which is 1,000 years old and supposedly has healing abilities.  For 1,000 years, people have come to the cathedral and rubbed or kissed the feet of the statue, hoping to receive a miraculous healing or blessing.  In that time, the sculpted feet have been completely rubbed bare and only slightly bear resemblance to the feet they once were.  If that doesn't scream Idolatry, then the word has no meaning.  Finally, at the head of the church, below the massive dome, is the huge bronze canopy beneath which are housed the bones of the dead St. Peter.  Again, this church is absolutely monstrous, and in my opinion, gaudy.  As Dr. Edwards said, if theology and scripture didn't matter a lick, I'd be Catholic, because no one on the face of the planet has had or will have the power or resources to build something like this ever again, and I am sure the massive monument is quite appealing to many people.  However, theology and the Bible do matter, so I think I'll just settle for the Truth.
		After exiting St. Peter's, we headed down the street to the Vatican Museum, the main attraction of which is the famous Sistine Chapel.  As I passed the Vatican bookstore and gift shop on the way out, I thought to myself that maybe we should just start charging admission and selling souvenirs to our churches too, and while we are at it, we can throw in some money changers as well--I'm sure Jesus won't mind!  There were tables and tables of postcards, maps, photos of the Pope and other Catholic paraphernalia.  I especially loved the 2004 calendar of the Pope.  We joked that it should be called "Popes of the world, 2004" and be filled with pictures of the Pope on the beach in nothing but the pointy hat, some action shots in the Pope-Mobile, and of course the Pope leading communion.  Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised if I came across Pope action figures and bloopers videos!  The thing that made me want to barf the most, though, was a hologram that I saw which depicts Christ on the cross and then as the light shifts transforms into a picture of the Pope.  Who do these people think they are, anyway, and just where do they get all of the authority they claim to possess?
			When we finally made it down the street, we came to the Vatican Museum, and into the Sistine Chapel.  The ceiling, done by Michelangelo, was begun in 1508 and took 4 long years of solitary work to complete.  The job was actually a punishment by the Pope at the time.  Originally commissioned to do a burial tomb for the Pope, Michelangelo became more and more frustrated as the contract was renegotiated and ultimately dropped.  When he decided to bail and flee to the hills, the Pope, who at the time exerted a military power, dragged him back and informed the young sculptor of his new job.  Michelangelo had no choice but to accept, and thus had to give up sculpture for 4 grueling years until the masterpiece of a ceiling was finished.  Contrary to legend, he actually had to paint the ceiling standing vertically, rather than laying on his back.  This amazes me, because my neck started to hurt after only 10 minutes of gazing upon the beautiful ceiling, and he had to do it for 4 years!  The panels above, perfectly designed with the viewer's perspective in mind, portray many biblical scenes, including the story of creation running down the center.  My favorite piece, "Creation of Man", depicts an old and dignified representation of God as he reaches out to touch Adam and fill the first man with life and a soul.  It was truly an amazing blessing for me to see such a great work of art in real life, as opposed to in photos and in books.
				After our visit to the Sistine Chapel and a brief lunch in the cafeteria, we headed out for a walking tour of the city, again led by Dr. Edwards.  Our first stop was the Piazza Novona, where dozens of artists had set up shop with their work on display among the many t-shirt stands and mimes.  The focal point of the square is yet another Egyptian obelisk with a large fountain beneath it, depicting the 4 major rivers of the world. Interestingly, the obelisks of the city all have a cross affixed to the top, which effectively "Christianizes" them and removes the pagan nature associated with them.  From here, we walked to the Pantheon, which was originally a temple dedicated to all of the gods of mythology.  It only survives today because over the years it has seen much use by Christians and now houses the remains of Raphael and Victor Immanuel II, among others.  In the domed roof is a massive circular hole, which is a testament to the architectural greatness of Rome, and historians today still marvel at its construction.  Interestingly, it is created in such a way that when it rains, the pressure of the air inside converts the incoming rain into a fine mist, which simply blows away, leaving the monument completely dry inside.
				Our next stop was the famous "Trevi Fountain", a large fountain which carries with it a long-standing tradition.  If a person throws a coin into the fountain with their right hand over their left shoulder, then they will be lucky enough to return to Rome again soon.  Sounds like a good strategy by the Romans, and one that has seemed to work since the fountain is full of Euro coins!  Our tour ended at the Spanish Steps, which are in the most ritzy section of town and are often the site of expensive fashion shows.  The top of the steps offer a good view of much of the city, and the beautiful warm weather provided quite a spectacular one at that.  From here, we broke up and a group of eight of us decided to wander around the city for the rest of the evening, eventually ending up back at Vatican Square.  We enjoyed a magnificent view of the complex by night and it provided a chance to reflect on such a full day of amazing sites and memories.  Before the night was over, we all had some Roman pizza from a little hole-in-the-wall take out restaurant.  None of us knew how significant this meal would turn out to be, but I will just save that for tomorrow...