We spent a relaxing morning at our hotel, the Old Parsonage Hotel, in Oxford.
One of the best parts of a vacation is not having to be anywhere at any particular time.
We have a very general itinerary with hotel reservations in certain locations on certain dates, but beyond that there is a list of things we would like to do but don’t have to do.
There is form but within the form freedom.
The form keeps us on mission; the freedom allows us to relax.
Stonehenge was never on our list for this trip but was a place I always wanted to see.
When I looked at the map at breakfast to see what was within driving distance, there it was, only a 90 minute drive away, which for Americans is merely a long commute. I ran the idea by the GSB team and they all immediately said, “Yes!”Archaeologists apparently do not know why Stonehenge was built or even what it is. There is speculation and there are theories, including my initial hypothesis Stonehenge was built for tourism, i.e. that a leader with a very long view of the future figured people would someday come from all over the world and pay twenty quid per head to see stones in a circle.
To the Druids in 2500 B.C. twenty quid was like ten years’ pay. What they didn’t consider was with poor economic practices, the introduction of fiat currency, and the resulting inflation, twenty quid would only be worth two hours’ work as a barista at Starbucks.
By the time we left, I had modified my hypothesis—a hypothesis confirmed by Dr. H—that Stonehenge is a religious temple built by people who knew they were not holy to an invisible god they thought was holy, with the hope it would appease him. It is the root of all pagan religions. It is why human and animal sacrifice is the common denominator of most pagan religions.
The Apostle Paul said it this way, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made . . . .” Romans 1:20.
As an aside, we found out after we paid at the visitor center to see Stonehenge that if we had turned down a narrow road just before the entrance to the visitor center we could have seen Stonehenge for free. We were alerted to this fact by some English protestors with signs at the entrance to Stonehenge apologizing for the “English Heritage Rip-off.” In fairness to the English Heritage, they use the money to preserve Stonehenge which was being despoiled through vandalism.
After Stonehenge we drove to Bath and searched for a traditional English pub. The food was good and definitely English. The Wife and I chased our respective variations of shepherd’s pie with a half-pint of ale. There is a reason you never hear yourselves saying to friends, “Let’s go out for some English food.” First, there aren’t any English food restaurants, except in England, and if there were, you wouldn’t go. Enough said. No offense to the English, who, instead of good food gave us Tyndale, Wycliffe, and Wilberforce.
After dinner, we walked by Bath Abbey Cathedral, a structure built not to appease God, but to give glory and thanks to Him who saved us from our sins through the sacrifice of His Son. It was a good ending to a good day. GS