We concluded our trip today. After 2,800 miles through sixteen states, we arrived back in northeast Massachusetts this evening.
I haven’t blogged on the trip since day 5 when we were in Chattanooga, so here is a brief overview of the last five days.
Wednesday we headed up to Jonesborough, TN, where my mother and step-father live. We stayed with them until Saturday. The highlight was Friday evening, when my parents threw a surprise party for my son, who had turned ten back on April 13. Since he was not with me then, it was nice to be able to celebrate his birthday.
On Saturday we drove as far as Washington, DC, where we stayed with a friend of mine from seminary. Today, we got up bright and early and got on the road for the final day of travel. As I was driving trough Philadelphia, it occurred to me that it would be nice for the kids to have a chance to stretch their legs. So, I got off the interstate long enough for us to stop by the Liberty Bell. The kids had never seen it before, and the last time I saw it it was in a different building. The new pavilion, built in 2003, is about three times as large and has a nice exhibit about the history of the bell.
For those who don’t recall, the bell has an inscription around its top. The first line reads, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The quote is taken from Leviticus 25:10, which refers to the Jubilee Year that Israel was to observe every fifty years. It is thought that one of the reasons this inscription was chosen was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the chartering of Philadelphia. Of course, the liberty that is intended by Leviticus 25:10 is not political liberty. Instead, it is freedom from slavery and debt. Every fifty years, slaves were to be allowed to go free and land was to be returned to its original owner. Given that slavery was accepted in the colonial period and the Founding Fathers believed strongly in private property, it is somewhat ironic that they used this verse.
On May 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Thank you for your blog. I found it very interesting and refreshing to know that I am not the only one who thinks that the law,liberty,and the bible really don’t make alot of sense together. I was in disbelief that the traveling Liberty Bell that visited my son’s school had huge fake stone plaques of the ten commandments along sides of it. Although it is wonderful to teach the kids about the Liberty Bell and supporting the troops,the need for the ten commandments to be there was beyond me. But then again I do live in the bible belt.
On May 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Actually, my point was that the particular verse inscribed on the Liberty Bell was taken out of context. I have no problem with law, liberty, and the Bible being together. In fact, given the large amount of the Old Testament that comprises laws and Paul’s insistence on freedom in the New Testament, the three seem to go together quite well.