Living Hope

Being a faithful witness to Jesus Christ means being meaningfully different from most people. This difference is always a blessing even if it sometimes feels more like a curse. It comes from living as a witness to the one odd god of truth, freedom, love, and vitality. Most people prefer to witness to the conventional if false gods of politics, war, technology, sex, money, and consumption.

Rosetta Stone

In July 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Egyptia with an army of 35,000 soldiers. His goal was take control of Egyptian society.

         
On July 15, 1799, some French soldiers were digging near the coastal city of Rosetta (today’s Rashid). Rosetta was about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Alexandria. While working, they accidentally dug up a stone with letters carved on it. A French lieutenant, Pierre-Francois Bouchard, saw the stone, thought it might be important, and was able to escort it to Cairo. There he handed it over to members of Napoleon’s Institute of Egypt for study. Even Napoleon took a look at what became known as the Rosetta Stone.

Napoleon's Institute of Egypt

In July 1798 Napoleon landed in Egypt with 35,000 soldiers. His goal was to take control of Egyptian society.

Only a month after his arrival, Napoleon started a cultural organization called the Institute of Egypt. Members of the Institute included over 140 writers, draftsmen, painters, architects, mathematicians, engineers, and interpreters. Their purpose was to master Egyptian culture to improve Egyptian support of Napoleon’s control of Egypt.

Jesus Walks with Us Today

Jesus is not stuck in the past: living long ago and far away. Nor is he stuck in Heaven: maybe looking down on us but unable to connect with us. Instead, Jesus is alive and well and walks happily with us even now.

Jesus communicates with each of us and with every human being on Earth whether Christian or not. He does this in two ways: through words and through signs and wonders.

Napoleon out of Egypt (August 1799)

In March 1799, Napoleon led an army north from Cairo to Acre (then in Syria). His goals were to defeat the Ottoman army there and to take control of the city. After two months of intense fighting, Napoleon himself had to admit defeat and leave.

Napoleon in Egypt: Siege of Acre (1799)

Napoleon and his army of 35,000 soldiers arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, on July 1, 1798. After winning the Battle of the Pyramids, they marched into Cairo, the capital of Egypt, on July 22.

But the people of Egypt did not invite Napoleon and his army to take control of their lives. Not liking their rule at all, the people of Cairo revolted against it on October 21. Napoleon used his army and its cannons to crush the revolt without mercy.

Napoleon in Egypt: Revolt in Cairo (1798)

On July 21, 1798, Napoleon led his French army to their first big victory against an Egyptian army in what came to be known as the Battle of the Pyramids. This allowed Napoleon to enter Cairo, the capital of Egypt, with his army.

Napoleon in Egypt: Battle of the Nile (1798)

In 1798, the strongest navy in the Mediterranean Sea belonged to England. At that time, rulers in England were at war with rulers in France. Happily for rulers in England, Horatio Nelson was the best leader in the English Navy and better than any leader in the French Navy.

Napoleon in Egypt: Battle of the Pyramids (1798)

In 1512 a man named Selim became ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The capital of that empire was the city of Constantinople. Since 1930 that same city has been called Istanbul.

In 1517 Selim and his army conquered Egypt. After that, Egypt remained an Ottoman province for almost 300 years.