Greek vocab +2; this date in 1521...

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. (Luke 10:30-34 ESV)

Yesterday afternoon I caught an ad-riddled (seriously!) episode of the Munsters on NBC's bizarrely named throwback network COZI in which comedian Don Rickles billed himself as "The Doctor of Terpsichore." Herman was reading an ad in the newspaper about free dancing lessons and when he said the word terpsichore (turp-SIK-uh-ree), I had to go back and play it again to be sure I heard it correctly. What a cool word! It has a familiar ring to it that I attribute to the NY Times crossword puzzle; otherwise there is no other context in my life for a word such as this...until now! It's Greek (and now vocab wordname #32) and the name of a Muse (Τερψιχόρη), the goddess of dancing (thus the adjective terpsichorean-- of or like dance).

This morning another word caught my eye (on Twitter), chimera (ki-MEER-uh), in the context of this post to Relevant.com: Playing God? Scientists Begin Building Human-Animal Hybrid Embryos And guess what?! It, too, is Greek (Χίμαιρα), the name of a mythological beast composed of the parts of more than one animal (lion, goat, snake). Vocab wordname #33!

A couple of other small asides to pass along...

On this date 495 years ago, Charles V, Emperor Elect of the Romans, signed the Edict of Worms, formally accusing "brother Martin Luther of the order of the Saint Augustinian Eremites, reviver of the old and condemned heresies and inventor of new ones," which was the culmination of a 5-year feud between Luther and the Roman Catholic Church. Luther's trouble with the pope began in 1516 over the church's selling of indulgences to release dead loved ones from purgatory [excerpt below from The Trial of Martin Luther: An Account (Luther's Hearings Before the Diet at Worms on Charges of Heresy) by Douglas Linder]:

Pope Leo X launched an indulgence-driven campaign to raise funds for construction of a grand basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. The practice of the time was to grant the privilege of selling indulgences to various bishops, who would retain for themselves and their purposes a portion of the raised funds. Albert of Brandenburg, granted an indulgence franchise in his territory for eight years, told his indulgence vendors that they could promise purchasers a perfect remission of all sins and that those seeking indulgences for dead relatives need not be contrite themselves, nor confess their sins. Proclamation of the indulgence fell to an experienced Dominican vendor named John Tetzel, who journeyed from town to town around Albert's territories. Tetzel would follow a cross bearing the papal arms into a town's marketplace and launch into a sermon, or sales pitch, that included a jingle that Martin Luther found especially objectionable:

As soon as the coin in the coffer rings,

The soul from purgatory springs.

Luther, in an angry response to the indulgence sales campaign, prepared in Latin a placard consisting of ninety-five theses for debate. The placard, in accordance with the custom of the time, was placed upon the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church. The power of pardon, Luther contended in his Ninety-Five Theses, was God's alone. If, indeed, the pope had the power he claimed, Luther asked why he didn't simply exercise it: "If the pope does have the power to release anyone from purgatory, why in the name of love does he not abolish purgatory by letting everyone out?" Luther's complaints also went to the Church's justification for promoting contributions. He complained about "the revenues of all Christendom being sucked into this insatiable basilica" when their were much greater needs, including "living temples" and local churches.  

When a copy of Luther's theses reached Rome, the pope, according to some accounts, said: "Luther is a drunken German.  He will feel different when he is sober."

And on the way to work this morning I heard an ad on the radio for some healthcare provider that told me I deserve compassion. I'm not sure that anyone really deserves compassion. Seems to me that compassion rests in the eye (or heart) of the beholder who (outside of God) determines subjectively when to express it (not unlike love, really). It's an interesting thought in a fallen world... (Especially so, considering that the word itself literally means "to suffer together"...)

T minus 8 days and counting!