Lindsey Williams

The last time I was here at the Colosseum, I was looking through a lens of, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually here.” It felt like seeing the movie Gladiator in real life.

But as I dove deeper, I realized how horrific it was that Rome deliberately turned bloodshed into entertainment for its people. It made me think about what happens when we see violence so often that we stop being horrified by it.

I dug deeper and learned that Christian tradition connects this very stadium with believers martyred for refusing to deny Jesus. The term “thrown to the lions” was an actual term to throw Christians into the lions den and be martyred.

I also learned about the poet Juvenal’s phrase “bread and circuses.” He criticized how people had become consumed with food and entertainment instead of public life. And that is exactly what Rome wanted: keep people fed and distracted, and they become easier to rule.

I see parallels today with football stadiums, TV shows, and endless entertainment. We can become so consumed with watching that we stop paying attention to our own lives and our relationship with God.

The world is a stage.