Day 01 - Cambridge: Round Church University Tour, Tyndale House

We began with a question - what is beauty, and what makes something beautiful?

Reflections at the end…

We began the day at the Round Church, built 1130 AD by returning Crusaders and patterned after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A local guide led us from there through the ancient alleyways of the town and university. Cambridge predates the Roman era and was named after the Roman bridge over the river Cam.

A group of us ate at the historic 15th c. Eagle Pub, also where Watson and Crick announced the discovery of the DNA double helix over their own lunch (1953). Another group ate at the historic 14th c. Michaelhouse Cafe. All declined Taco Bell.

The oldest church in town predates the Normans - we enjoyed a stop at St Bene’t’s Church built under the Anglo-Saxon King Canute about the year 1020.
Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society (www.churchsociety.org) joined us for lunch and gave our group a rousing explanation of the significance of the historic marker on King’s College, noting the former location of the White Horse Inn or “Little Geneva” where the English Reformation began with discussions in the early 1500’s among leaders such as William Tyndale, Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley. All four men fought for the Scriptures to be translated into English (from ancient languages - unaccessible by the mass of people), and all four men were later executed under Henrry VIII and Bloody Mary for their efforts to give us a Bible we could read. Other notable Cambridge grads - John Milton, Lord Byron, A. A. Milne, Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, Neville Chamberlain, Sir Isaac Newton, Francis Crick, Geoffrey Chaucer and yes - Hugh Laurie.

We spent the afternoon at the world-class Tyndale House Biblical Research Center. Dr. Peter Williams (Associate Editor, TH Greek New Testament and Divinity School Lecturer) presented on the reliability of the texts of the Old and New Testaments. Dr. Caleb Howard (Researcher, Department of Near Eastern Studies Cambridge) walked us through the “Names Project” in which Old Testament names are researched in their ancient near eastern context in various languages and cultures and cross-referenced to their presumed time periods to teach us about Biblical culture and confirm the Biblical narrative.

We closed the day with a brief visit to the American WWII Cemetery outside Cambridge, which holds the remains of 3,811 American WWII dead, and another 5,127 names of the missing. We were there for the closing, when they played taps to take down the flag around the center monument, which reads, “To you from failing hands we throw the torch - be yours to hold it high.” We were reminded of the sacrifices many others made to give us life and freedom.

Some reflections on beauty and what makes something beautiful:

- Enduring things - seeing a 1000 year old church still in service

- Natural things - Old trees, green spaces and waterways surrounding the university

- Honor and sacrifice - giving yourself for the good of others

- Unity and diversity - seeing a team of Scholars at Tyndale House from different cultures around the world reading and exploring God’s Word together

It was a full and beautiful day one…