Simeon Stylites in 60 seconds!

Published by Mark Roques on

Simeon Stylites was a laugh a minute. He lived 37 years on a sixty foot pillar 1400 years ago! He wanted to be spiritual and get closer to God! Unfortunately the hermit had misunderstood the message of the Bible! He believed that the earth and the body were evil and to be shunned. One day a fly landed on one of his pus-filled wounds caused by the inclement weather. He spoke to the fly thus: “Eat what God has given you.” He inspired thousands of people to follow his ‘pillar’ lifestyle. There are four ways of looking at this story.

  1. Simeon! Come down from your pillar and have a beer!
  2. Simeon! I so admire your authentic faith…
  3. Simeon! Too easy mate. Why not find a taller pillar and suffer a bit more?
  4. Simeon! Your body is a gift from God. You are living in the wrong story. Read the book of Ephesians and find out about God’s grace.
Mark Roques
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Mark Roques

Mark taught Philosophy and Religious Education at Prior Park College, Bath, for many years. As Director of RealityBites he has developed a rich range of resources for youth workers and teachers. He has spoken at conferences in the UK, Holland, South Korea, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.

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