YHM: Part 2

Resurrection! My long dormant blog has resurfaced. But don't expect it to be the dead, rotting, fleshy bag that most nearly an entire year dead corpses are. No, it's back and thriving as ever. Ok, so maybe it was never thriving, but it certainly helped me process my travels through Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Rome. So, I've decided that it was about time I returned it to the land of the living.

Things will be different this time. That's a thing people say, right? Well, it is something I will say then. And when I say different, I mean that I am not going to go in with the expectations that this blog will make it to the end of the summer. I have my hopes, but I make no promises. Nor do I promise the writing to be entertaining or intelligible (see paragraph 1). I am going to write my thoughts, and hopefully they will make sense on paper (actually a computer screen). 

Anyhow, as this summer approaches, I will try and update my faithful few on how life is. To start, let me give a quick run down about my next two months.  For the next two months, I will be living the life of a modern nomad. Myself and my good friend, Jason Brown, will be working as the Travel Partners for YHM. Many of you know that I was involved in this ministry for the majority of my college career. The focus of the ministry is twofold. First, we seek to share the gospel with travelers in the european traveling community. Secondly, we seek to teach students how to live lives of relational evangelism. It is Jason and my job to guide and encourage our students as they attempt to reach these goals. I will leave it as that now, and discuss further my joys and fears about having this job.

Follow up to that previous thought.

I talked about the postmodern belief that we as humans have no sin nature. We are naturally good, and only our environment makes us bad. I talked about how I believe we are naturally evil, and our sin nature is something that each one of us must deal with in our lives.

I have a few more thoughts about this idea though. Mainly, one idea. Postmodernists who believe that mankind is good, are not bad people. (Of course they are bad in the sense of the whole sin nature... but in the sense that their values might not be as far off as we think.) They still value good above evil. They value love and good works. They want mankind to do right (whatever their conception of right is at least). However, they believe that man can do this by themselves. They want to take the easy way out and say that it is something we do naturally. They have been blinded to the fact that we cannot fully love. We cannot completely rid ourselves of selfishness. They believe that if didn't just have that dang environment, we'd be in a utopia. They want this utopia to happen. They want good for mankind.... they just take the easy way out. They make excuses. They are on the right track, but still far off from the goal. But, by seeing it this way, we can at least have a platform, in the form of some common values or some inherent human desire, to begin dialog with them. Keep this in mind when talking to all your post modern friends. Or if you plan on traveling to Europe and staying in hostels in order to chat with this exact people group. Yay, I finally have some useful things to say to past, present, and future YHMers!

Polar Opposite Days in Greece

Today and Yesterday might have been the two most opposite days that I have had on this trip.

Yesterday, I spent the morning in the ancient agora here in Athens, then I had free time in the old city. We knew that protests were scheduled to happen, and we knew where they were scheduled to happen. So, at the beginning of free time, a few of us decided to go and see what the protests were like. However, we quickly realized as we approached Syntagma Square, that it was no a protest we were going to see, it was a riot. Two blocks away from the square, the atmosphere changed from a normal Euro-urban street to something I don't know how to describe. The first thing that I noticed was that almost everyone had what looked to be white face paint and some sort of gas mask on. The next thing I noticed as we approached the square was that the air smelled funny. Then my nose began to burn a little and my eye watered. Tear gas had more or less filled the air of the entire square. The next thing I noticed was the smoke billowing up at different points around the square. Seems as if people had decided that fire was a good way to protest. Then I saw the protesters. They all had decided that throwing things at the police would get the attention of the parliament. In the same way, the police had decided that tear gas was a good way to calm the crowd. Neither of these things helped. As I was watching all of these things going on, I could tell that one of the girls in the group that was there was a little skiddish and didn't want to be there anymore. Then a tear gas canister exploded across the square and she turned white and turned right around and almost ran away. That is when we decided to leave. We wandered for a bit, and eventually I hooked up with another group heading down to the riot. We can from the same direction, and this time, things looked worse. The police had formed a wall right near where I had been standing before. So I stood a little further back. The riot police were assembling in a building close by. Rioters had set fire to bag of garbage in the middle of the intersection I was at. Tear gas canisters went off again. This time, not right across the square, but 20 yards away. It seems that the police had thrown them into the crowd, and someone in the crowd had kicked it back at them. The girls again flitted about a block away. I stayed for a few more minutes with 3 of the other guys. It was at this point, that I began to talk to one of the protestors. He explained to me the situation. He and other nonviolent protestors didn't want this bill to pass in Parliament. He wanted the country to declare bankruptcy and just start anew. The bill was planned to be voted on on Wednesday. He told me that a bulk of the people protesting did not want violence, just to be heard. He also said that most of the people in the square were not part of the political activists, but that they were just anarchists. So the fight was between 3 groups. The Police vs. All Protestors, and Activists Vs. Anarchists. It seemed to be an interesting dynamic. After talking with him, more tear gas went off, and the police holding the line seemed to slowly moving backwards. And indeed, they were. So, the riot police assembled across the street from me, and began to move up to support the police. At this point, the crowd around us began to boo and I decided to remove my self from the area.

In a polar opposite day, Today we went to the Special Olympics. It was SO MUCH FUN! I saw several events, including power lifting, swimming, basketball, and volleyball. AMAZING! For the most part, the fans there were family members or close friends. So, being one of 50 college students walking around and cheering on the teams was a distinct privilege. The athletes seemed to love it almost as much as we did. The amazing emotion of the events was what impressed me the most. The passion and the hard work was obviously there on every single athletes face. The love for all and not just the love for their own, was on the faces of each of the fans. It was truly a pinnacle of human kindness. Almost heaven on earth. I am pretty sure that Jesus would support the special olympics.

These two days were incredibly insightful in terms of a Christian and Psychological aspect. In these two days, I have seen the depth of human fallenness, and the ability of humanity to love. People often use the problem of pain and suffering as an argument against God. They say that God cannot exist because of pain, and that if He does, they want nothing to do with Him. However, the problem in their thinking, is that they believe that man is inherently good. We have no sin nature, according to them. But, I believe that we do have a sin nature. And, I believe the thing that is more important is that we as humans are capable of loving on another, exactly like Jesus said. He wasn't just talking about abstract ideals. He was giving an actual picture of what it will take from us as humans to see the Kingdom of God. Imagine what else Jesus had in mind. Given your cloak away lately? Just a thought...

Greco-Roman World Pt. 2

So I realize that I didn't get anything in the last post about how the Greco-Roman world affected the spread of the gospel. Well, I the last week has been tough in terms of getting a holistic view of this place/culture and how it relates to how I read the New Testament. We have seen some sights, like the ancient sight of Olympia (birth place of the Olympics). We have seen many Roman forums. We have seen Byzantine churches galore. But it hasn't clicked like it did in Jerusalem. It could be because I am tired. It could be because our tour guide, while great, is no Paul Wright (our professor in Israel). It could be that sights are so far spread apart that our time at each place is decreased. It could be that there are just less sights. Or it could be all of these things combined. No matter what, the fact is, this part of the trip is much harder academically. I feel like I went from doing a 1,000 piece puzzle in Jerusalem to a 10,000 piece puzzle in the ancient Greco-Roman world. So, what has stuck out to me during this part?

1.) Paul had to deal with Zeus. Well, not only Zeus, but all of the Greek gods. And not just all of them, but the whole mythology and religion surrounding them. I never really realized this. I have read Acts countless times. And I have read how the Ephesian metal workers wanted Paul out because their sales of Artemis statues was going down. However, I never realized that Artemis was the twin of Apollo, and a daughter a Zeus. If that is something commonly known, I have been in the dark for a long time. I saw a similar thing in Corinth. I knew that the people in Corinth struggled with sexual immorality. But why was this? Why did they struggle with this more than any of the other cities? Well, in the city of Corinth, there are 2 temples. One to the healing God. Here, people would place clay replicas of their body part that was plagued. Many different replicas of male and female sexual organs were found. Apparently this city was struggling with STD's. The second temple was a temple to Aphrodite. The Greek goddess of love and beauty. This temple was said to have over 1,000 temple prostitutes. Of course STD's would be a problem. Living in this culture, where sex was just a part of life, it is very easy to understand why the people of Corinth were struggling. There have been other interactions with the greek mythology that we have seen. But some of them relate to the greater subject of greek culture and the NT.

2.) Paul had to deal with the very very VERY different greek culture. Not only that, he was still dealing with the jewish culture, and was probably dealing with an combination of the two. He came from Tarsus, but also spent time in Jerusalem. He was probably comfortable in this situation, much more comfortable than that back country fisherman named Peter. In Jerusalem, the culture was based around the Pentateuch. It revolved around following the law of Moses. This was a very conservative, eastern culture. Greece however, was known as the birthplace of culture. Much more of an Ancient day New York, London, or Paris. Here, the people were open and welcoming to different perspectives. They were every changing. For example, their art became more and more realistic, and the styles of vases or patterns changed with the times. Comparatively, the art in Jerusalem was only ever patterns, and rarely changed. Israel was focused on living simply and praising and worshiping God by following the law. Similarly, the Greeks worshipped their gods. However, the methods were very different. They built buildings that housed shields, swords, statues, and figurines of animals. They used all these to show their devotion to their gods. In addition to this, they competed to win honor for their gods. This was the origin of the Olympics. They were played for individuals to honor Zeus. It was into this ever changing culture that Paul carried the Gospel.

(It kinda reminds me of what YHM does today. We take this Good News that applies to our worldview, and heads into a post-modern culture. Sometimes what we have to say is radical and unheard of to those in this post modern society..... plenty to say here, maybe another time though.)

These were the two main observations that I made. More to come when I get a chance to process this all.

Enter the Greco-Roman World

My journeys thus far have focused on things anywhere from 3000-4000 years old. Ancient sites, where mankind has deemed particular places as valuable living space. I have seen ancient houses on this sides of hills, I've trekked through tunnels built nearly 1500 years before Jesus walked the planet, I've swam in water that was once walked upon.

With all the focus on ancient things, I began to lose sight of the modern day world. I had a disconnect from the sights of Abraham, Joshua, King David, Herod the Great, and Jesus and Powell, Ohio or Wheaton, Illinois. How could I relate to events of all the archeological and geographical places to my life as a suburban student in the "New World"? Is the Jesus who I have been following this entire time, the real Jesus? Or is He a product of veggietales and sunday school stories? Did Jesus have heros?

All these questions swirl about in my mind, and I don't have answers for many of them. I have thoughts, I have the beginnings of answers, but to say I have answers already would only hinder the growth I can undergo in seeking out the truth.

As per the disconnect between what I saw in Israel and the life I live, the picture is beginning to become a little more clear. I tend to focus on the big picture things in life. (Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a detail oriented person.) So, as I traveled through Israel, I was looking for the big story. The grand narrative of the Bible. I saw a little bit of everything from Abraham to Jesus.

We ended our time at a cute little site where some people believe the resurrection took place. I have my doubts, but nevertheless, we ended focusing on the phrase "He is not here, He Is Risen!" Which is the crux of the Christian message. Without the Resurrection, we lose. Game over. But, He was raised. He ascended to the right hand of the father, and will return at the end of the age. Sounds like a great stopping place right? Sums everything up in a nice neat package.

But, the ascension of Christ was not the end of the story. We see this clearly in the first chapter of Acts. Acts 1:9, (when Jesus is taken out of the sight of the disciples on the Mt. of Olives) is not where the Bible ends. Acts 1:10 is a verse that I have come to love.

Much as Genesis 12 is a turning point for the Old Testament, Acts 1:10-12 is a turning point of the New Testament. The verse says, "They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city." I imagine 12 grown bearded men, standing on the Mt. of Olives, outside Jerusalem, looking up into the clouds with utter bewilderment. Maybe they were wondering where He was going to come down, maybe they were hoping it wouldn't be on top of their heads. Anyway, the angels come and tell them, He's gone to heaven. So, these 12 men have a choice. What next? Back to fishing? Or, do we really believe?

Side note: The road they were on is called the Ascent of Adumim. It is the natural route between Jerusalem and Jericho. From Jericho, the rift valley leads right up back up to the Sea of Galilee. These men would have associated this road with the start of going home, much like I associate Chicago Traffic with my returning home. They could have easily turned around, picked up their nets a week later, and been back to the normal, comfortable life. But they didn't.

The men made a choice; the verse tells us that they went into Jerusalem, about a Shabbat's days travel (Not far at all... like maybe a half mile.) They decided to heed the call Jesus gave them to spread the gospel unto all the nations. He called some of them to move out of their comfort zones (see earlier post on Peter), he called some of them to meet people in their back yards. He called one man (who my next several posts will focus on) as he was walking from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute the early church. He called most to sacrifice, even a sacrifice of life.

It is within this call that I have realized two things. One, I have realized the connection of the time in Israel with the Turkey/Greece/Rome part. Now that I have the base of knowing and understanding the things that went on in Israel, I can better understand the events and places here. I have to know the message before understanding the movement.

Secondly, these verses have given me a clear connection from what I have been seeing and learning here to my life back in Powell and Wheaton. As most people know, I am involved in the Youth Hostel Ministry back at Wheaton. I participated last summer, spent the year working on cabinet, and now am the Chair of the ministry. I feel called to be outside of my comfort zone, to reside with people who think differently than me. I feel called to tell them about Jesus. Just like the 12 made the choice to return to Jerusalem, I have made a choice as well.

The grand narrative has started to take form. It has become person.

Fun stuff...

Transition Period

Well, I find myself at a similar place to my favorite college team. I am in a time of turmoil and transition. A time of trying to figure out what is going on. We left the country of Israel on Saturday. This is the biggest transition of the Holy Lands program. For the first three weeks, I have been inundated with information. I have had solid tests to gauge the degree to which I was absorbing the vast amounts of people, places, and events. All three given by a brilliant professor who made everything extremely interesting. Here in Istanbul, we have seen some of the most amazing sights in the world (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Ephesus' Amphitheater, ect.) and yet all I feel like I haven't learned one thing. Most of this is probably because our tour guide, Oz, as knowledgeable as he might be, is straight up boring. He seems to rush us through sights and not allow us to absorb the surroundings or understand how the sight flows. We push fast all day... but still I am left wondering what we saw. I could write pages on every sight we saw during our 3 weeks in Israel. I don't know if I could write a substantive page on our 2 days here in Turkey. Tour guides make all the difference apparently. Life will go on though. On the bright side, my only assignment for the next 3 weeks is a paper on what the church today could take from the church of Ancient Turkey, Greece, and Rome. I will probably end up talking about the value of Tradition, which is often overlooked or misrepresented in protestant circles. I will also talk about the need to constantly be learning from those who witnessed the work of Christ... i.e. the Apostles and those who wrote the New Testament. I hope that I get more information to talk about over the next few weeks. Otherwise, this second half of the trip would merely be a vacation.... which as nice as that would be, is not my goal for this excursion. I hope i gain some greater insight on the New Testament, particularly the Epistles in this second half of the trip, much like I did for the Old Testament and Gospels on the first half.

A Few Photo's

So, one thing my blog has been missing is beautiful photos from my travels. The reasons behind this are two fold. First, I can't take beautiful photos (nor do I want to, I am content with close up face shots. Just Kidding!) Secondly, I forgot my camera cord back in Columbus. Bummer. Well, I uploaded photos from the entirety of my past 2 and a half weeks, and here are some of

my favorites in No Particular Order:

Dome of the Rock

Typical... Lots of Stairs

Class in the Desert

David Vs. Goliath

Welcome to Israel- We Love our Flag

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Old City Jerusalem

Hezekiah's Tunnel-Real Small, Real Fun

Paul and I with Western Wall and Dome of the Rock in the Back

Class in a Roman Amphitheater in Caesarea Maritime