Back in England

Quiz Question:

Switzerland is famous for:

(A) watches and clocks
(B) banks
(C) chocolate

Answer:

All of the above, but who cares about anything but (C)?

We flew back to England via SwissAir, and it was quite possibly the best flight we've ever had. The seats were comfortable and relatively roomy. The on-board entertainment, with which we ordinarily don't bother, was excellent; it was a series of short clips, wordless, showing absolutely hilarious and harmless practical jokes.

For example, Demetrios' favorite was the one in a clothing store. There were three empty seats outside the women's fitting room, and as soon as a woman would enter, three men would come and take those seats. When the woman would come out to inspect the outfit in the mirror, each man would hold up a placard scoring the item from 1-10. Of course, the scores were totally inconsistent, making them meaningless.

My favorite clip was of a pretty young woman who would stand on a street corner, and as soon as some man would appear, she would wave and beckon to him. As she was quite pretty, and as there was obviously a hug on offer, the man would smile and head toward her as soon as the traffic light turned. But just as he was about to reach her, another man would sprint ahead of him, whom the woman would enthusiastically embrace. Anyway, we laughed until we had tears running down our cheeks.

And YES, the flight attendants did hand out Swiss chocolates, both at the beginning and then again at the end of the flight.

We are glad to be back in England, where everything is clean and tidy and where the weater is cool and breezy. Our mood has lightened considerably. Demetrios sang in the shower yesterday for the first time since Kostas died, and he went back to working on his book, too.

Here at the library in Ormskirk, I've even (apparently!) found a way to access my blog after all.

Quotes to Ponder, 02

"The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities." - Zbigniew Brezinski, Between Two Ages, America's Role in the Technotronic Era, 1970





"In the next century, nations as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority. National sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all." - Strobe Talbot, President Clinton's Deputy Secretary of State, as quoted in Time, July 20th, 1992.

Quotes to Ponder

"Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order [referring to the 1991 LA Riot]. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond [i.e., an "extraterrestrial" invasion], whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government."

- Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bilderberger Conference, Evians, France, 1991

"We are grateful to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries."

- David Rockefeller, founder of the Trilateral Commission, in an address to a meeting of The Trilateral Commission, in June, 1991.

A Sad Visit to Greece

We came to be with Mena, newly widowed, and (originally) to see whether Demetrios might be able to help save Kostas. That latter was not to be, but we have spent most of our time with Mena. Please pray for her, as she is having a difficult time. She finds that the words of faith she is accustomed to say to others in their bereavements are of no comfort to her. She cannot, for the time being, beieve in Resurrection and paradise.

We've been to Kostas' grave three times, the latest last night, when Mena went to tend the flowers, throwing out those that had wilted, and to light the oil lantern, and to wipe or sweep away imaginary dust on the marble marker. She hopes somehow her care will help Kostas, as if he needed helping. What it will do, of course, is bring him even greater joy, since it is an expession of her love.

As Mena points out, Kostas was much more to her than a husband. He was also to her a first cousin - or so she thought until a few years ago when she found out she had been adopted. (Kostas knew all along; he remembers when his mother and her sister brought Mena home from the orphange.) He was also Mena's childhood friend. He was also a kind of teacher to her as to everyone around him, sharing, as another friend said, his simple but profound wisdom without sophistry. He was a great example to one and all, and a kind of anchor in this troubled world. He was closer to all of us than a blood relative, much more to Mena than just a husband.

In short, if Kostas is not with his Lord, then frankly, it's hard to think there's any hope for the rest of us.

We spent several days with Mena at her country home. Her new air-conditioner, Demetrios' gift in tribute to his closest boyhood friend, was finally installed on Tuesday evening, and by Thursday morning (our last day there) we had finally learned how to operate it, thanks to George and Pelagia, who stopped by on their way to their vacation home in Hakidiki. Never again will we spend a sleepless night cooking in our own sweat. The new inverter cools the whole house very nicely.

Not that we will ever come to Greece again this time of year if we can help it. The temperatures have been around 110 most days, and the days when it was less, it was still in the 90s. Demetrios is tan; I am red and freckled and my hair is a couple of shades lighter. We look forward to the cool weather in England, even if it is rainy!

There has been some joy, too, of course. Leonidas and Ianna invited us on Sunday to the baptism of their granddaughter, Natalia, who is 11 months old. She didn't cry through the whole baptism until they were ready to dress her, when she obviously felt she'd had enough stuff done to her for the time being. Once laid on the dressing table, she returned to her usual good cheer, clapping her hands as if in deight. Then she never fussed through the chrismation and tonsure and all the rest. Even though she was teething, she smiled all the way through to the end of the reception.

While visiting Mena in the country, we had two swims in the beautiful, clear, warm sea and although I wasn't quite in the right mood, it didn't escape me how lucky I am to be able to do that. Mena and I both found it therapeutic, emotionally. There is something very soothing about the wide open water and being submerged in nature and the sunshine and lying on your back and being gently rocked by the undulations that, in the Aegean, pass for waves.

Demetrios managed to strike up a good friendship with 13-month-old Aexis, one of Mena's grandsons, while I resumed an already warm friendship with his older sister, Christina. We read a story and played Monster and put curlers in her hair and drew pictures; Demetrios says I learned more Greek from her than any other way. She's very patient with my stumbling language, although seemingly puzzed by it.

Manolis and Vasilea invited us, together with another couple, to their house for dinner one night, where we sat out beside their gorgeous pool and watched the bats skimming over the water to catch insectss. That was an evening of mixed emotions. It felt good to be with them again. We shared our grief over Kostas; we didn't sing after supper the way we always have in the past; we hadn't the heart. The other couple were another Demetrios and his wife Maria, who has Altzheimer's. It was sad to see her husband having to cut up her food for her and hand her the fork from time to time. It was heartening to see how he did it, with so little apparent concern, not making any fuss about it, displaying no grief, as if it were normal and a matter of course and not in any way making Maria feel uncomfortable.

Besides the death itself, Mena has all the aftermath to deal with. One complicating factor is that Kostas left no will. Imagine that, a lawyer with a heart condition, not having a will. He was in the process of drafting one, but was conflicted about who should get some of the furniture. It's been 20 years since I've seen the upstairs of his apartment, but the downstairs has little, if any, furniture his children will want. Neither has his house in the country, with he possible exception of an enormous antique dining table. In the absence of a will, says Mena, Greek Law gives the widow 25% of the estate and the rest goes to the children.

Demetrios is spending today in Katerini visiting his brother, Christos, whose emphysema has progressed to a horrible degree. He can't climb two stairs, or walk 10 yards, without stopping for breath and he finds driving difficult. Demetrios had a confeence with Christos' doctor, who wants to hospitalize Christos for a couple of days to run tests and see if it's time for him to have extra oxygen. Christos has agreed to do this, although whether he actually will isn't clear. The oxygen will only make him feel more comfortable, no more.

Greece is dying. There is no possible way, now, for her to be an independent, sovereign nation in the foreseeable future, barring divine intervention. (And if you are thinking to yourself, "Thank God it's not my country," you are being far too naive; this is a warning fo all of us.)

Every other shop is closed. Pensions are being further cut. Taxes are still rising. And the same old government that has betrayed Greece is still in control. Well, they aren't, but their backers are. The Church, because she is speaking out, will be targeted soon. Much courage will be called for, and much prayer.

Hints from Helen:

If you want to have Christian faith but find you cannot, start today doing all you can to find God; and be assured that if you persist, He will find you.

If you have no Last Will and Testament, make one today or tomorrow. Don't put it off. Don't do that to your loved ones. You never know.

If you smoke, stop. Now.

The Ninth Day

There was a Trisagion Prayer service at Kostas' grave today, as is customary on the 9th day after death. We lit some of those very thin candles and stuck them in the ground, where they almost immediately bent over double in the direct sunlight. (Temps today still near 100.) We laid the rest flat on the ground, lit.

We poured red wine over the grave; anybody know the symbolism of that? I don't, and neither did any of our friends. Blood of Christ?

We scattered a bit of koliva (boiled wheat) over the grave, too. At least I know what that means; it symbolizes the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, for Christ said that unless a grain of wheat fall to the ground and "die" it cannot grow into a new wheat plant.

Greek graves are different from ours. One reason is that the bones are usually dug up after 3 years, cleaned, and stored in an ossuary. This makes space for another burial, the available land being in short supply.

So Greek graves have a headstone, which apparently stays there no matter who is currently occupying the plot; to this is affixed a marble plaque with the name of the reposed person carved into it, along with the dates.

At the foot of the grave is something like a narrow marble cabinet. It may contain a glassed-in frame, built in, for displaying a photo of the deceased. It may have another place for an icon, an attached vase, an attached oil lantern, a locked comartment for storing candles, matches, incense, oil. It is also carved with the name, birthdate and death date of the deceased.

All these are already in place at Kostas' grave.

How can a person be here one day and so completely gone the next? Ths sad, brutal truth that hit me as I looked around at our friends is, we are all going to bury one another, unless we go first. (Demetrios says I shouldn't say that, so I didn't, in company; instead, I write it here.) I miss his sly grin when he was about to tell a joke, and his giggles afterward. He was the only man I ever knew who giggled - except of course for his best friend, Demetrios. He giggles, too. I miss his resounding bass voice, so dramatic when passion crept into his arguments; how I wish I could have heard him in court, arguing a case!

We spent the weekend with Mena, his widow, at her country house. The temperatures ranged between 100 - 110, and she had no air conditioning. So it was misrable, made more so by mosquitoes and cigarette smoke, as several our our friends are smokers.

She has invited us again for Monday, with promises of swims in the Meditteranean, but I intend to beg off unless she has her new air conditioner installed by then.

Greece!

We had plans to visit Cambridge last weekend, and a friend from church had also invited us to Dublin for next weekend. All our plans, however, have been thrown into disarray with the untimely death of Demetrios' dearest friend since their boyhood. Our dear Kostas reposed in the Lord on Wednesday morning. Demetrios flew to Greece a few days before, in a frantic effort to save him, and I came Friday. Kostas had had a cardiac arrest a month ago. He was standing outside a pharmacy when his heart stopped, and inside the pharmacy was an emergency room doctor, who promptly resuscitated him, so we thought that rather a miracle and said to ourselves it obviously wasn't Kostas' time yet. But then he was subjected to the malpractice (and I mean that literally) of a Greek hospital, and that sealed his fate. It's hot here; 40 degrees, centigrade, which is 104, Fahrenheit. We are are used to English temps more like 15 - 16 centigrade, which is somewhere in the sixties, Fahrenheit. And that's the HIGH temp! Much colder at night. We've (obviously) been spending all our time with the newly-widowed Mena. Today we are going to catch up on things like unpacking. Returning to England before long, to finish out the "summer" there, such summer as they have there. Hard to believe, the last thing I did before leaving there was turn off the radiators! More another day; I don't feel much like writing today; we are still trying to process the absence of Kostas. So, so strange, that someone should so entirely disappear that in some moments, as Demetrios said, it seems he must never have been here at all. And yet he was... didn't Emily Dickinson write a poem that ends, "And oh, the difference to me!"? Kostas made a huge and wonderful difference.

Technical difficulties

The long silence on this blog is because I can no longer access my blog at all via the library's computers. (I am currently using my neighbor's.) But all is well with us and when I get this all sorted out, I'll begin posting again. We've had some excellent adventures of late.

England 2012

Last week we had what the locals here think of as hot weather, up around 70 or more, Fahrenheit. This week we're back to the more usual rain, or rather, a fine mist, just enough to need an umbrella, maybe. But Monday was still mostly sunny, and a Bank Holiday besides, in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. So we decided to give our 'new' car its first work-out by driving into North Wales.

We are still learning about operating a car in the UK. For example, we have had no idea what it means when the white lines at the edges of the road turn into zig-zags near intersections. Dimitrios surmises it means 'stay in your lane', which seems reasonable. I've just now, while typing this, looked it up on the Internet, so now I know, and will tell my husband, what it really means: no stopping, no letting off or picking up of passengers, no blocking of this area in any way. We have also learned how the 'Pay and Display' car parks work, and where some of them are located here in Ormskirk.

Anyway, We took a leisurely drive into North Wales and found that the further you get into Wales, the more beautiful it becomes. We drove from just past the Wirral peninsula along the coastline as far as Colwyn Bay. Right about there is where the landscape began to look as I've always imagined it would: craggy and blue. And green.

Our destination, though, was the Church of St. Trillo, which by much asking, we eventually found. It is a tiny stone structure right on the stony beach, holding six worshippers or, we are told, up to 22 if they are all standing and all willing to be quite friendly. Hard to believe that. It's reputed to be the smallest church in Great Britain.

We had no idea who St. Trillo had been, or even whether he was Orthodox, meaning even whether he really was a saint. But we agreed the place had a decided feel of holiness about it. Sure enough, I now find, on the Internet, that St. Trillo was a 6th Century bishop and missionary. And prince. That seems to be about all that is known about him. See http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/trilloby.html. To see pictures of this charming chapel, with a bit more info about it, see http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Ancient_Churches/St_Trillos_Church.htm.

There was a square hole under the altar, which we wondered about, and now discover is a holy well. Don't know the story behind that, but regret we didn't know that and collect a bottle of the water.

I'm also hapopy to report that both the driving and the navigating went very well, so we had no repetition of last year's trauma. This car is smaller, for one thing. And we didn't need any city maps, for another.

So we had a delicious little taste of Wales to whet our appetites and make us want to spend more time seeing more of it.

Love Wins, Part 05

The other day, at our Bible study/knitting group, the deaconess, Alsion, commented that heaven is going to be right here on earth; God has promised to created a new heaven and a new earth, and they will be the same place.

Rob Bell reiterates this at some length on his chapter on heaven. I wondered why it matters to much to them. (It doesn't much to me; I'm not sure any actual 'place' is a category applicable to heaven, given that our bodies will be like Christ's resurrected and glorified one.) Turns out, the concern is that “If you believe that you’re going to leave and evacuate to somewhere else, then why do anything about this world? A proper view of heaven leads not to escape from the world, but to full engagement with it…” (p. 46)

??????????? What about love? We minister to the world for love of it. What about communion with God? We minister to the world as part of our communion with God, who ministers to it. It surprises me that, for Rob Bell, apparently a real incentive has to have 'something in it for me'. That's what we call 'fleshly' thinking, and unfortunately it dogs this book throughout.

Anyway, here's the argument he makes, upon which I'll have another comment at the end.

BEGIN QUOTE

The prophet Isaiah said that in that new day
”the nations will stream to” Jerusalem,
and God will
”settle disputes for many peoples”;
people will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks (chap. 2).

As we would say,
Peace on earth.

Isaiah said that everybody will walk
“in the light of the Lord”
and
“they will neither harm or destroy”
In that day.

The earth, Isaiah said, will be
“filled with the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea” (chap. 11)
He described
“a feast of rich food for all peoples”
Because God will
“destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
The sheet that covers all nations.
He will swall up death forever.”
God “will wipe away the tears from all faces”;
And “remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth”
(chap. 25).

The prophet Ezekiel said that people will be given grain and fruit and crops and new hearts and new spirits (chap. 36).

The prophet Amos promised that everything will be repaired and restored and rebuild and
“new wine will drip from the mountains” (chap. 9).

Life in the age to come
If this sounds like heaven on earth,
That’s because it is.
Literally.

* * *

....one of the most striking aspects of the pictures the prophets used to describe this reality is how earthly it is. Wine and crops and grain and people and feasts and buildings and homes. It’s here they were talking about, this world, the one we know—but rescued, transformed, and renewed.

When Isaiah predicted that spears would become pruning hooks, that’s a reverence to cultivating. Pruning and trimming and growing and paying close attention to the plants and whether they’re getting enough water and if their roots are deep enough. Soil under the fingernails, grapes being tramples under bard feet, fingers sticky from handling fresh fruit.

It’s that green stripe you get around the sole of your shoes when you mow the lawn

Life in the age to come.
Earthy.

END QUOTE

Notice how Pastor Bell confuses the ages. He has only got two in mind, one that exists from the beginning of creation through now, and the other which is to begin when Jesus returns and will last forever. He forgets, or doesn't acknowledge, that Jesus already ushered in a new age in His first coming. His message was, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand'. It's here; it's now, even though it is to be consummate only when He comes again. But even now, we have the new wine dripping from the mountains, and the new grain - think Holy Communion - and new hearts and new spirits filled with the knowledge of God Christ imparted to us by the sending of the Holy Spirit into us. Christ has already destroyed death by His own death.

So some of these prophecies are about the age of the Church, the here and now, while others are earthy metaphors for the age still to come, and Bell needs to distinguish these.

I also fail to see how separating heaven from earth in time doesn't pose the same problem Bell thinks he sees in separating them spatially.

Love Wins, Part 04

Here are some more provocative questions for Evangelicals from Rob Bell, about the story of the Rich Young Ruler who asked Jesus how he could enter into enternal life.

BEGIN QUOTE

The rich man’s question…is the perfect opportunity for Jesus to give a clear, straightforward answer to the only question that ultimately matters for many.

First, we can only assume, he’ll correct the man’s flawed understanding of how salvation works. He’ll show the man how eternal life isn’t something he has to earn or work for; it’s a free gift of grace.

Then, he’ll invite the man to confess, repent, trust, accept, and believe that Jesus has made a way for him to have a relationship with God.

Like any good Christian would.

Jesus, however, doesn’t do any of that.

He asks the man,”Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Enter life?”

Jesus refers to the man’s intention as “entering life”? And then he tells him that you do that by keeping the commandments? That wasn’t what Jesus was supposed to say.

* * *

Shouldn’t Jesus have given a clear answer to the man’s obvious desire to know how to go to heaven when he dies? Is that why he walks away—because Jesus blew a perfectly good “evangelistic” opportunity? How does such a simple question—one Jesus could have answered so clearly from a Christian perspective—turn into such a convoluted dialogue involving commandments and treasures and wealth and ending with the man walking away?

The answer,
It turns out,
is in the question.

END QUOTE

(Did you notice the apparent contradiction between the second and third paragraphs? Of course, someone of the Reformed persuasion would resolve that by saying it is not the human being doing the confessing, repenting, trusting, accepting, or believing; it is God working in him. Why God should work in some, without their wanting it, but not work in others, is a question you aren't supposed to ask, because it isn't all supposed to conform to mere logic.)

Love Wins, Part 03: Questions About Heaven

…and my personal answers; your mileage may vary

What will we do all day?

We will be continuously overwhelmed with joy, with love, with gratitude. We will rejoice in deep communion with one another and with God in Christ. We will do all the things God does all day. (There won’t literally be time, of course.) We shall be included in the divine perichoresis, which is the circulation, or circumincession, of the Divine Love among the Persons of the Holy Trinity. We shall be co-creators with God. We shall look upon creation with perfect satisfaction and say, with God, “It is very good.” We shall exult in our own being, the sheer joy of it, and the being of everyone and everything else, in all our glory, or rather, all radiant with God’s own glory.

Will we recognize people we used to know?

Yes.

What will it be like?

Jesus taught it would be like a feast. Not just any feast, but a wedding feast. And not just any wedding feast, but that of a king, a royal wedding feast. The biggest, most lavish, best party ever.

Will there be dogs there?

How could you even ask? OF COURSE there will be dogs there, and cats! And fleas, and ticks. But all transfigured, all perfect, and living in perfect harmony and harmlessness. This is what I believe, anyway. God did not create His handiwork, any of it, for destruction or to be consigned to oblivion.

But I say this with one caveat: the things of this earth may bear the same relationship to the things of heaven as the Law of Moses did to Perfect Love; that is, the things of earth may be types or icons of what is infinitely better to come. If perchance there are no literal dogs in the age to come, there will certainly be all that each dog ever meant, except unimaginably better and more beloved.

In fact, perhaps it is correct to say Jesus Himself will be the summation and fulfillment of all things, Alpha and Omega.

How could I ever rejoice in heaven if my dog or cat or spouse or other dear one were not there?

First we must note that when speaking of heaven and hell, we use spatial metaphors to designate conditions. Heaven is being one with God in Christ, in a sense more intimate than a vine is one with its branches or a head is one with its body; hell is not being one with God at all. Heaven and hell are conditions of people already here and now, becoming fully manifest and consummate in the next life. So it’s not a question of “where” anybody will be so much as in what state, whether in love or in hatred, whether in love or in egotism, whether in love or in bitterness, etc. Those in love, in bliss, will neither wish nor be able to share the miserable state of those mired in hatred, egotism, bitterness; that is the great chasm that cannot be bridged.

Next, we notice that the question presupposes a very earthly, fleshly sort of love, such as any pagan bears to his family and friends. But whoever makes it to heaven will ipso facto have acquired True Love. True Love contains no element of “me, me, me”. That’s why when we have True Love, we forgive those who offend us and love our enemies. In other words, True Love is concerned with the other person only for his or her own sake, and not for the sake of any pleasure (or displeasure) the other person might bring to me. Another way of saying the same thing is, True Love, although it does not exclude emotions, is not based upon them. It is primarily a spiritual function rather than an emotional one. We shall have the joy of loving the other forever as God does, without feeling injured by his not wanting it or reciprocating it.

Orthodox spirituality teaches us that those in hell can find some ease of their sufferings, some respite, when we are praying for them or otherwise showing compassion toward them.

And who knows? We do not even know for sure whether there is anybody, or will be anybody, in hell. Or if there are, who is to say human beings stay there forever? Even if hell exists forever because it is for the devil and his angels, that’s not to say there have to be any people in it forever. It wasn’t meant for them, after all. Maybe, just maybe, we shall have the unimaginable joy of sharing in God’s work, and His success, in bringing home every single lost sheep.

Friday, 01 June 2012

This morning was probably the most exciting our little town of Ormskirk has had in years: the Olympic Torch passed through.

Now to me this did not seem like a particularly big deal, but as it was to pass directly behind our block of flats, I thought I’d better go along to see it anyway. Something to write home about, and anyway, how often do you get to see this? So, with our neighbor Agnes, her sister Anna, and another neighbor I met the other day, Joan, I joined the crowd.

It was a lot more exciting than I had expected, just because in a crowd, excitement is contagious. And we were near a lot of school children cheering their silly heads off as school children love to do, and pre-school children dancing and hopping all around and waving their Union Jacks. The Lord Mayor turned out to welcome the torch at Coronation Park, where arts and sports events are scheduled throughout today. Policemen and women rode by on their motorcycles, waving at the crowd, which cheered for them, too, for no particular reason except they were all hyped up. A helicopter flew overhead.

And then the torch-bearing runner passed us and a few moments later it was all over. Nothing great had really happened at all, and yet it was so exciting that momentarily, I even had a lump in my throat. Isn’t that interesting, such a huge emotional reaction to such a small happening. Demetrios says the Olympic Torch was originally Hitler’s idea. Well, it goes to show Hitler certainly did know how to do propaganda!

Demetrios, who had gone off to the library at Edge Hill University to do some writing, also saw the Torch on his way there. He says there were folk dances on campus to celebrate the Torch and he was asked to join in one of them, which he did.

Today is only the kick-off to a long weekend of celebrations; people are off work Monday and Tuesday in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. (She was crowned 60 years ago on 02 June.) The celebrations of Her Majesty’s Jubilee are on-going all year, but this weekend is billed as the centerpiece.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to fulfill my life-long dream of seeing the Queen, but braving the crowds in London for this weekend’s events doesn’t seem bearable just for the sake of seeing the Queen as a speck on the horizon, and that’s even before we consider what a hotel room anywhere near London will cost during these four or five days or what train schedules may be like on a Bank Holiday. (You do not, not, not want to drive a car into London!) Anyway, I’ve figured out, rather to my surprise, my dream is actually not just seeing the Queen, which I can do better on television. Not, it’s having her see me, if only for the merest moment. Sigh… Some things should ideally be done earlier in life. Going back to thank your schoolteachers is another one of those things; you really need to do that before you reach the age of, say, 50.

The Secret of the Universe

There are certain basic questions, answers to which any religious organization must provide if it is to survive. Otherwise it will not matter how much fun you provide to the people who walk through your door - or how colorful or solemn your ritual may be. People ultimately aren't looking for those things. They are looking for the answers to life's deepest questions. These questions include: What is man? Who am I? Where did I/we come from? Where am I/are we going? Why am I/are we here? What is the meaning of life? Why is there something instead of nothing? St. Paul writes that this is the mystery from before all the ages, now revealed in Christ.

May 28, 2012

Our first trip in our new car (other than to the supermarket) was to Liverpool yesterday, to go to church there. Except we never made it.

We did have maps this time. We even had a map so large in scale, so detailed, that it took three whole inches to cover one mile. And yes, we did study it in advance. I carefully marked out our route in red ink, and we went over it together before setting out.

We even departed for the 20-minute drive an hour before church was to begin.

There was a surprise, though. While the map labeled every street and road only by name, the road signs labeled them only by number. So our illustrious navigator never could be sure exactly where we were on the map and our illustrious driver made one wrong turn on a roundabout – toward “Liverpool Airport”, instead of just “Liverpool”.

We found ourselves on a motorway (the UK equivalent of an interstate highway) heading more or less back where we’d come from, according to the road signs, our three maps useless. We gave up and found our way home – without losing our good spirits this time, though, I’m pleased to add. It was a radiant, warm day and the English countryside was sparkling and quaint and charming, and we enjoyed our first ride in spite of missing our destination.

We are going to try again before next Sunday. With another map I hope to find and buy today.

In the late afternoon, we did make it to Julia and David’s house. Demetrios already knew the way of course, but I called them up anyway to get directions, which turned out to be essential. We especially rejoiced to see their boys again, Demetrios’ godson James, with his fiancée, Kim; and Nick. Julia and David’s nephew Rob was there also, with his girlfriend Jo. We all had a barbecue in the lovely sunken garden, and Demetrios and I stayed until 7:30, as the sun was beginning to decline. (I don’t know when it set, but we’re so far north it was still only twilight at 10:00.)

Here’s another snippet from the book we are studying on Tuesday nights, Love Wins by Rob Bell:

* * * begin quote * * *

Several years ago I heard a woman tell about a high-school student who was killed in a car accident. Her daughter was asked by a Christian if the young man who had died was a Christian. She said that he told people he was an atheist. This person then said to her, “So there’s no hope then.”

No hope?
Is that the Christian message?
“No hope”?
Is that what Jesus offers the world?
Is this the sacred calling of Christians – to announce that there’s no hope?

The death of this high-school student raises questions about what’s called the “age of accountability.” Some Christians believe that up to a certain agai children aren’t held accountable for what they believe or who they believe in, so if they die during those years, they go to be with God. But then when they reach a certain age, they become accountable for their beliefs, and if they die, they to go be with God only if they have said or done or believed the “right” things. Among those who believe this, the age of accountability is generally considered to be sometime around age twelve.

This belief raises a number of other issues, one of them being the risk each new life faces. If every new baby being born could grow up to not believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child’s lie anytime from conception to twelve years of age would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever. Why run the risk?

And that raises another question about this high-school student’s death. What happens when a fifteen-year-old atheist dies? Was there a three-year window when he could have made a decision to change his eternal destiny? Did he miss his chance? What if he had lived to sixteen, and it was in that sixteenth year he came to believe what he was supposed to believe? Was God limited to that three-year window, and if the message didn’t get to the young man in that time, well, that’s just unfortunate?

* * * end quote * * *

Oh, yeah, I remember that bit about the "age of accountability”; I somehow picked it up at around the age of ten-and-a half or 11 and it’s what launched me on my search for the “True Church”. I was confirmed (Episcopalian) on the day after my 12th birthday.

By about my 22nd birthday I had long given up on the naïve idea of the existence of any “True Church.” I

t took until about my 33rd birthday to learn she did exist after all.

Love Wins, Part 01

Love Wins, a book by Rob Bell, is written for Evangelicals, with the aim of helping them 'rediscover a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of unerstanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance.'  So says the blurb on the back of the jacket, adding, 'The result is the discovery that the good news is much, much, much better than we ever imagined.'

I'm not sure how many Evangelicals woulda gree.  it certainly presents a whole series of challenges for them.  Here is a snippet from pages 2-3.  I can't indent it because that's one of the many features Blogger is no longer offering with this outdated browser, but here it is:

* * * * * begin quote * * *

Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select number 'make it to a better place' and every single other person suffer in torment and punishment forever?  Is this acceptable to God?  has God crated millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish?  Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God?

Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life?

This doesn't just raise disturbing questions about God; it raises questions about the beliefs themselves.
Why them?
Why you?
Why me?
Why not him or her or them?

If there are only a select  few who go to heaven, which is more terrifying to fathom:  the billions who burn forever or the few who escape this fate?
Chance?
Luck?
Random selection?
Being born in the right place, family, or country?
Having a youth pastor who 'relates better to the kids'?
God choosing you instead of others?

What kind of faith is that?
Or, more important:
What kind of God is that?

* * * end quote * * *

Long-time readers of this blog will appreciate that I find this book delicious.  The questions, scores more of them besides these, are spot-on, and the answers this author provides are very nearly Orthodox, with a quibble or two now and then.

I plan to post more snippets from this book as we get into it more.  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I am.