One of Those Days…

By | March 11, 2006
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Today was one. There aren’t very many. I think there were more in previous decades and centuries, judging from their photographs. I can only remember a few. Jan 7, 2003, in an airplane. Apr that same year, in Galilee. And the next month, in Corinth.

The day didn’t start that way. I slept poorly because I was afraid that I’d oversleep and miss my 5 am bus to Kavalla. I made the bus, but it was raining the whole time. It stayed gray and rainy until 10, at times pouring. There was no sign of a let-up. I made plans to visit the museum and then spend the day doing research in the hotel room.

While at the museum, suddenly there was blue sky and sun. Just as quickly, I realized how lame that museum really was. I checked a couple of car rental agencies and soon was on my way.

To Philippi.

It was glorious. Clear air, beautiful blue skies, and yes, poofy white clouds.

I burned through both batteries and all the memory cards I had brought along (3.5 GB).

Somebody is praying for me. Of all the sites on this 11 day trip, this was the one most important for photos. God is ever gracious.

Collaborators in Israel

By | March 6, 2006
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The JPost has an article about a side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that we often don’t think about – those on the Palestinian side who give information to the Israelis. They save countless lives but are despised by their own people and not viewed highly by those they’ve helped. This is an inside view into their lives after their cover is blown and they are moved into pre-67 Israel.

Is It Ok to Read Novels?

By | March 5, 2006
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I subscribe to the daily emails from Grace Gems, which I usually find to contain profitable quotes from centuries past. Sometimes when the quote touches on cultural matters, I find myself questioning or disagreeing. Much of course was written in years past that we would disagree with, but the anonymous selector of these quotes must agree with them. So I give you one from today with the question of whether or not you agree.

Novel reading produces a morbid appetite for mental excitement. The object of the novelist generally is, to produce the highest possible degree of excitement, both of the mind and the passions. The effect is very similar to that of intoxicating liquors on the body. Hence the confirmed novel reader becomes a kind of literary inebriate, to whom the things of eternity have no attractions, and whose thirst cannot be slaked, even with the water of life.Novel reading is a great waste of time. Few will pretend that they read novels with any higher end in view than mere amusement. If anything valuable is to be derived from them, it may be obtained with far less expense of time, and with safety to the morals, from other sources. No Christian, who feels the obligation of “redeeming the time because the days are evil,” will fail to feel the force of this remark. We have no more right to squander our time and waste our energies in frivolous pursuits–than we have to waste our money in extravagant expenditures! We are as much the stewards of God in respect to the one as the other. How dangerous thus to parley with temptation!

If you wish to become weak-headed, unstable, and good for nothing–read novels!

(Harvey Newcomb, “The Young Lady’s Guide to the Harmonious Development of Christian Character” 1843)

In recent years I haven’t spent much time reading novels, but it’s not entirely a philosophical issue as much as a practical one (lack of time). But the issue here is more than a “great waste of time.” Is reading a work of fiction akin to drinking alcohol? Are there not valuable things that can be gained in fiction that cannot be gained in any other way (less time or not)? And if this is the standard for “time-wasting,” how many other things must go first? Is it ever ok to watch a movie or a ballgame? Are the objections raised above applicable only to the excesses of novel reading?

I know that there are a million nuts out there with all kinds of wild ideas. I ignore those. This came from a source that is usually dead on.

The Value of Texts

By | March 4, 2006
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The trend in among some in the archaeological and biblical studies field is to emphasize the archaeological record and to see little value in the historical (mostly biblical) record. There are many examples of this, but here’s two:

Archaeology’s “finds have revolutionized the study of early Israel and have cast serious doubt on the historical basis of such famous biblical stories as the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt and conquest of Canaan, and the glorious empire of David and Solomon” (Finkelstein and Silberman 2001: 3).

“If the meaning of the archaeological evidence is clear, one might say that it gives a more ‘neutral’ history than the textual material. It is free from the Tendenz or evaluation that easily creeps into an author’s writings” (G. W. Ahlstrom, cited in Provan, Long, and Longman 2003: 63).

The foolishness of this approach should be readily evident and is to most except some of the “brightest” scholars. One example of the difficulty of “reading” the archaeological remains can be seen from the other side of the world.

“Until the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphics, beginning in the 1970s, the Maya were widely considered a peaceful, childlike people–contentedly agrarian, artistic, enchanted with nature and the heavens. The hieroglyphic texts, however, tell a different story; often carved on stelae, these texts are devoted to the reigns of the kings who erected them, especially their conquests. According to Yale University scholar Michael Coe, the texts indicate that the Maya were not so much ‘peaceful theocracies led by priest-astronomers’ as ‘highly warlike city-states led by grim dynastsy obsessed with human sacrifice and the ritual letting of their own blood” (Archaeology Odyssey, Jan/Feb 2006, p. 52).

What a major misread! The conflicts between the archaeological record in Israel and the biblical text are not nearly so great, but I’ll tell you which side I’ll choose when there’s a conflict. And I make this prediction: in 100 years time, my side will have “beaten” the archaeological record nearly every time. The works of those who have opted in the other direction will be forgotten.

Life Without Kids

By | March 3, 2006
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It is amazing. We were married for 5 years before Luke was born and I thought it was very good for our marriage to have that time with just the two of us. But 8 years later (Luke’s birthday is today), it’s hard to remember. But we just had a couple of days away – the first time since the kids were born (?) – and it is amazing how quiet and peaceful the world is. :-)

My Passport

By | February 24, 2006
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This week I surrendered my passport to the authorities and they punched it full of holes. It wasn’t expired (2 years left) and it wasn’t full (6 of 48 pages remain), but with the holes it is no longer valid.

This experience gave me reason to reflect on my citizenship. My perspective is from one who has lived 10 of the last 13 years outside of the U.S. You might think that my U.S. citizenship wouldn’t matter much to me, since I don’t live there. You would be wrong. In fact, the opposite has occurred. While living abroad, my citizenship has grown more prized by me. My passport is a symbol of my citizenship and I’m glad to have it and I can’t imagine the thought of losing it. I understand this more personally because I know what it’s like to be in a country where you’re not wanted. For the last two years, we’ve been in “visa limbo,” waiting for a call about our application. Some years earlier we were unceremoniously told to exit (we did). My U.S. passport thus is a real security to me; I know that whatever happens, there’s always a “home” to return to. This is real and this is meaningful. It’s not necessarily something that you think about if you never leave your homeland and you never face the threat of deportation.

I treasure the United States for more reasons than that. I treasure its freedoms, its privileges, and its honesty. (You may not agree with that, but it is relative to what you know. I know that honesty is rare in these parts.) Compared to the countries that I have visited, the U.S. is unique. I would say God-blessed and truly amazing.

This teaches me about heaven. As a believer, the Bible says that my citizenship is in heaven. This should be a great security to me. The ultimate security. Because of this I know that no matter what happens – harrassment, expulsion, or execution – I always have a “home.” My heavenly passport will never have holes punched in it. Of course, a citizenship is only worth as much as the place where it is from. And heaven is a place of perfect peace, perfect justice, and total righteousness. You can’t beat that. I’m still thankful for my U.S. citizenship, and thankful too what it teaches me about my eternal citizenship.

After the consular agent punched holes in my passport, he handed me a new one. I decided I needed to retire the old one after various border authorities threatened to keep me in their countries because the passport photo had deteriorated. The new passport will expire in 10 years. I wonder where I’ll be then.