History

I have a lot of friends involved in the Modern Day Abolitionist Movement.  (Yes friends, Slavery is a greater issue today than it ever was in the 1800's in America!)  That's one thought.  Hang on to it for a minute.

Another thought: One of my classes is Russian Culture and History.  One element I've found fascinating is how much Russia's (and the rest of the former Soviet world's) present is shaped by the past (I guess that's true of all of us.)

For example: The emerging Russian Empire was dominated by the Mongol Horde for more than 200 years.  By all accounts it was a particularly ruthless reign of terror that left a lasting impression on Russian Culture.  Not only did the West (Western Europe at least) fail to aid Russia during the invasion, but in the chaos and vacuum of leadership that followed, the West on different occasions wrestled land and control from the Russians.  One invader actually tried to deceive the Russians into thinking he was a long lost heir to the throne and led an invasion at the head of a Polish Army.  His reign lasted less than a year and when he was found out, he was killed and his ashes loaded into a cannon and shot back to Poland!!

To this day Russians are generally distrustful of the West and they learned well the art of despotic rule, ie, they tend towards authoritarian and/or totalitarian rule.

Here's where my two thoughts collide:  There's a great hour-long video floating around produced by PBS's Frontline (http://freedocumentaries.org/teatro.php?filmID=161&lan=undefined&size=undefined),  It's about the Sex Trade in Eastern Europe and along with any number of articles you can find on the internet, you can see that not only is Eastern Europe (Ukraine in particular) a major source country for trafficking victims...but a  primary destination country is Turkey.

Now read this excerpt from one of my text regarding  the occupation of Ukraine/Russia by the Mongols.  More lasting results of the past bearing on the present??

"Each year they would ride forth from their strongholds in the Crimea through the narrow Isthmus of Perekop in roving bands which had no purpose other than to take captives.  In the summer, when the river beds were dry, they would ride in silently, surround villages and descend on them.  The horsemen carried leather thongs to drag away men prisoners.  On the sides of their horses were slung great baskets made like bakers' panniers to carry away children, for their prized booty were young boys and girls whom they sold to the Turks or other neighbors.  Galloping through the towns, they swept up children in their baskets; a sick child was dashed to the ground or against a tree."


"As late as 1571, the Crimean Tatars reached Moscow.  Accounts of the day say they killed 200,000 people and that the rives were swollen with bodies; 130,000 people were carried off into slavery."  (Land of the Firebird, Massie 39).

Dreams

Sometimes dreams can feel so dang real.  

I drove back to SC from Mississippi on Friday.  I was sick with some kind of bug all day and it was a miserable drive.  I didn't get back to SC until a little after midnight.

At some point in the morning I had this dream:  It was Monday morning and I was back in class.  I was supposed to turn-in my mid-term take-home exam but I hadn't finished it.  I was so ticked off at myself for not doing it.  I had no excuse.

So anyway...I wake up...and I'm just feeling miserable because I didn't do my test over the break.  I mean...it took me several minutes to realize that it was in fact...Saturday morning.  I hadn't returned to class yet.  I still had a couple days to finish my exams.

Crazy real dream!

I Was Born a Travelin' Man (and Thank God for Fall Break!)

I have been "talking" with 2 different Mission Sending Organizations for several months.  One based in Florida and one based in Illinois.  A few weeks ago I clicked on the "submit" button after finally completing the online application for the Chicago based agency.  Apparently they forwarded my application to their Director in Ukraine.  A few days later I received a nice email from the guy and an invitation to get together with him via Skype for a telephone interview.  That ended up happening that very day- a 45 minute conversation.

Later that day or the next day he sent me an email informing me that he would be in the States this week and inviting me to spend a day with him in Chicago (or come to Ukraine the following week...which is a little out-of-the-way).  

So here I am.  It's Tuesday night and my Fall Break begins when I finish class tomorrow afternoon.  I'm headed to Atlanta tomorrow where I'll fly to Chicago tomorrow night.  (And I'll get to visit a couple of friends I worked with in Haiti tomorrow night too).  On Thursday I'll spend the day getting to know Doug- who will be my boss in Ukraine should things work out- and learning more about the ministry.

I'll fly back to Atlanta Friday and then drive to Birmingham where I intend to work on my old Jeep for the weekend while visiting some friends there.  

On Monday or Tuesday I'll head to Mississippi and probably help my buddy Stik do some Land Surveying for a few days.

I'm hoping to go to Mississippi State's Homecoming the following weekend before returning to Columbia for the beginning of Book 2 in my Russian Language studies.

Homework

Want to know what my Homework looks like?  Well, actually this isn't a good representation because most of my homework is Grammar, Writing and Language Listening Exercises.  But one of the elements here in South Carolina that's very different from what I did in Ukraine is our once a week Culture and History Lesson.  I think I could have enjoyed being a History Teacher.  I'd much rather hear a good lecture and engage in discussion and read a book than try to remember a million grammar rules. 

In any case, one of our texts is The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware.  Below are my answers to 3 questions from the 10th and 11th Chapter of said book.  You may find it boring but what the heck.  I know that both of my regular readers want to know what I'm doing these days.

What do you think about orthodoxy's view of the Holy Tradition?  Does it seem to you that they place the traditions, such as the 7 Ecumenical Councils, the Church Canon, etc., on a par with scripture?

The author makes that case.  He goes so far as to fault the Western Church (and those within Orthodoxy) that separate Tradition and Scripture saying that Scripture exists within Tradition.  He says that among the various elements of Tradition that the Bible enjoys pre-eminence…along with the Creed and the Councils.  What kind of pre-eminence is that?  And what of the elements that don’t hold “pre-eminence”?  Writings of the Fathers, Canons, Service Books, Icons, the whole system of Church government, worship, spirituality and art are all elements of Tradition.

 As regards Scripture, the author argues that “if Christians are People of the Book, the Bible is the Book of the People.”  Not something set up over the Church (my interpretation is that he’s saying the Bible has no authority over the Church) because it was the Church in the first place that determined what books would be in the Bible.  “It is from the Church that the Bible ultimately derives its authority” and “it is the Church alone which can interpret Holy Scripture with authority.”

I can agree that the Bible is best understood (interpreted??) in light of Christian community (Church) but there’s something to be said about Scripture being “God breathed and profitable….” (2nd Tim 3:16).

He goes on to say that Tradition is more than a set of abstract propositions- “it is a life, a personal encounter with Christ in the Holy Spirit” and “it is the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church”.  What?  I guess he’s saying that the Holy Spirit works or speaks through all these elements??  I can agree with that but I wouldn’t limit Him to just those elements.

2.       What do you think about Orthodoxy's belief that (in Ware's words) "while we cannot 'merit' salvation, we must certainly work for it, since 'faith without works is dead?' Does this appear to be a contradiction to you?

On the surface, yes there’s definitely a contradiction.   I think the author is mis-using the passage from James.  I don’t think “to work out our Salvation” as Paul says to the Philippians and “faith without works is dead” as in James means that we have to work for our Salvation.  In practice… and in my limited experience,  I feel like most Orthodox Christians hold firmly to a merit-based Salvation…or at least they seem to reject any concept of Eternal Security.  To wit… a Ukrainian Christian friend of mine was recently Baptized.  She grew up in an Orthodox Church but in recent years has embraced a non-denominational Protestant Church.  Her Facebook status on the day she was baptized was something to the effect of  “ Thank God now I know for sure I will go to heaven”…as if her actions in being obedient to follow Christ in Baptism somehow guaranteed her eternal security.  Admittedly I don’t know any Orthodox Christians very well, but my observations is that the devout ones are very concerned with all the outward demonstrations of piety- which to me seems to be an emphasis on “works”.

Towards the end of Chapter 11 the author explains the concept of Deification and in his 3rd point stresses that the process of Deification is simple: go to church, receive the sacraments regularly, pray to God ‘in spirit and in truth’, read the Gospels, and follow the commandments.  That sounds like works-merited Salvation to me.

3.       What do you think of the fact that the Orthodox do not believe that humans were utterly depraved and unable to have good desires after the fall?  Is there any merit to their rejection of Calvin's doctrine of "total depravity" and Augustine's unique concept of "original sin"?

Can we be both utterly depraved and still be capable of some good?  On one hand Scripture says that all our righteousness is as filthy rags and that none of us are good.  I Corinthians 2:14 suggests that we aren’t capable of making spiritual assessments without the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Yet Ware makes a case for what it means to be made in the Image and Likeness of God.  I rather like the way he separates the two.  Spiritually we certainly are fallen and incapable of attaining Salvation on our own.  But as Ware says, we are made in the Image and Likeness of God.  There’s something in us; not in any other creation… that makes us the “Image” of our Father.  It’s like DNA, there’s something of Him in all of us even in our fallen state.  I think we see that when someone who otherwise completely rejects God is does something noble or good.  It’s not because of their innate goodness…but because of the hint of the Creator that’s in all of us.  To be in the “Likeness” of God is to become “like” Him and that’s a process that begins with following God.  Others can argue about Calvin’s view of Irresistible Grace…whether there’s some application of our free will to choose to follow God or whether, like Calvin, we are the Eternal Elect…we don’t automatically “look” like God.  That happens over time as we know Him more and more.  

 Based on the Orthodox understanding of Image and Likeness I at least understand why they reject Calvin’s Total Depravity.  As for Original Sin, the biggest difference I see between Augustine and Orthodoxy is how far “we” had to fall.  In the big scheme of things I don’t know if it makes much difference if you fall from near the top of a cliff or halfway up the cliff.  In both cases, you’re at the bottom at the end of the Fall.  The results- separation from God spiritually- is the same.

Procrastination

Of all the reasons to write a quick blog...doing so to keep from studying or doing homework has to be one of the lamest reasons!

I'm barely treading water on this whole being a student thing.  I do just enough to keep up; to keep from drowning.  I'm lazy here lately...more than usual.

My sleep is completely out of whack.  It's almost like working a night shift.  In Haiti this summer I was good about getting up early, sometimes as early as 5 am and then going to bed before 10 pm.  Since I've been a "student" again, I find myself waking early...at 5 or 6 because I have to in order to finish homework from the day before.  I come home from class at noon and crash on the couch.  Not that there's anything wrong with a good nap...but mine are becoming 3-4 hour long naps.  Then I wake up and cook dinner and watch tv and don't look at homework till midnight.  I go to sleep at 2 and get up again at 5 or 6.  Bad habits!

My only chance of doing homework after class is to go almost straight to Starbucks or Panera.  I'm productive when I do that.

But here it is, 11:55 am and I'm writing a blog and staring at 11 or 12 exercises I need to complete plus some reading.

I'm a student looking forward to Fall Break which begins next week!  (More about that in a few days!)