Watching The Truth Project, Lesson 3, prompted the following questions:
1. Why did the founders of the
2. If people can choose a worldview that allows them to live however they want (do what feels good) or a worldview that admits of the need to follow standards for right and wrong, and the government and educational system and media are all telling them to choose option one, which option are they likely to choose? Why? Is option one the option that seems the most consistent with truth?
3. If evil/bad is the result of societal factors, and is not due to the internal nature of people (i.e., a fallen or sinful nature), why do we have to train our kids how to be good and not to be evil/bad?
4. If we are the product of random, purposeless evolutionary forces, where did we develop the idea of good and evil - aren't things just there and everything is neutral? Aren't we no more evil or good than a knat or a frog?
5. If we are the product of random, purposeless evolutionary forces, how do we ever have the right to condemn "human rights" violations or misconduct of people who are not subject to our laws? What does the answer tell us about whether there is a higher standard of conduct beyond actions of a government?
6. What is the "scientific" reason for the conclusion that people are inherently good? Does that conclusion comport with the reality of what we see in the world around us?
7. If it is assumed that the highest purpose of individuals is to be "self-actualized," what is the role of a government that is trying to see people fulfill that purpose?
8. If people believe that they don't live up to a transcendent standard of goodness, where does that thought come from?
9. Would you rather live in a country where people and their government understand that people have a "fallen" nature (we don't live and act and speak as we should) or in a country where people and their government assume that everyone is basically good and everyone needs to be self-actualized? Why?
10. Why has almost every diverse culture in the world developed a concept of falling short of the standards of a God or the gods and of the parallel need to appease God or the gods for the failure to comply with such standards?
For those who don't understand the Christian worldview, it can be summarized like this:
1. God created people with a knowledge of God. The Bible says that we were made to reflect God's image/qualities - Imageo Deo. The first people (Adam and Eve) chose to disobey God - they didn't trust that what God said was true and they chose to believe a lie instead. As a result, they entered a fallen condition known as "sin." They fell short of the glory/image of God in their lives. The Bible says that people in that fallen condition are separated from God and will spend eternity in that fallen state of separation from a loving, glorious God unless their sins are forgiven and they are given the righteousness needed to be with their loving Creator.
2. Every person since Adam and Eve has inherited that fallen condition, except for one person - Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ eternally existed as God the Son (part of the three part nature of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Jesus came into the world as a baby, in extremely humble conditions, without the sin nature. He came in order to offer himself as a sacrifice in our place - so that we would not have to bear the spiritual penalty of eternal separation from the God who loves us, because of our fallen nature.
3. Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice - so that no more sacrifices are ever necessary. He offered up himself, allowing Romans to brutally torture and crucify him at the request of Jewish religious leaders. He was not only tortured and then crucified, but stabbed in the heart by a spear. H death was witnessed by many people in
4. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension to Heaven, his uneducated and backwoods disciples and brothers were transformed from cowardly followers into bold, courageous followers. They entered a world that hated them (both Jews and Gentiles) and that was hostile to them in every way. They were martyred and persecuted every step of the way. Yet, within 300 years, Christianity had become the dominant religious influence in the Roman culture. How did that happen?
5. Even today, in the "second" and "third world," Christianity is growing rapidly among diverse people groups. People of every language, culture and ethnicity relate to and respond to the claims of Jesus Christ. More people were martyred for the Christian faith in the "modern" 20th Century than in any previous century and the persecution is continuing to rage. Yet, people continue to give up everything to follow this first century carpenter whose public ministry only lasted three years in a remote part of the world. How is that possible?
6. Even our world-wide dating system is structured around the approximate date of his birth. Many major world holy days involved remembering some aspect of his birth, life, death or resurrection. His life has inspired works of art, masterpieces of music, architecture and scientific discoveries. Some of the greatest thinkers, scientists and writers in the world have professed to be inspired by Jesus Christ. Why?
7. Christians believe that Jesus' primary purpose was to offer everyone eternal life - so that we can know for certain we are in a right relationship with God, that our sins have been forgiven and that we have been covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He makes that offer to everyone, but that free gift must be accepted through faith in the person of Jesus Christ to forgive us and cleanse us and make us right with God. He doesn't create bondage to religious ritual or mindless tradition, but instead offers life in a daily relationship with the Living God!
8. Faith in Jesus Christ starts with a confession before others - telling someone that you have chosen to accept God's free gift and follow Jesus. Faith is more than a one-time confession, however, it is something that is proved by a transformed life. When we choose to follow Jesus, we choose to leave the things in our life that keep us from living holy, that keep us from honoring and blessing God with our lives. We also choose to pursue those things that are on God's heart, the things that matter to him. The Holy Spirit, God's Word, and other Christians help us to this - it would be impossible otherwise. These things are described in more detail in the Bible, and especially in the New Testament (the new covenant created by Jesus sacrifice for us). Thus, it is important to read the Bible for yourself and to pray, asking God to help us become more like Jesus in the way we think and speak and live.
9. The Christian recognizes that no one in this world is perfect and that for that reason we all need accountability and encouragement to follow Jesus with all of our heart. We need to be involved with other Christians in fellowship and worship and shared teaching from God's Word.
10. God promises to give everyone who trusts Jesus as their Savior the Holy Spirit to convict us and help transform us and direct our hearts and minds in godly ways.
11. The Christian recognizes that there must be checks and balances in government, because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Even Christian leaders can fall into temptation and abuse of power. Thus, everyone must be accountable, including church leaders and government and government leaders and judges. We are all susceptible to falling back into the old way of thinking and acting that is part of the fallen nature. Transformation is a daily process.
12. For the Christian, there is the absolute assurance that we will leave this body some day and be in the presence of God. This is not on a cloud playing a harp, but in a new creation where sin and evil are not undermining the holiness and beauty and blessing that God has for us. For the Christian, eternal life starts when they place their faith in Jesus Christ and it never stops, even though the body will one day wear out. In the mean time, we daily communicate with Jesus by reading the Bible and by prayer (listening to and speaking with God). As we walk with him, we see God daily work in our lives and help us through issues, problems and blessings.
13. Great and insignificant men and women, educated and illiterate, rich and poor, continue to find a right relationship with Jesus Christ every day. A fallen angel, known as the devil or Lucifer (an "angel of light" - deception) is trying to keep people from finding Jesus. God is allowing him a limited time within which to try to deceive people, but his end will eventually come and God will set up a new heaven and a new earth for those who chose to truth Jesus Christ.
14. Perhaps this is a great day for you to choose to place your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and to help you become holy in the way that you think and speak and live. If so, call a friend, tell them what you have done. Get a Bible and start carefully reading through Mark and then John - two of the "Gospel" (good news) messages about Jesus' life. There are two other Gospels (Matthew and Luke - all written from different perspectives and for different audiences) and many letters from Paul, Peter and others in the New Testament that are intended to help the churches and Christians understand how to live the Christian life. Then, find a church where people love and follow Jesus Christ and live according to the precepts of the Bible. May God wonderfully bless you in following Jesus.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
DIVERSE WORLDVIEW QUESTIONS
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
UNPRECEDENTED INFLUED OF ISLAM ON AMERICAN LIFE
Calling Muslims to the Capitol?
As nations such as Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands (and many others in Europe) have become more secular, they have demonstrated a willingness to embrace virtually anything – anything except their traditional Christian foundations. In fact, they now regularly repudiate those foundations, promoting abortion, legalizing homosexual marriage, and changing their traditional legal codes. And accepting the falsehood that all beliefs are equal and that truth is relative, they have even been willing to incorporate Islamic Sharia law into their legal codes in order to protect the special practices of some Muslims living among them. This has energized many Muslims in those countries and they are displaying a new boldness that is vocal, visible, and demonstrably assertive.
Each year, nearly 5,000 Muslim "honor killings" occur across the world (a practice whereby parents kill children who allegedly bring "dishonor" on Islam by dating non- Muslims, wearing western garb, converting to another religion, etc.). Dozens of those murders are committed in Europe, but in many of these formerly Christian nations, those who commit the "honor killings" (i.e., the murder of their own children) often go unpunished since the death of their child was "required" by Islamic law (now included in the legal law of the land). Additionally, many public personalities across Europe who criticized Islam have been murdered, causing Parliaments in the Netherlands and other European countries to forbid criticism of Islam in an effort to prevent further murders. These nations, having given up precious ground, are now having difficulty retaking it.
Historically, on this continent Christian America adopted an open free-market approach to all religions from the beginning. American Christians then (and now) were not fearful of other religions. They were confident that Christianity would prevail on its own merits and they therefore followed the Biblical precedent set forth in both the Old and New Testaments of simply presenting God's word in a straightforward manner, expecting that the Holy Spirit will confirm His word in the hearts of hearers. Christians believe that on a level playing field, Christianity will always prevail through the voluntary choice of the people. As a result, Christian America welcomed all religions, with Muslims arriving here by 1619, Jews establishing their first synagogue in 1654, and Buddhists, Hindus, and others also being present from the early days. Significantly, only America extended (and continues to extend) a free-market religious tolerance to others while still preserving the core societal values of our Christian heritage.
But the culture has begun to shift. The level playing field is being eroded. As in Europe, Christianity is being knocked down and Islam elevated.For example, a federal court of appeals ruled that public schools in nine western states can require a three week indoctrination to the Islamic faith in which all junior high students must pretend they are Muslims and offer prayers to Allah (students are further encouraged to take Islamic names, call each other by those names, wear Islamic garb, participate in Jihad games, and read the Koran during those three weeks). Yet that very court also ruled that it was unconstitutional for those same students to voluntarily mention "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Likewise, a federal court on the east coast ruled that public schools may display Islamic holiday symbols but not Christian ones. And the University of Michigan recently spent $25,000 of taxpayer money to install foot-washing facilities to accommodate the religious practices of Muslim students but made no similar expenditure on behalf of students from any other religion.As a result of such actions, many Muslims are exercising a new boldness in America. In fact, Muslim "honor killings" have now arrived in the United States (most recently in Texas); and just a few weeks ago, direct action was taken to prevent the honor-killing of a 17-year old Muslim girl in Ohio who converted to Christianity and, in fear of her life, fled from her parents to Florida.
American Muslims have also enjoyed the direct support of President Obama. In April, he traveled to Egypt where he told the Muslim world that America no longer considers itself a Christian nation. He later traveled to Turkey and announced that America was one of the largest Muslim nations in the world (despite the fact that 78% of Americans claim to be Christians but only 1% claim to be Muslims). Then in May, President Obama refused to invite Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House to participate in the National Day of Prayer (as former presidents have done), but in September, he did invite Muslim leaders to the White House for a special Muslim Ramadan celebration to commemorate Allah delivering the Koran to his prophet Mohammed.
Heartened by this new encouragement, Muslim leaders have called 50,000 observant Muslims to come to the Capitol this Friday, September 25, for a day of Jummah (Friday congregational prayer). The sponsors promise that from 4AM to 7PM, "the Athan [the call given five times each day for Muslims to participate in mandatory prayer] will be chanted on Capitol Hill, echoing off of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and other great edifices that surround Capitol Hill." The goal of this event is that "the peace, beauty and solidarity of Islam will shine through America's capitol." In fact, their website for this unprecedented event proudly and unabashedly declares, "Our Time Has Come!"
As Bible-believing people, let's also make this Friday a day of prayer – and please encourage others to participate with you. We know that our contest is with spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12), and we firmly believe that He Who is within us is greater than any other god or force (1 John 4:4), so I encourage you to fill America with prayer to the True God this coming Friday. God Bless!
David Barton
P. S. This call for Christians to pray this Friday is not a prayer "competition" between Christianity and Islam, nor is it a spiritual Christian "jihad" or "holy war" (what an oxymoronic term – a holy war!). After all, in I Kings 18, Elijah encouraged the prophets of the god Baal to take more time in their praying; he didn't object to their prayers, he just wanted to make sure that he was able to make his own prayers to the True God. This Friday offers a similar opportunity for those who fear God and believe His Scriptures to offer up their own prayers to Him.
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Saturday, September 19, 2009
MORE ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF RIGHT AND WRONG
If we know these acts are wrong, how do we know that? It is something we have been trained to know or does the knowledge of the wrongfulness of these acts run far deeper than our training? If our knowledge that this is wrong in inherent and is not based on how we have been trained, what is the source of that inherent knowledge? Where does that basic sense of right and wrong come from?
The Bible says that the truth about God (his nature and character) and the truth about basic issues of right and wrong (how we ought to live) is plain/obvious to us. That is why ignorance of the law is not a defense for someone who violates the law. There is an assumption by government and by all of us that everyone has a natural, basic understanding of right and wrong. The Bible says that we suppress the truth about God and about what is right and wrong, because we choose to live for our selfish desires. Our suppression of the truth eventually results in depravity and destructive lifestyles. (See Romans 1:18-32.)
Darwinian logic leads people to believe that there is no absolute right and wrong. There are no transcendent values. Everything is arbitrary and can be explained by random, naturalistic, purposeless processes. Truth is what they make it. Satisfaction in life is by doing what you want, even if it hurts others. In the Darwinian world, truth is only an expediency shaped by those in power. Science is always true. In the Darwinian world, science can be manipulated. In the Darwinian world, science can be used to help people or destroy people, because there is no absolute truth by which to judge any act. Might makes right, because there is nothing else by which right can beevaluated. There are no oughts in the world, only what is, and what is is always changing.
The Bible gives us purpose and hope through Jesus Christ. The message of the Bible is that the world is lost and destructive without God himself intervening to give us answers and life and peace. The sins that separate us from a just and loving God can be forgiven. We can be transformed. We can live with joy and peace that is not based on our circumstances. This is not wishful thinking, but is proven by the lives of saints over several thousand years - saints who made a difference in this world and who were a force for the transformation of people from darkness and depravity to truth and hope. Choose this day which truth you will serve.
Friday, September 18, 2009
TRUTH: SELF-EVIDENT OR GOVERNMENT CREATED
This issue is crucial, especially in the age of big, pervasive government. A Canadian court in Quebec just issued a judicial decision stating that parents do not have ultimate authority over the moral and religious education of their children - that is the exclusive right of the government! Thus, even children educated in private Christian schools must be taught the government's mandated moral and religious education and nothing else!
This is exactly what many liberal educators and liberal politicians would like to see here in the United States (as quoted in the book, What's So Great About Christianity?). If they can control dogma and the education of children, they can absolutely dominate the hearts and minds of people. Of course, this is no different than any totalitarian government, whether it is communist, facist, Islamic or simply evil.
Our Amerian liberties are supposed to guard us against such excesses of government, but such liberties are only as strong as the judges who interpret them. Thus, the advent of judges who no longer feel bound by the intentions of the framers of our Constitution and our government is a threat to the foundation of our nation and the liberties that we have long enjoyed. Without a sense of transcendent right and wrong, human rights become products of government edict that can be given or taken away, rather than immutable rights.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence recognized that in order to justify revolt against government, they had a right to appeal to a higher authority: "we recognize these truths to be self-evident (i.e., obvious to everyone), that all men (mankind generally) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights (rights not subject to the whims or authority of the government) . . . ."
The preface to the U.S. Constitution likewise states that a purpose of the Constitution is to "secure the Blessings of Liberty (i.e., not the government's beneficient grant of liberty)." The preface to the Bill of Rights emphasizes that a purpose of those rights is to prevent the "unconstitutional abuse of its powers" by the federal government.
We are unfortunately in an age where the clear rule of law set forth at the beginning of this nation and long protected by American courts is subject to the political agenda of our leaders and their judges. No longer can we be certain that the basic freedoms we have enjoyed (such as the freedom to educate our children as we choose, to worship as we choose, to advocate for causes that we choose, to criticize and hold accountable those in power) will continue. This requires vigilence. We cannot assume that those in power will do what is constitutional. When those in power can act to preserve their authority by violating consitutional rights, we can expect power to be abused.
In trial courts, when witnesses were sworn, they used to be required (there were exceptions for people of other religious persuasions) to place a hand on a Bible in order to swear by something higher than themselves to tell the truth. The thinking was that the Bible reminded people of a greater/ultimate accountability and of a greater/higher need to tell the truth. We have lost that custom and court oaths now are almost meaningless.
Similarly, our government and political leaders have lost any sense of a transcendent God and transcendent right and wrong. Instead, the mindset now is that right and wrong is only determined by government. This is a natural consequence of Darwinian thinking. This is the same mindset of any authoritarian government. In China, violation of any law, no matter how immoral the law or how violative of basic rights, is cause for severe punishment, because the government is the only source of law - there is no higher law, there is no such thing as basic human rights.
Without any understanding or appreciation of a higher law, there is NO BASIS for the United States to criticize human rights in any other nation, there is NO BASIS to criticize ethnic cleansing or any other monumental destruction of people and rights, because the only ultimate authority is the government itself. Thus, the United States government does not have any "right" to tell others how to live beyond its borders.
Inherently, for government anywhere to have ligitimacy, it must follow historic, commonly accepted human rights, including a basic understanding of the rights of families (including childrearing and education), rights of speech, press, voting, religion (including rights of conversion to other religious faiths), judical recourse, and the following of a rule of law that applies equally to those in power. Thankfully, the framers of our government clearly understood this. Hopefully, our present government and judicial officers will continue to understand this, unlike our Canadian neighbors who have lost their way.
Friday, September 4, 2009
REPORT NO. 9 FROM PETRA
Petra, September 4, 2009:
Miles and I got to the entrance to Petra a little after 8 a.m. this morning. The entrance fee was about $30 each. It was a 20 minute walk to the narrow, serpentine canyon that winds through the steep cliffs. The walk was all down hill. The canyon was spectacular. The width is probably 20-100 feet most of the way. There is an ancient aqueduct carved into the edge of the canyon walls, similar to what we saw at Masada. Herod, who built Masada, was related to the Nabateans who built Petra. They knew that the water needed to be captured in aqueduct channels in the walls before it touched the sand.
The walls are shades of red, yellow and orange – really striking. Most of the ground has been paved for several thousand years. We reached the Treasury building – the first great building of Petra – in about 40 minutes. The “buildings” are primarily large facades cut into the rock. Inside, there are large square rooms, sometimes connected to other rooms, but not usually going very deep into the mountain.
At the Treasury, the valley intersects another, wider valley. Going to the right, there are many other impressive buildings cut into the rock walls. The valley then opens up and moves to the left, where there is a large amphitheatre cut into the walls, followed by a large temple area (perhaps 10,000 square feet of marble floors) surrounded by large columns. The street was colonnaded in the Roman style. There are various temples and high places where they performed various sacrifices.
All along the way, there were Bedouin street vendors and little 5-8 year old children selling various wares – and sometimes just colorful rocks that they found. All of the Bedouins spoke excellent English, including the raggedy little kids. The little kids would say things like, “I have a business proposition for you.” Many of the Bedouin girls and women would invite us for Bedouin tea. The most interesting items they were selling were various oil lamps, coins and other items supposedly found by the Bedouins in the area. Some were authentic and some were good fakes – others were bad fakes. We paid a few Jordanian Dinars for an oil lamp and Roman and Nabatean coins that looked much more authentic – they looked like old corroded, partially damaged coins that had been dug up. I really like the Roman coin, because it has the image and name of Caesar and reminded me of the question that Jesus answered about giving to Caesar or giving to God. The oil lamp has Nabatean images on it.
In the broader part of the valley, there are many, many donkeys and camels (the camels don’t go up the steps) and Bedouins selling rides across the sandy terrain and up the 800 steps to the Monastery. By the way, the 800 steps are primarily grooves cut into the rock walls and trail and some of them take more than a “step” to navigate. We were warned not to take the donkey ride to the top, because many injuries occur. Nevertheless, there are many people who would not make the climb without the donkey ride. I had to push away one aggressive donkey that tried to pin me against the rock wall.
We climbed the steps, greeting various child vendors along the way. We finally reached the Monastery about 110 minutes after we started into Petra, and about 40 minutes after we started the climb up the steps. The Monastery was apparently recently used in the filming of the newest Transformers movie. We climbed up into the cavern and took many photos. We then hiked further up the mountain to get the views of the “Grand Canyon” behind it. The canyon was beautiful. According to the signs, we should have been able to see to the Negev desert in Israel from there, but the cloud cover in the distance prevented us from seeing too far. After resting a while, we began our descent back down the mountain. On the way back, we stopped often to explore caves and the structures of Petra.
On the way up, the child vendors (some of whom were quite cute), would use a line like, “will you promise to buy something on the way back down?” We obviously didn’t promise anything, but on the way down, the kids would say, “you promised.” Others would say, “I haven’t had a sale in three days and I need to make a deal.” American sales professionals should probably come to Petra to study Bedouin sales techniques.
We were thankful that we hiked to the top in the morning, before the heat was too intense. On the way out, we observed many tour groups with people who were ill-equipped to climb anything as they wondered into Petra in the heat of the day.
Several interesting things: there is great cell phone reception in Petra – which is hard to believe. There must be several transmission stations, because the Bedouins didn’t seem to have any trouble using their cell phones and we even heard an American talking about a business deal on his iphone. Several of the buildings were turned into churches as the early church saw people come to Christ in this area. One of the churches had a baptismal along the main street so that the declaration of faith would be very public. This is the second city we saw on this trip (the first was Bet Shean) where a pagan city became predominantly Christian before all of the people disappeared. The people apparently disappeared from Petra because the trade routes changed business dried up.
After hiking uphill out of Petra, we were drenched in sweat – every piece of clothing on our bodies was soaked – we stopped at the Movenpick Hotel next to the entrance in order to have Movenpick ice cream. We are now back at the hotel, showered and recovering from the long hike. As I write, Miles is sound asleep.
Our car almost didn’t make it back up the hill from Petra to the hotel. The transmission is shot and doesn’t shift on its own. We were manually shifting, but even at that it doesn’t go uphill well in low gear. Once it gets up speed on a straight away it is fine. We are praying that we make it to the Amman Airport Avis office.
We will enjoy a quiet evening at the Marriott and then drive to Amman in the morning. We will hopefully meet up with the Kohls by noon or so. Thank you again for praying for us.
Tim and Miles
REPORT NO. 8 FROM PETRA
Petra, September 3, 2009:
We didn’t know the best way to get to Petra from Jerusalem. We needed to go to the southern tip of Israel, at Eilat on the Red Sea. Busses are slow, dirty, and awkward to Eilat. Taxis are incredibly expensive. We ended up renting a car for $133. It was a little more than a 4 hour drive, going past the Dead Sea and the same sights we saw yesterday.
We passed an exit just south of the Dead Sea where we could go to find the pillar of salt that is reported to be Lot’s wife. The exit sign said, “Lot’s Wife.” Kind of interesting. It was near the exit for Mt. Sodom. Given that the area is where minerals have been mined for cosmetics for thousands of years, perhaps Sodom and Gomorrah were also involved in that industry.
While the area west of the Dead Sea – the Judean Wilderness – is certainly desert, the area south of the Dead Sea – including the area in which the people of Israel wondered, is really desert. I believe this is the Negev desert. There is nothingness for as far as one can see in every direction. We could imagine what it was like to wonder there with nothing tangible on the horizon other than a vague promise that there was a promised land somewhere. Perhaps the people were allowed to get the report from the spies early on so that during the rest of their wondering they would know that there was indeed a land of milk and honey.
It was surreal driving through the land where the people of Israel wondered. It was especially weird coming across a new McDonalds in the middle of the desert, many miles from anything. The McDonalds was roughly half way between the Dead Sea and Eilat. The people of Israel would have definitely stopped at the McDonalds. We could have driven much faster, but the road to Eilat is packed with trucks heading to and from the Red Sea.
Eilat is a small resort town on the Red Sea. Much of the city is built around a Marina for beautiful boats. The temperature was around 105 degrees, with a hot breeze. The Red Sea was probably very warm. We dropped off the rental car and walked to a café with free internet access. We used the internet to make a reservation with Avis in Aqaba.
As an aside, we were surprised to see so many black Jews in Israel, primarily Ethiopians. They are everywhere, in the military, working in construction, working in restaurants, etc. From what we understand, there are also many of them who are Christians. It is interesting to see the diversity in a place like Israel. For the most part, we saw Muslims and Jews working peacefully side by side in Israel. There were many Ethiopians in Eilat.
After a fruit smoothie at the café, we took a cab to the Jordanian border. We had to pay an exit fee of about $30 each in order to leave Israel. We also got Jordanian dinars. The border crossing was surreal, but painless. There was almost no one there. There were guard towers and machine guns on each side, but it was almost a pleasant atmosphere, with long walks under the sun from one processing station to another. It was probably much better than crossing near Amman.
We had expected the Jordanian city of Aqaba to be immediately on the other side of the border, but it was just desert, with a few waiting taxis. We asked to go to the Avis in Aqaba. That was a mistake. We should have asked to go to the Avis at the airport. Aqaba is a pretty resort town that is also on the Red Sea. It is the Jordanian version of Eilat. The problem is that the Avis in Aqaba had cars that were a mess. Our reservation was at that Avis. The car that we ended up getting had probably been totaled and pieced back together for use as a rental car. It a previously exploded passenger airbag that was taped to the dash, the driver’s airbag was missing, the horn didn’t work, it had a shattered rear view mirror, the cruise control was ripped out, it had a multitude of scratches and dents, it was filthy and had an empty gas tank. After taking photos of everything, documenting the issues and being assured that we could return it empty, we took the car. We were obviously concerned about the reliability of the car as we drove through the Jordanian desert, but it proved reliable enough to get us to Petra. We don’t know yet about Amman.
We first stopped at a sketchy gas station where we paid in Jordanian dinars, because I didn’t want to give the guy my credit card. He indicated that he was starving and dying of thirst because he couldn’t eat or drink until sundown.
We then started the drive to Petra. The roads were surprisingly new and nice – probably nicer than the highways in Israel. However, people were broken down frequently on both sides of the road, and people were constantly walking across the highway, sometimes with animals in tow. There were also speed bumps on the highway every time we neared a town.
We drove a couple hours northeast before taking an exit for Petra. The road to Petra is very small and windy. The views along the mountain ridges and winding down into the valley, however, were spectacular. We had to be careful not to hit wondering camels, donkeys, sheep or goats. There were also many small children along the road. Every person we saw looked eager to break their fast for a Ramadan feast, because the sun was getting lower. We made it to the Marriott in time to see the sunset over the incredible mountains on the other side of the valley from Petra – quite beautiful. The Marriott is on the side of a cliff with a tremendous view of the valley.
This is the nicest hotel we have seen on the trip and it was a blessing to be here after our other adventures. The food is excellent as well. Everything here is to American standards – again better than the run down, dirty tourist hotels where we stayed in Greece and Israel. The main problem yesterday was that a hinge on my glasses broke, leaving me without prescription regular glasses – I have sunglasses that will get me through. I will need tape or superglue or something for a temporary fix.
REPORT NO. 7 FROM ISRAEL
Jerusalem, September 2, 2009:
We traveled to Masada, Engedi, Qumran and the Dead Sea. All of these are on or overlook the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is 3,000 feet above sea level and the Dead Sea is 1,200 feet below sea level, so there is quite a rapid elevation change and a 25-30 degree change in temperature. The drive to Masada was about 1.5 hours southeast of Jerusalem. We passed David’s refuge of Engedi (visible from Masada) and Qumran (where the Essenes wrote and stored the Dead Sea Scrolls), on the way to Masada. At Masada, we packed into a cable car to ascend to the top of Masada – quite a fun experience. We could have walked a steep and narrow trail as an alternative, but we didn’t have all day for that adventure.
Masada is one of nine desert fortress palaces constructed by Herod Antipas. He was half Jewish on his father’s side, but the Jews would not accept him as a Jew because his mother was Nabatean. The Bible says he was a descendent of Esau – an Edomite. He was one of the richest men in the world at the time, but was also delusional and paranoid. On a comparative scale, the guide estimated his wealth as five times that of Bill Gates. His wealth was made in the cosmetics trade. To this day, minerals from the Dead Sea, which are used in cosmetics, are the largest source of income for Israel.
Herod had his fortress palaces stocked with wine from his favorite vineyard in Italy and fish sauce from his favorite restaurant outside of Rome. Money was no object and he used the finest architect in the world to construct his incredible palaces. This is probably the same Herod who ordered the children of Bethlehem killed when he learned that the Messiah may have been born there. He also killed his Jewish wife and his children, because he feared they were plotting against him.
Herod built his palace at Caesaria to protrude into the ocean. He wanted to wake up in his bedroom and see nothing but water – to feel like a fish. His bedroom at Masada hung suspended on the side of a cliff – about 1,000 feet straight down. He wanted to wake up and feel like a bird.
Masada was designed with intricate small aqueducts and cisterns that captured every bit of water that fell on the plateau. He had enough food stored there to live for about a year with 800 soldiers and his family. He also had elaborate baths, steam rooms, kitchen facilities and everything that the richest man in the world could want in that time period.
His desert fortresses were built as places of refuge in case there was a mass revolt against him. He had all of the finest and nicest things in this life, but lacked happiness or peace. He is undoubtedly suffering horribly in eternity.
Masada has become a symbol of Jewish defiance and independence. In the first century A.D., around the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, Jewish Zealots fled to Masada. After a year siege by about 10,000 Roman soldiers, they finally killed themselves (i.e., men killed their wives and children and then themelves) rather than become slaves to the Romans.
We next drove to Engedi. Engedi is the “Wadi” (a wash for seasonal flooding/rivers). Engedi still has year round springs of water. David would frequently hide here with his men. He probably wrote a number of Psalms from this place. This is where he was hiding in a cave when Saul went into the cave to relieve himself. There are many caves in the area. We took photos in the pools of water. We could imagine David hiding from Saul in this area.
One of the interesting things we learned while at Engedi, however, is that the trees there are Acacia trees. Acacia trees tend to grow and survive in harsh desert conditions. The Ark of the Covenant and Table for the Shewbread (both of which were covered in gold) were made from Acacia wood.
The interesting thing about Acacia trees is that they have extremely thorny, spindly branches. They are called “Christ-thorn” and some people believe these thorny branches were used as the crown of thorns around Jesus head. If that is the case, then the First Covenant used Acacia wood to host the presence of God and for the service needed for the cleansing of sins. The Second Covenant likewise was sealed by Jesus with a crown of Acacia thorns on his head, perhaps symbolizing the completion of the First Covenant and the end of the painful toil required to accomplish the remission of sins year after year. We took photos of these nasty thorns.
We next moved on to Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Masada, Engedi and Qumran are in a row along the hills overlooking the Dead Sea, with Masada being furthest from Jerusalem. Qumran is where the Jewish monks, known as Essenes, pursued their daily ritual bathing, daily communal chores, and daily copying of the Holy Scriptures. For unknown reasons, perhaps because they feared that the Romans were going to kill them or destroy their Scriptures (this was in the first century just before the destruction of Jerusalem), they hid the Scriptures in sealed ceramic pots in difficult to access caves. The Scriptures were written on rolls (scrolls) of cow skin. The reason that we have 1 Kings and 2 Kings and the other multi-volume books of the Old Testament, is that they couldn’t fit any more on one scroll (one length) of cow skin.
John the Baptist is thought to have either been an Essene who left the commune, or someone whose ministry influenced the development of the Essene community, because what he taught and what they practiced had key similarities. They submersed themselves in ritual baths two times each day for the purpose of physical and spiritual purity. They had a strong ethic of holiness. John took the principle of baptism for the forgiveness of sins to the masses. We saw the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were written in the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. Prior to those scrolls, the earliest manuscript that we had of the Old Testament was 1,000 years newer. The scrolls have small differences with the Old Testament that we use, but nothing that is significantly different.
We next drove to a Dead Sea resort, where many people from the tour group went into the Dead Sea, primarily to cover themselves in Dead Sea mud. We have some amusing photos. It was about 105 degrees at the Dead Sea.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
REPORT NO. 6 FROM ISRAEL
Jerusalem, August 31, 2009:
Jerusalem has pleasant cooling breezes in the mornings and afternoons. What a blessing this time of year.
We started the day on the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley at the temple mount and the old city of Jerusalem. The temple, of course, is gone and the Dome of the Rock shrine and the Al Asqa (sp) mosque dominate the temple mount area. We could imagine Jesus looking across that small valley and knowing that this impressive temple would be so torn apart that no one would recognize that there used to be a temple there.
There is a Jewish cemetery on the west side of the Mount of Olives, facing the Eastern Gate of the city, because the Messiah is supposed to come through the Eastern Gate. When the Messiah returns the dead are expected to be resurrected. Thus, the Jews who can afford to be buried there want front row seats of the return of the coming of the Messiah. The Eastern Gate is blocked until the Messiah comes to open it.
When Jesus left the Upper Room after the Passover/Last Supper, he led the disciples across the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane, which is at the base of the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane is now covered by the grounds of a Greek Catholic church (not a Greek Orthodox church). There are ancient olive trees on the property.
Gethsemane means oil press. It essentially means the olive oil press. Jesus was raised in Nazareth, a name that most likely means town of the olive shoot – the branch of the olive tree that comes out of the stump. Jesus was the shoot of Jesse and he was crushed (as in an olive press) for our iniquities. The olive oil was the oil used in the oil lamps and was necessary for lighting the darkness. Thus, as Jesus was crushed, he became the light in the darkness of this world.
On the back side of the Mount of Olives were the small towns of Bethany and Bethpaige. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem went from Bethpaige to Jerusalem following a stone road that is still there to this day.
We next drove to the “Garden Tomb.” There are two proposed sites for Golgotha and the tomb in Jerusalem. The first site is under the massive Church of the Holy Sepulcher (CHS). That site was identified by Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, in 325 A.D. She came to Jerusalem looking for the key places of Christ’s life and was shown the location where the CHS is now built. I will discuss the CHS later.
In the mid-1800s, a retired British general came to Jerusalem with Charles Spafford, the hymn writer. This general started walking through Jerusalem with a Bible in hand trying to understand where the events of Christ’s life occurred. It seemed to him that the CHS was inside the walls of the city instead of outside the walls as the Scriptures clearly state. In this he was wrong, because he was looking at the walls built by the Ottomans, not the original walls of the Old City. In fact, the CHS is within the walls of the Old City.
In any event, the General discovered an area not far outside the Damascus Gate that clearly appeared to have a skull like appearance. It was also adjacent to a main road. The top of the rocky area was then (and is now) a Muslim cemetery. The wall of the rocky area had been used as a quarry. Adjacent to the quarry area he discovered that an unused/empty tomb had been cut into the rock. The slab for the body was on the right side of the tomb just as Scripture describes. In addition, he discovered evidence that the site had been used for worship by early Christians based on carvings and markings in the rocks in the area, including an area that was apparently used as a baptismal.
After his discoveries, a group of British people formed a society to purchase the area and transform it into a garden area that depicted the tomb and the side of the large rocky protrusion that could be Golgatha. (The same association controls the Mount of Beatitudes – a well-run and beautiful site). The area is now surrounded by a busy, dirty Muslim area of Jerusalem and a busy bus station. The Garden Tomb area is a peaceful sanctuary in the midst of the bustling city. The Garden Tomb looks like the depictions of the tomb that most of us have seen in movies over the years. The British people who run the Garden Tomb use the site to evangelize and they clearly present the Gospel and challenge people to live it out. If the tomb wasn’t the actual tomb, it was certainly similar to what is shown in the Garden Tomb.
At the Garden Tomb, we listened to a message from Mark Driscoll on the resurrection. It was excellent. Mark presented the evidence for the resurrection. He also distinguished Christianity from the other major religions, in part because of the belief in the resurrection. We had communion after the service. What a blessing! I was very thankful to the Lord for allowing Miles to participate in all of this.
We next went into the Old City and began walking the stations of the Via Delarosa – the way of the cross. Actually, our first stop was the pools of Bethesda/Bethsaida, where Jesus healed a paralyzed man who couldn’t get into the water to be healed. Our guide pointed out how the porticos and structure of the pools are exactly as John describes them in the Bible.
We next went to the area outside the Roman Praetorium (which is no longer there). This is the first station of the cross and is supposedly the area where Jesus was beaten and crowned with thorns after he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate.
The stations of the cross are primarily based on Catholic traditions (they are extra-biblical). So, we wound our way through the narrow streets of the Old City. The narrow cobbled streets are lined with tourist shops that are primarily run by Muslims. These people have been running these shops for hundreds and even thousands of years. Apparently, the shops are passed down within families from generation to generation.
The tourist trade for pilgrims to Jerusalem started long before Christ, but the Christian tourist trade started in the 4th century and has never stopped. The tourist guide business and Christian trinkets and trash business has been going on ever since. I found it interesting that these Muslims and some Jews in these shops sell and profit in the trade in Christian memorabilia. Regardless who has controlled Jerusalem, there has always been profit from tourists.
We finally made it to the CHS. The CHS has been added to and expanded and remodeled many times over the years. Keep in mind that most Christian churches were destroyed by Persians in the 600s and then were rebuilt by the Crusaders before being taken over by the Ottomans. Britain freed Israel/Palestine from Ottoman control in the 20th century. Thus, many of the buildings, such as the CHS, are a hodge podge of modifications and changes from over the years. The building of religious structures over the place of the cross and the tomb (if this is where those things are) has essentially destroyed the nature of those places – they are unrecognizable. The lesson is that “religion” destroys Christianity.
The CHS is run by 6 different orthodox religious denominations, all of which are in conflict with one another. Their conflicts have involved serious physical alterations between monks/priests that have required riot police with tear gas and clubs to keep these “godly” men from killing each other. This happens a couple times every year. In the mid-1800s, they acrimoniously remodeled the CHS according to a written agreement that was worked out over many years of quarreling. The agreement failed to specify which of the groups was to remove a ladder on the outside of the Basilica. More than 150 years later, the wooden ladder remains propped against an outside window because the groups can’t agree on who should take it down.
On entering the CHS, we were immediately blown away by the gaudy rituals that have arisen around the events of the crucifixion and the burial and resurrection of Jesus. There is a slab of rock at the entrance with water around it. People bow to the rock and kiss it and put the “holy water” on themselves. This is allegedly the rock on which Jesus was laid when he was wrapped for burial. There is an area where the Roman guard gambled over Jesus clothes. It is now a chapel that cannot be accessed, but can only be glimpsed through a thick opening/window.
There is the rock (a very small fragment) of “Golgotha” sticking out through the floor of part of the building. There is a shrine over this and people crawl under the shrine on their hands and knees to kiss the rock. All of this looks an awful lot like idol worship.
In a lower part of the CHS, there is a massive Basilica under which there is a large wooden box with a door. The tomb is allegedly within the wooden box. Hundreds of people were in line to enter it and pay homage to the tomb. Every year, a Greek Orthodox priest enters the box, claims to receive fire from heaven on a torch, and thousands of Greek people crush their way around the box in order to receive fire from the torch and take the fire back to their towns. Our guide says that riot police are needed for that event each year, because the people come in like a stampede and will crush one another to get to the fire if they are not controlled by the police.
Each part of these stations of the cross/death of Jesus is run by a different religious group. They each use their part as an appeal for money. The monks/priests who oversee these operations look as unpleasant and lacking in the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit as you can imagine. The whole operation was extremely offensive to most of our group – it came across as an abomination that lacked any sense of what the Christian life is all about. We couldn’t wait to leave.
If the CHS does cover the real Golgotha and the real tomb, that history has been so covered in religious trappings that what Jesus accomplished has been lost, despite the depictions in the mosaics and other religious trappings. The simplicity of the Garden Tomb, even if it is not the actual location (and no one knows for sure), did a much better job of capturing the spirit of the facts of Scripture.
Unfortunately, nearly every major geographic site that is a material part of the Gospel story has been taken over by orthodox religious groups and covered by large cathedrals that are full of icons and idol-like objects. In other words, the relationship to which we are called with Christ has been covered with the burden of the religious trappings. What a tragedy!
I had an interesting conversation with our guide. He has a Masters Degree in Biblical Archeology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has great insight into both Scripture and archeology and he puts it all together very well. Despite his clear knowledge of the New Testament, his clear understanding of the essence of the Gospel and the life of Christ, and his clear admiration for Christ, he has not accepted Jesus as his Messiah. I asked him why. He said that because he is a Jew and his family and friends are Jewish, it would be too hard for him to leave those relationships in order to become a Christ follower. So, he prefers to admire Jesus from a distance, agree with Jesus’ values, enjoy the fellowship of Christians, but not surrender his life. Wow! He is so close, yet so far.
Tomorrow, we visit Nazareth in the morning and then cover more of Jerusalem in the afternoon. Nazareth is in Palestinian territory and no Israelis are allowed, so our guide cannot come. We will have a Palestinian guide in Nazareth.
That reminds me that in Jerusalem, the Muslim call to prayer is heard all over the city. So, despite Jerusalem being in Jewish hands, the Israelis allow the Muslims to freely worship, including through the loud and often annoying calls to prayer.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009:
We headed to Bethlehem in the morning. Bethlehem is probably a 15 minute drive from the Old City. However, because Bethlehem is part of the Palestinian territory and there is now a massive wall between the West Bank and the Palestinian Territory, and because Israeli Jews cannot go to Bethlehem, the process of getting across the border and into Bethlehem took 45-60 minutes.
As usual, our first stop was a tourist shop in Bethlehem. We were strongly encouraged that if we don’t buy souvenirs anywhere else on the trip we should be from this shop because it supports the “Christians” in Bethlehem. The shop is owned by Syrian Orthodox Christians who certainly know how to speak with western evangelical Christians. We were in the shop for an hour and most people bought something and a number of people made significant purchases.
We next met our Palestinian Christian tour guide who took us to and through the Cathedral on the site of the birth of Christ. Despite the fact that three orthodox sects run the Cathedral, it had a much more gracious feel than the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church was not destroyed by the Persians, as the other Jerusalem area churches were, so it had a more authentic feel. It was very basic in many respects. Most of the ornate features that were added by the Crusaders were worn away, leaving a feeling that was closer to a cave. The current decorations are simple.
The Cathedral is located near the top of Bethlehem. There is an amphitheatre shaped valley below the site and perhaps a mile away in the valley is the supposed site where the angelic hosts appeared to the shepherds. The manger site is marked by a 14 pointed star in a cave under the Cathedral. Apparently, the site of the Cathedral was marked by the construction of a Roman temple during the second century, in order to keep Christians from making it into a religious site. The Roman temple, however, simply marked the spot.
The caves under the Cathedral looked very authentic. A portion of the caves contained burial vaults where the children killed by Herod, in his attempt to kill the Messiah, were buried. The early Christians also used the caves for worship and the cave walls are covered in early Christian symbols, several of which are very unique. We took lots of photos.
We learned that St. Jerome, who was the first to translate the Bible into Latin (the Latin Vulgate), was a monk at this Cathedral and did his translation work there.
Bethlehem is split between orthodox Christians and Muslims. There is high unemployment and inadequate recreational opportunities for children. The people blame the Israeli government. The Israeli government essentially says that if so many suicide bombers hadn’t come from the area, the Israelis would not have cut it off with the fence. There are disputes over who can go into Israel from Bethlehem.
We had to walk through a maze of security stations in order to come back into Israel from Bethlehem.
We next went to lunch and then headed to King David’s Tomb and the upper room. They are in the same building! Actually, neither is authentic, but the actual locations are believe to be in the same general area (the true sites have never been uncovered) on Mount Zion. We learned that Mount Zion is the highest point in the Jerusalem area, but it is outside the current version of the walls of the Old City. Mount Zion is just a couple hundred yards southwest from Mount Moriah, where the temple mount is located. There is a small valley separating the two. Thus, the disciples and Jesus would have stayed in an upper room on Mount Zion and walked into the city or around the city to get to the Garden of Gethsemane. They probably were able to see the temple mount from the area of the upper room.
Somewhere on or under Mount Zion (from side to side of Mount Zion is only a ten minute walk), lie King David, King Solomon, and other kings of Israel. We learned that the typical practice at the time was to allow the body to lay on a stone table in a cave for a year or so, and then take the bones and break them and put them in either a pit in the cave or in a stone box in the cave wall.
We next walked to the Jewish quarter of the Old City. We saw various excavations and ruins that fit with various Bible passages, such as Hezekiah’s destruction of homes without compensation in order to try to protect the city from a Babylonian attack. Isaiah apparently berated him for trusting his own resources, at the expense of the poor, instead of trusting the Lord.
We walked onto the roofs of the Jewish quarter and looked down on the Western/Wailing Wall. We then walked through security checkpoints down to the Wailing Wall. The Wall is part of the Temple Mount structure, not the Temple. Every stone of the Temple was torn down, just as Jesus prophesied. We watched the observant Jews jam their written prayers into the wall and walk backward to show respect for the wall. They are still crying out for a new temple, after 2,000 years, when Jesus offers them the chance to be the living temple of his Holy Spirit.
We went to the area around the base of the temple mount on the southern side. This is directly under the Mosque – the third holiest site in Islam. We were rushed through the extensive ruins on that side and went to the evening teaching time with Mark Driscoll on the southern steps. These were the main steps up to the temple. They are still there, but the entrances have been blocked off. Again, this is along the wall on the south side of the temple mount, directly below the mosque.
Here, Mark gave a message about how Jesus satisfied the law and destroyed the need for the temple. In his message, he blasted Jews, Muslims and the ritualistic Christians. Most of us were waiting for Muslims in the Mosque above to get out their weapons and open fire. It was a very interesting experience, especially since our Jewish tour guides and Muslim bus drivers were listening. The setting was incredible. The weather here in Jerusalem is really perfect, especially in the late afternoon and evening.
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to go to Masada, the Dead Sea, En Gedi and Qumran. It should be a hot and exhausting day. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and it will be extremely hot. We will return late in the evening.
Thursday, we will head toward Eilot, Jordan and Petra. I don’t know what kind of internet access we will have there. We are planning to be in Petra on Thursday and Friday nights, then travel to Amman on Saturday and fly out of Amman on Sunday some time.
Thank you again for your prayers. We look forward to showing you some amazing photos.
Tim and Miles.