Dave and Kathy Simpson have arrived in Berlin and we're getting ready to go to the European Theological Conference which is held every 2 years in Fritzlar, Germany. We'll be seeing most of the National leaders and great friends from the Europe/Middle East region.
This week's "time to laugh" is an old song that I first heard listening to Armed Forces Radio when I lived in South Korea 17 years ago. It's ridiculous, but what a great guitar part and beat. This should really be the ring tone on all of the Oldham's phones. Let this song get stuck in your head and it will never leave for 17 years. I promise. And who can beat the Shakespearean lyrics below?
Baby, Would you eat that there snack cracker
In your special outfit for me, please?
Yo ye pharoahs, let us walk
Through this barren desert, in search of truth
And some pointy boots, and maybe a few snack crackers.
baby, you make me wanna walk like a camel.
walk!
Who's in charge here?
where's my Captain's wafers?
Don't go around hungry now, the way you eat that oatmeal pie,
Makes me just wanna die, baby!
You make me wanna walk like a camel.
walk!
Say, you don't think there's any way I can get that quarter
From underneath your pointy boot, do ya?
All I want is just one more oatmeal pie.
Little Debbie, Little Debbie!
I'm a'comin on home, baby, 'cause you make me wanna walk
Like a camel
On September 18th, Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King presented a paper in Rome in which she discusses a papyrus framgent in her possession that seems to suggest that Jesus had a wife. Since then, there have been a number of news stories making claims like: "Proof Jesus was Married," or asking the question "Did Jesus Have a Wife?"
From time to time, there will be articles like this that surface which seem to suggest something shocking that would shake the very foundations of Christianity. In the 1990's, the Jesus Seminar (which Harvard Divinity School fueled) suggested that many statements attributed in the New Testament are not authentically those of Jesus. This got otherwise obscure Bible scholars lots of TV time and even cover issues on Time and Newsweek at pretty regular intervals through the 90's. It seemed like every year or other year, Jesus would make the cover of Time with some provocative kind of question: "Who was Jesus Really?"
At the time, Oxford University New Testament Scholar N.T. Wright predicted that the Jesus Seminar would be a footnote in history. And indeed, that has been the case for some time now. In the 2000's, Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" (poor writing, but great story--Jamie and I loved it) claimed to a be a realistic novel about the secrets about Christianity and Jesus that the Christian church has been hiding for centuries. The Christian history, the Biblical knowledge, and the art history was riddled with errors and made-up materials but Brown (as a literary device) framed it as real and then declined all interviews.
Now we have Karen King raising the possibility that this is a lost Gospel that claims Jesus was married. To be fair to Mrs. King, she is NOT claiming Jesus was married even if the press is reporting it like that. She knows that she is far away from proving that so she has framed this find in a way that garners the most attention, but which doesn't commit her to declaring it authentic proof of a historical fact: Jesus was married.
A few things believers and non-Believers should know about this:
*This is a very, very small piece of papyrus that we are talking about that has been cut into a perfect square (not a good sign in that it's missing the text around it that would put it into context--and usually pieces like this are not cut into a perfect square).
*The most intriguing part of the papyrus is a comment that reads "Jesus said to them, "My wife." Other phrases are, for instance "deny. Mary is worthy of it...." "The Disciples said to Jesus..." "She will be able to be my disciple." Other sections are even more broken up: "three", "forth which", "my mother."
*The person who owns the fragment and who gave it to Professor King wants to remain nameless. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker but it's not a great sign either. the unidentified owner seems to have purchased it from a collector in Berlin many years ago.
*Professor King's paper got a cool reception from the International Association of Coptic Studies in Rome with the vast majority of scholars doubting its authenticity. There were questions about the handwriting and the grammar by scholars there and beyond the meeting.
*Those who have dated the papyrus suggest it is from a fourth or fifth century text--perhaps a 4th century copy of a 2nd century text. That is quite removed from the time when the Gospels in the New Testament and Paul's letters were written between AD 64 to AD 95 a continuation of the oral stories passed on by witnesses. Those early manuscripts were then defended from new heretical gospels by early Church Fathers such a Irenaeus of Lyon who lived in the early 2nd century---a safeguard against heresy as the original disciples and oral stories and written texts were passed on through time.
*The papyrus has been deemed authentic by a few tests, but it has not been subjected to the latest/best technology for dating.
*There is not enough information in this papyrus to tell us whether this is from a Gnostic text, from a more orthodox group, or from some other non-traditional group.
*Regardless, the papyrus seems to have come from a Century in which many heretical or non-orthodox texts were created.
*Professor King already has pointed out that this papyrus will not tell us information about the historical Jesus rather it is more about bringing to light issues of sexuality and gender in the 2nd Century (This is key!).
*It is most likely excerpts from a gnostic gospel like "the Gospel of Thomas" that we have long known about.
Giving Professor King the benefit of the doubt, it's possible that she was given an ancient papyrus that does contain a section of an alternate Gospel not linked to the historic Christian church. And she did the right thing by letting us examine more in-depth the variety of gnostic expressions that existed in the 2-4th century. By giving her paper the admittedly wrong title of "The Gospel of Jesus's Wife" (there is no Gospel of Jesus's Wife and this is certainly not proof that it's even part of a well-known gnostic Gospel yet), it garnered her (and the papyrus) a lot of attention and raises the profile of Biblical Studies looking into Early Christianity.
Another possibility however, is that Professor King, like the Jesus Seminar, and Dan Brown, has a more political agenda which is to use "scholarship" to raise questions about the institutional church's teachings on orthodox Christian theology and gender and sexuality issues. In other words, "let's not worry too much about authenticity if it can be used to question traditional Christianity's beliefs about itself."
Christians shouldn't fear moments like the Jesus Seminar, the Da Vinci Code, or "the Gospel of Jesus' Wife." At the same time, we need to be aware that our faith is a very well-examined faith and that the burden of proof (in disproving historic Christian teachings about Jesus) is long and steep. At least considerably more difficult than the general media may think.
Jamie and I are celebrating 20 years together this week. It's not our anniversary, but rather when we first started dating. We were both in college: she was a freshman and I was a junior after having taken 2 years off. We hit it off immediately and found we had a lot in common as missionary kids. Most bonding of all, however, was that I had just recently lost my mother to cancer and Jamie's father was entering the last stages of cancer. So our relationship was very serious from the beginning. Discussions about death and what losing a parent means were heavy but brought us closer together.
We survived long-distance when I moved to South Korea, we survived even longer-distance when we moved 3,000 miles to the East Coast, and then we moved 8,000 miles to Hong Kong. And now another few thousand to Europe. Through it all, we've always had so much fun together. She's my best friend, the person I trust the most in the world, and I always love being with her. Each date feels like the first, and that's the absolute truth.
We've gotten to travel all over the world together and we've survived some very stressful times. And we've learned so much together about ourselves, the world, and life in general. I always say, "it was the smartest decision I ever made," and that's the truth. From the very beginning, because of how we started, we were always conscious of the fact that you don't know how much time you have together in this life, so we've always appreciated every minute we've had together.
Here's to at least 40 more years together. We're so grateful to all of our friends and family that have supported us over the years.
There's a line from a song by one of my favorite artists, Terence Trent D'arby that always makes me think of Jamie because it's so true:
"If it were not for your sweetness, I would not know who I am."
As I learn to shift my schedule and unwind a bit, I've decided to add a new bit to the diary. This is a serious job...and sometimes a bit too serious. So from time to time, I'm going to put up a video ("Time to Laugh") that is humorous and hopefully makes us laugh. Laughing is good for you. It releases endorphins, or dolphins, or stress chemicals or something like that. So I need more of it in my life.
Up first is a scene from "Life's Too Short" about a mostly-failed midget actor who is friends with British comedian Ricky Gervais. In this scene, they are visited by another famous actor---Liam Neeson. Liam, known for his serious roles like Oscar Schindler in my favorite movie "Schindler's List," shows up to announce he wants to start doing comedy.
This past week, I traveled down to a place called Giessen just north of Frankfurt. I was there to meet with the NorthWest German Pastors at their annual retreat and to speak on the subject of "Abuse of Power in the Church."
I spoke about how abuse of power in churches and Christian organizations is rampant. If anything, I said, abuse of power occurs MORE in the church and in Christian organizations than in the secular world. This is because religious organizations are high-trust societies where people are pretty much unguarded--expecting the best. Consequently, there are few safeguards to prevent abuse.
Furthermore, religious organizations often deal with the subjective. "I feel called to do this...", "God is leading me to do that...". There are not always good ways to gauge decision-making or outcomes. They are very feeling-based organisms.
Two things I talked about were subtle abuses of power: The problem of leaders in positions for which they are not gifted and the failure to empower the next generation of leaders.
The problem of leaders being in positions that they are not good at has to do with people holding power who are not qualified to hold power. By holding that position, they end up hurting the entire church or organization or system. Those of us in leadership must know our strengths and weaknesses and not put ourselves into positions that empower us when we don't have the skills to wield that power. The damage is severe. If it means stepping aside, then we must.
The failure to empower the next generation of leaders is rampant in the church and in Christian organizations. I thinks it's an abuse of power when those in power are not seeking ways to empower the next generation and to make sure the church or organization survives beyond their particular tenure. A good use of power empowers others.
I also mentioned was the importance of accountability. Not simply accountability-in-name which most organizations and churches have, but genuine accountability where your errors will be caught and power can't really be wielded in a careless or hurtful fashion. I've seen a lot of abuse of pastoral/leader power in the last 20 years and it always leaves deep wounds and weakens churches and organizations significantly.
Finally, I talked about how the Church of God because of it's history and theology actually lends itself to these kinds of abuses of power. I discussed this at length in my third book "Mosaic" so I won't go there, suffice to say, understanding the human side of organizations and power is important in the church.
It was great meeting with the pastors and I enjoyed this little trip to central Germany.
This was my first trip in over a month. As you two diary readers know, I've been trying to slow down my schedule and it has been a very refreshing time. This little journey was only by train and was within country and was also very short, so that was nice. My next major trip won't be until next month--I think.....Yay! It's been great to catch my breath and have focused time with the family without interruptions.
Everyone knows that I'm 80's guy. I live and breathe the 80's. I still wear pastels and Izods. In my free time I play with a Rubick's Cube. The only video game I'm good at is Asteroids. It's all 80's for me. Consequently, I've been inundated with requests by our legion of diary readers all asking the same question: "Patrick, what were the top 10 songs of the 1980's?"
After much badgering, I have agreed to make THE OFFICIAL LIST OF ALL-TIME BEST SONGS FROM THE 1980's. But here's the rule. These are NOT MY PERSONAL FAVORITE 80's songs. These are the Top 10 songs that best exemplify the 80's. Specifically:
*The song must have been a top 40 hit
*The song must be a technically well-crafted song.
*The song must exemplify the 80's sound (musical technology, mood, artist).
Okay, so here is my totally, awesome, tubular, and gnarly list to the max which is official for all time. No one else's opinion counts.
1) "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. Of course the 80's belonged to Jackson and this song and this video ushered in the smooth, very produced, dance sound that Jackson would ride through the 80's. The throbbing base line and the catchy dance groove was instantly memorable and it flirts with minor keys and has dark lyrics. Total nerds tried to moonwalk, the video blew people away, and dorks like me ran around with one glove on their hand.
2) "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. This song may have been the biggest #1 hit of the 1980's and is the 2nd most played song of all time on the radio (John Lennon's "Imagine" is number one). The song is about someone in denial about their divorce, but it so easily could be anyone's song to the person they love. Andy Summer's repetitive guitar part is one of the best rock hooks ever.
3) Purple Rain" by Prince. Every decade needs a sing-along anthem and Purple Rain was both and anthem and a slow love song. The closing guitar part is considered one of the greatest guitar solos in rock. Clocking in at 8 minutes, Purple Rain (along with "Hey Jude: by the Beatles---another anthemic but slow song) is the longest pop song in history. It was also the song playing when I first danced with a girl. I was later arrested and given a restraining order. Oh my. That was nearly 30 years ago.
4) "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran. Along with Michael Jackson, Duran Duran were the closest thing the 80's had to the Beatles, as far as fan hysteria was concerned. Their best album was and still is "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf" which came out in 1982 began the so-called "Second British Invasion." By the mid-80's, 40% of the songs on the charts were from Britain (explains my obsession with Britain eh?). The video for "Hungry Like the Wolf", like Billie Jean, ushered in the age of MTV and music videos. Filmed on location in Sri Lanka on 35 mm film, "Hungry Like the Wolf" looked like a minature "Raiders of the Lost Ark." And everyone can sing along to the "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" part.
5) "Girls Just Want to Have Fun " by Cyndi Lauper. The 80's are often thought of for their upbeat, catchy, non-substantial lyrics and sounds and this song definitely epitomizes that. It's a great song for a sunny day and a sing-a-long. It's also a very well-produced song being backed by great studio musicians who went on to form "the Hooters." Cindy Lauper's loud, 5 octave range gives the song its chirpy, teenage joy.
6) "Careless Whispers" by George Michael. Although released on a Wham! album, it was George Michael's first solo hit. This slow song can still be heard in elevators, restaurants, and easy-listening stations everyday. This slow song about the betrayal of a lover has a saxophone line that may be one of the most memorable hooks in pop music history(certainly 80's pop music).
7) "Borderline" by Madonna. This may be Madonna's most simple, and beautiful song. Most people (including me) heard it on the radio and thought it was being sung by an African-American girl. It is a black, R & B song sung in Madonna's nasal voice. It's a wistful song about a relationship in trouble. It's not one of her slow ballads or fast, sardonic shock-hits. The instrumentation really captures the 80's sound--some computers and some genuinely good musicians playing together.
8) "Take on Me" by A-ha. This band from Norway was actually very talented but got pegged as being a one-hit wonder in the USA because of this song and its forever memorable video which is half-cartoon and half real. The song is quintessential 80's with its upbeat tempo, catchy hook, and excess of computerization. Sadly the success of this song really diminished Pal Savoy Waaktar's recognition as a writer. Pal, the keyboardist, would go on to write some of the most gorgeous slow ballads in pop music over and over again for the next 20 years, but none of them really got a fair hearing because of the success of Take on Me.
9) "Walk This Way" Run DMC with Aerosmith. Hey, this isn't my favorite song list..it's the songs that best exemplify the 80's. The 80's opened the door for Rap. Although it was around in the late 70's and there were a few minor rap hits in the early 80's, it wasn't until the middle of the decade with this song that Rap started to go big. The use of then-nearly-dead rockers Aerosmith brought rap to a white audience and along with the Beastie Boys, rap was about to take over the music industry within the next 6 years.
10) "Sweet Child O' Mine." There was a lot of heavy metal and so called "hair metal" bands in the 1980's. But those bands got blown off the stage by the hard-driving, dark music of Guns n' Roses. The pride and joy of Indiana, Axl Rose, became a household name with his raspy, demon-possessed sounding voice. This song really ushered the end of the 80's. Released in the summer of 1988, music after this would be darker in rock, darker in rap, and completely computerized in R & B.
Well, that's it. The official list of Top Songs from the 1980's from the 80's music king himself. By the way, what were my favorite songs in the 1980's? that would go something like this:
1) "Fascination Street" by the Cure (mind-blowing guitars plus throbbing base-line = greatness).
2) "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2. (truly an anthemic song)
3) "The Winner Takes it All" by Abba. (the same 4 notes over and over yet no one notices--genius songwriters)
4) "Save a Prayer" by Duran Duran. (beautiful and exotic)
5) "Voices Carry" by Til' Tuesday (truly a perfect pop song)
6) "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung (a cool, underrated song).
7) "Hunting High and Low" by A-ha. (one of Pal Waaktar's many gorgeous ballads beautifully song by Morton Harket)
8) "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (the best of the totally computerized songs...total early 80's Britain New Wave).
9) "With or Without You" by U2 (you can feel the pain of love heart-all over this one. Lovely understated guitar part).
10) "Rapture" Blondie/"Another One Bites the Dust" Queen: Get a two-fer here, since both songs kind of rip-off one of my favorite 70's songs, "Good Times" by Chic as they try to mimic the guitar of Nile Rodgers and the bass line of Bernard Edwards. It's all about the bass line.
Wow! And how many of these are Americans? Zero. No wonder I'm so crazy about the U.K., Ireland, and Northern Europe in general. It explains so much eh?
For the one person still reading this post (me!), My favorite albums would be:
Roxy Music-"Avalon."
The Soundtrack of Chess the Musical
Frankie Goes to Hollywood-"Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
We now turn to Chapter 9 and 10 in our discussion of Philip Jenkins' book, "The Next Christendom."
The final two chapters are pretty thin compared to the rest of the book. Chapter 9 discusses the divide between the "conservative" non-Western blocs of the Catholic Church and Protestant Church and the more liberal Western blocs. Jenkins points out (as he has before) that the church is growing must faster in Non-Western countries than in Europe or North America even though these are still viewed as the home of the Catholic , Anglican, Lutheran, and other churches.
The most interesting section of this chapter is the section that focuses on efforts by Non-Western missionaries to re-Christianize Europe and North America. One-sixth of priests in American parishes come from another country. Ireland is full of African priests. Great Britian has 1,500 missionaries from fifty nations. The Nigerian-based Redeemed Christian Church of God states: "...We will plant churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and town of developing countries, andwithin five minutes driving distance in every city and town of developed countries" (p.204-205).
Can these ethnic churches make inroads with the majority populations in Europe and North America? It is challenging because of the unique cultural expressions that these churches take. Jenkins gives numerous examples of non-Western churches creating a large presence in Western cities, however, to make this non-Western Christianity part of the natural landscape may require time and occur through mixed-ethnicity marriages.
Jenkins closes the book by peering into the future a bit. He thinks its vital that Westerners learn more about Islam since Islam and Christianity (and the West in general) will continue to have the potential to clash--and have a long history of clashing. Jenkins also feels that Christianity has gotten short-shrift in universities. While other religions are valued, taught and respected, Christianity is presented in a one-dimensional negative light.
The Western church also remains ignorant of the breadth and scope of non-Western Christianity. Jenkins points out that many years ago Ron Sider wrote a book entitled "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger." Today it could be called "Rich Christians in an Age of Hungry Christians." Jenkins is pointing out that the average Christian today is not a wealthy westerner, but a poor person from an underdeveloped or developing nation. He concludes by pointing out that the Biblical stories of exile, immigration, oppression, persecution, famine etc. are highly relevant to the majority of the world's Christians. Consequently, the Bible has a special relevance to them that it does not to wealthy Westerners (this was the subject of Jenkin's follow-up book which is also worth reading).
So is Christianity on its way out: Jenkins concluding thoughts are worth quoting in full:
"In 500 AD, CHristianity was the religion of empire and domination; in 1000, it was the stubborn faith of exploited subject peoples, or of barbarians on the irrelevant fringes of teh great civilizations; in 1900, Christian powers ruled the world. Knowing what the situation will be in 2100 or 2500 would take a truly inspired prophet. But if there is one overarching lesson from this record of changing ortunes, it is that Christianity is never as weak as it appears, nor as strong as it appears. And whether we look backward or forward in history, we can see that time and again, Christianity demonstrate a breathtaking ability to transform weakness into strength."
Concluding Thoughts:
Re-reading/reviewing the Next Christendom makes me glad we are doing Three Worlds. It seems highly relevant on many levels. About 10 days ago we had our National Leader from the Netherlands here. The churches there represent the Three Worlds of Christianity with a traditional church existing just a few miles from a Post-Christendom church, which is just down the way from a Congolese non-Western Church. It is into this mix that Daniel and Christy Kihm will be placed. They will have to navigate all three worlds all the time. Each church has its strengths and weaknesses---each worldview has its strengths and weaknesses. There is a dynamism and relevance that can arise out of the church at this particular time in history---if it is navigated correctly. That is why I think the work at Three Worlds is important. Because when the church can unify and express itself in a variety of ways, it has the power to moblize and change the world for the better. I'm excited to see what happens in the Netherlands and in the other places where we are seeing the re-invention of Christianity--always old and always new.
Thanks for following us on this in-depth book review. There will be others to follow.
We had a very intresting trip to Spain. It started out with a silly mistake. We missed our plane. This is the 3rd airplane incident for me in a row. Perhaps its a sign that it's time to slow down the travel schedule--which is what we have done starting this month. I have just one small 36 hour trip (by train to central Germany) in the next two months. Hooray!
In the Ukraine, my plane aborted the take-off because of birds around the runway. I then missed my connecting flight back to Berlin. On our way to Egypt, our Lufthansa plane was next in line to take off, but because it turned 10PM in Frankfurt and there's a curfew, the flight was postponed until the next day. And then on this trip to Spain, we decided to go to Starbucks and get something to eat before our early flight. We took about 3 minutes too long at Starbucks and arrived at our gate late. We would have to fly out the next day. Stupid, stupid mistake.
But part of me was actually relieved. It would mean one more day at home between the Egypt and Spain trips. We spent that extra day doing nothing which was great. We then flew out the next day and arrived in Madrid at noon. From the airport, we started our 5 hour drive South toward the coastal city of Almeria in Andalusia where our 3W Event was to be held.
On our way there, we stopped in Granada, Spain. Granada is considered Spain's most beautiful town and it is rich in history. Spain for a long period of time was conquered by Muslim invaders. For 800 years, the Muslims ruled much of Spain and Spain was a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived peacefully side by side. All of that ended when the Spaniards retook Spain cumulating in a giant battle in Granada in 1492. Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II then set about unifying the country and turning it into Modern Spain.
It was at Granada that Christopher Columbus received his orders to set sail to discover the passage to India. Instead, of course, he discovered the New World and all that the Spanish explorers discovered in the ensuing years was claimed for Spain and the Catholic Church. This ushered in the age of European global empires with Spain eventually having territories from Costa Rica to the Philippines.
This period of Spanish history is my favorite historical period, so it was a great thrill for me to visit the crypts where Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand are buried together. It was hard to believe that in those little wooden boxes were the remains of two of the most significant monarchs (perhaps the most significant global monarchs) in history. I wanted to ask for an autograph but it was useless.
Granada still has an old town on the hill that is knows as the ancient Muslim quarter--the Albayzin. We wandered through the alleys and streets, and Marco and I drank from a well that is still functioning even though it was built in the 1100's by the Muslim conquerers. One of the reasons Granada became the center of Spain for a time was because of the availability of natural spring water in what is otherwise a very dry, waterless region. High on the hill is the famous fortress/palace of Alhambra.
From Granada, we headed to the coastal city of Almeria where I met the Fernandez family last year. The Fernandez family are missionaries for a German mission agency, but Juan Carlos is from Bolivia originally and his wife Arely is from Honduras. Their 12 year old daughter Kayla and 8 year old son Iker were born in Europe. Last year, I had such a nice time getting to know their family and I was deeply impressed by them. I was very excited to have Jamie and Marco meet them because I had a feeling our two families would hit it off despite the language barrier (they don't speak English). Just as I suspected, the language barrier was no barrier at all and we all enjoyed a great time together.
The Fernandez are a wealth of information. For twenty years they have worked in Spain and they have lived in about 5 different locations. They have been particularly fascinated by the Three Worlds concept because they find themselves living and working in the Three Worlds, but were unaware of it. They work with German retirees who are very much part of the Traditional church. But they also work with South American immigrants that represent non-Western Christianity. And in their own church in Almeria, they often have post-modern/post-Christendom youth attending. All three communities of believers are very different and the framework is very different.
We have many ideas of how we could partner up with the Fernandez family in the future. We are enjoying getting to know each other and look forward to what the future has in store for us. We also met some German youth who are spending time working in various mission-fields in different countries. It's an idea that we are doing with our 3W internship, but we hope to really unveil it in its completed form once we have our next 2 couples on the mission-field. It was great to get input from them about what not to do. Sweet kids too.
Andalusia, is, of course, a very famous part of Spain. Much of this area looks like Southern Arizona (not the beautiful red Northern Arizona--Sedona). It is dry, dusty, and full of barren mountains. This is where many Westerns like "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" were made. The landscape looks like the Western United States, but it is also an area of beaches and resorts. Next to Almeria are two resort towns: Aguadulce and Roquetas del Mar. We didn't explore as much as I thought we would because we all went into this trip exhausted (particularly me) and the temperature was about 110 degrees. Sometime I'd like to go back to this region when it is not the peak of summer. Supposedly the weather is fantastic for about 10 months of the year.
After the seminar, we packed up and drove back to Madrid--a city that Jamie and I once explored when Marco was still in the womb. He was there, but doesn't remember any of it. We went to two bullfights, and of all my travels, the bullfights are still about the most interesting cross-cultural experience I've ever had. It is a fascinating, multi-layered cultural experience. Jamie and I were absolutely riveted throughout the whole thing. This time around, we didn't have the time or the energy to get back out there, and Marco would have protested fiercely.
All in all, the trip accomplished what I had hoped for, and I really am very curious about what further things await us all in Spain.
Enjoy my usual poorly-lit, non-creative, fuzzy photographs.
Marco at the place where Christopher Columbus received his commission to go discover the New World.
To go along with my recent post on how Islam is not immune to secularization (as opposed to just being pre-disposed to radicalism) a new, massive Pew Research study makes the point that the Islamic world is increasingly losing its religiousity.
To begin with, Muslims 35 years and older have a higher level of committment than Muslims between the age of 18 and 34. The difference is most stark in the Middle East and North Africa.
There is an increasing divide between Sunni and Shia Mulsims with 40% of Sunni's not acceting Shias as fellow Muslims, particluarly in the Middle East and North Africa. An example of the divisions within Islam.
There is quite a bit of uniformity on the idea that there is only one way to interpret Islam, however, --once again the center of Islam is breaking down with Tunisia, Morocco, and the Palestenian territories saying their are multiple interpretations. American Muslims share that more liberal attitude towards Islams absolutes.
As with Christianity, Africa shows a high level of religiousity compared to other regions. However, it's key to note that Muslims in Europe and the Former Soviet Bloc tend to have a much lower degree of committment toward the faith than other regions. Going back to my point---Islam is not immune to secularization.
Another key factor which is predictable: Turkey's traditional separation between Church and State has kept Turkish people pretty committed to religion despite modernization. Expect this number to drop if Islam is increasingly forced down people's throat in this democracy.
Islam's fierce absolutism and the fact that it is so deeply embedded in local culture means that committment levels (or at least identifying as a Muslim) remain high. It is significant, however, that in the heart of Islam (the trend setting region of Islam) we are seeing swift declines in religiosity. The internet, Al-Jazeera, satellite dishes, the "democratic" revolutions, and the global branding of Dubai, Qatar and others as they attempt to move away from oil economies to service economies is having an impact.
We now turn to Chapter 9 and 10 in our discussion of Philip Jenkins' book, "The Next Christendom."
To go along with my recent post on how Islam is not immune to secularization (as opposed to just being pre-disposed to radicalism) a new, massive