Monthly Archives: July 2008

Painting Oneself into a Corner

Much to many believers’ and atheists’ chagrin, there are few things in religion that could provide quantitative evidence about religion’s claims. Christianity does make one claim, though, that I think is quantifiable: the workings of the Holy Spirit.

It all began back on a first-century Pentecost:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2.1-4)

Most Christians believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, baptized believers are able to do things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. If you look at references to the Holy Spirit in the Bible, it generally seems to be providing peace and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is supposed to dwell within believers, making them new creations and such.

Wouldn’t that have an effect?

Take a country like Poland, where 97% of the population claims Catholicism as their religion, and I’d say closer to 99% have been baptized. If there was any truth to the claim that the Holy Spirit’s indwelling somehow makes a difference, it should show up statistically in a country where 99% of its inhabitants experience that “indwelling.” The crime rate should be lower; corruption should be rarer; evidence of love for fellow humans should be abundant. But that’s not the case. Indeed, the crime rate in Poland is just about the same as any other country in Europe; corruption in Polish politics exceeds the level of other European countries; and Poles clearly show love of fellow humans about as often as any other group of people (read: not very).

Apologists would claim that there are many other factors at work here and rightly point out that there is an element of free will in all humans. However, I’m not expecting the Holy Spirit to create a paradise; I’d be satisfied to see some small statistical difference.

Lipnica Wielka

The village where I spent seven years of my life.

K held the camera as we drove to visit friends. Silly, but I’m sentimental, so it’s excusable. (It’s double-time so it doesn’t take so long, but of course it makes us all sound like chipmunks in the background. It also makes it jerky. Oh well…)

This post is part of the thread: Polska 2008 – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

A Day at Gubalowka

We finally began putting together some of the video shot in Polska. First up: our day at Gubalowka, a ridge line above Zakopane that is basically one big playground. We took K’s five-and-a-half-year-old nephew, W, with us.

This post is part of the thread: Polska 2008 – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

NYT Frugal Traveler

There’s a new video blog at the New York Times called the Frugal Traveler. Week 10 is a visit to Gdansk Poland.

Why Gdansk? Why not Krakow? Unlike both Gdansk and Warsaw, Krakow was not totally destroyed during the Second World War, and its old town is just that — old. Perhaps the choice of Gdansk came from week 9′s spot: Vilnius, Lithuania. It’s a shorter hop from Vilnius to Gdansk than Vilnius to Krakow.

Still, it’s good to see Poland getting included like this.

A Walk in the Park

Aunt L is visiting, so we took her to the park downtown.

Bridge from a DistanceDowntown Greenville

It was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon. There were small groups here and there, but I guess the heat was keeping most people in.

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The Girl had a blast, especially with the ducks. They bonded, and it was a tearful goodbye.

DSC_9169Waving bye-bye — for the fourth time.

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She’s learned what ducks say, and she was thrilled to get independent confirmation that what K and I told her about duck communication was accurate.

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You’ve Been Left Behind

When Jason received the email, he was panicked. He’d heard his father talking about the rapture for all his life, but he’d never really bought into it himself. Then, suddenly, an email from dad:

Dear Jason,

You must be wondering what happened to me, and I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not the only one to disappear. I’m also certain that you’re well aware of what has happened. And sadly, I’m sure you understand why you’re still here, left behind.

I have arranged to have this email sent so that I might have one last word with you, one last plea for you to take a look in your heart and see how much you really need Jesus as your Lord and Savior. There can be no doubt in your mind about the troubling times that are looming now that the rapture is history, but those troubles are nothing compared to what you will face if you don’t fall to your knees and pray this simple prayer.

Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. But I believe that you died upon the cross for me. That you shed your precious blood for the forgiveness of my sin. And I believe that on the third day, you rose from the dead, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for me. I accept you now as my Savior, my Lord, my God, my friend. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and set me free from my sin. And, because you are my Savior, Jesus, “I shall not die, but have everlasting life”. Thank you Jesus!

Please, son: do this for your own soul’s sake!

Jason sat stupefied for a moment, wondering whether or not he’d been wrong all this time about his father’s “silly religious rantings.” It seemed that he was wrong, and he was about to get down on his knees when the phone rang.

“Hi son,” said the familiar voice.

“Dad? I thought, I mean, the email, the rapture — I thought you were gone!” Jason stammered, on the verge of tears.

“Oh, did it get sent. God damn it, those people assured me there was no chance of an accidental, pre-rapture sending of all those emails. You know, son, you just can’t trust anyone these days, not even Christians. Or so-called Christians.”

What torment it will be for those caught up in the Rapture to spend the Tribulation with Christ yet knowing some of their loved ones didn’t make it. Wouldn’t it be a great relief if these poor, tortured, saved souls could have one last shot at reaching their loved ones for Christ?

There is Hope: youvebeenleftbehind.com.

Their service is simple: for a low yearly fee, they’ll save documents for you that will be emailed after the rapture.

We have set up a system to send documents by the email, to the addresses you provide, 6 days after the “Rapture” of the Church. This occurs when 3 of our 5 team members scattered around the U.S fail to log in over a 3 day period. Another 3 days are given to fail safe any false triggering of the system. (You’ve Been Left Behind )

How about a stack of letters on your desk? Wouldn’t that accomplish the same thing without the risks involved (i.e., storing significant amounts private data on a server)?

And that’s not the only risk. Emails accidentally sent could, theoritically, be amusing, but it could also damage relationships. Imagine someone gets one of these “You’ve been left behind” emails from a close family member yet she always considered herself a prime rapture candidate. Can’t you hear the heated phone call.

“You mean all this time you’ve thought I wasn’t saved? How dare you judge me like that!”

I told my Polish Catholic wife about it, first explaining what the rapture was –  there are not many Polish Catholics who know what the rapture is, let alone the difference between pre-trib and post-trib and mid-trib and late-trib and early-trib and all the other -trib varieties out there. Her response: “Only in America!”

Plurality

Apologists for Islam like to say that Islam allows for diversity of faith.

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Something like this?

Yet in Saudi Arabia — home of two of the most holy sites for Islam — it is illegal for non-Muslims to gather in worship.

I guess the aforementioned apologists had some other kind of plurality in mind…

A Wista

We got a bit of new music during our trip and I’ll be sharing a little here and there during the coming weeks. Sadly, much of it probably won’t be available in the States.

Once upon a time, there was a Polish folk band called “A Wista.” Comprised of highland students who’d landed in Krakow for studies, the band played a mix Slovakian, Moravian, Balkan, and Hungarian songs, along with traditional Polish songs from the southern, mountainous region of the country.

Their studies long completed, they’ve since gone their separate ways, though K and I have a connection to three of the band members.

  • One is the husband of K’s good, better, bestest friend.
  • Another, with a newly formed band, played at our wedding.
  • A third, with K’s friend’s husband and two others, played at L’s baptism.

It’s a shame they’re no longer together, for their music is truly beautiful: virtuoso playing (violin, viola, and double bass) combined with strong singing.

Here is my favorite from their CD Festiwal Karpat: a haunting Slovakian number:

Czom ty ne priszol

Anyone interested can buy individual MP3s of the album here.

For fun, here’s the Google translation of the page. The genre in the original Polish is listed as “Ludowa” (“folk”), but Google chose the equally valid translation of “China”.

This post is part of the thread: Polska 2008 – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Narrow Streets

Krakow is full of them.

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Some less neglected than others.

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In fact, there are narrow streets throughout all of Poland. Indeed, all of Europe. That’s what happens when cities exist for centuries before the invention of the car.

This post is part of the thread: Polska 2008 – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Looking Back at Krakow

We made it home yesterday after an exhausting journey. L fell into fits of hysterical screaming on the flight from Munich to Charlotte, and there was mumbling about the plane regarding it — as well as a few comments swirling around our heads while we stood in the passport control line. The temptation to say something was great, but I decided to keep it a win-lose situation (i.e., we win, acting like adults; they lose, acting like children) instead of descending into a useless argument, for there was no win-win situation in sight as tired as we all were.

The trip was exhausting, but we had wonderful memories to keep up our spirits, including two days in the most magnificant (and second most expensive) city in Polska, Krakow.

DSC_8632Florianska Street

DSC_8624K and L at the Florianska Gate

The first thing we noticed, coming by bus, was the new shopping center cum bus stop. When we left in 2005, it looked like this:

Krakow Bus Station III

Three years — and a surprising amount of initiative — later:

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The old bus station was a testament to the hideous nature of Communist architecture, and it was torn down before I even knew it had been slated for demolition. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a couple of hours in that old place now,” I told K.

Also victim of the renovation was the “Dragon Bar” (“Bar Smok”), a milk bar across the street from the old bus station. Filthy does not begin to describe it, and once again, I find myself wishing for a 4gb memory card and a day to photograph it.

As we made our way to the rynek, we noted that some things had mercifully not changed. The opera house still greets visitors after they emerge from the passage under Westerplatte Street.

DSC_8620Opera House

And the corner of Pijarska and Planty streets still looks the same:

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We finally made it to the rynek, where L seemed just as amazed as everyone else is they first time they emerge from Florianska Street onto Krakow’s enormous square:

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We fed the pigeons,

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had a latte,

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and watched the people around us. Some were trying to get the best shots with classic Russian equipment:

DSC_8676Zenit — my first real camera

Some were simply passing through:

DSC_8681Two to a bag — classic Krakow style

After a short break, we headed inside the Basilica of St. Mary — what I’d bought the 10-20mm for:

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I’d brought a tripod in order to try to get some shots to combine into HDR, but I was kindly informed during my final shot of my first series that tripods were not allowed.

I’m always amazed with the beauty of such places.

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And I’m glad the Church so wisely followed Jesus’ command to feed the starving, clothe the poor, and build ridiculously big churches.

We headed down Grodzka Street toward Wawel castle

DSC_8750East Central meets West, Old meets New

Finally, exhausted, we fell into a cafe for some rest, respite from the sun (L was fussy and sweaty), and, most importantly, a chance to meet up with some of our dearest friends, Kuba and Maja:

DSC_9021K & M standing at Kuba’s street in Krakow

We spent our last New Year’s Eve in Polska with K & M in Hel, a little port town at the tip of a long finger of land into the Baltic Sea.

DSC_8798Wojek Kuba takes a picture

Maja — the “maja” of comments here — has been eager to meet the girl for some time, and they hit it off immediately:

DSC_8782Ciocia Maja entertains

DSC_8848-1Later, at Wawel

The initial excitement of our reunion finally calmed (M was bouncing off the walls with joy!), we all continued down Grodzka Street

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to Wawel, the royal castle

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Finally, the Girl had had enough, and so we headed out of Krakow

DSC_8866Why are there so few streets this lovely in the States?

to a little town on the city’s outskirts, where K’s brother, D, lives.

We had grilled sausage to accompany a wonderful evening of reminiscing and talking about the “realities” of life in America.

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DSC_8908K ponders whether or not that grill is really made out of what he thinks it’s made out of. Any ideas?

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When D saw the wonders of a SLR camera’s bulb setting, he took me to a place to get some night shots of Krakow.

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Sadly, there was too much light from the street lights to get good shots, but that fact did lead to this:

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Thus ended our first day in Krakow.

Our second day was much slower and shorter. It included a walk in the park surrounding the old town,

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and K taking a few more shots.

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It ended in the old Jewish section of town, at an outside cafe, where still more friends came to meet us.

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And thus our not-quite-two weeks in Polska came to an end.

More reflections — not to mention pictures — later.

This post is part of the thread: Polska 2008 – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.