Results For "Month: 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…)
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.
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.
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.
The Girl had a blast, especially with the ducks. They bonded, and it was a tearful goodbye.
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.
Morning Sun
The morning summer sun is actually merciful here — thanks, in part, to the forest we have in the backyard.
Storm
A storm approaches over the Tatra Mountains of southern Poland. Often a land of gray skies.
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, theoretically, 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!”