a true story

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

This poem is attributed to Martin Niemöller .

Fremmskrittspartiets Siv Jensen wants to forbid medical aid to refugees and other foreigners without legal documents. Once again she proves what much of her world-view is founded on:the creation of “fear of  the other” and borderline fascism. Shame on you and the 30 prosent of Nowegians who support you!

Martin Rowson in the Gaurdian says it all. The $100m ‘loan’ from the World Bank to Haiti could be paid off like that by a fraction of the banking bonuses paid out on top of enormous salaries. Sickening.

I hope for a happier new year to you all, despite the horror the above reminds us all of. (thanks to Kester Brewin for posting this on his blog)

the history of “Jul”

спални комплекти
The celebration of God becoming human is celebrated in what the English world calls Christmas. Here in Scandinavia we don’t call it Christmas, we call it “Jul”. Jul has originally nothing to do with Christ.

Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas.

Christianity transformed and put new meaning into old religion all over the known world. Examples of this is how the church did this is how the word advent is turned into a christian holiday. Augustus introduced the advent of Augustus to celebrate the fact that he was the son of God 17 years before the birth of Jesus. (Read more about it here)

Christianity had a hard time

Here in Scandinavia the church never were able to remove the word Yule or Jul as we say today from what we called the birth of Jesus. Originally it has nothing to do with Christianity.

The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian (Julian) calendar was adopted.

Some historians claim that the celebration is connected to the Wild Hunt or was influenced by Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival. The term “Yule” is still used in the Nordic Countries and to a lesser extent in English speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christians and by some Neopagans.

Merry Christ mass

Have a good mass, a mass where Christ is celebrated. Where the fact that God became man is a story we now all can be a part of. Have a blessed Christ mass or a “god Jul” as we say here in Scandinavia.

John Howard Yoder has played an important part in influencing my thinking in various ways. Here he has interesting things to say about Democracy.

Yoder is best remembered for his reflections on Christian ethics. Rejecting the assumption that human history is driven by coercive power, Yoder argued that it was rather God — working in, with, and through the nonviolent, non-resistant community of disciples of Jesus — who has been the ultimate force in human affairs. If the Christian church in the past made alliances with political rulers, it was because it had lost confidence in this truth.

He called the arrangement whereby the state and the church each supported the goals of the other Constantinianism, and he regarded it as a dangerous and constant temptation. Yoder argued that Jesus himself rejected this temptation, even to the point of dying a horrible and cruel death. Resurrecting Jesus from the dead was, in this view, God’s way of vindicating Christ’s unwavering obedience.

If I ever become a saint – I will surely be one of ‘darkness’. I will continually be absent from Heaven – to light the light of those in darkness on earth

Mother Theresa

This movie has been out for some time, but I recently saw it and want to recommend it here. I have for some reason been avoiding it, thinking it would be an hurtful experience which good movies often can be. It is powerful, and creates the feelings I am sure the director wanted. This one brings my memories back to “Schindlers list”.The music, the pain, do you remember the little girl depicted in red in Schindlers list? A similar visual instrument is used in this animated documentary. The pictures are beautiful and the voices are real interviews from the real people involved in this story.

This time the roles are changed from the Nazi Germans hunting for jews. The Israeli army are the powerful, and the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are the week and the hated.

The biggest injustice and evil done in the aftermath of Lebanon 1982 is making the man responsible “Sharon” prime minister of Israel 20 years later.

Put this one on your “to see list”!

Read more about the movie below and the history of Lebanon 1982 below.

Continue reading Waltz with bashir

Me, myself and I

I ended off my previous post in this series with a mild criticism on how the western church often views itself as a group of individuals satisfying ones own individual needs by the product offered and packaged as Church. It is a clear tendency in the western Church that members dissatisfied with the theology, the leader, the child ministry or what ever it can be leaves quite easily. This even if one has been in the church for many years and would seemingly have close friendships and relationships with the larger church body. I would argue that this is a clear example of what happens when the old systems of modernism collide with the postmodern mind.

One reason for this is the foundation the western church rests on. It has often been perceived as a package that is consumed and crafted to meet my individual need, when it doesn’t meet my need, I either need the leader to create a new package for me that meets my need or leave and find a package that meets my individual need somewhere else. Was this what Church was meant to be? Or was it meant to be something else? Something where theology, politics, power or anything else would  draw us towards each other,not alienate us from each other, a place where the differences could flourish and be lived out in a fruitful manner. Where family is more important than individuality, where the organic is more important that keeping up a safe status quo?

The reality of a postmodern world

In the wake of modernity the postmodern world responds in contradictory ways. Fragmentation and polarization on the one hand and syncretism on the other. This condition might seem unhealthy, and while there is much that is not healthy about our postmodern context, there are profound creative and redemptive possibilities in this seemingly contradictory ideas.

The word contradiction and paradox are two words that the modern mind find offensive and even dangerous. Post-moderns living in the aftermath of a world by a desire to control and dominate (very much also in the church) are often delighted by notions that defy this easy categorization.

Our postmodern world is a world of profound fragmentation. After modernity this is understandable. Within modernity a select few held power. Now everything is up for grabs.

Balkanization

One word used to describe this is balkanization. This means to divied one place, one idea, or one group of people from each other for any number of reasons. Life is being balkanized. It is fragmenting. The themes of progress and optimism that unified and under-girded the modern project have largely evaporated, and we have been left adrift in a disjointed world where meaning and value is constantly being contested by people willing to fight for it till there death.

Is it any surprise that new kings of churches are emerging out of the husks of these former structures that are struggling to keep pace and adapt to this strange new world?

In a world of balkanization and atomization we are desperate for space to engage, create, and respond free from the power games that are being played in so many circles around us. In a shrinking globalized world we are desperate to learn what it means to be in relationship to the other- to the alien in our midst (or perhaps we are the alien in the midst) for the purpose of dialogue and engagement.

How can we live in this new reality

We desperately need to discover, recover, learn, and live out the ancient Christian practice of hospitality, which is the postmodern means of evangelism.

We do not need more Christian leaders building church empires at a time when our culture is dismantling other such structure around us. We must deconstruct ourselves in love.

A postmodern context requires leaders who instead of seeking to dominate the environment are willing to become environmentalists- people who create spaces that allow Gods people to have the possibility of an encounter with God and other people. Such an environment allows people to discover a future together  under God instead of reducing them to mere pawns serving some large agenda that comes from outside themselves.

Can Postmodernism save us?

Can postmodernism save us? In many ways I believe it can. It can save us from the institution, it can save us from materialism. It can save us from individualism. It can save us from being arrogant. It can save us from being powerful.

In my next post I will ask a question that deals with syncretism. Does everything go? Is it possible in a christian context to blend many different “whatever it could be”?

Read part 1 here; Postmodernity, should we be afraid?

Read part 2 here ; Modernity, the cost?

This is the actual answering machine answer from this school. It is due to a conflict and a lawsuit against the teachers by the parents.

What is the cost of progress?

Modern travel, modern educational systems, modern medicine, and modern food production are a few examples of the ways in which humanity’s lot has improved through the progress achieved during this era.

However as the twentieth century waned a collective questioning of the assumptions of modernity emerged in many quarters, not least in my quarter.

According to Tim Keel and N. T Wright two theologians I draw on in this article, The very notion of progress itself is questioned. They and others ask; how is it defined and measured, and by whom?

What is the cost of progress?

In the modern story, reality is that which is observable, measurable and repeatable. Everything that is available, accessible and verifiable to the five senses.

No wonder that anything beyond the senses was ignored. Materialism was birthed and the matters of the soul were ignored or reinterpreted within this tightly controlled version of reality.

Spiritual life?

When the life of the spirit is ignored, people will seek to feed the hunger of a neglected soul with the only nourishment available. In my context: the consumptive acquisition of material goods. If spiritually engaged, it is often reduced and turned into on more commodity to be packaged, sold, and consumed like so many other aspects of modern life. In a incredibly individualistic way.

The western church

The western church has been existing within this framework of reality. Church shopping has become the defining metaphor for deciding which community of faith satisfies ones needs. My needs.

Churches rarely possess a corporate understanding of themselves as a people but rather as one more collection of individuals choosing to be together based on similar preferences (music,preaching,programs etc.)

How does the postmodern world respond in the wake of modernity?

read part 3 here; Can postmodernity save us?

Read part 1 here; Postmodernity, should we be afraid?