Category Archives: society

Berlin, God, new writer, politics, prison, refugees, society, vision

Has God trumped himself in Syria?

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I don’t know whether you’ve noticed this too, but in recent weeks the first items on the news have been dominated by this uneducated, politically inexperienced, racist old bastard called Donald Trump.

Just like the United Kingdom with their Brexit, the North Americans have played beautifully into the hands of the Islamic State. Unlike the UK and the US, IS understands that racism takes precedence over democracy … if the voters are stupid enough. Proof is: Trump tries to ban people from states whose citizens have never committed a terrorist crime on US soil.

Very much secondary in the headlines is the random persecution and murder of men, women and children, yes, children, in Syrian prisons.

I ask myself the question, therefore, a) how can a so-called God of love allow a nation whose population largely claims to be believing Christians allow such a fucking idiot to rule over their nation and b) how can this God of love sit by and watch these children, women and men be terrorized, abused and murdered in this way?

I went to church last Sunday, and the preacher, Frau Doktor D., assured the nervous congregation from Genesis, Chapter 16, that through the story of Hagar and Sarai, Jews, Muslims and Christians all come from one God and are members of one family and that they should ultimately get along well as such in the long term. This should give us all a reason for optimism and hope.

I don’t suppose that the dear doctor preacher has ever read Romans 9:8 or Galatians 4:23 , John 14.6,  etc, – which give Christians the right to say that only they are God’s true children and that all Muslims will go to hell. We do come from one family, she is right, but our dad loves only some of his children. Conditionally.

Whatever the case may be, Christians sit in their pews around the world, feeding their spiritual bellies, one step below the yoga class next door to my office, and most do almost nothing to bring peace to Syria.

If Jesus really did exist, it is very clear that he expected a radical, world-changing movement of people who were prepared to sacrifice everything to change the world. Rather like the IS, actually.

Instead, we have a group of largely passive, sedentary people who massage their butts and shout “Amen” to the likes of pukey Joyce Meyer and who ultimately do, let’s face it,  …..

nothing.

What gives me the right to be judgmental? Nothing, really. Though I did once lead a church in the UK that was pioneering and radical, rather like a Bugatti. Now, like all churches after a couple of generations, it’s become sadly no more than a Vauxhall Zafira church. Grey, compact, boring, predictable, neat and tidy and full of air bags.

Plus, I was the only Christian in a movement of about 50,000 people in the UK who was prepared to follow Jesus and to do something radical. But not one smug soul was prepared to come with me. The result: I failed.

My big question remains. What can I really do to help the plight of the people in Syria? Joining the church sure won’t help. So, can you help me? Comments welcome, as always.

 

 

Berlin, God, movies, new writer, politics, prison, society, vision

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

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Patrick in “Manchester by the Sea”. (Lucas Hedges)

“Manchester by the Sea” is absolutely the most powerful movie I have seen in a very long time. It just won’t leave me alone. I am not surprised that it has received so many Oscar nominations.

It’s not fast-moving, but rather a character study, observing  meticulously how human beings react under the stressful situations that occur in life. Every detail is critical. You shouldn’t miss, for example, how the sound recording adds to the naturalism:  the familiar beeping and burring of the microwave that is somehow louder than the protagonists speaking. As in real life.

The movie shares its main theme with last year’s 3D drama, “Everything will be fine“, namely, to what extent are we as human beings entirely responsible for the unimaginably painful and dark tragedies that we are capable of causing? I’m pleased to say that the writer-director, Kenneth Lonergan, does not really give us the answer. He leaves it to the audience to delve deep for something remotely conclusive. Which is maybe one of the reasons why the film just won’t leave you alone.

It is not an exaggeration to say that every actor acts to perfection. Just watch the expressions on the face of the hospital nurse (who has almost no lines!) when Lee’s brother dies, or observe the convincing smugness of Patrick’s mum’s new husband. And yes, does his mum, a cured alcoholic, really go and have a quick drink in the kitchen during dinner? Wonderful, how this is all left to the audience to deduct.

I don’t know about you, but I too, like Lee, have made the most awful mistake in my life. The consequences of this mistake have been absolutely devastating for all concerned, and most probably for a lifetime.  As in the movie, it is impossible to avoid the question: how can we do such awful things to those we love the most?

Today in particular, I carry both the pain and responsibility for my actions and would do everything to turn back time. But I can’t.

So what can be done? The answer to this question can be found both throughout “Manchester by the Sea” and in the closing scene. It’s by no means a neat, clean, satisfying answer. It’s messy. It’s a an answer that reveals how a  dynamic web of dysfunctionality kicks in once a major crisis has happened.

My doctor said to me two weeks ago, “As Einstein said, we cannot live in the past. We must live in the future. Every crisis in life, both for the perpetrator and the victims, is an opportunity to learn and to create a new way of living life better. If we are open to that.”

My enduring hope is that she’s right.

 

 

 

 

 

Berlin, European Union, politics, prison, refugees, society, vision, war

Freedom of movement?

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Freedom of movement is something that many of us in the West take for granted. Most of us can get up and leave our home in the morning and travel to work, go shopping or visit a restaurant after work with friends. We can travel around the country without let or hindrance, and, if we have a passport and enough money, we can travel freely to many other nations of the world.

Imagine for just one moment, however, that you woke up tomorrow morning and you were told by the state authorities that you will no longer have the freedom to move around. You will no longer be able to travel to other countries. You cannot leave your town. In fact, you cannot even leave your house. You are to remain imprisoned there until you die, even though you have done nothing wrong. It is simply a legally binding decision made by your government. Failure to comply will result in immediate execution.

How would we feel then? Cheated? Outraged? Infuriated?Rebellious?

Why? Because any restriction in movement is a contravention of a basic human right. It is also at the root of what started the first war. “This is my property, the boundary to my land, and if you set food on it, I will kill you.” It is also a main reason as to why prison is considered an effective form of punishment.

All this is something that Ms. May, Mr. Johnson, Mr Trump, Mr Corbyn et al. cannot understand. In attempting to maintain free trade of goods whilst restricting the movement of people, they are placing material gain higher than human rights.  This is supremely unintelligent and morally despicable.

All in stark contrast to Angela Merkel who understands that you cannot have the one without the other. She also understands that no wall will ever be able to stop unwanted crime and terrorist attacks. She understand that walls simply provoke isolation and racial hatred, not prevent them.

Racism and evil do not run along national borders. They run through the heart of human beings. This is where it all starts and this is where we as individuals can choose to end it.

 

Berlin, God, new writer, society

Same love

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My last blog entry about God’s conditional love got me thinking about love in general. I find it helpful the way the Ancient Greeks categorised love along the lines of eros (erotic love), philos (the kind of love a parent has for her child) and agape (the selfless laying down of one’s own needs in order to serve others).  As an aside, I would like to know whether these terms have shaped my thinking or whether they articulate something that is real in our society. In other words, does language shape our reality or does reality shape our language? I will come back to that question in a later blog.

This morning on the way into work on the subway, a young woman noticed that I was reading the Bible. To my surprise, she engaged me in conversation and started off with questions about my understanding of love. It turned out that she is a theology student, a believer in God and a lesbian.

I’d like to summarize the main points she shared with me:

  1. Irrespective as to whether you believe your sexual orientation is determined by nurture or nature, you cannot choose your sexual orientation any more than you can choose your eye colour.
  2. As the Bible implies in 1 Corinthians 6:18, your sexuality is not a selectable bolt-on to who you are like your choice of job, car or cell phone. Rather it is an absolute integral part of who you are as human being. Hence, you cannot say, I accept you as a human being but I cannot accept your sexual orientation. Your sexual orientation is an integral part of who you are. And who we are determines what we do.
  3. Hence, if God labels homosexual practices as a sin, He is simultaneously rejecting the human beings (His creation) who live out a homosexual lifestyle. A lifestyle based on a sexual orientation which they never even chose.

When I asked her what did that mean for her interpretation of the Bible or for her personal faith, she replied:

“In Hebrews 11:1, it is written that ‘faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ As far as homosexual love is concerned, however, my definition is: ‘Faith is a refusal to believe what it is true.’ Do you understand what I am trying to say?”

Well, I guess I’ll leave her question for you to answer …

Links

Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Berlin, God, new writer, society, vision

Conditional love

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As I was growing up, I was taught to believe that God loves us unconditionally. That’s part of what makes Him divine, so much more devoted to every human being than any earthly parent.

Yet it struck me that my last blog entry suggests something different, namely that God’s love is conditional.

According to the Bible, it is. If you accept Jesus to be your Saviour, then God guarantees you a place in heaven. For eternity. If you do not accept Jesus as your Saviour, then you are guaranteed a place in hell. For eternity. Two conditional clauses.

This conditional love can be found elsewhere in the Bible. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose .” If you love God, He will work all things for your good (yes, even the premature loss of a loved one). If you do not love God, He will not work all things for your good. Two conditional clauses.

And what are we to conclude if God’s love turns out to be conditional after all?

What many always knew:  that the Christian faith is essentially selfish because it plays on our most basic human fear: the fear of death, the dissolution of our ego. When I accept Christianity’s conditional offer of the salvation of my soul, I am admitting that the world ultimately revolves around me. Religion owes its ongoing existence to this pitiable flattery of personal vanity.

Berlin, God, new writer, society

Think before you vote

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I find it fascinating that one of the deciding factors in a US election centres on views concerning abortion and the possession of firearms.

While the Republicans are generally anti-abortion and pro the possession of firearms, the Democrats tend to be for a reduction in the possession of firearms and against restricting the freedom of women to choose about matters of termination.

In other words, the Democrats might stand in the way of you ever being born but will protect your right to remain alive once you are. And the Republicans will fight for your right to remain alive in the womb but shoot you dead or sit you in the electric chair the moment you trespass on their property.

Where does this paradoxical stance come from? I have a hunch that it has something to do with Christianity,  the adopted faith of many US citizens.

For, on the one hand, the Bible maintains that human life is sacred and that it should be preserved at all costs. All humans are made in God’s image and He loves them. Yet the Bible also teaches that all human beings who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ will suffer for all eternity in the fires of hell. That’s right, every sincere Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, along with every atheist.

So, if the majority of us are destined for eternal punishment, wouldn’t it be better if we had never been born in the first place?

According to Jesus Himself in Matthew 26:24, the answer to this question is a clear “yes”.

So I guess that makes Jesus a Democrat?

 

Berlin, new writer, refugees, society

CHRISTMAS WISHES

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As we draw to the close of a very disturbing year in terms of global history, I would like to wish you a peaceful Christmas and all the best for 2017.

I am personally looking forward to having time off work and being able to spend more time with my children. This year, I have also decided to make a real effort to be more aware of those for whom Christmas is a challenging time of year. For those who have been affected by so-called natural disasters or acts of war or violence. For those going through separation, loneliness or bereavement. For those living on the street and those who have to work hard over the Christmas period.

My work colleagues and I have just come up with the following suggestions, most of which require no money:

  • just smile and share a short encouragement with the elderly lady you see at the bus stop or the stressed out cashier in the supermarket
  • call in on a neighbour who lives alone
  • send an e-mail to a long-lost friend, former school teacher or colleague
  • help out in a soup kitchen or offer to help refugees.
  • take a small gift of chocolates or flowers to show your appreciation either to a stranger or person living alone or going through a hard time.

Take care and I’ll write again after Christmas. It’s also my birthday on New Year’s Eve. I’m looking to that, I think …

Berlin, European Union, new writer, politics, refugees, society, tourism, war

Berliner

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It has taken me a couple of days to write again. I have been so upset by what has happened in my city, even though we are still waiting for details to emerge.

Last night I went to the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market which is right next to where I used to live. There was an eery silence while hundreds of people laid flowers and lit candles. Very faintly in the background I could hear Christmas music and a vacuous sermon from the Gedächtniskirche, totally out of kilter with the prevailing mourning.

When I went into the KDW, the largest department store in the EU, it was empty. Three days before Christmas. Surreal.

My main concern is the sadness for those who had their lives so unexpectedly and tragically taken from them, for the injured and for all those who are close to them. This tragedy will affect the most relaxed capital city in Europe for many years.

My secondary concern is that a possible act of terrorism will achieve the goals of those who carry it out. Society becomes divided. Acts of mercy are described as treachery. Racism rules. Trust is undermined. Faiths are divided although believers worship the same God. An ominous fear prevails. Democracy is hijacked by extremists.

This morning on the way to work there was a very large holdall unattended on the station platform. As I got nearer, an Asian guy approached it and I asked him if it was his. “Yes,” he replied. For the first time in my life I realized that the question was meaningless: if he was a suicide bomber, it would make no difference.

On the train, I then read about that (excuse me) fucking idiot, Nigel Farage, saying that this event in Berlin was Angela Merkel’s fault. Horst Seehofer and the AfD are following suit.

In Berlin we have the first ever ruling red-red-green coalition. Last week, it looked as if Berlin was going to pioneer the political future model for Germany. As just one minor example: they have up-to-now rightly stood against increased video surveillance of our city. Will all that change now?

I hope against hope that my adopted city and country will not give in to the aims of terrorism. I hope that democracy and freedom and racial tolerance will prevail. And I trust that, in spite of all current appearances, the pen will triumph over the gun.