Monks

Things are still well in the Holy Lands. As of my last entry not much is new. This past weekend our class got the chance to go and see lots of historical sites such as some Solomonic gates and Bronze age era ruins. I also climbed into the oldest building ever found (it is about 8,000 years old). So life has been good. I have done two really cool things as of recent. The first thing was walking on an ancient path from St. George's monastery to Jericho. That parth is a part of an ancient path from Jerusalem to Jericho which was where the good samaritan did his good works. Just kidding. That is a parable so it didn't happen. Or did it? Maybe the parables are the only things that actually happened in the Bible....Or actually probably not. But, that would have been the route that Jesus had in mind when he told the parable. Anyways, it was cool to do. It is awesome to see all the ancient monks cells in the cliffside. The cliff wall was literally dotted with monks cells from thousands of years past. Once Christianity became legal in 4th century some Christians thought life became too easy so they left the cities and went into the desert to spend time in constant prayer and ascetic discipline. Once more Christians did this they began living in caves close by and coming together for meals and common prayer. Eventually, monasteries formed. These caves are where they lived and prayed. They would find caves and build walls and doors and pray to God constantly. Of course the demons came to tempt them to sin but the monks fought them off with prayer, Scripture, the Sign of the Cross, and Christ himself! There is some great literature about it...it is very fascinating! Walking by the cells caused me to think about all of the Christians who have walked before me, lived Holy lives, and are perhaps now in heaven praying for my very soul. It was ivery awe-invoking. The other cool thing I did was visit Mar Saba monastery with a few friends. It is a Greek Orthodox monastery out in the middle of the Judaean desert. A monk by the name of Father Raphael showed us around the monastery. Inside the chapel is the body of St. Sabbas whom the cloister is named after. He founded the monastery in the 5th century. His body lies inside a glass case, unembalmed, in the chapel. I saw it with my own eyes. The body is in excellent condition...it has hardly deteriorated at all (remember it has not been embalmed or anything!). The monk said it was a miracle of God. Perhaps this is true. Father Raphael also informed us that when St. Sabbas arrived at the place the only water was sewage water. He prayed for water and God produced a stream of running, clean, drinking water for the monks to drink. It is still used today. After the tour we had some drinks and Father Raphael bestowed some monastic wisdom upon us.

Just an Update...

I have been quite busy for the past week and a half and have been doing many exciting things. I will offer a few of the highlights for you all to read if you so desire. I went to Tel Aviv again and relaxed on the Mediterranean Sea which was, once again, quite nice. It is very nice to simply sit on the beach and chill for a day. I have of course been going to class and studying. While all of my classes are very interesting one is probably my favorite so far and it is called "From the Jewish Jesus to Christianity." This course is basically a huge "text in context" course where we put Christ into the Jewish context in which he lived. The readings and lectures are absolutely fascinating! It is amazing how much we have westernized the text of the Bible or perhaps I should say how much we view the text of the Bible through our western/enlightenment/post-reformation lense. Christians today have taken Jesus almost entirely out of the context and culture in which he lived and I think that by doing so we oftentimes nearly miss the point of his message. I will tell you a few of the things I have learned in the class. First, as far as "Scripture" went for a 1st century Jewish teacher there was both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. This meant that a 1st century Jew would not separate the two. Therefore both the first five books of Moses and the oral commentary on them were considered Scripture and inspired by God. This would imply that Christ (who, while the Son of God, was also a 1st century Jew) used both and, as we are discovering in class, it seems that he did! He spoke out of both and quoted both because if he didn't do so then no one would have listened to him. The very fact that he had followers shows that he taught both the Oral Torah and the Written Torah. Now what this means to Christians today I don't know...you tell me what it means. Another interesting tidbit for you is the text in the Gospel According to Matthew were Christ says "I have not come to abolish the Law (Torah) and the Prophets but to fulfill them"...or does he say that? Apparently the Greek text says this but early Church Tradition and Church Fathers taught that Matthew probably worked off of a separate Hebrew or Aramaic text. Papias, who was discipled by Polycarp and possibly knew John the Apostle, attests to this very fact. The word that in Greek says "fulfill" when translated into the Hebrew form would actually mean "to add to or possibly to interpret." Interesting. "I came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to interpret them." This is not what we are taught. Once again, what this means to Christians today I don't know yet...you tell me what it means. I will say that if Christ didn't come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets but to interpret them we probably need to rethink a few things in our understanding of the Lord. Anyways we talk about stuff like that in class and it is really interesting. I think every Christian would benefit from taking a class like this because doing so really helps us to know Christ himself better. By putting the Lord into the context in which he was incarnate and understanding his Jewish message in its fullness, because he came "first to the lost sheep of Israel," and then understanding his teaching to the Gentiles (us) and what that means we can truly come to a better understanding of him and the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope I didn't bore you with my ranting there but I simply wanted to give you all some new stuff I have been learning. Other than classes we also been continuing our field studies which have been great. Our most recent field study was called "Jerusalem Approaches" where we basically traversed around the areas/cities surrounding the city of Jerusalem. It was great. A very intersting part of the study was viewing the Mt. of Olives from a mile or two south of the city. A few days beforehand I had walked up one side of it and sort of thought it was a small hill. However, after viewing the Mt. of Olives from south of Jerusalem I got a fresh view of it and realized how bit the mountain truly is. Later in the day when we walked down it and explored it I grasped this even better. Studying this part of the land made me wonder why Christ spent so much time in prayer on this mountain. Since we know Christ had both a human and a divine will we know that he knew everything. Therefore, he could have theoretically chosen anywhere to spend time in prayer for Jerusalem and he could have chosen anywhere in the whole world to ascend to heaven. Yet, he chose the Mt. of Olives as a place to spend lots of time in dialogue with one other third of the Trinity. He chose the Mt. of Olives to ascend to the right hand of the throne of the Father. Upon his ascension the angels also said that he would return in the same way that he ascended. That is very interesting to me. Why the Mt. of Olives? My question may never be answered but it was awesome to be able to view and spend time on the very place where the Son of God chose to spend so much time. We also went to the city of Bethlehem which is majorly an Arab city today. While in Bethlehem we poked around a bit and then got to spend some time in the Church of the Nativity which is the site of the birth of Christ. The incarnation of the Word of God is a great mystery which I think I will probably never fully comprehend. Yet, I got the chance to spend time venerating the Holy Place where the Word took on flesh. As I was wandering the church I was thinking about the beauty of the incarnation itself. The fact the God the Word actually took on flesh and became man purely to die for sinful humanity is amazing to me! God loves us so much that he sent his only begotten Son purely to die for us. The love that was behind that act is greater and more powerful than I think I will ever be able to grasp. The Word became flesh purely to suffer and die so that we might be saved. When I think of that, all I can do is thank God for his grace and mercy. It is difficult to grasp the totality of it all. As I said the technicalities of the incarnation are completely beyond me but I am in awe of it even more because of it’s mystery. We also went to the Herodian which is a ruin of one of the many palaces of Herod the Great. It must have been huge! It was fun to poke around the ruins. A few months ago they discovered Herod's grave as well and we got to poke around there a bit too. His gravesite was demolished and desecrated very soon after his death which shows you how well he was liked by his subjects. One last thing. The other day a few friends and I went to the Temple Mount and walked around. It was interesting to get so close to the Dome of the Rock and the El Aqsa Mosque. The Dome of the Rock is a very pretty building but I have come to despise it. One of the reasons that it was built was to steal the skyline from the Christians. Prior to it's building the Church of the Holy Sepulchre dominated the skyline of Jerusalem. So, to take this away from the Christians, the Moslem rulers built the Dome of the Rock to override the Holy Sepulchre. I do not like this. Well anyways, as you all can see I have been quite busy but enjoying myself very much. Tonight and all day tomorrow is Yom Kippur. While in the U.S. this is just a word on the calender in Israel it is so much more. For one, all of the country shuts down. Literally. If you drive a car you will get stones thrown at you. If you want to open your business then you have to pay a gigantic sum of money to the government. This means nothing is open. As I said the entire country of Israel has shut down. There is one hospital per major city open. A few emergency vehicles roam the streets. That is all. It is a day of repentance where the Jews beseech God to write them in the Book of Life. It is interesting because the streets are literally empty. A group of us might end up going to the Western Wall tonight because it is usually wild on the Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) and even more so on holidays. We shall say.
-Radcliff out.

Adam's Grotto

The past few days have been, to say the absolute least, action packed. Instead of boring you all I will simpy tell you a few of the highlights. On Shabbat (Saturday...the Jewish Sabbath) me and a few friends went to Tel Aviv and spent the afternoon on the Mediterranean sea...it was glorious! The sand was white and the water was a perfect temperature. After watching the sun set over the waters (which was quite picturesque) we went into town and had a bite to eat before heading back to Jerusalem. On Sunday we had a class field study all day which was really interesting. The topic for the day was "Biblical Jerusalem" and from 7 AM -12 PM we studied Old Testament Jerusalem. For this study we got the chance to see where King David's city was and study the archaeology of his time period. After doing that for a while we studied Solomon's city and eventually got to go through a water tunnel from the time of Hezekiah. This is interesting: As the Assyrians were coming to Jerusalem to fight, King Hezekiah decided that he didn't want them to have access to a the water supply for the city. So, he built this huge tunnel diverting the water supply throughout the city and built a wall blocking the water off. We walked through that tunnel. It was cool. You can read about it in 2 Chronicles I think. That afternoon we studied New Testament Jerusalem which was a very spiritual experience. One cool thing we did was visit the Temple Mount and the archaelogical exhibits surrounding it. I knew the facts about the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 but I guess that I never really grasped the extremity of the whole experience. Looking at the size of the bricks used for the Temple was my first clue that Herod’s Temple was bigger than anything I could possible imagine. When we looked at the Roman street below and saw how it was rippled from the bricks falling and studied the huge indents in the road it finally hit me. The Temple must have been huge! I began thinking back as to what it might have been like to be a Jew in the 1st Century watching the Temple get destroyed by the Roman army. It must have been emotionally devastating to watch the bricks fall and to listen to the loud crash as the landed on the street below. I can’t even fathom what it was like. Also, the area where we were was where the money changers were below the Temple. Most likely it was along the very road I walked that Christ overturned the tables and told them not to change money in God's house (Mt. 21:12; Mk 11:15; Jn 2:15). This is where it was done! Wow!
It is was a very spiritual experience for me to visit the steps ascending to the Temple Mount. As we were sitting there discussing the Temple and reading Scripture I felt as if this might have been something like what Christ and the disciples did back in the 1st Century. It was common for Rabbi's to teach their disciples on those steps so Christ probably taught his students there as well. I bet Peter, Matthew, and the rest sat on those very steps listening to truths directly from the mouth of God. Also, there is speculation that the Holy Spirit descended on mankind on Pentecost there. I thought back to Pentecost so many years ago and imagined what it might have been like. The fact that the first time this part of the Trinity entered into man might be right where we were sitting almost brought tears to my eyes. Check out Acts ch. 1-2 for this one.
By far the most spiritual part of our field study was visiting the sites of Christ’s miracles. We visited two sites where the Son of God performed miraculous healings. It is difficult to imagine what it must have been like to see those sorts of things but being at the very place where they occurred was awesome! Visiting the Pools of Bethesda (Jn. 5) and the Pool of Siloam (Jn. 9) where Christ healed a lame man and a blind man made me think about the miraculous spiritual healing that has occurred in my own life. There have been times in my life where I was spiritually blind like the man at the Pool of Siloam and there have been times where I have been spiritually lame like the man by the Pools of Bethesda. Yet, like both men Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God has healed me! To visit these Holy Sites caused me to really reflect upon the changes that God performed on my own soul. It was quite an experience. The very fact that the Son of God tread those very stones that I was standing upon was very powerful.
The last part of our field study was a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the faith of all Christians becomes real and tangible. It was here that I learned something very interesting. Apparently Church Tradition has it that the Garden of Eden was actually in Jerusalem (it is interesting to note that the Rabbincal Sages also teach the very same thing). So, Tradition has it that Calvary-"the Place of the Skull"-where our Lord was crucified was called that for two reasons. The first reason is because the rocky outcrop outside the city walls actually looked like a skull. The second reason is because the skull of Adam (from Adam and Eve infamy) was actually beneath that rock. Now, whether you believe this literally or take it metaphorically it is still a very powerful teaching because the spiritual truth that lies behind it is very important. The place where God placed man to live and commune with him was the place where the Son of God died for mankind. Life comes full circle! The very Word of God who created man and placed him in the Garden died for that man and his descendents at the very place! The sin which had been passed along like a disease among humans was borne in the Garden and was defeated at the very same place. It couldn't have been any other way. The only perfect sacrifice that could be sufficient for mankind would be the very Word of God who created man to sacrifice himself...at the exact place he created them! There is a picture as you come down the stairs from Calvary which captures this teaching very well. It shows Christ being crucified on Calvary and deep in the ground, right beneath the Cross, is the skull of Adam. What this portrays is that Christ completely defeated sin upon the Cross! Sin is no more! Death is no more! The disease of Adam has been cured! We are forgiven! This is a very beautiful thing. Because of this teaching there is a small chapel beneath Calvary called "Adam's Grotto" (hence the title of this blog entry) and you can see the base of the rock Christ was crucified upon and attempt to understand the full mystery of what occured there. It is difficult to fully grasp what happened that day on Calvary but I think that after learning about "Adam's Grotto" I came one step closer to a fuller understanding of God's love for man. His love is all enveloping and bigger than we can ever hope to grasp; all we can do is thank him for it.

The World is Flat

Can I share with you how I discovered that the world is flat? The first time I realized it was when I read Tom Friedman's book "The World is Flat" which everyone who is alive today ought to read. He proposes the idea that the world is now flat because of technology and that essentially the playing field has been leveled everywhere (I can't explain more...just read the book!). However, I didn't completely believe him. I figured that there were certainly places in the world that have not been touched by western consumerism/materialism. I figured that a place like Jerusalem would be untouched by western thought. I figured that a place where religion is life would be untouched by by the flat world. That was until a few nights ago. I was relaxing with some friends an a little sidewalk cafe in west Jerusalem just a half-mile outside the Old City. As I was looking up at the stars imaging that Christ looked at that same sky while he was incarnate, what did I hear but "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen playing in a bar down the street. Then Beyonce started playing in another cafe and I happened to look up on the TV and saw Justin Timberlake dancing on MTV! I could have been in America for all i knew! The only difference was that everyone around me spoke a different language and was wearing a Kippah. Other than that it could have been a bar or club in the U.S....how sad! The world truly is flat and there is nothing we can do about it! Don't get me wrong I think some things about a flat world are very good...but let's face it it is a very sad thing when a place loses it's own culture and turns western because of the flat world...not everything about the western world is good! It was at that point in time when I decided that I would spend as little time as possible in the cafe scene in west Jerusalem and as much time as possible experiencing the culture in the Old City and elsewhere in Israel. Other than that realization life has been going quite well for me in the Holy Lands. This past week has been very exciting as I have been exploring the city on my own and also with friends, really trying to get a grasp on it's layout. I have gotten many more opportunities to spend time with Arab's in the Old City which has been great. I even got an excellent opportunity to practice some apologetics with my new Moslem friends. I had the great honor of explaining the Trinity to them (they didn't get it at all..."one is essence three in persons"-they told me that wasn't logical) and defending the deity of Christ to them (they didn't believe me at all..."how can Christ be both God and man" they said "when he died the whole world would have gone to chaos"). It is quite tough defending Christianity to them because Islam is their life and therefore they defend it very well. I have taken classes on evangelism and such but nothing in those courses has prepared me for conversations such as these. It was still awesome though! The fact that God has given me a sinner the opportunity to defend him and the Gospel is something I don't deserve in the least and yet, even when I do it very poorly, he still allows me to do it. I am very grateful for these chances because I think they will help me grow in my faith. The toughest part about it is that the Moslems believe that Judaism and Christianity are right...but that Islam is the fulfillment of Christianity in the same way that Christianity was the fulfillment of Judaism so they don't completely disagree with me but they simply add more (although they don't believe in the crucifixion which doesn't make sense at all). The conversations have been interesting to say the least...I actually ended up giving my Bible to one fellow who was trying to evangelize to me, so perhaps he will read about the Gospel and realize Christ is God and make a change of lifestyle...we shall see. We generally end our conversations with me saying "well I have my core beliefs, namely that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we are probably going to have to agree to disagree, but the conversation has been excellent." Another interesting thing I learned was about the Arab culture. I was grilling one of my friends about his cultural practices and we ended up talking about dating procedures in Arabic culture. Apparently, you generally only marry your relatives (cousins, second cousins, etc.) so, the idea is that if you see one of them you find attractive you send your mother to talk to her and see if she (your cousin) would like to sit down and talk with you. If she says yes then you talk a few times...then get engaged...and a few months later you get married. Talk about different! I asked him if the girl could have her dad ask the boy out...NO THAT IS UNHEARD OF! I found it interesting. Oh yea, and they whole family lives together too...like aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces...all in the same house so I am not sure how all that works because wouldn't you already be living with you cousins? So do you like see them in the hall at home and then have your mom ask them out? (I didn't ask him that!) Interesting though. Well that is just a bit of what has been going on in my life. Classes are going well as well...one of my professors is an orthodox Jewish Rabbi so he is coming from a completely different set of assumptions that I am and it is cool. Today is a day off before a huge 11 hour field study of Old and New Testament Jerusalem tomorrow. I am considering going to the Mediterranean for the day to relax on the beach but we'll see.
Shalom
Oh and for some reason I can't figure out how to upload pictures...I did it before yet now it isn't working but I will try to get some up soon! Forgive me.

Greetings from Jerusalem!

As you all can see from the title of this "blog" I arrived in Jerusalem safe and sound! I landed in Tel Aviv about 10 AM EST so I had just had my morning coffee on the plane and was ready to go for the day. Unfortunately for my body it was 5 PM in Israel so needless to say I hardly slept that night but I got into the groove of things by Sunday morning. My first weekend in Jerusalem was absolutely astounding and I can't believe I actually have three months here! The sad part is I realize that even if I spent three months only in the city of Jerusalem I would never have near enough time to see everything and yet I will be traveling all over Israel, Jordan, and Egypt with my classes so I will not even experience a small bit of Israel. However, I feel like I got a good start seeing some pretty cool things this weekend of which I will only discuss a few highlights. Sunday morning I decided that I would go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to worship the Holy Trinity. It was quite an experience! There are many chapels in the church and also Christ's tomb, the rock he was crucified upon, and the stone slab on which he was laid (granted this is all speculation and such things as the slab probably are not original but the places are almost certainly accurate). As soon as I entered the church I could hear all the different groups chanting and singing unto Christ the Lord and it was a very moving experience! I worshipped amoung either the Greek or Armenian Orthodox for a bit (it is hard to say exactly whom since I didn't understand the language one bit). Then I wandered around the church making homage at the various Holy Sites. Eventually, a woman worshipping with the Coptics at the Tomb of Christ came and offered me some Holy Bread which I accepted and she showed me around and invited me to join a procession this Wednesday where the Greeks will carry an ancient Russian icon of Mary across the Old City of Jerusalem...perhaps I will go. Later on Sunday we had our first field study in one of my classes. As a class we walked around the Old City (the "Old City" is the walled city from Suleman the Magnificant in the 16th century but inside are thousands of years of history) for many hours learning about the different areas of Jerusalem. The city is absolutely astounding and is basically one big chunk of history. As we walked along the narrow alleyways we stepped on some stones from the 4th century AD...perhaps Eusebius or Athanasius walked on these very stones during their lives! Eventually we came to a road from the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian called the "Cardo Maximus." It was astounding! As we walked through the city it was amazing to think about the millions of historical and religious figures who touched the items I was touching! We also saw the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall which were amazing as well. Anyways, I am sure I have said enough about that. Another item of interest is the hospitality of the Palestinians here. I spent quite a bit of time this morning and afternoon wandering around the Old City attempting to get a grasp at its layout (you must understand it is a whole bunch of narrow roads and alleyways). As I was walking I got invited into a shop by a fellow named "Nile." He invited me in for a cup of coffee (which was delicious I must say...very thick Turkish coffee) and we talked religion and other such things for a while. Later in the afternoon I met a fellow name "Mati" and we had some tea and discussed Israeli politics! They treated me as a long-time friend it was quite astounding, nothing like the U.S. I must admit I had heard about Arab hospitality but it is truly great to actually experience. I think that us Americans ought to adopt the Arab practice of hospitality to everyone...it is really quite nice to be treated like a long-time friend by someone you just met! Well, I have said enough for today...I hope I didn't bore anyone too much! Overall I am having a great time in Jerusalem so far...the fellow riding next to me on the flight over told me Israel is a "magical place" and I am beginning to see what he meant. It has truly been great so far. As I am writing this I am looking out at an astounding view of west Jerusalem looking down into the Kidron Valley as the sun sets behind me. Shalom, my friends, shalom.