The Cyber Kazbá

Being the procrastinator that I am, I put off everything that is important. This would include things pertaining to my wedding. Particularly the legal issues that surround it. Coming from a foreign land it isn't as easy to line up all the legal paperwork as it would be doing it in the homeland. So about 5 weeks before the wedding I find out that I need a special piece of paperwork called an apostille. This is a legal certification that attaches to the birth certificate (BC) and certifies it as legal document. I suppose to make sure there aren't any fake BCs going around.

The problem was that I had my BC but could only get the apostille in the USA. After some help from the family I found out I could just mail it in and the Secretary of State would mail it back to me. No problem right? I just send in my BC and get it back in about 2 weeks time leaving me 3 weeks of breathing room. Well... there was a problem. I sent my BC and it never arrived!

Now of course I am getting nervous because I can't married without this document. So if I don't figure it out soon we have a serious problem on our hands. Also, I heard a very interesting story that occurred in this country that raised my suspicion about what may have happened to my BC. Here is the story:

My friend (lets call him Andy) who is American and has been living in CZ for about 3 years. One night while he was on a tram, he gets jumped and three burly dudes who take his bag containing his passport. Meanwhile, my friend has another business partner/friend (lets call him John) who is actually quite wealthy and conducting some serious business here in CZ. John was awaiting a large sum of money being transferred from Canada. The bank was giving him the runaround and telling him that the transferred never cleared. He raises a big complaint because the money should be there. Well, after about 3 weeks the man gets arrested.

Here's where the story gets weird. My friend Andy goes to the US embassy to renew his passport. He is speaking with the lady behind the counter and going through the process, and he sees his (Andy's) passport sitting there next to the woman! On top of that the woman refuses the give him a new passport! As he (Andy) is leaving she smiles and slides through the window John's passport (the man who is now in jail).

Long story short, Andy spent 3 months in CZ without a passport until one day the US ambassador himself picks up Andy from his flat and police escorts him back to the embassy and issues him a new passport. Shortly after John is released from Jail, the ambassador retires, and the bank dealing with John goes down.

So what is happening with my BC? Here is how my friend "Andy" responded when he heard my BC has gone missing:
"Due to increased conspiracies involving Czech Republic, you are now officially named Boris Rusky and you have 5 mortgages 3 cars 2 business leases and 5 bankrupt hotdog stands in your name. If i were you i would lay low til the wedding!"

This had me laughing, albeit a nervous laugh.

The Good news is my mom being the hero mom that she is runs all over the Twin Cities Metro Area, gets a new BC, goes the Secretary of State's office, receives the apostille and sends it to me. Shortly after I receive it, get it translated and head to the government office. All goes smoothly there and my wedding is saved! :)

Ps. it has been approx. 22 days since I sent my BC and still hasn't arrived in USA

So I went to my heart doctor again this last week. I have to say its a huge blessing to be in a country with universal health care. I paid less than $2 for what usually costs around $1,000 in US. I have an English speaking doctor who is under a team of cardiologists who are world renown.

Since this was only my second visit to this doctor I think she is still in the get to know the patient stage. And with the complexity of my condition and its long history (hallelujah) there is still a lot for her to go over. But upon my recent echo cardiogram she spotted something unusual. Now, when I say unusual I don't mean like an unusual cancerous growth, I mean unusual in a good way.

She said to me, "Now I know you don't have any blood going to your left lung, but I do see a possible connection that we could pursue."

I said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, there seems to be some sort of connection that would possibly bring blood to that side."

I said, "My doctor's tried something back in 1995 but it was unsuccessful. Are you seeing the same thing?"

"Not sure, but from what I see there is something definitely there. I'm going to bring this to my surgeon team to have a look."

Basically what she told me then is that, first the team will have a meeting to discuss what she is seeing. If they agree with her findings we may proceed with a catherization to get a closer look at the situation. If all goes as it seems we could proceed then with a surgery. Perhaps for the first time in my life I would use both lungs!

She told me that many of her colleagues are in and out of the office so an answer probably won't come until the end of August. But something to be praying about anyway. Could be nothing, could be something amazing!

Apart from this she said that basically nothing has changed since my last check-up, which is good. I feel good and am in good health. Praise the Lord!

So most people who read this (who am I kidding I have one reader) know that I am in the process of planning a wedding. Now usually this is a time where the couple gets their first glimpse of what the other is like in a pressure situation. This is a time of stress, planning, budgeting, shopping and organizing.

Now I know that most people view planning a wedding as a big project (and an expensive one!); imagine doing it in a foreign country! Not only is the coordination a bit more difficult because of the language barrier but there is also a balance of keeping traditions of the culture. Americans already have their share of the wedding traditions and can you imagine compounding those with another set of cultural traditions? Obviously it's not possible to do all the traditions at the same event, so some traditions have to be left out. For example groom's dinner and wedding rehearsal are unheard of here and these probably wont be a part of our big event. Also bridal showers are a foreign concept so despite Ola's best wishes I just don't see her bridesmaids getting it together.

Then there those cultural things that we evaluate and think OK we are not doing that because we can do this instead! Example, American weddings have usually between 150 and 300 people. When they have the reception, they serve a "meal" and when you leave the wedding you are probably starving and stop at McDonald's on your way home. In Czech their typical weddings have between 30 and 60 people. There is also a special meal that is served to the immediate family (sometimes to everyone depending on the size). This meal is supposed to be an intimate time for the families to be together after the ceremony to celebrate the union. And we are talking FOOD people! Not some skimpy, mass produced, semi-warm food, but a four course elegantly prepared meal that is sure to fill you up. And if that isn't enough food, there is usually an extended party/reception with dancing where they serve lots of food too throughout the night.

So for our wedding we had a bit of a dilemma. We want to invite around 60 people total (that is assuming that most Americans won't make it). But we don't want all the people to come to the family meal, yet we want everyone to come to the ceremony. I suggested to have the meal before the ceremony and I guess that was a ridiculous idea... So we are having the ceremony and reception in two different places. Everyone is invited to the ceremony, then the immediate family will travel to the reception place and have the traditional meal. After that the rest of the people will come later for the Party!!!

Now we get to the rings. And this is where I become a little ignorant. I thought that I was through with rings. You see I already got the beautiful diamond engagement ring, isn't that enough? I knew that I would eventually need a ring, but lets be hones I would be fine with a lifesaver as long as it stayed on my finger. But apparently we were not through with rings as the woman also wears not just an engagement ring but a wedding ring too!

As some of you know the diamond industry really isn't one of the burgeoning trades in the Czech Republic. The diamonds here seem to be lacking in quality, selection and price (way too expensive!) So when I got the engagement ring I actually bought it in London. When I realized that there was another ring involved I was a little nervous about buying another diamond... But Ola seemed be looking for something more simple- bless her heart.

We went to the a few places and it seemed that either the shop assistants didn't want to help us or worse they were rude! There was a time when Ola asked to see a set a diamonds under the glass and the sales person said, "Oh? But those are brilliant diamonds." As if there was no way we could ever even think about buying one. Ola, with as much smugness as she could muster replied, "I know, and so is this one." Pointing to the ring on her finger. Needless to say Ola was quite offended and we left rather quickly. Then one day we stumble into a shop and the lady was quite nice and even spoke English. She must have been a good salesperson because we left the shop after we placed orders for our rings. The salesperson said that Ola got a Ferrari ring, because its not one that you should be driving just anywhere. Mine will be a simple stainless steel band, its more like a KIA ring or something I guess. Needless to say we are both excited the time is getting closer and details such as these are wrapping up.

Ok so usually I write theological ponderings on this blog and for the most part I have really enjoyed it. But to be honest I know I do a terrible job at keeping it up. Part of it is that I'm busy and the other part is that it takes a lot of thinking and concentration to punch out one of my ideas. Not that they're so great but lately it has seemed like a lot of work to put one forth. Plus when no one comments it's a little demotivating. So I have moved my theological thoughts to a differnet blog where I won't be the sole author. Feel free to check it out, it's under the fellow bloggers list Concert of Thought. There is already a post there so enjoy!

So this blog will then become my way to update and entertain those who are curious about my life here in Czech Republic. I try to keep in touch with people as best I can and am not the best at it. Often times when I do communicate with them I leave out many aspects of life here in Czech. So I will do my best to try to update this blog with quips and updates from my expereince here.

Unlike in USA, I rely heavily on public transportation to get around. Not using public transportation much before coming to Europe my adaption to this lifestyle wasn't always easy. I couldn't just leave and go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. I have to follow someone elses schedule; and forget about traveling anywhere far after 9:00 pm. You lose control to be on time as you have to hope that your bus or train arrives on time.

Sometimes this can drive me up the wall. Like today, we got up at 5:45 in the morning so we could catch a bus from Strakonice to Prague. We really wanted/needed to go to church so we could give some "homework" (or as I like to call it our 'relationship investment project') to the pastor who is giving us premarital counseling. The bus was scheduled to leave at 6:25 and the next bus was leaving at 10:00 am much too late to make it to church.

So, Ola's mom, bless her heart, woke up at the crack of dawn just to drive us to the bus station. When we arrived we are shocked that there is in fact a line of people already waiting for the bus.

Now it's quite common for lines to form waiting for the bus to Prague. In fact there have been many times when the bus was so full that I had to stand all the way there.... 90 minutes standing in a bus aisle is not fun.

But this morning there was a line, but not too many people, nonetheless I was quite shocked to see anyone there. So we waited... then we waited and waited some more. 7:00 still no bus. One by one the line dwindled down until it was just us. By that time we resigned our fate to going back home and getting some more much needed sleep. We called Ola's mom and she was ready to come pick us up. Just as the phone lines disconnected the bus came around the corner. There were floods in the surrounding cities and that caused the delay.

On top of all that can go wrong with public trasnport there is also a language barrier that I must overcome if I am to travel alone. Usually it's ok unless things don't go according to the plan. One of my favorite moments was when I was traveling alone to a town outside of Prague alone becuase of work. I boarded the bus and the told the driver where I needed to go and paid my fee. The bus driver gave me back double the change I was supposed to get, except I didn't realize until I sat down (near the back of the bus). Having my conscience pricked because I noticed the error so early I was compelled to go up there but a bit nervous as to how to explain in broken czech what happened. I was a little nervous how the driver would react if I just stuck money into his face again.

But I did and even though I don't understand czech that great I couldn't believe what I heard! Here is my translation of what happened:

Me: Excuse me sir, I have too much change .

Bus Driver: Huh, (seeing the money) Aha, ok good! I can see you're not a czech and you're not black, so that's great. Thank you very much!

Finally I am going to take a crack at this; though I have to warn you that it may not be all worth all that build up.

For some time I have begun to re-examine the Christian faith and doctrines in many new and different ways. When I was in college studying theology I began my studies thinking that I had my beliefs pretty much figured out. Going to college was a way for me to just prove to everyone else that I knew what I was talking about. Little did I know that when I left college I had nearly abandon all theological systems I previously held to. I went through another similar change when I went through grad school and have never really been able to shake the trend since. I am constantly being challenged theologically to examine and re-examine what I truly believe and consequently how do those beliefs affect what I do.

One theological perspective that has kept with me, until as of late, has been the doctrine of the crucifixion. Simply, Why did Jesus die on the cross? For most of my life I think I would have given the answer: Jesus came to earth and died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for my sins. Because I have sinned, fallen away from God and am incapable of bringing myself in a right relationship to Him, Jesus' blood sacrifice covers my sin and restores my relationship with God. Jesus substituted himself on the cross in my place because I deserved death and punishment. Because of Jesus' work on the cross I now have two choices: I can accept his sacrifice and he can pay for my sins, or I can reject this sacrifice and choose to pay for my own sins through eternal death and punishment.

So how did I do? Sounds pretty good? I left out some biblical reference but for the most part this is how I looked at the crucifixion; in academia they call this penal substitution atonement. This view I believed is very widely held in most parts of evangelicalism. It is this view that we usual use to evangelize and how most of us were converted. This view I believe is very accurate and true...in so far as it goes.

This view I would argue is a very narrow look at the work of Christ. It fits really nicely into our Western individualistic worldviews, where we (or I) fall into the center of our own universe. Jesus came for ME! :) The consequences of this view have turned many people's faith into a me and Jesus type of faith. Well, isn't that convenient that Jesus came just for me, I wonder what else He is doing just for me? Unfortunately the Me and my personal Jesus faith tends to change Jesus into looking like us instead of the other way around.

What about he bigger picture? Are there any cosmic reasons for Jesus' death?

When I was in theology class and my teacher was introducing theological views of the atonement one view always seemed a bit absurd. It was the ransom view of the atonement. It is the idea that earth in a sense no longer belonged to God. Through man's destructive choices he was leading the world to hell (Literally!!), and consequently into the hands of the devil. Somewhere along the line the ownership of the earth had changed hands. Therefore, in order to get the earth back Jesus had to come and offer himself as a ransom exchange for the world.

The reason that I thought it ridiculous at first is, if I'm honest, it kinda left me out of the picture. Also, I found it absurd that God ever lost ownership of the world, his most prized creation. How could an all powerful God let such a thing happen? It's impossible! Right?

Well, looking at the Bible and looking at reality, I started to grasp the possibility that indeed the ownership of the world had changed ownership. Over and over the Bible has names for Satan that show that this has happened: He is the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11); he is the ruler of the air (eph. 2:2); He is god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4); the power of this dark world (Eph. 6:12) etc. Also during Jesus' temptation in the desert, the devil offered all the kingdoms of the earth to Jesus. Why? Because they were his to give! :-O

Also we have other biblical evidence that points to saying that this was what Jesus was doing on the cross: 1 John 3:8 says, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (NASB). The idea of ransom is in several passages regarding Jesus' death: Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Tim. 2:6; 2 Peter 2:1. There is also a beautiful picture of this in Revelation chapter 5; when the Lamb who was slain is the only one worthy to open the scroll with seven seals (the deed to the earth).

So if this has some truth to it what does it all mean? Well first of all the atonement has a much broader scope than just me and my sins. It is the defining moment of the beginning of the end. The kingdom of this earth no longer has dominion as it shrinks back against the kingdom of God. The work of the cross was not just about me and my sins, or even us and our sins, but rather the reconciliation of all of creation back to God. It thus becomes the mission of the followers of Jesus to continue the work of the cross by taking part in reconciling the world.

How is this done? Well thankfully we have the life Jesus as a perfect model. Everything he did was an act against the devil and furthering the kingdom of God: healing the sick, freeing the enslaved, opening he eyes of the blind, and forgiving sin. Calvary was the climax of all that Jesus did as he sacrificially gave everything in order to restore what he loved so much.

It is usually against my habit to tackle such a publicly hot topic. This is because I would like to avoid meaningless arguments that follow such controversial topics. But I read an article earlier this week in the recent edition of Newsweek. Anyway this article got me thinking that there must be a better way to approach the issue.

As such hot, political and religious topics go, there are usually very strong opinions on each side of the spectrum. Usually, and sadly, neither side gives a rip what the other side thinks, says or does; unless it's "offensive" then the other side attacks. So let me lay some ground rules out first so that we can have a decent civilized conversation and not a barbaric name calling argument. Ground rule #1 I am speaking form 'within' the church and what I have to say is directed inward not necessarily outward. I believe when we project our ideas and opinions upon the 'opposing' camp this is were a discussion becomes very unproductive. #2. I think I have some credibility to speak 'within' the church because not only have I grown up in the church but I also hold a degree in Biblical Theology and another in Biblical Exegesis. That being said I know that everything I say is not automatically right, but I feel it should be respected. #3 Feel free to agree or disagree with anything but please don't be offensive and don't try to persuade others that are not in your ideological camp. It never works.

So with that being said, I would like to tackle two major issues. The first is wether or not the Bible indeed shows that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination in God's eyes. The second point will discuss what to do about homosexual marriage.


Believe it or not deciding wether or not the Bible rejects homosexuality as lifestyle is not as easy as it sounds. Many are quick to point out the Levitical passages that state quite explicit that homosexual sex is an abomination to God (Lev. 18:22; 20:13). It should be that easy and end of story, however these texts are couched with a lot of laws that Christian no long heed; to so many think this law is much like the rest. ( I disagree and think this is oversimplification, please read my blog entry Law collections and Law codes for my explanation on how to interpret the OT Law) For example the 20:13 verse says the sinners should be executed and not many people are even willing to go that far! So if we can't use the Leviticus passages what can we use?

The Genesis story is a beautiful example to show how the Bible intends humanity to function. As the common phrase states: It was Adam and EVE not Adam and STEVE! But all joking aside, Eve was created to be a helper to Adam and some better translations will say companion. Woman was specifically designed to be compatible with Man. The Divine blessing to be fruitful and multiply further highlights this point that man and woman are intended to be together to populate and care for the earth. Also the statement that Man will leave his father and be joined to his wife solidifies the bIblical idea of marriage between a man and a women.

The Genesis passage does a good job at outlining the intended structure of family but falls to outright restrict homosexual marriage. After the fall things on earth fell apart and nothing was the way it was intended to be. Adam and Eve stand as a good standard, but is there room for alternatives?

Lets look at another Genesis passage Sodom and Gomorrah. Here we have men begging to sleep with the men in Lot's house. Shortly after, the city is destroyed. Many deduce that because of the cities homosexual acts the city is utterly destroyed. However, some have questioned this and wonder if the men are being punished because they were homosexuals or because they were displaying other sexually inexcusable behavior such as rape. Though I understand this point of view I think it clearly misunderstands the text. The men were freely offered women for their sexual appetites and they rudely turned it down for the men. However it is still not a closed case as this story is in the OT and we are not sure if such stories are still applicable (I think they are but I am playing along).

So we go to the NT. Many will quickly point out that Jesus said nothing about homosexual behavior and this is true. In fact I think Jesus would show love if/when he encountered a homosexual. So our focus then turns to Paul. In my opinion Paul only addresses homosexuality once in all of his writings. (I believe 1 cor. 6:9-11 and 1 Tim 1:9-10 are too obscure and the greek isn't clear enough to show that he intended to include homosexuals in these lists of vices). So the only passage is Romans 1. In this passage Paul is outlining what the result is of when man rejects God. vv. 24-27 24 "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

This passage is unique because it includes both women and men in homosexual acts. Clearly here homosexuality is shown to a sin right? Well some say that Paul is referring to specific Men the Romans would be familiar with i.e. the Roman caesars who were men of renown immorality ranging from murder to all kinds of twisted sexual acts.

Though the idea of a caesar allusion is very intriguing to me in this passage it still doesn't nullify Paul's universal statements all throughout chapter one. Yes the Caesars might be a nice test case but Paul's words apply to everyone. The result of turning form God is a corrupt life, and a corrupt life can lead to homosexuality.

Ok so believe it or not these are basically all the texts that deal with homosexuality. However, I don't think it is enough to proof text through the bible and establish some sort of concrete truth. Good biblical theology seeks to see the Bible in it's literary and theological whole. Though I raised many objections that people commonly bring up against the proof text I still think that biblical harmony reaches a conclusion that homosexuality is a something that was never intended to happen in human nature. The institute of marriage was established to create fruitful families that cover and care for the earth. The principals that we can gather from such an outdated text (being sarcastic) like the OT are clear that Man is not to lay with another man, nor his he to lay with an ox, or his daughter etc. Furthermore Paul's statements in Romans 1 run parallel with all other mentions of homosexuality in the Bible and that is that homosexuality is sin the result of a fallen human.

So now if we agree that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, what do we do with the proposition of homosexual marriage. Well one obvious answer is to reject it! But such close mindedness leads us sometimes in the wrong direction. I want to point to a passage in Paul that deals closely with how those within the church should respond to sexual immorality outside the church.

See 1 Cor 5:12-13 Paul tells his readers not to associate with people who are sexually immoral. He explicitly explains though that this does not include those in the 'world' (often times Paul's word for those who are in the flesh i.e. those outside the church). He says (vv 12-13): "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the Church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside."

How can we who are within the church demand a biblical lifestyle from those outside the church? Really the movement to homosexual marriages should not come as a surprise at all. Of course fallen humans are going to fall into it, did not Paul tell us in Romans 1?

I am not ever going to tell you how to vote politically, and certainly as a citizen of your state you have every right to vote how you wish; however I think there will be a time soon when homosexual marriage will be more or less universally accepted (in terms of state law). And when this happens We as Christians must be prepared to deal with an homosexually married couple.

The homosexual topic I believe is so heated because the religious people like to pick out sins that they don't often battle and are clear to see. Really the legalization of homosexual marriages movement is not much different than the materialism movement that is choking out America as we speak. Yet you don't see any picket marches against Wal-mart!

We as Christians need to be extra cautious around such topics and be willing to show the radical love of Jesus in such situations. They should know us by our love not our picket lines and signs. We can't disengage ourselves from the culture; but rather engage ourselves in loving acts. Our war is not against the homosexuals, these are our friends, brothers, and sisters.

I live in a part of the world that never ceases to amaze me. When I lived back in the USA I never really got to taste and experience history. In fact one could argue that the US really has no history. We are a country that is just barely older than 230 years. I live near a structure was constructed when Christopher Columbus was wearing diapers! I got the opportunity to visit one of the vast amounts of cities that litter the countryside of CZ that is rich in history. We were in a town called Klatovy. It has a large square with a tall clock tower that is also next to a Jesuit church. Very near the square is an Archeacon church. This church was built in the 1200's! (pictured above)

I was standing and just observing this church and I got to thinking about Churches and religious art. The detail that was both on the inside and outside of this church was astounding. Almost glamourous. Before you walk in you are captivated at the details of the statues and the stories they tell. Inside is like a throne room as things are covered in gold and masterpiece paintings are placed all around. There is in fact, in the center of the chapel a painting of Mary that has been said to perform miracles.

I put this in contrast to the churches that are very common within American evangelicalism. Our churches resemble shopping malls. Which may or may not be a commentary on the influence of culture.... Sure our buildings are state of the art...but that is sometimes exactly what is missing...art!

So what am I getting at? First of all on a theological side of things I completely understand that a "church" is nothing more than a building. It's very inaccurate, in fact, to call it a church when, in fact, the people are the church and the "church" just so happens to be the place where they meet. However, since we go through so much to construct these multi-million dollar "churches" do we at all stop to think about how they should look?

Let me take a break for a second and talk about religious art. I know that many evangelical warning flags are already flapping in the wind at the mere mention of the idea. Often times we associate religious art with some sort of idolatry. People travel for miles to see a statue of Mary that is bleeding, tortillas with the likeness of the Virgin sell on e-bay for thousands of dollars etc. We see people weeping and clutching relics and it seems that the emphasis is on the object rather than the Creator. So religious art often gets a bad rep.

Let me try to re-define religious art a bit. In some cases, yes, it's true idol worship is happening. Yet in others, the iconic image is nothing but a window into the divine. The God of the Bible is a God who wants his people to search him out with all of their being; he has implored us to holistic worship. There are sights and sounds even smells and tastes that are outlined in the OT law. Even the first century church followed suit with things like the Lord's Supper, singing songs, and baptism. All forms of worship that bring together all the senses.

So now it all comes full circle. Are the structures that we find ourselves in on Sunday mornings designed to bring about this holistic form of worship. Is what we see, smell, taste and even feel create a window to the divine?

I know that some people will be creeped out, even offended, at pictures of Jesus or Mary or some other "image" in our sanctuary; but are there any depictions that might strike a cord with you? A thirteenth century chapel will do me just fine. :)