A renewed "Synagogue" in Turkey, but where have all the Jews Gone?

Outside of a ruined synagogue in Edirne

One of the largest concentrations of Jews in Turkey before 1914 was the city of Edirne, in north-western Turkey. The seating capacity of the synagogue: 800 persons.

Along came the horrors of two wars and the forced removal of some families. The original 25,000 Jewish people gradually left, some to Istanbul, others to Israel, USA, France and Canada.

Under the present government's attempt to improve relations with "minority groups", the building was restored to it's previous splendor and the opening day of prayers witnessed hundreds of Jews come for prayers.

Derelict synagogue before rebuilding in Edirne, Turkey

But, there are now no Jewish families left in Edirne so,  was the restoration of this building simply "window dressing" to say to the world, "Look at how well we treat minorities?"

When will Jewish families feel safe enough in Turkey to return in numbers large enough to have regular services in this wonderful, old building? The 20 pictures of the opening worship service are found here.

The Christian Faith has Produced Seven Revolutions in Human Life

Map of Chaldean and Persian Empires, about 500 BC

Professor Jim Papandrea, and Mike Aquilina believe that the Christian Faith has initiated Seven Great Changes, or "Revolutions" in human thinking. Their book is How Christianity Changed the World and can Change it Again.

1. God is a God of love. (This was completely new then, as it is now in many places.)

2. This impacted every sphere for individuals: the home, (and gender roles); work (laborers).

3. A new sense of "Community", since "religion" began to take a different course.

4. Building upon a Judaic foundation, the Christian faith introduced proselytism and the concept of all being bound together into "one faith".

5. The concept of religious liberty. Jim argues that the Edit of Milan in 313 AD is a religious document with far-reaching implications.

6. The Role of the State: God is separate from the state, with huge implications for governments and the development of democracy. Modern Constitutions, beginning with the USA Constitution 230 years ago, are social contracts that take God as governor out of the picture.

7. Human dignity, ( leading to views - and conflicts - on labor, family roles, euthanasia, abortion, and infanticide (practices common in the Roman Empire).

Jim believes that modern entertainment, especially focusing on violence and reality TV, which are a modern form of "humiliation", are taking us back to the concept of "entertainment" so widely spread in the Roman - Pre-Christian era and argues that the Christian concept of the dignity of each person is a powerful message for changing the future.

.

A summary is found, here

and the pod cast and YouTube links are at the bottom of the page.

10 Reasons Muslims have a hard time after immigrating

Another day comes to a close beside the Red Sea

Ten Reasons Muslims have a hard time after immigrating

1. Ethical: The Hollywood image of life is deep in the consciousness of Muslims as they arrive, wondering how they will live in such a 'sinful world'.

2. Misunderstanding: Western Liberal values are driven by the Enlightenment, 300 years ago, and new patterns of "freedom and individuality" are still emerging.

3. Individualism: Individualism in the west contrasts with a sense of community and solidarity in most of the 150 Muslim sects / divisions in the world, Sun'ni and Shi'a being the largest.

4. An Unfriendly society: The demands of urban life means there is little time left over for long chats, lunch hour breaks and visiting back and forth.

5. Language: The differences between English (or German, French, Swedish) and Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, or other major languages means that few immigrants become fluent in their new language.

6. Economic issues: Even if a person is well trained, they usually start on the bottom rung. Some immigrants do well; most suffer silently as they work long hours with low wages.

7. Opinions of the Grandparents: Relatives "back home" expect that their son or daughter will have instant success. They find it hard to believe that there would be obstacles to overcome, and that their child is not accepted as well "over there" as "back here at home".

Another flight ready for take off in Dubai, UAE

8. Depression and health issues: Depression may set in and it is hard to treat in a cross-cultural context, which means Muslims go further into their faith of Islam; Health issues may be difficult to explain, especially if a female Muslim can't find a doctor whom she respects.

9. Sense of belonging: Western Society is not pre-disposed to accept another person "because he is a friend of my brother's cousin". Respect in the West is earned through competence and status symbols, whereas "back home" everyone knew everyone else's business.

10. The Next Generation: Parents want their children to follow in their steps, especially in their religious faith, but the pull of the Western world on their sons and daughters is strong. Few realize how difficult this is on Muslim parents.

(Thanks to Emad Botros for this outline, a small portion of his insightful presentations.)
 

What gives atheists this sense of panic? Religion is flourishing...

The vocal fervour of today’s missionary atheism conceals a panic that religion is not only refusing to decline – but in fact flourishing. This article from "The Guardian" is worth keeping.

This is a heavy read, but very interesting if you want to know how the "Atheist - Non-Atheist Debate" is going . . . Read more. 

Iraq: "Is this the end of Christianity in Iraq?" - Excellent message of hope.

A painful question has no certain answer, but this article gives a different slant on what is happening in the Middle East, one that I hope you will find it helpful and hopeful.

This article is a few months old, but is still relevant. Read More.

Four Ways to view Muslims: Which one is easiest to relate to?

Men sharing tea in Biblical Pisidian Antioch, Turkey.

There are many sides to the debate raging across the West: 'What is the best way to view Muslims?"

Here is my summary of the various interpretations. See which one is most akin to your present world view point.

1. How to understand Muslims from the perspective 'of the Qur'an'.

2. How to understand Muslims from the perspective 'of the Media'.

3. How to understand Muslims from the perspective of 'Culture'.

4. How to understand Muslims from "God's Perspective'.

Which understanding most closely matches these words?

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the Kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.



Bedouin young men,cousins in desert tent, Wadi Rum, Jordan

"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following  its desires and thoughts.
"Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been save.

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

"For it is by grace that you have been saved - through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV)

(Thanks to Emad Botros for this outline, a small portion of his insightful presentations.)


 

The Wider Tragedy of Ebola in Sierra Leone

This is the season for harvest in Sierra Leone

Beyond the tragedy of sickness, orphans, ostracism, and agonizing deaths...

The outbreak, which began a year ago in March, occurred during the height of the farming season. Agriculture is roughly 58 percent of Sierra Leone's gross domestic product (GDP).

"This is the time rice farmers plant their rice fields and plantation (cocoa, coffee, etc.). The outbreak has not only abruptly halted these farming activities, but has also claimed the lives of farmers," Samuel Conteh said

What is the wider effect of the e-bola crisis in Sierra Leone? And in other nations?
Read More
 

After the 'adventures of youth' - what's the 'next adventure'?

Youth challenge and dare one another. "I dare you to...." and a person is considered a 'chicken' for not accepting the dare. Sometimes those adventures  are exciting: traveling to Europe; taking in Indonesia; climbing a mountain; going on a camping trip; learning to ski or a young man's first date.

Sometimes, though,  pranks turn sour: a Friday night with the boys results in a drunken driver hurting others; a romance goes off track;  a shoving match turns violent. Events often end up pitting youth against their parents.

Children in Cochabamba, Bolivia with Grace Garcia

What about 'adventure' in years after the clock ticks off 30, then 35 and then 40-years? The desire for 'living on the edge' or 'finding the limits' changes from adventures of self discovery to a new awareness of others, if we follow 'Kingdom living'.

'Kingdom living' brings about adventures that are far more interesting than those of youthful fancy.

Examples of "adult" adventures abound: Being able to build a school room for poor children in Nicaragua; adopting - and supporting - an orphan child half a world away; improving one's neighborhood; teaching new immigrants how to get around their new city; volunteering at church, at the local hospital or seniors' residence.

ALL of these and a thousand other opportunities await us as each day can - and does - bring us the adventures of what is going on in the lives of other people. The 'next adventure' is making a difference in the lives of others.

"Why is God Allowing so many Christians to die?" Denison Forum

Church in the heart of Cairo, Egypt

The following article comes from Jim Dennison, whose internet address is found here.

"Iraq was home to 1.5 million Christian
s just 10 years ago.  Their number is now under 150,000.  If the Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups continue their assault against believers, there may soon be no more Christians in Iraq. 

Why is God allowing his people to face such persecution?

Tom and JoAnn Doyle are longtime missionaries to the Middle East, and my very dear friends.  I pray every morning for their protection and ministry.  Tom's book, Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?, tells the incredible story of Muslims worldwide who are meeting Jesus in miraculous ways, including visions and dreams.  As a result of such miracles, more Muslims have come to Christ in the last 15 years than in the previous 15 centuries.

His new book, Killing Christians, tells the other side of the story.  Tom profiles eight Christians in the Middle East who are risking their lives to follow Jesus.  I began reading it last weekend and couldn't stop until I was done.  I urge you to  share it with anyone who needs encouragement to follow Jesus courageously.

Here are some examples of what you'll find: A believer smuggles Bibles into Somalia by hiding beneath decaying corpses in coffins.  A Christian in Syria, speaking to an underground church, says of their shared faith, "This will cost us our lives.  We will die for this."  He and his friends have already purchased a plot of ground in which to be buried when they are martyred.

In Baghdad, a Muslim comes to Christ through the kindness of an American soldier who shared his faith and gave him a Bible.  A Christian in Saudi Arabia struggles to understand why her friend Mina was martyred while she was miraculously spared.  She concludes: "Too often, even Christians forget that our faith is not primarily for this life.  It is for the life to come.  We who are still here are the ones who have been left behind.  Our real life has not even begun, but for martyrs like Mina, it has."

A believer in Alexandria, Egypt who was spared by miraculous intervention knows that "Jesus left me here to lift Him up in Alexandria.  It's as simple as that.  I have no other purpose."  He knows he will probably be martyred one day unless he bows to Islam, but testifies: "I will never bow down but to Jesus."

Why does God allow such persecution of his people?  Tom notes that the threat of persecution for Western Christians is virtually nonexistent, but church growth in America has leveled off in recent decades while the Kingdom is growing in spectacular ways across the non-Western world.  His conclusion: "Jesus' message of love and reconciliation thrives in a climate where hostility, danger, and martyrdom are present.  Persecution and the spread of the gospel are as inseparable as identical twins.  Suffering propels the growth of Jesus movements around the world."

Tom closes by asking us two questions: Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?  Are you willing to die for Jesus?  He notes: "For you as a believer—if you answer 'yes' to the two questions—this is a spiritual game changer.  Everything will be different now."

How would you answer his questions today?"

The Girl with the Apples - a heart warming story.

The Girl With The Apples

 

 August 1942. Piotrkow, Poland

 

The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square. Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated.

 

'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me, 'don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen.

 'I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker. An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, and then asked my age.

 

'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood. My mother was motioned to the right with the other women, children, sick and elderly people. I whispered to Isidore, 'Why?' He didn't answer. I ran to Mama's side and said I wanted to stay with her. 'No, 'she said sternly' Get away. Don't be a nuisance. Go with your brothers.'

 

She had never spoken so harshly before. But I understood: She was protecting me. She loved me so much that, just this once, she pretended not to. It was the last I ever saw of her.

 

My brothers and I were transported in a cattle car to Germany. We arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp one night later and were led into a crowded barrack. The next day, we were issued uniforms and identification numbers. 'Don't call me Herman anymore,' I said to my brothers. 'Call me 94983.'

 

I was put to work in the camp's crematorium, loading the dead into a hand-cranked elevator. I, too, felt dead. Hardened, I had become a number. Soon, my brothers and I were sent to Schlieben, one of Buchenwald 's sub-camps near Berlin.

 

One morning I thought I heard my mother's voice. 'Son,' she said softly but clearly, I am going to send you an angel.' Then I woke up. Just a dream. A beautiful dream. But in this place there could be no angels. There was only work. And hunger. And fear.

 

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbedwire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone. On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree. I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German. 'Do you have something to eat?'

 

She didn't understand. I inched closer to the fence and repeated the question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes, I saw life. She pulled an apple from her woollen jacket and threw it over the fence.

 

I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, 'I'll see you tomorrow.' I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day. She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or, better yet, an apple. We didn't dare speak or linger. To be caught would mean death for us both.

 

I didn't know anything about her, just a kind farm girl, except that she understood Polish. What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me? Hope was in such short supply, and this girl on the other side of the fence gave me some, as nourishing in its way as the bread and apples.

 

Nearly seven months later, my brothers and I were crammed into a coal car and shipped to Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia . 'Don't return,' I told the girl that day. 'We're leaving.' I turned toward the barracks and didn't look back, didn't even say good-bye to the little girl whose name I'd never learned, the girl with the apples.

 

We were in Theresienstadt for three months. The war was winding down and Allied forces were closing in, yet my fate seemed sealed. On May 10, 1945, I was scheduled to die in the gas chamber at 10:00am. In the quiet of dawn, I tried to prepare myself. So many times death seemed ready to claim me, but somehow I'd survived. Now, it was over. I thought of my parents. At least, I thought, we will be reunited.

 

But at 8am there was a commotion. I heard shouts, and saw people running every which way through camp. I caught up with my brothers. Russian troops had liberated the camp! The gates swung open. Everyone was running, so I did too. Amazingly, all of my brothers had survived; I'm not sure how. But I knew that the girl with the apples had been the key to my survival.

 

In a place where evil seemed triumphant, one person's goodness had saved my life, had given me hope in a place where there was none. My mother had promised to send me an angel, and the angel had come.

 

Eventually I made my way to England where I was sponsored by a Jewish charity, put up in a hostel with other boys who had survived the Holocaust and trained in electronics. Then I came to America, where my brother Sam had already moved. I served in the US Army during the Korean War, and returned to New York City after two years.

 

By August 1957 I'd opened my own electronics repair shop. I was starting to settle in. One day, my friend Sid who I knew from England called me. I've got a date. She's got a Polish friend. Let's double date.' A blind date? Nah, that wasn't for me. But Sid kept pestering me, and a few days later we headed up to the Bronx to pick up his date and her friend Roma.

 

I had to admit, for a blind date this wasn't so bad. Roma was a nurse at a Bronx hospital. She was kind and smart. Beautiful, too, with swirling brown curls and green, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life. The four of us drove out to Coney Island. Roma was easy to talk to, easy to be with. Turned out she was wary of blind dates too!

 

We were both just doing our friends a favour. We took a stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the salty Atlantic breeze, and then had dinner by the shore. I couldn't remember having a better time. We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat.

 

As European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had been left unsaid between us. She broached the subject, 'Where were you,' she asked softly, 'during the war?' 'The camps,' I said. The terrible memories still vivid, the irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.

 

She nodded. 'My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin,' she told me. 'My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers.' I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion. And yet here we were both survivors, in a new world.

 

'There was a camp next to the farm.' Roma continued. 'I saw a boy there and I would throw him apples every day.' What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy. 'What did he look like?' I asked.

 

'He was tall, skinny, and hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months.' My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be.'Did he tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?'

 

Roma looked at me in amazement. 'Yes!'

 

'That was me!' I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions. I couldn't believe it! My angel. 'I'm not letting you go.' I said to Roma. And in the back of the car on that blind date, I proposed to her. I didn't want to wait.

 

'You're crazy!' she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for Shabbat dinner the following week. There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go.

 

That day, she said yes. And I kept my word. After nearly 50 years of marriage, two children and three grandchildren, I have never let her go.

 

Herman Rosenblat of Miami Beach, Florida.

This story is being made into a movie called The Fence.

After a murder, can reconciliation and forgiveness take place?

In her book, Between a Rock and a Grace Place, Carol Kent tells the story of Tonya Sargent, a mother and a manager in a store, being shot and killed by Matthew Ben Rodriguez.

Carol's son, P. J. was incarcerated and sentenced to life in prison for his having murdered a man. Years later, Carol was speaking at a weekend conference called "Extraordinary Women Conference". One of the women listening to her speak was Tonya Sargent's daughter, Tammy Wilson.

The letter she sent to Carol after hearing the presentation at the conference convinced Tammy to write a letter, telling the burden of living without a mother, a mother who was killed with one bullet while minding the store.

Carol informed P.J. about the letter she had received and he wrote back to say that Matthew Ben Rodriguez was in the same prison and he was one of his best friends in jail. Not only that, but Matthew, like P.J., had come back to his Christian faith while being incarcerated.

With this foundation, and based upon Christian principles, a number of letters were written back and forth from Tammy to Matthew, and from Matthew to Tammy. He revealed much more to her than what happened at the trial. The court case dealt with the murder, but Matthew told his whole life story, opened his heart and told her how he began to get into trouble, starting with petty crime first.

What followed next, the ups and downs of confession, regret, and healing on his part - for having been able to communicate with the family whose mother's life he had taken; and on Tammy's side, for learning about the man who killed her mother, is an amazing story.

Neither Matthew nor P.J. will ever leave their Florida prison. They will stay behind bars until they die. But, the Christian message of Jesus Christ, to love your enemies, to forgive, is being lived out in a way that will take your breath away; and I hope it will help us to see our way through the violence and hatred that tugs us down these days. I recommend your reading this book.

Forgiveness is Freedom

Catherine Ponder says: "When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free."
(Quoted in Tian Dayton, The Magic of Forgiveness Deerfield Beach, Fla. Health Communications, 2003) p. 87

Lewis Smedes says: "When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong...you set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself."
(Lewis Smedes, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve (San Francisco,: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996) p. 133

Within Islam a War is going on. Why?

Within the world of Islam, which includes about 1.2 - 1.5 billion persons (no one knows exactly), a very nasty, unprecedented war has broken out over this question: "Which, or whose, is the true Islam?" Just these six questions - there are many others - tie Muslims up in intellectual knots.

What is the "real" meaning of "jihad"? When and how is "Holy War" to be instigated?

What is the "real" meaning of "takfir"? That is, "What is the process by which a non-Muslim is tried and convicted of not being a Muslim and consequently put to death?" Can any Muslim take on this responsibility? Or must this be done in a formal setting, such as a court?

Which form is Islam is 'the correct Islam'? Should a Muslim devote himself to living exactly as Muhammad did, 14 centuries ago? Or, should a present day Muslim live according to the rules and regulations that were elaborated under 'classical' Islam?

Whose voice ultimately finally decides? The leaders in Saudi Arabia, the leaders of Wahhabi Islam, which is only one form of Sunni Islam? Or, The leaders in Egypt? Or, those in Iran, who follow the Shi'a form of Islam?

How should the Koran be interpreted if it doesn't recognize the concept of a modern state? That is, how should Muslim majority states relate to each other: Turkey to Egypt, or Iran to Iraq?

And, who is the authority to pronounce on four schools of 'Sharia law', and thousands of 'hadiths'? With so many sayings about the founder of Islam, there is plenty of room for debate - and now guns and intense fighting.

Since September 9, 2001 more than 19,000 acts of terror have left countless lives of MUSLIMS in shreds: violent acts of terror in Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many other countries ends up with most Muslims being killed.

No one knows how many hundreds of thousands have been killed, much less left without homes, wounded, or unable to work to support their families.

And here is the bad news for Islam: This internal war isn't going to go away any time soon.

And worse: Modern arms are being used to forcibly return Muslims to brutal interpretations of Islam.

Read here in The Economist on this internal struggle.

 

Ann vos Kamp: How Real People Make Shades of Real Love

Once again, Ann vos Kamp brings her unique gift of writing and expression to the issue of physical love in a marriage.

Read it all.

A great day of generosity - Food by the thousands of bushels!

An unbelievable story of kindness emerged from the prairies! Thousands of bushels - ship loads! - filling those grain elevators. For several years I was privileged to be very close to this organization, following the shipments - yes, whole ship loads - of food going to relieve extreme famine.

This is a story that should be told far and wide, showing what generous farmers can do!

Read more.

Adversity and a Life-Prison Sentence: Finding God's Favor in Jail

A great resource for anyone going through significant adversity, such as  a child diagnosed with Autism, or a person living with MS - or as in Carol Kent's case - having a son sentenced to life imprisonment for first degree murder, our tough spots in life need a special touch from God's Spirit in order to cope.

Carol's Kent, Between a Rock and a Grace Place is highly recommended for her brutal honesty of emotions dealing with blow after blow, when her son was convicted of murder.

In the midst of his jail sentence, her son J.P. began to learn the depth of grace and the majesty of God being with him. This amazing story will bring tears to your eyes.

This volume follows Carol Kent's two other books, When I Lay My Isaac Down, and A New Kind of Normal.

Because of the restrictions related to copyright, I will not copy any passages from Between a Rock and a Grace Place,. However, I highly recommend this book in spite of the conflict you will feel after reading it: "Should I keep this great volume on my bookshelf, or should I give it as a gift to (name) who probably needs it more than I do."

Put this on your "I-have-to-buy-these-books list".