well there's been some interesting times...

Here's to reflection on the past week. I know I didn't really write up anything substantial about my Galilee trip, but that just leaves one more story I can tell in person, so get excited (its probably not that exciting) but I have other issues that deserve my time not just field studies. For example, I went running the other day, and we stopped at a nice, scenic overlook known as the promenade. As we were stretching (we being Ashley, Brandon, and I) a man turned to me and said, "Do you think he will come from the clouds?" Suffice to say, for the first minutes none of us knew what he was asking. Finally we realized he was talking about Messiah. The conversation that ensued will trouble me forever. The truth mixed with fiction was so confusing but sounded so alluring that at times I could have been convinced he was a Christian, but at other times I would not have been surprised if he had been the Antichrist. Let me explain. He said things as crazy as that Moses could have gotten the Law from Aliens, and he said things like that we are all a little bit of God (much like Leibniz) but God was more God than all of us. He said a lot of interesting things, like that Moses was 30% messiah, and David 50% messiah, and Jesus 70% messiah, and one day finally messiah 100% will come and the world will be made like Eden again. Like I said very interesting, just weird. He said a lot more, but i don't feel like typing it all... basically he put it that he was like one before John the baptist. he was preparing the way for one to prepare the way for Messiah (who will be here by 2010 according him, his name was Ruven). He has argued with Rabbis about the relevance of the new testament, and some of what he says was good, but so much was wrong that it just showed me how great the threat of Satan is in his twisting of the truth.

The second thing that I wanna bring up was when a guy came and talked to us for Vespers. He was from an organization that works for the recolciliation of Jews and Palestinians through Jesus Christ. He leads trips into the desert and lets them work out their differences and grow in friendship... he said a lotta stuff that was really cool (like go to fuller semanary haha) but what hit me the most was when he said that if you just sit down in a church and try to just spout out all the problems you have with the other person nothing will happen but more pain. You forget that oyu are both human, and just have different backgrounds and think that you are two completely diferent entities. It reminded me of the Church today... how we are all Christians but our different views as prodistant or baptist or evangelical free or whatever split us apart... are we not all the body of Christ? anyway I just ate lunch and need to go burn off some of the 1500 calories i just consumed.

Cheers,

DP