A Few Photos of ballooning over Cappadocia

Yesterday's Trekking in the Valleys of Cappadocia

A Church Full of Sinners

At dinner yesterday, enjoying  lentil soup and borak and  salad and chicken wings, my guide, Gorkey, suddenly asked me a question.  “Are there much sinners in your church?”  Even though we had discussed religion and our lives quite a bit, I was caught off guard by this inquiry.  I paused for about 10 seconds trying to decide if I would say something funny about a church overflowing with sins.  I decided on a different approach.  “We don’t emphasize sin that much in our church.  Yes, people sin and with God’s help can sin less often.  But we are more interested in encouraging people to live their lives on God’s side, to be people of justice and peace and love.  Then sin more or less takes care of itself.”

In response, Gorky slapped me on the back and proclaimed, “Good for you Ken.” 

Today Gorky wanted to know why protestants call their leaders “Pastors.”  He said that pastor means shepherd in Spanish and who would want a shepherd for a leader?  Every flock of sheep and every herd of cows has a shepherd in Turkey. “Why not priest? Gorky asked.   I reminded him that a shepherd cares for the sheep and protects them and I added that the image comes from the Bible, that Jesus was the great shepherd of the people, the one they could recognize and the one they could trust.

Priest is a very different image, I added.  The priest leads rituals that represent people before God.  We believe that each person can talk to God for themselves.  You can pray and listen to God.  No one has to tell you what God says.

Gorky responded, “I like this.  Right now I am your shepherd in Cappadocia but I can teach you to see Cappadocia for yourself.”

I’ve been thinking a lot on this trip about what churches consider most important, “Job 1.”  For the first two weeks of our trip we traveled with 39 American Christians and almost all of them thought that Job 1 for the Christian is being prepared for the second coming of Christ---and He is coming soon!  That’s why they were so enthusiastic about traveling in Asia Minor to see the seven churches of Revelation for themselves.  Some of them stood in Laodicia, for example, and were thrilled to hear the scriptures read that warmed the church of Laodicia how they  must change.  For me these places were interesting and informative but I was not inspired to deep emotion.  Others were.  I on the other hand was deeply moved by the visit to Corinth and the reading of 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.  I was inspired that Paul, so long ago, sent a message of love to these Christians whom he personally loved.   We made some wonderful friends on that trip but as Christians our priorities are very different.

So, here is my list of some of the possible primary purposes of the church and of Christians.  And I can tell you, what a church/Christian decides makes all the difference in the world.  I am putting them in my order of importance, but this order is subject to change and addition,

1)       Building the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven.  Justice, peace, love.

2)      Being people of prayer and devotion.   Spiritual growth and maturing in Christ.

3)      Repentance from sin and personal devotion.  Heaven and hell.

4)      Personal holiness.  Unflinching commitment to codes of conduct.

5)      The Return of Jesus at the end of time.  Being ready for what God does next.

Please think about this.  What does each possibly priority mean for what God requires of us?

120000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

120,000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

The number seems hard to believe. Could there be 120,000 varieties of flowers in the entire world? Yet, this is what my guide told me in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Ankara has a Peace Park that has gathered 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world. Think about that! How much effort would it take to gather and plant and tend that many flowers?

The symbolism of the Peace Park is that it takes less effort to gather and plant and tend 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world that it takes to have a war. Peace requires effort and peace requires respect for the contributions of all the Peoples of the Earth. Why are we so unwilling to work at peace? The symbolism is also that like flowers, Peace is fragile and it must be nurtured with deep and loving care.
Yesterday Gorky, my guide, told me of a village is south eastern Turkey with approximate equal numbers of Syrian Christians, Jews and Moslems who live together in peace. We talked also about the latest news coming out of Egypt. Gorky believes that Turkey is a model for other Muslim countries on how to be a modern , democratic and religiously open country that celebrates its diversity.

When we arrived at my cave hotel in Cappadocia, signing in was like nothing I have heard of before. I was ushered into a beautiful Turkish lounge and seated on a bench covered with beautiful carpets. I was offered my choice of welcome beverages and chose red wine made in Cappadocia. The manager joined us to take care of a few details and welcome me warmly. Like others had done throughout the trip, he asked me about my "COEXIST" necklace. I explained and he shared with me his knowledge about another community in southeast Turkey that had chosen to celebrate its diversity and affirm people of all faiths. Doesn’t it start to seem like there are people and forces at work all over the world that work for peace?

In the Istanbul airport I bought an English copy of Time Magazine. One of the cover stories was entitled, "EGYPT: Christians and Muslims Start a New Conversation." In the wake of the Turkish Rebellion, there were sporadic outbreaks of religious violence. In response to one threat, "A group of young Muslims and Christian leaders in Cairo who had worked together during the revolution swept into Sol to address the situation. The group was building on the spirit of Muslin-Christian partnership that had developed in Tahrir Square. Day after day during the revolution, Christians locked arms to protect Muslims during prayers. Muslims did the same for Christians during Mass. Muslims and Christians linked arms to protect Cairo’s historic synagogue. The protesters even adopted an interlocking crescent and cross as their symbol of a new Egypt…A popular televangelist, Amr Khaled, often called Egypt’s Billy Graham," told the crowd, "My message today for Muslims and Christians is, ‘Let’s be one hand.’"

my hotel in cappacocia

it is phenomenal to me that i get to stay in Cappadocia for five nights with the possibility of a couple of more.  by the way i am typing on a turkish keyboard which has a lot of variations with ours.  i can get the periods about right so that may help you to read.  cappadocia is one of the most spectacular places in the world and has been in my heart to visit for a decade.  many of the rock formations and stunning features of the landscape are similar to places like the bad lands of south dakota and zion national park and other incredible places in the states.  the difference is that cappadocia also vibrates with history and spirituality and the extraordinary capacities of human beings to live in their environments.  For example today we visited eight cave churches carved out of solid rock.  i will try to post some photos tomorrow.  the cave churches were constructed between the eighth and  13th centuries and the most beautiful ones were within the complex of a monestary.  Being also the site of much education the churches were decorated with frescoes that tell most of the important bible stories plus other stories important to the religioous community.  

For example in one frescoe in the SANDAL CHURCH we see depicted the Sultan Mesud the second wearing a turban standing with and shaking hands with a  Christian saint with the usual halo surrounding the head in order to declare to their communities and to the future that moslems and christians are children of the same God.

their was a very serene and loving feeling in these cave churches...

What Is Turkey All About? Or, Turkish Flies Fly Fast

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Turkish Flies Fly Fast

We stayed for two nights in a five star Turkish hotel on the Agean Sea.  One afternoon prior to dinner I was trying to use their wireless internet connection in the lobby. (Technology failed again.)  The doors of the hotel were wide open to the sea as it was a beautiful  and warm day.  But flies were everywhere.  I pride myself on my ability to kill  flies bare handed but I kept missing.  I focused more on the task and mostly kept missing the flies, and had to come to the conclusion that Turkish Flies Fly Fast.  Some things you just have to observe for yourself.

What is Turkey all about?  Some things you just have to observe for yourself.  Many people in the states have fear-based impressions of Turkey .  Our understanding of Turkey, past and present, is grounded on very limited experiences and knowledge and impressions that make Turkey an unattractive destination and an undependable ally and a spiritual protagonist.  Personally, I was most interested in the possible role of Turkey, very much a Muslim AND democratic nation, as an alternative to Islamic States where Islamic law (sharia)  is enforced, often oppressively, on everyone. 

Conclusion, thus far:  Turkey is a modern, secular, democratic, and economically prosperous country that may, we can hope, be a powerful example to other Moslem countries about how Islam can be both vibrant  and democratic.  Turkey, at least the western half of the country where most tourists go, is safe and has an exciting history and is historically a unique meeting place of cultures and religions.  In the midst of the current global economic  crisis, Turkey has the second fastest growing economy in the world.  It’s commitment to democracy and to religious freedom is intense among most of the people.  That commitment has a symbol, in the founder of the modern Turkish nation, Ataturk (Father of the Turks), who reminds the Turks how important mutual respect and tolerance are.    There are definitely forces that would subvert the country’s commitment to democracy but over and over again I have spoken to people who are determined that their country will remain free of dogmatic religious influence.  By being a strong ally to Turkey, by visiting and making friends,  by letting go of fear, we can support the forces for freedom.

We ran into some amazing symbols of religious tolerance and mutual respect in Turkey.  A few days ago we visited the site of the ancient city of Sardis, one of the twelve cities mentioned in Revelation.   One of the buildings, a treasury, had fallen into ruin as the result of an earthquake.  In 200 A.D., when persecution was still severe against the Christians and Jews.Someone had carved a series of symbols into one column.  These symbols may be hard to see in the photo but they were very clear  in person.  Growing out of a Jewish Menorah was a Christian Cross and beside these on the left side was an olive branch, then as now a symbol of peace.  In a Roman City, 170 years  after the crucifixion of Jesusmsomeone seemed to be saying the known world, “Peace requires tolerance and respect.”  Our faiths grow out of each other and we must respect our common origins and shared beliefs.

Islam and Christianity and Judaism grow from the same tree.  That tree is Abraham who taught us all to believe in One God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Merciful One, Giver of every good and perfect gift.

Let there be peace on earth among all of God's chldren, nations and peoples.

Beautiful, Stunnning, ,And Once Again, Frightening

 Hello World!  This is easily the most beautiful day of our  trip thus far,. but I only have a few minutes to tell you about it. We are sitting atop the Greek Island of Santorini and Kathy is out and about spending our money of gifts for the grandchildren.    She has great tastes.  In 15 minutes I am hoping to SKYPE my church.  (After ten days of technology failures, we finally did connect to the church in Springfeld by way of the gracious offer of a cafe owner in Santorini.  The way it worked out was quite miraculous.)

And Kathy put God's care to the test again by agreeing to ride mules with me up the incredible steep slope of this gorgeous village.  At one point she fearfully took her right hand off the "handle" that kept her on her mule, reaching out for me.  She started falling off!!!  Fortunately I was in a position to push her back on.  She tells me she has no memory of the whole event.That's what fear does to  you--though I was very proud of Kathy just getting on the mule, after her last experience riding in the Grand Canyon.

Kathy hopes we can return to Santorini some day on a vacation.