Sarajevo, Bosnia

  I recently had the chance to be in Sarajevo, Bosnia for about 3 days. A friend invited me along on a trip he was taking, and I was free to go. I read some of the history of the 1990s' war to learn some; we talked to several people from a variety of backgrounds, and went to museums and memorials. It's a lovely city, but it has a remembered history that will make your soul sad, though it will also leave space for hope. The Ottoman welcoming of the exiled Jews who had to flee Spain after 1492, the spot where the Archduke Ferdinand was shot which precipitated World War I, Serbian (and others') nationalism, the Balkan holocaust in the 1940s (and a wall detailing 'the righteous among the nations'), the Non-Aligned Movement (as part of Yugoslavia) trying not avoid the worst of the Cold War, and the massacres of the war during the 1990s.  

 There was a lot to see and experience, but I haven't had time to write about it in detail, so I think I'll just leave these pictures and comments here. I really enjoyed my visit, but I don't remember ever visiting another place that left me with such a heavy sense of humanity even among the good and lovely. Much of it seemed relevant to today's troubles of exiles, alliances, and ignoring violence and the oppressed. The stories of hope and resilience and courage and grace were also there then as they are also happening now. Horror and Hope.

 

Sarajevo

 

Cylinders inscribed with the names of the children killed during the war from 1992-1995.

 

The Latin Bridge

 

The streets of Sarajevo and the surrounding hills

 

The lower pistol is the one that killed Archduke Ferdiand and his wife Sophie. It was the second attempted assassination of him during that parade! 

 

A covered bazaar, from the Ottoman period

 

items in the Jewish museum, notice the candelabra on the far right

 

A sign in the Jewish museum

 

ceremonial circumcision  stuff

 

The Sarajevo Haggadah from the 14th century (replica)  

Passover materials

 

A very large old synagogue

a snowy street, the last day I was there

"The diplomats were useful because they realized that domestic politics was only one of the busted pistons of American policy. "It's not just the elections," Kenney explained over dinner. "If the situation was reversed in Bosnia, and a fanatical Muslim regime in Belgrade was slaughtering thousands of innocent Christians in Sarajevo, then America would have reacted by now. We would not watch Christians get killed by Muslims in Europe. Period. But we can watch Muslims get killed by Christians." The problem for Bosnia was larger than the fact that George Bush was getting clobbered by Bill Clinton in the polls. Bosnia was Islam." 

(Maas, Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War, pg 66, emphasis mine) 

 

[Unfortunately for all his sympathy with the Muslims here in the book, the author, a few pages later, seems rather inconsistent when he explains how these Muslims are not like those Muslims. Their humanity itself didn't seem to be enough, which was saddening in an otherwise helpful book.]

Rutledge's "The Crucifixion" - quotations

  I've been reading Fleming Rutledge's The Crucifixion for a while now, and I continue to benefit. Her earlier section on the irreligious and godless nature of the crucifixion as seen in its original cultural context was really helpful. Following that, her insights on forgiveness and the fact that real forgiveness cannot be easy or automatic is really valuable. Now, her discussion on Anselm has been insightful. I hadn't realized how controversial Anselm is though it makes sense as I read about it. She shows how in many ways Anselm is not understood well across the centuries, for reasons both understandable and not. So I'm including a series of quotations below. They are in three groupings, on three tracks. Each a peak into her thought. I highly recommend the book!

"'Honor' in Anselm's thought stands not for some imagined hypersensitivity by the Creator to his own dignity, but is a metaphor for the deep logic of reality, in which the balance of a universe is disrupted by the fact of death and by human alienation from others and from God, a situation which could only be rectifies by divine action."  ~ Eamon Duffy, as cited in Rutledge

~~~~~

In an important sense, the Bible is art rather than science or philosophy, and theology is a sort of art too, since it is largely based upon the narrative form of the Scriptures. (pp. 146-147).  

~~~~~

The wrath of God falls upon God himself, by God’s own choice, out of God’s own love. The “justice connection” may not be clear to those who are accustomed to privilege, but to oppressed and suffering Christians in the troubled places of the earth, there is no need to spell it out. God in Christ on the cross has become one with those who are despised and outcast in the world. (p. 143).

God’s righteousness leads him to all lengths to oppose what will destroy what he loves, and that means declaring enmity against everything that resists his redemptive purpose. This is the aggressive principle in God’s justice.  (p. 136).

The pervasive and monstrous nature of injustice around the world forces us to acknowledge that forgiveness alone does not give a true picture of God’s purpose. (p. 142).

If, when we see an injustice, our blood does not boil at some point, we have not yet understood the depths of God. It depends, though, on what outrages us. To be outraged on behalf of oneself or one’s own group alone is to be human, but it is not to participate in Christ. To be outraged and to take action on behalf of the voiceless and oppressed, however, is to do the work of God. (p. 143).

  From the standpoint of the gospel, however, every single one of us, rich or poor, is a complex mixture; we are all capable of injustice and we are all living on the edge of neediness at any time. (p. 150).

It is in the very nature of God, “the Holy One in your midst,” to step down from the bench and pour himself out in unquenchable compassion. (p. 136).

14th Annual Reading Recommendations (2024 Version)

As usual, this year's reading was a collection of books guided by whimsy, recommendations and gifts, chance pick-ups, classroom-related needs, and Book Club. Book Club led to such diverse reading as Chesterton's Heretics, Wodehouse's Pigs Have Wings, and Pratchett's Mort. I sat out Book Club's reading of The Master and Margarita, as I have rarely if ever enjoyed a Russian novelist, but that may have been what caused the guilt that means I am currently working my halfway through Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I am also part way through a book of G. M. Hopkin's poems, which I have found to be very meaningful. Apparently my taste in literature is improving slightly, or age may be a factor. 

Fiction

To Sir with Love (Braithwaite) - a great, short novel about teaching. The fact that the author was Guyanese (next door to Suriname) was of special interest to me. I haven't gotten to watch the related movie yet.

The End of the Magi by Patrick Carr - This was an a very well written historical novel, placed around the time of Christ. It is interesting especially for its focus on the lands and kingdoms east of Palestine with only minimal interaction with the Roman Empire.

Hallowe'en Party and The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - a new read and a re-read by Christie; I got to begin sharing this old joy with my oldest kiddo. Poirot as well as as Tommy and Tuppence!

Fear is the Key by Alistair MacLean -  Unexpectedly I found another MacLean that I hadn't read. Not his greatness, and I don't enjoy reading about cold as much as other extreme environments, but it was still nice to find a new one.

Pigs Have Wings by P. D. Wodehouse - Wodehouse, as my wife helped me realize is a kind of British aristocratic Patrick McManus - ridiculous humor.

Peaceweaver by Savannah Jezowski - a lovely fantasy novel with depth and joy

Terry Pratchett's Mort, The Truth & others - I'd missed Pratchett till now, though I'd heard of him, of course. Now in the last 2-3 months I've suddenly read little other than him for my pleasure reading (until Dostoevsky). He's got a real way with words, and a way of taking very serious topics (like DEATH or the Press) very seriously indeed by cynically examining them. I don't know that I would have benefited from his books as a young adult, but I've had a grand time reading them now.

 Martin Eden by Jack London - Reading Martin Eden was basically an accident; it was in my 'to read' collection, and I wanted it out of the collection. So I started it for the sake of ending it. I never put it down (metaphorically speaking). I don't enjoy London's depressing view of reality most of the time, but this book had gripping character development. It was well worth the time.

Children's Fiction - These were the classics that I read with my children; I hadn't read a full Eager novel previously. Excellent. 

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White 

Half Magic and Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager

 The Three Investigators and the Case of the Stuttering Parrot - Since my uncle gifted me this book about 30 years ago, the mysteries in this series have been favorites, easily as good as the Hardy Boys, whom I also loved.

Religious nonfiction

Heretics by G. K. Chesterton - The insights Chesterton offers while engaged with the intellectual thought of his day often felt as relevant to today's intellectual thought as most of what I've seen that's written today.

Muhammad and the Christian by Kenneth Cragg (related post) - I read this for a class I took with ISRME, and it was a really helpful consideration of how Christians can think through the question of who Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, is from the many perspectives that might be needed/helpful. 

Hearing God by Dallas Willard - There's a lot in this book to think about; given the topic, I guess anyone might find areas where they think differently, but it was a book worth taking seriously.

The Crucifixion by Fleming Rutledge - I'm still early in this book, so it might not be fair to add it here. Yet it's been such a valuable read so far. Rutledge has focused on the shame and 'godlessness' (crass non-religiousness) that was associated with crucifixion. Her words are powerful in challenging any sort of lighthearted approach to the cross.

Apostolics Fathers (multiple related posts earlier in the year)

RE-READS: The Pursuit of God (Tozer) & The Return of the Prodigal (again)

Other Nonfiction

Exploring Second Language Reading by Neil Anderson - I've had it and referenced it for years, but it's been extremely helpful navigating two high-level readings skills classes that I was teaching this year. It has a good mix of theory and practical suggestions, and it is concise.

Reflective Teaching: An Introduction by Zeichner and Liston - This is a book that has been recommended to me a couple times now. First, it was recommended reading for my MA which I never got around to reading; now it's recommended for PhD prep reading. So, I've gotten around to it. It's solid and yet not overly complex.

 Recommendations from years past: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

"Our sense of God is the shape of our wonder"

 

Our sense of God is the shape of our wonder, the yardstick of our values, the spur of our devotion, and the criterion of our adoration. That is why it matters so intensely. Any ‘prophet in history’ is in a vital way the clue to God in His heaven. What the word spoken authorizes, employs, develops, vindicates, and bequeaths, becomes thereby an index to its great commissioning.

~ Kenneth Cragg, pgs 29-30

 

  I recently finished up another class with ISRME in which we considered Kenneth Cragg's book Muhammad and the Christian at length. It was really clarifying. This quote stuck out to me even beyond the context of the book though. It reminds me of the Tozer quote, "What comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us." Cragg, typically, speaks not only poetically but also with erudition.

Hopkins' 'Peace' - "That piecemeal peace is poor peace!"

  I was introduced to lots of poetry when I was young, and I memorized a good bit of it too, both by choice and due to curricular requirements. However, it's only been in the last few years that I have begun to appreciate more complex verse. Bits of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets wooed me (Trying to learn to use words, and every attempt... OR The wounded surgeon plies the steel...) and drew me into that set of poems. Now a book of Gerard Manley Hopkins' work has been [kindly] thrust upon me. It's often complex to the point of feeling incomprehensible at first, and yet... there's something there. This one, 'Peace' felt meaningful today, both personally and globally.

Peace

When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut,

Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs?

When, when, Peace, will you, Peace? I'll not play hypocrite

 

To own my heart: I yield you do come sometimes; but

That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace allows

Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?

 

O surely, reaving Peace, my Lord should leave in lieu

Some good! And so he does leave Patience exquisite, 

That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house

He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo,

He comes to brood and sit.

Amasya: Nature, history, and time with friends

 This summer, as a family, we had the chance to visit Ankara and Amasya. We really enjoyed it, and I'll share a few pictures. We had a really lovely time with the friends that we visited!

Amasya is famous for apples, and we got to visit a small family orchard of mixed fruits. We sampled peaches, apples, and plums fresh from the tree!

A child picking plums from a tree so heavy laden that branches broke.

Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin statue - he was a innovative and skilled healer writing one of the great texts on healing in the 1400s. The herbs he recommended for use are planted around the museum with labels and details for how they were to be used. He also believed in using music to support the healing of those with mental health disorders (as we would describe it). The pictures of his implements and methods (which he illustrated in his books) makes surgery sound terrifying. I don't suppose it's any more attractive these days.

text about Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin and the hospital he worked in which is now the museum

The inner courtyard of the hospital (now museum)

a historic door in the Amasya History Museum; it has dragons on it. You can see them more clearly below.

look at the handles

a variety of oil lamps

vessels for pouring out drink offerings / libations

3500-year-old ancient statue

Amasya's riverfront at night

Amasya's river houses illuminated at night

Trabzon, Rize, Batumi (Georgia) - a celebratory trip with friends

  I'm close to turning 40, and since I didn't want a big party, my wife suggested that I take a trip with close friends and celebrate that way. So we did. We visited Trabzon, Rize, and Batumi. Sumela Monastery was definitely a highlight of the trip. Excellent food was also important. Most important was the fellowship of friendship which allowed us to share things temporal and eternal.

SUMELA MONASTERY and its environs

The view from the trail to the monastery

Outside the entry to the monastery

The monastery buildings

View from a distance (by the church)

Melchizedek and Abram fresco

St. George and the Dragon (I think)

The walls were covered with the biblical narrative, starting with the creation at the top. The monastery seems to have functioned as a school of biblical training to some extent. The frescoes do not seem to be standard icons, to my uneducated eye.

More of the biblical narrative in frescoes

The view from the parking lot. Technically you can walk to the monastery from there, but it was apparently 4 kilometers, most of which was at a steep angle. We paid the $1.50 to ride the bus; the driver kept it interesting.

A stream near the parking lot

TRABZON

The view from a beautiful breakfast restaurant

Gravestone headpiece explanations for Ottoman-era tombstones, which often include the headgear of the deceased on top to indicate the deceased social status

The seraphim and the four beasts around the Throne. This is the central ceiling fresco in Trabzon's Hagia Sofia church building, converted to a mosque, converted to a museum, now converted to a mosque again.

Historically the four beasts before the Throne are linked to the four gospel accounts (Matthew with the man, Luke with the bull, John with the eagle, and Mark with the lion.) 

Jesus teaching at the Temple as a youth

exterior of the Hagia Sofia (Trabzon)

column designs still fascinate me 2 decades after World History 101

The Last Supper fresco - the use and non-use of halos was interesting to me.

Christ as Judge (Pantokrator)

Trabzon city walls / fortress

Trabzon city walls / fortress from a distance

RIZE

 

Rize panorama

Rize at night, notice the massive tea cup on the left

BATUMI

 

Georgian side of the border

delicious Georgian food

 Panorama of Batumi

The Grand Gloria Hotel looked very impressive, at least from the outside.

a small, quite new church building by the border