Are you Mormon?

Some thoughts on religion in Israel.

As I walk through the Old City with my friends, it seems the most popular question form shop keepers is, "Are you mormons?" or "Bevakesha Ladies this shop is the perfect place for mormons!" Something along those lines. Now my friend Cameron says its because there is a huge influx of Mormon students in the Spring coming from their School on the Mt. of Olives. My Palestinian teacher thought it maight be because they know Mormons are ok with having multiple wives and this could be their chance. He is a pretty funny guy.

How funny it is to hear aside, it opens the issue of the religious undertones that permiate everything in this society. Everyone is put into one of three groups; Christians, Muslims, or Jews. However, being in one of these groups in no way reflects your spiritual realtionship with the Father at all. You just need to be labeled. The church here is rather indifferent to the branching out in faith idea presented in the Bible because the religious issues and hostelness (is that a word) coming from all sides. Everyone is left to their own beliefs, and a dangerous spirit of Universalism has crept over the whole city. Even last night our teacher was expressing that he would never want to openly talk people into converting, and that we should just live by example. People and people groups need to find their own religious beliefs and what is right for them. Can this universalist view have spread even to the Holy Land? I asked myself. It has. Our professor is Roman Catholic, but obviously does not know what it means to live faith out, but I suppose we all get it wrong in some ways. The men who work in our kitchen are "christians" but have no idea what it means to be redeemed by Jesus Christ. But the people here don't really care. Religion is more of what you are then who you are. I am not saying their are not strong christians, muslims, or jews in town, however Christianity in a whole looks more like Muslim or Judism then soley Christian.

The other day I was thinking strongly about how Christ has not abolished the law but instead fufilled it. It got me thinking about if I should be more "jewish" in tradition then I am now. But how then do I still make Christianity its own thing. I am neither Jewish or Muslim, but the Church here (the people group) tries to keep the peace by generalizing. Just as one can be born into Jewish heritage one can also be born into Christian heritage, and it doesnt mean you will adopt the religion as your own. So how does this effect me, how to I begin to respect the aspects of the Law that Jesus acknowledged, and still live out and act out my faith? Maybe it begins in small ways.

Like next time when the waitress at the hookah bar askes why none of us are drinking, I wont just say I dont drink, but tell her why I have chosen not to drink... however that could possibly be a bad example because no one gets drunk here, that is really an american thing.

In todays worlds we are called to come together through our differences and focus on what we have that is the same. The danger in that is forgetting what God has called us to. There is in fact only one way, and that is through the Father and His son Jesus, so I guess this semester will help me to figure out how to balance that in this, a society more extremely seperated that America. (Everything is labeled, Christains supermarkets, Jewish bakerys, etc.) I have taken for granted that I live in a place so big on real faith, and moved to a place where you are what you were.

BUT more on this later.

Please keep me in prayer I have caught a pretty terrible cold. I know, stop getting sick Claire.

Love You and Miss you!

(Picture taken by my good friend Adobe, of the Old City streets at 5 am, when everthing is closed.)