from the westfield to the holyoke of the east by fiz

For those not from Western MA, Westfield is a city… with nothing in it. It is a city that seems to have spontaneously sprouted up simply because people wanted a place to live that was close to the major highway in MA. Sukothai is the Westfield of Thailand, it is a town where the cool place to be, because it is the only place to be, is the 7/11. The surrounding scenery however, is beautiful.

The reason we went there in the first place was because, outside of the city, a bit of a ways off actually, was one of the old capitals of the Siamese kingdom. The ruins of this city were magnificent. We rented a scooter and drove around in between the crumbling remains of what must have been wats that towered over the streets. Some of the streets still had the original stones laid down. While other parts of the city were just lawns. The ruined city wall looked like nothing more than a levee.

What made the whole trip worthwhile was the white Buddha, which wasn't white really, but it was huge. We had to leave the city ruins behind us and go quite a ways down a road that eventually turned into dirt with many twists and turns, or at least that is how it felt on the way there (more than once we made a wrong turn).

We eventually found it and from the top of the driveway we caught our first glimpse of it. The entrance to the shrine was tall enough to see the Buddha in its entirety, and only wide enough to see his face in full. We parked our scooter and made our way inside only to have our awe grow. There was no roof to the shrine and it was the only place where the Buddha hadn't fallen into disrepair.

There was a small monastery tucked away behind the shrine. The statue was sitting cross-legged and his left hand was in his lap, while his right hand rested on his knee pointing down at the earth. This specific mudra (hand position) wards off desire. To give a sense of perspective there is this famous picture that found itself on an older edition of the Lonely Planet Thailand where a young monk is praying on his knees in front of the right hand, which has been covered in gold leaf, and the hand is twice as tall as the monk on his knees.

While exploring the shrine I found stairs that curved around the back of the Buddha and led up onto his lap . We snuck up it ( the sign said no climbing not no stairs ) and we each took turns sitting in his palm for a moment or two.
It felt amazing. I would go back just to see him again.

Other than that Sukothai really is dead. The only place to eat is a really seedy bar.
From there we made our way to Ayutthaya, another ancient capital of the Siamese kingdom. This city was said to have beautiful ruins scattered throughout downtown, which is an island at a junction of two rivers. However the city is still inhabited, so the charm of the ruins is lost entirely and after the ruins of Sukothai. If you are in Thailand and headed north remember Ayutthaya first then Sukothai, not the other way around.

Ayutthaya seems to be in ruins in much the same way as Holyoke. Which was a mill city that was once a hub of trade and the place to be if you had money. Ayutthaya was this kind of city, once. Called the "Venice of the East" between the 1500’s and the late 1700’s it was a city full of gold. (Actually if anywhere in the world had streets paved with gold it would probably have been here)
and guess where there is to eat... seedy bars!!!

In the last five days or so the charm of Thailand has deteriorated tremendously and we have run out of steam to see Ayutthaya's sites. We want to get out of the heat to the point where we saw a Thai movie in the cinema with no subtitles. Which we happened to enjoy a good bit, but that’s besides the point.

The Decline of Atheism

Last week the top five movies at the box office were:

1. Avatar
2. Book of Eli
3. Legion
4. The Tooth Fairy
5. Lovely Bones

I find it interesting that four of the top five movies last week all have significant religious overtones.  These box office hits say something very interesting about the decline of atheism.  Each of these movies flagrantly tap into deeply spiritual themes that drives the script- reflecting I believe the patently religious nature of the modern audience.

Ironically, popular atheists like Richard Dawkins keep insisting that interest in religion will die out within the next century.  A prediction that is inconveniently contradicted by the unprecedented growth of religion and especially Christianity world wide. As Dinesh D'souza so aptly put it:

The world is witnessing a huge explosion of religious conversion and growth, and Christianity is growing faster than any other religion.  Neitzsches proclamation that "God is dead" is now proven false.  Nietzsche is dead.  The ranks of unbelievers is shrinkiing as a proportion of the world's population…[this growth] has not gone unnoticed by leading atheists. Some of these nonbelievers, most of them Darwinists, express candid puzzlement at religion’s enduring vitality.  (Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity)

Hollywood knows something Dawkins won't admit- the world is becoming more religious, not less.  A hundred years ago during the rise of secularism it seemed people were arguing over the question of the existence of God.  But today there is a heightened interest in everything "spiritual".   People are more inclined toward religion and accepting of religious concepts and supernaturalism.  But this movement toward the acceptance of religion also brings challenges to modern believers.  Though more people are inclined to believe in the concept of God, they also seem to be somewhat confused about exact nature of that belief.

This is why we as Christians must "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks to give the reason for the hope (we) have." (1 Peter 3:15).  It is extremely important that we be able to effectively distinguish our belief from the multi-religious cutlure we interact with.

It is here that men like C.S. Lewis can be a big help.  Lewis contemplated Christianity in contrast to every other religious world view and wrote extensively about his process of belief.  The writings that resulted from that exercise are a wonderful gift to  the thoughtful Christian.  

Last week I made the point that one of the key issues for C.S. Lewis' conversion was that he found in Christianity something he could not see in other religions- that Jesus Christ was a historical figure and that the account of his life was not written as legend or myth, but that it was an obvious historical account.    Here is the exact quote I cited:

I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this. Of this text there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage– Or else, some unknown writer in the second century, without known predecessors, or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative. If it is untrue, it must be narrative of that kind. The reader who doesn’t see this has simply not learned to read.   (C. S. Lewis, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism”)

I don't think this issue can be overstated.  Lewis, as a leading authority of ancient literary style, could see clearly that the claims of Christianity were so patently different from other religions, that they could not be easily dismissed.  And that the historicity of Christ turned comparitive religion "to dust".

When you have a clear picture of the dynamic doctrine of Christianity, as Lewis did, in contrast to all the other religions you encounter, it is much easier to talk to your friends about the difference between Christianity and the other popular trend religions found in Hollywood scripts.  The good news about religious interest is that people want to talk about it.  So as believers it is essential that we clearly identify our underlying belief.  In this way we can contend with culture with the love of Christ and avoid getting sucked into the vortex of competing religious perspectives that may make interesting movies but have nothing to do with spiritual reality.   By this I mean that it is important for modern believers to be both compassionate and thoughtful.

Because after all the box office is teaching us that people are interested.

I would encourage you to take the time to watch the video below for a better picture of how C.S. Lewis went from atheism to theism to Christianity:



For further reading on this topic, I recommend the following books:

What So Great About Christianity
God in the Dock
Mere Christianity

Sick in the Sky (in Pai): by Fiz

Ugh….I think I can now count, as of today, the number of times I have willingly taken antibiotics on two hands. A bit over a week ago I was feeling right as rain, but then from out of nowhere I started to get moody, and gloomy, and feeling downright down in the dumps. I thought it was the weather, I thought it was the lack of appetizing food, I thought it was the rate at which we were spending through our cash.

Then three days into my buzzkillness it occurred to one of us that I might actually be sick. I was... and still am. I had a fever for a little while during which I had dreams that my father was still alive and what kind of existence that would mean for me, but that tapered off and left me with a sore throat, that has gotten worse over time. Despite the herbal remedies I got from a local pharmacy.

The clincher is that I have now successfully infected Kathleen. I don't think there is anything we have done here, in Pai, since arriving worth mentioning. Well I have been spending an inordinate amount of time reading "Commitment"( by Elizabeth Gilbert) in a cafe that Pioneer Valley really could use. I will share no details so none of you open it before we get to.

I spent the whole day today killing time waiting for the pharmacy to open.
We shall see if the antibiotics I bought today kick this ailment of mine.
There is this huge annual reggae festival this weekend that starts, I think, tonight that should be fun... if we make it.

Totally unrelated... in Thailand they have these pickup truck with the beds loaded up with speakers about as tall as me driving around city streets blaring adds or something, not being able to speak any Thai, the two of us have been curious as hell wondering if this is some form of propagating politics, or if companies have adopted the method as grass roots advertising. Either way its not so bad in the bigger cities, because well, there big. They only drive around in the afternoon after the workday ends, when people are commuting home, but being in a city where downtown isn't much more than 3 square block, it got old pretty quick.

Going back to the Reggae festival thing,...I don't really have much more to say about that...
The scenery here is beautiful, in the process of killing time I stood on a rickety old bamboo bridge over the Pai river, which sort of wraps around three sides of Pai, just looking at the dull green of the mountains in contrast to the blue sky, with wisps of clouds floating around. It probably looks much more striking in the wet season.

Not much going on really.

Living a Gospel Lifestyle

One of the blogs I enjoy reading is fellow pastor J.D. Greer from Summit Church in Durham North Carolina.  His latest blog on how to share your faith was so spot on I wanted to share it with you:


How do you initiate Gospel conversations with people you interact with on a daily basis (waitresses, etc)?

Here are a few things I practice.

• I frequent the same places. People in our society don't respond well to strangers, so I try to eat, drink coffee, buy gas, get my car worked on, and shop, etc at the same places. Relationship is not essential for evangelism, but it sure helps. At most of those places I mentioned people know me by name. Inevitably a chance comes up to pray for them, ask about their lives, invite them to church, etc. For example, several of the people from my local coffee shop have started to come to our church, and a few have become believers and gotten baptized. My mechanic has recently attended our church.
• Where relevant, I leave BIG tips. Especially if I know someone is having a bad day. I'll jot a little note and tell them I'm praying for them.
• I ask people, sometimes, how I can pray for them. Most people don't mind to be prayed for, and if they don't want to talk, they answer shortly and I let it drop.
• I invite them to church. Over and over.
• When in a conversation, I use an acrostic I learned years ago to help guide the conversation. F- Family; I- interests; R- Religion; E - Evangelism. Yes, that can seem wooden, I know... but it can also help you move a conversation along. Sometimes in talking about religion I'll say, "Do you feel like you have a relationship with God?" I get the most interesting responses back to that question. And usually, it provides me a chance to tell them my story... how I grew up in church but came to know God personally later. As I talk about how I came to know Christ, I make sure to give the Gospel along the way. People don't like to be preached to, but they do like to be asked their opinions, and they do like to hear your story.
• Bill Hybels has written 2 great books on this subject called Contagious Christian and Just Walk Across the Room. Highly recommended.

How do you share Christ with someone who is an agnostic, and their life seems to be going well, and they seem perfectly happy without God?

Yeah, that's a tough one. What you must first recognize is that nobody can come to God until God draws them (John 6:44). The Greek word used for "draw" in that verse conveys the idea of hunger, as in how a starving man is drawn to food. In order to come to God, we must first be taught by the Holy Spirit to hunger for God... to see in our hearts who God is and who we are, how fragile life is, etc. As the old hymn Amazing Grace says, "Tis grace that taught my heart (first!) to fear, and then grace my fears relieved."

That means your first and primary recourse is prayer. There is simply no substitute.

Don't underestimate the power of a consistently kind and joyful life before somebody. Everybody puts up a front, and everybody has moments of self-doubt. Your consistent walk with Christ will probably come into their minds at a time you don't don't even realize--in one of those moments of self-doubt, or in a tough time... maybe even years later. The way you live before them and the things you tell them are like a seed that may not harvest until much later.

Finally, Gospel people are to be people of extraordinary generosity, extraordinary answers to prayer, and extraordinary joy. Look for ways to really put the generosity of Christ on display, because laying down your life can really get someone's attention; look for places to ask God for miracles; and thank God for chances to suffer before your friends, because only in suffering can you put on display that you have a joy that is better than anything life can give and that death cannot take away.

Pai in the Sky by Kathleen

Yesterday we drove three hours up the winding, twisting, sickening mountain road to a small valley that is home to Pai. Thirty years ago Pai was nothing more than a small Thai mountain village, albeit with an ideal location between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Song, two major travel destinations.

Fast-forward to the present day and Pai is a thriving stop on the not-so-touristy tourist route. It once had a big population of hippies and artists trying to escape the world, but as is often the case, the world found them, liked their spot and realized it could charge admission to see the sites... the sites in this case being the local hippies. There really isn't much here besides the town, which is basically Amherst/Noho in Thailand. Its crunchiness is a bit more exposed, but it is here to make money.

One thing that has really impressed me is that it is so like home in its attitude, well that isn't the impressive part, that’s actually kind of dull. What’s impressive is how many people think this place is paradise. It makes me proud really. I live in a place that people would call paradise. I just take it for granted. We in the Valley are truly blessed, I suppose if I hadn't grown up in it I would be over the moon about it too. Actually I still pretty much am, which is why I haven't left. It’s nice to be remind of how awesome home is, but aren't we supposed to be traveling here? I want sightseeing!

To be fair it’s nice to be here and have a bit of rest from it all. To sleep in without feeling like I'm wasting time that could be spent seeing something. And Pai is pretty chill, there are lots of artist and musicians and foodies. I am always pleased and heartened to find so many like-minded people. We are everywhere! It gives me hope.

This also gives me the opportunity to process and talk a bit about things that don't really fit in anywhere.
Things like water. In Thailand, as in most of Asia you cannot drink the tap. When you can't drink the tap you start to notice water like never before Wow, do we take it for granted. Think of all the times you use tap water, to drink to bathe to make food with to clean dishes with.

Now think of all the times you get tap water in your mouth, when you drink , when you brush your teeth, when to take a shower, when you eat veggies or fruit that have been washed. Now that you’re thinking, imagine doing none of it. Replace all of that with either bottled water in the case of drinking/cooking/ brushing teeth, or keeping your mouth closed tight and spitting occasionally, in a shower, to not eating anything raw, like fruits of veggies, that haven't been peeled.

Think of washing your hands and not being able to pick your teeth. We use water for so much. It gets to a point, when you are minding all this that you start to realize that " if I was home, I could be drinking toilet water" and it would be ok, it would be clean. That we wash ourselves, our dogs, our cars, flush the toilet, mop the floor, cook, clean... everything with clean water. Our tap is so clean that they bottle and sell it. It’s a real blessing to have clean tap.

It’s a blessing we waste constantly. Like really 5 gallons of water, clean drinking water to flush the toilet.... really? 5 gallons? We have half finished glasses of water that we dump, bathes that we drain.... all of it... drinking water. Now, I'm not advocating we wash in dirty water or anything like that. We should use our water but we could use less of it.

We could use it more mindfully. True you’re not going to get clean water to Thailand from the Quabbin, but we could show it some respect. We should all remember to be grateful for what we have. Though some days it doesn't seem like much. That's what I like about traveling. It reminds me to be grateful, and it shows me other ways to live. This time we have the better end of the stick, other times we don't.

Chiang Mai by Kathleen

Here we are, in Chiang Mai. We have been here for three days and we have one more day before heading out. It is a great city, small and low key but full of exciting things to do. There is a large foreign expat population here it seems and this has influenced the quality of restaurants and hotel establishments. Unfortunately it has also raised the prices. It’s actually more expensive than Bangkok.

There is so much to do there, there are many wats and an amazing night market that sprawls for blocks. We took an all day cooking course the day before yesterday and learned how to make tasty Thai dishes. I highly recommend doing the same if you ever find yourself in Thailand. Usually I shun these types of forced “experiences” but it was so much fun it was stupid and it gave us a chance to connect with other travelers a bit. It was nice to cook, we cook at home for most of our meals and I have missed it.

Travel is working into a good pace for me, but Fiz seems to be homesick. To be fair the food hasn't been agreeing with either of us. Most Thai food here is not what you think of as Thai back home and you get tired of noodles and fish sauce for 3 meals a day. So our taste buds are a little tired and our stomachs aren't so pleased either. It gets old always feeling a little ill. Hopefully India will be better. The food there is closer to what we eat daily and what we like.

Today we rented bikes and biked precariously ( really me on a bike is like a turtle on roller skates, awkward and slightly dangerous.) around the city from wat to wat. There are so many in such a small space.

The wats ( temples) were magnificent, each with its own character. I have never been to a Buddhist country so its all very exciting. We were thinking of going to an elephant camp tomorrow, but given the price, it looks like we will be finding something else to do. Besides, I don't feel quite right about it. They might be well treated but.... they might not be. Seems like a tourist trap to me.

Traveling is a wonderful thing but sometimes I wonder why we do it. I was wondering that on our way up to Chiang Mai. We took an overnight train from Bangkok and got sleeper class tickets. Figured it would be romantic. It was not. At all. Our seats were at the back of the last car so it was like being the last person on a game of “snap the whip” all night. That coupled with pleather seats that made us sweat and the crew gathering behind us to while away the time.... we were not pleased.

But still, these wats are worth it, even if the food isn't.

Until next time.

People Without Conviction Are Boring

One of the things we are working on within our staff is a systematic method for teaching our children the basic principles of our faith.  Our goal is that all of our kids will benefit from a comprehensive approach to teaching doctrine.  We want it to be interesting, fun, engaging, but most importantly - effective.

Our desire is that from the time a child enters our Preschool to the time they leave our High School that they will have developed over time a strong understanding of the most important tenants of Christianity.   And that they will be able to articulate not just what they believe but the reasons for that belief.

We really don't see that anything we do is any more important than passing down our faith to the next generation.

This is why we are so big on drilling down on our "24 Essentials"- those 24 basic beliefs that we see as being central to Christian life and doctrine.

Why is this so important?  The simple answer to this is that we believe that one of the biggest problems people have in an increasingly secular humanist and multi-cultural society is that they don't know how to distinguish their belief from competing world views and don't know why they believe what they believe.  In other words, they don't have a strong "epistemology"- the study of knowledge. 

To not have this kind of foundation in faith can be devastating to a young person who goes off to college and enters an environment in which all of his or her core beliefs are challenged relentlessly and without shame.  Many young people who were raised in good solid Christian homes nevertheless leave those homes ill prepared for the epistemological warfare they will engage in within the academic jungle of higher learning.

We see it as our role to join in with parents to help equip our kids with not just knowledge but with a good ability to look beneath the surface of belief and to answer questions like, "What are the core reasons for my belief?", or  "Why do I believe the Bible is true?", or "Why do I believe there is only one way to heaven?"

We don't just want to be good at dispensing knowledge in other words, but also in teaching the philosophy of knowledge.   Because after all, if the question of why I believe is never contemplated and if there is not a solid basis laying beneath my core belief, then the human heart is dangerously exposed  to what the Bible calls "wavering doubt". 

But there is another compelling reason for a person to have a good epistemology- and that is that people who don't have conviction about things are just plain boring.

This is humorously illustrated in the video below: 


Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.