I did not have a lot of time on my trip to take many photos, but last Tuesday morning was foggy and beautiful. Feel free to peruse the set – Oxford 2011.
Travel
A stumbling block…
When I was being shown around Freiburg last week my guide actually stumbled and then stopped and pointed to be the “Stolperstein” upon which she had halted. This term literally translates as a “stumbling stone” and is a small concrete cube covered in brass that is etched with the name of a single Jew or other victim of the Nazi regime who was deported and killed. The dates of their deportation and death are also inscribed on the stone. It is placed on the sidewalk before the place that had been there home. These Stolpersteine are now found throughout Germany and in other countries as well.
I was struck by the word “stumbling block” particularly as it was just a few weeks ago that the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Christian denominations, had as its reading 1 Cor. 1:18-31. The relevant passage is in the middle of that section.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
What the apostle Paul is saying here is that the notion of the Messiah being crucified made no sense to those Jews who were waiting and expecting God’s anointed one. Jesus’ death as a criminal on a cross was too big a hurdle for them to overcome to believe that he was actually the Messiah.
Given our English translation of the Greek σκάνδαλον (scandalon) you can understand why my ears were pricked to learn that this memorial to the victims of the Holocaust was called a Stolperstein. It seemed significant to me, as if to say that the death of so many by the Nazis and those who worked with them and failed to work against them is itself a scandalon to Christians. Or at least it ought to be. It ought to be a challenge to their fundamental faith.
Now, as it turns out, having had a chance to check a few German versions of this passage, it appears that completely different German words were used to translate scandalon. In the Hoffnung für Alle it is “eine Gotteslästerung,” “blasphemy,” and in the the 1545 Luther translation it is “ein Ärgernis,” “scandal.” The former certainly conveys the sense well and the latter is more literal, in both cases it is not Stolperstein. Still, it certainly made me pause and consider my faith.
You can frisk me if I can frisk you
Many of my colleagues have already left for SBL in Atlanta but I will be unable to travel until Saturday morning…early, very early Saturday morning. That being said, I likely travel more than most since my job as a dean requires frequent trips to develop donors and recruits. Just last week I was in California and I will be in NYC not long after Thanksgiving. I would offer some commentary on the ridiculous nature of the current TSA regulations and practices, but that would be redundant since it is all over the ‘net. When has that ever stopped me?
Actually, rather than comment I will simply state that I believe that the current system in many (but thankfully not yet most but ATL does have them in use) airports of requiring either the full-body scatter bath in X-rays (if only it were gamma rays! “Me HULK! You puny TSA man!”) or a more complete grope than I ever had even while dating in high school (sad, I know) is wrong. It is invasive, goes against my rights to privacy, and most importantly does nothing to make us more secure. The best summation I have seen was offered by Ed Stetzer (HT to Andy Crouch) who offers excellent ways and reasons to resist and even puts it in a Christian context. Write your congress person, today!
Some will disagree saying that this is just all about security and is worth it. Well, I feel it is a pound of prevention for an ounce of cure. Israel does this well and better without such invasion of privacy. How? By examining the person not their shoes or naughty bits. But if you are comfortable with the government using these scanners you should feel great about the fact that they are using them in truck-mounted versions to scan us without our knowledge. Are we really comfortable with that?
Unfortunately for this trip ATL does use these scanners so while I am won’t have to be probed or scanned on my way to SBL I may on the way back. I for one will go with the full on, let’s be more than friends, pat down. I may even follow someone’s advice and wear a kilt and go commando. Let’s make the TSA agent feel as awkward as I will! Or maybe just a full spandex suit
UPDATE: Ron Paul is making a lot of sense on this issue.
UPDATE 2: Cagle has collected some of the best political cartoons from the T&A TSA debacle.
Don’t worry…
even veteran air travelers get motion sick occasionally. I was so encouraged! (This is from the university airplane that I flew on last week. I am vaguely reassured that they still have the original 1970s era airsick bag in the seats. Then again, the oddly drawn impish figure running with the full sick bag reminds me of just how old this plane is.)
