Churches in the Middle East (or at least one small part of it)

On October 6, @Politifact reported that the Rev. Franklin Graham spoke falsely when he said "In most Muslim countries, 'We can't have a church. We're not able to build synagogues. It's forbidden.'"

I didn't watch "This Week" on ABC that week, or any other, because I don't live in the United States. I live and work in a Muslim country. If Mr. Graham spoke those words, which Politifact claim are false, I would like to offer another perspective.

I am aware of 7 Christian churches in my city of several million people. Three of the churches are attended almost entirely by expats, though nationals would be welcomed if they could speak English well enough to feel comfortable during the service. One of the other churches, those four who are serving primarily national believers, has a long, checkered past with the local gov't. Anything that the church wants to do is suddenly illegal or impossible or impractical in the eyes of the officials. In past years, the pressure has been more overt; right now, it's pretty passive.

My own church has been legally approved for 20 years. In fact, we are celebrating our anniversary this month. All the documentation necessary to hold services in our rented, remodeled apartment building were given to us in order that the Americans, Asians, and Europeans would have a house of worship. We've outgrown our space, and would like to build a new building on our own land.

Sounds like it should be easy to do: just ask the gov't for approval and do it. After all, my church is legal. Here's where Mr. Graham is more correct than @Politifact gives credit. Churches in my country can only be built on land designated for religious use. When a plot is found that is designated, and we ask for permission to buy it, a mosque is announced on just that plot of land. And yes, you read that right: we must ask for permission to buy land. We are foreigners after all. Land ownership is not often permitted, these days. Two strikes against us before we even begin to negotiate a purchase price; discussions never get that far. Simply getting permission to post a cross on top of a building with a documented history as a Christian church causes a great deal of local tension and garners a good bit of national press.

What about those churches where national believers worship and serve? Even though they can legally own land as citizens of this country, the permission to build a church is so difficult to obtain that it is for all intents and purposes impossible. That's why groups meet in stores, restaurants, and homes; if the neighbors complain, though, the church (and maybe the hosts) will need a new home.

A particular local municipality might be more favorable toward Christian believers and Christian churches, so permissions to build a church in that area might come more easily. After all, there is freedom of religion here according to the law. In theory, it is allowed to build a church. In reality, it's very easily forbidden. And of course, we don't actually need a church building to worship Christ together. With a ratio of one Christian church to every 4 or 5 MILLION citizens, there's not much time to spare fighting for mere buildings. More important work must be done.

A Tale of Two Places

NOTE: Lots of basic, introductory facts in the first full paragraph. I'll write more intelligently after that!

I'm an American citizen (and so thankful to be one)! I'm a teacher. I'm a Christian. I'm middle-aged, single with two cats. I consider myself a politicial conservative. I live and work in Turkey. Turkey is a secular democracy. Religious freedom is allowed, though the nation is becoming less secular. Some say there are 100,000 Christians in Turkey (0.1%) but there are less than half that amount. Turkish Christians may be shunned or attacked by their families, though some find acceptance.

I've lived in Turkey for the better part of six years. I live in a large city that is much more Western in appearance than one might expect. Things have changed so much in the last six years. At first, we had only dial-up internet. The big news when I arrived was the opening of the city's first Starbucks. Now we have DSL in our homes, wi-fi in most homes and in most of the dozen shopping malls, and more than 20 Starbucks. Public transportation is doable, though never comfortable. Unless you're in the boonies, you can find a “Western” toilet and not be forced to deal with a Turkish squatty-potty.

I was asked by a friend, “How does it feel now that you are back in the states? Any interesting observations that you didn't see before?” Later, he reminded me (lest one could forget) that we as Christians, with the rest of the world, are going through birth pains. I decided to address the two together. While some of what I say will likely be funny, I'll tell you the conclusion now: please pray for the individual, oft-overlooked people of Turkey.

It's a long-standing joke with our mostly-American school staff: “When I get to Wal-Mart (or Target), I'll...” “Wal-Mart” is symbolic of “America” in the sense that both hold so much that we cannot get while we are in Turkey. I had not been in the US since August 2009—about 10.5 months—but knew I needed to take things slowly. It's not just the particular items for sale that we miss (Oreos, Fritos, socks that actually fit, Curad band-aids, shoes I want to wear, all things pork!) but also the variety. Did you know that there are 80 different salad dressings for sale at Wal-Mart? Ranch, Lite Ranch, Bacon Ranch, Buttermilk Ranch, FatFree Ranch...and that's just a few of the options from one company. In Turkey, the most well-stocked store has 4 flavors: 1000 Island, Caesar, Greek and Italian. If variety is the spice of life, Turkey has no spice. That's not true,though, because there are plenty of spices here. Red-pepper spices are pretty common, and dried mint is used in many dishes. Kimyon (cumin) is popular, as is tuz (salt). One spice you can't get? Plain ol' black pepper. There is pepper, and it's black, but it is not the same; it's about twice as strong as what I grew up using.

It's relatively inexpensive to live in my city, and I cook 98% of what I eat. Stateside, though, I am spending what I feel is “lots” of money on eating out. The fanciest place we've visited is Red Lobster, so we're not talking gourmet. However, hitting the drive-thru on the way home from a shopping trip, grabbing hot-wings at the bistro and (finally) Chick-Fil-A before the movies is expensive. It's also wasteful, if you think about it. I could have put that money to good use (like buying more travel-safe bacon to take back with me) or more humanitarian / eternal pursuits. I did decide to spend a little money as a monthly sponsor of a child through one of the well-known agencies. This particular boy lives in another part of the Middle East. Like most teachers, a portion of my salary goes for stuff for school.

Gas is cheap here, isn't it? $2.50/gallon for unleaded is four times what it was when I started driving, but it pales against our $8.73/gallon we pay in Turkey. Perhaps that's why public transportation is so much more prevalent; costs just over $1 to reach some malls, $2-$3 for others. In Turkey, I live less than ¼ mile from two small grocery stores; each is about the size of a gas-station food store, but include a plentiful fruit/veg section and at least one butcher. I walk to the grocery store, and I walk to and from school each morning. Truthfully, the neighborhood is such that I walk to school uphill both ways (and sometimes in the snow)! Last week, I walked about a mile to a drugstore to buy a soda and get Mom's prescriptions. I felt completely out of place walking to the store, though I do that almost daily in Turkey. No one else was walking; everyone rushed by in their cars and trucks.

I was able to attend my “home” church for the first time in more than two years. It was great! I saw lots of old friends, got to hear the organ play, and I even sang with the choir. As we left the parking lot, a policeman thoughtfully directed traffic since the church across the street was also finishing their morning services. We rushed to the restaurant so we could beat the crowds from all the other neighborhood churches. If you don't like what the pastor preaches, or you don't like the music, or the paint color in the bathrooms, you can find another church very easily. (Note: I do live in the “Bible Belt” when stateside; not all US cities have a church on every corner.) In fact, some folks I know well were contemplating finding a new church for this reason or that. In my city in Turkey, there are 3 places for foreigners to worship: two Protestant, one Catholic. My church is not on diplomatic grounds (the other two are) and is fully “approved” by the Turkish government. We worship in English and the service is open to all (including Turks). We also have a separate service in Turkish. Other than our church, I know of less than a dozen total churches in the city. Each church (none with membership over 200, many a tenth of that) that is open to Turks has the practical responsibility to reach nearly one million citizens in this city with the Gospel.

Turkey as a nation is becoming more interested in technology and in Western goods. My section of Turkey is filled with blue jeans and Nike shoes, exercise equipment in the local parks, iPhones and satellite TV (including “Chuck”, “Castle” and at least one baseball game each week during the season). However, Turkey is still culturally about people. Restaurants are for eating, but also for hanging-out with a cup of tea and some baklava or mixed nuts. People spend time together, even when they ar working 54 hour, 6-day weeks (the norm in Turkey). The way to make friends is to spend time together. You have lots of time to do build relationships: waiting in line at the store, waiting at the security station to renew permits, or crammed in a bus or dolmuş. They have shared values and goals. Of course, it helps to know the language. Even after six years, I'm not fluent, so communicating deep thoughts is a challenge. I'm ok with that, because my purpose is at the school. There, English is the only language I need, other than agape, now more than ever.

Matthew 24:4-13 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

“Wars and rumors of wars” is certainly an apt description of the current state of affairs. There are definitely earthquakes occurring on a regular basis, in the US, Turkey, the Philippines, and around the planet. Many religions attempt to discourage and deceive those who follow Truth. Israel, where Jesus walked and talked during his earthly ministry, certainly seems to be hated by many nations. The nation of Turkey is changing, and the articles I read make it sound less hospitable to Americans, and to Christians, as time passes. However, I know that I was sent to Turkey and that I must be there for some time to come. Do I expect to be “handed over to be persecuted?” I truly pray not, and the “rational” part of my brain assures me that my company and my country would somehow prevent such a serious event. There are Turkish Christians who do face or will soon face such trials. There have been Christians martyred in Turkey, including foreigners.

Will Turkey go to war with Israel? Will the US go to war with Iran? I cannot answer either question. I just know that the war for the souls of men is raging. Turkey is a nation of more than 70 million people. Those people do have strong opinions and feelings, and they are very much a collective society. In God's eyes, though, each Turk is a unique creation, and God desires that each soul in the Turkish nation come to know him.

Battle against Islam, but pray for the people.

Which scientists and mathematicians should we encourage?

Perhaps you've read here or at a similar site about Charles Bolden's interview with Al-Jazeera. His mission (which he has apparently accepted) includes "find(ing) a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering."

Now, the disclaimer. I am not Muslim, and never will be. I'm not a historian or a theologian. My interest in this subject stems from 1) a childhood spent within sight of NASA's Kennedy Space Center and 2) a strong interest in math and science.

I was curious just what contributions the Muslim world might have made to science and math. Woring from Bolden's quote, "historic" to me means that a focus on the distant past; no need to worry about recent developments in the last hundred years. Mohammad lived in the latter part of the 6th century AD and the early part of the 7th century AD. I looked only for those contributions that happened since Mohammad (or Mohammed) coalesced the various tribes into the religion of Islam we all know today.I am defining "Muslim nations" as pretty much all of the Middle East".

I found some information pretty easily:

• Many feel Al-Khwarizimi made substantial contributions to the field of algebra, including its practical applications. Some historians feel the concepts were not so substantial. He does consistently receive credit for the first use of zero as a place-holder.
• Ibn Sina authored Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb, or The Canon of Medicine. "Among the Canon's contributions to modern medicine was the recognition that tuberculosis is contagious; diseases can spread through water and soil; and a person's emotional health influences his or her physical health. Ibn Sina was also the first physician to describe meningitis, parts of the eye, and the heart valves, and he found that nerves were responsible for perceived muscle pain. He also contributed to advancements in anatomy, gynecology, and pediatrics."

Then I found some sites that focused on more than just individuals, but instead the Islamic culture as a whole.

• This author claims the Quran predicted flight, DNA's use in criminal investigations, and the idea that the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are very different in composition.
• This site asserts that just about everything important or substantial was first discovered by a Muslim; many of those statements are refuted here (as "printed" by frontpagemag.com, responding to a speech given by Carly Fiorina in 2001).

After just a short time, I quit searching. There was plenty of information; too much, in fact. When I taught in the states a few years back, "multiculturalism" was intended to encourage both boys and girls, both white and "non-white" students to succeed in math and science. However, a simple search for "islam math contributions" (or science) reveals many sites--such as this one--to help teachers educate their students. Have things changed so much in just the last decade that we now need to teach children the "successes" of Muslim scientists and mathematicians?

Wouldn't it be better to spend the time to teach kids the math they need so that they can succeed? Our schools, and our kids' futures, should be about the contributions young American citizens can make as they grow into national and world leaders.

My dad is a Tea Partier ?!?

...and my mom may no longer be a Democrat.

So, if you read this post, you know that there are some gaps in my relationship with my dad. I have no idea what political ideas he held during my childhood years. The political discussions we have held in recent years mostly included how all of the decisions made by GWB have made his life (and everyone else's) unbearable. He's always been a union member (electrical contractor, now retired). I expected that he was at least a nominal Democrat.

Mom and I discuss politics even less often. The last conversation I can remember was when I registered to vote and registered Republican. “Republican? Why not Democrat like me?” Younger and much less wiser, I had no response, and she never asked again.

Over the last six months, thanks to the BIGs, The StageRightShow, and Twitter, I know lots more about government, politics, and what is happening in America than I ever did before. Most of the folks I work with are "too busy" to be interested in those topics. Living away from family, I guess I expected that they would still hold the same beliefs as before, or just be apathetic.

Dad showed up last Saturday afternoon after driving from his home near Atlanta. He had a bumper sticker in his window (and three more in other places on his car.) “You lied; we decide! Walton County Tea Party” Dad they apologized for being late; he was cleaning up after the parade.

TeaParty?
Parade?

Turns out that my father is very involved in his local Tea Party. There are sessions to educate the young people. Candidates come to speak and are required to answer questions about Constitutional knowledge and positions on abortion, taxes, and other key issues. At the parade, TeaParty members answered questions, gave stickers to kids, and generally spread the word. Dad's church is apparently part of the process too. Dad even referenced several Constitutional amendments. He knew who he was supporting for Congress in GA-7 to replace the incumbent R that is retiring this year. (Sadly, Dad's not in GA-4 to help oust Hank Johnson. That would have been over-the-top coincidence..."takin' care of home)

Mom still has much less to say on the topic, but indicated her current thoughts this way. Upon seeing an “Obama '08” bumper sticker, Mom said, “Well, I wonder if they are ready to vote him out yet.”

I don't know why I'm surprised that my parents feel this way. After all, the family we spent the weekend with (long-time friends) feel exactly the same way. I'm in the southern U.S. (and South Carolina has been Republican for, oh, forever) and the prevailing view seems to be that November 2010 is a starting point, but November 2012 cannot come soon enough.

Father's Day, or Days With and Without Fathers

My mom and I moved into a new home in Hollywood, Florida in 1972 sometime before my 5th birthday. Dad stayed where he was, and eventually remarried. When I was 7, he took me to Disney World for Christmas, then to DC, and finally to Maryland where I saw snow for the first time. It was years before I learned mom had not been told we were leaving the state that Christmas.

Father's Day is just about two weeks before my birthday, and Dad's birthday is just three weeks before Christmas, so phone calls to wish him a good day usually turned into conversations about what I wanted for my special day. I once sent him a Father's Day card with a letter telling him about my church and listing the Bible verses I was learning about how much God the Father loves us. I made good grades in school, was active in church and Girl Scouts, made the all-stars in softball; I had a good life, whether I knew it then or not.

Dad came to my high-school graduation, and the county paper ran a front-page photo the next day of him kissing me in celebration. That caused a problem in an already-deep rift: Mom had been the "parent" for 12 years, yet Dad "gets the credit." Over the years, I'd tried to learn what had caused my parents' divorce, but never got a straight answer from either parent.

For university, I was 10 hours away by car from Dad's home (the same house he'd had since my parents were first married). Email--the entire internet--wasn't yet a twinkle in AlGore's eye, so communication wasn't always easy. We talked less and less. Eventually I was so afraid that Dad wouldn't come to my college graduation that I didn't invite him until 48 hours before the ceremony. (It was then MY fault he didn't come; warped logic, but somehow seemed safer.)

That was 1989. By 1993, the infrequent phone calls and non-existent letters had completely stopped. I called his last-known employer and managed to leave a "Merry Christmas" voice mail on a machine I wasn't even sure was his. About a month later, a disjointed letter arrived with a "last will and testament"; seems he was afraid I might get cheated out of what was "mine" when he divorced the lady he'd married in 1973. Then, nothing. Cards sent to my childhood home were returned unopened. The phone number I'd successfully used once was now out of service.

In 1997, I returned to graduate school and the internet was the new technology teachers could use to help their kids succeed. I used it to search for my dad, without much success. In 1999, when I earned my Master's, I tried a promising-looking address for the graduation invitation, but it was returned by the post office.

After a few years away from God and from church, I returned to a realization that God loved me and cared for me every day, and that I needed to love Him in return; my situation with my dad was not indicative of how God the Father felt about me. After some therapy to work through issues of all sorts, I wrote a Father's Day song and performed it at church. It was written from the perspective of a little girl. Sadly, most of the words are lost, but the chorus went like this:

And today, I want to show you, Daddy
I can catch a ball.
I've learned a lot in school,
I'm still not really tall.
There's lots I wish that I could say
If only you would call:
Today, I miss you most of all.

From 1993 to 2003: 10 years of silence, which had been preceded by 5 years of very little interaction; 15 years without Dad. I knew from a search of the Social Security database that Dad had not died, but that was all I knew. I'd looked for property records online, tried whitepages.com...nothing. I had pretty much given up hope of ever finding him. In December 2003, a friend suggested I search the FAA's database for information. My dad had been a pilot when I was little. Lo and behold, there was an address. I sent a Christmas card. Nothing.

March 17, 2004: I went to my mailbox and found something besides junk mail. The return address was that which I had used for the Christmas card 3 months earlier. The handwriting was Dad's. He gave me his email and asked if I'd send my phone number. We talked three days later: he'd retired, moved to Peru, remarried, and only came to the US once per year to visit his brother, renew his pilot's licenses, and file his taxes. He'd had no idea how to find me, and had given up hope. The address I'd found online was his brother's, but no matter: I'd found Dad.

Father's Day 2004 was our first "together" (though only on the phone) in more than 15 years. He couldn't come for my birthday that year, but arrived a few days later. It was then I had to tell him that I would be moving to Turkey in less than two months.

Since our first reunion in 2004, we've had two Christmases and two of my birthdays together. We've not spent a Father's Day together, but I did get to see him on his birthday in 2008. Communication is still spotty: for most of our recent past, we've both spent more time out of the US than in it, and he doesn't have a phone number that I can use to call him. For reasons I don't understand, Dad still "hides" for weeks at a time without calling me, and doesn't respond to email.

I don't know if I'll even get to talk to him on this Father's Day, and I certainly won't post this on my "family" blog for him to read. I'm not into guilt trips. I did send him a picture, and yet another email, and I'm sure that he will call sometime. However, it's still true: today, I miss him most of all.

UPDATE: Dad logged in to Skype at 3 minutes after midnight my time. It was still Father's Day for him, though. Still miss him, but at least I talked to him.

Who Spent All Our Money?

@YKantBobReed posited that fiscal conservatives would not vote Republicans because the US national debt (as a function of the GDP, Gross Domestic Product) increased more during the times Republicans were in the White House. (He didn't fit all that into one tweet; I'm reading between the lines based on his link posted to @adamsbaldwin.)

The reply from @adamsbaldwin stated, "Congress spends money. Got a chart that tracks Congress along those same timelines?"

As yet, @YKantBobReed has not offered any such chart via his Twitter feed.

Because tomorrow is a school holiday, I have lots of free time :) so I Googled to see if such a chart existed. I could not find one easily, but I collated the data and created my own chart. At the end, I offer a few observations based on the totals.

	Year-2-year % chg. US National Debt as Function of Congressional Control
	% of GDP	Congressional control by party or split S/H control	D	R	split
1945	117.5	D	---					D=Democratic-Controlled Senate, House
1946	121.7	D	4.20					R=Republican-Controlled Senate, House
1947	110.3	R		-11.40				R/D and D/R indicate Senate/House controlled by different parties.
1948	98.2	R		-12.10
1949	93.1	D	-5.10
1950	94.1	D	1.00
1951	79.7	D	-14.40
1952	74.3	D	-5.40					References: http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm
1953	71.4	R/D			-2.90
1954	71.8	D	0.40
1955	69.3	D	-2.50
1956	63.9	D	-5.40					http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms
1957	60.4	D	-3.50
1958	60.8	D	0.40
1959	58.6	D	-2.20
1960	56.0	D	-2.60
1961	55.2	D	-0.80
1962	53.4	D	-1.80
1963	51.8	D	-1.60
1964	49.3	D	-2.50
1965	46.9	D	-2.40
1966	43.5	D	-3.40
1967	42.0	D	-1.50
1968	42.5	D	0.50
1969	38.6	D	-3.90
1970	37.6	D	-1.00
1971	37.8	D	0.20
1972	37.1	D	-0.70
1973	35.6	D	-1.50
1974	33.6	D	-2.00
1975	34.7	D	1.10
1976	36.2	D	1.50
TQ	35.0	D	-1.20
1977	35.8	D	0.80
1978	35.0	D	-0.80
1979	33.2	D	-1.80
1980	33.4	D	0.20
1981	32.5	R/D			-0.90
1982	35.3	R/D			2.40
1983	39.9	R/D			4.60
1984	40.7	R/D			0.80
1985	43.8	R/D			3.10
1986	48.2	R/D			4.40
1987	50.4	D	2.20
1988	51.9	D	1.50
1989	53.1	D	1.20
1990	55.9	D	2.80
1991	60.7	D	4.80
1992	64.1	D	3.40
1993	66.1	D	2.00
1994	66.6	R		0.50
1995	67.0	R		0.40
1996	67.1	R		0.10
1997	65.4	R		-1.70
1998	63.2	R		-2.20
1999	60.9	R		-2.30
2000	57.3	R		-3.60
2001	56.4	D/R			-0.90
2002	58.8	D/R			2.40
2003	61.6	R		2.80
2004	62.9	R		1.30
2005	63.5	R		0.60
2006	63.9	R		0.40
2007	64.4	D	0.50
2008	69.2	D	4.80
2009	83.4	D	14.20
% Change over time			23.90	-27.20	15.90
	It appears that a Democratic Congress increased the debt percentage by almost 24% net over the last 55 years (more than half in 2009). A “split” Congress had a net increase of nearly 16%. Years that had a Republican-controlled Congress decreased the debt percentage by more than 3.5% in recent years in addition to decreases in '47 and '48.
	The Republican Congresses also tend toward smaller increases than either the Democratic or “split” Congresses. So who is responsible: Congress or the President? We the people who elect them all probably need to share some credit and blame as well, but these numbers seem to indicate that those who control Congress make the difference.