Home!

Just got home a bit ago. About to take a much-needed shower and go to bed. Its the middle of the night Europe-time, so I definitely feel the need to pass out. I've been waiting so long to come home and its just so great to be back in Ohio. More to come.

Last day in Israel

Today is a big day for me. Tonight I am taking a train from Akko to Ben Gurion airport, and in the morning I will fly to Frankfurt to meet up with the Chorale. So today is my last real day in Israel. I don't know if I will ever be back, but I sure hope so. I've really come to love this country. This has really been a good experience. It all just seems a bit surreal- I feel as though it will take me years to understand what I have learned and how my life has changed while in Israel. I've also been thinking about going into the Peace Corps next year after Malone. I can't really say whether or not this is really going to happen- the idea is relatively new in my mind and I still have much to think about, as far as traveling, the future, and school is concerned. I wouldn't mind taking a few years off from school before grad school. I don't know.
Currently listening to Blackout by Muse on Youtube. Pretty bummed they are playing in Columbus this fall, when I will be in England, so I will miss them. But please, please, please, if you live in Ohio, go see them for me. I'm terribly sad I will miss them.
Israel, yes. I highly encourage anyone that has the chance to go. Really, I think traveling anywhere outside the States is beneficial. It really affords an opportunity to look on American culture and lifestyle that doesn't exist in America itself. Plus, experiencing other people's ways of life is so valuable, it is really something you couldn't imagine until you see it. I have seen a lot in my month here, though I am sure it would take years to fully see everything in this little country.
Alright, I'm off to Germany.

Unintended

Check out this link- music video to Muse's song "Unintended" probably my new favorite song. Not even kidding. Absolutely gorgeous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9LOFXwPwC4&feature=channel
Things are going well in Kibbutz Tuval. I'm attempting to upload pictures from my camera on to Facebook. Already loaded them onto several flashdrives so that I can clear up some space on my camera for Europe. Getting really excited to live in England next semester. I'm hoping I have a Gandalf beard by then- it is coming along nicely. I'll post a beard picture soon!

Acco and Football.

Had an excellent day. Wrote the beginnings of a short story in the morning, went to Acco with Dave after that. Toured the crusader fort there, walked on the ramparts, and at at the most famousest of hummus restaurant in Acco. Menu: hummus with beans or hummus with chickpeas. Excellent foodage. Really enjoyed the Knights Templar tunnels and fortress. Unfortunately most of the Knights Hospitaller's fortress is in the Med.
Had dinner with Beth and some friends (excellent foodage yet again) and finished the day with about an hour and a half of football, or what we Americans call soccer. About ten guys from the kibbutz played with us- including two brothers I had had dinner with before the game. It turns out I'm not a terrible goalkeeper, if I do say so myself =)
However, my leg is killing me so I may take it easy tomorrow. I think I pulled a thigh muscle hiking two weeks ago. It was really a lot of fun though. Its a shame more people don't play soccer in America. When I go to England in the fall I'll have to make sure I get good enough to play with the peeps from the area.
World Cup stuff starting on the TV. Excited to be here and in Europe during it. I'm sure more people will be excited about it here and in Europe than in the States. Its funny to see the different country's flags all around- each village has their favorite team. Seeing some German and mostly Brazilian flags.
I really need to take a shower. I played hard. And I'm bushed. Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. I really don't want to leave Israel. I feel like I'm just starting to really feel at home here. It has been about three and a half weeks, by far the longest I've ever been outside of Canton. By the way, Acco is Canton's sister city. So it was pretty neat visiting there- I'm sure not many Canton natives make it out there. It's quite the proverbial hike. I am excited for Europe though. Probably more excited for the 4th of July celebrations at Blossom, where the Cleveland Symphony plays the 1812 Overture and the cannons go berzerk at the end, and there are a thousand American flags in every direction. I'm so excited for the cannons.

Kibbutz Tuval

Hanging out at Beth and Dave's house in Tuval, about 20 minutes inland from Acco. Having a great time here. Yesterday I worked at the kibbutz refet, or cow farm thing in English, and worked today at the kerem, or vineyard, and the mata, or kiwi farm thing. We're at a fantastic location on a hill where we can see the tip of Mt. Carmel into the Med. and Haifa on the coast, Acco on the coast, the whole Beth HaKerem valley, and even the northern border with Lebanon. Tomorrow going with Dave to a crusader castle Belvoir south of Beth Shan, maybe check out the crusader fortress at Acco and run around the Golan. Meeting lots of amazing people here- their friends and Beth's parents today (we had dinner with them and they are amazing) plus the several people I have been working with at the different places.

Leaving Jerusalem

Just woke up. About to get some breakfast then go with the Malone group to the Holocaust Museum/Memorial. It's got a Hebrew name but I'm not even going to try to remember it or type it. After that lunch then taking a bus to Galilee to stay with friends for a little over a week.
So this may be the last time I see Jerusalem. I really have enjoyed this city. It's been such an enlightening experience being here. There is so much a person couldn't possibly think of or understand unless he/she has been to Jerusalem. I'm really going to miss it. But, as I wrote in my journal last night, as one adventure is coming to a close, another springs to take its place.

The Image of God

I've been having this thought since I've been in Israel, and I think I've developed it enough to explain.
In earlier posts I believe I touched on my issue with the Image of Christ. If not, then here is an explanation. When I first got to the Holy Sepulchre -a giant church where the hill of Golgotha, the stone on which Jesus' body was prepared for burial, and the tomb itself are housed- I felt odd, as if I couldn't possibly imagine this man living so long ago and dying several feet away from where I was standing. It was an incredible lack of emotion, or feeling, or really anything.
This last week my group stayed for three days on the coast of Lake Galilee (inappropriately named "the Sea of Galilee" by the ancients) and we toured many archaeological and natural sites of the Galilee region. The last morning we were at the Lake, I decided to wake up early and go sit on the shore. I tried and I tried, but I couldn't see the boat, I couldn't see the storm, or the man on the water. I couldn't see the man cooking fish on the shore while his friends swam and paddled to witness his resurrection.
My mind has been muddled by the Image of God, and I believe it is too late for me. Too late to get these images out of my head, these cartoons, movies, t-shirts, paintings, even icons, that represent the image of Jesus and God.
When God said to have no graven image of him, some ancient people responded by creating standing stones, stones which were only about two feet high and completely bare of marking, smooth and cylindrical, with a round top. Others decided that icons would be a way to do this same thing, to take God from abstract to concrete. Now there are plenty of other and new ways, including crucifixes, that wrongly use the Image of God.
I think the point of not creating any graven image of God is so that humans wouldn't materialize him, or make a material thing to represent him. Though Jesus was a flesh-and-blood man, I don't think we have any right to recreate what we think he might have looked like. When people became interested in only following the graven image command to steer clear of idol worship, they created new ways of idol worship, which I have explained, which I think the graven image command covers and should be interpreted as a command against any image of God, as times and art have changed significantly over the pasr 3,250 years or so.
Interpreting that command word for word has led civilization to where it is now- apart from the reverence of the creator. The Israelites were terrified of speaking his name, and we put him on t-shirts and call him our daddy? Yes I do realize that some of this, including movies, can be helpful in advancing the gospel. But aren't there other ways? How did people evangelize before movies and literacy among the common populace? How did their ministry survive without a Jesus action figure!?
I'm well on my tangent, but I hope you are seeing my point. The Image of God is forever engrained in my vision, which has clouded my ability to feel any kind of spiritual connection to the Holy Land. Granted, capitalism + tourism + religious theme park = disaster, but thats an entirely different subject. Granted, I would get much more out of a dirty hill or cave than a magnificent cathedral, but thats an entirely different subject as well.
Think about your perception of the Image of God. What does he look like to you? What is the source of this mental image? Is God a great and powerful being, too great to physically recreate by human efforts? Or has human civilization across many cultures and centuries skewed your interpretation of the Image of God?
-Jonathan Lincoln

After many adventures

I am back in Jerusalem. I had been in Galilee for 4 days, and it was incredible. We stayed at a holiday resort for three nights at Ein Gev on the shores of Lake Galilee, known from the Bible as the Sea of Galilee. On this trip I really got a sense for viewing America outside of itself.
We were at Capernaum when we got the news that a Turkish (or anyways originating from Turkey) flotilla was attempting to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, that several ships went to the Ashdod port as they were told to do, one refused, was boarded by Israeli forces, and that several Turks died in the process. Later we found out there was armed resistance on the Turkish boat. At Ein Gev we watched the news to get more information, and now it seems that Israel is in the biggest PR ditch ever. Even the USA won't say they are standing with Israel, yet. But it seems as though the current administration won't do that.
I am watching all of this from Israel, and it is a very interesting experience. There was talk of riots in Turkey and even some protests in the States. What if they protest here? I think I'll be ok though. The problem isn't with Americans this time.
I am not glad this terrible event happened, but I am thankful that as this issue has been going on, I have been here to witness it. Who knows if it will be a truly historical event? Maybe it will define global politics for a while. Or not. I'm not going to try to be the judge of that.
Anyways, happy to be home in Jerusalem. I've got my final exam coming up tomorrow, so I'm trying to study for that, and I still have much to go in the Brothers Karamazov. I had a dream last night it was the 4th of July and I was at the Blossom ampitheater, and the Cleveland Symphony was playing the 1812 Overture, and the cannons were pounding and there were American flags everywhere, and it was just America all around. This is the longest I've ever been out of the country, and I do miss home. Israel and America are really different, although Israel resembles America sometimes. The Israeli deserts really remind me of the American Southwest. The dress of the locals reminds me of home, though here people dress a little more European than American. The stores and even the fancy shopping mall down by Jaffa gate remind me of America. The holiday resort I stayed at, and all of the industry reminds me of America. However, the people here are mostly Arabic or Jewish, and look different than most people at home. Garbage is a general issue here, although I don't think the locals think so. The saddest part is that many archaeological sites that come within the limits of modern dwelling expansion usually become trash dumps. That's why some of my favorite sites (like Avdat and Bet She'an) are far away from civilization.
If you think thinks move fast in town in the States, try driving through an Israeli town. Almost every car has multiple nicks and scratches, not from large accidents but from little ones, little paint scratchers, where its obvious that people are crazy drivers. Thankfully, I've been on a tour bus during my travels in Israel, so minor accidents aren't really an issue.
All around, Israel has been good. I've taken over a thousand pictures, and now that I put all that I can on my jump-drive from my camera and only have 170 pictures left, I'm wondering what to do, as I still have nearly two weeks in Israel and then another two weeks in Europe. I'm sure I'll figure something out.
Well, till next time,
-J