Home Again

Ahh, finally home.

Claire and I left for a short break in Berlin about ten days ago, intending to remain in Germany for one week. On account of the volcano however, our stay was unexpectedly extended. Thankfully, our good friends in Leipzig, Hermann and Miriam, put us up as we waited for flight news to drip through on the ryanair website. In the meantime we enjoyed the sights of Leipzig, taking a trip out to nearby Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation. There we saw Luther's house (a former monastery) - a fascinating catalogue of his writings and pamphlets, the remains of his pulpit were all on display. Very enjoyable. We literally stepped into the engine room of the European reformation; Luther's home and study - the epicentre of so much vast and momentous change.

Berlin was also fascinating - so much building work going on as efforts contiue to restore the city in the wake of ww2, the socialist GDR regime and the Fall of the Berlin Wall in '89. We enjoyed a tour of the city that really took us into the midst of Berlin's tumultuous recent history; the buildings erected during the Third Reich, so austere and sterile and looking very much as they did 70-odd years ago, the location of Hitler's bunker (now a carpark/clothes recycling depot), Checkpoint Charlie, every major landmock pock-marked with bullet holes and mortor damage all served to bring home the reality of recent history. Berlin is still very much marked by such recent history; there are memorials located all over the city commemorating minorities persecuted and wiped out under the Nazi regime. The Holocaust memorial and the Jewish museum were both painfully moving. We also popped into the Stasi musuem which documented the extent of the goverment power under the GDR regime - the national socialist government that took power in the wake of ww2. Sponsored by Soviet power, the socialist government of East Germany woked to infiltrate the lives of almost every East German citizen - bugging devices, hidden camera footage documenting suspected dissidents, recording devices and so on were all on display. It was quite chilling. The film "The Lives of Others" is set during the period of the GDR regime in East Germany is a remarkably apt portrayal of what occured. The Stasi museum gave us the chance to actually see the implements and surveillence equipment put to use during the GDR regime up close.

The museums and monuments in Berlin expose and display what was at one time hidden and out of sight. There is no effort to soften or sugar-coat the grim realities of twentieth century history in Berlin. In fact, the visitor is invited to take an objective look at the events of German (and European) history that have had unthinkably terrible consequences for so many. Well worth a visit.

Also managed to finsih reading Marilynne Robinson's novel Home (the sequel to Gilead) as we roved about. An epic read. Very moving. Both books are crammed with beautifully crafted meditations on faith, hope, doubt, grace and so much more besides. Such rich writing. My aim is to jam up a post or two in the future touching on either/or both these novels. In terms of recent literature that powerfully communicates theological truth with imagination and aplomb, Marilynne Robinson's novels are unmatched. I cannot think of a more fitting gift for someone you may know who is either doggedly sceptical about Christianity or asking searching questions about the nature of faith and the reality of God. I hope to read some of her non-fiction work at some point in the near-future.

Now that I'm home again I can finally get round to posting up some more of that apologetiXperiment material too.