Travel Biography - Photo Extravaganza - Part 1.

Introduction.

At the foot of last week's Index, I wrote that I'll be posting the Christmas Photo Extravaganza covering the whole Travel Biography. Looking through the albums and slides, I realised that posting the entire Biography on just one week's blog would be too impractical. Therefore, the display would be divided into several parts over the coming weeks, each week specifying a certain venue or group of venues. All the photos are my own, there will be no stock pictures. Furthermore, all venues will be set in chronological order.

The photo display is significant, as it reveals Travel as it was up to 52 years ago when in 1972 we (a college friend and I) took our first trip overseas without our parents. We were both 19 at the time when we flew from Gatwick to Gerona Airport in Spain for eleven days at the Costa Brava. In 1975, I went to visit Rome, and back then, the Basilica of St Peter, the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Circus Maximus were free to enter, with no queues, and no need for security gates. 

Likewise, a year later in 1976, access to Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Tunnel of Siloam, was free and consisted of a short flight of steps leading straight into a cave-like entrance at Gihon Spring, located at the foot of a cliff, directly from the street. By checking a couple of Internet sites, I found out that entry into the Tunnel is, at present, part of a tour into the recently excavated City of David, and there is an entrance fee to the site, which is near Dung Gate of Jerusalem's Old City.

Likewise, St Peter's Basilica, in 1975, was fully accessible, and one could walk straight up and enter through one of its main doors, like that of any church. Nowadays, although entry into the basilica itself is still free, there is a long queue as every visitor must pass through Security before being allowed in. Also, ranger-led tours are available with a skip-the-line scheme which raises the price of the tour.

As you browse these 35 photos, especially that of the Holy Land, one issue stands out - the lack of crowds. Indeed, some people were milling around the Dome of the Rock but looked to be a group of escorted tourists.  And where the Holy Land is concerned, over the years the vast majority of tourists were in escorted groups, especially Christian pilgrimage holidays. A lone Christian backpacker was a rare sight in the Holy Land.

However, I was with only one other person whilst inside the Tunnel of Siloam, and he lived almost directly above it. He was a member of the Muslim family who was tasked to look after the site and allowed visitors in - back then quite seldom. Nowadays, the Tunnel is part of the City of David archaeological site and crowds buy tickets to enter. Therefore, on a busy day, the Tunnel can get crowded with tourists.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was very much the same. In 1976, I approached the building from the street, entered the Eastern Orthodox church and made my way downstairs to the crypt where the star is located. There were only one or two other people in the crypt. At present, so I heard through the grapevine, a wait of up to two hours separates one's arrival at the church and actually gazing at the star, due to the crowds.

A word on St Peter's House in Capernaum. In 1976, the site remained the original area of archaeology, open to the sky and featuring the remains of several octagonal churches built over the centuries. At present, there is a modern Catholic church built on legs to suspend it directly over the site and with a glass floor through which visitors can see the site directly below. To me, this modern atrocity has no place over the ruins, as the contrast between new and old makes the edifice stand out like a sore thumb. No doubt, some would disagree.

Hence, these photos show what life was like during my younger days before mass tourism took hold.

All the photos displayed on this week's page are original. They were from the acetate film on which either 12 or 24 square negatives measuring 62x62 mm were taken. Thus, editing of each one was required.

For the Biography Index, click here.

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The Photo Display.

These are pics of the 1972 trip to Spain.

View of Tossa-de-Mar, a resort on the Costa Brava.

Beach seen from the Castle, Tossa-de-Mar.

Posing in front of the ruins.

At the Bullring, Barcelona.

Italy - 1973, 1975.

 

At the Crater, Mt Vesuvius, Italy 1973.

Inside the Crater, Mt Vesuvius.

                                     

Temple of Jupiter, Pompeii, 1973.

The Amphitheatre, Pompeii.

                                       

Basilica St Peter, Vatican City, 1975.

View of St Peter's Square from the Cupola.

10 of the 12 Apostles on the Basilica's Roof.

In 1976, I spent three weeks in the Holy Land, the first of the four trips to the Middle East.

Approaching Temple Mount, Jerusalem, 1976.

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.

The Russian Orthodox Church, Mt of Olives.

The Western Wall.

The Chapel of the Ascension, Mt of Olives.

I Entered Hezekiah's Tunnel with one other person.

I look up at the high section of the Tunnel.

In the middle of the Tunnel. A candle gives light.

Ow! I bump my head on the low ceiling. I wasn't hurt.

General view of Bethlehem.

                                      

The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.

The 14-prong star marks the site of the Saviour's Birth.

At the Star of Bethlehem with one other person.

The Synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus was here.

Another view of the Synagogue.

Fishing boats at the Sea of Galilee, 1976.

Looking south towards Tiberias from Capernaum.

St. Peter's House, Capernaum, as it was in 1976.

On the cruiser to Tiberias from Capernaum.

The Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth.

Approaching Jericho and its ancient Tel.

Detail of Ancient Jericho.

At Hebron, Tombs of the Patriarchs.

About to float on the Dead Sea.

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Next Week: North America 1977 and possibly 1978.

Corals, Wife, Baby and Me = Four

Alex and I rose one early morning after the chiming from the bells of the nearby Church of the Holy Sepulchre, set in the heart of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem Old City during Autumn of the year 2000. We knew that this particular day is going to be a busy one. Being off-season, the backpacker's hostel was empty of all other guests. Not that it mattered to us. We occupied the only private bedroom on the first floor. The two other rooms, empty of guests at the time, were dormitories, accommodating single bunk beds, one of them I occupied as a single traveller back in 1993 and 1994 respectively.

Back then, especially in 1994, The New Swedish Hostel was packed with young backpackers, with both genders squeezed into each of the dormitories, with the Medieval domed ceiling adding historic character to the enhancement of our experience. But this time, I was happy to pay more per night in a private room with a double bed. 

We made our own breakfast at the tiny combined member's kitchen and dining room. After we washed the dishes and cleared them away, we set off, the two of us walking through Souk David, and past the Citadel that stands guard over Jaffa Gate, then along the outside of the city wall, towards Jaffa Road in the New City as we made our way to the bus station. During this walk, we passed the Ron Hotel, facing Zion Square and the junction with Ben Yehuda Street - Ron Hotel being the same venue I checked in during late Spring of 1976, over 24 years earlier.

We finally entered the Egged Central Bus Station (and where I was glad to see the toilets!) and having bought tickets, we boarded the bus for the four-hour journey to Eilat, on the northern tip of the Red Sea.

After a four-hour ride, which included a rest stop by the Dead Sea, we arrived at Eilat. After checking out the resort town, we caught a local bus to Coral Beach, a nature reserve and resort just a mile short of the Egyptian border.

Jetty at Coral Beach, Eilat. Taken Oct. 2000.

We had to pay to enter the beach enclosure, which also boasts a hotel with a desk that rents out snorkels. Since Alex was 19 weeks pregnant with our first daughter, we agreed that only I will go into the water whilst she sat and watched from the jetty and preparing lunch for both of us.

As I revelled at the corals beneath me, with many tropical fishes swimming among them, I couldn't help but make a mental comparison to the Great Barrier Reef I visited only four years earlier in 1997. These are different species of coral altogether, mainly hard coral which had built a reef along the west coast of the Red Sea, forming an underwater coral cliff. By contrast, the parts of the Great Barrier Reef I have visited consist of both hard and soft coral, the latter resembling spaghetti strands swaying gently by the current. However, the corals of Green Island cay, off the port of Cairns, was devastated by the invasion of the Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Thank goodness that the reefs of neighbouring Low Isles cay and the fringe reef of Border Island of the Whitsundays archipelago - along with the reef of the Red Sea - remains relatively free from this aquatic pest.

About fifty to seventy metres out from the coast, I saw some divers swimming around a particular spot before they disappeared underwater. This aroused my curiosity. I began to swim to the area. It was then I saw a towering mound of coral standing alone and separate from the coastal reef, with some divers below as they examined the reef from close quarters. One of them looked up to see me floating almost directly above, breathing into my snorkel. As a goodwill gesture, I closed my right fist and stuck out my thumb with the tip pointing upward. The diver looked as if he took offence and returned to the coral mound.

It was afterwards when I realised that by sticking up my thumb, a sign of goodwill here in the UK, in Israel, this was offensive. I felt so embarrassed! What I should have done was to form a circle with my thumb and index finger. Not only was this a goodwill sign in Israel but also an international gesture that all is well among divers.

Other than that setback, the rest of the day went very well for both of us. We had lunch at the jetty, and like at the Great Barrier Reef, I also bought a single-use submersible camera when I rented the snorkelling gear. It was in the evening that my beloved felt somewhat regretful that she didn't share the aquatic experience with me. But she also understood that with the baby growing inside her, we felt that it was better for her to remain safe.

After spending several hours in Eilat, we boarded the bus back to Jerusalem. As we sat on the bus, I looked out of the window across the Rift Valley to the Jordanian mountains on the other side while Alex was sleeping. As the dry Arabah Valley gives way to the Dead Sea at the lower end of the Jordan Rift Valley, I was able to visualise Moses standing on one of those Jordanian mountains, looking across the valley and seeing the expanse of the Holy Land, even as far as the Mediterranean Sea. The land which God told him he wouldn't be allowed to enter.

The sound of the bus engine, as it purred along the road, enhanced the haunting feel of the valley, as if so much history had taken place there, I found to be almost disturbing, especially after dark. I was able the visualise the ancient nation of Edom to the south of the valley, and Ammon further to the north. The discarnate ghosts of ancient history all gazing at this lonely vehicle carrying living passengers from Eilat to Jerusalem. It was a feeling I had never experienced elsewhere.

Red Sea Corals, taken with a submersible camera.

Zebra Fish at the Red Sea.

It was late in the evening before we arrived back at the hostel. Seeing the streets lights of Jerusalem had dispelled any oddness I might have felt during the nighttime journey. Yet, in all, it was a great day as we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

My fascination with the Holy Land goes back to the early to mid-seventies. I was converted from atheism to a Christian believer late in 1972, then aged 20. And one of the fruits of conversion was to start reading the Bible, not only for my spiritual growth but also as a fount of knowledge not learned at school.

And one feature I gradually discovered was that of all the ancient settlements, Jerusalem is mentioned most, and the Bible seems to put much emphasis on this city, both throughout the Old Testament and into the New, at least up to the book of Acts. After this, all the letters concentrated on the churches around the Roman Empire until into the book of Revelation, where Jerusalem once again takes centre stage. Therefore, I came to realise that this specific city holds a very prominent place in God's word to mankind.

But there was an issue left from my days of being an atheist. I was still a devout evolutionist. It was while I was alone in the house during a thunderstorm when I felt a curiosity about how it all began. So, turning to Genesis chapters 1-3, I began to read. And I gasped as I read. Especially about the Fall of Adam and Eve in chapter 3. I thought, No, Adam, no, don't do it! AAAHH!

It was as if the Lord Himself was standing in front of me, offering a choice in what to believe - Evolution or Creation. I didn't hesitate. I believed in Creationism straight away. It was as if the Lord was pleased with my decision and opened the door for knowledge to increase, along with the wonderful privilege to visit this fascinating city in person.

It wasn't long after I had flown the nest and moved into a bachelor pad in 1976 before I had the desire to visit Israel. But not in a tour group. Instead, I wanted to visit the Holy Land on my own, as a backpacker, very much as I travelled across Europe since 1973. And so, still immature and naive as I was, I boarded the airline at Heathrow to Tel Aviv - alone. And my work colleagues were fascinated with me for heading to the Middle East as an independent in the first place.

But I shouldn't have been surprised. After landing at Ben Gurion Airport, I took a taxi to Jerusalem, and the cabbie recommended the Ron Hotel for me. After arrival, I paid the cabbie off, and entered the hotel and asked if there's a room. Thank goodness the receptionist understood English! Suddenly I felt a sense of relief as I climbed the stairs to my assigned room.

As I lay on the bed, suddenly from outside, there was a loud sound of a gunshot. Not from a rifle but from something far more powerful. The boom echoed across the city. Then I knew that this was no beach holiday. Rather, I was in the midst of a war zone. But I was determined to make the best of this trip and see the city so familiar to Jesus Christ, his disciples, and the prophets.

And how I loved the Old City of Jerusalem! Back in 1976, before Israel became more westernised, there was much of the Middle East culture still intact. In the Old City, the streets, or souks, had a gulley running down the centre of the street. Into which slops, including droppings from passing donkeys, were washed into and drained away. Middle East music, very different from our western music, dominated the radio waves. The call to prayer echoed from the minarets of mosques seen across East Jerusalem, such calls echoed eerily down the Kidron Valley. The currency was the Israeli Pound, left from the former British mandate which ended in 1948. But to walk the streets and to visit the Temple Mount so familiar in the Bible was the ultimate thrill, along with wading through the water flowing through Hezekiah's Tunnel, and to stand at the summit of the Mount of Olives, admiring the splendid view of the city - the view Jesus Himself was so familiar with!

Not all was peaches and cream, though. Nearly every day, Arab youths would take me by my arm and start to tour me around - for a fee. At first, I ended up paying them, but eventually, I learned to say No firmly, without being rude. And when my funds ran low before the time, I was advised to write a letter to my parents to transfer some funds to a certain bank in Jerusalem. By sending the letter to them by special post, within three days, my funds were restored. A very important lesson learned!

My next visit to Jerusalem was in 1993, and again in 1994, when I found out that the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, held a conference at the Ron Hotel with PLO leader Yasser Arafat over the proposal to hand over East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, very much against the wishes of the Israelis. A huge crowd of Israelis were demonstrating at Zion Square, spilling into Jaffa Road and Ben Yehuda Street. Here and there, TV cameras were seen, and I wondered whether this protest demonstration will feature on the BBC News. And I found myself right in the midst of it.

Jews celebrate the Sabbath at the Western Wall, 1993.

Walking across the Land where Jesus Christ trod, was the title of the diary which I kept after returning home from the 1976 trip. To visit the land which proves full verification of the Bible was indeed a wonderful privilege.

With the year 2000 trip to Israel with Alex, the total number of weeks I spent in the Holy Land throughout my life adds up to 22 weeks.

"Easter Again!" Says the Atheist.

Easter to me is more than seeing off the end of a cold, miserable winter, and seeing and feeling the weather become warmer, the days become longer, and the sun floating higher in the sky rather than briefly hugging the horizon. It is more than putting away the heavy coat, thick woollen jumpers and wellington boots for the next six months or so. Spring brings promises of warmer days, milder nights and the mental images of barbecues on the beach, swimming in the sea, hiking through glorious nature trails and being out in natural surroundings at its best, with the sun beating down as I pull out a bottle of sun lotion from the rucksack...

Except of course, that here in the UK, we Brits need to first head for the airport to fly south to some foreign country to experience all these things. At least this year, the UK winter is prolonged, it's bitterly cold as we are about to enter the month of April, and there are still snow flurries drifting through the air. And the only source of heat is the gas central heating system in our home, the thick duvet over our bed and, not forgetting, my weekly walk to the public sauna.

To the atheist, Easter originated from some ancient pagan festival celebrating the start of new life - the budding of tree leaves, the blossoming of flowers, the lambing season and the promise of fairer weather ahead - and attributed to some god or deity without the scientific knowledge that the two Poles of the Earth are lopsided by some 23 degrees, and as the planet swings around the Sun on its orbit, its tilt being the cause of the seasons.

Little wonder, that deprived of this scientific truth, the ancients worshipped some deity, with the Sun being reborn each day, seen by them as a deity riding across the sky in a fiery chariot.

 

 

Therefore what the ancients believed fuels the atheist's opinion of the ridiculous. But unfortunately, this applies to the Christian faith as well. As a matter of fact, the Christian faith has become the target for the sceptical arrows above all other faiths. Only today I was reading in the Daily Mail newspaper an essay about the decline of the Christian faith in Britain, based on Archbishop Carey's criticism of the Government's endorsement for our faith to be obliterated by the secularists, the latter being the end result of the writings of such authors as Simon Cowel and Richard Dawkins.

For me, of course, the Easter weekend is all about the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which makes Easter the most important holiday of the whole year, more so than Christmas (although the retail outlets may not agree on this.) I firmly believe in the historicity of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah who died on the cross to atone for our sins. Indeed, this is tremendous news - about the God whose love for us is strong enough to put his Son through such agonising suffering. Furthermore, God had given me the wonderful privilege to spend time in the Holy Land, a total of 23 weeks in five separate visits spanning 24 years, with my last visit together with my wife Alex in the year 2000.

Orthodox Jews ushering the Sabbath, 1993

Visiting the Holy Land had brought the Bible to life in such a way that one has to be there for the experience. Back in 1993 for example, and as a lone backpacker back then, I felt my emotions deepen as I stood just outside the forecourt of the Western Wall on a Friday evening, and watching Orthodox Jews celebrate the ushering in of their Sabbath, on a Friday evening during and after sunset, as with the Hebrew clock, the new day always begins at sunset. To me it was Friday, to them, Saturday. Then as I walked the next day through the deserted streets of West Jerusalem, the area of city occupied by Jews, not a car was to be seen, let alone buses and trucks, and every shop closed, along with offices and every private and Government institution. The whole city being empty of life certainly looked as if the whole of mankind was obliterated, leaving the planet's population of zero (or just one - myself.) It was an extraordinary experience, yet a testimony of the truthfulness of the Bible.  And yet, believe it or not, shortly after sunset Saturday, the whole city was alive and bustling like any Saturday afternoon here in the UK. It also seemed strange to me that Sunday was a normal working day right across Israel and the West Bank alike, yet still attended a church service while the shops were busy trading alongside.

Modern Israel is a testimony of the Bible's truthfulness. But as a Christian, I somehow feel apologetic to the atheist about my firm belief and conviction of the Bible. Richard Dawkins, for one, calls the God of the Old Testament the most savage and cruel, infanticidal bully he had ever known. It would be natural for any Christian to wonder how anyone could address God in such a manner. Yet how would I feel or re-act if Dawkins approached me, aware of his excellent knowledge of the Bible?

Take, for example, Numbers 16. From verses 27 through to 34, there is a narrative of the destruction of the families of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. It was these three men who sinned against the Lord although their wives and adult sons most likely co-operated and gave their blessings. But in verse 27 there were mentioned of "little ones" - most likely their grandchildren. Dawkins can argue that these were far too young to understand any implication of their transgression, yet perished screaming with the rest of the family by pure divine justice.

Another striking example of infanticide can be found in 1 Samuel 15:3 where God through Samuel, instructs King Saul to annihilate the whole of the Amalekite nation, not just adult men and women but also children, infants and sucklings too, along with all their livestock. Although King Saul did sin in sparing the livestock, he did obey the Lord in slaying every human being - including infants and sucklings.

Dawkins would have the perfect right to ask me where is the justification in such innocent infants to be slain. He would ask, how was it possible for such children to be slain for the sins their ancestors had committed against Israel? All they were concerned were for their mother's maternal love and comfort and to be breastfed. What does the suckling know about some transgression committed by some great grandfather? It is like saying that both my wife, daughters and myself be punished for the crimes of the Crusaders committed 900 years ago, who happen to be my Mum's ancestors. How would I answer Dawkins?

Then American atheist Sam Harris takes up the issue in questioning the validity of the Bible being God's word by calling into question the measurements of the huge circular bath, or sea, constructed by King Solomon to be set up by the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 7:23, 2 Chronicles 4:2.) Both narratives gives the measurements as ten cubits from rim to rim and thirty cubits in circumference. To Harris, this was the most crudest approximation for PI as it could have ever gotten, a strange thing for Almighty God to give through his inspired writer. Even the ancient Babylonians, a thousand years before Solomon, had a far more accurate approximation for PI than what the Bible allows, according to Harris.

Indeed, Harris would be right. Ten cubits times PI would give a result of over 31.4 cubits, nearly one and a half cubits more than what the Bible had given. But if you look carefully at the above pic, (I know it's rather small - there is little I can do about this) - you will notice a recess just below the rim. If this recess was four inches deep, then the diameter would have been eight inches less than the actual rim. Considering that the measurement would be made much easier if taken at the recess than from the rim itself, assuming that one cubit was 18 inches, this would have given a circumference a tad over 540 inches, or almost exactly thirty cubits. The Bible wasn't too far out after all.

I perhaps can give a plausible answer to Harris on the approximation of PI, but in the New Testament there are issues that would have thrown me back, even to this day. For example, Matthew quotes a prophecy which he says that it was from Jeremiah, but it is actually from Zechariah (Matthew 27:9-10 with Zechariah 11:12-13.) If Matthew wasn't able to check his resources properly, then how could this piece of Scripture be inspired of God? So Harris also asks. True enough, Jeremiah did buy a field (Jeremiah 32:6-9, also 19:1) which might have given enough inspiration for Matthew to quote, nevertheless, the actual quote was from Zechariah, not Jeremiah.

Then there seems to be a disagreement between Mark's and John's accounts on the timing of the crucifixion, an issue which bothers me to this day. Mark has Jesus being nailed on the cross by nine in the morning (15:25) while John has Jesus still before Pilate by noon (19:14) when Pilate cries out, "Behold your king!" According to John, by noon Jesus was still with Pilate, while Luke, like Mark, has Jesus not only on the cross by noon, but also the start of the darkness which was to last three hours, i.e. until three in the afternoon. Luke also recorded the meeting of Jesus with Herod. Even if Herod was in Jerusalem at the time, if Jesus was already on the cross by nine in the morning, then his meeting with Herod must have been brief indeed. Atheists by the likes of Dawkins would have a field day. Given credit that the Sanhedrin had delivered the Lord to Pilate as early as six in the morning, with an hour spent with Herod, both quite plausible, it does not solve the discrepancy between Mark's and John's accounts.

I'll be honest here: If Dawkins, Harris or for that matter, Cowel, confronts me with these issues, I must admit that I'll be at a loss on how to answer them. For me, these are serious issues on which my faith in Christ rests upon. In fact, the Bible is the sole authority on which the whole of the credibility of the Christian faith rests. Our salvation depends on it.

In my blog, Good Friday? I'm Confused, written two years ago, I dealt on when Jesus was crucified, and I advocated a Thursday Crucifixion, based on one sole verse, found in Matthew 12:40. It was Jesus' own saying, tying his duration of his burial to that of the prophet Jonas, who was in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights. At the Good Friday service, one of the Elders mentioned in his sermon that in two days time we would be back here (in the church building) to celebrate his resurrection. Two days from Friday. In Hebrew numeracy, there is no zero. Therefore Friday itself would have been counted as day one, Saturday as day two, and Sunday as day three, even if the day began at sundown Saturday, giving a complete first twelve hours of Sunday for Jesus to remain entombed. But even with no zero in Hebrew counting, this does not add up to three nights as well, as there would have been only Friday night and Saturday night (or Saturday morning and Sunday morning, both before sunrise.) A Thursday crucifixion makes better sense, but this does not only go against the grain of my church at Ascot, but the whole of Christian tradition. Another area where the atheist would have had his day.

But also in the Bible there is much to credit for its inspiration. Just read Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 along with Zechariah 9:9 and others. There was no way that these writers imagined the future from their standpoint without divine inspiration. Despite some difficult bits, the Bible is still trustworthy and the Holy Word of God. And because of it we can trust the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation and celebrate Easter as well.

Happy Easter to you all.

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Any comments shedding light to the issues mentioned above would be most welcome. True, I have a modification system set up, but this is to keep out advertisers (e.g. Click on this link to see my great product etc.) and it's is not to discourage discussion. God bless.  

Holidays At Last!

Or Vacations if you live in the USA. This weekend is often known as "The Big (or Great) Getaway" because all the schools across the nation had broken up for the summer. According to one newspaper report, nearly 500,000 travellers will pass through London Heathrow Airport this weekend - as sun-starved Britons fly south for two weeks of glorious weather after three months of rain and grey skies here in the UK.

Holidays are a time of fun, to relax, or to take a break from the "wind and tempest" of our daily responsibilities. Whether is relaxing on the beach with the turquoise sea lapping gently a couple of metres from your feet, or hiking up a mountain, such a change of environment certainly recharges the batteries in readiness to return to the normal routines of life. Or at least, that was the intention!

Then again, at the same time as our schools shut down, the Daily Mail newspaper carried a report that in 2011, more than 3,700 Brits were treated at a foreign casualty department, as a result of overindulgence of alcohol and drugs. Also during the period 2011/2012, there were more than 6,200 British deaths, although this statistic included those who live overseas, ex-pats whom many were senior citizens who have moved overseas to enjoy their retirement in the sun. But that does not rule out the chance that any young person jetting out for a wild booze up will return home in a coffin. And excess alcohol and drug intake seems to be the motive primarily for the Club 18-30 age group, who fly to the Mediterranean island of Ibiza for alcohol-fuelled overnight parties. As a result, also during the same period, over 6,000 young British holidaymakers were arrested and had to swap their hotel suite for a prison cell. Tanked up carelessness, I believe, was also behind the majority of the loss or theft of 28,569 passports. Little wonder that the rest of the world takes a very dim view of British tourists, according to the Media.

As an unmarried Christian prior to 1999, I regularly attended singles after-church meetings on Sunday evenings. These were informal meetings over coffee, at the home of anyone who was willing to host. I opened the door of my apartment several times during those days. Even after our wedding, I still attended for several months after. Holidays were a favourite topic of discussion. Generally, the vast majority of Christians, single in particular, go with a very popular British Christian holiday group, Oak Hall, which is based in Kent. Here, Christians can have fun without the party spirit and excess booze-ups. But the company does not cater just for the singles. A number of married couples as well as families holiday with them. They have prayer meetings and Bible teaching mixed in with the fun. Also talked about was MasterSun, a posh version of Oak Hall. MasterSun catered for Christians with money and class, and I knew of one or two graduates who flew out with this company. However, some years ago MasterSun went out of business, but recently resurrected itself under a new name.

In preparation for this article, I browsed this holiday website. A ten day trip to Israel, for example, including departure from London Heathrow and arriving back again, the cost was on the approach to £1,000 per person, not including flights. I thought "Wow!"  Then if you are the one for personal privacy, then add £200 single supplement. It was a fully escorted tour including prayer and Bible study. Really, the very fact that all places were taken for the summer season shows their strong popularity. There is nothing wrong with any of this. Nearly all, if not all, Western Christians setting foot in the Holy Land seem to do so in a group. But furthermore, it looks to me that independent backpacking is a sin. There is hardly a Christian I know who can share this experience.

I spent weeks in the Holy land for just a fraction of the price. In Jerusalem, I stayed at a small backpackers hostel in the heart of the Old City. The main dormitory was housed in a medieval room with a domed ceiling. Here I was really tasting a bit of history. Just for a few Shekels a night. I shared a tiny communal kitchen with other backpackers. One evening, I found myself talking with one from South Africa. He asked me what I was doing in Israel, and why I came here. Gosh, what an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with an unbeliever! When I finished talking, I looked up, only to see the entire room full of faces listening in to what I was saying.

The Damascus Gate, Jerusalem, taken in 1993.


And this is precisely why I believe that there is something unreal about Christian holidays. The incredibly cliquey attitude, as if safety in numbers gives the necessary protection against predators!

Throughout my lifetime, God has blessed me richly with travel adventures. Furthermore, as a lone backpacker, I was fully protected by God himself. No matter what situation I found myself in, or even poor choices or bad decisions taken, the love of Jesus Christ still sustained me. Like the time I needed to make my way to the Greyhound Bus Station in Los Angeles, which involved a walk through a rough estate. I prayed and trusted in the Lord that I wouldn't attract attention. I arrived at the terminal in fine form, from which I boarded a bus bound for San Francisco. Or while in Jerusalem, I found myself in the thick of an Israeli demonstration against the Palestinian's proposal to make East Jerusalem their headquarters. It was an incredible experience, with the burning of Palestinian flags in front of TV cameras, which were just about everywhere. Or that time in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, at another backpackers hostel, I found myself sharing the love of Jesus Christ to a couple of Jewish travellers, with the proprietor in the lounge with us. Afterwards, the owner asked me to take charge of the hostel, for she had to go out that evening. So I was left to lock the doors and made sure all as well and secure. And that was my first of two nights there before taking the next Greyhound bus to San Diego.

One of the greatest advantages of independent travel is that if you particularly like the location you arrived at, you can spend as much time as you want, without the strict time restriction imposed by a tour leader, escort or ranger. One excellent example is the Grand Canyon. When I arrived there in 1995, I was free to spend as much time as I needed. So I spent four days and three nights, part of this taken by hiking to the bottom and back up, a feat which meant a night at a campsite close to the gentle flowing Bright Angel Creek which joined the main Colorado River nearby. As I looked up, I saw the clear night sky in a way I had never seen in the UK. Countless stars visible through the pristine air in and over the Canyon, which were invisible elsewhere.

Just below South Rim of the Grand Canyon, 1995.

As I once explained to a friend one evening at a pub, the advantage of soaking in a particular location is to allow the land to speak to you. Like this, by my prolonged stay in the Holy Land, I was able to watch how the Jews and the Palestinians actually live side by side on a day-to-day basis. Learning about foreign cultures by daily experience and interaction. And still visit all the important, historical and Biblical sites by having a guidebook. In Israel, most of these sites are accessible by public transport, mainly buses, but taxis and sheruts (communal taxis where the fare is shared between up to six passengers) are easily available. And learning how to be polite but firm in refusing a shopkeeper's begging to step in and "just look around," or someone insisting on commentating over a particular site for a fee. These personal approaches happen all the time to a lone tourist in Jerusalem.

Or the magnificent Grand Canyon or the mighty Niagara Falls in Canada, both spectacular wonders in God's creation. One remarkable characteristic about the Grand Canyon was that three different colours stood out: the white limestone layer, the red sandstone cliffs and the green vegetation growing inside the Canyon. It looks to me that in the Bible, White, Red and Green are the three most important colours. White represents the purity of God, green his creation and red his redemption. And those three are prominent in the Canyon. The power of God! Thus, by staying a while at the site, this was another example where I allowed the land to speak to me.

For many Brits, the holiday (or vacation) is just one big booze party. There are consequences of this, as already mentioned above. But on the other hand, it can also be the perfect occasion for you to get close to God, allowing him to reveal to you his great power and glory through his work in creation, a time to meditate and reflect, as well as to rest and have fun. It is also a good time to share the love of Christ to others if the opportunity arises.

Having fun is not sinful. A ride on a roller coaster can be a daring challenge, as with avoiding the collisions at a bumper-car track. A fun fair provides many a good laugh. And not to mention swimming in the sea, snorkeling or diving over the corals, or just building sandcastles with the children, enjoying an ice cream.

To me, taking the aeroplane just for a big booze up and risking jail at the same time...I think I have far better things to do with my hard-earned cash.

Revelation 3:20 - A Sinner's Prayer?

It was a warm August day in 1993, while backpacking Israel, I walked from the Church of the Nativity to a smaller, less well known chapel known as The Grotto of the Milk, at the small town of Bethlehem, at the West Bank district of the Holy Land. According to tradition, this was the site where Joseph, Mary with their baby Jesus were about to flee the town after being warned by an angel in a dream, of Herod's forces out to slay all children under the age of two. Apparently, as they began their journey to Egypt, Mary felt it was time for her child to have his feed. During the feed, a drop of breast milk fell to the ground beneath her, turning the bedrock white. It was a fascinating but purposeless miracle passed as historic by the Roman Catholic Church to which the chapel belongs.

Grotto of the Milk, Bethlehem

I was alone as I entered the chapel, down a flight of stairs to what is really an underground basement. The bedrock was indeed white. Above the altar there was a beautiful statue of Mary breastfeeding her Son. Nearby, fixed on the wall, as if to anticipate skepticism of the miracle, was a plague on which the words were inscribed:

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2).

There was also a tradition that powder scraped from the wall and added to drinking water enhanced fertility in women, as well as adding special benefits to women already pregnant. Therefore, to many Protestant Christians, where I was standing really amounted to a pagan shrine, bestowing divine, miraculous powers to a Jewish woman who happened to give birth to the Messiah.

Yet as I stood alone and looked around, the soft instrumental version of the well known Italian Catholic song, Ave Maria floated through the air, I felt a wonderful presence Of God. I could imagine myself kneeling at one of the pews facing the Altar and pouring out my heart to God, maybe with some tears shed. The serenity of the place, separate from the hubbub of life above, created such a perfect environment for prayer and Bible meditation.

Presence of God? In a pagan shrine?

Dave Hunt, in one of his books, gives the story of a Protestant Christian missionary successfully converting the Taliabo, inhabitants of a remote island in Indonesia, to faith in Jesus Christ. From then on, Christian worship services where conducted right within the idol temples of their former deity. God was certainly present there, the presence of demonic images certainly did not deter the presence of Jesus Christ himself!

And this is backed by the New testament itself. In the book of Acts, we read of Paul the Apostle, entering into the Acropolis in Athens, and among pagan altars, preached the Gospel of Christ right in their midst. We read that some believed, indicating that the Holy Spirit wasn't put off his ministry by the presence of pagan altars and temples. The same can be said of (now the Turkish) city of Ephesus, where a Temple to Diana was built to commemorate the significant shaped meteorite which fell from the sky, believed to be a sign from Diana herself. (And I find it amazing the degree of parallelism between the Temple of Diana to that of the Grotto of the Milk). Yet not only Paul preached the Gospel there, but some believed and a church was founded, to which we can read Paul's letter addressed to that church.

But what all this to do with the title of this article? The title being:
Revelation 3:20 - A Sinner's Prayer?

First let us read the Scripture, then I hope to present the idea that God, being Sovereign, can and does do what he likes. If God wishes to use a verse of passage of Scripture which may seem "unorthodox" to speak to someone, why shouldn't he, just as in asking why shouldn't the Lord make Himself present in a pagan shrine or temple in order to reveal His mercy and grace.

Revelation 3: 20 reads: Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Christians are divided on the issue whether this verse should be used by the sinner asking the Lord Jesus to "come into his heart" which is of course, the inner man, not the muscle blood pump. The reason for the controversy was that here Jesus was addressing a church of believers who had lost their initial zeal for God due to the rise of materialism and their growing trust in medicine instead of dependence on God. It wasn't addressed to unbelievers.

Yet there were many evangelical leaders who promoted this verse as an act of conversion. The late Bill Bright, who was Head of Campus Crusade for Christ, advocated it in his tract, The Four Spiritual Laws, which was later followed by Knowing God Personally. Also promoting the idea was Jack Chick, with his famous cartoon tract, This Was Your Life and in all his cartoon tracts.

Jack Chick's most famous cartoon tract

According to Chick, asking Jesus Christ into your heart was the most important turning point in one's salvation. Another author who advocated this idea was Salem Kirban, who wrote books on the Rapture, the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ. Authors Hal Lindsey and I believe, Tim LaHaye favoured the idea, along with the late John Stott, in his book, Basic Christianity. In his book, Stott points to a painting by Holmon Hunt, now found at St Pauls Cathedral in London. it features Jesus Christ holding a Lantern and knocking on a closed door, partially obscured by shrubbery, indicating that it had never been opened. According to Stott, Hunt based his work on Revelation 3:20.

Along with these leaders and authors, I read testimonies of changed lives as a result of asking Jesus Christ into their hearts. There were quite a number of these testimonies. One wrote,
"One night, just before bed, I asked God to enter my heart. When I woke the next morning, I felt totally different."

Then there were those against the idea that Revelation 3:20 should be used for conversion. It does not seem to go down well with the Baptists, as both my former minister as well as my present one, insists that this verse is addressed to believers and should not be used in evangelism. One of my friends in the church said the same thing. Authors who did not use the verse for evangelism include Clive Calver, former president of Evangelical Alliance who, in one of his books, Sold Out gives a story about while preaching in one church, denounced the "Asking Jesus into one's heart" form of conversion. One in the congregation stood up and asked, "What about Revelation 3:20?"
Calver than shot back,
"Tell me, what is the last word of Revelation 3:19?"
The person could not answer. In fact, it is the word Repent.
And this is the point of this article. Repent and Repentance are words directly linked to conversion, acknowledged by all Bible scholars, teachers and evangelists. Clive Calver also rebuked Stott's association of Holmon Hunt's painting with Revelation 3:20, and instead says that it was based on John 8:12, where Jesus says that he is the Light of the world.

Holmon Hunt's painting at St Pauls Cathedral, London

So besides Revelation 3:20, are there any other verses in the Bible which talks about Jesus being in the inner man?

In John 14:20 Jesus actually said,
At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you...If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come into him, and make our abode with him. (verse 23)
Abide in me, and I in you... John 15:4.
He that abide in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. v.5
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith..Ephesians 3:17.

It should be noted that all these verses apply only to believers, as with Revelation 3:20, not to unbelievers. But I believe that God can and does honour the "sinner's prayer" for simply to pray such a request, he would have already believed in the first place. And that despite that the "sinner's Prayer" has only been around within the last hundred years or so, probably less. The truth is that we are saved by believing, which is to say, by trusting. The sinner hears the word of God and quite likely he would be convicted of his sins. For some, if not many, this may be necessary for knowing why he is in need of a Saviour. A person may think that he is good enough to go to Heaven after death and not realise that he has sins in his life which would bring him to judgement.

One speaker at the Calvary Community Church in California, who has a website, Living Waters gave this demonstration of one's shortcomings and the need of a Saviour:

"I was sitting in the aeroplane and I began to talk to this person next to me. Soon I was witnessing to him why he needs a Saviour." I then asked,
"Do you believe that you're a good person?"
"Well, yes. Of course I do." was the other's reply.
"Have you ever lied to someone?"
(After a moment's thinking) "Yes,I have."
"Have you ever avoided paying tax?"
"Oh dear, yes, I did."
"Have you ever hated someone?"
"Er, yes."
"Have you ever lusted after a woman?"
"Er, yes, many times."
"Have you ever swore?"
"Yes, many times."
"So you are a murderer, a thief, a liar, an adulterer and a blasphemer. So much of a 'good' man! You are ripe for judgement."

By now the sinner is convicted of his sins and aware that he will be judged for them. Then comes the good news that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for his sins on his behalf. He immediately believes the good news. Two things have happened here. first he turns from his sins, which we call repenting. Then he believes or trusts in the Saviour. Both are heart matters and actually, repenting and believing is one and the same act. He turns from his sins, to Christ, one single act of faith. Then, according to the belief of the evangelist, he then asks Jesus Christ to come into his heart as Lord and Saviour. But he prays this as a believer, not as an unbeliever turning into a believer. And that conversion took place in a metal capsule 39,000 feet up in the air. It would have been just as effective in a pagan temple. To God, it makes no difference in location. And it makes no difference whether the prayer was said or not, but I think it is a good idea for confirmation of one's faith.

Is that person now saved? Yes, he is saved according to Scriptures. But I am aware that some on this website teaches that Baptism is necessary for salvation. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for this person being immersed in water while in an aeroplane nearly 40,000 feet up in the air! Now just supposing that the new convert suddenly dies of a heart attack. Would he go to Hell because he wasn't baptised? Surely to ask such a question is enough to answer it. Yet Baptismal Regeneration is taught by some, such as the Church of Christ, and it proves to be very popular here.

For an answer to this, a detailed account of a Gentile's conversion is given in Acts 10. This is an account of Peter entering and then lodging in the home of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion. While Peter was preaching to all those assembled there, suddenly the Holy Spirit descended and filled them all in the house, and they began to praise God in their own languages. Peter was astonished that non-Jews too can be saved and receive the Holy Spirit, putting an end to the apostle's idea that conversion was for Jews only. Then they were all baptised in water, another case when God "broke" the average Christian tradition of first Faith, then Baptism, then Holy Spirit filling. Furthermore, none of them said the "sinner's prayer" as Revelation wasn't written yet at that time. But they were equally saved just the same. Yes, God can do what he likes when dealing with sinners, because he is Sovereign.

If a person feels it is necessary to pray to ask Jesus Christ to enter his heart, God will honour that, providing that he prays as a believer. If he doesn't pray the prayer but like Cornelius, believes anyway, he is still saved.

Likewise, the presence of God can be felt in a church building, in an aeroplane, in a tavern, at a pagan temple or shrine, or in a big open-air Christian meeting, at work, or all alone adrift at sea.

It's because God in his sovereignty and omnipresence is not "boxed in" by human thinking and tradition.