Days Off Weeks 6-8 2022

"What's happened to your day off reports?" I hear you ask. Well, the truth is that I have been having plenty of time off over the last three weeks but it has been rather bitty due to circumstances.

Week 6 (February 7-13) we had a German friend, Stefan Beyer, staying with us and so I spent time chatting with him and on two evenings we had guests over. He also led our Wednesday night meeting so I did not need to prepare for that in the same way. On the Wednesday morning, we walked up to and onto Hampstead Heath and then had a look inside Kenwood House. Always good to see those paintings, now including the Suffolk Collection, which if not composed of very good or famous pictures is at least historically interesting.

Then the next week, Week 7 (February 14-20) was pencilled in for my two days of the week off, which were to be spent in Wales. As it turned out the storm meant it was wiser to leave London on the Thursday so it was on that afternoon that Owain and I headed off from Paddington. I can't remember when I was last on a train. When we got to Cardiff we took a train up to Llandaf, where Eleri picked us up. She had been in Aber for the week. We stayed with my middle son. His daughter turned one recently and Owain was 21 so we celebrated those birthdays with a pizza evening at Eleri's sister's on the Friday, after twelve of them played football (not including me) and a gathering at the Emmanuel church on the Saturday morning. In between times, there was time to catch up with family and friends. Great time. Got to see my sister and her husband too as their flight to N Ireland was cancelled. We came home to a blown over front garden fence.

Then this week, Week 8 (Feb 21-27) my Uncle Peter, now 80, flew in from Canada yesterday and so we spent time with him. My sister and I picked him up from Heathrow and we spent a chunk of the day here drinking coffee and chatting. He is my dad's youngest brother, one of only two surviving uncles on either side. His wife sadly died last year. He lives on Vancouver Island.

10 Things in German History that happened on November 9

1. 1522. Birth of German theologian and Refomrer Martin Chemnits (I would have put Martin Luther here but he was born on November 10, 1473).

2. 1518. Pope condemns Luther's writings.

3. 1848. After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, left liberal leader Robert Blum was executed. Many see the execution as symbolic of the ultimate crushing of the German March Revolution in April, May 1849.

4. 1918: Emperor Wilhelm II was dethroned in the November Revolution by Chancellor Max von Baden, who published the news of an abdication before the Emperor had abdicated. Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the German republic from a window of the Reichstag. Two hours later, Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a "Free Socialist Republic" from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss.

5. 1921. Publication of Der 9. November (The 9th of November) a novel by Bernhard Kellermann telling the story of the German insurrection of 1918.

6. 1922: German born Albert Einstein named winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".

7. 1923: The failed Beer Hall Putsch, 8 to 9, marking the early emergence and provisional downfall of the Nazis.  During Nazi rule 9 November was a national holiday in Germany in memory of Nazis who died in the Beer Hall Putsch.

8. 1923: Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, chose 9 November for his return to Germany from exile in the Netherlands. It infuriated his father, the former emperor, who felt the anniversary of his abdication ill-chosen.

9. 1938: Kristallnacht. Known today in Germany as the Reichspogromnacht, on 9 to 10, synagogues and Jewish property were burned and destroyed on a large scale, and more than 400 Jews were killed or driven to suicide. The event demonstrated that the antisemitic stance of the Nazi regime was not as 'moderate' as it had appeared in earlier years.

10. 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended German separation and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification and the Fall of Communism in eastern Europe.

A nice postcard

A friend in Germany sent me the above postcard at the end of last year. He had been in Switzerland and had found my commentayr on Proverbs among some other purchases. The book has a new cover these days and is in its second edition. I believe EP are committed to keeping the Welwyn seriees in print. it's good to be found in the company of Ryle, Spring, etc. Thanks Stefan.

German night Childs Hill

We had our friend from Germany, Stefan, here this week, and so it was a good time to invite my father-in-law over with his new German bride. (It's not that  funny Gwion).

[l to r Geoff, Barbara, Stefan, Gwion, Alffi, Me]

10 Krautrock Bands

The term is disputed but here are 10 German bands from the seventies
1. Amon Düül II
2. Ash Ra Tempel
3. Can
4. Faust
5. Kraftwerk
6. Neu!
7. Tangerine Dream
8. Popol Vuh
9. Sunbirds
10. Cluster

(Most of these bands I am not really aware of but the list was prompted by the death of Can's bassist Holgar Czuky). Out of Focus is another example and should not be confused, of course, with Focus who are Dutch.

10 Nazi Suicides

Wikipedia lists some 110 suicides of Nazis. It says that there wee suicides among 8 out of 41 NSDAP regional leaders who held office between 1926 and 1945, 7 out of 47 higher SS and police leaders, 53 out of 554 Army generals, 14 out of 98 Luftwaffe generals, 11 out of 53 admirals in the Kriegsmarine and an unknown number of junior officials. Here is a list of 10 better known suicides.
1. Adolf Hitler Firearm Berlin April 30, 1945 56 years, 10 days
2.  Eva Braun Cyanide poisoning Berlin April 30, 1945 33 years, 83 days
3. Joseph Goebbels Firearm Berlin May 1, 1945 47 years, 184 days
4. Magda Goebbels Firearm Berlin May 1, 1945 43 years, 181 days
5. Martin Bormann Cyanide poisoning Berlin May 2, 1945 44 years, 319 days
6. Erwin Rommel Cyanide poisoning Herrlingen October 14, 1944 52 years, 334 days
7. Heinrich Himmler Cyanide poisoning Lüneburg May 23, 1945 44 years, 228 days
8. Hermann Göring Cyanide poisoning Nuremberg October 15, 1946 53 years, 276 days
9. Leonardo Conti Hanging Nuremberg October 6, 1945 45 years, 43 days
10. Ernst Bergmann Naumburg April 16, 1945 63 years, 252 days
All of the above were Nazi party members.

The Blue Flower

Having read and enjoyed Penelope Fitzgerald's The bookshop I remembered that I once owned her Blue Flower although I'd not read it. So on to the Internet and a new copy - foolishly I wanted the cover as above. Anyway it added to the pleasure. The Blue Flower tells a story from the early life of the German poet Novalis. I could tell you the plot, insubstantial as it is, but that was not where the pleasure lay. This is one of those novels where the fun is in the brilliant way that she inhabits her characters and brings them alive in a way that draws you in and makes you so familiar with them they are real (as in this case they were, but you know what I mean). It is quite a skill and when you out a book like that down it is like the end of a great symphony. You feel some sort of echo lingering after it, There aren't many books in that league. Anyway I'm now reading a non-fiction piece she wrote on her father Edward Knox and his three brothers. I actually became aware of this when I saw it footnoted in Iain Murray's biography of Ryle. 

European visitor

Adding to the interest of last week's momentous events was having a new German friend. Stefan Beyer pastors a young man we have met when he has been in this country on previous occasions. Stefan came over for the Proclamation Trust's EMA in the Barbican Centre, staying with us either end of that time. It was great to get to know Stefan a little and about his church near Leipzig. I did get to the EMA for one day (the Wednesday) and was a little disappointed. I did enjoy Robin Weekes on contentment. It was a very warm and experiential message. At other times, the conference does seem to find it difficult to integrate doctrine and practice. There seems to be a veering from Hypercalvinism to Arminianism. Good people though and it was great to meet old friends.

Retro Album "of the Week" 35 Stratosfear

The instrumental album Stratosfear was first released in 1976. It followed Ricochet (also a great album). It is by the German group Tangerine Dream. Critics say it marks the beginning of the band's development away from their uncompromising early '70s synthesizer experiments towards something more melodic. It certainly must mark the band at its height with the classic line-up of Froese, Baumann and Franke doing their last album together. Critics also say it combines the band's acoustic and electronic influences more tightly than before. They instance, the deep piano/flute tune at the end of the last track, "Invisible Limits". The LP reached No.39 in the UK, in a 4-week chart run, and eventually reached silver status for selling in excess of 60,000 copies. Great cover. I owned the album but parted with my first copy as a joint birthday present for a school friend, the man who is now Bishop of St Asaph. (If someone has a google search on that phrase may be it will pick up. Hi Greg.)

Midweek Meeting April 29 2015

Another decent turn out and a good time of prayer as we carried on through Philippians 3. This time verses 4-9. Not long before leaving I checked my Facebook and found an unexpected but encouraging message from a German fellow who turned up here a while back. What he had to say chimed in perfectly with the passage. He wrote

"Hi gary, this is **** from Germany. I attended childshill Baptist church about two years ago. Just want to briefly tell you what great things the Lord has done in my life. Last year he blessed me with a really good results in my a levels ... and led me to study medicine in a town close to where i grew up that also has a small reformed congregation with faithful preaching and good fellowship. I am so thankful for that! Well and most prominently He saved me last Winter. I was finally able to trust in the finished work of Christ after subconsciously (he means unconsciously) having tried to present my 'righteousness' before the Lord. I always thought i had to scrub up before coming to Him. Now i know that I come to Him just as i am and let Him change me. Praise be to God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to redeem us from this present evil age. Hope to see you all again soon!

God's grace be with you!"

7-1

Jerome Boatend and Fred (Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 BR <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en>,
via Wikimedia Commons)

Germany 5 Brazil 0 Half-time

Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 BR <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en>,
via Wikimedia Commons

The world cup had been getting a little predictable. Not tonight it isn't. Score 10 Germany!

Christ or Hitler?

I was attracted to this book by its title. It contains a collection of anecdotes and biographical material by Wilhelm Busch (1897-1966) complied and translated by Christian Puritz. We usually only hear about Bonhoeffer and may be Niemoller so it is good to get another voice. Busch, a pietist in the state church, is quit frank about the failure of the German churches but also displays the quiet courage that he and several others did show in a period of intense opposition. Busch lived a long life and so only a relatively small portion (at the end) deals directly with the stand against the Nazis. The whole book is full of interest, however, and serves as an encouragements and a challenge to Christians today in various circumstances, especially pastors. I particularly liked the anecdote of Martin Niemoller's father. He was not allowed to preach but he was allowed to read Scripture. He was able to read Psalm 73 in such a way that every Nazi in the place knowing exactly where they stood. See page 203.

"Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. ... "

10 interesting facts about Charles Hodge

I have tried reading biographies of Charles Hodge the Princeton professor of systematics before but not finished. The bitesize one by S Donald Fortson III is a great overview.

 

1. His grandfather and great aunt would have heard and appreciated Whitefield

2. Benjamin Franklin was his wife's great grandfather

3. George Muller taught him German

4. He heard Charles Simeon preach in Cambridge

5. He heard Schleiermacher (who he disagreed with but thought was a Christian) preach

6. He became a lifelong friend off Tholuck in Germany

7. On his return from Europe he developed a leg problem that left him lame. When he could walk again he had to use a cane.

8. His study door was always open to his children (and grandchildren)

9. His sons A A Hodge and C W Hodge also taught at Princeton

10. His first book was on Romans and came out in 1835 (the same year as Albert Barnes' work)

Carey Prayery

Instead of the usual prayer and share time this year they are having a prayer item at the beginning of each session. So far Matthias Lohmann has spoken about Germany, Erroll Hulse has reminded us of the various conferences that go on in South Africa at this time of the year and Steve Nowak from Stowmarket spoke about his regular trips to Indonesia, The Philippines and Tanzania. Then this morning Robert Strivens urged us to pray for LTS.

Carey Conference 2012 01

Our opening session at this year's Carey was, as is traditional, a biographical paper. Matthias Lohman from Munich, who was with us last year for the first time, spoke on Johann Oncken 1800-1884. You can read about Oncken here. This presentation was  a balanced and practical one. It is sad to think that such a good and well used man should be so forgotten.
He finished with some applications
1. His conversion - never be shy to share your faith.
2. Mark 5:18-20. Don't forget your own people and neighbours. Carey was in India before there was any such work in Germany. Train nationals, ideally.
3. His work in Hamburg - the power of the doctrines of grace despite opposition.
4. Ephesians 4 - his ongoing work in Germany. The importance of unity.
5. Philippians 4 - the importance of recieving and passing on gifts.
6. 2 Timothy 2:2. Oncken was a master of multiplication.
7. His final years - the importance of letting go of what you cannot keep, something Oncken failed to do.
Jeden Baptist ein missionar!