10 Tips on German Culture

If you are planning on spending some time in Germany, HERE are 10 things to avoid so as not to offend people. I think I may have broken all 10 out of ignorance.

Blog update

For those of you who may be considering studying abroad, or specifically in Germany, please note that I have updated my page Preparing For Studies Abroad. I have inserted several extremely helpful links to help sort through the nitty-gritty details related to matriculation, residence permits, etc.

And, while I’m posting some links, here are some more helpful resources for learning the German language. Be sure to check out the Goethe institute’s Grüße aus Deutschland. Deutsche Welle’s Audio Tutor helps learners effectively grasp basic vocabulary and improve your pronunciation. Finally, THIS series of texts gives you practice with your listening comprehension. Well, that should keep you busy for a while.

Busy Mother’s Day Weekend

Enjoy these pictures from mother’s day weekend. You’ll see some pictures of Melody with pig-tails–this was the first time she ever wore them.

The church’s dilemma with gay marriage

What a week it’s been for the topic of marriage. It seems the nation has been forced to think more critically about the topic of marriage. What actually is marriage? Who defines marriage and who writes the rules? This week North Carolinians took to the polls, voting to disallow gay marriage, and President Obama took to the media, announcing that he now supports gay marriage.

Throughout the discussions, conservatives and religious groups repeatedly pointed to the importance of cultural disconformity, arguing for the right to define and interpret marriage according to their sacred, ancient Scriptures.

But what many Christians have overlooked in this discussion is the glaring contradiction staring them in the face–many Christians vehemently fight to protect marriage from cultural (i.e. homosexual)  influence without realizing that Jesus’ most basic teachings on marriage have been compromised and ignored by the church for decades. Let me provide an example. Jesus plainly teaches that divorce is not an option for a married couple. Period. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus directly forbids remarriage after divorce, teaching that such an act is sinful (e.g., Matt 5:32, Mark 10:11, Luke 16:18). Similarly, the Apostle Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching, saying, “I command the married, according to Jesus’ own teaching, that a woman must not divorce her husband, nor a man his wife. But if a divorce does occur, they must remain unmarried or be reconciled to each other” (1 Cor 7:11).

Although I’ve only provided two examples, these serve to capture the Bible’s consistent teaching on marriage and divorce. Yet, despite such clear and consistent biblical teaching, these practices are increasingly common among todays Christians. Perhaps Christians who remarry after divorce are just ignorant of the Bible. In my own discussions, however, I find that Christians simply choose to ignore, reinterpret, and make lame excuses to justify their own need to divorce and remarry. How many times does one hear a Christian say, “I know the Bible’s teaching on divorce and remarriage, but surely God is more concerned about my personal happiness. Those teachings on divorce and remarriage are outdated. They were meant for a culture very different than our own.”

Suddenly, one realizes that Christians are using the exact same excuses to justify divorce and remarriage as gays are using to justify their need to marry–personal happiness and a different culture as the end all justification and reason.

If the church has so blatantly ignored the Bible’s teaching on marriage, why should the secular culture be expected to follow biblical norms? Why do Christians picket and campaign against gay marriage, but not against remarriage after divorce? Why do pastors agree to marry a couple that has been divorced? Why is okay to uphold the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality but not on divorce? Why do Christians walk around carrying signs that say, “God hates fags”? Haven’t they read the Bible? “‘I hate divorce’ says the Lord God of Israel” (Malachi 2:16).

Tackling my study

This week, my wife and I began the daunting task of organizing my study. My task? To decide which books I absolutely have to take with me to Germany, which to store, and which to throw out or pass along. I narrowed my essential books down to these two piles (see picture). The taller stack on the left is the books that will come in suitcases, in the shorter stack are the books I hope to read or re-read before our departure.

Then, once the study was organized, I was able to take some pictures of my desk. Unfortunately, it will not fit into a suitcase and is too big to be a carry on, so I’m going to list it on Craigslist.

Preparations

Greetings to you from the world’s most inconsistent blogger! I thought I’d tell you a little about what life is like for us as we prepare to move in a month-and-a-half. We are selling tons of stuff because we will move to Germany with 4 suitcases. Each additional suitcase would have cost an extra $230. So, as you can imagine, yard sales and Craigslist are our best friends right now.

 Here, Hannah Joy is celebrating the completion of another succesful yard sale yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. Thanks to all of you who came and bought stuff! And while we’re on the topic of Hannah Joy, let me brag on her a little bit. People often ask how she’s handling the prospect of moving to Germany, to a country where she does not even know the language. She is thrilled. Hannah Joy has always dreamed of living overseas, so for her this is a dream-come-true. And the thought of selling everything we own is a bit daunting, but we have been anticipating this for several years. All of our clothes come from thrift stores and yard sales, as well as just about everything else we own. Hannah Joy and I were talking last night about how this process gives us a reminder that stuff is just that . . . stuff. Replaceable. Anyways, my wife is incredibly supportive, and thrilled to be moving overseas. She is pretty amazing!

Several items that sold on Craigslist were hard to let go of, including:

This aloe plant that has kept me company at work. I have been growing it for about 4 years now.

I also parted with my Vintage Peugeot bike. But by far, one of the most difficult things to leave behind will be my dog, Sophie. She is a part of the family. My wife and I got her when she was just a few weeks old, when we had just gotten married. We’ve had her for close to 5 years now. She isgreat with the baby. Although Germany is very pet friendly, we are not able to bring Sophie because the housing we have arranged does not allow dogs. I am sure I will weep when I say goodbye to Sophie. I am almost in tears now as I write this.

But, on a brighter note, things are coming together for us as our moving date approaches. We even bought our plane tickets. We fly out of Atlanta on August 3rd and arrive in Munich on August 4th. I can only imagine what the flight is going to be like with a 1-year-old! We will spend the month of July with family, which we are extremely excited about. And we are having some special times here in Louisburg in the meantime. Last week Melody got to pick strawberries for her first time. She loved the whole experience, as the pictures below will demonstrate. We anticipate a trip to my Nana’s in a couple of weeks. Then my younger sister will spend a week with us in June, yeah!!! And as I mentioned, we will be with family during July. Hopefully by the end of July, our family’s will be so tired of us that they will be begging us to leave the country!

I continue to work like crazy on practicing German. I received a big compliment last week. My conversation partner, who usually offers a steady stream of corrections, paused and said, “Andy, your German is really improving.” German has even started making its way into my dreams, but usually as soon as it does I wake up in a cold sweat. I continue to practice the language daily, and plan on only communicating in German once the plane lands in Munich on August 4.

Well, that’s about all that’s new on our end. Please pray that we will be able to sell both of our cars before our move (we have a 1990 corolla-$2,400, and a 1996 Buick-$2,900). I’m going to try to be more regular in my blogging. In the meantime, enjoy our pictures from the strawberry patch. 

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The Bowdens are Moving

Dear friends and family,

We want to keep you informed about some exciting developments in our family. We will be moving to Germany this summer! We hope to arrive in Germany in early August, but we may arrive earlier depending on details. We then plan on living in Germany for at least three years. We will make our home in the city of Munich, which is in the German State of Bavaria and in the foothills of the Alps. Munich, the third largest city in Germany with a population of 1.42 million, is famous for being the home of the BMW automobile, the home of Oktoberfest, and for making some of the best sausage in the world. Housing is extremely hard to come by in Munich, but we have been fortunate to find an apartment with a Christian housing community called the Collegium.

We plan on staying in Munich for at least three years. During this time Andy will work on his Doctorate of Theology at the University of Munich (LMU). This school is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with a more than 500-year-long tradition. It is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world and has more than 45,000 students in attendance. In his dissertation, which will be supervised by Professor David du Toit, Andy will examine the Apostle Paul’s concept of desire. Hannah-Joy will be busy taking care of Melody (and Andy), learning the German language, and possibly working part-time as a nanny.

Why Germany? There are several reasons we are eager to move to Germany. We love to travel and experience new cultures. We have always dreamed of living overseas. Moreover, there are several benefits for Andy getting his doctorate in Europe: there is no cost of tuition in Germany—school is free; the doctoral programs last for three years, as opposed to five or six years in the states; a doctoral degree from Germany or from Europe is considered more prestigious, opening more doors for Andy to teach once he graduates.

What are we doing right now to prepare? Between now and the end of July we are preparing for our big move. We are beginning to sell things on Craigslist and at yard sales. Basically everything we own must go: cars, furniture, clothes, etc. Whatever we take to Germany will have to fit in a couple of suit cases. Our plan is to be finished with our yard sales, packed, and moved out of our house by the end of June. This will allow us to spend the month of July with family. Hannah-Joy will not teach this summer, and Andy’s last day at the bank will be at the end of June. We are also trying diligently to learn the German language. Andy will have to pass a German competency exam before he begins studies in September; much of Hannah-Joy and Melody’s knowledge of the language will come when we arrive.

We wanted to keep you informed of our exciting news. We also ask that you would keep us in your prayers throughout this process. Here are some of the ways you can pray:

• Pray that everything leading up to our move this summer will go smoothly (saying our goodbyes, selling off our stuff, leaving our jobs, etc).
• Pray that we will successfully learn the German language.
• Pray that all of our financial needs will be met—that a grant or research position will open for Andy and that a part-time nanny position will open for Hannah-Joy.
• Most importantly, pray that we will have wisdom on how to live as missionaries in Germany. We don’t just want to treat this as an academic endeavor or as one big adventure, but are asking God to use us as a light in this very dark land. Germany is by all means a mission field. For example, only 25% of the population believes in God. Among this 25% are those from various religions. Those who consider themselves Christian often do so simply because they were brought up in church, or are mildly religious. We recently saw a statistic saying that 95% of Germans believe in evolution. Germans on the whole are wealthy, successful, and career oriented. So this gives you a picture of the type of culture we will be seeking to influence for the gospel. Pray that Andy will have many opportunities among the students with whom he will interact, that Hannah-Joy will be able to meet other mothers, and that together we will have many opportunities at the Collegium where we’ll be living.

If everything goes according to plan, we will arrive in Germany in August. We want you to know that you have a standing invitation to come see us. We’ll eagerly welcome visitors any time. We understand that for most of you a trip to Germany is unrealistic. But please keep in touch with us. We can only imagine how much we are going to miss you and how homesick we’ll be. Regular emails/Skype chats or any other form of communication will be heartily welcomed. And we’ll plan on sending out regular updates about our adventure. Please let us know if you would like to receive these updates. Also, we will be providing regular updates on our bowdenblog. So, as the Germans say:

 

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Andy, Hannah-Joy, and Melody.

More German Practice

I have not been devoting much time to blogging lately, as you’ve probably noticed. Instead, I’ve been pouring my energies into the German language. I thought I’d share some helpful links for those of you who are also interested in learning this language:

• i tunes U has some great German podcasts. Make sure you enjoy some of the University of Freiburg’s “Rede des Monats.” I recommend Anton Vögtle’s Die griechische Sprache und ihre Bedeutung für die Geschichte des Christentums (1971) (see lecture # 19). Vögtle speaks with unmistakable passion, and his German sounds a bit Scottish to me.
• i tunes also has some very helpful links. Beginners will find the Goethe institute’s Radio D and Warum nicht? series useful. Deutsche Welle also offer some helpful sources, such as their Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten.
• Finally, it’s important to have fun while learning a language. For this I recommend Die Sendung mit der Maus. You can view new episodes weekly, and can also puruse video segments. Although this show is for kids, I would advise some caution as some of the material is not child appropriate, in my opinion.

I hope these resources help you as much as they’ve helped me. Sometimes it seems that fresh resources provide much needed breezes of motivation and fight of the stagnation that so easily creeps into language learning.

Philippians 2:5-11

This morning I had the privilege of preaching on Philippians 2:5-11. I never get tired of that passage and what it teaches about Christ! The message will be available HERE.

1 Corinthians 4:20, “Not in talk but in power”

I’ve often wondered about Paul’s words in this verse, and I’ve never quite understood them. Why does Paul seem to discount the role of words? After all, aren’t words important since through them the gospel is proclaimed? And why does Paul seem to exalt power? Should I understand Paul to mean that when I minister I should do so in the power of miraculous healings and signs, etc?

I think Paul may have a very different understanding of power in this verse. In fact, he has even discounted such dramatic and powerful displays earlier in Corinthians.  Paul writes, “Jews look for signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. . . . Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom; God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:22-25).

Thus, Paul has defined power earlier in his letter to the Corinthians: power is none other than Christ crucified! So, in 1 Cor 4:20, Paul likely has this power in mind when he writes “the kingdom of God is not in talk but in power.” In other words, the power of the kingdom is Christ crucified and risen (cf. 1 Cor 15). Paul will proclaim the kingdom in this kind of power: always carrying around in his body the dying of the Lord so that life may be displayed. This power is despicable in the world’s eyes. So there is a great irony here. Proclaiming the kingdom in power means one will appear weak. Paul puts it like this, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor 2:3).