on humility in criticism

just read a great blog post by tim keller of redeemer presbyterian church on our attitude in criticism and debating theology. check it out:

How Do You Take Criticism of Your Views?

ukrainian road repair

i was driving up to kiev last weekend and thought i'd give everyone an understanding of how ukraine deals with road problems (very similar approach for many other problems):

rather than fixing the road, they just put up signs that let you know, "for the next 3 km, this is gonna suck." well, at least they're not pretending that these road conditions are acceptable and warning you about it. ah, ukraine, you never cease to amaze. :)

Ukraine: A Democracy at Risk

i just read this article from the widow of murdered ukrainian journalist, gregory gongadze. it pretty well sums up the steep, downhill ride that ukrainian democracy has taken since the orange revolution in late 2004/early 2005 and the resulting mindset of many ukrainians as they head to the polls this january. very sad, but unfortunately true. if you're interested in where ukraine is at or is heading as a country, i'd recommend it:

Ukraine: A Democracy at Risk

abby's jokes

lena is praying with abby tonight in russian and she finishes and says "Аминь" (a-meen')....

abby: "mama says 'a-meen'?
lena: "yes."
abby: "papa says 'amen'."
lena: "yes, papa says in english 'amen' and mama says in russian 'a-meen'."
abby: "oh.... abby says "oh, man!" like in cartoon (dora). "swiper, no swiping... oh, man! hahaha!"

things i missed about ukraine in the states and things i miss about america here

things i missed about ukraine while in the states:

1. real food: unless you are going to a farmer's market in the states (and paying thrice the standard price) food is tasteless, especially the meat. like a wet sponge.
2. fellowship in church: i don't know if its just part of the american culture or what, but it seemed in every church we were in, that as soon as the service ends, at least 80% of the people rushed for the doors. another 15% were gone within 5-10 minutes. maybe it didn't help that we were in indiana and the colts were playing almost every week. :) here in ukraine we hang out and fellowship after service for sometimes up to an hour.
3. toilet paper: yes, that's right, i like the brown ukrainian toilet paper. its just so darn sturdy!
4. the medical system: allow me to clarify. the kids got on medicaid this time, but lena and i got turned down. when i went to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled, i was told the medicine cost $120! i passed and upon returning to ukraine found the same medicine for like $8. so ridiculous! they should destroy the whole medical funding system and start from scratch (with a completely universal system).

things i miss about america here:
1. good coffee: not that it doesn't exist in ukraine, but is very rare and usually cost more than the bux in the states.
2. cheap technology/clothes: yes, both of these things cost MORE here than in america. fortunately they are things you can stock up on once every 2-3 years.
3. wi-fi everywhere: gotta love that. here its mostly only at mcdonald's.
4. the medical system: it may be expensive as all get out, but at least they are all about quality care.
5. customer service: a concept largely lacking in ukraine. the best example in america during this trip i can think of this was the apple store. i brought my macbook in that i had for 2.5 yrs. and had just about every part on it possible replaced (under warranty so it was free). but when i brought it in for another repair this time, i told the manager about all the problems i've had with it (very unusual for macs, btw). i was hoping to get a free battery out of the deal or something. he goes away and comes back and says "we're gonna give you a new macbook". sweet! way to take care of your customers, mr. jobs! i was already hooked on macs even with the hardware problems, but they have just won a very satisfied life-customer.

cc svitlovodsk video

so i've been meaning to post this video on here for a while. oddly, we have better and more consistent internet connection here in ukraine than we did in the states. this is a video i put together with pictures of people and events in our church as well as interviews with people to let them share how Jesus has worked in their lives since coming to calvary chapel svitlovodsk. the interviews are subtitled in english. enjoy and pray for us!

in addition, be sure to check out our church's website and podcast.

authentic ukrainian cuisine

ok, not so much. my wife decided to use some won-ton skins we had in the freezer for the last i don't know how many months. so she whipped up some egg rolls that could seriously have been from a high-class chinese restaurant. they didn't last long. :) my wife is so talented! here's a shot of the goodness:

in ukraine, the good times never end

so, my family and i were in our neighboring big city, kremenchuk, yesterday doing some shopping at the equivalent of a wal-mart. we were strolling down the office supplies aisle and were looking at the permanent markers when we spotted this:

sharpies? no, look closer. they are "skerples"! yes, that's right, a knock-off sharpie look-alike (even the logo script looks the same). but yes, it is a "skerple". i couldn't stop laughing and thought i'd share the fun with you all. i almost bought them just so i could keep laughing, but then considered it and figured they'd break in a few days, so i passed.

the sordid tale of politics in ukraine

i ran across this brief synopsis of the last dozen or so years of ukraine's political history on radio free europe and thought i'd share. for any who are curious or interested in understanding what it going on over here and how ukraine got to the place it is, this article is a really good start:

Constitutional Instability In Ukraine Leads to Legal Turmoil

d) it is written

so a little while back i watched this year's best picture academy award winner, slumdog millionaire. if you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely well worth the 2 hour run-time. i'll try to summarize the basic plot (this may contain spoilers, so go watch it first before reading the post if you like surprises). a young man from mumbai gets to the final stage of the indian version of "who wants to be a millionaire?". the cops are suspicious when this boy who grew up in the slums and works a lowly job knows the answers to all the questions. the film basically explores his chaotic life and the series of unique circumstances that have given him the answers to the questions. the film opens with words on the screen:

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?
(A) He cheated
(B) He's lucky
(C) He's a genius
(D) It is written

the cops think the answer is A at first, but come to see this is not the case. jamal himself admits that it's not C. so basically the audience is left to determine whether it is B or D. another main theme of the movie is jamal's relationship with a girl (latika) he has known since they were both orphaned as little kids and is hopelessly in love with. he will stop at nothing to find her, and is on the game show only because he knows she watches it. the movie ends with jamal winning the game show and 20 million rupees and being reunited with latika, overcoming all impossible circumstances. at this point the answer to the opening question is flashed on the screen: D) it is written.

now, the movie is very well done (as most of danny boyle's films are), the actors are great (especially the little kids who are totally adorable) and it's set in a culture which is very "other" and intriguing for people from the west. but what is it about this movie that set it apart for a full 8 oscars including best picture? what is it that struck a deep enough chord with a wide enough audience to send this small-budget film to fame and $350 milliion box-office revenues worldwide and earned it the praise of "the feel-good film of the decade"? i believe it is the last 5 seconds of the film. no, i don't mean the dance party during the credits, but the answer to the question: D) it is written.

i honestly think that if the answer "B) he is lucky" had flashed at the end, the film would not have enjoyed near the success it did. the message of slumdog is that this young man was able to go through all the suffering in his life and that it had a purpose, that it was not in vain, that it "all worked together for good", if you like. despite overwhelming circumstances, he ends up on top and with the girl he loves, but not simply because he is lucky, but because "it is written". the chord in the movie that i think resonates with so many people (whether they realize it or not) is the desire in every human heart to know that the events of life are not simply chaos, but that they are ordained, destined by a benevolent Someone, and that no matter how bad things get, that Someone has a plan for us for good. it's ironic that the 21st-century, western world seems to value absolute autonomy above all. many people get riled when you try to speak to them about a sovereign, benevolent God from whom they are not independent, who has a plan for their life and that of the world. the idea that they are not free to create their own reality and purpose in life rubs many people the wrong way. yet deep down this is what we all long for: not simply to get lucky in life, but to know that "it is written".

the other element that put this movie over the top is two fold: that jamal will stop at nothing to be with the girl he loves. even when she has written him off, moved on with life, thinks it is impossile to ever be with him, he comes for her. finally, she escapes from her hollow marriage to a gangster who is basically just her sugar daddy and goes to find jamal. additionally, jamal's older brother (who had been working for the gangster and helped to hold latika prisoner to him) repents of his ways, and gives his life in helping her to escape. these moments also call out to another desire of every human heart: to be relentlessly pursued by One who will not give up, even when we write Him off, and the understanding that for the good plan to be accomplished, someone must give their life.

of course, these longings of the human heart, these desires that slumdog resonated to, are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. the message of the Gospel is that there is Someone who is sovereign and benevolent, that He is the one who ordains the happenings of life. and this same God happens to also be the One who relentlessly pursues us with His love, who does not give up on finding us, even when we have given up on Him, and who Himself laid down His life to see that we should find the ultimate happy ending. maybe it's just coincidence that danny boyle was at one point planning on becoming a priest. who knows. but it is the truth that "it is written" and written by a God who loves us, who can turn the worst tragedy to good (as ultimately evidenced in the Resurrection of Jesus), which i believe propelled this movie to the list of the top-grossing 150 movies of all time. as king david wrote in Psalm 139,

"And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them."

d) it is written.

why ukraine's problems cannot be solved by any amount of money

so, i was reading the headlines and stumbled across the latest reason why ukraine's problems will not be solved by any amount of imf loans. as it turns out, yuri lutsenko, ukraine's internal affairs minister (over all the police and generally charged with "maintaining social order and safety"... incidentally probably one of the better ministers in the cabinet) got into a drunken brawl with some german police officers in the frankfurt airport and has officially offered his resignation from the cabinet of ministers. he is rejecting the claims of the german officers, but for some reason resigned anyway.

this reminded me of one time last year when my wife and i happend to be visiting her mother and she had the news on. and much to our amusement and simultaneous discouragement, we saw video coverage of the Verkhovna Rada (ukraine's parliament). took me a while to find it on youtube (archive of everything embarrassing that people wish could be erased), but here it is:



but maybe that is a faster way to decide politics: throw two senators in a UFC cage and whoever remains alive gets their legislation passed. :) of course, the sad part is THESE are the people ruling the country. no wonder we are in such a mess (despite any global crises). at least we know the only way anything positive is gonna happen is by praying for them. ;)

an interesting debate on torture

just watched this on the daily show and thought it was well done on both sides. thoughts? (preferably AFTER watching the debate :)

disclaimer: the interview contains some uncensored language, so if you don't want to hear it, don't listen.

(the embed tags were broken, so you can see the debate by clicking on the links below)

part 1

part 2

part 3

some good news for crisis-wracked ukraine?

i found this article the other day to be very interesting. it is probably the first article on the economic crisis in ukraine that i've read that is optimistic. though the assessments on the political part may not be entirely accurate, it is interesting to get an overview of the situation here. here are some highlights.

Together with the international financial institutions, the Central Bank has examined all of Ukraine's banks and quantified their bad debt. Compared to the West, Ukraine's share of toxic debt is small.

Seventeen Western banks have committed themselves to recapitalizing their subsidiaries in Ukraine with $2 billion this year. In addition, it is estimated that two-thirds of the country's refinancing needs this year will be met.

Thanks to early and resolute anti-crisis actions, international reserves remain reassuring at $25 billion, or eight months of imports. Industrial production increased in both February and March over the preceding month, suggesting that Ukraine might already have turned the corner (although GDP will probably still decrease by 8 percent to 10 percent this year). Even the bond and stock markets have soared in the last month.

charles darwin vs. good friday

recently i've run across a number of Christian authors and teachers who, in discussing the intersection of faith and science, seem at least open to if not supportive of the idea that God somehow used evolution to create the universe and the various species. this concept, theistic evolution, is far from new. in fact, it's been around since the Origin of Species. many of my favorite authors actually hold this view. their argument typically centers around how Genesis 1 (or 1-11 depending on who you ask) is not literal but allegorical, symbolic, poetic, etc. don't worry, i'm not about to attempt to prove how scientifically, mathematically and biologically absurd darwin's evolution theory really is in this blog post (there are plenty of good books to do that). but what recently made me, let's say, concerned is the apparent disconnect in these brilliant Christian writers' minds between evolution and the gospel.

here in ukraine the church holidays are celebrated by the old julian calendar, which means that this friday will be good friday. as i've been reflecting on this beautiful tragedy the last few days, i found myself looking at the ramifications of theistic evolution for the gospel. one of the first and classic points of the opponents of theistic evolution is that if God used evolution for creating the world and the species before the fall of man, that makes Him the author of death (since the gears of the evolutionary machine grind the weak to bits and only the "fittest" survive). but what struck me was a much more specific problem.

on good friday all Christians celebrate the death of Jesus Christ, the Godman, who hung on the Cross in our stead, for our sins. we believe that His death there was a substitutionary atonement for our sin before God. but this begs the question: what in the world does the death of Christ have to do with my sin? this is where the necessary Biblical tie comes in. Scripture says that "sin entered the world though one man, and death through sin, so that death passed to all mankind." the connection between sin and death is direct and undeniable according to the Bible. it is because of this connection that Christ's death in our place was tantamount to bearing the penalty of our sin. likewise, it is also upon this connection that the significance of the resurrection of Jesus becomes clear: His triumph over death was a triumph not merely over biological decomposition, but over the power and effect of sin. these points are orthodox, Christian doctrine and nothing new.

but what is striking then is that the same men who accept these truths could turn around and say that God used evolution to create the different species. what this implies is a total disconnect between man's sin and the presence of death in the world. this raises the question: if death has nothing to do with sin, then why did Christ have to die? if darwin was right about the appearance of life, then what is it about this friday that is good?

now, i realize that these Christian authors promulgating theistic evolution are certainly NOT claiming that the death of Christ did nothing to cleanse our sin. on the contrary, i believe they are great men of God who deeply love Jesus. like i said, many of my favorite authors fall into this group. however, i think they probably got caught up in the snowstorm of scientific pseudo-evidence for evolution while not really thinking through the theological implications that such a theory puts to the meaning of the Cross. i'm thankful as we approach good friday that, though sin did enter the world through one man and death through that sin, that,

"as sin reigned in death, even so now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ." -Rom. 5:21

what do you think, are theistic evolution and the gospel compatible? if so, why?

desperation and fascism in ukraine

(the above poster is from soviet days and translates: "beat the fascist scum!")

this article published by the Telegraph just a couple days ago tells a horrifying tale, especially in light of the destruction caused by nazi fascism in ukraine not all that long ago:

On March 15, voters in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine elected a new regional assembly. This was an Orange Revolution bastion, a region that has long sought to embrace the West and shun Russia.

But it is also has Ukraine's highest unemployment. In a crowded field, the previously little-known Freedom Party won 50 of the regional assembly's 120 seats as voters embraced its hard Right leader, Oleg Tyagnibok, who has urged the expulsion of all Jews and Russians from Ukraine. (emphasis mine)

"The problem is less the popularity of the nationalists than the universal disappointment with mainstream parties," said Viktor Chumak, a political scientist in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. "Voters are sympathising with radicals more and more as a result of the crisis."

it's pretty sad when political infighting among the powers that be is so bad that people are ready to vote in a little hitler. there might be many underlying problems causing the friction between the president and prime minister now, but the main one seems to be this: there is absolutely no concept that the goverment is enstated to serve the people. it still seems very much to be a left over sentiment of soviet times that the people exist for the state and not the state for the people. or as good old william wallace put it, "You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom."

this result is unlikely to repeat itself in the eastern and southern parts of the country where there are many ethnic russians and the majority of the jewish population reside, but still, its shameful that people anywhere would be driven to such desperate choices by the indifference of their leaders. then again, it often seems that in desperate times people are willing to accept solutions that normally they would be appalled at. perhaps pragmatism is the ultimate moral vacuum.

understanding the crisis

i was recently reminded of an excellent video lecture series that i first learned about through my friend josh. the video series is basically a breakdown of the economy's breakdown. the most fascinating part about it is that is was all (except for the last couple segments)produced BEFORE the economy really took a hard nose-dive in late 2008, so its foresight is really astounding. for anyone interested check out the first session:



the rest of the sessions can be viewed at: www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse hope you enjoy!

should the right to life lead to death?

you may have seen the tragic headlines this week about a 9-year-old girl in brazil who was given an abortion because she was raped by her step-father and became pregnant with twins. weighing in at only 80 lbs., the doctors concluded that to continue the pregnancy would've put the life of this young girl at serious risk and hence performed the abortion. the article explains that:

Abortion is illegal in Brazil, which has more Catholics than any other nation, but exceptions are allowed in cases of rape and when the mother's life would be endangered by giving birth....

The Catholic Church's archbishop for the area criticized the decision as against "the law of God" and excommunicated her mother, the doctors and other people involved in the abortion...

"The law of God is above any human law," Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, the archbishop of Olinda and Recife, said...

"I believe the position of the church is extreme, radical and inadequate," Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said on a government radio program.

"I am shocked by the radical position of this religion which, wrongly saying it is defending a life, puts another life in danger that is as important as any other."

later reports have confirmed that the vatican has upheld and defended the bishop's ruling of excommunication for those involved. now, i give serious props to the brazilian public for their strict abortion laws. also, kudos is in order for the catholic church which has held an unequivocal stance against abortion and homosexuality as sin, despite the ever-increasing unpopularity of those positions, even when many protestant denominations are willing to pander to popular opinion. however, this case certainly begs the question: "should the right to life lead to death?"

now, i'm not a brazilian doctor and i was not part of the medical conclusions, but assuming the facts are accurate, the point of the health minster is valid: are we willing to protect one innocent life at the cost of another? no matter what way you look at it, the whole situation is a sickening tragedy. but though the refusal of the catholic church to kowtow to moral relativism and the preeminence given to God's law over man's is commendable, one gets the feeling that they may be applying the letter of the law but missing the spirit thereof: namely, to protect innocent life. thoughts? comments? (and since this topic is a "flash-point", remember to keep the comments respectful... inappropriate comments will be deleted. ;)

john tetzel is not dead

i know, it sounds like the title of an episode of LOST, but it's not. :) john tetzel, as some will know, was an indulgence seller for the catholic church in the early 16th century, promising forgiveness of sins for money. it was said that he even claimed that the indulgence offered by pope leo x for the building of st. peter's basilica could pardon the violation of the virgin mary. martin luther, the great reformer, wrote his 95 theses largely in response to the practice of selling indulgences, and especially to the tactics of john tetzel. one of tetzel's "ad jingles" for selling indulgences is enshrined forever in scathing rebuke in the 95 theses. his line was: "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."

well, while we were in kiev to give birth to isaac (see pics here), i was in some of the shopping centers and realized that john tetzel was not dead, he had just moved to ukraine (and aparently switched allegiance from the roman catholic church to the ukrainian orthodox church). this is a "coffer" that stood by the entrance of the shopping center in downtown kiev for donations towards the construction of a new church in kiev, and i saw many identical ones in other shopping centers:


the translation of the inscription is: "place your brick in the foundation of the holy habitation and in her walls prayers will sound for you eternally". guess tetzel hasn't lost his knack for jingle-writing even after almost 500 yrs.! it's truly heart-rending that men would gladly sell out the truth of the Gospel of grace to finance their programs (and no, it's not limited to the catholic or orthodox churches!) luther also had a slogan of sorts which, while perhaps not as catchy, certainly rings loud even to this day with the great truth of the Gospel:

"Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria"
(by Faith Alone, by Grace Alone, by Scripture Alone, by Christ Alone, to the Glory of God Alone)

why can't the dollar stop growing?

okay, so it's not so much that the dollar is growing as that the "hryvnia" (ukraine's currency) is in a death spiral. the dollar has reached its all-time high, or in other words, the hryvnia has hit an all time low. (9.26 grn. to $1) bloomberg has this article on the situation here. some highlights are below:

Ukraine’s hryvnia tumbled, closing at a record low against the dollar, after Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut the country’s rating because political infighting is hampering efforts to avert a financial crisis.

The hyrvnia has lost more than 50 percent against the dollar in the past six months as reduced demand for exports and a lack of foreign credit causes Ukraine’s first economic contraction in a decade.

Inflation soared to 22.3 percent last month, the highest level in Europe

for the foreigners here whose accounts are in dollars (myself included), this makes things comparitively cheaper than a few months back when it was still 5:1. but, though it's almost hard to imagine i'm saying this, i wish the dollar would go back down some, cause if it keeps growing, ukraine's economy might just free fall off the precarious cliff it's teetering on.

NOTE: the following day bloomberg updated this article, and outlined the newly dropped default rating. the new rating implies:

a 69.6 percent chance Ukraine will default in the next two years and 91.8 percent in the next five years.

the infection spreads...

so, since most of the people whose blogs i interact with have been "tagged" recently, it was only a matter of time. i was tagged by edna silva. here's the rules:

off we go with the random/weirdness....

1. i figure i'll thoroughly embarrass myself right out of the gate (though it really doesn't embarrass me now, it did for a long time).... i wet the bed till i was... 13 i think? only fortunately my parents put me on a then experimental nasal-spray drug to stop bedwetting called DDAVP. because it was new, i had to get monthly blood tests to make sure i wasn't being slowly turned into a mutant or something to that effect. as it turns out, in 2007 the FDA banned the nasal-spray cause a couple people died from using it and a few dozen others experienced seizures. for me all it ever did was make a lot less laundry for my mom and enable stress-free sleepovers. :)

2. okay, so now that i've embarrassed myself, i'll go for shock and awe. before Jesus saved me from the pit of hell, i was into all kinds of darkness. but probably the one that people are most shocked by is vampirism. yes, my friends and i used to drink each others' blood. people usually ask why. i suppose there was some kind of demonic rush in it. so now you know.

3. i LOVE spicy food. most people that know me know this about me, since i dump red pepper flakes on just about every meal. but most people don't know the story of how it started. when i was about 9 or so, my mom grew these super-hot little peppers (maybe thai dragons?) in her garden for my dad. one day my sister dared me to take a bite of one. of course, you can't back down from a dare from your little sister, so i took a small nibble off the tip. it really wasn't very spicy to me so i decided to show off and put the whole thing in my mouth and chomped a few times and swallowed. little did i know that the heat is primarily in the seeds. soon my mouth was uncomfortable... a few seconds later it was on fire.... a few seconds after that i was screaming for my mom to help and tears were running down my face. she shoved bread, milk and probably some other food products down my gullet to try and cool the burning. finally she gave me a tums and it killed the burning out (so if you ever ingest something too hot, run for the tums ;). but after that experience i started loving spicy food.

4. i played the cello for 3 years in middle school. i was 2nd chair out of like 11 kids (there was a chinese kid named evan who always got first chair... but i didn't have a chance since he was asian. :) try not to let my pure coolness in the photo bowl you over. :)

5. i really like order. if the house is a mess (usually thanks to abby these days) i really can't relax. i'll stop and make sure most things are put in their place. fortunately, my wife also loves order, so we tidy up together. one thing i can't stand is when a couch has some sort of cover on it and people sitting on it squirm around and the cover turns into a lump of fabric half-shoved down the crack between the cusions... drives me insane. (wes, this is dedicated to you! hahaha! :) it took me a while to realize that people are more important than order... a lesson i still sometimes struggle with.

6. i was a very fat child. okay, so i apparently i didn't embarrass myself enough with the first fact. in 6th (or maybe 7th) grade i weighed more than i did as a senior in high school, and was like a foot (30 cm) shorter... in fact, now at 27 i only weigh maybe 15-20 lbs. (7-9 kg.) more than in 6th grade.... it was not a good year for me. but at least i had company. here is a pic of me and my sister as professional fat kids.

7. i write poetry. i have since like 6th grade. granted, i write much less frequently now with all the things going on in my life, but still do sometimes. one poem that i will not forget is the last one i wrote before i was arrested for dealing LSD and consequently gave my heart to Jesus. the final lines of it are:

i need something, i need someone
this tangled web of pain i've spun
i fear the worst has just begun
i beg of you on hand and knee
someone out there set me free.

i didn't realize it at the time, but i think it was actually a prayer and the Lord definitely answered it. He is a wonderfully faithful God! "God will remain true though every man be unfaithful." Rom. 3:4

i hope that was amusing for someone besides just me. so, now in keeping with the rules, i tag the following people:

rick warden
josh dykstra
wendy hoff
matthew hawkins
eulogio crespin
cara denney
stephanie markey

when innovation goes overboard

okay, so its not real, but its still pretty funny....


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard