The weather has taken a turn for the better. It stays light very late into the night, which means people are loving the town-square of Saarbruecken.
That photo was taken as I walked back from a lecture on "Religion and Evangelism in the United States" at the Volkschule (University for the People). The audience was mostly current students of a class on religion, and their average age was around 65 I would guess. I think that the Volkschule program in Germany is a really great idea, and it was cool to see it in action.
The lecture was really good. It was given by a philosopher with lots of US experience, and by a theologian who lived in the US for over 20 years. The audience also had a fair share of theologians, which meant that the conversations and questions were really interesting. The main theme of the structured part of the lecture was a history and demographic of the evangelical churches in the US.
There is a lot that can be said about the experience and some of the topics covered- I'll cover just one or two parts.
The last subject before questions was on WASPS (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) and their influence east coast culture and politics (all but 4 US presidents have been Protestant).
Questions naturally and immediately went into how religion and politics mix in the US- particularly how religion became important after the 1980s, as they perceived it.
Two thoughts:
1. The audience (and lecturers) didn't approve that candidates in the US 'must' declare their religious position if they are running for office. They blamed it a little bit on JFK for being Catholic (he was forced to say he was also american) and on Reagan. In summary, the audience was really skeptical about candidates' declared religious experiences.
2. The audience wanted to understand the influence of religion (religious values) in public education within the US.
In particular, one man reallllllyy couldn't understand how some students were banned from reading his favorite book, "The Awakening," on religious grounds within the USA. He kept asking questions, frowning, pausing, and then asking the lecturers again to clarify if they actually meant what they were saying (I think he was hoping he had been lied to). His inquiry ended with:
Man: "But the Americans are famous and proud of their bill of rights and the separation of church and state, how can this happen?"
Lecturer: "It happens partly on free speech, and partly because communities have lots of power over themselves..."
Man cuts lecturer off: "-but they always talk about this big wall between church and state!"
Lecturer: "We all know it is easiest to dig a tunnel through a thick wall"
In my opinion, the lecture in general and these two stories represent a very condensed sample of questions I am asked and conversation topics directed at me while I'm here in Germany. I think that it was very cool that there were even people interested in the topic and that there was a venue to learn about it. It was also two hours full of the dry wit that makes many Germans absolutely hilarious.
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At work, I was using google and typed "What is the difference between" and google suggested hilarious things for me. So I typed it in German to see what the suggestions were as well.
English suggestions: mass and weight, speed and velocity, weather and climate, heat and temperature...
German suggestions: peanut butter and marmalade, a duck...., iphone4 and iphone 4s, and peanut butter and marmalade again!
I looked it up and apparently the suggestions are heavily influenced on region and land.
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David visited and we got a ride to see the Saarschleife. Pretty, despite the rainy day:
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One day we checked out a burger place and it was honestly the best burger I've had. Goat cheese and pesto (Click on the hyperlink!):
I may have gone back this week to confirm that the burgers are actually the best in the world.
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