Israel day 1

Israel studies - Day 1 

Living in a place of worship. In my denomination we have many opportunities to worship together for a week or two at a time. The highlight for many is something we call camp meeting. A week of worship together. When you are there in that place everywhere you go everyone you see is from your denomination. The atmosphere is like nothing you have experienced. While it is an amazing week I have often thought how challenging it would be to live in that way all the time. Being in Jerusalem you really have a sense of living in a place of worship. 

Living in a place of worship shapes everything about you. It shapes the whole world and everything you say and do. It is such a different way of life and unless you have lived it I don't think it makes sense. It's so easy for us to look at this part of the world and tell them how they should get on but living it is so different. How can you truly separate politics from religion when everything about religion shapes everything about your world. 

You think about this. Where you walk. What you see. What you say in greeting. What happens is all based on the different places of worship. Someone is always praying. Worship is always happening. How you dress and speak affects the worship of others. Add to that the tight place packed with so many people all with their own version of what is holy what is right. When you live in that place no wonder there is tension. Not because of God but because of power. People want to control how everyone else is worshipping it. 

Power for humanity is everything. We want to control others. We live to do it. I here often from western minds that it is God who is the route of problems but really all problems start in the same way. Humanity have choice and because we want power and control over one another we do terrible things. Terrible things in the name of ourself in the name of religion in the name of government. There is no difference. I thank God I have hope not in man but in God that it will not always be this way.