CTS Abroad: Interim in Greece

Changes abound in the 2009-2010 academic year

by Nate Van Denend

Turkey and Greece. Twelve seminary students. Two professors. One Reverend and his wife. Three Calvin students. Ten thousand pillars. Welcome to the ruins of the Roman Empire. On January 6, 2010 the first ever Calvin Seminary January term off campus program began. The itinerary was simple in concept and demanding in practice: see as many sights related to Paul and the book of Revelation as possible within a twelve day period. The list of sights included Smyrna (modern day Izmir), Sardis, Philadelphia, Didyma, Laodicea, Colossae, Ephesus, Assos, Pergamum, Troas, and Canakkale and that was only the Turkey part. In Greece the pace slowed down some and the sights included Philippi , Thessaloniki, Berea, Vergina, Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, Corinth and Athens.

While different sites struck the travelers in different ways, several sites stood out. Ephesus was a definite highlight. Acts 19 describes a riot in the theater at Ephesus. Being able to stand in the theater and read the text brought much more depth to an otherwise obscure passage of scripture. The temple to Apollo in Didyma and the temple to Artemis in Smyrna stood out as well. Both are massive structures. One could imagine Paul declaring that the gods worshiped in these visually impressive temples were no gods at all. No wonder Paul says the gospel is “foolishness to the Greeks!”

The group did not spend its whole time among the ruins. Meetings were arranged between evangelical pastors in both Turkey and Greece. The pastor in Turkey told a profound story about his conversion and arrest 10 months after. The words to him during interrogation symbolized the difficulty the gospel faces in Turkey, “You’re a Turk, that means you are a Muslim. Turks cannot be Christians.” He described being forced to say the shahada by his interrogators, opening his mouth to renounce his faith in Jesus, and then being inexplicably unable to speak. His church is growing slowly. Converts face losing their family ties and even death at the hands of family members.

The pastor in Greece told a remarkably similar story. While the Greek tour guide told us that Greece is 90% Christian, the Orthodox faith and the ethnic identity as a Greek go hand in hand. It is difficult to communicate the Christian message to a group which assumes they are Christian already. The Greek evangelical pastor was once arrested for proselytizing and most protestant groups are not recognized by the Greek government. His work is centered in Athens and his church is growing among the immigrant communities there.

Through the testimony of these two pastors the group was able to catch a glimpse of what life would have been like for Paul. Paul also was a representative of a minority religion and preached against the dominate religious structures and faced obstacle after obstacle.

The exegetical and historical insights of Dr. Weima added much to the experience. Frequently, the group would be alerted to a menorah carved into a stone or some other engraving which would indicate the presence of a Jewish community. This was significant because some scholars dispute the historicity of Acts by claiming that it over plays Jewish opposition in places where there were not Jews. The group also was able to experience Dad Weima when he heroically rescued his daughter from falling into a pit.

In sum it was a powerful experience for all who traveled on the trip. Kristi Buurma summed the experience up this way: “Ephasus was the most memorable place, walking down the street seeing the library and the houses. Being in the place where the biblical events took place described in Acts was profound. Little things, too, like traveling to the place where Paul got is hair cut (Acts 18:18) made it very meaningful. The Bible seems way bigger, especially passages you might read over. Unless you see the power of the imperial cult, you may read over some of those passages.” Everyone who went on the trip could relate to that statement: The Bible does seem way bigger.

Travelers were Andrew Vis, Adam Nordyke, Dan Kinnas, Sarah Meekhof, Gayle Doornbos, Nate Van Denend, Andrew and Ingrid Zomerman, Nick Bierma, Aaron Greydanus, Matt Borst, Alison Christians, Jeff Weima, Bob Eames, Justin Eames, Meghan Eames, Kristi Buurma, Michael Walton, and Juli Stuelpnagel.

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