One of my classes is called "Experiencing Vienna". We are required to take 8 self guided tours through the city, using a map and information written by my former German teacher, Professor Keele. He's a great man with tons of knowledge about history and the culture of the German and Austrian people.
We are supposed to document some of our feelings about this whole walk and the things that we learned and enjoyed.
For many things that we did there are pictures.
For some things, I may just have to write about them. I will use my blog to keep track of that.
Right next to Rupert's Church (the oldest church in Vienna) was the Morzinplatz, where the Hotel Metropol housed the Gestapo headquarters during WWII. These headquarters were destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. And I ask myself: How on earth did Rupertskirche survive this attack completely untouched? I can only think that it is by the grace of God that it was preserved.
Two blocks further from the Gestapo headquarters, behind Ruprechtskirche is Judengasse (Jew lane). There is a Stadttempel (city temple) which was built in 1826. It is one of the very few synagogues to survive the Holocaust in German-speaking Europe. I tried to take a picture of it and the Hebrew sign, but Austrian police stopped me. And why? Its because it has gone thorugh so much and there are huge security measures to make sure it remains safe. It was looted in 1938 and singed, but even since then in 1981 a Palestinian group attacked the synagogue killing 4 and injuring 18.
It is hard to believe that in our country where we think freedom and justice are universal ideas, they are not. Even I have felt like a victim of hate attacks by people who don't understand what I believe with the Proposition 8 in California, and I wasn't even there.
I can't imagine being afraid to practice my beliefs for fear of being attacked.
As I begin reading Yearning for the Living God by F. Enzio Busche, he writes about how Hitler tried to set up a "mock Zion" or "utopia", which is not based upon the teachings of Christ or the gospel at all, but which was a tool to force people into living his way. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Satanic sounds like a pretty good word for his plan.
But even before Hitler there were strifes between different churches and beliefs. The Jews were badly persecuted in Vienna and cast out in 1421. The Catholic Church did many things in the name of Christ during the Middle Ages (when these huge churches and Gothic cathedrals were being built) that are incongruent with His teachings. Some very great men brought that to light with the Reformation. My friend Joseph turned to me while we were in Stephansdom and said "This place is beautiful, but it's missing the spirit." I agree.
Statues, shrines, and grand organs cannot be the substance of the spirit. Abraham himself proved that when he smashed the idols his father worshipped.
While many things I saw today were lovely and historic (and definitely worth seeing!), I became so grateful that I live in 2009. I became more grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and for its teachings, which I strive to live.
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