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Wolf’s Notes

… about faith, life, technology, etc.

Changing Neighbourhood …

2024-07-27 Wolf Paul

About eight years ago we moved from Vienna to Gross-Schweinbarth, a village about 30km or 20mi north of Vienna. We had used Geraldine’s share of her parents’ estate to purchase a 30-year old house on 1600 sqm of land, as well as the attached, rather dilapidated “Presshaus” or wine cellar (empty, unfortunately). To the right (west) of our wine cellar were two others, and on the western border of our property one of our neighbours, a winegrower, produced his wines.

A year ago this neighbour approached us and said  he wanted to buy our winecellar as well as the other two next to it, as he needed more space for his wine production. We declined, as we did not want the view from our kitchen window to be obstructed, so he ended up coming to terms with the owner of the other two cellars and has just started construction, by demolishing the two cellars.

I thought I would share how things are changing around here, so here are some pictures of how things looked last week. First, here is our house, and in front of it our “Presshaus” or wine cellar:

And then to the right are the two other cellars, one without a roof and the other one still reasonably intact, which until recently belonged to a woman in the village; the yellow building on the right is our neighbour’s current wine making business;

Then, early this week we woke up to construction noise outside our kitchen, and by today the two cellars were already mostly gone:

We’ll se what sort of building he puts up there; since the only real window in our house facing the street is our kitchen window above our cellar, whatever he builds there is not really going to obstruct our view.

 

Photos: Google Streetview

Donald Trump’s Pro-Life Ploy is History

2024-07-17 Wolf Paul

Here is Catholic World Report on the fact that the Republican Party platform has been stripped to a large extent[1], at Donald Trump’s insistence, of the pro-life position which was part of it for fifty years: They pat themselves on the back for having returned abortion law to the States, and say they oppose late-term abortion. They have removed the support for the traditional family and inserted a paragrap about gender ideology, stopping short of condemning hormones and surgery for minors.

I have said all along that Donald Trump’s pro-life stance was merely a tactic, a clever ploy to win the support of gullible (sorry!) religious folks, and I have been dissed for this view by my American Evangelical friends.

And while the “pro-life” justices Trump has installed in the Supreme Court have overturned Roe v. Wade they have also just given him carte blanche to effectively become an unaccountable, absolutist king.

Congratulations, my friends.

«Nor do most observers seriously believe that abortion (much less the defense of traditional marriage) are issues that Trump is personally much concerned about, given his notorious personal life and the pro-choice and otherwise socially liberal views he expressed for decades before running for president in 2016. The most plausible reading of Trump’s record is that he was willing to further the agenda of social conservatives when doing so was in his political interests, but no inclination to do so any longer now that their support has been secured and their views have become a political liability.»

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  1. I just looked at the 2016 GOP and Democratic platforms, and here is how they differ on abortion and marriage:

    GOP 2016 on abortion:
    “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution.”
    “We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund
    organizations like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions…We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage.”

    GOP 2016 on marriage:
    “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.”
    “We do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the states. We oppose government discrimination against businesses or entities which decline to sell items or services to individuals for activities that go against their religious views about such activities.”

    GOP 2016 on Gender Ideology:
    Nothing. That wasn’t a hot-button issue yet.

    And here is what’s changed:

    GOP 2024 on abortion:
    We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).

    GOP 2024 on marriage:
    Nothing.

    GOP on Gender Ideology:
    We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls.

    Here is the GOP 2016 platform, and here the GOP 2024 platform.[]

Aktueller Status

Wolf Paul

Kürzlich hat mich jemand auf Facebook nach meinem Gesundheitszustand gefragt, daher hier ein kurzes Update:

Im April 2022 hatte ich eine Operation wegen eines Abszesses an der Innenseite meines rechten Oberschenkels und war mehrere Monate mit einem “vacuum-assisted closure” Gerät ans Bett gefesselt. Als dieses nach etwa drei Monaten entfernt wurde, waren meine Beinmuskeln so stark verkümmert, dass ich nicht mehr aufstehen oder auch nur mein Gesäß vom Bett heben konnte.

Nach viel Arbeit war ich im Oktober 2023 fast wieder in der Lage, mit Hilfe einer stabilen Gehhilfe aufzustehen, als ich wegen einer Lungenentzündung für zwei Wochen im Krankenhaus lag. Als ich entlassen wurde, war ich wieder am Ausgangspunkt, und seitdem geht es nur sehr langsam voran.

Dank meines Kindle, YouTube und live gestreamten Gottesdiensten im Gefolge von Covid, sowie gelegentlichen Besuchen und regelmäßigen Anrufen von Freunden habe ich mir meinen Verstand bewahrt, während ich auf die 2 Quadratmeter meines Bettes beschränkt bin.

Großer Dank gebührt meiner Frau Geraldine, die mich die ganze Zeit hindurch hingebungsvoll gepflegt und versorgt hat.

Status Update

Wolf Paul

Recently someone on Facebook asked about my health status, so here is a quick update:

In April of 2022 I had surgery for an abscess on my right inside thigh, and was laid up for several months with a “vacuum-assisted closure” device. When that was removed after about three months I found my leg muscles had atrophied to the point where I could no longer get up or even lift my butt off the bed.

After a lot of work, by October 2023 I was almost back to being able to get up with the aid of a heavy-duty walker when I was laid up for two weeks in the hospital with pneumonia. When I got out I was back at ground zero, and it’s been very slow going since then.

Thanks to my Kindle, Youtube, and live streamed church services in the wake of Covid, as well as occasional visits and regular phone calls from friends I have kept my sanity while being confined to the 2 square meters of my bed.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife Geraldine who faithfully took care of me throughout this time.

Predigen mit einem Mühlstein um den Hals?

2024-07-16 Wolf Paul

Es ist fast zu einem wöchentlichen Ereignis geworden: Ein weiterer langjähriger Pastor einer evangelikalen Gemeinde in den USA wurde wegen Kindesmissbrauchs festgenommen.

Ich möchte nicht darüber spekulieren, ob dies ein typisch amerikanisches Problem ist; ich vermute eher nicht, denn wir hatten hier vor einigen Jahren den massiven Missbrauchsskandal in der römisch-katholischen Kirche. [1] Wenn wir in  evangelikalen Gemeinden hier weniger von solchen Skandalen hören, liegt das wahrscheinlich an soziologischen Gründen wie der vergleichsweise geringen Größe der Bewegung und ihrem Minderheitenstatus in den meisten Teilen Europas und nicht daran, dass die europäischen Evangelikalen heiliger sind als die amerikanischen.

Ich möchte auch nicht mit dem Finger auf diese Männer zeigen; wir alle haben unsere Versuchungen, und wenn meine nicht so abscheulich sind wie ihre, dann ist es rein durch die Gnade Gottes.

Aber ich möchte auf etwas eingehen, das ich nicht nachvollziehen kann, nicht in einer verurteilenden Weise, sondern weil es mich verwirrt.

Wenn ich auch nur einmal solche Taten begangen hätte, und besonders wenn ich sie kontinuierlich begehen würde, könnte ich nicht am Sonntagmorgen vor die Gemeinde treten, das Evangelium predigen und den Gottesdienst leiten. Ich würde mich selbst als disqualifiziert betrachten, ständig bewusst und niedergedrückt von dem Mühlstein um meinen Hals, den Jesus in Matthäus 18:6 erwähnt. [2] Tatsächlich habe ich mich immer als disqualifiziert betrachtet, zu predigen, und zögerte,  Gottesdienst zu leiten, wegen meiner eigenen Kämpfe mit menschlich gesprochen kleineren und gesellschaftlich akzeptableren Versuchungen und meinem Versagen, ihnen zu widerstehen.

In 1. Timotheus 4:1-2 spricht Paulus von “Heuchlern, die Lügen reden und in ihrem eigenen Gewissen gebrandmarkt sind,” und vielleicht erklärt das einiges. Und jeder von uns, dessen Gewissen nicht gebrandmarkt ist, oder zumindest nicht in diesem Ausmaß, sollte Gott für seine Bewahrung danken.

Im Englischen gibt es einen bekannten Ausspruch der dem englischen Reformator und Märtyrer John Bradford zugeschrieben wird. Er sah Verurteilte auf dem Weg zur Hinrichtung und sagte, “Nur aus Gottes Gnade bin ich nicht einer von ihnen!”

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  1. Diese Welle von missbrauchenden Pastoren sollte auch diejenigen nachdenklich stimmen, die den R.C. Skandal auf das Zölibatsgebot für römisch-katholische Geistliche zurückführen – all diese evangelikalen Pastoren sind verheiratet.[]
  2. Der Abschnitt spricht davon, Kindern ein Anstoß zu sein, und der jüngste Fall, auf den ich mich bezog, betrifft Kindesmissbrauch, aber ich möchte keineswegs implizieren, dass der Missbrauch von Jugendlichen oder Erwachsenen weniger abscheulich ist.[]

Pastoring with a millstone around the neck?

Wolf Paul

It has become an almost weekly occurrence: Another long-time pastor of an evangelical church has been arrested in the US on child sex abuse charges.
 
I don’t want to speculate on whether this is a peculiarly American problem; I suspect not, as we’ve had the massive R.C. clergy child abuse scandal [1] over here a few years ago. If we hear less of such scandals in the evangelical camp over here it probably is for sociological reasons such as the comparative size of the movement and its minority status in most of Europe, not because the European church is holier than the American church.
 
Nor do I want to point the finger at these men; we all have our temptations and if mine are not as abhorrent as theirs it is purely by the grace of God.
 
But I want to comment on something I cannot get my head around, not in a judgmental way but because I am mystified by it.
 
If I had even once committed, and especially if I were continuously committing, such acts I could not stand in front of the church on Sunday morning, preach the Gospel, and lead the congregation in worship. I would consider myself disqualified, constantly aware of and pulled down by the millstone hanging around my neck that Jesus talks about (Matthew 18:6)[2]. In fact, I have always considered myself disqualified from preaching and been reluctant to lead worship because of my own struggles with humanly speaking minor and more socially acceptable temptations and my failures to resist them.
 
In 1 Timothy 4:1-2 Paul talks about “hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron,” and perhaps that explains it.  And everyone of us whose conscience has not been seared, or at least not to that extent, should thank God for His gracious preservation.
 
There is a quote attributed to the English Reformer and martyr John Bradford who lived in the 16th century. While watching criminals being led to their execution Bradford is said to have exclaimed, “There but for the grace of God go I!”
 
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  1. This rash of abusive pastors should also give pause to those who blame the R.C. scandal on the celibacy requirement for Roman Catholic clergy — all these evangelical pastors are married.[]
  2. The passage talks about giving offense to children, and the most recent case I was referring to is about child abuse, but I do not want to in any way imply that the abuse of adolescents or adults is any less abhorrent[]

Sex vs Gender?

2024-07-03 Wolf Paul

German Evangelical magazine idea (Nr. 27.2024, p. 7) quotes from a taz interview with Alexander Korte, a German specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy, who comments on the statement that gender identity is innate:

“That’s absurd. Neurobiological research definitely owes proof that gender identity could be genetically determined. Even from a developmental psychology perspective, it is absurd to assume that identity is something one is born with. From my point of view, identity is always the result of an individual’s bonding and relationship history – and also physical history.” [1]

Politically speaking, I agree with this statement but consider it irrelevant to most of the controversial gender debate. That debate is not primarily about identity, but about biology. Separate sporting events for women and men are justified by the biological differences between (biological) women and men; the same applies to gender-segregated toilets, showers, changing rooms, etc. All of this has nothing to do with identity.

And frankly: it is also absurd to assume that perceived gender identity should take precedence over biological sex in every respect and in all situations. That is postmodern, post-scientific nonsense, and where, for example, the rights of the small but very vocal number of “trans people” are supposed to trump the rights of the large majority of “cis people,”[2] it is profoundly undemocratic.

Also, for the assessment of this issue in traditional Christian theology[3] this question is not particularly relevant: the theological evaluation of societal phenomena and human behaviors is not based on genetics or whether something is innate, but on what God’s Word, the Bible, says. After all, the Bible clearly states that we all have an innate inclination to sin (Romans 3:10-18: [4], which manifests differently in different people. Nevertheless, sin is never justified.

Whether and to what extent the Bible represents an identity differing from biological sex as a result of fallen and therefore sinful nature can certainly be discussed. It is clear that the Bible does refer to men in women’s clothing (and vice versa) as “an abomination” (Deuteronomy 22:5[5], but spends far more time and has far more condemnation for other behaviors and attitudes, calling them sin, “abomination,” and “wickedness.” And how did Jesus put it? “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”

(The cover picture of this post is a screenshot from Merriam-Webster‘s entry for “transgender”.)

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  1. Dr. Korte is indeed critical of gender ideology, as a quick Google search clearly shows.[]
  2. The term trans-(men, women, people) refers to individuals whose perceived gender identity does not align with their biological sex, in contrast to cis-(men, women, people), whose gender identity and biological sex match. Additionally, there are the adjectives transgender and cisgender. All of these are neologisms (late 20th century) based on the Latin words trans (beyond) and cis (on this side of) as well as the originally grammatically term gender.[]
  3. i.e. a theology which starts from the premise that the Bible is God’s revelation of and about Himself, that it doesn’t and shouldn’t be changed, and that it is still the standard for Christian faith and theology today.[]
  4. “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Paul quotes here various passages from the Hebrew Bible (“Old Testament”) which describe the innate inclination of humans towards sin.[]
  5. “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.”[]

Geschlecht vs Gender?

Wolf Paul

idea (Nr. 27.2024, S. 7) zitiert aus einem taz-Interview mit Alexander Korte, Facharzt für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, der sich darin zu der Aussage äußert, Geschlechtsidentität sei angeboren:

«Das ist abstrus. Die neurobiologische Forschung ist definitiv den Beleg schuldig, dass Geschlechtsidentität genetisch bedingt sein könnte. Auch aus der Sicht der Entwicklungspsychologie ist es abwegig, davon auszugehen, dass Identität etwas ist, mit dem man zur Welt kommt. Aus meiner Sicht ist Identität stets das Resultat einer individuellen Bindungs- und Beziehungsgeschichte – und auch Körpergeschichte.»[1]

Politisch gesehen stimme ich dieser Aussage zu, halte sie aber für den Großteil der kontroversen Genderdebatte für irrelevant. Da geht es nämlich gar nicht primär um Identität, sondern um Biologie. Separate sportliche Bewerbe für Frauen und Männer begründen sich durch die biologischen Unterschiede zwischen (biologischen) Frauen und Männern; das Gleiche gilt für nach Geschlecht getrennte Toiletten, Duschen, Umkleideräume, usw. All das hat nichts mit Identität zu tun.

Und ganz ehrlich: Abstrus ist auch die Annahme, daß die empfundene Geschlechtsidentität (Gender) in jeder Hinsicht und in allen Situationen Vorrang vor dem biologischen Geschlecht haben soll. Das ist postmoderner, postwissenschaftlicher Unsinn, und ist dort, wo z.B. die Rechte der kleinen, aber sehr lautstark auftretenden Anzahl von “Trans-Menschen” die Rechte der großen Mehrheit der “Cis-Menschen”[2] übertrumpfen sollen, zutiefst undemokratisch.

Auch für die Einschätzung dieses Themas in der (traditionellen[3] ) christichen Theologie ist diese Frage nicht besonders relevant: Die theologische Beurteilung von gesellschaftlichen Phänomenen und menschlichen Verhaltensweisen richtet sich weder nach der Genetik noch danach, ob etwas angeboren ist, sondern danach, was Gottes Wort, die Bibel, dazu sagt. Schließlich sagt die Bibel ganz klar, daß wir alle eine angeborene Neigung zur Sünde haben (Römer 3, 10-18[4]), die sich in verschiedenen Menschen unterschiedlich manifestiert. Trotzdem ist Sünde nie gerechtfertigt.

Ob und wie weit die Bibel eine vom biologischen Geschlecht abweichende Identität als Folge der gefallenen und deshalb sündhaften Natur des Menschen darstellt, darüber kann man natürlich diskutieren. Klar ist, daß die Bibel zwar Männer in Frauenkleidung (und umgekehrt) als “Greuel” bezeichnet (2. Mose 22,5[5]), aber weit mehr  Zeit und Worte dafür aufbringt, andere Verhaltensweisen und Einstellungen als Sünde, “Greuel” und “Frevel” zu verurteilen. Und wie hat es Jesus ausgedrückt? “Wer von euch ohne Sünde ist, der werfe den ersten Stein.”

(Das Bild oben auf dieser Seite ist ein Screenshot aus dem “Digitalen Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (DWDS) der Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin-Brandenburg.)

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  1. Dr. Korte steht der Gender-Ideologie übrigens durchaus kritisch gegenüber, wie eine schnelle Google-Suche klar macht.[]
  2. Der Begriff Trans-(Männer, Frauen, Menschen) bezeichnet Menschen, deren empfundene Geschlechtsidentität (Gender) nicht mit ihrem biologischen Geschlecht übereinstimmt, im Gegensatz zu Cis-(Männern, Frauen, Menschen), Menschen, deren Geschlechtsidentität und biologisches Geschlecht übereinstimmen. Ergänzend dazu gibt es die Adjektive transgender und cisgender bzw eingedeutscht, transgeschlechtlich und  cisgeschlechtlich . Das sind Wort-Neuschöpfungen (spätes 20. Jahrhundert) auf der Basis der lateinischen Worte trans (jenseits von) und cis (diesseits von) sowie des englischen gender (grammatikalisches Geschlecht).[]
  3. Das ist eine Theologie, unabhängig von der Konfession, die davon ausgeht, daß die Bibel Gottes Selbstoffenbarung ist, deren lehrmäßige Aussagen auch heute noch maßgeblich sind für Theologie und Glauben.[]
  4. «Da ist keiner, der gerecht ist, auch nicht einer. Da ist keiner, der verständig ist; da ist keiner, der nach Gott fragt. Alle sind sie abgewichen und allesamt verdorben. Da ist keiner, der Gutes tut, auch nicht einer (Psalm 14,1-3). Ihr Rachen ist ein offenes Grab; mit ihren Zungen betrügen sie (Psalm 5,10), Otterngift ist unter ihren Lippen (Psalm 140,4); ihr Mund ist voll Fluchens und Bitterkeit (Psalm 10,7). Ihre Füße eilen, Blut zu vergießen; auf ihren Wegen ist lauter Zerstörung und Elend, und den Weg des Friedens kennen sie nicht (Jesaja 59,7-8). Es ist keine Gottesfurcht bei ihnen (Psalm 36,2).» Paulus zitiert hier verschiedene Stellen in der hebräischen Bibel (“Altes Testament”), welche die angeborene Neigung des Menschen zur Sünde beschreiben. Text aus der Lutherbibel 2017.[]
  5. «Eine Frau soll nicht Männersachen tragen, und ein Mann soll keine Frauenkleider anziehen; denn wer dies tut, der ist dem HERRN, deinem Gott, ein Greuel.» Text aus der Lutherbibel 2017.[]

Proxmox on a Raspberry Pi 5

2024-06-24 Wolf Paul

Until I retired four years ago I used to run a Lenovo Thinkcenter as a kind of universal server, using Proxmox as the  virtualization solution.

Proxmox is based on Debian Linux and integrates QEMU/KVM for virtual machines and LXD for containers. When I first encountered it it only ran on x86_64 machines (i.e. Intel and AMD processors), but recently support for the ARM architecture (aarch64) has been added.

So I am going to begin a project of installing it on both a Raspberry Pi 4 and a Raspberry Pi 5, primarily as an experiment and to keep my mind busy and in the game.

I will be using the tutorial, “How to Install Proxmox on the Raspberry Pi” by Emmet at the PiMyLifeUp site, an Australian project and resource site for all things Raspberry Pi, Linux, Arduino, etc.

First I need to get my Raspberry Pi up and running with an M.2 SSD in an Argon One case; I find the connectors for the ribbon cable between the Pi’s SSD port and the one on the Argon board challenging, to say the least.

I will update this post as I make progress.

 

Through Theology In One Year

Wolf Paul

I am just starting to watch a video podcast series called “Through Theology In One Year“, produced and presented on YouTube by Michael Patton[1] Michael is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and presents theology from an Evangelical, Reformed perspective.

As of today there are 16 episodes online and they are presented in a YouTube playlist which would be very useful –except that the playlist is arranged with the most recent episode at the top, and so will play in reverse order, and YouTube does not offer a way to reverse the order in which playlists are presented.

Because I do not fancy having to navigate backwards so I was looking for a solution outside YouTube — and in this article I just found one: The website Playlist.Tools allows you to find a playlist URL and paste it in a text box on the site, and will then present you with the playlist in reverse order — i.e. with the first episode at the top.[2]

For my own convenience and for anyone else interested I am presenting the URL of the reversed playlist for “Through Theology In One Year” right here, hoping that it is persistent and doesn’t change over time or when new episodes are added (we might have to deal with that if it happens).

Here we go: “Through Theology In One Year” in correct viewing order.

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  1. C. Michael Patton has been in ministry for twentyfive years as a pastor, author, speaker, and blogger. Find him on Patreon. Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary (2001), president of Credo House Ministries and Credo Courses, author of Now that I’m a Christian (Crossway, 2014) Increase My Faith (Credo House, 2011), and The Theology Program (Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, 2001-2006), host of Theology Unplugged, and primary blogger at Parchment and Pen. But, most importantly, husband to a beautiful wife and father to four awesome children. Michael is available for speaking engagements. Join his Patreon and support his ministry.[]
  2. I would have preferred to use a browser plugin but I could not get any of the plugins presented to work.[]