My Life As a Talking Head

Since it's come up, yes, I was a "talking head," or more accurately, "walking out of shape professor", for a show on Mongolia this summer, Josh Bernstein's "Digging for the Truth: Lost Empire of Genghis Khaan." You can see the trailer here and showtimes and series intro here.

Picture one is Josh Bernstein and the two camera men planning out a shot. The camera men were from Egypt -- Josh had worked with them on shows on the pharaohs so they came along.

Picture two is me being "wired" for our scene at the ruins of Qara-Qorum. (Actually the German excavators covered the site back up with debris on the off season, so there wasn't much to see.)

Picture three is me, the whole crew, and the Mongolian family who hosted us. The director was Peter Chinn (in the black "Crocodile Dundee" hat).

Good times, good times.

Pagan* in a Christian Land, Christian in a Pagan Land

Two stories from my summer in Buriatia and Mongolia

One of the Buriat professors who hosted me was on an exchange trip to Vermont. She was by the way, the only Buriat professor I know whose business card is in Buriat and not in Russian -- I thought that was very cool.

Anyway, in Vermont, she wondered why all these beautiful places don’t have shrines to the local spirits. Certainly any place like that in Buriatia would. She suddenly realized, it’s just like the Buriats in Inner Mongolia, who don’t have local shrines either — Americans would like to have those shrines but they just don’t know who the local spirits are.

So she thought maybe she could start the ball rolling by leaving coins, and maybe a bottle of vodka, in particular fine places in Vermont for the spirits, so we’d know what to do too. But the rangers at the park where she was told her that that’s not allowed, you see, we call it litter.

In Ulaanbaatar, I met a fellow student of my mentor, from an East European country. She is a Christian as well, and had married a Mongolian man and was living in Ulaanbaatar, working as a journalist. One time, she was driving through the Mongolian countryside with some visitors, including ordinary Mongols and a Korean missionary.

When they crossed a mountain pass, they stopped at the top. The ordinary Mongols, of course, began the expected three clockwise circumambulations of the cairn, or oboo -- a pile of rocks marking an offering site for the local deities in the Buddhist cult -- at every high place in Mongolia. Her husband, although a Christian, began to make the same circumambulation by habit. As a good wife, she didn't want to show up her husband in front of other Mongols. She walked around the oboo with her children. Only the Korean missionary ostentatiously refrained.

Her children asked her, "Mom, why did we do that?" She replied, "It's like when you go to some new place, you acknowledge the people who are there. Walking around in a circle, were simply saying hello to the local spirits here -- not worshipping them, not putting ourself under them."

Now that the children are confirmed and have had first communion, she confessed, she's not sure she would handle it that way again, but that's what she thought was right then.

*Pagan is used here not in any derogatory sense, but simply as the commonly used word for believers in "earth-based religions" -- among which Buddhism (in an ambiguous sense) is one.

UPDATE: I forgot to put up a picture of an oboo in Mongolia (go ahead, click on it, it's nice and big). This is one in Uws province. The sign is one asking people not to put empty bottles or other trash on the oboo, because the oboo, as a place for worshiping the local spirits, should be associated with a clean environment. So here you see an example of the assimilation of pagan categories to environmentalist ones.

A Big Day

Yesterday my son, Jeffrey C. Atwood, was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and tasted for the first time the medicine of deathlessness. In preparation for this blessed day, he and the others being confirmed with him presented essays on themes in Christian life appointed them by their pastor, Lawrence Mitchell. Here is Jeff’s essay*:

Essay on the theme "What does Baptism mean for my life as God’s child?" by Jeffrey Atwood

Baptism is very important to me as a child of God. Baptism is one of the two sacraments of the church. Sacraments are sacred acts instituted by God to his followers. Baptism was instituted by Jesus in the Gospels and connects the visible actions of the washing with water with the Word of God. Like other sacraments, Baptism works forgiveness of sins. This is its most important power. Baptism is the washing of a person with life-giving water. Baptism grants us all of the benefits which Jesus won for us on the cross.

Baptism grants several things when I receive it. First of all, Baptism marks me as a Christian. From now on, I will be distinguished by others as a Christian because of my baptsim. Baptism’s other powers are less visible. In Baptism, we share in Jesus’ death and resurrection. We die and are raised to new life with Him. It also is the means of the distribution of Jesus’ grace. This grants the forgiveness of sins. Another result of this grace is that I receive eternal life from Jesus. This is because I am no longer held death’s servitude because of sins. It also releases me from the power of sin and the devil. As a result of baptism, the devil does not have a hold on me. We are also reborn as God’s children. We are assured new, imperishable bodies.

Baptism also affects my daily life. Each day, Baptism calls me to repent. It tells me to drown the old Adam in us daily. The old Adam is our former state brought on by the fall of Adam into sin. It calls a new righteous man to emerge in its place. This man is a new and righteous creation, with none of the characteristics of the old Adam. It is perfect and righteous and good. Baptism also daily forgives our sins. It doesn’t just forgive the sins from the time we were baptized, but every sin thereafter is forgiven. Every day, we can wake up knowing that our sins have been forgiven through Baptism. Baptism also enters us into daily communion with God.

We know Baptism works because it is mentioned in the Bible several times. Jesus himself was baptized by John at the river. Baptism was instituted by God. Jesus himself comands his disciples to baptize all nations. When he gave this command, that included infants. That is why today we baptize infants and not just adults. Baptism works its powers when the water is brought together with the Word. By itself, the water is simply ordinary water. However, with the Word it becomes life-giving water. It is important to remember that Baptism is not a work, but a free gift of God. I only have to accept it. I have done nothing to merit the gifts given by Baptism. It is not by my own faith or strength which I accept it. It is through the Holy Spirit working in me.

In short, Baptism is nothing less than the Holy Spirit working in our lives. It immediately grants forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Daily, it grants me forgiveness of my sins each day. It also tells me to drown the old Adam through daily repentance. It also indicates that a new, righteous man should emerge in its place. It also enters us into daily communion with God. We know baptism works because Jesus himself was baptized, and he commanded his disciples to do the same with all peoples. Finally, we know that it is not through our own works or merit that Baptism accomplishes what it does, but through the gift of God.

Christian readers, please pray for Jeffrey and for his fellow confirmands - - Richelle Goldblatt, Katherine Waggoner, Mason Sale, and Heidi Wilkinson - - that they may remain firm in the confession they made as members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and that they may be kept by the Holy Spirit in their baptismal grace unto life everlasting.

*You might wonder how much I helped him with this. Well, I helped him work out an outline from his notes, but in the weeks before confirmation I had to go on a number of trips. When I came back he had already written it and sent it to Pastor Mitchell for revisions. Pastor Mitchell only changed a word or two. So the confirmation dinner this Saturday was the first I heard it. (I have resisted the temptation to touch up the language in this version!)

Originally posted at Here We Stand