I Really Hope I Don’t Get Jerusalem Syndrome

Just started reading a fascinating book by Rich Cohen, Israel is Real (2009):

“There is a condition suffered by tourists who visit Israel. It’s called the Jerusalem Syndrome. It’s contracted mostly by Christians, who, touched by the light of the city and its ancient names (Gethsemane, Calvary) lose their minds, claim they are not the person on the passport but a figure from the Bible, sometimes a major figure such as Solomon or John the Baptist, sometimes a minor figure such as Boaz or Enoch. They say they have come with a mission, a purpose: to ready the people, to clear the way for the end time. Their eyes glow. They shout fearful warnings. There are around a hundred cases a year. The symptoms usually disappear when the sufferer leaves the country.”  - p 3,4.

Hope I don't get it. Could be a bit embarrassing. "More coffee, Graham?" "My name is not Graham. It's Maher Shalal Hash Baz. Repent!"

If, like me, you're a little skeptical, check out this wikipedia article:

"The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected Jews, Christians and Muslims of many different backgrounds.

The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of the Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome 

Tickets Booked, Shots Fired?

Well, I finally booked my tickets today, after a bit of EL AL kerfuffle. I guess this Pastors' Familiarization Trip is really happening. Have already started highlighting my new Fodor's "Israel," and have a few additional books to grab at the library which, I suppose, I'd better not highlight.

Yesterday at school, my youngest, Jonathon (12), told a buddy that his dad was going to visit Israel. Worried, his friend said, "I hope he doesn't get shot."

Blizzard in Stoughton; Cloudy in Jerusalem



"Toto, I've a feeling we're
not in Kansas anymore."

 Had to cancel church this morning. Held on till the last minute in hopes that we could make it work, but winter got the better of us. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, it's 52 degrees and cloudy. I thought I'd take advantage of my snowed-in Sunday to check out Google Maps and get a feel for what my Israel itinerary will be. Sure, when I was a Moody Bible Institute 30 years ago, I took Dr Goddard's "Historical Geography" class, which we renamed "Hysterical Coloring" due to the multitude of maps we had to produce with colored pencils. But, as I look at Israel on Google Maps, I realise my scant sense of Israeli space and place, though I've been talking about both for years.

Vivid 30-year-old memory: Dr Goddard spoke about what happened right after that famous statement from Joshua in chapter 10, "be strong and courageous." Immediately Joshua has five Amorite kings hanged. Dr Goddard: "Some people have a problem with that. They think Joshua was unfair. I don't understand why. Each king got his own tree."

Oconomowoc Oceanographer Has Never Seen Ocean!

Tim is an oceanographer who lives in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and teaches at U.W. Madison. He has degrees in oceanography from the top universities. His specialty: the most majestic of all sea creatures, the whale.

As far back as he can remember, Tim’s parents fed him on a diet of great sea stories: Moby Dick, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Robert Shackleton’s Endurance, and a hundred other tales. These were the stuff of his dreams and his every waking moment. In time, the oceans and their majestic whales became not just his career, but the love of his life, his very reason for existence.

But there’s one very curious thing about Tim, the oceanographer. In the almost five decades of his life, he’s never been to the ocean. He can tell you more than you’d ever think to ask about the Tasman Sea and the Arctic and the humpback whale. But he’s never so much as dipped his toe in a body of water bigger or brinier than Lake Michigan. You see, Oconomowoc is an awfully long way from both the Atlantic and Pacific…

 I am Tim by another name, another profession. I am a pastor and trained theologian of sorts, and I’m going to Israel… for the first time! Go fish, I mean figure!