Berlin

I am a little behind on my blog and slideshows as I have been out of town recently in Minnesota visiting my family.  So here I am taking a day to try and catch up on what I've been doing in the last few weeks.  In early November Matt and I took our first trip to the capital city of Berlin.  As I've said before  I really like visiting the country of Germany as it is a beautiful place with good food, friendly people, reasonable prices, and fascinating history.  During this trip we took a guided walking tour through Berlin, hitting all the major historical sites.  It was fascinating to see the remnants of the wall and hear about what it was like when it came down from our German guide who was there at the time.  I also really enjoyed seeing the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag, and hearing all the history having to do with the Nazis, Hitler, the Soviets, the Americans, the East and West division, how the wall came down, and the reunification after the wall came down.  My favorite site to visit in Berlin was Checkpoint Charlie which was the most famous crossing point between East Germany and West Germany during the Cold War.  I especially liked hearing the story about the standoff between the American and Soviet tanks.  You will see all these sites plus a whole lot of yummy German food on the slideshow.  Enjoy!

My Sisters

Here is a picture of me and my beloved sisters from my recent trip to Minnesota.

Collision

I just returned from Minnesota where I spent two weeks visiting my family. While there I picked up the dvd documentary "Collision" which I have been anxious to see. The documentary includes public debates, discussions, and interviews with Christian preacher and author Douglas Wilson and anti-theist author Christopher Hitchens. "Is Christianity Good for the World?" is the theme with the topics of truth, beauty, and goodness framing it. The documentary is very well done and quite interesting to watch, particularly the closing remarks made by Hitchens. I could go on and on about it but I will refrain so as not to spoil it for you. Here is a clip to whet your appetite!

COLLISION - 13 min VIMEO Exclusive Sneak Peek from Collision Movie on Vimeo.

Piper on Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ

But the most amazing thing about Colossians 1:24 is how Paul fills up Christ's afflictions. He says that it is his own sufferings that fill up Christ's afflictions. "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,and in my flash I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." That means then, that Paul exhibits the sufferings of Christ by suffering himself by those he is trying to win. In his sufferings they see Christ's sufferings.

Here is the astounding upshot: God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people. God really means for the body of Christ, the church, to experience some of the suffering he experienced so that when we proclaim the cross as the way to life, people will see the marks of the cross in us and feel the love of the cross from us. Our calling is to make the afflictions of Christ real for people by the afflictions we experience in bringing them the message of salvation.

This is why Paul spoke of his scars as the "marks of Jesus." In his wounds people could see Christ's wounds. "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus" (Galatians 6:17). The point of bearing the marks of Jesus is that Jesus might be seen and that his love might work powerfully in those who see.

- taken from the book "Filling Up on the Afflictions of Christ" by John Piper, a book about the cost of bringing the gospel to the nations in the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton.

Sweet Hoedown!

Greetings from Minnesota! I am here visiting my family who live just outside of the Twin Cities. Last night my sister Jamie (who is possibly the only person in the world who loves music even more than me) took me to see the Zac Brown Band at the Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus. I don't listen to a whole lot of country music but I do like the Zac Brown Band. I knew the concert would be good but it was even better than I expected. Zac Brown and the guys are extremely talented musicians and very good entertainers. My favorite part of the show was when the band broke in to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Man, they tore it up! Here is a clip of them playing it on the CMA Awards recently. Even my hubbie- who hates country music- would have enjoyed seeing this band perform! Thanks for taking me Jamie!

My Boys!

Luther's Wittenberg

Martin Luther is easily my favorite historical figure. I read Roland Bainton's most excellent book on Luther, "Here I Stand," shortly after moving to Europe and fell in love with him. My favorite part of the book was the chapter on Luther's marriage to the ex-nun Katarina Von Bora who Luther helped to escape from a convent by smuggling her and a dozen or so other nuns out in beer barrels. Only Luther! Anyway, I found cheap flights to Berlin recently and realized that Wittenberg was just a short train ride away so Matt and I went for one night. Wittenberg is a cute and cozy little medieval town full of Luther. We stayed in a hotel directly across the street from the Castle Church where Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door in 1517. Luther also preached here and is buried here. We also visit the Stadt Church where Luther preached his famous Lectern sermons and where he and Katarina got married. The University of Wittenberg where Luther was a professor is just on the way to the Lutherhaus Museum. The Lutherhaus was an Augustinian monastery where Luther lived with Katarina. They also housed students here and this is where the famous table talks took place after dinner in Luther's living room. All these places were very neat to see but my favorite part was just being in the town, walking down the main drag and thinking to myself this is where Luther walked, lived, preached, drank beer, and fought for the truth. This little town is where God chose to light the fire of the Reformation. Amazing.

On Luther's Trail

Off to Germany to see Martin Luther's Wittenberg!

Anselm on the Death of Christ

A friend of mine recently loaned me a small book titled, "A Cloud of Witnesses- Ten Great Christian Thinkers" by Alister McGrath. In this book McGrath authors a dozen or so chapters on ten Christian thinkers of the past, giving a bit of biography and then focusing on a major topic each particular thinker dealt with during his life time. Though it is quite a small book it says a lot and I am really enjoying it and encouraged by it. I wanted to share some quotes from the chapter on Anselm of Canterbury who really wrestled with the death of Christ, wondering why did God have to redeem us through the death of Christ on the cross- wasn't there another way that God could have done it? After wrangling over God's mercy and justice Anselm's understanding and argument for the death of Christ came down to this:

1. Humans beings have an obligation, but not an ability, to make the satisfaction required if God is to grant us eternal life.
2. God himself has no obligation to make this satisfaction; however, he has the ability to make this satisfaction.
3. Therefore, Anselm concludes, if God became man, the result would be a God-man who has both the obligation and the ability to restore the situation, and allow us to regain eternal life.

I really like the clarity of the way he explained it. Shortly there after McGrath goes on to say this:

"God doesn't just say something like, 'Never mind- we'll pretend that sin never happened.' Even we would find that a shockingly superficial attitude.No- God deals with sin at its root, insisting that it is taken seriously,and really forgiven. And for those of us who know how real sin can be, it is vital that we know that our real sins are really forgiven. We need to know that our sins really have been cancelled and forgiven so that we can rest secure with the God who loves us. Forgiveness is shown to be a very costly matter. But the cost of our redemption also reminds us of how precious we are to God. We must mean something to God, if he goes to such lengths to forgive us, and restore us to fellowship with him."

Wow, what an utterly amazing and marvelous God we have!

Walking the Bible with Feiler

I came across this book just before I went to Egypt and Jordan this fall. I had hoped to finish it before my trip but only got about 1/3 of the way through it before I went. Finishing up the two thirds that was left after my trip proved to be better I think. The book and the author are very liberal but having just come from most of the places the author visits in this book made the book a very enjoyable read for me. I guess I was able to chew the meat while spitting out the bones more easily because I was still on a high from my trip. I enjoy reading travel literature- particularly from Israel and the middle east. This is the first book I have read on this subject from the perspective of a Jewish man and I found it very interesting in spite of the fact that he is so liberal when it comes to the veracity of the Bible (as are all the scholars and people he interviews along the way). I was excited for a while as his faith seems to be growing as you go through the book. However, by the end he is just as unbelieving as he was to begin with (though he doesn't see it this way) and so this was very disappointing. Another sad thing is the amount of people he talks to throughout his trip who seem to believe that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same God. This is in no way, shape, or form true in the least bit. Anyway, this being said there are some very insightful and interesting passages and experiences in the book. If you long to visit the lands of the Bible but cannot this is a good book to check out. If you are interested in what people in the middle east are like and how they view the bible this is a good book to check out. If you are interested in biblical archaeology and history you'll find a lot to chew on in this book- you'll just have to read it with discernment and with a healthy grain of salt!

Here is a passage from the book that I liked:

"... I returned to the essential triad at the heart of the Bible: the people, the land, and God. I had gone to the land, I had encountered a spirit, and in so doing I had become more human. That equation drew me back to one of the defining moments of the Pentateuch, Jacob's wrestling with the messenger of God in the valley of Jabbok, just north of Nebo. At first Jacob doesn't know who the messenger is. They wrestle, they struggle, one seems to be winning, then the other, until finally Jacob is scarred. The scar, significantly, does not end up on Jacob's hand, nor on his head, his heart, or his eyes. Humans experience God, the text seems to be saying, not by touching him, imagining him, feeling him, or seeing him. Jacob is scarred on his leg, for the essential way humans experience God, the text suggests, is by walking with him."

Jordan

Here are some photos from the second half of our recent trip to the middle east.

Quick Update

A quick note to my readers-

Last week our computer suddenly died the blue screen of death. We have ordered a new one and once it arrives I will continue with my full debrief of our Egypt and Jordan trip and will also post my Jordan slideshow with many more interesting phots for you to see. Sorry for the delay. Stay tuned!

Egypt!

A full report of our trip soon to follow- stay tuned!

Why I Love Mark Driscoll

Amen, Brother!

Back from the Desert

I have just returned from Tucson where I spent a little over a week working on our new house. I was able to move our storage, make some repairs, do some yard work, and even do a little research on possible future house investments such as saltillo tile, polished concrete flooring, skylights, paint, and adobe brick sealing. While doing all of this I was able to spend a lot of time at the house which I warmly refer to as "my adobe." This is the first time I have seen the house since we bought it in June and I now have renters in it. I have to admit it was kind of weird walking into our house and seeing it full of someone else's stuff. It strikes me as funny that this should be weird to me since we have never lived there nor have we had our stuff in it. Anyway, our renters are good friends of ours and they really like the house so I am glad to have them in it. They had a small list of minor repairs for me which Sandi helped me with and then my renter Steve was good enough to help me remove some dead cactus from the yard. Have you ever had to deal with moving cactus? DANGER BATMAN! All in all it was good and productive trip. I especially enjoyed partaking in a cold beer on my porch after a long, hard, hot days work. Here is the view from my porch.

Heading Home, Again

In just 2 days from now I will be boarding a plane to Tucson- YIPPEE!!!

Matt decided (with a little help from me) that it would be a good idea for me to go home and move all of our stuff out of storage into the new house so that we don't have to keep paying for storage. So starting Tuesday I will go on a mad moving fest, and in my own car- the Element- which I haven't driven in two years. I will also have some work done on the house and do some window shopping in order to price some things out for when we return and start the massive remodel. Along with all of this I will also be hanging out with friends, family, and filling up on Mexican food to my hearts content. Oh, the excitement of it all!

Preaching in a Graveyard

"Regeneration is the act of the Holy Spirit by which he brings a man from the state of spiritual death to spiritual life. It is, in effect, spiritual "resurrection." In the act of regeneration, the Holy Spirit changes the disposition of the soul and renews the will. The new life given in regeneration immediately manifests itself in faith and repentance. Regeneration, is therefore, not the result of faith, as Arminians and others assert. Rather, faith is the result of regeneration. The state of the sinner is analogous to the state of Lazarus in the tomb (John 11:1-44). Like the unbeliever, Lazarus was dead, unable to do anything to change his condition. Jesus commands this corpse to come out of the tomb (in one brief statement, He destroys the claim of those who say that if God commands something we must have the natural ability to do it).

The command Jesus gives to Lazarus is analogous to the external call made to all unbelievers. Like Ezekiel preaching to the valley of dry bones (37:1-14), the external call is made to the spiritually dead. Those who proclaim the gospel preach in a graveyard. Lazarus cannot obey Christ's command until he is given new life, and this is something only God can do. When Lazarus is given new life, he immediately responds and exits the tomb. In the same way, the spiritually dead sinner cannot respond to the gospel until he is given new life through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Once he is regenerated, however, he immediately responds, placing his faith in Jesus. He is then justified by God." -Keith A. Mathison

I am quite familiar with the Biblical teachings on regeneration and transforming grace wrought entirley by the Holy Spirit and have read much in the area. However, when I came across these particular lines from Keith A. Mathison in the Calvin book I am reading I was really struck but the statement he makes; "Those who proclaim the gospel preach in a graveyard." I think Mathison hit the nail on the head perfectly with this description. In the pursuit of being biblically faithful Christians we would do well to remember this in our evangelistic efforts, in our realtionships with unbelievers, and especially in our prayer lives!

Calvin on Faith and Assurance

I came across some good Calvin quotes regarding faith and assurance in the book John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology which I am currently finishing up.

"Faith then is not a naked knowledge either of God or of his truth; nor is it a simple persuasion that God is, that his word is the truth; but a sure knowledge of God's mercy, which is received from the gospel, and brings peace of conscience with regard to God, and rest to the mind."

and

"According to Calvin, faith is assurance. One does not look to Christ for justification and to oneself for assurance of being jusitifed."

U2 Live in Dublin

One thing I had hoped to do before we leave Dublin was to see U2 in concert here. Last weekend that desire was fulfilled at Croke Park. Our friend David gotus tickets and the three of us went to the concert together last Friday night. I have been listening to U2 since I was about 12 years old. They must be the biggest rock band in the world and for a good reason- they are very talented musicians and excellent entertainers. I have been to a good number of conerts but I will have to say the most exciting concert moment I have ever experienced was when the members of U2 walked out onto the stage. The place lit up with excitement. The atmosphere throughout the whole show was electric. They started out the concert with a few of their top new songs off their new album and then spent the rest of the show playing many of their best loved hits. They even played my favorite U2 song "Bad." Something a little different that I haven't seen before at any concert is flags. Many people in the crowd had Irish flags and it was quite moving to see the Irish flags being held up while U2 sang "Bloody Sunday." Seeing U2 in any city would be a real treat but seeing them in Dublin was pricelss. Bono is a frickin legend!

Enjoy a few pics from the show shown above with the best song off their new album called "Magnificent."

Goodbye, Baby

Sad news in the Likes family. Yesterday our family horse had to be put down. He was 33 years old. My mom has had him for the last 27 years. I grew up riding horses and taking lessons but did not ride him until I had been riding for about 7 years. The reason for this was because he was a whole lot of horse to handle. Even into old age he was quite a power house and full of spirit. He was also a talented horse who rode in parades and in shows doing English pleasure, jumping, and my personal favorite- dressage. I even got to learn a little dressage on him before I stopped riding. I don't know if God takes our pets into heaven but I hope he does and I hope that Baby is now grazing into the big pasture in the sky and getting lots of carrots and sugar cubes!

Baby

1976-2009

R.I.P.

Sugar Loaf

A few weeks ago my Welsh friend Catrin asked me if I wanted to hike up Sugar Loaf with her and her boyfriend's mom. I am not much of a hiker but I figured I would go just to spend time with the crazy Welshcake. Sugar Loaf is not huge and is more of a large hill than a mountain but the hike was challenging and the resulting view was amazing! Here are some pics...

Celebrating Our New House

At the end of May Matt and I traveled home to Arizona in hopes of buying a house. I got to go for four whole weeks and Matt came for two. I went a week ahead of him to start the house shopping process with our favorite realtor, Matt's dad. We saw many nice houses and put offers in on a few but finally decided on one that I saw the very first day. It was one that Matt's dad found. He suggested we look at even though I was convinced it was out of our price range. When I first saw it I thought Matt would like it even though the house was outdated and needed a lot of love. I didn't think it was a big deal that is was stuck in the 70's because Matt and I did some work to our first house and really enjoyed it. So we put an offer in on it and after a little wheelin' and dealin' by our talented realtor we got it for a good price. As of today the house is officially ours and we just finished up a bottle of champagne in celebration. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the house. Its a 3 bedroom burnt adobe house with great mountain views and in a fantastic area of town. We have been having tons of fun over the last month planning all the things we want to do it when we move back to Arizona someday. Thanks and praise be to God who is the giver of all good things!

Dublin's Own, The Fighting

Last Friday night Matt and I headed into the city center to support a friend of ours whose band just released their first EP. The band is called The Fighting and we know the front man, Len and the lead guitar player, Chris. Both of these guys go to my church. In addition to this Len also just happens to be the beau of my good friend, Catrin the Welshie.

We saw Len play one time before this at house gig where it was just him and his acoustic guitar. This gig at the pub was much different as it was the full band and they rocked the hizzy fo shizzy! During the concert Len even gave a shout out to Matt for his recent birthday. It was really fun to see a band we actually know. They are really talented and have some great songs. To hear some good ol' Dublin rock n' roll check out their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/thefighting. You can also go to itunes and purchase their new EP. Enjoy!

Vienna

After spending a few days in Prague with Jamie and Steven the four of us hopped a train to Austria's capital city of Vienna. Vienna is a beautiful city but sadly much more modern than I expected it to be. The experience of this city can be summed up in a few words: Mozart, music, Opera, Lipizzaner's, and Habsurgs. While here we walked around the city center via the Ringstrasse, toured the Hofburg and Schonbrunn Palaces, saw some great live outdoor music concerts, saw the Lipizzaner stables, and enjoyed many a brat and wienerschnitzel. This was all good fun but the highlight of Vienna has to be the Opera! Though I am not an opera fan my Rick Steve's guide said standing room tickets for 3 euro were available at each show for the person who wants to see what the Opera is like. I figured when in Vienna one must go to the Opera. So we dropped in on "Tosca." We stood at the very top but we could see the stage and to my surprise there were little screens above our heads which displayed the words in English which the singers were singing. Seeing the Opera live and being able to understand it was a really cool experience. We could have stayed the whole time but our feet and backs were so sore and tired that we stayed only stayed for one act- about 50 minutes. The Opera was by far my favorite experience in Vienna and is worth a try for even the most skeptical. I would have loved to see the Lipizzaners as well but they were not performing or practicing during our lightening trip to Vienna- bummer!

Prague

In April my oldest sister Jamie and her husband Steven came to visit us. This was their first trip out of the US. While they were here the four of us went to Prague and Vienna. While in Prague we visited the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, the main square with the Astronomical Clock and Cathedrals, and the Bethlehem Chapel which was the church of the great Reformer, John Hus. Prague is a beautiful city as you will see in the pictures. It was also a fun place to eat as we enjoyed lots of goulash, dumplings, and Czech beer.

2009 Ligonier Conference Pics

In March I attended my 6th annual Ligonier Ministries National conference in Orlando, Florida with my mom, my two sisters, my mother-in-law, my friend Cbass, and a new addition who is a friend of my sister's, Donna. This conference is always one of the major highlights of my year. I love the Bible teaching, the speakers and their banter, the beautiful music of the Westminster Brass, the bookstore, and of course sharing all of this with my family and friends. After the conference each night we go out to eat at our favorite restaurants and when the conference is over we relax by the pool, shop, and eat more. It is always a good time. This year's conference was extended a bit in order to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Calvin. The pre-conference, on Calvin, started earlier in the day so we had a few more lectures to take in than usual. The actual conference, on the Holiness of God, also went a little longer than usual. It was great to have all the speakers and to hear all their awesome teaching but I have to admit my brain gave out well before it was over. I listened to all the speakers but suffice it to say I am glad I have the mp3s so I can listen again!

This years speakers were:

• 
  
  Al Moler
• 
  
  Ligon Duncan
• 
  
  Sincalir Ferguson
• 
  
  Steven J. Lawson
• 
  
  R.C. Sproul Jr.
• 
  
  Derek Thomas
• 
  
  Alistar Beg
• 
  
  D.A. Carson
• 
  
  Thabiti Anyabwile
• 
  
  Robert Godfrey
• 
  
  R.C. Sproul

R.C. junior and senior are always among my favorite speakers at the Ligonier conferences as well as Sinclair Ferguson. This year I was surprised to be blown away by the first sermon of Steven J. Lawson on the legacy of Calvin. This lecture was so awesome the audience gave him a standing ovation. It was my favorite lecture of the conference. If I can find a way I will post it for your listening pleasure!

Bruges, Belgium

Not too long ago Matt and I went to Belgium for the weekend. We visited Bruges and Brussels. Bruges was a pretty cool city and we had quite a fun day there. We started out by walking to the edge of town to see the old windmills. Then we toured Choco Story which is museum on the history of chocolate. The museum was very interesting and ended with a chocolate making demo and tasting. After that we walked through the city square where we had some frites under the famous bell tower. Then we walked around a little more and had a Belgian waffle. After this we we toured the Blue Moon Brewery which was very entertaining. The tour guide ripped on German beer makers the entire time claiming that Belgian beer is superior. At the end of the tour we were given a Belgian beer to try. To be honest I am not a big fan of Belgian or German beers. After this we headed over to the The Flemish Pot where we had Flemish food for lunch. I had a pancake (which was really a crepe) with a huge hunk of goat cheese wrapped in bacon with apple. It was very tasty but so rich I could not finish it. Matt had Flemish beef stew which came out in a little black pot. He was given a large bowl which the waiter filled with frites and covered with the stew. Matt's dish was also very rich. After lunch we took a boat ride around the canals where we saw many beautiful views of Bruges. Then we headed over to the Famous Chocolate shop, The Chocolate Line, where we tried Cuban Cigar flavored chocolate and peanut butter chocolate. We then stumbled across a cigar bar where we settled down for a while so Matt could have a cigar and I could have a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate came with a side of amaretto and we were also given a cup of mussels already out of their shells- I can't believe people eat these! We wrapped up our day by visiting another famous chocolate shop, Dumon, where we tried more tasty Belgian chocolate. Bruges is a fun place to visit and is worth one full day of sightseeing. It is a beautiful city full of stepped-top buildings, horses clip-clopping down the cobbled streets, and some of the world's finest chocolate. Enjoy the show!

My Jane Austen Day Out

I spent this past Saturday with two of my girl friends- my Welsh friend Catrin and my friend Honor who is from Northern Ireland. Honor lives up in the beautiful seaside town of Malahide and invited us up for the day. She packed a nice picnic lunch for us which we ate while overlooking the Irish sea. Then we took a short car ride further up the coast to another seaside town called Rush where we took a long walk on the beach. The day was perfectly sunny. After the beach we stopped for tea at an Irish lady's house from our church. She showed us her garden of sunflowers which she protects from the snails by putting diced onion all around them. After this we headed back to Honor's house where we unwound with a nice dinner. It was a great day and I am so greatful God has brough these two women into my life who love the Lord and who are so fun to be with. Here are few pictures from the day. The little bundle of joy with the "ginger" hair in the buggy is Honor's son Caleb.

Crepe Night

My recent move has brought me closer to one of my friends here in Dublin who is now just a five minute walk from my flat. Her name is Sandra and she is from France. She has been working with the Christian ministry IFES along with my Welsh friend Catrin for the last year in Dublin. Last Friday night she had me over for a crepe night. How could I resist crepes made by a French woman?! The crepes were delicious and it was fun watching her flip them in the air! I was also able to spend some time with her two Irish roommates who were there, Nicola and Edwina. I really enjoyed them and hope to have finally made some Irish friends. Here are some pics from the crepe extravaganza- in top left: Nicola, Sandra, me, Edwina, & Catrin.

Everything is Mortal but...

I picked up a book a few months back while in Manchester called "The Uniqueness of Israel" by Lance Lambert. I am not familiar with Lambert but I always find anything about Israel fascinating so I got the book. It has been a very interesting read so far. It is split up into four parts- the uniqueness of the land, the uniqueness of the nation, the uniqueness of the city (Jerusalem), and the uniqueness of the Messiah. I have especially like the chapter called "All things are mortal but the Jew." This chapter details how God has preserved the Jewish people throughout all of history. There are two great quotes in this chapter I want to share. The first is from Mark Twain in 1899:

"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people. and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"

The second is from Leo Tolstoy around the same time as he wrote on "What is a Jew?":

"The question is not at all so odd as it seems. Let us see what peculiar kind of creature the Jew is, which all the rulers and all the nations, have together and separately abused and molested, oppressed and persecuted, trampled and butchered, burned and hanged, and, in spite of all this, is yet alive... the Jew is the emblem of eternity. He whom neither slaughter or torture of himself for years could destroy; he whom neither fire nor sword, nor inquisition was able to wipe from off the face of the earth; he who was the first to produce the oracles of God; he who has been for so long a time the guardian of prophecy, and who has transmitted it to the rest of the world- such a nation cannot be destroyed. The Jew is as everlasting as eternity itself."