Christian Stuff, Chronic Fatigue, and Crystopher

Once again, I must apologise for the delay since my last post. The last couple weeks have been an odd mix of excitement and difficulty, highs and lows...this makes it a little tough to write about, but it's about time I make an effort to.

So, where to start...I've been attending a lot of really interesting lectures this term. One of my biggest difficulties though, is that I've been suffering from a kind of fatigue that makes me really sleepy in lectures, when I'm reading articles and doing translations. This means it's been quite frustrating too. But I'm trying to do the best I can to find the source of the fatigue. Everyone I speak to has a different theory; low sugar levels, low iron, low blood pressure, glandular fever, Vitamin D deficiency or just general winter blues etc. (Having said that I'd appreciate no further advice on the possible causes, but prayer that it can be sorted out soon). I'm working with the college nurse who has given me an iron supplement and I'm having a blood test on Friday.

I'm getting by, however, so it's not all bad. On the upside, I've had quite a busy term getting involved in various Christian events. At the end of January, I attended a conference run by Developing a Christian Mind (in Oxford) which is targeted at Christian postgraduates and academics with a focus on what it means to be a Christian in academics, and how our faith and work should interact. It was a great encouragement and it gave me to chance to meet Christian graduates from other fields of study, colleges and churches. I even met a few South Africans ;-)

Then in fourth week, the Oxford Christian Union put on their Tri-annual Mission Week, called "This is Jesus" (they have a mini-mission week in the two intervening years but every three years is a big one). Two well known guest speakers spoke at lunch times and in the evenings in the Oxford Town Hall. We had over 400 people attending the lunch talks and 600 in the evenings, mainly undergrads, although there was quite a mix in the evenings. The talks were good, open and honest and dealt with real questions people have about God and Christianity, targeted specifically at Oxford students.

Moving from the spiritual to the more trivial...I finally got to see my first snow fall ever!!!! :D It fell on 4 February. When it started at about 4 pm, I was shocked at how tiny the snowflakes were (really expected them to be bigger). I was too excited to work so I went to help one of our CU Reps, Claire, write notes on the Gospels of John we'd been given to give out to every undergrad in college leading up to Mission Week. By the time we were done, it was dark, but snowing heavily and the snow had started to settle. I had dinner in hall that night and was in complete awe of how the already beautiful college was transformed under a layer of white. It's almost like God looked at the beautiful architecture and said, "Impressive, but I think I can make it look even better."

The next day, I went all around college taking pictures. Unfortunately it was melting quite quickly, and when I finally took a walk around town, there wasn't much left to see of it. The college fields stayed snowy for longer though, so when I came back I was re-cheered by the sight. By the end of the day I'd taken something like 160 photos.

It snowed again the following Thursday night. I actually walked in it on the way to the Mission Week talk. Afterwards I went with some of my college friends to the ice cream shop across the road. So I can now officially say I have eaten ice cream in the snow.

The next day, Maryanna, who's studying linguistics with me, helped me build a snow man. We were going to make one in my garden, but again the snow was melting fast and there wasn't enough left. So we made his head in my garden and carried that over to the Worcester field to make the rest of him. We named him Crystopher Icicleston after one of the Doctor Who actors Christopher Eccleston.

Maryanna carrying Crystopher's head

Me and Crystopher

Maryanna and Crystoper

Crystopher with hair

Me eating icecream in snow

I guess that sums up my last couple weeks. As you can tell both exciting and challenging. I can't believe this term is almost over already.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers,

Sonja.

The King James Bible

On Saturday night I went to a 400th Anniversary Celebration of the King James Bible at the Methodist Church in Oxford. It was an evening of singing and narrative recounting both the history of the translation and the chronological story of the Bible itself.

Earlier this year, I missed the Songs of Praise King James Anniversary concert held in the Durban City Hall thanks to a nasty cold. This more than made up for it. I only wish my parents could have been there too. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I wish that more people my age had come along. While the audience consisted mainly or people 50 and above, the words and music was timeless.

Each song was bounded by readings from the bible and interspersed with history of the translation process. It was very cleverly planned out and crafted, with moments of humour and solemnity. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the lady that arranged it, but she did an excellent job using her words as cleverly as the King James translators themselves. I think the best way to give an idea of what it was like, is to give an outline of the programme:

Part I

1. IN THE BEGINNING: GOD

Gen 1:1-3, Psalm 19:1-6

The Heavens are telling - The Creation, Hayden

Psalm 8:3-5

2. IN THE DESERT: MOSES

Exodus: verses from chapters 3, 4 & 5

Go down Moses - Traditional, arr. Tippet

"Milk & honey ": a melody of famous phrases

3. IN THE FIELDS: RUTH

Ruth: verses from chapters 1 & 4

Duet: Wherever you go - Barlley Time, Matthews & Eddy

4. IN THE PALACE: DAVID...

I & II Sam

...AND SOLOMON

I Kings 1:38-40

Zadok the Priest - Handel

A facsimile copy of Luther's German Translation

5. IN THE TEMPLE: ISAIAH

Isaiah 6:1-9 and 40:1-5

And the glory of the Lord - Messiah, Handel

Isaiah 40:6-8

*****

Part 2

6. IN THE BEGINNING: THE WORD

John 1:1-14

God so loved the world - The Crucifixion, Stainer

7. JESUS: COMING

Luke 1:26-33 & 46-55

8. JESUS: LIVING

"Verily I say unto you..." a medley of stories/parables/teachings

The Wesley Memorial Methodist Church

Treasure in heaven - Francis, Matthews & Eddy

9. JESUS: DYING

Luke 23:33-48 & 44-46

Crucifixus - Lotti

10. JESUS: RISING

 John 20:1-18

Organ: Jesu, joy of man's desiring - JS Bach

11. UNTIL THE END: LOVE

I Corinthians 13:1-13

If ye love me - Tallis

10. AT THE END: GOD

Revelation 21:1-6 & 19:1, 3

The Hallelujah Chorus - Messiah, Handel

The event was made all the more special because of it's location. Of the six companies of translators, that worked on the King James, two of them were based in Oxford - at Christ Church and Merton College. The narrators mentioned, when covering the story of Solomon, that King James saw himself as something of a latter day Solomon, who would be able to unite the warring factions within the church (one of his motivations for commissioning the translation in the first place). They said it was probably significant, therefore, that the words as rendered by his translators of Solomon's coronation, have been sung at the coronation of every British monarch since 1727:

"Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King. 

And all the people rejoic'd, and said: God save the King! Long live the King! May the King live for ever, Amen, Allelujah"

The King James translation was not a new translation. The authors were to use existing translations by William Tyndale and his predecessors, but to render it more accurately, making out of the many translations one excellent one. They also were to keep in mind that the text would be read aloud in church and so the way it sounded was very important. Those working on it, read passages, once complete, aloud to each other and made comments or adjustments where they felt necessary.

Many phrases, proverbs and sayings that were either coined by the King James translators or preserved by them from older translations, have made it into everyday English as common and well known sayings, including:

"a thorn in the flesh"..."a two edged sword"..."the apple of my eye"..."a land of milk and honey"..."the twinkling of an eye"..."gave up the ghost"

It was interesting to hear the famous 1 Corinthians 13 passage read out in the original King James form, where it used not the word love, to translate the Greek word for unconditional, sacrificial love ἀγάπη (agape), but charity.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth:

But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Granted that the word charity meant something quite different in the 1600s to what it does today, but it really puts a slightly different spin on the passage.

Ironically, once all the work was complete, the translation was received not with great fanfare, but with much criticism and insult. One minister said he would rather be pulled apart by horses than read from the King James, and even Lancelot Andrewes, possibly the most famous of those who worked on the translation, continued to use the Bishop's Bible (the King James' immediate predecessor) in his own sermons. The early printings were said to have been so riddled with errors and misprints, that no two copies were alike.

It was only after the British civil war, that the King James Bible was finally accepted. In the end, it achieved part of its original purpose in uniting a divided church and country. The narrators pointed out that, perhaps above all, it was George Handel's decision to use the King James for his masterpiece, The Messiah, that really solidified its place as the premier English version. It was appropriate, therefore, that a number of the songs sung during the concert were compositions of Handel himself.

The Messiah was first performed in Oxford at the Sheldonian Theatre in 1749 as part of the celebrations of the opening of the Radcliffe Camera, Oxford's architectural icon.

The evening ended with the singing of Handel's most famous piece. Taken from the end of the Bible - the end of the story - it uses the one word that the King James Translators (and few since, in any language that I know of) saw necessary to translate:

Hallelujah!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the interval and afterwards we had the opportunity to look at and browse some ancient Bibles. Among them was Queen Elizabeth I's own copy of the Bishop's Bible, though this one we were not allowed to open or touch.

1516 Erasmus' Greek-Latin parallel translation

Close-up of Greek text

1572 Bishop's Bible - also known as the "Treacle Bible"

for using the word "treacle" rather than balm in Jeremiah 8:22 

Someone was bored during the sermon :P

 Another close up of the Gk-Latin parallel

Queen Elizabeth I's Bible 1572

Why I brought my faith to Uni

Each college at Oxford has a Christian Union (CU). They are a great community of Christians who work at encouraging one another in faith and reaching out to those who have questions and want to know more about Christianity. The one at Worcester is very active. We have bible studies every Wednesday evening, prayer breakfasts on Sunday and we meet in small groups of 5 or less during the week to encourage each other. Every second week we join up with the Oxford Central CU for a combined meeting.

Last Wednesday evening, the Worcester CU had an opportunity to hold a service in the beautiful college chapel I showed you photos of a while back. Six of us shared short (three minute) testimonies on the theme "Why I brought my faith to Uni." It was a great opportunity to share and I think we all left encouraged by each other's accounts of what God has done for us.

Here's what I shared:

Hi, my name’s Sonja Gammage and I’m studying a two-year Master’s degree in Linguistics. Coming to study in Oxford wasn’t an easy process for me. It was my first time leaving home (we don’t generally leave home to go to uni in SA) and I’d lived in the same place my entire life.

One of the hardest parts of the move was packing. I was only allowed to bring one 30 kg bag, beside my small hand luggage on the aeroplane, and it was very difficult to decide what I should and shouldn’t bring. I had to leave behind certain things that I really wanted to bring and had to be content with leaving things I could replace here. And there are some irreplaceable things that I couldn’t bring, such as my family and friends. But I could bring my faith in Jesus. Now that I’m here can only keep contact with my friends and family via skype, email and facebook. So it’s an amazing comfort to know that God is still with me here and as near and real to me as he was in South Africa. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or how far away from home you are, Jesus is the same loving and gracious friend and my relationship with him hasn’t changed – if anything, it’s become more precious.

This verse has been an amazing comfort to me during this move:

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

   your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:9-10

There are so many small things that happened while I planned my move and since I have arrived that that have shown me just how much God cares about me. For example, at the church I’ve been going to, St Ebbes, I’ve met up with another South African family. It might seem trivial, but it was such a comfort to hear another South African accent. Also, I knew almost nothing about Worcester College when I applied, but it has been such a blessing in its beauty and location. My house is almost directly opposite the linguistics department. I feel as though God has been looking after me every step of the way, and like a true friend, he even cares about the small things that make my life more comfortable.
But my faith is more than just a crutch, something that acts as a “reminder” or “link” to my life in South Africa, like the pictures and ornaments I have in my room that I brought to make it feel like home. In a very real way, it was only through God’s amazing provision in my life that I was even able to come and study here. You can ask me about the details afterwards if you are interested. My relationship with Jesus is so important that even if it had taken up extra room in my luggage, I would have found the extra space to bring my faith with me to Oxford.

The Worcester College Chapel

The Worcester College Chapel isn't much to look at from the outside - it's simply part of the general college entrance. But take a step inside and you'll be blown away. These photos only show some of the amazing detail inside the place. What I love most about it, is that the windows portray key moments in the life of Jesus, i.e. a summary of the Gospel. These scenes are reinforced by verses from Old Testament prophets predicting these events. The photos don't do the chapel justice, you need to see it for itself. But hopefully they'll give you a glimpse of the treasure it holds.

 
The Ceiling

Worcester College Chapel

Ceiling lighted only

Detail of a section of the ceiling

Above the front stain-glass window

    









The Four Corners

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Overview of floor mosaic

The Saints
The floor contains mosaics of various saints. Here are some of them

Saint Etheldred

Saint Frideswide

Saint Jerome

Other Mosaic

Mosaic of front floor

Virgins

Evangelists

Witnesses

Apostles

Martyrs

The Pew Carvings 
There are animal carvings on the ends of each pew

The lion and the lamb

The walrus and the rhino

Rhino close-up

General view

Elephant

Dodo

Unicorn

Pelican

The other rhino

Something scaly

Pangolin

Hyena

Camel

Horse

Whale

Boar

The Stained Glass Windows
Each represents a scene from Jesus life. Above each (not visible in the photos), is a verse by one one of the Old Testament prophets that predicts that event. The crucifixion window is in the front of the chapel.

Gabriel visits Mary

The Nativity

Jesus in the Temple

Jesus' Baptism

The Crucifixion

The women at the tomb

The ascension

Overview of windows

Some final general pictures

View of the pews

Looking back towards the door

Detail of the candle

The organ