Normally I would treat the blogspot as a devotional piece, yet I feel inclined to give an overview of the city in this season.
To those who have had prior experiences living in another culture, this you would find in common ground. Living in another culture carries with it a sense of "other-ness." As a television character wandering through a different show, I conduct myself with this understanding that there is this inescapable sense that I don't belong. I trust this to be a temporary side-effect of cultural transition. This coupled with a language barrier (albeit a very small one) will be a hindrance to feeling/finding a belonging.
Having lived in Berlin for over two months, I find myself enjoying the city with a garnishment of intrigue. The city is a living contradiction: it is expressive in a logic-driven culture, it's logical to the expressive-driven culture, systematic without being efficient (despite what the stereotypes persist), and prides itself in a cultural foundation of tolerance, despite not having many rules for defining tolerance (save it is intolerant to lifestyles that are naturally limiting, circumstance aside). The culture has many redeeming qualities that creep out of the woodwork as time passes. The culture, though technically defined as cold, recognizes and cherishes community like a sacred gem. Perhaps because relationships take time to grow here, it is easy to see how it becomes important with the rarity of strong friendship ties. With every passing step, I find more reasons that would compel me to live here long-term.
I compare the spiritual climate of Berlin to that of a swamp. Do I mean that Berlin is devolved or some form of primordial soup? Far from it. More simply, one can and must think of the swamp in this case as something lacking high ground or a strong foundation. Given the spiritual turmoil that uprooted most of the rapport between Christianity and the German culture, that shattering of the foundation left this “swamp” in its place. As a fan of Lord of the Rings, I tend to akin Berlin to the Dead Marshes (of which all the other Lord of the Rings fans begin to gasp at the comparison). The lore of Lord of the Rings states that the Dead Marshes used to be a field, on which an incredibly large battle had taken place in a previous age. In its aftermath, a darkness had taken hold, and the bodies of the deceased lay beneath the soggy surface. For Berlin, I attribute the sense of “deadness” to that of the Dead Marshes.
Herein lies the current predicament for the Church in Berlin. Following the horrors of the Second World War and the Cold War, there grew this very wide chasm between the Church and State. So much so, that Christianity in Berlin is all but dead, save a few pockets of life throughout the city. I would discover that the communities in Berlin amount to 1.5-2% of the city’s population. As I mentioned, with the spiritual climate of the city at large akin to a swamp, the struggle therein lies in the Church’s need at reestablishing its stronghold in this culture. It is incredibly difficult building a fortress in a swamp. I repeat: it is very difficult building a fortress in a swamp. I have had the priviledge of coming alongside a community that has been steadily and faithfully working away at the building process, and to be sure there is growth. It’s fascinating hearing that the new believers out of Europe is coming from the newer generations, those who recognize the truth of Scripture and are desiring after God despite a city with a history of struggle against the truth of Christ. This is encouraging, but God has yet to do a gargantuan work at large.
Also, of all the redeeming qualities I’ve been able to find in the city, such as the passionate views of peace and lack of violence, friendliness, and politeness I’ve found in the city, I’m taken by the underlying root in that Berlin culture is marked by a commonplace desire for goodwill. Ironic, as goodwill is the closest to Agape one can find in this world apart from God himself. Who would think that everyone could be so close to God and not even know it. Such is the city. There really is a breeding ground to revival in these parts, and I wait in anticipation for God to make His move in the coming months, should that be His will.