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Briscoe Bulletin #14 - Stuart in Prague, Czech Republic 
October, 2001
The Czech Republic has the unenviable reputation of being one of the most
secular nations in Europe which would make it one of the most secular
countries in the world. A short walk around this beautiful old city gives
plenty of clues as to the reason for this sad state of affairs. Take the
famous Charles Bridge which spans the Moldau River made famous by Smetana
one of the great Czech composers. The construction of this bridge, one of
the oldest in the world still standing and in use, was begun precisely at
5:31 a.m. on the 9th of July 1357. Why? Because the astrologers and
necromancers had calculated that not only would the planets be aligned at
that time but that specific moment would be signified by the numbers
1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 - the year 1357, the 9th day of the 7th month at 5:31!
The study of the occult is paramount here to this day. Walking across the
bridge among an abundance of ancient statues you will come across a
bronze plaque polished bright where the
hand so thousands have reached out to touch
it. The plaque depicts a priest hearing the confession on the queen
while the king sits off to the side clearly wanting to know what's going
on. When the priest refuses to tell, the king cuts out his tongue making
sure he tells no one else and throws the unfortunate priest off the
bridge. Legend has it that five stars appeared where he disappeared
beneath the waters but to this day the people of Prague remember what
happened. If they look up from this memorial to Father John Nepomuck they
cannot miss the towering castle that dominates the skyline and probably
they will see the windows from which the policy of
"defenestration" originated.
Defenestration being a polite word for the inhuman practice of
tossing enemies out of windows and both Catholics and Protestants were
guilty. The Old Square was packed with tourists even on a cold November
day, many of them unaware they were standing on 27 crosses engraved in
the sidewalk where Protestant noblemen
were hanged and beheaded, their heads decorating
the Charles Bridge! Across the square the gaunt statue of Jan
Hus the reformer who predated Calvin and Luther reminds the populace of
his cruel end burned at the stake. On a prominent hill overlooking the
river a 90-foot statue of Josef Stalin once stood but when the unlamented
Soviet empire crashed the statue came down too and in its place a huge
metronome was erected - an in your face to the Soviets saying,
"Dictators come and go but time
marches on!" Of course at first the Soviets were
hailed as heroes when they 'liberated" the Czechs from Nazi rule. A
rule that is memorialized by countless
plaques on the walls of churches and offices
commemorating hapless people gunned down in that very place. And
in the old Jewish quarter an ancient synagogue stands only because Hitler
had reserved it to be a museum to an "extinct race." So what
does all this mean? Simply that for
centuries the Czechs have been drawn to the occult,
have witnessed human cruelty in the name of religion and have suffered
deeply at the hands of tyrannical political machines. So understandably
they have a jaundiced view of religion, a fatal attraction to hedonism, a
distrust of political structures and an "in your face" response
to anyone who would try to tell them the
way to go. In short a materialistic, hedonistic,
functionally atheistic state.
It is in this environment that the church witnesses to the saving grace
of Christ. And it's not easy. Of course
the evangelical church has a long history
here as well. It was during the days of Jan Hus that the laity
were first allowed to take the cup at communion and of course the
ministry of the Moravians had a profound
impact far beyond the regions of ancient Bohemia
and Moravia. But as has often been the case where the church has
suffered under the strictures of Communist rule the result has been an
inward looking fellowship concentrating on spiritual purity often
characterized by legalistic tendencies at the expense of outreach and
mission. Those of us who know nothing of the pressures of life under
Communism should be the last to criticize such tendencies and the
emphasis in these churches on holy living
and revival would sound a salutary note in
the fellowships of the United States.
I first came to Prague 33 years ago in the depth of the Cold War during
what came to be known as the Prague Spring - a heady time when under the
charismatic leadership of Alexander Dubcek the Czechs had a taste of freedom
which was cruelly rammed down their throats when Soviets tanks
rolled into Prague. This week I met young people I had ministered with in
those days who now hold positions of leadership in the national church
and I sadly heard of others who had died
prematurely under the harsh conditions of
life in those days.
Ministering to brothers and sisters who serve in such tough situations is
always as humbling as it is exciting and this week has been no exception.
Approximately 200 pastors and students of theology and church ministry
have attended the seminars which were based on my book, "Fresh Air
in the Pulpit" which somehow had found its way to these parts! And later
today I leave for another town. Brno for a
Conference at which 700/ 800 people from
around the nation are expected to congregate. One of the highlights
of this trip has been to see our own young Elmbrook couple - Steve and
Julie Olsen, hard at work here in the Republic. They have learned a very
difficult language, absorbed the culture, established a viable presence
here and have enormous credibility and are busy training men and women
and boys and girls for service. So pray
for them, check out Czech in your atlases
and uphold the work of the Lord in this needy and beautiful land.
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