Cross Border Faith

Last week me and two of my Chinese friends, Ziming (Anthony) and Chen decided to take a leave from Göttingen and discover a bit of the southern Germany. Our mission was to visit Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, which is about 15 min up north from Stuttgart. The plan was to go on Wednesday noon and get back before Friday evening. We checked the Flixbus schedule and reserved an Airbnb residence for two nights from Karl-Pfaff-Straße 60 in Stuttgart. The weather was good and everything seemed clear and ready to go. Until... Well, things didn't get off to a great start. The Flixbus we meant to take was supposed to arrive at 12:20, but it proved to be a little more "flexible" with the schedule than that. It didn't show up at all. Or if it did, it left 20 minutes early (we saw this bus leaving, but weren't sure if it was ours). So, after waiting for more than an hour or so, me and the boys decided to give up and go to the Innenstadt for some beers. We were one hap...

Our time needs a new approach in theology. And I believe this new approach means a narrative. Without reading any textbooks or utilizing other sources for this writing, I'll make an attempt to capture what narrative theology means to my mind in general. I'm explaining things in simple layman's terms, so don't be alarmed if you're new to the theological field of study: this shouldn't be too hard for you to understand, I promise! Who doesn't love good, meaningful stories? A book with biblical themes found inside the St. Paulus Catholic Church. 1. What is narrative? Basically, a narrative means a story. It's a story-based approach in theology; an alternative route to systematic theology. So, instead of debating with philosophical concepts and using rhetorical skills to convince other people of our systematic constructs, we gaze upon the stories of each and every person's life. In this way, it helps to bring a person, an individual into focus a...

Lately, there have been some misconceptions about me. Some people think that the reason I left to Germany was to play (and watch) better basketball. Others, then again say that it was the cheap German beer that I was after. And even some wild rumor has it that I escaped Finland, because of the Siperian cold! All of which are true, but none of them essentially. In other words, none of them were the true cause or the real reason for my leave - they only added to the equation. So I thought it would be the time to correct these popular misunderstandings and collect the three real reasons behind my decision to study abroad in Göttingen University. "Blauen Turm", the Blue Tower. Very central to the Zentralcampus. You can get a nice overview of the city when you climb on top of it. 1. Struggle to impact For me, leaving Finland was not just about crossing the borders for the first time but also, to live somewhere else for the first time than in my hometown, Joensuu. I think...

My life just took a big swing. And lucky enough, for the better. I went for an exchange period to Germany, to study theology (and life) for a total of five months here in Georg-August-University of Göttingen, starting today 1st of March. This is a huge deal for me, of course, because - believe it, or not - it is the first time I have ever crossed the borders of my, oh so lovely and, oh so sweet homeland of Finland. So it's about damn time to get away and do something different for a change! Crossing the border at some time during the Helsinki-Frankfurt flight. The topic "Breaking Borders" also happens to carry a double meaning. As a matter of fact, the whole theme of this blog carries a double meaning. It's not just about me breaking the physical borders of some country. It's a lot more about breaking the spiritual boundaries of culture, religion and identity - crossing the borders of faith, so to speak, as well as religion and culture to find out what rea...