Theology with Meat

It is no secret that one of the biggest challenges that we face in Albania is punctuality. Far be it from me to make generalisations but I can safely assume that Albanians, along with their Mediterranean/Balkan neighbouring nations view time in a more relaxed manner than North/West Europeans. Ok, before I keep on stating the obvious, let me get to the heart of the problem. It is with coming significantly late to church on Sabbath. Allow me to make a list of places/situations that determine the Albanians' punctuality. ON TIME when they go 1. To work (in a serious business/company) 2. To a funeral 3. To a football (soccer) match 4. To a show (TV, opera, theatre, cinema) LATE when they go 1. To a wedding / birthday party 2. To church or any church meetings 3. For "coffee") 4. to a picnic I could add 5. blogging and I can only point the finger at myself... How does one make sense of this? Of course, what concerns me the most is the striking lack of p...

by Rolf J. Pöhler   How did God communicate to his prophets? What are the biblical tests of a true prophet? What is conditional prophecy? Are prophets fallible? Why do we believe that Ellen G. White’s visions and prophet dreams were from God? These are the key questions of this week’s Sabbath School lesson. As diverse as they are, they all focus on one crucial issue: How can we distinguish true prophets and/or prophecies from false/fake ones? Ever since Sabbatarian Adventists regarded Ellen White as a recipient of the gift of prophecy, they have offered several criteria by which to test her (or any) prophetic claim. Among them, the unusual physical phenomena accompanying her visions have been mentioned frequently. However, they do not constitute a normative test for the authenticity of a prophet or the authority of his/her message. It is not the supernatural character of his/her visionary experience, but the divine origin of his/her message, that constitutes the hallmark of a...

No,  I do not own Kastrati Fuel Co. Just saw this in Wikipedia... for all of you wondering about my last name's origin/meaning... Kastrati From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kastrati is one of five tribes in the Malësi e Madhe district in Northern Albania . The word derives from the Latin castrum [1] [2] , and the local tribesman relate that their name comes from their hero, George Kastrioti widely known as the great Skanderbeg . References ^ castle Look up castle at Dictionary.com late O.E. castel, from O.N.Fr. castel, from L. castellum "fortified village," dim. of castrum "fort;" cognate with O.Ir. cather, Welsh caer "town" (and perhaps related to castrare "cut off"). This word had come to O.E. as ceaster and formed the -caster and -chester in place names. Sp. alcazar "castle" is from Ar. al-qasr, from L. castrum. The move in chess is recorded under this name from 1656. In early bibles, castle was used to transl...

TEXT (NASB): 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.' 5 "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, an...

Best greetings for the new year 2008 to all blog readers. I look forward to 2008 because I anticipate it much more structured than 2007, which will enable me to blog on a regular basis. Greetings / Gezuar, Julian / Juli

I'd like to wish all of you guys who take your time every now and then to view my blog God's blessings in this holiday season. My apologies for the recent long period of inactivity. I suppose after Xmas I will be able to afford some free time... Take care, Julian / Juli

These days I am reflecting on the sad implications that mediocrity entails. I hope quotes like these serve as warning signs to, at least, those of us who bother to be self-reflective. Julian All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy. Scott Alexander Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best. Max Beerbohm When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity. Napoleon Bonaparte It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation. Roberto Benigni Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius. Fulton J. Sheen

In almost every issue during the early 1990s, the "Adventist Review" used to make gleeful reports on the thousands of souls that were being baptised by western, mostly North American and Australian evangelists. (If i recall correctly, on one occasion in a former USSR Republic, three thousand people were baptised in one day by a North American evangelist). Yet, no-one would ever read (especially on a church publication) that ca. 80% of these "thousands" quit attending either shortly after their baptism, or during that same year. To be fair, this phenomenon affected all evangelical denominations, not just Adventists. Whether for superstitious reasons, (oriental, pagan, folk-Islam and Eastern Orthodox cultural influences), emotional reasons (freedom, post-communist euphoria), or for purely economical reasons (ADRA sending food and clothes to baptised members, other financial and educational benefits), thousands joined the church for less then ideal reasons. The baptism...

Last week my wife and I underwent the joy and the ordeal of an Albanian wedding. Of course we have been married for 2 years, but the "first" wedding feast took place in Germany and except my parents none of my other Albanian relatives could attend. We gave them the chance now, and though it wasn't a wedding, the purpose - my wife's and my own family meeting and celebrating the deliverance from their offspring - was fulfilled. We celebrated in Makalbania near Durres, and among the guests were "celebrities" like Ali Kastrati and Gerti Bogdani. To my relief my parents in law really enjoyed it despite the obvious cultural differences. At some points they were a little shocked, esp. when they were served the lamb's head as an honour. I'm esp. proud of my wife who merged easily with the culture by dancing and eating like a "nuse" should. It was a joy.

THE WHITES AND THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST Copyright © JULIAN KASTRATI, 2004.  PLEASE NOTE: footnotes are acknowledged but withheld for copyright reasons The progressiveness of truth based on the Sola Scriptura principle is one of the most precious features in Adventism. From the very beginning of their movement, one of the main aspirations of the Adventist Pioneers was the restoration of all neglected truths of Scripture. To achieve this, they spent countless hours in Bible study and reflection. Surely this led to a re-dimensioning process in Adventist doctrine. Yet, one of the doctrines with which the pioneers struggled for many years was the doctrine of the Godhead (the Trinity). It is an established fact that most of the Adventist Pioneers, at least between 1846 and 1888, held Arian or Semi-Arian views and opposed trinitarianism. The doctrine of the Trinity was considered unscriptural, confusing and absurd. One wonders what the reasons were for their opposition. What influenced...

Trixi and I are now back to Albania, where we both will have long-term commitments. Trixi is making phenomenal progress with shqip - Albanian (a rare, unique Indo-European language). Settling in Albania in January means over 7 hours of daily electricity blackouts, due to a major energy crisis that has engulfed the country this winter. Well so much for now, before power is cut off again, Julian

My wife Beatrice (Trixi) is now officially an Ärztin (the German equivalent of a GP in the UK and MD in the US). Just recently she passed her last state exam with a very good result and a few days later received her medical degree ( Approbation ). Beatrice and I will soon be moving to Tirana, Albania, where I will be serving as senior pastor, starting 1 Jan 2007.

Copyright © JULIAN KASTRATI, 2005, 2006. (PLEASE NOTE: footnotes are acknowledged but withheld for copyright reasons) I am trying to "kill many birds with one stone" through this article, which basically entails the conclusion of my M.A. Dissertation Thesis. You are right in your "complaints" that I have been rather inactive during the past couple of months. Why was this? Well, to be honest, I became slightly skeptical about how much my blog was of interest to others, so I sort of slowed down and lost interest. I do offer my apologies to all those I haven't responded yet. Having said that, I have recently been encouraged by several of your comments/emails and therefore have decided to "blog on." At the same time, a number of you have asked me to publish my views on the 1844/investigative judgment. While not intending at all to "dodge" the subject, I am suggesting that we first start using some biblical terminology when talking about what Chri...