We were having dinner last week with our British neighbors and discussing the finer points of the British Monarchy, specifically Henry VIII, and I was asking our friends what they thought of him. We’d just visited the Tower of London (See my Flickr pictures here)

where Henry received bride Anne Boleyn and upon her arrival warmly greeted her by sweetly whispering, “I will love you until the day you die,” which she did, of course, just a short few years later when Henry had her head separated from her body.

Anyway, I just knew our friends would agree that Henry was the Pol Pot of the medieval world, establishing a lifelong reputation as a butcher and general despot. “We don’t think about him much really,” my friend said. “There is so much history to keep track of most of us never give him that much thought.”

His comment was so nonchalant that it struck me as humorous. He wasn’t saying it in a pompous or arrogant way, he was simply stating exactly what the visit to the Tower impressed upon me: There is nearly a 1,000 years of British history IF you begin with William the Conqueror and blow off Roman occupation years before that. I chuckled because he was so…..British in his response. I thought, “I love this place,” then began thinking of why I’ve taken to the UK like an Englishman to his English breakfast (which consists of cold pork and beans, a couple eggs, grilled mushrooms, some sausage saturated in artery clogging cholesterol and bacon, also saturated in artery clogging cholesterol). So here are some reasons why I’m quite keen (commonly used word here) toward Brits with more to come later I’m sure.

1. Brits…period. People told us before we arrived that Brits were cold and standoffish, difficult to get to know. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brits love to converse and it is most common to hear laughter within minutes.

2. British moxie. The dictionary defines moxie as vigor; verve, pep, courage, aggressiveness, nerve, skill, know-how. and lists related words as backbone, grit, gumption, guts. All these things define Brits. You don’t survive a 1,000 years of their history without a “stiff upper lip”. You certainly don’t emerge from the rubble of the Blitz during WWII without having some moxie. Brits have tons of moxie.

3.British humor. Mention this and most people’s minds quickly drift to their favorite Monty Python, Benny Hill or Mr. Bean scenes. Frankly, Americans, for the most part, don’t get the extremely quick and dry wit of Brits or their ability to poke fun at what they see as absurdities in their own culture. (Here is an example. Side splitting stuff…if you get it). I find myself at times laughing uncontrollably, especially with sitcoms like “Yes, Minister” (clip below).

4. British history. Seriously, think about all the Brits have done to shape the world in the past 350 years and you understand why it was once said the sun never sets on the British Empire. Of course there are some warts, but Brits have made massive (a commonly used word by Brits) contributions to exploration, science, literature, and world trade. Think of the British missiological and theological giants like Charles Spurgeon, Eric Liddell, David Livingstone, John Wycliffe, John Bunyan and C.S. Lewis to name but a few. It is unfortunate that too many of today’s “tolerant-minded” Brits seem to find all that is wrong with being British and are undermining a fantastic (another commonly used word) culture.

5. British use of language. I’ve mentioned this before so won’t belabor it but Brits really make the the English language dance. Couple the ability to do gymnastics with words with humor and you’ve got one clever Brit.

All nationalities have nuances that make them unique but it has been enjoyable so far to be introduced to those things that make Brits uniquely British.

Update: I posted several photos from Chile to my flickr site.

Several years ago I told a friend of mine my wife and I were moving to Panama. “Panama?” he asked as if it had recently been discovered. I waited for something profound to follow, like a question about the canal or the political ramifications of decades of military dictatorships that blackened the eye of a nation’s people. I got neither.

“They have Mexican food down there?”

I love Latin America. We North Americans too quickly dismiss our neighbors to the south and the millions with whom we share the Western hemisphere. Frankly we generally ignore more than a dozen Spanish-speaking countries or at best think they are all Mexicans or that Mexican culture is the culture shared by all Central and South Americans. Nothing could be more inaccurate. There is a distinct personality to every country to our south. (A great resource for understanding Latin America is The Epic of Latin America, by John Crow).

Despite the diversity among the countries there are several commonalities Latin Americans obviously share. One of those is what I consider to be an unhealthy obsession with the Virgin Mary.

I’ve traveled extensively in Latin America so have seen various expressions of veneration. I’ve been in Santiago de Chile this week and visited “La Virgincita” – literally translated: “The Little Virgin” (which just happens to be about 40 tall, sits atop a hill and can be seen from across the city, even at night because she is illuminated). One of the prayers fastened to the wall at the statue’s base sums up how most Latin American Catholics would view Mary: as an intercessor between man and Jesus (the picture is of that prayer).

It is heart rending to witness the depth of idol worship among Latin Catholics. They virtually see Mary as the female expression of God. She most often is elevated above Christ (and is literally in Santiago where a much smaller statue of a crucified Christ stands in a subordinate position on the hill beneath Mary). To our shame, too many evangelicals – including some missiologists – lump too many Latin Catholics into the “evangelized” category because of the “Christian” venire stretched across what truthfully is a pagan religion. The word “Evangelism” means “Good news,” news that God came to earth to save sinful men from His impending – and deserved – judgment. Our good news is found in the person and work of the God-man Jesus Christ, NOT the human agent God the Father appointed to birth God the Son into this world. Mary is not an intercessor between man and Jesus. Jesus is the intercessor between man and God.

I recognize my position would be the bane of many Catholics and even some evangelicals who propagate the idea that because Catholics have access to the Bible they are evangelized. I also recognize my thoughts portray a narrow-minded perspective among all “tolerant” people as being a conservative’s rant. But what must be stated is that this has nothing to do with conservative vs. liberal, protestant vs. Catholic or any other man-made pitting of one position over against another. My response to all challengers is simply this: What does the Bible say?

Catholicism (as well as way too much protestant and evangelical theology these days) posits a works-based theology. However, justification of one’s soul is found outside of oneself, at the cross where Jesus bore the wrath of a holy God to cancel the debt owed by sinful man. This same inaccurate theology finds righteousness in “good works” and misses the clear biblical point that even righteousness is transferred (imputed) from Christ to us. Unfortunately Catholic theology goes so far as to teach that justification of the soul is a continuous process and not a single pronouncement by God of forgiveness of sin. Justification and sanctification are seen as one in the same. The Catholic lives his or her life seeking to earn sanctification through works instead of living in the freedom extended through faith in Christ alone. (I do acknowledge there are Catholics who believe by faith in Christ.)

It is unfortunate that the religion propagated by Spanish conquistadors has held Latin American peoples in theological bondage for 500 years. Pray that the similarity among these diverse people is not found In the misperception that they are all Mexican, but that they will all be liberated by the Gospel.

I’d almost forgotten that a couple of years ago I opened a Flickr photo account, not coincidentally titled Travels With Me. (Actually the Flickr account was the first of the Travels With Me social media sites). I was going through some old emails today and came across the account information so I spent some time cleaning it up and making it a bit more presentable by grouping pictures into sets to make them more organized.

It is interesting for me to look through the images I’ve posted and the ton I could still put up from places I’ve been. I can honestly say I would never have guessed 25 years ago I’d travel anywhere. Heck I didn’t have any plans 25 years for much of anything. God has certainly blessed. Hopefully I’ll have many more travels ahead. Feel free to come along.