Weekend in Stockholm

This week I am attending a scientific workshop on Water: the most anomalous liquid at NORDITA in Stockholm.

On saturday afternoon I attending an event With Heart and Mind, organised by Credo, a Swedish student Christian group affiliated with the International Felllowship of Evangelical Students. Since it was in Swedish I was thankful for the english translation. It was encouraging to see students being challenged about integrating their academic studies with their Christian beliefs.

On Sunday I went to Immanuel church, which has Swedish, Korean, and International (English) congregations.

Plane movies 2

I just flew SFO to Auckland. Again on 13 hour flights it is amazing what kind of movies one thinks is good.

I found Wild Target hilarious. But, to some it may be a rather off-beat comedy.

The Bounty Hunter is quite funny and entertaining. It contains a hot relationship and marriage tip: just admit you were wrong and take responsibility.

Martyrdom in the home of golf

I am not a big fan of golf. But I do like walking with our dog on the golf course near our home at dusk.... Anyway, since arriving in the US I have noticed how much attention that the British Open (being played in St. Andrew's Scotland) is getting in the media. I fear that some of this high level of coverage stems from a media obsession with Tiger Woods....

One newspaper article even gave a bit of background on the town including mentioning the martyr's memorials in the street cobblestones. This brought back some personal memories for me.

Patrick Hamilton, one of the first leaders of the Scottish reformation, was martyred in 1528 at age 24. According to Wikipedia:

His only book, Loci communes, known as "Patrick's Places", set forth the doctrine of justification by faith and the contrast between the gospel and the law in a series of clear-cut propositions. It is to be found in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments. [Book of Martyrs]

The complete text of the book is here.

The photo above [taken from a beautiful collection of photos of Scotland by James G. Mundey] shows the initials PH, the memorial for Patrick Hamilton.

About a decade ago I interviewed for a job at St. Andrews University [which thankfully I did not get]. I think the formal interview was in a room just above this monument. This helped keep things in perspective.

Church in Hong Kong

I am in Hong Kong this week for a work conference [on superconductivity]. Since I arrived last night I was hoping to go to church today, but my Google searches did not yield anything near the university I am staying at. However, a friend kindly helped track down the Clearwater Bay International Baptist Church. It meets in a school right next to the Hong Kong University of Science of Technology. The 11am English service was led by a biology professor from the university. It seemed a lot like my home church, Unichurch back in Brisbane. It is wonderful that the Gospel transcends geography, culture, language, and race .... just as God promised Abraham...