Category: Travel and Places

I go to a lot of places, usually for work. I have a “ritual” of filming in them after hours, and some of the series of films I have made, as well as other writings, are in this section. These vlogs will be subcategorized by country and visit.

Vladimir Khailo at Wem Baptist Church

01 March 2022

Original YT playout date: 23 September 2010
Duration: 1:20:45

A response to militant atheists who think it’s ok to fight religion by any means

 

The Amazing Atheist, an extreme anti-religious commentator on You Tube at the time this was originally

Vladimir and Maria Khailo during that trip to the UK.

posted, says that violence is sometimes the answer. Well, the recording in this video I’m appending is of Vladimir Khailo, a leader of the Independent (ie. unregistered with the state) Baptist Church in the Ukrainian SSR during the 1980s. Someone who knows all about what happened when the atheist regime of the Soviet Union decided to try to “heal” belief by the use of neuroleptic drugs and other psychological “treatments” – he was one of the more famous of their guinea pigs among the leaders of the persecuted Baptist Church. What happened to him and thousands more was violence perpetrated by a savagely zealous atheist state disguised and dressed up as medicine and social intervention.

A harrowing account

 

This is his harrowing story, well worth the listening. The guy in the high pitched voice translating for him was me. Thirty four years ago, I was his translator when he got out of the Soviet Union. This he obtained at the personal request to Gorbachev by Sakharov. One of the first things he did when he was freed was to come to Britain and thank the British churches for sticking up for him and remembering him when he was going through that hell. I had the great privilege of spending ten days in the company of this strong Christian leader who had faced the nastiest, cruellest things that communism had threatened believers with. Witness in his own skin to some of the worst systematic abuses perpetrated outside of wartime by a country on faultless citizens.

Everything changes, but anything can happen again

OK, in Russia, this tribulation pretty much stopped 34 years ago and the prayers of the church were answered. These days it is going strong in other parts of the world. And as long as atheists in America and other parts of the free world believe that violence is the answer, we can never be sure that it won’t be us in Vladimir’s position 34 years from now. Once again is it likely to be violence done to us in the guise of a moral State healing and having an ethical explanation for every piece of violence it will do to the believers.

Here we go again?

I am preparing this post on the day when Russia invaded Khailo’s country again, so we simply do not know what sorts of things now lie ahead for Ukrainians, including the believers of that country.  It looks like it is set to be a long conflict. And while this time it is not specifically Christians who are on the receiving end of the persecution, there are going to be the usual horrible effects that always happen when people place their political ideas above the Gospel truths of God.

Church details here: http://www.wembaptistchurch.co.uk/howtofindus.htm”
Continue reading “Vladimir Khailo at Wem Baptist Church” →

On foot from Podbaba – Prague Vlog #38

Original YT playout date: 16 September 2010
Duration: 1:03:57

On foot back home from Podbaba thinking about Creation and Evolution, among other topics.
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Do Polish people know that in the Islamic world, Poland was, and is still in some countries, named as Lehistan?

The Legend of the Slavic Brothers

“The Three Heroes” by Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)

They certainly do know this. Usually they would spell it Lechistan, though. It hearkens back to an old legend of three Slavic brothers Lech, Czech and Rus. They were having a drink of local beer in Poznań when they realised that they each wanted to father a nation. In order not to get in each other’s way they decided Czech would go south and Rus would go east. Lech on the other hand would stay in Poznań and look after the local brewery, which bears his name to this day.

Protoplast

He regularly would become plastered on his own product, and thus became known as the “protoplasta Polaków”. Among his achievements is setting up a capital city in Gniezno, a form of the old Polish word for a nest, and from this nest the Polish nation was fledged.

Czech and Rus fathered the nations named after them, while Lech fathered the Polish nation. He became the patron saint of Polish beer, and of big moustaches, and of smashing up invaders such as Islam or Communism.

Various Lechs and Leszeks

As well as a full-sized Lech you also get diminutive ones, namely Leszek, although linguistically speaking, Leszek is a lexicalised diminutive of Lech. You can add it to your lexicon, or Lech’s icon if you happen to be honouring the Patron saint, whose saint’s day is on the 28th February with another go on 12 August if you missed the earlier one.”

Continue reading “Do Polish people know that in the Islamic world, Poland was, and is still in some countries, named as Lehistan?” →

Tramatic childhood? – GRT people begging with their music on the tram.

Original YT playout date: 12 September 2010
Duration: 1:56

This is no way to live. There are programs for bringing the Roma into society, and yet they insist on carrying on this way. Are they right? Is this any way for children to be allowed to live, or should we simply stop trying to value judge their societal choices?
Continue reading “Tramatic childhood? – GRT people begging with their music on the tram.” →

What are the best and worst things about Poland?

Well I have to admit that the air quality is reckoned to be the lowest in Europe. Earnings are still lower than they should be because we let in about a million immigrants from Ukraine pretending to be refugees. And not everyone goes to church. People could pay more attention to recycling and some laws are in need of change in order to help the charity sector and also the tax laws could do with a bit of modernisation. The foreign interests in our media and whining expats who try to make Poland like their own countries also are not great. I’m also not a great fan of closing shops on Sundays as some people go shopping to relax and the shop people can always have another day off. Business needs to be treated with a little bit more respect by government.

Other than that, no beefs, really.

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