Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Dinesh D’Souza: (b. 1961, India) American author and public speaker, political commentator.  Roman Catholic.

Abundias: (b. Spain - d. 854) Martyr. Roman Catholic parish priest in the village of Ananelos, Spain, near Cordoba.  He was beheaded and his body was thrown to hungry dogs.

Nicola Gruevski: (b. 1970, Macedonia) Banker, elected Prime Minister of Macedonia in 2006. Macedonian Orthodox.

Hassan Sharif Lubenga (b. ca 1958, Uganda) Former Muslim extremist who converted to Christianity after having dreams and visions of Jesus.  He fled to Kenya for his personal safety. He was a sheikh of Buk Haram, a violent group similar to the Nigerian Boko Haram (Hausa = “western education is sinful”).

Isidora Barankis (d. ca. 369, Egypt) One of the first “holy fools.”  A nun at the convent in Tabenissi (on the upper Nile River) in Egypt.  She lived a life of absolute humility and pretended to be insane.  Eventually she left the convent to live in the desert. Eastern Orthodox.

The Only Dream I Remember

I had a dream two nights ago and I remembered it.  This is remarkable because I have never remembered any of my dreams.  This is the only one …  ever.   I know this is not normal, but it is true.

In the dream, I was eating barbecue sandwiches with three people, an older man and two women, none of whom I knew, but who clearly knew and loved me.  They expressed their pleasure with me, told me I was on the right track, and that I should continue what I was doing.  The older man noticed that I had barbecue sauce on my cheek and reached over to wipe it off with his napkin.  For this to be the only dream I have ever remembered was puzzling.

I am definitely not a believer in occultism or “the science of dream interpretation.”  It is said that dreams speak in the language of symbols and that they may be an avenue for us to work out problems in our lives which we cannot address on a conscious level.  Many non-Christians see dreams as a place where they receive “guidance” from “somebody.”  Others see dreams as a series of archetypal human images produced when our minds are in neutral gear.   Still others feel that dreams have no meaning whatsoever.

In the Bible, God often used dreams to speak to his people (Matthew 1:20-24;  Acts 10: 1-48) and, sometimes, to those who were not His. (Genesis 40:8-19)  I have no idea if my dream was from God or not, but nothing in it is contradictory to a Christian understanding.

The archetypal symbols present in my dream are, to me, quite obvious.  While I place absolutely no credence in the “science of dream interpretation,” I thought it would be interesting to see what a dream interpretation dictionary would have to say about this dream.  I was not surprised at what I found.

The most obvious element of the dream is the presence of three people.  Three is the number of the Trinity, the number of divine perfection.

The older man is a symbol of wisdom, kindness, and forgiveness; the women, of nurturance and love.  Eating with others is taken to symbolize harmony and intimacy.  Eating or cooking meat is seen as getting to the heart of a matter. I have absolutely no idea what that matter would be.