Heaven as the new Iceland?

-not necessarily so!

Iceland is a beautiful country. At least that´s what they tell me, those who are in the know of these things. And the pictures seem nice, it seems like the sort of place I´d like if I went there. Lava fields, hot geysers, green grass and archaic language, almost like a fairy-tale still absolutely authentic. Very different from my new everyday surroundings here in Kalmar in south-western Sweden.

But there´s something rotten in the state of Iceland. Those who live there seem to like to keep everyone away. It´s OK to admire from a distance, but Iceland is for the Icelandic people, not strangers with different customs, colour of skin and so on. Their culture has survived for millenia, but they still consider it very fragile, and every little word needs protection or else decay and chaos will be upon them. They used to be Vikings who sailed down to Constantinopel and back again, now if they see a Turk they go running for helpur at the nearest polisur stationur.

By now you realize this is a metaphor, because even the Icelandics aren´t that xenophobic, isolationist and overly protective. Where then am I heading with all this (got to stop giving it all away in the headline...)? I recently got a mail from a dear, though somewhat absent, friend of mine where he mentioned this blog as “interesting – and very religious”. And it struck me how exclusive that “very religious”-talk can be to some, notably those who should be most included, the children, the deprave, deprived and depressed people, sinners who see themselves as just sin and nothing more. To ordinary folk who haven´t heard of sin and Heaven since Sunday school a lifetime ago. For Jesus it seemed so easy, he is the personification of righteousness and didn´t budge one millimetre to the hedonists and talibans of his day, still those who didn´t fit in then current standards liked him. They even fled to him, like it was their only hope. They didn´t feel diminished, but strengthened, by his greatness and purity.

So I would just like to apologize for being overly Icelandic at times. It´s a beautiful country, and sometimes I get too keen to prove my citizenry. The truth is I got it for no effort of my own.

Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum I obtained this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Acts 22:27-28