Yearly Archives: 2003

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One of the most surprising things that I learned in economics is that often saving money is neither good for the saver or the economy. All my life I had heard Sunday school teachers, preachers and even Larry Burkett emphasize over and over again the importance of savings, hard work and the avoidance of debt. Does that mean God is against the economy and does not want you to plan at all? No. But, what often happens, and it is probably the most common error ever to occur, is that a statement is taken out of context and over-emphasized and over-applied. Proverbs 6:6-8 states, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, and learn from him.” What can be learned from an ant or a squirrel or many other of God’s creatures is explained in verse 8. You should prepare for the winter by storing food. The problem is you can take this too far.

The Bible also tells about God causing the manna that the Israelites gathered for the next day to spoil because he told them to only gather enough for one day, except the day before Sabbath. Planning ahead for a time when you know you will not be able to get food (i.e. winter, or Sabbath) is wise and expected, but hoarding is not acceptable.

The Bible teaches in Matthew 6:19 that we should store up treasures in heaven, not here on earth. Luke 12:16-21 describes a man who is blessed with large harvests, and doing exactly what the Bible told him to do, he stored all of his grain “for winter.” The problem with his response was that God had given him more than what he actually needed for that year, and it would have been better if he had taken the opportunity to share with others. The fact that he had more than he needed is evidenced by his having to build new storage facilities to keep the excess inventory. As it turned out, his hoarding was useless since he died before getting to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Jesus’ description of the rich man sounds almost like the description of modern America. We work for and buy more stuff than we could ever use and forget about half of the stuff we already have. Then we have to buy a bigger house just to keep stuff in. It gets to the point where instead of owning stuff, the stuff owns you. Also, many do not take care of the poor (support charities) and do not give tithes or offerings. For proof, just count the number of working aged men in the church, multiply by ten percent of $20,000 (probably a low average) and compare that to the church’s annual income. This money is miss-allocated by hoarding (stuff, retirement, house, car) or wastefulness (entertainment, gluttony, etc.) The error of putting too much emphasis on the acquisition and retention of money is much more common in the current culture because of the abundance of things that are available to be hoarded. While hoarding is a major issue in America, the opposite extreme is also seen.

Wastefulness and shortsightedness is the other side of the same problem; a wrong view of the material world. This form of materialism is more obvious to most Christians but there is still a prevailing viewpoint among Americans that we only have one life, so we should live it to the fullest. Seize the day. The waster like the hoarder is obsessed with getting as much money as possible, but as soon as he gets it he spends it. Spending money quickly after receiving it is not irrational since money that is simply held decreases in value over time. Inflation has not been as bad in recent years but exchange rates and invisible inflation, such as a rise in the price of gold and in manufacturing costs, have decreased the real value of the US dollar, and we will probably see the results of this in the next year. Also in one of Jesus’ parables he tells about a man who was scolded for not investing the money that he was entrusted with. The problem with wastefulness is not the rapid disposal of money, but what the money is spent on.

The central problem for both hoarders and wasters is the love of money. Love in a biblical sense emphasizes a conscious decision more than just a feeling. The feeling is a side affect. Therefore the love of money does not mean just an abstract feeling; it is any decision to place the acquisition of money ahead of, or in place of other important things in life. The Bible calls money the root of all kinds of evil in I Timothy 6:6-?. The love of money has led people to commit many different kinds of sin. In 1929 there were people who jumped out of buildings when they lost large sums of money in the stock market crash. Love of and a desire for money can lead to some obviously related sins such as theft, murder, blackmail, and workaholism. In many cases it is also behind abortion, abuse, divorce, homosexuality, drunkenness, and adultery. The classic example of the love of money causing people to do something absolutely stupid is found in Acts 5:1-11. Ananias and Saphira had a desire to do something for God or at least to appear to be doing something for God. But their love for money caused them to keep some of the money while claiming to have given it all. The results were not positive.

Money is just a tool, something you can use to do good or evil. If you keep all of your tools stored in the tool shed they are of no use, and you would be better off without them because then you would not have to store them. But, money should be used wisely to accomplish God’s will in your life. Instead of wasting money on stuff you do not need, it would be better to use the money to support missionaries, churches, and other Christian organizations that are spreading the gospel and meeting the needs of the poor. God does not give us tools or talents just for us to look at or enjoy; He gives them to us so that we will be able to serve him better.

Closely related to a wrong view of money and the material world is a wrong view of work. Again we are often guilty of missing the truth on all sides. Some people are workaholics, some worry, and others are lazy.

Workaholism has at times been referred to as a physiological disorder. People can become so hooked on success that they compulsively work on things until they are perfect. Other workaholics are trying to avoid a difficult home or social life, or the lack thereof. Also, with computers and other electronic equipment becoming so common, it is not unusual to find people who relate better to machines than to people. All three forms of workaholism come from an incorrect focus on stuff, also known as materialism.

Some people, instead of using work as an escape get bogged down in worry. Materialism tends to encourage people to worry about their survival or more commonly, their appearance. For Christians worry is not an option. In Matthew 6:??, Jesus tells us to “Consider the lilies.” God provides for the needs of His creations. He gave us work as a privilege. It is opportunity to imitate our heavenly father and be creative, but it is not something we should worry about.

And then some people have it figured out. They do not worry about anything and they certainly do not work too hard. After all, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Even Christians can take the approach that since God is all-powerful, he will do what he wants to do no matter what. Or, that everything on earth is going to burn anyway, so what is the point of trying to make it better? The Thessalonians were anticipating Christ return so that were not working. They could be commended for their faith in the eminency of Christ’s return, but were reprimanded because they were living off of the kindness of their siblings in Christ when they should have been working. The parable of the ten virgins is an excellent example of Jesus view of working and being prepared.

With all of the machines we have today it is very easy to become lazy. We even have machines to make it easier to exercise, and the reason we need to exercise is that our work often includes very limited physical activity. That does not mean that machines are bad but, machines are often used incorrectly, and as a society we have not responded best of ways.

A wrong view of things and a wrong view of work are two problems associated with materialism. Our view of either things or work can get out of line causing materialistic errors on either side of the truth. Materialism, like most other errors that are believed by mankind, is based on many truths and is probably ninety percent right most of the time, but that small percent of error, causes problems on a scale that would make Vilfredo Pareto look like an extreme conservative. The challenge, according to II Timothy 2:15, is to study the scripture so that you can rightly divide the word of truth.

This was an early draft. I am not sure what happened to the final paper. I may find it, as I go through other disks and folders.

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The Popol Vuh has been called, since its discovery by Europeans, the creation story of the Maya. It contains an account of creation, the flood, the fall of man, and the associated curse, along with references to the gathering of people in association with the tower of Babel. Also, these events are, in many cases, treated in much the same way as they are in Genesis. These similarities are especially important to those who believe in a literal creation and a literal destruction in a global flood. If there are people around the world who remember a flood that destroyed everything the case for a universal flood is pretty strong, but other possibilities do exist. The similarities between the Popol Vuh and Genesis can be explained as selective preservation, as cultural blending and borrowing, or as a well-preserved ancient memory.

The similarities between Genesis and the Popol Vuh could be explained as a chance concurrence of answers to common questions in one story of the Maya that was preserved simply because of its similarities to Genesis. Although the odds are not high, it is possible that with as many books as the Maya had written that one or more would have striking resemblances to works in western literature. In fact, parallels can be seen between the Popol Vuh and several stories in western literature. Finding the Genesis theme randomly appearing in another work created on the opposite side of the world is surprising, but it is still possible that this could occur accidentally, especially since people naturally wonder about how they and their surroundings came into existence and how they ended up the way they are.

The Spanish saw little worthy of preservation in the culture of Maya and other indigenous people. The Maya made their books from folded pieces of paper. Paper is much more portable than stone but unfortunately it is much easier to destroy. The Spanish burned almost all of the Mayas ancient books and tried to teach them European culture. In the midst of all this destruction the Popol Vuh may have been spared because of its similarity to Genesis.

If the similarities are too many to be written off as a coincidence that was preserved, another possibility is that Genesis and the Popol Vuh somehow share a common cultural background. Many of the similarities found in stories from the western world are explained by a common literary background and cross-cultural contact. This same explanation can also be applied to the Popol Vuh. The similarities in question could be explained by a common history, syncretism on the part of the narrator of the story, or revision on the part of the copiers or translators.

While not generally accepted, it is possible that the Maya were descendants of, or had significant contact with, the Jews or Vikings. Ake Hultkrantz mentions that, “some scholars … have suggested that the Mayan culture was brought in its entirety from outside.” (206) The idea of Jews migrating into Central and then North America after the Babylonian captivity was popularized (if not invented by) Joseph Smith the founder of the Mormons. It is also possible, although admittedly not likely, that a group of Vikings made it all the way down from the coast of Nova Scotia, starting the journey by following the route of Leif Ericson. This is one possible explanation for similarities between the Popol Vuh and Beowulf. The idea of ancient contact between Old World and the Americas is fascinating but has little support. A much more common and popular view is that the Popol Vuh was affected by sixteenth century contact with the Spanish.

A popular theory about the origin of the Popol Vuh is that it was written by a person from a Mayan background who is familiar with western literature or at least with the Bible. The earliest extant copies of the Popol Vuh are written in Quiche Mayan but use Latin letters. From this and the fact that the author mentions the conquest, it is obvious that the author was familiar with western culture. The question remaining is how much was the story changed by western influence?

It has also been suggested that the person who made copies of the Popol Vuh or translated it may have added elements from Genesis or changed certain parts either intentionally or accidentally.

The idea that the story was dramatically changed by the sixteenth century narrator or by the copyist faces a stiff challenge from mounting evidence that much of what is found in the Popol Vuh can also be found in pre-conquest art.

Similar, but much more interesting to a christian, is the theory that the Popol Vuh and stories from around the world have common themes and events because they are based on real events that happened prior to the spread of mankind over the face of the earth. Joseph Campbell gives five themes that are common to most ancient mythology. These five things are “Fire-theft, Deluge, Land of the Dead, Virgin Birth, and Resurrected Hero.” According to McClear (104) these common themes point to a “common source.” Finding the Deluge in myths from around the world is not surprising to those who believe in a worldwide flood and that everyone who is living today is a descendant of Noah. Other memories from the tower of Babel and before can be found in the Popol Vuh. The world was formed by words and thoughts. The sky was separated from the earth. The purpose for man’s existence is given as worshiping their creators. Pre-flood mankind was destroyed because he did not worship the gods. There were four men after the flood, but descendants are listed for only three. The first fathers traveled east. The confusion of languages is mentioned after the flood, in the land to the east. And, idol worship replaces a direct communication with the gods.

If these are millennia old memories, past down from generation to generation, how did they make it through hundreds of generations without being changed beyond all recognition? Two possibilities have been suggested. The first is that the devil changed or created a story that was very similar to the truth in order to throw people off track. The second is that God intentionally preserved this story to provide encouragement to those who believe that the Bible is actually true.

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Many times throughout history a group of people have emerged from the tumultuous oceans. Like a brilliant light in a midnight world, they distinguish themselves in glorious battle, ingenious inventions or matchless literature. Egypt, Israel, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Tibet, China, Spain, Britain, America and many more have been known as the greatest nation on earth in their time. But often the most influential and important nations go unnoticed. Frequently conquered by the “World Power” or living at peace on the edge of the world, these nations change the world ….. Even many of the great nations are remembered more for what they left behind than for the fact that they ruled the world for a few short years. One nation often overlooked or overshadowed by the powerful nations around it is the people of the Low Countries.While the area now known as Belgium and the Netherlands has never been the center of a great political empire, there is perhaps no other people group with a longer history in trade and in finance. Both the Phoenicians and Chinese were involved in trade for a long time, but never became important financial centers. Venice was, and Hong Kong and America are important trade and financial centers but do not have the long history of Belgium and the Netherlands. The people that may have the longest history in finance, but not in trade, are the Jews, but their history becomes closely linked with the Low Countries and makes it somewhat difficult to consider them separately. The economic history of the Low Countries goes back over a thousand years and can be divided into three stages of development: continental trade and finance, colonial expansion, and contemporary economic leadership.The history of Belgium and the Netherlands begins in a region known as Flanders. It included most of modern Belgium, part of the Netherlands, and a small section of France. The area was originally inhabited by a branch of the Celts known as the Galli. Descendants of the Galli include the Galatians and the Dardans. According to Virgil the Dardans are the ancestors of the Romans. Julius Caesar referred to the Belgica, one of the Galli tribes, as the most difficult …. The Galli were eventually conquered by the Romans and intermarried with them. The descendants became known as the Gallo-Romans. They were in turn conquered by the Franks. The Franks also blended with the Gallo-Romans. Thus the French became a Romance language with only traces of the original German that they had spoken. The Frankish aristocrats moved south and founded modern France. And the people of the Low Countries while nominally part of France for a while had a great deal of autonomy.The history of the city of Bruges, one of the most important cities of Flanders, goes back to at least the 600’s A.D. Some sources trace it back to the early days of Pax Romana. It may have been founded by the Vikings, which would give it a very ancient link with London, another important trade and finance center of later centuries. Bruges was an important trade center during the first eight hundred years of the middle ages. They traded with the Vikings, England, and continental Europe. Flanders during the middle ages was in a way the glue that held Europe together. It was trade between Flanders and Italy that kept north and south interested in staying together and provided a cultural bridge between them and all the countries on their trade routes. Bruges like several other great cities lasted about a millennium. The city eventually dried up with its port. Bruges port was at the mouth of a river that after years of washing away the hills from upstream formed a delta that made the port unusable. Going into the colonial period, Bruges was replaced by Antwerp and Amsterdam. And, the Low Countries remained the center of trade and finance in Europe.

During the 15th century, the nations of Europe began to explore and establish colonies all over the world. This colonization forever changed the history of the world. Hundreds of people groups who thought they were alone or at least the center of the world were brought into contact with people from far away lands and discovered that they were actually on the outer edge of a giant globe. Those who took time think about it were often overwhelmed at how different things really were from what they had thought them to be. But, for most of the colonists the more things change the more they stayed the same. The rule was the man with the most money makes the rules. Each of the nations of Europe had there own way of trying to get the money to be won in the new worlds. Spain focused on metal, England on plants, and France on animals. While most of the European states were involved in trade, the two nations that focused the most on trade were Portugal and the Netherlands.

Portugal was one of the major explorers of the new world, and everywhere they went they took commerce with them. While Portugal is not one of the Low Countries, it is thought that Portugal was originally settled by the Gallo-Romans and the Vikings. It is interesting that a country thought to be of common blood with the Dutch and Belgians would take a similar approach to colonization. Also, Portugal hired highly skilled Dutch navigators to help them in their explorations.

The Dutch from the county of Holland in present-day Netherlands were separated from the people of Flanders through the workings of the feudal system, but are closely related in history and ancestry. During the colonial years Holland became the center of exploration from the Low Countries. The Dutch traded not only with their colonies but also with any other nation or colony that would trade with them. Through their extensive trade relations they played a major part in the history of several other trade and financial centers.

The Dutch together with the Walloons of Flanders founded a new town in North America called New Amsterdam. Like so many other times in the past, these people devoted more time to business than preparation for war, and were conquered. And like so many times before they mixed with their conquerors and became the dominant cultural force. The British renamed the conquered city New York. New York has remained an important international trade and financial center ever since it was founded by the people of the Low Country.

Holland also had a great influence on the pilgrims that fled there from persecution in England before sailing for the new world. It is likely that the history of New England would have been quite different had it not been for the influence of the Dutch. Actually, even the history of England would have been different without emigrants from Holland who were essential in the establishment of the English textile industry.

The Dutch also settled Indonesia and opened trade with Japan. Indonesia has had a long history of wars, but has entered the 20th century as one of the lead trading nations of Asia. Japan chose the Netherlands as its only European trading partner and Dutch contacts were helpful in establish Japan-American trade. Throughout the colonial period the areas in contact with or controlled by the Dutch did not just become important for their raw materials or agricultural wealth or for any reason other than trade and finance.

Much of the gold that was being discovered by Spain and other nations was flowing into and through the Low Countries. The Bank of Amsterdam became, for a time, the financial center of the world. It was essential to world trade; financing the trading expeditions of the Dutch and many other nations. In the 17th century Amsterdam started an international stock and commodities exchange. Having the position as the center of trade and commerce during the colonial years led to great wealth. This wealth has survived has survived the centuries and the Low Countries continue to be among the most powerful nations in the world.

In 1960, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg joined in an economic union call Benelux. Luxembourg, just east of Belgium, is closely connected with Belgium and the Netherlands. Luxembourg is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world and may have the highest average net-worth of all the nations in the world. Together these three tiny nations form a phenomenal international world power.

Benelux may handle more international commerce per square mile than any other nation or group of nations in the world. Rotterdam of the Netherlands was the largest port in the world. The position is now be challenged by a port in the Bahamas to be finished this year. But, the fourth largest port is Antwerp. Together with a few other ports in the area they will remain the largest shipping area in the world. Many European railroads connect with Antwerp and the area is the shipping hub of Europe. Antwerp is also the largest chemical center in Europe and has a long history in trading diamonds. Benelux is definitely involved a disproportionately large piece of the world trade and finance.

In addition to being an international commercial powerhouse, Benelux is a major international player in politics. The Hague in the Netherlands is the home of the International Court of Justice and is one of the four United Nations Cites. New York, a former Dutch colony, is the leading UN City. Brussels, Belgium is the seat of the European Union, in effect the capitol of modern Europe, and also houses the NATO headquarters.

BIBLOGRAPHY

Virgil, The Aeneid,

http://www.brugge.be/toerisme/en/historye.htm

http://www.trabel.com/brugge/bruges-history.htm

http://www.visitbelgium.com/bxart02.htm

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~arch343/lecture9.html

Livius, Titus The History of Rome, Vol. VI

Encyclopedia Britanica

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When looking at the future my mind quickly runs through thousands of things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. I want to write several books, manufacture a new type of computer I have invented, create software that can learn any language through interaction with several native speakers and then translate the Bible into that language, start a distribution company in Asia, build a rail and/or high tech navigation system for electric vehicles, build the internet in Asia, build the world’s longest tunnel, start a mission board for tentmakers, start a university in Asia, and many other things. With so many interests, I think I will enjoy doing whatever God has for me to do, but I am also fairly sure that I am going to die wishing I could more.

My long-term goals have not changed as a result of this class, but this class has been responsible for introducing a few new ideas.

My short-term goals include an MBA, and then a doctorate, and raising a godly family of hopefully at least seven. I also want to work in as many different positions as possible so that I can have a broad understanding of the many processes involved in getting idea to product to customer.

The self-assessment section of the profile confirmed my opinion that I have the skills and interest to do just about anything, as long as the person I report to is flexible and open to process improvement. I also have a strong desire to be doing things that others cannot do. If it is something that is easy enough for other people to do, I am not going to really want to do it unless it is something that nobody else will do and it needs to be done.

During this class I have become more aware of my creativity in addition to the curiosity that I was already well aware of. Since before I can even remember, my mother tells me, I have had an insatiable desire for knowledge. While most children have a stage where they are constantly asking why, I never stopped. This curiosity has allowed me to obtain above average knowledge, even though have am below average in intelligence. In other words, I learn slowly but, since I never stop, I have learned a lot.

I was not aware until recently, though, that I could be described as creative. My creativity as a child took the form of a vivid imagination. As I grew older, I was always searching for a better way to do things, but I never associated that with creativity. My imagination has remained strong, and I enjoy writing short stories. I have always enjoyed art and music and probably would have pursued a more traditionally creative career, except that there is not a great need in this area. I need to be needed. There are plenty of people who are capable and willing to do the creative jobs. I take the road less traveled.

The information on “the hunt” and how to find job opportunities was very helpful. The most important thing I learned may have been that Monster is not the only job board on the internet. I also discovered that typing “jobs Nashville” in a search engine does not get you very far. Some of the job sites mentioned in the “Get a Job” pack led to many good job leads.

My strengths include problem solving, creative thinking, communication, system development, and process improvement. My weaknesses are in the area of organization and endurance. I do not like being in a rut. I am constantly searching for a better way to do things or a way to get the computer to handle the mundane.

I have worked for Thomas Nelson, Inc. since March of 2000. I have been in my present position since June 2000. I started here as a temporary administrative assistant in the telephone sales department. When the person I was replacing returned, my supervisor and several others that I worked with encouraged me to find a full-time position here. Thanks to the good word they put in for me and an available position that I was qualified for, I was able to stay.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. owns several previously separate publishing companies, which now act as semi-independent companies. The sales team has gone through several restructurings in the past five years.

I am the Bible Inventory Analyst. In this position, I am responsible for maintaining a high order fulfillment rate, with a minimum inventory investment, and to increase inventory turns. I work primarily with Bibles, my supervisor and a co-worker, manage the book inventory.

There are several factors that make purchasing and controlling the inventory of Bibles uniquely challenging. First, we sell several hundred different types of Bibles, but they all have the same title and author (Holy Bible by God). Each type of Bible is assigned a number to distinguish it from other Bibles of other translations, trim size (height, width), type size, binding style, study notes, paper thickness and other features. The people who work with these numbers on a day-to-day basis have memorized most of them and in order to communicate you have to know the code.

Each type of Bible comes in various colors of genuine and bonded leather plus hard and soft covers. These can ship with thumb indexing, and various price point stickers. All these variations create a very large SKU base. But, each SKU cannot be ordered separately because they have so many common components. Orders have to be synchronized together in order to take advantage of the economies of scale from producing each of the common components together. Components can be held for a short time. The challenge is that we pay interest on the components and have money committed for long periods of time without even the potential of revenue, if they are held to long.

Another challenge in controlling Bible inventory is the high manufacturing cost. The cost of Bibles are much higher than books, because of their high page count and generally more expensive covers. The higher carrying cost on Bibles makes it critical that the Bible not stay in the warehouse any longer than necessary.

A challenge the whole company faces is the use of a legacy mainframe system. The custom programs are not very strong on data integrity nor is the back-end database. One of the projects I took on when I first started and have continued to pursue is to improve data integrity enforcement and clean historical data. We have made significant progress, but there is still plenty to be done. A related weakness of a mainframe system is the lack of storage space. To make everything fit. Most information has been abbreviated or codified. After time you learn that “CO” means core and that “IS” in one field means indexed and in another field means “in stock” and that 42 means CBA which means the sales group that sells to Christian bookstores.

One of the major projects I have worked on is developing a purchasing system in Access that pulls data from the mainframe. I have also built a couple Excel based custom applications to help purchasing and sales. I am also building a small Access application for accounting. These custom applications can be built faster that an equivalent system on the mainframe and perform much better in the area of data integrity. Actually, I have and am using Access in mainframe data cleansing.

One of the key things that I have learned about myself in this job is that I enjoy working with people. I have always enjoyed working with computers and often the assumption is that you either work with a computer or people, but I really enjoy both. I am one of the few people in the company who actually enjoys meetings. I also act as conduit for large amounts of information and if I do not know the answer to a question I try to find it myself instead of sending them to someone else who might have the answer. This allows me to answer the question myself next time. My most successful and enjoyable moments have been when I helped another person to solve a problem with a computer.

My strengths include problem solving, creative thinking, communication, system development, and process improvement. My weaknesses are in the area of organization and endurance. I do not like being in a rut. I am constantly searching for a better way to do things or a way to get the computer to handle the mundane. I have developed several systems to help me stay organized and on schedule. I use Outlook for all of my calendar information.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. is great company to work for and just about any position here would be enjoyable because of the people who are here. There are several full-time positions available at Nelson. I hope in the future to move into the HR department. One of my long-term goals is to head a large international organization. In preparation for that, one of my mid-range goals is to work in as many departments as possible, so that I can see each aspect of the company first hand.

I do not think I can trace any of the new interests I have developed directly to this internship, but I have during this time developed several new interests, and my long-term plans have changed some during my years at Nelson.

I have encountered many problems/opportunities in this position. I have been able to solve most of the problems by talking to a few key players one on one. Some problems have required a meeting to solve. Most of the problems I have seen here are caused by miscommunication or a lack of communication. A few times I have been asked or have volunteered to build a database or spreadsheet that will facilitate communication between and among groups. And several times I have been involved in changes to the mainframe system.

The classes that have helped the most to prepare for this job are macro- and micro- economics. I was able to prepare our company for some of the ups and downs in the economy thanks to the principles learned in this class. Production and operations was also helpful in preparing for this particular job, since I am actually working with production. Also, Nelson has its own set of terms, and it has been helpful to know the industry standard terms, so that I can translate for outsiders. This was especially helpful when we were shopping for production software.

Note: This post has been back dated to the original date when it was written.

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Nepal is located in the Himalayas and contains eight of the ten highest mountains in the world. The Himalayas are often called the roof of the world. The mountains have done much to shape the history and culture of the nation. This small, landlocked nation sits between Tibet (now part of modern China) and India and has been influenced by both nations. But, thanks to the seclusion of the mountains, Nepal has developed many cultures of its own. There are many people groups in Nepal, and they remain quite isolated. The largest group, and the one that is currently in power, is the Brahmin and Chetri.

Researching the Brahmin and Chetri has been interesting since they have spread throughout the country and enforced their culture on the other people groups. Their success in making their culture the national culture can be seen in the fact that many authors fail to note the distinction, if they are even aware of it, between the Brahmin and Chetri and Nepali culture. They have, however, maintained their preeminence in society, through an adaptation of the Hindu caste system. These people of Aryan descent hold the key to the nation, and an understanding of their history and culture is essential to an effective ministry in Nepal.

The Brahmin and Chetri are of Indo-Aryan ancestry. In this paper they are treated as one people group because in the Nepali adaptation of the caste system they are very close and allow inter-marriage, which is not allowed with the lower castes.

Nepal has a more relaxed form of the Hindu four-caste system. The Brahmin were originally the priests and teachers and were highly respected. The Chetri were the protectors, the warriors, and the leaders of the people. The Baishya were the traders and craftsmen, and the Sudra were the common workers. The Pani Nachalne were so low they were not included in the caste system. They are the famous “untouchables.”

The Nepali version of the caste system commonly groups the upper two castes together as the Parbatiya or Tadgadhari which means “born-twice” or born-again. Born-again in this case refers to incarnation instead of salvation, but this term is still kind of neat. The other two castes are grouped together as the Matwali. Either as a reflection of the Parbatiya’s view of the Matwali or an accurate description of their life style, the word Matwali means “alcohol drinker.” While the Parabatiya are Indo-Aryan, the Matwali are mostly Tibeto-Burman. The Brahmin and Chetri are not only a separate economic class they also have a separate history.

The history of the Brahmin and Chetri reaches back to the ancient Khas. Little is known about this large group of people. Very few artifacts have been found. They were evidently Indo-Aryan Hindus. In the fourteenth century, the Muslims invaded northern India and the Rajasthani princes, who where also Hindu, fled into the Khas territory but quickly took over, dividing the area into many small kingdoms. They also conquered the Gurung and Magar in the midwestern section of modern Nepal.

The Eastern most kingdom of the Gurung territory was Gorkha. The city of Gorkha is just east of the center of modern Nepal between Kathmandu to the east and Pokhara to the west. Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of Ghorka from 1722-1775, was attracted to the wealth of the Kathmandu valley, which at the time was inhabited by Tibeto-Burman people, the most famous of which were the Newars. The Malla dynasties had been in power since the late twelfth century but by the eighteenth century had split into three city-states fighting among themselves. Prithvi Narayan Shah took advantage of the Malla weakness and internal fighting and began a 20-year war of attrition to take the valley. He then went on to conquer all of modern-day Nepal plus a good bit more. Several wars with the British of India and the Chinese have shrunk the border down to its present size.

The present king of Nepal, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, is the twelfth in the Shah dynasty. He is a Chetri of the Thakuri family. While the Shah dynasty has remained unbroken, from 1846-1951 a hereditary prime minister called a Rana was the head of government. The Rana were supported by the British, and when the British left India after World War II, they soon fell.

The Gorkhali also called Pahari (people of the hills) spread throughout the new land and multiplied greatly. The Brahmin and Chetri are the desendants of the ancient Gorkhali or Khas. They assigned the conquered people for the most part to the lower castes. However, not all groups have accepted these designations.

Even though they only make up about thirty to forty percent of the people of Nepal, The Brahman and Chetri have made their language the national language and call it Nepali. This language is also known as Kha-Nepali, Khas Kura, Gorkhali, Parbatiya, or Eastern Pahari. They have used various methods to “encourage” the other people groups to learn it. This has also made research difficult since there are now many different people groups of many different backgrounds that speak the same language.

With a history of oppression and subjugation you would expect to find Nepal about ready to explode with racial tension and a strong anti-caste movement. What is surprising, though, is that while there is a lot of tension and a strong communist movement, caste does not seem to be the main issue. As a matter of fact the majority of the leadership of the two communist parties are Brahmin and Chetri.

Nepal is a constitutional monarchy. It is the only Hindu Monarchy in the world. There are two main parties. The Congress party currently has a significant majority but is actually a combination of several other parties. The Opposition is led by one of two major Maoists Parties. The Communists have not been able to gain much control, but they have been managing to cause a lot of trouble. The leaders of both parties and most of the members are Brahmin and Chetri. The lower castes and the indigenous peoples of Nepal are very rarely involved in politics even though the Constitution now makes it illegal to discriminate against them. Discrimination was eliminated primarily because of outside pressure, but unofficial and social discrimination is still a problem.

The Brahmin and Chetri control the educational system and the Nepali language and culture are becoming even more dominant. Most schools are Nepali only, and the nations university is also Nepali only. To become a citizen, which many of the indigenous people are not, you must learn Nepali.

One of the most desired and well paying jobs in Nepal is in a non-government organization (NGO). Nepal has been the recipient of millions in humanitarian aid. Large portions of this money go into the pockets of the people who are given the responsibility of using it for the benefit of the people. There are several websites devoted to exposing and challenging caste discrimination. One of the main arguments given in their challenges is that a disproportionate number of Brahmin and Chetri are receiving these much coveted positions. There is little information on discrimination within the business world of Nepal. This is probably because there is not as much money in Nepali business. Although you cannot be absolutely certain when arguing from silence, it appears that the positions that are most desired and considered the most important are in NGO’s not business or government. The NGOs claim that their allocation of positions are in line with government population statistics. But, even this has been challenged.

Some have compared Nepal to America because of its great diversity. Actually Nepal has greater diversity and does not have a group with an unquestioned majority, like the whites of America. Nepal has fifty to one hundred or more people groups. The government has been accused of over-counting the Brahman and Chetri population and undercounting other groups. For example after much “persuasion” almost sixty percent of the people speak Nepali, therefore the Brahmin and Chetri claim to represent the majority of the people. Opposition groups claim that they are only thirty percent, and that since the women are not represented, they only represent fifteen percent of the population. The interesting thing about this is that the next largest group is only about eight percent, so the Brahmin and Chetri are still the largest group. The other claim made by the advocates for the indigenous people is that many villages are assigned to the “other” category and then lumped under the Chettri even though it is obvious they are not Chetri because they have never been treated with that much respect.

Their religion is traditionally Hindu, but in Nepal it has become very much mixed with Buddhism and Tantra or Animism. The Nepalis worship Buddha as a reincarnation of Vishnu a Hindu god. And for some reason the Buddhist worship many of the Hindu gods. They simply practice the religion that their families have been practicing for years.

In Nepal the practice of religion is far more important than doctrine. Religion is very integrated into their daily lives. They pray every morning and they have many religious festivals. All public holidays have religious significance. One other interesting fact is that the Brahmin and Chetri are vegetarians, but this is not from some general respect for animal life. Millions of animals are sacrifice as part of many of their holidays. The cow, however, is given a special place. The cows are thought to be divine. In Nepal the exclamation “Holy Cow” would be seen as simply redundant.

Most Nepalis are rural. It is still mostly an agricultural society. Things are changing rapidly, though, now that they are open to the outside world. There has been much industrial activity lately, and the country is starting to become more urban. The Brahmin, which were considered to be like the holy cows, did not originally own land. They were to be supported by the people, but many today have land and are farmers. As Nepal becomes more industrialized and urban, there will be drastic shifts in culture that could eventually sweep away the caste system.

The Nepalis eat Bhats…ok, Bhat, that is rice. Rice and curried vegetables are to the Nepali what hamburgers and french fries are to some Americans. In my humble opinion both could get boring. Actually the same or similar meals every day would get boring no matter what it is. In the cities, especially Kathmandu, you can get a bit more variety, but most of the people have very little variety. It is somewhat surprising for Nepal to have such a boring menu given its location, sandwiched between two countries that are famous for their food.

Nepal’s traditional art and fashion seem to have been developed by two groups that are so different that they hardly seem like they belong in the same nation. The temples in Nepal, many of which date back to the days when Tantra was the main religion, are now controlled by the Brahmin. The art that is found in these temples is anything but modest. The walls are often decorated with images of humans, gods, monkeys, and other creatures having sex in many painful or impossible positions, frequently with three or more partners. Ritual sex, as in many cultures, was seen as a way to gain favor with the gods, especially fertility gods who were very important to agriculture. The Brahmin and Chetri have done nothing to hide or remove this art.

In stark contrast to the temple art, Nepali fashion is very modest. Women wear robes that completely cover them and men wear baggy pants and long tunics. Modern fashion shows held in Nepal have been viewed more as entertainment than a real model for the clothes of the future. Many people like to see the strange clothes or all the skin that the clothes do not cover, but few ever even think about wearing such odd outfits. There has been considerable modernization in clothing styles in the last few decades but Nepal and the Brahmin and Chetri in particular remain much more conservative than the average American.

The Brahmin and Chetri, like most other people groups in southeast Asia, wear there life savings as jewelry. The jewelry in Nepal, especially, is quite large by western standards. Each people group has its own style. Supposedly, you can tell what people group or village people are from by their jewelry. The Brahmin and Chetri men can be identified by their Janai, a three strand cord that only they are supposed to wear.

When working with the Brahmin and Chetri and any other people group in Nepal there is very little that the average American would find morally offensive, except possibly the animal sacrifice. But, a quick survey of the Old Testament should cure any moral objections. As Christians we know that this is no longer necessary, and in this case, they are offering sacrifices to the wrong God, but this is a problem that will go away when a person gets saved and should never become a major issue.

Two things that would be a problem are alcoholism and child prostitution. Most Brahmin and Chetri consider both to be wrong and so there would not be a general conflict in morals, but it would be easy to get so involved in these and other social issues that you forget your main purpose. The best cure for and prevention against sin is a relationship with Christ. In fact most people groups of Nepal are comparatively conservative. They may not be as conservative as Muslim nations or east coast America, but they are close. A person from central or especially western United States would have to be careful not to offend the Nepali sense of morality. Americans already have a bad reputation thanks to television and tourists, which represent primarily the most liberal of Americans.

Evangelism in Nepal presents an interesting problem since any church you start is likely to fill quickly with the lower castes and therefore make it almost impossible for that church to reach out to the Brahmin and Chetri because of the social barriers. It is similar to Free Will Baptists finding it difficult to get the wealthy to come to their churches, only worse because there is a definite line between the castes, which no one crosses, and very few will associate with anyone of the lower castes. In order to reach the Brahmin and Chetri you almost have to establish a church for the few Brahmin and Chetri that you can reach at first and then train them to evangelize others in their caste. As believers become more familiar with the Bible and with the God that loves all people regardless of their caste, you can encourage them to attend the Matwalis church and even start to minister to them. It would be a great testimony to Christianity if you could bring these very diverse groups together.

The church for the Brahmin and Chetri should be kept open and active until there are no unsaved Brahmin and Chetri left to reach. Individuals that are not part of the Brahmin and Chetri outreach should be encouraged to go to the main church as soon as is reasonably possible so that the upper caste church does not become an established and separate denomination. These churches should always be seen as an outreach group and training ground for missionaries, and not accepted as a tradition of helping these castes to remain separate.

Reaching the Brahmin and Chetri requires a unique approach that is custom built to work in their society. Unfortunately, many of the Americans who do not make the mistake of assuming that all cultures are similar to their own, make the mistake of assuming that all foreign missions should take the same approach that is used in tribal Africa or South America. The message of the gospel stays the same, but the method of spreading the gospel must adapt to the culture being reached.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burbank, Jon, Nepal,.New York: Prentice Hall Travel, 1993.

Camerapix, Spectrum guide to Nepal, New York: Interlink Books, 2000.

Chambers, Kevin, A traveler’s guide to Asian cultures, Santa Fe, NM: J. Muir Publications, 1989.

Finlay, Hugh, Nepal: a Lonely Planet travel survival kit, Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 1996.

Karafin, Amy and Melanie Sponholz, ed., Fodor’s Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, New York: Fodor’s Travel Publications, 2000.

Reed, David and James McConnachie, The rough guide to Nepal, London: Rough Guides, 2002.

Ross, Zoë, ed., Nepal, New York: APA Publications, 2000.

Warham, Paul ed., Let’s go : India & Nepal, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001.

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The sources of information that I use at work can be grouped into three categories: human, print, and computer. Humans that have provided useful information include members of the HR team, heads of various departments, and most of the individuals in the IT and production groups. Printed information includes memos, handwritten notes, P&L statements, buyer’s documents. My job includes extensive use of the mainframe system, several Access databases that I have built, vendor websites, e-mail, and many spreadsheets. Also available is the corporate website and an HR website. One of the first things you must learn is how and where to get various types of information.

My job involves determining which product needs to be ordered and how much to order and after getting pricing information, getting the necessary approval to order the product. Accomplishing this task requires extensive data analysis and data cleansing. The DB2 database, which holds all of the sales and forecasting information plus the product information master, has very little in the way of data integrity. I use a reporting software to retrieve the raw data from the DB2 database and save it as a comma-delimited file. I then FTP the information to a folder on my hard drive and then use an Access database to manipulate and analyze the data. From this database, I build queries and reports to determine order points and quantities recommend products to be discontinued or discounted, and make other recommendations to help lower inventory and increase sales.

Communication within the company leaves somewhat to be desired but does seem to work in most cases. The primary forms of communication are e-mail and phone. I have learned over time that certain people respond better or quicker to e-mail. With others it is better to call. And there are a few people who, if you want an answer, you better just go visit their desk. One of the biggest problems is the tendency for people to forget decisions that have already been made. This even happens after meetings where minutes were taken. One of the things that I have been working toward is setting up a discussion board where decisions and conversations can be stored.

The differences in various employees and the ways that they respond to these differences have led to several humorous situations. We have three employees in a room of sixteen that are rather loud and energetic. Two other employees had their cubicle assignments changed just prior to the office being remodeled in order to get as far away from the noise as possible. Then after the renovation, several of the noise sensitive employees were assigned across the room from the noisy employees, which seems to have helped. One lady however was assigned next to the noisiest of the three and then asked to be moved, which was interesting since they mostly work on the same projects. There are actually several people that sit a good distance from other people they work with. Things have worked out rather well for me since I returned to school because I am working mostly in the evenings when it is quiet.

My attitude at work is primarily positive but somewhat reserved. I have to make a conscious effort to come out of my shell and talk to people as people instead of just as sources of information. I really do enjoy talking to people and would probably qualify as a people person, but many times I get so caught up in my work that I forget I am working with humans. Sometime this causes me to come across as arrogant. I have been getting much better in this area over the past several years but it is an on going project.

One of the most successful solutions that I have recommended was a change in the way that we generated one of our key decisionmaking documents. Each employee had there own version of an excel template. You could use the same input in two different forms and get results that varied wide enough to make the difference between a very profitable product and one that was losing money. There was very little faith in the results of these forms, and everyone just hoped that the products they were working on were making money. The templates did have to be somewhat different since we were working with different products, but there were many things that should have been the same across all product types. I recommended that we use a common format and then built and distributed a form that could be used for all products and, the changes that needed to be made were made based on a few drop-down lists. The basic structure was locked to prevent “accidental” changes to formulas and other non-changing information. This was well received and when changes have been needed, we have only had to change the master template.

The vice-president of human resources has called me several times to help with various spreadsheet problems, including linking data and building custom formulas. I am not sure who suggested that he call me but there are quite a few people who are aware of my computer skills. Recently he had to build a formula to calculate the number of days each employee had worked since their last evaluation. This included calculating the number of week days in between the two dates and some data cleansing since some of the information had not been updated. He was using a spreadsheet with the names column hidden. I showed him how to find the problem data, and then how to build his formulas. He had already done all of the calculations for six employees and said it took several hours. We had the spreadsheet set-up in less than half an hour to do the calculations for 500+ employees.

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My culture background and the groups that I am part of can be divided in to four categories: educational, religious and political, occupational, and general demographic.

My family put a high value on education and most members would be considered highly educated. My dad and his brother, along with other members of my extended family, have completed graduate school, and two of three of my siblings who are college age have gone to college and the younger ones intend to. My siblings and I have a tendency to strive for excellence and typically make good grades.

Part of the education emphasis in our family has been a commitment to home schooling. Home schooling has allowed us to learn at our own pace which has typically been a much faster pace than is pursued at most public and private schools. This has allowed me to avoid being part of one group that seems to be one of the most destructive groups in America – institutional education.

Being home schooled allowed me to quickly complete the required core curriculum and pursue the study of many areas of knowledge that fascinated me. Two such areas are history and heraldry. These were an important part of my teenage years. I have spent a significant amount of time reading about these two subjects and discussing them with people who have common interests.

Many authors have had an impact on my life and culture either directly or through my parents. My parents teaching techniques were greatly influenced by James Dobson, Kevin Leman, and somewhat by Bill Gothard. I have read several books by C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Kevin Leman, and James Dobson. These authors, especially C. S. Lewis, have had a great influence on me.

Another major influence in my life has been the two colleges I have attended. I felt quite comfortable at Bob Jones University. Its high academic standards and strict conservatism were quite familiar, but God had different plans. So, I became part of a student body that expects class to get out early, prefers to think as little as possible and thinks that the only purpose for rules is so they will have something to break. The teachers, on the other hand, have been great. Almost all glow with love for Christ. Over all I am glad for the opportunity to go to a school with a biblical viewpoint similar to my own.

The second major category of groups that are a part of my culture is religious and political groups. The most important of these groups and the most directly influential is my family. My father was saved after my parents were married, and my mother rededicated her life somewhere around that time. Their youth in Christ and experience with seeing how awful sin can be, caused them to be zealously conservative, but it was a conservatism of the heart, not just form and tradition which is unfortunately associated more with second generation Christians like myself. I am very thankful for my parent’s influence and encouragement to love God and do what He says because I want to. They did not force me to do what is right but gave me plenty of good reasons to want to. They have been very effective at preventing the apathy that typically settles in after several generations of Christianity. I hope that I can be as successful with my children.

I am both a protestant and a religious conservative not just because my parents were, but also because I have done a great deal of research and thinking on my own and feel that this is the best perspective. I am, in contrast to my parents, an economic liberal. By calling my self a liberal I mean that I believe that traditional economic policy needs to be changed in order to give greater opportunity to those who are born to poor parents. I am not blindly conservative thinking that everything that is traditional is worth preserving. I stand in opposition of the position of both major political parties but tend to vote for republican candidates because of their general support for the life of the unborn, which in my thinking is one of the most important political issues at this time.

Another group that I have been a part of and enjoyed greatly is AWANA. The scripture memory and bible lessons that I learned while I was part of AWANA has stuck with me ever since.

I have been a member of both large and small churches. For five years I attended a church with an attendance of about 5,000, and for another five years I attended churches with attendance of less than 50. The rest of the churches I have attended have had attendance between 150 and 500. I feel comfortable in both small and large churches, but I think my preference is for larger churches.

I have been both a preacher’s kid and a missionary kid for part of my life, but this did not have a whole lot of impact on my personality since my father was only a pastor for three years. Also, my parents did not actually make it to the mission field because after one year of deputation, their fifth child was born, and the mission board decided that was too many kids, and it might not be safe to take a newborn into a third world country.

The companies I have worked for make up a third category of groups that make up my cultural background. My first job was at Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A was, for me, more than just where I worked. For several years it was my life. My brother and sisters worked there, and I was close friends with most of the employees. I typically spent 60 or more hours per week there. I would stay and talk and help out even after my shift was over. I learned a lot about how to interact with others and how to lead while I was there.

I have worked with computers since I was thirteen years old and have become quite knowledgeable in both hardware and software. I have been influenced greatly by the computer programmer’s sub-culture.

I have worked at Thomas Nelson for 3 years. I do not feel that I fit in perfectly, but I do enjoy my work. Most people in the corporate world seem to see their job as a destination, as a career. I have much higher goals and so I have not been fully assimilated.

The last category I will mention, although it was the first, chronologically is my general demographic background.

I was born into the working class, a group of people who would go broke if they went a month without a job, but as long as work is available they are able to pay the bills. Not quite middle class but not poor either, my family rarely missed a meal but seldom had the money to buy the extras.

I am part of a group that, according to Kevin Leman and others who have studied the effects of birth order, has a strong tendency to be leaders in most organizations. The firstborns of two families will often have more in common with each other than they will with their own siblings. I am a fairly typical firstborn. I like to have control and make sure things get done right. I have an innate belief that anyone can achieve anything if they try hard enough. In contrast, I have much of the sanguinity of a middle child because of the influence of a father and a sister who are both radically choleric.

I am completely comfortable with my ethnic origin; however, I am amazed at the horribleness of the racist attitudes of many others who are white Anglo-Saxons. Part of my disdain of racism comes from my belonging to two other groups. The first group is my parents and extended family who are from the North. The North has had a much better record on accepting people from other cultures. The other influence is the fact that I personally lived in the North for the five most formative years of my childhood.

I have lived in the South for nineteen years but have resisted enculturation mostly because of my parents not accepting certain aspects of southern culture.

And I am proud to be an American where at least I think I am free. I am thankful to live in a country where I have a great deal of religious freedom; however, I am not proud of the fact that many Americans are abusing that freedom and trying to restrict the religious rights of fellow citizens. Much of what I am and what I think is either directly or indirectly affected by the country in which I was born. I cannot help but imagine that my opinions and perspectives on life would be quite different if I had been born in another country, if for no other reason, because of the groups that I would not have been part of and some other groups that I would have been part of.