Chapter 2 the harvey family



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FASCHING


The carneval season is celebrated in many lands around the world. In North and South America it is also called Marde Gras (esp. New Orleans). In Austria, it is called Fasching.
The carnival season had religious beginnings stemming from Roman Catholic Easter tradition. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics are called upon to confess their sins, have ashes rubbed on their forehead and to fast throughout Lent.

At some point, the idea emerged that one must do all his or her sinning prior to Ash Wednesday. Of course there had to be a beginning for the frivolry, so it was said to begin at 11:11 o'clock on the 11th day of the 11th month. In Europe, a Carnival king and queen are usually chosen at this time to reign throughout the carneval season. On Rose Monday or Fasching Tuesday, there is usually a parade and many dances are held throughout the "Ball season."

It should come as no surprise that these affairs are usually accompanied by vulgarity, crude jokes and sexual excess. Lampooning political figues is also popular, and US politicians are favorite topics. A mother from the church we started in Frankenburg once wrote a letter to the local newspaper complaining that the Fasching Parade had not only overstepped all bounds of human dignity, but flagrantly transgressed Austrian laws. Considering the fact that most children attend and even participate in these events, she demanded police intervention. Her letter was published and caused a cascade of responses from both sides of the debate that lasted for months!

Now that America has a godless and lawless government, we can expect the carnival season to become popular here, but lampooning high-ranking politicians may be forbidden. Only bullying or mocking of Christians will be permitted.


In November, 2000, a good Christian friend of ours, who was also Director of Public Functions in the city of Vöcklabruck, passed away and his funeral was set for November 11 at 11:00. Other friends from the church also attended the funeral. We were chatting before the funeral when someone interrupted to say that Austrian news had just reported a horrible train accident on Kaprun Mountain. Scores of skiiers were feared dead. A couple from the church that we had been talking to turned pale and the wife almost fainted. They explained that their son had traveled to Kaprun with a school group for a day of skiing. He had left very early and was likely on that ill-fated train!
Most mountains used for skiing have cable cars to get people to the top, but Kaprun was a favorite ski paradies, so engineers built a steep mountain (funicular) railroad with a 2-mile tunnel that could transport 200 passengers at a time to the Kitzsteinhorn ski area.
About 9:15 on Saturday, November 11, 2000, a crowd was waiting for the train to the top of the mountain. Some had fireworks with them to celebrate the beginning of Fasching (carneval season). It was a great day and snow conditions were ideal. Our friends' teenage son was standing in the crowd. Suddenly firetrucks and police cars began to converge on the scene and the news spread that there was a fire on the last train that departed the station. It was stuck in the tunnel.
By 10 AM, Austrian radio and TV spread the news that many or perhaps most passengers on that train had died in the inferno. Our friends' son realized that his parents would be worried, so he found someone with a cell phone and called his parents to say that he was okay. It was just before 11 AM and the funeral that we were attending was about to begin.
All the doors automatically locked when the train left the station. When smoke began to fill the cars, the train automatically stopped, but doors remained locked and passengers broke windows to escape. Most of them ran towards an illuminated Emergency Exit sign just ahead of the train. When the door was opened, however, it created a funnel effect, fanning the fire to an intense heat that literally welded the railroad cars to the tracks. All but twelve persons were killed in the fire or asphixiated from smoke inhalation. The engineer of a descending empty train also died from smoke inhalation. Those who escaped, climbed out windows in the rear of the train and walked a mile downhill to the tunnel entrance. There was a strong wind blowing against them, but they were safe! If they had seen the exit sign, they too would have headed uphill and died.
The Kaprun disaster claimed the lives of 159 persons.

AGRICULTURE


I discovered that fruit trees are pruned differently in Austria. Back in New Jersey, orchard owners wanted leaves at the top of the trees to protect fruit from the hot sun. Austria has lots of rain, but very little sunshine, so the trees are "opened" up to get as much sun as possible.
During our years in Ampflwang, we invited a gardening specialist from England, who was also a Christian, to conduct a public seminar on compost gardening. He had received an honorary doctorate from the Agricultural College of Vienna for his research on this subject, so we were not surprised when a good number of visitors showed up. Our expert explained to his listeners that it is unwise to dig over the garden in the fall. "The worms do this throughout the winter quite naturally," he said, "We should instead; assist the worms by spreading a layer of compost on the soil."
As hosts of this seminar, we decided that we should be careful to follow his instructions. Austrians whose gardens are not dug over by November are considered to be lazy, however. So on the last day of October, one of the church women came by to remind us that we must dig over the garden. We explained that we were following the doctor's orders and just spreading compost. She was insistent and when we didn't give in, she dug up our garden herself. "The garden is on church property," she argued, "We can't have people saying that we are lazy!"

AUSTRIA AS A MISSION FIELD


In 1997, Austria passed a law regarding the recognition of religious groups which is considered one of the strictest and most discriminatory in the western world. One observer stated, "In the past, it was the Roman Catholic Church which declared all other religions to be sects. Now it is the official government position." *
It is becoming increasingly evident that not only Austria, but most of Western Europe is a neglected continent in terms of missions. Although many Europeans are nominal Christians (an oxymoron if there ever was one!) only about 0.5% of the populations of Austria, Belgium, Italy and France could be considered Christians by New Testament definition. Compared to Africa, Asia and South America, Western Europe is clearly a major mission field and can be placed in the same spiritual spectrum as Muslim countries of the Middle East.
Much has been said about the "unreached people in the 10/40 window,“ yet Europe is hardly deemed a mission field. Most assume that all western industrial nations are Christian. Missiologists seem to consider the biological descendants of Christians who lived during reformation times as "reached people groups." Using the same logic, one could write off the entire world as a mission field, for we all descended from Adam and Eve!
Any gardener knows that the only really effective way to combat weeds is to pull them out by their roots. Fire-fighters aim their hoses at the base of a fire. But do we apply this principle to the spiritual condition of our nation and the world? Unfortunately not. Most Christians are primarily engaged in activities which treat symptoms rather than directing their attention toward the root or prevention of evil. Many pastors, for example, spend more time counseling divorcees than striving to produce healthy marriages in their churches. Few of those churches which claim to be gospel-preaching and Bible-teaching ministries give even a tithe of their income for missions and evangelism.

* Prior to 1997 only 12 religious groups had any kind of legal status in Austria. Some of these obtained legal status by dubious or unusual means. The Methodists obtained it after a wealthy member donated a valuable center-city property to the ruling political party. The Mormons obtained legal status during the Allied Occupation thanks to an influential American General who happened to be a Mormon. Under pressure from the European Union, Austria passed a law in 1997 which allowed religious bodies to appeal for regognition as legal entities, but they were required to show a membership of around 17,000 (2% of the population). Of course none of the free churches could meet that requirement.

Although the Jehovahs Witnesses refuse to vote, salute the flag or sing the national anthym because they claim that worldly government is evil, they had enough members and applied for legal status. They were turned down for other reasons and appealed to the European Court of Human Relations and were finally granted legal recognition.

On August 26, 2013, five free church groups including the Baptists consolidated loosly in order to become recognized as legal entities by the Austrian government, but the rights and privileges were in no way equal to those religious instutions already recognized by the state.




FAMOUS AUSTRIANS


Austria has produced many men and women who have greatly influenced this world of ours. Many of the world's greatest musicians were Austrians. Joseph Haydn composed over 100 symphonies and Mozart, who died at the tender age of 35, is one of the all-time favorites. Then there are Beethoven, Mahler, Bruckner, Schubert, Wolf, Strauss (Junior and Senior) to name just a few. Silent Night is the most published, most translated and most sung piece of music in the world, written in Austria by two Austrians. I wrote a history of "Silent Night" and included it as an appendix to my book "Rabban Gamaliel." The book can be downloaded free from our website, www.rvharvey.org.
More than a dozen Austrians have won Nobel Prizes and others have attained equal fame. Who has not heard of the "Father of modern psychology," Sigmund Freud, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The Terminator" who became Governor of California? Ferdinand Porsche built the first People's Car (Volkswagon) in Austria, long before it was manufactured in Germany. His genius served Hitler's military purposes before the "Volk" got their wagons!
The Austrian-born physicist, Fritjof Capra and his mentor, the Austrian biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, are credited with kicking off the modern New Age movement. The latter promoted a concept he called General Systems Theory (GST) in the late thirties. Bertalanffy strongly influenced Capra, who further developed those ideas in his books, The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture (1982) and Green Politics: The Global Promise. These are recognized as manifestos of New Age ideology.
The Sound of Music was filmed in Austria and is still one of the most watched films ever made. Few Austrians have seen the musical, and those who have, were not very impressed. The breathtaking scenery that most people rave about is Austria's every-day wallpaper. Another reason for their disinterest is the fact that Austrians do not wish to be reminded of the war and Nazi atrocities.

ADOLF HITLER


Adolf Hitler is likely the most notorious and best known Austrian.
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Upper Austria. The Hitler family soon moved to Lambach, where Adolf spent much of his boyhood. Here he served as an Altar Boy in the local Catholic Church. It was also in this church that he found a fascinating ancient symbol which he later adopted, the Swastika. When Adolf Hitler was in his early teens, the family moved once again, this time to Leonding. The Hitler house stands across the street from the Catholic Church and cemetery where his parents are buried. We served nearly four decades as missionaries just a short drive from the three cities where Hitler lived with his parents.
Hitler received many years of Roman Catholic religious instruction and apparently remained a church member all his life. He was familiar with Christian terminology and many of his political paroles were patterned after Bible sayings. "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer!“ means," One people, one Kingdom, one Leader" (Compare with Eph. 4:3: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism"). The common salute, "Sieg-Heil" means "victory-salvation" the same as the Hebrew "Hosanna!"
Hitler's reference to a "third kingdom" was explained differently to western powers, but insiders soon discovered what it meant to Hitler. For him, the Old Testament pertained to the Jewish kingdom and the New Testament was for Christians. In Hitler's opinion, both of these religious systems had failed. Certainly, the Habsburger lineage, which ruled much of the Holy Roman Empire for six centuries, had done little to benefit the common people or "Volk." Political unrest and widespread disenchantment with the present government helped to prepare Austrians for the "Fuehrer" (means "leader" but had messianic implications for many) and his radical political program for a "third kingdom."

WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD


The Old Testament demanded the blood of animal sacrifices and the New Testament is sealed with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hitler's annexation of Austria took place without bloodshed on March 11, 1938. I was just three days old. When Hitler crossed the border near Braunau, the city of his birth, to annex the country of his birth to Germany, enthusiastic crowds lined the streets, straining to get a glimpse of their "Fuehrer.“ Many were waving flags bearing the occult symbol of a broken cross. Bells in church steeples tolled above the din of crowds. Many were waving "Swastika"-flags and others flags hung from houses and church steeples. The scene was repeated in all the cities and towns along the entire 300-mile motorcade route to the capital city of Vienna.
Newspapers printed after the annexation show millions of Austrians lining streets and highways, calling, "Heil Hitler" as his motorcade rolled past. When he arrived in the capital city of Vienna, the largest crowd in Austrian history turned out to greet him. Unlike other countries occupied by the Nazis during World War II, Austria embraced the "invasion" with enthusiasm and viewed it as "Home Coming Day." Their "favorite son," who had made it big in Germany, had come home.
The National Socialist Party organized a referendum and called on the people to affirm the Anschluss. All Roman Catholic Cardinals and Bishops signed a public declaration encouraging the people to vote "JA!" and 99.7% of them did.
Only a few "Neo Nazis" speak favorably of Adolf Hitler today. Austrians claim that they were victimized when he annexed Austria. Yet many older citizens, who fiercely deny having supported Hitler, eagerly point out his good qualities. Hitler gave the people work, built the first super highways (Autobahn) and opened the way for common people to become involved in social, cultural and sporting events. These had previously been the exclusive privilege of the elite, many of whom were Jews.
Yes, Austria was "conquered" without the shedding of blood, but we know about the bloodshed and devastation which World War II brought upon civilization. At least twenty million lives were lost, including six million Jews.
If someone should ask me what catapulted Hitler to such a height of infamy, I would give four reasons:

  1. His egoistic self image and humanistic vision of a super race;

  2. His contempt for religion in general and for Jews in particular;

  3. Hitler's recognition and extensive use of oratory and printed propaganda as an effective means to influence the masses.

  4. Occult influences in his life.

If I should ask whose name comes to mind when we think of the New Testament church, most would reply "The Apostle Paul." What is it about Paul that gives him such a prominent place in church history? Again, I would give four reasons:



  1. Paul's recognition of a holy and sovereign God and the depravity of man apart from God;

  2. His thorough knowledge and understanding of the Word;

  3. Paul's determination to propagate the gospel both orally and in written form, on every occasion and under all circumstances regardless of personal consequences.

  4. The priority given to the Holy Spirit in his life.

Suppose someone had shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the boy, Adolf Hitler. He might have become a great evangelist, leading many Austrians and Germans to Christ instead of to the grave. Yet, 125 years after his birth, the three cities where he was born and raised still have no Evangelical church!


Supposing Sigmund Freud, Fritjof Capra or Ludwig von Bertalanffy, had heard a clear presentation of the Gospel and accepted Christ? We will never know because it didn’t happen.
Satan makes every attempt to thwart the proclamation of the gospel. He has always campaigned viciously against the Word of God and all who would faithfully proclaim it. Paul suffered immeasurably for his faith (I Cor.11) as have Christian martyrs down through the centuries.
Austrian soil is saturated with the blood of martyrs. During the l3th through 16th centuries, it was the Waldensian Christians who were persecuted. The 17th century brought the bloody Counter Reformation and persecution of Anabaptist groups. An estimated 30,000 Austrians were killed for their faith in Upper Austria where we served! In the city of Steyr, ten wagon-loads of Protestant books and Bibles were confiscated and publicly burned. Thousands of Austrians were forced to leave their possessions and homeland or pay with their lives. Descendants of these refugees can be found today in Russia, Eastern Europe and America.
Church historians estimate that more Christians have died for their faith during the 20th century in Russia and China alone, than in all preceding centuries combined! Godless men and governments still spend enormous amounts of energy and money in their efforts to fight a God whom they claim does not exist and to discredit God's Word, which they claim only a fool would believe!
Hitler's influence is still felt many years after his death. The Austrian, Kurt Waldheim, was named General Secretary of the United Nations in 1972. After the exposure of his Nazi affiliations during the war by the World Jewish Congress, the US government placed him on its "Watch List" in March of 1986. In retaliation, Austrians elected him President three months later!
A good-looking, dynamic and eloquent politician named Jörg Haider began making headlines in the seventies. He dressed casually, ran marathons and drove a Porsche Cabriolet. There were more similarities between Haider and Hitler than the first and last letters of their names. Haider's parents were members of the Nazi Party before Hitler annexed Austria and remained dedicated Nazis all their lives. The younger Haider openly shared many of their views. He got a law degree and joined the Austrian Freedom Party. He won a seat in Parliament in 1979 at 29 years of age. He won favor with the younger generation and made headlines for his positive statements about the Nazi regime. Like Hitler, he preferred to conduct political rallies in beer halls. He soon advanced to leader of the Freedom Party.

Much like Hitler, Jörg Haider effectively used the weaknesses of powerful opponents and the dissatisfaction of voters to gain support. After a million Belgians took to the streets to protest their government's cover-up of a pedophile ring involving politicians and police, Haider called the Belgium government corrupt and a protectorate of pedophiles. The EU retaliated by accusing him of being undiplomatic and using vulgar terms, but no one accused him of lying. Haider was equally critical of the Austrian Socialists, Greens and Liberal Forum, when they attempted to have the age of consent for homosexual partnerships lowered to age fourteen. It was only through a combined vote of the People's Party and Freedom Party that this did not become law.


His popularity was rising and he was fast becoming a potent force in the European Union when he died. Haider was killed in October, 2008 when his car left the road and overturned while traveling at twice the legal speed limit. He was intoxicated after drinking in a gay bar with another young male!
On the "Today Show," January 27, 1998, Hillary Clinton spoke of a "vast right wing conspiracy" in America that was trying to destroy her husband. It was different in Europe. Only Haider seemed to be opposing the powerful and liberal left in Europe.

AUSTRIA TODAY


What is Hitler's homeland like a century after his birth and half a century after the war? Austria is a member of the European Union and enjoys economic stability. In spite of colorful traditions, beautiful scenery and material wealth, however, a shroud of spiritual darkness hovers over this nation. Alcoholism, spiritism and occult practices abound. There is at least one legal abortion for every child that is born. With over 40 suicides per 100,000, Austria has Europe's highest suicide rate, and Braunau, where Hitler was born, has the highest rate in Austria!

PREJUDICE


Austrians claim that they have no racial prejudices, and are outspoken in their criticism of Americans, who bought and sold black slaves and confined native American Indians to reservations.
On occasion, Austrians discover that I am an American and begin a diatribe about the slave and Indian issues. I usually let them ramble for a while and when they pause, I say, "Yes those Europeans were not very nice to the blacks and Indians." There is usually a brief silence, after which they ask for an explanation. I remind them that the people, who bought, sold and kept slaves, and who mistreated the Native Americans were mostly Europeans. It is a fact, that Americans fought a war to free the slaves at a time when peasants in Europe were still enslaved.
There are few blacks in Austria, most of them living in refugee camps. The United Nations pays for housing and feeding political refugees until they can return to their country of origin or migrate to friendly host countries. Few blacks remain in Austria. During the occupation after WW II, many Austrian women had affairs with black American servicemen which resulted in offspring. Few of these children remained in Austria. A missionary couple of our acquaintance took in about twenty half-black Austrian children, who had been abandoned by their mothers. They had a difficult time in school and after graduation, and it was almost impossible to get employment. No one wanted to hire a black. The missionaries legally adopted all of the children and took them to America where they were integrated into the culture with few problems.
One of Austria's most embarrassing moments came back in the seventies. The popular singer, Harry Bellafonte was in Linz for a concert and someone informed him that blacks were not allowed in a certain high society night club. He decided to see for himself. A sign at the entrance in German and English read, "NO BLACKS ALLOWED!" He walked through the door and was promptly ushered to an exit by the club's muscular bouncer! Newspaper headlines around the world reported on the incident.
Austrians consider the Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, to be a martyr and hero, yet the Baptist Church is still considered a religious sect in Austria.

RELIGION IN MODERN AUSTRIA


From the seventeenth until the turn of the twentieth century, Austria was nearly 100% Roman Catholic. As late as 1975, 92,3% of all Austrians still claimed the Roman Catholic faith and 6% were Lutheran, but 20 years later, in 1995, Catholics were down to 75,3%. Small towns had a considerably higher percentage but only about half the Viennese claimed the Roman Catholic faith. Of those who belonged to the church, only 18,6% attended mass. There were 10% fewer baptisms and 30% fewer church weddings in 1995 compared to 1985.
Statistics on religion in Austria show that the second largest group is no longer, the Lutherans, but those who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever! This group makes up 25% of the population of the capital city, Vienna. In fact, the Lutherans are not even in third place today. That honor belongs to the Muslims.
These statistics certainly do not sound favorable, but they may not be quite as bad as they at first appear. Non state churches (religious groups not recognized by the Austrian government) do not show up in the census. Many who are recorded as having no religious faith are actually members of non recognized groups. Some of this number of course, belong to sects such as the Jehovah's Witnesses (the Mormons are a recognized state church), but many are active members of evangelical churches.
In 1988 "World Evangelism Magazine" listed Austria along with Mongolia, Nepal and the Muslim countries of North Africa as having less than 1% evangelical Christians. "Operation World Handbook for World Missions" reported that only 0.62% of Austrians were considered "evangelical Christians.“ There were four times as many Mormons as Baptists and more Jehovah's Witnesses than evangelicals.
Reinhold Eichinger, of the "Bund Evangelikaler Gemeinden in Österreich" prepared a folder of information in 1900 that gives a more encouraging overview of evangelical growth in Austria. The first non-state, evangelical church of modern Austria was established in 1869. This church, the Mollardgasse Baptist Church in Vienna, still exists. Until the end of World War II (70 years) six additional evangelical churches were founded. During the 25 years following WW II, intensified efforts of foreign missionaries resulted in the founding of 18 more churches. It only took one decade to found the next 18 churches and 46 were founded in the eighties! In just five years, 1994-1999, 27 new evangelical churches were started, more than in the first 100 years following 1869!
There is still much to accomplish in giving Austrians the Gospel, but foreign missionaries are no longer the driving force in church growth. Since the European Union was founded, it has become much more difficult for foreigners to get visas. Because member nations no longer have borders between them, the outer periphery is controlled by the EU.
Of Austria's 60 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, 25 are still without an evangelical "free" (non-state) church. Only 75 of the 186 towns between 5,000 and 9,999 population have a non-state evangelical church and there are only four such churches in the thousands of communities with less than 5,000 people. According to Eichinger, there are 87,209 Austrians for each non-state evangelical church in the country. The capital city of Vienna has the most (14), yet the ratio of 1 : 115,345, is one of the lowest -- and evangelical churches with more than 200 members can be counted on one hand!
Tourists stand in awe before the magnificant monastery library and church in St. Florian, but we see an institution and religious order that was largely responsible for the confiscation and destruction of thousands of Bibles and for the imprisonment, persecution and death of thousands of anabaptists during the counter Reformation.

WEATHER IN AUSTRIA


Other countries have weather but Austria has "wet-here." Most days are "D-days": damp, drippy, drizzly, dreary, dull, dark, dismal, depressing, deplorable, dreadful, demoralizing, despicable and disgusting! Morning rains only last until noon, which is when the afternoon rains begin. On the average, it rains twice a week lasting from three to four days. Austria has only three seasons, the fog, rain and snow seasons. They can come all at once and any of them can last from three months to a year.
There is no sunny season, but if the sun does shine, photographers quickly shoot a roll of 36 exposure film to make three year's worth of lovely picture calendars! Many Americans, enchanted by the scenery in "The Sound of Music" film, come to Austria to see it for themselves. Our friends, Bruce and Nancy Burchard, came to visit and spent 20 days of their three-week vacation under umbrellas.
In 1974, we wrote in a letter:

We took a long anticipated camping vacation in July, but spent most of the ten days sitting in a leaky tent listening to the rain. When the sun finally did shine a few hours we didn't waste any of it... and really got blistered! That kind of vacation makes one happy to get back to work!
There is not a month of the year in which we have not seen it snow. Of course there is always snow on the mountain tops and one can ski all year on the glaciers. We had at least some snowfall every day for the first two weeks of April in 1994. On the 13th, over a foot fell and cars needed tire chains. From November 1, 1995 until April 6, 1996 (Easter), we had snow on the ground every day except Christmas day! No joking! It got warm enough on Christmas Eve to melt all the snow, but on Christmas night it started snowing again! Austrians were happy NOT to have a white Christmas!
There were only four days from November 1 through January 30, 1995 on which we saw any sunshine at all! If it wasn't snowing or raining, it was overcast or foggy! Because of the cold, fog froze on trees, causing them to fall on roads, railways, power lines and houses. The black-outs were frustrating when trying to prepare sermons or working with a computer! Imagine dealing with that for three straight months!
In April, 1997, Verna flew to California to be on hand for our fourth grandchild's birth. She called on the first day of spring, saying she was enjoying 90-degree weather! I had just shoveled 8 inches of fresh snow and it was still coming down. Her gloating about the warm weather was likely her way of getting revenge. The baby was born while she was still in the air and I saw a digital photo of Debra before Verna knew she had been born!
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