Ulfilas. A name I borrowed.

[Ulfilas]

Apostle of the Goths

Translating the word of God for contemporary Gothic culture

A work in progess soon to be launched!

My inspiration:
The Visigoths, or West Goths, a warlike people, lived along the Roman frontier west of the Black Sea. After they had been "Christianized," Ulfilas (311-382), their bishop, saw they needed the Bible in their own tongue, "to speak to their hearts."

First, Ulfilas had to make an alphabet. He knew that neither the Greek nor the Roman alphabet would fit a Germanic language. He chose from these alphabets only the letters that corresponded to the speech sounds of Visigoth. For sounds for which there were no letters, he used runes, an early Germanic alphabet of limited use. With this, he translated the Bible.

The Visigoths migrated west and were the first to conquer Rome (A.D. 410) Their aim, however, was not so much to destroy but to acquire the benefits of civilization. It was largely due to the work of Ulfilas that these plunderers became peacemakers.

Ulfilas exists to bring the love and acceptance of Christ to people from the various underground subcultures (particularly Goth and Emo) in Birmingham, UK. An initiative in association with B1Church.net and Birmingham cathedral.

But before you rush away in horror...

We are aware that many in the sub-cultures have been deeply hurt by the insensitive, judgemental and hypocritical actions of many churches and christians.

We are trying our best to undo some of that damage (even though we do make mistakes 'cause we're human!) and hopefully with your help we'll succeed.

We have no interest in judging people or forcing anything down anyone's throats. We are here for you and we accept you just as you are, just as Jesus does.

It doesn't matter whether you profess to be a follower of Christ or not...EVERYONE IS VERY WELCOME!

So - if you're a Brummie and are interested in helping to launch this new initiative let me know!

[GothicChristian]

I would like to help. A lot of people who claim to be Christian have harmed Goths, I have even had people in the churches I have attended say that all Goths are witches or satanic, and that we should be burned. I know it seems unrealistic that it has been said, but they have even said that the Salem witch hunts were a good thing.
The children of said people have threatened me many times in an attempt to "make me stop being a witch" or "repent for my sins." They are extremists.

It's probably an odd thing for people to publicly say such things in this day and are, but it has happened. I'd like to do my best, as a Christian, to show other Goths that we aren't all the same, the way I try to show other Christians that being Goth is not a sin.

I really hope you don't think I'm making it up, the police thought I was and it didn't stop until my family and I left the church and city.

[Ulfilas]

Sorry not to have replied earlier. I have major problems with my broadband connection and am waiting for an engineer to fix it. I should have a speed of around 3Mbps but its currently only at 100kbps.. which is like wading through treacle to get any pages to load! ARGH!

I understand what you are saying about the general view of Goths by "normal" christians.

The trouble is that people are scared of what they don't understand and hopefully this project will be one way to help to bridge the gap.

I can wholeheartedly recommend a book called "God Loves the Freaks" by Stephen Weese of fansforchrist.org and I think that all church leaders should be asked to read it!

The Author, Steve is a goth and a christian - the following wording is taken from the back of the book.

"God Loves the Freaks points to a serious issue facing the church today -- reaching out to subcultures and those who are considered the freaks of society. The "American Christianity" cult that many churches belong to accepts only members who dress, speak and act exactly the same way. We have somehow turned the church into an elite club where only those who follow man-made cultural rules are welcome. Why is it acceptable for someone to show up in church in traditional Chinese clothing, for instance, but not for someone to have a pink mohawk? The church tries to change the freaks of society, or worse, turns them away at the door. Jesus reached out to those in society who were different, who were outcast -- the freaks. Stephen Weese paints a vision of a church living by grace, in unity; without the legalism that divides and causes us to shun others based on outward appearance. God looks at the heart and he loves everyone, including the freaks. If God loves the freaks, shouldn't the church as well?"

Product Details

* Paperback: 152 pages
* Publisher: Lulu.com (November 30, 2006)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1430303654
* ISBN-13: 978-1430303657
* Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches