The Narrow Path

Quick Thoughts

2009-07-08T23:56:00.001+08:00

If we were to treat God as a person, and not an object or label; our paths would be less treacherous to walk.

We talk to our friends about God only when they are visibly ready to listen. If not, we say nothing about God for fear of hurting their feelings. But are we not fearful of hurting God's feeling by abandoning the Great Commission?

As shepherds, we rebuke others' indulgence in sin only when they are visibly ready to listen. If not, we say nothing about it for fear of hurting their feelings. But are we not fearful of hurting God's feeling by abandoning our role as shepherds?

The Sad Story of God and his People

2009-07-08T10:06:00.008+08:00

"You have rejected me," declares the Lord.

"You keep on backsliding.
So I will lay hands on you and destroy you;
I can no longer shown compassion." (Jer 15:6)

"My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes." (Jer 16:17)

"Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.'" (Jer 18:11-12)

I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath. (Jer 21:5)

I warned you when you felt secure,
but you said, 'I will not listen!'
This has been your way from your youth;
you have not obeyed me. (Jer 22:21)

Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord. (Jer 23:24)
--
I have been captivated by the love story of God in the book of Jeremiah for the past few weeks.

I felt so sad. God's heart is absolutely shattered in pieces.

Through his servant Jeremiah, he pursued his ever-sinning covenant people relentlessly, desiring them to return to his embrace to enjoy him. Yet time and time again, they chose lifeless idols over him, stubbornly choosing to live a sin-bounded life than to live within the boundaries of a blessed life. God used Jeremiah to persuade them to repent, even to the extent of warning them of the imminent destruction if they do not repent. Yet, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts, deceiving themselves that nothing will happen to them. They lived sinfully, as if God could not see their wicked ways. Eventually, grace period was over. The most dreadful thing that could happen happened: God himself fought against his people, bringing death and destruction to these arrogant people who think that they could escape the fury judgment of God!

The same applies exactly to us today. Even if we have already become the adopted children of God, many times we still choose temporary pleasures over him, stubbornly choosing to live under the bondage of sin than to live under the freedom of Christ. We deceive ourselves that God will not take action against us, because he will forgive us the moment we confess our sins. This is true, but by doing so again and again, we are abusing God's grace. We lived sinfully, and even if the whole world does not know it, God knows it.

The book of Jeremiah is a stark reminder to us that God is holy and just, and if we think that we can keep abusing the grace that is given to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, we are either too naive or we are trying to deceive ourselves. I would not want to wait until God's wrath reaches the level that he decides to wage his war against me. I do not think anyone will want to end up there either!

Stop deceiving ourselves, pretending that it is OK to keep sinning and confessing. Quit our habit and addiction to sin and return to God!

Choose God over sin.

This Season's Lesson: 'Be HER'

2009-07-07T23:47:00.005+08:00

After much prayer and observation, I gathered that the Lord has three lessons that he specifically wants me to learn during this season of my life. I named this season as 'Be HER' season. (I know, it sounds feminine)

The Lord wants me to learn to be:

H for humble

Key verse: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt 11:29)

Comment: My fragile emotions are easily affected by the perception of others. A word of praise can make my day, but a word of criticism can cause me to feel wounded, angry and discouraged for some time. I need to take pride down from its throne, and learn to be humble at heart. Like Jesus, I need to say "It's OK!" when others perceive me negatively, because at the end of the day, what matters most is to please God and gain his favour! Nothing else matters.

E for evangelistic

Key verse: "But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."(Jer 20:9)

Comment: I tend to fear man more than God. The fear of rejection and mockery from others often rob me of the courage to proclaim God's love and salvation to them. Recently, thank God that he has been doing many amazing work in me. He has given me the passion for the salvation of others that compelled me to share the Gospel to people around me. As a result, I had the privilege of being used by God to lead many into his kingdom. Hey, it is not as difficult as I thought in the first place! The more I do, the easier it becomes, the more confident I become! I still fear man occasionally, but I am improving. Just like Jeremiah, I pray that God's Word will be in my heart like a fire...and I will be weary of holding it in! What am I still waiting for? Spread the seeds of the Gospel NOW!

R for relaxed

Key verse: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matt 6:27)

Comment: I must admit, perfectionism runs in my blood, although the degree of it varies in various seasons. When there is something that I need to do, I must do it NOW. I will feel restless until I have completed the task. And when I do that something, I must do it to the best I can, if not, I will feel bad about it. Even when I was young, I already had it in me. For example, when I was in primary school, when I was given a stack of weekend homework for me to do during the weekends, I would start doing it the moment I entered house after school, and I will finish it before I have my dinner. Homework that was supposed to be spread out nicely for the weekend, but I gobbled it up in a few hours time. Now that I have become a pastor, you can see the imminent danger that is lurking around all the time. As a pastor, there is always work to do, needs to attend to, things in church and ministry you want to improve on. Thus, if I am not careful, I can always remain in a state of stress and intensity. If this goes on, my health will deteriorate fast. Thus, in this season, God is teaching me to learn to relax. It is OK to leave the work and need aside and enjoy time with my loved ones, enjoy time even with myself. I need to learn not to worry, as I always tell others, "Worry is an insult to God."

May God help me as I embark on mastering these three things: Humble, Evangelistic and Relaxed! Remember me in your prayers! :)

Reminder of the Sender

2009-07-06T15:31:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, we experienced a rare rainy day. A much anticipated one amidst long seasons of hot and dry days. Thank God for sending down rain from above.

Let rain be a sign to remind us of the Sender of rain and the absolute hope we can put in this awesome Sender.

Jeremiah 14:22
Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, O Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.

Only What God Thinks Matters

2009-07-03T15:11:00.004+08:00

It's not about what I can do for God, it's about what God wants me to do.

It's not about who I can be for God, it's about who God wants me to be.

Only what God thinks matters, not what others think, not even what I think.

Be still before him. Wait upon him. Don't rush into being a hero or saviour of this world.

Remember His Faithfulness

2009-07-03T11:48:00.003+08:00

Psalm 77:7-15
"Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Thoughts:
Whenever you feel that God seems to be turning his face away from you, ignoring you and remaining in silence even as you plea and beg with him in times of trouble, think about how faithful he has been all this while in loving and caring for you.

Don't even for one second listen to the thought of doubt and deception that the devil is trying to plant in you.

God is near, and he will help you, simply because he can, simply because he care! Amen!

God is awesome. Indeed, "What god is as great as our God?" How can we even doubt him? Trust in him at all times.

The Most Dangerous Thing - My Answer

2009-05-25T00:05:00.002+08:00

Previously:

What is the most dangerous thing for a driver to do when he is driving?

What is your answer?

My Answer:
Sneezing.
You cannot stop your eyes from closing when you sneeze. What do you think?

Link: Killed All the Day Long

2009-04-21T00:10:00.001+08:00

Read this thought-provoking post. Makes you wonder how you will respond in times of religious persecution.

Dan Edelen writes, "We love this life too much because it’s the only thing that seems real to us." How true it is. We are still very used to live by sight, and not by faith. Worse still, we are satisfied to live that way.

The Most Dangerous Thing

2009-04-20T00:10:00.001+08:00

What is the most dangerous thing for a driver to do when he is driving?

What is your answer?

The Lizard and the Ant

2009-04-19T00:10:00.004+08:00

If you see a big, fat lizard waiting silently, with its eyes fixated at a tiny ant which is moving obliviously towards the lizard, what will you do?

You will...

A. Ignore the imminent disaster. Life goes on with or without the ant around.

B. Scare the lizard away, knowing that this can only be a temporary solution as the ant might be eaten by the lizard the next time you are not around.

C. Kill the ant. It is better for the ant to die an instant death than to be tortured in the mouth of the lizard till death.

D. Turn yourself into a tiny ant and beg the lizard to eat you and let go of that ant forever.

"Hey, which fool will choose D? "

Oops, Jesus did.

Note: Illustration has its limitation.

Further Thoughts on "Beautifully Imperfect"

2009-04-18T23:35:00.001+08:00

How do we handle another person's imperfection?

We try to make minimal contact with that person through avoidance, lest his imperfection causes annoyance, irritation and eventually an outburst of anger in us. That will be ugly and unbecoming of us in the eyes of others.

What if we cannot avoid the person? Too bad, we just do our best to tolerate and swallow the pain and irritation as a result of his imperfection. We see this as God's challenge for us to master the art of self-control.

What if we try to see his imperfection as a reminder of our own imperfection?

What if we try to see his imperfection as something that makes him uniquely him?

What if we try to see his imperfection as something that brings flavour and colour to our otherwise black-and-white lives?

We might be annoyed by a person's imperfection when he is alive, but it is also his beautiful imperfection that will make an irremovable mark in our hearts and memories when he is no longer with us. By then, his imperfection will be the only sweet thing we can cling on to tightly.

Perhaps it is time to look at the imperfection of others from a different perspective.

Video: Beautifully Imperfect

2009-04-18T17:56:00.004+08:00

I first saw this ad on Channel 5 (Singapore) on Maundy Thursday while preparing for the Stations of the Cross together with my cell group members. I was very touched by the words that were being said. Today, I came across the video clip on Charles' blog and watched it again. It never fails to touch my heart every time I watch the ad.

I felt very touched by her last words, "So to my beautiful children, I hope one day, you too find yourselves life partners who are as beautifully imperfect as your father was to me."

If only we were able to look at our neighbour as someone who is truly beautifully imperfect...as we are - beautiful because we were all created by God in his beautiful Image, imperfect because we are still "on the way" to perfection - then maybe, just maybe, the commandments of Christ, "Love your neighbour as yourself" and "If you hold anything against anyone, forgive him" might be a little bit easier to follow.

Grace and forgiveness are much needed in this hurting world. Let us learn to offer.

Via Dolorosa - Sandi Patty

2009-04-16T14:32:00.002+08:00

One of my favourites. One of the videos we played during Stations of the Cross as well. Painfully sweet.

Good Friday Service at Hebron

2009-04-16T12:08:00.010+08:00

Blessed are you who still remembers this blog.

After being a Christian shepherd (OK, I mean "pastor") for few months now, I begin to scratch my head in puzzlement and amazement at how some pastors are able to blog so frequently amidst their hectic schedule, one of them would have to be Sivin Kit. Perhaps I should suggest to him to conduct a course called "The Complete Pastor's Guide to Time-Saving Blogging." Perhaps... :)

Good Friday Service:
The main feature of this year's Good Friday service at our church (Hebron Presbyterian Church) was the Stations of the Cross. After twice experiencing this tradition in my theological seminary, I suggested to the church that we should embrace this tradition for this year's Good Friday service to make it a meaningful and meditative service. After getting the green light, I chose ten stations (modified from the traditional fourteen stations) and assigned a station to each youth/young adult cell group to work on it.

After two weeks of hard work (hmm...to be more exact, many groups started doing it few days before Good Friday), we successfully set up the ten stations on that night itself right before the service. In fact, I was very impressed by the creativity and hard work that the youths and young adults put in (although this was our first time) that I am compelled to post some pictures here for your view:

Station 1 - Jesus praying at Gethsemane
As you kneel at the designated spot, pondering upon the possible thoughts on Jesus' mind, you feel the intense struggle that he felt as he awaits betrayal, humiliation, suffering and death.

Station 2 - The Betrayal of Judas
As you picture the scenario of Judas - one of the Twelve who Jesus had been patiently and faithfully guiding - betraying Jesus, you ponder upon those moments in life when you denied Jesus or felt ashamed and afraid to introduce Jesus to your friends. Are you Judas?

Station 3 - The Arrest of Jesus
Looking at the Lamb who was God himself being willingly arrested by the men that he had created, you feel the depth of his love for you.

Station 4 - The Scourging
The blood that flowed out from the deep wounds and shredded flesh as a result of the scourging was supposed to be yours, not his.

Station 5 - Humiliation of Jesus: Crowning of thorns,
hitting on the head with a staff and spitting on him
Watch the reenactment of the humiliation of Jesus by the sinful, fallen human beings that he had created and feel the love of God for you.

Station 6 - Jesus carried the Cross
Carry the heavy, rough wood and walk along Via Dolorosa, accompanied by the jeers and insults of the crowd that adored him just a week ago.

Station 7 - Jesus nailed on the Cross
Confess or write your sins on the Confession Card, sign on it and nail it on the Cross, telling the Lord that you want to walk the path of holiness and no longer want to live under the slavery of sin.

Station 8 - Jesus died on the Cross
"It is finished," said Jesus. After much torment and suffering, Jesus finally accomplished his mission of redemption for the human race. How great is his love for us!

Experience the miracles that took place at the moment of Jesus' death: darkness over the whole land, the earthquake, the resurrection of the dead and the temple curtain torn in two. Surely, Jesus is the Son of God, as proclaimed by the centurion guarding Jesus.

Station 9 - Jesus laid in the tomb
Thank God, although the dead body of Jesus was laid in the tomb, the promise of his resurrection was about to be fulfilled!

Station 10 - Notes to Jesus
After going through the nine station, write a short letter to Jesus thanking him for what he has done for you.

Every one experienced an amazing Good Friday night, as God used the stations to minister to the 'pilgrims'. Several observations of this tradition:

1. It is a powerful platform for the sharing of Gospel to our friends.
Some friends joined our service on that night. Those who had invited them had a wonderful opportunity to explain the Passion of Christ to them as they journeyed from station to station. Through the creative drama, objects and pictures, surely the experience would have left an indelible mark in their hearts. The seeds of the Gospel have been sowed in their hearts on that night.

2. It is a powerful platform for the parents to explain the Passion of Christ to their children.
Just as God appointed special feasts during the time of the Israelites to ensure that the parents will explain to their children what the Lord had done for them in the past; on that Good Friday night, parents had the opportunity to explain in simple terms to their young children of the Passion of Christ through the eye-catching pictures and objects. They children were very attentive to the parents' explanation, and some kept on asking questions until the parents did not know how to answer them anymore... :)

3. It serves as a powerful reminder to us - forgetful Christians.
Another reason why God appointed special feasts was because of the forgetfulness of man. It is so easy for us to forget the love of God and the cost he had to pay in order to bring us back into his family. Thus, such a tradition with visual and audio aid serves as a powerful reminder to us of his love for us. Therefore, it is important for us to observe these special occasions of the Christian calender to remind ourselves on a regular basis on the love of God for us.

That's all for now. Hmm... Still very time-consuming (blogging) but I seem to be enjoying it...again.

Still Here...

2009-04-16T12:06:00.001+08:00

Soon, really.

I'm Learning (1)

2008-09-23T10:29:00.003+08:00

I like to read. I like to learn. But I realised that it is very natural for me to treat the Scripture merely as a piece of information for cerebral stimulation. I feel that it is pointless devouring the Scriptures in depth and in length without taking conscious effort to apply the truth in my life. Furthermore, I realised that I can only apply a lesson (or at most a few) at one go. So, for this period of time, I am learning this:

Esteem not thyself better than others, lest perhaps in the sight of God, who knoweth what is in man, thou be accounted worse than they... It doth no hurt to thee to set thyself lower than all men, but it hurteth thee exceedingly if thou set thyself before even one man. Continual peace is with the humble; but in the heart of the proud is envy and frequent indignation.

Thomas Kempis
Imitation of Christ

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your owe eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Matthew 7:1-5

Commentary from NIV Life Application Study Bible:

Jesus' statement, "Do not judge," is against the kind of hypocritical, judgmental attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up. It is not a blanket statement against all critical thinking, but a call to be discerning rather than negative.

I Was Terribly Sick

2008-09-21T23:30:00.002+08:00

Just when you thought that this blog has been permanently abandoned...

Yes, there was a time, a long period of time, when I was entertaining the idea of giving up blogging.

There was a time I was terribly sick. I was sick of reading blogs that insinuate others sarcastically with an attitude of superiority. I was sick of reading blogs that pretend to be nice and diplomatic but ended up saying nothing. I was sick of reading blogs that boast about nothing but the authors themselves. Worst of all, I was sick as I realised that I was guilty of such now and then.

I did not like what I read. I did not like what I wrote. Lest I continue to fall into such fatal traps, lest I accidentally abuse blogging again, I stopped blogging for a long time.

But, after a long period of reflection and prayer, I decided to pick up from where I have left. It is no longer important to ask why I have decided to continue, but it is important for me (and for all bloggers) from now on to learn to write humbly and sincerely with the single intention of building others up. It is my prayer that our hearts be examined before we write.

May God help us.

The Harsh Reality

2008-06-10T11:30:00.002+08:00

Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.

Anonymous

Too Proud

2008-06-06T13:48:00.003+08:00

For many of us, the older we get, the more life experiences we gain, the prouder we become.

We become too proud to admit our mistakes, often putting the blame on the other party (parties), hoping that by doing so, everyone including ourselves will forget that we are to be blamed.

We become too proud to utter the word 'sorry', often trying to reconcile with the other party by treating the person nicely and pretending as if nothing has ever happened, hoping the other party will forgive us through a sorry-less but friendly gesture.

We become too proud to reveal to others our inadequacy, thus when others willingly share their insights with us, outwardly we pretend to be uninterested to learn, but in reality, we are listening and digesting intently.

We become too proud to share our problems with others, thinking that others will see us as weaklings and capitalise on our weaknesses if we become vulnerable to them.

No wonder. No wonder our wise Master once said that only those who change and become humble like little children are qualified to enter his kingdom. All along, he knew the fatality but commonality of pride among grown-ups.

About Prayer

2008-06-02T17:03:00.002+08:00

"The true relation in prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for, but when the person praying continues to pray until he is the one who hears, who hears what God wills."

Soren Kierkegaard

"On many occasions we find ourselves unsure of the specific action that God would wish to do in the situation that confronts us, and so we present our requests, but we qualify them with the condition "if it is your will." This is not a lack of faith; it is a lack of knowledge. We believe that God will do what is best, but we are uncertain what that is and so we ask according to our best wisdom."

Terrance Tiessen

"Be slow to pray. Praying puts us at risk of getting involved with God's condition...Praying most often doesn't get us what we want but what God wants, something quite at variance with what we conceive to be in our best interests. And when we realize what is going on, it is often too late to go back."

Eugene Peterson

Afterthought: The Bucket List

2008-05-30T17:45:00.006+08:00

The Bucket List (2007) is a story about two complete strangers (featuring Morgan Freeman who is a wise (as usual) and knowledgeable car mechanic and Jack Nicholson who is a very rich but arrogant man who owns private hospitals) crossing one another's paths when they ended up in the same bedroom in Nicholson's hospital as both were suffering from terminal illness.

When they received news from the doctor that they had only six months to a year's time to live, rather than spending their last days in the hospital to receive an experimental treatment, they came up with a list called 'bucket list' which consisted of things they wanted to do before they die. From then on, they journeyed around the world to complete the bucket list, doing crazy things (especially as they were elderly people suffering from terminal illnesses) like riding a motorbike up the Great Wall of China and skydiving etc.

The central message of the movie became explicit in the middle of the movie when they were sitting on top of a pyramid in Egypt. Freeman told Nicholson a story:

“The ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance of heaven, the gods asked them two questions. Their answers determined whether they were admitted or not."

As Freeman was about to reveal the questions, he wanted Nicholson to answer them as well.

Freeman asked, "Have you found joy in your life?" To this, Nicholson did not take much trouble to say "Yes!"

But when it came to the second question, "Has your life brought joy to others?" Nicholson struggled to answer.

Both eventually died at the end part of the movie (sad ending), but both brought genuine joy and meaning to one another's lives as they spent their last moments together. Not only have they found joy in their lives, they have truly brought joy to others as well.

Have we found joy in our lives?

Have our lives brought joy to others?

Joy, a rare virtue in a seemingly bleak world, and that includes the Christian world, or perhaps even more in the Christian world. Christians seem to be so serious that you seldom hear any laughter coming from them (Oh, I mean us). It is true that we need to recognise the depravity of man and the implications of such depravity that are manifesting in this world; it is true that Christians need to count the cost and carry the cross of suffering; but that does not give us the license to remain sorrowful and sulk in despair. We need to stand strong and find hope and meaning amidst our adverse environments. We need to put our "trust-in-God" mentality into practice. We need to pursue joy, now.

Only when we have found joy, can we bring this joy to others. Or else, gloomy faces, sulky appearances, negative mentality, critical condemnations...can such lives bring joy to others?

Please, find joy. Then, bring it to others. Easier said than done, but do it anyway!

Ugly Souls

2008-05-30T13:45:00.004+08:00

Sophisticated cosmetics and trendy apparel have become necessities for many in this age where exterior of the self is more important than the interior. Once deemed as luxuries items, these goods are now relentlessly pursued to provide self-confidence and image for the pursuers. We feel secured and confident in cosmetics and gorgeous outfits because they complement our physical imperfections that are constantly haunting us.

Just observe what these things do to the actors and actresses we watch on the screen. With these things, they become the gorgeous and stunning idols that everyone wants to imitate. Yet, when they are stripped of cosmetics and covered with plain clothings, they look just like everyone else, ordinary with faces covered with pimples, scars and freckles etc.

Therefore, we recognise the power of these items in making one look better than one actually is, and we make them indispensable in our lives to hide our exterior imperfections from others' sight and perhaps, from ours too.

Unfortunately, we are also equally good in hiding our interior imperfections. We fulfill our religious obligations faithfully, attending weekly services, prayer meetings, cell groups, evangelistic rallies. It started out as pure piety towards God, but slowly as others heap spiritual praises upon us for our faithfulness, piety becomes pride. In order to feed our insatiable pride, we waste endless time to prevent the ugly creature within us from popping out, ensuring that no one (especially fellow Christians) sees our interior imperfections lest praises cease.

However, pride makes us callous and careless. We are so preoccupied in hiding our interior imperfections from others that we have forgotten to actually attend to the imperfections themselves. Thus, amidst the praises of others that make us think that we are on the narrow trail towards God, we may actually be wandering further away from God. Just as we think that we are doing everything right, we may have already forsaken the fruit of the Spirit for the rotten fruits of this world.

Most importantly, we may have forgotten that hidden beneath each and every beautiful mask of religious piety and spiritual pride lies an ugly soul which loves wickedness and deceit. How do we know we have forgotten this reality? We show our forgetfulness when we become proud of ourselves and boast of our earthly successes and spiritual achievements. We show our forgetfulness when we become contemptuous and judgmental of others when they intentionally or unintentionally reveal their ugly souls.

When was the last time we look at the mirror and really have a good look at ourselves? Most of the time when we are in front of the mirror, we are looking for ways to cover up our exterior imperfections. Next time, let us have a good, long look at ourselves and be reminded that we are all ugly souls which are going through the beautifying treatment by the Great Beautician.

--
Since it was this quote by Soren Kierkegaard that provoked this blog post (thanks to Sakti), I shall end with it.

It is true that a mirror has the quality of enabling a person to see his image in it, but to do this he must stand still.

Soren Kierkegaard

Have We Forgotten?

2008-05-28T19:57:00.004+08:00

We are so used to our frenzy pace of life, that we have forgotten how to remain still and enjoy silence.

We are so equipped with wonderful knowledge and facts about God, that we have forgotten who God is.

We are so obsessed with our perceived obligations to work and serve the Lord, that we have forgotten how to enjoy God.

We are so afraid of exercising our faith, that we have forgotten what God can do in us, for us and through us.

It is high time to recover what we have forgotten.

The Small Kid

2008-05-12T19:30:00.004+08:00

Inside each one of us, there lives a small kid. This small kid is constantly battling against our natural growth for it is reluctant to grow up.

When we were young, we could do and say what we want for we know that our parents would bear the consequences for us. We had the freedom to make mistakes. As we grow up, we are confronted by tons of responsibilities and commitments that will cause us to be condemned by others if we fail to fulfill them. We are fearful of mistakes.

When we were young, we could put our trust in everyone that we meet. We could be ourselves without any masking or packaging. As we grow up, we are confronted by the sinfulness and imperfection of human beings. We can no longer put our trust in every person that we meet. In front of different people, we can only reveal certain aspects of our true selves in order to protect ourselves from hurts.

The small kid in us wants to remain in a world of innocence and purity, and struggles daily so that he/she can live in that world.

The small kid will eventually have his/her say, not now, but when the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness, for in God's kingdom, there are only "kids".

Human Reasoning

2008-05-12T11:30:00.002+08:00

Life is full of sticky decisions.

In a world of complication and chaos, we are constantly bombarded by multiple choices and decisions. Often times, these decisions do not wait for us, for when the deadline is reached, the absence of a decision is also a decision by itself.

In life, many of our decision-making involve morality. In ethical decision-making, each situation varies and it is crucial for us to learn to scrutinise each situation before we apply the appropriate moral principles to the specific situation. It would be naive and simplistic for us to assume that every principle is to be applied universally in all situations regardless of the context of the situation. Thus, we get frustrated when others are quick to make moral judgment without first looking into the situation, quick to point out what is wrong and forbidden without examining the context.

Thus, it is important for us to learn to use our human reasoning in every ethical situation and to be able to make sound judgments and wise decisions. Unfortunately, human reasoning can be abused too. We can use the power of human reasoning to justify decisions that we make by explaining that it is not wrong to make such decisions, and not pursue the highest form of right: the ideal.

It is one thing to recognise the fallen condition of the world and the depravity of man, but it is another thing to capitalise on this reality and use it to justify the less ideal decisions that we make, and forget and forgo the pursuit of the ideal.

Human reasoning - use it but not abuse it, for it can make or break you.

Perils of a Critical Mind

2008-05-04T14:20:00.003+08:00

“Knowledge is power.”

The more knowledge one acquires; the more power one has in his hand, to critique, criticise or condemn.

As we acquire more knowledge, we tend to test our new-found power on people and issues. In the name of critique (we avoid using the more negative words: criticise or condemn), we tend to use our power to analyse and highlight the imperfection of others. Yet, possessing a critical mind can be perilous. We can become grumpy, cynical and skeptical of everything and everyone that does not match up to our measuring standards. We can easily condemn others even if we can only see what is happening in the foreground, without wanting to first understand the background context.

Perhaps we think that by doing so, we are emulating Jesus who was never afraid or slow to lash out words of rebuke at the wrongdoers. Yet, I sometimes wonder whether we are emulating Jesus or the Pharisees. The Pharisees were equally critical of the people and issues of their days, quick to highlight people and things that did not match up to their measuring standards. The difference between them and Jesus is this: Jesus did it out of love; they did it out of pride and contempt.

Thus, for those of us who possess critical minds; beware of the power that is entrusted to you. Do not be too quick to judge, comment, critique, criticise or condemn. Only be quick in listening, but be very slow in speaking. Speak only when you know that you are truly speaking out of love for the other, not out of pride and contempt to pull down the other. Speak only when you really see the iceberg rather than the tip. Speak not to someone else about it lest you are found guilty of showcasing your critiquing power, but if possible, speak directly to the person involved to benefit him or her with your words of wisdom.

Or else, the power will do no good and can only bring destruction.

Afterthought: The Road to Guantanamo

2008-05-02T10:25:00.003+08:00

No one warned me about it.

Like a tsunami, it completely swept me away and left me stunned. Like a molten hot rod, it left a lasting mark on me which I will not forget.

This was what the movie "The Road to Guantanamo" (2006) did to me last night. The story depicts the tragic fate of three young Britons of Pakistani origin (known as the 'Tipton Three') who were captured by the Northern Alliance Soldiers while traveling in Afghanistan (They traveled to Afghanistan at the time just before U.S. was about to bomb the country after 911). They were later handed over to the U.S. military who suspected them of being involved in terrorist activities. They were then sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, and suffered two years of inhumane torture and humiliation. They were eventually released without charges and without any compensation.

Some thoughts about the movie:

1. Can war ever be justified? As I watched innocent civilians running for their lives from bullets and bombs, I wondered what wrong have they done to deserve this. Nothing! U.S. may have her reasons to justify her invasion on Afghanistan, but how do you justify the plight of the innocent civilians who lost their properties, friends, family members, and even their own lives? How do you justify the inhumane treatment that was given to those detainees who were actually innocent? The tag line of the movie is worth pondering, "How far will we go in the name of security?" I don't think any reason can ever justify the war.

2. When the suspects were brought to the detention camp, they were treated as terrorists even before they were proven guilty. They were in fact given the treatment of "guilty until proven innocent." The soldiers treated them like animals, stripping them off their basic human rights and more importantly, their dignity. Even if some of them could really be terrorists (in fact one of the Tipton Three confessed recently that he had once visited an Islamist training camp, handled weapons and learned how to use AK-47 in the camp, thus causing many to question their innocence), they should be treated with dignity and respect. What more for those who are innocent. Sometimes, I think we Christians are no better, for we easily strip people of their dignity by showing contempt and condemnation whenever we find out that someone had done (or suspected of doing) something wrong. We who know that we are saved only by the grace of God, we who know that we are all depraved and fallen sinners, should know better than these soldiers!

3. The detainees were bound in chain all the time in the detention camp. This brings to my mind a fellow seminarian's preaching not long ago in the seminary. He brought up the incident of Iraqi prisoners who were humiliated as they were bound by dog collars around their necks. Whenever the Iraqis see a dog collar, it was a sign of humiliation for it reminds them of the humiliation that their fellow Iraqis went through. In the same way, the cross was a sign of humiliation to the Jews (especially to the Jewish Christians) for it was the harshest treatment for the worst of the worst. That is why Paul said that Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23). The movie reminds me of the intensity of shame and humiliation that Jesus had to go through, and the cross should serve as a sign of humiliation of Christ for me, rather than a mere sign of my Christian faith.

4. At the end of the movie, the Tipton Three said that the whole experience had certainly changed their life, causing them to look at things differently. This reminds me of my recent post "The Blessing of Adversity" whereby I said that adversity can make you bitter or better. This movie reaffirms my understanding and necessity (this does not mean that we seek after suffering) of suffering to shape our lives to become Christlike.

Go catch the movie if you have not watch it!

You have been warned.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

2008-05-01T00:10:00.001+08:00

During her Ethics presentation yesterday, Sharon gave us all a statement written by a young African pastor found among his papers in Zimbabwe after he was martyred. I pray that all of us would possess such courage, determination and commitment towards Christ.

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I am a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, live by prayer and labor by the Holy Spirit’s power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, but my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the case of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He stops me. My banner is clear. I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

Tagged: List of Fives

2008-04-30T14:15:00.002+08:00

It is time for me to enjoy some fun courtesy of tags by Rev. Anthony and Gerrad.

The rules of the game are as below:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about himself/herself.
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know that they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

--
What was I doing ten years ago? April 1998
1. Preparing for SPM examination (My most hardworking year throughout my life)
2. Being tricked by classmates during April's Fool (They abused my innocence. Let's leave the details behind)
3. Spending tons of time on football (daily dosage)
4. Err...Breathing??
5. Err...give up la! Can't think of anything in particular...

5 things on my to-do list today
1. Thesis!
2. Thesis!
3. Thesis!
4. Thesis!
5. Thesis!..Oh ya, football too.

5 snacks I enjoy
1. Butter cookies
2. McFlurry
3. Banana Fried Ball a.k.a. 'Bom' (at 'Kakak' stall)
4. Mamee
5. Fishball in every form and cooking method

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire
1. Sponsor my family on a trip to Israel
2. Donate to the poor
3. No money left...haha
4. As above
5. As above

5 of my bad habits
1. Sleeping late
2. Unpunctuality
3. Difficult to wake up early (or be woken up by human or mechanical means)
4. Eating too fast
5. Talking too fast

5 places I have lived
1. Taman Sentosa, JB (when I was a baby)
2. Taman Pelangi, JB (my current residence)
3. Taman Universiti, Skudai (a rented house during Uni days)
4. STM, Seremban (my current current residence)
5. Port Dickson Presbyterian Church (my current weekend residence)

5 jobs I've had
1. Part-time bakery assistant (after Form 5 - for 3 months)
2. Internship in a civil engineering consultancy (before Uni and during Uni days - for 6 months)
3. Tuition teacher: taught webpage design, MS Office and SPM Physics (during Uni days - 1 year)
4. Project Executive in IOI Properties (after Uni days - 2 years)
5. Pastor to-be (after STM - duration unknown)

5 people I tag
I can only tag those I assume/guess/think are still reading my blog. However, ignore this if you have done this before:
1. Serena
2. Pei Ling
3. Jonathan
4. Serene
5. Desmond

The Blessing of Adversity

2008-04-30T01:00:00.002+08:00

Adversity. It can be our worst enemy or our best friend.

I once heard someone say, "When you are faced with adversity, it either makes you bitter or better." When a tragedy suddenly befalls us, we can either choose to become bitter and blame everyone else (including God) except ourselves. Yet, that makes us miserable people and stops us from moving on. In such cases, adversity becomes our worst enemy. On the contrary, we can choose to believe that every adversity that befalls us is written within God's Great Story of Creation, and trust that God allowed it to happen to enrich and refine us. In such cases, adversity becomes our best friend.

Adversity is like a crash course, accelerating our learning and growing curve, forcing us to learn priceless life lessons that we would not have learn in the absence of adversity. C. S. Lewis is right in saying, "God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain." It is in adversity that we hear God most clearly. Therefore, we need to learn to give thanks not in spite of adversity, but give thanks for adversity.

Adversity is indeed a blessing (although it is hard to say this when one is in the midst of it, but it remains a fact). Amidst a prosperity-oriented, positive-thinking church culture, such a fact must be reiterated relentlessly.

"Blessed are those who face adversity, for theirs is the fruit of the Spirit."

Out of Hibernation

2008-04-26T00:55:00.000+08:00

Anyone out there?

It has been 98 days since I penned my last post. I don't even know whether anyone is still reading this blog. :)

I guess it is about time for me to wake up from my mental hibernation and start stretching my brain muscles.

Posts coming very soon...

Child 'Witches' in Africa

2008-01-19T02:30:00.000+08:00

Excerpt taken from here:

"Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned, and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities." Watch this video.

I am overwhelmed and consumed by anguish and pain.

Lord have mercy upon us, all of us, sick and perverted human beings.

Lord... *speechless*

Can you feel their pain?

Who Wins?

2008-01-18T09:30:00.000+08:00

When fellow Christians quarrel with one another, who wins?

When fellow Christians backstab one another, who wins?

When fellow Christians gossip about one another, who wins?

When fellow Christians are contemptuous of one another, who wins?

When fellow Christians become bitter and cannot forgive one another, who wins?

Fools we are! Satan wins. Christians lose.

Christ's work is ridiculed. God's kingdom is divided.

Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Jesus Christ

Just Love Them

2008-01-17T23:00:00.000+08:00

I came across this post in rhymes with kerouac's blog:

We've begun showing a movie on Friday nights at our public meals program. A man from our church has donated a projector, dvd player and big screen - and the sound-system to go with it - and our church has covered the licensing fees. It's beautiful. Amidst the small crowd there's a single mom who stays after dinner with her daughter - whom I'm guessing is about nine. After Friday night's movie, as folks were getting dressed to go out into the cold, someone suggested we watch Casino Royale, the latest James Bond movie. I fended off the suggestion by saying, "Oh, we like family friendly movies here." To my surprise, everyone agreed. The mother, though, simply beamed. I can't tell you the joy that was on her face after I said it.

I was thinking about her all day today, that lady with her young daughter. I mean, have you been to the movies lately? The cost of a going to the cinema is simply out of her grasp and having a safe place to watch a movie with her daughter is a Friday night event for both of them. Just the thought of being able to do this pleases me to no end. I was talking with the nice church lady last week and I mentioned our movie night. She asked what I did with this, asked if we had a discussion afterwards. I simply said no, we just let folks enjoy the movies and both of us let it go. that's kind of the thing - everybody wanting to do 'ministry'. It's like, everything we do at church has to have a guest speaker - we can't just get together and have a fun time. Everything has to be... ministry. One of our more 'churchy' staff members at the Mission (who didn't last long.... they never do) once challenged me because I listened to the oldies station on the kitchen radio instead of the local Christian station.

God is love. Okay, I got that, Saint John. So I wonder then, if every time I display love in the world if I'm not displaying the nature of God. I wonder if a pretty good definition of 'ministry' might be to simply love God and to love others. Is there a time and a place to 'share the gospel' (whatever that means, exactly)? Of course there is. In the right time, and the right place, which you'll know - and you'll know exactly what to say, and how to say it - because it will be one more expression of the love of God, seamlessly flowing through you, bubbling up out of you, making you into a transparency through which God can be known. I'm not going to make that Mom pay me for a Friday night out with her daughter by making her sit through a gospel presentation. I love her too much for that, and I don't even know her name. [emphasis mine]

---

Beautifully sweet. We often act like Gospel salesmen trying to ~~force~~ persuade others to 'buy' our product. Even though we know we might irritate others or cause others to be repulsive towards us and Christ, we do it anyway. We believe that as long as we have good intentions ("We love them so much, that is why we are aggressive."), it does not matter how the other party might feel.

If we truly love others, although we desperately want them to enter the kingdom of God, it cannot be a legitimate reason for us to be insensitive towards their feelings. We need to respect them as equals rather than objects. When we try to do 'imperialistic evangelism,' we might be preaching the message of love, but our act itself shows otherwise.

No hidden agenda, please. Just love them. The right time will come.

The Trap of Self-Pity

2008-01-07T11:44:00.001+08:00

When man-made tragedies befall us, it is natural for us to pity ourselves, lamenting on how God, others and structural evils have victimised us. Self-pity becomes a mechanism for us to survive emotionally. We need to point our finger at someone or something else as the culprit of the tragedy lest we carry the blame ourselves and the pain that comes along with it.

Self-pity is poisonous and fatal. When we pity ourselves and put the blame on others (even if others are at fault), we are slowly consumed by bitterness and anger, finding it hard to release forgiveness and love to others, especially to those who have victimised us.

Pity ourselves no longer! There are many out there who are suffering from greater injustice and oppression, and there seems to be no chance or choice for them to escape from such predicament. Worse still, their children and the future generations will face the same cyclical fate without much hope of escape.

Pity ourselves no longer! Draw the strength of contentment as we recognise how blessed we actually are, and how little suffering we are enduring. Draw the strength of gratitude as we acknowledge that no matter what happens to us, no matter how others fail or disappoint us, God never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Be very strong and stop falling into the trap of self-pity. Let joy, love and laughter re-consume our lives once again.

Boy versus Man

2008-01-03T12:12:00.000+08:00

Will you be very angry if I say that a boy is more worth saving than a man? It is infinite mercy on God’s part to save those who are seventy; for what good can they now do with the [burnt] end of their lives? When we get to be fifty or sixty, we are almost worn out, and if we have spent all our early days with the devil, what remains for God? But these dear boys and girls - there is something to be made out of them. If now they yield themselves to Christ they may have a long, happy, and holy day before them in which they may serve God with all their hearts. Who knows what glory God may have of them? Heathen lands may call them blessed. Whole nations may be enlightened by them.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Do you agree with Spurgeon? Sounds rather pragmatic and presumptuous to me.

Everything is Possible

2007-12-26T21:22:00.000+08:00

Everything is possible for him who believes.

Jesus Christ

What Would Jesus Do?

2007-12-19T15:00:00.000+08:00

It is the time of the year.

No, I am not talking about Christmas. I am talking about the flood.

While most churches are busy preparing for their Christmas 'soul-saving' programs:

furnitures, valuables, houses and lives are lost...

families are grieving over their lost ones...

people are stranded in flooded areas, waiting to be rescued...

evacuees are waiting in crowded flood relief centres...

WHAT WOULD ~~THE CHURCH~~ JESUS DO?

Don't Watch The Golden Compass!

2007-12-17T09:50:00.001+08:00

Don't watch The Golden Compass because the author of the series, Philip Pullman is an atheist!

Don't watch The Golden Compass because a supreme being called "The Authority" -- who is evidently meant to be the Christian God -- is killed in a later volume of the series!

Don't watch The Golden Compass because Pullman has characterised our well-loved Christian author, C. S. Lewis' Christian-themed Chronicles of Narnia as 'detestable'!

Countless emails have been circulating in the cyberworld for some time now, urging Christians to boycott The Golden Compass. If this movie was screened few years back, I would certainly have joined the bandwagon of avoidance, banning myself and my youths from watching this movie. Embarrassedly, I did discourage my youths from watching Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter during those days.

Yet, that was me in the past. Now, I no longer rashly discourage my youths from watching movies that might have controversial elements. On the contrary, I would prefer to watch such movies together with them. Thus, I brought them to watch The Golden Compass last weekend and no, they did not become atheists after the movie.

Think for a moment. Why are we vigorously preventing our children from watching movies that might challenge our faith but yet do not prevent them from watching other movies that have sexual or violent elements (e.g. Hitman and Beowulf etc.)? Furthermore, why do we not prevent them from playing computer games that contain violence (e.g. Counterstrike) or magic (e.g. DoTA)? In my opinion, these kind of movies and computer games are more lethal than movies such as The Golden Compass, and hence, require more of our concern.

Just because Pullman is an atheist does not mean that we must avoid the movie at all cost. Just because what he writes might contain anti-Christian elements does not mean that we have absolutely nothing to learn from the movie.

For example, Pullman portrays the church as a sinister totalitarian bureaucracy called the Magisterium that perpetrates massive cruelties in the name of good. Absolutely no truth in it?

Other than that, according to Lev Grossman; it is not religion that Pullman has a problem with, exactly, or religious believers; it's what happens when religion mixes with politics. "Religion is at its best when it is furthest from political power...The power to send armies to war, to rule every aspect of our lives, to tell us what to wear, what to think, what to read - when religion gets hold of that, watch out! Because trouble will ensue." Absolutely no truth in it?

Don't be so quick to judge The Golden Compass. Watch it before you comment!

Quotes taken from Grossman, Lev. "Sympathy for the Devil" in TIME. December 10, 2007.

Narrow Path

2007-12-13T23:21:00.000+08:00

Honestly, no one ever told me that this narrow path was that narrow. The further I tread this path, the more I come to realise the cost of following Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." That is the cost of following Christ: you, your life, your everything.

I tried. I failed. I try again. It is tough. Christ, grant me strength to follow you.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Do You Know?

2007-11-27T08:48:00.000+08:00

It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else, and still unknown to himself.

Francis Bacon

Link: Bedtime Story

2007-11-23T00:51:00.000+08:00

Simple yet profound are these words:

When we philosophise our concepts of the Christian faith and try to work it out within the church and seminary walls, it’s called “theology”. When we work these out beyond the church and seminary walls, it’s called “charity”. When both are so integrated that they are expressed as a way of life, it’s called spirituality.

It has been a very, very long time since I came across a blog entry as touching and powerful as this.

Think of Her

2007-11-22T18:50:00.000+08:00

"Who would have thought that the person who was considered the most faithful woman in the world struggled like that with her faith?" Rev. James Martin, editor at the Jesuit magazine America comments.

The world was stunned when Mother Teresa's secret letters to her confessors and superiors were recently revealed, showing that she spent almost 50 years without sensing the presence of God in her life. Her "dark night of the soul" started almost immediately after she embarked on her God-given ministry among "the poorest of the poor" on the streets of Calcutta and lasted until she left the world. This is one of her confessions addressed to Jesus which clearly reflected her agony:

Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love - and now become as the most hated one - the one - You have thrown away as unwanted - unloved. I call, I cling, I want - and there is no One to answer - no One on Whom I can cling - no, No One. - Alone... Where is my Faith - even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness - My God - how painful is this unknown pain - I have no Faith - I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart - & make me suffer untold agony.

So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them - because of the blasphemy - If there be God - please forgive me - When i try to raise my thoughts to Heaven - there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. - I am told God loves me - and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

The amazing story of her faithfulness in spite of God's absence serves as a powerful antithesis to the modern Christian, who focuses on personal feelings to determine God's presence and love. Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, compiler and editor of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light makes his point:

The tendency in our spiritual life but also in our more general attitude toward love is that our feelings are all that is going on...And so to us the totality of love is what we feel. But to really love someone requires commitment, fidelity and vulnerability. Mother Teresa wasn't 'feeling' Christ's love, and she could have shut down. But she was up at 4:30 every morning for Jesus, and still writing to him, 'Your happiness is all I want.' That's a powerful example even if you are not talking in exclusively religious terms.

More importantly, Mother Teresa's story gives great courage and comfort to those who experience the absence and silence of God. When we begin to doubt the existence of God, when we begin to think of throwing the towel; think of Mother Teresa, think of her agony, think of her faithfulness.

Quotes taken from Biema, David V. "Her Agony" in TIME. September 3, 2007.

Do Roman Catholics Worship Mary?

2007-11-21T22:48:00.000+08:00

Friend: I cannot accept Roman Catholicism, it is so different from Christianity la.

Daniel: Err... I think what you mean by 'Christianity' is Protestantism cos' Roman Catholicism is one stream of Christianity.
Friend: Ya mer?
Daniel: Ya la. So, what is it about Roman Catholicism that you cannot accept?
Friend: Iyoh, they worship Mary lor...How could they treat Mary as God? I cannot accept that la. You can mer?
Daniel: *Explanation mode*
--
I have many (and I mean many) ill-informed Protestant friends, even pastors, who are repulsive towards Roman Catholicism because they think that the Roman Catholics worship Mary. What is rather frustrating is that some of them would not accept the explanation and insist irrationally on their view.

Those who are not sure whether Roman Catholics worship Mary, you might want to read her e and here.

Perhaps we should really get our facts right before we start acting foolishly in criticising other Christian traditions and religions.

Look at them!

2007-11-21T12:30:00.000+08:00

Look at the soldiers! When they receive directives from their commander, they follow the directives without questioning or negotiating. They know that a wrong directive can cost them their lives, yet they follow it anyway, trusting that their commander is in a more qualified position to lead them. They follow the directives wholeheartedly and carefully, knowing that if anyone of them fails to follow, the rest of the team will be endangered and the battle might be lost. Each soldier has made a personal decision to trust and obey the commander, thus enabling the team to work as a unit under the leadership of the commander.

Look at the footballers! When they receive instructions from their manager, they follow the instructions without questioning or negotiating. They know that a wrong instruction can affect their performance and hence, their footballing prospect, yet they follow it anyway, trusting that their manager is in a more qualified position to lead them. They follow the instructions wholeheartedly and carefully, knowing that if anyone of them fails to follow, the rest of the team will be affected and the match might be lost. Each player has made a personal decision to trust and obey the manager, thus enabling the team to work as a unit under the leadership of the manager.

Look at the Christians! When they receive guidance from their shepherd, they never follow the guidance without questioning or negotiating. They know that a wrong guidance can affect them...in some way, thus they are selective in the guidance that is offered by the shepherd, trusting that they themselves are in a more qualified position to guide themselves. They follow the guidance halfheartedly and carelessly, even though they know that if anyone of them fails to follow, the rest of the Body of Christ will suffer and the battle might be lost. Each Christian has made a personal decision to trust and obey himself/herself, thus disabling the Body of Christ to work as a unit under the leadership of the shepherd.

Trust. Submission. Obedience. Unity. What do Christians know?

Prisoner of Reputation

2007-11-19T22:00:00.000+08:00

Our reputation means everything to us, for others' perceptions of us often form our self-identity and determine the health of our self-esteem. Yet, beware! The greater we attribute importance to Reputation, the more vulnerable we are to her attacks.

As we climb higher in any hierarchal structure and as our reputation grows, we become fiercer in guarding our reputation. We realise that we have less guts to do what is right unless our reputation is not at stake. Thus, we often choose Reputation over Righteousness, Justice and Compassion.

In Christian churches, organisations and institutions, such scenarios are common. When the reputation of the leader or the organisation is at stake, the wellbeing of others suddenly become immaterial as decisions are made and actions are taken to safeguard the reputation of the leader/organisation even if such decisions/actions are unjust and immoral.

Reputation. One will forever be her captive as long as one chooses her at the expense of Righteousness, Justice and Compassion. One can only truly be freed from her clutches and be free to do what is right when one cares not of one's own reputation, like Christ.

One anxious to defend his reputation pays no regard to anything else.

Mei Yao-ch'en
Song dynasty scholar

Why So Defensive?

2007-11-12T17:29:00.000+08:00

I was so amused and confused by the reactive and sometimes illogical responses given by our Information Minister in an interview conducted by Al Jazeera (in regards to 10 Nov). Watch it for yourself.

Why I Love Cartoons

2007-11-12T16:14:00.000+08:00

Click on image to see in full size

Source: ASBO Jesus

Whispers of the Little Flower (3)

2007-11-11T16:21:00.000+08:00

I used to compare these innocent souls to soft wax, ready to receive any impression--evil, alas! as well as good, and I understood the words of Our Lord: "It were better to be thrown into the sea than to scandalise one of these little ones."

How many souls might attain to great sanctity if only they were directed aright from the first! I know God has not need of anyone to help Him in His work of sanctification, but as He allows a clever gardener to cultivate rare and delicate plants, giving him the skill to accomplish it, while reserving to Himself the right of making them grow, so does He wish to be helped in the cultivation of souls. What would happen if an ignorant gardener did not graft his trees in the right way? if he did not understand the nature of each, and wished, for instance, to make roses grow on peach trees?

Reflection
Married couples have different reasons in wanting to have their own children. Some find indescribable joy in having children that come from their own flesh, not to mention the sense of satisfaction seeing them evolving from small babies into mature adults. Others see children as a long term investment, hoping that their children will take care of them when they grow old. As for me, I must confess that there is a sense of fear in me when I think of having my own children. This is because I see that parenting is such an enormous and sacred responsibility that needs to be handled with care, and I am not quite confident whether I will be up for the task when the occasion arises.

Parenting is very delicate as every action that you take, every word that you speak and every decision that you make has a great influence upon your children, especially in the formative stage of their lives. I see many adolescents struggling with identity crisis, emotional and mental instability etc. and I realise that more than often, the negligence of the parents in providing adequate care and attention plays a pivotal role in the creation of such problems.

Sadly, many parents do not take their parenting responsibilities seriously, and hence, 'produce' children who struggle badly in life. Worse still, not only do the parents not want to be responsible of the problem, they are not willing to be responsible of the solution as well. Many will conveniently complain to the pastor about their children's rebellious behaviour, and expect the pastor to perform miracles and undo damages that they themselves have incurred upon the children all these years.

Perhaps due to the negligence of parents in educating their children, I come to realise more and more the importance of children ministry. I must admit that in the past I struggle to see the significance of this ministry because I often wondered whether these young brains could really absorb and digest the lessons that were being taught. Yet, I come to realise that children are actually very receptive and easily influenced at their age, and therefore it is crucial for them to be exposed to and soaked in godly teachings at as young an age as possible. Thus, I am very appreciative of the hard work and efforts of the teachers in children ministry.

Having said that, I need to emphasise that parents should take on the primary role of formation in the lives of the children. They should not expect the children ministry or the pastor to replace them as the primary formators, for others should only take on a complementary role. Perhaps we can learn from the Orthodox Christians who view their house as a 'family church'. Parents must see themselves as the primary formators of their children, and the house should be seen as a church where the focal point is always and only Christ, thus providing an environment for children to begin living a Christ-centered life from an early age.

Whispers of the Little Flower (2)

2007-11-10T12:00:00.000+08:00

I realised that in order to become a Saint one must suffer much, always seek the most perfect path, and forget oneself. I also understood that there are many degrees of holiness, that each soul is free to respond to the calls of Our Lord, to do much or little for His Love--in a word, to choose amongst the sacrifices He asks. And then also, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: "My God, I choose everything, I will not be a Saint by halves, I am not afraid of suffering for Thee, I only fear one thing, and that is to do my own will. Accept the offering of my will, for I choose all that Thou willest."

Reflection

How God so wishes that all may choose to seek the most perfect path towards theosis. Yet, God so loves us that he is willing to give us the freedom to "choose amongst the sacrifices he asks." Unfortunately, we depraved humans tend to capitalise on such privilege and choose to go against God's wishes by shunning this most perfect path because of the sacrifices involved.

We choose the other path, the path of contentment.

We are contented that our salvation is secured by a sinner's prayer without the desire to pursue a fruitful life.

We are contented of living the life of a baby Christian for life, forever feeding on spiritual milk.

We are contented of embracing the teachings of Christ only on Sundays (and maybe Saturdays), blatantly embracing the teachings of the world for the rest of the weeks.

We are contented of serving God and others only at our convenience, ignoring the needs of others when self-sacrifice is involved.

We are contented of buying luxurious houses, cars and state-of-the art gadgets etc., but hesitant to offer any help to the billions in the world who are suffering in hunger and poverty.

God, have mercy upon us. Help us to always seek the most perfect path, that we may follow Christ in the best way we know how, no matter how much it costs.

Let your kingdom come, let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Whispers of the Little Flower (1)

2007-11-09T23:50:00.000+08:00

Did you really think that Cur Deus Homo was going to be my holiday reading assignment? Well, I believe Anselm can still afford to give me a little bit of his patience for now. Right now, I am in the midst of chewing (not literally) the autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux titled Story of a Soul. I came across this name when I was going through the name list of the saints who were proclaimed as Doctors of the (Roman Catholic) church. St Therese of Lisieux caught my immediate attention because she was the latest addition to the list and she only lived for twenty four years. I was so eager to know how on earth could a young lady who only spent twenty four years on earth be placed together with the giants of the Church, such as St Augustine, St Basil the Great and St Thomas Aquinas. That was what brought me to the reading of her autobiography, and I am deeply inspired and encouraged by what I have read so far. I hope that through a reflective reading of her autobiography, my spirituality can be deepened and enriched. May God help me.

Yet, how could I ever forget my readers? As a reward for your faithful visit to my blog, I will be posting up some of her sayings (once in a while) from her book which have made a deep impact upon me, with the additional bonus of some reflections from yours truly. I pray that you may also be greatly blessed by her words. These are her words:

He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection.

Reflection
Unfortunately for many of us, the building blocks of our self-perception come not from God’s view of us, but from anyone and everyone else’s perception of us. As a result, we are constantly trying to present an impressive but hypocritical front to others, hoping that we will succeed in convincing others of how good we are, and hence, convince ourselves of how good we are. Therefore, we make sure that our positive efforts and contributions will not go unnoticed by others, lest we feel that our efforts are meaningless. Our hearts scream for significance and recognition from others. Without them, we feel useless. Thus, a follower, a subordinate or a person working behind the scenes is much more trying to be than a leader, a superior or a person in the limelight. The latter’s efforts are often seen by many, thus he is always at the receiving end of compliments; whereas the former’s efforts, which play a pivotal role in complementing the latter, often go unnoticed.

Yet, the words of St Therese are encouraging, especially to the former. Each person plays a different role in the Lord’s living garden, as she describes. The role of the ‘lesser ones’ is equally important and significant as that of the ‘greater ones’. Thus, if I was made to be a violet or daisy, I pray that God will teach me to be content and thankful of the role that I play in his garden. Even if my contribution may go unnoticed or be labeled as insignificant in the eyes of the world, or even among fellow believers; may I be reminded of my significance in God’s eyes, for this is the role that he has created for me.

May I be the flower that God has created me to be and be contented.

Will this be your prayer as well?

Which Theologian Are You?

2007-11-05T19:35:00.000+08:00

Which theologian are you?

You scored as Anselm

Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?'

John Calvin

87%

Augustine

87%

Anselm

87%

Jürgen Moltmann

73%

Friedrich Schleiermacher

67%

Karl Barth

47%

Jonathan Edwards

40%

Martin Luther

27%

Charles Finney

27%

Paul Tillich

27%

Cur Deus Homo? Holiday reading assignment, perhaps?

Which Christian Tradition?

2007-11-05T02:00:00.002+08:00

I found this quiz that tries to determine which Christian tradition most accord with your faith beliefs. Try at your own risk.

Here is the result of my test:

1. Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2. Lutheran (86%)
3. Anglican/Episcopal/Church of England (83%)
4. Roman Catholic (71%)
5. Presbyterian/Reformed (62%)
6. Pentecostal/Charismatic/Assemblies of God (54%)
7. Congregational/United Church of Christ (50%)
8. Anabaptist (Mennonite/Quaker etc.) (41%)
9. Methodist/Wesleyan/Nazarene (38%)
10. Church of Christ/Campbellite (35%)
11. Baptist (Reformed/Particular/Calvinistic) (33%)
12. Baptist (non-Calvinistic)/Plymouth Brethren/Fundamentalist (28%)
13. Seventh-Day Adventist (24%)

100% Eastern Orthodoxy?!! An overstatement?

What about Presbyterianism? Don't worry, I still have 62% of it in my blood. :)

How Badly Do You Want It?

2007-11-04T22:37:00.000+08:00

Whether it is their remarkable wisdom, courage, humility or simplicity etc., we often gaze upon the great men and women of God with awe and admiration. We feel like midgets when we stand beside these spiritual giants. Once in a while, their biographies / autobiographies become our source of encouragement and inspiration and spur us to strive to emulate their lives...at least for a while.

Yet, more than often, our fixation upon the fruits of their lives causes us to fail to realise or recognise their deliberate choice of imposing certain spiritual disciplines upon themselves which made them who they are. Sometimes, we subconsciously assume that the remarkable characteristics that they had is a given, and we fail to recognise that like all of us (some worse than us), they started from scratch. It was through the constant choice of imposing certain disciplines upon themselves that they could develop deeper spirituality, and hence, enabled God to mould them into extraordinary heroes.

As we listen to or read the life accounts of these people, we must not remain at the level of emotional stimulation. Rather, it is crucial to ask ourselves whether we too, desire a deeper spirituality and will take the deliberate steps towards its fulfillment.

As Protestants, we are reminded again and again and again that prayer and Scripture reading are daily responsibilities for a good Christian. Yet, because of our lack of conviction or desire to do so, we often fail miserably in fulfilling such responsibilities. Yet, perhaps we never really bother to ask ourselves why is there a need to do so and what effect such disciplines could have upon us. Because of the lack of this understanding, it is unsurprising that there is no conviction or desire to impose such spiritual disciplines upon ourselves.

Imposing spiritual disciplines upon ourselves is a deliberate choice that we make, and such a choice must be founded upon a clear understanding of the benefits of the disciplines, followed by a genuine conviction of desiring such benefits. It does not necessarily mean that a person will enjoy the spiritual disciplines with great pleasure without any struggle, but the conviction will motivate the person to be willing to go through the disciplines because of his personal desire to reap the benefits of the disciplines.

As a start for Protestants like us, who are often limited only to the options of Scripture reading and praying as means for deeper spirituality (thus, there is a need to explore various means by learning from other Christian traditions), we should seek to understand the benefits of such disciplines, and ask ourselves honestly whether we desire such benefits (in developing a deeper spirituality). If not, such disciplines are meaningless and are done only to free us from the guilt of omission.

It all boils down to this question (which was posed to me by Sherman), "How badly do you want it (a deeper spirituality)?"

Choice is yours (and mine).

Cloud Viewing

2007-10-26T08:30:00.000+08:00

When I was a small (in terms of age, not size...OK, size as well) boy, I loved to stare through and out of the car window to observe the clouds in the sky (of course clouds are in the sky, where else!?). I would use my imagination to see the clouds as different objects. Sometimes, I would see dinosaurs, sometimes an old man with a sad face, sometimes a herd of sheep etc.

It was always fun to do so. Sky is the limit as you could 'make' anything out of the clouds.

Few days ago, I unintentionally revived this ancient tradition. Boy, it was still as enjoyable as ever.

I am going to do this more often. So next time if you happen to sit in the same car with me and you see me (as a passenger) looking out quietly and intently, you know that I am doing my cloudy meditation.

Thank God for clouds, they make my day.

Playing with Power

2007-10-24T14:16:00.000+08:00

While reading this post, Walski's political Theory of Diminishing Integrity caught my immediate attention:

One enters politics with the noble intention of contributing to society. But to get anything accomplished, one has to rise up through the ranks of his/her political organizations. In trying to rise up thru the ranks, there is a very good chance one must compromise certain personal principals. The higher one rises, the more compromise one has to make, until one has reached the pinnacle of one's traversal (subject to The Peter Principle) - but by the time you get there, the compromises you've had to have made kinda makes you forget why you entered politics in the first place. Rising up to the top has inevitably taken a life of its own, and becomes its own raison d'etre.

Amen.

Question: Is it worth compromising certain personal principles in order to reach the top (in order to fulfill the noble goal)? As you compromise your principles, you compromise your character as well. Thus, by the time you reach the summit, it is very possible that your character would have gone through deformation, and you might have long forgotten your initial intentions as the temptation of power beckons you. Who knows what happens next?

Sad to say, Walski's theory is applicable to our ecclesiastical hierarchy as well. Many Christian leaders with good intentions rise up through the ecclesiastical ranks, yet in the process, choose to compromise certain personal principles in order to reach the top. By the time they reach the summit, they forget their initial agendas and are quickly sucked into the game of politics and power play.

Think more than twice before you choose the path of power. Not everyone is strong enough to withstand the temptation of power.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Spiderman (2002)

Only a Few

2007-10-24T07:30:00.000+08:00

Friends. They are everywhere. You naively think that anyone who puts on a friend-ly face is your friend.

When trouble befalls you, you are confronted by the cold truth which begs you to differ.

Your creative "friends" will utilise your trouble, using it as joking or gossiping materials, without realising how hurting such acts might be.

Your self-righteous "friends" will capitalise on your trouble, using it to pull you down mercilessly in the name of justice, without realising how misinformed and prejudicial they are.

Only a few...faithful friends will look beyond the trouble and see the troubled you, a wounded soul, and readily offering you comfort and support...as what a friend will do.

You thought you have many friends, only to realise there are only a genuine few.

Thank you Trouble, for opening my eyes to distinguish friends from "friends".

Struggle of Memories

2007-10-23T23:40:00.001+08:00

Memories. Data files of past events. Some sweet, some bitter. Some fade away gradually as time passes by, some (like computer viruses) stubbornly stand up against the test of time.

Dwelling upon memories is a luxury. You can look back at your past experiences (and yourself) from a comfortable, non-threatened distance without getting involved in them, again. You may still feel the bitterness (or sweetness) of the experiences to a certain extent, but you can smile (or laugh) at them as they are now officially labeled under the "PAST" folder.

Yet, there are memories that you just want to 'permanently delete'. Awful and excruciating experiences. And at those moments when these memories are still fresh in your memory cache, you dig deeply into your memory bank for even older memories, trying your best to overwrite the painful memories with these older memories...at least for a while.

At the same time, you struggle in hope. In hope for the future to arrive. In hope that she can be able to offer you sweeter memories.

You wait...

Hang in There

2007-10-21T15:56:00.000+08:00

"Even the smallest light can shine in the darkness."

The Seeker (2007)

Hang in there.
God is the only light in this world of darkness.

What is the Kingdom of God?

2007-09-15T14:43:00.000+08:00

You scored as The Kingdom as Earthly Utopia, This utopianism is found in the extremes of Liberation Theology and some early radical Anabaptism. It recognises the importance of the social and political aspects of the Kingdom but perhaps doesn't take the reality of human sinfulness into account.

The Kingdom as Earthly Utopia

92%

Kingdom as a Christianised Society

75%

The Kingdom is mystical communion

67%

The Kingdom as a counter-system

67%

The Kingdom as Institutional Church

33%

The Kingdom is a Future Hope

33%

The Kingdom as a political state

25%

Inner spiritual experience

What is the Kingdom of God?
created with QuizFarm.com

"...extremes of Liberation Theology and some early radical Anabaptism."?

Oops...

To a Sufferer

2007-09-13T01:46:00.000+08:00

Your emotional and physical resources are clearly limited.
You feel paralysed because you cannot do much but to lie in bed.
You feel that you cannot contribute due to your un-productivity.
Thus, you feel the meaningless of life and the uselessness of self.

As much as many may show concern, only you experience the full blow of the pain.
As much as they can empathise, sympathise and empathise again, only you know what you are going through.
People may be around you, but you feel that you are fighting the battle alone.
People offer words of encouragement, but the words are drowned in the overwhelming emotions.

Sufferer, you suffer in aloneness.
Sufferer, you suffer in loneliness.
What can others do to alleviate your suffering?
What can God do to alleviate your suffering?

May I journey with you in search of answers.
May I journey with you so that the battle is not yours alone.
May I journey with you so that I can come to know bit by bit what you are going through.
May I journey with you that I may share in your pain.

Ripples of Change

2007-08-31T02:48:00.000+08:00

This is the day. The 50th Anniversary of Malaysia marks the official launching of R.O.H, an effort recently inaugurated for the purpose of writing local theologies for the Malaysian context.

A MANIFESTO FOR A REVOLUTION OF HOPE (R.O.H)
Roh is a Malay word which means “spirit” and yet phonetically sounds like ruach, the Hebrew word for God’s Creative Spirit hovering over the world, and through the Incarnation is now in us, amongst us and through the Resurrection is all in all.

1. BACKGROUND
We live in a world that is being dominated by neo-liberal globalisation which has at the same time imperialised the rest of the world, including erasing national boundaries and local traditional cultures. Now, a timely moment has arisen (kairos) when the Kin-dom movement summons the emergence of a countercultural movement of believers in religion. This calls for Christian believers, especially intellectuals (in the sense of critical thinkers with professional and academic qualifications) to band together and think more concertedly within our Malaysian context so that we may imagine more globally while we act more locally. This comes in the light of the Asian understanding of knowledge and the local cultural wisdom of our people in Asia-Malaysia, not to mention the untold sufferings inflicted on the marginal communities in our midst (the many poor of the various religions and cultures).

To begin the ripple effect of a countercultural movement, a sizable group of Christian activists-strategists needs to come together on a platform that enables theological reflection (emergent contextual theologies). This is to encourage a critical interface between faith (religion) and society, fostering a rich interaction between theology and the social sciences with the clear goal of analysing pertinent issues affecting our nation/society. And thereafter, these thinkers need to articulate a theological response so that critical thinking Christians are guided (as a church emerging) in their lives. Such a theological response would have a societal impact on public policies, mindsets, worldviews and values of fellow Malaysians in their workplaces and neighbourhood.

Such critical analyses and theological responses must be “translatable” into effective and concrete efforts that command the attention of diverse stakeholders in our nation. “Stakeholders” here refers to the government with its multiple ministries and other agencies in civil society; so that together we move our nation forward in a manner that is Kin-dom-centred. This is aimed towards the greater good of all in Malaysia, especially the marginal communities.[1]

Such interdisciplinary, intercultural and inter-religious efforts can be seen as our cooperation with God in transforming our nation into the “playground” where Malaysia becomes a more harmonious society wherein all in Malaysia begin to live more and more as equal disciples and equal persons before God.

Ultimately, R.O.H’s hallmark is its sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit and its capacity to be the dynamism, the sap, the force within that sustains an emergent Malaysia. Out of R.O.H, there emerges too a host of theologies borne of a Gospel Faith that speaks together with the social sciences so that the Church emerging is seen and heard to be speaking into the joys and sorrows of fellow Malaysians and the wider society.

2. RESPONSE
a. Level-One Response (The Core Team)
The team devoted to this effort we call R.O.H comprises six people. Our primary goal in the configuration of this team is to reflect an adequate representation of both genders, both the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, and both the social-scientific and theological disciplines in interaction with each other. We have come to participate in this effort propelled by various collective motivations and reasons:

Learning from people working with real socio-political issues to feed into theology;
Finding like-minded people to write together and form theologies together (writing theology can be a lonely journey);
Tying in faith and life together;
Translating words into action on the ground, ensuring people at the grassroots level are defended;
Western-driven theology that has caused us to think about the need for an Asian-driven theology, a local contextual theology;
Disillusionment with Western-centric theology;
Growth into self-identity;
Creating a tradition for the future generations.

The R.O.H Team consists of the following personnel:

Tricia Yeoh Su-Wern
BBusComm Econometrics and Marketing (Monash, Malaysia);
MSc in Research Methods in Psychology (Warwick, UK).

Tricia is currently Senior Research Analyst at the Centre for Public Policy Studies, at which she engages in national socio-economic issues through research, analysis and fostering policy dialogue. This covers a wide range of issues, dealing for example, with inter-faith dialogue and economic policies. Her work involves interacting closely with the country's socio-political environment. She hopes to work constructively toward a matured and united Malaysia, and envisions faith and vocation as one, as we seek common goals and platforms in the long-term nation-building process.

Veronica Anne Retnam
BSc in Resource Economics (UPM, Malaysia);
MEd in Educational Psychology (Cardiff, Wales).

Veronica started off with working with out-of-school youth and was then responsible for the formation of Catholic undergraduates in Malaysia. Then for nearly 18 years she was an economics lecturer at UiTM (previously Institut Technologi MARA). Her concerns are about reaching out effectively to poor communities and working with them in empowering partnerships. Her interest is also developmental psychology with a focus on research for policy change. She is currently starting off with training and development for low income communities through her own business enterprise.

Rachel Samuel
BSocSc in Development Studies (USM, Malaysia);
MSocSc in Development Studies (USM, Malaysia);
PhD candidate in Management (USM, Malaysia).

Rachel worked with the Consumers Association of Penang for three years on issues pertaining to the rural sector and health and safety issues. She took up the Bukit Merah people's case against the radioactive company and worked closely with them throughout the period of their legal struggle. She has also worked among drug dependents (women and HIV carriers) and been involved with the AIDS Hotline, the Community Clinic and the One Stop Crisis Centre. Rachel co-authored Women and Drugs, Domestic Violence in Penang, and Shame, Secrecy and Silence: A Study on Rape. She is currently involved with Women In Action in Melaka, Education and Research Association in Kuala Lumpur, the Melaka-Johor Office of Human Development, and the Counselling Ministry of the Melaka-Johor Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church.

Jojo M. Fung, SJ
MA in Theology (LST, Manila);
MA in Social Anthropology (London, UK);
STL (Berkeley);
Doctorate in Contextual Theology (CTU, Chicago).

The Reverend Father Jojo Fung is an ordained priest in the Society of Jesus, an order of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Director of the Campus Ministry, the Orang Asli Ministry, and the Ministry of Eumenism and Interreligious Dialogue in the Diocese of Melaka-Johore. He is also the Coordinator of I.N.T.R.Asia and Co-editor of the Arrupe Papers. Father Jojo is a prolific writer on issues pertaining to the gospel as it relates to local contextual issues.

Sivin Kit
BTh (STM, Malaysia);
MTheo candidate (SEAGST).

The Reverend Sivin Kit is a minister of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS) and pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church. Sivin is primarily concerned about ecclesiastical interactions with local social-political realities and desires to see the emergence of more contextual responses towards these realities. He brings with him a wealth of pastoral and missional perspectives in contribution to this conversation so as to ensure that our constructions are based on realistic observations.

Sherman Y.L. Kuek, OSL
BSc Management (Bradford, UK);
MDiv (Trinity, Singapore);
DTh candidate in Contextual Theology (Trinity, Singapore).

Sherman is an Adjunct Lecturer in Systematic and Contextual Theology at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. His primary areas of interest are contextual theological methodologies and the recovery of the Great Tradition in the theological thought of the Christian community. It is therefore natural that Sherman also has a concern for ecumenics. He is presently completing his doctoral thesis on a theological critique of modernity in Asia.

The direction of the R.O.H. Team is guided by several individual Patrons who have kindly agreed to endorse our effort and be our guiding wisdom:

Revd Dr Hwa Yung
Bishop, Methodist Church of Malaysia

Among his various other involvements besides being Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Bishop Hwa Yung is the Honorary Secretary of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and the Chairman of the STM Council. On the international scene Bishop Hwa Yung is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), Oxford; the Vice-Chairman of the Asian Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (ALCWE); a member of the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council and an Executive Committee Member of the International Association of Mission Studies (IAMS).

Rt Revd Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing, SJ
The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Melaka-Johor
The Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

Besides having been the Bishop of the Melaka-Johor Diocese since May 2003, Bishop Paul is the Chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and the Vice-Chairman of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Revd Dr Simon Chan
Ernest Lau Professor of Systematic Theology,
Trinity Theological College Singapore

Dr Simon Chan is a renowned Asian theologian. He is the author of Liturgical Theology; Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life; Man and Sin; and Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition. He is also an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God in Singapore.

b. Level-Two Response (Friends)
The effort also seeks to be a platform for the coming together of other like-minded Christians in Malaysia to share in the dream together. It will simultaneously create a voice for other scattered Christians who in their individual capacities have begun to, or desire to, make a change in Malaysian society. This is akin to causing minute but significant ripples.

Therefore, the next layer of involvement in this R.O.H effort consists of others who may be equally interested in this initiative and committed to its cause. We seek to draw upon their experiences and resources, and will endeavour to receive their contributions seriously, through personal conversations, writings, and organised gatherings. Where appropriate, their concerns will find their way into our constructive efforts.

3. OUR COMMITMENTS
a. Our Commitment to the Neighbourology Principle
The neighbourology principle expresses the deepest motivation for our contextual engagements with the local contexts. It is important to begin with how we see people in our nation firstly as neighbours, and what this involves. Authentic love for the neighbour involves a “kin-dom” mentality (based on an idea of “kinship”, which is very consistent with the Asian paradigm of societal life).

Two crucial features of the neighbourology principle are:

that we must ensure our ultimate goal is for the long term. Critiques although necessary will be driven purely for the sake of achieving desirable results for the nation in the long run. Loving the country necessitates honest criticism at times. And we critique the country because we believe she is worth critiquing.
the objective of building bridges. This involves healing wounds between different races, religions and any other factors that have since divided the Malaysian society.

b. Our Linguistic Commitment to the Target Audience
While we intend for our audience to be largely urban and educated in nature, this necessitates an inclusivity of experiences from the bottom up, including the marginalised and grassroot communities. Formal English will be used but care will be given to ensure it is not necessarily academic or technical to ensure laymen comprehension.

Because the Malaysian church has a long way to be exposed to such local contextual theologies, we will be targeting the church primarily and only at a later stage speak to society at large. In other words, our primary concern relates to what it means to be “the church in the world”.

In regard to our use of language for the communication of our theological constructions, we will make it a point to employ the language of social scientists and other relevant disciplines in the midst of our theological articulations. This is to ensure that our articulations are not found dislocated from a proactive interaction with the language of other disciplines. Yet, our articulations should also reflect the language of the intended audience as afore described. Whilst social-scientific and theological jargon may be an inevitable, the employment of such jargon has to be unpacked and written in a manner understood by our readers.

c. Our Commitment to Holistic Reflections
We are not in favour of our articulations constituting knee-jerk reactions towards unexpected occurrences in the life of the nation. Much of the Christian community’s statements and positions on socio-political issues in Malaysia is reactionary in nature. These statements and positions are issued only upon an urgent need to do so, and are seldom undertaken with sufficient theological reflection given to the purpose. It is hoped that we will provide holistic reflections upon local Malaysian issues, as opposed to the mere knee-jerk reactions in response to perceived external threats.

d. Our Commitment to Basic Governing Principles
There are generally five key principles that the group considers essential in governing our local theological constructions:

Socio-Political Context. This will include crucial issues which will be identified in our subsequent meetings to develop a proper contextual framework for our theological reflections. It is important that this framework must include a concern for marginal communities.
Social-Scientific Disciplines. Our theologies will be dislocated from reality if we do not seriously engage the findings and analyses of the social-scientific disciplines in our society. The role of the social-scientific thinkers in our team is therefore crucial.
Local Cultural Wisdom. The cultural paradigmatic realities of the society in which our theology is entrenched must be accounted for in our theological constructions. This is also known as the principle of inculturation, wherein local epistemologies are taken seriously.
Christian Tradition. The approach we are taking herein is an ecumenical one. Our joint concern is for the wellbeing of our neighbours, our nation, and not the disagreement on our respective distinctives. In fact, in deep appreciation of how our distinctive traditions may contribute positively to this conversation, we take the guiding voice of the Great Tradition as a non-negotiable in our constructions.
The Gospel. This principle is not necessarily separate from the fourth, but accentuates a point of importance. Our theology must come to terms with the heart of the gospel, which essentially speaks of the ultimate and full establishment of God’s reign in the world.

e. Our Commitment to Various Levels of Socio-political Involvement
There are three possible levels of socio-political involvement by the Christian community: i) writing, ii) helping immediate needs (e.g., helping the poor and alleviating immediate suffering), and iii) effecting structural change. Historically, Christians in the Protestant Malaysian Church have been active within the first layer but little else has been done in either of the other two. It is noted that the situation is not very far different for the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia.

The objectives and strategies of R.O.H. will be in attempting to achieve all layers of socio-political involvement. This however is an incremental and dynamic cultivation and change, as the process is subject to growth and alterations in time.

f. Our Commitment to the Dissemination of Our Ideas
We are committed to the dissemination of our social scientific analyses together with the accompanying theological constructions in various forms of publications. This may involve web publications, books and monographs, journal articles, and sporadic articles in newsletter.

In time to come, there is also a great possibility that we may organise events involving relatively small clusters of young thinkers who share in our concerns and who would be keen to participate in conversations pertaining to these concerns.

The R.O.H. Team
31 August 2007
Malaysia’s 50th Anniversary

Endnotes
[1] These marginal communities include the poor, the Orang Asli, women, persons with disabilities, plantation and factory workers, migrants and refugees, and children at risk, among others.

Log onto the R.O.H Malaysia Blog. Click here.

Homogeneity vs. Diversity

2007-08-17T00:15:00.000+08:00

In spite of being the smallest communal unit of society, it is inevitable for quarrels and arguments to occur within a family. Worse still, more and more families are experiencing relational breakdown among immediate members today. Thus, it seems to have become almost mission impossible for people of different age, culture and worldview to live harmoniously together in a shared space, sharing a common life.

Because of the difficulty in tolerating diversity, people tend to gather together based on certain common features that they share, most commonly their age. Youths tend to spend more time with their friends than with their parents. Elderly people would rather spend time together with their elderly friends than with their children or grandchildren. As a result, there is little time spend among family members, and home becomes merely a physical shell where family members rest their heads at night.

Unfortunately, the Church is not at all helpful in this matter. Rather than addressing the issue, the Church is guilty of perpetuating the problem by establishing age-based group, such as youth fellowship, men fellowship and elderly people fellowship etc., hoping that such a move will cater the needs of people of different age groups.

Yet, when we establish age-based groups, we assume that people can best mix with others who are of their age, for surely they would have common concerns and topics of interest. However, it might be possible that elderly folks tend to spend time with other elderly people because people of the younger generation are unwilling to spare any time for them. Other than that, perhaps young people tend to spend more time with their friends because their parents are too busy with work and have no time to listen to their children's struggle?

On the contrary, if we do not group people based on homogeneity, but diversity, say a group of different families, it can better reflect the kingdom of God, for his kingdom is a kingdom that embraces and celebrates diversity. Furthermore, such a group will inevitably challenge the members of the group in their capacity to love, for it is more difficult to love people of a diverse group than a homogeneous group. Through diversity, God can increase our depth and capacity to love.

Lastly, perhaps Christians need to start looking at their family as the place where God's discipleship takes place. Rather than running away from the challenge, let us run towards diversity and embrace our differences in love.

Am I?

2007-08-10T22:33:00.000+08:00

Agree?

Life in Seminary (4)

2007-08-10T21:25:00.000+08:00

DISCIPLESHIP TODAY

Classroom learning is the typical methodology that is being adopted in education today. Students are confined within four walls to receive knowledge from the lecturer's speech. As the knowledge transmitted is mostly theoretical and abstractive, students often struggle to apply them in real life situations.

Even in churches today, discipleship is being 'done' through classroom learning, where Christians are required to go through different stages of discipleship classes. It is naively assumed that they will reach Christian maturity once they complete all these classes. However, the reality shows otherwise as even after they have 'graduated' from the classes, these 'mature Christians' struggle to apply the tons of doctrines that they learned in real life, eventually forcing them to discard the knowledge altogether.

How about the methodologies of apprenticeship such as this and this? As much as apprenticeship is unheard of in the Protestant Church, this was how our Lord discipled his 12 disciples. He did not confined them within the four boring walls of a classroom and ~~spit~~ speak knowledge and facts into the minds of the disciples. He invited them to share in a common life together with him, and the disciples learned the most not from his articulated teachings, but from the observation of his lifestyle, which was his teaching-in-action. The disciples learned how to live the way of Christ simply by watching how Christ lived among them.

Therefore, to prevent theological students graduating from seminaries knowing how to do church but do not know how to live, there is an urgent need for the lecturers to live among them and live the way of Christ for them to emulate. Likewise, to prevent Christians completing the discipleship courses in church with lives untransformed, there is an urgent need for Christian educators to be among them and be Christ to them.

Yes, it is a near impossible task to change the current methodology in seminaries and churches to the way Jesus discipled his disciples. To be honest, Jesus' way is idealistic but unrealistic, especially in this pragmatic world that we are living in, for who is so foolish to be willing to splash so much time, energy and money etc. to adopt such a kind of discipleship?

However, be reminded: to follow Christ is to defy the norm of the day, to follow Christ is to be radically crazy.

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried.

G. K. Chesterton

Video of Plea

2007-08-09T16:31:00.000+08:00

A recent video of plea by the family members of the Korean hostages to the people of Afghanistan. Very very heart-wrenching.

Life in Seminary (3)

2007-08-09T15:35:00.000+08:00

PASTORAL MINISTRY

Correct me if I am wrong. There is a 'flexible' requirement in my seminary (for the lecturers) that requires lecturers to be involved in the pastoral ministry of an (any) ecclesiastical institution. I do not know the intention underlying such a requirement, but I can only guess that it is for the lecturers to continue to nurture a pastoral heart and gain pastoral experience which will aid them in their vocation as seminary lecturers. If this is the case, then I will say that such a requirement is unnecessary.

Why? Simply because within the seminary itself exists 100 over students who are in need of pastoral concern while they are here. Each of them having his or her own struggles, waiting to be guided, pastored and cared. If the seminary wants the lecturers to cultivate a pastoral heart, there are endless opportunities here!

Yet, the question remains: Are the lecturers willing to sacrifice their time, energy and money etc., investing them in the lives of the students amidst their busy schedules? Perhaps the next question that needs to be ask is, "If being a lecturer to the seminary students is my primary vocation, who are suppose to take primary priority in my life?" Isn't it the students? Thus, as much as lecturers are busy with endless assignments, perhaps such reality cannot justify their lack of provision of pastoral concern to the students. And may I qualify that the kind of pastoral concern that I refer to is not the "meet-me-once-a-week/month/semester/year-in-my-office" kind of concern, but the kind of concern that is expressed through the lecturers' unhurried presence among the students outside classroom hours, inconveniently yet willingly wasting time with them.

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Life in Seminary (2)

2007-08-08T23:50:00.000+08:00

~~SPIRITUAL~~ FORMATION

What happens when a student graduates from a seminary intellectually stimulated and equipped but spiritually unnourished? What happens when a student leaves the seminary with a theological degree, but at the same time brings along with him low self-esteem and emotional baggage as a result of the hurts that were inflicted upon him while he was in the seminary?

Many students that I know graduate from the seminary in such bad state. This, I suspect is the result of seminary's overemphasis on intellectual formation and underemphasis on spiritual formation. Looking at my own seminary, it is fair to say that there is no lacking of programs and activities catered for the nourishment of our spirit. We are required to attend chapel services every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On every Wednesday, we gather in smaller groups (called pastoral group) headed each by a lecturer to have our small fellowship. Now and then, we are also required to attend special occasions such as Day of prayer and fasting etc.

However, are we so naive to believe that the tons of sermons (sometimes ill-prepared by the lecturers probably due to their busy schedule), the countless worship services and prayer meetings will be adequate for our spiritual formation? Certainly, these programs have beneficial effects on our spiritual health, but they are still impersonal programs or platforms that should take on a secondary role in our spiritual formation.

If that is so, what or who takes on a primary role in our spiritual formation? There can be none other than our lecturers! When Jesus spent his last 3 years on earth with his disciples, he did not plan out a hectic schedule of 'spiritual' programs for his disciples and then disappeared and watched from a distance. On the contrary, Jesus walked alongside them, journeyed together with them and shared in their struggles and joy. While journeying together with them, Jesus was forming their lives.

As much as the chapel services and prayer meetings may be beneficial to us (sometimes otherwise due to the ill-prepared services and sermons), yet what we need even more is a personal, human encounter with "the other". We need lecturers who are not legalistic policemen who watch us from afar, waiting to pound on us when imperfect human beings like us fail to abide with the rules or policies of the institution. We need lecturers who are not academic policemen who discourages and warns us when we fail to meet the academic requirements. We need lecturers who are not rushing bees that are so busy that we dare not approach them outside classroom hours lest we waste their precious time.

We need lecturers who like Jesus to his disciples, are willing to walk alongside us and journey together with us. We need lecturers who see themselves as our spiritual guides and are seriously serious to be responsible of our spiritual formation. We need lecturers who sincerely care, who genuinely listen and who sacrificially willing to help us in our struggles.

Without such lecturers, all the external rituals (chapel services and prayer meetings etc.) are meaningless. Without such lecturers, the soul of the students are left unnourished. Without such lecturers, intellectual equipping alone is futile as a holistic formation involves both the mind AND the soul.

To be continued...

Life in Seminary (1)

2007-08-05T06:00:00.000+08:00

INTELLECTUAL FORMATION

It is a necessary protocol (especially among mainline churches) for one who intends to embark on a full-time pastoral vocation to first obtain a theological degree. Such a prerequisite assumes that one is only qualified to shepherd a church if one first receives theological education.

Yet, does theological education solely mean intellectual formation, or does it include spiritual formation (and other dimensions of formation) of the students as well? At least from my observation of the seminary I am studying in, it means the former. Perhaps my observation comes primarily from (my perception of) the lecturers' view of their role in the life of the students. Most lecturers view themselves only as lecturers, having only one responsibility: to impart knowledge to the students. They do not see themselves being responsible of the spiritual and physical etc. formation of the students, hence, are rather unconcerned of the daily struggles of the students.

Even as lecturers do impart knowledge to the students, they impart mainly facts, which can be found in books and other literatures. Many do not guide students through a critical thinking process nor provide insightful wisdom from the knowledge being imparted. Hardly do the students receive things beyond books, such as pastoral experience or scriptural wisdom.

Furthermore, students are constantly bombarded by countless assignments, resulting in many being unable to research comprehensively and digest adequately the relevant information. Inevitably, one may complete the assignments in the given time frame without being truly informed. Well, some lecturers might say that they are already giving very few assignments to the students, meeting the bare minimum requirement of the seminary. True. Unfortunately, students need to complete few assignments from each lecturer, and the total workload can be quite scary and unrealistic. Other than that, some perhaps due to poor time management, but there are many who are forced to hand in a cut-and-paste product due to their inability to keep up with the pace set by the lecturers (assignment deadlines).

After 3 or 4 years of theological education, many enter into pastoral ministry with tons of knowledge but are clueless of what to do with them, for no one has taught them how to translate these knowledge into action. Yet, the church assumes that they are theologically educated and expect them to provide direction and vision for the church. What can they do? They throw away all the knowledge that they obtained in the seminary and seek wisdom in Christian popular writings and church models, which are often not theologically sound and heavily influenced by secular wisdom. Such is the reality.

Even if the seminary desires only to be responsible of the intellectual formation of the students (which I disagree), perhaps the lecturers themselves need to constantly reexamine and refine both their teaching methodology and their pool of knowledge, and hopefully be able to impart insightful and reflective thoughts and applications to the students during lectures.

To be continued...

Pitfalls of Evangelism (7)

2007-08-03T16:40:00.000+08:00

Special 'Add'ition: HOLISTIC SALVATION

Recognizing herself as the agent of reconciliation between God and the human race, the Church generously channels much of her resources into evangelistic efforts. However, the same cannot be said of the Church's efforts in elevating the people (of the wider society) from their social, political and economical struggles. Even when the Church occasionally engages herself in such physical concerns, these efforts are sporadic and short-termed and the conversion of sinners is often the hidden agenda behind the efforts.

The Church's overemphasis on evangelism is perhaps the result of her perception that salvation is a matter of the soul. Efforts to redeem the physical aspects of the human person is at best a mean to the end: redemption of the soul. Such an understanding has made the Church guilty of being apathetic towards the daily struggles of the common people.

Salvation is holistic. It is not merely redemption of the soul, but also includes the redemption of the human person from the aforementioned physical struggles in the daily living. Therefore, the Church must actively engaged in the physical struggles of the people, striving constantly to elevate them from all forms of oppression and suffering. Such elevation must be seen as salvation, or more accurately, one of the many dimensions of holistic salvation, and not a mere mean to the redemption of the person's soul.

However, even if we see such elevation as part of salvation, we would certainly desire to lead the person to the redemption of his soul, as this is also another dimension of salvation. However, to elevate the people from their physical struggles in order to lead them to the redemption of their souls is to go against the ethos of Christ, for he never objectifies anyone but treats each as an equal.

The difficult question will then be, "How can we bring a person to Christ and lead him to the redemption of his soul if no hidden agenda can be included in our elevating efforts? The best way perhaps, is for us to embody Christ to them. In their encounter with us while we engage in their struggles, let us be aware that they are experiencing and relating to Christ. As they experience the Message in us and through us, they may then come to inquire about him from the messenger, then and only then, we must be ready to give an answer.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Jesus Christ

No Trespassing!

2007-08-02T01:00:00.000+08:00

We tend to dichotomize our lives into the private and the public. Regardless of the time we spent in the public, we guard our private lives fiercely, for it is only in our private time and space can we let down our defenses and be our real selves. However, such privatization also includes our private rights and private possessions as well. We demand our right to make our choices, we claim sole ownership to our possessions. We may be part of a religious community, but in reality, we embrace a personal faith and an individualistic lifestyle.

However, Christianity is never a personal faith, but a communal one, simply because we are the images of a trinitarian God. Within the one Godhead, each person of the Trinity lives in constant fellowship with the other two, doing, thinking and speaking nothing apart from the other two. The three persons dance together in such perfect oneness that they are but one God. Therefore, in order to be the images of God, our lives must be lived within the context of a community, a community that strives to dance towards that perfect oneness.

However, nothing comes without a cost, and the cost of this dance is high. In order for a community to journey towards perichoresis, where each life is so intertwined with the rest; everyone within the community can no longer demand a private life but must strive to live in constant fellowship with the rest. One can no longer demand private rights but to let the community decide what is best for the community. One can no longer hang on to private possessions but to relinquish them for the common good of the community. Such was the ideal that the Early Church once pursued but failed. Are we willing to pick up from where they left and dance together towards that ideal one more time? If not the ideal, what else?

Updates: Korean Hostages in Afghanistan

2007-08-01T07:20:00.000+08:00

Read here. Very distressing.

To Hell You Go

2007-08-01T00:30:00.000+08:00

Jonathan Edwards is widely known as one of the greatest and most profound of American theologians and revivalists. His famous fire and brimstone sermon, "Sinners in the hand of an angry God" is characteristic of the Protestant understanding of a wrathful God who sends those he condemns to a fiery place called hell, where they will be forever tormented and severed from God and his kingdom. Such a view has caused many Protestants (good intentions they may have) to present the gospel in a blunt and offensive manner to people of other faiths.

Thus, looking into older traditions of Christianity, which have different views of hell, might be helpful towards our understanding and presentation of the gospel. In Roman Catholicism, as stated by Pope John Paul II, hell is not a place but rather "a state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." Whereas in Protestantism, it is the fury God who sends sinners into hell to be tormented, Roman Catholicism teaches that it is the sinner who in his own freedom of choice chooses to separate himself from God. Such condition of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God is called "hell."

Eastern Orthodoxy agrees with Roman Catholicism that hell is not a place but rather a condition that we choose to be in, but it goes on to state that hell is not a state of separation from God, for heaven and hell both exist in the presence of God (which is consistent with our belief that God is omnipresent). How then can a person experience hell and another experience heaven in the presence of God? Consider a person who hates God and is only concern of his self-centered desires. For this person to spend eternity in the presence of God is a tormenting and hellish condition/experience. But for another who loves God and is only concern of the desires of God, to spend eternity in the presence of God is a heavenly condition/experience.

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox understanding of hell are certainly more consistent with the loving nature of God. Perhaps such an understanding of hell (especially Eastern Orthodoxy) will challenge our fire and brimstone methodology of evangelism, and compels us to reexamine our "pulling people out of hell into heaven" mentality.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (6)

2007-07-29T16:20:00.000+08:00

THE KINGDOMIC CHURCH

We often assume that if we do not preach the message to others verbally, we are not preaching at all. However, since the Message is a person, it is better for 'the other' to experience him relationally (through us), rather than propositionally (through our words). Also, as we have read in the previous posts of this series, we are often guilty of exploiting relationships by seeing friends and strangers as objects for conversion. We assume that the primary concern of the Church is evangelism and conversion of 'non-Christians', even when relationships are sacrificed or damaged in the process. However, is this justifiable? And more fundamentally, what should be the primary concern of the Church?

The Church is the icon or image of God to the world, so that through the life of the Church, the world can see God. But to be an image that reflects God, we need to know who God is. God is a trinitarian God, consisting of three persons in one Godhead, dancing perichoretically in perfect oneness in a perfect community. Thus, as the image of God, it is the goal of the Church to constantly strive towards this perfect oneness in our relationship with others, starting from within the Church herself.

However, the dream of God is greater than reconciliation between human beings. It is his dream (which will be fulfilled at the end of time) for reconciliation to also take place between God and man and between man and the rest of creation. Therefore, the Church must participate in this dream of God and be an agent of reconciliation in these three dimensions. Sadly, our sole emphasis (at least for the Protestant Church) on evangelism, which covers only one dimension of reconciliation (between God and man) had cause us to often sacrifice another dimension (between human beings, especially Christians and 'non-Christians'). Furthermore, the other dimension (between man and the rest of creation) is seldom heard of in the Church. How often do we hear issues of environmental and animal concern being addressed in the Church?

Therefore, the primary concern of the Church is relationship (not evangelism). The kingdomic Church is a community of relational messengers who dance together perichoretically towards perfect oneness with God, with one another (including people of other faiths) and with the rest of creation. When the Church participates in this Great Dance, the world will turn their eyes upon the Dance, and perhaps desire to participate in this Dance as well.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus Christ

THE END

No to Numbers

2007-07-27T15:03:00.000+08:00

Not very long ago, I commented about Protestants' obsession with numbers and the negative implications this obsession has brought upon the Church and the Gospel. Perhaps the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Most Reverend Murphy Pakiam (Auxiliary Bishop at the time of publication of this news article) could give us some wisdom regarding this matter. I took the piece of news from here:

MALAYSIA CATHOLICS SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH FAITH WITNESSING, DIALOGUE, NOT NUMBERS

KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) -- Catholics in Malaysia should not be concerned about their small number, but with how to witness their faith and to dialogue with other religions, a Church leader says.

"It is not our great concern to increase the number of Catholics in peninsular Malaysia," but to emphasize witnessing of faith and interreligious dialogue, Auxiliary Bishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur said.

According to government census figures and the 2002 Catholic Directory and Ordo of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, Catholics make up a little over 1 percent of the 18.5 million population in peninsular Malaysia.

Despite this low percentage, the Catholic Church is in no hurry to go on an evangelizing spree to increase the number of its flock, Bishop Pakiam said in an interview with local Catholic media.

The bishop emphasized that evangelization in the country should not be "pulling people into the Church," but of Catholics becoming witnesses of the faith by their way of life, and letting God do the rest.

However, Bishop Pakiam stressed the need for the local Church "to dialogue with other religions, to build up relationships with people of other faiths and to see God's love extend to other people."

"Despite being multiracial, multicultural, and different from each other, we can still be united with our bonds of friendship. All these are binding us together. This is the beautiful sign what God can do for us," he added.

The auxiliary bishop noted that God's mission is to create greater love and unity. "That's why in our churches, we have Masses in different languages. It makes us Catholics realize that we are different, but we can be open and appreciative of each other," he said.

"We can rejoice about our cultural diversity and welcome it positively to express our oneness as children of our Father in heaven," he explained.

Catholics can be proud of their faith through worship, he said. "Faith is not only instructions in sermons, but also in coming together as a community to pray -- during Sunday Mass, in penitential service, charismatic prayer groups or retreats," he added.

The Catholic faith is "a communitarian faith," he said, adding that "because we have experienced faith, we are open to people of different religions and culture."

Among the three dioceses of peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur archdiocese has 92,660 Catholics, the largest number. It is followed by Penang diocese with 65,837 Catholics. Melaka-Johor diocese has the smallest number, with about 36,000 Catholics.

Second Chance to Live

2007-07-26T22:45:00.000+08:00

4 slash wounds and 20 stab wounds.

A girl's life was abruptly and brutally ended after 11 years of living, committed by a boy who was only one year older than her.

As a result of his action, the boy paid 4 years of his adolescence behind bars at the pleasure of the King. 4 years later, the court reaffirmed the conviction that he was found guilty of the murder but freed him. Reason? There was no law that prescribes a sentence for a child convicted of murder.

Found guilty but freed?

The Bar Council of Malaysia describes the verdict as a failure of the criminal justice system.

The mother of the daughter is stunned and must be suffering from another severe emotional setback. The thought of the boy paying 4 years of imprisonment in exchange of her daughter's life is simply unbearable.

As for the rest of Malaysia, many must be feeling furious over the inability of the system and sympathizing over the family of the girl.

What about the boy? Having spent the best of his formative years behind bars, he will be suffering from the repercussions of the imprisonment for the rest of his life. More importantly, he will be haunted by his guilt and will experience rejection by the society. This is a more torturous punishment than capital punishment, which would have been his fate if not for Child Act 2001.

Undeniably, we see injustice from the perspective of the family of the victim. Yet perhaps, from the perspective of the family of the boy, we see the remorseful boy experiencing grace, given a second chance to live.

My Chinese Symbol

2007-07-26T00:03:00.000+08:00

After doing so many Western tests, I decided to do a 'Chinese' test for a change. Here we have it:

What Chinese symbol are you?

Peace
You're a peacemaker who can't stand violence or mean words. You are calm and love curling up with a good book in a tree on a clear day.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (5)

2007-07-25T00:50:00.000+08:00

EMBODYING THE MESSAGE

Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words.

St Francis of Assisi

Like persistent salesmen suffering from verbal diarrhea, we snatch every opportunity that we can find to preach the message verbally to others. However, since our pursuit of numbers has inevitably led to the lack of development in our character, people are unimpressed by our radical message when they see us living secular lives, bearing no difference from theirs. We are like salesman suffering from bad breath due to the lack of use of toothpaste, yet going around selling toothpaste to others who face the same problem. Using the words of Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message," others will not buy our product not because the toothpaste is ineffective, but because our bad breath causes them to conclude that the toothpaste is ineffective. Therefore, shouldn't we first tackle our bad breath before we help others to do likewise? Shouldn't we first nurture our being before we focus on our doing?

Other than that, are we not aware that the message is actually the Message, who is a person? As messengers, how do we help others to come to know the Message? Do we describe to others in propositional form (evangelism) our knowledge of the Message, or do we strive to embody the Message in our lives, so that when others relate with us, they may experience the Message personally through us?

One may say, "But if we do not preach verbally, others will not know the Message." This is precisely because we are not embodying the Message, that we need to use words to bring out the Message. It is certainly an easier path to take in preaching verbally, persuading others not to look at our lives but at the truth claims of the Message. By doing so, we can still keep on living a secular life under a religious cloak. However, if we want to embody the Message so that others can experience him, we are forced to come out from our religious cloaks, challenging ourselves constantly to give up our secular values and possessions in order to be that embodiment of the Message to others.

When we truly become the embodiment of the Message and allow others to experience the Message through us, I believe many will be interested to know this Message. Perhaps then, we as messengers can start opening our mouths.

To be continued...

Fruition of Blogging

2007-07-24T03:12:00.000+08:00

Those of you who have been following my blog faithfully will have noticed the recent surge in the frequency of my posts. I also wonder what's wrong with me. Perhaps it is the fruition of the commitment i made to blogging back then. Talk about fruition, I guess now is an appropriate time for me to review my blogging experience and see what fruits this experience has brought...

1. I can express more easily, freely and boldly in writing.
2. I can focus on a certain thought for a longer duration.
3. I think about issues all the time.
4. My English vocabulary has significantly expanded.
5. My thoughts on many issues are crystallized.

Thanks to blogging. A modern spiritual discipline indeed. Lastly, thanks to you faithful readers who are my ever source of encouragement to persevere in blogging.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (4)

2007-07-24T01:00:00.000+08:00

FLIRTING WITH NUMBERS

It is an accepted rule (at least among Protestant churches) that the primary (sometimes, sole) yardstick in gauging the success of a church is its numerical growth. Hence, we often find statements such as this: "To reach xx members by the end of the year" appearing in the vision statement of many Protestant churches.

Churches are motivated and directed by numerical goals. Evangelistic programs, which are the primary activities of churches, are aimed at achieving the numerical goal. Take away these evangelistic programs, and churches will find themselves having nothing much to do. Take away the numerical goal, and churches will find themselves lost and unmotivated. (We need numbers to motivate us? How sad!)

Church members are busy involving themselves in evangelistic programs throughout the year. Such busyness in doing gives them a false sense of being good Christians. As the church members bring in new converts into the church, the converts are immediately forced to join the bandwagon and find themselves busy involving in evangelistic programs as well. Even though it may not be our original intention, but in reality we are actually bringing in more people into the church to become additional labour to bring more people into the church, and the cycle goes on and on.

We focus so much on outward actions in the form of evangelism and have often overlooked the more important aspect of our lives, our inner being. We are experts in evangelism but novices in the Christian way of life. Or perhaps, we naively assume that evangelism is THE Christian way of life, thinking that once we become Christians, our ultimate goal is to bring more people into the faith.

Such singlemindedness in evangelism has cause many to become disillusioned with the Church and with the Christian faith (and unfortunately with Christ), as if there is nothing else to the Christian life other than the endless pursuit of numbers. No deepening of the depth of the soul, no moulding of the character. Nothing but numbers. Shallow.

Is there more to our Christian life than numbers?

To be continued...

My Personality Type

2007-07-23T03:02:00.000+08:00

After constant persuasion from Doulos, I finally but reluctantly agree to do the test. Here we have it:

Addicted to Blogging?

2007-07-21T13:10:00.000+08:00

62%
Came across this at sunflower's blog and decided to have a go at it. I was expecting to get less than 50%. I was stunned by the result when I realized that I am only 3% less than her, who I know is a hardcore blogger!

Eight Random Facts

2007-07-20T21:00:00.000+08:00

Tagged by Pei Ling.

1) Each player must post these rules first.
2) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about eight things and post these rules.
4) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5) Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

As requested, proudly (really?) presenting to you:

DAN'S EIGHT RANDOM FACTS

1. Dan is a hardcore fan of Chinese food. Although he has the luxury of eating different kinds of food in his multi-racial and multi-cultural country, he is perfectly fine in eating Chinese food 365 days a year.

2. Dan is a nocturnal creature. In spite of earnest and countless advices, pleas, encouragements, pressures and threats hurled at him from all levels of society to convert into an early sleeper, he is still in the struggling (endless?) process of conversion amidst an unrealistically demanding student life.

3. Dan is a tortoise when it comes to articulating thoughts in words. Inevitably, writing blog posts takes up one big chunk of his time. The only reason he is still hanging on to it is that it helps him to write faster and better. When will the tortoise become the hare?

4. Dan obviously speaks better Mandarin than English. Yet, he is more comfortable in writing in English and reading English literature. (Isn't he a confused soul?)

5. In spite of his Reformed tradition background, Dan is very amazed and interested in Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism and strives to unearth the treasures from these older traditions in enriching his own.

6. Dan is a 100% soup lover. ("Hey, do you always have to talk about food?")

7. Until now, Dan has yet to master the art of chopsticks holding. Not that he cannot eat food using chopsticks, just that it is not the orthodox way of holding.

8. Lastly but most importantly, Dan lives in a community of friends.

I tag:
Sherman
Emmy
Oliver
Apriadi
Ben
Serene
Ruth
Gerrad

Pitfalls of Evangelism (3)

2007-07-20T01:20:00.000+08:00

ABOUT STREET EVANGELISM

A salesman goes around hunting for potential customers, promoting his product to strangers, hoping that some out of the many will be attracted to the product. The primary concern of the salesman is not the stranger (as he does not know the person at all), but that the product can be sold to the stranger. Thus, the salesman uses his marketing tactics and verbal skills to entice the person to buy the product without the person first trying out the product. There will be some who would eventually buy the product, not because they had experienced the benefit of the product, but because they believed in the words of the salesman. However, for those who initially reject the offer, the salesman will continue to exercise his determination in persuading them. Inevitably, there will be those who would be irritated by the person, and perhaps, of the product as well.

Think about it: What kind of response will this person give if on another day, he meets another salesman who promotes the same product to him?

A Christian who conducts street evangelism goes around hunting for potential converts, sharing his gospel to strangers, hoping that some out of the many will be attracted to the gospel. The primary concern of the Christian is not the stranger (as he does not know the person at all), but that the gospel can be accepted by the person. Thus, the Christian uses his marketing tactics and verbal skills to entice the person to accept the gospel without the person first experiencing the gospel. There will be some who would eventually accept the gospel not because they had experienced the benefit of the gospel, but because they believed in the words of the Christian. However, for those who initially reject the gospel, the Christian will continue to exercise his determination in persuading them. Inevitably, there will be those who would be irritated by the person, and perhaps, of the gospel as well.

Think about it: What kind of response will this person give if on another day, he meets another Christian who shares the same gospel to him?

To be continued…

As If We Care

2007-07-19T08:15:00.000+08:00

HOORAY! Soon we are going to enjoy "blazing fast" internet access. From the current 2 Mbps service, our beloved Telekom Malaysia is moving to provide 100 Mbps access to homes in the near future...

Ya right, as if we care.

If Telekom Malaysia is incapable of handling simple tasks such as this, this and this; what is the point of trying to be ambitious and painting such a promising prospect?

Pitfalls of Evangelism (2)

2007-07-18T00:50:00.000+08:00

ABOUT PERSONAL EVANGELISM

Sometimes when we engage in conversations with our friends, we wander (unintentionally or intentionally) into discussions of faith and religion. When we see our friends showing no sign of rejection towards such discussions, we get excited (without showing it) because we know that it is a precious opportunity for us to bring the person into our faith. However, when we engage in such discussions, it becomes clear that we do not have any interest in the faiths of our friends, and we are only interested in spitting out all that we know about Christianity in order that our friends might understand and believe. The discussion inevitably evolves into an imperialistic monologue.

Such an outcome is perhaps the result of our view of our friends. We often overlook the fact that they are just like us, adherents of a specific faith. We simply view them as non-Christians who are lost and are in dire need for salvation lest they face the fiery flames of hell. Furthermore, we think that since our faith is the only true faith that can bring others to heaven, there is no need for us to know anything about their faiths, which are rendered false and truth-less.

Our lack of interest in the faiths of our friends inevitably cause many to feel that we are arrogant, assuming that only we have something to offer to others to learn, and not vice versa. (Sounds imperialistic?) Perhaps Justin Martyr’s logos spermatikos can enlighten us in our view of other faiths, for what if there are truths to be found in other faiths as well, which can further refine or reinforce our understanding of the Christian faith? In my journey in exploring other faiths, I often find this to be true.

If we are so consumed by the mission to bring the person to Christ, we may eventually treat the person not as a friend, not as an equal; but simply as an object for conversion. Inevitably, our friends will no longer be willing to discuss faith or religion with us anymore, for they have come to realize that it will never be a discussion, but a monologue. Are we so naïve to think that others will want to continue to listen to us when we ourselves are not willing to listen to them?

Perhaps if we treat other faiths and religions with more respect, perhaps if we are willing to learn from their faiths through dialogues, perhaps if we treat our friends as mutual subjects in our journeys to God; our friends might then be able to see Christ in us.

Street evangelism! You are next!

To be continued…

Respecting Other Faiths

2007-07-16T19:00:00.000+08:00

I managed to unearth this reflection paper from my data bank which I wrote last year for my Christian theology reflection paper. Hopefully it can provide us with some helpful insights in the way we view other faiths and religions:

When a Buddhist friend invites us to attend a Buddhism learning class this coming weekend, it is more likely that we will decline his invitation without any hesitation. When a Muslim friend approaches us and intends to share with us the teachings from the Al-Quran, it is very unlikely that we will offer him a listening ear. Why do we respond so negatively to other religions?

The way we respond to other religions very much depends on the way we view and understand other religions. Very often, many Christians have this assumption that all the other religions and philosophies are created by the Devil and are intended to lure people away from Christ. Therefore, they are evil and contain no truth at all. As a result, consciously or unconsciously, we disrespect or worse still, despise other religions and try our very best to avoid having any contact with them. Because we assume that these religions are evil, we see no purpose in wasting our time to explore and understand their teachings. Therefore, when our friends of other religions try to share with us about their faith, we become insensitive and disrespectful towards them. We tend to change the topic of conversation every time they start sharing about their faith. When we attempt to share our faith with them, we are surprised and get offended by their rude response, but in fact, we are the ones who first give them this same response.

What should be our attitude and response when we approach other religions and their adherents? Perhaps Justin Martyr's Logos Spermatikos could provide us with some crucial insight into the kind of attitude that we should possess in approaching other religions and their adherents. Logos Spermatikos refers to the divine Word that bears seeds of revelation throughout human history. Through these seeds, the Word has made himself known to the pagans (through philosophers) as well as to the Jews (through prophets and writers of the Old Testament books in the Scripture) before his advent. Yet, these seeds of revelation are incomplete and are incapable of providing human beings an adequate understanding of the Word. But now, the Word has appeared incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, human beings are given the privilege to have a sufficient understanding of the Word.

This concept provides us with an understanding that God’s revelation is not confined within Christianity, but is revealed in other religions and philosophies as well. Thus, it challenges our attitude towards other religions and philosophies. Since God has used other religions and philosophies to reveal himself, we should not view them as evil and contain no truth in them. On the contrary, we should possess an attitude of humility and respect when we approach other religions and their adherents. Imagine how disrespectful we will be in the eyes of our friends of other faiths if we try to impose our faith on them and persuade them to embrace our faith when we ourselves do not even know the kind of faith they are embracing. Therefore, let us first seek to understand their faith before we even start sharing our faith with them. When our non-Christian friends notice that we are respectful towards their religion and have a good understanding of their beliefs, they too will be respectful towards our religion and offer a listening ear when we share our faith with them.

Other than that, in the process of exploring other religions and philosophies, we may even be able to discover the revelation of God in them, which could serve as an entry point to introduce the Word in the person of Jesus Christ to the adherents of these religions. For example in Taoism, the word “Tao” can be used as an entry point to engage in inter-religious conversations with adherents of Taoism. “Tao” in Taoism is defined as an impersonal creative principle, whereas “Tao” in Christianity refers to a personal Creator. Using the definition of “Tao” of Taoism as a starting point, we can point our friends towards the definition of “Tao” of Christianity, thus showing him this “Tao” that leads to eternal life. In Hinduism, we find similarities in the doctrine of the Trinity. Christian trinity consists of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit which are three persons in one Godhead. The Hindu trinity consists of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Siva (Destroyer) and they are different manifestations of the same Supreme Iswara, who is also known as Saguna Brahman. Perhaps by using the Hindu trinity as an entry point, we may lead our Hindu friends to the understanding of the Christian trinity. As we continue to explore the teachings of other religions and engage in healthy inter-religious conversations with our friends, we will realize that there are actually many similarities between Christianity and other religions. Perhaps this further affirms the explanation that God truly sows his seeds of revelation in other religions and philosophies as well.

Furthermore, exploring and learning from other religions not only help us to engage in healthy inter-religious conversations, it can also further enhance and complete our understanding of the Word. Throughout the history of the Church, Christian theologians and philosophers have appealed to other religions and philosophies in helping them to understand the Word in a clearer and better way. For example, Augustine of Hippo appealed to many Platonic concepts in finding solutions to major problems in his formulation of the Christian doctrines. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian during the era of Scholasticism, recognized how Aristotelian intellectualism was of great help to the study of philosophy and theology. We need to rediscover the spirit of humility and generosity as exemplified by these theologians to be willing to explore other religions and philosophies in helping us to better understand the Word.

Humility and respect towards other religions and philosophies are virtues that are dying in the Christian community. We need to once again challenge our attitude and approach towards other religions and their adherents. Only by doing so, I believe, will be we able to enjoy healthy inter-religious conversations with our friends of other religions, and also will we be able to understand the Word in a better and clearer way.

The Price of Diversity

2007-07-15T16:04:00.001+08:00

In my recent post, I wrote that the Church must take the initiative to break the boundaries of race, language and culture by bringing people of such differences together into one faith community. Amusingly, it only dawned upon me on last Thursday that this is actually happening right here in my seminary!

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, students of different races, languages, cultures and nationalities gather here as one faith community to worship the same God. The services are conducted bilingually, either two of English, Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia. Although the services are conducted bilingually, the languages that are being used are not alien to me. Thus, I never felt impatient for having to listen to the message and the interpretation, because the interpretation was beneficial in reinforcing my understanding of the message.

Yet, it was not until last Thursday that I finally felt the inconvenience of diversity. The speaker, who was from Hong Kong, spoke in Cantonese (a Chinese dialect), a language that was unintelligible to me. Each time after the speaker said something, I had to wait for the interpreter to finish her sentence before I could understand what was being preached. It was a test of patience and concentration for me as it was naturally frustrating to listen to a language that I could not understand. This experience also gave me a foretaste of the inconveniences that will emerge within a diverse faith community. Although this was a rare experience for me, such is not the case for many other students who could only understand English or Mandarin. My Thursday experience helped me to realize that they are constantly paying the price of diversity each time they attend these bilingual services.

Other than that, it is noteworthy that during that Thursday service, there were students who could not understand both Cantonese and English (e.g. Indonesian Chinese). Thus, the message that was being preached was totally unintelligible to them. How beautiful it would have been if there was not only one, but two interpreters to interpret the Cantonese message into English and Mandarin. The service would have been much longer, but it would have been a beautiful picture of the Kingdom, where the whole community is willing to sit through the lengthy service, appreciating the languages and cultures of one another in spite of their inability to understand.

Having said that, is the Church willing to pay this hefty price of diversity, bringing people of such differences together into one faith community, thus reflecting the borderless Kingdom of God?

Unequal Dialogue

2007-07-08T21:15:00.000+08:00

It happened one week ago. However, I had to wait until yesterday before I could talk to them about it. Even so, I was thinking through this issue throughout the past week, contemplating about the kind of approach I should adopt in handling this sticky issue.

I know what I will do. When I confront them, I will unleash my wrath and pronounce judgment upon them, expecting my faithful allies named Remorse and Guilt to compel them to repent. If that is not enough, I will adopt scare tactic by threatening to tell the pastor and their parents about it. Lastly, to be sure that they have truly repented, I will force them to make a promise not to repeat their doings.

It does not take much experience to predict the outcome of the confrontation. Surely they will listen to my "preaching" and make the promise of non-recurrence at the end of the dialogue. But will they feel penitent? Most probably not. On the contrary, they will be extra careful in concealing their doings from now onwards, making sure that no one is watching them when they perform their acts.

Even though we know that such an approach will lead to such an outcome, yet isn't this how many parents respond when they find themselves in such a situation? When parents find out that their children had done something wrong, more than often they will suffer from verbal diarrhea, rebuking, condemning, preaching and nagging at their children over the wrongdoing. The children will have no opportunity to respond, because parents often assume that whatever the children have to say are mere excuses. It is a lecturing monologue.

Then, they become puzzled when they see their children ignoring their warnings and willfully persisting in their wrongdoings. Yet, parents often ignore the fact (ignorantly or deliberately) that underlying these external conducts are deeper, unseen issues. Most of the time, the external conducts will cease when the deeper issues are resolved. Thus, rather than keep bombarding at the external expressions of the problem, parents need to patiently listen to the struggles of their children and journey with them in battling the issues.

However, it is not enough for parents to listen, for it can be just a top-down dialogue, where parents listen in order to advice. This happens when parents see their teenage children as ignorant, foolish, immature and needing constant nagging and scolding lest they fall out of the boundaries of rightness. When children engage in such dialogues, they will eventually stop talking, because the parents are hearing but not listening.

In order for children to be willing to allow their parents to be co-travelers in their journey, the parents need to treat their children as equals, as adults who are given freedom to choose, to make mistakes, and to be responsible for their choices. When parents view their children as the "other", the dialogue will become an equal dialogue, where parents listen in order to understand. When parents come in this posture of listening, the children will be more than willing to open up their world to their parents.

"What happened to the youths in the end?"

I chose not to scold nor judge them. I chose to treat them as adults who have the freedom to choose but at the same time, to be responsible for their own actions. They responded positively by revealing to me the root issues that resulted in their actions. We talked for 2 hours. At the end of the discussion, they took the initiative in telling me that they were repentant for their actions.

It was a good start. My primary concern for now is not that they may repeat the offense, but that they will continue to be honest with me and allow me to journey together with them in handling those deeper issues.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (1)

2007-07-07T00:10:00.000+08:00

The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.

William Tyndale
16th century Protestant Reformer

As Protestants, we are constantly preoccupied with the salvation of those outside the Church. We spend much of our resources in organizing evangelistic programs, creating endless opportunities and platforms to bring non-believers to our faith. On a personal level, we are often taught, sometimes commanded, to grab hold of every possible opportunity to share the gospel verbally to our friends who have not embraced the faith, yet.

It is of no wonder why we hear messages such as this coming from the pulpit, “How many people have you brought to Christ this year? This month? This week? When you go to heaven, won't it be great to see people whom you have brought to Christ lining up to thank you for bringing them to Christ? How pathetic it will be if there is no one in heaven waiting to welcome and thank you when you arrive there?”

Why are we so preoccupied with evangelism and the salvation of others? This is very much affected by our understanding of the eschaton. In our understanding, when Christ returns, he will bring the Church to heaven. On the contrary, those who are outside the Church will be banished into the eternal flames. Based on our heaven-hell eschatology, our primary mission in the world is to pull as many people as we can out of hell and into heaven before time runs out. We do so by grabbing every opportunity to verbally share the gospel to as many as possible, hoping that some out of the many will accept the gospel, say the sinner's prayer and receive the assurance of eternal life in heaven.

Unfortunately, our single-mindedness in evangelism has caused us to overlook the unChristian-ness of many of our evangelistic methods. Let us take a closer look at evangelistic rallies. Let's say Daniel, a Christian, wants to invite his friend to an evangelistic rally, how does he convey his message? Can he say, "Sam, I want to invite you to an activity in my church this coming Saturday night. We have invited a famous Christian to come and share about our God. I hope that after listening to his sharing, you will be more interested to know about our God"? Certainly not! Such an unwise approach would definitely put him off. So what should Daniel say? "Sam, this Saturday night I want to invite you to my church, got free dinner, some more can meet new friends le! Come la!" If Sam were to ask Daniel what will be going on on that night, he will answer, "Nothing one la, just sing some songs and listen to some nice stories lo." Although some may say that Daniel is being misleading, many others will say that he is just being tactful, and it is not wrong as long as his intention is good.

Therefore, on that fateful night, Sam followed Daniel to his church, thinking that he was just attending a social dinner. Everything seemed to be fine throughout the whole night until a person started giving a long speech. Sam began to smell something fishy because the speaker kept on promoting and bragging about the Christian God. When he came to the end of his speech, the speaker said, "Anyone of you would like to accept this God as your saviour and Lord, please raise your hand." By now, Sam had come to know the whole truth, but he was unaware that the worst is yet to come. The speaker continued, "Those who have brought your friends here, do talk to them and encourage them." Before he could find an opportunity to escape to the washroom, Sam was already surrounded by Daniel and a few other men who were well-dressed with tags labeled "USHER" clipped on their shirt pockets. They spent about fifteen minutes talking, explaining, encouraging and persuading him to accept their God. Angry Sam refused to give in, and they had no choice but to give up their mission...

Certainly, in most evangelistic events, there will be those who will respond to the altar call and receive Christ. Not only will they not blame us for misinforming them, but will thank us for inviting them instead. Yet, how about the many others, who like Sam, felt cheated and betrayed? After this event, what will they think about Christians and the Christian God? What will be their response if we were to invite them to another Christian event, even if it is not an evangelistic event? More importantly, what will become of the relationship between Daniel and Sam?

Perhaps in our eager attempts to bring others to Christ, we have brought them to a distorted Christ and further lead them away from the true Christ.

How about personal evangelism and street evangelism?

To be continued...

The Great Pretenders

2007-07-04T09:40:00.000+08:00

They had been standing at the same spot for some time now. Behaving like amateur thieves, they were nervously waiting for the right moment to execute the perfect manoeuvre. While waiting for the right time to act, the thinner one, who acted as the "watchman" of the duo, stealthily looked to and fro at the direction of the table where the rest of the group were seated. After being sure that the coast was clear, he swiftly signaled to his accomplice to act. After receiving the signal, his accomplice, who was the "executioner", quickly approached the target and accomplished his task.

The two youths succeeded in acquiring a few sticks of cigarettes without the knowledge of the rest. Well, at least that was what they thought. Unfortunately for them, several youths within the group, including the youth leader, witnessed the whole scene without the knowledge of the secretive duo. When the two returned to their seats, the youth leader put on an oblivious look and asked, "Where did you go?" Before the "executioner" could open his mouth, the "watchman", who was clearly the mastermind, rushed to answer, "We just went for a walk lah," obviously fearful that his accomplice might say the ~~right~~ wrong words. These young bloods must have thought that they had pulled it through. Little did they know that their secret act had already been exposed...

It does not take the brain of a genius for you to discover that the youth leader in the story is none other than yours truly. Time and time again, as I experienced similar scenarios such as the aforementioned story, I feel amused yet irritated by the fact that these youths could be so ignorant to think that I would be stupid enough to believe their blatant lies.

However, these encounters with the youths led me unexpectedly to an embarrassing but valuable realization: "Don't we treat God in the same way too?"

Throughout the week, we, who call ourselves Christians, adopt a secular lifestyle and readily replace Christian principles with secular values and secular wisdom once those principles become unrealistic and impractical. We specialize in offering silly excuses and lies to God in attempting to justify our wrongdoings. We willingly offer our God-given resources to the three gods of the world: Money, Sex and Power. At the end of the week, we dressed nicely in our religious cloaks and gather with other Christians in participating in the religious rituals of the institutional church, assuming that all our wrongdoings have gone unnoticed (even by God) for yet another week. The next day, we happily return to our secular lifestyle, and the endless cycle goes on.

Above all these, we constantly affirm ourselves that we are already saved (in the Protestant understanding): the obtainment of eternal life in heaven.

Who are we really fooling: God or ourselves?

Words of Confucius

2007-06-26T00:30:00.000+08:00

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Confucius
Chinese philosopher and reformer

True Unity is Visible

2007-06-26T00:00:00.000+08:00

Tourists who have visited Malaysia are often impressed by the constant harmony and peace that is maintained in a society that comprises of many races. Yet any Malaysian will tell you in a cynical tone that beneath the superficial layers of peace and unity lies a spirit of enmity and suspicion between people of different races. People of the same race would form their own communities and segregate themselves from people of other races that form their own communities as well. Thus, perhaps it could be say that people of different races in Malaysia are merely co-existing in the same geographical location.

Unfortunately, churches in Malaysia are not contributing to the solution, but to the problem itself. Chinese, Indians and East Malaysian Christians normally group among their own races to form their own faith community.

Even though sharing the same culture and language makes it easier for the members within a faith community to relate to and live among one another, even though having a monolingual service (rather than a bilingual or multi-lingual service) avoid time wasting; yet such a scenario further perpetuates the problem of segregation that is already prevalent in the society. If the Church is not willing to take the bold step of breaking the boundaries of race, language and culture and bring people of such differences together into one faith community; then the Church is not truly (and is not willing to work towards) reflecting the Kingdom of God which transcends all boundaries.

Gladly, the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia has taken up the challenge to become the antithesis of racial segregation in the society. Masses in many (if not all) Catholic churches in Malaysia which are previously conducted monolingually are now conducted multi-lingually.

Read this excerpt which is taken from here under the heading "Apostolic Delegate Impressed with Multi-Lingual Mass":

Archbishop Pakiam said that the Church in Malaysia represents all the four major language groups, thus the Mass should be celebrated in all the languages as it is a reflection of reality. Through the multi-lingual Masses, the Catholic Church has shown that it is possible for the different races to come together. Even though most of the parishioners do not understand all the language, they always sit patiently and respectfully listening to the Word of God and participating in the prayers where they can and appreciating the songs in the different languages.

He is right. It is possible and it is a must for believers of different races to come together as one Church, one Community, for true unity of the Body of Christ must be seen visibly, and not merely spiritual and invisible (which is the kind of unity that many Protestants are satisfied with).

Friendship of the Kingdom

2007-06-25T16:05:00.000+08:00

The story continues...

Recently, Saw Woo was diagnosed with a serious health problem and had to return to his homeland to receive immediate medical attention. Before he left, Clement and David brought Saw Woo out for a farewell dinner.

As always, joy and laughter were shared over the dinner table. Yet, there were moments during the conversation when Saw Woo was looking down on the floor. Obviously, he was trying his best to withstand the gushing waters that were pressing hard against the dam of his eyes. Finally, he looked up to Clement and David and revealed to them that he was very touched by their unconditional love and concern for him and his Burmese friends, and he said he will never forget them even after he returns to Myanmar.

Before they left the dinner table, Clement and David insisted that Saw Woo must write to them even after he goes back to his homeland so that they can continue to keep in touch with one another. They even promised Saw Woo that they will travel to Myanmar to visit him in the near future...

This is a true story of a beautiful forged friendship, friendship that transcends all barriers of difference (e.g. social status, race, nationality and language etc.), friendship that truly belongs to the Kingdom of God.

In the eyes of Clement and David, Saw Woo is not an object of their care and concern (as is common in ministries), but is an equal subject that they truly respect and love, simply because he is their...friend.

About AMCU IV (5)

2007-06-22T12:36:00.000+08:00

After days of enriching conversations, sharing of life stories and exchange of idea and thoughts regarding crucial issues in Asia between friends from different Christian traditions, the end result was a joint declaration issued by the three participating bodies.

FOURTH SEMINAR OF THE ASIAN MOVEMENT FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
(AMCU IV)

11 to 14 JUNE 2007
KUALA LUMPUR

Joint Statement

The Fourth seminar of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU IV) was held on 11 to 14 June 2007 at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 24 participants, representing the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), and the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia (EFA), took part. Earlier AMCU seminars (Hong Kong, 1995; Bali, 1997; Chiang Mai, 2001) were jointly sponsored and organized by CCA and FABC. The participation by representatives of EFA in AMCU IV was the result of discussions carried out at the Asian chapter of the Global Christian Forum in Bangkok on 21-23 September 2006.

The theme of AMCU IV was “Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia” and focused on the importance of Christians of all Churches and Christian communities to be united in responding to the social, political, and religious realities of Asia today. The participants shared their personal faith journeys and then examined the possibilities of joint Christian witness of faith in the context of the social challenges of injustice and discrimination and in the milieu of Asia’s religious and cultural plurality.

The participants agreed that Christian commitment must lead the Christian Churches in Asia to take a prophetic stand against any form of discrimination, such as that of caste, class, race, and gender, as being incompatible with the teaching of the Gospel. God’s message to humankind, as enunciated by the prophets and expressed in God’s word in Jesus Christ, affirms the equal human dignity of all people and condemns as sinful those human attitudes and deeds that oppress and discriminate among persons.

The common witness that Christians are called to make against patterns of oppression includes self-examination and self-criticism to become more aware of the ways in which sinful structures have also become engrained in the life of Christian communities in Asia. To be credible, Christians must oppose injustice and exploitation, not only when the victims are themselves Christian, but also in those instances where those who suffer discrimination are the followers of other religions or of no religion, and in cases where the perpetrators of injustice are fellow Christians. Christian witness, based on the Gospel imperative of loving service to others, must focus on the needs of the most vulnerable such as victims of natural calamities, oppressive regimes, and all forms of degradation of human life and should confront problems like global warming and other environmental concerns.

Faced with the multiplicity of religions in contemporary Asia, the participants of AMCU IV sought to define some elements of common Christian witness. Faith in Jesus Christ must be proclaimed in full respect for the beliefs and practices of others. Witness to Christian faith should never be carried out by putting down or denigrating the faith of others. Genuine Christian witness understands faith in Christ to be liberation from patterns of human sinfulness and which arises from a free and joyful response to God’s grace.

In the light of the various challenges facing the churches, the participants call upon the component bodies (CCA, FABC, and EFA) to address together the following concerns. One challenge is that of forming Christian youth in a commitment to build Christian unity. A second challenge is that of making our parish communities and pastors to be focal points for deeper involvement in the search for full visible Christian unity.

The three bodies can concretely promote Christian unity by getting to know one another better through mutual discussions and invitations to assemblies and plenary sessions, by engaging in joint projects such as the Asia Conference of Theological Students (ACTS) and the Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS), and by undertaking joint actions such as summer camps for Christian unity for young people. Mutual cooperation and activities at national and local levels are also to be strongly encouraged.

The participants expect to hold the next seminar for the Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU V) in the middle of 2009.

Christian Conference of Asia
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences
Evangelical Fellowship of Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
14 June 2007

About AMCU IV (4)

2007-06-20T00:30:00.000+08:00

GRACEFUL DANCERS, THREE-MILE-AN-HOUR MINISTERS

About the Roman Catholic archbishops and Jesuit priests (that attended the event):

During meetings, you do not see them sending text messages or picking up phone calls. You see them giving all their attention to the meeting as if nothing else matters.

During mealtimes, you do not see them rushing off to attend to the next agenda in their tasklist. You see them sitting down with you and spending time to converse with you.

During private conversations, you are not worried that you are robbing their precious time, for they are attentive and responsive to you.

They are busy but they never show it.

Their presence radiates rays of calmness and serenity.

They are the graceful perichoretic dancers, they are the three-mile-an-hour ministers.

About Protestant ministers (not all, but an observation of many ministers today, including me):

During meetings, you see them sending text messages or picking up phone calls. You see them giving minimum attention to the meeting as if everything else matters.

During mealtimes, you see them rushing off to attend to the next agenda in their tasklist. You do not see them sitting down with you and spending time to converse with you.

During private conversations, you are worried that you are robbing their precious time, for they are inattentive and unresponsive to you.

They are busy and they always show it.

Their presence radiates rays of disturbance and restlessness.

They are ungraceful perichoretic dancers, they are the seventeen-mile-an-hour ministers.

About AMCU IV (3)

2007-06-19T01:00:00.000+08:00

BEYOND OUR TRADITION

A generous spirit. This is what it takes for the participants to be at the event. They must leave aside the longstanding theological differences of their various traditions and come together as the Body of Christ to tackle tough issues that arise from the social realities in Asia.

A generous spirit. A scarce virtue among Christians today, at least within the Protestant circles. In Malaysia, we Protestants would rather not associate ourselves with Christians of other traditions, namely Roman Catholics. If we were to meet a Roman Catholic, we would tend to treat them more as an object for potential conversion than a mutual subject. Yet, I realize that many of us are guilty of hurling false accusations at them (of embracing erroneous beliefs) as a result of our inadequate and superficial understanding of their tradition.

A generous spirit. This is what it takes for us to be appreciative of other traditions. Learn about Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, for there is so much in these two traditions (which have a longer Christian history than us) that can enrich and refine our understanding of Christianity. Rather than insisting that our own tradition is the authentic faith, perhaps we should begin to adopt a posture of humility and generosity to learn about other traditions. As we learn about other traditions, we will realize that there is a great need for us to learn from other traditions to enrich our own poverty.

In working towards Christian unity, perhaps leaving aside our theological differences is only the first step. As we begin to learn to appreciate other traditions and recognize the contributions that these traditions are offering to the enrichment of the Body of Christ, we would not merely recognize and accept their existence, but we would even be willing to bring these theological differences into our conversations with an appreciative and teachable spirit. This, I believe, is a step closer to Christian unity.

Traditions should not merely live in a state of co-existence. When we begin to look beyond our own tradition and embrace the beauty and richness of other traditions, perhaps then we can truly come together as one Body.

About AMCU IV (2)

2007-06-17T22:00:00.000+08:00

CHRISTIAN UNITY, WHO CARES?

It was an embarrassing contrast. The Roman Catholic (RC) contingent was well represented by archbishops, bishops and Jesuit priests from different parts of Asia. On the contrary, in spite of the fact that the event was being held in Malaysia, no Protestant ecclesiastical leader of the national level from Malaysia was present.

Observing from the strong make-up of the RC contingent, it is clear that Christian unity is one of their primary concerns. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Protestants. The absence of the Protestant leaders from this event seems to send out a clear message that we Protestants are not that keen to participate in efforts of Christian unity.

But, how can we be keen when we have so many concerns of our own local churches to attend to?

We are busy throughout the year indulging in the number game, doing our very best to ensure that our churches enjoy numerical growth annually, as it is our primary (sometimes, sole) yardstick to gauge the success of our churches. Never mind if there are not enough disciplers or shepherds to cater to the needs of the existing members and new converts, as long as new converts are brought in on a regular basis, we assure ourselves that we will be able to find solutions to the problems.

We are busy organizing gospel rallies, talks, concerts and many other kind of evangelistic programs throughout the year to ~~lure~~ attract ~~people of other faiths~~ non-Christians to our churches, so that ultimately we can convert them to Christianity. Most importantly, we want these new converts to be part of our local churches. Never mind if many are offended by our ~~cheating~~ ~~imperialistic~~ tactful methods of evangelism, as long as there are even a few who are saved, the angels in heaven will be dancing with us in joy.

We are busy keeping track of the attendance records of our church members to ensure that they are attending cell group meetings, prayer meetings and Sunday services regularly. That is why in many churches, cell group leaders are handed a checklist to record the attendance of the cell group members for various meetings. Never mind how the members feel about this kind of treatment, as this is an efficient and convenient way to monitor their spiritual health.

We are already so busy attending to the needs of our church members and the salvation of the whole world, certainly we are not to be blamed for not engaging in dialogues or joint efforts towards Christian unity, right? Surely the time and effort being used to attempt to unite the Body of Christ that is already so fragmented can be better used in saving non-Christians, right?

Britain's Got Talent: Tony Laf

2007-06-17T16:00:00.000+08:00

Awww...It's a pity he did not make it for the finals! Watch and listen to the heart-wrenching story behind this talented young man.

In his first audition, he totally amazed the crowd with his self-written song "I'm Good". The song is simple, nice, truthful and soulful. Truthful songs are truly hard to come by these days because singers tend to sing songs that are more marketable and trendy rather than singing from their hearts.

He presented "Tears in Heaven" in the semi-finals. Again, you could just feel him singing from his heart. I like him. No packaging, no wannabe-ing, no mask-wearing. Just being who he is.

About AMCU IV (1)

2007-06-16T11:57:00.000+08:00

FOURTH SEMINAR OF THE ASIAN MOVEMENT FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
(AMCU IV)
11 to 14 June 2007
Kuala Lumpur
Theme: "Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia"

Priceless experience!

I felt utterly privileged to be part of this three-day event at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre in Kuala Lumpur and truly, it was an eye-opener for me in every aspect! Like this guy who happened to be at this event, I will be posting up several blog entries containing the background information of this movement, official statements from this event and my own observations and reflections.

BACKGROUND OF AMCU
(Editor's note: The following information is blatantly taken from Sherman's blog)

The beginning of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU) can be traced to 1993 when the two Christian bodies in Asia – the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) – decided to set up the Asian Ecumenical Committee (AEC) to carry out joint programs, foster ecumenical relations at the national and local levels, and conscientize Christians of all churches to the importance of making visible the unity in Christ that already exists. Both bodies approved the setting up of such a committee at their respective assemblies in 1995 (FABC Plenary Assembly in Manila and CCA General Assembly in Colombo). The AEC therefore became a structure for implementing proposals to share information, cooperate on social issues and provide ecumenical formation.

In 1994, AMCU was conceived by the two bodies with the goal of promoting Christian unity by bringing together leaders, theologians, and ecumenical officers of the churches to study problems connected with Christian unity and to find ways to promote unity, at local, national and continental levels among Christ’s disciples in Asia.

The first AMCU seminar was held in 1996 in Hong Kong on the theme, “Making Visible Our Unity in Christ.” This was aimed at studying the theology of ecumenism, sharing vision of Christian unity, and building on what unites while overcoming what divides – all from their respective perspectives. That consultation led to a common search for practical ways to work for Christian unity in Asia and to planning a wide range of programs aimed at fostering Christian unity.

As part of their reflections on ecumenism, they have identified some obstacles to Christian unity in Asia, i.e. a long history of mutual indifference, prejudice, hostility, inadequate understanding of ecumenism, failure of the ecumenical movement to reach the grassroots, lack of structures to carry out initiatives, and unresolved doctrinal, moral and disciplinary issues.

The second AMCU seminar was held in Bali, Indonesia in 1998 with focus on “Ecumenical Teams and Ecumenical Formation.” It was aimed at preparing ecumenical teams who would give ecumenical formation course at local and national levels.

The third AMCU seminar was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2001 on the theme, “Giving Shape to a New Ecumenical Vision.” The theme echoed the desire of both bodies to enter into a process of prayer and discussion to explore the possibilities of new ecumenical structures and associations for promoting Christian unity.

The fourth AMCU seminar has just been concluded on 14 June 2007. The long gap between the third seminar and the fourth seminar is mainly due to the holding of the General and Plenary Assemblies of CCA and FABC, respectively, in 2005. Nevertheless, through these years, both CCA and FABC bodies have nurtured their relationship of cooperation by jointly holding some programs or through reciprocal invitations to their own programs.

Even as the two bodies, CCA and FABC, continue to work on their visible unity in Christ that they affirm, they have also been concerned about other Christian bodies with whom they do not have formal relations as yet. CCA and FABC have on their own made attempts to reach out to Evangelical and Pentecostal churches in Asia.

The Global Christian Forum (GCF) that was held in Hong Kong in May 2004 was one avenue in which representatives of member churches from CCA and FABC as well as Evangelical and Pentecostal churches met together. In that gathering, the three regional bodies (CCA, FABC and the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia or EFA) were given the responsibility of doing a follow-up in the region. Thus, the GCF in Asia was held in September 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand on the theme, “Affirming Our One Savior in Common Witness,” bringing together representatives from the three bodies.

One of the results of the GCF in Asia was for AMCU IV to be opened to EFA. Hence, this was an interesting development that the fourth seminar of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity had included Evangelical and Pentecostal churches under the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia.

The theme “Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia” echoed the theme of the GCF in Asia (“Affirming Our One Savior in Common Witness”) while being conscious of our grounding in our regional context in Asia where we are called to witness to our one Saviour. Our context presents to us challenging realities in socio-economic, religious-spiritual and political-cultural dimensions. All these call for our response as Christians in Asia.

AMCU IV was well-represented. The meeting consisted of some 25 people. Representing the FABC were bishops, archbishops and Jesuit priests. Representing the CCA were their fulltime officials, an Oriental Orthodox monk and an Oriental Orthodox celibate priest, as well as academic theologians (this lucky guy managed to find his way in as well). Representing the EFA were just two of their officials, but it was a good start indeed.