The Confessions of A Hedonese

The Life and Legacy of John Calvin

2012-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

The Life and Legacy of John Calvin

As part of my final assignment, I need to write on the life of a Reformer and lessons learnt from him. So here is my brief take on John Calvin.

Love God With All Your Mind

2012-01-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Love God With All Our Mind

I found out that for many Christians an intellectual understanding of what we believe and why you believe is not important as long as you have an experiential feeling in your heart! The heart is what you used in a relationship with God but the brain is what you used while studying science, computers, economics and history in school. There is a separation of the heart for spiritual stuffs and the mind for secular stuffs like dinosaurs. When that happens, no wonder our faith has so little impact on how we do our work or studies in the world. And no wonder our ‘daily activities’ outside the church has very little to do with God or the gospel.

But the Bible seems to say: “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your minds”. It doesn’t say “Be transformed by the removal of your minds”! So we don’t need to remove our brains in order to be a Christian. In fact, renewing our mind with God’s truth and kingdom values is crucial to our spiritual growth.

The following is sermon transcript for today's sermon at Klang Presbyterian Church

Love God With All Your Mind

Green Spirituality: What Has Ecology To Do With Theology?

2011-10-29T12:25:00.001-07:00

Green Spirituality: What Has The Christian Life to do with Nature?

The 2009 blockbuster movie “Avatar” told a futuristic tale of two species locked in a struggle for the planet Pandora. The villains were a group of greedy, materialistic and colonizing humans hell-bent on mining precious minerals even though it would destroy the habitat of the natives. For these cut-throat mercenaries, Pandora’s lush, intricate eco-system was “nothing but ferns”. On the other hand, the protagonists were 10-feet-tall, blue humanoids called the Na'vi who lived in harmony with nature and worshipped Eywa, the life-force permeating all of life. In the context of ecological problems that plague our own planet, it appears that popular culture presents us with a similarly straightforward choice between crass capitalism and nature-friendly pantheism.

For instance, the well-known Lynn White thesis traced the historical roots of our modern ecological crisis to the emergence of medieval Christian belief in “man’s transcendence of, and rightful mastery over, nature” . Ancient pagans were afraid to cut down a tree or mine a mountain because of spirits that supposedly reside in them. But by supplanting pagan animism, it was argued that Christianity made it possible for Western man to exploit nature in a “mood of indifference”. If the Bible legitimates man’s dominion over nature, isn’t Christian theology guilty of providing justification for environmental degradation? Isn’t a pantheistic belief that “everything is divine” or “we are one with the universe” more helpful to engender respect for every rock, tree, animal or blade of grass? In this assignment, I would like to propose that Christians could draw on powerful resources from within its own spiritual tradition to care for creation without worshipping nature.

Read on here

Kantoi!

2011-10-15T08:12:00.001-07:00

Evangelicals: Was the Sultan not properly informed?

2011-10-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Dr. Ng Kam Weng
Kairos Research Centre
12 October 2011

The Christian community has waited with anticipation for DYMM Sultan of Selangor, to come out with a statement that will help resolve the inter-religious crisis sparked off by the JAIS raid on DUMC on 3 August, 2011.

We welcome the Sultan’s wish that religious harmony should continue in the state and his decree that there be no prosecution against any of the parties involved.

However, the Sultan’s statement does raise a few issues of serious concern for the non-Muslim community as there are views expressed therein that suggest that the Sultan may not have been properly informed by his advisers.

First, the statement suggests that “the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor,” as they “are in line with the jurisdiction provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment (2003), Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment of 1988” (herein referred to as the “Selangor Enactment”)

With all due respect, I beg to differ from this interpretation of the State Enactments. In the first place, the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion. Such power to control or restrict propagation cannot be understood as absolutely prohibiting any conduct or activity on the excuse of some unspecified complaint that they are for the purposes of propagation of religion. Such power cannot be taken as licence for officials to intrude or trespass into a function conducted within the premises of what is clearly a non-Muslim religious institution (in the present case a Christian institution) without legal authority

There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows JAIS officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by JAIS are sections 12 and 13 which specify that “an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.”

He may also apply for warrants of arrest from a Magistrate to require the attendance of witnesses. There is however, simply no unilateral power to carry out an entry and search under the Propagation Enactment or for that matter even to apply for a search warrant. If the officer responsible for the raid intends to conduct an entry and search he must base his power from some legal source. JAIS officers appear to have acted under Syariah Enactment which however does NOT apply to non-Muslims and cannot be imported into the Propagation Enactment.

While superficially this provision seems to grant disturbing power to this “authorised officer”, the enforcement must be consistent with the more fundamental provisions under Part II of the Federal Constitution relating to fundamental liberties and the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) relating to search and arrest which presumes that a search warrant should have been sought as a matter of course, and that the warrant is granted only upon reasonable suspicion that a seizable offence has been committed at the DUMC premises. The requirement of a search warrant is a fundamental recognition of the right to privacy within one’s own domain and space.

More importantly, given the sensitivity of inter-religious relations and the sanctity of religious places of worship, such a warrant should be granted only by a magistrate or judge from the Civil Court and only upon firm and clear grounds.

The fact remains that JAIS carried out the raid with disregard for established provisions and procedure of law – the leader of the JAIS party failed to present relevant identity documents to confirm he was indeed “an authorized officer”, specify the offence(s) or suspected offence(s) relating to propagation under the Selangor Enactment that was alleged to have been committed and that he had obtained a search warrant from a Magistrate or the High Court, especially when a church was the target of the raid. For these reasons, it may be argued contrary to the Sultan’s statement, that prima facie, JAIS had not acted lawfully within the bounds of law when it raided DUMC.

Second, it should be noted that the statement claims “there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken.” The plural word “attempts” suggests Christians at DUMC were guilty of subverting Islam not only on 3 August 2011, but that they were repeatedly committing the alleged offence. This is a most unfair and misleading accusation that imputes guilt to DUMC without offering any evidence that could be verified or refuted.

It may be noted that the English version of the Sultan’s statement uses stronger words than the official Bahasa version – it translates the word “memesongkan (distort, deviate) fahaman dan kepercayaan fahaman orang Islam” with the word “subvert the faith and belief of Muslims”

The statement unwittingly exposes the feeble foundations of its accusations when it concedes that there was insufficient evidence obtained for further legal action. In simple terms, this must means that JAIS had FAILED to make a prima facie case against DUMC. I may add that despite the attempt to hide behind the legal term of “insufficient evidence”, the reality is that there was simply NO evidence of subversion of the Islamic faith. Beating a hasty retreat from the threat of prosecuting DUMC was the best option left for JAIS.

Third, it is alarming that the statement describes the activities of DUMC as subversion of the Islamic faith. This charge is injurious to the integrity of Christians with regard to their profession and practice of faith.

Regarding integrity of profession of the Christian faith: Christians at DUMC have never pretended to be teaching any religion other than Christianity. DUMC is, after all, a church. Christians have every right to uphold their beliefs and practice their faith and while doing so, should not be judged as subverting or deviating /Memesongkan fahaman Islamic beliefs on account of the doctrinal differences between the two religions. Following the logic of JAIS, Christians could equally have charged Muslims for subverting the Christian faith when Muslims preach a faith different from Christians.

Regarding practice of faith: Christians are well known for their social work that flows from their belief in the love of God for the poor and needy. As the Bible says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Hence, the press statement from DUMC says, “DUMC conducts all its activities to serve the community and for the welfare of all Malaysians regardless of creed, race or religion.”

It is therefore alarming when JAIS casts aspersions against the charity work done by Christians and claims that Christians are subverting Islamic beliefs on account of their good works. It may well be the case that some needy Muslims have availed themselves to the good services offered by DUMC, and DUMC obviously cannot turn them away simply because they happen to be Muslims. DUMC may well be charged for promoting religious disharmony if it makes religion a factor before anyone can receive welfare. On the other hand, Christians may well be advised to stop their work that may incline a Muslim to view the Christian faith favourably since this would incur the wrath of JAIS officials. At best, the Sultan’s statement can be misconstrued by mischievous parties and exploited to misrepresent the altruistic intention of Christians; at worst, it maligns the welfare work of Christians.

Therefore, we welcome the announcement made by the Mentri Besar of Selangor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, that the Selangor government will set up a special committee to fine-tune the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) followed by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) in handling attempts to proselytise Muslims.

We hope the committee will come up with recommendations that will 1) ensure JAIS fully understands and observes the bounds of its authority, that is, that it has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims, and 2) any investigation of non-Muslims leading to intervention by the Islamic authorities should follow a proper procedure and law, including obtaining a search warrant granted by senior judicial officials from a religiously neutral institution such as a Magistrate or a High Court judge.

Otherwise, the government ends up surreptitiously investing illegitimate and excessive authority to Islamic officials over non-Muslims. The consequences will be abuse of power, and insensitive and provocative actions against non-Muslim believers as seen in the case of the JAIS raid of DUMC.

We do well to listen respectfully and sympathetically to the appeal from the victim of religious abuse, in this case DUMC, when it says in its media statement, “We sincerely ask that all religious communities and places of worship be treated with utmost respect and not be intruded upon.”

The Gospel Changes Everything

2011-10-09T09:36:00.001-07:00

Gospel theology is a way to read the Bible which makes the gospel not just a set of elementary truths but as the key to understanding every text of the Bible, to living and growing as a Christian at every point, and as a comprehensive perspective on all of life. The gospel must be worked into every corner of our thinking, feeling, and behaviour. In short the gospel is the driving and shaping force of everything we do. This dynamic and rich way to read the Bible retains not just the individualistic emphasis on revival and conversion but also the emphasis on community and cultural transformation. The gospel is both for individual conversion, the renewal of church life and the cities, nations and creation.

But somehow, we have ended up with an individualistic gospel. But the gospel doesn’t just change eternal destinies; it changes everything. It transforms societies, renews families, and heals relationships. It is all about the rule and reign of Jesus. It is holistic. God's redemptive action is world-embracing.

Find out more as Mark Reynolds will be speaking at City Discipleship Presbyterian Church Puchong this coming Sunday 16 Oct at 1 pm. For more info, contact hedonese at yahoo dot com.

He serves as the associate director for Redeemer City to City providing oversight for its programs and services to church planters - training, assessment, coaching and funding as well as running the daily operations. He also provides leadership to the Church Multiplication Alliance of New York City that is committed to planting churches throughout the city through a trans-denominational alliance and various networks.

He is passionate about creating learning programs that further develop leaders to reach their vision of planting new urban congregations and resourcing them through coaching, training and feedback.

Before serving in this current position he was the field director with Mission to the World in Manila facilitating church planting with Filipinos. Mark has also helped plant a church in Columbus, Ohio, served as campus staff with Campus Crusade at Oregon State University, and holds graduate degrees from Covenant Seminary, Aberdeen University and Saint Louis University.

Mark lives with his wife and two boys in Manhattan, all of whom share common affinities for reading, sports, and love for New York.

PS: Warm welcome to Bryngksai for being the 50th online Friend of Agora!

Undilah

2011-09-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

Book Review: Conformed To His Image

2011-09-13T04:20:00.001-07:00

Book Review: Conformed to His Image (Kenneth Boa)

Spirituality is very much woven into the very fabric of life in Asian cultures. Even more modern-minded and upwardly-mobile generation of younger Malaysians gravitate to feng shui paraphernalia, bomoh medicine and yoga gurus for the promises of health, prosperity and self-fulfillment. A similar awareness and hunger for spiritual renewal is also evident amongst Christians, but how is an authentic biblical spirituality any different from that of their surrounding cultures? What are the distinctive marks of Christian spirituality?

In his book Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Kenneth Boa seeks to provide a more comprehensive and balanced approach to the spiritual life from a biblical perspective. He describes spirituality as a “Christ-centered orientation to every component of life through the mediating power of the indwelling Holy Spirit” (page 19). It is analogous to a pilgrim’s journey which starts with our embrace of God’s free grace and progresses through lifelong faith and obedience in Christ. Even though the book is designed as a college or seminary text, it is highly readable with chapter overviews, helpful charts and emphasis on practice. There are thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter intended to lead us to reflect and apply what had been learnt earlier. I would heartily recommend it as an excellent, balanced and indispensable resource for small groups, churches and lay leaders who seek a deeper spirituality as well.

Click on the Scribd Document above for a summary and review of this book

The Lorax (by Dr Seuss)

2011-09-01T03:21:00.000-07:00

The Children’s Library is a CDPC community project for children in Puchong and its neighboring communities. We hope to bring the joy of reading high-quality and award-winning story books in the English language to more emerging readers.

With this goal in mind, the Children's Library Holiday Program was organized to take place on 1st September 2001 (Thursday morning). More than 20 children aged 5 to 8 years old attended the event, most of whom have just gotten to know about the library/church. Praise God for bringing the crowd!

Alicia reads Dr Seuss’ "The Lorax" about the wanton usage of the earth’s resources for selfish gain. Check out the cartoon version

Trinitarian Spirituality

2011-08-31T01:28:00.000-07:00

Some reflections on Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life by Simon Chan (Inter-Varsity Press, 1998)

Theology is "the doctrine of living unto God," wrote the Puritan theologian William Ames. As such, true theological reflections ought to arise from personal encounter with God in Jesus Christ and lead to a deeper spiritual life. However, since the Enlightenment period, theology becomes increasingly fragmented into specialized, merely “academic” branches (dogmatic, biblical, philosophical and so on) that are often disconnected from its goal of guiding us to godliness. As a result, the church is impoverished if her devotional books are doctrinally thin and her theological works are spiritually vacuous. In his book Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life, Dr Simon Chan seeks to address this modern weakness by placing Christian spirituality on solid theological foundations while exploring the practical implications of various Christian doctrines.

In the first part of the book, “The Theological Principles of Spiritual Theology,” he argues that our knowledge of who God is determines the shape of our spirituality. In spite of the Trinitarian language that pervades the church’s liturgy and creeds, our practice is often inconsistently focused on only one Person of the Godhead. A spirituality of the Father affirms our common humanity as His children and therefore, undercuts all forms of discrimination. But it may lead to the universalistic notions that “all will be saved since God is the Father of all” if uncoupled from the salvific work of the Son (page 46).

Similarly, a Christological spirituality that focuses on forgiveness of sins and personal relationship with Jesus engenders a warm piety over against impersonal religiosity (page 47). But it may also lead to individualistic tendencies that see church life as optional and secondary.

According to Chan, the spirituality of the Spirit as represented by Pentecostalism instils an expectant openness to God’s surprising work beyond what we can predict or control. Its weakness lies in attempts to ‘routinize the extraordinary’, making miracles the stuffs of daily living (page 48).

In contrast, a Trinitarian spirituality is modelled after the inner life of the Godhead. It is characterized by a personal intimacy with God through Christ (the Son) and openness to the powerful works of the Spirit that finds its inter-penetrating unity in a basic ascetical structure of life (the Father).

For more information about this book review, contact me at hedonese at yahoo dot com

The Providence of God

2011-08-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

Conference title: Thinking Theologically Conference - The Providence of God
Dates: 31 August to 3 September 2011
Organiser: Gospel Growth Fellowship

God says in Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” Do you find it hard to accept what this verse says?

“Providence” is a helpful, if rather old-fashioned, term denoting the way in which God is in control of all events such that they are directed to fulfil his purposes. It’s something we Christians know in part but often find hard to explain, practice, apply, really believe in, or even want. With all the bad going on around us we’d often rather not think about what that implies about the God we love.

Some Christians choose to respond optimistically, citing Romans 8:28, ‘in all things God works for the good…’ Some say if we pray hard enough things will work out for us. But in private, when faced with the pain and evil of this world, many of us wonder how God can really be in control – especially bad things happen to good people.

What should Christians living after the resurrection of Christ think about these things? Will we brush our questions under the carpet, or will we face up to the reality of life as it is every day? Come along to this year’s Thinking Theologically Conference, conveniently scheduled over the Hari Raya holidays, to work this out in the company of fellow Christians.

For more info and registration, please visit Gospel Growth Fellowship or call Mark at 016 335 7137.

Harapan Komuniti: Press Statement

2011-08-11T05:15:00.001-07:00

Harapan Komuniti Press Statement 11 August 2011

I Stand in Awe

2011-08-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

by Mark Altrogge
© 1988, 1997 PDI Music,
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved

(verse 1)
You are beautiful beyond description,
Too marvelous for words,
Too wonderful for comprehension,
Like nothing ever seen or heard.
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description,
Majesty enthroned above.

(Chorus)
And I stand, I stand in awe of you.
I stand, I stand in awe of you.
Holy God, to whom all praise is due,
I stand in awe of you.

(verse 2)
You are beautiful beyond description,
Yet God crushed You for my sin,
In agony and deep affliction,
Cut off that I might enter in.
Who can grasp such tender compassion?
Who can fathom this mercy so free?
You are beautiful beyond description,
Lamb of God, Who died for me.

--------------------------------------

As I was selecting worship songs for CDPC Puchong tonight, I rediscovered this classic called "I Stand In Awe". Always knew the opening stanza about the incomprehensible hiddenness of God for many years.

But after awhile, I felt that the language of speaking of God via negativa leave me with little to marvel at, to stand in awe of when I come to the chorus where it says...

"I stand, I stand in awe of You"...

...since God is 'beyond description', 'too marvelous for words', 'too wonderful for comprehension'... He's just 'like nothing ever seen or heard'... That leaves me with not much that I can actually affirm about God, doesn't it?

Tonight I felt drawn to this song again and found out to my surprise that there is a 2nd stanza rarely sung... doubt I've ever sung it before. It speaks positively of Christ's penal substitutionary atonement, being cut off from the Father that we may enter in... Although we still can't grasp and fathom fully, in Christ we see God's tender compassion and 'mercy so free'...

That gives me a lot to stand in awe of when we come to the chorus! Check out the song here

The Christian And Politics (Malaysia)

2011-08-10T05:08:00.001-07:00

Christian and Politics (Kairos Magazine May2011)

CFM Statement on JAIS Raid on DUMC

2011-08-08T04:39:00.001-07:00

CFM Media Statement - Jais Raid on Dumc - Final 4 Aug 2011

The Legacy of John Stott

2011-07-30T04:35:00.001-07:00

The Reason For God: If Jesus Is So Great, Why Are Some of His Followers Such Jerks?

2011-07-05T07:41:00.001-07:00

The Reason for God-If Jesus is Great Why His Followers Such Jerks?
“Don’t you have doubts about any religion that has so many fanatics and hypocrites? Non-religious people can be more kind and moral than many Christians I know. If Christianity is true, why are so many non-Christians living better lives than Christians?”

The Christian faith actually teaches ‘common grace’: That no matter who performs it, every act of justice, wisdom and beauty is empowered by God who gives good gifts across all humanity to enrich and preserve the world. (James 1:17) So we should not be surprised that people who have yet to know Christ personally are capable of goodness and wisdom.

The gospel also speaks of the seriously flawed character of genuine Christians. Since we are justified by grace not by our works, we should expect the church to be filled with broken people who still have a long way to grow spiritually, morally and emotionally. They don’t have to ‘clean up’ their lives before becoming Christians.

“The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints”. It is not a self-help program.

RC Sproul: The Christian church is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition for membership. In one sense the church has fewer hypocrites than any institution because by definition the church is a haven for sinners. If the church claimed to be an organization of perfect people then her claim would be hypocritical. But so such claim is made by the church. There is no slander in the charge that the church is full of sinners. Such a statement would only compliment the church for fulfilling her divinely appointed task”.

Consider someone with a broken past who becomes a Christian and her character significantly improved over the years. But she still may be less secure or disciplined than someone who is so well adjusted in a non-Christian, stable family environment. Unless you know the starting points of their life journeys, you can easily conclude that Christianity is not worth much. But it would not be a fair conclusion.

Read on for the entire transcript

Nurturing The Imagination of Children

2011-06-17T02:41:00.001-07:00

Chee Siew Hoong wrote in Kairos magazine: "Nurturing our children’s literary imagination takes place primarily through conversation. We can
discuss themes, characters, writing styles and ideas in the books that they have read. In classical education, discussions take on a more argumentative flavor as the child grows older; as she gives
an intelligent defence of her opinions, her thinking is both stretched in capacity and depth."

Welcome to the Children’s Library!
We are open every Saturday @ 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with story-telling sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.

The Children’s Library is a community library for kids in Puchong and the surrounding area. Everyone is welcome to enjoy the high-quality and award-winning story books available in the English language. Come and experience the cozy reading space and the fun story telling times with other children. The books are geared for children pre-school to age 12.

Do join us in encouraging your child/children to read and to be good listeners as stories are read to the whole group. For any questions or comments, please send us an email at childrens.library@puchong.cdpc.org.my.

PS: A group of us will be discussing the book "The Reason For God" by Tim Keller on the topic of hell and divine judgment this Sunday 19 June 2011 at CDPC Puchong. Guests are welcome!

Next Sunday 26 June 2011, I will be preaching on Suffering and the Sovereignty of God based on the book of Job at Klang Presbyterian Church (11 am). Feel free to drop in and worship with us.

What The Hell Is Hell?

2011-06-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

This sermon Podcast from CDPC Puchong can be downloaded here

Do you remember the first time someone preached the gospel to you? Was it a good or bad experience? My first experience with a classmate who tried to share the good news with me was not very pleasant. It was a rather forceful presentation with heavy emphasis on eternal punishment, hell fire and brimstone. I can’t recall the exact words but the gist of it was something like: “Hey, do you know where you go after you die? Let me tell you. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will suffer forever, like barbecue roasting in hell. You will gnash your teeth and scary worms will crawl all over you”. You catch the drift… Have you come across zealous evangelists like that?

My friend’s evangelistic approach actually worked quite well for other classmates. There was a mini revival in school! Certainly God, in his sovereignty, can use even less-than-perfect methods like this to work out his good purpose. But the more he threatened me with the lake of fire for not believing in Jesus, the more determined I was to pick a quarrel with him.

Now that I look back on it, as a believer, I can understand that he actually means well. If there is such a thing as hell, then it would be loving and compassionate of him to warn me about it even if I don’t like to hear it. It’s like if you are asleep in a house that’s on fire, you would wish that the people who saw it will wake you up and tell you to escape quickly from danger. If hell exists, it would be cruel of him to keep quiet and let me die just because he is afraid of offending me. Yes, I can see that now…

But…Even though he probably means well, some classmates and I still think that his way of sharing the good news probably has plenty of room for improvement. Not sure about you but I felt like he’s trying to manipulate people with scare tactics. There was a hint of superiority and pride. Yes, it’s true that Jesus preached about hell and judgment, but He also cried and wept for sinners to turn away from sin and be rescued. Where is the sense of sadness? Where is the sense that: “Unless I am saved by the grace of God, I will end up in hell too? I am not any better than you are. All of us deserve hell unless Christ took our punishment on the cross, for us.”

You see… Unless people sense that Christ-like humility and earnest compassion in us, they may easily be put off by such graceless attitude and become hardened and reject the gospel because it seems to portray a God who is cruel, random and narrow, happy to burn people forever in hell if they happen to disagree with Him.

But… What about good atheists who are kind to other people? Are they going to hell too? How narrow-minded is that? How can God be full of love and yet send people to hell at the same time? These are difficult and serious questions that prevent people from coming to faith. How can we give a reason for our hope to people who ask such questions?

On the other extreme, for many people today, if they think about hell at all, they think of it as a joke or a cartoon strip. Probably you have heard of the one about: “How can there be gnashing of teeth in hell if some people die without any tooth left? Punch-line: False teeth will be provided.” And people go ‘hahaha’… With common jokes like that going around, it’s no wonder that the reality of hell is so often ignored, laughed at, ridiculed and trivialized. We hear people saying, “Oh I’d rather go to hell because all my friends are there and we are gonna party and play mahjong together. It’d be loads of fun.”

And if we are really honest, very often, even Christians are often embarrassed to talk about hell at all for fear of making people uncomfortable. “Let’s focus on the positive side of things instead and forget about all this hellish stuff”. As a result, the biblical teaching about hell is simply never discussed or preached from the pulpit. Most church goers do not even miss it all that much. Do you ever wonder, “Gee… I just can’t wait. When is pastor going to preach on hell again?” Over time, we just neglect and dismiss this doctrine altogether. So how do we affirm a biblical teaching of hell in a culture where tolerance is supreme and divine judgment is not taken seriously?

We probably cannot address everything in a couple of minutes. There is great mystery about the afterlife and what we cannot speak; we must pass over in silence. But we can look at what God has revealed in His word and say something about THREE questions that may help us get a more balanced perspective on hell, help us to comfort the spiritually fearful and at the same time, terrify the spiritually complacent.

Read on or download the full transcript

Faith Confronts Power

2011-05-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Kairos Magazine: Faith Confronts Power (May 2011) is out! Check out the highlights in this issue:

Prophets and Kings: Faith and Power in the Old Testament

Christ and Caesar: A New Testament Perspective

Confronting the Nazi State: Bonhoeffer and The Barmen Declaration

Le Chambon: A Beacon of Hope in Darkness

Witnessing Church Under Hostile Authorities in the Book of Revelation

Persecution and Destruction of Eastern Christianity

History and Power

Truth and Public Life: The Heritage of Lesslie Newbigin

The Christian and Politics (free article, click to download)

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Movie Review: The Social Network

Reason For God: How Can a Good God Send People to Hell?

2011-05-21T10:10:00.001-07:00

The Reason for God- What the hell is Hell?

Here are some notes culled from Tim Keller's book The Reason For God, for a study group at CDPC Puchong next month.

How Can God send Good people to hell? How Can God be full of Love and Wrath at the same time?
Does "Love Win" or... is it more complex and wonderful than that? Check it out

Why Should We Trust In The Bible?

2011-05-15T00:39:00.001-07:00

The Reason for God - Can We Trust the Bible?

We had the second discussion based on The Reason for God centering on the question of the Bible and its reliability and interface with science. These are two huge topics which require some careful reflection, and we didn't have time to do them justice.

But I'm glad that some issues surface: That one can never be perfectly neutral or purely objective when it comes to the Bible. The stakes are too high and personal. We come with prior inclination to either disbelieve or believe it.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle noted that people form their beliefs on the basis of three factors:

logos (the rational dimension: we don't want our beliefs to be mere wishful thinking)
pathos (the emotional/beautiful dimension that resonates with our deepest longings)
ethos (the social dimention of persuasion: beliefs influenced by our upbringing and circle of friends we trust)

I believe all three factors come into play whether you are a believer or a skeptic. The notes above are part of our reading material which interacts with the Reason for God DVD. In the video, a participant asks:

"Is there a dichotomy between myth and truth? Does it have to be factually true in order for it to be important? Art is true for the moment and does not need to be authenticated by history. More importantly, does it emotionally true? Does it resonate with your heart?"

At one level, for example ethical teachings in Jesus’ parables, its truth does not depend on whether the good Samaritan is historical or not. It resonates with theological truth even when it is not authenticated by history.

But on another level, Christianity is not just a set of ethical principles but about God acting to rescue his people in space-time events. That’s why some acts of God in history such as the death and resurrection of Christ are important and need to be verifiable. It is not just collective imagination of believers but something that really took place in order for it to have the meaning it claims to have.

Other participants in the DVD think history is important: The resurrection of Christ is a clincher: It changes everything if Jesus really rose from the dead. Why?

That would be a vindication of the claims Jesus made about Himself – a miracle that authenticates His claim to be God and has authority over everything.

There are two approaches to come to the conclusion that the Bible is God's word.

The classical view starts with the existence of God (based on some theistic proofs) and then inductively looks at the evidence in the Gospels for what Jesus said and did on earth. At this point, we are just taking the biblical texts as generally reliable ancient documents rather than an inerrant Scripture. From there, we could confidently discover that Jesus claims to have divine authority and equal with God. Not only that, His death and resurrection make the most plausible explanation for the historical facts that confront us: an empty tomb and the emergence of the Christian movement. Therefore, Jesus has divine authority and we are justified to embrace His high view of Scripture as our own.

The presuppositional view starts deductively with the self-testimony of the Bible as God's Word and then, proceeds to show how only with this starting point that all our human experiences and knowledge are meaningful and not reduced to absurdity. It is a transcendental argument i.e. unless you presuppose the Bible as God's infallible Word, everything else (morality, knowledge, beauty etc) falls apart.

Who Are You To Tell Me How To Live?

2011-05-15T00:33:00.001-07:00

The Reason for God-Moral Relativism

Moral Relativism says, “Every person or culture has to define what is right and wrong for themselves.”

But if you ask, “Is there anyone right now doing things you believe they should stop doing no matter what they personally believe about it?” people will invariably say, “Yes of course”. Doesn’t that mean that we do believe there is some moral reality that is not defined by us, that we must abide whether others like it or not? For example, genocide is not just impractical or unpleasant (i.e. we don’t like it done to us) but wrong…

There is a sense of sacredness to human life.

The irony is this: Relativists can't accuse others of wrongdoing. They cannot consistently oppose racism, exploitation, genocide. They can't demand justice and promote tolerance. If ethics are relative to each culture, then anyone outside the culture loses the right to critique it. Essentially that was the argument of the Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg Trials. A moral reformer like a Martin Luther King, Jr. would be immoral by definition because he's violating the rules of society. 'We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.’-CS Lewis. Christians have a consistent foundation to speak out against social evils based upon God’s revelation. Moral relativists do not.

Sermon: Suffering Job And The Sovereignty of God

2011-05-08T05:45:00.001-07:00

Listen or Download the Audio Podcast for the sermon below at CDPC Puchong website.

CDPC-Why Evil and Suffering

Topic: If God is Good and All-Powerful, Why is There Evil and Suffering in the World?

Date: 8 May 2011 (Sunday)

Time: 10 am

Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church, Puchong

There will be an open discussion after the message where your questions and feedback are most welcome.

Theodicy: Why Is There Evil and Suffering?

2011-04-24T08:16:00.001-07:00

CDPC-Why Evil and Suffering

Topic: If God is Good and All-Powerful, Why is There Evil and Suffering in the World?

Date: 8 May 2011 (Sunday)

Time: 10 am

Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church, Puchong

Has Science Disproved God?

2011-03-17T06:21:00.001-07:00

RZIM - Has Science Disproved God?

Christian Citizens - Rights And Responsibilities

2011-02-24T22:35:00.001-08:00

Global Urban Mission

2011-02-21T06:45:00.001-08:00

Dr. Tim Keller at Lausanne - God's Global Urban Mission from Kenny Jahng on Vimeo.

Reason for God: How Can You Say “There Is Only One Way to God”?

2011-02-16T08:13:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we started The Reason For God chat room at CDPC Puchong with 10 participants (with 7 more to come). The conversations were free-flowing and engaging. Especially enjoyed how different perspectives from different people (lawyer, artist, psychologist, etc) enrich each other.

We watched a DVD featuring unscripted, live discussions of Tim Keller with six seekers/skeptics. One of them said something like: Whatever you believe, you must be willing to abandon it and let it be scrutinized. Otherwise it won’t be a strong belief because you are afraid that it will be challenged.

Do you agree with him?

Logically, the mutual exclusiveness of religious claims is evident to some of the participants. How do we get right with God? (Through good works or by grace) Where do we go after death? When a person dies, he can’t reincarnate, go to heaven or hell, end up in purgatory and cease to exist all at the same time. They can’t all be true. At least, one view must be wrong.

But the pluralist may respond like this: The doctrinal dogmas may be different but the spiritual experience or moral teaching/practice is the same. Different religions are just fighting over words when they are experiencing essentially the same thing (Story of ten blind men encountering the elephant for the first time).

In reality, although it sounds humble, pluralism says, “All religions are mistaken or partially correct like the blind men. All of them did not get the whole picture. But now I got the truth of what the elephant is like!” The only way you can know everyone else is blind is if you are the one who can see the elephant. Despite their mistaken beliefs, they are all in some way responding to God. It is just that they are not doing so in the manner in which the believers themselves think they are. But it is hard to see why this way of rejecting other’s beliefs as ‘blind’ is any more tolerant than the non-pluralist.

Do all religions really teach us to do good? They do share much ethical insights but differ on moral issues also. Is it good to have many wives or just one? Is it good to eat meat or sacrifice animals?

What is the common subjective spiritual experience that all religions share? (John Hicks: a move from self centeredness to Reality-centeredness) But if the Real is absolutely beyond knowing, how can we know it exists? If no truth claim can describe it, how can one say anything of it?

Zen Buddhism claims mystical, direct, unmediated access to the ultimate nature of reality (satori – enlightenment). It is not just a human response to the Real. If true, then one religion has direct privileged access to truth contrary to pluralist claim. What does it mean to be ‘self centered’ or ‘Reality centered’? (Realize you are one with Brahman? Recognize that nirvana is ultimate? Center your life on Jesus?). It’s too vague and reductionistic in a way not acceptable to what other faiths claim about themselves...

Is belief in ‘one way to God’ narrow-minded as it shuts you off from new insights that come from other religions?

It is common to confuse ‘narrow-mindedness’ with holding a particular view with strong conviction. Gregory Boyd: “Narrow-mindedness does not attach to what you believe, but how you believe it. If I refused to consider any perspective, any religious book, and any philosophy which disagreed with my own, that would be narrow-minded. But just because I hold to a belief that disagrees with other perspectives, other religious books and other philosophies doesn’t itself make me narrow.”

Can we learn insights from other religions? Sure, but it doesn’t mean we cannot be critical as well. “Merely having an open mind is nothing; the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” – G.K. Chesterton

Isn’t it unfair that God revealed Himself to only some people and not to others? What about those who have never heard of the good news? Where is the justice in that? It should be more open to all.

Different theories to reconcile God’s justice with the necessity of the gospel for salvation: God will not offer the gospel to those whom He knows would not have responded positively anyway. Or, after death, those whom God knows would respond positively may be offered the gospel. Keller: It’s a mystery that God has not revealed to us.

What does Romans chapter 1 say about ‘not enough evidence for God’? Actually, people are suppressing the universal knowledge of God they do have because of sin. People are without excuse for God’s moral character, power and wisdom have been evident to all since creation of the world. They are still accountable for how they live by the moral law within their hearts. So it’s still fair because they won’t be judged by what they don’t know. But the bad news is we have all violated our own moral standards and deserve just punishment. That is why we need a Savior (Christ) who died for our sins.

Pluralism promotes peace and tolerance in a world of religious conflict. When you have exclusive hold on truth, it will lead to problems. Solution: Take religions less seriously or literally i.e. Jesus is God.

But everybody brings their essential faith commitments (which cannot be proven by science). Everyone has their worldview (about where we come from, who we are, the purpose of life and our destiny) and all have their exclusive views.

For example, even pluralism will exclude other beliefs like the incarnation of God in Christ. It works only if followers of all faiths water down their conflicting truth claims in favor of pluralism. In the end, the only way humanity could attain unity is when they exclusively agree on a ‘faith’ different than their own.

The real question, then, is “Which fundamental belief leads their believers to be the most loving and honor those with whom they differ?” (See: Reason for God, page 18 – 21)

Peace may be achieved not at the cost of truth or dismissal of genuine differences. In fact, tolerance itself implies disagreement. We do not ‘tolerate’ people who agree with us. They are on our side! If every religious person is a pluralist, what room is there for tolerance? Instead, genuine tolerance recognizes conflicting truth claims and does not press for artificial common denominator. Despite our differences, we respect and honor one another as persons who have the God-given right to believe, practice and propagate our faiths. We should avoid what Alister McGrath called ‘a repressive enforcement of a predetermined notion of what something or someone should be, rather than a willingness to accept them for what they actually are.’

OK fine – Only one religion is true or all are false. But how can you tell? How do you choose your ‘home’ or belief (worldview)? By research or upbringing?

What are some criteria that you think ‘the true religion’ ought to have? There are some tests of truth that can help us measure different religious claims (moral criterion, coherence, empirical/historical claims, trustworthy authority). We can know whether these claims are true or false, rather than wishful thinking.

Greg Koukl: For example, if I told you that out in my car, in my glove box, I have a square circle, how many of you would want to take a peek? There are no square circles because a square circle is a contradiction in terms.

It's like a person who said, "I met a woman who was ten years younger than her son." Now, no empirical search is necessary for you to reject this claim. By definition, mothers are older than their children. That is why there can't be a woman ten years younger than her son. Even if the most brilliant person said this to you, you could immediately reject it.

The point I am making is this. There are some particular things you can judge as false without ever leaving the room because a moment's reflection tells you there is something wrong. These things can't be true because they violate the test of coherence. In other words, it doesn't make sense; it's contradictory.

What about this “all religions are the same” view? What it fails to take into consideration is that much of religious truth is actually competing and not complimentary. Religions have contradictory claims. For example, God in the Christian tradition is personal and in the eastern tradition is impersonal. God can't be personal and not personal at the same time. One view must be wrong.

The point is, we can use this test of coherence to disqualify certain views as being false on their face. The religious pluralism view--the idea that all religions lead to God, that all roads lead to Rome--is false on its face because all religions can't be true at the same time.

Sermon Podcast: Thirsting After God in the Desert

2011-01-30T06:23:00.000-08:00

Many times we relate to God in terms of rules and regulations, a list of do’s and don’ts, of duties and obligations. Of course, there is right and wrong and holy commandments that God has given us to keep.

But God’s worth, beauty and manifold excellencies are not glorified by joyless duty, but by our joyful, willing and obedient delight in all that He is. We obey and serve Him because we want to, because we desire to honor and please Him. Not because we grudgingly have to. God loves a cheerful giver. He also loves a cheerful worshipper.

To put it another, our duty is to delight in God. (Psalm 37:4) The Westminster Shorter Catechism would say that the main purpose of our existence is to glorify God and ENJOY Him forever.

Check out the sermon podcast here and let me know what you think.

Letter To An Environmentalist

2011-01-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

I really miss having you around for this kind of conversations. And I’m so proud of both of you seriously investing your lives to creation care. Happy for your geek lifestyle too! We need that kind of expertise back home. The lake just opposite CDPC puchong was poisoned recently with dead fish appearing on shore. MPSJ acted on it, hopefully it won’t recur.
Just a bit of background… the bit about a physical resurrection and new heaven and new earth are pretty orthodox stuffs, but I guess modern Christians are deep in dualism (a spiritual heaven vs physicality) that I must admit that it sounded foreign to me too when I heard it only a couple of years ago. So it’s not surprising that many Christians emphasize their duty in evangelism and ‘spiritual’ activities like prayer over ‘earthly’ activities like creation care or work or protesting evil social structures etc.

If ur interested in a geeky critical celebration of Wright’s works, here it is:
http://www.wheaton.edu/wetn/lectures-theology10.htm

Our friend Fanny probably agrees that our labor is not in vain in light of the resurrection but the kind of labor that will last (imperishable), to her, is only labor that is invested in human beings (who will be resurrected) i.e. NOT work related to non-human, physical landscape or political systems. Well, I would agree that no political system is perfect (even a “Christian” one) and everything will go through a fiery purification before the new heaven and new earth emerges (1 Peter). That means everything that is sinful will be removed and transformed so that everything good and acceptable will continue. There is both discontinuity and continuity between the new heaven/earth and the present one. The fear of many evangelical Christians is if we say that a present political system or project today IS the kingdom of God, that’s going back to the old liberal social gospel of 20th century. Wright is cognizant of this risk and therefore refrains from saying that our labor today “builds the kingdom of God” (he calls it the height of folly for it is something only God can do), instead he uses the phrase “build FOR the kingdom”.

But the sharp disjunction between labor for humans and for non-human politics/physical landscape is not that easy to make. Because both have profound impact on human beings – creating a just social system alleviates suffering of real humans just as a clean environment facilitates healthy human flourishing. So one may legitimately connect labour for the betterment of the physical/political realities with labour for human lives. Both have eternal values since both have potential to be acts of kindness to human beings.

Of course, we also need to be careful of proof-texting i.e. where does it say in the Bible about “Trinity”? Well, we can’t find the term “Trinity” in any biblical text but the concept can be clearly inferred from many texts. Similarly, the idea that our work in society has eternal spiritual significance may not be proof-texted but it can be inferred by looking at the sweep of biblical narrative from the Creation mandate in Eden (to have dominion and stewardship over the earth), to the Fall (where the stewardship turned into rebellion in all of life), through redemption (Christ saves our souls as well as our bodies in the resurrection) and ends in the final consummation of a renewed heaven and earth (glorified spiritual-physical human bodies and transformed physical world where God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven). We arrive here not by selective texts here and there, but from the broad sweep of biblical storyline.

On the church as signs of the kingdom, again, we need to see this in light of redemptive history. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom in his coming. It is present today but will reach its fullness in the future. The church is a people called out from the world into the kingdom, a people living under the reign of Jesus. So our lives ought to point to the reality of His rule today and its fullness tomorrow. When people look at our lives, they should see some signs of what the future kingdom looks like ie justice, compassion, mercy etc. In that sense we are ‘signs’ of the kingdom, but not ‘photographs’… in the sense that our lives still carry imperfections that in some ways do not represent what that kingdom is like. So the church today is not the kingdom per se (at least not yet) but in the community, we should see some signs of that kingdom visible.

On Jesus, Paul and their relation to the Roman empire; we do find that they are not like the Zealots who urge a violent uprising to overthrow their rule. (Romans 13 and Luke 3:14). But they are not pro-Rome either like the Sadducees. For example, Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s is a double-edged sword that allows taxes to be paid to Caesar (since it is his image that appears on the coin) but the entire human life (created in the image of God) is to be given to God. That translate into something like, “Go ahead pay your taxes but don’t give yourself to him – you belong to God in whose image you are made. Your ultimate allegiance is to God rather than Caesar”. So when the two claims clash, the Christians would rather than die under Roman sword than disobey God. That’s civil disobedience. Later Revelations 17 would describe Rome as an adulterous whore condemned to be overthrown by God, which is kind of a seditious statement to make. And Paul’s declaration that “Jesus is Lord” may sound innocent enough, except that “Caesar is Lord” is the slogan of the emperor’s cult in Rome. By declaring a Jewish king as Lord, such a statement of faith is really subversive to the idolatrous claims to power by the state. So the gospel is about teaching and disciple people to live under God’s reign… but sometimes it entails living in disobedience with evil powers that oppose that rule. I think we are probably saying in different ways the same thing though: “Whether planting roses or standing for justice in the public arena, or changing a baby’s nappy, or walking down the street to the shops, or eating lunch, or doing Bible study, or singing at church, or praying, or preaching a sermon, or listening to that sermon, or doing our budget, or sitting at a desk job. In all these things we can live to God’s glory – we must live for his praise.”

http://theagora.blogspot.com/2007/11/between-romans-13-and-revelation-13.html

Is there a priority of evangelism over social action? If we are pushed against the wall to choose either one, then I’d probably choose evangelism too. But in real life, the church is not required to pick one and neglect the other. Often we need to do both and they are really complementary. Social action flows from the gospel and provides opportunities for it to flourish. Evangelism is broadened and strengthened by social action. Acts 7 speaks of different gifting and calling in the church, there is division of labor… It would be wrong for apostles to neglect their calling to serve tables just as it is wrong for deacons to neglect serving the widows to focus on word ministry. Both are needed in the church and both are doing what they are called to do.

Believers in leadership position in the ‘secular’ world? Joseph… Daniel… David… I dun think the NT has abolished the model set by these saints. Nicodemus is probably a secret follower of Christ in the Sanhedrin council. Lydia is a wealthy businesswoman who sells purple cloth and funded Paul’s mission trips. In more recent times, Wilberforce is an example Christians like to quote.

Again the concept of calling/gifting is relevant here… not all of us are called to be in an upwardly mobile position. Some may be called to the opposite path of faithfulness like John the Baptist or Jeremiah. Our work is not only means to get bread on the table, but also an avenue for service and worship to God. If this is true, then spiritual work cannot be confined to what happens in the church building per se… but the church (people) being sent out in the world, empowered by the Spirit to live out the rule of Jesus.

http://theagora.blogspot.com/2007/04/two-paths-of-obedience.html

Since people have different gifts, we may see the needs of the world differently too. Those who are called to preach and church work see evangelism as being more important. Those who are called to creation care may tend to feel the needs more pressing. It’s perfectly okay because that’s how we are wired. When each is faithful to his or her own calling, the church as a whole, like having different functioning body parts, benefit as a result. Sometimes, to say evangelism is more important than social work, is like the ‘eye’ saying to the ‘foot’: My function is more important. But it is probably more accurate to say that both are needed for the healthy working of a body.

Within the theological framework above, your work and study (done with the proper motive of glorifying God and caring for his creation) have spiritual and eternal value. After all, a clean environment is essential to the thriving of human beings. It need not compete with other duties like parenting or worship but a natural partner alongside them. If human beings are eternally valuable (and they are) then any acts of kindness to them are also eternally significant.

Just as giving a glass of water to a thirsty man is a service to “the present world” that carries spiritual meaning (i.e. Jesus says that that such acts of kindness to his followers is an act of kindness to Him).

We don’t need to think evangelism is more important than parenting. Because we rarely need to choose between them (if ever). We just perform each duty as the opportunity appears at different times… sometimes together! Hehe… I’m not a gardener but I like the idea that in the new heaven and new earth, our skills at rose-planting will still be in demand (only that the roses will smell and look much better, and without thorns!)

Hope that helps!
David

RZIM Youth Apologetics Conference @ Subang

2011-01-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

RZIM Apologetics Conference For Youth Workers 2011
The topics and speakers covered are as per the schedule below

Tools for the Trade-Topics 2011

Sermon Podcast: Discover Your Calling In Life

2011-01-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

Now how do we find out what is God’s call for us? What are our spiritual gifts?

Must we hear audible voices from heaven before we know it? This is not something overly difficult or mysterious that only super spiritual Christians can attain.

I’ve found these FIVE simple questions in Gordon Smith’s book “Courage and Calling” to be helpful to discern our Life Calling. The idea is not to get easy formulaic answers that pin down God’s will right away. Your answers may change as you explore and learn more in life, but they are helpful to me, at least, in the process of discerning God’s calling for us.

1) What do you feel joy doing? What is my deepest desire or passion?

2) What are you good at doing? What are my abilities, skills, spiritual gifts, mutant powers?

3) What do you feel are the biggest needs of the people around you?

4) What is your unique personality?

5) What do others in school, family, circle of friends, church community say about me? Is there confirmation from the Body of Christ?

Check out the podcast here and let me know what you think

Soul At Work

2011-01-02T00:10:00.000-08:00

Hi! How's your work coming along?

Quick. What's the first thought that comes to mind? ___________.

Many people find work to be stressful, busy, tedious, and meaningless. For exampl
a) Work = traffic jam, back-to-back meetings, endless projects, office politics, meaningless KPIs.

b) Work = cooking, washing, feeding, keeping the house neat, ferrying the kids to tuition.

c) Work = homework, more stupid homework. And trying to stay awake during boring classes.

Do you hope for meaningful work? Do you think it's possible for your work to help you become more Christ-like in the way you think and act? Do you desire to be more attentive to God's presence while you work? Do you long for Christ's presence? Do you want to take your soul to work?

If you identify with any of the challenges and questions above...

Alvin Ung invites you to attend a three-part series on Taking your Soul to Work. The sermons will be interactive, reflective and practical. Each sermon will feature a 10-minute conversation with a "mystery guest."

Details as follows
-------------------

1: Prayer as Work.

Download podcast Prayer as Work

To take our souls to work, we prioritize private prayer as work. Jesus will serve as our mentor in choosing silence and solitude as life became increasingly busy. A lecturer/counselor at a large private university will share her experiences of what led her to spend eight days of silence in prayer -- and why prayer became so important for her as she faced the tyranny of the urgent.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice prioritizing prayer as work.

2: Praying and Working.

Download podcast Prayer and Work

To take our souls to work, we pray intentionally while we work. The Lord's Prayer will serve as our model and approach in praying regularly throughout the day. A senior business executive at a large corporation will share his experiences of what led him to pray before work, during work and after work -- and why he has found this practice to be so life-giving amid the stresses of daily work.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice being attentive to God while we work.

3: Work as Prayer

Download podcast Work as Prayer

To take our souls to work, we bring our whole selves to work. The Apostle Paul will serve as our mentor in transforming the fruits of his labor into prayer. A mother, counselor and CEO of a thriving restaurant and boutique business will share her experiences of what led her to place her life and work in God's hands -- to trust that all will be well amid the tough leadership decisions of daily life.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice becoming 'prayer-full' workers.

Bonus: Download podcast God's Pattern For Work Relationship by Rev Wong Fong Yang as well.

Sermon Podcast: Rojak Spirituality

2011-01-01T23:52:00.000-08:00

Recently, Malaysia was engaged in a public debate over the meaning of pluralism and how it relates to civil society. The need is pressing for a dialogue platform for the various religious communities to be able to come together and discuss issues affecting our lives together.

Yet some Muslim scholars are understandably concerned that pluralism as an ideology may confuse or weaken their faith. In this podcast, I discuss briefly how Christians can, at the same time, hold to a conviction in the uniqueness of Christ and yet be eager to participate in respectful dialogues with other faiths without fear or compromise.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Origin: Where Do We Come From?

2010-12-19T08:08:00.001-08:00

Where Do We Come From-DNous Academy 3

Purpose: Why are We Here For?

2010-12-19T08:07:00.001-08:00

Why Are We Here - DNous Academy 2

Destiny: Where Are We Going?

2010-12-19T08:06:00.001-08:00

Where Are We Going -DNous Academy 4

What is Worldview? Why Is It Important?

2010-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Worldview-Introduction DNA 2010

Why Worldview - DNous Academy 1

Meeting Peter O'Brien

2010-12-17T02:59:00.000-08:00

Peter O'Brien Senior Research Fellow in New Testament at Moore Theological College taught us on "Justification in Pauline Epistles" some years back

http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/justification-and-variegated-nomism-vol-1/

Worldview @ dnous Academy 2010

2010-12-16T04:47:00.001-08:00

What is Worldview? Why Is It Important?

2010-12-11T02:01:00.001-08:00

What Is Worldview? Why is it important?

History or Prophecy: The Birth of Immanuel

2010-12-09T05:12:00.001-08:00

Harmonizing Historical Context and Messianic Prophecy in Isaiah 7:14

Discover Your Life Calling

2010-11-22T07:17:00.001-08:00

One of the guiding principles of CDPC Puchong is Integration of Faith and Work (celebrate God's presence at home, work and rest. Equip followers of Christ in the marketplace). And we had great pleasure and honor to celebrate the dedication of Han Meng and Doris' legal office in Subang Jaya today. We walk through different parts of the office, praying for God's presence and wisdom and courage as they work out their calling in the marketplace. That coincides with this Sunday's sermon on "What On Earth Am I Here For: Discover Your Life Calling"

Discover Your Life Calling

Powerpoint slides downloadable below:

Discover Our Calling

Powerpoint slides downloadable below:

"Christians Don't Believe in Science" and 3 Other Misconceptions

2010-10-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

One day, as I was having a conversation with my secondary school friends, someone asked if I am a Christian. I said, “Yes”. Immediately, he responded by saying, “Oh, in that case, you don’t believe in science.” To my surprise, my friend already has a misconception that Christians don’t believe in science. When you introduce yourself as a Christian, some misconceptions may already have colored his perception of our faith.

Misconception #1: Christians Don’t Believe in Science

a) Famous Christian scientists who contributed to the scientific movement because of their belief in an intelligent Creator who made an orderly world that can be discovered: Copernicus was an astronomer who put forward the first mathematically based system of planets going around the sun, Francis Bacon established scientific method of inquiry through experiment and inductive reasoning, Kepler established the elliptical nature of planetary motion about the sun, Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity etc.

b) The problem is not with the Bible but with some people’s misinterpretation of the Bible. i.e. Even today we say, “The sun rises in the east” (as it appears to our eyes) even though we know it is scientifically inaccurate. Others mistook a non-biblical popular view (i.e. earth is center of solar system) for what the Bible teaches when it doesn’t teach so.

c) Sometimes some Christians may be careful of accepting a certain ‘scientific’ view not because of their faith but because of the lack of scientific evidence to support this view. But when we do real discoveries of the world, our body and the animals, we are finding out more about how God has designed the universe that reflect His wisdom and power. It motivates us to be better scientists.

Misconception#2: Christians are judgmental! Who are you to judge others?

Who are you to judge his or her lifestyle is wrong? Live and let live! Nowadays, you are forbidden to forbid. No one has the right to judge my own values and lifestyles. It’s my life. On the other extreme, there are people who are critical, resentful and narrow who loves to judge people to make themselves look more important. Jesus was speaking to both groups when He said, “Do not judge or you will be judged” (Matt 7).

Jesus is not saying we should not discern right from wrong or never point out wrong practice/beliefs in others for the sake of unity and tolerance. We are called to make good judgments about false prophets etc (Matt 7:6, 15, 21-23).

What He meant was we should not judge like the Pharisees who judged the wrong things (wrong to heal on Sabbath?) or make right judgments for the wrong reasons. They had a ‘holier than thou” superiority rather than humility. Instead of removing the plank in their own eye, they want to remove the speck of dust in others’ eyes. We need to deal with ourselves first, we will see clearly to help others. We do not claim perfection or superior than others. But we are commanded to know God’s word in order to find out what God wants us to believe and how He wants us to live. Discernment determines our destiny.

Misconception#3: Christians are so intolerant. They always force you to believe what they believe.

We need to be winsome, gentle and respectful when sharing the gospel with our friends. There are two dangers of just stopping to evangelize because we don’t want to offend our friends and to be over zealous in being too pushy when people are not yet ready. Very often, our role as witnesses is to ask them questions, drop hints and be like a guide on a journey to a wonderful new country.

But another cause of this misconception is due to our friends’ belief that all religions are valid paths to God. What they really mean is, “Yes, yes, yes… Jesus is the way to God, but there are other ways to get there too. So why insist everyone else to follow Jesus? All roads lead to Rome.” But if you come to think about it for just a minute, actually not all roads lead to Rome. You can’t drive to Rome using Jalan Puchong or Old Klang Road or Federal Highway. You just can’t pay the toll at LDP and get to Rome. Not all roads lead to Rome.

Jesus did not claim to be just one of many ways to God. He says: “I am the way; no one comes to God but by me.” That’s quite a big claim to make. A man who makes a claim to be the only way to God cannot be just another religious guru. He is either a mad man, a bad man or He is really who He claims to be. Jesus did not leave us the option of regarding him as just another wise human teacher. Great human teachers point to the truth, but they don't claim to be the truth. And yet, here we are confronted with the unique claim of Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life.

This is something that many people find hard to accept. In one of our family conversations about Christianity, my dear relatives told me, “How can you Christians believe that Jesus is the only way? That’s too narrow and exclusive. All religions are lead to God. We are like the ten blind men trying to describe an elephant. One guy touched its trunk and said “The elephant is like a snake”. Another touched its body and said, “No, it’s like a wall”. Yet another touched its leg and think it’s like a tree. As they argued amongst themselves, the King walked by and set them straight, “All of you only got part of the truth. The elephant is a huge animal and each of you touched only a part!”

At first, the story appears to be very humble and inclusive: The truth is greater than any one of us can understand. But the only way you can know that all religions have only part of the truth is if you have the whole truth. The only way you could know that none of the blind men have the whole truth is if you can see the elephant. The only way you can tell this story is if you are the King who sees everything. There is an appearance of humility but actually there is a hidden, almost arrogant assumption that the storyteller has a knowledge that is superior to all others. But how did he get this knowledge? How can he see when everyone else is blind? If I am blind and you are blind, then how can you possibly know what the elephant is really like? You see, the problem with this story is it is actually making a very exclusive statement that no one else got it all correct except himself.

And the funny thing is: the story also contains an important truth. Because the only Person who can see everything and know the complete truth is the King… It’s God Himself. No one else can do that. Like blind men, we humans are all limited and sinful creatures who can only see part of reality. There is nothing we can boast about because we are blind like everyone else groping in the dark. We won’t know what the truth is like unless… unless the King has spoken. Unless the King who knows everything reveals Himself to us and corrects our mistakes. And guess what? That is exactly what the gospel is all about. God has already revealed Himself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “I once was blind but now I see…” because God has revealed Himself to us. The only way we can know the truth is because He has made Himself known in Christ. He is not just one of many ways or one of many gods. Jesus is the way so let us walk in Him with confidence.

Misconception#4: Christianity is just a crutch for weak people

People need to believe in God because of psychological weakness, unable to cope with life, the desperate need for a father figure or emotional need for comfort or to overcome fear of unknowns.

a) We all need a crutch. In a sense, all of us are crippled (needy sinners) so we need a crutch to help us. So it’s a matter of whether we see our real needs and get help; or we ignore our needs and unable to walk properly.

b) People are often attracted to imagine up a religion for emotional needs – find comfort ad consolation even in self-made beliefs. That’s true. The Bible condemns this practice as idolatry – making substitutes of God who alone can meet our needs.

c) But emotional and psychological needs may also cause us to reject God too. Belief in an all powerful, all holy and all knowing God can be scary and uncomfortable to sinners too. So rejecting belief in God can also be a crutch for psychologically ‘weak’ people to run away from their fear of a Judge so they can live however they like. If we want a comfortable religion, we will not invent an awesome, holy and ‘traumatic’ God like the biblical God.

Martin Luther King vs Malcolm X

2010-10-02T07:06:00.001-07:00

Malaysia International Christian Artists Show (MICAS) 2010

2010-10-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Celebrating 2000 years of Christian art heritage, MICAS 2010 will be launched on the 6th Nov. (Saturday) @5pm at Galeri Dunia Seni Lukis in Kuala Lumpur.

A paper on Christ Alive in Culture will be presented by Dr Rev Rod Pattenden on the 7th Nov (Sunday) at the gallery hall. There will also be special art related workshops for those interested to attend.

Those interested may contact Pastor Kengsen at keng_sen@hotmail.com

Malaysian Is We

2010-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sermon: Rojak Spirituality

2010-09-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

Rojak Spirituality Sermon Malaysians are spoilt for choice when it comes to food. Imagine walking into a giant food court where you can find Penang Laksa, Ipoh beansprout chicken, Indian curry, Iranian kebab, Nasi Padang, Western grilled steak, Hong Kong dim sum – almost everything else you can think of under the same roof. You can choose to eat anything you want. You can mix it up – eat a bit of sushi for appetizer, then chicken rice for main course and finish with rojak for dessert. How about that? Are you feeling hungry already?

But for a lot of people, making choices about spirituality or religion is also like eating in a food court. It’s all up to your personal tastes or preference. Some like it hot, others like it cold. It can also be a bit like ‘rojak’ – you just mix up all the ingredients and hopefully it tastes good. “Oh, I like my religion with a pinch of Buddhism, a sprinkle of Christianity, two cups of Lillian Too feng shui and a glass of Hinduism – shaken, not stirred.” What’s your personal religious preference?

So… in today’s society, for someone to even claim that a certain religious practice is wrong or that some religious beliefs are untrue, that would sound arrogant and intolerant. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s as if someone say to you, “You are wrong to choose nasi lemak for lunch today” or “You are a bad person if you chose to eat “char koay teow”. You should have chosen Maggi goreng.” That sounds so intolerant (it doesn’t make sense) because we live in a time of “rojak spirituality”. People choose their faith or spirituality or religion based on personal taste or preferences. You like chocolate ice cream, I like strawberry flavor. You like Islam, I like Christianity, she likes Buddhism. It’s based on what we like. There is no right or wrong answer here.

But truth or reality is not like ice cream. It is more like insulin. When my wife Grace was pregnant with Zhen, she was found to have gestational diabetes. Maybe due to hormonal imbalance, her body does not produce enough insulin to break down sugar in her blood. So what did she need to do? Almost everyday she has to give herself an insulin injection to maintain her health. And she cannot say, “I don’t feel like taking insulin anymore. Let’s see… I think I would prefer to take ice cream instead”. If she stopped taking insulin and choose ice cream, it would be very bad for her health and for the baby. In the same way, we are all sin-sick people in need of a cure that is the gospel. We don’t get to decide what is true based on our subjective tastes. That’s make-believe. Reality is like a solid rock. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t make it false. Just because we like something doesn’t make it true either. When it comes to spirituality or faith, the reason we ought to believe something is because it is true… Truth is like insulin to someone who suffers from diabetes, it’s not ice cream.

And in the passage of Scripture we read just now, Jesus was about to go to the cross. It was just before the Passover feast. He knew His time was near. He had lived the life that we should have lived and now He would face the death that we should have died. He came from God and He was going back to God. He was about to accomplish His mission in the world and return to the Father. So he was having his last meal together with his disciples. But his disciples were worried – “Who is going to betray Jesus? The Master is leaving us but where is He going?”

So Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; Trust in God, trust also in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you with me. You know the way to the place where I am going."

One of the disciples Thomas asked him: “But Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how do we know the way?” And then Jesus replied with this famous statement: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” Great teachers point us to the truth, but they don't claim to BE the truth. Jesus, however, makes this amazing claim about himself – I am the way, the truth and the life.

So today I’d like to consider THREE implications of Jesus’ unique claim for us, Malaysian Christians, living in a multi-religious, multi-cultural society such as ours:

1st implication: Jesus is the way so walk in Him with confidence.

Some years back, I met a church leader who believed that all religions are valid paths to God. He told me, “Yes, yes, yes… Jesus is the way to God, but there are other ways to get there too.” All roads lead to Rome. But if you come to think about it for just a minute, actually not all roads lead to Rome. You can’t drive to Rome using Jalan Puchong or Old Klang Road or Federal Highway. You just can’t pay the toll at LDP and get to Rome. Not all roads lead to Rome.

Jesus did not claim to be just one of many ways to God. He says: “I am the way; no one comes to God but by me.” That’s quite a big claim to make. A man who makes a claim to be the only way to God cannot be just another religious guru. He is either a mad man, a bad man or He is really who He claims to be. Jesus did not leave us the option of regarding him as just another wise human teacher. Great human teachers point to the truth, but they don't claim to be the truth. And yet, here we are confronted with the unique claim of Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life.

For many people, this is something hard to accept. In one of our family conversations about Christianity, my dear relatives told me, “How can you Christians believe that Jesus is the only way? That’s too narrow and exclusive. All religions are lead to God. We are like the ten blind men trying to describe an elephant. One guy touched its trunk and said “The elephant is like a snake”. Another touched its body and said, “No, it’s like a wall”. Yet another touched its leg and think it’s like a tree. As they argued amongst themselves, the King walked by and set them straight, “All of you only got part of the truth. The elephant is a huge animal and each of you touched only a part!”

At first, the story appears to be very humble and inclusive: The truth is greater than any one of us can understand. But the only way you can know that all religions have only part of the truth is if you have the whole truth. The only way you could know that none of the blind men have the whole truth is if you can see the elephant. The only way you can tell this story is if you are the King who sees everything. There is an appearance of humility but actually there is a hidden, almost arrogant assumption that the storyteller has a knowledge that is superior to all others. But how did he get this knowledge? How can he see when everyone else is blind? If I am blind and you are blind, then how can you possibly know what the elephant is really like? You see, the problem with this story is it is actually making a very exclusive statement that no one else got it all correct except himself.

And the funny thing is: the story also contains an important truth. Because the only Person who can see everything and know the complete truth is the King… It’s God Himself. No one else can do that. Like blind men, we humans are all limited and sinful creatures who can only see part of reality. There is nothing we can boast about because we are blind like everyone else groping in the dark. We won’t know what the truth is like unless… unless the King has spoken. Unless the King who knows everything reveals Himself to us and corrects our mistakes. And guess what? That is exactly what the gospel is all about. God has already revealed Himself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “I once was blind but now I see…” because God has revealed Himself to us. The only way we can know the truth is because He has made Himself known in Christ. He is not just one of many ways or one of many gods. Jesus is the way so let us walk in Him with confidence.

2nd implication: Jesus is the truth so proclaim Him with humility

A few months ago, the Singapore Internal Security Department called up a church leader, Pastor Tan (not to be confused with our own Pastor Tan), after receiving complaints about two video clips he had posted on his church website that showed him making "insensitive comments about Buddhism." The Ministry of Home Affairs said that his remarks were "highly inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists." The pastor has since removed the video clips from the website and he apologized to the Buddhist and Taoist communities, promising that such incidents would not happen again. This could easily happen in Malaysia as well and it shows the need for Christians to rethink how we relate to people of other faiths. Do we ever catch ourselves making inaccurate, insensitive or insulting jokes about other religious beliefs or practices?

Indeed, we need to share the truth of the gospel faithfully, without watering down the gospel. But we also need to speak the truth in love, gentleness and humility. We need to respect and honor those who have yet to know Christ as persons who were made in God’s image. They have the right to believe, practice and propagate their faiths even if they don’t agree with us. We should celebrate and not begrudge the fact that people of different religions are capable of great moral integrity and profound wisdom too. When we see what is good, true and beautiful being taught by others, we can thank God that in spite of our sinful natures, this is still possible because of the common humanity we share with them. Although tainted by sin, the image of God in fallen people can still produce something good, true and beautiful. And we can use these common grounds (our shared humanity) as a bridge to dialogue with others and communicate the gospel that only in Christ would the truth, the beauty and the goodness that we all cherish make any sense at all. A missionary in Indonesia Martin Goldsmith wrote, “Sin and the remnant image of God interact both in cultures and religions. So we dare not dismiss all cultures and religions as merely demonic, evil or totally false.” Instead, there is every reason for Christians to listen to our non-Christian neighbors and humbly learn what they believe about God, about life, about truth and about salvation. Seek first to understand then be understood.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking to a mixed group of medical students at an interfaith dialogue. It was something I have always wanted to do. The topic was on the Purpose of Life. A Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian speaker was each given 15 minutes to present their views followed by questions and answers from the students. I felt it was a fruitful time as I learn from the other speakers and students. Interestingly, I also get to (legally and openly) share the gospel in front of a few dozen Muslim students. Open conversation and evangelism should not be seen as mutually exclusive. Instead, gospel witness invites dialogues and questions. And having meaningful dialogue with our neighbors expands and deepens our gospel witness. On a more personal level, interfaith conversations like that can happen at the mamak stall, kopitiam, cafeteria or anywhere. And I’m so glad that some of us in CDPC Puchong organized a visit to the Shah Alam mosque with a team from our partner churches in America. We went there to dialogue with the imam, to learn and ask questions about Islam. You see, this is the kind of dialogue, truth encounter and mutual understanding needed not only for our American mission team, but especially for our Malaysian youths as well. It would be tragic if we spend our whole lives growing up in Malaysia but never know anything about what our neighbors really believe or what worship means to them just down the road.

But for some Malaysians, interfaith dialogues like that are strictly forbidden and feared. There are loud voices in our society that say: “Only my religion is true, so how can I sit side by side with these other religions? What’s there to dialogue about? Interfaith dialogues will threaten and confuse our faith. No way! ”

But as a Christian, I have a different take on this. I don’t want to shut myself out from mutual learning because that only shows that we are not confident in what we believe. If we know what we believe is true and why we believe the things we believe then we can be confident that the truth will withstand any test. And the truth will be shown to be true no matter what others may say. The truth does not need to fear falsehood. Light is not threatened by darkness. Just the presence of light dispels darkness.

So there is no place for arrogance or insensitive jokes when it comes to speaking the truth. If people want to reject the gospel, let them do so because they refuse to accept the claims of the gospel, and not because they are turned off by our offensive or insensitive behavior. The truth is not an abstract list of dos-and-don’ts or a religious experience. The truth is personal and historical. Jesus is the truth so let us proclaim Him with humility, gentleness and respect.

The last implication: Jesus is the life so live with grace for others

There is a good reason why the idea that all religions are equally valid or “rojak spirituality” (as I call it) is so popular today. In a global village where we live so close to each other, people want to avoid religious violence and conflicts. After the September 11 attack, the ‘war on terror’ or closer to home, the cow-head incident in Shah Alam and the pig-head incidents at Old Klang Road, the world is desperately looking for ways in which different religious groups can live in peace, harmony and tolerance. That is a very noble and sincere motivation that we all share. But the thinking goes like this: “If you claim to have the truth and others don’t, that will lead to conflict and oppression. You will look down on others, right? My faith is better than yours. The followers of my religion are more holy than yours. You unclean people cannot come inside my place of worship.”

We know only too well how religion can be used by some politicians to divide, exclude and control people, don’t we? Recently there was a controversy in Penang about whether Muslims can pray for their non-Muslim leaders in the mosque. And there was another hoo-haa in Selayang over non-believers stepping into a mosque. For some, that’s strictly forbidden. You can’t even pray for those who don’t share your faith.

So wouldn’t it be nice if everybody thinks all religions are the same, then there is nothing to fight about rite? Sounds nice, but only if everybody in the world thinks like that… The problem is: You can have peace if and only if followers of all faiths play down their own beliefs and exclusively agree on another ‘faith’ different from their own. A superficial unity is achieved at the cost of ignoring genuine differences. But tolerance itself implies disagreement. You cannot ‘tolerate’ people who agree with you. They are on your side! Tolerance implies that you don’t agree on the same thing. If every person believes in the same thing that all religions are equal, then what room is there for tolerance and respect?

So on one extreme we have people who believe in absolute truth but promote conflict and separation; on the other extreme we have people who want to promote peace but they give up on the truth. Maybe there is another way. Because Jesus is the resurrection life, He can empower us to live as agents of peace and reconciliation in the society. How can the gospel do that? Well, if you believe that God accepts you because of your good works and salvation depends on how holy and righteous you are in obeying laws and regulations, then it’s very easy for you to look down on those who are not as good, holy and righteous. “Hhmph! Those are unbelievers, I want nothing to do with them. They are sinful and unclean.” Or you will look at the religious people and think, “Hmmph! Those religious fanatics, I want nothing to do with them. They are exclusive, crazy and violent!”

But the gospel says you are not saved by your performance, wisdom or morality. You are saved when you admit that you are never good enough so you need Jesus the Savior to save you from your sins. Not because of what you have done but what Christ had done on the cross for you. You are saved by grace. It’s a gift that you don’t deserve… Tim Keller said it this way: The gospel humbles you (you’re not better than others) and leads you to expect that those who don’t agree with you may be morally better than you. You would expect to find nonbelievers who are much nicer, wiser and better than we are. So you can’t look down on others. At the heart of the gospel is the life of a man who died for his enemies, prayed and forgave those who opposed and slandered him. If you follow Him, if your life is modeled after His Life, then how can you be violent to others? You can’t. His Life will release and empower you to be a peace maker, to be generous and sacrificially serve and pray for those who are different and even opposed to you. That’s what the world desperately need today. Won’t you like to be part of it?

We have just celebrated 53 years of independence. At such a time as this in Malaysia, we desperately need citizens who are committed to the common good of all and not just the interests of our own race. Perhaps there is no better time for Christians to be peace makers, to intercede for the well being of non-Christian leaders, sacrificially serve those who are different than us and sincerely invite them to our place of worship for fellowship and conversations… Perhaps that’s what it means to be salt and light in our context here in Puchong… Jesus is the Life so let us live with grace for others.

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO PASTORAL LEADERSHIP AND SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

2010-08-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCEMENT: KAIROS PUBLIC FORUM

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO PASTORAL LEADERSHIP AND SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

Churches today that aspire to grow big eagerly seek out strong leaders to lead the way. However, the price of rapid growth seems to be the displacement of pastoral ministry by organizational imperatives that prioritize efficiency and programs over personal relationships.

There is concern that strong leadership without accountability may lead to abuse of power, resulting in problems such as leadership cronyism, misappropriation of finances and sexual impropriety.

How can churches maintain the balance between organizational imperatives and pastoral care that is vital for healthy church growth in contemporary society? What biblical resources may be found to help churches and Christian leaders address the problems and challenges confronting church leadership, spiritual authority and pastoral ministry today?

These are some of the important issues that will be discussed at the Forum.

Who Should Attend?
Pastors, Church Leaders and Lay Leaders

VENUE: PETALING JAYA GOSPEL HALL
DATE: THURSDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2010
TIME: 9.30AM – 12.00 NOON

SPEAKERS:
PROFESSOR D. A. CARSON
(Research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Illinois, USA).

BISHOP DR. HWA YUNG
(Methodist Church Malaysia)

CHAIRMAN: DR. NG KAM WENG
(Research Director, Kairos Research Centre)

Msian Government Accused of Proselytising with Development Aid

2010-08-11T07:40:00.001-07:00

Change Your World

2010-08-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

Reflections: Jeremiah

2010-08-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet” for good reasons. In the royal courts, Jeremiah functioned as the magisterial enforcer of the covenant with primarily tragic laments and warnings of divine retribution (chapter 10 - 11). He reminded the people of the terms of the covenant God made at Sinai with their forefathers when He delivered them out of Egypt and the blessings and curses spelled out in Deuteronomy. His ministry lasted for about 40 years, which spanned the reign of Josiah and his reforms (2 Kings). But these reforms were not radical even for idolatry was still rampant in the land (Jeremiah 3:6). He called the faithless nation to return to the Lord (3:11-13) but Judah has not learnt from the lesson of northern kingdom’s fall. Even the leaders, priests and prophets were corrupted and worshipped Malak and the gods of the stars (chapter 7-8). Therefore the time of repentance was over and renewal would only come after the exile. Only judgment awaited the nation. Such unpopular message caused Jehoiakim and other leaders to threaten to persecute and kill him.

Jeremiah 7 tells us of the social injustices perpetrated in the land. The leaders were complacently thinking that just because the temple was in Jerusalem, the city would never fall. They were focused on the external appearance of the temple without obeying the Mosaic covenant to deal justly with the marginalized. Jeremiah cried out: “Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless, or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place and do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers.’” (7:1)

Jeremiah was told not to marry or to father children because the threat of invasion and exile were looming. Jeremiah 16 tells of the horrifying aftermath of wars and starvation as seen from the perspective of an eyewitness to the siege and fall of Jerusalem. The prophet himself was carried off at the end of the book to Egypt into exile and died there. No wonder the book of Jeremiah was filled with complaints and laments as he carried out such a difficult calling (Jeremiah 1:17-19). The Lord reassures him that he will be sustained and strengthened like a wall of bronze so he will not be overcome by opposition (15:15).

Yet there is a message of hope and comfort in Jeremiah 30 – 33. The prophet explained to the exilic community the reasons for God’s severe punishment. Upon repentance in 70 years God will return them to Judah and establish a new covenant. The new covenant will be different because God will put His law in the hearts and minds of the people instead of putting it on stone tablets. God will forgive their sins and the knowledge of God will be widespread (31:31). God is not finished with the Davidic dynasty yet despite the failure of his descendants. Jeremiah 23 explains, “The days are coming when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called, the LORD Our Righteousness.”

His message to the exiles in a foreign land was to settle down and seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which they has been deported (29:4).

Preaching At Klang Presbyterian Church

2010-08-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the kind invitation of Elder Chew, I will be preaching at Klang Presbyterian Church on apologetics (yesterday) and cultural engagement this coming Sunday. Some past issues of Kairos magazine will be distributed for free. Say hi! if you happen to drop by.

Date: 15 August 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 11 am
Venue: 103, Jalan Batu Tiga
41300 Klang
Selangor

Tel: 03-33417392/03-33446505
Fax: 03-33417392
E-mail: klang@gpm.org.my

How Not To Use PowerPoint

2010-08-03T04:40:00.001-07:00

KLANG VALLEY BIBLE CONFERENCE (KVBC) 2010

2010-07-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

KLANG VALLEY BIBLE CONFERENCE (KVBC) 2010

Expositions of Selected Parables of Jesus

Date: 13 to 15 September 2010 (Monday to Wednesday)
Time: 8:15 p.m. nightly
Venue: Clubhouse, Tropicana Golf & Country Club, Petaling Jaya
Speaker: Dr Donald A Carson
Free Admission

We hope to see you there! For further information, please visit our website http://www.kvbc.info/
Please note that Dr Carson will also be conducting the Klang Valley Expository Preaching Seminar 2010, details as follows:

KLANG VALLEY EXPOSITORY PREACHING SEMINAR (EPS) 2010
Preaching from Apocalyptic Texts - with special reference to Revelation

Date: 14 and 15 September 2010 (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Clubhouse, Tropicana Golf & Country Club, Petaling Jaya
Speaker: Dr Donald A Carson
Cost: to be confirmed (please refer to the registration forms when they are out)
Registration is required as seating is limited.

Registration forms will be available by end July 2010 from Evangel Book Centre (SS2, Petaling Jaya) and our website http://www.kvbc.info/

The Function of Salutation & Thanksgiving in Pauline Epistles

2010-07-10T02:24:00.001-07:00

The Function of Salutation and Thanksgiving in Pauline Epistles

Taking Your Soul to Work

2010-06-29T01:51:00.000-07:00

A three-part sermon series on prayer and work
July 11, 18 and 25

City Discipleship Presbyterian Church, Puchong

Speaker: Alvin Ung
-------------------------------------------

Hi! How's your work coming along?

Quick. What's the first thought that comes to mind? ___________.

Many people find work to be stressful, busy, tedious, and meaningless. For example:

a) Work = traffic jam, back-to-back meetings, endless projects, office politics, meaningless KPIs.

b) Work = cooking, washing, feeding, keeping the house neat, ferrying the kids to tuition.

c) Work = homework, more stupid homework. And trying to stay awake during boring classes.

Do you hope for meaningful work? Do you think it's possible for your work to help you become more Christ-like in the way you think and act? Do you desire to be more attentive to God's presence while you work? Do you long for Christ's presence? Do you want to take your soul to work?

If you identify with any of the challenges and questions above...

We invite you to attend a three-part series on Taking your Soul to Work. The sermons will be interactive, reflective and practical. Each sermon will feature a 10-minute conversation with a "mystery guest." After the Sunday morning service, there will be Q&A opportunities to interact with the guests.

Details as follows.
-------------------

July 11: Prayer as Work.
To take our souls to work, we prioritize private prayer as work. Jesus will serve as our mentor in choosing silence and solitude as life became increasingly busy. A lecturer/counselor at a large private university will share her experiences of what led her to spend eight days of silence in prayer -- and why prayer became so important for her as she faced the tyranny of the urgent.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice prioritizing prayer as work.

July 18: Praying and Working.

To take our souls to work, we pray intentionally while we work. The Lord's Prayer will serve as our model and approach in praying regularly throughout the day. A senior business executive at a large corporation will share his experiences of what led him to pray before work, during work and after work -- and why he has found this practice to be so life-giving amid the stresses of daily work.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice being attentive to God while we work.

July 25: Work as Prayer

To take our souls to work, we bring our whole selves to work. The Apostle Paul will serve as our mentor in transforming the fruits of his labor into prayer. A mother, counselor and CEO of a thriving restaurant and boutique business will share her experiences of what led her to place her life and work in God's hands -- to trust that all will be well amid the tough leadership decisions of daily life.

What to expect: we will reflect and seek creative ways to practice becoming 'prayer-full' workers.
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Dates: July 11, 18 and 25 (Sundays)
Time: Worship service starts at 10am
Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church (CDPC) Puchong
1-13 and 1-15 (1st floor)
Jalan Merbah 1, Bandar Puchong Jaya
47100 Puchong

Directions: CDPC Puchong is next to IOI Mall's new wing, on the first floor above Puchong Lakeview Cafe.
----------------------
About the speaker:

Alvin Ung sees himself as a beginner in prayer. He regrets not being attentive to the life of prayer while he worked as a counselor, analyst, journalist and telecommunications executive. He's grateful that his subsequent work in theology, philanthropy, leadership development, fatherhood and marriage have become a training ground and playground for integrating prayer and work.

Alvin is currently a Fellow at Khazanah Nasional, where is he is writing a book on the mindsets and methodologies of breakthrough leaders in Malaysia. His other book, Taking Your Soul to Work: Overcoming the Nine Deadly Sins of the Workplace, will be released by Eerdmans in September 2010. He is undergoing training in a three-year program as a Spiritual Companion in Ignatian spirituality. He's married to Huey Fern. They have a son, Andrew.

Looking at Homosexuality Theologically

2010-05-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

Prakash a fellow student at Malaysia Bible Seminary has written a thoughtful and challenging paper on the topic of homosexuality during the course Sexual Ethics. He is a Nepalese brother who is immensely gifted in music, love for children and a keen mind for biblical/social issues.

Homosexuality in Theological Perspectives

Common Questions About Creation Care

2010-05-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

The latest edition of Kairos magazine carries this article written in partnership with the folks at Biblical Environmental Stewardship Malaysia (google it!)

Why care for creation if it is to be destroyed by fire eventually (2 Peter 3:10-13)? Why bother since we'd be whisked away safely in our spirits from this God-forsaken physical planet?

Our Christian duty to be responsible stewards of God’s creation is based on clear biblical instruction in the Creation Mandate and motivated by love for the Creator and love for our neighbors, whose well-being depends very much on a sound ecosystem. (See Dr Leong Tien Fock’s article on Creation Care in this edition of Kairos for more details).

Therefore, it does not ultimately rest on any eschatological debate on whether the present universe will be utterly destroyed and replaced by a new universe created from scratch. It is clear though that the earth as it is now will not remain forever but will pass away.

The passage in 2 Peter 3:6-13 seem to imply that the present world will be subjected to judgment by fire but would ultimately result in the new heaven and the new earth. John Piper writes, “When Revelation 21:1 and 2 Peter 3:10 say that the present earth and heavens will ‘pass away,’ it does not have to mean that they go out of existence, but may mean that there will be such a change in them that their present condition passes away.

We might say, ‘The caterpillar passes away, and the butterfly emerges.’ There is a real passing away, and there is a real continuity, a real connection.”

Through fire, the present universe will be refined, restored, renewed and transformed into the new one. Just as the old world was destroyed by the Flood and the present world arose out of it, so also would the present world be dissolved by fire to give rise to a purified new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:5-7).

Read on below:

Common Questions Christians Ask About Creation Care

Malaysia Bible Seminari Experience

2010-05-02T03:07:00.000-07:00

Dr Tony Lim asked me to write of my experience as a part time student at MBS so here goes:

As a new Christian believer, I used to think that an intellectual understanding of what and why we believe is not important as long as we have an experiential feeling in our heart! The heart is what you used in a relationship with God but the brain is what you used while studying science, computers, economics and history in school.

This results in a separation of the heart for spiritual stuffs and the mind for secular stuffs. But when that happens, no wonder our faith has so little impact on how we do our work or studies in the world. And no wonder our daily activities outside the church have very little to do with God or the gospel. Yet Scripture tells us: “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your minds” (Romans 12:2). It doesn’t say “Be transformed by the removal of your minds”!

As I slowly discover that love for God involves all our being (heart, head and hands), I begin to see the value of theology in my own spiritual life and ministry. Together with a group of working adults, I enrolled in Malaysia Bible Seminari (MBS) on part time basis while working as an IT consultant. Despite the challenge of battling traffic jams to attend night classes, the MBS learning experience has been both personally-enriching and ministry-enabling. The able and helpful lecturers equipped me with a biblical framework of creation, sin and redemption through which I have the tools to discern truth from error, right from wrong, beauty from ugliness in contemporary Malaysian life and the world in general. Seminary training is an invaluable resource as I engage with marketplace issues through the blog: http://theagora.blogspot.com/

Today, there is an urgent and serious need for the church as a redeemed community to respond to current issues like racism, inter-religious harmony, creation care, globalization and ethics in medical technology. Since the gospel is public truth (not just private experience), we have a responsibility to think and speak biblically in the public square where such practical issues of life are discussed and decided. We cannot address these burning issues in our Malaysian society without faithfully and diligently applying our hearts and minds to connect God’s word with God’s world.

Liberation Theology: The Gospel and Solidarity With The Poor

2010-05-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

Although liberation theology is by no means monolithic, certain broad emphases are discernible in how its practitioners understand the function of theological reflection. In contrast with abstract metaphysics that seem disconnected with ordinary life, liberal theologians stressed that theology should proceed in dialectical relationship with the common experience of oppression and poverty. The theologian is not a disinterested and neutral observer.

Rather his or her commitment to the poor against unjust structures which dehumanize God’s children becomes the particular, concrete context for critical reflection on praxis in light of God’s word. Committed action comes first, reflection follows as a second step. An understanding of liberation theology cannot be acquired by mere learning without actively taking the first step of embarking on its path.

Latin American Liberation Theology: The Gospel & Solidarity With The Poor

The Prolepsis of God’s Revelation in History

2010-04-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Since the 1960’s, a different theological project that is concerned with the classical quest for ultimate truth again has emerged. The foremost among its proponents is Wolfhart Pannenberg, a former student of Barth. The German theologian sought to propose correctives to what he perceived to be increasing privatization of modern theology as a merely subjective sphere sheltered from public scientific or historical inquiry. The retreat of theology into a cultural ghetto owes much to a post-Enlightenment mindset which views authority and claims of truth with suspicion. For Pannenberg, systematic theology ought to be a discipline in search for universal truth that illumines all human knowledge. As such, theological statements ought to be boldly open to rational inquiry of the historical basis on which they rest.

Wolfhart Pannenberg: The Prolepsis of God's Revelation in History

Schleiermacher: Dawn of Liberal Theology

2010-04-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Schleiermacher: Dawn of Liberal Theology

Easter Message @ Sg Buloh Orang Asli Village

2010-04-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Purpose of Life Selamat petang ayah-ayah, ibu-ibu, anak-anak, aji-aji semua. Nama saya “Chong” dan saya sungguh gembira dan bersuka cita dapat menyambut minggu Kebangkitan bersama-sama anda semua. Tahukah anda apakah itu hari Kebangkitan?

Hari Kebangkitan merupakan hari kemenangan, hari Yesus mengalahkan musuh musuh kita iaitu kuasa dosa dan kuasa maut. Tiga hari selepas Yesus mati disalib demi dosa dosa seluruh dunia, Yesus bangkit semula, Yesus hidup kembali untuk selama-lamanya.

Pernahkah anda bertanya bagaimana adanya bulan dan bintang-bintang seperti permata di atas langit? Dari mana datangnya manusia, pokok-pokok dan haiwan di dunia ini?

Alkitab memberitahu kita Tuhan Allah menciptakan alam semesta, matahari, bulan dan bintang bintang di langit. Tuhan Pencipta segala kehidupan makhluk dan tumbuhan di bumi ini. Tuhan menyayangi kita dan memberi kita nafas hidup sebagai manusia supaya kita dapat mengenali, mendekati dan merapati Tuhan seperti Ayah/Bapa kita di syurga.

Akan tetapi hubungan kita dengan Tuhan diputuskan oleh dosa-dosa yang kita lakukan. Dalam hati kita ada perasaan dengki, tamak, benci, sombong dan dosa mementingkan diri sendiri. Dosa kita merosakkan hubungan antara manusia dengan Tuhan yang maha suci dan mulia. Kerana Tuhan mulia dan kita berdosa, maka semua manusia hidup di bawah kuasa dosa dan kuasa maut.

Bagaimanakah kita boleh memulihkan hubungan kita dengan Tuhan?

2000 tahun yang lalu Tuhan menjelma sebagai seorang manusia bernama Yesus. Tuhan Yesus mengajar kita kebenaran, Yesus menyembuhkan orang buta, orang sakit, Yesus menyelamatkan orang orang yang berdosa. Hidup Yesus suci dan sempurna. Dan Yesus mati disalib sebagai pengganti kita demi dosa dosa seluruh dunia. Kerana dosa saya dan dosa anda, kita harus dihukum dan dipisahkan dari hadirat Tuhan yang suci. Tapi Yesus mati sebagai korban/pengganti kita supaya hukuman kita jatuh atas diri Yesus. Yesus menanggung segala dosa kita di atas salib kerana Tuhan meyayangi kita dan mahu menyelamatkan kita.

3 hari selepas Yesus mati disalib, Yesus bangkit dari maut dan hidup semula buat selamanya. Inilah sebab umat Kristian merayakan hari Paskah. Kebangkitan Yesus membuktikan bahawa Yesus sesungguhnya Tuhan yang berkuasa ke atas kehidupan dan kematian. Tiada manusia lain yang mampu mengatasi kuasa maut. Hanya Yesus satu-satunya Juru Selamat yang hidup semula. Barang siapa yang percaya kepada Nama Yesus, Nama di atas segala Nama akan diselamatkan dari kuasa dosa dan kuasa maut.

Kerana kebangkitan Yesus Kristus, Tuhan memberi kita pengampunan dosa dan kemenangan atas kuasa syaitan. Kerana kebangkitan Yesus, kita tidak lagi hidup di bawah ketakutan maut. Yesus telah bangkit maka maut hanyalah pintu masuk ke dalam Kerajaan Allah.

Yesus lah jalan pendamaian kita (umat manusia) dengan Tuhan sendiri. Kerana Yesus, kita dapat berdamai dengan Tuhan , Tuhan sendiri menhadi Bapa kita di syurga dan kita menjadi anak-anak Tuhan jika kita menerima Yesus sebagai Raja dan Juru selamat kita.

Yesus berkata: "Akulah kebangkitan dan hidup; sesiapa yang percaya kepada-Ku, dia akan hidup walaupun dia sudah mati, dan setiap orang yang hidup dan yang percaya kepada-Ku, tidak akan mati selama-lamanya. Percayakah anda?" (Yohanes 11:25b-26a)

Jika kita menerima Yesus sebagai Raja dan Juru selamat kita, hidup kita bebas dari kuasa dosa, bebas dari ketakutan maut dan Tuhan menjadi Bapa kita di syurga.

The Purpose Of Life (IMU Interfaith Forum)

2010-03-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Had the pleasure of doing an interfaith forum at International Medical University on the topic of The Purpose of Life alongside Saudara Shah Kirit, Bro Michael Aloysius, Mr Ganga and Dr Phang. The message can be downloaded here

Easter: Coming To A Planet Near You

2010-03-27T01:45:00.001-07:00

The tomb is empty! Christ has risen from the grave.

Startled with fear and doubt, the best theory His disciples could come up with was that they have seen a ghost! (Luke 24:37)

So he shows them His very physical hands and feet, “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones”.

Still they remain stunned in joy and amazement. Then Jesus gave them the ultimate evidence.

“You’ve got anything here to eat?”

And the risen Lord of the universe munched down a piece of broiled fish in front of their eyes (Luke 24:42). His resurrected body is capable of swallowing food neatly unlike those messy ghosts we find in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.

This is no phantom. He is back – with muscles, bones and a functioning stomach.

All over the world, Christians celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. It marks the end of Lent season of fasting, prayer and penance; and the beginning of Easter season that lasts for fifty days until Pentecost. Tom Wright wrote, “If Lent is a time to give things up; Easter ought to be a time to take things up.”

If Lent is a season to let go of old habits, sins and attitudes that hinder our walk with God, what are the new and wholesome things we should pick up for Easter season?

That really depends on how we understand the meaning of Easter for us today.

When many people think of the resurrection, they think of life after death in heaven. Like those popular cartoon sketches of people floating around in fluffy clouds, wearing white gowns with a harp in their hand and a halo on their head. The idea is to escape from this physical world. Life on this earth is just a temporary transit station to a disembodied state of bliss somewhere else.

And the danger of that is we can be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. It creates a mentality where we withdraw from life and passively wait for the afterlife.

But the Christian hope of eternal life is not like that. It is not about running away from reality. Our ultimate future is a new heaven and a new earth. This world we live in will be renewed, transformed and restored. It won’t be abandoned or left to rot.

So we look forward to a resurrection just like Jesus’ where we will be raised to life in an incorruptible and glorified body. (Not as a ghostly, floating apparition!)

What God has done in Christ on Easter morning, He would do on a cosmic scale for the entire creation, including us. There will be no more sorrow, sickness, decay or violence for God will wipe away every tear and restore all that is good. C.S. Lewis described the future redeemed world to be more substantial, more tangible and more solid than the world as we know it.

The fullness of God's kingdom shall come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So we can expect to be fruitful stewards of His renewed universe and worshipful priests who glorify and enjoy God’s presence for eternity.

But while we wait for that glorious day, we can start practicing right now! In the meantime, we are to live today as if the future is already present. The way we go about our daily chores, prayers and worship are to be signposts pointing forward to what God’s reign in its future fullness would look like.

The church community is like a movie preview: We are to display some hints, glimpses or foretastes of the actual movie so people will look at us and go, “Wow! I want to see the complete show!” New Creation: Coming soon to a planet near you…

If that is what Easter resurrection means, shall we not take up some new things that model (in small ways) the future kingdom of justice, love and hope?

Now, how would that look like?

Perhaps it could mean simple things like signing up for a new project that gets our hands dirty conserving the environment. Or maybe, getting involved in caring for the poor and the sick around us? Ever thought of spending some time and energy on a worthy social cause that promotes fairness and peace in our country?

Surely the surprising reality of Easter Sunday ought to empower us to be witnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection the way it did for the early disciples.

If the present creation and our bodies will not be forsaken but ultimately transformed, then we are to work here-and-now in anticipation of that final vision. Resurrection power is lived out in down-to-earth realities, grounded in the real world where we do business, as we cook in the kitchen, when we play with our children, study in schools, draw a painting, love and be loved, infusing everyday life with fresh spirituality and power.

If Lent is a season for fasting, then perhaps Easter should be a season of celebrating the newness of life, the goodness of creation and the hope of future glory that may even include a hearty meal of broiled fish eaten to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Romans 6:5)

Be Yourself

2010-03-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

Came back from Vietnam at 11 pm on Friday, drove up to Cameron Highlands on Sat morning for Riptreat camp 2010 and drove 4 hours back to Ipoh to attend Simon and Samantha's wedding... Amazing weekend! Tiring but I enjoyed the time with the Ripples youths again. Here is the sermon transcript with lots of Tim Keller influences all over. Have been reading his new book "Counterfeit Gods".

Be Yourself

Lent Reflection: Our Hope against All Hope

2010-03-03T05:59:00.001-08:00

Date: Thursday, March 4
Title: Our Hope against All Hope
The Bible Passage: Romans 4: 13-25
Key Words: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” (Romans 4:18)

Reality check: The guy was a centenarian while his wife was sterile. They faced the fact that they were never going to have a child of their own. (v19)

But here comes the promise: “Your name will be Abraham for you will be the father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). It must have sounded like a divine punch line because even Abraham and Sarah can barely stop laughing! Yet when all hope seemed lost, they put their confidence in God. If He can raise the dead and create everything out of nothing, surely He is big enough to do what He has said.

Their miracle boy Isaac was pledged by the sheer grace of God. And they received the promise with the empty hands of faith. It was not something they had earned. God didn’t say, “Obey this law and I will bless you”.

It was more like, “I will bless you and make you a blessing. Believe in My promise”.

Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. (v22)

Don’t we sometimes get into the habit of bargaining with our heavenly Father for goodies? “Lord, if I deny myself some earthly pleasures, would you promise to answer my requests? Or if I give extra offering, surely I deserve extra blessing!”

Such prayers look more like a business deal than a relationship. And if we fail to keep up with our efforts to appease God, we fall into despair.

Perhaps we need another reality check: Aren’t we now spiritual children of Abraham through faith in Jesus? By sheer grace, God’s promised blessing is poured out to many nations (including us!)

Like Abraham, we are declared as righteous through Christ who died for our sins and resurrected for our justification (v 25). That’s good news!

Which means the basis of our acceptance and petitions before God depends on what Christ has done rather than our track record in law-keeping. The gospel sets us free to humbly say, “Lord, it’s not about me. It’s all from you and for your glory. Help me with this need or support me without it being met. I trust in your promise to never leave nor forsake me.”

When all hope seems lost, open up the empty hands of faith and lay hold of His promises. Be fully persuaded that God has the power to do what he has said.

Islam and Christianity in Middle East: An Arab Christian Perspective

2010-02-24T05:30:00.001-08:00

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A Public Lecture on Islam and Christianity in Middle East: An Arab Christian Perspective

Date & Time : Wednesday, 3rd March 2010, 10:00am
Speaker : Dr. Chawkat Moucarry (Director of Inter-faith Relations, World Vision U.K.)

Chairperson : Professor Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali (Founding Chairman & CEO, IAIS Malaysia.)

Venue : IAIS (International Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies) Malaysia, Jalan Elmu, Off Jalan Universiti, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Programme

09:45am-10:00am Arrival of Guests and Registration
10:00am-10:05am Welcoming Remarks by the chairperson
10:05am-10:55am Address by the Speaker
10:55am-12:15pm Discussion

Chawkat Moucarry was born in Aleppo (Syria) and grew up in a Catholic home. He lived in Paris for twenty years. In 1994 he moved to England where he taught Islamic and Middle-Eastern Studies at All Nations Christian College. In September 2006 he joined World Vision International, a Christian Development, Relief and Advocacy organization, as the director of inter-faith relations. He is fluent in Arabic (mother tongue), French and English. Chawkat has a Masters degree in Christian theology and a PhD in Islamic Studies from the Sorbonne University (Paris). He wrote several articles and books including The Prophet & the Messiah. An Arab Christian’s Perspective on Islam & Christianity (IVP, 2001), The Search for Forgiveness. Pardon and Punishment in Islam and Christianity (IVP, 2004) and Two Prayers for Today. The Lord’s Prayer and The Fatiha (CSS Books: Tiruvalla, 2007). Chawkat is married, his wife is from Denmark. They live in the London area and they have four children.

Admission is Free.

Please confirm your participation latest by Monday, 1st March 2010

RSVP: Tel: 03-79569188 Fax: 03-79562188 or 03-79562966 Email: reply@iais.org.my

International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, Jalan Elmu, Off Jalan Universiti, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Bonus: Chawkat Moucarry is also speaking at the ‘Making Room Seminar: Living out the Theology of Divine Hospitality’ sponsored by World Vision / Kairos Research Centre at Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from 1st – 2nd March 2010.

For more information kindly contact World Vision at 03-7880 6414 / E-Mail: admin@worldvision.com.my

为什么基督徒应该关怀受造物？

2010-02-22T07:48:00.001-08:00

全世界的基督教会正在觉醒，他们意识到圣经对关怀上帝的受造物所提出的挑战。

A Rocha是一个以基督为信仰的自然保护组织，我们的名称是源于葡萄牙语的磐石，也是我们组织的第一个启动项目，一个葡萄牙的野外研究中心。现在，A Rocha已经发展成为一个全球性项目大家族，遍布欧洲、中东、非洲、南北美洲、亚洲以及大洋洲。A Rocha项目具有跨文化的特点，强调社群共享，致力于科学研究、自然保护行动和环境教育。

GraceWorks: Mentoring Seminar

2010-02-22T02:26:00.001-08:00

Mentoring Seminar Flyer

Spiritual Mentoring seminar by Rev Dr Tan Soo-Inn
The greatest need of the hour is not better programmes or more sophisticated
technology. The greatest need of the hour is for a transformed community, mature
followers of Jesus who will bring Godly wisdom and grace into a needy world.
But how do we help followers of Jesus grow in Christ-like maturity?
We will see that spiritual mentoring is a primary “method” that God has provided
to help people grow in Christ-likeness. This is the model that Jesus Himself gave us.
He developed people through close personal relationships.
This seminar will take a biblical and practical look at questions like:
· What are the basic components of spiritual mentoring?
· What are the three directions of mentoring?
· How can I give and receive spiritual mentoring where I am?
Specific strategies will be suggested as to how you can do spiritual mentoring
whether you are starting out or adapting fresh insights to existing programmes.
Our ultimate goal is for participants to grow in their capacity to give and receive
spiritual mentoring so that we can be the people that God wants us to be for the
times we live in.
Date: 13 March 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 10.30am - 3pm
Venue: Canaanland HQ @ 25 Jalan PJU 1A/41B, NZX Commercial Centre, Ara Jaya,
47301 Petaling Jaya (click for map direction)
Email: larry@canaanland.com.my
Investment: RM30 per pax (including materials - excluding lunch)
Speaker: Rev Dr Tan Soo-Inn

Second Thoughts About "Canonical Pseudepigraphy"

2010-02-20T08:33:00.001-08:00

In his Dictionary of Later New Testament and Its Developments article on pseudepigraphy (which means “false superscription”), James Dunn discussed the problem of New Testament writings that explicitly claim to have been written by a certain person but were believed by many modern scholars to have been written by someone else.

Unlike anonymous New Testament writings such as the book of Hebrews, the issue of false attribution in pseudepigraphal writings raised questions about their integrity and acceptability in the canon. For example, we read of Serapion (second century A.D.) who rejected the Gospel of Peter as “the writings that falsely bear their names [Peter and the other apostles] . . . knowing that such were not handed down to us” (Eusebius Hist. Eccl. 6.12.3).

Dunn described the nature of the moral and theological problem in this way, “It is this judgment of falseness, of an intent to deceive and mislead, particularly by passing off as apostolic what should not be so regarded, that makes the issue of pseudepigraphy in the NT so sensitive.” On the other hand, Dunn recognized the significant consensus of NT scholarship that maintains the pseudepigraphic character of NT writings such as Ephesians, the Pastoral epistles and 2 Peter. How then should we reconcile this apparent contradiction?

Download the rest of the article review below:
Review the Pseudepigraphy Article

Globalisation And The Kingdom of God

2010-02-12T07:23:00.001-08:00

Vinoth Public Forum Announcement World Vision Malaysia & Kairos Research Centre is organising a public forum on "Globalisation & The Kingdom Of God"

Speakers : Dr Vinoth & Karin Ramanchandran

Date : March 1st, 2010 ( Monday )
Time : 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Venue : Ballroom 1 , Corus Hotel , Kuala Lumpur

Attendance is free.

Details are as in the attached file. Please do come and encourage others to do so for a stimulating discussion.

Shalom,
Ng Kam Weng & Liew Tong Ngan

Synopsis of Vinoth Ramanchandran, Subverting Global Myths:

The Global Myths that hold us captive

What myths about terrorism are spread due to lack of historical memory and moral focus?

Why since 9/11 are religions blamed for violent conflicts around the world?

Are human rights self-evident truths, or does protection of rights around the world demand a deeper understanding?

How does liberal talk of multiculturalism mask the way cultural diversity is threatened by forces of secularism and capitalism?

What encourages the divorce of scientific research from moral reflection, with dire consequences for the planet?

Are we trapped between the contradictory stories that we are determined by our genes and that we have an unlimited capacity for redesigning ourselves?

What historical myths lie beyond current thinking about globalization, and how do we free ourselves from ongoing colonial mindsets and practices?

In Memory of Carol Rasiah

2010-01-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Kepala Khinzir, Kepala Lembu Dan Kepala Raksasa Di Kalangan Kita

2010-01-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

Terjemahan dari rencana Farish A. Noor bertajuk “Pigs' Heads, Cows' Heads and The Demons Among Us”

Terjemahan Mahabharatta dalam bahasa Melayu-Indonesia, Hikayat Pandawa Lima, menceritakan episod menarik dan mustahak yang berlaku atas medan pertempuran Bharatayudha. Putera Pandawa bernama Yudistira – seorang pertapa berjiwa damai – terpaksa berjuang dengan Raja Prabu Salya. Prabu Salya memiliki suatu senjata hebat yang tidak boleh dikalahkan oleh sesiapa pun, iaitu, Raksasa Chandrabirawa.

Raksasa ini tidak mudah ditumpaskan kerana ia menjadi lebih kuat setiap kali ia diserang. Jika tangannya dipotong, tangan baru tumbuh semula, lebih berkuasa dan bahaya dari sebelumnya. Ratusan pendekar cuba mengalahkan raksasa ini tetapi mereka semua gagal . Malah makhluk itu menjadi lebih kuat selepas pertarungan kerana ia dibekalkan keganasan dan kebencian.

Namun Prabu Salya telah diberi amaran bahawa beliau akan tumpas di tangan ‘orang berjiwa murni yang tidak mencederakan sesiapa’.

Apabila Raksasa Chandrabirawa datang berdepan dengan putera Yudistira, baginda enggan berlawan. Walaupun dilontar cemuhan dan provokasi Chandrabirawa, Yudistira tabah berdiam dan langsung tidak bertindak keras. Maka Raksasa itu naik berang melihat tingkah laku Yudistira dan api kemarahannya semakin marak sehingga ia musnah dibakar obor kebenciannya sendiri. Termakbullah legenda bahawa Prabu Salya akan ditumpaskan oleh ‘orang berjiwa murni yang tidak mencederakan sesiapa’.

Hari ini, ada golongan yang ingin mengapi-apikan keadaan di Malaysia dengan perbuatan provokasi, bertujuan untuk menyalakan rasa gusar dan benci di kalangan kita. Kita melihat insiden sedih dan memalukan di mana kepala lembu dan kini, kepala khinzir pula dipancung dalam kemarahan.

Walaupun pihak berkuasa bertanggungjawab untuk menghentikan kitaran keganasan dari berterusan, kita, setiap warga Malaysia, juga memikul kewajipan memilih bagaimana kita bertindak balas terhadap perbuatan provokasi mereka. Pada masa sebegini, fikiran tenang dan emosi tabah harus dikekalkan. Inilah saat kita diseru mencontohi jiwa Yudistira dalam sanubari kita. Semangat cinta damai putera bijaksana ini adalah aktif serta melibatkan suatu keputusan untuk menghindari perangkap golongan provokator.

Kitaran benci dan keganasan hanya dapat dihentikan apabila kita sendiri mematahkan rangkaiannya yang di depan mata dan enggan membiarkan diri menjadi bidak dalam permainan api dalang yang tidak berprinsip dan takut mendedahkan diri mereka di muka umum.

Sudah cukup kita melihat insiden kepala lembu atau kepala khinzir ini! Marina Mahathir menggesa kita agar jangan biarkan provokasi mereka membawakan persengketaan (27 Jan 2010) jadi marilah kita – warga Malaysia dari setiap lapisan masyarakat yang pelbagai kepercayaan – memulih kembali kebebasan negara kita dari golongan fanatik, penakut dan provokator ini. Kebencian tidak dapat dikalahkan dengan kebencian, dan sentimen perkauman tidak akan ditumpaskan dengan lebih racun perkauman.

Seperti Yudistira, kita harus membuktikan bahawa cinta akan keamanan, cinta sesama kita adalah kuasa yang mampu menewaskan raksasa di kalangan kita. Dan seperti Yudistira, kita mesti faham bahawa pasifisme bukanlah kelemahan, malah ia adalah ekspresi paling ketara bagi jiwa bebas lagi bijaksana yang enggan berkompromi dalam mengikuti jejak dendam dan kebencian.

PS: Photo courtesy of Allianda.wordpress

Malaysia: Who Is Being Converted?

2010-01-16T23:47:00.001-08:00

Aljazeera: Religious tensions are rising in Malaysia following a High Court ruling which declared non-Muslims could use the Arabic word "Allah" when referring to God.

Christian churches have been attacked across the country and protests have been held in major mosques against the decision.

The issue has highlighted the tensions between minority ethnic and religious groups and the Malay Muslim majority.

The ruling came after a recent petition by Malaysia's Roman Catholic Church, whose main publication, the Herald, uses the word "Allah" in its Malay-language edition.

Rev Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, has said there is no other appropriate term for God in Malay.

The word "Allah" has been used by Malay-speaking Christians for centuries, as well as by Christians in Arabic-speaking countries and in Indonesia.

On this edition of 101 East, we look at the current debate raging in Malaysia over the ownership of the word 'Allah.'

101 East presenter Fauziah Ibrahim is joined by Marina Mahathir, a social activist, Khalid Samad, a Malaysian opposition MP, and Yusri Mohamad of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement.

*****

On a different note, Muslim activists have claimed repeatedly that Christians in Malaysia refuse to drop using the word Allah because they want to confuse and convert Muslims, thereby posing a threat to national security. The claim is both groundless and insincere.

We need to make judgments based on solid facts, not groundless charges. In fact, one should ask, "Who is being converted?"

You may want to read the relevant statistics found at Krisis Praxis blog

Anugerah Juara Lagu Ke-24

2010-01-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

Pergi - Aizat (Anugerah Juara Lagu 24)

Sayu terpisah
hikayat indah kini hanya tinggal sejarah
berhembus angin rindu
begitu nyamannya terhidu wangian kasihmu
hujan lebat mencurah kini
bagaikan tiada henti
kaulah laguku kau irama terindah
tak lagi kudengari
kau pergi.. pergi..
sepi tanpa kata
terdiam dan kaku tak daya kau kulupa
apa pun kata mereka
biarkan kenangan berbunga di ranting usia

Komposer: Pete Teo

I visited Pete's blog last weekend and found these inspiring words

"I know your country is not perfect. You have your crazies too. But I bet your crazies haven’t recently thrown an idealistic young man off a building in the name of a dubious investigation. I’d wager also that you don’t feel insidious contempt at the mere thought of public servants. Hell, your politicians resign or kill themselves when they’re tainted with infamy - while ours… well, let just say they hang around for encore.

It did not used to be like this. At least I don’t remember it to be so. I grew up loving LAT and believing that Malaysia was a story of tolerance and diversity. We might never be a beacon of discipline and efficiency but we would never be wanting for character and spirit either. But it appeared that, somewhere between then and now, Kampong Boy got kidnapped and we instead became a nation run by unworthy men and women ever willing to trade the nation’s soul for a few empty slogans and platitudes.

Did we change? Or had it been a myth all along? It does not matter. What matters is that we dwell in a cesspool of corruption, hypocrisy and stagnation. And since this is home, one is duty-bound to protect it from further dilapidation. So I recruited filmmakers, actors, musicians, activists and politicians to make 15 socio-political short films. We called it 15Malaysia..."

"What I had really wanted to say was that I wished Yasmin were here. She was the first to sign up and the first to shoot. She spent every cent of her budget on production and refused to keep one penny as fee. And after she’d seen a few of the films, she texted to say: “if there’s a few more like you, perhaps we might turn this country around.” You can’t believe how much of an encouragement that would become when the going got tough. Still, I missed her enough already. So I left it unsaid.

That’s not to say that I was not haunted by her words though. Given the media frenzy surrounding the project, it was easy to let aggrandizing bullshit get to your head. But the truth is – 15 short films alone will not solve the country’s problems – and all we’ve really done is merely to widen the country’s discursive space by a little. We do need more people to step into the breach and keep the flames of reform burning. Otherwise, what we did would amount to nothing more than casual entertainment."

God's Grand Story

2010-01-10T10:02:00.001-08:00

The world is pretty messed up. We don’t need to look far to find racial conflict, injustices, corruption, poverty, hatred and environmental degradation in our Malaysian society.

It’s easy to get really upset and angry about what’s wrong with the world. We all hope and yearn for a better world to live in.

If our hunger points to food and our thirst points to water, could our desire for a "better world" be a clue to something else? Perhaps we have forgotten how it once looked like.

Created For Good

At the very beginning, God worked creatively to get the universe up and running. He also made people in His own likeness so that we could enjoy a loving relationship with God, with each other and be His partners in eco-management - caring and ruling the earth. It was designed to be a place of beauty, abundance and harmony.

Broken By Evil

Until the day when everything went terribly wrong. We decided to run our lives apart from God and became self-centered. But there is no happiness apart from God. As a result, we seek our own good above others' and exploit natural resources in greed. Death, sorrow and sickness entered the world. The wonderful relationship with God, with each other and with nature was tragically broken.

Rescued By Grace

But God loved the world too much to leave it that way so he came to our rescue in the person of Jesus. Not because of how good, humble or smart we are. He lived the perfect life of love that we should have lived. He died the sacrificial death that we should have died for our wrong doing. Through his death on the cross and coming back to life again, Jesus restored our relationship with God and broke down the walls of hatred that divide us from each other and the entire creation.

Renewed To Change Together

The renewal of a “better world” that reached its climax in the death and resurrection of Jesus will be fully completed in the future. In the meantime, Jesus invites you and I to follow after Him and sends us out as His people of healing justice to transform relationships, social systems and environmental stewardship.

It's not about us or our selfish agenda.
It's all about God and His Kingdom for the world.

Where are you in this Story? Will you be part of this revolution of grace?

Darlene asked me to write something about God's Story for the new church plant website. (Yes, I would be part of a church planting effort in Puchong starting from March 2010 so TheAgora may be orphaned soon but we're still thinking thru how it might fit the young church... or maybe not!) This draft gospel presentation was inspired by the 'Four Circles' developed by James Choung. I tried to contextualize a tad for Msians so your feedbacks would be most welcome!

Loving The Enemy

2010-01-08T08:24:00.001-08:00

(Matthew 5:43-48) 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Sermon Audio on "Loving The Enemy" can be downloaded here with group discussion questions.

Salam 1Malaysia! We are continuing a series of sermons based on the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus spells out what it is like living as the people of God’s Kingdom, what it means to be a community that follows after Jesus as their King. He is challenging the kind of empty religion that looks good on the outside but is corrupted on the inside. Many people think, “I’m morally okay since I’m not a serial killer or I don’t sleep with someone else’s wife. When I swear in God’s name, I don’t break my oath. I’m basically quite a good person lah.” But Jesus goes deeper than the outward, external action. He zooms in to our inner hearts, our hidden motives and secret intentions. “No, that’s not good enough. You have heard that it was said that… But I tell you this…”

You should not commit murder in your heart with hatred. It is a sin to commit adultery in your heart with lust. Your word is your bond. Tell the truth in what you say. Don’t need to swear at all.

Again we see how radical Jesus’ message was to his original audience and to us today. He is not abolishing the Old Testament Law by lowering the standard. Instead He is fulfilling the purpose of the Law by going to the root of the problem. Sin must be dealt with radically in our heart. And this is the “righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law”. It’s not just following the letter of the law, but also keeping the spirit of the law. It is obedience that comes from the inside out.

In the passage we read just now, Jesus does the same thing again. You see, the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself is not something new. It’s also found in the Old Testament. In Leviticus 19:18, it says, “'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” But as time went by, the people in Israel began to limit love only to their fellow Israelites. Who is my neighbor? Only my own people. My relatives. Those who share my race and religion. So I’d love them exclusively. The rest are not my neighbors so I can hate them. Some folks (like the Qumran community famous for the Dead Sea Scrolls) would go around saying, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But they heard it wrong. The part on ‘hating your enemy’ was not there in the biblical text.

So Jesus sets the record straight: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” In that famous parable we call “The Good Samaritan,” an expert of the Law asked Jesus this very question: “Who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus told him this parable which most of us know by heart: “A man was robbed, stripped, beaten and left half dead. A priest happened to walk past, and when he saw the man, he quickly moved on. Then a Levite who works for the temple saw him but ignored his needs as well. Lastly, a Samaritan stopped and took pity on him. He took care of him and paid for his medical fees. Now who is a neighbor to that victim?”

In those days, the Jews did not associate with the Samaritans due to many racial, religious and political reasons. Hmm… If that sounds strangely familiar to us in Malaysia, it’s because we too have different ethnic and religious groups living side by side with each other but with precious little contact and understanding in between. By telling the parable, Jesus subversively expanded the definition of a ‘neighbor’ to go beyond friends and families and include even the Samaritans. A neighbor is anyone in need whom you can help.

So He broke down the walls of hate by including even outsiders as a neighbor to be loved as well. Instead of rejecting sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors, He ate with them in fellowship meals. This is how the Kingdom of God looks like. To those who think “I’m a loving person. I love my own people”, Jesus says “Your love is too narrow. It’s selective on who you want to love. Don’t pick and choose. Love your enemies also.”

But it’s so hard, almost impossible to love our enemies, right? Pray for those who persecute me? Are you serious? This is something that I struggle to learn as well.

On a personal level, there are people who purposely hurt us or anger us for no good reason. Some play office politics and give us an unfair deal. How can I love someone who offended me, betrayed me, insulted me and broke relationship with me? Do you know someone like that?

In certain societies, the decision to follow Jesus may mean losing your job, your loved ones and even your life. Persecution is the cost of discipleship. Although in Malaysia, it has not come to the point of martyrdom, we still experience milder forms of persecution like the destruction of church buildings, the ban on the word ‘Allah’ in our Bahasa literature, restrictions on the liberty of conscience for some Malaysians and so on. Sometimes persecution can come in the form of the insults, ridicule, false accusations and gossips.

So how should we respond when we experience things like that?

Do you remember that Star Wars movie called “Return of the Jedi”? I watched it as a kid and one of Soo Inn’s ecommentary uses it as a helpful analogy. In the movie, the hero Luke Skywalker tried to avoid fighting the bad guy Darth Vader, who was also his own father. But when Darth Vader threatened to turn Luke's sister to the Dark Side, Luke went crazy and chopped off Vader's mechanical right hand. Then the evil emperor, who was observing this duel, made a tempting offer: "Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!" (Finish him off!)

And the evil emperor is right – there is a kind of power that comes with fear, anger and hate. To those who have a tidak-apa attitude when it comes to suffering or injustice in the world, they may never get angry at anything. And if we are too engrossed with the comforts of life to care much for the suffering around us, then probably we need to be more concerned about what God cares about and be more aware of what’s happening out there.

But for some of us who care deeply about social justice, poverty, human rights… it is often easy to get angry, depressed and furious at unjust things happening in our country especially when those responsible often don’t pay for what they have done. And it’s tempting to surrender ourselves to rage and hatred. At first, our righteous anger is directed against real injustice… That righteous anger gives us motivation and power to fight evil. But when we are angry, it can also quickly lead to unrighteous anger and careless decisions… Soon we draw the line between good and evil along the lines of us against them… of one race against another (we are the good guys, they are the bad guys) when in reality, the line of good and evil cuts across every human heart. When hatred and anger consumes us, we are drawn towards the Dark side.

At the climax of that Star Wars movie, young Luke Skywalker refuses to choose the dark side. He refused to deliver the final blow. Instead, he threw away his light saber and chose to suffer and die for being true to the Light. Yet it is his very "weakness" that inspires his father Darth Vader himself to love once again and to reject the dark side in his final moments. The Jedi knight saved the galaxy through his weakness.

When Jesus says: Love your enemies, He didn’t ask us to do anything that He himself is not prepared to do first. And He already did it on the cross when He forgave and prayed for those who crucified him saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Come to think of it, aren’t we all in fact sinners who have rebelled against God and we were once His enemies? Yet Christ died for us that we may be reconciled.

This does not mean that our Christian response to evil must be passive. In Romans 13, we know that the state is granted authority by God to bear the sword and punish the wicked. So Christians can and should use all legal means at our disposal to fight evil and corruption.

But we are not to repay evil with evil, but with good. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Jesus is calling us to let go of our bitterness, vengefulness and personal vendetta. The path of the kingdom is love (even to our enemies), prayer for those who persecute us and the willingness to suffer for Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who suffered so much in Nazi Germany during World War 2, said "This is the supreme command. Through the medium of prayer, we go to our enemy, we stand by his side, and we plead to God for him."

Still, this is not something easy to do. Where do we get the power to do the impossible? We cannot do it unless by the empowering grace of the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible passage today, I think we can find some powerful reasons or motivations for us to love our enemies. The first motivation is found in verse 45: “So that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

What does that mean? John Piper explains it this way (and I quote) “This does not mean we can earn our way into God's family by loving our enemies. Rather it means that when we love our enemies, we prove ourselves to be in God's family. If you love your enemies the way God loves his enemies, then you show that you ARE a child of God. You are seen to be a child of God… You can't earn the status of a child. You can be born into the family or you can be adopted into the family. You can't work your way into it. Jesus means that loving our enemies shows that God has already become our Father, and that the only reason we are able to love our enemies is because he loves us first...” End quote.

And how did we become part of God’s family in the first place? How did we get adopted as a child of the Father? It’s through forgiveness… By grace, God in Christ has forgiven us (His enemies) even though we don’t deserve it… When we look at the horror of our own sin and then look at the holiness of God, we see our utter hopelessness. But the good news is Christ has taken our punishment on the cross so that we can be reconciled with our Father and be adopted into His family. Our wrongs have been freely forgiven through faith in Christ.

Have we not experienced God’s forgiveness and grace? If we have been forgiven so abundantly by God, how can we not forgive others? If we have truly known God as our Father, surely this relationship ought to overflow in love for our enemies as well. How can we not forgive after having been forgiven so much?

The second reason or motivation to love our enemies is this: It’s because God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

In other words, we are called to imitate our Father in Heaven who makes no distinction between the just and the unjust when sending good gifts of His creation. His kindness is lavished on both moral and immoral people. He sends rain and harvest to the padi farmers in Kedah, the farmers in Kelantan, the pineapple farmers in Sarawak – it doesn’t matter if they voted for Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, it doesn’t matter what they believe or don’t believe.

So we love our enemies because that is how God treats His enemies. He causes his planet to rotate for the evil and the good, and produces oxygen for the righteous and the unrighteous. John Calvin describes it as a divine kindness that is common to all. Some people call it ‘common grace’. But this grace is not saving grace. It does not mean that God will not punish the wicked and reward the righteous one day. Of course, He will ultimately do that.

And it’s important to keep this in mind. Because what makes it so hard to let go of our anger is the overwhelming sense that the person who offended us does not deserve to be forgiven. If the hurt is deep and great injustice was committed against us, there is a valid sense of moral outrage. We feel that if we forgive this person, we trivialize the seriousness of that wrong he has committed. This evil must not be forgotten or ignored. So how do we resolve this tension of unconditional love on one hand and the cry for justice on the other?

Part of the answer is found in God’s promise of final judgment. Because God alone is the perfect Judge, we are freed from the personal craving for revenge. The question is: “Do you trust God to set things right? Do you believe He sees the issues and the offender’s motives far better than what we can see? His justice is purer and wiser than ours. We can’t improve on His judgment. And He has promised there will be a day of reckoning… Will you trust Him as the perfect Judge?”

Consider Romans 12:17-21 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We don’t take justice into our own hands because the ultimate Punisher is God. Our motives are mixed at best. Our judgments are limited in perspective. But He sees all and His eyes are pure. So don’t take revenge, leave room for God to repay.

In fact, this is also the example of Christ Himself. 1 Peter 2:21-23 “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

So leave room for God’s wrath. Entrust yourself to God who judges fairly. Justice shall be served but in the meantime, we need to be set free from the craving for revenge. We do so by imitating God who shows His kindness to both the wicked and the righteous. We do so by trusting in God’s promise to deliver justice. Be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect. The word ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean we can be 100% without sin in this life. It actually means: Be “complete”, be “all embracing” in your love just as God is merciful and all-inclusive in His love.

The third motivation to love our enemies is this: If we love those who love us, how are we different from the tax collectors? And if we greet only our own brothers, do not even pagans do that?

Don Carson gives us some background on tax collectors: In those days, a Roman citizen can literally buy a territory in the Roman empire and he would have rights to collect taxes from that place. Then he can outsource the collection to the local “Ah Long” or ‘Mafia’ type of people. They in turn outsource to others to collect taxes from the rakyat. These tax collectors would have a quota to hit, and they can keep skim off the rest of the money for themselves. Corruption goes all the way up this multi-level tax ladder. As a result, tax collectors were despised as traitors of their own people.

But even tax collectors have friends. At least they can have lunch with other tax collectors. Despicable though they may be, they have their own ‘in’ group. Even the pagans (those who do not worship Yahweh) greet their own brothers, so how is the church any different if we only love and greet those who love us in return? It is when we love our enemies that people will see something peculiar in the church.

To be salt and light in the world, we must live as a radically different kind of people. If we only love people who are lovable and beautiful, how are we any different from everyone else?

Loving our enemies displays the distinctiveness of the Kingdom in a fallen world that has seen too much of violence, hatred and bloodshed. It’s a radical counter culture.

OK fine – But is this Christian ideal of loving your enemy practical or not? Does it really work in a fallen world like ours? Chairman Mao Zedong once said (The Little Red Book, 1964): “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” You want social change? Use force, violence and the will-to-power. So can this message of Jesus about loving our enemy really change the world?

I think it can. Let me encourage you with the real life story of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He was a pastor and civil rights activist who struggled against racial segregation and discrimination. Do you know that in the 1950s there was a custom in the southern parts of America that African-Americans had to sit at the back of a bus? On the 1st of December 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks, an African-American woman was arrested by the police for refusing to stand and let a white bus rider take her seat. It would be the spark that lights up a revolution. Martin Luther King, a pastor in the city and other community leaders called a meeting and a big crowd came to the church. The decision was made to boycott the bus company in protest. For 381 days, they would walk or carpool to work instead of taking the bus. This is an example of civil disobedience.

In retaliation, his home was bombed by terrorists. His wife and their baby daughter escaped without injury. When he arrived home he found an angry crowd waiting to take revenge. But Dr. King told them to go home: "We must learn to meet hate with love".
Eventually in 1956 the Supreme Court declared that local laws for racial segregation on buses were illegal. The boycott was a success. As a symbol of reconciliation and victory, Dr. King and a white minister, Rev. Smiley, shared the front seat of a public bus together.

Throughout his career, he was jailed and beaten many times. In the end he was assasinated at the age of 39. Through it all, he did not retaliate with violence but with forgiveness. The legacy of his life transformed a whole nation without causing bloodshed and continued to inspire civil rights movements all over the world. This is not an idealistic pie in the sky … It can be done. It has been done.

Of course, his example is not perfect but I think we Malaysian Christians can learn a lot from his model of balancing the New Testament ideal of unconditional love with the prophetic justice of the Old Testament. It is not enough to just talk about love we need to also care deeply for justice. It is not enough to get angry over injustice we need to promote righteousness in a way that loves our enemies.

With this story in mind, listen to these famous words by Martin Luther King when he preached on the same Bible passage on loving our enemies. Listen for its prophetic relevance to how the church should live in Malaysia today.

He said: “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. We never get rid of an enemy by meeting hate with hate; we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power.

The relevance of what I have said to the crisis in race relations should be readily apparent. There will be no permanent solution to the race problem until oppressed men develop the capacity to love their enemies. The darkness of racial injustice will be dispelled only by the light of forgiving love. For more than three centuries American Negroes have been battered by the iron rod of oppression, frustrated by day and bewildered by night by unbearable injustice and burdened with the ugly weight of discrimination. Forced to live with these shameful conditions, we are tempted to become bitter and to retaliate with a corresponding hate. But if this happens, the new order we seek will be little more than a duplicate of the old order. We must in strength and humility meet hate with love… Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities which surrendered to hatred and violence. For the salvation of our nation and the salvation of mankind, we must follow another way. (What is this other way?)

He goes on: While hating segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community.

To our most bitter opponents we say: "We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with spiritual force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. Throw us in jail and we shall still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory." End of Quote

This is the way of the cross. This is how we setup signposts of the Kingdom that points to a different way of being human. Not through hatred but through love for our enemies.

Bringing this closer to home, I wonder how can we apply this in our Malaysian context? Recently we hear of disturbing news of intolerance in our country like the famous cow-head incident. There was a protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam where some irresponsible people stomped and spat at the head of a cow, a sacred animal for Hindus. It was a clearly provocative act, with threats of violence.

Or the recent case of two Muslim journalists who sneaked into a Catholic church as spies to take Holy Communion, then spit out the host (bread) and took photographs of it to be published some more. This is a sacrilegious act to Catholics who believe the host to be the real body of Christ. And the internet went on overdrive with angry condemnations.

For such a time as this, how should we as Christians respond?

I don’t have any easy answers and this may sound naive but just wondering (and I invite you to imagine with me. Maybe you can come up with more creative and better ways of doing it). I wonder: What happens if the Church or individual Christians issue a calm statement that what these people have done is wrong, and relevant authorities should investigate and charge if any law is broken. But at the same time, we also say, “We forgive you for what you have done. You may have been manipulated by people with vested interests. We would like to meet you personally, sit down over coffee and listen to what you have to say and why you behave like that. Maybe we can find a win-win solution”. I wonder how the society would react when we respond in love and respect when insulted and provoked like that? Would it make Malaysians sit up and take notice: “These Christians are really out of this world lah”?

For such a time as this, the world is watching. They are asking: “Which community has beliefs that make its members treat people in other communities with love and respect- to serve them and meet their needs? Which community's beliefs lead people to demonize and attack those who violate their boundaries?" (Keller) For such a time as this, the world is looking for answers.

When we encounter intolerance, fear and racial tension in our beloved country, may we also receive wisdom and courage from the Holy Spirit to find creative ways to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us… This is the way of the cross.

Will you be part of this culture of peace in a time of racial polarization? Will you follow Him even if it costs a great deal?

Court declares 'Allah' ban invalid

2009-12-31T04:28:00.001-08:00

From Malaysiakini: In a landmark judgment, the Kuala Lumpur High Court presented the Catholic Church a belated Christmas present by ruling that the Home Ministry's blanket ban on the use of the word 'Allah' is illegal.

In making the decision to allow the motion by the Catholic Church to set aside the ban, High Court judge Lau Bee Lan stated that the minister's order is “illegal, null and void”.

She said that Catholic weekly The Herald can use the word 'Allah' and that the term is not exclusive to Islam.

This overturning of the Home Ministry's earlier ban will allow the Catholic weekly Herald and other non-Islamic publications to use the word 'Allah' as a direct translation for the word 'God' in the Malay language versions of their publications.

Justice Lau said that all Malaysians had the constitutional right to use the word 'Allah'.

However, given the implication of the case, it is likely that the Home Ministry will appeal against the decision to the higher courts.

The landmark case, which was supposed to be heard at the Jalan Duta court complex yesterday, had been postponed to today because Lau said she needed more time to consider her decision.

National security vs religious freedom

The Home Ministry had invoked concerns of national security and said that the ban was to avert any confusion that could ensue should non-Islamic publications use the word 'Allah' as a substitute for 'God'.

The ministry asserted that 'Allah' was exclusive to Islam as a term for the 'one true God'. Hence, other religions could not use it as a generic term.

The Catholic Church, in filing the judicial review, however disputed this and argued that the word 'Allah' predates Islam as a generic term for 'God' and has been in use in many places, even in the Middle East.

It said that in Malaysia, the term 'Allah' is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

The church also argued that the ban goes against the principle of freedom of religion and religious practices as outlined in the federal constitution.

The Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word 'Allah'. The paper is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 copies a week.

Bribery And Corruption in Asia

2009-12-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

Bribery and Corruption Dear friends,

We are pleased to announce that we have an upcoming release, Bribery and Corruption: Biblical Reflections and Case Studies for the Marketplace in Asia by Hwa Yung, Bishop for the Methodist churches in Malaysia. More details about the book and how to order copies can be found in the attached pre-order flyer.

The book is due to be released in February 2010 and we are open for orders now.
For enquiries, you may contact Ms Bernice Lee at bernice@graceworks.com.sg.

Graceworks Private Limited
Promoting Spiritual Friendship In Church and Society

Website: www.graceworks.com.sg
Tel No.: 6464 6080
Fax No.: 6464 7040

Why On Earth Are We Here For?

2009-12-20T00:47:00.000-08:00

Presented a talk on "Faith And Love" at Uniten Christian Fellowship or TECHFLOW on Wednesday with the transcript here.

Below is my assignment on "The Search For Meaning in Life", teasing out the relevance of Ecclesiastes in Malaysian society

“What is the point of living if everything ends in death? Why on earth we are here for?” These perennial questions about the purpose of life are often raised by most sensitive and reflective people around the world. But our socio-cultural context, in different degrees, influences how we answer that question. Many Malaysians of Chinese origin like my friend (let’s call him “Meng”) are descendants of immigrants who had risked the sea, worked hard and lived frugally to strive for a better future. Like many Malaysian Chinese who live in urban centers, Meng inherited his ancestors’ spirit of diligence and resilience. Wealth accumulation and education for his children (so that they in turn could have better opportunities to make a living) become top priorities since these factors provide a measure of security when he can hardly depend on anyone else for support.

If religion is often a projection of human needs/fears as Freud suggested, then perhaps we can interpret the motivation behind his cultural beliefs like consulting feng shui consultants before setting up a business, the Ching Ming practice of burning paper money for the deceased or the Chinese New Year tradition of welcoming the god of prosperity. It may be observed that the functional god in his life is Money. The pursuit of wealth and the dream of striking a lottery jackpot provide his meaning for existing, sense of security and significance. “Seize the day (Carpe Diem)!” is his life slogan. He would say, “Since we will all ultimately end up in the grave, let’s live with gusto, work hard and play hard and squeeze all the fun and excitement out of the ride”.

The psychologist Viktor Frankl suggested that the will to fulfill a meaning in life is the primary motivational force in humanity. Those who lack a meaning worth living for and find an inner void within their hearts experience ‘existential vacuum’. This is a widespread phenomenon in a rampantly industrializing economy where traditional values are lost. Existential vacuum manifests itself in boredom, addiction (i.e. workaholic, alcoholic or substance abuse), despair, the will to money, apathy or unbridled sexual libido. That could be an apt description of many city dwellers like Meng. What relevance would Qoheleth, the writer of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, have for people like him?

I think Qoheleth would present an unpleasant challenge to those whose pursuits focus on earthly goals that we find ‘under the sun’. All these toils, projects and pleasure are ultimately transient, impermanent and ultimately profitless. Although wisdom, wealth and backpacking in exotic places have temporal benefits, we do not take any gain in life with us when we die. We come into this world alone and empty-handed, so shall we leave it. In the long run, there is no net gain. There is “a time to be born and a time to die” (3:2). “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us” (5:15). It is like chasing after the wind. Vanity of vanities! Not only do we face the certainty of death, we also face the uncertainties of life. No one knows what would happen to his hard-earned wealth even in this lifetime since injustice (3:16) or bad investment (5:14) could overtake us anytime. The Chinese proverb “Wealth does not pass three generations” has often been proven correct with nepotism, poor management and power struggles occurring in Chinese family enterprises. Who can tell if his successor will not squander his wealth (2:18-23)? While all human needs (i.e. food, shelter, clothes) can be satisfied, human greed for money is inherently insatiable. When we try to fill up the vacuum in our hearts with material things, we end up consuming more with ever-decreasing joy with each additional purchase (5:10-11).

But Meng may wonder, “Why should my worldly ambitions be profitless if it gives me a sense of worth and security? And why must life be eternal in order for it to be meaningful?” Atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel would probably agree that human life viewed as a whole is absurd apart from God but insist that we could still find life subjectively meaningful as long as we don’t wonder if it fits into some larger purpose. Entertaining such thoughts is a sign of taking ourselves too seriously. Existentialists like Sartre would probably urge us to create a self-customized meaning and define our own essence from our bare existence. Without God, there is no objective, cosmic meaning in life. But it also makes all sorts of subjective meanings possible.

Some may even argue that an infinite life would be meaningless because we will get tired of it eventually. Consider Karl Popper who said, “There are those who think that life is valueless because it comes to an end. They fail to see that the opposite argument might also be proposed: that if there were no end to life, life would have no value; that it is, in part, the ever-present danger of losing it which helps bring home to us the value of life.” Life is perceived to be worthwhile and significant only because mortality awaits us, bringing a sense of poignant urgency to our transitory lives. Albert Camus’ solution to the urgent question of “Why live and not commit suicide?” is basically a call to stoically face the tension of absurdity.

However, there remains a gnawing sense of dissatisfaction for most people in conceding that our lives are not connected to something bigger than ourselves. The significance of a movie snapshot depends on how it contributed to the conclusion of the whole story (of which the captured moment is a part). Only when we see that connection would we conclude the meaning of that picture as part of a comedy or a tragedy. Unless we know how the story ends, we do not know its significance or meaning. This existential vacuum becomes more acute when we consider the gross injustices that were committed and appeared unpunished in the lifetime of their perpetrators. Qoheleth rightly observed that “even in the courts of law, the very place where righteousness and justice are supposed to be guaranteed, wickedness may be present” (3:16). In this moral context, the demand for a cosmic meaning in life is not motivated not so much by hubris but by justice. The philosopher Immanuel Kant saw that ethics are practically meaningless without God and the afterlife. If death is an abyss of nothingness, then the victims who suffered for a righteous cause under oppressive regimes have ultimately faced a meaningless death. In contrast, Qoheleth offers the alternative of a solid confidence that God will “judge every deed under the sun, whether good or bad, hidden or not” (12:14).

Ethics and significance in life make sense only when we presuppose God.

For most people, there is an existential dissatisfaction with accepting that at the bottom of our lives, there is no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference. But the moment we look up and see if life as a whole makes sense, the question of ultimate meaning comes back to haunt us. No wonder we desperately seek escapism from confronting this horrible abyss of nothingness by drowning ourselves with subjective meanings like work, relationships, leisure and power. This ‘coping mechanism’ needs to be maintained diligently because God had “put eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out what God does from beginning to the end” (3:12). There is an internal God-given preoccupation (3:10) whereby human beings are able to transcend the present moment and survey the past and think of the future. Yet they were not able to find out or change what God had determined, and so, their sense of vanity is aggravated. For God so works that men should fear Him (3:14).

William Lane Craig put it like this: “If each individual person passes out of existence when he dies, then what ultimate meaning can be given to his life? Does it really matter whether he ever existed at all? It might be said that his life was important because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this only shows a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to certain other events, but what is the ultimate significance of any of those events? If all the events are meaningless, then what can be the ultimate meaning of influencing any of them? Ultimately, it makes no difference”. For Qoheleth, a transitory life is meaningful as we choose responsibly to live in the fear of God and to keep his commandments (12:13). This is a perspective on death that is not mere passive acceptance, but one which urges us to enjoy life each day that God has given as a gift (3:12-13, 22).

In 2:24-26 Qoheleth affirmed that the ability to have carefree enjoyment is “from the hand of God.” Only when we embrace the reality that life is transient would we be liberated from greed, lust and despair and turn to God as the source of our significance. Ironically, by fearing God and keeping His commandments on marital faithfulness, honest labor and wise living, we are empowered to enjoy these temporal blessings to the full while we live. Leong Tien Fock wrote, “Since we have no say over whether we could take with us what we have when we die, which can happen at any time and without prior notice, how can we say that we own the things we work for? We do not even own our very life! They are not allotted to us as such. What is allotted is only the enjoyment these things can give us while we still “own” them. To appreciate this reality we need to view this world the way a child views a child-care center full of toys. What is “allotted” to him is the enjoyment of whatever toys he gets to “own” while he is there, but he cannot take any of them with him when he leaves. It would be foolish of the child to spend the few hours he has at the center busy looking out for and gathering his favorite toys, and then guarding them, as if he could bring them home, and in the process miss the opportunity to enjoy any of them.” Instead of making temporal wealth, pleasure and wisdom our idols, we can worship the Giver and thereby, enjoy these gifts truly as we put them in the proper perspective.

Last but not least, it is true that a transient life evokes a certain poignant urgency as Popper says. For example, we appreciate our loved ones more if we know we will lose them for good one day. However, Christian theism goes beyond that to claim that such relationships and significant endeavors may not terminate in death. Would that really diminish the meaning of life? The notion that eternal life would be boring and meaningless is based on the unproven assumption that the joys of heaven would be exhaustible. But why should we assume that in order to advance a strawman argument? Christian theism actually affirms that apart from the joys of reunion with loved ones and fulfilling work that awaits us in the renewed creation, we will spend eternity in relationship with the inexhaustible God Himself.

Theologian John Piper put it this way: “God is infinite and wills to reveal himself to us for our enjoyment of his fullness forever. Yet we are finite and cannot at any time, or in any finite duration of time, comprehend the limitless, infinite fullness of God’s glory… Therefore the implication is that our union with God, in the all-satisfying experience of his glory, can never be complete, but must be increasing with intimacy and intensity forever and ever.” There will always be more of God to discover, learn and savor since finite creatures will never exhaustively know Him. Therefore, glorifying and enjoying God forever remains the meaningful purpose for humanity. From his grace, we can accept and enjoy the good gifts of His creation – be it challenging achievements, authentic relationships and beauty.

Pictures courtesy of Animal World and Stu's View and Philosophy @ Fort Hare and Ginside

Book Review: Man Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

2009-12-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

Questions about life’s meaning and suffering which were formerly handled by priests or rabbis are now increasingly confronted by psychiatrists and doctors. In his bestseller Man's Search for Meaning, Dr Victor Frankl highlighted the distinctive of logotherapy, also known as the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy”, as the idea that “the striving to find a meaning in one's life is the primary motivational force in man”. Therefore, for logotheraphy, the focus is on the will to meaning in contrast to the will to pleasure of Freudian psychoanalysis and the will to power stressed by Adlerian psychology. While Freud and Adler tried to discover primal drives latent in the past, Frankl focuses rather on the meanings one is called to fulfill in the future. In his moving autobiographical account of experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, he observed how prisoners who lost hope in the future would be subject to mental and physical decay.

According to Frankl, man’s search for meaning is not a derived projection from more basic instinctual drives or sublimations. Otherwise it would lose its ability to challenge or summon him to live or even die for these values. Unlike Sartre’s axiom that existence precedes essence, Frankl’s existentialism asserts that the meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves but rather we discover it as ‘something confronting existence’. Those who lack a meaning worth living for and find an inner void within their hearts experience ‘existential vacuum’. This is a widespread phenomenon of the twentieth century due to the loss of traditional values and rampant industrialization, manifesting itself in boredom, addiction, the will to money, apathy or unbridled sexual libido.

As a Christian, I applaud Frankl’s critique of the determinism prevailing in much of psychoanalysis that reduced man to nothing but a victim of hereditary or environmental conditions. We share the hope that a ‘rehumanized psychiatry’ would replace the tendency to treat human minds as machines and focus on mere techniques. Indeed, Frankl’s view of man is biblical in the sense that man has both the potentials of behaving like a swine or a saint. Man’s dignity lies in him being created in the image of God and yet marred by the depravity of sin. However, Frankl has an overly optimistic view of human freedom in which even the most evil persons are ultimately self-determining. Through restricted by conditions, they are free to change their own destiny. In the Christian perspective, fallen man is in need of divine rescue and inner liberation before such a change is possible. As long as his basic orientation is self-centered, the outward change merely vacillates between hedonism and legalism. ‘Existential vacuum’ (and its symptoms) express in modern terms Augustine’s ancient prayer that our hearts are restless until they find fulfillment or satisfaction in God.

Read on for the rest of the article

Meaning Of Life (Ecclesiastes)

2009-12-10T03:37:00.000-08:00

The major hermeneutical difficulty of Ecclesiastes is to understand its apparent internal contradictions. At times, Qoheleth seemed to be pessimistic or gloomy about everything in life (“All is vanity!”) while at other times, he admonished readers to enjoy their labor, eat well, live joyfully with one’s wife and receive with gladness what God has given. As a result, interpreters have conflicting descriptions of Qoheleth as a skeptic (R. B. Y. Scott) or an orthodox theist (Aalders, Leupold). Others have tried to resolve the tension by spiritualizing exegesis (Jewish Targum and medieval Christians), positing a dialogue between two differing speakers (Yeard, Eichhorn) or by presenting the futility of the world for evangelistic purposes so that readers will pursue the delights of heaven (the Puritans, Wesley). Eaton took issue with interpreters (Barton, McNeile and Podechard) who saw Ecclesiates as a basically skeptical work with glossatorial additions at the hands of orthodox editor(s) as it would entail a clumsy redactor who added conflicting comments to 'skeptical' passages in the same book. He could have more easily amended these passages altogether. But there is no textual support for such changes, the vocabulary of alleged insertions is remarkably similar to undisputed passages and no methodological necessity exists for such theories if an alternative exposition could reconcile these sections coherently.

Michael Eaton attempted an approach that avoids the pitfalls of critical orthodoxy which downplayed the orthodox elements within Ecclesiastes and traditional orthodoxy which at times has ignored or allegorized its pessimism. “What, then, is the purpose of Ecclesiastes? It is an essay in apologetics. It defends the life of faith in a generous God by pointing to the grimness of the alternative.” He saw a heaven-earth dichotomy in which ‘God is in heaven and you upon earth’ (5:2). The recurring expressions like ‘under the sun’, ‘under heaven’ and ‘on earth’ described the futility of a barren life without reference to faith in God. Therefore, much of the book was blanketed by pessimism. When such terminologies fade away (2:24-26; 11:1-12:14), a more positive tone emerges with references to the ‘hand of God’ (2:24), the joy of man (2:25, 3:12. 5:18, 20, 9:7, 11:7-9), and the generosity of God (2:26, 3:13, 5:19). Qoheleth showed the inevitable bankruptcy of ‘secularism’ in order to drive us to God where life’s meaning can be fulfilled. “It is only to one seeking satisfaction in disregard of God that the Preacher’s message stops at ‘All is vanity’… When a perspective of faith is introduced ‘All is vanity’ is still true, but it is not the whole picture; ‘under the sun’ it is the whole truth.”

But what does the phrase ‘under the sun’ mean? Read on for the whole article

Thinking Things Through

2009-12-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

SCIENCE & CHRISTIANITY

The doctrine of providence shows science as a gift from the God who reveals and desires that we know of Him through both nature and witness (Scriptures). In this seminar, we consider how we may reconcile our ancient faith with modern science.

WHAT DO CHRISTIANS REALLY BELIEVE?

Trust in God assumes a desire to learn more about God. A faith not nurtured by knowledge will remain immature and superficial, vulnerable to doubt and of little use in evangelism. In this seminar, we shall examine the 4 doctrines central to Christian belief – creation, alienation, reconciliation and decision (CARD).

UNDERSTANDING GENESIS 1-11: WHO WROTE WHAT, WHERE, WHEN AND WHY?

The first book in our Bible was not the first book written. Understanding its history and purpose will help us make sense of its curious stories. In this seminar, we shall ask who wrote Genesis 1-11, where and when they did it, and what their purpose was.

WHO?
Dr. Ron Choong

FOR?
Anyone interested in the above topics.

WHEN?
Saturday 16th January 2010
Topic 1 - 10:00am to 11:30am
Topic 2 - 11:30am to 1:00pm
Topic 3 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

WHAT TIME?
starts 10:00am sharp

WHERE?
Community Baptist Church main sanctuary,
107 & 109A, Jln SS2/6,
47300 Petaling Jaya
(click for map)

HOW MUCH?
RM30 per person, registration is required by SATURDAY 9th January 2010. Limited to 200 participants only.

HOW TO REGISTER AND PAY?
To register, pls click here and follow the instructions to pay (you will be directed to Canaanland website for online payment). If you have any queries, please e-mail them to info@act-asia.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thank you.

What Are T3 Seminars?
T3 refers to 'Thinking Things Through'. Since we are what we believe, and we believe what we think, it makes sense to think carefully what we think about so that our thoughts may well be thought out.

ACT's signature T3 seminars provide a theological safe space to deal with sincere questions, as we doubt our way into beliefs. Register ahead of time, read the provided handouts and ask pertinent questions during the Q & A.

We Miss You, Carol Rasiah

2009-12-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

The certainty of death and uncertainties of life were themes that run through my mind as I read the book of Ecclesiastes and Dr Leong's online commentary. Only this week, I watched the bitter-sweet Japanese movie The Departures, after reading the review on Kairos magazine. A few weeks back, I drove a seminary classmate around Klang, looking for food and took a wrong turn that ended up at a funeral parlour. Cursing my mistake, I sensed at that moment a 'premonition' that death is near someone close to me.

7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
Than to the house of feasting,
Because this is the end of every man,
And the living will take it to heart.
7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when the face is sad the heart may be glad.
7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the heart of the fool is in the house of pleasure.

None of that prepared me for Tuesday when I received news that our dear friend and sister in Christ, Carol Rasiah, has been called home to be with the Lord. She was in coma after a road accident.

I count it a privilege to know Carol personally as a friend. She has a burning zest for life, fiercely independent and never afraid to speak her mind (Mom says she has a sharp and quick tongue). I didn't know she has touched many lives in this USJ forum until after she has passed on...

“Every man dies - Not every man really lives.”
(William Wallace in the movie Braveheart)

At the funeral held at Klang Gospel Hall on Wednesday, Pastor Caleb shared that every physical move she made (getting down from wheel chair, cook, get on bed) is a veritable stunt act. He asked her "How did you do it?" (Her bones were brittle, and she suffered from painful multiple breaks on her arms before)

Her reply was, "Before I make any move, I pray"...

We miss her dearly and look forward to the day when she will be rejoicing in her brand new resurrected body in a renewed heaven/earth.

When I see her presence in CDPC, I thought something is just so right when the church reflects an inclusiveness that warmly embraces weak-but-precious persons like Carol to worship together with us.

She is a fighter since birth. Despite the many challenges she faces on a daily basis, pity is not a word in her lexicon. She lived life to the hilt and seemed to be everywhere as an activist for disabled people (check out her last email to YB Hannah Yeoh), care for animals, attending seminars/forums, writing, teaching English to children=neighbors at Angsana flats... last Christmas, my wife and I were at her apartment where she lived mostly on her own. She asked Grace to buy her a Chinese dictionary to pick up Mandarin! She has a vociferous appetite for books and often asked for my suggestions... She is a constant cheerleader for what the Agora tried to stand for.

I have never heard her complained about her lot in life. Never. She requested for prayers via sms when the pain is unbearable. She argued with God about cockroaches but deep down there exudes a confident and intimate trust in the goodness of a Father who took care of her. "Father, If I fall down flat, it's all Your fault". Some of us never lived as beautifully as that.

Here is a recent blog post Carol wrote: "

Sixth of November was a phenomenal day for me. I never realized it until I was with a group of people that night.
That day marked a significant assurance that though I’m appallingly disable and inadequately equipped to meet the challenges ahead single-handedly, my biblical knowledge assured me that God’s collateral was solid. This day marked my two years stay in Angsana alone.

As I laid alone on my new bed in Angsana flats on the first night, with unlocked wooden door. All kinds of asinine & impractical questions zoomed into my mind; it kept me awake for a few hours. I imagine that the biblical characters too must have experience this psychological phobia. They were human being too & God took care of it.

My past reflection are not totally eclipsed, they are fresh on my mind. As I type these words, scenes of it are rekindled, some are like a comedy and some are quite spectacle, like learning to kill a cockroach, how I loathed these crawlies, in fact God & I had a argument over it as I made a lot of fuss over it. The good news is I’ve have learned not to scream or hide in my bed when I see one!!!
Yes, it was not a smooth sailing; there was the emotional turmoil, the social fiasco & personal calamity. It was a unique way of appreciating the God given life.

"

Another prayer of hers was read out at her funeral

I did not go to church today. I do not feel guilty about it. There is something very ‘special’ in spending time alone with God who is my Heavenly Father, on a Sunday. It is too awesome for words!

God You are amazing. You have taken care of all my needs. I lack nothing at the moment, You have not deprived me of anything, neither have You starved me since the day I have decided to live alone. That why I say You are phenomenal, incredibly & influential.

Your ubiquitous Presence truly comforts me in my time of loneness. Even though it pains me sometimes – I am consoled from memory of Your word & biblical characters. You refresh my memory & soothe my emotions. I have no qualms of Your predominance. The past & present phenomenon’s displays the singularity of Your signature in my life.

Your indulgent to my shortcoming never fail to inspire me to do better in the future. Thank you for Your amazing perceptive.

The Reason For Our Hope

2009-11-28T04:24:00.001-08:00

Audio Sermon on 1 Peter 3:13-16 Giving The Reason For Our Hope can be downloaded here. We need to communicate the gospel clearly, lovingly and compellingly by being thoughtful, informed, honest and humble ambassadors for Christ. We embody the gospel with our lives and declare the gospel with our words. We need to show the world a community worth seeing and a faith worth thinking about.

Giving a Reason for Our Faith

2012: End of the World... Again?

2009-11-17T04:07:00.001-08:00

We will put up a CDPC library book booth this coming Sunday with some free giveaways. While Stock Lasts...

Allah Is Not A Personal Name

2009-11-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

Kam Weng: "It is bad enough when the Malaysian government bans Christians from using the word Allah. It is worse when some misguided Christians (granted it is a small minority) agree that Muslims have sole proprietary rights to the word Allah, even though this capitulation amounts to surrendering their centuries old usage of the word Allah for worship and spiritual instructions.

Perhaps this capitulation results from a misunderstanding of Arabic grammar, that is, the view that Allah is a personal name. Allah, as such, refers solely to the individual Supreme Being whom Muslims (and no other believers) worship. Accepting this misunderstanding would give grounds to the Muslim’s (still contestable) demand that only they have the right to use the word Allah and its related terms.Such a capitulation must be vigorously resisted seeing how the Malaysian government unrelentingly prosecutes its ban against Christians using the word Allah. It is imperative that we analyze and correct this misunderstanding."

Read on for the rest of the article "Allah Is Not A Personal Name".

Alfred Tais (of NECF) while compiling documents for the SIB Allah cases came across some documents that shows the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia / Bahasa Indonesia were published earlier than 1950. For example, Matthew's Gospel was first published by Dutchman AC Ruyl in 1629. The Perjanjian Baru was published in 1668 while the Alkitab was published in 1733.

Get to know the history of Alkitab in these documents The Bible Translator, Sejarah Terjemahan Alkitab dalam bahasa bahasa tempatan di Indonesia and Mengenal Alkitab Anda. Be equipped and vigilant in prayer as 15000 bibles seized by malaysian government this past year

Mengenal Alkitab Anda - Title Page

How To Be A Moral Animal With Help Frm Selfish Genes?

2009-11-10T03:42:00.000-08:00

Listen carefully the next time you overheard an argument in office or at home. For you may just stumble upon a powerful clue for God’s existence!

In his bestseller Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis observed that when we quarrel, we would often appeal to some higher Moral Law to which the other party is accountable. For example, it is common to hear people argue like this: “That’s my seat, I was here first”, “Give me a piece of your orange, I gave you some of mine” or “How do you like it if someone did the same to you?” Such arguments do not merely express our displeasure at someone’s behavior. They are actually appealing to a standard of right and wrong which we expect others to know about and ought to follow. Otherwise it would be as futile as claiming that a footballer had committed a foul without some agreement about the rules. This transcendent and universal Moral Law is a signpost pointing to God who is the Lawgiver.

But not everyone would agree. Popular writers such as Richard Dawkins and Robert Wright have tried to show that rudimentary forms of moral cognition can be found in animals as well. Here is a discussion on whether natural selection can account for morality as we know it available in the latest edition of Kairos Magazine.

The Selfish Gene: Monkeying With Morality

Every Story Whispers His Name

2009-11-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

The Bible is not a book of rules, nor a book of heroes. There's only one Hero.

“The Bible is most of all a Story… It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! You see, the best thing about this Story is--it's true! There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.”

This is Christ-centered hermeneutics so simply and elegantly framed in a children storybook written by Sally Lloyd Jones and beautifully illustrated by the award winning Jago. Having browsed through a friend's copy available at Canaanland.com.my, I intend to buy one for my son too.

Here is a review from Tim Keller:
”Sally has captured the plot line of redemption in a children’s story Bible that sings the praise of Jesus and his saving grace on every page, in every story... To discover The Jesus Storybook Bible is to have a unique resource for communicating the gospel to children in all it’s fullness.”

Click here for a sampler

In many Sunday School lessons, biblical stories are used as moral lessons for children. "Be like Abraham, he obeys God". "Be brave like King David, he challenged Goliath". "Be strong like Samson, he wrestled with lions."

But what do we make of the parts where Abraham allow Sarah to be taken to save his own skin? Or David's famous murder of Uriah? Or Samson's downfall courtesy of Delilah?

It seems that the biblical stories took care to tell us (with brutal honesty) something not-so-clever or downright mean that these people have done. The point is not simply that they are heroes to be emulated. But they are also needy, fallen and sinful people that God loves and repeatedly saves. The overarching story is a story of grace and God is the hero who comes to the rescue. It's the gospel hidden everywhere in the entire Bible.

Word Works

2009-11-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Check out Word Works conference on the book of Deuteronomy

Dates: 27 - 28 Nov 2009
Venue: Empress Hotel Sepang.

"These may be some of the reasons why reading Deuteronomy presents specific challenges and also potential discouragement for Christians. Even worse, Christians sometimes speak of the Old Testament as being largely irrelevant and cite Deuteronomy as proof. Non-Christians also often take verses like those above as reasons for rejecting the ‘Old Testament God’ or for rejecting Christianity altogether.

And yet, at the end of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy stands as an important pillar in understanding the Old Testament and is a landmark in the history of salvation, at an important point in the relationship between Israel and God.

In fact, for every generation of Christians, Deuteronomy has great blessing for the Christian in understanding God’s character, His holiness, His mercy, love, justice and His patience with a sinful people. So many of the concepts for how God relates to His people are found here in Deuteronomy that it would be a tragedy for Christians not to know how to read it."

The Jesus Of History

2009-11-03T07:14:00.000-08:00

KAIROS PUBLIC FORUM: Jesus of The Bible versus Jesus of the Documentaries (National Geographic/Discovery /BBC)

Date: Friday, 20 November 2009
Time: 8.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Hall 1, Dream Centre
2 Jalan 13/1, Seksyen 13
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia

Influential networks like National Geographic, Discovery and BBC Channels are propagating new portraits (or fabrications) of Jesus that distort if not contradict what Christians traditionally believe about Jesus for 2000 years.

This Kairos Public Forum seeks to explain why these TV producers rely on pagan Mystery Religions and 2nd century Gnosticism texts to reconstruct new portraits Jesus, what methods and assumptions inform the scholars who advise these media channels for their distorted views of Jesus. The Forum also offers evidence for the integrity of the New Testament Gospels as reliable historical records of Jesus’ life and ministry and critiques popular images of Christ in contemporary society.

Topics/Speakers
1) The Fabricated Jesus of Contemporary TV Documentaries
Speaker: Mr. Philip Koh
(Partner of a legal firm in Kuala Lumpur and Director of Kairos Research Centre)

2) The Historical Christ of the New Testament: The Test of History
Speaker: Dr. Ng Kam Weng
(Research Director of Kairos Research Centre)

3) The Real Jesus Christ and Contextual Christs Today: Who makes the real difference?
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Tan Jin Huat
(Anglican minister and CTEE Director, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia)

Kairos Seminar on Jesus Christ and Early Christianity
There will be a follow-up seminar for those who want to learn in detail how contemporary research supports the historical accuracy and authenticity of the New Testament portrait of Jesus Christ.

Speaker: Dr. Ng Kam Weng

Date: Saturday 5 December 2009
Time: 9.30pm – 12.00 noon
Place: Dream Centre
To participate in this seminar contact Kairos office (Tel no: 7726 5420 or email: kairosmalaysia@gmail.com)

Kairos Research Centre sends you early wishes for a very Blessed Christmas!
DC: Portrait of Jesus by Rembrandt