Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Recap

A new year approaches and it's been forwards and backwards for me. I realize how much I (still) have to learn and grow. It's always good to be humbled and frankly, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Perhaps there are a few things I wish I had. The obvious of course, but more than that, I wish I knew what to do after this. But it's only natural.

Project Lauterbrunnen nears its due day. Ah, the joy of seeing a "big" goal finally being accomplished. Will be writing more about it soon. But I'm happy to say this - instead of saying I will do it "someday", I can now put a date to it. =)

Another big goal has to do with religion, another with science and another with both. I've barely scratched the surface of the first. The next one will be an even bigger challenge. But the last shouldn't be too hard - I think. When will I finish it? I'm thinking in the decades now. God willing, I'm projecting the completion to be right before my threescore years and ten are up.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Thinking about our Resurrection

Crystallizing my thoughts ahead of a short talk. =)
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We know that Jesus was raised from the dead. But did you know that we will be raised from the dead as well?

Some of us think that when we die, our souls will go straight to heaven to live with God happily ever after.

That's nice, but why does the Bible say that we will be raised from the dead? Why do we need to be raised from the dead?

The Resurrection is a very very important concept in Christian thinking. If there is no Resurrection, Paul says, then Jesus was obviously not raised from the dead as well. Even worse, those who have died are gone forever. We might as well eat, drink and be merry - for tomorrow we die.

But Jesus did rise from the dead. And there is even greater reason to rejoice - we too will be raised from the dead.

When will this happen?

It will happen when Jesus returns. Paul says that, "...since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died."

But what happens after we die?

The Bible speaks often of Sheol (in New Testament, Hades) - a place where the dead go after they die. However Jesus told the thief on the cross that today, he will be with him in Paradise. Paradise was understood as an intermediate (halfway stop) place where the righteous would go, before they were resurrected.

What will our resurrected bodies be like?

Just like the disciples could still recognize Jesus in his resurrected body, so too will we be able to recognize each other in our resurrected bodies. However, it will be a different body as well - one that will never die. Again Paul clarifies, "Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies."

What will we do after that?

After the Resurrection, we will live in a New Heaven and Earth. In Revelation, John tells us that he "saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."

Notice - the New Jerusalem comes from heaven. This implies that we will be living in the New Earth! But in a way, we will also be living in heaven. For the New Heaven and the New Earth has joined together and God's presence is in the eternal city, the New Jerusalem:

"God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

And so, "when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

Finally, I don't think our new life will be "boring", as some people think heaven will be. Although this is only conjecture (meaning our best guess), there will be a lot of things to do. We will, I think, be able to do all the things we have wanted to do but never could in this life. I also don't think that the Lord made the universe with its billions of stars, planets and galaxies only to have us look at them and wonder! Who knows, we will be able to travel and see fully all of God's creation.

These then are my thoughts. I end with saying that our Resurrection is not just a future event that happens after we die. Paul says that, "We died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin."

So let's live a life of someone who has been raised into a new life, free from the power of sin.

Soli Deo Gloria. Amen!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Pro-Choicers Say The Darndest Things

In response to a post saying that a child is God's gift and should not be aborted:


"it's not a child. It's just a collection of cells and tissues."

In response to my post arguing for absolute morality with the question "Is rape absolutely wrong?" :

"Maybe some b**** killed some dude's wife, and he rapes her as revenge. To me she's practically getting a bargain punishment."

And I don't think they are joking.

Friday, September 30, 2011

The Hare Who Looked At The Stars

Digging up old stories and retouching them.

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He walked past the meadow, into the woods. The birds had told him to go there. The setting sun colored the valley walls around him a bright red and he counted one, two, sixty streams of water gushing down the face of the valley.

Why this place? He wondered.

A swallow flew past and told him to keep going. He walked on, stepping past the broken branches and through the dead leaves. He heard whispers.

It was a small burrow in the ground, underneath a huge tree root, nearly covered by brown leaves.

A little rabbit with dark grey fur peered out. Hello? He said, hoping he was not disturbing it. The rabbit poked out further, cautious yet curious.

Is it you? He asked it.

The rabbit stepped out now, no longer hesitant. It walked up to him.

You wanted to hear a story? The rabbit whispered. He nodded his head, bent down and looked into its eyes.

I do not remember much; only what my ancestors told me, said the rabbit.

Go on.

His name no one knows. Perhaps he never had one. But we called him the Hare, for that was what he was. He lived here, in these woods and had many friends. A swallow, a fox, a squirrel, even a frog.

Keeping silent he listened as the rabbit continued.

He was brave and went to many far away places and helped rid these woods of dangerous creatures. The rabbit paused. The listener took the opportunity to ponder its words.

Did you see a meadow as you came here? It asked. He nodded. There is a tree there, a single tree in a field of flowers.

Yes, I saw it.

The hare would meet with is friends there and they would share stories with one another.

And the rabbit told the story of the Hare and his adventures.

He kept silent for awhile, but then wondered out loud. I do not understand though, he said, why they say this Hare is so special.

The rabbit thought for awhile then started.

Once before the sun rose the Hare looked up into the dark sky, looked up at the stars. He said something we never understood.

What did he say?

He said, Are they not beautiful?

Hearing that he laughed. Thank you dear rabbit. I understand now. With a smile on his face he stroked its soft fur, rose and walked away.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Of existential issues - redux

I posted this quote awhile back and it's worth thinking about again. In speaking of the deeper issues in life, an author writes:

The emotionally mature adult can face up to the complexity and evil of the world. He can bear knowing that he is ignorant. He is content to achieve that which is within his reach. What is possible contents him, even when it falls short of the apparent ideal. No longer so sure of all the answers, or even whether there are answers, he is too busy working to achieve his reasonable goals to torment himself with such overwhelming questions.

We must be grateful, however, that some people cannot escape asking such questions, and seeking answers, for the results of those enterprises have sometimes been great literature, philosophy, theology - to our immeasurable profit.


What then, of the unlucky few where such existential questions torment them so? My conjecture - based on but a limited sample from observation - is that they either reject meaning (in life) or postulate some higher power (very often God) to explain it all.

In the meanwhile, I am reminded to ask: After all the deep thinking, where is the evidence?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Vaguely Dreaming

Talking to my ex-colleague. She is curious about my new job. She mentions how she would like to do something else (but who does not?). Then she talks about money; we are young people, we have plans. Stability, money to be saved. No doubt. Having (somewhat) removed myself from the rat-race, it's curious to once again look in from the outside and pity them. But being once a member of the 9-5 pack, it's understandable. The routine is addictive but the emptiness often overpowering.

I remember, when I was younger, how I would endlessly daydream. I crafted hour long movies in my mind (unfortunately the plots and characters and set pieces are forgotten or, perhaps, they have evolved into the stories floating around in my mind today). The fact that I didn't go to school probably made it worse. Even then, when I was still in school, I remember how in the middle of my English class a hole in the ground opened and I slid and fell into a more exciting world.

"But does he love me?" she asks. I'm sorry, but I'm the wrong person. Even a man can only speculate what another man thinks, not to mention feels. "Hmm..." I answered.

My Ancient Near East anthology of texts have arrived, by "standard mail" which as it turns out is faster than international courier (I am still waiting for my other orders sent by this method. Amazon you so weird.). Opening the book, I flip through the pages. Most of the translations are what the layman would identify as "Bible English". But perhaps that might be the most appropriate. In listening to a lecture on Wisdom Literature, the lecturer (most certainly no KJV-onlyist) quotes from the King James Version as it fully "captures the majesty" of the text.

I look at my dear pet, Lane, and feel sad. One day she will die and there will be no chorus of barks to greet us when we arrive home. Again, I go back to my younger days when it first struck me that I will die. In fear I imagined a heaven, a much better place, but could not. And in my more secular times, I imagined a final end of non-existence and could not imagine that as well.

Then I wonder, as my dog looks at me, does she feel sad knowing that I, too, will die?

Monday, September 12, 2011

Thinking About the Gospels (Part 1)

Here is an example on how awareness of 1st century literary style when reading the Gospels is important:

The Jesus story is tooooo fake!!! I read the first part of the bible story if fit [sic] into todays context, you will realize its the same as a conman story. Just that the people illustrated in the bible seems gullible or maybe uneducated.

If Jesus exists in todays era, do you honestly think u guys will be his disciple and s**t like that?

Example, his disciples Simon and Andrew the fishermens.

Here it goes:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him.

This story is soooo Disney channel fairytale. Someone just ask u follow him then u will immediately follow him?

I try to convince my self that Jesus is the saviour but the more i read the more skeptic i became thats why i stop reading the bible to at least save my doubt towards the bible storyline

This person was posting on a Christian forum thread about his experience reading (presumably) the Gospel of Mark.

You can tell that:

1. He is reading and treating the story of the First Disciples from a modern perspective.

2. The Gospel stories as such read somewhat absurdly (he compares it to a Disney fairy tale, which tells as much how he has been influenced by such narratives)

3. Unfortunately he doesn't read the parallel narrative in Luke 5 which explains in more detail why the disciples decided to follow Jesus

4. Even more importantly, he is not aware that Mark is the shortest gospel and paints events with broad strokes. As such much detail had to be omitted.

Other important considerations - the Gospels were meant to be read aloud, hence had to be kept short. Likewise, scrolls for writing were not cheap or abundant.

Thus, don't expect a description in minute detail - with footnotes - when reading the Gospels.

This is why asking someone to read from the Bible without giving him or her a proper introduction to the genre, style and content of the book is a bad idea.

Another example would be Revelation, which is routinely made fun of, with no awareness whatsoever of the apocalyptic genre. Also Genesis. To be fair, both Christians and non-Christians fall into the same exegetical errors.

Coming back to the Gospels, we should realize that since these are probably the first books to be given to non-believers to be read it should be important to introduce them to the respective books properly. There are traps that people can fall into when reading the Gospels, such as taking Jesus commands literally (e.g. "hating parents").


By emphasizing on what the Gospels meant to the original audience vs. what it means to you (the example cited above is an example of what happens when the reader is left to interpret it entirely by himself, without recourse to other tools) we would have a much clearer message and help cut down on the sort of responses as that of the reader of the Gospel of Mark above.
*

Friday, September 9, 2011

Thinking About Evil (Part 2)

Theodicies* often raise more questions than they answer.

In attempting to sketch out a brief theodicy, I make no claim to providing all the answers. In fact, I suspect if there can ever be one - the most satisfactory answer I have heard being was a Christian apologist's final admission of "I don't know".

In a way, it doesn't hurt to say that you are ultimately ignorant of God's intentions (God being God, this is quite understandable).

Here, I will argue that an "imperfect" ("Imperfect" here is an extremely relative term) world may actually be one that is the "best" (Again, a relative term).

The Role Playing World

Almost all role playing games (offline and especially online) have a leveling system whereby a character starts at the level 1 and works his or her way up to a maximum level (or in some cases, there is no limit).

The character often starts without anything and works their way up. They gain experience, items and money.

This is considered to be quite enjoyable, rewarding and even fulfilling for most people.

Yet it raises an interesting question - why don't we have a perfect world where everybody is equal in level and has unlimited money, experience and items? Ask any RPG player and most, if not all, would give you a bewildered look.

This is because anyone who has played such games know that the most fun comes from building up your character and that a character that starts out with a maximum of all possible benefits will bore the player very very quickly.

In my personal experience of cheating to get a maximum of everything immediately, the game gets old very quickly. The excitement and challenge is gone, there is nothing left to do.

Granted, RPGs mimic real life. Yet, if it is so much better to live in a "perfect" world, why do people find such worlds immensely boring, indeed, even silly or "bad"?

And there is a limit to this analogy. People don't really die or get hurt in these games. Yet the basic premises are there and the results are intriguing.

An objection would be that God could create a perfect world where people won't get bored.

Firstly, some religious scriptures do claim this, just not yet.

Secondly, could he actually? Or, would he actually? After all, if he could and if it was better, we would be living in a perfect world right now. Perhaps a world where people need to learn and build themselves up is somehow a better one.

True, the end goal might be perfection or as close to it as we can get.

Yet from experience, an immediate state of perfection often leaves people somehow unsatisfied.

I offer this as a preliminary sketch. My thinking on this, of course, constantly develops.

If, however, I was asked where is the point of a little child being brutally murdered - either for the sake of the sanctity of free will, of learning from experience or for some other higher purpose I would still honestly say, "I don't know".
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* That is, a reconciliation of God and evil.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Thinking About Evil (Part 1)

It is often argued that a good God would not allow evil* to exist or occur. This argument is usually based not from any particular religious scripture, but on moral intuition.

As it stands, the idea that "God would not allow evil" is at best conjecture. Indeed, many non-theists admit that this is an unfounded theological assumption, to say that God "must not allow evil" - which amounts to saying what God can or cannot do! Of course, they would then go on to say that if such a God would allow evil to occur, then he is not worthy of our worship (another moral intuition).

Let me therefore introduce another reasonable assumption. Suppose God exists and evil exists. Is it not reasonable to assume that our moral abhorrence of evil stems not from ourselves, but from the God who created us?

In this scenario, the same morality which we use to dismiss God is the same morality which was give to us by God.

The question still remains as to why would God allow evil. However, assuming that our knowledge of good and evil is equivalent (actually, I would argue that it is inferior) to that of God we must therefore look to other alternatives as to why a good God would allow evil to exist (rather than concluding that he therefore does not exist, which is a non-sequitur).
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* I would like to note that the problem of evil is not an objection to God's existence but to God's character.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Quiet Life of a Contemplative Christian

Prologue

Everyone seeks to place his or her life within the context of a greater story. This can be religion, family or friends, work or a pursuit of a goal. In other words, we need meaning in our life. And how have I framed my last two decades?

Unfortunately I can't say much for the first, but my memory is much clearer for the last ten or so years.

I was raised in a Christian home. I say "Christian home" because this was how our life was framed - with church at Sunday being the "end" (or beginning) of the week. From young I hated Sunday school (you either enjoyed it or hated it) and when older found "youth" gatherings uncomfortable (rare was the occasion where I was ever comfortable among my peers). The worship I never enjoyed (always preferred hymns) and the sermons were immensely boring. I would very much life to blame my lack of appreciation of the latter on myself, but eventually I have come to suspect that the individual in the pulpit had something to do with it as well.

All in all, I was not a very good churchgoing Christian. And yet, why have I chosen to call myself a Christian?

First, a little about the label "Christian". Often, when I am consequently asked, "What kind of Christian?" and I have found the additional labels required unhelpful. Protestant, I believe, is woefully archaic. Charismatic - as the churches I have been going to would have been called - could hardly apply to me (my personality is hardly that interesting nor inspiring). Evangelical may be suitable except that nobody understands it anymore. And don't get me started with the "post-" prefix that seems to be getting stuck onto anything nowadays.

So then, a Christian I am. But the perceptive reader would notice another word stuck in front of Christian in the title. So let me explain that.

The quiet life

Like all introverts, I am drained when I am around others and energized when I am alone (actually a rather crude and simplistic description, but close enough). This is not to say my family and friends don't mean a lot. They mean as much. But solitude is something I very much enjoy as well.

But what is more important is what I do with my time. Have I been productive, useful? I certainly hope so. At least the plans and goals (and for this I am very grateful for the opportunities others have given me) to which I have been able to accomplish.

My job, thankfully, allows me a lot of free time. I have become engrossed (once again) with historical study; reading fiction is now a necessary chore (!). I wish to start writing again, so many stories still in my head. Outlines of some are on paper, still waiting to become pixels on the computer screen.

So then...

A Contemplative Christian

Simply put, my goal is to become thoughtful (which is part of humility - to think before acting, the opposite of which is rashness and pride). Not just as a human being but specifically as a Christian.

How should one be thoughtful?

My listening and not just responding immediately (kneejerk responses usually not the best!). Returning to Scriptures for the Truth. To consider the opinions and arguments of other people. Pray.

My belief is not just a result of a conversion experience (actually I remember none) but also a dialogue with others, believers and non-believers. I have participated in extensive conversations - some extremely edifying, others unhelpfully repetitive. I have spent hundreds of hours in related literature, building upon the thoughts and experience of others. I have learnt immensely.

So What?

Well, I have spent a lot of time talking about myself. Hopefully this gives you some insight to the writer. But I write this not only to share, but to provide a coherent outline of my thoughts.

I have grown and learned a lot. My beliefs and attitudes have changed so many times (and, I hope will continue to do so for the better).

The fact is, I have seen too many people take the end of youth to mean the end of all growth (both literally and symbolically). It does not and cannot mean so. If there's one thing my non-institutional education (wink wink) thought me is that learning is a never ending process. Applying this to every aspect of our life is important and, as a Christian, is crucial.

Let this be my own pledge to continue the race.

S.D.G.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Bersih 2.0 - A Review

Walking through KL yesterday I could not detect any hint that a massive rally had been held on the day before. It was business as usual. Regardless of your opinion of Bersih, you have to admit that the Malaysian demonstrators have outperformed their first world counterparts (see the recent Greece and Canada rallies and riots) when it comes to peaceful assembly.

For the government though, peaceful or not, it was still an illegal rally and they treated it as such. Teargas (which, at least in the developed world, is only used to disperse violent protestors), arrests (to the police's credit, they released most fairly quickly without charges) and massive propaganda campaigns before and after. My favourite is the advertisement on TV3 where a boy asks why all the shops are closed. The shopkeeper laments that this was due to the rally.

TV aside, a glance through Facebook and I could see some unfortunate folks who got stuck somewhere in KL. At least one was calling Ambiga and Bersih some not very nice adjectives after he got stuck in KL Sentral for several hours. Of course, one can blame Bersih for shutting down public transport and traffic. Some sharp people would point out that it was the government who shut these down, not Bersih. And even more sharper people would point out that if the EC had heeded Bersih's demands there wouldn't be a rally in the first place.

Yellow Shirts, Red Shirts

The Patriot rally was mostly a fizzle (RM50 and free t-shirts don't get you far) and its few memorable moments was a banner calling the rally "BERSHIT" (to which people responded by referring to them as "Patriotaik") and Khairy standing alone being escorted away by a policeman.

Needless to say it was the yellow shirts (actually, much less yellow shirts this time - most joined the rally in standard civilian attire probably due to fear of being targeted for arrest) that carried the day. There wasn't really any hope of making it to Stadium Merdeka and as irony would have it, since the government shut down the stadium they had no choice but to take it to the streets.

Reformasi?

Some made a big deal about the chants for "Reformasi". Is this 1999 all over again? Well, reformasi can mean many things, including reformation for the election system. Slogans aside, the "Allahu akhbar" chants could be disturbing for a few, but in a country where Islam and politics (for good or for ill) have become inseparable this is no surprise.

I have always stated that I agreed with Bersih's goal (reforming the electoral system) but not its ends (rallying to do so). Rallies work better as a means of venting frustration and as a desperate attempt for change (see the Middle East) or as a means of gaining attention to a cause where other democratic means are unavailable (one could not vote to end Black discrimination nor to gain Independence).

But no, I'm not making the "we have elections so why rally?" argument. The Constitution itself guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. Whether the Bersih (or Patriot or whoever) rallies had a point or not is irrelevant. People still are allowed to peacefully demonstrate.

But Bersih's points could be gotten across more clearly. The alternative media's arm is wide open. Publicize how corrupt the electoral system is. Make people realize what the rally really was about (or should have been - most Bersih attendees didn't really come there to express their displeasure at the electoral system but towards the present government)

"Deeply Divided"

After George W. Bush won his second term, Kerry called to congratulate him but also to remark that the country is "deeply divided". Of course, this was a rather obvious statement. The USA is and will continue to be divided at least along Democrat/Republican lines. This is not a such a bad thing but rather a hallmark of mature democracies. People have different views and as such there are different parties to represent them.

In my conversations with others I have found that there are people (surprise) who are not very sympathetic towards Pakatan Rakyat and they have some pretty good reasons. Besides PR's non-existent (or at least, poorly publicized) plan of governance should it come to power, very few people are aware of its agenda. The recent Buku Jingga was a decent effort but almost comically idealistic. Obama's hopeless vague but extremely effective "change" and "hope" slogans won him his presidency but made us realize that in the end, the real world of politics doesn't tolerate such idealisms. (Another case of irony then, as the Obama administration's most memorable achievement was not in healthcare or other reforms but in the "war on terror")

The results of our 2008 General Election should show as much. The popular vote was split nearly evenly (PR's seat gains don't nearly reflect this as much). PR supporters should realize that people still support BN (and BN supporters should realize that support for their coalition is eroding)

Yes, you can still vote. No, don't expect everyone to vote for your favorite party. This is democracy.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Selective Myopia and the Middle-East

To any observer who has followed the Middle-East uprisings/revolutions intently, one thing is clear - a lot of Arabs are unsatisfied with their governments. But why? Someone once remarked that the Arab dictators were worse than the Zionists. And while criticism of Israel (much of it fair) has been unceasing, especially from the Arab and Muslim nations, there has been an uncomfortable silence from these same nations about the situation in the Middle East.

Reading a report from Bahrain, one of the countries in turmoil, one has to marvel at the entrenched goverments' ability to blame everyone but themselves for the mass protests. And as Robert Fisk devastatingly made clear, many others (including America) have said little on this as well.

And what about Malaysia's response? I read with amusement on the unfortunate fate of MV Finch, still waiting to deliver sewage pipes to Gaza. Meanwhile, Iran's flotilla to Bahrain has been halted as well, Bahrain calling it a "blatant interference in affairs". The Israelis would agree.

Thus one thing is clear, Malaysia and other states remain silent on Bahrain and the other nations facing protests. Perhaps (in Bahrain's case) it's because we're seeing Shi'a protesting against their well connected, oil rich, Sunni rulers.

Maybe, but one thing is for sure - whenever you claim to be against injustice you better not be saying it with one eye closed.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

And Then...

I feel bad, not writing here. I very much would like to share my thoughts. So after three months, I guess you could say I'm back.

I've got a lot of stuff I could just copy and paste here, as "filler". And maybe I'll do that. But for now, here is what's coming up:-

1. After nearly a year at an IT firm, I can proudly say that i. I have one year of real working experience ii. More than enough stories/experiences to write something worthwhile, fiction or non-fiction (or maybe both) iii. A fair bit of money saved up.

2. A bunch of essays on movies, books and other stuff I've been consuming the past year or so. There's a lot that I've yet to write down and I suppose here's where I should commit my thoughts.

Other things - After three years of "college" I realize that a degree is something not to take lightly; that you should never try to do it just for the sake of doing it. I tell that to everyone who says they're just studying for the sake of studying. Don't. And for those who are doing business because they have no idea what else to do. DON'T.

I want to travel. Haven't in a long while. Right now I'm caught between two choices (both of which are within my budget). One month in a few nice European countries or overland journey across Asia. Hmm...