The Foolishness of the Cross

Phi 3:10-11 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, (11) in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

What drives our life?
What keeps us on day by day?
What causes us to wake up in the morning for future anticipation?
What gives meaning to our lives day by day?

As Christians how would we answer these life questions? When we are facing difficulties, what is our source of strength?

One way that people argue is that Christ’s victory on the cross has gave us the strength, and we should live in this victory, dismissing every negative thoughts and mentality. Living a “Victorious Life” seems to be the magic word.

Besides, we often focus on looking good at the outside, we try to portray positivism, beauty, sophistication, strength, number, charisma etc. in our lives and ministry. We argue for excellence, we argue that God deserves the best, we argue that God is a God of excellence, success, victory.

But I would argue that living in such understanding is like living on a superficial box. It is not wrong by itself, I am not denying God’s glory and wonder, but such thinking reflects our spiritual immaturity in realizing who God is and who we are.

It is denying the realities of our fallen world
It is denying the depravity of our imperfection
It is denying the sovereignty of God to be ‘weak’

But Paul in 1st Corinthians says that the message of the cross is foolishness. The mere fact that the King of Glory left His throne above and die for mortal men like you and I, is ridiculous.

Many followers of Buddha admire the willingness of Siddhartha Gautama to leave his royal throne to live a simple monastic life. If that is awesome in their eyes, then how should we treat Jesus Christ who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who came down to earth, born in a manger, raised as a layman, walked alone, unmarried, rejected by the wise, mocked, ridiculed, beaten, suffered, crucified, died for the sins of mankind?

It is not by our mere positivism, or by our look-good portrayal, or sophistication that we gain our strength, but through our weakness. It is not by our wisdom, intellect, charisma, drive that determine our success and image, but it is the foolishness of the Cross.

It humbles us, it breaks our pride to realize our imperfection, our helplessness and draws strength from God alone. Like the passage above, it is through ‘sharing in His suffering’ that we draw our strength, and look forward to the resurrection. Through sharing in His suffering, then only we can see the hope in Christ Jesus. This hope cannot be clearly seen if we are to live our lives with superficial sufficiency. Only with this genuine hope in the midst of our suffering that drives us through the journey of life, fixes our eyes upon Jesus and brings the anticipation for the Second Coming of Christ.

Inter-faith Dialogue

Bagaimana kita hendak membina satu persefahaman yang kukuh jika kita tidak bersedia untuk menerima hakikat semua agama ada kebenaran dan kebaikan masing-masing ?

Sampai bilakah kita hendak berlumba-lumba membuktikan kehebatan , kedudukan dan kebenaran agama kalau kita menolak hakikat semua agama ada sedikit persamaan antara satu sama lain ? -- Anonymous

URBI ET ORBI

"May the God who became man out of love for humanity strengthen all those in Africa who work for peace, integral development and the prevention of fratricidal conflicts, for the consolidation of the present, still fragile political transitions, and the protection of the most elementary rights of those experiencing tragic humanitarian crises, such as those in Darfur and in other regions of central Africa. May he lead the peoples of Latin America to live in peace and harmony. May he grant courage to people of good will in the Holy Land, in Iraq, in Lebanon, where signs of hope, which are not lacking, need to be confirmed by actions inspired by fairness and wisdom; may he favour the process of dialogue on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere in the countries of Asia, so that, by the settlement of dangerous disputes, consistent and peaceful conclusions can be reached in a spirit of friendship, conclusions which their peoples expectantly await.

At Christmas we contemplate God made man, divine glory hidden beneath the poverty of a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger; the Creator of the Universe reduced to the helplessness of an infant. Once we accept this paradox, we discover the Truth that sets us free and the Love that transforms our lives. On Bethlehem Night, the Redeemer becomes one of us, our companion along the precarious paths of history. Let us take the hand which he stretches out to us: it is a hand which seeks to take nothing from us, but only to give.

With the shepherds let us enter the stable of Bethlehem beneath the loving gaze of Mary, the silent witness of his miraculous birth. May she help us to experience the happiness of Christmas, may she teach us how to treasure in our hearts the mystery of God who for our sake became man; and may she help us to bear witness in our world to his truth, his love and his peace."

-- POPE BENEDICT XVI (Christmas, 25 December 2005)

Chinese Poem

风 平 浪 静 ， 要 谢 主 恩 ；
波 涛 汹 涌 ， 还 念 主 恩 。

Feng3 Ping2 Lang4 Jing4, Yao4 Xie4 Zhu3 En1,
Bo1 Tao1 Xiong1 Yong3, Hai2 Nian4 Zhu3 En1

In ease and peace, we need to be thankful to the Lord,
In times of troubles, we still need to remember His goodness and grace.

学 长 与 学 姐

by Josephine,

Choon Wei 一 副 牧 师 样 ，
领 导 ， 演 讲 他 最 棒 ，
忙 于 舞 台 ， 教 堂 中 ，
成 绩 亦 不 比 人 差 。
Ezra 一 副 正 经 样 ，
捉 弄 他 人 一 级 棒 ，
照 顾 juniors 他 强 项 ，
确 实 是 个 好 学 长 。
Hui Ming 一 副 温 柔 样 ，
说 话 轻 柔 ， 学 业 棒 ，
话 虽 不 多 ， 但 总 关 心 ，
伤 心 难 过 ， 可 找 她 。
Jimi 一 副 健 儿 样 ，
爱 奔 驰 于 篮 球 场 ，
别 看 他 一 副 静 模 样 ，
关 心 他 人 ， 他 可 不 差 。
Lynn Xuan 一 副 可 人 样 ，
皮 肤 白 皙 ，成 绩 棒 ，
美 丽 ， 智 慧 集 一 身 ，
却 是 一 点 也 不 自 夸 。
Michelle 一 副 亲 民 样 ，
原 来 来 至 砂 劳 越 ，
与 juniors聊 天 ， 她 最 爱，
是 个 说 话 的 好 对 象 ，
Wei Sian 一 副 ‘小 人 ’样 ，
却 有 姐 姐 的 好 榜 样 ，
关 心 juniors, 她 强 项 ，
照 顾 juniors， 她 不 差 。

Fancy some bah kut teh?

Its 6am and I still can't sleep. So I decided to google the recipe for dry bah kut teh (Pork Rib Stew with tea), and this what I've found.

http://kyspeaks.com/category/eat/bak-kut-teh/

fancy some?

Blood is thicker than water, Jesus' love is thicker than blood!

http://nextgenerasianchurch.com/2006/12/07/sons-and-daughters-to-be-called-brothers-and-sisters/

Furthermore, the ethnic church can contribute to this and should. In Minnesota, where a great number of Korean adoptees are, this ministry has the tagline: “Blood is thicker than water; Jesus’ love is thicker than blood!” That is so beautiful. I pray that many of our churches can do this type of work in empowering adoptees to have a sense that we love them, that they have a better understanding of being adopted as sons and daughters through Christ than many of us, and that Christ reigns from the East to the West. They should not lose the best of what their Asian heritage has to offer and nor should our voices be absent in the formation of who they are as a person and a believer.

Lastly, to call Asian American Christians out on the carpet, I challenge us to adopt children, both those who look like us and do not look like us, because we have been blessed. In many respects, Asian American are the wealthiest, best educated, and in many segments, some of the most churched demographic in America. How is that adoption is sung about by Steven Curtis Chapman and not by us? How is that we as Christians do not rush to rescue them? Do we not consider them brothers and sisters?

Blood is thicker than water, Jesus' love is thicker than blood!

Beyond Evangelism and Evangelicalism

If the church, and evangelicals in particular, could be more vibrant in terms of getting her feet into the deep water of the economic, social, political life of this globe, my hope is that we would offer significant help toward the course of our evangelization project.

Jesus was murdered openly, killed as a terrorist in opposition to the almighty Empire during the reign of Rome's most mighty Emperor Augustus. Should we then shy away from a political life where God has been? The story of the Exodus was about God intervening into the midst of human oppression, alienation, management out of fear and even tribal cleansing through infanticide.

The Exodus God was not one who disclosed Himself in an evangelistic meeting relay inside an air-conditioned assembly hall, nor was he concerned with the inner psychology of the middle class yearning about boredom after lining up overnight for a PS3, nor was he interested in being discussed amongst the professional elite or the best suited theologians while their countrymen were engaged in the greedy business called globalization and free market trade. The Exodus God is one who cares for those who are oppressed by empires and He cares for the migrant workers who work overtime unjustly. Every form of theological discussion and worship finds its bearing when we are willing to engage into the mission(s) which our God has taken in history. The Jesus story and the Exodus in the form of praxis are our ultimate criteria for right beliefs, whether we call it evangelical or not -Johnathan Chan, The Other Journal.

Interview with Professor Elaine

Professor Elaine Wainwright
Position:	Richard Maclaurin Goodfellow Professor in Theology and Head of School, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Qualifications:	BA (Hons), Ph D UofQ, Brisbane, MTheol CTU, Chicago; Élève Diplomée École Biblique, Jerusalem; BSS Pontifical Biblical Commission, Rome

At the end of my semester taking THEO 101 Bible in Popular Culture under Professor Elaine and Dr. Phillip, I had the privilege of interviewing them. Below is the transcript of the interview.

Can you tell me a bit of your background, like how you were first involved in theology?

I got a religious background in the Catholic church. That was one area which gave me an interest in Theology. I also belong to a religious congregation within the Catholic tradition (Sisters of Mercy). So from that point of view, that was the avenue that really took me into theology. I was trained as a teacher in the area of business studies and then theology opened up a part of my work whitin the congregation. And its been my major area of teaching since then and I liked it very much. Its quite a dynamic area that I came in when there were quite significant changes happening both in areas of biblical studies generally and the opening up of catholic theology. church. All my teaching has been done in an ecumenical context, not only catholic institutions. This is really exciting for me to be teaching theology in a university

What particular aspect of theology that first drew your interest?

I was interested in the area of biblical studies. When i was doing my training . It was just after Vatican II a quite significant event in the Catholic life. It was a big ecumenical council that opened up the church to contemporary theology and biblical studies which had been controlled strongly by the church. It opened up to what other biblical scholars are doing. I found it was really exciting, discovering that various interpretation of the bible is available to me and others in the church.

You’re from Australia aren’t you? You studied in Rome, Jerusalem?

I did study in Jerusalem. I did my initial study in UQ, I went to Chicago Theological Union for my postgraduate masters coursework. I then went to Jerusalem for 2 years, did my Master’s thesis there and research for my doctorate, and had Roman degree 6 months which I thought might be helpful in my career at one stage, as I will be teaching in a Catholic context. It was just an exam after 6 months of preparation.

How did u end up in NZ?

I taught in the same context for 20 years and decided that I really needed a change. I was looking somewhere where as a women doing theology, to have some area of leadership. That was why I decided to leave my old job that I liked very much. This came up and I applied for it. It is a good opportunity to have leadership in theology, to help set up a school and making sure its working well has been really good.

Any theologian, scholar or literature that changed your theological persuasion?

There are a couple, both by women. The area of theology that changed me is in the area of feminist theology and biblical studies. The first book was when I was doing my Honours work in UQ. I was looking for an area where I can work and understand different competing interpretation. I was living in a political environment, where there was a left-wing government where the premier of Queensland, a strong Lutheran, quoting scriptures to support his oppressive government. Alongside with that I was involved in a justice group and we were saying that the scripture does not say that at all. I thought If I am going to teach scripture, how do I teach different competing interpretations of the Bible. It was then my director gave me a book by Philis Trible and her book is called “God and the Rethoric of Sexuality”. It was a first biblical studies book I’ve read that started to see the position of women in the Bible. A couple of years later when I was doing my Masters research. It was the time when Fiorenza a very famous feminist scholar which I once wrote a memorial for her, being groundbreaking in feminist studies. In one of the courses I actually studied her book quite carefully. That had set a direction of my work quite significantly.

I shall try to get hold of that book. From the lectures I can sort of speculate your stand on several issues. And I compare them with my own spirituality. Would you like to define how you see scripture?

You would have seen it. I see it as a sacred story that belongs to a community, from their experience of the divine or transcendence in their life situation. Out of that, they tell their sacred story. It is a developing process. I don’t see it as falling down from heaven. I see it as a story over a millennium where a group of people tell their sacred story, their dealings with God and each other. Certain elements of the story are being retold and retold. The sacred story journeys with the people who claim as their sacred story. Its my sacred story. It informs my life which I reflect on and engage with. Of course I engage with it out of who I am and the world that I live in. Its a sacred story, its a source of my spiritual nourishment and spiritual challenges. Its one of the underpinnings of my relationship with God and Jesus that is very grounded in scripture

Do you see it as authoritative in our lives? Is it culturally conditioned on the community of the day and how do we make sense out of it?

That’s probably one of the most challenging question around scripture. i do see it as authoritative but not like other groups who see simply search the meaning of it and apply it today. It is much more complex. The process of the authority of scripture is tied on with the community and how the community understands itself. I think it needs a process where the community works out and uses scripture, not laid individuals who can pronounce authority over it. Its a community grappling with issues of its day in dialogue with the sacred story. I think the authority of scripture is quite complex. But I see it as foundational in our lives. One interesting thing I found in dealing with scripture and contemporary issues is that, if we use the scripture all the time as foundational in our lives we would knew how to deal better with blown up issues. For example, the Anglican church is torn apart by the issue of gay ordination and homosexual union. I think that it is sad that if a community doesn’t puts its whole life to the scripture but when there’s a crisis it runs to the scripture and pick up a few passages selectively. But it should be used authoritatively to inform our whole life, and if it does that, tt will challenge us so much, Choon Wei, so much, about living justly and about what we do in the world. That’s what I think is the authority of scripture, not a help book to run to in the midst crises. I think if we believe that the scripture is authoritative, as a community we should work out how we live out the sacred story all the time. That’s what I think is authority. It will challenge us so radically as a community and as individuals.

One of the readings in the course, written by Walter Wink. He said that there is no clear biblical ethics but the ethic of love.

It is actually love and justice I think is the two deep streams of sources of Biblical ethics. We need the two of them. One of them can tip over to rigid totalitarianism or floppy pious loving one another without justice. Justice can be harsh. We need to work out what justice and love mean with some examples of how people in the past work out with it. For example in the homosexuality issue, we have very little text about that and so much dispute about the meaning. If we have both love and justice, then we would be able to work out the issue much differently.

Where do holiness fit in moral issues like divorce and murder. As much as we love the sinner, we do not condone the sin for example in the case of murder. How do we balance out love and justice?

I think its an ongoing challenge. I think there are transgressions against the community that are serious. Whether you call for punishment or call it protection, there are bound to be people in the community that protect the sinner. That is a balance between love and justice. However, we cannot limit justice on individual basis alone. We need to see justice in a broader context of a community. I think murder is quite clear. But homosexuality is a much more complex issue, what do you do in a context when a homosexual person lives in a relationship that is faithful, loving, commited to justice and all of the biblical ethics. Areas of morality is not clear cut. There more you encounter people in real life situation. I know myself, my experience has expanded enormously, as I meet more people who are living in good, faithful , sometimes struggling homosexual relationship. There is nothing that I should exclude them from having access to. It is not such that I should exclude them. We need this kind of data and experience with the people involved when making ethical decisions.

What are your views on the Evangelical tradition?

I am going to be more cagy on that. It is not my tradition. It is a tradition of which I know more and more people now are adhering to in Christianity. I would want to put Evangelicalism alongside with the gospel the same way I want to put everything else. I want to ask the question people in this tradition whether they are practicing love and justice, which is in the heart of the Gospel. Does the evangelical way of life, live out the Gospel? Do they live in rigid rejection of a certain group of people, naming and demonising others who do not hold to their views? Can this tradition live with other Christian traditions, like the Catholic Church in the past claiming that they alone hold the truth? How do they treat insiders and outsiders? They ought to stand with the Gospel like any other traditions. If they can prove that they interpretation of the Bible and its way of life is expressive of love and justice, then it validly stands. It is not a tradition that I was shaped into. Is that cagy enough? Hehe.

I was interested on how do you read the Bible ecologically, for example in the New Testament?

I think its not easy to read the Bible ecologically. It is a very different context from the bible as it is a 21^st century reading, but it is fine as we read the Bible through feminist and liberation lenses too. There is a great group at Adelaide, the Earth Bible group that has a number of publications. Norman Harbles developed some hermeneutical principals of how we read the earth, and its materials and find its voice in the Bible. I try to use it in some of my work. We need to shift our mind, for example in Feminist work, reading about women in the Biblical passages. I am still learning how to read through the lenses of the earth and its material. We can’t just find passages and point out literal description of the earth itself, but reading through the lines. It is a new, hard, yet exciting development that will change how we read the Bible.

Multiple lenses of reading the Bible. Can you explain more?

What happened in Biblical studies, I said that is was opening up in the late 60s and early 70s. Methodologically and interpretative lenses had multiplied, the tools has increased such as historical criticism and questions you ask to the bible text. Now someone can be a feminist reader, liberationist reader, ecological reader, indigenous reader or postmodern reader, you could go on. In a hermeneutical course, I found out 14 hermeneutical groups with different names. There are multiple ways or lenses as they read the Bible. There is multiple recognition of where we stand and how it affects how we read. Say I am a Tongan, Australian, Maori, or Pakeha, where I stand and who I am is part of what I bring to the reading of text. I believe that it has always being so. What happened is that now we recognised that in an era of philosophical hermeneutics, the last century was the whole move around what is interpretation, interpretation of ourselves, life, and the text. That’s just exploded in Biblical Studies, it’s much bigger than postmodernity, its indicative of our world, multiple ways of people understanding themselves, with globalisation, and multiculturalism. In one of my hermeneutics class, there is a diverse culture represented from different ethnic group, which brings different interpretation of the bible, which we call it post-modern. 50 years ago, there’s not much mix, and we thought that might be just a single interpretation of the bible. This is the richness, fascinating God which gives us a text that is so rich and complex, that has multiple meanings in different places and ways.

In light of all of this, how do you see the future of Christianity?

I have no idea what will happen. Let me just try today. I think its not an easy place for Christianity to be, yet it is an exciting place for it to be. For those people who can be comfortable with diversity, possibility and opportunities for different understandings and multiple images of God. The possibilities are quite extraordinary around a recognition that truth is multiple, goodness is multiple, love and justice are multiple, all of them have different expression, of which we see and name it as God or divine in our lives. The opportunity or avenues of spirituality are quite extraordinary, where everybody can join in spirituality, with meditation or other spiritual practices available to many people today. Young people like yourself are entering religious traditions without security, with so much multiplicity. I don’t know how young people can manage with that. During my days in my 20s, my religious tradition have so much security that I was aware of where I was at that time, can be secure with multiplicity today. I think the increasing multiplicity and complexity today in religious traditions make it a more difficult place to be. However I believe that faith is not about being sure, its about entering into incredibly complexity of God, ourselves, the world, and relationships, and that’s quite different from a certainty that comes from reading a creed. I feel that you can read out a creed without faith. I feel that faith comes out from uncertainty rather than certainty. But I am very aware that there are people at different ages, that wants certainty or structure, that they can say “this is of God, that is not of God”, as we can see in certain debates today between two groups, one which is comfortable with uncertainty and one that wants certainty. That’s where we are. That will not go away in the future. My hope that this two groups can work together. My fear is that they will tear Christianity and various other religious traditions apart.

Can we live by love and justice alone, while excluding the divine or transcendent?

I believe that the mythos is what feeds your soul. The sacred story and tradition feeds my soul and my mind. The soul and mind is very closely related together. I am not sure what’s the difference between Christianity and an humanistic approach to life, if we exclude the mythos or the transcendent. But Christianity as I understands it, carries in it a sacred story. It assumes on a mythos.

Will it happen when one day Christianity will fall into humanism?

I suspect not, but some do. That’s fine. I think throughout human history, there is a continuing search for the expression in the mythos. I think and see that ass a recognition for the transcendent. Life is not all measurable, calculable and its not all about logos.

How do see yourself being in post-Christian or even anti-Christian society, while many places outside the western world are slowly embracing Christianity as a religious tradition? Are you worried about it?

No, I am not. I am not worried about it because I would suspect that history goes in spiral instead of a line. That’s not very different to the beginning of Christianity, so why not the spiral comes around again? I think we are coming to fear that we have a known history where we have been a dominant power in certain parts of the world. This includes countries which have a lot of political dominance at the moment for example the US and Australia. There is an imagination that these society is Christian first of all. A lot of them are not. They call themselves Christian and harping into the Religious Right at the moment, but I see what the policies that they are taking is not-Christian at all. They have nothing to do with justice at all. I think that they are blatantly unjust and unchristian. I think its not a surprising thing for me being a scholar of Early Christianity that Christianity should be a minority group withinin a society. Perhaps it is the place where it best works probably. Once it becomes a dominant religion, then it becomes cultural for many people. Its not a religious tradition where people would die for.

So, you imagine Christianity as a fringe group?

No I don’t imagine so. My hope would be, if its a small group, it will be a leaven, it will be doing the work of the Gospel, it will be doing public theology, it will be engaging with legislators together with other groups which are committed to justice and love, although they may not necessarily be Christian nor religious in nature to achieve.

What recommendation or resources that you would recommend for enthusiasts?

That’s a hard question. There are various good resources. One of the good scholars would be Walter Brueggemann, of which you encountered in the course. His work on the Prophets is excellent. Another person which we would recommend next year in the course would be Marcus Borg with his work, “Reading the Bible Again For The First Time”. There are just so many authors. In the middle of last century, people will ask who are the great theologians that we should read and you will get names like Bultmann, Moltmann, and Raymond Brown etc. Notice that they are all men? You would have read them all and say that they are the people that are impacting theology. Today you will encounter such a diverse group. Catherine Keller is a good one, her work is just fascinating. These will be some of the key people.

I guess that’s all for now. Thanks for your time, and thank you very much for a great semester doing the theology paper with you.

weecw

Interview with Raj Singh, Soul Survivor Malaysia

Raj and Margaret Singh

On the 22-25th of November, I had the privilege of joining a group of great young people making an impact in the Klang Valley, worshipping Jesus through serving the underprivileged and homeless. At the end of it all, I managed to interview the man, Ps. Raj Singh, the big guy behind Soul Survivor Malaysia who also happen to be the Senior Pastor of Christian Life Gospel Centre. Here I include the transcript of our conversation (Note : It is a recollection of the interview. The accuracy of the words and information may be disputed, but the content is almost similar to our conversation).

CW : Hi pastor, do you mind spending a few moment for an interview so that I can write something for my blog?

Raj : Yeah sure thing.

CW : So pastor, do you mind sharing a bit about yourself and your ministry?

Raj : I was in the IT industry for 9 years before I was approached to go to full time ministry. I am married with a wife and few kids, the youngest is around 2 years old.

CW : Do you take any theological training?

Raj : Prior to full time work here, I don’t . But currently I am taking bible training at a local seminary. (I glanced through his collection of books, few interesting titles :P)

CW : So let me ask you, if you can change one thing in the Malaysian Church throughout your whole life, what would it be? Or what is the greatest dissatisfaction with the church?

Raj : Wow, a hard question. Err... I think that the Malaysian Church is too middle class. I would envision a church that is less middle class, that will be able to break down social barriers, that is inclusive of the poor and marginalised.

CW : Hmm... then in a scale of 1 to 10, how would you see the Church and your church, CLGC doing in this area? Since CLGC is located in PJ town, middle class and English speaking. How well will CLGC do in this area.

Raj : I would say that our achievement today is very small. We are still learning of ways to serve the poor from other churches and ministries who started earlier and did better than us. I would say that although PJ is a middle class area, there is still a sizable community of the poor and underprivileged, for example the SS2 squatter community that we reached out to years ago through our Christmas street carnival. Now since they had relocated to the Subang Utama low cost flats, we still continue to impact them as the residents remember us when we did the gotong-royong recently. There is no need to relocate our church as the need is at the back of our doors.

CW : I see. How did CLGC come out with this vision? Is it because of your leadership or it has been around since the church came to being? How did you start to teach the church about the issue of social justice and was there any resistance?

Raj : Good question. It was never a one man show, or because of my influence of being the senior pastor. It was actually two things that changed this church. Firstly is due to a leadership crisis that happened years ago when our ex-senior pastor had fallen due to sin. The incident left the church very broken. Then some of our church members including my wife were sharing about their newfound burden, to serve the poor around the church. We started small by praying about it, serving them in small ways, and then the whole church caught the momentum. Secondly, it is through careful understanding of the word of God. If you are to read the Bible, you will realise that the theme of love and justice are the prevailing themes in many of the books. The prophets, the Gospels, the Epistles etc. I guess, it is the 2 things that changed us.

CW : Would you see social action as an integral part of the church ministry or as one of the many ministries of the church? Should a church start to care for the poor at day one since it is planted or wait until it grow to a sizable number to actually reach out to the poor?

Raj : I would see it as an integral part of the church mission. Whether a church is big or small, resourceful or less resourceful, having much or little, it is a mandate to serve the poor whatever we have. In fact, it should not be a ministry in itself, but it should be part of every ministry. The men’s ministry, the women’s ministry, children’s ministry etc. etc. can include social concern as part of their mission, no matter it is run as simple as collecting donations for the poor or going out to serve them.

CW : Perhaps I am repeating what you have said, but perhaps you would like to clarify more. Do you see a need to integrate the church across social classes or different churches to cater / reach out to different classes of society? And how do you integrate them since there is different racial groups, language groups, social class groups etc?

Raj : If we truly want to be an authentic church, we need to show to the society that although we are very different in our cultures with Malays, Chinese, Indians and other races, with different social classes, and languages, because of Christ and the power of the Gospel, we are able to pull things together as a caring vibrant community of believers. That is a great testimony to the world. Although we are not able to do this effectively now, we are learning to make the church more welcoming to the poor be it the way we run our services, the language we speak etc. If we are not able to integrate, then what different are we from the society which is so fragmented out there?

CW : Amen. That’s a powerful conviction. I guess that’s all I would want to ask. Thanks for your time.

I came back from the camp refreshed because this guy has the same conviction that I have. Woohoo! The recent polemic about Bangsa Malaysia is a good litmus test for the Church. If we truly want to be a faithful witness to the Malaysian society, we should all the more run and pursue Bangsa Malaysia as a prophetic dream for this nation, first by living out the ideals of Bangsa Malaysia within our own churches.

Malaysia bagi kemuliaan-Mu!

Tujuan Kehidupan Kita

Wahai Kawan,

Selamat datang ke Our Reason For Being. Ia memaparkan siri refleksi yang menjawab persoalan tentang makna kehidupan (dalam Bahasa Inggeris).

Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa semua daripada kita mempunyai keinginan dalaman untuk memahami makna dalam kehidupan kita. Psikoterapi Eksistential bertujuan membantu kita mencari satu makna kehidupan, tujuan hidup untuk diikuti. Tetapi kita kadangkala tidak berpuashati dengan hanya mempunyai tujuan hidup. Apakah gunanya dilahirkan semata-mata untuk mati pada kemudian hari? Manusia mempunyai keperluan dalaman bukan sahaja makna kehidupan. Hati kita sangat mendahagakan tujuan untuk kewujudan sementara kita di dunia yang fana ini.

Siri refleksi ini ditulis untuk menrespon kepada kedahagaan untuk makna kehidupan ini. Ini adalah eksposisi sebuah kitab Ecclesiastes . Anda akan kagum dengan betapa relevannya sastera ilmu ini kepada pemikiran dan kehidupan kontemporari. Ecclesiastes menjawab keperluan kita untuk makna kehidupan dalam cara yang komprehensif, koheren dan menarik. Saya menjemput anda untuk mengikut saya menerokai apa yang dinyatakan dalam kitab ini.



Saya mempunyai ijazah kedoktoran dalam Near Eastern Languages and Cultures daripada University of California, Los Angeles. Saya telah mengajar kursus tentang Ecclesiastes untuk lebih daripada 10 tahun. Saya menawarkan eksposisi ini kepada anda sebagai seorang musafir iman dalam mencari maksud kehidupan.

Pada masa sekarang, refleksi ini ditawarkan secara berperingkat. Tarikh refleksi yang akan datang akan diberitahu.

Permulaan perjalanan ini adalah hanya satu KLIK dari sini.

Yang ikhlas,
Leong Tien Fock*
tf.leong@gmail.com

*Penulis merupakan pakar Perjanjian Lama di Malaysia.

Derita Si Domba

Bagaikan domba yang dibawa ke korban,
Senyapnya tiada berbunyi,

Tiada yang dipertahankan,
Tiada yang diperjuangkan,
Tiada yang diidamkan,
Tetap ke salib ia tujui,

Maruah-Nya tergadai
Ego-Nya tercabar
Kemuliaan-Nya tertanggal
Hati-Nya pecah seribu
Diri-Nya keseorangan

Dibaham, disebat,
Diseksa, dicemuh,
Dimaki, difitnah,
Dirampas segala-galanya,
Melainkan suatu misi,
Menebus dosa manusia,

Saatnya terkorban dek tanggungan dosa,
Baginda berteriak,

"Eli, Eli, lama sabakhtani?"
Allah-Ku, Allah-Ku, mengapa Engkau meninggalkan Aku?

Kasih teragung,
Apakah mungkin ianya benar?
Engkau Tuhanku mati, untuk anak anjing sepertiku?

Dress code

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/6/nation/16232962&sec=nation

"Women working in such businesses, he added, should respect the customs, culture and religious values of Kelantan when in public.

“A woman who wears an indecent outfit does not respect herself, so how can she expect men to respect her?” he said.

He said a woman's morality was something precious and should be guarded.

“Why do people keep their money in wallets or purses instead of walking about with it openly?” he retorted yesterday.

“This is because cash is something precious, just like a woman’s virtue."

............................................................

I like what Nik Aziz says. Bravo!

And Can It Be That I Should Gain?

And Can It Be?


Apa dapat yang aku untung,
dari melihat darah P'nylamat?
Mati Dia keranaku,
Untukku Dia sanggup mengorban,
Kasih ajaib sungguh takjub,
Ya Tuhanku mati untukku.

Mati Dia yang sungguh misteri,
Siapakah yang boleh memahami?
Sia-sia malaikat cuba,
Cerita agungnya kasih Tuhan,
Rahmat ini marilah kagumi,
Janganlah malaikat meneka lagi,

Dia tinggalkan takhta Bapa,
Sungguh percuma besar rahmat-Nya,
Mengosong Diri penuh kasih,
Tertumpah darah demi Adam,
Rahmat ini berlimpahan percuma,
Ya Tuhanku Aku dijumpai,

Lama telah jiwaku gelisah,
Dikurung dosa dan kegelapan,
Mataku buka melihat terang,
Ku bangun penjara diterangi,
Gari buka hati bebas,
Ku bangun mara dan ikut-Nya,

Suara kecil tetap ku dengar,
Bisikan mengampuni dosa,
Darah penebus telah hampir,
Memadami kemarahan Syurga,
Luka dia pemberi jiwa,
Ku me-rasa-i pe'nye-lamat

Tiada cemuhan yang menggerun,
Yesus segalanya bagi aku,
Hidup dengan-Nya pemimpin ku,
Dan diberikan kemuliaan-Nya,
Mara yakin ke Firdausi,
Dan men'rima Mahkota Kristus,

Tired of the church? Lets go for Mamak!

Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You

Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You
by Gary Thomas



Spirituality is not a "one size fits all" deal. Humanity was created as diverse, so it makes sense that we were designed to love God in different ways.

Do you ever feel guilty because the traditional quiet time just doesn't cut it for you? Are you increasingly frustrated by a "one size fits all spirituality" that most definitely does not fit you?

Don't despair! Scripture and the history of Christian tradition reveal a remarkable diversity of personal devotion. Here are nine spiritual pathways for you to consider as you seek to love God according to the way He's designed you.1

The Naturalist
In Psalm 19:1, David extols nature's ability to awaken our cold hearts to God's warm presence: "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (NKJV). The apostle Paul spoke of a similar reality in Romans 1:20a when he wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Both writers testify to the reality experienced by naturalists — being outdoors does something to awaken our hearts to God.

Most of God's appearances in Scripture occurred outside: Hagar in the desert, Jacob beside a river, and Moses on a mountain. In fact, the very picture of heaven on earth was the Garden of Eden — not a cathedral! Not a Starbucks. And certainly not a shopping mall. Adam and Eve enjoyed a close walk with God in a garden. Of course, others met God inside, in the holy of holies, but naturalists find more spiritual stimulation in a natural setting rather than in a cleverly crafted human one.

If you find that you can't sit still at your desk without falling asleep, or that you're bored by trying to comb through devotional books while lying on your bed, consider getting outside and using nature to help you see and experience God's glory.

The Sensate
The best avenues for some believers to commune with God are the five senses: taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and even smelling. Just as naturalists are spiritually awakened while walking through a forest, so sensates become spiritually attuned when their senses are brought into play. Your most powerful spiritual aids might be majestic music, symbolic architecture, outstanding art, or the sensory experience of communion.

God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The books of Ezekiel and Revelation reveal a God who comes in a very sense-oriented way: There are loud sounds, flashing lights, even sweet tastes. God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.

The Traditionalist
For you traditionalists, religion isn't a dirty word — it's an outgrowth of your relationship with God. You're designed to appreciate the role of ritual, which builds on the power of reinforced behavior. There is something profound for you in worshipping God according to set patterns — your own, or history's. You may organize your life around scheduled times of prayer, and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning yourself with centuries of faith. According to Acts, both Peter and John had set times for prayer. And Paul followed the custom of praying by the riverside on the Sabbath.

In addition to establishing rituals, you may choose to make good use of Christian symbols. We tend to quickly forget even convicting insights and soul-searing truth, but carefully chosen symbols help to remind us of those truths we want to live by. Types of symbols are limited only by your imagination. Some singles wear a purity ring; others wear a cross necklace. More sophisticated forms of symbolism include people decorating with colors that coincide with the Christian calendar: White is used on Easter and Christmas as a color of joy; purple is used for Lent, Holy Week and Advent; black symbolizes Good Friday.

The Ascetic
The best way to picture an ascetic is to think of a monk, or John the Baptist — someone who goes off on his own, in an austere environment, to get his spiritual batteries charged. You like to meet God internally; you don't want the distractions of a museum or a group meeting, as you prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. Your preferred environment for personal worship is silence, without any noisy or colorful stimulants.

It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis. You may even prefer solitary retreats, or at least a quiet place with a rather orderly environment. You and your fellow ascetics are often advocates of all night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and biblical meditation.

The Activist
Activists follow in the footsteps of Moses, Elijah and Habakkuk; you love to meet God in the vortex of confrontation. If you're an activist, you want to fight God's battles. Church is primarily a place to collect signatures and sign up volunteers for the "real work" of the Gospel that takes place outside the church building.

As an activist, you're one of the movers and shakers of the Christian community. You may have a political bent or adopt an evangelistic emphasis, but what marks you as an activist is that you feel most alive spiritually when you are in the midst of God's active work. That's when God seems most real, most immanent and most exciting.

The Caregiver
Caregivers love God by loving others. You're the Mordecais to the world's Esthers; the Dorcas's (Acts 10:36) to the local church. Providing care and meeting needs in Jesus' name spiritually energizes you, drawing you ever closer to the Lord. For you, caregiving isn't an obligation as much as it is a threshold to intimacy with God.

Caregiving extends well beyond nursing sick people to include fixing a widow's car, serving as a volunteer firefighter, or researching a cure for a disease. A caregiver is comforted by Jesus' words, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40, NIV). God seems nearest to you when you are looking at Him through the eyes of a sick child or hurting friend.

The Enthusiast
An enthusiast, walking in the footsteps of David, loves excitement and celebration; you probably buy far more worship CDs than books. Enthusiasts tend to be more relational, and therefore favor group worship. You feed off the excitement of other believers praising God.

As an enthusiast, you also revel in God's mystery and supernatural power. You like to take spiritual risks, and wake up hoping God will do something new and fresh. You don't want to just know scriptural concepts; you want to experience and be moved by them. Your exuberance tends to lead you to explore the livelier elements of worship, such as dancing, music, drawing, singing and other creative forms.

The Intellectual
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God. Your mind is probably very active, with the result that new intellectual understanding literally births affection; it creates increased respect for your Creator, which leads to worship.

You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God.
Intellectuals are usually the ones stressing Bible study as the mainstay of their devotion. But some of you, like the biblical Solomon, may also have curious minds in areas beyond the Bible — biology, astronomy, even physics. The more you understand about truth and God's universe, the more in awe of God — and therefore in love with Him — you become.

Just as the naturalist can't wait to get out of doors, the sensate is eager to visit the cathedral, and the ascetic scurries off into his inner world, so the intellectual seeks God in the pages of a book, the shelves of a library, or the vast ruminations of your mind.

The Contemplative
Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and even abandonment to God. Like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet, you see yourself first and foremost as God's lover, and you want to spend your time in God's presence, adoring Him, listening to Him, and just enjoying Him.

You resemble ascetics in that your passion for God often leads you into solitude, where you can sit still and enjoy being in God's presence. Your watchwords are desire and relationship, as affirmed by Jesus in John 15:15: "I no longer call you servants … Instead, I have called you friends."

As a contemplative, you enjoy doing the things that couples like to do: Demonstrating your love for God through secret acts of devotion, giving gifts to God like a poem, or offering an anonymous act of charity. You often favor the discipline of journal writing, where you can intensely explore your heart's devotion.

Most of Us Are Blends
Intellectuals want to understand new things about God; activists want to fight God's battles; enthusiasts want to experience God; naturalists want to meet God in nature; sensates want to see and touch things that remind them of God; traditionalists want to faithfully remember God; ascetics want to be alone with God; caregivers want to be God's hands and feet; contemplatives want to adore God and to know Him better.

The important thing is to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
Do you see yourself in any of the above categories? Please don't feel that you have to choose just one; most of us are blends, and many of us will move in and out of certain temperaments as we age. The important thing is not to find the right "label," but to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.

One caveat is in order, however. Every Christian, regardless of their temperament, needs to spend appropriate time being shaped by God's Word. Some of you might join group Bible studies, others of you may sit alone with your word dictionaries, concordances, and lexicons, and others of you might regularly listen to the Bible on tape — but interacting with the Word on a daily basis should be a given. The same goes for prayer and times of worshipful adoration. How and where you pray may differ; but every Christian is called to spend time with God.

Pantun-Pantun Rohani

Buah pala buah berangan,
Dibawa bersampan
Kalau ada pelita ditangan,
Masakan disimpan di dalam peti?

Dekat sekali gigi dan lidah,
Dekat sama lutut dan sendi,
Firman Ilahi bersinar sudah,
Dimana pula terserlah budi?

Luputlah siang malam berganti,
Cahaya terang gelap menjadi;
Tidak disangka sekali-kali,
Kesemuanya adalah kehendak Ilahi.

Buah jambu dimakan kera,
Dipetik Rukiah lari ke hutan;
Ilmu itu bertiang tiga,
Dialah cahaya penyuluh jalan.

Apa guna bercerah,
Kalau tidak bercahaya lagi;
Apa guna nyawa berserah,
Kalau tidak belajar lagi

Dari teluk pergi ke pekan,
Singgah bermalam di Batu Lima;
Sekalian makhluk Tuhan jadikan,
Kaya miskin dipandang sama

Encik Ali membawa galah,
Sampai kuala menjala ikan;
Bukit tinggi dijadi Allah,
Lautan dalam siapa galikan?

Encik Esah pergi Merlong,
Sampai Merlong masak petola;
Orang susah wajib ditolong,
Baru kita dapat pahala.

Kain baldu dibuat tilam,
Dara berdandan pengantin baru;
Rosak madu kerana jadam,
Rosak iman kerana nafsu

Kain pelikat di dalam peti,
Satu Jumaat sekali buka;
Sudah terikat dalam hati,
Satu rakaat tidak lupa.

Kalau ada gajah berjuang,
Jemurlah beras di atas para;
Kalau ada Allah menolong,
Siang malam barat utara.

Memukul itik di tepi kota,
Mari dikayuh sampan pengail;
Imam khatib lagi berdosa,
Bertambah lagi kita yang jahil.

Panglima raja mudik bergalah,
Ditiup angin selatan daya;
Laut darat dijadikan Allah,
Asam manis semua serupa.

Raja Sulung Indera Shah Johan,
Gagah berani lagi perkasa;
Kalau ada pertolongan Tuhan,
Mana boleh rosak binasa.

Tidak tumbuh tidak melata,
Patah galah dalam padi;
Tidak sungguh kehendak kita,
Perintah Allah juga yang jadi.

Yang berlari sangat pantas,
Yang menang sangat bertuah;
Yang memberi tangan di atas,
Yang menerima tangan di bawah.