Vintage Jesus

Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus' mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was often mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted the crazy story to cover the fact she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad.

In Vintage Jesus, one of America's most influential young pastors (Mark Driscoll) teams up with a seasoned theologian (Gerry Breshears) to lead you on a hilarious theological journey chasing Jesus through Scripture and pop culture. The authors provide timeless answers to twelve timely questions about the most important man who has ever lived. Each chapter concludes with answers to common questions about each subject.

These questions are answered with insights from people such as Jesus himself, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Luther King Jr., Hugh Hefner, Jack Bauer, Fidel Castro, Oprah, Kanye West, Gandhi, Homer Simpson, Mike Tyson, Gil Grissom, and Madonna, along with some demons and a porn star. There have been seventeen thousand books written about Jesus, but none is like Vintage Jesus.

A Common Word

On October 13th 2006, one month to the day after Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg address of September 13th 2006, 38 Islamic authorities and scholars from around the world claiming to represent the Muslim world, joined together to deliver a document to the Pope "in the spirit of open intellectual exchange and mutual understanding"See english.pdf.

They have then expanded their message, with 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals suggesting a common ground between Christianity and Islam. Like the Open Letter, the signatories to this message claim to represent most denomination and school of thought in Islam, addressing its call to all Christians everywhere.

In the document, it is claimed that the most fundamental common ground between Islam and Christianity, and the best basis for future dialogue and understanding, is the love of God and the love of the neighbor. Never before have Muslims delivered this kind of consensus statement on Christianity. Rather than engage in polemic, the signatories have adopted the traditional and mainstream Islamic position of respecting the Christian scripture and calling Christians to be more, not less, faithful to it.

It is hoped that the document would give people a starting point for cooperation and worldwide dialogue, on the most solid theological ground possible, which was said to be the teachings of the Qu’ran and the Prophet Muhammad, and the commandments described by Jesus Christ in the Bible. They claimed that despite their differences, Islam and Christianity not only share the same Divine Origin and the same Abrahamic heritage, but the same two greatest commandments.

The christian community responded quite overwhelmingly with about 300 christian leaders and scholars accepting the invitation, including from the Pope and leaders from Evangelical circles. Eagerness and freshness was felt strongly for greater dialogue and engagement.

However, there are some leaders who are a bit wary of dealing with dialogue on vague terms. John Piper for example in his statement expressed his worry in this dialogue while disregarding the differences between the Christian and Muslim's understanding of God, Jesus Christ and His love. It is also raising the point whereby whether the uniqueness of Christ would be compromised through mutual recognition of each other's faith statements.

In response to John Piper, Rick Love defending his decision to accept the invitation, saying that dialogue is not a substitute for evangelism, true to the Lausanne Covenant, "Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is that kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and Lord”.

Rick also responded that by putting love at the centre of true religiosity, it is a good case to talk and affirm Jesus Christ, improve relationships and uphold freedom of religion.

Besides, contrary to popular American and Malaysian belief, Rick "does not hesitate to refer the God of the Bible is Allah, since Arab Christians before and after the birth of Islam use the term Allah to describe the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Rick argued that Christians and Muslims believe in worshipping the one true God, creator of the heavens and the earth, that will judge all people at the end. This Supreme God sends prophets to guide His people to Himself. However, that does not mean that there are fundamental differences in how these two groups understand God, and Rick believes that the Muslim view of God "falls short of His perfections and beauty as described in the Bible".

Thus, quoting St. Paul, “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23) and be at peace with all people” (Rom. 12:18), Rick maintained peace becomes the major focus for this dialogue, and on top of that, portraying the beauty of Jesus and letting others learn more of Him through Christians.

Undilah Yesus Kristus!

Dengan kehangatan pilihanraya umum yang akan datang. Saya nak melancarkan satu kempen pilihanraya, inspirasi Shane Clairborne dan cadangan Sze Zeng dalam blog Kar Yong baru-baru ini tentang isu "Adakah Yesus politikus?" dan penglibatan gereja dengan politik.

Parti mana yang akan Yesus sokong? Barisan Nasional, DAP, PAS, Keadilan, PBS? Ataupun parti Domba Korban?

"Yesus membela mereka yang memerlukan dan berjuang ke arah keadilan, kebenaran dan belas kasihan (Lukas 4:18-21). Baginda bersuara menentang korupsi dan skandal dan segala masalah semasa (Matius 21:12-13). Baginda menjanjikan harapan kedamaian, kemakmuran dan kebahagiaan, semuanya dalam transformasi (Micah 4:1-5, Isaiah 9:7).

Yesus Kristus adalah calon paling ideal, bukan sebagai presiden, tetapi sebagai Pemerintah segala ciptaan di dunia (Wahyu 19:16). Kedatangan pemerintahan sejagat Yesus Kristus sebagai Raja segala raja tidak dapat dipertikaikan dan akan berlaku sepertimana yang dijadualkan(Daniel 2:44-45). Baginda tidak memerlukan sokongan politik mana-mana pihak ataupun keputusan pilihanraya. Walaupun baginda tidak bertanding kali ini, nubuat tentang kedatangan Raja segala raja ini adalah hakiki Berita Baik tentang Kerajaan Tuhan." Larry Walker

Yesus itu Presiden!
Yesus itu Perdana Menteri!
Yesus itu Empunya Perlembagaan!

Daulat Tuanku Yesus!

Cultural Interaction

TV Smith

Tiriti O Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is the considered the founding document of Aoteoroa New Zealand, the social contract between the largely European settlers (called Pakeha) and the local Maori communities. Signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown, and various Māori chiefs from the northern North Island of New Zealand, this treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave Māori the rights of British subjects.

Naval officer Captain William Hobson, who had earlier spent time in New Zealand, was dispatched from London in August 1839 with instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony. He was instructed to negotiate a voluntary transfer of sovereignty from Maori to the British Crown. He was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor in Sydney and arrived in the Bay of Islands on January 29, 1840.

Without a draft document prepared by lawyers or Colonial Office officials, Hobson was forced to write his own treaty with the help of his secretary, James Freeman, and British Resident James Busby, neither of whom was a lawyer.

The entire treaty was prepared in four days. Realising that a treaty in English could be neither understood, debated or agreed to by Maori, Hobson instructed missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward to translate the document into Maori and this was done overnight on February 4.

On February 5, copies of the treaty in both languages were put before a gathering of northern chiefs inside a large marquee on the lawn in front of Busby’s house at Waitangi. Hobson read the treaty aloud in English and Williams read his Maori version. Maori speakers debated the treaty for five hours, then moved to a river flat below Busby’s house and lawn and continued deliberations late into the night. The following morning 45 of them were ready to sign.

Portrait of Hone Heke and his wife. Hone Heke was a student of Henry Williams.

Hobson headed the British signatories. Of the forty or so Māori chiefs, the Ngapuhi rangatira Hone Heke was the first to sign the treaty. To enhance the authority of the treaty eight further copies were made and sent around the country to gather additional signatures:

Around fifty meetings were held from February to September 1840 to discuss and sign the copies, and a further five hundred signatures were added to the treaty. A number of chiefs and some tribal groups refused to sign at all, including Tuhoe, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tuwharetoa. Some were not given the opportunity to sign.


Nonetheless, on 21 May 1840, Governor Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over the whole country, and New Zealand was constituted as a colony separate from New South Wales on 16 November 1840.


The anniversary of the signing of the Treaty is now a New Zealand public holiday, Waitangi Day, on 6 February. This treaty becomes the centrepoint of New Zealand being recognised as a equal power sharing between the Maori and the Crown, in governing the state.


However, controversy arises when there is differences in the meaning of the treaty in English and its translation in Maori. This has made it difficult to interpret the Treaty and continues to undermine its effect.


The most critical difference revolves around the interpretation of three Māori words; Kāwanatanga (literally, governorship) which is ceded to the Queen in the first article; Rangatiratanga (literally chieftainship) which is retained by the chiefs in the second, and Taonga (precious things/properties), which the chiefs are guaranteed ownership and control of, also in the second article.


This coming 6 February, a few of us would be following the Karuwha Trust to visit Waitangi whereby the document is first signed. The name Karuwha, meaning "four eyes" was given to Henry Williams, mentioned above by Maori. A missionary to New Zealand and was involved in peace-making among warring Maori tribes, he gained respect and credibility (mana) from the Maori community, under the patronage of the rangitara (chief) Te Koki and Hamu. He was known as the person behind the translation of the treaty.


A trust which some of its purposes are to "brings to life the early history of Aotearoa New Zealand" through research, conversation, writing about early missions and the history of the Treaty, encouraging the Christian church "to take seriously its responsibility to uphold the justice of the Treaty of Waitangi". Besides it strives to encourage Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders to take ownership of their shared past and recognise what is good in one another's culture.


Waitangi (literally 'weeping waters') is and has been a place of weeping: the anger and grievance of the past is still felt and expressed at times, and yet there is a sense of hope for the future. The Christian message of reconciliation, love and peace has ringed through the beginning until today, and would continue to be a source of hope for a shared New Zealand vision.

I am excited to have a look for myself the birthplace of this nation. I am excited to explore, how the Christian faith speaks through history, calling for genuine repentance and reconciliation between Pakeha and Maori for what has happened in the past, and embracing a new vision of a shared nation.


It speaks closely to my heart and to our own Malaysian experience, with a decade old history of ethnic relation. Our Social Contract founded by our forefathers, acts a reminder for a genuine partnership for a new nation, charting a new future of an independent state together as a united people, despite our diversity.



Ethnic polarisation sustained by old sociopolitical dynamics, has no place in our 21st century Malaysia, and Malaysians of all cultural and religious persuasion must come back to the spirit of the social contract, leaving the baggage of history behind, and together reconstruct a new vision for a shared inclusive nation. A vision that promises a place for all in its history and future. A vision that is birthed not from naive humanism, but confidence in the power of God through His transforming Word.


True to the calling of the Gospel, the Malaysian church should take ethnic reconciliation and partnership more seriously. It is an integral part of the christian message to be genuinely reconciled with men and with God.


To know God and to "hate" our brother, is not knowing God at all.

Bahasa?

Please bear my nationalistic bent. It irks me each time people who do not speak Bahasa Malaysia as their first language (usually those from non-malay background), but when dealing with issues of using that language as a medium of education, communication, church life, even blogging or translation work, refer the language as "Bahasa" for convenience without respectfully using the term Bahasa Malaysia, or at least BM.

By using the short-term Bahasa as a single-word reference comparable with Tamil, English, Spanish, Maori (full term is Te Reo Maori), it doesn't reflect nor respect its real reference to the specific language. "Bahasa", when used alone, is referring to any 'language' at all, and by using that to refer to the national language is almost a disrespect of its dignity as a language on its own.
Language is part of one's identity and culture, and using it carelessly without considering its meaning and significance risks disrespect for any person or culture.

Why don't we start calling the English Language, "Language" or Hua Yu as "Yu" or Hokkien Wa as "Wa". It shows our insensitivity to the identity and essense of that particular language.

It may also reflect our failure to truly understand our neighbours in their social and cultural contexts, especially when at least 60-70% of our fellow Malaysians speak Bahasa Malaysia as their first language, and almost the rest use it as 2nd or 3rd language. Except of course those in cultural-linguistic ghettos, and wonder why everyone else is not speaking the same language as they do.

We communicate with others and assume as if everyone uses English or our mother tongue, as much as we do and conveniently disregard others, putting to them into our linguistic context.

It makes no sense if we ask people, it can be insulting!

Awak reti bahasa tak?
Can you speak "language"?
Lu kong "wa" bo?

I feel shameful that as Malaysians, we still can't differentiate the simple difference between Bahasa Malaysia and bahasa.

p/s: There are also some senior citizens who just simply blame their inability to speak BM on the education system, saying that "Oh in the past we do not have KBSM, we had MCE. How we long for our good old days!", rather than blaming their laziness to learn how to communicate with their neighbours and adapting to the changing dynamics of the newer generations.

Or in contemporary setting, some people would overrate their global mobility without acknowledging the society and culture of which they come from, and without realising that almost every Ah Beng, Muthusamy, Ahmad, Takeshi, Zhuge Liang, or Budi Purnomo today are as capable as they are. Mastery of the English language in itself is nothing special, without necessary skills, knowledge, cultural networks and ability to interact with diverse cultures. "These days who wants to learn BM? We just need to learn English and we can study and work anywhere in the world."

Or those who claim that the "real" corporate and global world do not use BM. Its true to a certain degree, but hey, there is another real world, the world where your multicultural colleagues, mamak stall workers, schoolchildren, taxi drivers, your local pasar malam hawker and our local Rukun Tetangga members roam (or we have started employing Nepalese security guards?). Instead of looking upwards all the time, we should sometimes glance down to the grassroots. Its a good relief for neck pain.

Or more rampantly, those who learn BM for the sake of pragmatic reasons to pass their SPM or to get straight As. They do not do justice to the spirit of learning. By the end of their schooling, they start to go to the "real world" described above, and forgot the Ah Seng, Muthusamy, Abu and Kitingan that they used to sing "Rasa Sayang" together.

Two Ways of Worship

So how do we describe the indescribable?
how do we see the invisible?
How do we know the unknown God?

We worship in the light of knowable images
The God who is ever-present, everywhere visible.
the positive way.

We worship in the night of the absence of images
The God who is Holy Mystery, Wholly Other.
the negative way.

Two ways to worship, two ways to know
two ways to build your altar to the unknown God.

-- David Titheridge

Sejarah

Dalam percutian saya balik ke tanah air, saya sempat melihat adik saya mendaftarkan diri ke Tingkatan 4. Perubahan daripada 7 subjek PMR ke 10 subjek SPM sememangnya memberi cabaran dan juga perubahan yang menarik untuk adik saya, dalam perjalanan hidupnya, dikala dia dalam proses memahami dirinya dan dunia ciptaan Tuhan yang didiaminya.

Saya juga sempat membelek dan membaca buku teks Sejarahnya, yang dalam kurikulum baru yang tidak sempat saya pelajari pada 2003. Melihat kandungannya dan skop cakupan kurikulum tersebut, sedih hati saya kerana adik saya akan hilang peluang untuk memahami Sejarah Dunia dengan segala kegemilangan dan kebobrokan manusia dan tindakan mereka.

Malah, buku teks Tingkatan 4 tidak lagi dipanggil Sejarah Dunia dan hanyalah dipanggil Sejarah. Berbanding dengan kurikulum lama di mana zaman pra-sejarah dan warisan tamadun Hindu-Buddha, kedatangan Islam ke Nusantara, sejarah Tamadun Islam, tamadun-tamadun dunia dan sumbangan-sumbangan mereka, sejarah Eropah, perkembangan dan kesannya kepada dunia, sejarah Imperialisme dan pemikiran Marxisme, Nasionalisme dan beberapa pemikiran utama yang mencorakkan dunia seperti Renaissance, Revolusi Perindustrian, Perang Dunia Pertama dan Kedua, pembentukan Liga Bangsa dan PBB diberi penekanan yang sama banyak, dan telah membuka mata saya dan rakan-rakan sekelas saya tentang bagaimana kita mencapai apa yang kita ada pada hari ini.

Namun sedih sekali, kurikulum sejarah telah dicairkan seperti Teh O kurang manis yang ditambahkan lagi air batu. Ide, fakta dan pemikiran yang dicetuskan dalam buku tersebut tidak lebih daripada suatu ensiklopedia hafalan yang hanya menceritakan sejarah dengan cetek, dan tiada kesinambungan. Di samping itu, penekanan terhadap sejarah dunia telah diubah kepada sejarah tempatan yang ditafsir dengan kacamata dan agenda sempit penggubal kurikulum.

Agenda akademik sesetengah intelek telah diketengahkan dan teori mereka telah dijadikan seolah-olah fakta. Di samping itu, kandungannya seolah-olah mencadangkan semangat nasionalisme, anti-kolonial dan asabiyyah, mensyaitankan sejarawan-sejarawan Barat tanpa memberi komitmen kepada apa yang objektif dan betul-betul berlaku yang dilaporkan oleh sejarawan Barat dan Timur. Sejarah universal dunia telah dibahagikan oleh paradigma sempit penulis, seolah-olah wujud dikotomi antara sejarah Barat dan Timur, dengan penuh kecurigaan dengan apa-apa saja yang dilabelkan Barat.

Sejarah Eropah, dengan perubahan dari Zaman Gelap ke Medieval ke zaman Renaissance, Reformation dan Revolusi Perancis, Komunisme, pembentukan Amerika Syarikat dan ekonomi Barat adalah sejarah yang telah mendominasi dan mencorakkan dunia globalisasi yang kita diami hari ini. Namun begitu, sedih sekali apabila penekanan dan ulasan yang diberi tentang topik ini hanyalah sedikit dan tidak langsung mencabar minda. Jauh daripada membuka minda, pelajar hanyalah disuapkan dengan fakta-fakta yang ditasfir dengan sempit dan akibatnya, wujudlah nasionalisme yang tidak bertempat. Ini hanyalah mengehadkan potensi kita untuk berjaya di pentas antarabangsa dan berinteraksi dengan ilmu luar, yang tidak mengenal Barat mahupun Timur.

Sekiranya anak-anak muda tidak didedahkan kepada ide-ide dan pemikiran yang dicetuskan sejarah Eropah ini dan kaedah-kaedah untuk menilai sejarah dengan kritis dan kreatif, kita tidak akan dapat memahami dunia moden hari ini, bagaikan katak di bawah tempurung. Malah sejarah timur seperti sejarah Tamadun Islam dan China perlulah diulas dengan objektif dan kritis, agar pelajar tidak akan mudah terpengaruh dengan pengulas-pengulas sejarah yang bias dan mempunyai agenda tersendiri tidak mengira golongan nasionalis, imperialis, feminis, agamawi, materialis.

Memetik blog Saiful, "Golongan negarawan (nasionalis) telah menjadikan sejarah sebagai alat untuk membentuk dan mengacu rakyatnya mengikut keperluan, kepentingan dan kehendak negara tersebut. Maka sejarah dalam kerangka nasionalis hanya mahu berusaha mewujudkan rasa cinta, kagum, dan penghargaan rakyat kepada negara. Ia dinamakan patriotisma, lanjutan daripada La Patrie ala Napoleon Bonaparte."

Saya tidak menolak penggunaan pendidikan sejarah untuk menyemaikan patriotisme, tetapi saya berharap agar ia tidak disalahgunakan untuk agenda nasionalisme dan anti-kolonial yang sempit, dan tidak berdasarkan kebenaran, logik dan objektivisme, dan tidak relevan dalam dunia pasca-moden masa kini. Yang pernah dijajah dan menjajah kini ada di mana-mana termasuklah kota London dan Kuala Lumpur dan tidak guna diungkit-ungkitkan untuk membakar perasaan benci yang tidak bertempat. Ramai pesara bekas penjajah yang datang melancong di negara kita dan tidak kurang pelajar kita yang belajar dan berhijrah ke luar negara (sampai tak nak bayar hutang pinjaman pendidikan). Tetapi apa yang relevan adalah pemikiran Imperialisme yang wujud beberapa dekad yang lalu dan iktibar yang boleh dipelajari.

Dengan ribuan pelajar kita yang dihantar ke luar untuk melanjutkan pelajaran, adalah sedih sekali apabila perbualan yang biasa kedengaran oleh pelajar luar negara, berkisar tentang soal lulus pelajaran, wang saku, makanan, minuman dan melancong. Tidak ramai pelajar-pelajar, yang menjadi produk Sejarah KBSM, menjadi mahasiswa dan mahasiswi yang kritis dan kreatif, yang arif tentang dunia Barat dan Timur yang mereka tumpangi, dan mampu memberi penilaian dan kritikan objektif dan akademik, serta mampu berinteraksi dengan ilmuwan-ilmuwan di kalangan bangsa-bangsa lain.

Sayang sekali jika jutaan wang ringgit yang dilaburkan hanyalah akan melahirkan profesional-profesional yang hanya tahu menganggukkan kepala kepada agenda pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan, mendapat kerja, gaji dan rumahtangga yang stabil, tetapi tidak dapat memahami dunia dan memberi sumbangan yang bermakna kepada dunia yang mereka diami ini.

Kalau hendak melahirkan profesional, ada berlambak-lambak IPTA dan IPTS di mana-mana. Tetapi kalau hendak melahirkan pemikir, perlulah disemak kembali falsafah pendidikan dan kandungan ilmu yang diturunkan kepada anak-anak muda kita, sama ada kita menggalakkan kebebasan akademik dan liberal arts, yang menjadi tunjang kehebatan akademik negara-negara dunia pertama.

Nasi putih dicicah garam,
Ikan masin jadilah lauknya
Bercanggah pendapat itupun haram,
Beroxford cambridge apa gunanya?

Sungguh Menarik!

"Nama saya Huaqing. Umur saya 14 tahun. Saya kacak. Bentuk muka saya bujur. Bentuk mata saya besar. Rambut saya pendek. Warna rambut saya hitam. Hidung saya pesek. Mulut saya besar. Bibir saya tebal. Warna kulit saya kuning langsat. Saiz badan saya besar.

Saya bersekolah di Institusi Hwa Chong. Saya murid menengah satu. Saya tinggal di Yishun. Hobi saya pergi ke sekolah pada pukul lima pagi. Sekolah saya tamat pada pukul satu setengah petang.

Nama ibu saya Chen Ying. Umurnya 37 tahun. Dia jururawat. Dia manis. Bentuk mukanya bujur sirih. Bentuk matanya besar. Rambutnya panjang dan lurus. Warna rambutnya hitam. Hidungnya pesek. Mulutnya besar. Bibirnya tebal. Warna kulitnya kuning langsat. Saiz badanya kurus. Hobinya menonton televisyen.

Nama ayah saya Ma Qiang. Umurnya 40 tahun. Dia pengurus. Dia kacak. Bentuk mukanya besar. Bentuk matanya besar. Rambutnya pendek. Warna rambutnya hitam. Hidungnya pesek. Mulutnya besar. Bibirnya tebal. Warna kulitnya kuning langsat. Saiz badanya besar. Hobinya membaca buku dan makan nasi ayam.

Kawan baik saya Hewlett Chew Tsieh. Umurnya 16 tahun. Dia pelatih NCC. Dia bersekolah di Institusi Hwa Chong. Dia murid menengah tiga. Dia kacak. Dia suka NCC dan Koir."

Blog pelajar China yang kini menuntut di Singapura dan mempelajari Bahasa Melayu ini boleh dilawati di http://hqmelayu.blogspot.com/

Sejarah Malaysia : Boring?

“When you read the History of Malaysia, you will see Malaysian, not human being!”, kata Prof Abdullah al-Ahsan ketika mengulas soalan saya.

Tepat sekali.

Ia bukan sahaja masalah Malaysia tapi di kebanyakan tanah air lain juga.

Golongan negarawan (nasionalis) telah menjadikan sejarah sebagai alat untuk membentuk dan mengacu rakyatnya mengikut keperluan, kepentingan dan kehendak negara tersebut. Maka sejarah dalam kerangka nasionalis hanya mahu berusaha mewujudkan rasa cinta, kagum, dan penghargaan rakyat kepada negara. Ia dinamakan patriotisma, lanjutan daripada La Patrie ala Napoleon Bonaparte.

Apakah patriotisma itu? Ia adalah rasa kebersamaan rakyat yang berkongsi penderitaan dan kejayaan yang sama.

Maka sejarah Malaysia atau negara mana sekali pun, diolah penuh dengan catatan derita dan kejayaan. Berapa ramai tokoh dan hero yang dibentangkan dalam sejarah kita? Berapa emosinya kisah itu diceritakan? Namun ia hanya bertujuan menghasilkan perasaan dramatik lantas rasa terhutang budi pada yang menabur, rasa ingin berbakti bagi yang menggelegak perasaannya. Ia adalah demi melahirkan seorang warga Malaysia!

Apakah ini matlamat sejarah?

KRITIKAN IBN KHALDUN

Lihat petikan kata Ibn Khaldun di dalam Muqaddimah beliau:

“… For on the surface history is no more than information about political events, dynasties, and occurences of the remote past, elegently presented and spiced with proverbs… Little effort is being made to get at the truth. The critical eyes, as a rule, is not sharp… The later historians were all tradition-bound and dull of nature and intelligence, or did not try to avoid being dull. They merely copied their predecessors and followed their example. They disregarded the change of conditions and in their customs of nations and races that the passing of time had brought. Thus, they presented historical information about dynasties and stories of events from the earliest times as mere forms without substance, blades without scabbards; as knowledge that must be considered ignorance, because it is not known what of it is extraneous and what is genuine…”

(Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press, 2005, page 5-7)

Panjang lagi bebelan Ibn Khaldun yang mengkritik ahli sejarah yang membentangkan sejarah tanpa inti.

Menumpukan perhatian hanya kepada apa yang berlaku, siapa pelaku, apa kesannya, dan bila jatuhnya serta siapa penggantinya, amat membosankan. Kerana bukan itu tujuan sejarah.

Sejarah adalah wadah mengkaji manusia, memerhati kelakuan dan pemikiran manusia, agar kesimpulannya boleh digunakan untuk membentuk manusia. Itulah enjin sejarah.

...Tetapi sejarah Malaysia tidak ditulis untuk memahami manusia. Ia hanya mahu membincangkan akibat dan hasil perbuatan manusia. Soal mengapa manusia melakukannya, dan di manakah letaknya signifikasi perbuatan itu dalam tingkah laku manusia… saya hampir tidak pernah menemuinya.

SEJARAH TANPA IDEA

Sebab itulah kita jarang bertemu dengan diskusi tentang IDEA semasa membaca Sejarah Malaysia. Pemikiran dan idea, bukan sebahagian agenda subjek Sejarah. Kalau ada penulisan tentang pemikiran Tunku Abdul Rahman hingga ke Tun Mahathir, ia bukan sebahagian daripada subjek Sejarah.

Maka sejarah tidak ubah seperti kelas tahfiz yang melahirkan penghafal tanpa kefahaman tentang apa yang dihafal.

Otak kanan tak guna pun, masa belajar tentang Sejarah!

-- Saiful Islam

No God but God

Bought a book from Kinokuniya (I broke my promise, I can't escape the lure of KL's shopping complexes due to hot weather). This book is concise, easy to read and scholarly. Good read.

The Police Force

It was a pleasant visit back to my second home church in Shah Alam where I spend a good 1.5 years in. It certainly changed a lot in terms of the families and individuals that forms the community, yet the same few faithful are the ones who make the church memorable until today.

The service started with a congregational prayer, including prayer for our nation and also praying against the increasing crime rate in Malaysia. One aunty specifically prayed for the recent kidnapping case, that the kidnapper would have no rest until he releases the child, and pastor prayed for God's justice to prevail and to empower the police force.

The police force would surely be one of the biggest hopes that the society banks on, for which, if not the society would not be able to maintain peace and order. Despite of the fiasco behind IPCMC and the recent mishandling of public freedom of expression, it is still a credible and trustworthy force to look up to in times of civil unrest and crime.

Our christian passion to pray for peace, integrity and less-crime, I believe should also include a prayer that there would be more christians in the police force and other civil service. It is ridiculous if we expect our police and civil servants to give their best and most efficient service, if we ourselves are not willing to constructively build up the civil service through active engagement, feedback and more desperately involvement.

Our biblical call to be peace-makers and also to be intercessors of our cities, I believe, warrants for the christian community to consider taking seriously the need for more involvement in these service. While we may not have the luxury of changing our career in our old age, that doesn't mean that we cannot encourage our children, neighbours, friends and church family members to encourage them to pick up this road less taken.

It would surely be a tough call for many middle-class urban christians to respond to, in the midst of our competitive urban living, where high-income, white-collar corporate jobs are being favoured against the less favourable prospects of being a civil servant, especially in high risk jobs like the police, army or the fireperson, besides other myths like low income, lack of job prospects and promotion.

However, the myth of ill-prospect in the civil service is unfounded. My recent research into the PDRM website informed me that a starting salary for a diploma graduate is RM2100 which can go up to RM3700, as a police inspector. A SPM and PMR graduate can even enter the service with slightly lower income and academic qualification, but a stable job, steady income and prospects of free further studies should be a plus point to consider for moderate school achievers.

Besides the respect and the prestige credited to the police force, being a policeperson gives one the noble responsibility of protecting the general society and also to represent the voice of the minorities in the civil service. Extreme practices and ethnic discrimination would lessen if minority groups would engage and involve themselves in building up the civil service, with the good values of each ethnic groups bring into the service.

The Malay ethos of budi, muafakat (co-operation), calmness and loyalty to the King, can be perfectly complemented with the Chinese pragmatism, industriousness, respect for the elderly and love for education. Moreover, the Indian experience of rural and urban poverty, proximity with the grassroots and cultural/linguistic flexibility in a multiracial society is a plus point.

Certainly enough, christians comprising of various ethnic group can bring in their values of integrity, compassion, accountability and justice into the civil service, in the midst of corruption and social injustices. We need God-fearing christians in all levels of society, including the civil service to shape our nation to the values and virtues we dream for.

While encouraging our youths to consider the teaching profession is laudable, much more effort must be targetted to encourage youths to consider the police force, the army or other opportunities to serve the people. These jobs are not substandard jobs, but are respectable professions which are instrumental in "making a difference" in our nation. It is useless to shout slogans in our churches to idealistic youths of our day, but to discourage them to serve in less taken routes in the name of God-sanctioned job prospects.

It certainly requires a bit of sacrifice on our part and may limit our children's potential, but hey isn't it heroic? While we do not lack superheroes in blockbuster Hollywood movies today, where is our admiration for heroism, sacrifice, service and servanthood today?

The story of Christ as our hero, should ring close to our hearts and our children's, to learn to love and serve the people as Christ do, one way is through a lifelong simple career in the civil service, impacting the society as little Christ ambassadors in cities, towns and kampungs of our people.

Kerepok Lekor: World-Class Gastronomic Delight

picture courtesy from pelf-ism

Probably the greatest discovery that I made when I came back this year, is that Kerepok Lekor is awarded such prominence and significance in the town. Its world-class attraction has made the Municipal Council decided to put the food up on signboard, with equal status with other roads and famous buildings.

It surpasses the fame of the batik, kris and brassware making, or even kain songket, probably even more famous that our first McD branch in town.

I am proud that my nickname is erected on signboards. Oh divine bliss!

Pantun Jenaka

Mentari senja di ufuk barat,
Indah saujana menawan hati,
Pandai cakap tak pandai buat,
Itukah kiranya jaka sejati?

Hendak berbeli ke Bandar Hilir,
Singgah minum di warong Tambi,
Naik hulu turun ke hilir,
Macam mana berniaga ubi?

Damar, rotan, kapur barus,
Jual bersama si lesung batu,
Hidup sibuk makan tak urus,
Hendak dibuat ini dan itu,

Singgah rehat di pohon berangan,
Mengidam makan buah rambaian,
Mat Jenin berangan-angan
Angan-angan tak sampaian

Buah di sana dihajati,
Bekal nasi dibuangkan,
Kera di hutan disusui,
Anak di riba dilepaskan,

The Japanese Christian

Apparently the new Secretary General of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon is a christian, of which he described he belonged to a group known as a non-church movement. Further exploration led me to an article in TIME magazine about the Myukokai which influenced Japan and the Far East.

Tadao Yanaihara the President of Tokyo University from 1951-1957, a leader of Myukokai said, "To ignore it would be to make an incomplete description of Christianity in Japan. Indeed, upon them the importance of Japanese Christianity in the history of the world depends."

What's so special about Mukyokai that brings this two great minds to attraction with the Christian message? The official website of the group introduces,

"The Mukyokai, or non-Church Christians, constitute one of the best known Christian movements in Japan. [1] Founded by Uchimura Kanzo * (1861-1930) in reaction to Western denominationalism, this small (about 35,000 adherents) movement is considered to be the most genuine form of Japanese Christianity.

The Mukyokai reject all formal Christian institutions, having no sacraments, liturgy, professional clergy, church buildings, national headquarters, or membership rolls. Instead, this non-churchism is based on independent Bible study groups centered on the traditional teacher-disciple (sensei-deshi) relationship. The teachers have no formal training in the Bible, setting up group when inspired to do so; the group thus disintegrates when its teacher dies or retires. Most of these teachers are regularly employed in outside occupations, often as high school teachers or university professors.

The Mukyokai movement has attracted members from all social strata in Japan, but it is particularly appealing to the Japanese intelligentsia --scholars, university professors, graduate students, and professionals. The spiritual content of the movement is an original synthesis of the spirit of Christianity with the most genuine ethical tradition of Japan. Thus the basic tenets are justification through the Cross, inner conflict, emphasis on hard work, detachment from mundane things, attitude of non compromise with the world, total loyalty to the Lord, and final victory in another world. These principles constitute the basic spiritual framework within which all problems are considered.

Non-Church Christians are known in Japan particularly for their uncompromising stand against social evils. Because they are not part of a religious institution, they are not concerned with institutional survival during times of turmoil and therefore feel free as individuals to speak out against moral and political corruption. They have maintained their spiritual and theistic perspective against the invading forces of materialism since the Meiji Era. Politically, they consistently opposed Shinto nationalism and Japanese imperialism, often to their great personal cost. During the postwar period the Mukyokai have worked actively for peace in Japan and abroad."

Uchimura, influenced by the Quakers in the United States had a strong reaction towards Westernised denominationalism and institutionalism in the church. He did not want to form any institutional structure, but rather having a loose network of like-minded people communicating through writings and forming loose bible study groups. He did not even want his publication or his group to continue after his death.

He said, "I dislike ecclesiastics more than anything else in this world." he wrote. "Believers believe in God; ecclesiastics try to control believers. Believers are men of faith; ecclesiastics are politicians . . . None surpass the prophets in serving God and disliking ecclesiastics."

The involvement of many prominent scholars and professionals in the Japanese society gave the movement a greater profile, possibly raising the need for some form of structure. As most of their meetings revolve around biblical studies, devotional, lectures and possibly critical intellectual discussion, some observers thought that Mukyokai had made Christianity intellectually acceptable to the Japanese.

Its avoidance of institutionalised religion and its ethos of fluidity seem to go well with post-war Far Eastern societies which may be disillusioned with narrow nationalism, oppresive social structure and divisions within the Western church. Even China's Watchman Nee was very critical about denominationalism, giving rise to the Local Church Movement, popular among overseas Chinese.

Online Resources

Online learning has been a trend nowadays, changing formal learning in lecture halls to user-friendly screen interface learning. There is a range of free online courses around the internet, provided by reputable institutions and academics worldwide, in areas of liberal arts, theology and biblical studies.

These quality resources can be used anytime and anywhere, no-frills and most importantly FREE. Note that these are not qualification awarding schemes. Everyone can study, but not everyone can be a Master in Theology, because academic qualification comes through rigorous hard work, study and critical thinking, noted a friend earlier last year.

These are some which I think worth mentioning. If got other ones, please suggest-lah.

1) Open Yale Courses -

"provides free and open access to seven introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

Open Yale Courses reflects the values of a liberal arts education. Yale's philosophy of teaching and learning begins with the aim of training a broadly based, highly disciplined intellect without specifying in advance how that intellect will be used.

This approach goes beyond the acquisition of facts and concepts to cultivate skills and habits of rigorous, independent thought: the ability to analyze, to ask the next question, and to begin the search for an answer.

We hope these courses will be a resource for critical thinking, creative imagination, and intellectual exploration."

2) Biblical Training

"Biblical Training Biblical Training offers the finest in Christian evangelical teaching to the world, for free, forever. Training for transformation you can trust."

3) Covenant Worldwide

"Covenant Worldwide's mission is to provide ready access to grace-centered, high-quality theological training by minimizing the barriers of distance, cost, and language. This mission recognizes our part in stewarding the resources of theological education to the Church, which is growing most rapidly in areas of the world where ministry training is often least available."

Christian and the General Election

Theme:
The Christian and the General Election: Core Issues

Time:
9.00am – 12.30am

Place:
St Paul’s Church Hall, Jalan Utara Kecil, Petaling Jaya
(across highway from Amcorp Mall)

Speakers:

Dr Irene Fernandez, Executive Director, Tenaganita
Dr Datuk Denison Jayasooria, Executive Director, Yayasan Sosial Strategic
Mr Lim Guan Eng, Secretary General, DAP
YB Loh Seng Kok, MP for Kelana Jaya
YB Dato Dr Tan Kee Kwong, MP for Segambut

Moderators:

Andrew Khoo
Tricia Yeoh
Registration:

As there is limited seating space of 200 seats, registrations will be on a 'first registered first served' basis (i.e. based on your online registration time sequence). All participants are required to register electronically vide www.OHMSI.net.

A free will offering will be taken during the event to cover organizing costs of the event. DVD recordings of the event will be made available for order and purchase on the event day.

Alternative Way to Enjoy KL

I am sick of frequenting shopping complexes when I go to KL, as if there is nothing else to the city except for displays of wealth and extravagance. This time I am looking forward to another alternative way to enjoy the city; through the arts and food. Am yet to discover much about its history after a rather disappointing visit to the National Museum a few years back.

I am planning a visit to the Islamic Arts Museum, the National Art Gallery and also Jogoya. I must say that I rather impressed with the website of the museum, but am skeptical with the art gallery. I have also read reviews of Jogoya, a Taiwanese branch of Japanese food buffet in upmarket Starhill.

The National Art Gallery seriously needs better web design, clear up information clutters and employ better marketing to live up with its title, providing visitors information that they need, rather than useless chest-beating polls of this sort. Government institutions seriously need to redo their websites to keep up with efficiency, technology, creativity and the need for better marketing, to keep up with their own vision of nationwide MSC.

They need to realise that visitors do not give a damn on the vision and mission statement, organisation chart, director's speech nor some random polls just to fill up the main page, but relevant easy-to-read and reader-centred information, clear hyperlinks and many shortcuts, comprehensive FAQ pages and most importantly user-friendly yet impressive design.

Considering that the Ministry of Higher Education awards accreditation to many IT-based institutions, I wonder why the official website looks so pathetic and disorganised, compared to the many universities and colleges which may have many many times better website than their boss's?

I would be surprised if the goal of 100,000 international students by 2010 would be achieved, when first impression given to overseas potential students is rather disappointing.

Probably, Tok Pa needs to check whether the budget allocation for web maintainence is insufficient, or there's mismanagement of fund, or is the webmaster busy goyang kaki?

Do they need some diploma graduates from Limkokwing to give them some training in creativity?

Genius?

I was rather surprised when my blog gets this rating from The Blog Readability Test. It is rather humbling, considering that many of what is published here is quotations from other places.

Probably I should more of my own original thinking, and get more in touch with the elementary, high school and college level readers awarded to my other blogger friends :)

Consumerism

"In many critical contexts, consumerism is used to describe the tendency of people to identify strongly with products or services they consume, especially those with commercial brand names and obvious status-enhancing appeal, e.g. an expensive automobile, expensive jewelry. A culture that is permeated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture. Impulse buyers are quite different from shopaholics, who cannot resist spending money.

Opponents of consumerism argue that many luxuries and unnecessary consumer products are social signals that allow people to identify like-minded individuals through consumption and display of similar products.

...Some believe that relationships with a product or brand name are substitutes for the healthy human relationships lacking in dysfunctional modern societies and along with consumerism itself are part of the general process of social control and cultural hegemony in modern society." -- Wikipedia

Dear Mufti

Dear Mufti,

As a Christian, I would like to congratulate the state for its official name change from Perlis Indera Kayangan to Perlis Darul Sunnah recently. This move, which I believed come from a greater desire of the State to follow the teachings and life of Prophet Muhammad, reflected a seriousness among the community to live the way of life, the Ad-din.

The Ad-din, encompasses not only the personal religious life of a Muslim but also translates to how the Muslim relate to others, live and work, the way government makes decisions, run the administration, manage the budget and treat the people. Everything is put under the evaluation from the scriptures. From my limited knowledge of Islam, I believe that submission to Allah and the virtue of justice are integral part of what it means to be Muslim.

This is not very different from our own tradition, going back to the early church where Luke the author of the book of Acts in the Bible described followers of Jesus as followers of the Way. They group together as a community under the Roman-Jewish government, and live a way of life that is distinct from the people around them.

Their faith in Jesus persuaded believers, rich and poor, educated and not to worship God in their newly-formed community and live a life that is radically different from others. They worked hard and honestly, loved their spouse and children, refrain from immorality, forgiving and loving with one another, and diligently study their scriptures.

They obeyed their rulers, loyal to their state, and contribute actively in their society at all levels. Following the commands of Jesus to give credit to those who deserves, they pay their taxes and even prayed for the rulers, acknowledging that it is God who gave the authority to the rulers to rule, no matter what religious persuasion the rulers may have.

Being part of this tradition, I would like to acknowledge my loyalty to the Agong and acknowledge our christian responsibility to take part in the society in all levels including nation-building and having a say in the society. We are also grateful that in our Sultan’s wisdom, he elected Mufti like yours truly to govern over religious affairs of the state, and we are confident that your progressive ideas and moderate approach to Islam would serve the people from all religious persuasion well.

Though there are some issues religious relations in Malaysia that are still swept under the carpet rather than being discussed in a peaceful, dialectic and respectful manner. We are concerned that the increased religious appreciation on the part of the government would sideline minorities, especially in the opportunity to voice our opinions in all affairs of the state including religious and ideological ones.

The recent religious developments in the country such as the ideology of Islam Hadhari, the judiciary system, apostasy, building of religious statues and illegal buildings and also the usage of religious terminology, raises worry on their long term impact on the society.

Therefore it is high time that there is genuine dialogue and exchange between the state and the christian community in a respectful, informed, loving and progressive manner. These exchanges would inform future state policies, dealing not only with theological differences, but also on concrete issues of the day including the political ideology of the day, state policies and issues that affect both Muslims and other minorities.

I believe that the leaders of the community and the people are matured and ready to listen to one another, as equal heirs of this nation. Both the Islamic Ad-din and the Christian Way call for personal religious piety, but also for engagement with all affairs of life and the world, to bring glory to our Supreme God.

Yours faithfully,
KL

Sabah Negeri Di Bawah Bayu

Reminiscence of Perisai and Pedang in his ministry trip to Kota Belud.

Vocational Skills

I am rather surprised that my cousin and the general chinese community in Terengganu, still do not appreciate the educational opportunities that are available for school leavers, be it for Malays or non-Malays.

They are more comfortable and knowledgable about the educational opportunities in the Klang Valley, namely by TAR College, which is run by MCA. However, they largely overlook the various other opportunities around them, just because they not packaged into their cultural medium.

In Terengganu we have Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute, which is comparable with German-Malaysia Institute which is an advanced skill training centre, producing highly-skilled workers for the industry, namely manufacturing and the petroleum industry.

Besides, we have Politeknik Sultan Mizan in Dungun and Politeknik Kota just around the corner waiting for people to enrol into their wide array of vocational courses ranging from automative engineering to cooking.

We also have Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara in Wakaf Tapai, about 20 minutes drive from town providing courses like plumbing, electrical wiring, building construction and sewing.

Not enough with that, we have Kolej Komuniti Kuala Terengganu just in the middle of the city with free vocational and enrichment courses free of charge ranging from car repair to English classes.

Graduates with vocational skills may find employment opportunities more available.

School leavers just need to be more aware of these opportunities and study locally, rather than spending their parent's hard earned money on random overrated courses in the Klang Valley which may not lead them to stable employment even when they graduate.

Today I found a new one, Terengganu Skills Development Centre (TESDEC) which offers quite a range of development courses in manufacturing, IT and management. They don't need anything, just a pass in SPM. Graduates can continue the course up to diploma level elsewhere. Sounds good to me!

Don't be so choosy, its better than nothing! Sniao gao geng, geng dio chao geng geng!

Doa Tahun Baru

"Bapa kami yang berada di syorga
dimuliakanlah nama-Mu,

Datanglah Kerajaan-Mu
Terjadilah kehendak-Mu di bumi sepertimana di syorga,

Berikanlah kami pada hari ini makanan yang secukupnya,

Dan ampunilah dosa-dosa kami
Sepertimana kami mengampuni orang-orang yang bersalah keatas kami,

Janganlah biarkan kami kehilangan iman apabila dicubai,
tetapi selamatkanlah kami daripada yang jahat,

Kerana Engkaulah yang empunya Kerajaan dan kuasa dan kemuliaan sampai selama-lamanya."

Ulul Albab?

One of the observations that I've noticed in the recent times in architectural designs in Terengganu is the reemphasizing of traditionalism and Islamic influence in the society, in the midst of the cheap, ubiquitous, modern industrial age shoplots and homes sprawling around the city.

New buildings like the Crystal Mosque, Sultan Mahmood airport, Mydin Hypermarket, Taman Budaya in the Idris Jusoh era can be contrasted with Mokhtar Ahmad's modernistic outlook portrayed by the decade old Wisma Darul Iman, Wisma Negeri dan Persekutuan, Pangsapuri Kg. Tiong and buildings of that sort.

While the tendency to go approach heritage and traditionalism may be inspired by tourism and also the present political climate of religious piety, nevertheless it reflects the society's reluctance to break away from the old, even a huge sense of reluctance to reinterprete its heritage in terms of modernity despite of economic and infrastructural developments.

In the midst of that, Islam Hadhari pose a new philosophical discourse to the architectural and social trend, to embrace Arabic Islamic civilisational heritage, which means, a political effort to infuse Arabic art into traditional Malay architecture. This infusion is hoped to express an alternative hope of modernity through Islam.

While I think that a desire for modernity is laudable, it should be birthed out from local contexts, not grafts from elsewhere, worse still if it is just applied on physical forms in architecture and not through education nor transformation of culture.

The Generasi Ulul Albab slogan, Quranik, Ensiklopedik, Ithjihadik sounds impressive, but without genuine openness to embrace modernity in its fullness; which I think should include (true) democracy, academic freedom, egalitarianism, truth prevailing over dogma, diversity in thought, tolerance, justice etc., these calls for renewal and progressiveness will not go beyond rhetoric, moralising and impressive architectures.

p/s : I am impressed with the architecture and philosophy behind Assyafaah Mosque in Singapore. Check it out here and here.

A Brief History of Campus Alive

CA, as I barely remember from the accounts of Zhang Zhi and Albert Lukas started when a group of christ-followers decided to meet at the volleyball court in Akasia college few years before 2004. It then became more popular, with more people joining, soon forming a crowd which will sing circling the court while people from the rooms and windows will look from afar.

It was from then the guards decided to disband them, and the college administration would not let them meet nor form a student club to meet in designated halls. Seeing this problem, Albert scouted around several Shah Alam churches and his own church pastor, David Tham agreed to let the students meet in New Life Shah Alam in Section 25. A heaven of chinese foodcourts, CA soon became an student attraction in itself.

Contacts with other youth pastors around the Klang Valley led to a partnership between Ps. David Tham and Ps. Ryan Foo in preaching and teaching during CA sessions in NLRC. When there is no big gatherings session, there are bible study groups happening in the male and female residential flats which becomes an avenue for fellowship, prayer, study and support.

The movement is a full student led and initiated effort, unlike other student ministries which are run under the auspices of a church or full-time staff. The christian student community from all around Malaysia in a single residential campus made a close-knitted community of believers quite convenient.

Outreaches were soon made through various evangelistic rallies during Easter and special events with speakers from around the Klang Valley, networking and partnering with various churches. While there are a lot of challenges including the annual "rain curse" during the Easter
rallies, transportation issues etc., the spirit that they show do not waver. While there seem to very very little fruit from it, nevertheless the seed of the gospel is constantly planted through
outreaches and daily living with non-believing housemates, and some bore fruit when students actually go overseas.

For me, in 2004, we become more radical when we started prayer meetings at the pondok behind Block 13 opposite the Bihun Sup Utara restaurant, on Sunday evenings, with public worship and prayer. Some engaged with prayer walks around the park beside Cemara.

Besides that, acknowledging the fact that CA was not ethnically balanced and represented, efforts were made to reach out to Sabah and Sarawakian bumiputera christians and thank God that brothers like Elfer, Wowie, Roger Bobson become part of our big family and still close to our 2004/5 family till today.

For our Easter outreach we had a drama production by Footstool Players. Besides that we did
something quite unusual by renting the whole of McD for our outreach party and we thank God that He provided every single cent of providing (almost) free flow of food and drinks. Another bold initiative that was taken was also to sing songs of God's love in Ausmat Cafe during the Tsunami Fundraising Week, and collected about RM200 from the crowd during lunch hour.

It is also in 2005 that we invited Fellowship of Evangelical Students to work alongside with us and encouraging us with their beloved staffworkers, Ti Lian Chui and Karyn Chua. Due to their undivided love and commitment to us, they joined and helped us out tirelessly for us and for the gospel.

We also thank God for people like Rebecca Cham, the church staffworker back then for her help with the van and also her delicious spaghetti during our functions, Aunty Phebe for lending her
husband, and NLRC for their support infrastructurally and in prayer.

The huge influx of juniors in 2005 brought us huge blessings. Names like Amanda Albert, Nathaniel, Doreen, Josephine, Jaclyn How, Cheah Yen, Yu Wan, Roger continue to bless us and warm our hearts.

At the end of the day, what mattered to me the most is the friendships and the community of faith that lasted till today. The close-knitted community, eating together, singing together, study the bible together, praying togehter, going to church together, outreach together is a strong testimony of God's faithfulness to his people.

It is grassroots-led, it is interdenominational that we celebrate the richness of the different denominations has to offer including from our catholic brethrens, it is a community rooted in Christ, and it is fully alive. It is "church" in itself.

My hope for CA is that it continue to be a ambassador for Christ in INTEC, shining where God's light isn't, students reaching students with boldness, truth and love.

Probably it would be nicer if we can take study the bible as seriously as we would study our Biology and Chemistry, pray as seriously as we would prepare for our medical school interviews, and love one another like how we like our textbooks and SPM results.

Soli deo Gloria. I am still as wordy as before, like how I write for my IELTS writing.

Unorthodox Christmas Carol

Check this out!

Fancy some Crystals?

The newly acclaimed Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, a so-called emerging metropolitan from once a fishing town is proud to present, the latest Islamic civilisational theme-park, Taman Tamadun Islam. With Crystal Mosque as its main attraction. It will also contain replicas of various famous mosques around the world, probably including the previously blogged Topkapi and Al-Aqsa.

Will it rival the not-so-famous Crystal Cathedral of Garden Grove California, the so-called largest cathedral in the world, by Robert Schuller the infamous televangelist cum megachurch pastor?

Or locally would it rival our ever controversial Ma Tzu statue in Kudat, the RM10 million so called convention centre owned by one of our Malaysian megachurches, or probably Madano Indonesia's largest (in Asia) Jesus statue in the whole of Asia, costing USD611k.

I always fall into wonder of why people, especially in Asia are so obsessed with creating the cliched biggest, largest, world-class religious icons and buildings, as if God lives in statues and buildings, limiting God's glory and majesty to fit into man-made architecture?

Probably it is just a product of sectarian cultural pride?