Monday, August 07, 2006

Above All Earthly Powers

Today, I drove to Bethlehem Baptist North Campus for a combined church service at Bethlehem Baptist - a special "welcome-home!" gathering for John Piper's return from sabbatical in UK! It was under the open sky, a gentle breeze blowing

Piper's sermon was based on Jesus' parable on "The Pharisee and Tax Collector" (Luke 18: 9-14, biblical teaching on justification by faith. One of Piper's upcoming books may be in response of NT Wright's views on the topic...

The Pharisee was not a proto-Pelagian trying to pull himself up by his own moral bootstraps. Instead he attributes his moral achievement (he never robbed, or unfaithful to his wife - quite 'authentic' lifestyle!) and religious accomplishment (fasted twice a week and tithed!) as being enabled by God!

This guy is not a pelagian who thinks he can make it without God's help. He even thanked God for helping him to be different from others.

But his fatal mistake is that he considers that God-enabled righteousness as the GROUND of his standing before God, the Judge.

The tax collector, on the other hand, is a sinner. But he recognizes his own sinfulness and looks to God for mercy. And Jesus says, the tax collector goes home justified (declared as righteous) rather than the pharisee (who stands condemned)

This message is hazardous to popular notions of God works. We like the idea that 'authentic' people who live 'good lives' get saved.

But it is spiritually dangerous to put before the Judge our 'grace-imparted' deeds as the basis for being put right with God. None of us could stand before His holy light. No one.

All of us need to come before God with faith in the blood-bought righteousness of Jesus Christ. And Him alone.

Let our hope and the hope of others be on nothing less than the Christ and His wrath-absorbing work on the cross.

We sang a wonderful hymn as well:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
a great High Priest, whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,
my name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
no tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look, and see him there
who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.

Behold him there! the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!

One with himself, I cannot die;
my soul is purchased by his blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ, my Savior and my God.


After waiting in line for 20 minutes or so, I managed to meet Piper himself, shook hands, took photos and chatted for a while. Even passed him a card on The Agora ministry just in case he would like to keep in touch.

Marvin, he also mentioned what a wonderful preacher you are! Wow, that means a lot coming from a master preacher.

Unfortunately i wont be around for the conference in September "The Supremacy of God in a postmodern world". Aiyor.

But the conference theme and speaker line-up sounds extremely promising:

Our aim is to call the church to a radical and very old vision of the Man, Jesus Christ—fully God, fully sovereign, fully redeeming by his substitutionary, wrath-absorbing death, fully alive and reigning, fully revealed for our salvation in the inerrant Holy Bible, and fully committed to being preached with human words and beautifully described with doctrinal propositions based on biblical paragraphs.

We love Dorothy Sayers’ old saying, “The Dogma is the Drama.” We think the post-propositional, post-dogmatic, post-authoritative “conversation” is post-relevant and post-saving.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

EU to fund stem cells - Europe - International Herald Tribune

EU to fund stem cells

Stephen Hawking, one of the world's best-known scientists, who suffers from motor neurone disease, lashed out Monday at what he called the "reactionary" forces in the United States and Europe that are trying to ban research on stem cells from human embryos.

Hawking said banning the use of stem cells from human embryos was the equivalent of opposing the use of donated organs from dead people.

"The fact that the cells may come from embryos is not an objection because the embryos are going to die anyway," he told the newspaper The Independent in London. "It is morally equivalent to taking a heart transplant from a victim of a car accident."

Read the full article here

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Three Great Challenges

Looks like Jacksaid's dream of inviting Ravi to University Malaya for a mini-veritas forum came true after all... When we met Ravi in Bali some time back, Jack invited him to Msia (perhaps half-in-jest) and he agreed. The organisers at UM have done a great job making it a reality.

“THE THREE GREAT CHALLENGES TO RELIGION AND SOCIETY - A PROPOSAL FOR TRUE SPIRITUALITY”
by Dr Ravi Zacharias
Visiting Professor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University

"Culture is the effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential situations that confront all human beings in the passage of their lives," suggests sociologist Daniel Bell. Yet one of the symptoms of a society that has lost its ability to think critically is that it deals with life-defining realities such as who we are as human beings in a simplistic manner. Furthermore, a culture that loses its shame, its power of reason, and its sense of meaning has little to hope for in the future. What has brought this demise about? Many scholars have attributed it to the eroding processes of secularization, pluralization and privatization. This lecture examines these 3 challenges and proposes a deeper and hopeful understanding of who we are and who we are meant to be.


Date : 17 August 2006 (Thursday)
Time : 3.00 p.m.
Venue : Auditorium, Asia Europe Institute, University of Malaya

Please reply: 14th August 2006
Tel: 03-7967 5697 / 7967 5468 Fax: 03- 7967 5692
dialog@um.edu.my

Programme
2.30 p.m. Arrival of Guests
3.00 p.m. Welcome note by Organiser and Introduction

Lecture by Dr. Ravi Zacharias
Question/Answer
5.00 p.m. Refreshments / End

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith beyond the Walls of Sanctuary

Book Review

Barna, George, 2005, Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary, Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.


George Barna, in his latest book, Revolution, challenges us to re-examine our theology of church and ways of doing church in the future. Barna was confident that it is possible to predict trends in the church in the United States. He wrote The Frog in the Kettle (1990) in which he identified possible trends and reforms the churches need to implement in order to maximise the benefits from these trends. Barna claimed in his latest book that “90 percent of the predicted outcomes became reality” (p.viii). With this impressive record, Barna went on to introduce what he believes will be the next major trend and this will involve the very structure and the way we do church itself.

Barna identifies a “new breed” of Christians (about 20 million) whom he named “The Revolutionary Christian”. In the opening chapter he identified David (not the biblical one) as one. He described David, “…is a Revolutionary Christian. His life reflects the very ideals and principles that characterized the life and purpose of Jesus Christ and that advances the Kingdom of God-despite the fact that David rarely attends church services. He is typical of a new breed of disciples of Jesus Christ. They are not willing to play religious games and aren’t interested in being part of a religious community that is not intentionally and aggressively advancing God’s Kingdom. They are people who want more of God- much more- in their lives. And they are doing whatever it takes to get it.” (p.7) These revolutionaries have seven major passions (p. 23-25)
1. Intimate Worship
2. Faith-based Conversations (evangelistic)
3. Intentional Spiritual Growth
4. Servanthood
5. Resource Investment
6. Spiritual Friendships

While there is not much to distinguish between the revolutionaries from any committed born-again Christians, the major distinguishing mark is that revolutionaries are willing to leave the local church and seek their spiritual feeding and experiences elsewhere. While there is the commitment to God, there is no loyalty to tradition and the local church. Barna’s research has shown that the local churches have a lot of flaws and churched Christians (about 77 millions) fall short of the standards of these revolutionaries.

What are some of the factors that lead to this trend? Barna has identified seven (p. 42-47).
1. The Changing of the Guard
As the Baby Boomers and Builders begin to make way Baby Busters (1965-1983) and Mosaics (1984-2002), the demographic changes have major influences on culture and societal expectations.
2. The Rise of a new View of Life
Postmodernism has become the main influence in mainstream American culture. What it means is that relationship is more important than productivity, pluralism and relativism, influence through dialogue and the ends justify the means. The working process is more important than the end product.
3. Dismissing the Irrelevant
Unlike the Boomers who are famous for demanding excellence, the next generation; “they quickly abandon anything that is not wholly germane to their personal passions …They have little patience for anything based on tradition, customs, ease, or social responsibility. If they do not immediately sense the relevance of something, they dismiss it out of hand and move on to the next alternative.” Hence loyalty is not a strong point of consideration.
4. The Impact of Technology
Enough have been said about this.
5. Genuine Relationships
They value relationships and are “people people.” Their focus on personal authenticity rather than performance and they like personal stories and experience rather than principles and commands.
6. Participation in Reality
They like the hands on approach and enjoy the experiential rather than the cognitive.
7. Finding True Meaning
They find true meaning in sacrifice and surrender.

What this boils down to is that the next generation will leave any local church or organisation that does not meet their needs. They are not what we consider ‘backsliders’, they are more of spiritual seekers. With more resources within reach (easy communications, travel, Internet etc), they will find their own sources of spirituality that will meet their spiritual needs. They will develop their own network and alternative faith communities. Barna’s prediction for future trends is as below.

How Americans Experience and Express Their Faith (p.49)
Primary means of spiritual experience and expression

Local church 70% (2000) 30-35% (2025)
Alternate Faith-based Community 5% (2000) 30-35% (2025)
Family 5% (2000) 5% (2025)
Media, Arts, Culture 20% (2000) 30-35% (2025)


What will the future faith communities be like. Barna offers a glimpse of some possible forms (p.61-67):

1. Macro model
a. Congregational form of local church
b. House churches
c. Family faith experiences
d. Cyberchurch

2. Micro model (distributed models of faiths)
a. Independent worship events
b. Marketplace fellowships
c. Coaching communities
d. Narrowcast Internet-based faith group
e. Parachurch ministries


Barna has done the Church a favour by bringing to our attention, a possible trend or movement of people out of the local church to seek their spiritual formation elsewhere. While I do not believe it will be as large a percentage as he predicted, I believe that it is an important trend.

If committed Christians find difficulties in being part of an established church and find that they are stagnating, in spite of having make efforts to be part of the community, they should be allowed to explore alternative ways of doing Church. Church to me is not a building or even a local congregation. Church to me is a people of God, the Body of Christ. Many of us has realised that many local churches are no more than fossilized institutions, political conventions, spiritual spas or country clubs.

Throughout Church history, the committed Christians are always marginalized. And they have always survived. These revolutionaries may be the 21st Century equivalent of the desert fathers and mothers of the 4th Century. What the local congregations should be doing is not to condemn or drive them off but to connect with them and offer them a place to come back to when their wandering is done. For all we know, the revolutionaries may be God’s way of sparking off a revival as He has done it with the Pentecostal/Charismatic in the last century.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Kofi Annan's wonderful worldcup speech


Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, was in Berlin on Friday to see the unveiling of the official emblem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. He reflects on why observing events at the FIFA World Cup in Germany has left the UN green with envy in this wonderful interview found on the official Fifa World Cup Germany 2006 Website;

"the World Cup is an event which takes place on a level playing field, where every country has a chance to participate on equal terms. Only two commodities matter in this game: talent and team work. I wish we had more levellers like that in the global arena. Free and fair exchanges without the interference of subsidies, barriers or tariffs. Every country getting a real chance to field its strengths on the world stage."

Real the full article here

Thursday, July 06, 2006

How Expensive is Your Church?

I wonder how you will answer if someone asks you, “How expensive is your church?” Your first impression may be, “My church is free. No annual fees, no service charges and no membership dues. It is not expensive.” Then if that particular person persists, “What about your church’s expansion plans? New building projects. What will it cost you, as a member? How expensive will it be to remain in your church?”

Many churches, especially bigger churches in the Klang valley are embarking on multimillion ringgit building and expansion plans. I am sure there are excellent reasons for these building and expansion plans. Growing church attendance, increasing ministry programs and a bigger staff are some of these reasons. I am also sure all churches which are embarking on these multimillion ringgit building projects have excellent Christ-centered, church community discerned reasons which are in God’s will for these churches. However, I hope that churches are not planning on spending these amount of money (estimates of $50 million, $ 30 million, $10 million to name a few numbers) for the following reasons:

“We want a church campus that looks like Rick Warren’s church campus in California”
It of course great to have a church campus like Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. The whole complex is bigger than some of our local university campus. The main auditorium can sit 5,000 people and have the latest in audio-visual equipment. We must realize that we are not in California but in Malaysia. We have to be realistic and contextualize our church buildings. Sometimes we look at the mega churches in other countries and we want to be like them. There is nothing wrong with mega churches provided it is God who wants us to have them. There is something wrong when we try to imitate by ending up with only the superficial simulacrum of the whole concept. A multimillion ringgit building may become a proverbial white elephant and become a millstone around our necks. Instead of trying to build physical assets, we should concentrate and invest in building spiritual assets in our members.

“We must show the surrounding community an impressive church building so that they will know our God is a powerful God”
Aesthetic buildings are good to look at but we should aim for functionality and multi-purpose. Then the building project will not cost so much. If the intention of building is for show, then we need to rethink our priorities. If we think God will be glorified by man -made structures, then we need to relook at Old and New Testament history. Also, we must be aware of the sensitivity of building impressive, attention-drawing buildings in a country where the ‘priority’ religion is not Christianity.


“Our church building must be more impressive than that other church’s building because we are better than them”
Keeping up with the Jones also occurs in religious communities. We need to be aware of this and not get caught up in this vicious circle. Often it is a subtle and unconscious need on our part to compare ourselves with others. It falls to the church leadership and communal discernment of the church to make sure that the tremendous investment in money, effort and work is for the expansion of God’s kingdom, not in proving themselves better than other Christians. Good Christian stewardship demands that every ringgit that we spend must be accountable and for the mission of the church which is evangelism. How many missionaries and ‘full time’ workers are suffering from lack of finances while home churches are building ‘fine’ buildings? The work of the gospel expands, not by buildings but by personal relationships and effective stewardship of financial resources.

“We must have a new church building/expansion because there is not enough space”
On the surface this sounds like a good reason. However, ‘not enough space’ is a perpetual problem. I have never been to a church where they have ‘enough space’. When I was visiting Rick Warren’s church, the people I spoke to also complain of ‘not enough space’. The solution to ‘not enough space’ may not be building new buildings but in more creative use of existing space. We need to have a paradigm change in our thinking of a church as being a building where everything is in one place. Could a church not be a small shop lot for administration office, rent hall spaces for worship and services and hold other meetings in homes? Instead of building a new building every time the congregation grows, should we not think of leasing or renting of bigger and bigger convention halls or hotel ballrooms for worship service? Most convention halls/ hotels come with audiovisual equipment and adequate parking facilities.

I have nothing against churches that have visions for multimillion dollars building projects. I just hope that they are aware that the fund-raising, the work needed and the taxing of their members may drain their resources and divert their attention from the more important task of building the Kingdom of God.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Return Of The Son

Christianity Today: "According to Stephen Skelton, author of The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero, the parallels between Superman and Jesus Christ are no accident, but rather, designed on purpose by the Superman TV show and movie storytellers."

Also got a thought-provoking article from Alpha

Quentin Tarantino nailed it in a monologue by Bill in Kill Bill, where he says an essential characteristic of superhero mythology is that there must be a superhero, and an alter ego: Bruce Wayne puts on a suit to become Batman and Peter Parker does the same to become Spider-Man. But Superman was born Superman - his alter ego is Clark Kent.

"His outfit with the big red S, that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself … he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

Maybe this is what is most Christlike about him - not what it is to be heroic, but what it is to be human.


More Reflections on the movie:
Superman Or Perfect Man?
Jesus Christ Superman
What do Superman and Jesus have in common?
Christ Figure of American Pop Culture
Superman, Jesus Christ and Jim Caviezel

Thursday, June 29, 2006

European Leadership Forum

European Leadership Forum

Many Christian leaders feel that they are on their own. If they have access to leadership training resources (theological, management, skills, apologetics, etc), these are usually limited to resources in their native language or within their own denomination.

One of the basic strategies of the European Leadership Forum is to identify common needs of European evangelical leaders and then find the best resources to help meet those needs (Local Leaders' Needs / God's Global Resources).

Some of these resources might be addressed at the Forum itself -- but sometimes the Forum is only an introduction.

See the website

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Doulos In West Port

The ship DOULOS will be in Malaysia! If you are a book lover, this event is Nirvana. Dirt-cheap and excellent quality stuffs. No joke.

Just to illustrate.. the last time doulos landed in Kuching, I bought a booklet called The Supremacy of God in Preaching (for RM 8-10) and gave a few copies to my pastors for Christmas

Then, I found the same book in a local bookstore costing RM 40!! It's that big a difference... I plan to plunder the ship on 6 July and never go near a bookshop for the remainder of the year :) I kid u not! hehehe...

Details are as follows:
6 July – 31 July 2006
Star Cruises Terminal, West Port

Hurry onboard! Don't miss it! Book Fair Opening Hours
6 July (Thu) 2pm – 10pm
7 July ~ 31 July 2006

Tue – Sat: 10am – 10pm
Sun & Mon: 2pm – 10pm

Crest Malaysia

CREST is an organization of Christians from different denominations and churches who share a desire to reach the poor & needy and disaster victims with the love of God, demonstrated in practical ways in food, shelter, medicine, etc.

Teams of volunteers armed with multidisciplinary skills and God’s love reaching the most desperate, needy and receptive people in the world
Our vision is to have stand-by teams ready to be deployed to crisis relief work within the 10/40 Window. Like a reservist army, the teams will be on stand-by in advance at different times of the year. They will be deployed to do relief work / missions trips for short durations of between 1 to 2 weeks each time.

The goal is to harness not only the spiritual but also the natural and secular skills of Christians of multi-disciplinary backgrounds (cooks, housewives, children’s ministry workers, administrators, secretaries, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, engineers, doctors, nurses, dentists, accountants, logisticians, managers, worship leaders, intercessors, etc, ANYONE!). This way the whole church can get involved in missions in very “down to earth” practical ways, not just those who can preach and teach or feel called into full-time missions.

Our Mission
To be the "hands and feet" of Jesus bringing His love and hope to those caught in crises and disasters.

Research and statistics show that disasters and crises are increasing at an alarming rate among the poorest, most needy and unreached peoples of the world. God’s original mandate and concern is seen in His command for the tithes to be for the Levites, the aliens (refugees), the fatherless and the widows : Deut.14&26. God has called us to establish a crisis relief team made up of Christians from different denominations and skills who will train and work together to demonstrate His love and bring relief to people where the needs are most acute and urgent.

We are to go with His compassion, to be His feet and His hands, to comfort those who mourn, to bind up the broken-hearted, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness. Isa.61.

Jesus identified so much with the poor, weak and oppressed that He said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.......I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me…” Matt. 25

CREST - Crisis Relief Services & Training Bhd
27 Jalan SS2/104, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (3) 7725 7299 / +60 (3) 7712 1452
Email: crisis@tm.net.my

Sunday, June 18, 2006

My Brain Made Me Do It!

Despite a recent football injury (blame it on World CUp!), Ron Choong will back in Malaysia too! I believe he's one of the foremost Msian thinkers in the cutting edge interface between science and Christian theology via Metanexus and ACT ministry.

These topics are burning contemporary issues of our generation. Dun miss it!

Date: 30 June 2006 (Fri)
Time: 8.30 pm
Venue: Community Baptist Church, PJ (near Chao Yang ss2)

Is Morality Biological? Neuroscientific studies suggest that we are chemically driven. All mental acts are determined by biochemical balance. Has morality evolved? Thus, people are hunting for the God gene, gay gene, gambling gene etc. Whats the Christian perspective to this emerging field of science?

Is Christian evangelism Immoral? The basis and drive for evangelism is the claim that Christian faith is true for everyone. How is this possible when there are so many religions to choose from? Isn't evangelism insensitive to cultures of the other?

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Common Myths About God's Will

The Tribal Council at the deacons' board...

Common Myths About Divine Guidance
by Paul Stevens

1. That God has a wonderful plan for your life (there is only one way to do His will)
2. That God wants to make the decision for you
3. That the best way to find your way is by asking for a sign
4. That God leads mainly by supernatural signs and prophetic messages
5. That God’s will is hard to find
6. That what God wants cannot be something you find pleasure in
7. That you should do what others think is best for them
8. That the expression of your personal mission remains constant through your life

THE PURITAN CONTRIBUTION – William Perkins, A Treatise on Callings

Callings are part of God’s created order, a means of serving God and sustaining God’s world through supporting oneself, one’s family and the commonwealth.

As soon as one discovers faith in Christ he or she should be taught to discover their calling

Each person has a general calling (to invoke the name of Christ and follow as a disciple) and a particular calling (the unique path of life by which you serve God and the commonwealth)

Parents should help their children discover their calling

There is an equality of callings
If a person does not judge his particular calling as the best of all callings he or she should not yield to discontentment, as did Absolom, the sons of Zebedee and Cain

The chief cause of vocation mismatch is “the lust of the spirit” (Perkins)

Repenting if necessary of the wrong reasons for entering a calling and remaining for the right reasons.

Resisting the temptation to covetousness by labouring to see our particular situations as the providence of God.

Seeking the sanctification of both the work and the worker by the Word of God and prayer.

Turning our affections from this world and setting our mind on heaven

Persisting in our callings by pruning our lives of selfish ambition and impatience
Being accountable to God on the last day

See “Vocational Conversion: An Imaginary Puritan-Baby Boomer Dialogue,” Crux, Vol XXXVII, No 4 (December 2001),2-8.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

World Cup global sociological effects

World Cup boosts growth, binds ties, even sparks war
By Mark Rice-Oxley Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Question: what quadrennial sporting extravaganza brings the world together for weeks on end, transcending war, poverty, class, and culture, and culminating in the most watched television event ever?

If you guessed the Olympics, odds are you're an American.



The rest of the world knows better. Soccer's World Cup kicks off Friday in Germany. And while the month-long spectacle may not leave much of an impression on Americans, for most other nations it is an incomparable event.


Brazilian banks will close early, British productivity will nosedive, elections in Mexico could be affected, the fate of the French prime minister may hang on results. The event will touch even the frozen wastelands of Antarctica, where scientists have set up a live Internet feed so as not to miss the action.

And at the grand finale on July 9, as many as a billion people - one-sixth of humanity - are expected to watch 22 men, adept at propelling a piece of leather around, compete for the ultimate victory in team sports.

Why is the event so popular?

One reason, says soccer writer Simon Kuper, is that the World Cup provides a stage for old rivalries to be played out. It enables small nations of the world who ordinarily have little say in that other great international sport - diplomacy - to settle scores and resolve questions of status and national identity with a few cathartic kicks

Another reason for the overwhelming popularity is that soccer is so pervasive. The international soccer federation FIFA has more members than the United Nations (207 vs. 191). Two years ago, 198 countries started out trying to qualify for this summer's finals. The game has taken root in so many places because it's so easy to prepare and play, according to Fernando Soares Schlindwein, an academic from Brazil. "The nice thing about football is that you can play it with anyone with almost anything," he says. "People play with fizzy drink cans, or oranges, or socks rolled into a ball.

It unifies people from all social class."

Read the full article here

Monday, June 12, 2006

What place for God in Europe?

What place for God in Europe?

Across Europe,the conflicting currents of secularism, Christianity, and Islam are compelling Europeans to wrestle with their values as never before. In this first installment of a three-part series, the Monitor examines the forces that are shaping European identity - and explores why the Continent is debating what role, if any, religion should play in public life.
By Peter Ford Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Read the full article here

Read the second part here

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Primer On Postmodernism

Presentation slides from Agora Forum on Postmodernism in Dec 2005. Most materials were taken from Stuart McAllister's talk at RZIM Bali Conference. But I modified them and any inaccuracy left is mine. The materials are not meant to be comprehensive replacement of the speaker's speech :)







The middle guy is David Hume, the skeptical empiricist.




























I Shop Therefore I Am

Hyper-Consumerism: If life is a supermarket, and moral choices are like the products on the shelves, then all that matters is personal choice.
The only problem is the lack of freedom to choose. A determined failure to acknowledge limits and boundaries

Gospel Opportunities

Weakened pride in autonomous reason and naturalistic scientism
Openness to the ‘supernatural’
Yearning for authentic relationships
Need to see gospel embodied before it is proclaimed
Be sensitive to context, history, culture, locality, earthiness, here-and-now rather than extreme other-worldliness

Gospel Challenges

Suspicion of evangelistic ‘propaganda’, more conversation
False dichotomy – Love versus Truth. “Speak the Truth In Love” (Eph 4:15)
Organized religion is out, personal spirituality is in
Gospel subverted as ‘one of many stories’ Social pressure of relativism which is intolerant of Christian faith in particular

Our Calling

Understand the times, every era has its challenges
Confidence in God and His truth
Indwell the gospel, take the risk to effective persuasion
Demonstrate ‘earthly good’
Dialogue… What Would Jesus Ask?
C. S. Lewis’ argument from desire, longing? (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Former Skeptic Turned Believer

I started out as a skeptic of Da Vinci Code, all out to debunk its claims in Klang Valley and beyond.

But after much research and intense investigation, I've become convinced that Leonardo Da Vinci was really a Grand Master of Priory of Sion and has hidden a secret code in the Last Supper painting. Yes I'm now a believer!

But it is a secret much, much more insidious than anything Dan Brown could ever imagine! The real Da Vinci Code is...



(I'm Loving It! thanks, Rev Wong, for the inspiration! )

Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Bible wasn't written to you

The Bible wasn't written to you:

"The Bible isn't a fortune cookie that you can crack open and get out a pithy little message that's going to help you through the day. Instead it is a collection of books, poems, histories, tragedies and more and if you want to 'apply it to your life' you've first got to consider how that particular message was meant to apply to someone else's life.

That's right, the Bible wasn't written to you. It was written to the people of Israel, and Philemon, and Theophilus and the church at Corinth. But that ain't you. So you're reading someone else's mail. Or listening in on one half of a phone conversation. If you want to apply it to your life, first you've got to approach the text carefully, even humbly and ask, 'What was the original author saying to the original readers and why?' That's not an easy question. You won't be able to answer it in just five minutes of Bible reading a day. You won't be able to answer that question by jumping from one section of the Bible to the next as you go through your Bible reading plan.

Imagine reading the Sunday paper like you read your Bible. Monday you read one paragraph of the front page, then you read one paragraph of the sports section, now jump over to the opinion page and read a paragraph there. That's all for today. On Tuesday you can continue reading the lead story and find out how the game ended and read some more of the op-ed piece. Is that the way you read the paper? Why not? Because chopping up the Sunday paper like that destroys the message. "

Read the rest of this excellent article here

The Secularisation of the Church

The much anticipated Global Day of Prayer will soon be held in the National Stadium on 4th June 2006. Having been previously exposed to numerous Christian events on a national scale and the “hard-sell” publicity techniques that came along with them, I thought perhaps this would be different. After all, is it not the case that there are a number of noted evangelical churchmen and laity who have lent their names in support of it? Yet five minutes of surf time at www.prayforsingapore.org.sg/gdopinfo.php dashed my hopes for some indications of perhaps a brighter future for evangelicalism in Singapore. The consumerist culture has made inroads despite the moral standing and spiritual maturity of its organizers. What do I mean? Here’re some characteristics I’ve observed.

1. Make the product sound big-time. “We believe this is God’s time for Singapore!”; “It is God’s time…In the history of Singapore, no group has taken on a National Stadium event in 3 months, but when it happens, we know it is God at work and glory be to Him.” The stakes are raised to an infinite level of course when the name of God is invoked to sanction an event with a certainty that is analogous to the divine decrees.

2. Estimate and provide for a large consumer base. Already millions of people around the world have participated in the event, so it is claimed. Promoters of this Singapore based event are hoping for at least 20, 000 to turn up. Surely the larger the number of participants, the weightier will be the event’s legitimacy, and the greater the opportunity cost.

3. Give some semblance of scientific credibility even if it is pseudo-scientific. E.g. the claim is made that in 1993 conversion growth rates more than quadrupled in comparison with the previous 3 years. What’s the explanation? There was massive, united prayer. Since the winding up of the AD 2000 movement, prayer has been decentralized. So conversion rates dropped. What are we to do now? The answer comes as no surprise: Global Day of Prayer. Anyone who’s done a fair amount of statistics will be horrified at claims of causality being made here. I’ve often wished that preachers would stick to their divine calling of preaching and leave the scientific matters to those who’re in the business. But no. In this age of consumerism, pseudo-scientific findings will do just fine to justify religious claims as long as it successfully markets the product.

4. Be sure to offer guarantees. It is claimed that God “will cause a groundswell that has never been before, because so much is at stake.”

5. Appeal to the conscience by employing the guilt tactic. “You really have no excuse to be anywhere else in Singapore but the National Stadium.”

Since numerous evangelical churches and leaders are behind this event, it is not unreasonable to take it as an index of evangelical spirituality in Singapore. What I see is an alarming secularization of our churches. I’ll certainly pray on 4th June 2006. But my prayers will be for God to have mercy on a national church whose evangelical moorings are being eroded by an ever insidious and diabolical influence.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

New deal for maids

New Straits Times reports today that Malaysia is finally rectifying the once ugly situation of the oppressed Indonesian Maids and making them now legitimate workers in an open market, with rights. Amongst the new developments;

• Employers: They will have to open a bank account under the maid’s name and deposit her salary in it every month. They will also have to sign a legal contract with maids on terms and conditions of employment. They will also have to dig deeper into their pockets for the services of maids with the introduction of mandatory insurance coverage costing RM72 per month.

• Maids: They can take grievances against employers to the Labour Court and, if necessary, to the Sessions Court.

• Employment agencies: They will no longer be able to deduct maid’s salaries.

I see this as a great day in Malaysian history, it’s like our own lesser abolition of slavery! It’s a day that makes me proud to be Malaysian.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Injil Yudas....Yudas yang mana ni?

Shalom kengkawan semua,


Dewasa ini banyak injil gnostik yang muncul baik di kedai-kedai buku mahupun di media. Dan Yesuslah yang asyik kena pelbagai lemparan palsu Walau bagaimanapun kebenaran dan kemuliaan Yesus masih tetap bersinar dan akan mematahkan segala kepalsuan.

Dan kali ini pula Injil Yudas. Hai Yudas mana pula ni? Apakah sebenarnya kandungan injil-injil gnostik ini? Apakah ajaran gnostik ini? Kenapakah injil-injil gnostik ini tidak dapat dikanonkan (disenarai daftar masuk) ke dalam Perjanjian Baru? Di bawah ini saya sertakan hiperpautan berkenaan dengan Injil Yudas. Sila klik.

Tuhan berkati semua!



Artikel asal ini ditulis oleh Pat Zukeran dan diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Melayu

Tajuk utama akhbar-akhbar di serata dunia melaporkan Injil Yudas yang hilang dijumpai semula dan diterjemahkan. Laporan injil ini memberikan kisah baru kehidupan Yesus dan perhubunganNya dengan Yudas yang digambarkan bukanlah seorang pengkhianat seperti yang digambarkan di dalam Injil-Injil Perjanjian Baru. Malah dialah seorang hero dan pengikut kanan Yesus yang paling dipercayai di mana pengkhianatan Yesus adalah atas permintaan Yesus sendiri. Injil ini juga menyatakan Yesus mendedahkah ilmu rahsia kepada Yudas yang mengarahkannya menyerahkan Yesus kepada pihak berkuasa Rum. Daripada menggambarkan ketamakan Yudas dan dihasut syaitan, Yudas setia menuruti arahan Yesus. Adakah Injil Yudas ini mendedahkan suatu cerita baru Yesus? Adakah umat Kristian patut bimbang akan sejarah dan persepsi baru ini?

Injil Yudas dijumpai pada tahun 1978 oleh seorang petani di sebuah gua berdekatan El Minya di Mesir tengah. Para cendikiawan mentarikhkan penulisan teks qibli (Coptic text) ini di antara 300 T.M. dan 400 T.M. Kebanyakkan cendikiawan percaya teks asal ini ditulis dalam bahasa Yunani dan manuskrip asalnya ditulis di pertengahan abad kedua.

Walaupun penulisnya tidak diketahui, sudah pasti dia bukan Yudas atau pengikut Yesus yang mengarangnya. Ia adalah ajaran Gnostik yang mula berkembang pada zaman itu. Irenaeus adalah yang terawal membidas ajaran Gnostik kerana penyelewengannya dalam penulisan beliau pada 180 TM.
Injil Yudas ini adalah sama dengan bahan-bahan risalah Gnostik yang dijumpai di sepanjang Nil termasuklah set Nag Hammadi yang mengandungi 45 teks Gnostik iaitu Injil Maria, Injil Petrus dan teks-teks lain.


Apakah ajaran Gnostik ini?
Ajaran Gnostik berkembang dari abad kedua hinggalah abad keempat. Apakah ajarannya? Ayat Gnostik berasal dari bahasa Yunani iaitu ayat gnosis ialah ilmu yang merujuk kepada mistik atau ilmu rahsia dari Tuhan dan penyatuan diri sendiri dengan Tuhan. Berikut adalah ringkasan falsafah Gnostik.

Pertama, Gnostik mengajar ilmu rahsia dualisme iaitu kebendaan duniawi adalah jahat dan alam rohani adalah suci. Kedua, Tuhan tidak mendekati manusia tetapi manusialah mendekati Tuhan, yang pada dasarnya bersifat ketuhanan. Tuhan adalah ruh dan cahaya dalam setiap individu. Bila seseorang itu mengenali dirinya, dia akan memahami kesemuanya. Ketiga, masalah asas dalam ajaran Gnostik bukanlah dosa tetapi kejahilan. Cara untuk menyatukan dirinya dengan Tuhan ialah mencapai ilmu mistikal. Keempat, keselamatan dicapai dengan memperoleh ilmu atau gnosis diri dan alam semulajadi yang sebenarnya. Kelima, matlamat ajaran Gnostik ialah penyatuan dengan Tuhan. Ini dicapai dengan membebaskan diri dari tubuh yang tidak suci ini supaya perjalanan jiwa individu melalui angkasa mengelakkan diri dari setan-setan dan menyatukan dirinya dengan Tuhan


Gnostik mengajar Yesus tidak berbeza dari para pengikutNya. Mereka yang memperoleh persepsi Gnostik akan menjadi Kristus seperti Yesus. Profesor agama dari Universiti Princeton, Dr. Elaine Pagels menulis, ‘Sesiapa yang mencapai gnosis bukan lagi seorang Kristian tetapi Kristus”. Dengan ini, Yesus bukanlah Anak Tuhan yang unik yang mati untuk dosa dunia tetapi seorang guru yang mendedahkan ilmu rahsia kepada pengikutnya yang layak menerimanya.

Falsafah Gnostik adalah berbeza dari ajaran-ajaran Perjanjian Lama dan Baru. AlKitab menentang ajaran Gnostik berkenaan dengan doktrin asas sifat-sifat Tuhan, Yesus, kebendaan duniawi, dosa, keselamatan dan kehidupan akhirat. Para Yahudi dan Kristian menentang ajaran Gnostik sebagai ajaran sesat begitu juga Gnostik yang menentang ajaran Kristian. Injil Yudas mengajar falsafah Gnostik. Seperti risalah Gnostik yang lain, persamaan Injil Yudas dengan Perjanjian Baru hanyalah sedikit sahaja. Injil Yudas ini bercanggah dengan Perjanjian Baru dalam 2 perkara besar:

Kandungan dalam Injil Yudas
Falsafah Gnostik bercanggah dengan Alkitabiah Kristian dan Injil Yudas menggambarkan Gnostik dan bukanlah teologi AlKitabiah. Contohnya, falsafah Gnostik yang menggambarkan misi Yesus digambarkan dalam Injil Yudas ini.

Dr. Marvin Meyer, seorang professor AlKitab dari Kolej Chapman, merumuskan misi utama Yesus berdasarkan injil ini.

“Kematian Yesus dalam Injil Yudas ini bukanlah suatu tragedi mahupun jahat untuk pengampunan dosa-dosa.. Kematian adalah jalan keluar dari kewujudan fizikal absurd yang bukanlah suatu perkara yang ditakuti. Jauh dari kesedihan, tujuan kematiaan Yesus membebaskanNya dari tubuhnya supaya Dia dapat pulang ke rumahNya di syurga dan dengan mengkhianati Yesus, Yudas membantu kawannya untuk melucutkan diri dari tubuhnya dan membebaskan diri dalamnya

Misi Yesus dalam Perjanjian Baru jelas ternyata. Dia datang untuk mati bagi penebusan dosa-dosa dunia dan menguasai kubur melalui kebangkitan tubuhNya. Bertentangan dengan Injil Yudas yang mengajar Yesus yang ingin mati untuk membebaskan diriNya dari pemenjaraan tubuhNya.

Selain itu, ajaran asas Gnostik ialah masalah manusia bukanlah dosa tetapi kejahilan. Yesus bukanlah Penyelamat tetapi hanyalah seorang guru yang mendedahkan ilmu rahsia kepada orang yang layak menerimanya. Yudaslah yang dianggap yang layak memnerima ilmu ini. Dr Meyer menulis,

“Bagi Gnostik, masalah asas bagi manusia bukanlah dosa tetapi kejahilan dan jalan yang terbaik untuk mengatasi masalah ini bukanlah melalui iman tetapi melalui ilmu. Dalam Injil Yudas, Yesus menyampaikan kepada Yudas dan pembaca-pembaca injil ini – ilmu yang dapat menghapuskan kejahilan dan membawa kesedaran pada diri sendiri dan Tuhan”


Ajaran Gnostik juga berpandangan dunia fizikal ini jahat. Tuhan tidak mencipta dunia fizikal ini. Tetapi Dia mencipta aeon-aeon malaikat-malaikat yang kemudiannya akan mencipta, menjaga ketenteraman dan menguasai dunia fizikal ini. Oleh kerana kebendaan itu tidak suci, maka Tuhan tidak memasukki secara langsung ke dalam ciptaan fizikal ini. Dalam Injil Yudas, Yesus bertanyakan kepada pengikutnya, “Bagaimanakah anda mengenali saya” Mereka tidak menjawabnya betul. Sebaliknya Yudas menjawab, “Saya tahu siapakah kamu dan dari mana kamu datang. Engkau datang dari alam kekal Barbelo”

Barbelo dalam ajaran Gnostik ialah emanasi Tuhan pertama, yang biasanya disebut sebagai ibu dan ayah. Oleh sebab Tuhan tidak memasukki dunia yang tidak suci ini, alam perantara Barbelo dimana dunia fizikal ini dicipta tanpa mencemarkan Tuhan.

Jelasnya, Barbelo adalah istilah Gnostik dan asing dari ajaran Kristian. Yesus menyatakan dalam Yohanes 3:13 bahawa Dia datang dari syurga. Ayat Yunaninya ialah houranos. Penulis Perjanjian Baru melihat Yesus duduk si sebelah kanan BapaNya. Yesus tinggal di syurga yang kekal bersama dengan BapaNya.

Sebab-sebab Injil Yudas bukan sebahagian dari Perjanjian Baru

Ada beberapa sebab kita tidak menganggap Injil Yudas sebagai alkitabiah yang diilhamkan. Pertama, ia ditulis terlalu lewat tanpa hubungan dengan para rasul. Para Rasul Kristus diberikan ilham dan kuasa untuk menulis kitab suci. Syarat-syarat kemasukkan ke dalam kanon* Perjanjian Baru ialah ia perlu ditulis oleh rasul Kristus atau orang yang terdekatnya. Memandangkan hubungan dengan rasul diperlukan, ia seharusnya ditulis pada abad pertama. Terdapat banyak bukti keempat-empat Injil dalam Perjanjian Baru ditulis pada abad pertama. Injil Yudas ditulis pada pertengahan abad kedua maka ia terlalu lewat untuk dimasukkan ke dalam kanon.

Kedua, alkitabiah yang diilhamkan itu mestilah konsisten dengan wahyu Tuhan yang terdahulu. Tuhan adalah Tuhan yang benar dan bukan sebaliknya. Maka firmanNya tidak bercanggah dengan kebenaran. Falsafah Gnostik dalam Yudas ini tidak konsisten dengan ajaran Perjanjian Lama dan Baru.

Perjanjian Lama mengajar Tuhan mencipta dunia fizikal dan Adam serta Hawa (Kejadian 1-3). Dalam Kejadian yang mengisahkan semua ciptaan Tuhan adalah baik. Ini bercanggah dengan ajaran Gnostik, Tuhan menciptakan dunia fizikal ini dan mengisytiharkannya baik.


Ada beberapa sebab kita tidak menganggap Injil Yudas sebagai alkitabiah yang diilhamkan. Pertama, ia ditulis terlalu lewat tanpa hubungan dengan para rasul. Para Rasul Kristus diberikan ilham dan kuasa untuk menulis kitab suci. Syarat-syarat kemasukkan ke dalam kanon Perjanjian Baru ialah ia perlu ditulis oleh rasul Kristus atau orang yang terdekatnya. Memandangkan hubungan dengan rasul diperlukan, ia seharusnya ditulis pada abad pertama. Terdapat banyak bukti keempat-empat Injil dalam Perjanjian Baru ditulis pada abad pertama. Injil Yudas ditulis pada pertengahan abad kedua maka ia terlalu lewat untuk dimasukkan ke dalam kanon.

Kedua, alkitabiah yang diilhamkan itu mestilah konsisten dengan wahyu Tuhan yang terdahulu. Tuhan adalah Tuhan yang benar dan bukan sebaliknya. Maka firmanNya tidak bercanggah dengan kebenaran. Falsafah Gnostik dalam Yudas ini tidak konsisten dengan ajaran Perjanjian Lama dan Baru.

Perjanjian Lama mengajar Tuhan mencipta dunia fizikal dan Adam serta Hawa (Kejadian 1-3). Dalam Kejadian yang mengisahkan semua ciptaan Tuhan adalah baik. Ini bercanggah dengan ajaran Gnostik, Tuhan menciptakan dunia fizikal ini dan mengisytiharkannya baik.

Ajaran Gnostik juga mengajarkan Tuhan tidak mencipta dunia fizikal ini sebab bahan-bahan dunia ini tidak suci, maka Tuhan menciptakan aeon-aeon dan malaikat-malaikat. Makhluk-makhluk inilah yang menciptakan alam fizikal. Dalam Injil Yudas, Yesus mendedahkah kejadian dunia ini, kemanusiaan dan para aeon dan para malaikat. Para malaikat ini yang membawa ketenteraman pada kucar-kacir. Salah satu malaikat-malaikat, namanya Saklas yang menciptakan Adam dan Hawa. Injil ini memberitahu:

“Biarlah 12 malaikat-malaikat dijadikan untuk menguasai huru hara dan alam ghaib. Dan lihatlah dari awan datangnya malaikat yang mukanya berpancar cahaya dengan api serta penampilannya dicemari dengan darah. Namanya ialah Nebro yang bermaksud pemberontak. Saklas, malaikat yang lain itu juga datang dari awan. Nebro mencipta enam malaikat-malaikat lain begitu juga dengan Saklas untuk menjadi pembantu masing-masing. Maka terjadi 12 belas malaikat-malaikat ini dan masing-masing mempunyai bahagiannya dalam syurga.

Ia juga mengatakan,

“Saklas memberitahu malaikat-malaikatnya, “Marilah kita mencipta manusia yang menyerupai kami dan imej kami. Mereka mencipta Adam dan isterinya Hawa dalam awan yang dipanggil Zoe”

Ini amat bercanggah dengan ajaran dalam Perjanjian Lama dimana Tuhanlah yang menciptakan dunia ini. Tuhanlah juga yang mencipta Adam dari tanah dan isterinya Hawa dari Adam.

Injil Yudas juga bercanggah dengan ajaran Perjanjian Baru juga. Ia mengajar tubuh itu jahat dan Yesus ingin membebaskan diriNya dari tubuh fizikalNya. Yesus mengarahkan Yudas, “Tetapi engkau (Yudas) akan melebihi dari mereka. Engkau akan mengorbankan orang yang berpakaiankanku” Melalui kematian Yesus dengan bantuan Yudas akan membebaskan rohNya untuk bersatu dengan Tuhan.

Perjanjian Baru mengajarkan bahawa Yesus tidak pernah ingin membebaskan diriNya dari tubuhNya. Faktanya, Yesus mengajar bahawa kebangkitanNya adalah kebangkitn fizikal (Yohanes 2:19-22). Dalam Lukas 24:39, Yesus menjelaskan kepada para pengikutNya bahawa Dia mempunyai tubuh fizikalNya. “Lihatlah tangan-Ku dan lihatlah kaki-Ku. Aku sendirilah ini! Sentuhlah Aku dan lihatlah, sebab hantu tidak berdaging dan tidak bertulang, seperti yang kamu lihat ada pada-Ku." Dalam Yohanes 20 dan 21, Yesus juga mendedahkan tubuhNya yang disalibkan itu dibangkitkan. Dia juga menjemput Thomas dalam bab 20 untuk menyentuh parutNya. Jika Yesus bangkit sebagai ruh, Dia bersalah kerana menipu para pengikutNya.

Paulus mengajar dalam 1 Korintus 15 berkenaan dengan kebangkitan tubuh. Dia menerangkan bahawa Yesus bangkit dari maut dan sebanyak 500 orang saksi yang bersaksi akan fakta ini. Dia juga menerangkan kebangkitan tubuh itu ialah tubuh fizikal tetapi berlainan dengan tubuh kita di dunia ini. Semasa kebangkitan, tubuh umat Kristian akan dimuliakan. Ini jelas bercanggah dengan ajaran Gnostik yang cuba membebaskan diri dari tubuh yang tidak suci. Paulus tidak mengajar umat Kristian untuk membebaskan diri dari tubuh mereka malah menantikan kebangkitan tubuh (1 Tesalonika 4:13-18).

Kesimpulan

Sungguhpun dengan adanya gembar-gempur dari pihak media, Injil Yudas ini sama sekali tidak menjejaskan kesahihan Injil-Injil mahupun menidakkan keTuhanan Yesus. Injil ini tidak boleh dianggap sebagai kitab suci yang diilhamkan seperti buku-buku dalam Perjanjian Baru. Ia ditulis pada lewat abad kedua dan ia tidak ditulis oleh Rasul Yesus atau orang terdekat dengan rasul. Ajaran-ajarannya juga bercanggah dengan Perjanjian Lama dan Baru. Informasi yang sedikit dibentangkan itu tidak boleh dijadikan bahan bersejarah. Injil Yudas memberikan kita gambaran yang lebih kepada permulaan Gnostik. Ia tidak membentangkan fakta sejarah Yesus yang boleh menjejaskan Perjanjian Baru jua.

*istilah kanon adalah senarai daftar masuk ke dalam Perjanjian Baru yang memenuhi kriteria-kriteria yang ditetapkan.