Blog Inspiration Level Declining...

As you can probably already see I am losing motivation to write anything on this blog lately. This is not because I have nothing to write, I am constantly inspired by the things I read. However, I just don't get any satisfaction out of commentating my life through a blog these days. As Sam would put it, I'd much rather talk with people over a coffee (or beer). It's so much more satisfying that way.

So, my apologies to those who like reading my blog. Maybe if people actually get a lot out of reading it I might be inspired to write again. But truly I don't think my words account to much. If you REALLY want to be inspired read The Bible (can never beat it), Francis Schaeffer or Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Cheers.

- Andy

The Ironic Reality

There is an Ironic reality where, in many cases, the more one gets to know God and begins doing wondrous works in His name for His glory the more one experiences spiritual dryness. Basically, when one thinks he is becoming closer to God is often the time God chooses to hide His presence, or appear as if He has parted from them. Besides all the testimonies I have heard of my godly friends I also happened to read recently in Time Magazine that Mother Teresa went through almost 50 years of spiritual dryness. In fact, during the peaks of her ministry's "success" Mother Teresa felt God's presence the least. She wrote in a letter to Archbishop Ferdinand Périer in 1955 "The more I want Him - the less I am wanted". Then later she wrote in a letter to Jesus (she wrote many letters addressed to Him) "If this brings You glory - if souls are brought to You - with joy I accept all to the end of my life."

Personally I find this encouraging, as I know I have experienced a lot of spiritual dryness in my life. The funny thing is that while this can, in some sense, drive someone to doubt God, the doubt can either make that person run from Him or run to Him. Mother Teresa was definitely someone that ran toward Him. In 1953 she wrote to Périer, “Please pray specially for me that I may not spoil His work and that Our Lord may show Himself – for there is such terrible darkness in me, as if everything was dead. It has been like this more or less from the time I started ‘the work.’” And in 1956 she wrote,“Such deep longing for God – and… repulsed – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal. – [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction – Heaven means nothing – pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.” By 1961 she came to accept this “darkness” as an unavoidable reality in her life. She wrote in a letter to Rev. Joseph Neuner, “I can’t express in words – the gratitude I owe for your kindness to me – for the first time in… years – I have come to love the darkness – for I believe now that it is part of a very, very small part of Jesus’ darkness & pain on earth. You have taught me to accept it [as] a ‘spiritual side of your work’ as you wrote – Today really I feel a deep joy – that Jesus can’t go anywhere through the agony – but that he wants to go through it in me.”

Mother Teresa had her own personal conviction that Jesus was letting her experience a glimpse of the pain and suffering that He went through on earth. However, by no means is this the way that everyone should interpret their own sufferings. People can easily go to two extremes of what they think God wants for them: either they think God wants nothing but pain for them to grow spiritually, or that He wishes nothing but joy and happiness for them. The truth is God wants the ‘best’ for everyone, but the ‘best’ comes in many forms, often in a way quite unexpected.

The part that touched me the most about the article on Mother Teresa was the fact that she pursued God in spite of her sufferings, doubts even. Perseverance and loyalty is greatly rewarded. I have experienced great fulfilment through perseverance in my own life although it looks nothing like what Mother Teresa went through. It doesn’t have to be that difficult, but suffering is definitely a part of life.

What Rev. James Martin wrote about Mother Teresa stuck out to me, “Let’s say you’re married and you fall in love and you believe with all your heart that marriage is a sacrament. And your wife, God forbid, gets a stroke and she’s comatose. And you will never experience her love again. It’s like loving and caring for a person for 50 years and once in a while you complain to your spiritual director, but you know on the deepest level that she loves you even though she’s silent and that what you’re doing makes sense. Mother Teresa knew that what she was doing made sense.”

Most Christians who discover the realness of God and His love for them know that it makes sense to follow Him despite what they are going through.

Ryan Adams' Stand-Up Session

Ryan Adams is quite a comedian when he is drunk... on Pepsi Max.

Nasty Critique of Emergent/Post-Modern Theology

HT to Sam Harvey for the link to this page.

Is it just me or is the "Church Denominations War" getting uglier everyday? It's about time we realised that it is the work of the devil. By keeping the Christians at each other’s necks we forget the things of vital importance, such as: being Christ's witness (from this word comes all the things that are of utmost importance: love, mercy, compassion, liberation/freedom, justice etc).

Don't get roped in on this war (especially to you bloggers out there. We are the most vulnerable ones to this kind of cynicism). It will keep you from being who you are supposed to be as a Christian. And it will suck you in if you don’t make a conscious decision to not get involved.

“Keep out of foolish arguments with those who boast of their “knowledge” and thus prove their lack of it. Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life – they don’t know God.” 1 Timothy 6:20,21

I have to admit though that actually I find it to be quite funny... I see the humor in such things.

Returning to My First Love

This is a term that many Christians use when referring to the gaining back of the enthusiasm and excitement that they once felt towards following Jesus. What happens when someone "returns to their first love", speaking from my own experience, is that their theological complexes about the Bible and Christianity fade, becoming of secondary importance, and one becomes primarily focussed on pursuing a relationship with Christ rather than knowing about Him.

This is one thing that I have felt is happening to myself lately. It is a truly great and uplifting feeling. Of course there is still an element of anxiety of screwing things up between God and me but I believe that is something that is a natural part of any relationship that is precious to one self.

I would have once said that my faith is rather deep and complicated, with many twists and tangles. But it is interesting how I always come back to this comforting conclusion - I was never meant to understand God but to know Him personally. Just because I have become content with the fact that I will never understand God does not mean that I have stopped searching. I simply shifted my mode of what I am searching for. When one is building a relationship with another person the purpose is not to try and find out as much as possible about that person but to learn what pleases that person, what the person enjoys, and what makes that person feel loved etc. Knowing how many high grades one got in high school or learning of one's drinking habits is simply studying one's profile and does not indicate whatsoever how close you are to that person.

This goes along the lines of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22,23: "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many works of power? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; "depart from Me, those working lawlessness!"". This verse used to scare me cause I wasn't sure what position I was in with regards to having a relationship with Christ. The first thing to remember is, I guess, that we are only saved by the grace of God and to never take our relationship with Christ for granted.

Let the Word of God inspire you.

"O love Jehovah, all you saints of His; Jehovah preserves the faithful, and abundantly repays the proud doer. Be strong, and He will make your heart stronger, all you who hope in Jehovah." Psalm 31:23,24

Everyday I am realising more and more that blessed are those who have a simple, child-like faith in Jesus Christ.

Ryan Adams Live at the Bruce Mason Centre

The boys (Brook, Joel and Kieran) and I went on a very exciting road trip to see none other than Ryan Adams himself play with his band The Cardinals in Auckland last night (15th)!!! Matt was originally gonna come with us but he couldn't because he has glandular fever (please send your prayers to him for healing). All us boys who did go would definitely agree that It was the best show we had seen in a very long time. Joel and Kieran said that it was far better than Bob Dylan! I must say the show was musically orgasmic. Ryan's voice sounds even better live than on the CD, and that is after many recent, I'm sure exhausting, shows in Australia. That says something about the guy, surely. The live performance determines how good a band is in my opinion. He played a huge set that went for over 2 hrs! It was a very very decent show. The band was so tight. They didn't actually play that many songs but Jammed for a while on each song which was an amazing ride. The vocal harmonies were to die for, the solos were so tasty, the lap guitarist was pimpin it with his white Elton John suit jacket (I would say that he was in his late 50s)! He was awesome! We were all so excited simply about the fact that we were going to see the man himself with our naked eyes, Joel commented that he would've been happy even if Ryan had just played one song, it was that good! He started with Good Night Rose, which is the opening track to his new album Easy Tiger. It was truly amazing. I hadn't heard the album yet and I had been getting mixed comments about it from people but when I heard that song live it fully convinced me that the album is a must have. Ryan Adams is definitely one of the best songwriters in the world. If you haven't heard his stuff yet I strongly recommend that you check him out. He is Rock n' Roll, he's badass Country, he's Ryan Adams. He is the man.


Here's a live clip of his song Come Pick Me Up off his first solo album Heart Breaker, which he released after his band "Whiskeytown" broke up. Check it out. It's a good tune. Catherine Popper (Hot) is still in the band here by the looks of it. I was slightly disappointed to find out that she had left The Cardinals before their Australasian tour...

Hellow again...

Hi guys. Sorry I haven't posted to this blog in a very long time... I have been rather busy lately and it has had to take the back seat for a while.

Anyway, lately I have been wondering whether or not to buy the book The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and I recently found a very interesting review on Amazon.com which pretty much covers my belief on the subject of "The God Delusion". Have a read of the review here.

I am starting to think whether the book is not worth spending the money on... I'm not sure. I thought it could be an interesting read anyway, but I have a suspicious feeling I am going to be disappointed realising Dawkins has nothing new to say on the subject... it is a very old discussion after all.

Random Thought for Today

"University" is quite an interesting word... is what I thought today, as I was cleaning up after my lunch. University... it sounds like it should be related to the "universe" in some way - university, universal, universeness, universia, universism, universige etc. I'm glad they didn't pick any of these words though, University is definitely the best out of that lot. Apparently the word comes from the Latin word universitas meaning "the whole". The Whole is a rather "universal" phrase, in the sense that it is related to the word "universe".

Then I thought, could it be that I, by studying at "University", am becoming more in touch with the universe? 'Tis an intriguing thought... considering that most of the time I'm there I feel like I'm in my own world. Maybe university is meant to get you in touch with your own "universe", and by gaining all this extra knowledge you diversify this "universe" with the goal of making it totally self-sufficient so that it can survive in isolation from all the other "universes". So basically university, whether you like it or not, teaches you the art of antisocialism. It is a conspiracy…

On that note, I'm not going to BP tonight so if you're planning on going don't bother looking for me, worrying about me or shedding a tear for me. I will be studying at home, rolling in the dangerous web of antisocialism...

A Brilliant Cause

In February 2006 at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), Dr. Larry Brilliant raised the issue of pandemic diseases and how we can wipe them off the face of the planet. He calls for global cooperation to seeking early detection and early response to all pandemics. He stresses that the only way of dealing with the new diseases - Smallpox, blindness, poliomyelitis, and bird flu etc - is to find them early and kill them before they spread.

His wish is to find a global early-warning system to protect the world from these sicknesses, and his proposed solution to is INSTEDD (International System for Total Early Disease Detection). It is an Internet based web-crawling system that will detect the smallest signs of a potential epidemic spread or suspicious symptoms in every area of the world, in 70 different languages or more! "Instead of a system that is owned by a government, lets find an early detection system that is freely available to anyone in the world in their own language" says Brilliant. "Let's make it transparent, non-governmental, not owned by any single country or company, housed in a neutral country with redundant back up and a different time zone, and a different continent… We’ll grow it as a moral force in the world, finding out those horrible things before anybody knows about them, and sending our response to them.”

Dr. Larry Brilliant won the 2006 TED Prize for this amazing project that will potentially transform the ways in which each country will interact with one another, and will step by step begin to make the world a safer place to live.

Check out his TED presentation for your self here, it’s definitely worth watching. Also you can take part in supporting this project by contacting TED at tedprize@ted.com.

The Spiritual Aspect of Music

This topic is so huge that it would be impossible to do it justice without exceeding at least 1500 words so I decided that I’m going to just throw out numerous ideas and hopefully get a discussion happening.

“Is music spiritual?” was the question that was raised when talking with a close friend of mine a few days ago. Can music have a negative or positive effect on people in a spiritual way, and can it be helped? Back in the 1970s, when Christians were far more conservative and legalistic, rock music was a “no-no” for Christians. Among the Christian circles, Rock music was thought of as evil music that would turn people away from Christ. However, if someone were to believe that today, that person would either be considered old-fashioned, outrageous or backward. The fact is, when it comes to judging certain music as having a good or bad influence on someone spiritually, it is not as clear-cut as some people make it out to be.

In discussing this it is important to know that Lucifer (Satan) was skilled in music. Thus it is reasonable to consider that he can use it as a tool for deception. Here are a few Biblical references to Lucifer’s relation to music. Ezekiel 28:13 (KJV) says:

“the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”

In that passage we see that God created Lucifer as a rather musical being, talented at the “tambourines” and “flutes” as the NIV Bible puts it. Also in Isaiah 14:11 (KJV), whilst describing Lucifer’s fall, it states:

“Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.”

The Living Bible translation of this passage reads:

“Your might and power are gone; they are buried with you. All the pleasant music in your palace has ceased; now maggots are your sheet, worms your blanket.”

Theologians have come to assume that Lucifer, before the fall, lead the other angels in glorifying and worshipping God through music, since he had authority in heaven as a cherub (Ezekiel 28:14). Gregory B. Dill, a student of theology at Tyndale Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, after thoroughly studying the previously mentioned passages, he states, “Music, I believe, has a twofold purpose. To glorify God or not, it’s as simple as that. As we have seen, music was initially created for that purpose up until Satan’s rebellion. What he has done with music from that point on becomes a whole other issue.” (source)

I would consider music to be a vessel for spiritual activity, however, the effect it can have on someone, in my opinion, whether it be negative or positive, depends on how the person relates to it, or how involved that person allows himself to become. We know that the divinity of music was not affected by Lucifer’s fall as it has been used to glorify God before, and ever since. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples where music embodies the evil desires of people such as hate, murder, sexual immoralities and suicide, but how much this has an effect on someone is determined by how much they let it effect them, much like any other temptation the devil uses to corrupt us. Could it be though, that the devil may be extra cunning in the way he deceives people through music, since it is in his area of expertise? It maybe for this very reason that Christians became so cautious of such music that sounded like they may have been inspired by negative emotions. In this case religious legalism can be seen as wise discernment, but is it necessary to go so far as to avoid a certain style of music all together? Can music affect our character without us being aware of it? If so should we not be more careful when choosing which music to listen to? Is it not only wise to let our choices be guided by our understanding of the consequences?

Music has the power to emphasize certain situations dramatically, with its incredible ability to stir up emotion. Almost every Hollywood movie would not survive without the emotional enhancement the music brings to each scene (with the exception of Castaway). There is no doubt that music has an incredible power of affecting people emotionally. Judas Priest, a Heavy Metal band from the 1980s, was accused many times for the number of incidents where their fans committed suicide as a result of listening to their music. Another interesting question is, why does it take a certain type of person to proudly blast Eminem on their car stereo for everyone to hear?

How are we to judge certain types of music as being healthy or unhealthy? Can music be called evil or divine? If so, in what context can it be described as evil? Can the text (lyrics) make a song good or evil? Is there such a thing as evil instrumental music? Are there certain types of music we should be cautious of, or even avoid? Some Christians claim that they can see God’s beauty in the music of Tool (who’s drummer, Danny Carey, practices astral projection, and sets his drums up in the shape of a pentagram every time he plays – a band I would consider as being heavily involved in the occult). Is this healthy? Would God speak through music that was not written to glorify Him?

What are your views on the spiritual aspect of music?

Blasphemous Entertainment

I found this Street Fighter-style Bible game where you choose a Bible character and fight against another. While this game is entertaining at first, it is pretty borderline blasphemous (in my opinion)... I have to say playing Jesus was too much for me. My sense of guilt overcame me and I had to stop. I think I'll be doing some serious repenting tonight...

In spite of all my shame I can't help but share the game with you. As much as this would be making a brother stumble, it would be a waste to not mention it at all (besides it was quite a find!).

Bible Fight

Note: apparently there's a cheat code that enables you to play as God! ... don't do it.

A Very Sad Attempt

This debate was mentioned at the Think Christian website. It interested me enough that I decided to check it out for myself at YouTube. The result was a rather disappointing one. I was not impressed with either side of the argument. I found it to be a very sad and unimportant attempt at debating the "big question". My first disappointment was the embarrassingly obvious flaws that I found in the points raised by the Christians: Ray Comfort using the "a painting has a painter" analogy as "evidence" of creation, when he could've saved himself a lot of embarrassment if he had presented it as a humble theory, and the weak and irrational attempt by Kirk Cameron at trying to disprove evolution (the crocoduck??? what the... !?). This way of explaining the "flaws" of the evolution theory is probably better suited to primary school kids. It is interesting how Cameron mentions that he "used to be" an Atheist and an Evolutionist, which implies that since he became a Christian he was enlightened to the Creationist theory... perhaps not so wise. What bothers me the most, actually, is the fact that Ray Comfort says before the debate in all confidence, "it is easy to prove God's existence... it can be done without the need of faith", well done there Mr. Comfort. Where did he find the courage to say something so bold when no one in history has ever been able to "prove" God's existence? I would like to have commended him for his courage but I really can't see it as anything other than mere stupidity. Proof is not the answer here - it is faith. Even non-believers know that Christianity is based on faith, so why go changing the message (1 Timothy 6:20-21)?

My disappointment, though, does not end with the Christians’ argument. The Atheists, in my opinion, did just as poor a job as their opposition in their attempt to argue plausibly. Their first claim was that we were all born Atheists and that we had to be taught to believe in God. While this is partly true the Bible never claims that we were born with knowledge of God. We must be taught to believe in God just as much as we needed to be taught to understand science, which apparently makes the God idea seem irrational. This merely exposes their world view and does not disprove God's existence. Just because we had to be taught that the "black hole" exists doesn't mean it was all made up, only the scientists really know whether it is there or not. In this same way it is unreasonable for a non-believer to claim that God doesn't exist when the believers claim that they have had an encounter with God. The other mistake on their part was the fact that they let their anger and frustration drive the argument (which is often what happens in these debates). This turns the argument into a personal issue rather than a rational, factual and level-headed presentation of their rebuttal. While the Christians presented ridiculous “signs of proof”, the Atheists became emotionally charged, they certainly did project a considerable amount of hatred towards someone they claim to not exist: “I’d rather go to hell than go to heaven and worship a megalomaniacal tyrant.” Kelly states in her conclusion that it is totally illogical to believe that God exists, however, she never proved that God doesn't exist, therefore only underlines her choice of belief. It isn't obvious that the Bible isn't true (contrary to Brian's claim that it is), and vice versa, that is one of the silliest statements that can ever be made.

A very futile argument and a big waste of time… but that's the nature of "good TV" I guess. They just don't know, and they should both admit it, so that people can make their own decisions. Whether we like it or not, the issue comes down to faith.

The original YouTube clip that I saw has been deleted but you can still check it out at the official ABC News website. The video is on the top right hand corner of the screen. This version is quite long though (approx 45-50mins - with ads!). It is possible to skip chapters if you lose patience.

Here’s another laughable debate. This time I have great respect for Richard Dawkins to not get fired up, when he had a perfect right to. Why is it that Bill O’Reilly, when he’s the interviewer, does most of the talking? O’Reilly hardly gives enough time for Dawkins to present his argument. This is probably because O’Reilly knows that he will get absolutely wasted by Dawkins’ superior intellect. The arrogance of O’Reilly is appalling, well done to Dawkins for keeping the respect.

Bill O'Reilly interviews Richard Dawkins

Am I Too Serious?

I was thinking about why I find it so difficult to write a humorous article. My first conclusion was that I am just not a funny person, which is, to an extent, probably true (I’ll let the people who know me to judge that one), however, I also thought about how I get really frustrated with people that do not know when to be serious… I have a friend that I have come to know quite closely over the past 5 years or so who was just that type of person: a person who did not know when to be serious – or should I say, he didn’t know when I wanted him to shut the (insert your choice of word here) up – his jokes/silliness quickly lost it’s humorous effect and became pure annoyance. Him and me are still good friends, though, I can only handle him in small doses.

Maybe the fact that I have a limited amount of tolerance for silliness ties in with my value for productiveness. I am by no means the most productive person I know, some people I know may class me as the opposite. I can be quite lazy sometimes, but I get frustrated if nothing seems to be getting done, when something obviously needs to be. I get frustrated when a substantial amount of time, effort and patience is put into something only to find that it comes to nothing.

My understanding is that only serious things have a lasting effect. Jokes get old until it eventually has no value, while serious subjects such as religion and philosophy (just as an example) will be discussed for centuries and get recorded in academic journals for others to examine in the future. Some may argue that good times with jokes and laughter, and fun with friends become memories of ultimate value, or the humorous character in a person finds its irreplaceable value in bringing entertainment and joy. While these are true, only when one can acknowledge it seriously as a necessity in human nature to have these things can it ever find its true value. In other words, the only way to find value in something is by taking it seriously.

Another friend of mine once mentioned to me that he gets disgusted with people who over value their own opinion, especially when a non-intellectual tries to come across as an intellectual. I hope he wasn’t referring to me when he made that statement, however, I cannot class myself as one or the other, that is not for me to judge, besides by what measure can one determine an intellectual? Does one have to be well educated with a certain strength in math or a similar academic subject? Does one have to speak well, with a wide vocabulary? Or does one only have to have good common sense and an ability to argue with substantial reason? Is there really a universal requirement to gain such a classification or is it measured against the judge’s own intellect? If so what does that say about the judge? Does he class himself as an intellectual?

Anyway, basically my point on writing this post was not to take a dig at my two friends but to seriously examine myself, and yes, I want you to take part in this examination and make your judgement, that is why I posted this on the internet (not really). As far as humour goes, in person I am one that enjoys a good joke, however, I find it hard to have respect for someone that only knows how to joke and cannot have a serious conversation. I get tired of these characters. I have a need for good dialogue from time to time.

I have heard someone say “we as human beings should not take ourselves so seriously”. There are two ways of looking at this statement. I would agree with it if it were directed against self-glorification, but I would also argue that some people need to take life more seriously, and therefore themselves, as everyone should know that life is not a party.

Anyway, there’s my meaningless rant about my intolerance towards silliness.

Have a great day.

- The Kyle

P.S. I’ve found that many girls don’t seem to like honest and deep conversations. They’d much rather flirt, and that, unfortunately, is not my strong point… so there goes my hope… (*sigh*).

The Kyle's Kingdom Will Be Terminated

I have had enough of my kingdom. I have decided to destroy it and begin building the Lords Kingdom instead, not in the form of a blog, however. This means that The Kyle's Kingdom blog will be deleted soon. I decided it was rather silly to have two blogs when I barely have the time to write one, well, laziness may have played a part in it also, for that I have no excuse.

I will start writing to this blog again soon.

My apologies for the lack of new material lately.

- The Kyle

Quest for Immortality

Lately I have been hearing a lot of chatter about immortality and increasing our lifespan. The above image is an 18th Century Painting and calligraphy from a large format Chinese album illustrating stories of Taoist immortals -people who sought or "achieved" immortality. It is titled "A Keepsake from the Cloud Gallery/Yuntai Xianrui". The text concerns a Taoist adept, Wang Qiao. In Taoist practice, a set of procedures and principles meant to prolong human life. Taoists used such methods as "Outer Alchemy", consisted of the chemical production of elixirs that were meant to be swallowed, and "Inner Alchemy", which relied on symbolic meditation to achieve the same end, to acquire immortality.

But it is not only the Chinese or religious people that search for immortality. It seems to be that scientists are looking deeply into ways of minimalising or exterminating the process of decay in human cells, thus enabling us to age slower and ultimately stop aging. It is understood by biomedical gerontologists that this is a possible or highly likely reality that will become perfected over generations to come. They think of it as their duty to look deeper into this project so that our future generations can benefit from it.

So the question is "why immortality?" Is it really going to be beneficial for our future generations to be able to live longer, say 1000 years or more? Or is it just going to increase more issues, such as mass population or environmental consumption and damage? Check out this TED presentation by bio-gerontologist Aubrey de Grey (not to be mistaken with "Gandalf the Grey"... ) on anti-aging.

Keith Ward Speaks Up For Christianity

I read an article in the New Zealand Listener Magazine about a week ago called In The Name Of God. It is an article where a British philosopher-theologian named Keith Ward (picture right) argues that Christianity is misunderstood to be dangerous when it is more likely that it is "hijacked by the fanatical and the intolerant". It is refreshing to see that Richard Dawkins, who calls Christianity "a creationism-believing sect of fundamentalist hypocrites and hillbillies" actually gets a bit of a thrashing and is left looking like the one who is "intolerant and small-minded" for a change.

Ward commissioned a rebuttal through a small book called "Is Religion Dangerous?" He states in this book that while religion can be dangerous, it is "also one of the most powerful forces in the world for good." Philip Matthews, from Listener, writes that, "The theme of Ward's book is that Christianity is a perfect system frequently corrupted by human imperfection. At the same time, though, the major religions also contain the capacity to expose such corruption and call people to account. If you do a basic body-count of the 20th century, Ward suggests, then atheistic belief systems – communism, fascism – are infinitely more dangerous.”

In the book Is Religion Dangerous? Ward recounts the parts of Dawkins’ religion-bashing TV series, The Root Of All Evil where Dawkins interviews fundamentalist church leaders who teach six-day creation, which is considered a big crime in the scientific arena. Ward, questioning Dawkins' motives, thinks that, "even if Dawkins is right about evolution, wouldn’t a liberal attitude permit the existence of these churches? Shouldn’t he even encourage them, on the grounds that their opposition to scientific dogma might turn up some overlooked truth?" But “Dawkins chose to ridicule them instead,” says Ward.

While Dawkins is eager to attack Christianity, or religion as a whole, for decaying human thinking, Ward encourages people to take a close look at religion for what it really is. “Atheists,” Ward says, “are much rarer in the ground among philosophers than they used to be” not to say that philosophy departments are riddled with Christians, but that “most of them are sympathetic.” He finds it “ironic and strange” that Dawkins would want to launch his strongest attacks on religion at this day in age. In Wards opinion, Dawkins’ philosophy is old-fashioned, that it is comparable to that of the Victorian era, “particularly around the idea that faith and science are incompatible.”

Dawkins and his contemporaries, who are listed here as sharing similar views: Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), Lewis Wolpert (Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast), and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great – out in June); are particularly bothered by the fact that religion refuses to shuffle off the stage and quietly die (you can view Dan Dennett’s response to Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life at the TED website here, and Rick Warren’s TED presentation here). Although that seems like a harsh speculation, Jesus has been bothering people ever since he was born. It is not comfortable to have to serve, it’s not comfortable to have to love others, and it is not comfortable to become the least in society. The argument has definitely gone far deeper than the simple concern for one’s comfort however, that is, I believe, where it began (Matthew 2:3, Matthew 19:16-22).

It excites me when I see articles like this discussing religion because it means that people are thinking about God, and it is only a matter of time that they will begin contemplating their purpose, and the meaning of life. No wonder Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life sold over 30 million copies. It is only through our choices that we gain salvation, therefore, give them the Gospel to seriously ponder on I say. Meanwhile we Christians must always do our utmost to practice what we preach.

Frank Ritchie also has a post up on his blog about the Listener article if you'd like to check it out.

The Wisdom in Contemplating Death

According to Martin Luther, to contemplate death is to prepare oneself for the time of death, but it must be done at the right time - "invite death into our presence when it is still at a distance and not on the move.” He stresses that we must not banish the thought of death out of our minds when we are far away from it, this is the time that we must prepare our selves for it, as we will not be able to contain the thought of death at the last hour of our lives. He says, at the time of death, “[the devil] fills our foolish human nature with the dread of death while cultivating a love and concern for life, so that burdened with such thoughts man forgets God, flees and abhors death, and thus, in the end, is and remains disobedient to God.”

I think a lot of people (especially those who are ignorant to the Gospel) would be afraid of death and would rather not think about it. I think it is important to be content with it as death is a certainty for every living being. I think the most common reason why death is a terrifying thought is because we hate the thought of losing all the things that we love in life. That would be my first fear. It isn’t the fear of judgment for my sins, the fear of a painful death (maybe a little… ha ha), or the fear of not having an afterlife. The kind of fears you have are determined by what stage you are in life. In my life I am more in danger of being consumed by materialistic gain and a comfortable lifestyle. I’m not quite comfortable with the idea of all my achievements in life going to waste. It is easier to be at peace with death when you have nothing to lose. But even if one was completely careless of losing his possessions, he may possess a fear of there not being an afterlife or possibly going to hell, for example. As people become more and more experienced in life (or get older in other words) they become more solidified in their beliefs. Therefore, if one has a reasonably open approach to death most of his life he may be more at ease at the time of death, compared to one that has shunned the thought most of his life.

We all know that this life is only temporary. However, not everybody is certain that there is such a thing as “life after death”. I think a lot of people would like to believe there is an afterlife, but my question is “is it important to know this now?” I personally believe there is a life after death through what I have read in the Bible (e.g. Genesis 1:1; Matthew 13:42-43, 25:30, 34; Luke 23:43), but many interpret these things in different ways. If you find these things important you may want to take a look at this Q&A page. It may help you in your searching for the truth in this matter. But if it were so important for us to know about what exactly happens once we die then maybe Jesus would have spelled it out to us word for word. Jesus told us all that we needed to know (John 15:15). The important thing to know is that through Christ’s blood that was shed for us we are free of judgement, saved from the wrath of God. We will be saved from “hell” (which is basically a place that NO ONE wants to be – a place of complete separation from the loving Father) if we surrender our lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This raises another question. As much as it is true that we are saved by the blood of Christ, are we incapable of losing our seal of salvation after gaining it once? I personally find it a little un-easy to accept this kind of theology, as it would mean that once we were saved we can do whatever we pleased… and this does not sit right with me. I would like to think salvation is something that is as fragile as a relationship. Although God is all-merciful and our sins cannot hold us back from Him, we are absolutely capable of walking away from God, through our free will. God will not force His salvation upon us. Therefore, if we do not want to live with God we do not have to. But only a fool would seriously want to walk away from God by his own free will… I would go as far as to consider this a curse, and only by this curse can one surely go to hell.

However, it is not by fear that we must live but by the Joy that we are Children of God (Romans 8:16). We have no need to fear death as Christ has promised us salvation from eternal damnation (John10:9). We will never be parted from God if not by our own free will. So we must pray and build our relationships with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pray that we may learn to love Him more everyday, and He will allow us to overcome death, just as He did.

“With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.” Romans 10:10

Something to Ponder on During Easter

A Manifold Resurrection
Why the risen Jesus met people in five different ways--and still does.
John Witte Jr. | posted 4/05/2007 08:19AM

From January to April, we live between the times—between Christmas and Easter, Bethlehem and Golgotha, Incarnation and Resurrection. What strikes me about the Gospel accounts of Christmas and Easter are the varied ways in which God works. In the Incarnation, God masterminds the announcement of the good news of the birth of Christ. He sends prophets well in advance to foretell the coming of the Messiah. He commissions an angel to announce the birth to a virgin. He sets a new star in the heavens to summon wise men from the East. He sends a company of singing angels to pronounce Christ's birth to the shepherds in the fields. He quickens Anna the prophetess to declare the arrival of the Messiah on his day of circumcision. Though Christ was born in a lowly manger, there was nothing quiet about his birth.
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Quite the contrary with the Resurrection. Yes, an angel comes to roll away the stone from Jesus' tomb, but this grand miracle takes place with little pomp and circumstance. No angels sing hymns in the heavens, no stars appear in the East, no wise men set out on pilgrimage, no prophetess pronounces the good news. For 40 days after the Resurrection, Christ flits in and out of space and time, appearing only occasionally to a few followers. Then he ascends quietly into heaven.

What is even more striking is how his followers consistently fail to recognize him, and, more importantly, the variety of ways in which God makes it possible for them to apprehend him.

Mary Magdalene, weeping outside the empty tomb, has to be called by name before she recognizes Christ. Before that, she thought he was a gardener.

Ten disciples, gathered in a room in sorrow and fear, need Christ to breathe his peace on them before they recognize him. Before that, they thought he was a ghost.

Two travelers from Emmaus walked with Christ and talked with him about salvation history all the way to their city, but recognized him only when he held up some bread and blessed it. Before that, they thought he was simply a learned traveler.
Thomas, the great doubter, wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes of the Cross and his hand in the pierced side of Christ before accepting him. Prior to that, he thought Christ was a fraud.

And Peter, that enigmatic rock of the church, recognized Christ only after he performed the miracle of filling Peter's nets with fish. Then Peter had to sit through a threefold cross-examination as to whether he really believed in the resurrected Lord whom he had just denied: "Simon Barjona, do you love me?" "Do you love me?" "Do you love me?"

In these Gospel accounts, we see five ways in which Christ is experienced and understood after the Resurrection: A calling by name. A delivery of peace. A sacramental vision. A physical encounter. A miracle and conversation with God. I see both a budding psychology and a budding ecclesiology at work in these passages.


How Christ Meets Us Personally

The Gospels record these stories and encounters of the newly resurrected Christ, in part, for our spiritual comfort.
There is a little bit of Mary Magdalene in all of us: times when we swoon with pain and grief and need God's call to comfort us. There is a little bit of the Emmaus travelers in all of us: times when we talk idly about divine matters but see God only in the sublime simplicity of the sacrament. There is a little bit of the huddled disciples in all of us: times when our faith puts us in jeopardy and fear, and we need God's peace to be breathed on us. There is a little bit of Thomas in all of us: times that we are so overcome by doubt and skepticism that we need God's touch to assure and anchor us. And there is a little bit of Peter in all of us: times when we deny and betray our Lord and need a miracle to remind us of God's majesty or a divine conversation to move us to confess our faith unflinchingly.

The Gospel narratives of the resurrected Christ meet us at different stages in life and assure us that God comes to us in various ways, accommodating our pain, fear, doubt, abstraction, and pride as needed.


How Christ Meets Us in Church

The Gospels also record these stories for our corporate edification, to help us appreciate the diversity of ways in which we meet Christ in the church.

Christ can be experienced in multiple forms and multiple forums, and we may respond to him individually and collectively in multiple ways. Some are called by name. Some are touched by God. Some receive the breath of the Holy Spirit. Some experience miracles and hierophanies. Some see God in the sacraments.
Each type of divine encounter and experience creates its own liturgy, community, and tradition of confession, creed, and catechism.

Some traditions emphasize a personal calling, a moment of rebirth before membership is sealed. Some focus on an event, an icon, or a site or rite of divine vision. Some emphasize the pulpit, the homiletic exposition of God's Word. Some emphasize the altar, the Eucharistic celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. All are legitimate ways to serve and celebrate Christ, and all are legitimate foundations for understanding what the church is.
The Gospel stories of Christmas and Easter remind us of our fundamental unity in Christ. They also remind us of the plurality of ways God makes himself known and the variety of ways Christ is experienced by his people.

Link to original article.

Resentment is Self-inflicted

If you are anything like me you’ll understand what it is like to let bitterness fester in your heart for no justifiable reason. I am an introvert by nature and I tend to internalise my emotions. If I walk away from a situation of un-resolved conflict or if I felt hurt by someone, I would juggle certain thoughts in my head until it becomes a complete bitter chaos. This often happens when I am left alone for long periods of time, as those are the times that I switch into deep thought, but I also need these times to gain energy as I am an introvert. I need time to let my thoughts process in order to find a proper resolution.

I know some people that can let their frustrations out by swearing, physically beating something or reactively confronting (I call them “reactive” people). These things do nothing for me. I have a need to find a logical solution to help me come to terms with my thoughts. I used to be of quite a reactive nature when I was younger (I used to get rather violent at primary school) but I have now become surprisingly internalised and would dare not react to hardly anything anymore. I wouldn’t hurt a flea. There is definitely a necessity for my mind to process the conflicting thoughts in my head. If I react before I come to terms with where I stand, the outcome would be very messy, the few people that know me very well would know this.

All my life I have admired the people that can somehow swallow their pride, turn the other cheek and overcome the most unjust situations without any sign of resentment. My parents have been tremendous roll models when it comes to humility, servant hood and strength. I couldn’t ask for a more compassionate and joyful mother, or a father more loyal, more capable of bringing justice in the most merciful way. I have seen the glory of God shine through the way they love others, a love never forced or pretended. Jesus was the most selfless person who ever lived, and he’s supposed to be living in me… something quite unbelievable knowing how self-centred I can be. The truth is despite my great up bringing and my admiration for Jesus, I am still human, still caught up in the sinful desires that humans have.

I have let myself resent the people that never deserved it, simply because I am still not in complete control of my emotions. I feel hurt by many things, many people, but I also hurt others too…I’m sure. I think the only way I can bring a healthy conclusion to the resentful thoughts in my head about others is to start looking at them in the way God might see them. I think every person in the world is beautiful in God’s eyes, no matter how corrupt they are, because he sees them through Jesus. If we want to see a change take place in our thinking we need to make that choice. As we choose to follow Jesus we must also choose to not be bitter. I think we are fully capable of falling away from salvation through our own choices. If not, what is free will? Resentment is self-inflicted and must be self-resolved. No one else will do that for you. Change takes place through our own choice. Everyday I need to make a decision between these two choices, Jesus or me.

The Importance of Christian Fellowship

I have for a while been pondering on the idea of “church” and why we meet every Sunday (or for my church – every Thursday and Saturday night). I had many questions circulating in my mind about whether it is important for us to keep meeting and running services like this at a regular basis or not. For a person like me who has pretty much been attending church “religiously” all his life it is easy to just go through the motions and not really think twice or question anything about why we keep going. If someone had asked me about 4 years ago why I go to church, I’m pretty sure I would’ve said something naïve like “to meet with God, of course”, without thinking anything of the absurd statement I just made. First of all it would’ve been a completely dishonest thing for me to say, and secondly, why can’t we meet with God outside of church? Does God only dwell in the closed up space of this fellowship we call church?

I attended the Thursday service at Blueprint (www.blueprintchurch.com) this week and Jonny Gilling’s message really caught me out of surprise. I had been very anti-church lately and ultimately anti-Christian, something I am not exactly proud of, but I guess I could say somehow Jonny’s message reminded me of the things that I had forgotten. It wasn’t so much the topic he was speaking on but just a very small section of his message stuck out to me. It was somewhere along the lines of “church, this place where we meet and seek the presence of God and interact with each other, is like the first 10mins of a rugby game. It is only the beginning of the 90-minute-long game. Unfortunately we have grown accustomed to just attending and leaving church, only experiencing the mere 10% of what we are called to be as Christians, and that 10% is what we have settled to live for.” (that is definitely in my own wording but hopefully I was able to vaguely cover his point).

I have been thinking of church as the preparation stage before we go out into the world and spread the word. I think it still is to an extent but I think I have come to a deeper understanding of what this means and how we should do this. Going to church every Sunday isn’t going to prepare you for anything if you don’t have a vision. Also the preparation doesn’t happen in your mind but your heart, a kind of learning progress that is much harder to comprehend, as you have no control over, or clear understanding of it. By interacting with other Christians, making friends, and fellowshipping we learn from each other. Things that you can’t learn from a book, hearing the things that real people go through. The things we read in the Bible are put into context through our understanding of the reality of mankind, humans, real people.

The way a church service is run, it is designed in the kind of way so that we are able to put God in the focal point – Singing songs to GOD, having someone share a testimony about GOD’s work in their life, and hear the word being preached about what we think GOD is saying to the church etc. This is the place where we are taught about the wondrous being of God and how we are able to take part in His ultimate plan, and the interaction with one another connects us to the greater body of Christ. THAT, I believe, is what church is all about.

The constant exposure to God’s revelation of the Word and the unity that is achieved in taking part in the corporate worship, exaltation and adoration of God should fill us up to the point where our hearts are overflowing with compassion and love. When the community feels dry and unfulfilling, maybe it’s time we re-examined what our personal purposes are in going to church. Because I absolutely do think that church is a place where we build each other up and encourage each other. We have to be outward thinkers with the true compassion of the Lord for us to be strong enough to help others as well as our selves.

There’s a quote from a recent family movie called “Barnyard” that goes like this:

“A strong man will stick up for himself, but an even stronger man sticks up for others.”

I think the cheesy quote has a good point. Maybe each one of us should be aiming to be that “stronger man”. No longer looking to the church to be supported but to be the support for the church. The true servant heart is only born out of this kind of outward view, out to strengthen others and make a difference in peoples lives.

"As the Father loved Me, I also loved you; continue in My love. If you keep My commandments you will continue in My love, as I have kept My Father's commandments and continue in His love. I have spoken these things to you that My joy may abide in you, and your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I loved you. Greater love than this has no one, that anyone should lay down his soul for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his lord does. But I called you friends, because all things which I heard from My Father I made known to you. You have not chosen Me, but I chose you out and planted you, that you should go and should bear fruit, and your fruit remain, that whatever you should ask the Father in My name, He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another." - Jesus (John 15:9-17)

Is "Pride" Really Evil?

There is a common understanding among people that any form of “pride” that manifests itself through a person is unattractive. Pride is a type of characteristic that is frowned upon in our society. Especially in religious circles, where it is common knowledge that denying oneself is the only path to righteousness or enlightenment, pride is something to be avoided at all times. Some Christians are taught that if one sees a form of “pride” developing in a brother it is one’s “duty” to stop it in it’s tracks, as if it were paying him a favour, or “helping him not to stumble.” Could it be that pride was a gift from God that has been misunderstood and abused by people, like sex; through which it’s true meaning has been distorted?

In order to really understand whether this is the case or not we must first identify the true meaning of the word “pride.” Here is the English Dictionary’s explanation of the word:

Pride – noun: feeling of self-worth or esteem; excessive self-esteem; a sense of one’s own importance etc.

It is a necessity for human survival to have a sense of self-worth. In the lowest stages of a man’s life it is the sense of self-worth that keeps him persevering. I know that my self-esteem is a product of the love that I have received, and still receive, from God, family, and friends. Without their love and support I would have much less confidence in myself, and the complete absence of self-esteem, I believe, can ultimately result in suicide.

Nathaniel Branden, a teacher/writer of objectivist ethics and philosophies, has made a great point on how we misunderstand what true pride is (in this particular case it is referred to as ‘intellectual pride’). Here is a passage taken from one of his objectivist essays, Mental Health versus Mysticism:

“Intellectual pride is not – as the mystics preposterously imply it to be – a pretence at omniscience or infallibility. On the contrary, precisely because man must struggle for knowledge, precisely because the pursuit of knowledge requires effort, the men who assume this responsibility properly feel pride.

Sometimes, colloquially, pride is taken to mean a pretence at accomplishments one has in fact not achieved. But the braggart, the boaster, the man who affects virtues he does not possess, is not proud; he has merely chosen the most humiliating way to reveal his humility.

Pride is one’s response to ones power to achieve values, the pleasure one takes in one’s own efficacy. And it is this that mystics hold as evil.” (The Virtue of Selfishness – Ayn Rand, pg 44)

Branden states that real pride is the ultimate reward one receives from one’s achievements. This can be achieved by any form of productive work from completing an essay to cleaning the house. The kind of “pride” that is seen as unattractive is the dishonest pride that is not earned, and this is often born out of insecurity and low self-esteem, quite the opposite to the true meaning of pride.

Christians see pride as a threat to the compassionate heart, one that encourages self-ambition and gives little room for the consideration of others that maybe less fortunate. As an essential part of Christian value is to give to the poor and feed the hungry, it is believed that one must think of his/her own needs as a secondary priority. Albert Schweitzer, a man responsible for starting one of the first hospitals in the Congo, once said, “The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.” This value of serving others as being the key to a life of fulfilment and happiness is becoming a popular understanding even outside religious circles today, and it stems from the acts and teachings of Jesus.

Well then does pride have a place in the life of true happiness? Is the feeling of self-worth and achievement a selfish indulgence that should be completely absent from a life of fulfilment? On the other hand, if there were no rewards given to us for our good works would we see any point in continuing? Nathaniel Branden states this time in his essay The Psychology of Pleasure, something of interest concerning these questions:

“One of the hallmarks of a man of self-esteem, who regards the universe as open to his effort, is the profound pleasure he experiences in the productive work of his mind; his enjoyment in life is fed by his unceasing concern to grow in knowledge and ability – to think, to achieve, to move forward, to meet new challenges and overcome them – to earn the pride of a constantly expanding efficacy.” (The Virtue of Selfishness – Ayn Rand, pg 73)

Here Branden points out the need of pride as a reward to one’s productive work. There is a necessity in human nature for a sense of appreciation, a reward that affirms the value of the productive work. If a painter’s painting is received and embraced as a good work of art would that give the painter an incentive to carry on painting? Or on the other hand if his painting is rejected and criticised severely what would his purpose be to carry on painting? Possibly the belief he has in his ability to paint better works? Or the pride he holds in himself as a unique artist who paints art for the sake of art? Either way it is the belief he has in himself, his ability and quality of his product that keeps him on the task. Man produces great things once he has acquired an understanding of his own self-worth.

From the Christian point of view, it is the understanding that God loves us, cares for us, and wants the best for us that gives us the purpose to live. The pride that we have in our selves as the Children of God gives us self-esteem. And the understanding of our importance to God that gives us our self-assurance. Our lives are based on the relationship that we have with God; therefore our lives are shaped by doing the things that please Him. If we did not hold pride in this relationship, if we were ashamed of it, we will not be bothered to build it. We could not call ourselves believers, and definitely not followers, of God.

The truth is pride is something that every person with self-esteem possesses and needs. To correct one’s prideful character is to damage one’s self-esteem. Too often we have mistaken humility with self-deprecation, and too often we have misjudged insecurity for pride. As Christians we have to be careful that we don’t become legalistic altruists. As Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) we ought to learn to love ourselves first in order to really know how to love others. The pride that we take in ourselves as truly valuable beings of God will enable us to learn to see others in that way also.


© 2007 A. S. Tate