Monday, July 30, 2007

Learning from Buddhism

Most churches in Hong Kong concentrated their efforts on getting people to become believers but number has never been the most important thing for Jesus (who had only 12 disciples). We should learn to have quality in Christians instead of quantity. (?Like Buddhism) Read the whole post here.

Now we have got a huge percentage of Christians not ready to bear the cross for Christ. (Oh No! These are for super Christians, I'm just a layperson!) There has never been this category-- lay ordinary Christians, EVER! Though I doubt if all believers of Buddhism are really of high quality?? hmm... Here's an excerpt...

基督教無處不在——教會學校、教會醫院、教會書店,但港人對基督教所知幾多?全港首名女牧師李清詞,論盡基督教近年在港的發展,狠批部分教會只做門面工夫,一味辦佈道會招收信徒

,卻忽略栽培,又指教會積極辦學只為「打響招牌」,已失去基督教辦學精神;相比之下,佛教發展走踏實路線,更為港人受落,促請教會向佛教多多學習。

近年港人崇尚「量化」指標,原來教會亦面對同樣問題。李清詞接 受本報專訪時指出,近年不少教會以招收信徒為目標,大搞門面工夫和佈道會,但對信徒缺乏栽培和關懷,令人失望﹕「教會覺得要開佈道會才功德圓滿,但招收新 信徒絕非教會的唯一目標……我相信耶穌也不重視人數,3年間只招收12名門徒,而且12個都麻麻懐,但也繼續用(差遣)。」

...李清詞又批評,部分教會活動過於形式化,例如教會「靜修營」安 排密密麻麻的時間表,根本沒有靜修時間;講道時依書直說,「講1000次『五餅二魚』(聖經故事),未必人人愛聽!」她反而欣賞佛教發展較踏實,更為港人 受落﹕「每年的年初三,車公廟外大排長龍,信眾排隊衝入廟,出來的時候也好開心,但你何時見過基督徒排隊衝入教會,他們聽道之後出來,更一臉倦容!」李清 詞鼓勵教會放下包袱,學習佛教「重質不重量」的發展方向。

Forgiveness again... (continued)

As I have mentioned last week, I have got this huge problem with forgiveness.

Thanks for all the good friends who have listened to the whole story and gave me their support. =)

And then on Saturday, God answered my prayers. A friend from overseas sent me a message through MSN (even when I was "invisible" again!) and then we chatted. She was the only one who gave me a reasonable suggestion on how to do this. =) I had already had a idea, but still no idea on how to implement the details. Apart from encouragement, support, she gave me some very good suggestions.

Thank God and thank you. (You know who you are, I have already thanked you through MSN.)

It's so obviously one of God's work again. For me to be able to trust God to be a better justice-maker and practise forgiveness. And also give me instructions on exactly how to do it. =) Let's hope I can forget this soon. =) (For details, pls refer to my previous post. Don't be disappointed if you found it too vague, it was deliberately so. If you want details, email me or call me or MSN me. haha!)

Friday, July 27, 2007

Forgiveness again...

God spoke to me through this sermon (in Cantonese) TODAY, I'll try to organise my thoughts and write more about it later...

It is so easy to think forgiveness comes automatically when you're a Christian, I think it is something one needs to struggle with and practise...

Here're some of my older posts on forgiveness, though this time it is a bit different. :) Read the whole posts or my comments on those here...

Forgiveness

Abrupt Awakening

"How to tell her in words, then, what he had learn himself by pain and grace? That only by forgiveness could she forget -- and that forgiveness was not a single act, but a matter of constant practice."

I told God I'm so angry, how can I forget and forgive? It's only through forgiving, one can forget...

"Forgiveness is an act of faith. By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am. By forgiving another, I release my own right to get even... Such a decision involves risk, of course: the risk that God may not deal with the person as I would want. (e.g. Prophet Jonah.)"

That's exactly what I want justice. And that's what I'm trying to release now...

On the subject of Short Mission trips again

I've been wanting to share this essay with you since I read it, but I have just found it on the web.

(A pity it's in Chinese) And excerpt... the whole essay is very good and worth reading... go and read the whole thing if you can.

一 般 呼 籲 人 參 加 短 宣 隊 的 重 點 , 是 強 調 在 短 宣 期 間 廣 傳 福 音 , 完 成 耶 穌 基 督 給 予 教 會 的 大 使 命 。 因 此 參 加 者 最 關 注 的 是 在 工 場 上 有 沒 有 佈 道 的 機 會 , 有 沒 有 人 決 志 信 主 。 這 種 功 利 意 識 亦 直 接 影 響 接 待 短 宣 隊 的 宣 教 士 , 他 們 要 安 排 容 易 看 見 果 效 的 活 動 , 以 滿 足 參 加 者 的 消 費 心 態 , 而 且 節 目 要 精 彩 多 元 , 因 為 大 部 分 參 加 者 已 是 「 短 宣 老 手 」 , 一 般 跨 文 化 佈 道 活 動 已 沒 有 新 鮮 感 。

在 非 常 有 限 的 時 間 空 間 內 , 當 短 宣 隊 把 焦 點 放 在 宣 講 福 音 之 上 , 就 往 往 不 能 耐 心 聆 聽 和 觀 賞 神 在 不 同 地 域 中 的 作 為 。 要 是 短 宣 隊 的 目 的 是 要 主 動 地 施 予 和 分 享 , 就 容 易 忽 略 被 動 的 學 習 和 領 受 。 其 實 我 們 在 異 文 化 的 環 境 下 , 可 以 學 習 的 功 課 很 多 。 在 文 化 衝 擊 底 下 , 我 們 可 以 重 新 檢 視 自 己 的 文 化 盲 點 。 港 人 重 效 率 而 輕 人 情 , 重 知 識 而 輕 智 慧 , 重 活 動 而 輕 靜 修 , 重 幹 勁 而 輕 軟 弱 , 重 成 就 而 輕 失 敗 。 我 們 很 難 理 解 , 為 什 麼 主 耶 穌 要 我 們 學 習 小 孩 子 的 樣 式 , 因 為 我 們 的 傳 統 不 鼓 勵 我 們 在 軟 弱 失 敗 無 能 者 的 經 歷 中 深 入 體 會 神 的 大 能 。

...

在 實 踐 方 面 , 短 宣 隊 的 人 數 越 多 , 接 待 單 位 便 越 勞 累 , 參 加 者 亦 更 容 易 躲 在 自 己 人 的 背 後 , 雖 然 身 處 外 地 , 但 仍 被 困 於 香 港 文 化 內 。 時 間 短 促 亦 容 易 令 參 加 者 誤 解 當 地 文 化 , 以 偏 概 全 。 因 此 短 宣 隊 需 要 強 調 人 數 的 限 制 和 時 間 的 延 長 ; 此 外 , 同 一 組 合 的 短 宣 隊 重 複 探 訪 同 一 個 地 方 , 可 與 當 地 人 建 立 較 長 遠 的 關 係 , 達 致 進 一 步 的 交 流 。 使 徒 保 羅 重 複 地 巡 迴 服 事 , 同 時 亦 派 遣 同 工 長 期 留 守 某 些 地 方 , 都 可 以 成 為 我 們 的 參 照 。

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity

I found this book while looking around on the Regent College website, and saw a course on Christian writing taught by this writer.

These are some excerpts I found, seemed to be a good book.

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

For some more excerpts, see here and here.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Christian Wallpaper

I just found some great wallpaper on the web, it's in Korean, but I think they're really beautiful, see here.

Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan


I didn't know these people who have been kidnapped were Christians on a short mission trip...Until today, I thought they were just volunteers from some humanitarian organisation...

Let's all pray for them.

And I found this piece of news about the underground Afghan church.

"If the war had not happened, if the Americans and foreigners had not come to Afghanistan, we would not have this freedom and we would not have this office," says Ahmedi, who was fearful of giving his full name.

I guess this is the one good thing that George W. Bush did... (However, the case is not the same in Palestine. Or did they just turned underground?? hmm...)

I can't find the English version of this (with more info compared to what I can find on the web), and I can't read the Korean words on the website, so here's the Chinese version...

[外電消息]據韓國Christian Today報導,為數廿三人的韓國短宣隊日前遭塔利班武裝組織綁架,阿富汗官員也證實了有關消息。報導指出,這批年約20歲和30歲的韓國青年正在當地傳福音,在坎大哈坐巴士前往額布爾的途中被劫持。

據悉,韓國總統盧武鉉得知此事後立即召集外交通商部、國情院等召開緊急會議,商討採取應急的處理辦法。

這個短宣隊是由韓國京畿道盆唐(Bundang)泉水教會所差出。由十八人組成,13日出發至當地,但稍後19日早上與他們失去了聯絡,原本計劃是23日回國,目前在教會正為他們的安全而禱告。

泉水教會近年來積極在阿富汗傳教,在當地已經建立了一所幼兒園,而這次短宣隊也是透過他們在醫院和幼兒園等場所展開服務活動。據了解,短宣隊和當地韓國傳教士等廿三人在19日乘坐大巴行駛的途中被塔利班武裝人員劫持。

而韓國當地教會、差傳聯合會諸如OMF、GP傳教會等,還有KWMA(韓國世界宣教協會)的主要團體的領袖召開緊急會議,商討如何處理此次危機,他們強調,「發生這樣的事,但傳教的工作是不會退卻,可是,彼此要有一個教訓,前往危險的地區更要謹慎行事。」

部分家屬的反應,「沒有那麼大的懼怕感,只有靠神禱告」,並常到教會禱告,而教會亦以發簡訊的方式告之會友共同禱告。

近來,塔利班武裝組織常以綁架外國人以勒索贖款,早在18日兩名德國人在當地遭綁架,而這次是歷來綁架人數最多的一次,因此國際社會十分關注他們的安危。

昨日下午,塔利班要求韓國駐當地大使館撤離當地軍隊,若不在今天中午前撤軍會威脅殺害他們,而教會也為著當局決定是否撤軍而禱告,但家屬獲悉不撤軍後莫不紅了眼。

據了解,早前亦有一名韓國人在當地被殺害,而韓國外交部21日也決定將阿富汗列為"禁止旅行對象國",禁止南韓公民前往,並呼籲當地的僑民、工作人士離開當地,同時要求阿富汗政府不再核發簽證給韓國人。

事件引起了國際媒體的注目,而泉水教會稱也是從外界得知有關消息,但為保當地宣教士的安危,避免外界媒體過分渲染,只是簡單回應「為這個事情而禱告」,並擔心因此斷絕了當地的宣教道路。

而教會往常的清晨禱告會,氣氛顯然變得嚴肅,並更多為他們禱告,泉水教會牧師Kin Kyung Mo在講道中,以希伯來書八章、詩篇十八章勉勵會眾,「相信上帝與我們同在,雖然發生如此的事,但不要失去對上帝的信賴,因為衪是我們的力量,衪知道我們的悲傷、難過。」

除了為廿三名韓國人的安全禱告,也希望武裝組織的態度可以軟化,釋放他們,同時亦為家屬得到安慰祈求。

雖然塔利班要脅韓國立即撤出阿富汗,否則把人質殺死,但韓國在今日宣佈會如期在今年底撤軍。目前有約200名長期滯留人員在阿富汗進行傳教活動的韓國人,韓國外交通商部表示建議他們盡快回國。

[資料來源:christiantoday.co.kr ]

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Another excerpt from Mere Christianity

If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting, the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.

Christian Joyful Spirit Life Development Centre

This charity organisation is started by a pastor who has left my church. It combined an elderly's home with an orphanage in mainland China (villages in Shantong). His vision is like that the young can cheer the old people up and the old can take care of the young.

『老人院如附設小小的孤兒院,是最理想的。為甚麼呢?只辦老人,老人思想就過於消極,等食,等睡,等離世。如有孤兒,生氣就大了,老人可以關懷小的,那孤小的活潑又可帶給老人快樂,互相協調,彼此得益』。

He tried to spread the Gospel with this service for elderly/young people with no one to depend on, he shared his vision with us in our fellowship today. He said the people in the villages were already saying "how come there are these people coming here NOT trying to get money out of us, but to help us?"

This is an excerpt from the organisation's website.
"在最近約廿年的佈道法裏,題及其中一項有效的方法是關係佈道法。約卅戶散居在十多條鄉村,這個關係禾場是我可到之處。一般人設立工作據點是在大都市。農村的人口比都市多,誰去作?我相信,神既讓我的祖家是在山東的農村,這應是我去之地,也是方便之門。

在農村開辦一所照顧無倚靠的老者的敬老院,這是一個確實的需要,讓那些長者在其人生一去不返之先能得聞福音,盼望他們在人生苦境的最後階段得著福氣。退一步說,他們縱不信,也可讓他們在最後的時日裏,讓那殘弱多病軀體活在有人照顧他們的地方,他們不需再為食,為最後的生活痛痛苦苦地活著,讓他們得著尊嚴地離去(不致擔心死了都無人知)。"

During this start up period, this service needs quite a lot of money. Please consider donating (it's tax deductable in Hong Kong) or you can give them help. Please see their website for more details.
(There're some problems for me to view the index page of the website, but the other pages are fine, so just click on the other icons to read the website. Maybe it's just my browser... hmm...)

Friday, July 20, 2007

St John of the Cross

I am not very familiar with saints from my Baptist background. =P The first time I have heard about this guy was during my Spain trip in 2005 when I went to Avila. (I think St. Teresa of Avila was his mentor.)

In the book Devotional Classics, his book Dark Night of the Soul (this link is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library) was also introduced.

God leads into the dark night those whom He desires to purify from all these imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.

Here's an excerpt from the book, where St John of the Cross talked about the seven kinds of sins God is trying remove from us during this period. This part is about pride.

AS these beginners feel themselves to be very fervent and diligent in spiritual things and devout exercises, from this prosperity there often comes to them, through their imperfections, a certain kind of secret pride, whence they come to have some degree of satisfaction with their works and with themselves. And hence there comes to them likewise a certain desire, which is somewhat vain, and at times very vain, to speak of spiritual things in the presence of others, and sometimes even to teach such things rather than to learn them. They condemn others in their heart when they see that they have not the kind of devotion which they themselves desire; and sometimes they even say this in words, herein resembling the Pharisee, who boasted of himself, praising God for his own good works and despising the publican...

They are too much embarrassed to confess their sins nakedly, lest their confessors should think less of them, so they palliate them and make them appear less evil, and thus it is to excuse themselves rather than to accuse themselves that they go to confession...

Often they beseech God, with great yearnings, that He will take from them their imperfections and faults, but they do this that they may find themselves at peace, and may not be troubled by them, rather than for God’s sake; not realizing that, if He should take their imperfections from them, they would probably become prouder and more presumptuous still...

For the greater is their fervour, and the more numerous are the works that they perform, and the greater is the pleasure that they take in them, as they progress in humility, the more do they realize how much God deserves of them, and how little is all that they do for His sake; and thus, the more they do, the less are they satisfied. So much would they gladly do from charity and love for Him, that all they do seems to them naught; and so greatly are they importuned, occupied and absorbed by this loving anxiety that they never notice what others do or do not; or if they do notice it, they always believe, as I say, that all others are far better than they themselves.

Want to read more? The whole book is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library on the web. And there's another pdf version of the book, here. The language is a bit archaic though. though...

Devotional Classics



As I have said in the previous post, I have started using this great book for my devotionals. It's amazing... I'll share more with you guys in the subsequent posts...

So many great writers from both the Protestant and Catholic backgrounds were included in this book, the depth of these writings is incomparable with most "popular" devotional books. Highly recommended if you're trying to get on with your spiritual life.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Mere Christianity

I have started using this book as a devotional... the Chinese edition coz it's much cheaper... but the problem is it's very difficult to write about it on my blog...

The first chapter is one Mere Christianity (by CS Lewis). Here's an excerpt... As usual, I've highlighted the important points in red...

1. How Much of Myself Must I Give?

The ordinary idea which we all have before we become Christians is this. We take as the starting point our ordinary self with its various desires and interests. We then admit that something else-call it "morality" or "decent behavior," or "the good of society"-has claims on this self: claims which interfere with its own desires. What we mean by "being good" is giving in to those claims. Some of the things the ordinary self wanted to do turn out to be what we call "wrong": well, we must give them up. Other things turn out to be what we call "right": well, we shall have to do them.

But we are hoping all the time that when all the demands have been met, the poor natural self will still have some chance, and some time, to get on with its own life and do what it likes. In fact, we are very like an honest man paying his taxes. He pays them all right, but he does hope that there will be enough left over for him to live on. Because we are still taking our natural self as the starting point.

2. Two Results

As long as we are thinking that way, one or the other of two results is likely to follow. Either we give up trying to be good, or else we become very unhappy indeed. For, make no mistake: if you are really going to try to meet all the demands made on the natural self, it will not have enough left over to live on. The more you obey your conscience, the more your conscience will demand of you. And your natural self, which is thus being starved and hampered and worried at every turn, will get angrier and angrier.

In the end, you will either give up trying to be good, or else become one of those people who, as they say, "live for others" but always in a discontented, grumbling way-always wondering why the others do not notice it more and always making a martyr of yourself. And once you have become that you will be a far greater pest to anyone who has to live with you than you would have been if you had remained frankly selfish.

3. Harder and Easier

The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don?t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked?the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.

Both harder and easier than what we are all trying to do. You have noticed, I expect, that Christ Himself sometimes describes the Christian way as very hard, sometimes as very easy. He says, "Take up your Cross"-in other words, it is like going to be beaten to death in a concentration camp. Next minute he says, "My yoke is easy and my burden light." He means both. And one can just see why both are true.

4. The Most Dangerous Thing

Teachers will tell you that the laziest boy in the class is the one who works the hardest in the end. They mean this. If you give two boys, say, a proposition in geometry to do, the one who is prepared to take trouble will try to understand it. The lazy boy will learn it by heart because, for the moment, that needs less effort. But six months later, when they are preparing for the exam, that lazy boy is doing hours and hours of miserable drudgery over things the other boy understands, and positively enjoys, in a few minutes.

Laziness means more work in the long run. Or look at it this way. In a battle, or in mountain climbing, there is often one thing which it takes a lot of pluck to do; but it is also, in the long run, the safest thing to do. If you funk it, you will find yourself, hours later, in far worse danger. The cowardly thing is also the most dangerous thing.

5. The Almost Impossible Thing

It is like that here. The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self-all your wishes and precautions-to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call "ourselves," to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be "good." We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way-centered on money or pleasure or ambition-and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly.

And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and resown.

6. Listening to That Other Voice

That is why the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.

We can only do it for moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us. It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through.

He never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said, "Be perfect," He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder-in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

7. The Reason the Church Exists

May I come back to what I said before? This is the whole of Christianity. There is nothing else. It is so easy to get muddled about that. It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects-education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects-military, political, economic, and what not.

But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden-that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.

In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other pur¬pose. It says in the Bible that the whole universe was made for Christ and that everything is to be gathered together in Him.

8. Becoming a Part of the Plan

I do not suppose any of us can understand how this will happen as regards the whole universe. We do not know what (if anything) lives in the parts of it that are millions of miles from this Earth. Even on this Earth we do not know how it applies to things other than men. After all, that is what you would expect. We have been shown the plan only in so far as it concerns ourselves.

What we have been told is how we can be drawn into Christ-can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer his Father-that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange, exciting hints in the Bible that when we are drawn in, a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Talk and camp...

I'm very interested in the camp, but I need to work that weekend... click on the title for more info... they'll probably release CD after the camp... hopefully...

舊約釋經講道營
時代的重建:《以斯拉–尼希米記》信息今讀


雖然欠缺後現代詮釋閃耀的熣燦,卻穿插著「畢基」朋輩間真摯的剖白。
花上一個周末48小時,用心細讀這卷位於舊約歷史分水嶺的猶大劫後英雄列傳,讓其中點滴的真知灼見,成為今天我們結伴同行時的「腳前燈、路上光」。

日期:20-22/7/2007(五至日)
時間:入營 (晚上6時半。請先自行進食晚餐, 7時半正式開始第一講。)
出營 (下午5時)
地點:香港浸信會神學院(西貢北西澳年明路一號)
講員:李思敬博士
費用:正價$ 850、會員$ 800
名額:80人

市井聖徒釋經講座
遊刃於故事與誡命之間:成聖召命的定向


以聖經神學「無厚之刃」,解五經訓誨「有閒之節」。

讓我們重新認信:在市井中委身於上主聖潔的呼召,
既非忙於實踐經文教導原則,亦毋須退隱山林苦路避靜……

180分鐘講座不宜等同奮興笑談,
並請務必攜帶新舊約聖經出席。

日期:28/7/2007(六)
時間:下午2:30-5:30
地點:香港浸會大學大學會堂(九龍窩打老道224號)
講員:李思敬博士
費用:$ 98 (憑票入場,不設劃位)
報名:6月15日起,可於畢基網頁網上購票 或 於下列書室購買門票:
福音閱覽室、新書館、突破書廊(沙田),各間宣道書局(油麻地、北角、元朗)
查詢:2369-8512(Janice)

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Trinity

I still remember a few years ago, I had suggested a lecture on "why we believe in the Holy Trinity" in my own fellowship?

And the pastor we invited started the lecture with, "I don't understand why you need to learn about these." well... you know I did not get what I had expected from the lecture.

Last night, I had the same lecture, from the historical point of view, and it was great. The speaker managed to make this boring subject entertaining. Though I cannot honestly say I understand everything those philosophers argued about, but I think it's a pretty good start.

This is EXACTLY why I attended this church history class.

I think every Christian should learn church history. Not just the facts, but to know what others (even the those considered heretic to know more about what we believe in and WHY.)

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Can a Scientist Believe in the Resurrection?

Highly recommended!! for all

A talk by NT Wright at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

Can a Scientist Believe in the Resurrection? | 18MB MP3 Version
Streaming Video | Video Download

Thanksgiving for New Zealand trip

1. I have learnt something important during my trip. (Not merely on the subject that I study.) I don't know how to talk about it without revealing what it is on the web...

2. I have got to know one more good friend.

3. The weather in the South Island got better when I got there... The weather had been so bad that even McDonald's was closed because they didn't have any bread...

4. I didn't get sick until I come back... =P