The Voice (NT)

Just something I would like to recommend to you all out there. I bought this bible a few months back "the Voice (New Testament)" and found out that I really like this particular bible a lot. Not that the other translations are bad just that this bible t has a fresh approach to it.

Some of the features...

1. It has this new screenplay format that is just wonderful. Sort of like reading lines off a script for a play. See for yourself:

2. It has some short commentary boxes which are helpful. There are some neat facts or background details coupled with some devotional thought on a passage which I found helpful while reading a particular book (gospel, epistle).



3. It's a new translation. Not one that is literal but it's a sort of a "retelling" as ascribed by a reviewer of the bible on Amazon. (Brian Baute's gives a balanced review of "the Voice").

Anyway If you are considering to get a new translation of the bible which is readable (well this particular one is only in New Testament at the moment) the I would recommend "the Voice" as an ideal choice. As of now, I'm currently reading through Romans. It's good to have another addition to my bulky collection of bible translation. ;).

Check out the official website of the Voice as well, and download a sample: The Gospel of John in PDF!

Orthodox Heretic

Modern day parables told by Pete Rollins author of "How (not) to Speak of God" and "Fidelity of Betrayal". He has a knack for putting up intriguing titles for books. In his upcoming book, "Orthodox Heretic" he has written a book comprised of modern day parables which were developed to communicate the ideas from his two previous ones. Here are some video segments of Pete reading some excerpts for us. Take a look and listen, you might learn something. And if possible, join me in waiting for the release of the book which is scheduled in April 2009. This would make a wonderful addition to you book shelf and your mind and thoughts.

Great Expectation

Do you have moments when you post something on your blog and you have a notion of 'great expectation' that you did some justice to the subject you are posting? Like you wish that a flood of responses would just flow in as you 'expectantly' visit or log into your blog. Sometimes I get preoccupied with that sort of notion. It does sound pathetic but even in cyberspace our humanistic desire to be known and significant is translated in the tools of communication. Even as I type these letters and construct these words into sentences that have meaning, at the back of my head, I wonder how many people would read, will I provoke their thoughts, will they gain insight from the ideas I posted, will people agree with them, will i give encouragement, will i ignite controversy...? But the underlining fact of these question are really...I want to be known and I want to be significant. I guess we will always have these notions even when we least expect them.

Matthew's Begats (geneology in song)

Reading (singing) genealogy that doesn't bore us...in this case it pulls us and draws us to memorize the words because the melody has a certain pull.

'Prophet' Gandhi

Gandhi- “You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilizations to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of good literature.”

I was browsing through the net and found this little comment by Gandhi from this excellent blog . How is it that someone who is not a Christian knows the real value of the very scriptures that we (allegedly) believe in? We on the other hand treat our living scriptures as irrelevant as well as a boring piece of document.

I like the quote by Gandhi, which is haunting and disturbing in a good way. I hope the quote grips the very being of your 'soul' and nudges you towards the bible today, not just to read but to understand and apply at the same time.

Article at the Ooze

I just got my article posted on the Ooze website which you can see here. I posted it before on my blog here, but it looks great on a well known website. If you haven't read it on my blog do read it on the Ooze! I would probably try out writing other articles in the near future.

My Habitual Bliss

I just received some books that I bought via the mail. Shopping for books are a drag here in Miri because of the selections. It really is disappointing really. That is not a good sign for my wallet because as you know money obviously don't grow on trees. Anyway let me show you the books I received through the mail:

1. Meet The Rabbis by Brad H. Young

2. Beginnings... by Peter C. Bouteneff

3. Thomas: The other Gospel by Nicholas Perrin

Got these from Kinokuniya, a bookstore in KL. The good thing about them is you can order books via the net which is convenient, but the only hassle is their shipping fee (RM 40 bucks!!) and the price of some of their books...but I'm not complaining because the books are good and they arrive a day or two after you ordered them which is pretty fast! Well I have to bear with the prices until i get a job that helps me with this (joking but in a serious tone). Check out the store if you are in Malaysia that is.

About the books...I'm recently in a mode wanting to study Jewish culture so hence the first book. And Genesis has been a fasination and a struggle to understand so the second book will help on that part (it was also recomended by Scot McKnight so that adds a lot of credibility in the book). The third book is another area of interest for me mainly because I have a fascination in New Testament studies (historical Jesus, gospel reliability, gnostic gospels..) and Nicholas Perrin is a very engaging writer. Though a scholar, his books are reader friendly. I liked "Lost in Transmission" so much that I had to read his other book which was available in Malaysia (just over the sea in Semenanjung Malaysia sigh...).

Here's another book that I bought here in Miri in Popular. A helpful book on Leadership by Seth Godin. It's not a Christian book but we as Christians can and must learn from others as well. The book is called "Tribes: We need you to Lead us". This book doesn't have a table of contents. But for those who are familiar with the blog sphere, the format of the book is constructed in a way like short posts, so you will not be intimidated by it. And it's not that thick either.


Well, I'm still waiting for another two books to arrive. More theological in nature and I just love that. I hope you check out these books.

Some articles on Sermons

Thought I would alert your attention to some cool articles on the importance of sermons here. Enjoy and think through.

Wild Goose Chase

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Some sort of hard reflection on the situation that I am in. The issue has stretched me in more ways that I can imagine and at time made me feel like a person being stuck in a hole.

Right now I am reaping the benefits of addressing difficult issues, not nudging them with threats of murder, but with a simple and personal e-mail. It all had to do with discrimination and how the smaller and insignificant workers were neglected. They were the ones who worked the hardest and deserved their share of respect.

"We don't consider both of you as full-time workers" was the juncture that fumed me. How could they when these two workers were were in fact working full-time in the church, which the only difference was they handled administration duties. It made no sense to me. I guess it was because the financial situation of the church will be effected by the issue at hand. But that does not seem to be the fact.

The headquarters had already issued a bill of amendment stating that churches were to increase the pay of all full-time workers because of the economic situation. I applaud them for this because they have the pastor's and other worker's financial interest at hand.

So based on those 'facts' I wrote a personal e-mail addressing the issue of why our administration staffs were not considered full-time workers and therefore not eligible for the increment that was amended beforehand.

Sure it was 'harsh' (please note that there were no swear words involved) in some ways but I was just frustrated and it all seemed unfair to say the least. But it was a personal e-mail and directed to just one person. There was no intention to spread this to a host of people. Everything was done in secrecy, between me and the receiver at that point that is.

A week after I sent the email the recipient replied back with a "thank you for your letter" intention. I marked that as a relief because we can't find those types of leaders anymore, those that value criticism but are willing to listen. But where childish antics are concerned I soon found out that the letter that was given in private was being reprinted and being addressed out of the context that it was intended to be.

Right now I don't have the power to change people's mind about how the look at me. This post is just to salvage some peace of mind and the things that I have been struggling through. I know that the church has let me down in more ways than one but I am still for the church and Jesus' message need not be deterred for that matter.

I am not really happy with how the leaders have dealt with the issue. Right now I am not part of that church at the moment but I do have very fond memories of how they have helped me in my growth as a Christian. It does seem different now and I feel the turn of events have been a catalyst in altering a new path in new things.

Let me end it with this verse

1Jn 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Political Tactics rubbing off to the Ekklesia

There was a buzz created in the arrest of Malaysia blogger Raja Petra because of allegations that he blogged some posts 'against' the government. This cause a stir in the Malaysian social scene and raised some eyebrows at how the government are handling things. I won't comment here on which position I am in on this because of the sensitive issue pertaining to it but obviously, you might already know where I stand on this ;).

Well the funny thing is I have met with this type of allegation on taking legal action against me due to the nature of my blog. I don't know whether it is based on the x-rated material that i blog about (Which is none, obviously). Well it serves as a reminder that it does seem funny that this sort of allegation is can be found in the ekklesia! Imagine legal action. I am still mulling over this and it all seems funny and like sort of a big joke.

It does seem like political leaders do rub off their influece even until they are being translated to the ekklesia.

Choosing Books

This post might not be helpful to most but I hope some might benefit from it. Somewhere along the my budding love for books I have developed some tips on determining what to books to buy. I run a tight budget so my kind of tips was developed in that particular context. So then, how do i determine what to buy?

1. I mostly follow along on what a trusted author says about certain books. That helps immensely because for starters they give the best recommendations that are 99% or almost always dependable. You can either find these recommendations at the back of the book, through reviews (via the net) or get them from trusted sources (friends, teachers...)

2. The subject matter is important. Does the book deals with issues or topics that interests you? This is important because you will not be able to finish a book you are not interested in. Or worse, its money flushed down the drain.

3. The table of content. When i search book on the net, i usually (always) look out for the table of content in a book. It gives a brief description on the subject matter of the book. If the table of contents don't spark an interest then it is wise not to pursue it.

4. I look at the bibliography or books the author quotes of mentions. I find this helpful because you kind of 'get' a rough idea on where the author builds on his ideas.

5. Buy books based on the author you trust. Trusted authors are different from favorite one in my dictionary. Trusted authors can be those authors you have never read before but who are deemed highly by most people.

6. Buy books according to your budget. After weighing all the above you have to know how much you can spend! I'm not good here and i do wish that I have an unlimited source of 'green stuff ' , well i wish i had them. But we have to work on our budget, this is important and vital.

I guess that's what goes through my mind when determining books to but. I guess this only works with particular kinds of book (Christian literature, nature). I hope this helps.

John 3:16

Every Christian should know this verse (found on the title above) and also every Christian, young and old is well grounded in this beloved line in the Bible. But as we sometimes get so well accustomed with somethings that they become familiar and at time distorted, this is how we sometimes (or almost always treat this particular line).

John 3:16 reads

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)

On this particular reading I would like us to focus our attention on a particular word from the verse (the one in bold); world. It is most often taught that the particular word actually points its direction implying humans, and not the world in its literal sense.

This idea is brought to the picture because v.16b explains the word 'world' more clearly in that it means humans due to the fact that 'whoever believes' and 'shall not perish...have eternal life' points directly to people. It seems obvious that the benefactors of 'salvation' are people and that God's saving grace falls to them. With that the reading of the verse would go like this:

"For God so loved the world (humans/people) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

A CRITIQUE

With this let me pose a critique to this particular reading of the text. I find it highly probable that we read John 3:16 in this manner because it is our theology that believes Jesus was sent by the Father, as a gift for humanity to die on their behalf so that they can receive God's salvation and ultimately the gift of eternal life. Basically we read and form theology into the verse or this particular verse.

This is good and valid according to theology, but not good in terms of how we appreciate the biblical narrative and theology based on the whole bible. Thus what we have constructed over time is the belief that God just cares for people and that the world is some sort of secondary object that He doesn't simply brushes aside. It sorts of shrinks our theology and giving us a malnutrition version of God's plan.

So with that, how then can we bring a more holistic/nourished approach of theology based on John 3:16 that is faithful to the biblical message?

Let me come with a proposal that I would deem faithful to a more holistic view of the mission of God and theology for understanding John 3:16.

We begin with Genesis. God said after creating his master piece (everything for that matter), Ge 1:31 "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good...". Reading the creation account in Genesis shows a God who was clearly pleased with what he created, and this encompasses Him just pleased with creating people.

But as we know humans were on a different pedestal then his other creations. Humans were created in God's image, His reflectors.

Ge 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

According to this humans were to be God's representative as it shows here it was humans that brought stability to the condition on the earth. As the story goes God's image bearers were deceived by the serpent (Satan) and things went down hill from there. But God didn't leave his creation to fend for themselves. The bible depicts a God who is constantly working to redeem back the world. The way he did this was through a man by the name of Abraham and through him a nation was born, Israel, who were known as the people of God. Israel represented God as bearing his name and his ways. Basically Israel was an alternative kind of society or nation. But Israel failed and were brought in captivity but were brought back to the land again only to be ruled again by a succession of powers of which we have Rome as the last to rule over them. Please note that I am just giving an overview here.

It is amidst this story which we place John 3:16. The other half of the story as we cram John 3:16 is Jesus dying on the cross and resurrected after that. This is where i believe where we have to wedge our theology and the grand biblical narrative.

God cares for the world and in his love for the world he gave his son. Jesus is the one who God sends to reconcile the world to himself. It is only fitting that God do the saving work starting with human beings because in Genesis it was the image bearer who was to account for adulterating their rights to satan. So it is only 'logical' that God pursue his redemptive plan through saving his image bearers. A good description of this can be found in the passage below:

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Col 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Col 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Col 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Another helpful passage is found in Romans:

Ro 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Ro 8:19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Ro 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,in hope
Ro 8:21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Ro 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Ro 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

In view of the above we can conclude that in John 3:16 the meaning and understanding behind the word 'world' must not be narrowed to just human beings. God sent Jesus to and for the world. And God's plan in sending Jesus was to redeem back his image bearers and from then on the redemption on the world. I hope when we read John 3:16 we will have a more bigger picture in mind than just Jesus saving just human beings alone. There is a bigger picture at hand.

…We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God

Just something to widen our horizon on Christianity...

I have been doing a lot of thinking concerning this and i think this is something that we Christians should discuss and also 'debate' (with the intention of gaining a wider perspective). The issue at hand is "proper Christian look". Does this really count? Or is it something we have made up.

Let me start by mentioning a story in Acts or better this story written in the book;

^{Ac 15:1-21}

BACKGROUND

Let me explain some of the background concerning what such a council saw it important to meet and discuss. Let it come to our knowledge that the first followers of Jesus were his own people, the Jews. After all, Jesus was and is himself a Jew. Now for starters Jews were the chosen ones, the people of God, who had the covenant and the laws that came from God. God played a vital role and part in their society. We could say that they were a nation under The True God, under YHWH.

This eventually made them not so much of what God intended. A negative result occurred actually. They became proud and very 'anti-other nations' (part of it is because how they were treated by invading nations, although it was disobedience that paved way for that).

But something happened that changed the perspective of the first Jewish Christians. Let's see. It was through Peter that God brought new realizations in a more 'in your face manner'. By that i mean, earlier although Jesus said the disciples would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, they didn't get it. Notice the response Peter gave to God on account of that vision? Well God said to Peter "take, kill and eat!" and for your information, these were the very animals that they were not to eat following the Law.

I think peter must have though, thinking through his Jewish custom and upbringing, "heck, NO way am i eating those animals!" Well that was what he thought in a sense. But God pronounced those things clean and the rest is history, Cornelius, a gentile and not a red blooded Jew, not known to do Jewish customs or following it, became a follower of Jesus.

This was surely a revelation! But some Jews opposed Peter and said "Why did you break Jewish customs by going into a Gentile's house!!? How dare you defile yourself!!" You see, they didn't understand the whole story until Peter explained to them.

It wasn't Peter alone who caused controversy; Paul and Barnabas were even more controversial. Gentiles were invited in the fold. Being followers of Jesus. Some Jews were outraged! They were thinking that these gentiles can't be full and true Christians unless they abide Jewish customs! Well that's where the council came to discuss the matter about how the gentiles are to be incorporated.

REFLECTION

Looking into this particular thing there is one important thing that we have to ask ourselves. Are we repeating what the early Jewish Christians were doing? Making it difficult for people to come to Christ.

I think sometimes I feel like we are telling people to repent, but behind that repentance is something totally different. I think more and more we are telling people not just to repent on the important or vital things but on minor stuff. Sometimes I envision that it is asking people to repent of what to wear, what to eat, where to go, what to drink. It's really weird. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we can just brush aside on how we drink alcohol, or that we should wear really revealing clothes. That's not what I mean.

But what i mean is, we Christians in this present moment, must, like the believers who were discussing how to incorporate the gentiles being Christians, find among ourselves something like the conclusion made by James;

^{Ac 15:19}
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Looking at the culture then they had their issues. It doesn't mean that we have to follow word by word what is said here but to go with the spirit of what was being said and intended.

I hope this sheds light on something. Hopefully, when we tell people to repent and follow Christ, we must know what we mean by that and not make new believers carry unnecessary weight.

The Holy Bible, New International Version, Pradis CD-ROM:Ac 15:19, Book Version: 5.1.1

Do/Can we have a take on 'Secular Songs'?

"The fact is that secular music speaks to people--seekers, unchurched, and churched alike ... because many secular songs articulate universal human needs. The reason so many songs are written about love is because it's a universal desire, and one that the Bible affirms when it tells us that God's very nature is love. A secular song in church is so attractive, then, because every attendee is likely to be familiar with it and comfortable listening to its truth ... Most people expect a teacher to use non-biblical stories to illustrate a biblical truth ... At Saddleback [we use] secular songs as illustrations pointing people to biblical truth."

I hope you take this post with an open mind before 'lashing' out :). I'm not one who is for the term 'secular' and 'sacred' or to put them plainly the 'things of God' and the 'things of the world' but for the sake of wedging an understanding I will let these terms stick.

The excerpt above talks about incorporating 'secular songs' as a means of communicating a particular message to people in the worship service. I don't know how this pastor's church does it but regardless the 'secular song' is used as a tool for communicating an area of relevance (down to earth understanding) and then marrying it to the message of Christianity. The song becomes a point of reference or illustration if you will.

Some people might be ready to 'tear their robes' (in the tradition of the Pharisees when Jesus answered their question following the night he was betrayed) and call this heresy. Please, it would do more good if you stay clothed :).

On some levels I agree with what this pastor is saying; that, "many secular songs articulate universal human needs." as well as they appeal with a wider crowd. So to use these songs to point to our message is the same as using a 'secular illustration' we either get from a magazine, the newspaper, the television or wherever we get our illustrations. With this said I don't want to be misquoted that I am condoning every 'secular song'. Please use your head and exert wisdom when you do choose songs for the use of conveying a message.

What do you think about 'secular songs'? Can Christians make any use of them?

Mentoring Has taken a New Turn

I have always wondered of what the possibility would be if older leaders can learn anything from younger leaders or just young people. I know that this concept is not supposedly natural but some will attest to it. Older people can learn from younger people. Sure this is a given. But to actually rephrase the sentence 'older people can learn from younger people' to 'the younger mentoring the older' is truly unorthodox in nature. The idea or the possibility of the idea seem absurd. I don't think it is though, not for the fact that I am a young person, which I am in some ways young. I see this unorthodox form of mentoring can do a lot of good, especially for the church.

Well not that I have coined the idea but its concept was already working in my mind until someone spelled it out. This style of mentoring is called 'Reverse Mentoring' which is actually a book written by Earl Creps. He has a website too which you can go to here. I haven't read the book but I think it would be a good read, namely because the title really gets to me (in a good way). He also has an excerpt form the book introduction on his website here.

I'll leave you with this quote that I like from the excerpt:

Reverse mentoring assumes a completely opposite perspective on learning. While acknowledging the proven value of the older-to-younger approach (teaching down), it provides the vital complement of a younger-to-older method (teaching up). Reversing the traditional dynamics feels unnatural to some, especially older leaders like the Baby Boomers who now make up almost half of the American workforce and 60 percent of senior pastors and who have been waiting most of a lifetime to take charge. However, the rate of change in our culture puts younger people in touch with things for which their elders sometimes lack even the vocabulary, suggesting the need to go beyond intergenerational tolerance to reconciliation that leads to a new collaboration.

The young teaching the old represents only an example of reverse mentoring. The key to the relationship is not who is greater or lesser, but the unlikeliness of the learning connection. The reversal is as much one of expectations as of position or age. Every culture subsists in part by having boundaries that define it, but these boundaries also serve as barriers that cut people off from each other, making a teaching relationship unlikely. Reverse mentoring (RM) is cross-cultural in that it actually uses the unlikely possibility of a relationship to benefit both parties through mutual learning through honesty and humility.

The DAy that Changed Everything

When tributes are due, today is that sort of day. I would like to remember a friend, who passed away is an accident on the 5th of December 2005. He was one of the youths in the church that I attended during that time. He was a budding musician and was getting good at it even outplaying me. I have good memories before the incident and one of them was when I got to talk to him on the day before he passed on. Talking about his passion for music and about a christian biography book he read. I even gave a recommendation of another book he might be interested in when we get back from our youth trip. These were good memories and I miss him.

Reflecting upon how things have progressed after that, everything changed. Sometimes I wish 'if only I could have...'. I think you never will be able to remove that sorrow or the memories. They will always stay there. What we can do is cope with the situation. We move on, for that is the only way to it. Not to neglect the sorrow or sadness or memories but to move on with where faith leads.

But that aside, I still have this question lurking every time I transport myself back to that day...what if...if only.

Here's to you Aaron.

Guitars and Dreams

The Coolest Guitar ever...

Played by none other than...

This guitar is on my wish list and it looks like it will stay that way. But today I am pleading to readers of my blog to send in money to me...haha. I wish it was that easy eh. Well I got the cheaper model...

...still as cool but still can't beat the original American model!

Coming to the End of the Year

I guess October was the month that i posted the most, period, compared to the other months. November's posts have gone back to their usual volume. There are reasons for that but I will not mention them for the time being. I guess all would be revealed in my biography when I do get enough reliability points or I become what Malcolm Gladwell calls 'outliers'.

Anyway, reflecting on this year, I would say they never go easy. I guess the reality that we have to cope with is there is no such thing as a smooth year. What I mean is crammed in a year are situations that cannot be tamed, we cannot dictate events that come our way. The only dictation that we 'have' is how we respond to the ups and downs in a year.

I also find that growing older does not make a person mature. Maturity comes with how one lives life and respond to situations and people. Our response will either dent or further our maturity. Don't think for once that all older people are more mature in a sense that they have wisdom to deal with situations in life. Some do, but some just appear mature because of age. There is a saying that goes 'age doesn't make you a man'.

This year has been tough and unpredictable. I have situations that I still don't understand. They all seem like just a bad dream that I can just wake up and everything turns to normal. But I soon realize when reality kicks in, it was all just plain reality. Just some sad turn of events also; my cuz's passing has been hard to swallow. Sometime he just pops in my mind. There was a time whenever he got back from working offshore, he would drive over to my aunt's place (which is situated right next to my house) and you could just hear the engine on his sports car roar like crazy. I miss those moments. Wish everything was back to normal.

I would like to announce that I just put up another blog. Do check it out: StreetWiseScholar. Not that I anticipate a flood of followers, but I figure posting on this stuff would sharpen my mind as well as help me help 'readers' understand what needs to be understood about biblical as well as theological issues. I haven't started yet but I will be sure to post something by this week.

As for this present blog, I will strictly use it as a blog of opinions and stuff that I interest me: church, leadership, ministry, theological issues and other random stuff. which will focus more on theology and all things biblical. The purpose of the blog: introducing people to biblical and theological scholarship