Free online books

I found a gem of a web site today at monergism.com. Online books by many Christian authors, all for the price of an internet connection. Truly, these authors are not writing for monetary profits alone, but to edify the worldwide Christian community. This will be particularly useful for those of us who are not able to reach a nearby theological library. Other web sites that offer free ones that are not on the list is Elmer Town's, which can be an invaluable resource for Sunday School. Another good free source from my bookmark is here. Let me know if you come across useful websites that offer Christian online books as such.

Some other links you might be interested to explore (I have not explored all but they looked interesting):
1) List of religious sites
2) General reading

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

ks

Lent

I should have posted this earlier, but better late than never. The forty days prior to Easter is commonly known as the period of Lent. Day 1 is Ash Wednesday and this year began on 21 Feb 2007. During Lent, Christians will observe disciplines like fasting or giving up something for these forty days, in an effort to identify with the wilderness experience when Jesus went through. Some people I know will give up coffee/caffeine totally during this Lent, using the period as a reminder to live a holy life like Jesus.

Last Friday, I challenged a group of undergraduates to have a GUYS week (Give-Up-Your-Something) week. It could be giving up Internet usage for a week, cellphones or anything which we tend to use a lot during our normal week. How appropriate that Lent is also the period where we can actually give up something. For a start, I will be giving up Internet usage every Sunday. As the weeks go by, I will probably think of what other things to give up. Coffee is something which I am finding difficult to surrender. Need to pray.

ks

The case against GM foods

Genetically modified foods are more difficult to sell in Europe and in some parts of North America. So the distributors are looking at Asia and others. This video seems compelling, but again it comes across like a one-sided point of view. If what they say is really true, then we need to beware of a future foodchain meltdown! (Beware. The video could change your thinking about food)

Camino web browser

Another web browser? For those of you who are Apple Mac OS users, you might want to consider switching to the Camino web browser. I have been using it and it is much more stable than the latest Firefox and even Safari, and of course a thousand times better than IE. My reasons are as follows:

- it is written in native Mac OS (means extremely tight integration with the OS)
- not as clunky as Firefox, especially when many windows/tabs are opened (FF slows down a lot)
- Camino is way most stable. It has not crashed on me (yet!)
- I like the annoyance blocking features (works well on many web sites)
- for those with slower CPUS, or smaller RAM on your Macs, Camino is as agile as a deer.

Camino can only get better. I tried upgrading to Firefox 2.0 and the FF browser crashed far too often. Camino is indeed a life saver. Sorry PC folks, this browser is strictly for Apple only.

ks

Jolt Quote II

John Ortberg writes: "We live in an age of melancholy. Depression has replaced anxiety as the 'common cold of emotional life.' Suicide has skyrocketed as a cause of death particularly among young people....

How ironic it is that in a day when we rely so heavily on the entertainment industry to give us relief from the demands and boredom of everyday life, the least-depressed group in our society is the one that disdains electronics of any kind." (The Life You've Always Wanted, Zondervan, p72)

In a chapter that talks about joy, Ortberg aims at Christians who seemed to be chronically joyless. He then moves towards the false promises of modern technology, using the Amish community as an example of wholeness living without the frills of modern equipment and gadgets. However, we must always remember that advice as such must always take the context into consideration. The Amish is very much a community entity. They are always a plural people. Joylessness is essentially loneliness either by choice or by circumstances. The melancholic observation is a symptom of this loneliness aspect. How can we cultivate joy? Ortberg mentions 5 things:

1) Start now
2) Find a joy mentor
3) Set aside a day a week to do pleasant things
4) Unplug from technology for a week
5) Discipline the mind to see life from a biblical perspective

I believe that anyone who does only ONE of the above WITH a community will fare much better than one who does ALL of the above ALONE.

ks

Heartwarming, Thought-provoking and Value-challenging

We watched a comedy last night for a change from our work routine. It is an oldie made in 1967, which won an academy award for original screenplay (1967). It was about an Afro-American (Sidney Poitier) and a white girl (Katharine Houghton) who fell in love and wanted to get married, in a decade where inter-racial marriages were taboo and in some states in the US at that time, it was even considered illegal. In order to zoom straight into the racial element proper, the director, Stanley Kramer made a couple of deliberate decisions in the movie.

1) The credentials black man, Dr Prentice was impeccable.
"graduated maxima cum laude from John Hopkins, assistant professor, Yale Medical School, three years professor, London School of Tropical Medicine... three years assistant director, World Health Organization, two textbooks and a list of monographs and medical society honors...as long as your arm."
The credibility of Dr Prentice was solid, refusing premarital sex, not making free phone calls at others' expenses, courteous, professional, considerate, and frank with his potential parents in law. It was said that the director intentionally paint so perfect a man so that the audience will know without a doubt that any refusal to let the marriage go ahead is purely racial discrimination.

2) The Drayton family's family stand
The director of the movie surfaces up the real struggles of what it means to 'practice what you preach.' Mr and Mrs Drayton, (played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) were prominent lobbyists for equal rights for all, regardless of race and other forms of discrimination. However, they did not expect that what they proclaim bravely in public (Mr Drayton owns a leading daily), they will have to face it in their own family when their daughter Joey (Katharine Houghton) falls head over heels in love with Dr Prentice (Sidney Poitier). The daughter was brought up to respect everyone equally, and she did.

There were moments of integrity in the movie as well, as Mrs Drayton (Hepburn) immediately fired her personal assistant of many years at the first signs of racial discrimination. Such acts prove her personal and family values in action. It was a touching scene to see her doing it firmly and with no hesitation. No wonder Hepburn won an oscar for her role in that movie.

3) Joey's pure love
She exemplifies one whose love transcends skin colour. Like a little child, she knows what is right and what is wrong and is not ashamed to practice the values that is part of her upbringing.

4) The final speech by Mr Drayton was realistic and very touching.
The final speech was so good, that you have to read them for yourself. It was said that all the crew knew that Tracy was dying, and he performed heroically in the movie to make a personal stand against racial discrimination. Tracy died 17 days after the film.

I have a few things to say and you might just think they're important. This has been a strange day. I don't think that's putting it too strongly. I might even say it's been an extraordinary day. I've been out there thinking about the day...and the way it has gone...
and it seems to me that now..
I need to make a few
personal statements.
For a variety of reasons. The day began for me when l walked into
this house and Tillie said to me--
Excuse me.
Tillie !
this'll only take a second.
- Every thing's been ready for--
- I know.
ALL right. Sit down.
This is Miss Matilda Binks...
who's been a member of this family
for years...
and who today has been
making a great deal of trouble.
Sit down, Tillie.
Now. The minute I walked
into this house this afternoon...
Miss Binks said to me,
''well, all hell's done broke loose now.''
I asked her, naturally enough,
to what she referred...
and she said, ''you'll see.''
And I did.
Then after some preliminary guessing
games, at which l was never very good...
it was explained to me
by my daughter...
that she intended to get married.
And that her intended was a young man
whom I had never met...
who happened to be a Negro.
I think it's fair to say
that I responded to this news...
in the same manner that any
normal father would respond to it...
unless, of course, his daughter
happened to be a Negro too.
in a word, I was flabbergasted. And
while I was still being flabbergasted...
I was informed by my daughter--
a very determined young woman...
much like her mother--
that the marriage was on...
no matter what her mother and I
might feel about it.
Then the next startling development
occurred when you walked in...
and said that unless we--
her mother and l--
approved of the marriage,
there would be no marriage.
You didn't!
What a funny thing to do.
This may be the last chance
I'll ever have...
to tell you to do anything.
So I'm telling you
shut up.
Now.
It became clear that we had one
single day to make up our minds...
as to how we felt about this whole situation.
So what happened?
My wife, typically enough...
decided to simply ignore...
every practical aspect of the situation...
and was carried away
in some kind of romantic haze...
which made her, in my view...
totally inaccessible
to anything in the way of reason.
Now l have not as yet referred
to His Reverence...
who began by forcing his way
into the situation...
and then insulting my intelligence..,.
by mouthing platitudes...
and ending just a half hour ago
by coming to my room...
and challenging me
to a wrestling match.
- What time is your plane?
- : .


Right.
Now, Mr. Prentice...
Clearly a most reasonable man...
says he has no wish to offend me...
but wants to know
if I'm some kind of a nut.
And Mrs. Prentice says...
that like her husband,
I'm a burnt-out old shell of a man...
who cannot even
remember what it's Like...
to love a woman...
the way her son loves my daughter.
And strange as it seems...
that's the first statement
made to me all day...
with which l am prepared
to take issue.
Because l think you're wrong.
You're as wrong as you can be.
I admit that I hadn't considered it,
hadn't even thought about it...
but I know exactly
how he feels about her.
And there is nothing,
absolutely nothing...
that your son feels
for my daughter...
that I didn't feel for Christina.
Old? Yes.
Burnt out? Certainly.
But l can tell you
the memories are still there--
clear, intact, indestructible.
And they'll be there
if l live to be .
Where John made his mistake, I think...
was attaching so much importance
to what her mother and I might think.
Because in the final analysis,
it doesn't matter a damn what we think.
The only thing that matters
is what they feel...
and how much they feel...
for each other.
And if it's half...
of what we felt...
that's everything.
As for you two and
the problems you're going to have...
they seem almost unimaginable.
But you'll have no problem with me.
And I think...
that when Christina and I
and your mother...
have some time to work on him...
you'll have no problem
with your father.
But you do know--
I'm sure you know--
what you're up against.
there'll be a hundred million people
right here in this country...
who'll be shocked and offended...
and appalled at the two of you.
And the two of you will just
have to ride that out.
Maybe every day
for the rest of your lives.
You can try to ignore those people...
or you can feel sorry for them
and for their prejudices...
and their bigotry and
their blind hatreds and stupid fears.
But where necessary...
you'll just have
to cling tight to each other...
and say screw all those people!
Anybody could make a hell of a
good case against your getting married.
The arguments are so obvious
that nobody has to make them.
But you're two wonderful people...
who happened to fall in love...
and happen to have
a pigmentation problem.
And l think that now...
no matter what kind of a case
some bastard could make...
against your getting married...
there would be only one thing worse.
And that would be if...
knowing what you two are...
knowing what you two have...
and knowing what you two feel...
you didn't get married.

Interracial marriages are still something not many people are comfortable with. This movie helps to zoom into our personal beliefs and to question ourselves: "What good will there be to let racial discrimination prevent true love from blossoming?" We may say with our lips that all are equal. But in our actions, we often declare openly that 'some are more equal than others.'

Happy Lunar New Year 2007!

For all my faithful readers,


主里平安；新年蒙恩。

愿您在新的一年里有平安与健康；

灵命猛进、爱主更深!


(translated)
Peace in the Lord, Blessed New Year
Wishing you peace and good health for the coming year
Spiritual life actively progress, and may your love for the Lord deepen.

Fascinating Chinese words in Genesis

Chinese New Year 2007 is here! The year of the golden boar, said to happen only once every 60 years. Some chinese believe that this year will be exceptionally 'lucky' whatever that means. Anyway, the chinese culture is fascinating, and one example is hidden in the chinese language. See the flash presentation below (courtesy of World Bible School). You will need to have shockwave installed to play the flash feature below.



If the view is too small, click here.

Reading Week poem

Wearily stepping out of the room,
Anxious faces repel.
Smiles were all around,
Gleeful hearts, Stress unwound.

With each step the exhaustion creep,
Dreaming of the pillow to sleep.
My thalamus heavy after burning midnight oil,
Reminds the body 'Rest after the toil'.

The exam's over, the weekend's here
But something else delights for sure
One week of read or a week of play
Whatever it is, 'hurry' is not my way.

A student's life has its ups and downs
But today happy thoughts go downtown
Reading week has finally begun
Nothing is going to take away the fun!

This weekend is no ordinary kind,
A much bigger occasion occupies the mind
A quarter of the world will be celebrating,
To usher in the coming of Spring!


Happy Lunar (Chinese) New Year! (starts 18 Feb 2007)

ks

A jolt quote

Sometimes we need a good quote to jolt us back into perspective. Here is one from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy:

"So don't worry about things, saying, "What are we going to eat?" or "Will we have anything to drink?" or "What will we wear?" (People who don't know God at all do that!) For your Father -- the One in the heavens around you -- knows you need these things. Instead, make it your top priority to be part of what God is doing and to have the kind of goodness he has. Everything else you need will be provided." (p67)

ks

Can Canada be great without God?

Is Canada still a nation that professes it is under God? This piece of news reflects a growing No. The 'god' they now profess is the god of 'freedom of speech' for all, yet by their actions, they deny it to Christians. It sounds incredible, that a brochure that is given to every student to take home, asking whether the parents would like their kids to be given a Bible free of charge, is also banned! All it takes is one parent to protest and the entire Burnaby district board decides to ban the children and parents' choice to free Bibles. Will the board consider equally the other argument, in that a parent protest the ban, and will the ban then be reversed? People who have a right NOT to receive Bibles, also similarly have a right to say YES to receiving Bibles.

Come on, we are not talking about pornography or other forms of immoral culture. You mean, giving kids pizza or Safeway brochures are better for the educational development than free Bibles that can help in the spiritual and moral development of children?

The fall of the Roman Empire is a case in point. It has been said that Rome fell not because of its lack of military power, but because it was not build on any moral or spiritual foundation. Instead, it was built on secularism. Francis Schaeffer's thoughts was deemed prophetic when he describes the contemporary culture as hopeless.

"Schaeffer elaborates on the two impoverished values: Personal peace means "just to be let alone, not to be troubled by the troubles of other people … . to live one's life with minimal possibilities of being personally disturbed." Affluence means "an overwhelming and ever-increasing prosperity—a life made up of things, and more things—a success judged by an ever-higher level of material abundance." (Christianity.ca. 2006)

Note how prophetic it is, his lament about the individualism and the materialism that is projected under the guise of 'freedom of choice' and 'freedom of speech.' A pretty well-written argument (Feb 9, 2007 issue) against the Burnaby Bible ban is written by freelance contributor Jennifer Cole, to 24hrs.ca entitled: "Who wins in Bible ban?" in which she argued:

"Burnaby's existing all-inclusive policy allows students to request any religious book they would like: Bible or Quran. Burnaby cannot be responsible if only the Gideon's are offering religious material to students; all other recogized religious groups in Canada can approach the board and ask the same - and have not."

"The values that educators and parents complain are being lost to upcoming generations: The bullying behaviours that find their way into the playground, drug habits that start from peer pressure found in school cliches, would perhaps be countered if children at a young age, within a peer setting, were exposed to materials that offered constructive approaches to negative actions, giving the individual a lasting sense of personal empowerment and inclusiveness."

Jennifer ends her column with a thought provoking question: "What value is taught by not allowing the Bible to be given (by free choice) to Burnaby children?" Extreme practices of 'freedom of speech/choice' reminds me of an old Malay proverb: "The bean forgets its pod." Canada is increasingly choosing to forget that the creation of a great Canada starts from a recognition of God's mighty grace on the land. The Canadian national anthem recognizes the need for God in "God keep our land glorious and free!", but actions such as the ban, mocks that same line.

ks

Taste of the Word 2007

Trying out the Flickr account. Check out this year's event here.

From 4.5 to 6.5 million people

The latest news reads "Singaporeans need assurance over growing population: sociologist." For an island that is only 270 sq miles (700 sq km), that would translate into roughly 279 sq metre for every individual. For an approximation, a family of four typically occupy a 4-room apartment that is about 1200 square metres. If we were to add to the space requirements the additional stuff people has, their furniture and basic shelf space, there isn't much room left to jump. Ok, there will be taller and deeper buildings, and logistically, it is still possible to envision an island being able to accommodate that many people, still, the social implications are not to be underestimated. If there is a squeeze for space, it will mean:

1) Increased competition and increased stress for the limited public resources. People might fight for everything merely because 'everybody is doing it.'
2) Heightened level of impatience which breeds bad social behaviour. I remember those times where queueing up is a way of life for everything, from waiting for a car-park space to lining up to buy cinema tickets. This will also challenge Christians on the spiritual discipline of waiting.
3) Quality of Life. Creativity and innovation requires space, both to think, to experiment and to review the results. If the pressure is always on for people to keep to their schedule to keep the queue going for the next person standing in line, it adds pressure to achieving short-term gains at the expense of things long-term.
Anyway, queueing up will be a way of life.

Well, there are merits if there is a larger population.
- Higher probability of a Nobel peace prize winner, or greater quantity of brainy professionals;
- Increased competition leads to lowering of complacency
- Higher investment by foreigners based on a larger domestic market

Yet the negative side must not be undermined. Packing sardines into cans is doable. Packing people into a tight space is another matter altogether.

Read it for yourself: here

ks

Dare We Pray this?

I received this via email today, and checked that it is indeed a true message dating way back to 1996 at a Kansas senate meeting. This prayer was delivered January 23, 1996 by the Rev. Joe Wright to the Kansas House.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, The Rest of the Story, and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God.

Do we dare to pray like this, at the risk of ostracism by the society we live in?

The 'C' word

"The opposite of poverty is not property. Rather, the opposite of both is community. For in community we become rich: rich in friends, in neighbors, in colleagues, in comrades, in brothers and sisters. Together, as a community, we can help ourselves in most of our difficulties." (Jürgen Moltmann, The Source of Life (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1997), p109.

Regent students love to quote Moltmann, though his last phrase above risks misinterpreted as humanistic. Well, most of us know what he means. I too will do the same to reflect the ethos of the 'un'-seminary.

ks

Thoughts from the movie: "Crash"

Comprising a star studded cast of Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and many others, the film weaves together a multi-ethnic group of characters whose lives 'crash' into one another, some with devastating results, others with redemption. Set within the city of Los Angeles, Director Paul Haggis apparently was very intentional in lifting up the covers of everyday niceties to reveal the dark side of racial discrimination. In the movie, one black man call his own race 'nigger' (a derogatory term), a white woman distrusts a Latino locksmith, a Persian shopkeeper was mistaken as an Arab and the black calling an Asian as 'chinaman'. A black film director was almost helpless when a white policeman molested his wife.

Strangely there were redemptive moments throughout the show. The white policeman who molested the black woman rescued the same woman later at an accident scene. The black who ran over an Asian eventually 'redeemed' himself by setting free some Asian slaves who were to be sold to a prostitution ring. The Persian man, frustrated by racial harassment, through some strange turn of events, saw an angel, who prevented him from committing a terrible murder. The white woman who distrusts latino people, eventually admitted to her housemaid, who is also a latino, that she, the housemaid is the closest friend she ever had. There were lots of twists and turns in the movie. The director, while trying to showcase the deep underlying racial tensions in ethnic relations in LA, also took pains to show the humanness of people, that kindness is and should be colour-blind.

In a sense, I think a movie like this serves us an important point. Like little children who took to the playground and play, regardless of language, race or religion, we ought to have eyes like little children. Perhaps as we grew older, we have abandoned our common playground for harmony and neighbourliness. We have forgotten to take turns or let others have a fair chance at life, regardless of our background. We need new playgrounds where all can play and live harmoniously together. This is what a new heaven is all about.

A movie if it simply reflects reality is not good enough. It must do more. It must point the way forward that racial tensions is simply a consequence of fear. Only in love can this fear be overcome. How can this be done? I remember a scene from another movie "Volcano", where at the very end, a little girl exclaimed that everybody looked the same, as all their faces, their clothing and their bodies were covered in grey volcanic ashes. There was no distinction at all, where everybody have the common goal of saving one another from the deadly volcanic lava. Maybe, instead of ashes which can be easily washed away by rains, we ought to change our lens to see with eyes of love.

ks

Prayer for the World 2007

Last weekend, Friday evening (2/3Feb 2007) was the event. It was hard to stay awake. About 100 Regent students, faculty and staff laboured on throughout the night. Some stayed for the whole night from 8PM to 7AM the next day, others stayed for a little while, but many had a great time praying and worshiping. Due to a late start, refreshments only happened at 12AM midnight, pushing the programmes back one hour. The grapes were great, coffee, tea and fruit juices were aplenty plus great snacks like pretzels, chips and cookies. That might sound like the highlight for the evening, but I must say the highlight was the worship/communion at 2AM. I remember Andrew from England who taught us to point our hands towards God in worship. He had an interesting reason behind that. Being a soccer fan from the UK, he said that when he was at a soccer stadium with a bunch of friends cheering their favourite team, they will point their hands and fingers at the sky in one unison, singing loudly for their team, believing in their heart that it is the best team they are cheering. He admitted that kind of cheering was a little odd as every supporter (including opponents) will think their team is better. However in worshiping God, Andrew taught us that when we sing with our hands we proclaim a definite and victorious God. That set all of us wide awake and for the next few moments, everyone in the chapel were worshiping with gusto and believing that all our prayers is viable because we are calling upon a God who can do the impossible. That certainly energizes many of us.

Yes. Communion is the highlight for at the table, we declare our common identity in Christ and we share Christ's concern for the world. Compared to last year, this year's event was slightly less attended but the atmosphere remained electric. Members of the community were deep in prayer and earnest pleading for God to change the world. I must say that this Prayer for the World event is the most 'spiritual' event among all of Regent's offering. I sense a kind of openness that is very different. An openness that is united in a common concern for the world. It is that moment where no one is distinguished whether they get A's, B's or F's. Whatever ethnicity, denominational background, nationalities or other differences, it does not matter. Every member wears the common uniform of love for God and neighbour.

It is also a special time of sharing information about our home countries. At each hour, different people gathered at different rooms praying for the countries represented. This year, the Singapore/Malaysia slot was held at the Prayer Chapel. Some people were surprised to know that Singapore and Malaysia were formerly one country. If you have a chance to participate in next year's event, you should. Trust me. It is awesome.

Changing Religion in Malaysia due to Hospital Mixed Up. Possible?

This is a sensitive issue in Malaysia. In Malaysia, it is practically illegal for Muslims to renounce their religion and convert to other faith. This case is interesting because this man, now a Muslim, actually belongs to a Buddhist Chinese family, who were victims of a hospital error, who switched the Malay baby with a Chinese baby. This is another hot potato that can elevate religious tensions.

Hospital switched Malay babies

KUALA LAMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A Malaysian couple, always convinced the baby they were given at the hospital was not theirs, were reunited with their biological son after 30 years.

The BBC reported Saturday the couple was now considering legal action against the hospital in southern Malaysia for sending them home with the wrong baby and subjecting them to scurrilous talk among their neighbors because he didn't resemble his parents.

The family was actually reunited by sheer coincidence eight years ago when one of the Teo family siblings spotted the prodigal son working at a shopping mall and thought he was the spitting image of her father.

It is just now that the family is going public with the information because the man wishes to take a Chinese name and renounce Islam, the religion of the Muslim family that he was wrongly given to in 1978, the report said.

Meanwhile, the child given to the Teo family at the hospital left home at the tender age of 13 in 1991 because they said he always felt like he did not belong in the family.

Asia1 has another version of this: "Malaysian switched at birth wants to switch religion"