Saw this on the net. This will surely make Starbucks shiver.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Liberal Society and the Church
"Indeed it is not possible to learn to be a sinner without a confession and reconciliation. For it is one thing to confess our sin in general, but it is quite another to confess our sin to one in the church who we may well have wronged and to seek reconciliation. Without such confessions, however, I suspect we cannot be a church at all." (Stanley Hauerwas)
Hauerwas made a provocative observation on the current state of the church. We are living in an increasingly liberal society and by that I mean it is acceptable to say: "You have a right to your own opinion and I have mine. You have a right to live your kind of lifestyle and I have mine. So we agree to disagree." This is called liberal. Is liberal thinking for the Church? An example from the book "After Christendom" by Hauerwas helped illustrate the dilemma.
Bill Moyers was discussing a problem in his church where the wife of one member had committed adultery and had confessed it to the church. After much searching and discussion, the church received her back to membership after meting out the appropriate punishment on her. However, the husband refused to receive her back. In response, the pastor said to the husband:
"You do not have the right to reject her, for as a member of our church you too must hold out the same forgiveness that we as a church hold out. Therefore I am not asking you to take her back, I am TELLING you to take her back."
How we respond to the above actions by the pastor, will indicate to what extent our thinking is liberal or not.
Likewise, if the church demands that the husband takes the wife back, the church must stand with them to ensure that the marriage sticks.
kianseng
Hauerwas made a provocative observation on the current state of the church. We are living in an increasingly liberal society and by that I mean it is acceptable to say: "You have a right to your own opinion and I have mine. You have a right to live your kind of lifestyle and I have mine. So we agree to disagree." This is called liberal. Is liberal thinking for the Church? An example from the book "After Christendom" by Hauerwas helped illustrate the dilemma.
Bill Moyers was discussing a problem in his church where the wife of one member had committed adultery and had confessed it to the church. After much searching and discussion, the church received her back to membership after meting out the appropriate punishment on her. However, the husband refused to receive her back. In response, the pastor said to the husband:
"You do not have the right to reject her, for as a member of our church you too must hold out the same forgiveness that we as a church hold out. Therefore I am not asking you to take her back, I am TELLING you to take her back."
How we respond to the above actions by the pastor, will indicate to what extent our thinking is liberal or not.
Likewise, if the church demands that the husband takes the wife back, the church must stand with them to ensure that the marriage sticks.
kianseng
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Windows getting faster? or Slower
Imagine that:Windows 95 = 15 million lines of code
Windows 98 = 18 million lines of code
Windows XP = 35 million lines of code
Windows Vista? (50 million?)
No wonder we have to upgrade our computers so frequently. New releases on older computers simply slows down the whole PC. And one shouldn't be surprised that with each Windows release there seemed to be more flaws and vulnerabilities. Kind of reminds me of Proverbs 10:19 "Where words are many, sin is not absent,...".
I suppose if the author had known of Windows then, he might have said something like, where "lines are many, vulnerabilities/viruses are not absent." Hey! 2 'V's makes a W. (W for Windows?)
kianseng
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Sportsmanship! Viva De Rossi! (A Tale of 2 Players)
What a week. Two teams. Two victories. but boils down to a tale of 2 players.
Soccer is known to be the world's most popular sport. It has become increasingly so competitive that players will be unscrupulous just to get the results. Bad tackles, play-acting, diving, cheating with hands are some of the things done. BUT not this week, in the Serie A Soccer League (Italian), one man made the difference in owning up to a handball-aided equalizer, despite his team (AS Roma) being 1-0 down to Messina. Daniele De Rossi promptly confessed to the referee, who did not see that incident and was about to announce the score 1-1. The referee then disallowed the goal to AS Roma. We need more people like De Rossi. Winning games are not everything. For the record, AS Roma came back and won 2-1 eventually, and even their opponents praised them.
Some quotes from an Italian newspaper:
"Viva De Rossi!" read the front-page headline of sports daily, Corriere dello Sport .
"De Rossi has shown that, as well as being worthy of the national team as a player, he is also worthy as a man," said Messina midfielder Salvatore Sullo .
"He did what should be done in these situations," said Roma coach Luciano Spalletti. "He gave an important message to the soccer world, because the referee had not realized (it was handball)". The capital's mayor, Walter Veltroni, reportedly called De Rossi after the game and told him that "your gesture brings honour on Rome and on your team" .
Other links to the sporting incident:
(1) The Star Malaysia
(2) ANSA IT
===============================
In stark contrast, another handball incident in the EPL game (Chelsea vs Man City) went unnoticed by the referee. Didler Drogba clearly handled the ball with his hands and in the process scored a goal. He kept quiet and celebrated his goal instead. Now one can say that the referee did not see it. But, in true spirit to the game of football, is that sportsmanship?
Follow this link to read the Drogba episode, which to me, sucks and my thumbs down for Chelsea, and in particular Drogba. (It is like cheating in class and getting an A, saying that as long as the teacher did not catch the cheating, the A still stands. For me, that A is no A. Rather an honest B/C than a dishonest A.)
Victory before sportsmanship? or Sportsmanship before victory? For me, we need to eventually say that afterall, it is just a game. So it is far better to be sporting. For De Rossi's team, victory is fair and enriching, even with opponents applauding them. For Drogba's team, victory is suspect and opponents cried foul. Is the price of victory worth it? You tell me.
THE CONTRASTING TABLE
kianseng
Soccer is known to be the world's most popular sport. It has become increasingly so competitive that players will be unscrupulous just to get the results. Bad tackles, play-acting, diving, cheating with hands are some of the things done. BUT not this week, in the Serie A Soccer League (Italian), one man made the difference in owning up to a handball-aided equalizer, despite his team (AS Roma) being 1-0 down to Messina. Daniele De Rossi promptly confessed to the referee, who did not see that incident and was about to announce the score 1-1. The referee then disallowed the goal to AS Roma. We need more people like De Rossi. Winning games are not everything. For the record, AS Roma came back and won 2-1 eventually, and even their opponents praised them.
Some quotes from an Italian newspaper:
"Viva De Rossi!" read the front-page headline of sports daily, Corriere dello Sport .
"De Rossi has shown that, as well as being worthy of the national team as a player, he is also worthy as a man," said Messina midfielder Salvatore Sullo .
"He did what should be done in these situations," said Roma coach Luciano Spalletti. "He gave an important message to the soccer world, because the referee had not realized (it was handball)". The capital's mayor, Walter Veltroni, reportedly called De Rossi after the game and told him that "your gesture brings honour on Rome and on your team" .
Other links to the sporting incident:
(1) The Star Malaysia
(2) ANSA IT
In stark contrast, another handball incident in the EPL game (Chelsea vs Man City) went unnoticed by the referee. Didler Drogba clearly handled the ball with his hands and in the process scored a goal. He kept quiet and celebrated his goal instead. Now one can say that the referee did not see it. But, in true spirit to the game of football, is that sportsmanship?
Follow this link to read the Drogba episode, which to me, sucks and my thumbs down for Chelsea, and in particular Drogba. (It is like cheating in class and getting an A, saying that as long as the teacher did not catch the cheating, the A still stands. For me, that A is no A. Rather an honest B/C than a dishonest A.)
Victory before sportsmanship? or Sportsmanship before victory? For me, we need to eventually say that afterall, it is just a game. So it is far better to be sporting. For De Rossi's team, victory is fair and enriching, even with opponents applauding them. For Drogba's team, victory is suspect and opponents cried foul. Is the price of victory worth it? You tell me.
THE CONTRASTING TABLE
kianseng
Friday, March 24, 2006
Theologian with the Head + the Heart (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
I watched an amazing documentary on Dietrich Bonhoeffer on KCTS last night. It was a biography of one of the humblest and courageous theologian who lived and practiced the Christian faith to his death. Born in Germany, he was in the resistance movement against Nazism and in particular, Hitler. The state church then bowed down to political pressure and subsequently failed to champion the rights of the weak and the oppressed. Bonhoeffer and a handful of German Christians were appalled and started their own Confessional Church movement, even to the point of planning the assassination of Hitler. That failed and led to the execution of Bonhoeffer and many others.
The writings below represent a portion of Bonhoeffer's convictions in his book "The Cost of Discipleship". Bonhoeffer was executed at a Nazi concentration camp on 9th April 1945, just before Germany surrendered to the allies in WWII. Theologians with both the head AND the heart. We need more of them.
============================================
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Cheap Grace vs Costly Grace
WE DO NOT NEED CHEAP GRACE
"Let the Christian rest content with his worldliness and with this renunciation of any higher standard than the world. He is living for the sake of the world rather than for the sake of grace. Let him be comforted and rest assured in his possession of this grace - for grace alone does everything. Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace!"
That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sins departs.
Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
WHAT WE NEED = COSTLY GRACE
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must then be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us.
Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Powerful stuff!
{for more on Bonhoeffer click here}
kianseng
The writings below represent a portion of Bonhoeffer's convictions in his book "The Cost of Discipleship". Bonhoeffer was executed at a Nazi concentration camp on 9th April 1945, just before Germany surrendered to the allies in WWII. Theologians with both the head AND the heart. We need more of them.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Cheap Grace vs Costly Grace
"Let the Christian rest content with his worldliness and with this renunciation of any higher standard than the world. He is living for the sake of the world rather than for the sake of grace. Let him be comforted and rest assured in his possession of this grace - for grace alone does everything. Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace!"
That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sins departs.
Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must then be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us.
Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Powerful stuff!
{for more on Bonhoeffer click here}
kianseng
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
I'm on googlePages!
I have finally gotten my GooglePages activated today! I have put up some of my published articles on the web. They can be viewable here.
Check out my site here.
kianseng
Check out my site here.
kianseng
Thursday, March 16, 2006
An 'Ah Beng' Hilarious Moment
Ah Beng to a long-distance telephone operator:
"Could you please tell me the time difference between
Taipei and Las Vegas?"
Operator: "Just a minute.."
Ah Beng: "Thank You," and puts down the phone.
=============================================
"Could you please tell me the time difference between
Taipei and Las Vegas?"
Operator: "Just a minute.."
Ah Beng: "Thank You," and puts down the phone.
=============================================
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