bobjots : redux

In view of the current controversy on the use of Allah by non-Muslims in Malaysia, one of the inevitable non-constitutional questions raised both by supporters and detractors is whether the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are mutually exclusive. Here’s an academic-theological perspective from S. Wesley Ariarajah, a professor of ecumenical theology at Drew [...]

The case of The Herald v Malaysia, which was aimed at getting a court order to overturn the ban on the use of Allah by the The Herald newspaper, has generated a lot of controversy. A lot of allegations and accusations have been made, especially by the mainstream media, which acts to blur the facts of [...]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I fear that the arbitrary ban on the use of certain words in the national language by the non-Muslim communities in this country will not stop with Allah. The press has recently caught on: ‘Allah’ not only word banned Malaysian Insider, January 14, 2010   彭州憲法規定非回教刊物‧禁用25字眼及10用語 (Pahang laws ban use of 25 words [...]

In the light of the church burnings over the last 12 hours, I am reminded of the simple prayer we say every Sunday before the Benediction: Forgive us our tresspasses .. As we forgive those who tresspass against us If you are in the Klang Valley, you are invited to join us tonight for a time of quiet [...]

Contrary to popular belief, the ban on the use of Allah as a translation for God by non-Muslims is not governed by the various Syariah enactments that exist in Malaysia but within the authority granted the various security related legislations to the Home Ministry to enact regulations to safeguard national security – whatever national security [...]

A message I need to hear today .. One of the hardest things in life is to let go of old hurts. We often say, or at least think: “What you did to me and my family, my ancestors, or my friends I cannot forget or forgive. … One day you will have to pay for [...]

Update I have just been informed that Archbishop Murphy Pakiam will be declining the invitation to participate in the dialogue as he does not want to make a public statement about this at the moment. He will be replaced by Eddin Khoo, a social activist and scholar on religion. Personally I am extremely disappointed at this [...]

Menurut Presiden SIB Sabah, Pdt. Jerry Dusing, istilah “Allah” telah digunakan dalam ibadah gereja SIB dan Alkitab semenjak penubuhannya pada zaman pra-kemerdekaan lagi oleh jemaah Bahasa Malaysia yang rata-ratanya kaum pribumi di Sabah dan juga dipengaruhi oleh amalan-amalan dan kosa kata agama gereja di Indonesia. Penggunaan Bahasa Malaysia adalah lebih meluas lagi pada masa [...]

I have heard it said that when you get to your wit’s end, you’ll find that God lives there. This has been a year of highs and lows, of which the latter dominated. In a sense, I look forward to putting this year behind me. Then again, in retrospect, I realised that it is in my [...]

The Whisper of Divinity A chaotic place: under the ardent lamps, the buzz of commerce consumes the night where congested crowds can see only ahead and never beyond. This night defines many nights - from the moon’s conception to the offspring of stars, from the fall of creation to today that will last only ’til the sun tumbles and these tastes saturate the dark [...]

This is the time of the year again when we commemorate our journey to nationhood with the Merdeka celebrations. Some would cynically tell me that there is nothing worthwhile left to celebrate. Others are less pessimistic. There are those who will also tell us that we lack patriotism because we criticise the “government” too much. Personally [...]

Watching this latest release from 15Malaysia (HT: Sivin Kit) reminded me of why I first got actively involved in social concerns. It was back in 1994-95 when the old Damansara “Cowboy Town” (aka Kampung Damansara Dalam) was targeted for demolition and re-development. The exercise involved the re-location of a few hundred families, in some cases by [...]

One of the more perplexing parables in the Gospels would be the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). Perplexing because it really gnaws on what we would assume to be positive values, ie. hard work, fair compensation, et al. One other story from the Gospels that struck me as odd in my [...]