bobjots : redux

The July 3 edition of the Nairobi Star published the following piece :

Gays Told To Quit Church

The Anglican Church of Kenya now wants to stop gays attending church.

Gays and lesbians will not join the Anglican congregations anymore...unless they renounce their sexuality.

Eldoret Dioceses Anglican Bishop Thomas Kogo yesterday said the church had decided to forbid homosexuals from going to their churches if they could not repent and stick to biblical teachings.

The sociologist Max Weber observed :

Luther and Calvin did away with the monasteries and, in turn, made the whole world into a monastery

.. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus)

The world is my parish

The event today turned out to be peaceful with people having the opportunity to express their general frustrations in a safe and secure manner. The general sense that things are still not all that well is still there and a cursory glance at the newspapers of the day will vindicate that feeling. For me personally, I get the sense that there are attempts to manufacture a scenario or a set of scenarios based on a lot of one sided pronouncements and opinions presented as objective truths.

So, the "battle" isn't over yet. The need for intercession and direct action is still necessary. Direct action doesn't necessarily have to be in the realm of macro politics or confrontational attitudes. Small shifts in how we engage and interact with the people around us can make a big difference.

Not everyone is called to take up the role of an activist or a politician. The mantle of the prophet is given to few. But one thing we can all do is to intercede and pray for the nation in this uncertain and troubled time. Many of us, irregardless of our faith traditions or lack thereof, are used to praying or at least hoping for peace. I remember that as a kid, before making the choice to embrace the Christian faith, I used to be taught to pray for 平安 (peace and tranquility).

As a Christian today, my posit is that peace requires justice. In the chaotic geo-politics of today, a lot of people are clamouring for a just peace. It is not enough to merely impose peace but also to bring it about justly. Martin Shaw of the University of Sussex suggests:

Peace entails justice, indeed, not merely in this sense of criminal responsibility, but in the larger sense of a just political and economic settlement for the people

In order to faithfully live in community, the Church must prayerfully support the elimination of poverty, war, racism, sexism, hate, and the like. True peace is intimately entwined to real justice and our own scriptures testify to it very strongly :

Once we Christians get past figuring out whether or not we ought to pay a little more attention in making this world a better place for all creation (yep .. that includes people who may not share our belief systems and worldviews), the next set of questions come up.

Of course the attention is called for, not because we seek to establish God's Kingdom on earth (that would be for Him to do in His own time with or without our help) or because it is necessary for salvation (there's already plenty of Pelagianism in the Church to go around .. we don't need to add to it), but because it is a natural expression of our love for God and humanity.

Don't take my word for it. Go check it out yourself. Do note the singularity in the brief lesson - implying a holistic application perhaps?

So how do we actually get about doing it? Sivin, Alice and TK Tan came up with some good ideas at The Micah Mandate, roughly categorised along these lines ..

• What we can do as individuals
• What we can do as a church
• What we can do in partnership with established organisations

Piqued? Go have a look here and leave some thoughts or two while you're at it.

When Focus on the Family starts focusing on Obama, we're in trouble. One wonders .. would FOTF Malaysia agree with the opinions of Dobson?

My own opinion .. I'll focus on my family first and perhaps if we had some Obama like figures in Malaysia, we might have some temporal salvation after all.

Kyrie Eleison.

I heard something today ..

.. the fact that I love the Church so much is why perhaps I fight it so much ..

According to The Times' Richard Owen, that seems to be the case :

Pope Benedict will issue his findings on Luther (1483-1546) in September after discussing him at his annual seminar of 40 fellow theologians — known as the Ratzinger Schülerkreis — at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer residence. According to Vatican insiders the Pope will argue that Luther, who was excommunicated and condemned for heresy, was not a heretic.

A good way to end the night ..

Sanctus
music : Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel
performed by Libera

Sanctus Sanctus

Benedictus qui venit in nomine
Benedictus in nomine Domini

Benedictus qui venit in nomine
Benedictus in nomine Domini

If you listen carefully, the bit in the beginning where the kids are being woken up in the sweatshop sounds like it was spoken in Malay. I've seen some of these places and they're closer than we think.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked every year. These children are moved from one place to another, often into another country, in order to be exploited. In East Asia, most of this trafficking results in children being sexually exploited in brothels and bars. In India, trafficked children often end up in the slavery of bonded labour, trying to pay off relatives’ debts through years of work.

While some children are abducted by traffickers, many more are sent away by their families. The poverty they live in forces them to make choices which put their children at risk – it is hard to refuse the offer of money when you are struggling to feed your family, especially when you are told that your child will be looked after and well-paid for their work.

- Viva Network

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

(Matthew 25:35-40)

.. details here

The Prayer of the Children
- Kurt Bestor and Sam Cardon

Can you hear the prayer of the children?
On bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room
Empty eyes with no more tears to cry
Turning heavenward toward the light

Another reminder from my friendly, neighbourhood ASBO Jesus :

More from ASBO* Jesus

An apt reminder after watching an episode of Hak Kami on NTV 7 that highlighted sexual harassment.

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

- Matthew 5:27-28

I am currently doing a course from the Lutheran Bible Training Institute on Church History and interestingly a lot of the more colourful and influential characters that we have covered to date (the first 3 centuries of the Common Era) hail from Africa - Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (aka Cyprian from Carthage), Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (aka Tertullian, another Carthaginian and is credited to be the father of Latin theology), and Origen Adamantius (aka Origen from Alexandria and is credited to be the father of Greek theology).

So I reckon you can imagine how I'd react when I came across the website for The Center for Early African Christianity (HT: Cyberbrethren). The contents are still pretty sparse but it looks quite promising and I suppose it might be structured along the content architecture of Thomas C. Oden's How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind, which looks like something that's definitely going into my wishlist.

The closest equivalent we have for the study on Asian Christianity is Trinity Theological College's Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia. I have used some of the archived materials there when editing some Wikipedia articles but they definitely ought to revisit their site architecture and GUI.

.. at least for me ..

Put Prayer Pups Christian Cartoons on your website!

More from ASBO* Jesus

* ASBO = Anti-Social Behaviour Order

.. and something I read today which shook me a bit ..

The gospel of grace is brutally devalued when Christians maintain that the transcendent God can only be properly honoured and respected by denying the goodness and the truth and the beauty of the things of this world ..

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

Pretty funny stuff here from Missio Dei :

• I heard you had to take yoga.
• I’m not white.
• Brian McLaren’s books are not theologically correct. I’m not sure why, I just know they are.
• I prefer Joel Osteen.
• I refuse to switch to Apple.
• Their hermeneutic of ecclesiology is unorthodox, fundamentally esoteric and meandering. It borders on epistemological ambiguity that is really troublesome. I’m afraid it will lead to heretical uncertainty of the most pernicious kind. (I loved this!)

• Candles are a fire hazard in small, confined places

Hehe .. ok .. bad translation. Should be "Idola Memuji Tuhan?"

Apparently I'm a bit lembap in popular entertainment but the song "Shout to the Lord" apparently was featured not once, but twice, on American Idol. The first time, they had the lyrics amended a bit, perhaps to make it a bit more politically correct ..

Some of my friends might remember how we improvised this from a photocopied piece of sheet music from an old copy of the Boys' Brigade's BB Gazette and made it in time (and apparently in tune) for the 1st Petaling Jaya Company's Enrolment Service in 1994. I finally found a video of BBC's Voice of Praise where this song was first sung in public :

We didn't do too badly now, did we?

Warning: Jingoistic nationalism ahead .. :P

What happens when most patriotic songs you know have been hijacked for partisan purposes? I guess one just has to import another ..

Click here (opens in new window - my flash player isn't embedding)

This song; I Vow To Thee My Country or Jerusalem; is typically used as a patriotic song in England but it does sum up what I feel ..

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Paskah adalah satu bukti cinta Allah
Ada kuasa yang memberi kemenangan
Salib bukanlah akhir melainkan awal
Karena Kristus t’lah patahkan kuasa maut
Anak Allah sendiri pulihkan umat-Nya
Hingga kau dan aku beroleh selamat

- creativeage

"Our task…is to live as resurrection people in between Easter and the final day, with our Christian life, corporate and individual, in both worship and mission, as a sign of the first and the foretaste of the second."

- N.T. Wright, Surprised By Hope
(interview on Preaching Today)

- Bishop Prado's Sermon; Seoul Cathedral, 1999

.. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay ..

Matthew 28:6, Lectionary Year A Gospel Reading

Ada apa dengan Cinta?
- Ang Tek Kun

Ada apa dengan cinta?

Ada kerelaan
yang tak terbanding oleh manusia
untuk meninggalkan segalanya, segala-galanya
melangkah turun dari takhta kemuliaan
ke tempat terendah, serendah-rendahnya
tanpa desah, tanpa keluh

I've spent my whole adult life fighting for a cause, giving up such "creature comforts" like a college education, a "proper career", et al. Now that we've almost achieved it, I find myself suddenly at an impasse, somewhere along the lines of needing to re-boot my life all over again. Of course, it isn't that easy to re-boot and start afresh when you actually have a family with you now and mortgages to pay.

Anyway, Lent is coming to a close and the new spring is coming. Seeing that it took the execution of the Lord as a common criminal to begin the process towards the Resurrection, I am hopeful even as I acknowledge my own brooding sense of uncertainty and fear of the unknown.

My congregation is keeping the sanctuary doors open every night from 8.00 pm - 10.00 pm from Holy Wednesday (ie. today) until Good Friday with exhibits of the Stations of the Cross culminating with a Tenebrae service on Good Friday before we celebrate the Resurrection on Easter. You're all welcomed to participate.

Perhaps its a good time to stop and re-centre before taking the next step in my journey.

There is an attempt to mobilise the nation's Christian community to unite in prayer on March 7, 2008 at 12.00 noon to seek the blessings of God on our nation.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land .. 2 Chronicles 7:14

A Malaysian now residing in the UK sent this to some of us KeADILan folks as an encouragement and I thought it was worth sharing :

Father give us, at this pivotal moment in Malaysia's history, a government we need not a government we deserve. We see indecision and paralysis, wickedness and injustice, corruption and venality, fear and oppression.

But you oh God are God of justice and righteousness. Deliver us oh Lord from wicked men and the insidious politics which has governed us for nearly 50 years.

Let not bigotry and extremism prevail but let the hopes of hearts everywhere beseech God for Malaysia at this critical crosssroad.

You allowed for Malaysians from Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous East Malaysians and others, disparate and different in our ethnic and religious identities, to come together as Malaysians.

Grant us God that we will have both the courage and imagination to show the world that men of very different colour, culture and creed can live and work together in peace, respect and mutual happiness towards a kinder, gentler, more just and compelling country - Amen

Reinhold Neibuhr who wrote the prayer

'God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change and courage to change the things we can and wisdom to distinguish one from another'

also wrote at another point:

'Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible. Men's inclination for injustice makes democracy necessary'

Let Justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream (Amos 5:24).

Martin Luther King from the jails of Birmingham Alabama wrote:

'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!'

I am no admirer of Richard Nixon though I think of him as a man of exceptional intellect and international acumen but in severe deficit of integrity who played on the politics of fear and fear mongering instead of faith and hope. But Nixon said something poignant at his first inaugural address and I paraphrase slightly:

'As we wait for the dawn to break, let us gather the light and not curse the remaining darkness'.

Let us wait upon the Hope of our hearts in Christ and forgive the hurts of history. God's redemptive grace is at work.

In view of the recent bad press against Anwar Ibrahim, with many bringing up a lof of "facts" from his previous career as a minister in Umno, my friend Steven came up with an interesting write up that we, especially Christians, can perhaps consider:

I was reading Pastor Sivin Kit’s blog and found a comment that says,

So… how ah?? Vote? Vote who? Although I understand and agree with most of the things mentioned above, (except for the guy that got punch in the eye… that fella is snake himself la! I must say this… let me remind you that this is the same fella that called the Chinese PENDATANG and started the trend to halau the Chinese. The then MCA president, Datuk Lee Kim Sai made an issue by protesting to his coments and he was suspended from work as a Health Minister, strip of his Datukship and turun tangga in shame. ) I don’t see any calibre opposition party worth my vote….

I've seen signing done in church before but this guy is amazing ..

I remember having the album where this song was recorded in when I was in secondary school ..

I've been looking forward to try a hand at this quiz since I first heard of it at the Out of Ur blog. Since it was then only available in the print edition of the Leadership Journal, we in Malaysia had to wait a bit (a bit longer for me since I technically am not in any church leadership).

So I was quite glad to read from both the Reb's blog as well as Kar Yong's blog that Christianity Today has set up an online version of the quiz. My score was an unexpectedly low 55 which makes me out to be more conservative than I apparently thought I was although in the quiz's scale, I'd be on the lower end of "moderate".

The Committee of Indigenous & Bumiputera Affairs or Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Bumiputera Indigenous (HEBI), a committee under the auspices of the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) just released this statement reiterating their right to use the national language for worship and liturgical purposes:

Kami, Ahli Jawatan Kuasa Hal Ehwal Bumiputra Indigenous (HEBI) satu komuniti bagi penganut agama kristian pribumi seMalaysia di bawah payung Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM), ingin meluahkan isi hati kami mengenai larangan pihak kerajaan terhadap penggunaan beberapa istilah, baik secara lisan mahupun tulisan.

With all the hubbub and busy-ness that comes with preparing for the General Elections (despite my main task for now requires me primarily to be sitting behind my laptop), it is easy to forget that the following week marks the entry into the third week of Lent. I took some time off to have a look at the Scripture readings from the Lectionary for the Third Sunday of Lent.

The Gospel reading is from John 4:5-42 and it recounts the occasion when Jesus and his disciples were passing through Samaria and Jesus asked for a drink of water from a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well; aka the story of the Woman at the Well. There're a lot of lessons that can be picked up from this passage alone but what perhaps jumped out at me was the Samaritan woman's response when Jesus asked for water :

"You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?"

The World Council of Churches, an umbrella body that promotes unity and dialogue among the various Christian traditions in the world, recently had a meeting of their central commitee in Geneva. Among some of the statements issued was this one which I found to be timely (kairotic?) for the Malaysian Christian community (HT: Sivin).

Noting the numerous significant elections that have occurred recently or will be occurring this year, the statement emphasises that "attention should be paid to pre- and post-electoral mechanisms" so that "an election truly reflects the will of the people". Churches are called on "to be actively involved, where appropriate, in civil political engagement and education" and to do their part "to ensure fair, just and participatory democratic elections".

The full statement (with some personal notes and asides) is reproduced below :

Close at the heels of the public stand by the Christian Federation of Malaysia to encourage Christians to vote in candidates of integrity and honesty, a politician who professes the Christian faith attempting to win the parliamentary seat in the constituency where I stay is now telling us Christians that we need to get permits to hold worship services in shoplots.

I can understand the zoning issues here but I am not aware that shoplot owners who rent out their shoplots as residences are being asked to do the same. What about "temporary" cabin shelters that are set up in public parks for use by certain political parties as their branch offices - complete with concrete foundations, wire fencings and signboards with no local government licence numbers?

The application for permits and even the registering of religious bodies is a contentious constitutional issue with some legal and constitutional experts opining that by virtue of Article 11 of the Constitution, such bodies can exist by default without the need to register and/or ask permission from any authority.

Well .. yes and no. Religious freedom does feature in the CFM's Vote Wisely campaign (well it was mentioned once in the whole leaflet). In fact, I think it probably is one of the major motivators behind getting the broadbased support needed for CFM to actually endorse and back a campaign of this nature. Nonetheless, CFM was wise enough to include other issues for Christians to consider when casting their votes; ie. integrity, support for the freedom of conscience and freedom of speech, welfare for the poor, sick and disabled, economic policy, track record et al.

The temptation to just latch on to the religious freedom issue as if its the one defining factor in our evaluation as citizens is there, especially in light of the various incidences of the flagrant violation of the practice of minority faiths over the last decade or so. But I'd suggest that we not just stop there but look at issues wholistically.

As a member of an Opposition party, I am aware tha