Birth and Death at Christmas

We remember the Birth of Christ at Christmas. And with Christ, the salvation of sinful man, is now possible.

But the birth of Christ was achieved with many death.  As a direct result of Christ's birth at Christmas, Herod the king ordered the massacre of all male below the age of 2 during that time.  Hence many thousands must had died innocently when God implemented His redemption plan.

Therefore, knowing that so many had died in order for us to enjoy salvation through Christ, we too must embrace death to our former self. 

As Paul taught, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things had passed away, behold, new things have come." (2 Cor 5:12, also Gal 2:20) 

Let our old sinful self be dead too.

Merry Christmas.

The anguish of first generation Christians

I accepted Christ over 40 years ago and am a first generation Christian.  None of my previous generations were Christians.

My sister died 4 years ago, my mum 3 years ago, and my father 2 years ago.  They were all wonderful people and very close to me.  None of them accepted the saving grace of Jesus Christ prior to their demise.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and no one could be saved without Him. 
Therein lies the anguish of first generation Christians.  The thought of being saved in Heaven, and yet looking down from Heaven and seeing your closest family members, siblings, parents, grandparents, etc, suffering in Hell for eternity, is the most anguishing thought.

Christ had taught us to forgive others 70 times 7 times.  Would God forgive his creation 70 times 7 times too?  Why would non-Christians be condemned to Hell's eternal fire for not knowing Christ in just ONE lifetime.  Or even 70 times 7 lifetimes.  Eternal punishment is unthinkable.

There will be no joy in Heaven, as long as Heaven's inhabitants know of their loved ones suffering in eternal Hell.  That is simple common sense. 

Faced with such prospect, first generation Christians have developed a coping mechanism - the possibility of accepting Christ's salvation even beyond the grave.  The soul of a person lives on after the physical death.  There is still hope for the soul to acknowledge Christ's salvation even after the physical death, because Love and Faith and Hope endure forever. (1 Cor 13.)  Even after one is physically dead, salvation through Christ is still possible - because there is Hope.

I will continue to pray for the salvation of my departed relatives till the day I die.  God would not punish any of His creation permanently forever, at most only temporarily - because God is Love.

In some sense, I have rejected the doctrine of eternal punishment.  This reasoning may not be biblical.  But all humans are God's creation and should not be condemned to eternal punishment - because God is Merciful.

Stop nagging at humans. Nag at God.

Nobody likes to be nagged at, especially children.  "Don't keep telling me all the time to pack my bed or tidy the room."

God is majestic.  He is King of the world.  So I don't bother God with small insignificant things.  I don't pray to God and ask him what time I should leave the house, what bus to take, or what brand of toothpaste to buy.

But, funny.  The Bible seems to advise us to do the opposite.  "Pray without ceasing... (1 Thess 5:17), it says.  Pray without ceasing about what??  It must include praying for insignificant things as well.

The parable of the naggy woman (Luk 18:1-5) suggests that when God does not answer, nag Him.  The judge gave in to the naggy woman because he reasoned that her nagging would wear him down.

And in Luk 11:5-8, Jesus taught another parable.  Through persistency (repeat, insist, nag, nag, nag) a man was rewarded with the loaves of bread he wanted from his friend. 

In both these parables,  the trick was to continue to nag and irritate the other party until he gave in to the request.  This applies to praying to God.

I find this prayer strategy, of nagging our Heavenly Father, disconcerting.  But then, it is recommended in the Bible. 

Alleluia!

Habakkuk's world and Our world

Read the first few verses of Habakkuk in the Old Testament, and you may find the world in similar situation.

Habakkuk asked (Hab 1):
How long O Lord, will I call for help and Thou wilt not hear?
I cry out to Thee "Violence!", yet Thou dost not save.
Why dost Thou make me see iniquity and cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.
Therefore, the law is ignored and justice is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore justice is perverted.

The Lord Replied:
Look among the nations, Observe! Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days--you would not believe if you were told.
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth
To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
They are dreaded and feared.
Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves...
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
All of them come for violence, ...they collect captives like sand...

Well, if you replace the word CHALDEANS  with ISIS TERRORISTS, you may find that what is happening in the world today is same as what was happening in Habakkuk's time.

But the Chaldeans were raised by God to punish the sinful people during that time.
The ISIS Terrorists are not 'raised by God' to punish the sinful people during our time.  God has already sent His only Son to die on the cross for all our sins.

ISIS is not sent by God.  It is the result of the sins of humankind.

Both God and Us are Changing

C S Lewis is a renowned author if Christian books.

In the movie SHAWDOWHANDS, he was depicted reflecting on the nature of prayer.  Asked why he prayed, he responded, "I pray because I can't help myself.  I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.  It doesn't change God; it changes me."

This is an unfair depiction in the movie.  Most likely, C S Lewis did not say that. 

When we pray, God listens and changes.  He may change a lot, or change very little, but he changes.  See the lesson in Luke 11:5-9, about the sleeping man who was moved to get up by persistent requests for bread.

When we pray, we also change ourselves.  "It changes me".  The airplane passengers prayed for safe journey, but the flight turned out to be disastrous.  What happened would surely change how the passengers think.

Don't say "It doesn't change God".  God the Father does consider our prayers - maybe not giving in to what was prayed for, but changes the outcome in other ways.  God is good, always.

10 Commandments: Images and Idolatory

The first church I attended was Anglican. It was a 'bare' church.  The altar was just an empty table with a 10-inch cross on it.  I loved the simplicity, and the idea that God is so awesome, that no physical image is fitting enough to depict or represent Him.

Hence when I learnt that in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), the second specifically mentioned that "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness...not worship them..." I accepted this commandment completely.

But then, as I read the Bible, in Exodus 25, not many pages after Exodus 20,  I was confused why God asked his people to make 2 golden cherubim and placed them inside the Ark.  Now this is obvious against the 10 Commandments.  (How do cherubim look like anyway?)

And in Numbers 21:8, God ordered Moses to make a bronze serpent, so that those who had been bitten by snakes could 'looked to the bronze serpent, and lived'.

But never mind the confusion.  The Ten Commandants are very clear.  There are always. things in the Bible that I do not understand.  Let the inconsistencies be.  After all, I am a Christian because of Jesus Christ, not because of the interpretations or some inconsistencies in the Bible.

Then I came across this explanation in http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/did-the-catholic-church-change-the-ten-commandments. I think it makes sense.  I am no longer confused.

Apparently, someone sub-divided one commandment into two.  Someone mistakenly used too many fullstops instead of commas.  Read carefully now --- Exodus 20:3-6 is just 1 commandment - worship God, no others, no idolatry.  Because you shall have no other gods before Me, hence you shall not make for yourself an idol of any likeness...

Hence we Christians do not have to worry too much about having physical images, as long as they do not become 'idols'.

Yet it is still good practice not to place 'any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth' in churches and other places of worship.  They could be a source of distraction for some of us.

Christianity and Reincarnation

For a long time, the many anecdotal stories of reincarnation aroused my interest.

Separately, as I read the Bible, the occasional passages suggesting cases of past lives aroused my interest even more.

For example, the words of Matt 17:10-13 explicitly stated that John the Baptist was Elijah.  The disciples interpreted it this way, and I interpreted the verses this way too.

Furthermore, the Bible did not explicitly state that there is no such thing as reincarnation.

Please refer to the article "Reincarnation in the Bible" in http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-bible-verses.htm  

This article appeals to me because it gives samples of many parts of the Bible that suggest the phenomenon of reincarnation.  It's explanation tallies with my own logical conclusion relating to Matt 17: 10-12, Matt 24:34, Job 1:20-21, and other verses.  Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist." (Matthew 17:13)

Why the Catholic church threw out the doctrine of reincarnation in the earlier years (AD 553, The Second Council of Constantinople?), and why most other churches subsequently adopted the same idea, I don't know.

Little did I know some other writers also observed this anomaly too; and in their studies, concluded that reincarnation may be is a 'lost doctrine' in most Christian churches.

I finally reasoned out why the prophets in the old testament talked to the people about prophecies that would be fulfilled in hundreds and thousands of years down the road.  (I mean, why would my generation bother if someone predicts the world would split into 2 halves in 20,000 years time?  Long long time after my generation is gone.) Such prophecies are meaningless unless this same generation would be there, in another incarnation, at the time the prophecies are fulfilled.

It appears possible that souls could be reincarnated until such time when they accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Redeemer.  And upon that acceptance, they no longer need to be reincarnated again.  Perhaps you have other conclusions,  but do read the article quoted above.

"...For I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." 2 Tim 1:12

Judaism and Reincarnation

The subject of re-incarnation has always intrigued me.  I have written about this topic in my earlier blog postings.

To me, this is an important topic.  Reincarnation is a prevalent belief in Chinese, Indian, and other religions.  So far, the Bible seems to indicate, and has hinted, that the belief of reincarnation is prevalent in the old and new testament too.  (I will explain this in other blog postings.)

I researched on whether Judaism is supportive of the idea of reincarnation.

I read several articles on the internet relating to Judaism and Reincarnation.  Most articles agree that Judaism is supportive of the idea of reincarnation.

Following is a good article. http://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380599/jewish/Judaism-and-Reincarnation.htm (There is another scholarly article on Wikipedia which is more difficult to read.)

How prevalent is the Jewish belief in reincarnation today? How does it differ from the Asian belief? What do the Rabbis think of it?

The root of the word "Torah" is the verb "to instruct". Torah's primary function is to teach us how to live Jewishly, in harmony with G‑d's will. As such, the basic levels of scriptural interpretation lead to a practical understanding of mitzvot and related Jewish values.

Many Jews are surprised to learn, or may even wish to deny, that reincarnation…is an integral part of Jewish belief…
The Torah, however, is a multi-layered document. Many of its deeper levels of interpretation are not readily accessible; and they may not lend themselves to obvious, practical application in daily life. As such, these more esoteric aspects of Torah are not of interest to significant segments of the Jewish population, including some rabbis and scholars.

Consequently, many Jews are surprised to learn, or may even wish to deny, that reincarnation - the "revolving" of souls through a succession of lives, or "gilgulim" - is an integral part of Jewish belief. But this teaching has always been around. And it is firmly rooted in source-verses.
Examples abound. Ramban, one of the greatest commentators on the Torah (and on the Talmud), and a seminal figure in Jewish history, hints several times that reincarnation is the key to penetrating the deep mysteries involved in the mitzvah of yibum (the obligation of the brother of a childless, deceased man to marry the widow). In his explanation of Gen 38:8, he insists that Yehudah and his sons were aware of the secret of reincarnation, and that this was a major factor in their respective attitudes towards Tamar.

The responsibility lies with us…
The Jewish understanding of reincarnation is different from Buddhist doctrines. It in no way leads to fatalism. At every point of moral decision in his life, a Jew has complete free choice. If not for freedom of choice, how unfair it would be of G‑d to make demands of us - especially when reward and punishment is involved! Reincarnation does not imply pre-determination. It is, rather, an opportunity for rectification and soul-perfection.

The holy Ari explained it most simply: every Jew must fulfill all 613 mitzvot, and if he doesn't succeed in one lifetime, he comes back again and again until he finishes. For this reason, events in a person's life may lead him towards certain places, encounters, etc., in ways that may or may not make sense. Divine providence provides each person with the opportunities he needs to fulfill those particular mitzvot necessary for the perfection of his soul. But the responsibility lies with us. At the actual moment of decision in any given situation, the choice is ours.

One of the ways in which heaven maintains our ability to exercise complete freedom of choice is by not allowing us conscious knowledge of previous incarnations. Consequently, it might seem to some people that there is little practical benefit in being aware of this doctrine. Furthermore, many scholars contend that these mystical concepts can easily be misunderstood, or carried to erroneous and misleading conclusions. We can therefore understand why this and similar subjects are only hinted at in scripture, and why some knowledge and a great deal of determination are often required in order to gain access to this information.

For an in-depth English treatment of the Jewish doctrine of reincarnation, see the running translation and commentary of Shaar Gilgulim on KabbalaOnline.org. (For the first article in the series, "Gate of Reincarnations", click here).

"Whimsical Midnight Silhouette"  Painted by me.

What are Archangels ?

The ancient Babylonians believed God has attendants who are spiritual beings. Judaism maintained this belief, and thus the Catholic religion teaches that "purely spiritual creatures" called angels exist (Catechism of the Catholic Church 330).

The word angel comes from the Hebrew word malakh, which means "to send". The Bible has many references to different kinds of angels.  Some angers are messengers.  The prefix arch- means "important".  Thus, archangels are entrusted with very important messages from God.  For example, the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of God (Luke 1:26).

Three archangels are mentioned in the Bible.  Biblical writers named them in reference to the messages they delivered: Michael ("who is the God"), Gabriel ("power of God"), and Raphael ("God has healed").  Their feast day is September 29.

Archangels are not human, but they fit the definition of a saint.  Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church added the archangels to the canon (list) of saints, because a saint is anyone who is holy, he or she lives in the presence of God and exists to serve God.

(Text taken from Fr. Don Kirchner, CSsR)

True and Fake Miracles

These are petty magicians who cheat for some gains.

There are also super magicians who can walk through the great wall of China, or make a building disappear before your eyes.

But there is no magician who can feed 5 thousand humans with 5 loaves and 2 fishes (John Chapter 6).

Jesus Christ is no magician.

That was a true miracle.  When they took 5 loaves from the table to distribute, another 5 loaves appeared on the table, and this happened repeatedly before thousands of eyes.  The loaves were not hidden behind some tablecloths or inside someone's sleeves or loose clothing.

If anyone can do this again today, and can walk around after being dead for three full days, today I will fall down and worship him as God.

Jesus Christ was the only one who can perform this miracle.

Of course, to justify that there was no such miracle, you can choose not to believe in the bible.  But then, where is faith in those many witnesses who carefully and conscientiously recorded what they saw for you and me? (Luke 1:1-3)

Prosperity Gospel: After 10%, what is mine is mine.

 

Why is it that 90% of the world's wealth is in the hands of 5% of the people?

Why is it that, if all the world's wealth is put together and equally divided and given to each person, in 20 year's time, 90% will again be in the hands of 5% of the people?

Obviously, some people are better in accumulating wealth, by good luck, by in-born talent, by hook, or by crook.

Apart from the few who become rich through winning lottery and super talent, wealthy people generally work hard to become wealthy.  So it's fair and square.  It's okay.  "I work hard for my money.  I slog day and night for my salary.  I sacrifice my family time, my fun time, my personal time, just to accumulate more wealth.  I also budget 10%, 20% of my wealth for God and for charity. I deserve to spend the remaining 90% and splurge on myself.

Pope St Gregory the Great gave another view, “The rich man is only an administrator of what he possesses; giving what is required to the needy is a task that is to be performed with humility because the goods do not belong to the one who distributes them. He who retains riches only for himself is not innocent; giving to those in need means paying a debt.”

Dear Gregory, how can you be right?  I slog painstakingly, and I sacrifice much comfort, on my way to become rich.  So the riches belongs to me! I deserve the best rich food, the best cars and the best villas.  My neighbors laze around the whole day, their whole lifetime.  They have much less.  They have less expensive food, no car, no villas.  But they enjoy themselves throughout their lives, and all the same, they are happy too.

So Dear Gregory, what is mine is mine.  I readily do my duty of give some back to the world.  Don't begrudge me.  When I die, I will give all away, but while I am alive, what is mine is mine.  I am the owner, not just the administrator.

God help those who help themselves, to be wealthy. 

This is another logical perspective.

King Solomon and his Thousand Wives and Concubines

Those who read 1 Kings 11:3 must be amused by King Solomon.  Haha! One wife plus one career is enough to stress a man out.  How did King Solomon manage with 1000 wives?

In olden days Jewish culture, just like olden day Chinese culture, having many descendants was the foremost objective in life.  God bestowed the ultimate blessing on Abraham Gen 32:12 "I will...make your descendants as the sands of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude." Wow, imagine how happy Abraham was !!

(By the way, Chinese culture under communist rule no longer cares about the number of descendants.  Husband and wife have to 'stop at one child'.  And recently 'stop at two'.)

There are many instances in the Bible where blessings were promised to the descendants when someone had achieved good deeds.  And conversely, punishments for one's wicked deeds were meted out to one's descendants. (Ps 37:28, 1 Kings 11:12, etc)

Hence in the Jewish culture and customs, one's descendants were an extension of oneself.  Blessings bestowed to one's descendants were considered as blessings for oneself.  And a curse on one's descendants was a curse on oneself.

And so King Solomon wanted a thousand wives and concubines.  He must be hoping to bring forth as many descendants as the number of stars on a starry night (Gen 15:5).

Today, even if the Jewish custom still advocates having large number of descendants, much of the world has changed.  Does it matter someone who is dead, if his/her descendants achieve great number, great honour, wealth and fame?  It does not matter, some would say.

Well, this change in custom has a profound effect.  It has resulted in a change in attitude.  Many couples have refused to marry and to have children;  and many married couples voluntarily choose not to have children.

Perhaps descendants should be part of oneself, after all.

Knowing our own Soul

All through the ages, humans instinctively know that they have a soul that lives on after the death of the physical body.  Hence many have attempted to research and learn more about the subject of soul.

Like many people, I have always believed that I have a soul.  Besides this, I know little, almost nothing. I do not know whether my soul will grow old like my physical body.  Nor whether my soul, since it is a non-physical entity, know the past and the future.

When I googled, I came across an article supposedly written by Witness Lee, a disciple of Watchman Nee.  It says the soul is of 3 parts, the mind, the will and the emotion.  You can read more about this in http://www.ministrysamples.org/excerpts/THE-SOUL-HAVING-THREE-PARTS.HTML 

Recently I found another description of soul.  Chinese tradition describes the soul as 3 entities ( 三魂七魄 ).  It struck me that this is quite similar to what Witness Lee wrote, except that, instead of 3 parts, it is now 3 separate entities.  Those of you who understand Chinese can read about it below. (The reference is at the end of the article.)

As for me, I am happy that, by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day, Jesus Christ has already promised my soul eternal peace.  Thank God for the Blessed Assurance.



The Belief of Reincarnation

Reincarnation is a topic that church pastors do not talk about in church.  It is both a difficult and contentious topic.

Before the birth of Christ, at the time of  the Greek and Roman Empires, the main religious beliefs were polytheistic.  Reincarnation was a common concept.  At the time of Christ, reincarnation was still a common belief.

In the East, in India, China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Thailand, etc, eastern mystics and religious philosophies embraced the idea of re-birth in one form or another.

There are 2 phenomena that strongly support reincarnation.  Firstly is the many cases where young children recall and remember their past lives.  And second is the many cases of young prodigies - very young children who already possess skills of  expertly-trained adults, whether in arts, in music and in language.

The 'academic, scientific' research by Ian Stevenson, on hundreds of children who could recall their past lives, is often used as a key reference by others studying this same subject.  The video below appears creditable and no-nonsense.  I have watch it a few times.

Over the years, most churches had followed the catholic church's precedence of dis-owning the concept of reincarnation.  A handful of bible verses touching on this topic, such as whether or not John the Baptist was the Elijah of earlier years, were normally not discussed.

As for me personally, I do think reincarnation is a possibility, and this possibility is NOT incompatible with the saving work of Christ.  The idea of reincarnation, and the Christian faith can co-exist, even though some bible verses seem to suggest or interpret that there is only one life, and thereafter comes judgment.  I think it is not possible to dismiss the plausibility of reincarnation, by simply attributing all the evidences to the works of satan. 

By the grace of God, Jesus Christ had died, had resurrected on the third day, and appeared before hundreds and thousands of people (Acts 1).  This is a fact.  On Judgment Day, Christ will present me to God the Father and welcome me to dwell in God's house forever (John 14).  This is faith.

Reincarnation may be true.  But it is irrelevant.

Watch this video:

Think Best at Theta State

Many of us understand the various mental states:

Gamma state:  brain wave at 40 to 100 Hz (over agitated state)
Beta state: brain wave at 13 to 40 Hz (the conscious, awaken state)
Alpha state: brain wave at 7 to 13 Hz (between the conscious and the subconscious state, relaxed)
Theta state: brain wave at 4 to 7 Hz (the subconscious state, creative, emotional connected, intuitive)
Delta state: brain wave at 0.5 to 4 Hz (deep sleep)

When we are relaxed or when we meditate, we slow down the brain wave and slip into the Theta state.  At the Theta state, our mind are peaceful, clear, uncluttered, and could reason more creatively than at the fully conscious state.

That is why we find monks who practice daily meditation are so good in answering difficult questions about life, and about spirituality.

When we get away from the our hectic lifestyle and be at peace with ourselves and with nature, we slow down our brain wave and could think better too.