14 posts tagged “christianity”

Simon Young, one of the top guys in the new media, Web 2·0 sphere, and I had a very lovely dinner last night. And while we do talk about work, there’s always room for humour. From Sy:

A priest goes to a hotel and asks, ‘Is the porn disabled?’
   The hotel clerk replies, ‘It’s just normal porn—you sick freak!’

   I had to tell this one back:

An Irish priest is holidaying in London and was very puzzled by women outside certain shops going, ‘Come on in, Father, £10 for a quickie! Ten pound for a quickie!’
   When he returned to his church in Eire, he asked, ‘Mother Superior, what’s a quickie?’
   ‘Ten pound, same as it is in London.’

Some nice family news: my cousin Kevin, the second-youngest of my first cousins in my mega-large family (my father is one of eight), has decided to get baptized, which I think is very positive. I was not too surprised when I got news of this today since we had had a long discussion earlier this year about Christianity.
   It’s not so much whether one supports Christianity or not, it’s more that Kevin has made a decision about his spirituality that he believes will enrich his life.
   I was around Kevin’s age when I made the decision to be baptized. I probably started off stricter than I am now in terms of my beliefs. I still live by the idea that I am against forces that ‘rebel against God’, a commitment I made.
   Our family has had plenty of reasons to put our faith in Jesus Christ: from getting us out of Red China before the peasants revolted on our land, to the recent news that my second cousin Harold survived the NIU shooting.
   As those who watched the video clips of Harold earlier this year know, he puts his survival firmly on his faith in Christ and recently was behind the Bamboo Curtain to spread the Good Word. Being a US citizen, I am sure he was better protected than a local trying to practise Christianity within the occupied part of China.
   Atheists will argue that these are simply events that happen and some luck played a part; they are perfectly free to believe that. I can’t attack them and say that their belief lacks merit. If it works for them and they aren’t harming others by their views, and they aren’t dissing alternative viewpoints, then I can live with that. Personally, I prefer to believe there is some guiding force behind it all, whether it’s the traditional view of God or a more liberal view of co-creation. It would be boring to just have “shit happen” without something grander behind the scenes.
   I can’t fathom not having a spiritual element in my life. I do have a problem with religiosity or those who use the name of any religion to hurt others. It was actually interesting to note that at our reunion, quite a few of us, who went to a church school for the formative years of our lives, are no longer Christians.
   One reason I imagine my fellow classmates turned from Christianity and now consider themselves atheists, or “spiritual” at best (one friend, not a classmate, notes ‘SBNR’—Spiritual But Not Religious) is that religion was promoted too seriously for their liking. I probably had some mild form of ADD as a child (it did not prevent me from coming first in my year each year from 1981 to 1985) coupled with having to deal with English as a second language, so maybe it never seemed to come forth with as great an authority. I had the freedom to search for my own spirituality and included what I knew from Divinity classes at school with traditional Chinese beliefs and what I learned for myself.
   Like Timothy on Vox, I have used the ‘liberal Christian’ term for myself: less Ned Flanders, more someone who has combined elements of different beliefs in line with my personal history but ultimately accepting Jesus Christ as my personal saviour. On my Facebook profile, I list ‘spiritual’ as my belief, principally because my “version” of Christianity jars with some of what is said in the weekly eucharist. While I don’t subscribe to the Da Vinci Code version of events, I do believe the Bible has been modified by people over the centuries, but I do not believe that translation errors and the like weaken its spiritual purpose. I also don’t think God is a guy who talks like Orson Welles and has a beard. Therefore, some Christians might see me as just slightly better than an atheist on some continuum!
   I once attended church weekly and ceased doing so in the 1990s. Part of it was that I came to feel that the energy was not right. My final regular church, which was actually my first church at St Mark’s where I attended school, was fine. But I had attended many over the years to discover the hypocrisy behind some Christians, enough to leave a sour taste in my mouth that they were not willing to live the life they claimed.
   Unlike those schoolmates who turned totally from Christ, I didn’t see any reason to, but I also felt that God could hear me anywhere and it didn’t need to be at a prescribed time at a prescribed place. God didn’t hang up an ‘opening hours’ sign. Religion, in my private definition, implies some level of getting together and supporting an institution, while spirituality is personal. With my evolving view on Christianity it was better to take a personal path to figure out my dharma, and that has been an adventure in itself.
   I prefer to respect that everyone is different and that we all follow different paths.
   Kevin will have his path and I will be interested to see how he follows it. I really admire this personal choice because it’s not a commitment you see every day from someone.
   Kevin: I congratulate you on taking this step and it will be my pleasure to attend your baptism.

My cousin Clara sent me a link to an MSNBC poll: should the motto ‘In God We Trust’ be removed from US currency?
   I won’t influence the results here by stating my opinion—but please feel free to click through to have your say.

You know how spammers regularly put a fake name next to your email address that’s somehow compiled from their database?
   It’s been a wonderful filtering tool because somewhere along the line, one spammer decided my name is Newton Singewald. Evidently that spammer had sold on that list with the alias intact, so I now receive emails addressed to Newton. Bingo—the name is in my filters now.
   How very cooperative!
   As Christians know, Newt was one of the first five disciples: Matthew, Mark, Olivia, Newt and John.

Samantha Powell (Miss Universe New Zealand 2008), Rebecca Connor (Miss Wellington), Rhonda Grant (second runner-up, Miss Universe New Zealand 2008), Kylie Anderson (second runner-up, Miss Universe New Zealand 2006).

Why is it that they stem from Christchurch? Are there more anti-pageant types down there?
   Last year, The Press ran a piece on how Laural Barrett, the winner of Miss New Zealand 2007, had allegedly stolen shoes along with her sister, when anyone reading between the lines of journalistic double-talk could tell the writer had used enough ‘seems’ and ‘allegedly’ in an ill-researched story based on a leaked rumour. It would have been fitting on a gossip blog, not a metropolitan newspaper.
   But hey, it sells newspapers in a land where tabloids can successfully masquerade as broadsheets. I had to go on the warpath that time and accuse Fairfax of tall-poppy syndrome with unpatriotic journalists appeasing foreign owners. However you looked at it, that Press story was poor, poor journalism, which only fed blogs, rumours and envious teenage girls.
   Now we had that liberal professor down at the University of Canterbury attacking 2008 second runner-up Rhonda Grant for being good-looking and effectively sending a message that her degree is valueless and that she should not be fêted for her success. Shame.
   I’m just glad that Samantha Powell has managed to steer clear of controversy this year, but then, she didn’t go to university—which obviously means that she escaped the liberal pen of an American Studies professor.
   But given that beauty pageant winners’ academic successes should not be celebrated according to the Association of University Staff—since the release was sent under its banner then I take it to be policy—it’s just as well Sam received on-the-job vocational training rather than have a worthless degree from a New Zealand tertiary institution.
   I sure hope I never joined the Association unwittingly when I was a lecturer, since I cannot agree with its position.
   I believe in individual excellence, working hard and being treated fairly.
   Unless Assoc Prof Maureen Montgomery’s aim was to send out a nothing story—when I first read it I had no idea anyone cared and nearly advised Val Lott, pageant director, to ignore it, and a contact at a TV network actually agreed with me—and see how trivialities can propagate in the New Zealand media.
   Because that made a fascinating study. I held off sending out a release till the morning because I had no idea anyone—from Paul Holmes on the wireless to TV1’s Close-up—would be interested.
   All Dr Montgomery needed was a willing conspirator in the form of the New Zealand Press Association, with the weight of the Association of University Staff behind her, and the publication of the wire story by The New Zealand Herald.
   From there, the story suddenly had legitimacy, even if I think the Irish-owned Herald should have sought comment from the pageant or Massey University side before publication of a clearly biased article.
   Perhaps Dr Montgomery’s Irish roots and the Herald’s part-Irish ownership just went hand in hand and there’s some unwritten rule to help your own inside the newspaper.
   I shall send my future releases to the Herald under the name O’Malley.
   If this was a study of the lowering of media standards and their (and the public’s) obsession with trivia, then I actually applaud Dr Montgomery, with a standing ovation.
   Being London-born, Dr Montgomery will have seen the lowering of standards in her lifetime before she left Thatcher’s Britain (she said ‘escaped’, which shows her thoughts on Thatcherism) with the Australian takeovers of two tabloids and The Times. And, perhaps out of interest, this was an experiment to see how far these tendencies went in New Zealand, a protest against the technocratic injustice that has been emerging over the last quarter-century—again something she has witnessed after her arrival here.
   I don’t know. If that were her aim then I thought it rather cruel to target a young woman who has never done anything against her.
   But as I said, there was a part of me that enjoyed it because it was darned good profile for the pageant and for Rhonda.
   Rhonda spoke well on TV for someone with no media training, and I think she did better on the live interview with Mark Sainsbury on Close-up than the recorded piece with John Campbell on Campbell Live.
   The other good thing was that Rhonda was one of two contestants who identifies with the Christian faith, which allowed her to put this into perspective of a greater plan.
   I shall be interested to see what happens next—or possibly next year. Will Christchurch go for the hat-trick?

American Infidel posted an excellent piece from Cross Action News on how the US political system has been compromised, by Carl Parnell. Some excerpts:

   However, as seen in these different opinions, politicians have been blamed for the failure of America’s political system. But, one respondent to the survey voiced a strong opinion that put the blame on average Americans. Her opinion was:

Our Constitution frames the best form of government on the planet. The balance of powers and the system of checks and balances provided a framework that allowed our young country to grow and develop and remain despot free for the last 220 years. The government itself is not what I have lost faith in. “We the People” is what I have lost faith in.

   And advice for the electorate follows (my emphasis), and I have to agree with it as I have never, in the elections I have participated in, voted for personal gain. Even for those who do not believe in God or in prayer, the remaining advice is still useful:

   “Of the people, by the people, for the people” means the people should educate themselves and elect leaders at all levels that work for them. The people should watch what those elected officials do and boot them out of office when they no longer work for the people. The caliber of citizens and politicians has declined in the last 220 years.
   Therefore, America’s political system is at a crossroads in 2008. When the American electorate votes for the President of the United States and for any members of Congress in November 2008, they must absolutely know the true facts about each candidate. Citizens of the United States must not permit the race, gender, or political party of the candidate be a determining factor in who wins the election. Citizens of the United States must not let personal economic gain become the deciding factor in which candidate they vote for in any election. Citizens of the United States must vote for candidates who have the true qualities of great leaders, such as those possessed by America’s forefathers. Some of these qualities would be honesty, integrity, morality, faith in the nation they serve, faith in the people they serve, having the character of a statesman instead of the character of many modern-day politicians. Of course, true representative leaders of the United States should always pray to God before voting on any legislation that affects the greatest nation in the world.
   However, if America continues to elect people to office that assume the role of a politician instead of a statesman, America may lose more than just the faith of its citizens toward its political system. America may possibly lose its status as the greatest nation in the world.

   There is still support for the US around the world—but they need a beacon to look up to rather than to criticize. In November, vote to make America great again—not just in economic terms, but in terms of the true leadership and morality that it can stand for.

I had been chatting to my cousin Clara in NJ about Satanic influences in our lives today. She had written the below poem, and begins with a bit of scripture from the Gospel of John. I thought I’d share it with readers today.

The Light shines
In the darkness,
And the darkness
Has not overcome it.
—John 1:5 (RSV)

Good vs. Evil

Evil, where is your sting?
I am not afraid
for the Lord is staying very close.
You may change your form;
I can recognize you.

Attack me,
Scare me,
Tempt me,
Deceive me,
Surround me,
Overwhelm me,
I have no fear
My Lord is shielding me.

In the pit,
In the fire,
In the lion’s den,
In the wilderness,
He is there with me.

You are cunning,
You are ugly,
You are fierce,
You are ready to devour me,
but my Protector will not let you.
He is far stronger;
He is far more superior.

Fooling the people,
Deceiving my friends,
A wolf in sheep’s skin
cannot conceal its identity forever.
Your real self will emerge sooner or later.
Your true intention will be uncovered.
I have all the patience in the world
for the Lord promised me that
justice will be served.

You can attack my weaknesses.
You can aim at my reputation.
You can destroy my personal relationships.
You can hurt me but I will not yield to you.

My friends will wake up someday from your deception.
 They will return to me if I mean anything to them.
Broken relationships can be mended.
If it cannot, it was not meant to be.
We all have to make our choices
and learn from our mistakes.

It was tough to engage in a long
spiritual battle with the devil,
I was exhausted.
I felt lonely but I was not alone.
My Lord held me tight.
He whispered to me
that everything was going to be fine.

It was all dark.
Rain was pouring.
Fierce winds were blowing.
Thunder and lightening pierced
through the sky’s darkness.
Then, everything died down.
The air was suffocating.
I could not breathe.
I choked, waiting.

Finally, your evilness arrived in the form of
sand storms and hurricanes gushing toward me.
You swept through the path
destroying everything along the way.
In that final moment of confrontation,
I was as secure as ever.
In His strong arms,
I trusted Him like a child.
Nothing could harm me,
not sickness, not death,
not anything and not anyone.

He saw to it that
Satan’s power would not reach me.
Darkness came upon me,
but it could not overtake me.

I will be His light in the darkness,
and His beacon in the wilderness,
testifying and showing the whole world
His greatness and His glory.
His love will stay with His children forever;
No one can take that away.

—Clara Lee, October 10, 2003

I have been reading about Terri Schiavo again after learning of two new cases on the Jus Me Again blog.
   I was against the removal of Terri’s feeding tube. I’ll come right out and say that now. However, I did not believe Michael Schiavo should have been vilified the way he was by some people. I believe he did what he thought to be right and what he thought Terri had wanted. I do feel he might have been swayed by the medical “establishment”.
   Among my reasons is that medical science cannot give us any determination about a person’s spirit, although I know this inquiry is irrelevant to those in the field. Another major reason is not against medical science itself but against some who apply it. Healthcare is too often founded on monetary considerations, not about right and wrong.
   Before the technology that kept Terri alive had been invented, wouldn’t many families have prayed that they had something like that?
   And now that we do have defibrillators and more modern scientific technologies, we are ignoring them and saying, ‘Let them die,’ and getting courts to divorce themselves from the spiritual element.
   After Terri’s feeding tube was removed, she took another 13 days to join the Lord. That doesn’t sound a lot like someone who had just given up the fight and was ready to be outta here. And before I get criticized, I do know what it’s like to look after someone you love who is battling something that medical science regards is terminal.
   There are too many cases in my family where western medicine had given up on someone, but eastern medicine and prayer had not.
   The latter usually win.
   My grandfather’s advanced liver cancer was cured by praying and by quickly rushing him herbs from Hong Kong to drink as a tonic. The two weeks the “experts” gave him turned out to be 21 years.
   We hear of cases like this in my family regularly enough for me to place less faith in some of the medical judgements that are made.
   I accept that the cases I have confronted are different, but I believe my experience allows me to at least imagine what I would do more clearly.
   I commented today that having differently abled people in our lives shows whether we can be God-like:

There are a few ways to look at the disabled. The first is that they give us the opportunity to experience an element of Godliness. I purposely use the Father’s name here. He does not judge any of us and loves us all equally. Knowing people who society classes as ‘disabled’ or differently abled is a training ground for seeing if we can remove our prejudices and extend the same love to them. The second is to understand that on a spiritual plane they are equal to us. None of us can say that a disabled Christian is any less a Christian or has any less of the Holy Spirit running through him or her. This can be extended to other religions or to atheists as God views us all equally on that spiritual level.

   If we forget first principles and judge things on money, then we have already taken the wrong direction.
   Twenty-three-year-old Lauren Richardson in Delaware is facing a Terri-like situation. While the reason Miss Richardson lies in hospital is clearer—she had a heroin overdose—I am not here to judge her lifestyle.
   Her mother, Edith Towers, thinks that her daughter wouldn’t want to live this way and managed to get a court order, while her father, Randy Richardson, is fighting it.
   Ms Towers says that her daughter told her that she did not want to live like Terri Schiavo if she found herself in the same situation. Again, we cannot blame her for trying to carry out what she believes are her wishes. And we would again be wrong to vilify her as many did with Michael Schiavo.
   While in her “vegetative” state, Lauren Richardson gave birth to a healthy baby girl last February.
   I do not think it is right for Ms Towers to prevent her daughter from seeing her own child, which is what the press has reported. You never know what reaction a mother might have to her own child. Lauren Richardson needs to be given at least this simple chance.
   A pro-life video shows that Lauren seems to react to family members and her dog.
   Meanwhile, a Manitoba case involving an 84-year-old man who suffered brain damage is also being fought.
   Samuel Golubchuk suffered a brain injury after a 2003 fall. He contracted pneumonia in October. The medical staff want to dehydrate him to end his life.
   Mr Golubchuk is an Orthodox Jew and does not believe that his death should be hastened, so there is no doubt about what he wants.
   In January, he regained consciousness and his doctor recorded ‘Awake’ on his chart.
   The Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons has guidelines that say it’s not up to the patient or the family, but the doctor, so apparently we can forget Mr Golubchuk’s views and the fact that he is awake and alive.
   This Canadian case is ridiculous, in my view, and it seems that Canada is perfectly willing to introduce euthanasia. Germany started off with euthanasing the disabled in the 1930s. It grew from there.
   Please blog about this if you want to help either Miss Richardson or Mr Golubchuk. There’s no way in heck I’d let some doctors kill me off if I were in their shoes. And for the record, while my father has said it would be horrible for someone to be a vegetable, he is as spiritual as I am on these issues.