Sunday, February 28, 2010

Balaam

Balaam is a true prophet soothsayer. The Holy Spirit actually came upon Balaam and he prophesied under the power of the Spirit (Numbers 24:2) and his prophecies came true. But Balaam is a wicked man who loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:15).

Thus a person can speak with the power of the Holy Spirit and perform true miracles, but yet still a wicked man and an enemy of God's people.

Added on 2018-09-09
Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them. (Joshua 13:22 KJV)
Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. (Joshua 13:22 ESV)
He was not a prophet of God. He was a soothsayer, one who practiced divination.

Then the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus." (Numbers 23:5 NASB)
Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak." (Numbers 23:16 NASB)
The LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth

And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, (Numbers 24:3 ESV)
The Holy Spirit came upon Balaam

God was angry with Balaam because he went to Balak (Numbers 22:5-7,22).
Moses said Balaam gave evil counsel that brought a plague on Israel (Numbers 31:14-16).
Balaam had wanted to curse the children of Israel, to be paid the hire (Deuteronomy 23:3-6).
Balaam was killed by the Israelites in the days of Joshua (Joshua 13:22).
The Lord recalled Balaam's sin in Joshua's farewell speech (Joshua 24:8-10)
Recalled again through the prophet Micah (Micah 6:5)
Re-visited in Nehemiah's time (Nehemiah 13:1-3).
Peter recalls how Balaam "loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Peter 2:15-16).
Similarly Jude recalls how "for pay... the error of Balaam" was committed (Jude 1:11)
Jesus recalls how Balaam "Kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality" (Revelation 2:14)

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Why God would not heal amputees

For with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37 KJV).

There are many verses in the Bible that tell us that God is omnipotent. The word "omnipotent" is actually used in Revelation 19:6 in the KJV Bible. Matthew 19:26 likewise declare that "with God all things are possible". Jeremiah 32:17 and Jeremiah 32:27 tell us that nothing is "too hard" for God. Job knew that God can do everything and knows everything (Job 42:2). Isaiah said that God does as He pleases (Isaiah 46:10).

But there is a website that asks this question, "Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?" If God can do all things, why don't He heal the amputees? Actually, God does heal amputees. A salamander that loses a limb will grow one back. But we said that is an act of "nature". When you consider the universe and the wonders of creation, we can see the omnipotence of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1 KJV)." But all these wonders are all ascribed to "nature". No wonder we have to ask God to perform miracles to authenticate Himself.

But does He? "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 16:4 KJV, see also Matthew 12:39, Luke 11:29)." God does authenticate Himself using miracles. And the death and resurrection of Jesus is the sign God gave to the whole world to authenticate Himself. Many have performed miracles of healing and other wonders. But since the beginning of time, only one Man had died and "was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:4 KJV)". Note that it was "according to the Scriptures", that is, it was planned and announced beforehand (prophesised) so that it cannot be duplicated.

So whether God can heal amputees or not is not the matter. If He start healing amputees, requests for other miracles will appear. If you don't believe, you will not believe, no matter what signs or miracles is performed. You will just raise the bar and ask for other signs. The key to the authentication is the process and the logic behind the miracle, not just the miracle alone. So the one most important miracle is already given, and no other authentication will be given.

In fact, Jesus did heal an amputee. When Peter cut off Malchus' right ear, Jesus touched his ear and healed him (Luke 22:50-51).

Friday, February 26, 2010

William Borden - No Reserves, No Retreat, No Regret

The following article on William Borden was found on this website:
William Borden grew up as the heir to the Borden dairy industry. After graduating high school at the age of sixteen, Borden was sent on a trip to see the world. Instead of his business sense being sharpened, the Lord greatly worked in his heart. Though his friends doubted the Lord's working, Borden put that out of his mind and wrote a simple phrase in the back of his Bible, "No Reserves."
After Borden graduated from Yale, Borden found himself the recipient of several high-paying job offers, but still his vision increased and once again he penned a phrase in the back of his Bible, "No Retreat."
Borden, at his last graduation from Princeton Seminary, headed for China, only stopping to learn Arabic in Egypt. It was here that he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, at the age of twenty-five he had died. Just before his death, though, a final phrase was written on the back margins of his Bible, "No Regret."

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Salvation of men, free will and predestination

To all the sinners who are lost and thirsty, the Holy Spirit bid us, "And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost (Revelation 22:17 NASB)." So, come, and partake of the salvation of God.

When we are saved from our sins, we can thank God that "he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4 KJV)."

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:16 NASB).

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Free Will and Predestination

Our experience is based on Free Will. Our faith/trust is based on Predestination. Our eyes of faith see the certainty of Predestination despite our personal experience of uncertainty in Free Will.

The Bible had recorded events as both Free Will and Predestination simultaneously. Critics consider this as an example of contradiction in the Bible.

An example is the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart by God. The Bible said that God hardened the Pharaoh’s heart ten times (Exodus 4:21-23; 7:1-6; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17). The Bible also said that the Pharaoh harden his own heart five times (Exodus 5:2; 8:15, 32; 9:34; 1 Samuel 6:6). So did God harden the Pharaoh’s heart or did the Pharaoh harden his own heart? Apparently, it is both.

Why is it that God, who, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)", yet allow many people can resist God's will and choose to go to hell by exercising their free will to reject Christ? Or are they predestinated to hell by God, since nobody can resist God's will?

The answer is Free Will and Predestination operates simultaneously in our context. How does eternity and time interfaces in our world is a mystery which the Bible did not answer. Christians who insist in choosing one over the other, are treading on dangerous grounds.

You, who are reading this post now, can be very sure that you are doing it out of your own free will. You are not in a trance and controlled or led by some mysterious force to this page. However, I can also say to you that your reading of this post is "foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20)".

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Mathematics' Unanswerable question

Religions are not the only one with unanswerable questions. Even Mathematics have unanswerable questions. What is the largest natural number? You cannot answer that question. Each time you think of a number, N, there is always a number, N + 1, which is greater than it. But no matter how large the natural number is, infinity is always greater than it.

It is okay to have unanswerable questions. It is never an issue. The issue is, is it really an unanswerable questions? One can always label an answerable question as an unanswerable question to stop questions and to avoid being exposed. Thus we must always examine an unanswerable question to make sure it is truly unanswerable.

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Questions that the Buddha did not answer

Buddha refused to answer some common philosophical questions popular at his time. According to Buddhist Sanskrit texts, there are fourteen such questions, but Pali texts give only ten.

The fourteen questions:
Are the self and the universe eternal?
Are the self and universe transient?
Are the self and the universe both eternal and transient?
Are the self and the universe neither eternal nor transient?
Do the self and the universe have a beginning?
Do the self and the universe have no beginning?
Do the self and the universe have both beginning and no beginning?
Do the self and the universe have neither beginning nor no beginning?
Does the Blessed One exist after death?
Does the Blessed One not exist after death?
Does the Blessed One both exist and not exist after death?
Does the Blessed One neither exist nor not exist after death?
Is the mind the same as the body?
Are the mind and body two separate entities?
十四無記
1.世間有常(世界恒常存在吗?)
2.世間無常(世界不恒常存在嗎?)
3.世間有常無常(世界既恒常又不恒常嗎? )
4.世間非有常非無常(世界既非恒常又非不恒常嗎?)
5.世間有邊(世界有邊際嗎?)
6.世間無邊(世界無邊際嗎?)
7.世間有邊無邊(世界既有邊又無邊嗎?)
8.世間非有邊非無邊(世界既非有邊又非無邊嗎?)
9.是命是身(生命與自我是同一的嗎?)
10.命異身異(生命與自我不是同一的嗎?)
11.如來死後有(如來死後還存在嗎?)
12.如來死後無(如來死後不存在了嗎?)
13.如來死後有無(如來死後既存在又不存在嗎?)
14.如來死後非有非無(如來死後既非存在又非不存在嗎?)

十四無記 - 解釋
此詞又名十四不可記、十四難。即:
01、世界恆常存在。(「世有常」)
02、世界不會恆常存在。(「世無常」)
03、世界恆常而又不恆常。(「世亦有常亦無常」)
04、世界非恆常非非恆常。(「世非有常非無常」)
05、世界有邊際。(「世有邊」)
06、世界無邊際。(「世無邊」)
07、世界有邊際而又無邊際。(「世有邊無邊」)
08、世界非有邊際非無邊際。(「世非有邊非無邊」)
09、生命即是物質身體。(「命即身」)
10、生命與物質身體並非同一。(「命異身」)
11、佛死後還存在。(「如來死後有」)
12、佛死後不存在。(「如來死後無」)
13、佛死後存在而又不存在。(「如來死後亦有亦無」)
14、佛死後非存在非不存在。(「如來死後非有非無」)
依《雜阿含經》卷三十四所述,佛陀對外道以顛倒之見問難的十四個問題,皆不置可否,不予明確的答覆。《大智度論》卷二稱之為「十四難」,該卷曾解釋佛陀不回答的理由,是因「此事無實故不答。諸法有常無此理,諸法斷亦無此理,(中略)故佛不答」。
總之,這十四種問題是外道由於斷常一異等妄見而產生的邪執。其中前十二項是就有無等四句而言,后二項是就一異而言。新譯《華嚴經》卷二十一,更將前十二項就世間與我加以區分,而成十六種。

The ten questions:
The world is eternal (has no beginning in time)
The world is not eternal
The world is (spatially) infinite
The world is not (spatially) infinite
The soul (jiva) and the body are identical
The soul (jiva) and the body are different
The Tathagata (a perfectly enlightened being, the buddha) exists after death
The Tathagata does not exist after death
The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death
The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death

Buddha gave this as an analogy why he would not answer the questions, "Now did I ever say to you that if you led a religious life you would understand these things? It is as if a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends, companions relatives were to get a surgeon to heal him, and he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow pulled out until I know who wounded me, of what caste he is, what his name is, whether he is tall, short or of medium height, what colour his skin is, where he comes from, what kind of bow I was wounded with, what it was made of, whether the arrow was feathered with a vulture's wing or a heron's or a hawk's…..' Surely the man would die before he knew all this."

In another word, Buddha thought that these questions are irrelevant to seeking nirvana, and in seeking these answers, one may be distracted from Buddha's so-call "true path".

佛陀在世時,有一位比丘喜好思惟「十四難」的問題,他每天反覆思考著這些問題,卻無法找出答案,這令他寢食難安。有一天,比丘終於忍不住了,帶著自己的衣缽走到佛陀的住處,跟佛陀說:「佛陀,請為我解答十四難的問題,如果我明白了,就繼續留在僧團。如果您無法為我解答,我就要離開您,另尋名師了。」
佛陀看著這位比丘,感慨地說:「你真愚癡啊!我一生說法度眾,幫助所有眾生解脫老病死的煩惱。此老病死的問題才是當務之急。至於你問的十四難,只是無意義的辯論而已,對於實際的解脫煩惱而言,一點幫助也沒有。如果解釋給你聽,既非真實道之理,對修行、解脫又有何助益。」
接著佛陀又舉了一個譬喻繼續說道:「就好像有人被毒箭射中了,親人急著幫他找醫生取出毒箭治療,但是這個人卻說不行。他要先知道醫生姓什麼?住那裏?父母是誰?今年幾歲?還要問清楚身上的箭是出自那一座山?用什麼樹木造的?用什麼羽毛當箭翎?什麼人製作的?射箭的弓是什麼材質做的?箭上的毒藥出自何地?藥名是什麼?……這位中箭受傷的人,非要等到問清全部的問題才肯接受治療。」這時,佛陀停頓了一下,反問比丘:「這個人可不可以等到全部問題問完了,了解了,才拔箭上藥啊?」比丘不假思索地回答:「不可以。如果等到那個時候,早就毒發身亡,命喪黃泉了。」
聽到比丘的回答,佛陀慈悲地笑了笑繼續說:「你現在的處境就是如此。被邪見的毒箭射中了,不趕快求醫治病,非得要等到世間是常、無常、有邊、無邊等十四難問題解答了,才願意拔箭療傷。如果等到那個時候,早就喪失法身慧命,墮入三塗惡道的黑暗深淵了。」
比丘聽了佛陀的開示,心生慚愧。誠心領受佛陀的教導,晝夜依循佛法精進用功,最後證得阿羅漢果。(From this website 佛典故事:: 十四難 - 中台世界)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Questions that the Bible did not answer

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29 NASB)

There are questions that the Bible did not answer.
  1. The Bible did not explain to us eternity and heaven.
  2. The Bible did not explain to us the mystery of Trinity.
  3. The Bible did not explain to us the mystery of Christ as wholly God and wholly man.
  4. The Bible did not explain to us the mystery of free will and predestination.
  5. The Bible did not explain to us the sovereignty of God and the accountability of men.
We cannot explain too many things to a baby because the baby has limited knowledge infrastructure to receive our knowledge. For example, the language tool is not fully developed in the baby, thus the baby cannot communicate in languages. When the baby grows into a child, he or she will be able to understand more. Likewise it is so with us. We who live in the temporal world, moment by moment, are not able to comprehend God and eternity. We cannot imagine how God can live simultaneously in the past, present and future, and by implication, we cannot understand how free will, predestination and human responsibility may co-exist.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Six Paths of Reincarnation

Why is Buddha more powerful than the gods? The answer lies in the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, or, to be precise, the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism. Other Buddhist sects may have different ideas, since reincarnation cannot be proven objectively, and it is up to anyone who claim to be somebody to come up with ideas.
According to Pure Land Buddhism, there are six paths of reincarnation. One may be born as a god, a human, an asura, an animal, a hungry ghost, or a hell-dweller. Though the immediate goal of many human Buddhist practitioners is to be born in the realm of the gods, the ultimate goal is to escape the cycle of rebirth altogether, that is, to become a Buddha.
Thus the Jade Emperor, Lao Tzu, the Monkey God may be classified as "gods", but they are still not the ultimate. Likewise, Buddhist would have treated the gods of the other religion in the same way. Thus Jesus and Allah are reborn as gods, but not fully awaken yet.
In the interview with Jacelyn Tay (郑秀珍) as published on pages 24 to 27 of Impact Magazine, Dec 2008/Jan 2009 Edition, the monk who spoke to Jacelyn Tay said that Christianity is actually something lower than Buddhism. Why? This is because based on the six paths of reincarnation, Jesus became a god and is on the way to become a Buddha. He would not object to Jacelyn being a Christian, but he thought that Buddhism, being higher, would be a better way.

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act creates more disharmony

The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act is now making Singaporeans more sensitive. Now even those not part of any established religion, such as the gays, are asking Rony Tan to apologise.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Journey to West (西遊記) insults Taoism

In the epic story Journey to West (西遊記), in the chapter Havoc in Heaven (大闹天宫), the Monkey God (孙悟空) made a monkey out of the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝), mock at the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, also known as 李耳 and 太上老君. The Jade Emperor was forced to honour the monkey with the title "Great Sage who is Equal to Heaven (齐天大圣)". Finally, the Jade Emperor was forced to look for Buddha (如来佛祖) to tame this monkey, thus proving that Taoism is inferior to Buddhism.
No Taoist ever lodges a complaint to ban this book. This is because the story is so popular and everyone is desensitised because of the common knowledge. Every Taoist has been inoculated with this story, and they do not feel that they are being insulted.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Religious Inoculation

The best way for religious harmony is Religious inoculation. When all the representatives of various religions sit down together, they should not try to look at their common points and pretend to agree with one another and say that all religions are the same and is good. They should go through all their differences, and know how their religion would be criticised by the other religions. When every religion knows how they would be criticised and had those criticisms repeated repeatedly to them, they would be less sensitive to the criticisms. For example, the Buddhist should be told that the Christians do not accept reincarnation as true. The next time when they were told that some Christian pastor is criticising reincarnation, they would say, “I know, the Christians always says that.”

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

We need rules, because we are imperfect

Why do we need rules? A perfect man does not need any rule. He automatically does the right things. It is in him to do so. Rules and regulation exists because we are imperfect. We are imperfect morally, so we need the ten commandments. We are also imperfect physically. We cannot know all things at all times (not omniscient and omnipresent) and we do not have to power (not omnipotent) to act even if we are omniscient and omnipresent. So we need administrative rules, example, traffic rules, to prevent accidents.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Fight the Good Fight

Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12 NASB).

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, (1 Timothy 1:18 NASB).

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NASB).

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12 NASB).

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Religious Fault Lines

These are the most common fault lines of the major religions of Singapore:

Fault lines - Monotheistic versus Non-monotheistic
Monotheistic religions believe in one God who governs the universe and to whom we are responsible for our actions on Judgment Day. Monotheistic religions by definition are exclusive. If my God is real, then the other gods have to be false. Reincarnation is not true.

Fault lines within Monotheistic religions - Jews, Christians and Muslims
The Christians said, "Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) according to the Old Testament. Mohammed is a false prophet. The Koran is not true."
The Jews said, "The Messiah has not come. Jesus is not the Messiah. The New Testament is not true. Mohammed is a false prophet. The Koran is not true."
The Muslims said, "Mohammed is the last and greatest of the prophets. Jesus is one of the prophets. The Bible was corrupted by the Jews and Christians."

Non-monotheistic religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism are usually inclusive. They can welcome and absorp other gods and doctrines. They are seldom involved in religious wars.

The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act is therefore good for non-monotheistic religions because now they protected by the Act and cannot be criticised. But it will cause problem with the monotheistic religions because when the monotheistic religions explain their religions, they would have to explain their exclusivity, and that may involve criticism of other religions, monotheistic or non-monotheistic. If they cannot, then they cannot fully practise their religion and will build up tension and resentment. If Singapore wants to maintain religious harmony, the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act has to take into account the exclusive nature of the monotheistic religions and recognise the fault lines, or risk religious disharmony in the future.

Friday, February 12, 2010

MacDonald, Rony Tan, Religious Harmony and Sensitive People

The Internal Security Department (ISD) has called up Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism in connection with his comments and insinuations about Buddhism and Taoism at his church sessions.

By intervening in this case, the Singapore government had made a mistake. The religious fault lines exist long before Singapore. Trying to manage these religious fault lines is like trying to manage the tectonic fault lines that cause earthquake.

When the Singapore government acted on behalf of sensitive people to call up Rony Tan, more sensitive people will be created. Now that sensitive Buddhist can complain about Rony Tan, can sensitive Christians complain about Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and get it banned? What about the book "Jesus Prophet of Islam" by Muhammad Ata-ur-Rahman/Ahmad Thomson? Can this be banned too?

When MacDonald Restaurant took care of the feelings of the sensitive Muslims by replacing the pig in the Chinese Zodiac with Cupid, it offended the feelings of some sensitive Chinese. Fortunately most Chinese are insensitive to religion.

The correct way would be to manage the sensitive people so as to reduce their number. Those who complained against Rony Tan should be counselled to understand the fault lines of the major religions of Singapore. If everybody becomes sensitive, then nobody can talk. Every word will be an offence to someone.

There should be a Religious Harmony session among the different religions to emphasise on their difference and how to manage the criticisms of each other. Some formula could be agreed upon, for example, to allow criticisms of another religion, as long as it is based on the teachings of that religion. To deny that these differences exist is to deny reality.

All the religions should know how the other religions would criticise them and accept it as part of that religion and promise not to incite violence against the religions that do not accept their views.

Please don't try to manage religious fault lines by stopping criticisms. It won't work. It builds up pressure for a bigger earthquake at a later date.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Bodhi (Enlightenment) and Nirvana

What is enlightenment? What is nirvana? Sidhartha Gautama attained bodhi (enlightenment) after meditating for forty nine days under a pipal tree (which became the bodhi tree) at the age of thirty five and became Buddha. He grew old, got sick, died and achieved nirvana at the age of eighty.
Superficially, bodhi means one who is awake and nirvana is the end of suffering. The Buddhist theology has more complicated and deeper definition of both terms and also depends on whether it is Theravada or Mahayana tradition.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Buddha alive today, if Ananda was not so dumb

Buddha could have lived till the end of the world, had Ananda not been so dumb. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, Buddha told Ananda, "Whosoever, Ananda, has developed, practiced, employed, strengthened, maintained, scrutinized, and brought to perfection the four constituents of psychic power could, if he so desired, remain throughout a world-period or until the end of it. The Tathagata, Ananda, has done so. Therefore the Tathagata could, if he so desired, remain throughout a world-period or until the end of it." Ananda was supposed to say, "So please stay on for the sake of the world" but he did not, even after Buddha repeated the words two more times. What a nice excuse to die. The one who can, if so desired, remain throughout a world-period or until the end of it, yet cannot, because Ananda did not respond correctly. Stupid Ananda. If you had just opened your mouth, Buddha would have remained till today and we would not have so many religious disputes. Or Buddha would have to find another excuse to explain his death.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27 KJV)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

How Buddha died

Since we are on the subject of Buddha's last words, let us see how Buddha died. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, we are told that during one of his preaching tours, Buddha became ill suddenly after he had eaten a special delicacy, sukaramaddava (literally translated as "soft pork") in the house of Cunda Kammaraputta, a blacksmith, at a place called Pava. Some scholars believe it was a special delicious dish of mushrooms or truffles, while others believe it to be a dish of wild boar's flesh. Buddha proceeded on to a small town named Kusinara, but died in at a grove of sala trees just outside the town. Ananda prepared a resting place for him between these two large sala trees. Before he died, he spoke his last words, "Everything is subject to change. Remember to practise the teachings earnestly".

Monday, February 8, 2010

Buddha's last words

Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism claimed that the dying Buddha's last words was "I am still searching for the way." Actually I think he was just joking. Anyway, for those who are curious, last words of Buddha can be found in Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (大般涅槃經). "Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation."

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Four men in the Bible who did not see death

There are four men in the Bible who did not see death. Two had already happened, and two are prophesised.

The two that had already happened are Enoch and Elijah.
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him (Genesis 5:24 KJV).
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5 KJV)
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11 KJV).
Enoch and Elijah went straight from Earth to Heaven.

The two that are prophesised are the beast and the false prophet.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelations 19:20 KJV).
The beast and the false prophet went straight from Earth to the lake of fire, the final destiny of all unbelievers.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Tintin and Asterix

While both Tintin and Asterix were both intelligent and resourceful people, Tintin and his friends needed a lot of "luck" to get out of sticky situation. Things are different for Asterix and friends. They always have the magic portion to rely on. Whenever they get into trouble, they just bash their way out.

Friday, February 5, 2010

The Jews, the Chinese and the New Year

With Chinese New Year coming, let us contrast the attitude of the Jews and the Chinese towards a new year.
The Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah as the start of the civil year in Israel. It is a time of reflection and soul-searching, seeking forgiveness from God and remembering His judgment. It marks the chance for repentance and forgiveness in the eyes of God and to start afresh with a clear conscience in the coming year.
The Chinese celebrates the New Year with much superstition. Cleaning the house symbolizes sweeping away all traces of misfortune. To avoid bad luck, people, especially children, must be at their best behaviour. Fireworks were used to chase away evil spirits. Putting on new clothes symbolizes discarding of the old year and its misfortunes. The whole objective is to improve their luck for the coming year to achieve greater material prosperity.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Becoming a Christian

A person who claimed to be a Christian should be interested in these three things:
  1. Who is this Jesus Christ that saved me?
  2. What am I saved from? (If the person who spoke to you did not make it clear.)
  3. How should I act thereafter?
I remembered this is how I became a Christian. A friend and I was outside the squash court at my school and he use the four spiritual laws to tell me about Christianity. Usually I was against Christianity. But on this occasion, I listened and just accept Christ as my saviour. After I became a Christian, I kept saying to myself, "I am now a Christian." But I did not know what I should do next. My friend who brought me to Christ just asked me to attend the Christian Fellowship at the Church next to my school on the coming Wednesday. Thereafter, I just attended the Wednesday meetings during the school days. My Bible is just a collect of booklets of three of the four Gospels (I did not have the Gospel of Matthew). I did not have the whole Bible with me. I managed to buy one later but was confiscated by my father. My knowledge of Christianity grew only after I joined my current Church.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Works do not add merit to salvation

All the works that we do after believing in Christ do not add any merit to us. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do (Luke 17:10 KJV). So why don't we just sit down and enjoy ourselves after salvation? After all, it is free. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1 KJV). No. The "good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10 KJV)" have their purposes.

To glorifies God
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 KJV)

To confirm your faith
The works that you have done, the fruits that you have produced will confirm to yourself and to others that you are a true Christian, that you truly believe in Christ as your saviour.
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; (2 Peter 1:10 NASB)

To witness to others
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. (James 2:18 KJV)

While salvation is free, discipleship is costly. So we should work out our salvation "with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 KJV)".

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Salvation by faith so easy and yet so difficult

Salvation is by faith only. It is simple. It is free. But many people find it difficult to accept that they have no part in their own salvation. They feel that they must do something. Why is it so difficult for men to believe that Jesus Christ had died for their sins and is able to save them? The faith required to believe in this fact is the same as the faith you need when your teacher told you that the earth is round. Men readily believe in many things, except that Christ died for their sins.

Spiritual Pride
"The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'" (Luke 18:11-12 NASB)
When one accepts Christ as his saviour, it implies that he is a sinner. Not only that, he is such a horrible sinner that he cannot save himself. Many people accept that they are imperfect, but still good enough, just like the Pharisee in the above parable by Jesus.

Cultural Pride
But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.' Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:11-12 NASB)
Naaman, the distinguished general who had often led the Arameans to victory, find it difficult to accept that to cure himself of leprosy, he had to wash in the Israelite river of Jordan. It is not a difficult task (everybody knows how to take a bath), but where to wash is the problem.

Salvation is easy. But many worked hard to find it and is unable to do so. Like the Chinese proverb, which said the one broke his iron shoes to look for something, but he can get it without effort (踏破铁鞋无觅处,得来全不费工夫 ).

Monday, February 1, 2010

Salvation is by faith only

For by grace are ye saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8 KJV), so what kind of faith are we talking about? It is the ordinary faith that we get by in our daily life.

If a friend invites me for dinner at his house at 6 pm, I will just go to his house for dinner. I have faith in him that when I reach his house, there will be dinner for me. I know my friend and I trust (that is, have faith) him.

So likewise it is with Christ. He said He will save me, and I believe Him. For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV).

Salvation is by faith only. The faith needed is the same faith that we live our ordinary life. There is nothing special needed and it is available to all men. It has to be made so simple, because men are extremely sinful. Any additional process will require men's effort and participation. But they are not fit to play any part in this process of salvation.