Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Prayer Frequency

The Jews prayed three times a day. Muslims prayed five times a day. What is a Christian's frequency of prayer? Always!

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

祖宗十八代 - 鼻祖耳孫

From various sources in the internet:
祖宗十八代的稱呼
所謂祖宗十八代是指自己上下九代的宗族成員
上按次序稱謂:
生己者為父母,
父之父為祖,
祖父之父為曾祖,
曾祖之父為高祖,
高祖之父為天祖,
天祖之父為烈祖,
烈祖之父為太祖,
太祖之父為遠祖,
遠祖之父為鼻祖。
即:父、祖、曾、高、天、烈、太、遠、鼻。書中說:因人懷胎,鼻先受形,故鼻祖為始祖。
下按次序稱謂:
父之子為子,
子之子為孫,
孫之子為曾孫,
曾孫之子為玄孫,
玄孫之子為來孫,
來孫之子為晜孫,
晜孫之子為仍孫,
仍孫之子為雲孫,
雲孫之子為耳孫。
即:子、孫、曾、玄、來、晜、仍、雲、耳。書中說:耳孫者,謂祖甚遠,僅耳目聞之也。

亞當生塞特;塞特生以挪士;以挪士生該南;該南生瑪勒列;瑪勒列生雅列;雅列生以諾;以諾生瑪土撒拉;瑪土撒拉生拉麥;拉麥生挪亞;(歷代志上 1:1-4 《和合本》)

亞當(Adam)的兒子是塞特(Seth)、孫子是以挪士(Enosh)、曾孫是該南(Kenan)、玄孫是瑪勒列(Mahalalel)、來孫是雅列(Jared)、晜孫是以諾(Enoch)、仍孫是瑪土撒拉(Methuselah)、雲孫是拉麥(Lamech)、耳孫是挪亞(Noah)。

挪亞(Noah)的父是拉麥(Lamech)、祖父是瑪土撒拉(Methuselah)、曾祖是以諾(Enoch)、高祖是雅列(Jared)、天祖是瑪勒列(Mahalalel)、烈祖是該南(Kenan)、太祖是以挪士(Enosh)、遠祖是塞特(Seth)、鼻祖是亞當(Adam)。

Monday, September 16, 2013

Are You Perfect?

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)

Many non-Christians do not accept the doctrine of original sin. When you challenge them and ask them if they are perfect, they always reply, "Nobody is perfect." Some of them may assert that their religion's founder is perfect. If I ask them how they know, they will retort, "How do you know Christ is perfect?"

Jesus said He is sinless (John 8:46) but there is no way I can really know, if not for the fact that He died and was raised again on the third day. All religion's founders died and remain dead. Jesus was sinless and He cannot receive the wages of sin. He died for our sins, not for His own. Death could not keep Him.

For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 KJV)

Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? (John 8:46 ESV)

Friday, September 13, 2013

Atheism Defined As Non-Belief

Below is a letter written by Paul Tobin, the founding president of the Humanist Society (Singapore) to Straits Times entitled "What atheism really means", published on 13th September 2013.

QUOTE
IN LAST Saturday's Supper Club interview ("'I told the minister to send me to jail'"), pastor Lawrence Khong was quoted as saying "an atheist is very religious. He has a belief system. He believes there is no God".

As the founding president of the Humanist Society (Singapore), I call myself an atheist, as do many of our members, and we find Mr Khong's understanding of the term both incorrect and misleading.

The prefix "a" in front of "theism" does not mean "the opposite of" or "against". It simply refers to the absence of theism.

As atheist comedian Ricky Gervais wittily puts it: "Saying atheism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby. I have never been skiing. It's my biggest hobby. I literally do it all the time."

Atheism is not a belief system; it merely describes the absence of belief in god(s).

Such misunderstandings of the term "atheism", of which Mr Khong's is but one example, are very common. It is partly due to the need to correct such misconceptions that the Humanist Society (Singapore) was formed.
UNQUOTE

More quote from Ricky Gervais, serious stuff from a comedian:
QUOTE
Science doesn’t concern itself with the non-existence of something. The periodic table of imaginary things would be too big for a classroom - infinitely big in fact, and rather pointless. It’s not trying to prove the non-existence of anything supernatural. All it knows is there is no scientific proof of anything supernatural so far. When someone presents a jar of God it will test it. If it finds some evidence of "godness" it will follow the evidence till it knows everything it can.
UNQUOTE

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Right View 正見 - 2

Man is the measure of all things - Protagoras

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)

Human beings are men-centered. We view all things with ourselves as the center. We believe we are the judge of all things. We also make ourselves the judges of gods. We treat religion as a service or commodity for our benefit. We choose our religion like choosing a smart phone. We can choose between Samsung, Apple or HTC. We choose service provider. Our choice are based on suitability, availability and price. To us they are all the same. If it does not benefit us, we become atheists.

The Bible tells us that this is the wrong view. God is the center of all things. All things are created for His pleasure and purpose. Men were created for God's pleasure and glory, not the other way. Man-made religions made man the center of the religion. That is why all religions other than the Bible tell us that we are judged by our works. In the Bible, we are saved by God's work. He is the hero, the star of our salvation. We cannot do anything to save ourselves.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)