Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians 1:3

In Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians, this is what he wrote on Chapter 1 verse 3:
QUOTE
True Christian theology does not inquire into the nature of God, but into God's purpose and will in Christ, whom God incorporated in our flesh to live and to die for our sins. There is nothing more dangerous than to speculate about the incomprehensible power, wisdom, and majesty of God when the conscience is in turmoil over sin. To do so is to lose God altogether because God becomes intolerable when we seek to measure and to comprehend His infinite majesty.
UNQUOTE

The non-Christian response to the Gospel

When I was a non-Christian, I saw this metal signboard facing the road at the Thomson Road Baptist Church each time I took the bus to school. It quotes Acts 16:31: "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." I thought to myself in my heart, "What about those thiefs and robbers? You mean they just have to believe in Christ and they will go to Heaven? What about the good people who don't believe? They will go to hell even though they did not do bad things?"

After I became a Christian, a non-Christian friend approached me and said, "Jesus is very proud." I asked, "Why?" He repied, "No other founders of religion claim to be God, except Jesus."

I read of this conversation between a Muslim and a Christian. The Christian asked, "Will you go to Heaven?" The Muslim replied, "I do not know. Only Allah knows." The Christian told him, "But I will go to Heaven." The Muslim replied, "You are so proud."

Why I am not an insurance salesman

Many years ago, I had a friend who I had not seen for about a decade. He contacted me and we had lunch together. He told me that I was his good friend and he was very concerned for me. He said, "What would happen to your family if you die suddenly?" And he offered me a great insurance plan. I proved to him that I had no money to subscribe to his plan and he left. Since then, he had not contacted me. But this is not the reason why I would not want to be an insurance salesman.

Have you even seen a person whose house is burning and he is about to be burnt to death and you go up to him and said, "You have this pimple on your nose. Buy this cream from me and it will go away."

I cannot bring myself to tell my clients, "What would happen to your family if you die suddenly?" when I should say, "What would happen to your soul if you die suddenly? Would you be in Heaven or in Hell for eternity?" I find it not right to sell pimple cream to a person in danger of fire, instead of pulling him out of the burning house.

Nothing new under the sun

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

But every minute a new baby is born. There are new inventions. There was no computers during Solomon's time. So was the Bible wrong?

Ever since God completed His work of creation in six days, everything that can be done is done. Unlike Microsoft, which have Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2 and other patches, our world is always World 1.0 from beginning. No patches. If the people of Solomon's days had the same knowledge as we have, they can build computers like ours. The rules of science and the material needed is the same in Solomon's time and our time. Every new baby is made out of the same process as Cain and Abel. There is nothing new since then.

Everything that happens was decided long ago. We humans know what we are like, and we can't argue with God, because he is too strong for us (Ecclesiastes 6:10). Whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15).

年年有餘

過年一定會煮一道魚，希望年年有餘。The Chinese always wants to have more than enough. Singapore Government kept billions of dollars in reserve. But when God offered manna to the Israelites in the wilderness, He offered just enough for them on a daily basis. For the sixth day, they were offered twice as much, so that they can rest on the Sabbath. Some of the Israelites were kiasu like Singaporeans and they kept some of the manna for the next day, fearing that the supply would stop. But the manna bred worms and smelled (Exodus 16:20). Many people stored a lot for their retirement and said to themselves, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years (Luke 12:19)" but Lehman Brothers took them all away. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21). Let us not put our faith in uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17) but trust that the Lord will supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philppians 4:19).

Predestination

Predestination is a double edged sword. It confirms and confounds. It is a blessed assurance of eternal security and perseverance of the saints. It gives glory to God and His sovereignty. To doubting Christians, it worries them that they may not be among the chosen. To lazy Christians, this is the excuse not to evangelize. To non-Christians, it is an example of grave injustice. To non-Christians who think they are Christians, it leads to Antinomianism or lawlessness, thinking that they can do anything, because they are eternally saved by God's decree.

Predestination troubles John Bunyan

In his book "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners", John Bunyan grappled with predestination:

QUOTE
By these two temptations I was very much afflicted and disquieted; sometimes by one, and sometimes by the other of them. And first, to speak of that about my questioning my election, I found at this time, that though I was in a flame to find the way to heaven and glory, and though nothing could beat me off from this, yet this question did so offend and discourage me, that I was, especially sometimes, as if the very strength of my body also had been taken away by the force and power thereof. This scripture did also seem to me to trample upon all my desires; It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth; but of God that showeth mercy (Romans 9:16).

With this scripture I could not tell what to do: for I evidently saw, unless that the great God, of His infinite grace and bounty, had voluntarily chosen me to be a vessel of mercy, though I should desire, and long, and labour until my heart did break, no good could come of it. Therefore this would stick with me, How can you tell that you are elected? And what if you should not? How then?

O Lord, thought I, what if I should not indeed? It may be you are not, said the Tempter; it may be so indeed, thought I. Why then, said Satan, you had as good leave off, and strive no farther; for if indeed, you should not be elected and chosen of God, there is no talk of your being saved; For it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth; but of God that showeth mercy.

By these things I was driven to my wits' end, not knowing what to say, or how to answer these temptations: (indeed, I little thought that Satan had thus assaulted me, but that rather it was my own prudence thus to start the question): for that the elect only attained eternal life; that, I without scruple did heartily close withal; but that myself was one of them, there lay the question.

Thus therefore, for several days, I was greatly assaulted and perplexed, and was often, when I have been walking, ready to sink where I went, with faintness in my mind; but one day, after I had been so many weeks oppressed and cast down therewith as I was now quite giving up the ghost of all my hopes of ever attaining life, that sentence fell with weight upon my spirit, Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in God, and were confounded?

At which I was greatly lightened, and encouraged in my soul; for thus, at that very instant, it was expounded to me: Begin at the beginning of Genesis, and read to the end of the Revelations, and see if you can find, that there were ever any that trusted in the Lord, and were confounded. So coming home, I presently went to my Bible, to see if I could find that saying, not doubting but to find it presently; for it was so fresh, and with such strength and comfort on my spirit, that it was as if it talked with me.

Well, I looked, but I found it not; only it abode upon me: Then did I ask first this good man, and then another, if they knew where it was, but they knew no such place. At this I wondered, that such a sentence should so suddenly, and with such comfort and strength, seize, and abide upon my heart; and yet that none could find it (for I doubted not but that it was in holy scripture).

Thus I continued above a year, and could not find the place; but at last, casting my eye upon the Apocrypha books, I found it in Ecclesiasticus 2:10. This, at the first, did somewhat daunt me; but because by this time I had got more experience of the love and kindness of God, it troubled me the less, especially when I considered that though it was not in those texts that we call holy and canonical; yet forasmuch as this sentence was the sum and substance of many of the promises, it was my duty to take the comfort of it; and I bless God for that word, for it was of God to me: that word doth still at times shine before my face.

After this, that other doubt did come with strength upon me, But how if the day of grace should be past and gone? How if you have overstood the time of mercy? Now I remember that one day, as I was walking in the country, I was much in the thoughts of this, But how if the day of grace is past? And to aggravate my trouble, the Tempter presented to my mind those good people of Bedford, and suggested thus unto me, that these being converted already, they were all that God would save in those parts; and that I came too late, for these had got the blessing before I came.

Now I was in great distress, thinking in very deed that this might well be so; wherefore I went up and down, bemoaning my sad condition; counting myself far worse than a thousand fools for standing off thus long, and spending so many years in sin as I had done; still crying out, Oh! that I had turned sooner! Oh! that I had turned seven years ago! It made me also angry with myself, to think that I should have no more wit, but to trifle away my time, till my soul and heaven were lost.
UNQUOTE

Note:
For those who might be interested, this is Ecclesiasticus 2:10 in KJV:
Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?

Grace Abounding by John Bunyan

I happened to pick up this book "Grace Abounding" by John Bunyan at my church library. There was a description of John Bunyan changing his behaviour for good. Even his neighbours marvelled to see such a great change in his life took him to be a very godly man. But he is still ignorant of Jesus Christ and His saving grace:

QUOTE
Now therefore I went on in sin with great greediness of mind, still grudging that I could not be so satisfied with it, as I would. This did continue with me about a month, or more; but one day, as I was standing at a neighbour's shop window, and there cursing and swearing, and playing the madman, after my wonted manner, there sate within, the woman of the house, and heard me; who, though she also was a very loose and ungodly wretch, yet protested that I swore and cursed at that most fearful rate, that she was made to tremble to hear me; and told me further, that I was the ungodliest fellow for swearing, that she ever heard in all her life; and that I, by thus doing, was able to spoil all the youth in the whole town, if they come but in my company.

At this reproof I was silenced, and put to secret shame; and that too, as I thought, before the God of heaven; wherefore, while I stood there, and hanging down my head, I wished with all my heart that I might be a little child again, that my father might learn me to speak without this wicked way of swearing; for, thought I, I am so accustomed to it, that it is in vain for me to think of a reformation; for I thought it could never be.

But how it came to pass, I know not; I did from this time forward, so leave my swearing, that it was a great wonder to myself to observe it; and whereas before I knew not how to speak unless I put an oath before, and another behind, to make my words have authority; now I could, without it, speak better, and with more pleasantness than ever I could before. All this while I knew not Jesus Christ, neither did I leave my sports and plays.

But quickly after this, I fell into company with one poor man that made profession of religion; who, as I then thought, did talk pleasantly of the scriptures, and of the matters of religion; wherefore falling into some love and liking to what he said, I betook me to my Bible, and began to take great pleasure in reading, but especially with the historical part thereof; for as for Paul's Epistles, and such like scriptures, I could not away with them, being as yet ignorant, either of the corruptions of my nature, or of the want and worth of Jesus Christ to save me.

Wherefore I fell to some outward reformation both in my words and life, and did set the commandments before me for my way to heaven; which commandments I also did strive to keep, and, as I thought, did keep them pretty well sometimes, and then I should have comfort; yet now and then should break one, and so afflict my conscience; but then I should repent, and say, I was sorry for it, and promise God to do better next time, and there get help again; for then I thought I pleased God as well as any man in England.

Thus I continued about a year; all which time our neighbours did take me to be a very godly man, a new and religious man, and did marvel much to see such a great and famous alteration in my life and manners; and indeed so it was, though yet I knew not Christ, nor grace, nor faith, nor hope; for, as I have well seen since, had I then died, my state had been most fearful.

But, I say, my neighbours were amazed at this my great conversion, from prodigious profaneness, to something like a moral life; and truly, so they well might; for this my conversion was as great, as for Tom of Bethlehem to become a sober man. Now therefore they began to praise, to commend, and to speak well of me, both to my face, and behind my back. Now I was, as they said, become godly; now I was become a right honest man. But oh! when I understood these were their words and opinions of me, it pleased me mighty well. For, though as yet I was nothing but a poor painted hypocrite, yet, I loved to be talked of as one that was truly godly. I was proud of my godliness, and indeed, I did all I did, either to be seen of, or to be well spoken of, by men: and thus I continued for about a twelvemonth, or more.

Now you must know, that, before this, I had taken much delight in ringing, but my conscience beginning to be tender, I thought such practice was but vain, and therefore forced myself to leave it; yet my mind hankered; wherefore I would go to the steeple-house, and look on, though I durst not ring: but I thought this did not become religion neither; yet I forced myself, and would look on still, but quickly after, I began to think, how if one of the bells should fall? Then I chose to stand under a main beam, that lay overthwart the steeple, from side to side, thinking here I might stand sure; but then I should think again, should the bell fall with a swing, it might first hit the wall, and then, rebounding upon me, might kill me for all this beam; this made me stand in the steeple-door; and now, thought I, I am safe enough; for if the bell should now fall, I can slip out behind these thick walls, and so be preserved notwithstanding.

So after this I would yet go to see them ring, but would not go any farther than the steeple-door; but then it came into my head, how if the steeple itself should fall? And this thought (it may for aught I know) when I stood and looked on, did continually so shake my mind, that I durst not stand at the steeple-door any longer, but was forced to flee, for fear the steeple should fall upon my head.

Another thing was, my dancing; I was a full year before I could quite leave that; but all this while, when I thought I kept this or that commandment, or did, by word or deed, anything that I thought was good, I had great peace in my conscience, and should think with myself, God cannot choose but be now pleased with me; yea, to relate it in mine own way, I thought no man in England could please God better than I.

But poor wretch as I was! I was all this while ignorant of Jesus Christ; and going about to establish my own righteousness; and had perished therein, had not God in mercy showed me more of my state by nature.
UNQUOTE

Singapore Budget 2009

The Singapore Budget 2009 is like a king giving goodies to his feudal lords, hoping that they would be kind enough to share some of them with their peasants. Of course the king also gives some goodies to the peasants directly, but it is pittance, compared to what he gave his feudal lords.

43, not 44

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama said that "Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath." Actually it is only 43. Look at the list of American Presidents and you will know the answer.

Hope, Fear and Obama

President Obama, in his inaugural speech, called for "hope over fear". But hope is always based on faith. Faith ought to be based on truth, though often it is based on lies. If faith is based on lies, when the time of reckoning comes, you will get fear, which is the opposite of hope. America's fear today came from a false hope based on a faith that is based on lies. Now President Obama is giving them hope. Is the faith of this hope based on truth? If it is not, then when the time of reckoning comes, America and the rest of the world will have a bigger fear.

The Onion prophesies (sort of)

This is an article from "The Onion", Issue 37-01 published on 17th January 2001, entitled "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'". It was a joke that came true, especially for the part about finance and war.

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"

On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.

Wall Street responded strongly to the Bush speech, with the Dow Jones industrial fluctuating wildly before closing at an 18-month low. The NASDAQ composite index, rattled by a gloomy outlook for tech stocks in 2001, also fell sharply, losing 4.4 percent of its total value between 3 p.m. and the closing bell.

Asked for comment about the cooling technology sector, Bush said: "That's hardly my area of expertise."

Turning to the subject of the environment, Bush said he will do whatever it takes to undo the tremendous damage not done by the Clinton Administration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He assured citizens that he will follow through on his campaign promise to open the 1.5 million acre refuge's coastal plain to oil drilling. As a sign of his commitment to bringing about a change in the environment, he pointed to his choice of Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior. Norton, Bush noted, has "extensive experience" fighting environmental causes, working as a lobbyist for lead-paint manufacturers and as an attorney for loggers and miners, in addition to suing the EPA to overturn clean-air standards.

Bush had equally high praise for Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft, whom he praised as "a tireless champion in the battle to protect a woman's right to give birth."

"Soon, with John Ashcroft's help, we will move out of the Dark Ages and into a more enlightened time when a woman will be free to think long and hard before trying to fight her way past throngs of protesters blocking her entrance to an abortion clinic," Bush said. "We as a nation can look forward to lots and lots of babies."

Continued Bush: "John Ashcroft will be invaluable in healing the terrible wedge President Clinton drove between church and state."

The speech was met with overwhelming approval from Republican leaders.

"Finally, the horrific misrule of the Democrats has been brought to a close," House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told reporters. "Under Bush, we can all look forward to military aggression, deregulation of dangerous, greedy industries, and the defunding of vital domestic social-service programs upon which millions depend. Mercifully, we can now say goodbye to the awful nightmare that was Clinton's America."

"For years, I tirelessly preached the message that Clinton must be stopped," conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said. "And yet, in 1996, the American public failed to heed my urgent warnings, re-electing Clinton despite the fact that the nation was prosperous and at peace under his regime. But now, thank God, that's all done with. Once again, we will enjoy mounting debt, jingoism, nuclear paranoia, mass deficit, and a massive military build-up."

An overwhelming 49.9 percent of Americans responded enthusiastically to the Bush speech.

"After eight years of relatively sane fiscal policy under the Democrats, we have reached a point where, just a few weeks ago, President Clinton said that the national debt could be paid off by as early as 2012," Rahway, NJ, machinist and father of three Bud Crandall said. "That's not the kind of world I want my children to grow up in."

"You have no idea what it's like to be black and enfranchised," said Marlon Hastings, one of thousands of Miami-Dade County residents whose votes were not counted in the 2000 presidential election. "George W. Bush understands the pain of enfranchisement, and ever since Election Day, he has fought tirelessly to make sure it never happens to my people again."

Bush concluded his speech on a note of healing and redemption.

"We as a people must stand united, banding together to tear this nation in two," Bush said. "Much work lies ahead of us: The gap between the rich and the poor may be wide, be there's much more widening left to do. We must squander our nation's hard-won budget surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest 15 percent. And, on the foreign front, we must find an enemy and defeat it."

"The insanity is over," Bush said. "After a long, dark night of peace and stability, the sun is finally rising again over America. We look forward to a bright new dawn not seen since the glory days of my dad."

Rules and the minimum requirement effect

Sometimes we create rules for administrative purposes. For example, a company may have a rule that if you work after 10:00 pm, you may take taxi home and claim for the taxi fares. Let say I finished my work by 9:45 pm. I may decide to stay on for another 15 minutes so that I can go home by taxi.

When I was in school, the school has a rule that boy's hair cannot touch the ear. Long hair for boys were fashionable then. So many boys keep their hair till it almost touch the ear.

Some girl schools specify that the length of the skirt must touch the knee or longer. Girls who like to wear short skirts then wear skirt that touch the knee.

The Bible says that we should give a tithe of our income. Many Christians give a tithe of their net income in order to meet the minimum requirement.

When a rule is specific, people who are compelled to follow the rule will do their best to misinterprete it, or do the minimum.

The Law cannot save. It kills.

Life is not fair

Yesterday, my daughter asked me to help her in an essay, "Life is not fair". Life is indeed not fair, at birth, during the journey and at the end. The time, place and condition of birth affects a person right at the beginning.

Breaking the Law

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10 KJV).

When I am caught speed across the red light, I cannot tell the traffic police that I had obeyed other traffic rules to gain credit to get a pardon for this offence. All these are obvious common sense to everybody. Yet at the same time, many people believe that when they die, God will put their good deeds and bad deeds on a balance to decide if they can go to Heaven. If the traffic police were to put my good deeds (those rules that I obeyed) and my bad deed (the red light dashing incident), my good deeds would have outweighed my bad deeds. Just as the traffic police would not accept my past good deeds to cancel out my deeds, neither would God allow it. And He made it clear in James 2:10, so that there would be no arguments.

Good deeds and bad deeds are not like money in an accounting system. There will be no credit and debit in the God's judgement hall.

Made Rich by Faith

For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. (Psalm 9:18)
Lazarus will not always lie among the dogs at the rich man's gate, but he will have his recompense in Abraham's bosom. (C. H. Spurgeon, Faith's Check Book, January 15).

Evolution

If evolution is true, then the following will be true:

1. Our existence has no purpose, other than to survive and pass on our genes.
2. Morality is a feature evolved to help us survive.
3. Religion is a feature evolved to help us survive. God or gods do not exist. We have no after life.
4. Genocide is okay, since there is no right or wrong, just the best way to survive, and genocide is one way to compete. Do you feel guilty when you kill a cockroach? In evolution, the cockroach and you are equal, products evolved at different stage. Nobody should feel guilty when they kill you.

A Wonderful Guarantee

I will strengthen thee. (Isaiah 41:10)

In the January 5 entry of C H Spurgeon's Faith Check Book, this is what he wrote:
QUOTE
When called to serve or to suffer, we take stock of our strength, and we find it to be less than we thought and less than we need. But let not our heart sink within us while we have such a word as this to fall back upon, for it guarantees us all that we can possibly need. God has strength omnipotent; that strength He can communicate to us; and His promise is that He will do so. He will be the food of our souls and the health of our hearts; and thus He will give us strength. There is no telling how much power God can put into a man. When divine strength comes, human weakness is no more a hindrance.
Do we not remember seasons of labor and trial in which we received such special strength that we wondered at ourselves? In the midst of danger we were calm, under bereavement we were resigned, in slander we were self-contained, and in sickness we were patient. The fact is that God gives unexpected strength when unusual trials come upon us, We rise out of our feeble selves. Cowards play the man, foolish ones have wisdom given them, and the silent receive in the self-same hour what they shall speak, My own weakness makes me shrink, but God's promise makes me brave. Lord, strengthen me "according to thy word."(Isa 41:10)
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
UNQUOTE

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV)

Marriage - Chinese vs Biblical view

There is a Chinese saying "兄弟如手足，夫妻如衣服". Translation: "Brothers are like hands and legs, husband and wife are like clothings". Contrast this with the Bible "they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24 KJV) ." Chinese society emphasis on filial piety (百善孝为先). So if the man keep changing his clothes, how are the children going to be filial? To which mother? Filial piety is best practised in a Biblical family, where the husband and wife relationship is stable. Husband and wife are the foundation of the family. When the foundation is stable, the family will be stable.

Helping God

Let say a young man was travelling in a truck transport an expensive antique cupboard. The truck hit a bump and the cupboard stumbled. The young man quickly stretch his hand to steady the cupboard. What should the owner of the cupboard do? Commend the man or punish him? What would you think if the owner punish him?

Uzzah was a nice young man guiding a cart that was transporting the Art of Covenant to Jerusalem. But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark. The LORD God was very angry at Uzzah for doing this, and he killed Uzzah right there beside the Ark (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

When I was a new Christian, I found this passage incomprehensible. Here we have a helpful person struck dead for helping God. Did not God want us to help each other? Why is He setting such a bad example?

But helping God is the worst thing to do. Imagine a blind man guiding one who can see, the creature helping the creator, the newborn baby feeding the mother. Sarah helped God by offering Hagar to Abraham (Genesis 16:2). Saul helped God by offering sacrifices to Him when Samuel was late (1 Samuel 13:8-14). Those who try to help God will always end up worse off. God help us not to help Him.

Who Killed Goliath in your Bible?

I came across this question in a website today. We all know, but let us look at 2 Samuel 21:19 and its parallel verse 1 Chronicles 20:5.

We shall see 2 Samuel 21:19 in various versions:
(KJV) And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
(CUV) 又在歌伯与非利士人打仗，伯利恒人雅雷俄珥金的儿子伊勒哈难杀了迦特人歌利亚。这人的枪杆粗如织布的机轴。
(ESV) And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

We shall see 1 Chronicles 20:
(KJV) And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.
(CUV) 又与非利士人打仗。睚珥的儿子伊勒哈难杀了迦特人歌利亚的兄弟拉哈米；这人的枪杆粗如织布的机轴。
(ESV) And there was again war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

The website seized this text as an example of error in modern translations and declared that "Translators love money more than God, so they copy each other's errors to protect their jobs and keep new versions coming every year. This verse was correctly translated 400 years ago in the King James Version, but translators would have to get a real job, if they endorsed the KJV."

If you look at 2 Samuel 21:19 in any KJV Bible in print, you will see that "the brother of" is in italics. That means it is not found in the original text, but supplied by the translators. But the King James worshippers, who love King James more than King Jesus, choose to endorse the action of the KJV translators, ignoring the warning of the Word of God not to add to or subtract from it (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, Proverbs 30:6, Revelation 22:18-19).

As for the harmonising of the two verses, there are many explanations offered and you can easily google for them.

The Prince of Peace

There shall be no world peace, until the Prince of Peace comes. The coming Prince is predicted in (Isaiah 9:5-7). At His first coming, this Prince, who is Jesus promised personal peace (John 14:27). He will bring world peace at His second coming (Revelations 19:11-17) and will rule the world in peace (Micah 4:1-3).

Peace cannot come without truth. Since Jesus is Truth (John 14:6), peace will come when He comes.

In the meantime, let "the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV)"

World Peace

Many people like to pray for world peace. But as long as there are humans on earth, there would be no peace. Therefore world peace can be achieved only when all humans died out.

But, wait. Animals also fight. When there are no humans, peace still cannot rule. So world peace can only be achieved when all animals also die out. But when animals die, plants die. Anyway when no living things exist on earth, there will be peace.

But, wait. The earth crust produce earthquake and volcanoes, disturbing peace in the lifeless earth. The only way to have world peace is that the earth no longer exist.

So for those who pray for world peace, the answer to your prayer comes when the earth cease to exist. So please, do not pray for the peace of the whole universe. Just keep it at world peace.

Truth and Peace

"Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth" Matthew Henry (1662-1714). In today's world where there is daily war, many people are praying for "World Peace". But peace without truth is a false peace which will collapse sooner or later. It is better to take a longer route to eastablish truth, and peace would follow.

The Wait and the Promise

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (Psalm 27:14 KJV)

My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. (Isaiah 51:5 KJV)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9 KJV)

One year ago today, MIL died without Christ

One year ago today, my Mother-in-law died without Christ as her Saviour. A Buddhist funeral was conducted and rites and chants were performed during the funeral service to assist the dead to induct her way to rebirth. Based on Chinese Buddhist beliefs, the soul would now be in an intermediate state (中阴身) and should reincarnate with 49 days. Every 7 days, the nun will perform some rites to assist her. Before the 49 days is over, the chief nun told my sister-in-law that my mother-in-law came to her in a dream to tell her that she could stop the rites because she was reincarnated.

Like World of Warcraft, Second Life and Maple Story, a whole world was created based on the belief in reincarnation. It makes me wonder what will happen to the dead who do not believe in all these, like the Christians, Muslims and other non-Chinese Buddhist (they built their own reincarnation-based worlds). Are we disadvantaged because no nun perform those rites for us when we die? Or is the other world like this world, divided into different political entities. So when the Buddhists die, they go to the Buddhist immigration counter which will then go through the 49 days procedure. When Christians die, they go to the Christian immigration counter and etc. Then the next question is, do these nether world political entities fight wars like we do on earth? Maybe they do and our religious wars are an extension of these wars.

It is fun to think and imagine about these, but if it is true, it would be so pitiful for mankind. Fortunately, we know that reincarnation is baseless, and all systems built on it are virtual worlds, like our internet computer games. Fortunately, my faith is based on facts that happened on this earth and in this dimension, not something which happened after death and has yet to be proven true.

Back to the Future, Reincarnation and Sperm

Some movies are exciting to watch. But if you take the plot seriously, you may find that it is not possible to be true. For example, the invisible man, if he exists, would be blind, since he cannot have an opaque cornea which allows sight.

Another exciting movie plot is time travelling. In the movie "Back to the Future", 17 year old Marty McFly, who has a nerdy dad, alcoholic mum, an elder brother and an elder sister, accidentally warps himself from 1985 to 1955, where he meets both of his parents when they are teenagers. Marty unintentionally interrupts his parent's first meeting together. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. Being a good sci-fi movie, everything ended well. After some adventures, he re-unites his parents and return back to 1985. He finds that his dad is now a famous author and his mom was sober. He still has his brother and sister, except they are leading better lives.

Nice story, except it cannot be real, even when time travel is possible. Even though Marty re-unites his parents, there can be no guarantee that his siblings and him will be born. First, he cannot ensure that his father (who is now an author) and mother (who is now sober), will have sex exactly at the same time as they had before the time travelling occurs in order to produce Marty and his siblings. Even if Marty can ensure that they have sex exactly at the same time for that three occasions, he cannot ensure that the same spermatozoon will fertilize his mother's egg. If it is a different spermatozoon, it will be a different person, even with a different sex. Marty may well be born as Martina. Even the egg produced may not be the same.

Reincarnation is like these movies. As long as you treat it like a nice fiction, it is okay. But when you think of how it can be implemented in the real world, you have to grapple with the problem of the 2 cause-and-effects, the normal scientific cause-and-effect and the Karmic cause-and-effect. Of course you can argue that we do not understand everything, which is why we need faith. But faith that is not based on facts is very dangerous. When the foundation cannot be proven true, then anything incredible can be built on it. Thus in Chinese Buddhism, you have 6 realms (六道: 天．人．阿修羅．畜生．餓鬼．地獄) to be reincarnated. Is it true? Nobody knows. I can also come up with my own theory of reincarnation. This is the reason why although the Chinese are very smart people, but Science comes from the West, where the religion stress on Truth.

Reincarnation and sperm

Samāra or rebirth or reincarnation in Buddhism is based on the law of cause and effect (karma). According to Buddhist belief of reincarnation, one is born to the next life in a higher or lower form according to good or bad deeds done in current life.

In those days people do not know of the existence of sperm and egg and the technical details of conception. They assume that it is a very simple matter. Some liquid from the man goes into the woman and out pops the baby.

But now we know. Each ejacuation can produce millions of sperm. Usually only one will succeed in penetrating the egg. When a spermatozoon penetrates a mature egg, conception or fertilization takes place. Different spermatozoon will produce a different baby. So are there millions of soul, one in each sperm, waiting to be reborn? Is the successful spermatozoon successful because of its good karma, or because of the condition in the fallopian tube favours it? The mind boggles at the number of complexities we have to grapple with, both the karmic and scientific logic, in order for the Buddhist reincarnation to be implemented.

What will happen to the souls of those unsuccessful sperm? Or is the soul assigned only when the conception is successful? Or is the soul assigned at the point of birth? What happen if one day science can prove that reincarnation is false? While reincarnation may never be scientifically proven, the chancy way in which a spermatozoon fertilize an egg makes reincarnation unlikely. If the basic foundation of Buddhism is so shaky, I really do not want to build my faith on it. I am so glad that I am not a Buddhist. My faith rests on a sure foundation, which is Christ the Rock.

Science, Buddhism and Christianity

The Dalai Lama had declared the Buddhism is not reliable. Okay, he did not say that. But what he said effectively means that. In an article he wrote in New York Times on 12 November 2005, he said, "If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change." Hey, that is dangerous. A lot of things in Buddhism are not verified by Science. The most important foundational fact, reincarnation, is not proven by Science. If Science prove that reincarnation is false, what will happen to Buddhism? How about the stories of Buddha and all his past lives?
The same is not true for Christians. The Bible is always true. Until today, facts proven by Science has not contradicted the Bible. Neither do Christians expect it to. Since the Bible is truth, Science would never contradict it in all provable facts.
However, some science theories, such as Evolution, contradicts the Bible. It would be a matter of time before Evolution will be proven false.

The rich young ruler and Jesus, Job and his 3 friends

How do we handle people who are justified in their own eyes?

We can look at the positive example set by our Lord Jesus when the rich young ruler confronted Him (Matthew 19:16-24, Mark 10:17-25, Luke 18:18-25), and the negative examples of Job's three friends, when they try to console Job.

The rich young ruler told Jesus that he was perfect in keeping Moses's Law (Matthew 19:20, Mark 10:20, Luke 18:21). Jesus did not challenge him on that point. Instead, He ask the rich young ruler to do something else, to sell all that he has and follow Him (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22). When the rich young ruler heard that, he was sad and went away, proving that his real god is his wealth (Matthew 19:22,Mark 10:22,Luke 18:23).

Job likewise tell his three friends that his dire circumstances were not caused by any sins that he has done. Job did not claim to be sinless, rather he was blameless. He felt that he did not deserve what as happening to him (Job 1:13-19, Job 2:7). But his three friends challenge him on that point, but they could not prove it.

When we meet people who are justified in their own eyes, we should not challenge them on their past accounts of their own goodness. How can we know their heart? We will end up debating with them about their past, trying to find fault with their lives, which was what happened to Job's three friends. We should ask God for wisdom and pose them new challenges so that they might know their own hearts.