Moving Mountains - Bible versus Chinese Idiom Story

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:23 ESV)

The Bible says that faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:23).

Now there is also a Chinese idiom story called "A Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains (愚公移山)" taken from 《列子·湯問》.

Here is an English translation quoted from Chinese Idiom Story - 愚公移山:

QUOTE
Once upon a time, there were two large mountains - Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain, which sat in front of an old man Yu's house. Because the mountains blocked the way, the Yu's families had to walk many extra miles in order to go out. One day, Yu called together the whole family to discuss removing the mountains. His wife shook her head and said, "Where are we going to put the earth and sand we dug out?" The others said, "We can dump it in the sea."

The next day in the early morning, Yu began digging the mountain with his families. An old man called Zhi Sou (智叟) saw them working and laughed: "Mr. Fool, you're so old and weak. Why do you want to remove the mountains? You won't be able to remove it even before you die!" Yu smiled and said, "Your mind is so stubborn and old. If I die, there will be my sons. Sons will have grandsons and grandsons will have sons. There will be no end, but the mountain will not grow. As time goes on, the mountains will be removed one day!" Zhi Sou said nothing and left.
UNQUOTE

Which way is more credible to you? The Bible's faith in God or the Chinese idiom story's faith in men?

Have you seen mountains jumping into the sea? I have never. The Bible's method seems incredible. At least the Chinese idiom story provide a practical method of digging the mountain bit by bit. Both are unlikely to succeed but there may be a fluke chance that the foolish old man's descendants may finish the job.

Then we look at history. We look at the Bible-based European civilization and the humanistic Chinese civilization. Science and all the benefits of modern civilisation came from Europe, not China. How do you explain that?

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12 ESV, BSB, HCSB)

Four Civilizations - 2

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. (Daniel 2:44 BSB)

According to Arnold Toynbee in "A Study of History", there are 21 civilizations. They are: Egyptian, Andean, Sumerian, Babylonic, Hittite, Minoan, Indic, Hindu, Syriac, Hellenic, Western, Orthodox Christian (having two branches: the main or Byzantine body and the Russian branch), Far Eastern (having two branches: the main or Chinese-Korean body and the Japanese branch), Islamic (having two branches which later merged: Arabic and Iranic), Mayan, Mexican and Yucatec, which can be tabulated as follow:

1st Generation	2nd Generation	Universal Church	3rd Generation
Minoan	Hellenic (Greek and Roman)	Christian	Western; Orthodox-Russian; Orthodox-Byzantine
	Syriac Society (Ancient Israel, Phoenicia etc.)	Islam	Islamic (at early stages divided into Iranian and Arabic, civilizations, which later were unified)
Shang	Sinic (see also Han Dynasty)	Mahayana (Buddhism)	Chinese; Japanese-Korean ("Far Eastern")
Indus	Indic	Hinduism	Hindu
Egyptiac		-	-
Sumeric	Hittite; Babylonian	-	-
Andean; Mayan; Yucatec; Mexican		-	-

While I may not totally agree with Arnold Toynbee's classification, I do agree with him that in the end, four civilizations survived, the humanist Chinese, the polytheistic Indians, the two monotheistic civilizations based on Bible and Koran. The three civilizations which are not Bible-based remain at more or less the same level, making not much progress between the second and third generation. Only the Bible-based European civilisation grew to dominate the world with science and technology. The Bible has always insisted on objective verification in key doctrines and objective verification is what science is all about.

There is some parallel between China in the east and Europe in the west. The second generation Han China and Roman empire fell to barbarians and foreign religions (Buddhism and Christianity respectively) roughly at the same time. The Chinese synthesized Confucianism and Buddhism and revived. The Romans died and the European barbarians took over and built a Bible-based civilization on top of the Greek and Roman foundations.

Arnold Toynbee saw the parallel but could not understand why the Chinese civilisation revived but the Roman civilization died and was replaced by the Europeans. He did not know that God wanted to use the foolish European barbarians to conquer the wise of the world. Furthermore, God has to punish the Romans for their crucifixion of Christ, destruction of Israel and persecution of Christians.

Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world - what is viewed as nothing - to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 CSB)

Nationalism Fascism Nazism

Don't long for "the good old days." This is not wise. (Ecclesiastes 7:10 NLT)

Let say there is a country called Z. Z used to have a glorious past but now is in humbler times. Z is very upset that now the world order is set by country A. All the countries from B to Z have to follow A. Z felt that all the countries ought to follow Z, like those good old days when Z was a glorious country. So Z stir up hatred for A among its citizens and also those who do not live in country Z but are from the same tribe, race or culture as Z.

Should a Christian who is from the tribe, race, culture or country Z follow what the government of Z and hate A?

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? (Psalm 139:21 ESV)

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20 ESV)

The Piety of the Persecutors

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. (Daniel 2:34 ESV)

Originally, the Romans persecuted Christians out of their belief that Christianity was a "superstition" or "atheism". Actually, Christianity is a dangerous religion. Roman beliefs, religion and culture were involved in an existential struggle with Christianity. If Christianity win, the Roman gods and Roman culture will die. Christianity did win and Rome and its gods died.

QUOTE
The Roman Empire was generally quite tolerant in its treatment of other religions. The imperial policy was generally one of incorporation - the local gods of a newly conquered area were simply added to the Roman pantheon and often given Roman names. Even the Jews, with their one god, were generally tolerated. So why the persecution of Christians?

In order to understand the Roman distrust of Christianity, one must understand the Roman view of religion. For the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state - a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety. Cicero wrote that if piety in the Roman sense were to disappear, social unity and justice would perish along with it.

The early Roman writers viewed Christianity not as another kind of piety, but as a "superstition." Pliny, a Roman governor writing circa 110 AD, called Christianity a "superstition taken to extravagant lengths." Similarly, the Roman historian Tacitus called it "a deadly superstition," and the historian Suetonius called Christians "a class of persons given to a new and mischievous superstition."
UNQUOTE
Robert L. Wilkin, "The Piety of the Persecutors" Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No. 3), p. 18

Now Christianity is involved in existential struggle with China. If Christianity wins, China and the Chinese culture and beliefs as we know it will cease to exist. Like the Romans, the Chinese are aware of this and they are trying very hard to stamp out Christianity.

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. (Daniel 2:44 BSB)

Setting KPI For God

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans - that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. (Habakkuk 1:6 BSB)

Men love to set KPI. They even set KPI for God on how a perfect God should be like. Did God accept the KPI?

Crime and Punishment
When Israel sinned, God ought to use a more righteous nation to punish Israel or punish Israel Himself. But God raised the cruel Babylonians to punish Israel (Habakkuk 1:6). And then God later punished the Babylonians for punishing Israel (Jeremiah 25:12).

Word Transmission
Until heaven and earth shall pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall pass away from the law (Matthew 5:18) but in the course of transmission of text of the Bible, there are some minor changes in the jot and tittle. It is less than 0.01%, but still, it is one missing jot or one additional tittle. But the KJV-only believers cannot believe that the almighty God could not preserve a perfect original text for us. God would fail our KPI for Him if He cannot do that. In fact, He did more than that. He even divinely inspired the KJV translation. God passed our KPI for Him with flying colours. Did God really care about our KPI for Him?

Word Accuracy
It is appointed for man to die once (Hebrews 9:27) but Lazarus died twice (John 11:43). Did the Bible contradict itself? Is the mustard seed the smallest of all seeds (Matthew 13:32, Mark 4:31)? If Jesus was to be in the grave three days and nights (Matthew 12:40), how do we fit those between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Did Bible meant it to be 72 hours exactly because God is very precise? Three days and nights must be 72 hours because God is perfect to the jot and tittle. Are we celebrating Good Friday and Easter Sunday wrongly? Or are we interpreting the Bible more strictly than God Himself?

Christian Witness
The Bible recorded that God use holy men like the apostles to spread the gospel. But in our days, God chose to use the colonialist, the slave traders and drug traffickers to spread the gospel. Africans were enslaved, taken from their home and sold to Christian lands to be given the opportunity to hear the gospel. Opium traders humiliate China to bring the gospel to their land. Shouldn't a perfect and holy God do better than that? Maybe He should roll out the red carpet to welcome the Africans and Chinese into the Kingdom of God and today, there will be no Black Life Matter movement and there will be no Chinese Communist party harping on the century of humiliation by Western imperial powers. Looks like we have better ideas than God.

World Creation
Then the ultimate KPI, the favourite of unbelievers and atheists, why can't the perfectly good, almighty and all-knowing God create a world without sin? Then Jesus would not need to come to the world to die for sin. Atheists use God's failure in this KPI to prove His non-existence. If God exists, why are there evil and sufferings in the world? Why can't the One who knows the end from the beginning think ahead?

What are you going to do with a God that fail your KPI?

From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. (John 6:66 BSB)

So Jesus asked the Twelve, "Do you want to leave too?" Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6:67-69 BSB)

大學之道

Chinese classics sometimes have glimpses of Biblical truth. Here we have the first verse of "Great Learning 大學 (translated by A. Charles Muller)":

QUOTE
大學之道、在明明德、在親民、在止於至善。
The way of great learning consists in manifesting one's bright virtue, consists in loving the people, consists in stopping in perfect goodness.
知止而後有定、
When you know where to stop, you have stability.
定而後能靜、
When you have stability, you can be tranquil.
靜而後能安、
When you are tranquil, you can be at ease.
安而後能慮、
When you are at ease, you can deliberate.
慮而後能得。
When you can deliberate you can attain your aims.
物有本末、事有終始。知所先後則近道矣。
Things have their roots and branches, affairs have their end and beginning. When you know what comes first and what comes last, then you are near the Way.
UNQUOTE

I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will. (Isaiah 46:10 CSB)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:13 NIV)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

Confucius, as usual, got the concepts more or less right. If you knew your end (知止), you would be near the way (近道). But what should the end be? Is it to end in perfect goodness (止於至善)? And what would the way be? Is it to manifest one's bright virtue (明明德), loving people (親民), ending in ultimate goodness (止於至善)? Confucius may not have the right answers since he was a mere mortal.

Let us think about this. If we know the ultimate beginning and the ultimate end (物有本末、事有終始。知所先後), we can frame our goals and ways within it. Jesus is the ultimate beginning and the ultimate end. He is also the Way. We know where we are going because Jesus is the Way. We know He is the right Way because He is also the Truth and the Life.

Jesus is the answer to Confucius. Jesus is your goal and your way.

The Chinese text without translation found in 禮記 : 大學 - 中國哲學書電子化計劃:
大學之道，在明明德，在親民，在止於至善。知止而後有定，定而後能靜，靜而後能安，安而後能慮，慮而後能得。物有本末，事有終始，知所先後，則近道矣。

Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. (Psalm 119:98-100 NIV)

Read the Bible. It will make you wiser than Confucius.

China's Ah Q Spirit

These are the two basic characteristics of Chinese people:

1. Faced-based
   Face is very important to the Chinese. Even when they are teaching their children, they say, "You better behaviour properly. Don't make your parents lose face." Behaviour is not about right and wrong, but about face.
2. Power-based
   Chinese are afraid of the powerful and bully the weak. Ancient China paid tribute to more powerful countries and demand tribute from weaker countries. Modern China is afraid to reclaim big territories lost to countries that speak with their fists. They only dare to claim small territories lost to countries that speak with their mouth.

We can see these characteristics in Ah Q, a character in the novel "阿Q正傳", written by 魯迅, which was published in 1921. One hundred years after 魯迅 published 阿Q正傳, Chinese people remained unchanged. They still have the Ah Q spirit. There is even a living Ah Q, named 胡錫進, gaining Ah Q victories for mainland China during American House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

孔子 Self-Perception

子曰：「吾十有五而志于學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」(論語2為政4)

The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right." (Lunyu 2:4, translation by James Legge)

Buddha's first noble truth is right perception (正見). But if you do not have the Word of God, you cannot have right perception.

Greatness Without Truth Is Limited

In this YouTube video "What Does Democracy Mean To The Chinese? [Street Interview]" by Asian Boss, the Chinese people interviewed genuinely felt that they were free. They accepted the limits imposed by their government and think that the great firewall as something good for them as it kept out bad influences.

Can a society achieve greatness and golden age without pursuing truth? Can we progress when we have no desire to know if the world is round or flat?

Yes. We have examples of the Chinese, Indian, Greek and Roman civilizations achieving great heights. But they were limited by the lack of interest in truth. And in their success were the seeds of failure.

For this reason, science is discovered by Christian-based Europe which has this desire to search for truth for the sake of truth, and not by the rest of the world, which is only interested in peace.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32 KJV)

Drug Traffickers Brought The Gospel To China

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)

The British East India Company brought opium to China, fought a war (1839-1842), won it and forced China to sign the unequal Treaty of Nanjing, (29 August 1842) where the terms include the legalization of opium trade and the preaching of the gospel.

God sent the Gospel to China via drug traffickers. Why did God not choose to send the Gospel in a more "moral" way?

Because the Chinese are a very proud people. Only those who humble themselves shall be saved. For those who keep harping on the "century of humiliation" because their pride is hurt, they cannot see God.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:10 ESV)

Four Civilizations

God has allowed four major types of civilizations to flourish. The humanist Chinese, the polytheistic Indians, the two monotheistic civilizations of Bible and Koran. These civilizations were given 1.5 to 2 thousand years and only those who believe in the Bible were able to come up with Science. The other three civilizations remain at more or less the same levels, making not much progress. This is because only those who believe in the Bible will allow truth to prosper.

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)。

Pride And False Humility

What is pride? Pride is more than just an obnoxious behaviour of boasting and talking unceasingly about oneself. It is self-centeredness. The obnoxious boastful person's self-centeredness is just restricted to himself (小我). There is another more subtle pride, a bigger self-centeredness, such as tribalism, racism or nationalism. You are proud of your bigger self (大我). This bigger self can be so big that it encompass the whole creation, except God. Many leaders appear selfless in their pursuit of their ideals. They demand sacrifice of the smaller self to achieve the bigger self (犧牲小我，完成大我。)

Many Chinese hoped to practice humility by avoiding pronouns referring to self, such as "我 (I)". They use other words, such as  在下 (one who is in a more inferior position) and 後學 (one who is more junior in study), but if you look carefully, it is still about comparing self with another (上下前後).

萬惡淫為首，百善孝為先

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12 ESV)
You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13 ESV)
You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14 ESV)

The Chinese is correct in listing filial piety as the first of the good deeds. The Bible also list it as the first commandment dealing with human to human relationship. (The first four commandments deal with human to God relationship). But adultery is not the worst of all sin. It is murder.

Human Relationships, 人倫

五倫《孟子 ‧ 滕文公章句》
人之有道也，飽食、暖衣、逸居而無教，則近於禽獸。聖人有懮之，使契為司徒，教以人倫：父子有親，君臣有義，夫婦有別，長幼有敘（序），朋友有信。

The Bible has three relationships instead of five and Apostle Paul always use the relationship of Christ and the Church as the model for interaction:
Husband and Wife (Colossians 3:18-19, Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7)
Parent and Child (Colossians 3:20-21, Ephesians 6:1-4)
Master and Servant (Colossians 3:22-4:1, Ephesians 6:5-9, 1 Peter 2:18-25)

Finally, we have two commandments (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18) which undergird all the three relationships:
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40 KJV)

Lee Kuan Yew's comments on various religions

In the transcript of the interview Seth Mydans had with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, for the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune held on 1 September 2010, Mr Lee gave his comments on various religions.

Agnosticism
"I am an agnostic."

The meaning of the word, from various dictionaries:
One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God, who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
One who is doubtful, noncommittal or unwilling to commit to an opinion about something.

This website gave the origin of the word "Agnostic":
QUOTE
The word agnostic was coined in 1869 by Thomas Henry Huxley, the noted English biologist. Though the date of coinage is known, the specific etymology that Huxley had in mind has been a matter of debate for some years. The following portion of a letter dated March 13, 1881 (which has since disappeared) from R.H. Hutton was printed by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary at the entry for agnostic:
Suggested by Prof. Huxley at a party held previous to the formation of the now defunct Metaphysical Society, at Mr. James Knowles’s house on Clapham Common, one evening in 1869, in my hearing. He took it from St. Paul’s mention of the altar to "the Unknown God."
The Greek form of the altar inscription given in Acts 17:23 is agnosto theo.
UNQUOTE


Chinese Traditional Religion
"I was brought up in a traditional Chinese family with ancestor worship. I would go to my grandfather’s grave on All Soul’s Day which is called “Qingming”. My father would bring me along, lay out food and candles and burn some paper money and kowtow three times over his tombstone. At home on specific days outside the kitchen he would put up two candles with my grandfather’s picture. But as I grew up, I questioned this because I think this is superstition. ... After my father died, I dropped the practice."

Being the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee is aware of the importance of monetary policy. It is simply impossible that 阎罗王 (if he exists) would allow monetary exchange via burning of cheap paper. It is tantamount to allowing strangers to print legal currency.


Christianity
"My youngest brother baptised my father as a Christian. He did not have the right to. ... I do not know if my father was fully aware when he was converted into Christianity."


Islam
"The Muslims say that there are seventy houris, beautiful women up there. But nobody has come back to confirm this."

The 72 houris are found in what Muslims refer to as Gharib Hadiths (weak or strange Hadiths), so it is better not to believe them. However, the Quran does promise men young maidens for companions (Surah an-Naba' 78:31-34) in paradise but does not specify their exact number. I wonder what would the women get.


Buddhism
"The Buddhist believes in transmigration of the soul. If you live a good life, the reward is in your next migration, you will be a good being, not an ugly animal. It is a comforting thought, but my wife and I do not believe in it."

Buddhists do not believe in transmigration of the soul. Hindus do.

八步平天下

Since we talk about Lee Kuan Yew, we must also quote Confucius:

QUOTE
禮記 大學第四十二
The Great Learning by Confucius---translated by A. Charles Muller

古之欲明明德於天下者、先治其國。
The ancients who wanted to manifest their bright virtue to all in the world first governed well their own states.
欲治其國者先齊其家。
Wanting to govern well their states, they first harmonized their own clans.
欲齊其家者先脩其身。
Wanting to harmonize their own clan, they first cultivated themselves.
欲脩其身者先正其心。
Wanting to cultivate themselves, they first corrected their minds.
欲正奇心者先誠其意。
Wanting to correct their minds, they first made their wills sincere.
欲誠其意者先致其知。
Wanting to make their wills sincere, they first extended their knowledge.
致知在格物。
Extension of knowledge consists of the investigation of things.
物格而后知至。
When things are investigated, knowledge is extended.
知至而后意誠。
When knowledge is extended, the will becomes sincere.
意誠而后心正。
When the will is sincere, the mind is correct.
心正而后身脩。
When the mind is correct, the self is cultivated.
身脩而后家齊。
When the self is cultivated, the clan is harmonized.
家齊而后國治。
When the clan is harmonized, the country is well governed.
國治而后天下平。
When the country is well governed, there will be peace throughout the land.
UNQUOTE

Confucius thinks that in eights steps, we can bring peace to the world:
格物、致知、诚意、正心、修身、齐家、治国、平天下

Confucius is quite smart to realise that knowledge (致知) must begin with investigation of things which are objects and observable (格物). With knowledge come truth and sincerity (诚意). There can be no peace without truth. So Confucius rightly put truth before peace.

While there is no doubt about the correctness and the logic of the steps, the question remain, is it doable? If it was so easy, why is there no peace on earth?

"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do ... O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:19, 24-25 KJV)"

The problem is that men know what is right but they cannot do it, "but the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV)."

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:16-17 ESV)."

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.

Jackie Chan thinks that Chinese need to be controlled

Action star Jackie Chan (成龍) said on Saturday at the annual Boao Forum (海南博鰲論壇) that he is not sure if a free society is a good thing for China. He starts to think that "we Chinese need to be controlled."

That is why in colonial times, Shanghai has a park which said "Dogs and Chinese are not allowed". They both need to be put on a lease. Thank you, Jackie. Now the angmohs will feel justified.

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).