The reflecting theologian

In his book, "Mere Christianity", there is this section where C.S Lewis gave the illustration of a ship sailing in a high sea: Now let us go a step further. There are two ways in which the human machine goes wrong. One is when human individuals drift apart from one another, or else collide with one another and do one another damage, by cheating or bullying. The other is when things go wrong inside the individual-when the different parts of him (his different faculties and desires and so on) either drift apart or interfere with one another. You can get the idea plain if you think of us as a fleet of ships sailing in formation. The voyage will be a success only, in the first place, if the ships do not collide and get in one another's way; and, secondly, if each ship is seaworthy and has her engines in good order. As a matter of fact, you cannot have either of these two things without the other. If the ships keep on having collisions they will not remain seaworthy very lon...

I just finished reading the memoirs of Ravi Zacharias, "God in the shadow: Walking from East to West". The book is essentially Ravi Zacharias' effect to piece together the fragments of his life and making sense of what God has been doing in his life. Perhaps reading his own testimony on how God has called him as an itinerant speaker and how He eventually stirred him to go for full time theological education, I am able to identify better with the one Christian minister whom I admire the most and whom I consider as my intellectual mentor - through his writings and ministry - though I have never met him before (it would be a great day if I am able to just spend a meal with him but well...). It was mainly through the writing and preaching of Ravi Zacharias that begins my own intellectual journey and further spearheaded my spiritual walk with God. They opened up my mind towards apologetics, and eventually theology, and epitomises what I hope to do for God - touching people f...

The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by the clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings. - Chrysotom

I saw this article on Straits Times today. It is a strange feeling because I have actually gone down to Onagawa and Ishinomaki to help out with the relief work and saw for myself first hand the devastation that the tsunami created. Nearly 1.5 year on and it seems that the work will continue to carry on. Tsunami-hit Japan towns still struggling They face uphill task of resettling residents and rejuvenating economy By Ho Ai Li ONAGAWA (Japan) - A two-storey building still lies on its side near the coast of Onagawa. The uprooted structure is a reminder of the destruction left behind by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated this north-eastern Japanese seaside town of about 10,000 people in March last year. The north-east is still trying to get back on its feet after the disaster. In Onagawa, a town of seagulls and bathhouses, which saw more than 300 deaths in the disaster, fresh soil is being filled in after the ground sunk about a metre. In Ishinomaki, a city of about 150,000 peop...

There was a short discussion just now during my HopeSem class on serving the church. We normally would ask when would be the right time to serve. I used to ask that question. I remember I told my follow uppers seven years back that I will consider where to serve after my water baptism. In today's context, it was pretty impressive (in human's eyes) since my water baptism happened three months after I received Christ. But when is the right time? Is there a right time for anyone at any point of time? When do we start serving the church? When do we start serving God? Do our services in God depend on our circumstances and situations? I recently attended a 'self-help' programme which I walked out half way, due to the incompatibility in theology and philosophy behind that programme and my own beliefs. One thing that I sort of picked up and made quite a lot of sense to me is this: do we give what it takes to bring ourselves to where we want to be? This is a very self-...

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” - Luke 24:32 Looking at the verse, does one have the desire to have your heart burning within you when the Scripture is opened to you? Or rather does that really happen?  I realise that as I grow in my knowledge of the Word, this begins to happen more and more regularly - the desire to have the Scripture opened and to realise the meaning of the Scriptures. That is why theology became so intriguing to me, as reading theological materials help to open up Scriptures and open my mind to new possibilities. That is why when I prepare for bible discussion, I realise that I grow a lot in my understanding, even when people do not seem to benefit much as yet.  And opening the Scripture will continue to remain one of the most wonderful things we can ever do - as our act of worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth.