Why do we celebrate Christmas?

In my "Introduction to the arts of worship" class, I had the opportunity to study liturgy and to appreciate why certain practices are adopted in the church. One major Christian celebration that had always pique my curiosity was "why do we celebrate Christmas?" I had heard of people claiming that it used to be a pagan event, so they argued that Christians should not partake in it. What's more, the shopping malls and commercials have popularized Christmas so much that there are hardly any traces of the significance Jesus' birth. Is Christmas a pagan invention? Are churches collaborating with the commercialized world in celebrating Christmas?

1) The early church's celebrations

The early church structured the Christian time in such a way that reflects the early community's values. Worshipping weekly on Sunday was the earlier testimonies of the early Christian communities as recorded in 1Cor 16:2, Acts 20:7,11, Rev 1:10. Extrabiblical records such as one written by Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, dated A.D. 115, tells us the practice of keeping the Sabbath or the Lord's Day.

Apart from the Lord's Day, the most important event recorded by the early church was the Passover-Easter, or Pascha. "In the first three centuries, Christ's passion, death, and resurrection were commemorated together at the Pascha."[1] The second in importance was the celebration of the Day of Pentecost, which commemorated both the ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit. The third chief event dated as early as the fourth century was Epiphany. This event is closely related to our Christmas today. As Jesus was believed to be conceived on the same day when he died, i.e. April 6, the early church believed that his birth should fall on January 6. Epiphany signified the birth of Christ, to the Magi, to the baptism of Jesus, and Jesus' first miracle recorded in the Gospel of John. It was the day when God manifested to humans, and this day was also called "The Theophany" (manifestation of God). When did Christmas come in then?

2) Birth of Christmas

A Roman document from A.D.354 shows that Epiphany was split by the first half of the fourth century. It records a feast around A.D. 336, December 25 to commemorate the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, Judea. "This date competed with a relatively new pagan festival of the Unconquered Sun as the sun begins to wax again at the winter solstice."[2] In the winter season, the daylight tends to get shorter and shorter in the Northern hemisphere until around December 25. This means that when the day starts to get longer during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it was commemorated by the pagans as the return of the "Unconquered Sun." The early Christians in Rome "baptized" that same day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. There is certain sense of logic as Jesus' birth signifies new light and hope for the whole world, and Jesus is the true light, instead of any created being. The commemorations of the Epiphany were gradually brought forward to Christmas. But the Epiphany was not totally replaced. At its heart, Epiphany commemorates the day Jesus was baptized. The period from Christmas to Epiphany therefore has deep theological implication. This period signifies the birth of Jesus and the baptism of Jesus, and testifies to the whole purpose of incarnation: "the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ, beginning both with his birth and with the beginning of his ministry."[3] If I were to follow God's manifestation in Jesus Christ from his birth and ministry in chronological order, where would that lead me? Right to the Passover-Easter. So, by the end of the first four centuries, the early Christians not only have weekly worship service, they have Passover-Easter (and Lent), Pentecost, and Christmas-Epiphany (and predecessor of Advent), that distinctively mark the early Christian calendar. These events point to what God had done for us and continued to do through the Holy Spirit. "All we have to do is accept what God has done"[4] and be reminded that all these are God's gift that we cannot create but only accept. By accepting God's gift and celebrating through these various events, we are proclaiming "Jesus Christ until he comes again and to testify to the Holy Spirit indwelling the church in the meantime."[5]

3) Reflection on Christmas

As I ponder upon the significance of my new discoveries about Christmas, I also realized that I have unearthed new elements as well.

First, the shepherds who bore testimonies to Jesus' birth were regarded with high suspicion, and even despised, in the first century. "Because they were generally poor and nomadic, shepherds were feared as a kind of wandering, potentially criminal element in the land. To these, not to the noble of the elite, God sent heavenly messengers with good tidings."[6] Though I do not see shepherds around me today, I can imagine the trash collectors who poke into the rubbish bins for bottles and cans. They are nomadic and poor, and sometimes feared as potential criminals. I can imagine God revealing Godself to these people, instead of people whom I called highly civilized as they are highly respected in the society. God is sometimes revealed in unexpected places. Am I ready to be jerked out of my comfort zone in order to encounter God's reality?

Second, most of the time, when I celebrate Christmas in the church, I would witness the enactment of three wise men who visited Jesus, and a scene where they would report to King Herod. However, I have missed the fact that children under two years old in and around Bethlehem were killed by the government officials. A genocide was committed in order to protect King Herod's dynasty. As I imagined the grief and loss of the families, I could faintly hear the cries of the parents, especially the widows and the poor individuals; the agony and anguish of the whole town that Jesus was born in. As I celebrate Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, I have forgotten some people who are in their destitute now. There are people who have lost hopes and dreams, not because of their doings, but because of the ambition of those in authority and power. As I thank God for Jesus' birth, shouldn't I also pray for the people, whose destiny are just briefly mentioned on the newspaper front page or maybe found on some obscure web site and quickly forgotten? How about those people who had lost their entire life savings in the Lehman brothers' crash?

Third, when passing the candlelight during the Christmas celebration, other than the "good feeling" it conjured, it is supposed to signify that Christians are called to be light of the world. Whether it is basking in the splendor of the decoration along Orchard Road or the holiday mood generated by the twinkling Christmas tree, I am commemorating the birth of an immensely greater light and in fact the true light of the world. I ought to celebrate the birth of the true light and by celebrating the event, I am called to remember that we have hope (I used "we" because the nature of this hope is corporate, not individual). This hope is given by God though His incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection. This hope is rooted in the past, continuing in the present, and carrying us forward to encounter the future, so this hope has an eschatological dimension. This hope is not to be meant to be saturated by the sign-values of the commercialized world, but to be proclaimed and lived out by every Christians around the globe. As I celebrate this hope in the presence of the Holy Spirit, I remember that because of this hope, I am called to be an imitator of Jesus Christ (1Cor 11:1, Eph 5:1).

May you have a blessed new year.

Endnotes:

[1] James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship, 3rd ed. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 54.

[2] Ibid., 62.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., 67.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Laurence Hull Stookey, Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 112.

Decoding the “invisible religion”- our market economy

In the Fall'08 semester, I took a class on "Theological and economic ethics of globalization" with Prof Nimi Wariboko at Andover-Newton Theological Seminary. In this class, we learned the framework of Max Stackhouse in examining the forces of globalization, and the principle of neo-classical economy from Ulrich Duchrow and Franz J. Hinkelammert. In writing my final paper, I was able to tap on their insights and William Schweiker's analysis of the meanings of market economy. My learning is also made possible by the support of my family members, brothers and sisters, especially those from Chinese Graduate Varsity Christian Fellowship and Providence Presbyterian Church. I will write briefly on what I have learnt about the implicit meanings of market economy.

1) Very brief background of market economy
First of all, what is market economy? It was first espoused by Adam Smith in 1776, and he advocated a type of economy characterized by "system-wide resource allocation [that] occurs as a consequence of many individual market transactions, each of which is guided by self-interest."[1] This economy built on the self-interest of individuals would self-regulate to maximize returns. This self-regulation or the "invisible hand" of the market will guarantee optimal price and quantity of goods due to the law of supply and demand. This is the assumption made by modern neo-classical economists. As long as the economy grows, all will prosper from the system by participating in it. The undergirding value behind this principle is that human nature is individualistic and all economic activities should lead to growth. Since US was founded, they have been practicing market economy as the default mode of economic growth.

Now that we have a rudimentary understanding of the operating principle of market economy, we have to ask why market economy is such a dominant force now. In the aftermath of WWII, the US was the only country to enjoy economic growth as the European powers were vastly weakened in the war. The Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 set up: (1) a framework that imposed US dollar as the world currency; (2) the IMF, and World Bank (originally International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), supposed to invigorate economic growth of devastated countries, that played according to the US rules; and (3) an international trade system that reduced tariffs. These set the stage for US-based transnational corporations (TNCs) to expand their market into other parts of the world. By establishing overseas markets, and setting up production base overseas, the TNCs created a globalized market. To show how US is dedicated to this globalized market, I will quote directly from Ulrich Duchrow and Franz J. Hinkelammert's Property for people, not for profit: Alternatives to the global tyranny of capital.

On 16 October 2001, during the preparatory stages of the UN Conference on Financing for Development, the US representative, Terry Miller, declared bluntly: 'We start with three commitments: a commitment to peace; a commitment to freedom and rule of law; and a commitment to capitalism. Governments that make these commitments have a chance to develop. Governments that do not have no chance at all.'[2]

2) Economy as our dominant worldview
According to Max Stackhouse, every society can be identified by the different dominant powers governing the society. Each of them has their own separate sphere and he labels them as Mammon (economy), Mars (system of legitimatized authority to reduce violence), Eros (human sexuality), and the Muses (fine arts and mass media).[3] Religion is the "identifying center of being, meaning, and morality that bonds people and the powers together in a shared system."[4] The overriding concern of "mammon" in the neo-classical economics is that we can be so fascinated and devoted to it such that we define our lives by "a commodity and thus deny our dignity by equating worth with things having only use, exchange, and sign value."[5] We allow the mammon which is only a subsystem within the whole system to convert and homogenize values, norms, authorities, and relations, and other subsystems.[6]
As religion becomes a private sphere, we tend to keep it to one aspect of our life, and allow economy to be unchallenged driving force structuring our worldview. The economy "mingles and mediates cultural meanings in a plethora of ways that affect cultures powerfully and unpredictably,"[7] and becomes our religion as it takes on the role of the center of being, meaning, and morality. "The greatest force in any society … is the cultural power to define and transmit values, to determine what matters and how much it matters and thus to saturate consciousness with those values."[8] This greatest force, originally the domain of religion, is now transferred to the mammon. It is so subtle that it has become our invisible religion, and has seeped into our sub-consciousness without us knowing it. In fact, we are already practicing it. In the words of Peter Berger,

Socialization…has a crucial dimension that is not adequately grasped by speaking of a learning process. The individual not only learns the objectivated meanings but identifies with and is shaped by them. He draws them into himself and makes them his meanings. He becomes not only one who possesses these meanings, but one who represents and expresses them.[9]

In our socialization, we reinforce this invisible religion, and measure ourselves by the living standard erected on the edifice of mammon. We are the embodiment of this invisible religion when the goal of our lives is to pursue personal happiness by spending money.[10] We define ourselves as consumers; understand our economic growth by the amount of consumer spending; measure the health of our economic system based on consumer confidence index; inculcate our values through advertisements and soap operas; put on name-brand products as if it shapes our identities; work longer and extend financial credit for fancier car and bigger house as if our success are measured by it.
When the transnational corporations are the main exporters of production modes, distributors of goods and services, they also export their economic model in order to ensure their efficiency. Individuals across the globe are being rationalized into a common economic model, and more people become commodified and their worth reduced to monetary scale of exchange. US culture and value have been effectively exported to other countries, supported by an artillery of their mass media. Our worldview is permeated by this invisible religion and this "religion" gradually replaces indigenous culture, value and worldview, and we call it the globalization process.

3) GDP as the measure of economic growth
When economy permeates our worldview, it will be the only set of lens in telling who we are. We also unconsciously subscribe to commonly used model to measure our economic progress. Some economists claim that economic model is impartial to ethical values, and they are right. A good example is the most widely-used tool to measure a country's economic growth, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which is the sum of all financial transactions within the country. This does not take into account the type of transaction taking place. Turning on the air-conditioner rather than opening the window, driving a car rather than walking, police activities to curb crimes, cutting down trees, are examples of financial transactions, hence are part of the GDP. Unpaid housework, child care, elderly care, volunteer work are not counted as financial transactions, and are excluded from GDP. The depletion of natural resources, the destruction of natural environment, and the pollution of environment are similarly not included in the GDP. Do you think GDP is an adequate model to measure our country's economic growth? What's the underlying assumption of GDP? Do you see how the neo-classical economic model does not warrant the sustainability of our earth and responsibility of those empowered to protect the weak and poor from exploitation?

4) My reflection
There are various professional theologians who have responded to the forces of market economy. Having alternative worldview is important to challenge the one offered by market economy. Because I believe that we are made in God's image, and have been restored to a relationship with God, I have sufficient ground to affirm that I am not a consumer. I am a human being, valued by God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. I want to quote Philip Wogaman's paraphrase of Karl Barth's statement on Christian ethics,

Christian ethics is existing in grace….it means at least that one lives through the acceptance of being affirmed by God and invited into fellowship by God. It means that one is not substituting for this some form of acceptance based upon some other notion of the good; one is not under the control of economic force, political realities, cultural pressures. This freedom is not necessarily the freedom to do—for what we are able to do is certainly affected by these things. But it is the freedom to be: to be what, through God's grace, we are.[11]

The cornerstone of Christian's identity is anchored in God's grace. One's worth and value are established by accepting God's affirmation and invitation into fellowship. When that has been established, one has no need of further assurance from economical, political or cultural sphere. One has therefore the freedom to be whom God calls him to be, and this rests upon the foundation of God's grace. Let us not sell ourselves to commodification. We are worth so much more than a commodity. The sign-value conferred by commodification is broken when one's self-understanding is saturated by one's relationship with God.
The ironic fact is that many Christians subscribe to economy-driven values and we practice these values even in our church. Do you recall the minister saying "Wow! She is a doctor!" or "Our speaker has a PhD from Harvard University, and we are so privileged and honored to have him here." How about being harassed with questions like "Where did you graduate from?" or "What type of housing do you live in?" in order to assess your socioeconomic status? They are just short of asking "How much do you earn?" I am not trying to discredit the hard work, discipline, and time invested in getting higher level education or landing oneself in a world-acclaimed institution. What I want to point out is that every Christian is a priest. We serve one another before God in different capacity according to our gift in order to build up the body of Christ, and we bring other people before God, as well as bringing God to other people. Our identity is not defined by socioeconomic status or characterized by economy-driven values, but by a lasting and fulfilling relationship with God, and nourished by community of people redeemed by God.

William Schweiker has pointed out the significance of sign-values propped up by the market economy. As I think of the advertisements that bombarded me daily when I was in Singapore, Jurong Point shopping mall that I used to frequent, I can't help but to imagine myself as a consumer. The hand phones, gadgets, clothing, the shopping mall culture seem to be dictating to me "who I am," rather than me who decide "who I am." In my work place in Singapore, my work performance determines my bonus and rate of promotion. Instead of knowing "who I am," I have measured myself by monetary worth of labor exchange. I have been surrounded by various sign-values fueled by the invisible religion, i.e. market economy, without myself knowing it. In fact, "who I am" has already been decisively determined when I entered into a covenantal relationship with the triune God, purchased at the price of Jesus Christ. It is by living without television, rampant advertisements, shopping malls; by entering into more meaningful conversations with other people; and acquiring the tools to decode this invisible religion that I learn to see my past in a new light. I have sold myself out to this invisible religion in the past, and I am starting to reclaim my self-identity in Christ. So, God help me as I learn to locate my locus of self-identity within You, the ground of all beings, and not in the mammon (economy).

End notes:

[1] Steven C. Hackett, Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy, and the Sustainable Society (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), 33, quoted in Sallie McFague, Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 76.
[2] Ulrich Duchrow and Franz J. Hinkelammert, trans. Elaine Griffiths, Trish Davie, Michael Marten and Paraic Reamonn, Property for people, not for profit: Alternatives to the global tyranny of capital (London, New York: Zed Books, 2004), 100.
[3] Max L. Stackhouse, “General Introduction,” eds. Max L. Stackhouse and Peter J. Paris, God and Globalization Vol. 1: Religion and the Powers of the Common Life (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000), 37.
[4] Ibid., 38.[5] William Schweiker, “Responsibility in the World of Mammon,” eds. Max L. Stackhouse and Peter J. Paris, God and Globalization Vol. 1: Religion and the Powers of the Common Life (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000), 113.
[6] Michael Walzer, Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality (New York: Basic Books, 1983) quoted by Schweiker, “Responsibility in the World of Mammon,” 118.
[7] Schweiker, “Responsibility in the World of Mammon,” 119.
[8] Ibid., 123.
[9]Peter L. Berger, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (New York: Anchor Books, 1969, 1990), 15.
[10] Sallie McFague, Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 84.
[11] J. Philip Wogaman, “Formative Christian Moral Thinkers,” Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993), 221.

Being reminded of my conviction

While reading Alister McGrath's The Science of God yesterday, I came across the paragraph which describes his vision behind his formulation of a scientific theology, which reminded me of my conviction. This is what McGrath says:

This leads to one of the major themes of the vision that lies behind a scientific theology — my deep longing to develop a public theology, capable of interacting with other disciplines on its own terms. A public theology is able to stand its own ground, while engaging in dialogue with others. I have intense misgivings concerning the insular approaches to theology that I discern in some theological quarters, which prevents theology from dialoguing, debating and learning.... The approach I set out, having placed the theological enterprise on a secure footing, encourages public debate and dialogue.

The roots of a scientific theology are thoroughly evangelical, resting on a deep and passionate conviction that 'theology must be nourished and governed at all points by Holy Scripture, and that it seeks to offer a faithful and coherent account of what it finds there.' This task of rendering Scripture faithfully is, in my view, best carried out in dialogue with the 'great tradition' of Christian theology and in response to the challenges to the Christian faith which are raised by other disciplines... (Alister E. McGrath, The Science of God: An Introduction to Scientific Theology, London: T&T Clark International, 2004, pp. 13-14)

Coincidentally, I also came across a similar line by Pee-Seng Kang two years ago. His article (Theology is dialogue/神学就是对谈) conveys my conviction so strongly that I brought the whole book with the article from Singapore to Boston with me. It is written in Chinese, so I will attempt to provide an English translation for my non-Chinese readers.

如果基督教确实相信一位 “全能的父，创造天地与一切可见、不可见之物的主宰”，以及认识那位“出自上帝的上帝，出自真光的真光，... ... 万有藉着祂而造”的耶稣基督，那么对所有事物的探讨就不应该在基督教信仰的范畴之外了。信仰的思考就必须包括神学与自然科学、社会科学或人文科学等的积极对谈。

神学对谈范畴应包括一切的意识形态及价值观，因为这才能反映当代神学的多元文化与多元价值的处境。也只有在这样一个积极而全面的对谈基础上，正确的神学（宗教）对谈理论才可以确立。更重要的是，基督教的信仰本质与神学使命才可以清晰地表露出来。（江丕盛，“神学就是对谈：兼论神学的身份与使命”。在信仰之思的途中：一群年轻神学人的神学告白，鄧绍光主编， 香港: 基道出版社, 2000, pp. 220)

My translation:
If Christianity truly believes in "Almighty Father, who creates heaven, earth, and all those that are visible and invisible", and truly knows "God who is begotten of God, true light of true light, ... ... through whom all things are made" i.e. the Christ, then critical investigation of any matter should not be outside the sphere of Christianity. Critical reflection of Christian faith should encompass active dialogue with natural science, sociology and humanities.

Theological dialogue should include partners such as all forms of ideologies and the construction of values, because this will more accurately reflect the challenges of contemporary theologian in a multicultural and pluralistic environment. It is only through this form of active and comprehensive dialogue that the foundation is laid for the development of authentic theological (religious) dialogue. More importantly, this spells out the essence of Christianity and the mission of theology. (Pee-Seng Kang, “Theology is dialogue: On the identity and mission of theology.” Taken from On the Way of Faith Thinking: Theological Confession of a group of young theologians, edited by Andres S K Tang. Hong Kong: LOGOS Publishers, 2000, pp. 220)

MY REFLECTION:
I don't think I have translated well, but I hope it conveys the essence of the multi-dimensional facets of Christian faith. If we do acknowledge God as our Father, our Creator, and our Savior, there is no sphere of knowledge that is outside the influence of Christian faith. Christian faith has a relationship with every form of academic discipline that contributes to the betterment of human society.

I brought the above mentioned Chinese book (在信仰之思的途中) with me, so that I can remind myself regularly of my own conviction. It is my conviction that brought me here to Boston U Sch of Theo, and it is the same conviction that urges me to switch from Master of Theological Studies to Master of Divinity.

I think the enterprise of theological education is first of all, to explore the relationship of oneself with God. In that process, one knows oneself better, and how one is relating to God. This involves an understanding of how the Holy Scripture has been interpreted in the past, critical examination of one's faith tradition, a regular application of exegesis in one's context, and acquiring knowledge of other disciplines. Beyond that framework comes a larger picture of how to build a theological base that is faithful to one's tradition, to the community one is ministering to, and the academia one has to answer to. These elementary foundations together with suitable methodology should develop an appropriate framework to dialogue with other disciplines. The lifelong process of dialoguing should continue to enrich one's relationship with God; deepen understanding of herself; enlarge one's wisdom in applying exegesis in context; live in more fruitful relationships in one's community; and to further a more robust framework for constructive dialogue with other disciplines.

Hans Küng's On Being a Christian provides a strong argument for me to believe in Christian humanist as the most adequate form of humanist among secular humanist, Marxist, other faiths and ideologies. Rev Stephen Tong's sermon on the cross-intersection of Christian faith, Confucius, other philosophers and politics, opened the world where I could see how God's sovereignty should extend into other disciplines. Pee-Seng Kang's articulation of the sovereignty of God in all forms of knowledge convinced me of the need to study theology in relation with other academic disciplines. Alister McGrath's vision reminded me once again of my rationale and purpose of studying here. To echo Kang's article, theology is dialogue indeed.

Teaching conversational English in ACCESS, Boston Chinatown

I am now currently teaching conversational English to a group of Chinese immigrants, at American Chinese Christian Educational & Social Services Inc. (ACCESS), in Boston Chinatown in the morning. It is through working in this organization that I know more about the Chinese immigrants, the Chinese community in America, the American Chinese, and the local Chinese churches in Boston. I have been teaching here since the end of May and will be teaching till mid-August.



I had to petition with my school's foreign student office in order to convince the representative officer that this is ministry is related to my degree, before she could give me an official approval to teach the Chinese immigrants. I have been teaching them for six weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them. I got to know more about American pronunciation, some of the terms used in China, as well as my own identity. I used to think that my native dialect is Hokkien which I thought means "福建话"。It is from my students that I realize Fujian province is so big, and when I use the term "福建话", it is too vague. To be more precise, my dialect is "闽南语", which I can hardly speak now. Currently, I have fifteen students, most are from Fujian province, and they speak mainly Foo Chow and Mandarin (and a little bit of English now). Their ages range from 20 to 49. Majority have no English background, but all of them are very hardworking and they are trying their best to survive well in the US.

Compared to teaching secondary school students back in Singapore, I do not have to deal with any discipline problem as all of them are adults. I could apply some of the pedagogy I learned in Singapore. It is easier to relate to them, and to engage them in a two-way interaction. It is important for one to teach from the heart, in Chinese "用心来教"。 I have to provide a Chinese translation for almost all the new terms I taught them. Some of the students have been very helpful in assisting me to write some of the Chinese characters I have forgotten. It is through this process that I discovered some of the terms I used in Singapore are used differently in China. For e.g. in S'pore, cinema (in the US, it is called movie theater) is known as "戏院"。 But in China, "戏院" could mean opera house. The more precise term should be "电影院"。In other words, not only are they learning from me, I am also learning from them. In fact, we are teaching each other.

It has been a very fruitful experience teaching them in the last six weeks. There were times that my lessons did not go as well as planned. One of them was an outdoor activity when I sent them to the neighborhood stores to identify the name and address of the store, and the items they could purchase within ten dollars from the store. In the end, I spent more time teaching them new words on grocery items. I have learned from my mistake ever since.

This is one of the presentations where I was a facilitator.


Recently, I have incorporated classic English songs into the lesson. I tried finding an appropriate translation for "What a wonderful world" on the Internet, but in the end, I have to do some of the translation myself.

Extract from "What a wonderful world" (Louis Armstrong) 何等美妙的世界
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow 我听见婴儿们哭泣， 我看着他们长大
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know 他们学的会比我所懂得更多
And I think to myself what a wonderful world 我认为这是何等美妙的世界
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world. 真的，我认为这是何等美妙的世界

I can't translate the lyrics literally, or it loses the meaning in Chinese language. I realized the difficulties in translation. I don't think I translated well, but I hope my students will understand the meaning of the song after my explanation.

I have also met other great teachers and a wonderful coordinator here. Some of them have taught me how to add more varieties to the lesson. It is been a pleasure and privilege to work with them, and I thank God for giving me this form of exposure.


This is a photo taken together while we were on a trip to Boston Harbor Islands with our students. From left to right: me, Austin, Joanna, and Anne (our coordinator).


Not forgetting Sue, who is our ACCESS administrator. She is efficient, and a terrific sister-in-Christ. She is the one who shared with me more about the Chinese community in Boston.

An alternative to abortion?

I saw this notice on a wall of New England Medical Center, somewhere around orange line New England Medical Center T-station. What caught my attention is the offer to take in any unwanted baby without any question asked. I think this is a viable alternative that will discourage abortion. In the past, I always thought that giving up a child for adoption is a realistic way out of unwanted pregnancy, is an ideal practice. Now, I have finally witnessed a live example of an organization that puts it into practice. I believe Tufts-NEMC offers a convenient alternative to protects the anonymity of the parents. Due to the established reputation of the medical center, the anonymous parents' guilt could also be mitigated.

However, this does not solve the problem of premarital sex or unwanted pregnancy (I am assuming that most unwanted pregnancies are results of premarital sex). This alternative could only decrease the likelihood of abortion. To reduce the tendency of premarital sex or unwanted pregnancy, I think we have to fall back on sex education, and to provide convenient ways for couples to obtain various forms of artificial contraception.

I anticipate many would object to that suggestion and insist that we should put all hands on deck to discourage the idea of sex in the first place. Unless we can monopolize our media, and our culture to such an extent that all citizens would agree to draft "premarital sex or unwanted pregnancy to be an act punishable by death or equitable to a prison term" as part of our civil law, I would say that we can only influence people's choice and not coerce them. To this end, I would suggest that when incorporating materials in sex education, we should strive to help the participants to:

1) be conscious of the fact that all of us are sensuous creatures;

2) be aware that there are temptations around us. Given the influence of mass media, it is easy to interpret pre-marital sex as something essential to one's ego or image. We have a choice in deconstructing that image;

3) know that we can prevent unwanted pregnancy from taking place in the first place, if we take the necessary precaution;

4) raise their consciousness to a level where they could identify their temptations so that they can learn to avoid putting themselves in situation that fosters their temptations;

5) know that there are many fine examples of young men and women who believe and practice safe sex within the context of a marriage life;

6) believe that we have the choice to choose sex after marriage, and to choose safe sex.


Having said that, I must acknowledge that premarital sex or unwanted pregnancy is a phenomenon that is gradually being accepted in the society. As a citizen who believes in the value of human life, my moral duty is to help myself and others recognize that abortion is not the only alternative.

Memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. and prominent social problems in US

I consider these two landmarks to be very unique part of Boston University: a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Marsh Chapel.



The building on the left of the memorial is my school, the School of Theology, which is the founding school of Boston University. The tall building behind my school is the law faculty.



On the opposite side of School of Theology is the College of Arts and Social Science.




As you stand in front of the memorial, you will see these words inscribed: "To the memory of MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., 1929-1968, Distinguished Alumnus, Nobel Laureate For Peace." MLK graduated from Boston University in 1955.



On the left hand side of the memorial: "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society of peace. That will be the day not of the white man, not of the black man, that will be the day of man as man."

This is the dream of MLK, and I think US has made a significant progress in granting full civil rights of all races constitutionally. However, I think the colored people, esp. the blacks are not benefiting much from the system at the moment.

SOCIAL PROBLEM: Health Care System
One out of three black men has a prison record. The poor and homeless people are more likely to be the blacks. Once you are poor, you can't afford the education system, and eventually, couldn't get a well-paid job. That puts you on the street. When you are unemployed, you could not afford the health insurance. If you are admitted to hospital without health insurance, you will be bankrupt. The US system props up prices of health care and insurance. The US citizens are paying way too much for the health care benefits, compared to other developed countries like UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland. Watch PBS Frontline's Sick Around the World, for more information. This is something the US must look into.

SOCIAL PROBLEM: Mortgage Loan Crisis
The recent mortgage loan crisis affects the blacks more than the whites. Why is there a mortgage loan crisis in the first place? To put it short, there are banks or institutions who do not require a minimum sum of down payment for the mortgage loan, and they do not bother to counter-check the credit history of their borrowers. Hence, this type of loan has higher accrual interest (and is also called sub-prime loan), but the monthly installment tends to look less intimidating once the loan period is stretched over a long term, as high as 30-year. Those without adequate education might not see the danger implied or their agents did not explain the inherent risk involved. They are in fact paying twice the amount they are borrowing.

Once the borrower is out of job, he/she could not afford to pay for the high-interest loan anymore, and will default on their loan. Either they sell off their mortgage or borrow from another institution at an even higher interest, probably from the credit card companies. Once significant number of people are caught up in this cycle and if they are out of job, it creates a social problem. This problem is escalated if the housing price is inflated to an artificial level, esp. in 2005-6.

When the bubble burst, in 2007, most houses bought in the 2005-6 cost much less than its original sales price, and the owners are still paying for the interest plus the price of the inflated sales price. They might have to sell off their house at a loss or continue to pay for the mortgage loan at a loss. And in some cases, some just vacate the house and abandon their loans. A number of loans have been re-packaged and sold to other foreign financial institutions. As a result, US sub-prime mortgage loan implicates many countries as well.

In a report from Singapore Investor, SIAS eMagazine, Mar 2008 issue, it is reported that
"There are a handful of financial institutions with relatively significant exposures, namely Bank of China Ltd. (A-/Stable/A-2), Mega International Commercial Bank Co. Ltd. (Mega Bank; foreign currency A/Stable/A-1), and DBS Bank Ltd. (AA-/Stable/A-1+). "
DBS Bank Ltd is considered the Singapore national bank. As you can see, even my own country is not spared. I pray and hope that the affected countries could make up the losses from their gains in investment from other sectors, and learn from their mistakes.


A phenomenon but unsure whether to classify it as a social problem: Christians focused on personal salvation and neglect social dimension of the gospel
I have recently read that there are six basic values enshrined in the American culture: individual freedom, self-reliance, equality of opportunity, competition, material wealth, and hard work (Datesman, Maryanne Kearny. The American Ways: An Introduction to American Culture, 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall: New Jersey, 1997. pp. 29).

No doubt, these values are generally espoused by the Americans, I am not sure whether it sufficiently explains why most evangelical white Christians tend to turn a blind eye towards the plights of the blacks. If everyone truly espouses these values, do we recognize that those of us from less privileged families or environment do not have equality of opportunity in the first place? Even if we claim to understand Jesus Christ's imperatives to love one's neighbor, or to feed the hungry or clothe the homeless, why do we seldom react to the plights of the poor regardless of their race? Aren't all of us made in the image of God? Shouldn't the cries of any human for mercy, justice, or equality of opportunity sear the conscience of everyone of us, esp. if we claim to have a relationship with God the Creator and Savior? Why are there so much outcry against homosexuality in the name of God's justice, and yet so little whimper against the unjust and for the poor in the society?

I have also visited a number of Chinese churches in the Boston area. So far, none has addressed social issues in the American society. Most American-born Chinese (ABC) Christians are focused on evangelism, discipleship training, fellowship, Bible study, just like the paradigm I have been exposed to back in Singapore. Eventually, the ABC Christians must ask who their neighbors are. They can't just focus on education for the Chinese or social benefits for their own race and turn a blind eye towards the more needy in the society. Christ-love is "trans-racial".




On the right hand side, you will see: "I submit that an individual who breaks a law, that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment, in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."



Finally, these are written behind: "Far from being the pious injunction of autopian dreamer, the command to love one's enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival.
-This sculpture by Sergio Castillo was dedicated on behalf of the Boston University Community. John R. Silber, President, May 16, 1975."

I believe "the dreamer" John Silber refers to is Jesus Christ. I absolutely agree that loving our enemies is essential for the well-being of our society, whether it is in US or in Singapore. But, there is so much pride within me to learn to love others (even my enemies) as I love myself. "God, have mercy on me and increase my capacity to encompass love for others." Whatever changes we anticipate in others, we have to start off within ourselves, i.e. we have to start with the "man in the mirror" (an echo of Michael Jackson).

Social dimension of the Christian gospel

All along, I have always associated the Christian gospel with personal salvation, i.e. Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and to reconcile me back to God. Recently, as I read more about the different dimension of the Christian gospel, I have come to realize that it has a serious social dimension as well.

In this summer, I have been reading:
1) Bryan McLaren's Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope;
2) N.T. Wright's Evil and the Justice of God;
3) Tracy Kidder's Mountains beyond mountains.

All three books illustrate how our gospel message is more than just personal salvation. The first book examines the system which we live in, and McLaren points out that we are living in a suicidal machine. The rate at which we destroy our environment to sustain our living will lead us to our death one day. The second book is about how we might search for a clue to evil from the Old Testament and New Testament. And one thing is for sure, we are parts of the problem and we are also parts of the solution. The gospel story tells us how God co-opts us as part of the whole BIG story in the solution. The third book has the most impact on me. It is a true story of Dr. Paul Farmer, who started his work on tuberculosis (TB) in Haiti (a very poor Caribbean country whose economy was sabotaged by US foreign policy), and how his organization evolved to become one of the international organizations to tackle TB and another type of mutant TB known as MDR, on a global scale. Farmer challenges how I should interpret "Who is my neighbor?" and how I conceive poverty and health.

There are such things called the poor man's disease such as TB, and AIDS; and rich man's disease such as cancer, and heart attack. The public health policy adopted by every country will determine what type of disease the citizens are more vulnerable to. And sometimes, unfortunately, the policy of another more powerful foreign country will introduce a new type of disease into one's country. Now, you know why the South Koreans protested so strongly against the import of beef more than 30-month old from the US into their country.

Last time, when I listened to the gospel message, I interpreted it as my personal salvation. But now, I realize that it goes beyond personal salvation. In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus is responding to a lawyer's question on "who is my neighbor?" after the lawyer iterates the two most important commandment, i.e. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (NRSV Luke 10:27) Jesus relates the story of a man being beaten up and left to die, when he was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jericho is supposed to be a dwelling place for Jewish priests when they are not on temple duty. A priest passed by, followed by a Levite. Both serve in the temple, and are supposed to "do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." (Isa 1:17) Yet, it is a Samaritan, a hostile enemy of Jews, who shows kindness to the victim. The person who shows kindness to me is my neighbor. But what if I reverse the role, I am not the victim, and I am the passer-by. My neighbor is the one whom I should not only show kindness to, but to love them as myself.

In Singapore, my neighbors, i.e. those whom I could show kindness to, include other races such as the Malays/Indians/ etc. How could I show kindness to them? By being involved in their tuition center such as the Mendaki (for Malays) and Sinda (for Indians), and not just CDAC (for Chinese). If I can do social visit, why shouldn't I put Malay/Indian old folks home on my list? In the global village that we live in, as the needs of the African children are brought to my awareness, and I do possess the means to help them, I have to ask myself anew: "Are they my neighbor?" (It is a resounding YES.) This mindset changes the way I perceive the gospel. If we take the gospel message seriously, we could change the whole society.

Kidder highlights how Farmer lives out the verse "for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." (NRSV, Matt 25:35-36) Farmer interprets it literally and even visits his friend's son in Haiti's prison. When I read commentary on Matt 25:31-46, Jesus Christ refers the kindness performed on "one of the least of these who are members of my family" (NRSV Mt 25:40-41), to mean any disciples of Christ. At least, my conscience does not feel so bad as I could definitely not measure up to Farmer's standard. But, minimally, did I offer any help within my means to the Christians around me? At least, I could say that I have helped the Korean and Japanese brothers and sisters in their paper writing. But did I give food to those who are hungry, to those who needed minimal means of subsistence? I couldn't answer to that.

The books above reminded me once again of the cry of the prophet Isaiah:

"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats." (Isa 1:11)

"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings; from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. " (Isa 1:16-17)

Farmer has given me hope that the something can be done about world poverty, and Christian gospel has something to offer those in need of hope. The gospel is not an opium portrayed by Karl Marx. Though I am not a Marxist, I believe that the cause of the neglected and poor must be spoken. Hope lies not just in the afterlife, but in seeing everything as creation of God and humans made in God's image imply that I have a duty and role in making this world a better place, not just for me, or my descendants, or my race or for my country, but for the whole of humanity. I believe the the blood of Jesus Christ redeems the whole of human race and certainly demands every preacher to shoulder the global responsibility of tackling the sins and wickedness of the whole humanity, starting at the local level. However, the source of evil is in each and everyone of us. We are part of the problems in the system, but we are also the solution. The gospel story co-opts us as part of the solution, who will eventually see the full fruit in the last days, and we have to act now based on faith.

Spirituality in New York City's Central Park

I was in New York City (NYC) on Jun3rd-4th, 2008. Apart from the crowd of concrete jungle, NYC has a huge Central Park in the center of Manhattan Island. It was there that I had a chance to re-connect back to God, our Creator. While I was walking from the Columbia Center sub-way to the Central Park, I notice a subtle transition from the world of concrete jungle to the world of wildlife nature. Each environment represents a setting, which I will elaborate more with the pictures below.

The city life is filled with tremendous amount of human interaction. It is a social world differentiated by ranks, class, social status, academic qualifications, commenced salary; where one's standing in the company is measured by his portfolios, work performance and other subtleties that distinguish one from the others. It is a social world conditioned by sets of values that are reinforced in the web of social interaction. These values are consciously or unconsciously being reinforced by daily interactions, reward system, and just being part of the system. In this social setting, to be successful is to have graduated with a college degree, preferably from one of the Ivy League colleges; to have attained a recognizable social status; to be managing a group of people or to be on top of the commanding hierarchy; to own a luxurious car; and perhaps to be a member of a prestigious club. All these values are amplified through media; continuously endorsed by the educational system, and by the participants in the system (including myself).

Once I stepped into the Central Park, there is a transition from heavily constructed social setting into a world made up of natural plants, animals, free of human conditioned interaction. There is once a feeling of being freed from a socially constructed world, and there is an absence of living in a socially constrained space.

As I walked deeper into the park, I came upon trees and grasses with squirrels playing with each other. As I stared intently at the sight in front of me, I felt that there were just me, the squirrels and the tree and grass. Everything else had vanished from my horizon. The sight in front of me cannot possibly be conditioned by me, nor within my sphere of influence or control. I am standing in a free relationship with the environment.

At that split second, one of the squirrels looked intently at me. He/She might be wondering who was this stranger intruding into his/her privacy. Somehow, that squirrel and I shared that space together without any of us feeling obliged to return a favor or manipulating each others' movement. At that moment, I felt as if God had intruded into my private sphere by tearing me away from my social construction of reality.

I have been living in a social reality that I construct, and which is continuously being reinforced by my interaction with the external world. I have been conditioned to expect things to be done in a certain way, expecting results to return from one's effort, and to believe in the societal values that sustain the whole system. But at this moment, the reality confronting me has been re-defined. No longer could I relate this reality in the same way that I used to relate the previous reality. The instantaneous realization that I live in a socially conditioned reality jerked me to a new level consciousness. I suddenly felt being connected back to our Creator. At that rare moment, it is as if the Creator was speaking to me through His creation, and I sensed the different level of spirituality that came alive in the Central Park. This spirituality challenged my socially constructed reality. It reminded me of the ultimate reality that lies beyond what I can see, and of the defining moment in human history when God died for humankind. This ultimate reality is continually intruding into my socially constructed reality. I have to make a choice on which reality I must confer my allegiance. This re-connection back to the Creator forces me to examine myself.

As much as the spiritual moment I had at that time, I realized that this park could have served as a space for the New Yorkers to re-connect back to Mother Nature, this park could also be a sacred space for people to be re-connected back to our Creator, through the Mother Nature. It then dawned upon me that each and everyone of us could reserve or setup a sacred space in our life, when we could actually break away from the normal routine of life, and to be re-wired back to our Creator. Some people called this quiet time. I recalled the twelve stones which Yahweh asked the Israelites to select when crossing the river Jordan.

Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (NRSV, Josh 4:20-24)

The Israelites set up sacred places so that they could remind themselves of Yahweh's mighty deed in their history. Similarly, I think it is important for each and everyone of us to set up a sacred place or time or sphere whereby we allow God to interact with us, and be reminded that this world is God's creation, and we are the created and He is the Creator.

I believe we live in a world of our social construct, where our values are heavily conditioned by what our society informs us, and we in turn reinforce our social construct everyday. Our re-connection back to God gives us the opportunity to be challenged once again the assumptions we have made of what we believed to be a good life. Isn't it counter-intuitive to be meek? (Matt 5:5) We speak so much about our own rights, and our own freedom, isn't it against our constructed nature to turn our right cheek so that it could be struck as well? (Matt 5:39) We think it is only right for the Talibans to be destroyed, the Afghanistan to be torn apart, Saddam Hussein to be executed and Iraq to be uprooted. How shocking it is to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44).

Either Jesus Christ is insane or we are insane. Either Jesus Christ's reality is the ultimate reality or our constructed reality the ultimate reality. Setting up a sacred place/time/sphere allows us to be challenged of the many assumptions we have made, of the systems that we have set up, and the assurance that our constructed reality has to be ultimately real.



As I continued to look around me, I saw a pair of elderly couples holding hands and walking together. I am not sure how long they have been married but it was a sweet moment to behold. This moment stood out as a stark contrast against the short lifespan of love embraced by many modern societies, particularly epitomized by NYC, which is supposed to be the model of many modern cities. Here is a testimony of how we could age gracefully, and continue to hold on to the age-old notion where old companions should continue to treasure each other's company.



I also saw a horse carriage directed by a driver, ferrying two passengers. It is amazing to witness a horse in harmonious relationship with humans. This brings me back to the time when humans were created and

God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” (NRSV, Gen 1:26)

We are given the mandate to take good care of God's creation. But look at the awful mess we have created. We caused the extinction of animals, the excessive deforestation, the CO2 emission, global warming, etc. I believe we have been exploiting the nature excessively ever since the Industrial Revlolution. When one's country's GDP and economic growth are measured by how much it produces and consumes, the race to industrial production and consumption engulfed the notion of a living in a mutual relationship in a sustainable environment.

It is only in the last two decades that we are acknowledging the problems caused by ourselves. I pray and hope that more and more countries will sign on the Kyoto Protocol, and more consumers or economy developers can be raised to the consciousness whereby we must take the mandate of taking care of the environment seriously. It is a steep uphill slope, but no doubt a difficult challenge that each one of us must undertake.

A short walk in NYC's Central Park led me to some serious reflection. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, and being spurred to some reflection as well.

Reflecting on the sovereignty of God in the wake of the cyclone in Myanmar and quake in China

I have been following the news about the quake in China (May 12, 2008). In fact, I was there in Dujiangyan, one of the quake zones, eight years ago with my friends. I could feel the pain, anguish and torment that the victims are going through, and it was really heart-wrenching. I was totally touched when I saw Premier Wen Jiabao said (in Mandarin) "Don't cry, we stand together" on CCTV4 website. One of my closer friends from China shared that she has been having nightmares about the earthquake, and has been asking why these innocent people are going through so much, esp. the school children trapped in collapsed buildings. She also remarked that most of the government buildings are still standing, and many believe that the contractors who built the school buildings compromised on their quality.

This scene and the other that took place in Myanmar (May 01, 2008) led me to question why did God allow the innocent victims to die. At least 100,000 in Myanmar, and at least 50,000 in Si Chuan. As I kept on pondering, I have to ask why did God give Adam and Eve the free will to choose from the tree of knowledge in the first place. The choice of Adam and Eve implicates the subsequent humankind in their act of sin. Did the cyclone and quake happen as a result of Adam and Eve choice to disobey God? I am inclined to think so. (Rom 5:12 "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned")

The rest of the humankind are implicated in the sins of just a few persons? Yes. The sloppy work of contractors have resulted in the collapse of some buildings. The misuse of land have resulted in floods of great multitude. The emission of CO2 in a few developed countries have resulted in the global warming. But at the same time, the rescue efforts of thousands of rescue teams could control the damage. The efforts of the UN, Red Cross and other humanitarian groups saved the lives of the remaining survivors. Whatever rescue effort that can be done, it could only control or minimize the damage done.

In other words, the negative effects of one single act affects a much more multitude of humanity, and it takes much more than one positive act to counteract the damage. I think that is the situation we are in. But are we alone? No. By sacrificing His Son on the cross for all of us, and by His resurrection, God is showing us that this battle can be won. Jesus Christ's incarnation and resurrection shows that God is standing in solidarity with our suffering. By our free will, the whole of humanity is complicit in the act of sins. But by Jesus' death, all of us are given the chance to turn the tide against the dark force (which is within each and everyone of us). By the death of God's only Son, we have the assurance to continue to hope, and to hold out light in the darkness. For the love of God, we continue to exercise our free will to bring others into the same hope. God cries with us, suffers with us, and marches to victory with all of us.

The question for me now is not so much "why did this happen," but rather, "what can I do now to share my hope with others?" I could think of a few: pray for the afflicted victims, for those still trapped in the rubbles; pray for better infrastructure to be built; comfort those whom we know are affected; contribute financially through World Vision or other organizations; as a church we could hold prayer service for China and Myanmar, and donate imperishable food and clothing to related organization.

Why did God allow this to happen? I don't have the answer. I can only faintly try to glimpse an insight in the fall of Adam and Eve, and being more confident that whatever tragedies we are witnessing now will come to an end. In the meanwhile, each and everyone of us must respond as an ambassador of Christ (that's why we are called Christians).

If one thinks that God allowed these disaster to happen so that the rest of us could ponder about our meaning of life, then I would echo Karl Marx's protest:

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. (Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right by Karl Marx) http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm

Any message which encourages Christians to find comfort in Jesus Christ without engaging the disaster and the traumas of the victims is a form of opium! Any types of message which numbs me to the plight of the afflicted ones is offering a false reality divorced from the tragedy. The struggling and sufferings of the victims are real and intense. The tragedy that strikes China (and the same for Myanmar) calls for all Christians to stand in solidarity with their plight. It calls for Christians to take the initiative to identify with what victims are going through. I pray that their pain would be our pain. May their memory and traumas be part of the memory and traumas of the whole human race, of which we are a part of.

God's sovereignty is not manifested directly in the disaster, it is manifested through the activeness (not passiveness) of Christians' responses to the disaster. We MUST respond. (For my case, I have been praying regularly for them and following the news on this tragedy, crying together with the victims, donating money directly to the victims. I am currently initiating a prayer meeting, with Tim Leary- staff worker from Inter-Varsity, for the Chinese students whom we know.)


What is your own response as a Christian?

May 22, 2008

What is my mission?

As I am now having my summer break, I could afford the time and space to re-think about my mission in life. I shall pen down what comes to my mind during my moment of reflection.

I believe the American and British missionaries who were sent to Asia in the last two centuries also imported their views of what it meant to be a church or Christians. We have inherited what they had passed down to us in Asia. I shall identify the three/four phases of church development (I avoid the word "church growth" in case some identify it as numerical growth), and how I understand my mission to be related to these developments. You will understand why I am not sure whether it is three or four phases of church development.

1st PHASE
During the 1st phase of church planting, I believe the emphasis is on evangelism, discipleship training, spiritual growth. This will probably take 2-3 generations for the church to develop a tradition deeply ingrained in these essential disciplines. I could identify Paul's and Peter's epistles to be written for these purposes. The basic elements of Christian faith would be elucidated and indoctrinated by then. Most missionaries sent to Asia imparted the model of church as understood in the 1st phase.

2nd PHASE
In the 2nd phase of church development, I am suggesting that there has to be engagement of Christianity with the culture and philosophy. I find traces of such attempt in Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. There were attempts to explain Christian faith to the prevalent culture, as well as new origin way of interpreting the Christian faith as illustrated by Origen. One could almost see how the early apologists would identify Christianity as the true religion, and the true worship of God.

3rd PHASE
By the 3rd phase, there would be synthesizing of Christian thought with philosophy, proliferation of Christian literature, and initiation of new theological movement or representative of a school of thought, as evinced by Augustine of Hippo. Christian theology by then would be able to dialogue with other academic disciplines on the same platform. This was the approach of Cappadocian Fathers when they developed a mature form of the concept of Trinity. I would say that in this phase, theology would be the handmaiden of science and reason, and there are full engagement of theology and other academic disciplines. In this regard, the contemporary theologians, T.F. Torrance (who just passed away this year) and John Polkinghorne are exemplars of leading the engagement of Christian theology with contemporary science. There are many theologians in the US and Europe who could be identified in this phase, such as Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Alvin Plantinga, Hans Küng, Gustavo Gutiérrez, etc. You could identify the different models or system of thoughts that are developed specifically for dialogue and engagement. Those at the high end of 3rd phase spawn a totally new school of thought such that they represent a movement itself.

How about theologians like J.I.Packer, John Stott, and Alister McGrath? I am not sure whether they represent a league in the 3rd phase. I would rather say that they are more in the high end of the 2nd phase and lower end of 3rd phase. They have exposited cogent evangelical theology, and made it relevant to us by engaging in many critical issues. They have contributed so much to the evangelical cause that the evangelicals could proudly identify what it meant to be an evangelical because of them. But I would hesitate to say that they have generated a new system of thoughts that clearly distinguished itself as an innovation or remarkably different from the previous generations. They did distinguish themselves as radically different from the fundamentalists though.

I also identify Alister McGrath as making the transition into the middle range of the 3rd phase. He had been re-packaging theology to make it comprehensible to the current generation in the past two decades, and he is also making a clear attempt to engage the scientific enterprise. However, his most recent A Scientific Theology (2001-3) may represent a distinctive approach to science and theology. I think he is currently the most promising evangelical theologian who will leave a significant landmark in our time.

4th PHASE
This phase could be identified in the development of the Western culture, so I am not sure whether it should be considered as the 4th phase of church development. The Christian faith is identical to the prevalent culture. This process was initiated by the Roman Emperor Constantine (A.D. 280-337) after he reunited the East and West Roman Empire. He tolerated Christianity officially. But it was Theodosius I (A.D.347- 379) who officiated the synthesizing of Christianity into the culture. In the medieval era, to be an European is to be a Christian. Religion and state started to be separated after the Thirty Years' war (1618-1648) in Europe, and in the face of increasing secularization. I think Max Weber's Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism and Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy captured this secularization process well. Karl Barth reacted violently to identifying Christian faith with the culture (i.e. the 4th phase).

I believe the most mature form of Christian development is to be identified with the 3rd phase. I am not sure whether to identify the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 3rd or 4th phase. Perhaps my categories are too simplistic to place them neatly into my system.


The first church was set up in S'pore in the 19th century (the first Presbyterian church started in 1856). It has been almost 150 years. A number of English churches are in the 2nd phase, and most Chinese churches are still in the 1st phase (I am not sure whether it is because the Chinese church started half a century later than the English church) . Most of the theological studies in Boston University School of Theology assumed a theological setting in the 3rd phase. For e.g. "Theologies of Dialogue" by Prof John Berthrong takes up the challenge of engaging Christianity in dialogue with other world religions. "Christian Social Ethics" by Prof John Hart examines how we could possibly respond to complicating social issues from Christian perspectives.

I am trying to break into the 2nd phase, and I could identify some Christians or theologians in Asia who are now in the 2nd phase, like Rev Stephen Tong （唐崇荣牧师) and Rev Kang Lai Chang (康来昌牧师）. Eventually, I hope to be equipped as a theologian-pastor, to train the laity, and hopefully theological students to take up challenges in the 2nd phase, and to transit into the 3rd phase. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I want to be like Rev Stephen Tong or Rev Kang. I am saying that I recognize my mission to be educating the current and the next generations to take up the challenges in the 2nd phase and to transit into 3rd phase. But is that who God is calling me to be? I am not absolutely sure, and I am still praying about it.

I may not live long enough to witness the Christians in Asia moving on to the 3rd phase, but I am keen to explore how Christians could engage the Chinese culture, such as Confucian ethics, worship and rite, Buddhism, Taoism, Falungong, and if possible, how could one be an authentic Christian in a Communist country, etc. If you have similar insights, please do feel free to write in to me.

How about you? What's your mission in life?

May22, 2008

My updates for Spring 2008

This semester (Spr'08) has not been easy for me, as there were much more writing of academic papers. Other than knowing how to write better papers, there are few important decisions I made, and some important lessons that I learned in this semester.


1) I have switched from my Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program to Master of Divinity (MDiv) program.This means that I will be seeking ordination track under Presbyterian Church (USA). On top of the original MTS curriculum, I will be taking classes in Greek and Hebrew languages, Pastoral Care & Counseling, Worship, Preaching, Social Science perspective on church, and Field Education. Which means, it will be two more years before I graduate. There are many reasons why I decided to switch program.

One of them is because of an urgent need for the laity to be exposed to essential theological issue. Theology must speak to the laity as well as to the theological students. I hope that I could train the laity in theology one day. I also realize that theology has a life of its own. In undertaking this subject, I enter into dialogues rooted in history, philosophy, and the Bible. Theological studies have challenged me time and again to conform to new insights, or have given me new sets of lenses to look at humanity, and the world at large.

The other reason is more pragmatic. I am currently supporting myself financially in this theological education. However, there are more financial supports from my school for MDiv students. And if I could be confirmed as an ordination candidate by the local Presbyterian church (which is next March), they will also provide some subsidies for my tuition fee.


2) Ever since Feb'08, my wife has been working as temp staff in a financial company, and later in my university. The working culture here is different from what she was exposed to back in S'pore, and it is a different form of cultural exposure for her. We thank God for this experience, and for supplying our material needs.


3) From my study on Augustine's Confessions, I understand how he reconciled Neo-Platonic thoughts in his Christian framework. For Augustine, the Absolute Good is also the personal God (watch out for this same identification in C.S. Lewis' writings). There was a shift in the mediaveal period, especially the re-discovery of Aristotle, as represented in Thomas Aquinas. The Enlightenment climax with Immanuel Kant, who shattered the congenial marriage of theology and philosophy. Schleiermacher, the father of modern theology, responded by shifting the emphasis to "religious experience."

I thank God for the wonderful experience of being able to trace the development of theology from philosophical perspective. This solved my question: "What exactly happened to theology from Augustine to the eve of Reformation, and immediately after Reformation to now?" I had been deeply troubled by this qus as the theologians I was exposed to in S'pore were only Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley.

This background also helps me to appreciate my Sociology of Religion class better.


4) I have also learned more about my own identity here. I am very appreciative of Singapore's education system as it prepared me well to use English as the medium for communication. I have been editing papers for a number of Koreans and a Japanese. Though I am not perfect in my English, I think I am able to express myself adequately to be understood well in writing, in discussion, and in normal conversation. This is a cause of envy among the other international students from Asia, but I salute them for their perseverance.

I also have the opportunity to work together in a team with Koreans and Japanese. I realized that S'pore working culture is closer to Japan's than to Korea's.

I had always assumed that my 1st language should be my native language (which is the assumption of most Americans). I was mistaken. To be more precise, my 1st language is English, but my native language is Mandarin. As I have been educated in English, English is my 1st language; but my mother tongue, Mandarin is the language I have been using since birth. I am not a Chinese, but a Singaporean Chinese. The way I think and speak are rooted in the culture that I grew up in, and it is different from the native Chinese (either from China or Taiwan). Now, the word "Singaporean" holds much more meaning for me.


5) As I got to know more Africans (particularly from Congo, Zimbabwe, Niagara) in my school, I discovered that the modern history of Africans (the same as for many other countries) was shaped by the Western powers. The boundaries of many African countries have been drawn on the table of Western countries after the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Many tragedies or ethic conflicts in Africa today are the result of misplacement of tribes by the Western nations. There are so many sad stories about how their current politics are being manipulated by foreign powers. The Africans need more prayer support. At the same time, I believe the Africans are the most effective agents to talk about reconciliation and peace in the world, as they have to go through much turmoil in order to achieve peace and stability.


6) Lastly, I have been actively involved in Bible study for graduate international students, under the Graduate Christian Fellowship (GCF is part of Inter-Varsity ministry). Most of the participants are from China or Taiwan. My bilingual ability has been an asset to the group as I could translate some of the unfamiliar terms to Chinese.

I will continue to play an active role in this Bible study with a very dedicated full-time staff worker (by the name of Tim Leary) from Inter-Varsity. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve together with him. I pray that eventually, some of our friends will accept Christ, even though they may face intense pressure back home. I pray for God to guide us to understand what it means to be a Christian in a Communist country or Chinese culture, and to have the courage to live out our callings.


May21, 2008

Below is a picture of 1Cor 13:13, taken at my school.