A View of the Law

Say What?

"Laws and regulations do limit excessive abuse; however, they only mark the space in which the war is waged. They don't eliminate war" Miroslav Volf in "Free of Charge", p. 14.

Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men...

"Preoccupied with self and distracted by affluence, many Christians try to confine the gospel to a superior form of therapy; they fail to see it as a cosmic plan of redemption..." Chuck Colson

Back on Track!

Liverpool vs. Besiktas
Originally uploaded by opusco.

Liverpool has been in the soccer doldrums lately, and there has been a sense of despair that had been growing among the Anfield faithful. All that has changed today, since Liverpool beat Besiktas 8-0.

Learning to be Good?

"[P]ride cannot be removed by teaching at all. We can be proud of anything we have learned. It's not primarily God's teaching but God's presence and activity in us that can effectively heal our pride" (Miroslav Volf in Free of Charge p.111)

Going for No. 6

Liverpool made it through a tense UEFA Champions League semi-final yesterday against Chelsea. I watched it in the afternoon instead of in the wee hours of the morning like we usually do in Singapore. I can't wait for the final on May 23! It will be the last time I get to watch a Champion's League final at the sane hour of 3 in the afternoon this year for the last time! *sigh*

The World's fastest walkers

So it seems that Singapore is number one again-- in walking. A study conducted by the British Council tells us that Singaporeans rank 1st in walking speeds.

Pedestrians all over the world are moving faster than a decade ago, according to scientists who have conducted a study into the pace at which people walk.

Psychologists say walking speeds have increased by an average of 10 percent in the past 10 years.

People in the greatest hurry live in Singapore, according to the study of cities in 32 countries. Following in their footsteps are residents of Copenhagen in Denmark and Madrid in Spain.

Researchers in each city found a busy street with a wide pavement that was flat, free from obstacles and sufficiently uncrowded to allow people to walk at their maximum speed.

The speed of each city's walkers was then timed by a team researchers, armed with stopwatches.

They timed how long it took 35 men and women to walk along a 60-foot (18-meter) stretch of pavement, monitoring only adults who were on their own and ignoring those conducting mobile phone conversations or struggling with shopping bags.

The results of the study, headed by British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman, were compared with similar results from a decade ago in an experiment carried out by American psychologist Professor Robert Levine, from California State University.

Wiseman said walking speeds provided a reliable measure of the pace of life in a city.

"This simple measurement provides a significant insight into the physical and social health of a city. The pace of life in our major cities is now much quicker than before. This increase in speed will affect more people than ever, because for the first time in history the majority of the world's population are now living in urban center," Wiseman said.

Click here (CNN.com) to read more

Durians!

I love this stuff! It is the "king of fruits!" Can't wait to get back to Singapore so I can eat them again.




NYT: Thailand — You can take the sugar out of soft drinks and the fat from junk food. But eliminate the pungent odor from what may be the world’s smelliest fruit and brace for a major international controversy.

The durian, a spiky fruit native to Southeast Asia, has been variously described by its detractors as smelling like garbage, moldy cheese or rotting fish. It is banned from many hotels, airlines and the Singapore subway. But durian lovers — and there are many, at least in Asia — are convinced that like fine French cheeses, the worse the smell, the better the taste.

Under the durian’s hardy shell are sections of pale yellow flesh with a consistency that can be as soft and oozy as custard and a flavor that is nutty and sweet with hints of vanilla and an occasional bitter bite.

Read the rest of the article...

The Christian soldiers who bring forgiveness

Ten minutes’ bumpy drive from the border with Thailand, past a strip of gaudy casinos and brothels in a landscape of denuded hillsides, is a place where travellers fear to stop.

Throughout Cambodia the border town of Pailin is known — apart from its gemstones — as the last bastion of the Khmer Rouge, from where its remnants fought the Government until 1998.

The reputation is enough to send most travellers rushing through to the capital, Phnom Penh, eight hours drive away. Locals say that about 70 per cent of the area’s older men were fighters and that nearly all families have links to the regime blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million of their compatriots between 1975 and 1979.

Among them are men guilty of the worst crimes of the 20th century. Yet in the past four years many who are now law-abiding farmers and traders have renounced their former leader Pol Pot as a servant of Satan; travellers today are likely to suffer nothing worse than a fervent attempt to bring them to the Lord.

Phannith Roth, a missionary who grew up half-starved in a labour camp, admitted that he was terrified when his congregation in the town of Siha-noukville begged him to go to Pailin to spread the Word.

“I was scared because there are landmines everywhere, malaria is rife and because of the Khmer Rouge, who everyone knows are cruel,” he said.

“But it was the Lord’s will.” Now his Pailin Bible Presbytery Church has about 40 former Khmer Rouge worshippers....

Pastor Phannith said that many chose Christianity because they did not find forgiveness in Buddhism, which teaches that a soul must pay for its sins during lives to come.

Click here to read more...

What makes Christianity Different...

I was reading a paper that Dr Elaine Storkey presented at the Theologians Task Group at Amsterdam 2000. It was on the topic of the need for dialogue with people of other faiths in the pluralistic reality of today, and how it can be so important for the mission of the church.

Towards the end of the paper she tells a personal story that really illustrates why we as Christians need to be in dialogue with others...

I was recently involved in an inter-faith broadcast with the BBC World Service. The Jewish Rabbi and Islamic Professor and I were all answering questions sent in by listeners from all over the world. The discussion was courteous, good-humoured and pleasant until one question came up. It was about how we can identify the real believer from the counterfeit. We all agreed that it was by their fruits that we could know them. Then the Rabbi told us about the enormous weight of the Law which had been given to the people of Israel, and how we would need to see some evidence of seriousness about living in accordance with God's norms and standards. The Muslim went through all the obligations to worship, the great holiness of God, the need to counter all forms of evil and infidelity, the importance of the moral law, and on and on. When it came to me, the presented changed the question. "What do Christians have to do, Dr Storkey?" I took a deep breath and explained that Christians did not have to do anything. We had to simply hold our empty hands to receive all that Christ had done for us. For we could not reach these standards of God's on our own. It was only through the grace of God in the work of Christ that we were acceptable.

The Islamic professor was horrified, and lectured me for many minutes on the way this would open the door for young people to do anything they wished. I had two attempts to reply, when the Rabbi finally came to my aid. Putting a hand on the Muslim's shoulder he said, "My dear friend, you will have to accept what she says. You and I will never understand this. We are a Jew and a Muslim. But this grace is what Christians are all about. It is what makes Christianity different from every other religion." 

Evangelical Review of Theology 25:1 (2001) pp.45-52

Obese men less likely to commit suicide, study finds - Los Angeles Times

"Obese men less likely to commit suicide, study finds" screamed the LA Times headline. It points to a study that shows that as the BMI of a man increases, the likelihood of him being depressive and suicidal decreases. If I couldn't enjoy food, I would be suicidal too!

Click here to read it.

It may be No. 6 this year!

I decided that this was too good to not blog about. I know that I haven't been on the blogs for a while, and certainly haven't blogged about football in ages...

Liverpool beat Barcelona on Wednesday in one of Liverpool's best European away performances in history. They overcame last year's champions at their dreaded Nou Camp stadium, in front of 90,000 Barca fans! And to add insult to injury, it was Bellamy and Riise, two of the players who were just in the news for a bust up over a Karaoke session after a training session! Sort of reads like a soap opera.