Sweet!

Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup semifinals. It was kind of nail biting at the end, but the redmen managed to hold out for the crucial win.

Out of 10 meetings in the last two seasons, Liverpool have only beaten blues twice. Last year we knocked them out of the Champions League at the semifinal stage as well. They must really see us as a jinx team in their cup runs! As usual, their manager Mourihno was moaning and couldn't even congratulate Liverpool on being the better team! He is such a poor loser...

Blogging means sometimes having to say "I'm sorry"

A couple of months back I posted some stuff related to an online feud taking place between a couple of prominent pastors in the emrgent church movement. It ignited quite a furore and even led to a seminary professor questioning the benefit of blogging. Well here's the latest installment in the saga. Mark Driscoll the "offender" has offered his heartfelt "I'm sorry", but it has been painful reading some of the comments to his apology. While some have been genuinely supportive, there is still a large measure of unforgiveness that comes through which is such a poor testimony to the gospel!

It's like our Dean/President Paul Zahl said:

"I observe that Christians don't even tolerate sinners, another 'other' for all their talk of forgiveness. It is a wondrous fact – an arresting fact – that when Christians fall into sin, the talk one hears literally every Sunday, in principle, of God's forgiveness and welcome to the sinner becomes a dead letter. It is as if we declare "God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" only to NOT mirror that, any time sin actually strikes close to us in a real live human being. It is an amazing reality that a sinner has about as much chance from Christians as Zontar did from the soldiers in It Conquered the World. (Zontar was burned to death, by the actor Lee Van Cleef.)" (from John Zahl's blog)

Why it's Good.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

I just read the New Yorker article by Peter Boyer, "A Church Asunder" after reading John Zahl's blog on it. It set me thinking about what our response should be towards the current crisis in our Communion. I still debate whether the revisionists of ECUSA are better classified (there I go labelling others again) as "Infidels" or "Hereticks" in Cranmerian terms. But the Good Friday collect reminds me that it doesn't really matter. I need to pray for them just the same.

Merciful God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou has made, nor wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; have mercy upon all Jews, Turks (i.e. Muslims), Infidels and Hereticks [sic], and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word: and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved amongst the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth, with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Third Collect for Good Friday
1662 Book of Common Prayer

At first hearing (or reading) this collect seems so un-PC. It raises our hackles and seems to run counter to all that we have been led to believe in relating to others in pluralism. But this is the crux of the gospel. This is the message of the cross. Paul Zahl unpacks the background of this prayer in his book on the Cramerian collects:

"The Jews believe in God, but reject Christ. The Mohammedans believe in God and honor Christ, but do not yield Him divine honor. Infidels are those who do not believe the basic doctrines of Christianity. Heretics are Christians who maintain religious opinions contrary to the teachings of the Church. This prayer is more a call to missionary work than a statement of judgment." (p.48 The Collects of Thomas Cranmer)

We're all sinners saved by grace, and in constant need of grace. And that is our motivation for mission. That is why we pray for those outside our congregations. This is why the day of Jesus' death is good. It is the "power of God unto salvation."

A Mad Dog Faith

As we move through holy week, I have had a series of really interesting readings for a few different classes here. I was also recently visiting Dave's blog, who is a friend here at seminary (and fellow soccer fan...not!). He talked about the "Nazareth principle" in his post on Kant and Luther and it brought me back to something I read from Philip Jenkin's book, the Next Christiandom...

"Christianity grew as a grassroots movement, appealing to a rich diversity of groups. In some cases this might mean those on the margins of traditional societies. In his nuanced account of the conversion of the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria, Chinua Achebe describes how the faith gained its initial successses among the marginalized: "None of the converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people. None of them was a man of title. They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu, worthless, empty men...Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, called the converts the excrement of the clan, and the new faith was a mad dog that had come to eat it up." Gradually, though, an increasing number of converts were drawn in from major families. (Today, the Igbo are overwhelmingly Christian.)" (p.43)

This gist of this story was repeated in my readings of how Christianity spread in Korea and China in the 19th and 20th century. The churches that grew the fastest and have had the most lasting impact are those that initially reached the lowest in society. It shouldn't be any surprise since the apostle Paul pointed out the fact that this is the basis of God's election:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Could it be that it is the "down and outs" who are most receptive to the gospel? I imagine that they are the ones who can most easily accept the word that comes tellling us that we can do nothing to save ourselves. That's probably why Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the self-satisfied, self-sufficient and self-absorbed (my version of a three-self movement) to enter His kingdom...

This is the message of the cross. God came and identified with the down and outs, by subjecting himself to the ugliness of the cross...

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement
that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:2-5

Go to the Source!

Our Dean/President Herr Zahl, makes a strong case for the existence of Trinity. I firmly believe that the battle for the church will be won or lost in the seminaries. If we are to see the church turn around, we need to be more strategic in placing the right people in the right places, and I'm not talking about the episcopate (although that is important too).

But how do we break the politburo hold they have on our institutions? It is almost incestous the way in which they jealously guard their strongholds. Talk about a lack of inclusion...

Nobody Loves Me, Everybody Hates Me

It sure seems like a bad time to be a Christian. Especially one who is serious about what he believes...

If you don't believe me, just ask Abdul Rahman, the Afghan Christian convert on trial for switching religions. He's damned if they convict him, and damned if they don't because there's a lynch mob waiting for him if he's released.

I've also just done a book review on the persecution of Christians entitled "Their Blood Cries Out" which is a little dated (published in 1997) but is still moving in its accounts of the ferocious attrocities perpetrated against followers of Jesus.

If that's not enough, the Asian Church History class I'm taking over at PTS covered what is known as the great Sassanian persecution of Christians in Persia in 340AD. This was "the most massive persecution of Christians in history, unequalled for its duration, its ferocity and the number of martyrs" (Moffett's A History of Christianity in Asia Vol.1)

This opposition is just about every where. In an editorial entitled "Cutting at Christianity" by Nora Gallagher in the LA Times on March 24, 2006, the author said, "It's become fashionable to take shots at the Christian religion. In a lot of otherwise civilized circles, the faithful and the faith itself are an easy object of prejudice; and worse, it's a prejudice you can get away with."

She ends the op-ed by pining for the "good old days" of pre-Constantine Christianity. She thinks that there were kinder gentler times in Jesus' day. But listen to what he said...

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." John 15:18-20 (NIV)

So it doesn't get any better folks, we'll just have to get used to it... Or eat some worms.

How 'bout them Reds?

Amazing stuff. They beat Everton their cross-town rivals with only 10 men! 3-1 was the final score and it was sweet!

Schism looms...

This is probably the clearest signal from Canterbury about the impending fate of the Communion. The Bishop of Exeter, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury, was speaking at the ECUSA House of Bishops retreat at Kanuga. He said:

"'I suppose one of the major challenges for the Episcopal Church now has to do with whether there are enought of you to stand broadly on the same ground, holding a range of opinions on Lambeth 1.10 but firm in carrying forward the Windsor vision of a strengthened and enabing communion life. This, I believe, is the key question rather than questions about whether the Episcopal Church will either be pushed out of the Communion or consciously walk away. Let's be clear. On the one hand, noone can force another province or diocese either to go or remain. We are not that kind of church. Yet equally, no diocese or province can enforce its own continued membership simply or largely on its own terms. There has to be engagement There is no communion without a shared vision of life in communion. So it does seem to me, as I listen to those other parts of the communion that I know best, that any further consecration of those in a same sex relationship, any authorisation of any person to undertake same sex blessings, any stated intention not to seriously engage with the Windsor Report, will be read very widely as a declaration not to stay with the communion.'"

A report of what sort of went on there can be found on Ruth Gledhill's Blog - Times Online: Schism looms, Exeter warns US bishops:

I know that many of my Episcopal colleagues here at Trinity look towards the General Convention in June with some anxiety. To be honest, I see very little signs of ECUSA repenting as was called for in the Windsor report.

FA Cup | Birmingham 0-7 Liverpool

Birmingham 0-7 Liverpool. That makes it 15 goals in the last 3 games... enuff said!

What a game!

I know some of you hate this... but I can't help it (sorry Dave!).

Liverpool routed Fulham yesterday, 5-1. I watched the delayed telecast and it was truly entertaining. You might have noticed that I haven't been posting much on football (the real kind played with feet) lately, because honestly, my team hasn't been doing too well. But now they seem to have picked up where they left off. Great to see almost all the forwards getting a goal each. Especially delighted with Fowler's goal!


To Fulham's credit, they really put in a good game, but once the Liverpool strikers got off the mark, there was no stopping them. I was particularly impressed with the young signing, centre-half Daniel Agger who deputised for the injured Hyppia. (A Dane for a Fin)

*whew* had to get this out, or I would have burst!

Making a Difference

This is one man who has made a difference in the world!

PZ circulated a NYT article on John Stott, the elder statesman of the evangelical church, at one of our Dean's hours. I have always been impressed with his writings, and I admit that I often gravitate to his commentaries, when I come across them. He's been a tremendous influence on many others as well. I know that he had quite a bit of input in my father's life, and the life of my bishop, as well as many other church leaders in the global South.

I remember meeting him in Amsterdam 2000 and he was so very accessible. When I told him who I was, he greeted me warmly (and gave me a big hug, something which I still have a tough time getting used to as an Asian). He's one of the giants of the Church with an incredibly humble disposition. Truly a man of God. And I don't use that term lightly!

An Ounce of Prevention

This past week, I was really alerted to the "great" journalistic value of Parade by Bp. Fitz Allison. As I opened the publication on Sunday (which comes with our Sunday paper), an article jumped off the pages at me. I really believe in what he's doing. It goes to the heart of the problem in terrorism, and though results are slow, I think the solution will be long term! (In fact Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea is all about taking the time to see lasting results)

The actual article will only be available online on Wed March 8, but this is an earlier one about what he's doing:

PARADE Magazine | He Fights Terror With Books (Greg Mortenson of Central Asia Institute): "Tucked amid a grove of poplar trees at the edge of emerald barley fields in Korphe, an isolated village in northern Pakistan, stands a tiny four-room school. This afternoon, a 17-year-old girl is about to confront Greg Mortenson, the American who built it. Her name is Jahan, and her intention is to remind Mortenson of a pledge he made to her when the building opened in September 1996.

“Do you remember the promise you made that day?” Jahan asks in Balti, the local language. “I told you that I want to be a doctor, and you said you would help. You fulfilled your pledge to us when our school was built. But today you must keep your promise to me. I’m ready for medical training, and I need 20,000 rupees [$400] to attend a maternal health-care program.”

Her request marks an extraordinary milestone in the 600-year history of the Braldu Valley. The narrow Braldu stretches high in the Karakorams, a spectacular range of granite mountains that straddles the border between India, Pakistan and China, where snow leopards roam across blue-ice glaciers. The Braldu is a place of equally spectacular isolation and poverty: The majority of its 3000 people are illiterate; one of every three babies dies before its first birthday; and local power rests in the hands of Shiite mullahs who take religious orders from the ayatollahs of Iran.

Korphe, though, is different. For, in this part of northern Pakistan (see map on page 6), a region that now sits on the front lines of the war against terrorism, Jahan is the first girl ever granted the privilege of learning to read and write.

The man to whom Jahan makes her petition is sitting cross-legged in the middle of a council of village elders. As the U.S. confronts Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, Greg Mortenson, 45, is quietly waging his own campaign against Islamic fundamentalists, who often recruit members through religious schools called madrasas. Mortenson’s approach hinges on a simple idea: that by building secular schools and helping to promote education—particularly for girls—in the world’s most volatile war zone, support for the Taliban and other extremist sects eventually will dry up..."

Click here to read more.

Fundamentalist Liberals (pardon the oxymoron)

Here we go again...

"Two openly gay priests are candidates to become bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California and the election of either would worsen the rift over homosexuality in the bitterly divided church.

The Rev. Bonnie Perry of Chicago and the Very Rev. Robert Taylor of Seattle -- both of whom have longtime same-sex partners -- are among the five candidates. In 2004, an emergency panel of the global Anglican Communion, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, asked for a moratorium on installing bishops in same-sex relationships. The request came after the Rev. Gene Robinson, who has a longtime male partner, was consecrated bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

''There's nothing really the Anglican Communion can do to us. But they can say they're no longer in communion with us,'' said Sean McConnell, spokesman for the Diocese of California....

The Rev. Paul Zahl, the dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa., said if Perry or Taylor is chosen as the new bishop, it's a ''definitive thumbing of the nose at the worldwide church.''

He said hundreds of the 2.3 million Episcopalians already left the church after Robinson was consecrated and ''for those who are still hanging in there, this election would be the final straw. That's no judgment on the individuals, but on the principle.'"

Read the rest here...

Free Speech?

Stanley Fish in his op-ed piece ("Our Faith in Letting It All Hang Out") for the NYT correctly identifies the root of the reason why the Danes went ahead and did what they did. He says, "The first tenet of the liberal religion is that everything (at least in the realm of expression and ideas) is to be permitted, but nothing is to be taken seriously." This is why the freedom of speech of today's liberal West has become such a sacred cow. All ties to any absolute have been cut. And the only absolute is that everything is relative.

I have been reading John Stott's book, Christian Mission in the Modern World (for a class of course) and one of the words he deals with is "dialogue." A definition which he puts forward is one that I really like: "Dialogue is a conversation in which each party is serious in his approach both to the subject and to the other person, and desires to listen and learn as well as speak and instruct." In what way were the Danish newspaper's cartoons a "serious approach" to dialogue? They certainly haven't been very good at listening. Did they even attempt to?

What is worse is that now others are paying the price for their insensitivity! The Anglican Church in Nigeria has been under attack especially in the Northern Provinces. One of the board members of our seminary, Bishop Kwashi's family was subjected to a vicious attack and were robbed. And I just came across a BBC interview with Bishop Cyril Okorocha of Nigeria who speaks about the tension that has boiled over down there. Apparently over 100 people (both Christians and Muslims) have already been killed as a result of this violence so far.

FA Cup|: Liverpool 1-0 Man Utd

What a result! It is the first time in 85 years since Liverpool have beaten their greatest rivals in the FA cup competition. Even more important, one of their strikers got themself on the scoresheet, while keeping out the goals at the other end.

I couldn't watch the game live (pay per view's too expensive!), but had to listen to the broadcast on the net. From what I heard, Liverpool could have easily won it by 2 0r 3 goals! I'll be watching the delayed telecast when and if it finally comes on!

For a full report of the match, check out BBC SPORT.

On LFC

Some of you who are regular readers of my blog might be wondering why I've not said anything about Liverpool in ages... Well just to show that I'm not a fair weathered fan, here goes my latest rant...


Well after a spectacular year end, Liverpool have become a testimony to the old addage, "what goes up, must come down!" They've not had a good start to the year, with three loses and one draw in the last five games in the league. Oh how the mighty have fallen! But speaking of big falls, there is one bright spot from this last weekend! Chelsea lost big! If you look at the photo of that game from the BBC on the right, you can see how shell-shocked their captain John Terry (no relation to our beloved Justyn) looks after a goal is scored. I can't help but rejoice in their misery. I know, this isn't a very Christian attitude, but, oh well...

Bono Speaks

Some of you may know this, but Bono, was one of the speakers for this year's Presidential Prayer Breakfast. My friend who was actually there told me that he was quite powerful and made quite an impression. Here's what he said:

"If you’re wondering what I’m doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I’m certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It’s certainly not because I’m a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I’m here because I’ve got a messianic complex.

Yes, it’s true. And for anyone who knows me, it’s hardly a revelation.

Well, I’m the first to admit that there’s something unnatural… something unseemly… about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the South of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert… but this is really weird, isn’t it?

You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind. .

Mr. President, are you sure about this?

It’s very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned—I’m Irish..."


Click here for more...

The Message of the Blog

Seminary Professor, Dr Craig Blomberg asks if Blogs are good for the body (of Christ that is)...

Leadership Blog: Out of Ur: The Blessing of Blogs: Is the New Media Good for the Church?: "I’m hardly an expert on blogging. My own ministry has been critiqued once or twice by bloggers, and my experiences with their postings have largely led me to ignore them. When Out of Ur ran a controversial story about a good friend of mine this fall, I read and contributed to the responses with interest for several weeks. That is the sum total of my experience with blogs. But it’s enough for me to raise some questions. If Marshall McLuhan was even partly right that “the medium is the message,” then what message does the medium of blogging send?"

To read more, click here...

Intelligent Design vs. Naturalism

Here's a commentary from the Church Times entitled "How to probe the science of creation" which I feel is helpful in teasing out the nuance of the Intelligent Design-Naturalism (which unfortunately has been wrongly labeled "Evolution") debate. I think that he has done a good job of clarifying the positions and philosophical presuppositions, and this deserves careful consideration!

Brian McLaren on the Homosexual Question 2: A Blogger's Response

This is a response that really speaks directly to what I was uncomfortable with in McLaren's commentary...

"Since posting Brian McLaren’s commentary about homosexuality we’ve had difficulty keeping pace with the responses being written. Reading through the comments reveals why homosexuality is known as a “wedge issue” in our culture. Our readers appear divided between heralding McLaren as a prophet, and condemning him as a heretic. Below is one response we received by a blogger named Jeff who disagrees with McLaren’s suggested five year moratorium on making pronouncements about homosexuality. But unlike many other critics, Jeff also writes about his very personal engagement with this issue."

Read more here...