My Blog

I received a very interesting comment from a long lost friend, Zee Kin and thought it’ll be interesting to explain the things I have written in the post "what’s happening to the world today".

Point to note though, I’m not very good at debating. Heeh.

Homosexuality and Christianity

I said that ‘gay marriages are made legal’, which I think should not be done. The issue is not that I hate homosexuals, I don’t. It’s just the act of homosexuality itself that I cannot agree. It is based on my firm belief in what the bible says. There are certain situations, where your friend does something you think he/she shouldn’t do, because it is in your opinion, wrong. I don’t care whether a third party agrees to my opinion or not, because I care for my friend, I will tell him/her what I think and the rest will be up to the person to decide.

Zee Kin, I’m surprised that with the amount you have research about the bible that you said it does not explicitly say anything against homosexuality.

I’ll quote some versus here then. Romans 1:24,27 "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves… Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the women, burned in their lust for one another, men with men commiting what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

Another verse is found in I Corinthians 6:9 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites…"

The issue about the word MORALITY

Ok, I might be wrong in using the word morality. I mean, who checks the dictionary to find out what’s the meaning of MORALITY before putting it in their blog? But I still hold firm to my opinion that the world is definitely not getting better anytime soon. If we don’t touch on morality, we can talk about the increasing crime rates all over the world, the global warming, the shocking amount of natural disasters happening in the last century etc. I think I choose to believe in what the bible says, that the end is coming soon. Because no matter how hard we humans try to take God out of the picture, we cannot find one logical explanation that explains everything that’s happening in the world.

The Bible and the Quran - a fair comparison?

Well, before the Muslims stone me, with all due respect, I’m not saying that the Quran is not accurate, no no no… Just want to point out Zee Kin’s comparison on the people who wrote these holy books.

Just a reminder from a simple-minded person like me, Christianity is a faith. It is not science, who needs people with degrees and PHDs to publish a paper. The bible says that every word in the bible is living, and God-breathed. It is the Holy Spirit that gives these writers of the bible the words to write. That’s where faith comes in again. You can either choose to believe that statement or not. For us who believe, it speaks to us in a very profound and personal way. That is the beauty of it. When you’re in trouble and upset, God speaks through the versus in the bible. You’re comforted and uplifted. That’s what faith does to you when you believe in the bible. If you don’t, you can fork out the greatest arguments in the world against it. That’s just it!

The APROSTLES…?

Just to make it clearer, the bible is written by the APOSTLES, not the APROSTLES. Heeh. They are Jesus’ followers when He was on earth. They walked and lived and served with Him. So a simple, logical thinking mind of mine says that if these guys lived with Jesus and went everywhere with Him, they should know His every detail of life on earth. So I think the gospels are pretty reliable.

SINFUL PEOPLE LIKE US

Erm, the bible is also accused of being written by SINFUL HUMANS, but the Quran is written by holy people. We SINFUL HUMANS as written in the bible, are given a way to be made holy through Jesus’ death on the cross. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." When someone accepts Jesus to be his saviour, he is accounted as holy and his sins forgiven. So it is technically holy people writing the bible.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS ?

Why does the bible have so many translations then? Why into so many languages? It’s for a simple reason that it can be as much understood as possible, so that people from every language and nation can come to know the contents in the Bible. It is not only a religion for the intellectuals, but for the not-so-educated ones. So there are translations of the bible in plain, simple english.

CONCLUSION

I am accused of being narrow-minded. *sweat*.

My opinions are formed by my faith in Jesus. And I have the freedom to believe in it. Dahlah I’m terrible at debating!

But I won’t condemn you for your beliefs either. It’s just that all in all, my experience as a Christian has made me believe that Jesus is real. I don’t only base my beliefs on what others say, but I have experienced God every day. God has made all the difference in my life. God gave a reason to keep on living. Can you imagine I use to think about suicide all the time? Not anymore! I want to live! Because Christ gave me a purpose for living. For all He has done for me, I will believe in His teachings, no matter how everyone else condemns me of being narrow-minded.

Zee Kin, sorry if I said anything that hurt your feelings. I don’t mean to. Heeh. By the way, stating that you did some research is not enough. Usually you need to quote where it comes from. (Just a point to note). Again, I don’t mean to offend you!

Til next time everyone. Byes!

After 21 and a half years of living my life, I realised one day that, hey, I can do a lot of things. I can sing, play the piano, dance, act, organise events, leading people, excel in my studies etc. I have many talents!! I’m sounding ‘perasan’ now, I know. But it takes a confident person to speak out what he/she is good at, ok? muahaha

Recently I was feeling quite disappointed because I find that I cannot do all these things at once. I mean, isn’t it frustrating if you are good at something, and you love doing it, but can’t find the time to do it? I even remembered someone saying with the talents you have, the more responsibility you have because you’re expected to use them. Yes now I remember, it’s the parable of the 10 talents in the bible. Anyway, I’m responsible for my talents!

Let me list how I’m using my time now. I love investing my time in the church - singing, playing the piano and teaching the bible there. And that takes up 70% of my free time. With the remaining 30% I wish I can start a band, be more involved in the Malaysian Society in my uni, learn Latin and Ballroom dancing, do some street dancing, be involved in the university choir… …  Wow, just so many things to do, yet not enough time! Why did God give me so many talents then, if I can’t mazimise them?! This is quite frustrating.

Just a sidetrack, my exams starts on Monday… Can’t wait for it to be over. I really thank God for the intellectual talents He has given me. One day I’ll blog about effective techniques of studying - just so I can help those out there who need some advice. =)

Anyway, as I was thinking of my limitations as a human being, a phrase on my church leaflet caught my attention. It was the senior pastor’s message. It says, "To do well at a few things you need to give up many things… Being willing to give up some of the things you love in order to focus on what has the greatest impact isn’t an easy lesson to learn." It is so true!

Then I thought to myself, what is my priority in life? Is it to have as much fun as I can in uni? Because I enjoy singing and dancing so much!

Or do I invest in my life right now, for a better future? My answer is pretty clear, I choose the latter. Even though I cannot do everything I would like to do now, I will not live to regret it.

My friend once told me this, "You should do whatever your heart feels like doing now. Because once you’re out of uni, you won’t get the chance to enjoy yourself like this anymore." My friend, I wish I could. But I have a vision and a goal to reach. I can’t live my life the way everyone lives. I just can’t.

That’s it for now. I shall go back to my studies. Anatomy here I come. Til the next time, bubbye!

LESSONS LEARNT FROM LORD OF THE RINGS

Today, I watched LOTR - the fellowship of the ring, again. It gave me lots to think about.

- Firstly, it spoke to me about what is happening to our world today. There was one part which was about mankind. Men without a leader, without hope, and the race is failing. I think this is true of the world we live in today. Don’t you think so? As the days of living in the UK go by, I’m exposed to more and more lawlessness in this world. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORD MORALITY? DOES THE WORLD STILL SEE THE BOUNDARIES OF RIGHT AND WRONG? Gay marriages are made legal; premarital sex is done by everyone, and you’re called weird if you’re still a virgin at 21; divorce is common; drinking and getting drunk is FUN; sleeping around and making out with friends are normal; the list goes on.

- Politicians of the 21st century are totally crap and useless. What they care about is that they can stay in their positions as long as possible. That they can take as much bribes as possible while up there, and pretending they’re working for the benefit of the nation. Remember the latest hoo-hah in the US about not using the word "MERRY CHRISTMAS" because it is politically incorrect? It just tells me how far politicians are willing to go, so that people will continue to vote for them. It is totally stupid and irritating. Politicians are AFRAID of the people. Instead of wanting the best for the society as a whole, they are making regulations that favours the people so that they get support. Greedy, selfish, ignorant.

- Though I’ve cursed politicians to the max, my ambition is actually to BE a politician. Sometimes I wonder why I would want to do that. Like Frodo in LOTR, I have a burden that is not easy to bear. A journey that will be difficult and full of obstacles. For Frodo, bearing the ring meant he couldn’t go home to the shire and enjoy a peaceful life, it meant a journey full of obstacles and dangers. But he still chose to bear it because he saw what would happen to the Middle Earth if he fails to destroy the ring. Sometimes I am afraid. I’m afraid that if I’m up there in the government office, I might end up like the rest of them whom I’m unsatisfied with right now. I’m afraid I might agree to send astronauts to space to make teh tarik and shut off the guilty feeling of wasting the public’s money which can be used for a better cause. I’m afraid that I will end up taking bribes and become a hypocrite. But I still choose this road. Because what if I do not try to make a difference, no one else might? If Frodo did not want to bear the ring, Middle Earth would have been destroyed. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to be the saviour of the world. But the country needs someone to rise up and be different. If I can bring my country one step closer to what it can be, I’ll do it despite the difficulties I might face - if it means going against the tide to stand for what is right, if I’ll be cursed by other politicians, if I’ll be gotten rid of immediately by them. I want to eradicate poverty; I want to fight for justice; I want my country to be a better place for everyone.

Don’t look at me as if I’m an alien now. You might think I’m naive. But doesn’t everyone wish the world is a better place? Doesn’t everyone want peace and goodwill? Doesn’t everyone, in one tiny place in his/her heart, long for a perfect world? Longing for it won’t make it happen. Somebody needs to make it happen. I know I want to. And today, I’m challenging you to make it happen too.