The Why and Who of Suffering

 

This book by Adele Gonzalez attempts to answer the age old question of suffering which may also be subtitled the problem of evil. Rephrased in another way, why does a good and loving God allows His beloved people to suffer and evil to proliferate in the world? I do not believe this book adequately answer the question. She started off with a somewhat fatalistic 'shit happens' which embrace a lot of encouragement to bear with our sufferings and remember that God is good to a somewhat mystical retreat into the Mystery of God i.e. we cannot understand suffering because it is part of the Mystery of God.

Gonzalez seems to be deeply influenced by the teaching of the church father Irenaeus. Irenaeus teaches that life on earth is like school for training us for eternity. Suffering and evils are lessons that helps us to learn. Another theologian from whom she draws inspiration is Jesuit Teilhard de Chaidin (my review here and here). Appropriating de Chaidin's Cosmic Christ and Omega Point, Gonzalez skips on the edge of pantheism when she writes about 'energy from our suffering' helps to complete the suffering of the Cosmic Christ and to be one with the Cosmic Christ at the Omega Point.

The strength of Gonzalez's book is not in answering the question of suffering and of evil. I do not believe we will get the answer this side of eternity. This book is inspirational because while it fails to answer the question, it succeeds in providing a companion for our journey through this world which is full of suffering. In sharing her experiences of suffering in her life story, her problems with the institutional church and her physical disabilities, Gonzalez becomes our companion in suffering. She reminds us that we are not alone in our pain and suffering. We suffer together as a community, and as a church. Gonzalez also reminds us that the transcendent God Himself also suffers with us.

Maybe we have been asking the wrong question. Instead of why, we should be asking who. Who is suffering? Who is suffering with whom? God is suffering with whom? 

Good book for the online reading group. Onwards to the next book.

.

Christianity Today on John Stott

John Stott died July 27th at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott's death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott as they listened to Handel's Messiah. Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. "I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders," Homan said. "He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior."

Below you'll find our collection of classic pieces from Christianity Today's publications on John Stott and his legacy. Read Christianity Today's full obituary here.

John Stott: The Man Who Wouldn't Be Bishop

Discernment and discipline have enabled him to touch lives worldwide.

By David Neff

Related Articles:

Evangelism Plus

John Stott reflects on where we've been and where we're going.

Interview by Tim Stafford

Basic Stott

In this cover story from 1996, evangelicalism's premier teacher speaks on gender, charismatics, leaving the Church of England, the poor, evangelical fragmentation, Catholics, the future, and other subjects.

By Roy McCloughry

Legacy of a Global Leader

Less known than Stott's earlier work is his ministry with Langham Partnership International.

By Tim Stafford

John Stott, My Inspiration

I first heard John Stott speak when I was a medical student and a very young Christian. John Stott came to Kuala Lumpur to give a talk in the University of Malaya campus organized by the Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) which later became Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). I remember being very impressed by his message and his passion. I also remembered shaking the hand of this ‘well known’ Christian speaker. I began reading his books which are very influential to my Christian spiritual journey. I remember reading Basic Christianity (1958, rev.1971) which helps me construct the foundation of my faith. I read the revised 1971 version, of course (I am not that old!). It started me on my mission of Bible study and understanding the Scripture. This mission was fortified by another of his book, Your Mind Matters (1972). John Stott’s mastery of the Word and in preaching inspires me to a ministry of Bible-based teaching and preaching. Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (1982) and The Contemporary Christian: An urgent plea for double listening (1992) are books I retreat to when my zeal for the art runs dry.

Another of John Stott’s book that influenced me is Issues Facing Christians Today (1985) and its new edition (4^th ed.) New Issues Facing Christian Today (2006). This book is instrumental in helping me to move into studying and understanding the engagement of Christianity with culture and morality. It moves me into biomedical ethics and Christ-and-culture studies which I am doing now.

One of the highlights of my time in Edinburgh while doing my specialist training is to take the intercity train down to London to listen to John Stott preach at All Souls [Anglican Church] at Langham Place. I also took a course by John Stott at his London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. The London Institute inspired me to set up the Spiritual Formation Institute in Holy Light Church (English) eight years ago.

Through the years, I continue to be inspired by Stott. I read all his writings, listen to or watch the videos of all his sermons, lectures and talks that I can get my hands on. Stott is a prolific writer, publishing at least 50 books. He never married but devoted his life to his ministry. He lived a simple life, donating the royalties from his books to Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in the US) which he started in 1974. This organisation serves to improve preaching and teaching of the Bible in the third world. He rejected promotion to become a bishop of the Anglican Church, preferring to remain vicar of All Souls so that he can devote all his time and energy to teaching and preaching the Word. He is instrumental in the drafting of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974 which is a boost to world mission. In a way, John Stott’s life calls to mind the title of one of Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Though Peterson is talking about the biblical David, the concept of faithfulness in obedience may equally be applied to Stott.

The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (2010), his last book sums up his influence on the evangelical world and also on me personally. The purpose of this book, says Stott, is to consider eight characteristics of discipleship that are often neglected and yet deserve to be taken seriously: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, dependence, and death. Stott went to be with the Lord on 27 July 2011.

Cooling summer drink

1 cup strawberries, pureed

6 oz  frozen strawberry daiquiri (non OR alcoholic) concentrate

1 cup ice

1 cup water

1 cup milk (or 1 cup orange juice)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 tsp vanilla (the secret ingredient…yum)

 Puree the berries in a blender, add all of the other ingredients. Whip/blend  until all the ingredients are frothy. Drink and ENJOY!

Cooling summer drink

1 cup strawberries, pureed

6 oz  frozen strawberry daiquiri (non OR alcoholic) concentrate

1 cup ice

1 cup water

1 cup milk (or 1 cup orange juice)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 tsp vanilla (the secret ingredient…yum)

 Puree the berries in a blender, add all of the other ingredients. Whip/blend  until all the ingredients are frothy. Drink and ENJOY!

Till We have Faces

saw this interesting sculpture in the ward. Did not know who was the artist and the name of the sculpture. Reminds me of C.S.Lewis' book Till We Have Faces.

.

Human-Animals Hybrid Embryos

According to an article in the Herald Sun dated 26 July 2011

UK SCIENTISTS have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.

The hybrids have been produced in secret over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases...

Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 "admixed" embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act. This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; "cybrids", in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and "chimeras", in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.

Scientists say the techniques can be used to develop embryonic stem cells which can be used to treat a range of incurable illnesses. Three labs in the UK – at King’s College London, Newcastle University and Warwick University – were granted licences to carry out the research after the Act came into force.

read more

I have been struggling with the issue of chimera research for some time. It is difficult to perceive adding human genetic materials to that of animal genetic materials to create a totally new form of life. While is is easy to accept that chimera stem cells are destroyed prior to 14 days as the law required, it is hard to accept adding human stem cells to a chimpanzee brain or chimpanzee cells to a human brain.Where does one draw the line?
Worse case senerio - a baby is the product of fertilisation of a human ovum by a chimpanzee male genetic material and implanted in a human womb and brought to term. Is this baby human?
.

The Bible Impossible

Scot McKnight in his post The Problem with Biblicism part one and two made some insightful comments on Christian Smith's new book.

His [Christian Smith's] argument will look a bit like this: the problem is called biblicism (defined below).
1. He sees biblicism in evangelicalism (not all of it) and in most charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity.
2. Biblicism involves belief in the Bible’s exclusive authority, infallibility, perspicuity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability.
3. Liberalism is the corrosion of historic orthodoxy and is intellectually naive and susceptible to some reprehensible social and political expressions, but opposing liberalism — which Smith does — does not lead to or require biblicism. There are other alternatives.
4. What ultimately defeats biblicism is “pervasive interpretive pluralism.” The Bible says and teaches different things — if you listen to biblicists carefully — about most significant topics. It is, he argues, meaningless to talk about the inerrancy of the text if the interpretation of that text is up for grabs.
5. His goal is to become more evangelical, not less, in approach to Scripture.
6. Christian Smith, a notable Christian sociologist, has become a Roman Catholic, but he wrote this book before that move took place. He had these problems with evangelicalism before he became Catholic, but these problems are part of the reason he became Catholic.

read more

The Bible is central to most evangelical thinking and this has led to biblicism.

What is biblicism? It is a belief that finds expression in this set of ten factors, some holding each factor while others hold most of them. It is characteristic — listen to this — he says of perhaps 100 million Christians! Here are the ten factors of biblicism:
1. Divine Writing: the Bible is identical to God’s own words.
2. Total representation: it is what God wants us to know, all God wants us to know (he quotes JI Packer here) in communicating the divine will to us.
3. Complete coverage: everything relevant to the Christian life is in the Bible.
4. Democratic perspicuity: reasonable humans can read the Bible in his or her language and correctly understand the plain meaning of the text.
5. Commonsense hermeneutic: again, plain meaning; just read it.
6. Solo [not sola] Scripture: we can read the Bible without the aid of creeds or confessions or historical church traditions.
7. Internal harmony: all passages on a given theme mesh together.
8. Universal applicability: the Bible is universally valid for all Christians, wherever and whenever.
9. Inductive method: sit down, read it, and put it together.
10. Handbook model: the Bible is handbook or textbook for the Christian life.
read more.

If we are to approach Christianity with integrity, we will have to admit that the Bible does not have support for many of the claims of Christianity and that many of the major doctrines arises from the interaction of Scripture and the Church (especially Creeds). Reading Karl Barth has helped me to appreciate the relation between the Word of God and God's revelation. So are we really guilty of biblicism? Has the Bible became our God?

What do you think?
.

Coloring Page Of 1939 Porsche 64

Coloring Page Of 1939 Porsche 64

Car Coloring Pages Of NASCAR Tony Stewart 14

Car Coloring Pages Of NASCAR Tony Stewart 14

Race Car Coloring Pages of NASCAR Dodge Avenger #07

Race Car Coloring Pages of NASCAR Dodge Avenger #07

Printable NASCAR Mustang 2010 Coloring Page

Printable NASCAR Mustang 2010 Coloring Page

NASCAR Coloring Page Of Dale Earnhardt, Jr Vs Joey Logano

NASCAR Coloring Page Of Dale Earnhardt, Jr Vs Joey Logano

Printable Coloring Page of Porsche 911 TA GT Street 2007

Printable Coloring Page of Porsche 911 TA GT Street 2007

Porsche 911 TA GT Street 2007 Coloring Pages

Porsche 911 TA GT Street 2007 Coloring Pages

Concerns about National Health Insurance Scheme in Malaysia

From his blog MYHealthMatters, former Malaysia Medical Association president Dr David Quek highlights

ICare medical scheme – a crony treatment?

FMT Staff | July 25, 2011

Private practioners nationwide are concerned about the government scheme, which they fear will only benefit a few private companies.

TAWAU: A proposed medical insurance scheme by the government has raised concern among private practioners here and across the peninsular.

Suspicion has risen over the 1Care scheme which many believe will only benefit a few private companies at the expense of patients and doctors.

The doctors fear that healthcare expenses will increase as 1Care will become a monopoly through a giant managed-care organisation (MCO).

Although the government is yet to reveal the full details of the 1Care scheme, initial disclosures have raised concerns.

read more

.

Race Car Coloring Pages Of Porsche Cayman TA Widebody

Race Car Coloring Pages Of Porsche Cayman TA Widebody

GT3 Porsche Sports Car Picture Coloring Pages

Gt3 Porsche Sports Car Picture Coloring Pages

Porsche GT3 Supecar Collectibles Coloring Pages

Porsche GT3 Supecar Collectibles Coloring Pages

Porsche Cayman TA Widebody Coloring Page

Porsche Cayman TA Widebody Coloring Page

The New Me

Rent or Buy Your Textbooks?

The problems with textbooks especially medical textbooks is that it is out of date even before it is printed. I hardly use my old textbook for reference, preferring the online more uptodate information available on professional websites. So does it make sense to buy hardcopy textbooks? Amazon.com offers an alternative

Amazon Announces Digital-Textbook Rentals

July 20, 2011, 6:09 pm

By Jie Jenny Zou

Amazon has rolled out an e-textbook-rentals program, which could bring more attention to the emerging model of treating textbooks like online subscriptions.

Students can now download temporary copies of textbooks on Amazon’s Web site for reading on a Kindle e-book reader or on a computer, tablet, or smartphone running free Kindle software. The system lets customers specify rental periods lasting anywhere from a month to a year. Amazon argues that the digital rentals can save students up to 80 percent compared with traditional print textbooks.

For example, one textbook, Intermediate Accounting, which retails at $197 in print and $109 as an e-book, would cost $57 to rent from Amazon for three months. Students have the option to purchase the e-book during or after a rental period, and can extend rental period in daily increments.

This makes sense. Wonder if this service is available to people outside the United States and Canada?

picture source

Book Browsing and the end of Borders

 

Getty Images

Borders plans to shut its remaining 399 stores. Above, the exterior of a closed store in San Rafael, Calif.

Come next Monday, the Borders bookstores that I love will be no more; their shelves emptied and their contents carted off. Borders Inc, will be closing its 399 stores and quietly go out of business. No more will I be able to walk in and browse in a store with the name Borders behind the counter with a group of energetic young people shelving, arranging books and answering queries. Online book services without borders have finally done Borders in.

Book browsing in bookstores is one of my many favorite hobbies. I remember fondly my times of browsing in the bookstores of Edinburgh, London, Kirkcaldy, Boston, Sydney, Melbourne, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur and of course, Singapore. I still make a monthly trip to Singapore to indulge in book browsing and my other hobby, book buying.

There is always the sense of anticipation as I walk into a bookstore. What will I discover today? What new books await me, waiting to be read? What wonders within these pages are waiting to unfold? As I browse in the shelves I meet old friends and new. Being there is like being in a quiet party with good friends and amiable acquaintances. It is a serene and peaceful place which is as comfortable as a pair of old shoes or a well worn sofa. A place of escape from the world which locks you in bondage.

I meet some old friends: books that I have read or books that I am familiar with. I marvel at their new covers and new bindings. I open them and read a passage. The familiar arrangement of words sprang up at me, invoking memories of when and where I have read those words and my emotional state at that time. It brings forth old memories of events in my life when I read this book. This old friend was what I read in joy at the birth of my daughter, this one when I was in deep despair in Edinburgh and this, ah, was read in a hotel in Rome.

I also meet new friends. As I browse, I sense the siren call of brave new worlds, new life and new civilizations. My heart leaps from discovering new books from favorite authors that I cannot wait to read. Finding books that hint at offering deeper joy while other pander to my sense of wonder. Yet another promise to expand my knowledge core or break new grounds in my knowing.

The musty smell of old books and overcrowded arching bookshelves are another thing I miss in the modern bookstores. In London are found these wonderful bookstores with its deep warrens and endless passages. Lost first editions stand side by side with trade paperbacks in an endless parade. We can feel Sophia, the wisdom of the ages peering over our shoulder as we browse through these ancient tomes. These bookstores are disappearing and have become an endangered institution. Now even the modern bookstores are in danger.

.

Ode to my Dog

He’s gone. He had fought the good fight.

Bundle of joy running under the sky,

watching earthly wonders glowing eyes,

under the earth his treasures lie,

once small but thou grew large in size.

Faithful and gentle to a fault,

loyal and forgiving to all offenses,

proud to thy heritage well worth the salt,

love and forgiveness heartily dispenses.

Content to sit and together be present,

content only with the attention given,

hopeful and waiting in my absent,

seeking the joys of stroking deepen.

Years pass, my friend, seasons too,

more gray, less tan and vision fade,

time pass yet thy heart remain true,

loyalty and love matured like jade.

Ailments of age crushed thee this july,

bent and stricken in body never to rise,

in love I slay thee, suffering deny,

run free now through the clouds in the sky.

.

Printables Nintendi Wii Super Mario Galaxy Coloring Pages

Printables Nintendi Wii Super Mario Galaxy Coloring Pages

Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 Coloring Pages

Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 Coloring Pages

Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy 2 Coloring Pages

Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy 2 Coloring Pages

3 Super Mario Coloring Pages

3 Super Mario Coloring Pages

Disney Pixar Cars 2 Coloring Pages

Disney Pixar Cars 2 Coloring Pages

Watching Stargate Universe

I love watching Stargate SG1, Stargate:Atlantis and now Stargate Universe. Unfortunately Stargate Universe was canceled after two seasons. The idea of a mismatched groups of military types and civilian scientist types trapped in an incredible ancient but technologically advanced spaceship has the fantastic potential for great science fiction television. Unfortunately, this series did not make the grade with two dimensional characterization and poor plotlines that do not correlation with accurate scientific facts. However, I still love watching it.

The spaceship Destiny is great. I am hoping to get a model of it. Anyone knows where I can get one?

Destiny model (source: mikiep)

Disney Cars 2 Coloring Pages

Disney Cars 2 Coloring Pages