Sunday, May 31, 2009

came across this article today. it kinda saddens me but it also challenges me to take my faith seriously. this article is abt this guy who chose to walk away from christianity after much struggles and listed 20 reasons why he couldnt accept his faith.

http://thebeattitude.com/2009/05/28/losing-my-religion-why-i-walked-away-from-christianity/

quote from the article:

So you might be wondering what changed.
The change was a culmination of things that I could no longer ignore. Faith is belief in the unseen and unprovable, but still requires a foundation for that faith. With the countless religions of the world, I began to question why the god of the Bible is more believable than all other gods worshiped on earth. With the mountain of evidence staring me in the face, my faith began to die.

Last fall, I finally moved past guilt and admitted to myself that I no longer believe in Jesus or the god of the Bible. Surprisingly it was a relief. Not because I wanted to run wild and sin freely, but because I no longer felt the weight a Christian carries. The weight of guilt, unworthiness and fear of god’s judgement. I continue to spend my days striving to be a good husband, father and son. I help others in need around me as often as I can. The big difference is I do these things today because it brings me joy, not because I believe it brings an imaginary god joy.

For those wondering, here is a condensed “Top 20 List” of the things that led to my rejection of Christianity.

1.God is wrathful, jealous, hateful, and kills nations of people like it is a bodily function. He is certainly not just or “holy” in nature.

2.The act of throwing people into infinite torture and punishment for not believing a Jewish guy from 2,000 years ago was God’s son, or unknowingly worshiping the wrong god, is extremely cruel and sadistic.

3.The statements, “God works in mysterious ways,” or “It will all make sense in heaven,” are little more than irrational cop outs.

4.This God allows horrible atrocities to be committed against innocent men, women and children every day.

5.Bloody animal and human sacrifices are illogical demands by a divine god as payment for petty wrong doings. These actions are no different than the rituals of archaic pagan religions. Not to mention the bizarre ritual of symbolically drinking human blood and eating human flesh.

6.If God loves us and wants us to know and believe in him, why be so completely invisible? What is the purpose of being so illusive to those who believe and worship him?

7.God never manifests himself or performs miracles as he regularly did for the Israelites in Old Testament stories.

8.Prayers are never answered. Certainly not in the way Jesus described. Prayer has absolutely no affect on the world around us.
Jesus did not fulfill major Old Testament prophesies or even fulfill his own promises and predictions.

9.The authors of much of the Bible are unknown. And of these unknown authors, the men who wrote the gospels likely never even met Jesus considering they were written 40-70 years after his death. A far cry from reliable testimony.

10.The Bible is repeatedly contradictory with itself, reality, and the laws of morality. Couldn’t God inspire a less poorly written book?

11.The Bible is open to interpretation. Everyone interprets it in the way that suits them best or serves their purposes.

12.Throughout history, Christians have justified horrific actions by the Bible and its teaching.

13.The Bible promotes hate and persecution against women, homosexuals and those who worship other gods or no god at all.

14.According to the Bible, nearly 70% percent of the people in the world will burn in hell because they don’t believe Jesus was the son of God.

15.The only reason I was a Christian was because I was indoctrinated into the religion as a child as a result of the culture and region of the world in which I was born.

16.Christianity has no more rational or factual foundation than any other religion on earth that I openly reject.

17.The Christian church is disjointed and can’t even agree with one another.

18.Christians are not at all ethically or morally different from non-Christians.

19.Today, powerful church leaders steal, lie and molest young children. The church repeatedly attempts to cover up these atrocities, only to reluctantly apologize as a last resort.

20.It is absolutely irrational to continue to believe archaic teaching with the amount of knowledge we’ve gained through science and technology. The Bible reads like a book of primitive folklore, not divinely inspired insight into our true reason for existence.



well, u and i know much of his reasons arent fair nor true, but are we christians today giving others this impression? are we walking the talk we talk? how many of his struggles are then identical to ours? do we face questions and doubts in our faith? are we sure of what we believe?

carmen

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Christian work in Ancient Singapore

hello pple.. i came across this, a history about the anglican church's work in ancient Singapore. It is a great testimony of how people will know God and recognise the love of God through the work of Christians. May it continue to inspire us in modern Singapore to work out our faith and show our community His love.

Very cool history and good for your reading pleasure... hee...

http://www.livingstreams.org.sg/sac/info/history/1856/st%20andrew's%20mission%20150th%20anniversary.html

Debz

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I have been going to Youth For Christ - polyserve since last thursday and i must say, i have learnt alot and have enjoyed my time there. today, there were a few points that struck me really really hard during the "Process Evangelism" session. the speaker said,

"How can there be things that we would do and will never neglect in our physical life - like eating, sleeping, drinking, etc.. and yet, in our spiritual life there are things that we ought to do but neglect? - like spreading the gospel to others."

"I don't fear a wasted life, but i fear the wasted death of Christ. (God being crucified on the cross for us) "

perhaps, all of us, as christians, can take some time to think about this..

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Hey~ after today's sermon on how we shld love God instead of lusting after what the world offers, hillsong's "better than life" just comes to my mind. i think it's rlly applicable to our lives.

Better than the riches of this world
Better than the sound of my friend's voices
Better than the biggest dreams of my heart
And that's just the start

Better than getting what I say I need
Better than living the life that I want to
Better than the love anyone could give

You hold me now in Your arms
And never let me go

You Oh Lord make the sun shine
And the moon light in the night sky
You give me breath and all Your love
I give my heart to You because

I can't stop falling in love with You
I'll never stop falling in love with You
I can't stop falling in love with You
I'll never stop falling in love with You

notice how the first verse ends? He's better than anything that we could ever possess in this world but this is just the START of His greatness!

i believe for most of us, it aint difficult to see how great our God is but it is a challenge to rejoice, regardless of the situations and states that we are in. well, i have been reading a book "taste and see" by john piper and a chapter in it mentions: just as Psalm 91:7 tells us,

"A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you"

Nothing could happen to us without God's permission and we all know that God's plan is perfect! 因为耶稣来是要我们的生命，而且得得更丰盛。Let's reflect on how God has done great things in our lives and when we find it difficult to rejoice in our state, let's pray for obedience and faith and strength. as Philippians 4:12-13, Paul learns to pull through suffering needs "through Him who strengthens me". heh, also

believe that what befalls will not, in the end, be evil for you, but good. (Romans 8:28)

rlly, not my will but Thine be done. pray that we'll experience His presence in our lives for the upcoming wk.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Ok the church i'll most probably be going to for the rest of the year is PLANETSHAKERS(click for their homepage) church.

WOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The service is like a concert; singing, jumping and praising the Lord at the same time.
SUPER FUN LA!!

Then when they asked people who need to be prayed for to go to the centre of the auditorium or wadever it is (freakin huge), i actually went. And i actually cried.

I DON'T KNOW WHY I CRIED. I JUST DID.

Well, i think i know.

This melbourne uni student, who happens to be a cell group leader, suddenly came up to me and offered to pray for me. I was kinda surprised, so i said ok.
Then she put her arms around me and prayed for me while the rest were singing.
The contents of her prayer was so relevant to me.
She seemed to know my troubles.. EVERYTHING she prayed for was what i needed.

I don't know why but i guessed the Holy Spirit really touched me then and there.
Cuz while she was praying, i suddenly felt touched. Really. Like, all my grief, it just came out. I think God helped me release my troubles in the form of tears.

Those who know me well will know that i'm not the sort who cries easily and i never cry in front of anyone. Not if i can help it.
But this time.. This time is different. No matter how hard i tried to hold back my tears, no matter how hard i squeezed my eyes shut, the tears just managed to seep through my eyelids.
The more she prayed, the more i cried. I just cried and cried throughout the prayer, while the others were singing.

After that, i just kept thanking God for reasons i know not.

Ate lunch and dinner with my hostel friends. Been going out everyday. I guess i have to, if not i will seriously be rotting in my room.

THANK YOU LORD FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME TODAY. YOU ANSWERED MY PLEADING PRAYERS OF SORROW THE DAY BEFORE. YOU TOUCHED ME, AND I FELT IT. I FINALLY FELT IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I LOVE YOU.

Joan

Friday, January 30, 2009

went for SING retreat last wkend and felt recharged. heh. we've touched on the admin matters, the mission and the vision of SING then. and while we were sharing, many actually admitted that it is a challenge to serve on stage(literally on stage) it is difficult and at the same time, very essential to remind ourselves that we're singing for God's glory but not our glory. this is even harder to achieve when ppl start praising us:) haha.

of course, this doesnt only apply to SING, or to any choir but it applies to everyone of us i guess. are we doing things for God's glory or for our glory? sometimes we want to do things just to get praised, just to gain recognition. are we focusing too much on personal gratification? not that we shouldnt aim to be the best that we could but we shouldnt do things just because we wanna feel proud of ourselves. because whatever we have is by the grace of God! it's all from Him! so what can we boast abt? yup, this knowledge has been like what, drilled into us since we're kids but how many of us are actually able to live it out? i cant. i'm still learning. heh.

but then, at the end of the retreat, i was suddenly reminded of the song "heart of worship". it's also quite applicable to those who are serving in all music-related ministry. let this be a reminder to us all of course.:)

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus

okay, i wun post the rest of the song. if not, like lose focus like that. haha:)

carmen

Monday, January 19, 2009
Sharing on Daniel, Part One...

Hello guys,

Just in case anyone didnt know, from now onwards, during outings like the tuanyuan fan at Jeanell's house, we would share a little tidbit on Daniel... Below are the scans of what Terry shared, if you didnt really grasp what he shared entirely!

Enjoy!