Faith Seeking Understanding, Intellectual Witness and Spiritual Renewal
Speech Act Revelation: Bible and Quran Thesis – By definition, an agreement involves at least two parties. It would be a very odd covenant in which one party knows what the other party desires, but does not know who the other party really is. Just imagine entering a covenant with someone via faxed messages or … Continue reading “Speech Act Revelation: Bible and Quran”
Speech Act Revelation: Bible and Quran
Thesis – By definition, an agreement involves at least two parties. It would be a very odd covenant in which one party knows what the other party desires, but does not know who the other party really is. Just imagine entering a covenant with someone via faxed messages or the Internet…Put in religious language, divine revelation is deficient if it is only given as a textual message. Continue reading “Speech Act Revelation: Bible and Quran”
Pendahuluan Ibrani 1:1-3 Setelah pada zaman dahulu Allah berulang kali dan dalam pelbagai cara berbicara kepada nenek moyang kita dengan perantaraan nabi-nabi, maka pada zaman akhir ini Ia telah berbicara kepada kita dengan perantaraan Anak-Nya, yang telah Ia tetapkan sebagai yang berhak menerima segala yang ada…Ia adalah cahaya kemuliaan Allah dan gambar wujud Allah dan … Continue reading “Kalimat Allah”
Pendahuluan
Ibrani 1:1-3 Setelah pada zaman dahulu Allah berulang kali dan dalam pelbagai cara berbicara kepada nenek moyang kita dengan perantaraan nabi-nabi, maka pada zaman akhir ini Ia telah berbicara kepada kita dengan perantaraan Anak-Nya, yang telah Ia tetapkan sebagai yang berhak menerima segala yang ada…Ia adalah cahaya kemuliaan Allah dan gambar wujud Allah dan menopang segala yang ada dengan firman-Nya yang penuh kekuasaan. Dan setelah Ia selesai mengadakan penyucian dosa, Ia duduk di sebelah kanan Yang Mahabesar, di tempat yang tinggi… Continue reading “Kalimat Allah”
Summary: It is imperative for Christians to demonstrate that the Christian faith is not an escapism from the challenges of life. Indeed, Christian faith is world affirming, that is, it is a faith that values and promotes the flourishing of personal and social life on earth. In this regard, Christians need to recover two key … Continue reading “The Social Impact of Christian Salvation”
Summary: It is imperative for Christians to demonstrate that the Christian faith is not an escapism from the challenges of life. Indeed, Christian faith is world affirming, that is, it is a faith that values and promotes the flourishing of personal and social life on earth. In this regard, Christians need to recover two key teachings of the Bible: Creation order and the covenant community.
There is a popular hymn that goes, “This world not my home, I’m just a-passing through… My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore…”
The Glory of Eastern Christianity The story of the triumph of the early church over the Roman Empire continues to inspire Christians today. How can we not marvel at the courage of the martyrs who calmly faced the lions? The religion of the weak and poor literally conquered the empire – symbolized by the … Continue reading “Persecution and Destruction of Eastern Christianity Under Islam”
The Glory of Eastern Christianity
The story of the triumph of the early church over the Roman Empire continues to inspire Christians today. How can we not marvel at the courage of the martyrs who calmly faced the lions? The religion of the weak and poor literally conquered the empire – symbolized by the conversion of none other than Emperor Constantine himself. Surely Tertullian was right when he declared that the martyrs’ blood is the seed of the church. Continue reading “Persecution and Destruction of Eastern Christianity Under Islam”
“Are you looking for love?” For a moment, I was stunned . . . and flattered. Here I was alone with Roxy, a curvaceous lady. I had been with her for hardly a few minutes and she had whispered such alluring words to me. Shouldn’t I respond as any normal red-blooded male would and ‘play … Continue reading “Confessions: Temptations in Virtual Reality”
“Are you looking for love?” For a moment, I was stunned . . . and flattered. Here I was alone with Roxy, a curvaceous lady. I had been with her for hardly a few minutes and she had whispered such alluring words to me. Shouldn’t I respond as any normal red-blooded male would and ‘play along’? Who knows what possibilities lay ahead? Furthermore, my wife was not with me, which was to be expected since it was one o’clock in the morning. I wrestled with a momentous choice. Thankfully, my sanctified self gained the upper hand. Struggling to make a supreme renunciation of ‘love’ I could only managed a bland response, “how can we talk about true love if we cannot see each other face to face?” Continue reading “Confessions: Temptations in Virtual Reality”
Click on the following link to read my post giving reasons why the defacement of the Alkitab (Holy Bible) by government officials is an act of desecration. http://libertysentinel.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/why-defacement-of-the-alkitab-is-desecration/ “Desecration” is not a word we simply throw around. As such, when Christians protest to the government that it has desecrated the Alkitab (Malay Bible) it is … Continue reading “Why Defacement of the Alkitab is Desecration”
Click on the following link to read my post giving reasons why the defacement of the Alkitab (Holy Bible) by government officials is an act of desecration.
http://libertysentinel.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/why-defacement-of-the-alkitab-is-desecration/
“Desecration” is not a word we simply throw around. As such, when Christians protest to the government that it has desecrated the Alkitab (Malay Bible) it is incumbent on Christians to give reasons to support the claim for such a serious crime. Failure to do so will only reflect badly on the Christians themselves.
I invite you therefore to read my post which gives a careful analysis and arguments to support the charge that the Malaysian government committed desecration when its officials defaced the Alkitab.
“Oh No! They killed our loved ones even though we paid the ransom.” This is the worst nightmare experienced by people who paid ransom to kidnappers only to find their loved ones returned to them executed. “Oh No! They desecrated our beloved Holy Bibles.” This is the heart wrenching experience of Malaysian Christians who found … Continue reading “Malay Bibles Desecrated by Malaysian Authorities”
“Oh No! They killed our loved ones even though we paid the ransom.”
This is the worst nightmare experienced by people who paid ransom to kidnappers only to find their loved ones returned to them executed.
“Oh No! They desecrated our beloved Holy Bibles.”
This is the heart wrenching experience of Malaysian Christians who found their Holy Bibles returned to them defaced and desecrated. READ MORE
Top Court Throws Out Hindu Mother’s Conversion Challenge Malaysia’s highest court (the Federal Court) abdicated its duty to exercise sound and courageous moral judgment when it relied on technicality and rejected an application by a Hindu mother (Shamala) to the Court to rule against her husband’s unilateral conversion of her children to Islam. LINK
Top Court Throws Out Hindu Mother’s Conversion Challenge
Malaysia’s highest court (the Federal Court) abdicated its duty to exercise sound and courageous moral judgment when it relied on technicality and rejected an application by a Hindu mother (Shamala) to the Court to rule against her husband’s unilateral conversion of her children to Islam. LINK
Kitab Salat as-Sawai (1514) was the First Printed Arabic (Not Jawi Malay) Book The Error In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that the earliest Malay printed prayer book was the Kitab Salat as-Sawai which was printed in 1514. I was wrong. Why?
Kitab Salat as-Sawai (1514) was the First Printed Arabic (Not Jawi Malay) Book
The Error
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that the earliest Malay printed prayer book was the Kitab Salat as-Sawai which was printed in 1514. I was wrong. Why? Continue reading “Kitab Salat as-Sawai (1514) was the First Printed Arabic (Not Jawi Malay) Book”
Refutation of Muslim Scholars’Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3 Translation Issues To buttress their case, Mohd Sani and Mohd Aizam provide several examples which allege that Christians are inconsistent in their usage of the word Allâh and this results in confusion for both Christians and Muslims. However, their claim of inconsistency shows little understanding … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3”
Refutation of Muslim Scholars’Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3
Translation Issues
To buttress their case, Mohd Sani and Mohd Aizam provide several examples which allege that Christians are inconsistent in their usage of the word Allâh and this results in confusion for both Christians and Muslims. However, their claim of inconsistency shows little understanding of the translation skills required in the translation enterprise that demands the ability to make distinctions when a particular word assumes different shades of meanings (semantic range) in different contexs. This is especially true of Semitic words. For example, the Hebrew word, ruach, can take the following meanings, depending on the context: wind, breath, vital powers, feelings or will. That Mohd Sani seems unaware of these dynamics of translation will be evident when we discuss the translation of élöhîm in Old Testament. Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3”