Krisis & Praxis

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 … 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”

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”

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 … Continue reading “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.

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 … 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

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

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

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”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3 Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3

Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name

Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God
The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single linguistic system that their usage is reserved for that linguistic system alone. In this regard, scholars like Dr. Mohd Sani Badron, Prof Khadijah Mohd Hambali and Mohd Aizam operate on the assumption that Quranic Arabic and subsequently, Bahasa Malaysia have sole proprietorship over certain words (especially the word Allâh) since these words been ‘purified’ (Islamicised) for the purpose conveying Islamic truths. As such, they call for Christians to be banned from using the word Allâh as improper usage of the word by Christians will lead to corruption of revealed truth. Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3 (Part One of Three Parts) The Court of Appeal may appear tardy in taking up its review of the High Court decision that ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald (and Christians) concerning the right to use the word Allah. However, the government has … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy.

Part 1/3 (Part One of Three Parts)

The Court of Appeal may appear tardy in taking up its review of the High Court decision that ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald (and Christians) concerning the right to use the word Allah. However, the government has been actively mobilizing its scholars to disseminate arguments to buttress its position of banning Christians from using the word Allah. Presumably, their arguments will influence judges to favor the government in future hearings in the Courts . Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3”