The Boyer Lectures 2005

The Boyer Lectures is a series of talks by prominent Australians chosen by the ABC Board to present ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues. The lectures have been broadcast on ABC Radio for more than 40 years and have stimulated thought, discussion and debate in Australia on an astonishing range of subjects – great minds examining issues and values.

The Boyer Lectures for 2005 are being given by Peter Jensen. What an excellent opportunity! :-)))

The synopsis is here.

Those of us who are somehow not quite gifted in sorting out international time differences in relation to ABC Radio can check out the lectures online.

Auntie Kim's Duk!

In a little corner of Thomson Ridge, Auntie Kim (or Kim Myeong Ae to be rudely exact) opened a shiny new shop selling sweet 떡 (duk, Korean rice cakes).
Said The Business Times rather tour pamphlet-ishly:

Traditionally, it was only served at special celebrations such as birthdays and festivals, but these days it is much more widely available and is popular snack food in every Korean household.

In Korea, there are different types of duk, with ingredients, shapes and tastes varying from region to region. Specific cakes are served at specific occasions. Duk is made mainly from rice or glutinous rice that has been ground up, steamed, turned into dough and stuffed with a variety of sweet fillings before being transformed into dumplings or bread-like cakes. The taste and texture is similar, perhaps, to certain types of nonya kueh or mochi, the equally chewy Japanese version of glutinous rice cakes.

Duk - in the form of rolls or oval-shaped discs - is also the main ingredient in savoury dishes such as dukboki (similar to the Chinese chee cheong fun where the rice rolls are slathered with a fiery red sweet and spicy sauce) and duk gook (rice cakes and dumplings in beef broth).

Auntie Kim only sells the sweet 'uns for now, made by specially imported Korean bakers "without milk, eggs, butter or preservatives".

"Old people eat them all day without feeling full!" she enthused,"and you eat them with alternate bites of kimchi!", at which point, all the uninitiated shuddered with horror and her Singaporean business partner calmly handed each of us the business card of Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant down the road where we could procure the aforementioned kimchi and then of their flagship Ahan Thai Restaurant even further down the road where we could have authentic Thai should we so wish for more severely hot and sour stuff.
I bought a box of duk for my brother who hearts all things Korean, especially, I suspect, their womenfolk.

"He has good taste, your brother." said Auntie Kim.

Indeed. Perhaps God will use a nice Christian Korean girl to bring him into a saving relationship with Him where all other attempts have been rebuffed.

Hankook Rice Cake House
9 Thomson Ridge
Tel: 6456-3456

Some Christians Read Harry Potter

Because the evening was young and the rain was falling and it was 24°C, we had a Harry Potter marathon.

Because Harry Potter was hard work, there was lamb stew with shiitake mushrooms and loads of thick gravy for mopping up with rosemary ciabatta.
Because Harry Potter got heavier as we went along (try dropping one of the later books on your foot), there were chocolate muffins with rainbow sprinkles for reading late into the night.

Harry Potter is bad news amongst some Christians. The series has been accused of embroiling innocent young things in occultism, Satanism and witchcraft. Calls have been made to ban and burn the books, and sometimes, the author herself.

As usual, most rumours about kiddies turning to devil worship have been proven to be but scare-mongering urban legends, as are the tales that JK Rowling is a Satanist. Actually, she's with the Church of Scotland if anyone cared to ask. And she's said,"I don't think [the Harry Potter books] are that secular. But, obviously, Dumbledore is not Jesus."

2¢:

1. Crucifying Harry Potter is not the way to live. The biblical way to live in the now-but-not-yet is not to take oneself out of the world, to be a hermit in the desert or a monk in a lonely monastery on top of a desolate peak. It is to live in the world but not be of the world. It is to live amongst pagans who worship idols but yet to live as aliens and strangers in worship of the one true God (Philippians).
2. Crucifying Harry Potter is not the way to understand evil. Evil is not Satanism, occultism or witchcraft per se. Evil is our rebellion against God. This can take place even when we are perfectly nice people who care for animals and hug trees and help old ladies cross streets. It is not what we do but what our relationship with God is like.
3. Crucifying Harry Potter is not the way to understand the source of evil. The biblical understanding of the problem of evil is not that it is external, but that it is an internal rebellion against God. We might be affected by the temptations of the world, but left alone, we soon construct our own temptations to make ourselves gods. We are felled by our wickedness that suppresses the truth about God as our lord and master and are chained by the sinful desires of our own hearts (Romans 1).
   
4. Banning Harry Potter is not the way to teach children how to live in this world. Children need to be taught to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction, fantasy worlds and reality. It's no good people taking fiction or the workings of someone's fantasy world that is meant to remain just a fantasy world and assume it to be reality. In fact, most "children's classics" are mired in fantasy: Peter Pan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, some Enid Blyton, Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights, Hans Christian Anderson, Greek myths, the folklore of most cultures...That's just how stories are to be understood. Being taught to tell fiction from fact also has the added advantage of preventing junior from jumping off the roof with a red towel around his neck thinking he is Superman.
5. Banning Harry Potter is not the way to teach children the truth. Children should be taught the truth by being taught the fear of the LORD (Psalms 34:11) in the word of God. They are to be taught not to let the truth slip from their hearts by talking about them when they sit at home, when they walk along the road, when they lie down and get up (Deuteronomy 11:19).
   
   Children should also be taught that the truth is not so flimsy that we have to run away from everything that isn't Christian (hey, even the evening news presents a worldview that isn't Christian). But the truth is strong and hardy and we can stand firmly and confidently in the armour of God: the belt of truth buckled around the waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, with feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, taking up the shield of faith, with which they can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6).
   
6. Banning Harry Potter is not the way to have a consistent theological framework. Why are Harry Potter books vilified while the Chronicles of Narnia praised and promoted by many Christian groups? It is not for lack of magic in latter series. In Harry Potter's layered world, there are Muggles and those with magic. There're astrology, crystal balls and spells. In CS Lewis' series, his Muggles gain strengths and abilities in Narnia they don't have in their own world. There are nymphs and river gods. The children cast spells and use magic objects given to them by Aslan (the Jesus figure). Oi!
   

Conscience
However, yet again, if a brother or sister thinks that we are condoning witchcraft by reading (and enthusing) about the Boy Who Lived, then in our freedom we must show them love by not offending their conscience (1 Corinthians 8,10; Romans 14; Galatians 5:13-14).

Evangelism
Like most aspects of contemporary local culture that can be used effectively for bridge building, people have leveraged on the popularity of Harry Potter for evangelism and some Christian kids even have led their friends to living knowledge of Christ through the books.

:-)

See also: Fantasy Literature & Christian Readers by Greg Clarke, Harry Potter and the Disputable Matter an interview with Connie Neal

***
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Love and Death
Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows and the Internet Chatter Juggernaut (Or Something)

Nirai Kanai

The way to eat Okinawan is to inhale the food in a few bites, rub your tummies and say,"Dudes and dudettes, we really dig your scrumptious secret to long life, let us tell you the true secret of eternal life and how we lost it in the first place."

"The Arts", the Gospel and Christmas Presents

Woah!

+

+


+


+

+


+

etc

=

a furiously working mind and an excited sleepless night thinking of evangelistic Christmas pressies, Christmas being the one time during the year that you can mention/write about Jesus without being shown the door. An opportunity not to be missed!

But what evangelistic Christmas presents to give?
In many circles, original artwork (drawing, painting, sculpture, short stories, short films) is always welcome (and certainly far more welcome than those fundamentalist evangelistic books). But how can those pieces of art present the gospel clearly and faithfully?

It's one thing that your personal "religious" beliefs are inevitably reflected in your art, like what some read as the themes of recovery, escape, consolation, salvation and redemption in the Catholic JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion".
It's another thing to set out with the goal of telling the gospel clearly and faithfully in art:

• in the first place, it is sometimes argued that the gospel does not make for good art, for the gospel is only one story with one moral: acknowledge that you are a sinner that has rebelled against God, trust that Jesus has taken on your punishment for your rebellion for you and that you have been and will be saved from God's wrath. Same story every year = very boring, goes the argument; and then
• there's the longstanding querying of the ability of various media like painting, sculpture, design, fictional literature, screenplay etc to portray the gospel clearly and faithfully.
  
  Music might be the way to go, singing gospel-centred lyrics, but a good CD takes time and effort to produce and we're rather far from the musically-steeped eighteenth-century Austrian culture of presenting gifts of musical scores on cream paper tied up with red ribbon.
  
  Without a direct and clear presentation, it is all too easy for the audience, already closed to the gospel, to miss what is meant to be said.
  In primary school, we did CS Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" without any hint at all to Christianity (it had to be whispered like a conspiracy theory during an illicit hacking session in the computer lab), despite the fact that the Christian story was the obvious inspiration for the series. The author acknowledged:
  

  I said [to myself],"Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen
  
  The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia, The Lion etc. - the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Prince Caspian - restoration of the true religion after a corruption, The Horse and His Boy - the calling and conversion of the heathen, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep), The Silver Chair - the continuing war against the powers of darkness, The Last Battle - the coming of Antichrist (the ape). The end of the world and the last judgement.

  It's unlikely that a secular audience would say,"Oh! That must be the gospel! It must be telling me that I'm a bum sinner destined for destruction and that I must turn back to God, acknowledge him as my king and master and be saved!".
  
  It's more comfortable for a secular audience to say,"Oh! That was about the beauty of the human spirit!" or "The magnificent love of the Saviour figure is a testimony against the cold modernist society we inhabit!" or some other completely-missing-the-gospel critic-speak.

But the fact that centuries of Bible writers have written about the gospel in their own way, cycles of rebellion, sacrifice and redemption, suggests that the use of words may be the clearest of all media. Yet these works weren't quite fictional and so allegories will not suffice. The stories must be about the One True God and his work in the world. [Sometimes, people call them testimonies.]

Perhaps also, using artistic talents to create a rocking good atmosphere for Christmas party with music, dancing, great food and wine and a cutting talk on why we're celebrating the supposed birth day of a runt born 2000 years ago, might be a spiffy idea.

Swearing and the Christian

(So the challenge was to write about the evening in the grand style of a certain Ms, which if you read her blog, you'll know who was meant, a conflation of Milne, Woolf, Kerouac and girly pink ribbons but city girl and mod and more besides, you understand, "to get in touch with [my] feminine side".

"But two of those authors are male! And, I won't sound feminine, I'll sound effeminate, as in an All Blacks in a pink tutu," said I, but.

So.

The evening started badly. For it was the birthday dinner of the sweetest girl, but my eyes were small and yellow and aching with red spidery veins, and I was late late late what with last minute rush jobs and authorities to placate and missing signatories. "We'll save food for you" and they did, the lovelies, they did. Through the noren curtains of the restaurant named for the legendary heaven of Okinawan folk, Real Japanese waiters bowed from the waist. One, a floppy-haired boy with the widest shy goofy grin. The tatami setup. A little hut with a sliding door and rice paper with inscrutable Japanese words pasted on the walls. And the food, O, the food. Words cannot describe the slices of heaven that Mother Superior piled onto my plate and urged me to eat. Noodles like gossamer threads of silk, roast pork pre-marinated perhaps with Awamori saké evaporated on the tongue. And. The smooth-to-the-point-of-insubstantiality bean curd pannacotta-ed in sweet peanut sauce which on first teaspoon was "interesting" then very shortly was "I heart very much".

I would have liked some Awamori saké in a little cup. For health and long life and the Okinawan French paradox. But the air was pregnant with the promise of free flowing Hoegaarden and Stella Artois in their forehead marking huge glasses.

But first.

A call was placed. And soon, The Marmalade Pantry. Past sultry transgenders tottering on 7 inchers, in slinky dresses, in the arms of happy white-haired Caucasians, fulfilling their long dark-haired stereotypes, to brown leather and mirrors and stainless steel, and heaven in a warm sticky date toffee pudding and chocolate pecan brownie and cold vanilla bean ice-cream. Creamy and chewy. Tingly warm and numbing cold. And at the end, another sticky toffee pudding waiting for the boy who was recording. But the boy was in the cab queue and we ate it to save it from ruin and ignobility. For dessert truly goes into another stomach.

Then it was Alley Bar. For its birthday. And multicoloured sparkles, shimmering confetti and belly dancers, smiling, bold and shiny, and unsmiling Middle Eastern men dispensing sheesha. First there were none. Then there was a word with the proprietor. Then there was for 15 smacaroos of blood sweat and toil. There, strawberry treats awaited the birthday girl. Strawberry wisps and strawberry margarita and strawberry waiting in strawberry pulp and strawberry daiquiri and Shirley Temple. And the night sky was scented pink for her.

And we laughed and ate and drank and talked. Then laughed and ate and drank and talked more. An unshy boy talked about shy boys and about temptations to internet pornography and we heard about the sweetest couple getting together. "My greatest nightmare would be to swear in a loud voice in church." "Great. I've just lived out your greatest nightmare." And so also cussing and swearing and their various degrees. And unmentionables and unrepeatables and chickens pronounced cheeekuns (foul or fowl language?) and baskets pronounced baskits and freak pronounced normally. And the Bible.

Somewhere, the sound of pink music. But there was none.

And we trailed strawberry haze, under the stars, home with us.

[Aiieeee! (like Jocasta with the hairpins. The anguish but not the overt undertone.) Normal non-feminine effeminate style transmission resumes from here])

Swearing
Now, where in the Bible does it say that cussing and swearing are not allowed?* Not swearing-an-oath type of swearing (like Matthew 23; Hebrews 3:18, 6:13, 6:16; James 5:12) or swear-that-something-will-happen type of swearing (like Jeremiah 12:16 where God swears by himself!), or swear-allegiance type of swearing (eg. Isaiah 19:18, 45:23) but to use the sort of emotionally powerful language that is difficult to define but is generally acknowledged as profane.

*Hosea 4:2 speaks of swearing without qualification but nowhere else in the Bible is the use of profanities known by this term.

Interestingly, the use of these so-called profanities is a universal phenomena known to all of humankind in every race and culture. In fact, it appears to be a fundamental tool of human communication.

[Warning! If you are shocked by the thought of Christians discussing swear words, cuss words, profane words, vulgar words without their asterisk-figleaves, read no further!]

When do people swear?
Timothy Jay, in his study "Why We Curse: A Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech", suggests that on the neurological level, swearing can be non-propositional or propositional. Non-propositional swearing is an automatic response to emotion. (1) That emotion could be positive or negative. It could be pain, surprise, happiness, frustration or some other emotion, coming from the right hemisphere of the brain. And (2) swearing could be directed at someone who has caused this emotion as an insult or offense or it could be a mere expression of that emotion to no one in particular.

For example, shouting "Fuck!" could be abusive and aggressive, directed in anger at the driver of the car that has just cut into your lane, or it could be an expression of expreme happiness at discovering, while watching telly alone in your living room, that you have just won the million-dollar lottery.

Propositional swearing is done creatively and often for highly strategic purposes such as dirty joke telling or steamy pillow-talk.

Propositional swearing has also been very useful in politics. Vladimir Putin, for example, has been known to employ the vulgar Russian slang of mat to distinguish himself from the facelessness of other Russian leaders and to express the strength of his propositions. This has apparently made him rather popular with the ordinary Russians.

Jay suggests that these 2 types of swearing are the result of the neurological control in our brain functioning as two interlocking neural systems of control processes: the cerebral cortex regulates both speech production and comprehension, whereas the subcortical system is responsible for the control of emotional reactions.

(This is confirmed by the fact that people suffering from neurological disorders, such as the Tourette Syndrome or aphasia, cannot speak but can swear articulately and will do so to express emotions. So although brain-damaged people may lose their ability to construct creative, syntactically governed propositional statements such as swearing in the witness box, they can swear profusely nonetheless when driven by a strong emotion. This is due to the lateralisation of the brain so in the case of left-hemisphere brain damage, speakers can swear but only automatically as an emotional reaction coming from the right hemisphere. They would not be able to repeat the very same swearing if required to do so.)

Then there are others, psycholinguists and old Maledicta, that attempt academic studies of swear words.

Swear Words
Swear words are generally sexual (eg. fuck, bugger, cock, dick, prick, bollocks, cunt, fanny, wanker, suck, arsehole) or scatological (eg. shit, crap, piss) in nature.

Of course, what is deemed to be a swear word varies between cultures and generations even if the language remains constant. "Bugger", for instance, is not a swear word in North America, but it is in England. "Suck" was once a reference to fellatio but saying "the food sucks" nowadays scarcely turns a hair.

Swearing and Christians
Sex and daily bodily functions should not be something Christians are ashamed about. They are how God designed us to reproduce and function. The Bible writers are not embarrassed to speak joyfully and positively of the relations between husband and wife and negatively with condemnation on men with prostitutes and homosexuals of both sexes. They are also not embarrassed to report (twice, mind, in 2 Kings 18:27 and Isaiah 36:12) the scatological insults of the field commander of the Assyrian or the fact that dung had to be disposed of (1 Kings 14:10).

So the words denoting sex, sexual organs and daily bodily functions should not be make for filthy (hehheh) language in and of themselves, for they describe things that are God-given and God-ordained when used according the purposes for which they were designed.

It is the mindset and emotion behind the swear words that is condemned:

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. (Colossians 3:8 ESV)

Obscene talk or filthy language (NIV) or abusive speech (NASB) seems to flow out of the same uncontrolled disregard for neighbour as anger, wrath, malice and slander. It is a non-propositional negative emotion directed and intended to offend and insult another person.

Old Nature and Old Fate
That, says Paul, is the earthly nature and was how you treated your neighbour when you lived in sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). And on account of those things, the wrath of God was upon you and was coming to judge and condemn you (3:6).

New Fate and New Nature
But in trusting in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ who is your life appears again on the Last Day, then you also will appear with him in glory (3:3-4).

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (3:1-2).

How can you go back to wallowing in those filthy sinful ways in which you were living and for which you were condemned?

Put to death therefore sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth (3:5,8).

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (3:12-14).

Therefore...
It is not the swear words per se that are wrong. It is the profession of belief and faith and trust in another reality that is hidden from the world but not living as if that were indeed reality. It is not being renewed in heart and mind and indeed the whole being, in the knowledge of the image of the Creator. It is not putting on this new self but keeping on the old self that incurred the wrath of the Creator in the first place, and in turn the broken relationship with neighbour and so the anger, wrath and malice towards them expressed in the swear words (or in other perceived-to-be-harmless phrases like "Ministry of Sound!" or "Powderpuff Girls!"). It is a false faith that does not evidence any resultant change in the individual.

Which means the abovementioned so-called swear words could conceivably (heh) be used without harm when used not as a result of anger, wrath or malice towards another but as a perfectly legitimate expression of positive emotion. And Phillip Jensen of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney or Chris Chia of Adam Road Presbyterian Centre could perhaps give talks and sermons on "Love, Fucking and Marriage". For "fucking" just means "sex". And Christians should be quite free to do these things without issues of conscience. But, there are the weaker brothers and sisters. And in our freedom, we must not stumble them.

The Killers, Christian Freedom, Not Stumbling Others, the Conscience and Hypocrisy

The Tardy Trio got into the car and inspected the little mound of bargain bin CDs in the backseat. As we moved off, someone waved The Killers' "Hot Fuss" around and asked to play it.

We did.

"I like it!", chorused the Tardy Trio as they bounced along to Mr Brightside. [One actually thought that The Killers sounded like a band from the 70s/80s...specifically recalling the distinctive cheese of Village People...*shudder*]

In the midst of the excited boomeranging around the cabin, there was an injured silence from the instigator.

"Wait. You listen to this kind of music?!" she cried incredulously over Brandon Flowers' (his real name) voyeuristic vocals.

"???"

"But...but...I thought you were very holy!"

"???!!!"

Unfortunately, she was dead serious. The rest of the passengers very unhelpfully rocked the car dangerously with their incredulous laughter. But Instigator was not amused.

********

Query:

If we have the freedom to do what is biblically neutral (that is, the Bible is expressedly and impliedly silent on it), but it stumbles our brother/sister, then we must cease to do it. Yet wouldn't it be hypocritical to pretend to not to like the things that we in reality enjoy (for example, but not reflective of me or the email correspondents ;-): having a pint at the pub, a spot of clubbing, a puff of sheesha, trick-or-treating, dressing up as Santa Claus)?

Interestingly, there'd been quite a few to-ing and fro-ing of emails on the subject in the weeks prior to this event:

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:

1Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"-- 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

and in 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1:

14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

23"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. 24Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." 27If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience-- 29I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

11:1Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul tosses around 4 main concepts: freedom, limitations to freedom, not stumbling others and the conscience.

Freedom
We know that an idol has no real existence (8:4). Therefore, food offered to an idol doesn't mean anything, and whether we eat the food or not doesn't affect us in anyway (8:8). So we can eat anything sold in the meat market without feeling any guilt (10:25), for God made all things (8:6, 10:26). Likewise, we can go to an unbeliever's house and eat anything set before us (which may have been sacrificed to idols) without going against our conscience (10:27) because we know that such food means nothing to us at all.

Limitations to Freedom
However, although idols are nothing, our freedom does not extend to the partaking of pagan sacrifices to these idols, for the implication of that is that we are worshipping these idols (10:14-22). And obviously, we cannot worship both demons and God or God's wrath will remain on us.

Not Stumbling Others
Another limitation to freedom is when doing what we are free to do, what we have a right to do (8:9), what is lawful to do (10:23), affects other people.

We are free to do many things as long as they do not imply the worship of idols, demons or "gods". But amongst those things that we can do, some are helpful and some are unhelpful; some build up and some tear down (10:23).

Where things are unhelpful or tear down, our Christian freedom is overridden by love for our brothers and sisters. We seek the good for our neighbour (10:24), for their advantage (10:33), that they might be saved (10:33).

The determination of whether things are unhelpful or tear down appears to hinge on the conscience of the individual. We are to have regard to each of our neighbour's consciences (10:28-9). If his conscience is weak (8:7, 8:10) in that area, we should not pursue the course of action which we would otherwise have been free to.

The Conscience
What's this about conscience? How can it be that what is right and wrong is determined subjectively by an individual's conscience? Shouldn't right and wrong be objective determinations of fact, informed by the word of God in the Bible?

Quite right. Or as Paul puts it,"why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?" (10:29-30).

Right and wrong under God is not affected by the conscience of an individual. And the scope of things within the freedom of the Christian to do are not affected by the conscience of the individual either. So, neither, are our consciences (8:12).

However, we are not to do what is unhelpful because it defiles (8:7) and wounds the conscience of the individual himself, and in doing so, we sin against Christ (8:12).

It appears to work like so:
idols are nothing and so the eating of food offered to idols can mean nothing. But to a Christian brother who has a weak conscience, that is, someone who does not yet take onboard this fact that food offered to idols is actually nothing, perhaps, through former association with such idol worship. So he is unable to divorce the idea of eating such food from the idea that it has really been offered to a real being, the idol (8:7). And if he sees someone who is supposedly a more mature Christian eating in an idol's temple, he will be encouraged to do likewise (8:10). But while it has no effect on the eater because he knows that it means nothing at all, to the weak brother he is dividing his loyalty and worship between the one true God and the false idol. And therefore, the supposedly more mature Christian would have destroyed this weak brother, the brother for whom Christ died (8:11). How utterly despicable it would be to destroy so precious and hardwon a thing as the salvation of a brother or sister, just because we'd like to selfishly flaunt our freedom and "knowledge". "...if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble" (8:13).

In the same way, if someone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," (perhaps he is a pagan himself or more likely, a weak brother who says that to you in warning) then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience...do not mean your conscience, but his (10:28-9).

Hypocrisy
Paul urges us to imitate him as he imitates Christ (11:1), to give no offence to anyone and to try to please everyone in everything we do (10:32-33). Isn't this hypocritical?

Not quite. We don't try to please everyone in this way for popularity or power or to win friends and influence people. We do all this for the salvation of others (10:33) and for the glory of God (10:31).

********

PS: But the conscience is obviously not a permanent thing. Our conscience is not meant to remain weak for the rest of our lives. We are to educate it. It should change as our minds and hearts are transformed to be more and more like Christ's. So as our brothers and sisters gain the "knowledge" that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 8, their consciences will get stronger and there should come a point when they will no longer be stumbled by neutral things like people listening to cheesy indie rock pop.

So I guess it's be gone my olden ways be gone (but not the rest of the lyrics) while fragile ones are in the car. No problemo.

PPS: Not sure what Instigator would think of Death Cab for Cutie (which sounds like the name of a very bad Japanese goth metal band). But then again she might assume that Modest Mouse churns out extremely polite dull peasant English music. *grin*

Hari Raya in Kuala Lumpur

We flew up the bilateral tie-promoting North-South highway to celebrate Hari Raya with the Malaysians. The trip rocked. No incriminating photographs follow.

First off, the food. Coz we ees only Seengaporeans innit? Toasted the unique taste of global fast food in Malaysia with Nando's peri-peri powered chicken (only Mustafa's sells their special peri-peri sauce in Singapore), Kentucky Fried Chicken's especially tasty malaysian fried chicken, the no-longer-available-for-purchase-in-Singapore McDonalds' milkshake and chewy Baskin Robbins ice-cream. We were lovin' it.

The requisite pleasantries having been dispensed with, we discovered tucked away in a dim dank corner in the bustling capital of Malaysia (Truly Asia), along Changkat Bukit Bintang, a kedai kopi that deserves mention. Under its rusty corrugated roof, dirty grease stalactites overhung a wet black uneven cement floor. Beside the old drain-cum-garbage disposal pit, yellowish-white singlet-wearing cooks fired up a storm, producing magnificent wok hei-infused prawn noodle, a huge prawn split into half sitting on top of a plate of gravy-soaked crispy noodle. The shaven-headed one with tortoise-shell glasses who sipped Marlboros while reading Murakami had an equally fragrant fried rice.

When these dinky hideaways boarded up for the night, the food streets started to come alive under the stars and strings of naked bulbs. Off Jalan Petaling, makeshift furniture was set up along unlit disused five-foot ways and tiny alleys for good cze cha. A spitting distance away, good old Sharp Eyes spotted a tiny cart run by an old couple. They sold the most delicious beef hor fun with literally melt-in-the-mouth thinly sliced beef and beef floss. We swooned for the rest of the night boosted by good wanton noodles and the crowds of loh she fun, claypot, fried hokkien mee and dumpling lovers on the way out of Chinatown. Then, strolling past families and friends sharing sheeshas on Jalan Bukit Bintang and down a parallel street, we finished off a night with satay and barbecued chicken wings.

Street food sold in restorans was no less yummy. Super Noodle House at Sungei Wang was out of suckling pig but their roast goose was...well...super. The nasi lemak, nasi bojari, assam laksa, curry mee at Madam Kwan's were given two thumbs and a big toe up as well.

At Bangsar Village, hurrying past the historical site of massive bird bombings, we chanced upon Delicious by Ms. Read. Just inside the entrance, glass cake stands were piled with scones. Plates of cakes stood against the white and turquoise decor. Lamps hung in white bird cages. On the menu and in many satisfied tummies were cooked lamb shank ravioli served on arugula with a balsamic reduction, chargrilled tenderloin steak with garlic mash and wild mushrooms, beautifully tossed pastas and for dessert the best warm chocolate cake slathered in generously thick chocolate sauce.

At another table, a faithful disciple was initiating two Tibetan monks into the worldly pleasures of warm brownie with vanilla ice-cream and at yet another, a big-haired tai-tai was smiling into her deconstructed black forest cake in a glass. Conveniently, Ms. Read sells auntie clothes for "plus-sized women". She's certainly grooming loads of potential customers and keeping her current ones close.

Fortified, we explored the rest of Bangsar. Other speciality stores in Bangsar Village included Lavand, a purveyor of fine baklava (none of that soggy hard stuff) and How & Why a graphic design store which sold the requisite design-store Moleskine note books and useful back issues of Wallpaper*.

Further afield, near the pre-clubbing hangout of Telawi Street Bistro (with it's Heineken-like red star) and its sister tapas joint, La Bodega, resided a few independent butiks that made very interesting use of sight/sound/scent-scapes to enhance the shopping experience. The staff at Blook and People's...Egg were unfailingly patient. The designs were also much less fussy than other Malaysian designers like Melinda Looi of Mell and Villiam Ooi of My Closet (if you're into that kind of thing, there's an enclave of Malaysian designers in Sungei Wang).

We had a look in Silverfish Books, startling the quiet bespectacled shopkeeper who was listening to some Hindu chanting. The place reeked of months of cup-noodle meals (so I didn't purchase their anthologies of new Malaysian and Singapore "talents") and sold India-printed Penguins and Vintages for cut-throat prices.

Speaking of books, managed to get quite a bit of reading done as well. Roald Dahl was hilariously and darkly entertaining on the way up.

Marcel Proust was particularly good for those captive times common to a group holiday: waiting for people to try on their [insert one number short of infinity]th item of clothing, or to decide what to buy, or for the arrival of transportation or for immigration clearance.

We increased the stash with back issues of good mags at a magazine haven at the foot of BB Plaza for RM5 a rag. I acquired a hardcover Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" cheap at Borders (picture a 20% discount on top of the instant 50% one from the S$-RM exchange rate. Excellent.). Started on Spider and his brother over roasted chestnuts late into the night while the sadistic trio scoffed Dunkin Donuts and hot chocolate, ogled Top Gear cars and cheered bloodied boxers on ESPN and finished their story over brekkie while listening to Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism". Took an eye break halfway through to find the black crow on the cover staring back at me...[ok, edited to exclude any spoilers]

Further to a previous mention of the music scene there, the pirates there had indeed advanced to cater to the mainstream indie crowd. Whole discographies of Maxïmo Park, DCFC, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, The Decemberists, Iron and Wine et al could be had for at most RM10 a pop. Like someone speared all the Pitchfork recommends. Oh wait...

Didn't manage to check out well-touted alt rock mayhem down at Paul's Place. Maybe next time.

Regrettably, didn't get a look in on Andrew Cheah at St Mary's Cathedral either to see how he and his SMACC congregation were getting along. If anyone's going to Kuala Lumpur soon, give him a shout for us, won't you.

Here endeth the promised summary of the good trip we had. Thanks for all the fun and fish. You guys jammed massively well. ;-)

*no Ramly burgers, Maggi mee gorengs or Rotiboys were harmed on this trip. They shall not be spared the next time.

Deepavali 2005, Nothing and God's Sovereignty

Defying expectations of quiet streets during Deepavali, the famous Little India throngs were out in full force, boosted by foreign workers with no work to go to nor houses to celebrate in and curious locals and tourists decked up in factory-churned saris, fanning themselves with henna-printed hands.

Amped up knock-off bhangra and Bollywood beats competed with deafening pre-recorded messages blaring from Ah Beng-fronted discount stores pushing mountains of rumpled clothes:"Ahhhrrrr Harpee Deepavari! Ahhhhrrr don't buy wasted! Ahhhhrrrr lelong lelong!"

Despite not being Robbie Williams, I provided much entertainment with the taking of this photo of the open area along Desker Road. In the 5 seconds it took to hold the camera aloft and press down on the button, more than 20 individuals managed to congregate behind me in their white shirts and colourful sarongs, clutching heavy loads of fresh veggies and frozen meat, silent and staring wide-eyed at the space in the air where the LCD screen had been.

Only 7 seconds to go...time is running out for these chaps:

and this boy:

and the strict religious men with white beards who were looking disapprovingly into the Prince of Wales backpackers...and the backpackers themselves:

and the little knots of friends seated on whatever patches of grass they could find:

********

Someone asked me what I thought of Deepavali.

Well, both (1) nothing; and (2) God's sovereignty.

Nothing...because idols are nothing and the celebration of idols can mean nothing for me personally (1 Corinthians 8 and 10 reasoning).

God's sovereignty because the first Deepavali I shared with a group of ARPC people was when I was invited to a friend's for the holiday. I arrived to find the place deafeningly noisy with people who didn't talk to me. When one finally did, she immediately asked where I'd studied and whether I was from the Gifted Education Programme. Then she turned off abruptly and talked to someone else. I was wondering what to do with all these people when my friend announced that they were going to have bible study. I felt conned. But because it would be impolite to leave at that point in time, I stayed. The leader was a pale short nervous boy with a high squeaky voice and looked like he'd just come out of junior college. He asked me questions from the Bible I couldn't answer. He was condescending. And I wasn't very fond of ARPC or Christians at all.

The next Deepavali, I found myself at this same friend's place again. I had just led our PTC study group in a day-long session. Exhausted, we sat staring at the oven, waiting for dinner to roast.

"Hey...it's Deepavali again!" I suddenly recalled.

"Yup. I was just thinking the same thing." he smiled, and our eyes watered.

What a difference a year makes. And our great God is so very unimaginably sovereign.

Related post: Little India

Kampong Gelam before Hari Raya 2005

Itchy B and I decided that the best way to spend the holiday would be to take an afternoon stroll round Kampong Gelam then head on down to Little India for dinner.

Kampong Gelam
Kampong Gelam gets its name from the Gelam tree that used to grow abundantly in the area.

The Hari Raya celebrations were centred around the Sultan Mosque. There was a call to prayer and a colourful array of songkoks and tundungs hurried through the streets:

Hundreds of brown drink bottles are supposed to lie beneath the golden dome of the Masjid Sultan. They were donated by the poor who wanted to contribute whatever they could to the building of the mosque.

Adjoining streets were garlanded for Hari Raya:

and portions of Kandahar and Muscat Streets were closed to traffic for a food fair:

Wot? Beanies in Singapore? And kebabs? Eessit coz we ees Asian?

Sultan Gate used to be the palace (istana) of the Sultan. Before it was converted into the Malay Heritage Centre, some descendants of the Sultan had to be evicted from the grounds and there was a bit of unhappiness then although presently they seem to have accepted their fate.

The Alsagoff Arab School was the first muslim school in Singapore and is also Singapore's oldest girls' school:

Retro-ly, the rest of Kampong Gelam was full of prettily painted shophouses. Some were disused, but prettily so:

Traditional trades remained in a few shophouses:

beaded slippers, jade and collectibles

a sari specialist

a rattan store

and a "trading company".

while others contained less traditional ones:

a costume store

and a tattoo parlour.

Some five-foot ways were converted for...err...residential purposes:

And the beginnings of an invasion by poseurish bohemians was evident:

a "lifestyle cafe"

Haji Lane also hosted a guerilla garment and a "lifestyle concept" store - the resurrected Commes des Garcons and White Room respectively, and music stores like Straits Records:

Posers of a different kind!

This particular shophouse was just plain weird:

Barbies with face masks in a "jacuzzi"...

The Islamic bookshops were most attractive for having the coldest air-conditioning this burning sunny day:

Near some good Chinese coffeeshops selling red wine chicken, this Concerned Citizen's note tied to a banyan tree warns:

"HeLLO Dear;

Please Don't trow Any Gravy, Carry And Anything in the Drain.

I report the Nea Gavern"

There were signs of Arabian/Middle Eastern influence in the names and menus of some eating outlets. A reclamation of ancestral Malay culture? Or just new-fangled foreign influence?

Arab-style cafés

the popular Samar Cafe in daylight!

Sheeshas are claimed to be first offered by Dr Ameen Ali Talib's Cafe Le Caire @ Al Majlis:

now other cafés

and the sleepy Ambrosia, have joined the party.

Ordering teh tarik at the famous sarabat hole-in-the-wall, I realised that my Malay had completely evaporated. This assumes that it was even in existence to begin with. Possibly. And it is evidenced by this meaningful conversation I managed to have the first time I was in Malaysia after starting Malay class:

[At a drinks stall]
shadow: Uncle, teh ais bagus.
encik: Eh? Yah, yah bagus. [pats his metal tea containers fondly]
shadow [wondering why uncle isn't doing anything, says in a slightly louder voice]: Teh ais bagus?
encik [slightly confused]: Yah, bagus bagus! [waves hands around]

We stared at each other for a few seconds, a bit disconcerted.

Then it hit me:
shadow: Aiyah! No no! I mean: teh ais bangus la! [note: bangus = pig's snout]
encik: !!!

shadow: [attempts to fulfil charade potential with many hand actions]
encik [disappointed]: Oh, you want to take away? In a cup or in a plastic bag?

*for the record, the word for "take-away" in Malay is bungkus

My Malay teacher used to try to proselytise in class. During Ramadan, he'd asked us to consider how good fasting was for the body and therefore how Islam must be right. One week, I requested historical information about Islam. He eyed me over his glasses, shrugged and insisted that if I wanted to find out more, I had to go to the Muslim Converts' Association.

I aim to, to know what the real teachings of Islam are. But it's not that urgent: I don't need to know everything to be able to give a reason for the certain hope that I have, which I gather Muslims don't.