Community Service and Revival

As I sat down for the post-Christmas celebrations with the migrant worker service at Fairfield today, I was informed about a wonderful news. Maybe I'm a little slow to receive this, and some of you might already know about it, but good news it is! China is currently experiencing a spiritual revival!

Sure, I was told about the Christian community growing, but I never knew that a spiritual revival was occurring. It was fantastic news to me! So many people in China are receiving Christ everyday, despite the authorities desperately clamping down on missionaries and church leaders. In some provinces, there are so many Christians that churches are erected in public and authorities can do nothing about it! Well, I should rephrase that sentence a little: Federal authorities are more than happy to welcome the burgeoning Christian community because of the social aid that it provides for the people. Of course, the national government doesn't like it because it goes against certain anti-religion laws set forth by the Maoist state instruments, and also it's potential for grouping unhappy, unemployed Chinese workers against the capitalist-transforming state, but on the ground little is (or can actually be) done to prevent the massive growth.

What we Singaporeans can learn from this is simply the issue of social justice. Although I'm from Campus Crusade and am a pretty outspoken Christian, I never really believed in the effectiveness of street evangelism. I mean, it's a good program to get Christians involved in church activities and exposing them to the lack of courage in most of us towards sharing the gospel with a total stranger. Instead, I believe in the effectiveness of community service. Christianity, in my opinion, grew not as a bunch of fervent people pulling people off the street and pressing the gospel in their faces, but through simple acts of kindness. Face-to-face evangelism might save a life at that point of time, but a lifetime of loving kindness and acts of goodness saves a lot more. Even Jesus taught about His Heavenly Father only after healing people of their sicknesses and raising their dead. After all, He wasn't a naturally charismatic guy like many of us think Him to be. But His love was the foundation of His irresistible charm. He attracted people simply by His love.

Therefore, Christian revivals all around the world must begin from acts of service to the community. During the Acts of the Apostles in the Middle East, during the Methodist uprising in Ireland, during the Graham Crusades in USA and during the Christian revival in South Korea. All of them arose because there were people committed to loving their community. People within their proximity, the very people they might not know, but who need love anyway. Some sociologists have speculated that religious revival happens largely during times of economic depression and immense poverty. Well, that's not completely true. After all, witch-hunts have also occurred in times of immense poverty and famine in Europe. It can go the opposite direction. However, in my opinion, it may seem to be the case because times of depression and immense poverty gives people the opportunity to not just share, but to give of the little they have to those around them who need resources. And the God whom they worship, and who provides for their every single need, is also faithful in His promise that those who give shall surely receive even more.

I like to think I'm correct in this, despite not having done any historical research at all. As romantic and ideal this may seem, it could just be the clue to another of history's sociological mysteries, and the key to Christian revival and the hastening of the return of the Lord.






Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. -Peter (2 Peter 3:11-12)

Materialism and Superficiality

Met up with the Cat High boys tonight, and had plenty of conversations about work in the future, dreams and ambitions, destinations for grad trips and of course, women.

Remembering the peeps that once played basketball with silver-button-studded uniforms and a ton of "act-beng-not-beng" vulgarities, not to mention a hell lot of laughter, failed "patterns" and air balls, was a nice feeling.

Among them was a very old and close friend I haven't met since we got our O Level results, and the reunion was awesome. But I found that he had transformed into a Player, and it was a little... shocking. A pretty successful one, I must add. At least 40% of the conversations were dominated by him as most of us just listened spell-bound to the escapades and tips that sounded almost like a foreign language coming from someone like himself.

My disdain for Players doesn't lead me to cut them short or condemn them; rather, I enjoy listening to them. After all, it makes for very interesting conversation fodder in a group full of single guys. It's just... heartbreaking after a while.

I only remember going home feeling a little disillusioned. Sometimes I wonder all over again why we Casanovas work so hard to increase our social capital by cultivating soft skills, entertainment abilities, charm and sensitivity, when most women (as testified by my friend) judge a man by the brand of watch he wears, the type of shoes he has, the kind of salary he commands, the class of car he drives. Most of these things are factors that a woman can discover by the end of the night, or for the more observant ones, in less than 3 minutes.

Classifying women into categories based on looks and treating the entire chase as a game is always morally shocking, but some hard questioning to one's moral conscience also tells us that it's simply taking a position, albeit more extreme one. After all, we can get disgusted with women whose superficiality and "shallow thinking" seems to suddenly set the entire world sliding down towards a moral abyss, but don't we guys have a huge portion of our gender group also judging women by their cup sizes, complexion and waistlines?

As much as these attributes are impossible for most women to attain, likewise money and status are not really open to every guy in society to grab. Worse still, for the odd person like myself who has little desire for wealth, yet is constantly exposed to the seeming reality of "no money, no honey".



It's always times like this when I will say, "Lord, give me more faith!" And my anxiety relaxes, in the belief that He will surely provide something better as promised.




But knowingly, it's also an excuse to avoid considering all other women as long as I believe them to be inferior to those I have had been with.






How appalling to find that my mind can twist even spiritual concepts just for convenience.





You can't drive straight on a twisting lane. -Russian Proverb

I sympathize with materialistic women because deep in my heart lurks what I suspect to be a superficial man. -Valentino Casanova

Exam Results!

GEK1047 Organizational Power and Culture A
SC4201 Contemporary Social Theory A+
SC4208 Religion, Deviance and Identity A
SC4215D Welfare and Social Justice A-
Current Cap: 4.26


Praise God! Maybe I might get into the Dean's List this semester. Maybe. +)


I'm so happy. A tad disappointed for Welfare and Social Justice, but oh well. Everything's good. The sky looks exceptionally beautiful today.



I'm going to write a song to my Lord! Lalala~





Tis so much joy! Tis so much joy! If I should fail, what poverty! And yet, as poor as I have ventured all upon a throw; Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so this side the victory! -Emily Dickinson

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. -David (Psalm 145:7)

Where Is Home When You're Gone?

Home - Michael Buble

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky, I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

It's strange how you can be surrounded by friends and family, but still feel lonely and want to go home. To someone, somebody.


But where's home when that somebody holds another in her arms?





I miss you saving me. -Valentino Casanova

A Movement Against Loneliness

The most painful way to die is to die alone.

Maybe Durkheim and Simmel were correct, albeit indirectly.



Loneliness, I believe, is the root cause of all social and psychological ills in modern society. We spend our entire lives writing songs about it, trying hard to avoid being plagued by it, admire people who somehow don't seem to be bothered about it.



An effective social movement, therefore, must target this strand of disorder, without trying too hard. A musical band must create awareness through references to this pain without sinking into the mire of despondency. A motivational author or speech writer must throw forth eloquent phrases depicting the emptiness circling a crying need within. An artist must paint depression with a glimmer of hope amidst the crushing silence.




People must know that they matter, that they fill an essential role in the grand plans of an invisible will tunneling towards to an apocalyptic end.






That, they were purposefully created for a reason grander than their imaginations could ever project.







Music was invented to confirm human loneliness. -Lawrence Durrell

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. -David (Psalm 25:16)

Play It Again, Sam

There are 3 musical instruments that I once told myself that I had to master by the end of my life.

The keyboard, the guitar and the saxophone.

With God's grace I was born into a family with a solid interest in music and a great sense of rhythm, so I was sent to learn the piano at the age of 4 in Yamaha and barely scrapped through Grade 8 theory and practical just before my O levels. 12 years of nearly daily practice. But sadly, learning classical music destroyed completely any interest in the keyboard. To know that I could read notes and play sheet music almost perfectly (with a ton of practice day and night of course) yet could not produce the type of music I wanted was a devastating blow. I even grew to hate the piano and the rigors, rules of "music" as they called it. By Secondary 2 I had reach the peak of desperation for an outlet to produce my own music, and I turned to the guitar.

Learning the guitar was fairly easy to me given my background in music theory and the amount of exposure I got as a guitarist in the worship team in church. It was a breath of fresh air as I suddenly could sing and play music together; almost any pop song was in reach as I belted out my own favorite songs during my free time.

The saxophone, the sexiest melodic instrument in my opinion (specifically the alto and soprano sax, not the tenor, sorry Ilango lol) is still waiting for me to earn my first few months of salary to buy a second-hand one through E-bay. That can wait, given that I was 2/3 through my wish by the age of 15 and I'm still below 25.

However, recently my dad has decided to make good his promise to sell off that rusting, out-of-tune piano in the house. He did say that he might get a digital keyboard to replace it, one of the things on Andrew's wishlist for sure, but to be honest I'm going to miss the old, upright piano. After all, I spent the most time with it by far, though I haven't really touched it since I finished Grade 8.

The nostalgia, combined with the huge amount of free time (and very little money to go out and spend) has pushed me back to the keyboard this holiday. For one, I've realized that I'm not a real musician, at least on the piano, just a player. Given that the piano is still the hot favorite among Singaporean parents for their kids to develop an interest in music, this country is filled with plenty of piano players in the country, but no real musicians. A pity, if you ask me. The ability to improvise, play by ear, comping and singing at the same time via keyboard, is still seen as a magical gift even among members of church worship bands.

Well, now that I'm free, maybe it's time to experiment a little bit more with improvising on the keyboard. Maybe jump into deep waters by playing as a keyboardist for youth service, given that my church is seriously short of keyboardists anyway, and Andrew is getting really tired. Even if he wasn't, he'll be going to Australia to study soon, so someone will have to replace him anyway, even if inadequately.


Back to the keyboards I guess. Time to resurrect the musician and put to rest once and for all the dull, rigid piano player within. Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Salsa piano, here I come!





A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. -Abraham H. Maslow

Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel. -Deborah (Judges 5:3)

The Tyranny of Sin

Sin is sin.

I'm amazed sometimes at the kind of sin that I can commit. No, it wasn't unconsciously done. Neither can blame be put upon my past, or responsibility be taken by another. When one allows the Holy Spirit to enter into one's life, he or she undergoes an entirely new birth, one in which life begins afresh. Sin is made clear, evil is exposed and suddenly one becomes strangely aware of things that one used to do that is evil and unpleasing.

It doesn't mean that people stop sinning. Yes, it should be mean that we sin less, but it doesn't mean that we become sinless. Love is constructed in a way that God gives us freedom to choose obedience over sin, and we become clearly aware of the choices in front of us. Sin therefore is a choice, and when Christians sin, we clearly made a choice to do so. From my experiences, it often means refusing to heed the voice of God, giving in to sin and our own lust and desires. We cannot compare to other non-Christians because although they may be strongly aware of certain moral laws brought to light by other religions, laws or moral teaching, no other group of people have so clear a voice to follow, so bright a light that shines on their deeds, so resounding a word that dictates what is and what is not sin.

Christians have no excuse for sinning. It's clear from 1 Cor 10:13 that with the Holy Spirit by our side, no temptation can befall us for which we can safely say that we were unconsciously forced to do it, by instinct or habit. Jas 1:13 also tells us that God doesn't tempt us, so that sin is something that we put ourselves into by not fleeing it, and/or something that God purposely puts in our path to teach us something. Trials, hard times yes. Temptations, no. Remember that the former verse also says that there is ALWAYS a way out of it, it's whether we choose to take it or not.

But the tyranny of sin often comes when we commit sins that we least expect ourselves to fall for. No, it doesn't happen too often to me, but it happens. We say things like "Nah, I'll never fall for that" or "That can't possibly happen to me" but when it does, it leaves us speechless.

When things like that happen, it serves to remind me that I have no control over sin. As much as I believe in practicing and training oneself to resist sin (which is Biblical), I must never underestimate its power and control over the human nature which still remains within. Sin is a lifelong struggle, and often when one thinks that he or she has finally mastered it, another fall is often not too far away. Humbly, one is directed to come back to the feet of Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and continue on the race of life.

It's sad when I see myself becoming almost like a Pharisee, the very people Jesus despised and warned us not to be like. Though I try hard to be a good Christian, such efforts often plant shady thoughts of pride, even though one doesn't necessarily show it. Then, a big fall serves as a timely reminder that like Paul, I'm the worst of sinners by far. As we grow, we stop sinning in the small things, but we get crushed by the big ones. In that sense, I sympathize with big time preachers who get caught in extra-marital affairs or scandalous involvements with money. As much as they don't do the "common" sins like lying, cursing, getting angry etc., they often seem to get involved in the "big", "uncommon" sins. No, I'm not saying this as to excuse them from it, I see it more as a reminder to the layman Christian that everyone is fallible to sin, even the greatest preacher and the so-called "holier Christian".

I must remember to never say that I'm a better Christian, or at least think so for that matter. After all, if sin could be placed on a scale of "small" to "large", with those committed more often as being smaller e.g. exaggeration, and those committed less often as larger e.g. murder, then I must admit that I am far worse than the average Christian or (non-Christian for that matter!) I just hope that like Paul, I will one day be brave enough to allow them to be testimonies to the unlimited patience that Jesus has for a crappy fellow like me. And to think that I'm in-charge of ministries in my church too! All too often I feel like resigning due to unworthiness given the amount of grace He has to pour upon someone such as myself.

Before I close this post, I just felt the need to post the current psalm that best describes the struggle and guilt within me that acts as a reminder to my weakness and my dependence upon His strength and grace to carry me through this difficult journey that I must take.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. -Paul (1 Tim 1:15-16)

Where Is God On A Sunday Evening?

It's been a long time since I've been so amazed.


Tonight was the first night that I've attended the PRC migrant worker service at Fairfield Methodist Church, and it has been nothing less than a huge eye-opener. Over 600 of them came busload after busload from different dormitories all over Singapore from sites as near as Marina Sands to locations as far as Woodlands. Quite a number of them even took their own transportation, walking and cycling to the church.

Packet food was catered, CCTV news was broadcast life, Chinese newspapers were provided, and basic necessities were given out to each person who came. I had the joy of witnessing 15 baptisms and 18 people who received Christ during the service. I've never seen people so enthusiastic about knowing Jesus!

Of course, I'm not leave it as that by painting such a rosy picture. There were also some things that I'm personally skeptical about, like the provision of food and other gifts that certainly acted as a huge draw for these migrant workers who are trying to save as much money as they can. Free food, free air-con, the company of fellow Chinese nationals from the same province etc. are all incentives for the workers to come.

But this doesn't explain why some workers are so eager to help in serving food and ushering. It doesn't explain why so many of them are eager to share their testimonies of how their lives have changed dramatically. Neither does it explain why they are so enthusiastic about getting baptized, going for discipleship class and Bible study! I do agree that quite a number of our own baptism classes are really boring (although necessary), and more often than not I'm weary of going for weekly discipleship classes.

The scene I saw tonight put me to shame. To see the workers giving one another free haircuts, encouraging their peers to answer altar calls, singing WAY louder than most of the "conservative" congregations that I've heard. When the worship leader casually asked who wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit, so many hands went up! And before we get skeptical and blame it on the Asian groupthink mentality, I must remind you that they don't really care what other people think. When they think it's time to sit down, they'll sit down, even if 70% of the congregation is waiting for the minister to tell them to sit!

And God is not simply working among the workers. Even the volunteers and clergy have been so blessed! The minister-in-charge is a guy who can't even read Chinese properly, and prior to the ministry taking off last year, he couldn't even speak Mandarin! It's been almost two years since he answered God's calling to serve, and now he's giving sermons in Mandarin. Amazing, no?

I was also surprised to find that most of the local volunteers are not even from the church, but from other churches with a desire to serve in this ministry. And I thought my presence would be quite an exception. Well, God rightly burst that bubble before any semblance of arrogance would get to my head.

Been a great start. I've never seen so many salvations in one night for a long, long time. When the Bible says that God is among the poor and the needy, I sensed it tonight as fact fleshed in front of my own eyes. When I saw so many hands indicating their desire to know who God is, when I see the baptism candidates calling the name "Jesus" out loud, I couldn't stop the tears of joy that flowed down my eyes. You'll never see a scene like this WEEK AFTER WEEK without fail in any established congregation in Singapore. You'll never sense such hunger and desperation in any long-serving laity of any local church. His presence was so strong, one straight away knows that it's more than an overwhelming emotion or a worship "high".

It's true, my friends. God is a god of justice. As Christians, we cannot and must not sit back on the laurels of those who went before us. Our calling has always been to the poor and needy, and this post is my testimony to where God really is. I particularly enjoy the fact that I can finally participate actively in a ministry that recognizes our God as a god who lives among the sick and the desperate.

I can't wait to play guitar for the service next week. +) I know my commitments are going to kill me, but who cares. For His pleasure, and His alone.






It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. -Jesus (Luke 5:31)

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. -Jesus (Matt 25:40)

Death and Subservience

When I study Sociology, I always find women fighting for their rights to be recognized, equal to men etc. Feminist sociologists always have something to say about how women are oppressed in a million and one ways under the "patriarchal regimes" of men. Admittedly, many of them are quite convincing, but when they start making comments like "Women have always been dominated by men throughout history, it's time they started standing up for themselves", I just find something factually incorrect.

Patriarchy has brought over it's legacy to the modern world. No doubt about that. However, to say that women have been oppressed over the entire course of history is way too generalized a statement. Sure, there are historical events here and there that proves the point of gender oppression, but given that men have dominated over 99% of all great civilizations, surely there must be something more than just brute strength and an elongated member of the body that "forces" women to submit?

This might be an overly-romanticized theory, but permit me to go on. A slight observation on my part leads me to believe that the greater the possibility for men to die on the battlefield, the more subservient the womenfolk are. To explain further, every time a civilization goes to war for a prolonged period of time, female values emphasize subservience. Every time a civilization is at peace for a prolong period of time, gender equality grows.

Firstly, we must note that "oppression" in today's terminology might not translate into "oppression" in the terminology of the past. Furthermore, I will argue that the very things that we might label as "oppressive" could very well be demanded from the victims themselves! This might seem strange, after all, who wants to be oppressed? But if we ask ourselves that, then we must be able to explain why there are so few historical records of female uprising.

Well, there can be a few valid explanations:

Possibility 1. Women did not have the means to form up together and fight men. This includes the fact that they were largely illiterate, had no formal organization that acted as gathering points, had no access to war equipment and had did not have any experience of domination and military strategy.
Argument 1. Note that most women were farmers in the past and living in villages, where most of the men were equally illiterate and knew no military strategy or domination. Gossip centers (both male and female) are the easiest organizations found in every village, and war equipment were pitchforks, which were accessible to all. Yet history notes that Confucian subservience of females to males was largely subscribed to, especially in ancient China and Japan.

Possibility 2. Women were not strong enough to fight back. They are in general the weaker sex.
Argument 2. That is nonsense. Physical strength never equated to ideological domination. If so, there would still be records of failed female uprisings. No one would dare think women are stupider than men anyway. Today's modern society only proves the exact opposite.

Possibility 3. Women oppressed other women e.g. mothers-in-law oppressed daughters-in-law to take revenge for the oppression they suffered under their own mothers-in-law.
Argument 3. This is a strong argument that I learned in Sociology of Gender. There is evidence that women fought among one another, causing them to push members of their own gender down so as to serve men, and in so doing, be unable to unite to fight men as a whole. However, although it serves to explain internal family struggles, it doesn't explain why inter-family disputes between genders never really occurred.


Thus I come to my final conclusion. Women may have been oppressed from the perspective of a contemporary scholar, but they did not see themselves as being oppressed as a gender group at that point in time.

Then my next question is: Why didn't they see themselves as oppressed? It is clearly so, given that wife-beatings, men having affairs etc. was extremely common in most civilizations. In addition, women were nearly treated as servants to men in some of the most advanced civilizations, Japan, for example. This is blatant oppression, it would take a non-human to be unable to recognize it. Even dogs know when they are being oppressed in such an obvious manner.


So I fiddled with the idea, talked to my dad (who's a marriage counselor), and the answer, I believe, can be found in the Bible, specifically, the example of Jesus and the Church.




A woman will wholeheartedly serve her man, if she believes that he will die for her.




As civilizations advance and declare war on one another, men don't even have a choice. They have to fight for both their families and their countries. Most probably don't give two hoots about the latter, but for the former they'll be hard-pressed to draw the sword, I feel. Thus, given that his life is on the line (and more so, the more wars there are), there is a possible link between frequent wars and the subservience of women. Women, wives in particular, are more likely to be willing to serve their husbands in such circumstances, because if their husband loses the war, they lose their lives too. Serving is almost a form of self-protection because it ENFORCES the idea of the "weaker" gender that requires protection, so that they don't actually have to go to war. (No, women will not stand in for men. Remember, marriage wasn't based on romance, daughters were matchmaked and "sold" to their husband's family) Love for their husbands that is shown through their dedication thus "grows" from such an arrangement.



So, there's my conclusion. Not exactly a complete explanation, but plausible to me.



However, a contemporary example is required to prove my point. As I've been going around Orchard Road these few days, I see the usual bunch of ah bengs and ah lians. I always wonder why ah lians are so hot. Don't see such standards in the average university girl. And it's strange also, how they stick to their ah beng boyfriends, especially when abused or treated like shit. Guys, do that to the university-level girlfriend and you can kiss her goodbye. Stranger still, given societal norms, hot ah lians should have more options of boyfriends, and university girls should have less, but yet such things happen. Education in simple economics should suffice to justify how weird this is.

So I came up with a wacky explanation. Ah lians are more willing to suffer because they believe that their ah beng boyfriends would actually die for them. The fact that quite a few of them are willing to pick a fight if you simply verbally abuse their girlfriends probably proves the point.


In conclusion, I'll pick something out from my dad's marriage counseling materials. Men, if you're not willing to die for her, don't marry her. Women, if he's not willing to die for you, don't marry him. That's what my dad always warns those who are undergoing the marriage counseling course. Christ was willing to lay down His life for the Church, and the subservience of the Church (we're nowhere close, really) to His will is justified based on this fact.



How many of us would enter into marriage if confronted with such a statement?






This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. -1 John 3:16

Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more. -Erica Jong

Death Gives Life Meaning

When ever was death the opposite of life?

An apparent contradiction is no contradiction at all if one realizes the limitations of language. Life in this world is but one type; life eternal is but a totally different concept.




For what's the point of living, if one has nothing to die for but one's self?






I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. -Jesus (John 11:25)