What is is not what ought to be, the bridge cannot be built from what is to what ought to be.
Yet what ought to be is ingrained in us, though somewhat hazy it still haunts us.
Trying to grasp it with human effort, would we look back and lament "the road to hell is paved with good intentions?"
Some end up disillusioned and others choose to live in an illusion. But some find satisfaction in the transcendent.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Friday, May 8, 2020
Crazy thing that happened today
Hey, so a crazy thing just happened to me in the elevator. I went downstairs to grab some food, and got into the elevator on the way up with another guy. Apparently he was just going up 1 floor, I got a bit annoyed because why would you put other people at risk of getting VID19 when you could've taken the stairs? Normally I'm not a confrontational person, but maybe all this quarantine is messing with my brain and I just blurted out "why didn't you take the stairs?" and man did I get a mean tongue lashing, I will spare you of all the words not fit for children's television haha, no no, it's not funny, I'm still crying!
If you thought that really happened then psyche! You got bamboozled! For it was only a simulation in my head, haha, now you can take back your empathy or schadenfreud, and perhaps replace it with anger! Muahahahahhaaha! But I do wonder though, what causes people to judge something as dumb? Sometimes when we dissect the intuition of our judgements, we come to a different conclusion, but if we try to load everything under this careful/rationalistic mind then we will be paralyzed by the conclusion that we don't really know anything for certain. So in a way, trying too hard to be smart can make one dumb.
If you thought that really happened then psyche! You got bamboozled! For it was only a simulation in my head, haha, now you can take back your empathy or schadenfreud, and perhaps replace it with anger! Muahahahahhaaha! But I do wonder though, what causes people to judge something as dumb? Sometimes when we dissect the intuition of our judgements, we come to a different conclusion, but if we try to load everything under this careful/rationalistic mind then we will be paralyzed by the conclusion that we don't really know anything for certain. So in a way, trying too hard to be smart can make one dumb.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Streams of consiousness in isolation
I need to write these thoughts down before they escape and I be driven insane trying to capture them again, and I'd love to hear what your thoughts are in the comments below (do people still use blogger? hahaha).
-Speaking of insanity, what happened to Jeremy Lin? The boy won a ring and disappeared.
-Struggling with sin may be healthy, apathy is always dangerous
-Remember the granddaddy of all fear? I'm talking about the paranoid expectation that something bad will happen
-The opposite of faith is not reason, but faith has at least 2 opposites - Unbelief and superstition. Unbelief rejects any sound reason for faith, superstition imagines the content of faith without building bridges of knowledge.
-CLOWNS! WHY DO PEOPLE FIND THEM SCARY?
-Probably not, openness is defined as the capacity to let things in, so the more open minded you are the more stuff you allow in/tolerate. Might get overwhelmed though
-But which side is in and which out? people who are in one ear and out the other are mocked as being dumb, but perhaps it's a good thing, especially in the age of information explosion. Too many fake news to filter out, too much distractions.
-A lot of charges against God can be resolved in the triune nature of God. Some may claim his demand for worship as narcissistic, but what if the 3 persons prop one another up as the object of worship? Similarity, God didn't have to make us to fulfill a need due ot loneliness, since he is the origin of community.
-Analogies! When are they helpful? I'm not sure, perhaps when the thing used by the analogy is more commonly understood, yet still capture the essence of the object being explained. But analogies are not helpful when the thing used to compare with the subject being explained are not alike at all, or, they are more complex and actually harder to understand than the subject being analogilized (did I just make up a word?). And it seems like all analogies for the triune God fail and and inadvertently end up becoming heretical.
- Why is it that we feel foolish when we realize the original purpose of our possessions has been replaced by the purpose of showing off?
-When it comes to rationality of our worldviews, atheists really are not better off than theists, all premises are trapped in the realm of probablility and possibilities. While atheists can claim theism is adding unnecessary parts to a worldview, theists will retort that atheists will fail to fill the human need for transcendence.
-What is it that cause us to be stuck in obviously foolish mindsets, which later by some revelation during self reflection or by external means, is dispelled so easily?
- Is Socrates a real person or is he just a figment of Plato's imagination?
-What makes good writing? How much do genres come into play? If we want to be creative and mix genres, which ones mix well? and how many can we mix together until it becomes too overwhelming for the human mind?
-Characters, plot. what is it like to not be bound by spacetime? characters in a novel only interact with the writer if the writer writes the interaction, thus breaking the 4th wall. Are we, then, transcending spacetime in reading and prayer?
-Speaking of insanity, what happened to Jeremy Lin? The boy won a ring and disappeared.
-Struggling with sin may be healthy, apathy is always dangerous
-Remember the granddaddy of all fear? I'm talking about the paranoid expectation that something bad will happen
-The opposite of faith is not reason, but faith has at least 2 opposites - Unbelief and superstition. Unbelief rejects any sound reason for faith, superstition imagines the content of faith without building bridges of knowledge.
-CLOWNS! WHY DO PEOPLE FIND THEM SCARY?
-Probably not, openness is defined as the capacity to let things in, so the more open minded you are the more stuff you allow in/tolerate. Might get overwhelmed though
-But which side is in and which out? people who are in one ear and out the other are mocked as being dumb, but perhaps it's a good thing, especially in the age of information explosion. Too many fake news to filter out, too much distractions.
-A lot of charges against God can be resolved in the triune nature of God. Some may claim his demand for worship as narcissistic, but what if the 3 persons prop one another up as the object of worship? Similarity, God didn't have to make us to fulfill a need due ot loneliness, since he is the origin of community.
-Analogies! When are they helpful? I'm not sure, perhaps when the thing used by the analogy is more commonly understood, yet still capture the essence of the object being explained. But analogies are not helpful when the thing used to compare with the subject being explained are not alike at all, or, they are more complex and actually harder to understand than the subject being analogilized (did I just make up a word?). And it seems like all analogies for the triune God fail and and inadvertently end up becoming heretical.
- Why is it that we feel foolish when we realize the original purpose of our possessions has been replaced by the purpose of showing off?
-When it comes to rationality of our worldviews, atheists really are not better off than theists, all premises are trapped in the realm of probablility and possibilities. While atheists can claim theism is adding unnecessary parts to a worldview, theists will retort that atheists will fail to fill the human need for transcendence.
-What is it that cause us to be stuck in obviously foolish mindsets, which later by some revelation during self reflection or by external means, is dispelled so easily?
- Is Socrates a real person or is he just a figment of Plato's imagination?
-What makes good writing? How much do genres come into play? If we want to be creative and mix genres, which ones mix well? and how many can we mix together until it becomes too overwhelming for the human mind?
-Characters, plot. what is it like to not be bound by spacetime? characters in a novel only interact with the writer if the writer writes the interaction, thus breaking the 4th wall. Are we, then, transcending spacetime in reading and prayer?
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Dating and marriage
There was a time when I experienced the youthful angst of love. I read books and listened to sermons on honouring the woman and her father, how courtship is better than dating, and how a man should initiate the relationship. Looking back, I was thinking "if I do all these things then I will get the girl I like".
There was something odd about my mentality, perhaps I misunderstood the point of all those books and sermons, because my mindset about marriage wasn't under grace.
One day I watched a sermon on dating by Kevin Williams, and that opened my eyes to see the freedom God actually allows in this matter. (You can find it here)
The biblical model for dating is unpredictable. People found their wives/husbands in a variety of different ways: From waking up and finding your wife beside you (Adam), to winning a beauty pageant (Esther). Sometimes the man initiated, sometimes the woman advanced first (Ruth.), and sometimes a parent found the mate.(Isaac). Even all the stories of my married friends are different. Although there is a need to honour one another and our parents/guardians, doing so does not guarantee success. Bringing two people together is a work of God. Perhaps that's why Jesus says whatever God joins together, let no man separate.
Singleness is hard, but it's encouraging and freeing to know I don't have to find a wife by following a formula or jumping through hoops.
Perhaps I'm still ignorant in some areas regarding this topic, any feedback is much appreciated.
There was something odd about my mentality, perhaps I misunderstood the point of all those books and sermons, because my mindset about marriage wasn't under grace.
One day I watched a sermon on dating by Kevin Williams, and that opened my eyes to see the freedom God actually allows in this matter. (You can find it here)
The biblical model for dating is unpredictable. People found their wives/husbands in a variety of different ways: From waking up and finding your wife beside you (Adam), to winning a beauty pageant (Esther). Sometimes the man initiated, sometimes the woman advanced first (Ruth.), and sometimes a parent found the mate.(Isaac). Even all the stories of my married friends are different. Although there is a need to honour one another and our parents/guardians, doing so does not guarantee success. Bringing two people together is a work of God. Perhaps that's why Jesus says whatever God joins together, let no man separate.
Singleness is hard, but it's encouraging and freeing to know I don't have to find a wife by following a formula or jumping through hoops.
Perhaps I'm still ignorant in some areas regarding this topic, any feedback is much appreciated.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Nightmares and troubled sleep
I don't dream much, but sometimes I have nightmares that leave a bad taste in my mouth after I wake up.
I find these 2 types of nightmares to be the most disturbing:
Perpetually stuck in school
- In these dreams I'm about to graduate, but find out that because of some oversight (like forgetting to go to 1 class for an entire semester), my graduation will be delayed by at least 1 year. Sometimes these dreams skip to the next year and I still won't be able to finish school...
No more heroes
- Witnessing the dark side of someone I admire. Yesterday John Piper was yelling like a mad man, and then I woke up...
Perhaps these dreams reveal some of my past trauma and fears that go unnoticed.
Perhaps these dreams reveal some of my past trauma and fears that go unnoticed.
Friday, June 17, 2016
The God who wounds and heals
"No one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes from the law. But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed, attested by the law and the prophets - that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction." - Romans 3.
There are many aspects of God's character and work that are alien to us. One of which is His work in salvation.
In a sense, God saves us from himself by himself, and He does this by first wounding us and then healing us.
God first wounds us through the law (What was given through Moses in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). Contrary to a popular notion that "If I act a certain way then I can be considered a good person", the law describes in specific detail what it means to be righteous in God's eye, and in turn shows how every single person fails to meet God's standard, this is especially evident if you try to obey the law on your own. Our human standard of good is too low and often times too lenient on ourselves, the law in this sense wounds and humbles us.
But fortunately God doesn't stop there, He also heals us by revealing to us a way to be good apart from the law, a way which the law bears witness to (especially the laws describing the sacrificial system), that is faith in Jesus Christ.
Everyone who trust in Jesus are united with his death and resurrection, dead to sin and alive to the God who both wounds and heals.
The law brings death to all who are under it, but Jesus brings life to all who are under Him.
What a strange and wonderful God we worship!
There are many aspects of God's character and work that are alien to us. One of which is His work in salvation.
In a sense, God saves us from himself by himself, and He does this by first wounding us and then healing us.
God first wounds us through the law (What was given through Moses in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). Contrary to a popular notion that "If I act a certain way then I can be considered a good person", the law describes in specific detail what it means to be righteous in God's eye, and in turn shows how every single person fails to meet God's standard, this is especially evident if you try to obey the law on your own. Our human standard of good is too low and often times too lenient on ourselves, the law in this sense wounds and humbles us.
But fortunately God doesn't stop there, He also heals us by revealing to us a way to be good apart from the law, a way which the law bears witness to (especially the laws describing the sacrificial system), that is faith in Jesus Christ.
Everyone who trust in Jesus are united with his death and resurrection, dead to sin and alive to the God who both wounds and heals.
The law brings death to all who are under it, but Jesus brings life to all who are under Him.
What a strange and wonderful God we worship!
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Over emphasis on trying harder to commit to Jesus?
There are trends in churches when leaders discover the congregation is not up to a spiritual standard, so they challenge the congregation to truly commit to Jesus, and to surrender all to Jesus, to serve God more, or something similar to these lines.
I doubt the effectiveness of these methods, because they are seldom, maybe even never used in scripture, sometimes they will only drive people to rely on their flesh out of ignorance.
It seems a real root of the visible church's weakness comes from the fact that wheat and tares are sown together, yet important truths from the Bible are never taught.
People need to be taught the truths about the need and evidence for regeneration, to believe in the Father,Son,and Holy Spirit's work of salvation in their lives, to find strength in their identity as children of God, and salvation is ultimately an choice of God's will and not human will. This way wheat will be encouraged because they will learn to examine themselves and see they are indeed in the faith and have great confidence and joy from assurance to serve God, and tares will be convicted in there own heart, the mask of deception of some tares may fall off, maybe some will even turn into wheat.
Besides, weakness is alright, Paul learned to glory in his weakness because through them, God's strength is shown
I doubt the effectiveness of these methods, because they are seldom, maybe even never used in scripture, sometimes they will only drive people to rely on their flesh out of ignorance.
It seems a real root of the visible church's weakness comes from the fact that wheat and tares are sown together, yet important truths from the Bible are never taught.
People need to be taught the truths about the need and evidence for regeneration, to believe in the Father,Son,and Holy Spirit's work of salvation in their lives, to find strength in their identity as children of God, and salvation is ultimately an choice of God's will and not human will. This way wheat will be encouraged because they will learn to examine themselves and see they are indeed in the faith and have great confidence and joy from assurance to serve God, and tares will be convicted in there own heart, the mask of deception of some tares may fall off, maybe some will even turn into wheat.
Besides, weakness is alright, Paul learned to glory in his weakness because through them, God's strength is shown
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