Photo courtesy of Yennie *thanz

Yen nie alerted me to the night sky just now. I went out to discover the Moon shining so brightly and an equally bright Star by its side. The Couple looked very lonely in the vast night sky, but most lovely and if I may say, by my imagination, most loving (-they were shining hard at each other!).

And then I discovered that by our naked eyes, we beheld the Couple as standing close to one another, but they were really very apart. It became at once even more soothing to know that though Distance played Its part to set asunder two persons, there are other Factors at work to bring them together. May it be so with every Couple in the world.

‘Twas a happy night tonight,
Love was written upon the Sky;
Stood yonder by Luna’s side,
A single Star, burn and bright.

The Master said, “Heaven produced the virtue that is in me.” -- Analects 7.22

Perhaps Confucius did not know the Christian doctrine of Justification, but he did realize that the root of the virtue he possesed was divine.

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith. -- Rom 9:30

And no, I am not suggesting that Confucius was a Christian ~

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Prof. Tolkien was a Christian;

and as for the Lord of The Rings (LOTR) trilogy, he acknowledged that it is "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision." (Tolkien's Letter, 1953)

C.S. Lewis reviewing the LOTR wrote:

Even now I have left out almost everything - the silvan leafiness, the passions, the high virtues, the remote horizons. Even if I had space I could hardly convey them. And after all the most obvious appeal of the book is perhaps also its deepest: 'there was sorrow then too, and gathering dark, but great valour, and great deeds that were not wholly vain'. Not wholly vain - it is the cool middle point between illusion and disillusionment
.

'But why' (some ask) 'why, if you have a serious comment to make on the real life of men, must you do it by talking about phantasmagoric never-never land of your own?' Because, I take it, one of the main things the author wants to say is that the real life of men is of that mythical and heroic quality. One can see the principle at work in his characterisation. Much that in a realistic work would be done by "character delineation' is here done simply by making the character an elf, a dwarf or a hobbit. 
.

The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity'. The child enjoys his cold meat (otherwise dull to him) by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savoury for having been dipped in a story; you might say that only then is it the real meat. If you are tired of the real landscape, look at it in a mirror. By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves. This book applies the treatment not only to bread or apple but to good and evil, to our endless perils, our anguish, and our joy. By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly. I do not think he could have done it in any other way.

What reality exactly did the LOTR saga conceal?

This month at [link] The Agora;

Lord of The Rings (Through Christian Eyes)

Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church (Map)
Time: 2 pm
Date: 27 Feb 2005 (Sunday)

And surprisingly,

Science probes the processes of nature, but it . . . knows nothing of taste, love, pleasure, displeasure, exaltation, or exhaustion. Man must in some way interpret, and thereby evaluate, what he lives through and experiences. Religions gain their power by being standards of value. An event appears in a different light when looked at from the point of view of myth. Religious interpretations have this to be said for them: that they measure life according to human ideals. -- Nietzsche

Photo taken by Sophie S. *thanks*

Words by William Cowper

Ere God had built the mountains,
Or raised the fruitful hills;
Before He filled the fountains
That feed the running rills;
In me from everlasting,
The wonderful I Am,
Found pleasures never wasting,
And Wisdom is my name.

When, like a tent to dwell in,
He spread the skies abroad,
And swathed about the swelling
Of Ocean’s mighty flood;
He wrought by weight and measure,
And I was with Him then:
Myself the Father’s pleasure,
And mine, the sons of men.

Thus Wisdom’s words discover
Thy glory and Thy grace,
Thou everlasting Lover
Of our unworthy race!
Thy gracious eye surveyed us
Ere stars were seen above;
In wisdom Thou hast made us,
And died for us in love.

And couldst Thou be delighted
With creatures such as we,
Who, when we saw Thee, slighted,
And nailed Thee to a tree?
Unfathomable wonder,
And mystery divine!
The voice that speaks in thunder,
Says, “Sinner, I am thine!”

[link] listen to the tune

Rembrandt's Ecce Homo

Chinese New Year 05, at "the Cafe"
L-R: Danny Y., jacksaid, Danny C., Joshua W. (front)

Beauty and (one of) the Beast(s)
Dr. Kathy T. & jacksaid

I do not know how to reduce those great memories of time spent with my buddies to words for this entry.

When troubles come our way, let us look towards that Trouble-free Country for encouragement and inspiration. To my beloved Brethrens;

He Stalled The Storm

When all the world seemed bleak and dark,

When th'violent winds shew not mercy,

When everyone trembled and panicked on the ark,

Then Christ awoke and stilled the storm for me!

Yea, He stalled the storm for me!

I woke up this morning with the reality of exams sinking in. My good ole buddy, Eric W. was surprised; he thought Jack here feared no exams. True enough, I am not worrying about the exams, I don’t mind sitting for them, but it’s just the crazy feelings I have about going to school. I am so school-phobic these days. And as if to make the matter worse, UM has become such a miserable place. When I look at my University, my heart goes out for it. Just the other day, I saw some stalls being set up near the Convocation Hall (again!). What? They take the university as pasar malam site kah now? And the lectures, not only they are extremely boring, I felt, I sincerely and honestly felt (of course I may be, sincerely and honestly wrong) that those are really a big waste of time. I literally drag myself to lectures, leaving my brain at home, just like the, err… 80% of the lecturer-student population. Gosh, here I am rattling like a troubled college kid. I think I will probably disable the comment for this entry lest I get long lectures about my own attitude towards learning.

By the way, Eric also said that going to school is to me what kryptonite is to Clark Kent. It kills. I was wondering whether this was responsible in triggering the dying-instinct that prompted me to write my will yesternite. Just for fun, here is my will that was sent to Joshua W., my Executor:

Happy Valentine's Day to all! For those who have no need to plan for a date like me; we have all the time in the world. I decided to put my time to good use and came out with a song, a Love Song! Ok, the meter is a bit off and the rhythm may not match, but do bear with me, I have no professional training whatsoever. (yennie provided the pro's "suggestions" - sue her)

And I Have A Love Story To Tell

(Sing to the tune of the Christmas carol, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear)

1.Tis glorious ancient love story,

Told by the sages of old,

When late in Man’s history,

Begun this Age of Gold;

In ink and papers, a Book was bound,

In that Book, the story found;

Wrapped in tiny words, Love unfold,

Though million scrolls cannot hold.

2. Man’s heart, in time grew hard and cold,

Yet warmed by that Love, behold!

Warmed by Embrace but not only,

Aye, warmed by Blood also;

O’ what great mystery it is,

Infinite Love Man to insist;

Now full and found, this wondrous Love,

Shewed by Vis’tor from above.

3. The Great and Awesome High King,

Became Him once, a Lowly Man,

‘Twas glad and pleasant a tiding,

‘Twas great and perfect a plan;

Came Him once to tis filthy place,

Came Him to tis lowly race;

Built Him there His Palace of Light,

Lifted Man to divine rights.

4. O sweet and glad tis heartfelt mood,

Basking in the presence of Love,

Let me be here forever root,

Let me die telling tis tale;

My Saviour and I are One always,

He holding me by His Strong Grace;

No pow’r canst halt this precious Love,

Fore’er in Him I am safe.

* Dedicated to all INSAF members, esp. the most prominent of them, Founders Dave Chong Chang and John Chung. And to David Pek!

*And you too, Robby :)

I was listening to some very beautiful hymns this morning. And a short rendition of Handel's Messiah...and a celtic-flavoured Sanctus which Leon had sent to me. Wow!!

Someone asked me before about, what's in those hymns. Me think...

A hymn is;

1. Theology in a beautiful casing

2. Culmination of an awed and glad spirit

3. Fragments of God's creativity deposited in Man employed in worship

(pls add somemore!)

No sooner then I've heard those sacred songs,

The devil and his host from me fled;

My cares, my fears, my worries are all gone,

As the lyrics, heavenwards, I was led.

"I did see all of heaven opened before me and the great God himself" - George Frideric Handel, on his experience when writing Messiah 

So many issues were raised this recently; Oneness Pentecostal, The Salvific Work of Christ, Human Depravity, Moments of Rapture, Pilgrim's Progress...

My response formulated in a simple litany -

Thou, O God came as a Man,

That I, a man, may be like Thee;

In Thee, O Lord Jesus, the great I Am,

God and Man blend in perfect harmony.

In my stead Thou stood, judged,

Be as me, took my sins;

That I may be as Thou art,

Be as Thee, righteous deemed.

O what a price for my sins,

O what great immeasurable cost;

O to see God on the Beam,

O to see Jesus on that Cross.

Not my strength nor my might,

None in me could make me right;

Deep in sin and completely depraved,

By Thee alone can I be saved.

Sweet heaven, my heart’s desire,

For Thou in me had planted heaven’s seed;

But I cannot go by my own sweat and tears,

Nay, only by Thy work, Thy perfect merits.

Now a saint I am in God’s sight,

For in Thee I stood, justified;

Now the Spirit is making me right,

My Aide against sins to fight.

* joanne, be strong!