The Unclean
The Unclean
There was a time when I was clean,
had family, friends, relatives and a man.
Sunshine, joy, happiness, life was serene,
vanished when my bleeding began but not end.
O God, Thou creator of worlds without end,
why do Thou decree that I suffer so?
By my body issue cause that my life rend,
did I offend Thee that Thou afflict such sorrow?
Thou decree that woman with menses be unclean,
temple ceremonially so but contaminable too.
But Thou did created woman to bleed in between,
weeping of a womb disappointment accrue.
My bleeding did not stop continually unclean I remain,
Social outcast fled family, friends, man I hold dear.
Seek physicians and priests my misfortune to unchain,
Not spared prayers, cash, effort that I become clear.
Twelve years of loneliness longing for a human touch,
O God, Thou compassionate merciful wherefore are Thou?
Twelve years of darkness only to Thee I clutch,
O Lord, Compassionate and Merciful One, heal Thou me now!
(Mark 5:24-34; Matthew 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48)
Labels: Poetry
Discernment at the Movies
Some thoughts on discernment in movie watching
The Great Christian Movie Confusion
Is it wrong for Christians to watch movies?
Movies are a narrative art form as much as literature, sculptures and paintings. It is the cultural milieu in which we live in. As Christians, we believe that we should enjoy God’s creation, even though it is not a perfect one. Culture is part of this creation and culture has much to teach us about ourselves and about God (often in a negative way).
Is it wrong for Christians to watch movies with witches, spells, magic and spirits?
Those who answer yes often think of the Harry Potter movies and the Golden Compass. However they will be willing to watch the Lord of the Ring trilogy and the Narnia series even though these movies have witches, spells, magic and spirits. Often they will be hard-pressed to explain why some movies are acceptable while others are not in the same genre.
Discernment in Watching Movies
To exercise discernment in watching movies, we need to ask ourselves three questions:
(1) What is/are the message(s) of this movie?
(2) What elements are used to convey the message?
(3) Are there message(s) embedded in the elements?
Take for example, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter movies.
The message of these movies are similar – friendship, loyalty, love, good over evil
The elements of these movies are similar – wizards, magic, spells, spirits
However, in the Harry Potter movies, the elements (wizards, magic, spells, spirit) also carries a message – that not all who practice witchcraft are bad, only those who practice the Dark Arts. Biblical teaching tells us that God forbids witchcraft (Deut. 18:10). Another way to understand elements in a movie is a car. If the hero jump into a car and drive from point A to point B, then it is just an element. If the hero jumped into an Austin Martin, then the element also sends a message. James Bond (007) drives an Austin Martin.
Message, Elements and Message-embedded-in-Elements
There were no movies in the Bible. People told stories that were perceived mental movies. The parables told by Jesus are examples of these mental movies. An example is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).
LK 10:30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,' he said, `and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
LK 10:36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
LK 10:37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Parable as movie | Message | Elements | Message embedded in elements |
Parable of the Good Samaritan | Love and help others | Drama, robbery, priest, Levite, merchant, Samaritan, violence, innkeeper | No (people are not influenced to be Samaritans) |
Wizardry
Movie | Message | Elements | Message embedded in elements |
Lord of the Rings trilogy | friendship, loyalty, love, good over evil | Adventure, wizards, magic, spells, spirits, violence | No |
Harry Porter movies | friendship, loyalty, love, good over evil | Adventure, wizards, magic, spells, spirits, violence | Yes- some practitioners of witchcraft is good; there is a school for witchcraft |
Narnia movies | friendship, loyalty, love, good over evil | Adventure, wizards, magic, spells, spirits, violence | No |
Deut. 18: 9-14
DT 18:9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
DT 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
No human sacrifice
No practicing divination (any attempt to get guidance or foretell the future from any supernatural source other than God). This includes astrology and horoscopes.
No sorcery (using magic powers)
No interpreting omens
No engaging in witchcraft
No casting spells
No consulting or being a medium or spiritist (those who contact spirits and allow the spirits to communicate through them)
No trying to consult the dead
Paganism/ Neopaganism
Avatar A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home | Protector of people and planet | Science fiction, Virtual world, special effects, violence | Yes-paganism, worship of Gaia |
Pocohontas Capt. John Smith leads a rag-tag band of English sailors & soldiers to the New World to plunder its riches for England (or, more precisely, for Governor Ratcliffe, who comes along for the ride). Between Ratcliffe, who believes the "savages" are hiding the gold he expected to be plentiful, and Powhatan, who believes these pale newcomers will destroy their land, Smith and Pocahontas have a difficult time preventing all-out war, and saving their love for each other | Protection of land and people against exploitation | Cartoon, adventure, special effects | Yes-paganism, worship of Gaia |
Star Wars | Action has consequences, power corrupts | Science fiction, special effects, galactic drama, violence | Yes, paganism. The Force |
Matrix trilogy | Machine-man interface, next step in evolution | Science fiction, special effects, violence | Yes, paganism. Next stage in evolution, man-machine state of consciousness |
Paganism (neo-paganism) celebrates the Earth, living creatures, nature, and so on. Most modern-day pagans believe in more than one god, while others are atheistic.
Paganism – What are some pagan systems and religions?
American pagans practice a variety of forms of traditions, but the most popular are Celtic, Greco-Roman, Native American, ancient Egyptian, and Norse.
Kabbalah: During the Middle Ages, this Jewish mystical and magical system developed.
Shamanism: This tradition is practiced by the Native American cultures. Drumming is the technique used, and in traditional societies, the shaman travels to the spirit realm to gain information regarding the community’s needs like healing or spiritual growth.
Egyptian: This is very popular today, and involves complex spiritual and magical systems centering on death and rebirth. It developed in ancient Egypt when priestesses and priests became known for their level of knowledge and skill in magical arts.
Druidism: The original Druids were priestesses and part of the judicial class of the ancient Celts.
Discordianism: This began as a Buddhist practice with the main idea being “existence is orderly chaos.” Meditative procedures, confusion and enlightenment, chaos and order, pain and pleasure are revealed as inseparable parts of a total vision of reality
.
What do Pagans believe in?
Pagans respect nature as divine. Although Paganism covers a wide spectrum of ideas, these elements sum up the beliefs of the majority.
Nature
The recognition of the divine in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. Pagans are deeply aware of the natural world and see the power of the divine in the ongoing cycle of life and death. Most Pagans are eco-friendly, seeking to live in a way that minimises harm to the natural environment.
Concepts of the divine
Pagans worship the divine in many different forms, through feminine as well as masculine imagery and also as without gender. The most important and widely recognised of these are the God and Goddess (or pantheons of God and Goddesses) whose annual cycle of procreation, giving birth and dying defines the Pagan year. Paganism strongly emphasises equality of the sexes. Women play a prominent role in the modern Pagan movement, and Goddess worship features in most Pagan ceremonies.
Pagan theology
Paganism is not based on doctrine or liturgy. Many pagans believe 'if it harms none, do what you will'. Following this code, Pagan theology is based primarily on experience, with the aim of Pagan ritual being to make contact with the divine in the world that surrounds them.
Deut. 5: 6-8
DT 5:6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
DT 5:7 "You shall have no other gods before me.
DT 5:8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Occult
Season of the Witch | Power of the book of Solomon over demons (not the words of Solomon in the Bible) | Adventure, crusade, demons, monastery, plague, power of words | Yes- words of Solomon, not God’s. |
Constantine John Constantine as a cynic with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true form. He seeks salvation from eternal damnation in Hell for a suicide attempt in his youth. Constantine exorcises demons back to Hell in a bid to earn favor with Heaven but has become weary over time. With death looming, he helps a troubled police detective learn the truth about her sister's death while simultaneously unraveling a much larger and darker plot.
| Salvation, redemption
| Horror, demons, angels, violence, hell | Yes- wrong theology of suicide, cannot earn flavour with God |
The Exorcist When a teenager is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter. | Exorcism | Horror, exorcism, demon possession | Yes – too much emphasis on the demonic |
Violence
Saving Private Ryan Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. | Sacrifice, duty, loyalty, friendship | War, violence, body parts | No |
300 | Sacrifice, duty, loyalty, friendship | War, violence, body parts | Yes, graphic violence. Violence is honor |
Resident Evil series | One person against large corporation | Horror, violence | Yes, glorification of violence |
Christian themed movies
Chariot of Fire | Human effort versus divine empowerment | Biography, Racing, Olympics games | No |
Amazing Grace | One man’s crusade | Biography, slavery, London, politics | No |
Shadowland | Learning to love | Biography, Oxford, | No |
Others
Thor | Consequences of favouritism in parenting (father) | Drama, Norse mythology, gods, violence | No |
True Grit | Actions has consequences | Drama, cowboy, bad language, violence, | No |
Shadowland | Learning to love | Biography, Oxford, | No |
Useful movie review links
Ted Baehr is Founder and Publisher of MOVIEGUIDE®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment and Chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry, as well as a noted critic, educator, lecturer, and media pundit. His life’s purpose is to be used of God to redeem the values of the media while educating audiences on how to use discernment in selecting their entertainment.
Anime movies
Christian Anime Alliance
Possibly the most readily identified Christian anime site on the Internet, CAA has many Christian-focused reviews of anime and manga. It also has a very active forum.
Christianmanga.com
Another well-known site, Christianmanga.com features a number of fanmade manga. It also has a very active forum of believers.
Anime Angels
This site has been around for a number of years and contains art, reviews and articles published through the site’s magazine. Users communicate primarily through an activity feed.
Let’s Love Japan
This amazing site’s goal is to reach out to the Japanese by creating a mobile website with animated stories and other tools. Among their current projects is an anime about Jesus.
Conclusion
To exercise discernment in watching movies, we need to ask ourselves three questions:
(1) What is/are the message(s) of this movie?
(2) What elements are used to convey the message?
(3) Are there message(s) embedded in these elements?
Labels: Discernment, Movies
Christian Education and Spiritual Formation
There has been some confusion regarding the term spiritual formation and Christian education. In this post I will attempt to (1) differentiate between the two and also (2) identify when the two terms may be considered synonymous.
a. Definition of Christian education
The meaning of the term “Christian education” or “religious education” or “Christian religious education” has over the years become expansive and ambiguous. Christian education is commonly associated with classes, resources, time-limited courses, the need for more trained teachers and teaching materials; most of these activities are conducted on Sunday in the church grounds using church facilities. Many educators have tried to map Christian education over the years in attempts to appreciate the diversity of the term. American Catholic educator, Mary C. Boys, in her seminal study, Educating in Faith, tries to map it into four categories: (1) evangelism, (2) religious education, (3) Christian education, and (4) Catholic education (catechetics). She approaches the subject from a historical and conceptual framework (Boys, 1989).
Jack L. Seymour and Donald E. Miller in their 1982 book, Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education, describe five different approaches or key metaphors in understanding Christian education (Seymour et al., 1982). These approaches are (1) Religious instruction; (2) Faith Community; (3) Spiritual development; (4) Liberation; and (5) Interpretation. Commenting on this book, Johnson has this to say,
This book proposes formation as a decisive image through which to understand Christian education. One can detect in Seymour and Miller’s survey the nascent appearance of spiritual formation as a guiding image, though its distinctiveness disappears into developmentalism, on one hand, and the faith community model, on the other hand (1989, 103. author’s italics)
Johnson is correct in her assessment as the theme of spiritual formation become stronger when Seymour (1997) re-examines Christian education 15 years later in Mapping Christian Education: Approaches to Congregational Learning. Here he maps Christian education into four themes: (1) Transformation; (2) Faith community (3) Spiritual growth; and (4) Religious instruction. Compared to the 1982 survey, the approaches of liberation and interpretation appeared to have been integrated into transformation. Transformation which has the goal of “assisting people and communities to promote faithful citizenship and social transformation” is a better category that includes liberation and interpretation (1997, 21).
Other significant and representative definitions of Christian education include divine-human interactions, shared praxis and socialisation. Concerning divine-human interventions, educator Pazmiño, offers the following definition:
Christian education is the deliberate, systematic, and sustained divine and human efforts to share or appropriate the knowledge, values, attitudes, skills, sensibilities, and behaviours that comprise or are consistent with the Christian faith. It fosters the change, renewal, and reformation of persons, groups, and structures by the power of the Holy Spirit to conform to the revealed will of God as expressed in the Scriptures and pre-eminently in the person of Jesus Christ, as well as any outcomes of that effort (1997, 87).
Christian education according to Pazmiño is more than schooling but less than socialisation. It emphasises the intentionality of a cooperative activity between persons and God. This activity includes the efforts to share the context of the Christian faith through the power of the Holy Spirit with preaching Jesus Christ as a goal. There is no emphasis on spiritual growth of the inner person, role of the church, and building relationships with other persons though those may be implied.
Catholic educator Thomas Groome defines Christian religious education “as a political activity with pilgrims in time that deliberately and intentionally attends with them to the activity of God in our present, to the Story of the Christian faith community, and to the Vision of God’s Kingdom, the seeds of which are already among us” (1980, 25). His definition highlights the intentionality of religious education, being sensitive to God, the Christian story, and the goal of the kingdom of God. The methodology of his religious education is shared praxis. There is the emphasis on community, shared practices, and working towards a common goal – shared praxis.
b. Spiritual formation and socialisation
Socialisation or enculturation is the approach adopted by several Christian educators. One of them, Westerhoff III, defines religious education as “all those formal and informal influences through which persons acquired their understanding and ways of living…deliberate systematic, and sustained efforts within a community of faith which aim at enabling persons and groups to evolve particular ways of thinking, feeling, and acting” (2000b, 14, 579). This is based on his theory of enculturation where a community nurtures and helps its members to develop a particular pattern of being. He calls it “catechesis” or Christian formation. Westerhoff builds on C. Ellis Nelson’s ideas about socialisation. His approach is based on the community of faith. He subsequently influences Craig Dykstra (1978) in his works on Christian practices in congregations.
Conclusion
I find the Christian education model of socialisation/enculturation closest to my concept of Christian spiritual formation. I define Christian spiritual formation as the intentional ongoing process of the inner transformation of the character of a person to become like the character of Jesus Christ himself, of becoming with others a community of the people of God, and of becoming an agent for God’s redemptive purposes.
While the elements of spiritual formation are present in Christian education, Christian spiritual formation is only synonymous with the socialisation model of Christian education.
Bibliography
Boys, M. C. (1989). Educating in Faith: Maps and Visions. Lima, OH: Academic Renewal Press.
Dykstra, C. (1987). The Formative Power of the Congregation. Religious Education, 82(4 Fall), 530-546.
Groome, T. H. (1980). Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Vision. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Johnson, S. (1989). Christian Spiritual Formation in the Church and Classroom. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Pazmiño, R. W. (1997). Foundational Issues in Christian Education (2d ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Seymour, J. L. (Ed.). (1997). Mapping Christian Education: Approaches to Congregational Learning. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Seymour, J. L., Miller, D. E., Little, S. P., Foster, C. R., Moore, A. J., & Wehrheim, C. A. (1982). Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education. Nashville, TN.: Abingdon Press.
Westerhoff, J. (1976, 2000). Will Our Children Have Faith? (rev. ed. enl.). Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing.
Labels: Christian education, Spiritual Formation
What Really Matters
“I wonder what is for dinner today?” mused disciple Ah Lek, a wistful look crossing his face, “I hope it is those giant wantons that our cook uncle Tong makes so well.” “What giant wanton?” sniggered disciple Ah Kow giving disciple Ah Lek a hard punch on his shoulder. “It’s shui jiao dumpling! So stupid-la! Giant wanton! Ha ha ha.”
“It does look like giant wanton. And they are so tasty,” Ah Lek retorted, rubbing his shoulder. “Yes,” added disciple Ah Lian, “our cook is so clever and his food so good that I always go for seconds.” “And thirds and fourths,” muttered disciple Ah Kow under his breath.
“My body is the temple of the God so I must take good care of it,” declares Ah Lian staring daggers at disciple Ah Kow. “Not just a temple but a megatemple,” observed disciple Ah Kow while eyeing disciple Ah Lian’s wide waist. “Ouch!” groaned disciple Ah Kow when disciple Ah Lian’s sandal bounced off his forehead.
“Did you know that our cook uncle Tong is a very famous cook?” chipped in senior disciple Ah Moo who had just returned from the Middle East monastery in the disciple exchange program. The Middle East monastery loath to let senior disciple Ah Moo leave because they were more reluctant to take back their disciple Iskandar. Ah Moo was munching on char siew pau which he missed very much during his time in the Middle East. The cook made a fresh batch just for him as a welcome back present. “Our cook is Iron Wok Tong!”
“No!” exclaimed all the disciples in unison. “Not the world famous Iron Wok Tong!” gasped disciple Ah Lian who loves watching the food channel on their satellite television as much as she loves eating. “Iron Wok Tong started a large chain of restaurants. His Tai Pai Tong restaurants are found in every major city and people have to wait in long queues just to get a seat. It was rumoured that he cooked a great banquet for the Emperor and the Emperor actually asked for seconds.” Disciple Ah Lian looked around and saw that all the other disciples were listening intently.
Basking in the limelight, disciple Ah Lian continued, “Iron Wok Tong was very famous. The Emperor gave him the title ‘The Greatest Cook in China’. Iron Wok Tong was so rich that he was rated one of the top ten richest men in all of China! He had a large mansion and a concubine in every city. Some people say that his carriage is made of gold!”
“One day a few years ago, he had an accident and was seriously injured. Then he just disappeared. Nobody knows where he is now,” finished disciple Ah Lian.
“Numoo…,” began senior disciple Ah Moo with his mouth full and promptly choked. Disciple Ah Lian walked calmly up to her senior disciple and punched him in the midriff. A piece of char siew flew out of his mouth and hit disciple Ah Lek in the eye. “When someone is choking you are supposed to hit him in the back, not the front,” complained disciple Ah Lek as he wiped the char siew sauce from his face. “Oh!” blushed disciple Ah Lian.
“I know where he is!” gasped senior disciple Ah Moo from the floor while gripping his tummy. “I know where Iron Wok Tong is! There.” He pointed to the cook who was listening to their conversation while tending to his beloved bonsai trees. Everyone turn to stare at the middle-aged man with a large paunch. “Uncle Tong!”
“Uncle Tong, why didn’t you tell us that you are the famous Iron Wok Tong,” the excited disciples shouted as they gathered around their beloved cook.
Cook Ah Tong smiled as he sat on a small stool and fanned himself. He looked at the excited young faces around him. The cook had this peaceful and serene atmosphere about him. He moved slowly and calmly as if he had all the time in the world which sometimes led to burnt rice. “Yes, I was Iron Wok Tong,” admitted the cook, “then I decided to retreat from the world.” “Wow,” disciple Ah Lek thought to himself, “like these kungfu movies where the master sword man always decided to retreat from the world.”
“But why, Uncle Tong?” asked disciple Ah Lian. “You had everything!” “Yes, I had everything and yes, my carriage is made of pure gold,” began cook Ah Tong shifting to make himself comfortable.
“Yes, I had everything everyone could dream of. Then one day, it was a Sunday, I remember. I was very drunk but decided to take my carriage for a drive. I must have pushed the horses very hard because the carriage was moving very fast. While rounding a corner at the steep slopes of the Three Gorges, I lost control and the horses and carriage plunged into the yellow river below. I was thrown out and crashed into a tree on the side of the gorge. I blacked out. The tree must have stopped my fall or else I would have drowned in the river like my horses.
“When I woke up, it was evening for it was getting dark and cold. I was caught in the tree head down, hanging perilously one hundred feet above the deep river. My first thought was how lucky I was until I realise that I cannot feel my body below my neck. I was paralysed from my neck downwards! Then I knew I was going to die. I knew that the fragile branches will break under my weight and I will fall into the river and drown. I hung there for three days and three nights before the villagers found and rescued me.”
Iron Wok Tong paused and his eyes turned misty. “During those three days and three nights when I was waiting to die, did you know what I was thinking of? No, not my reputation as the greatest cook in China, not my chain of restaurants, not my mansion or great wealth. No, all I wanted is to hold my wife’s hand and look into her eyes and see her smile. All I wanted is to hold and hug my children once more. All I wanted is to see my friends one more time, maybe have a game of mahjong together.
“Alone during the hot days and cold nights I had a lot of time to think. I reviewed my life and wondered if my life was worth anything. Waiting to die, my thoughts were often about what I would say to the Lord at judgment day. ‘Would you like me to make you a char siew pau?’
“It took almost a year for me to recover. Abba Thomas is a great doctor though he always said that it was the prayers of the villagers that healed me. During the twelve months of recovery I often thought about my longings and regrets I had when I thought I was going to die. So I decided to retreat from the world and live for what really matters.
“I wanted to spend more time with my wife and family. I wanted to spend more time building relationships with other people. I wanted to make sure that the rest of my life means something, so that I when I die, I will not be ashamed to stand before the One. But the only thing I know how to do is cook.
“So I came to Abba Ah Beng and begged for a job as a cook. I wanted to cook for you young people so that you will be physically healthy when you leave this monastery to carry out God’s purposes. That’s all I wanted to do. Iron Wok Tong is no more. It is just me, Ah Tong.”
There was a hush when cook Ah Tong finished. “Uncle Tong,” whispered disciple Ah Lek, “can you make me a char siew pau?”
Reflection Questions
1. In the busyness of everyday life, our loved ones often receive low priorities. How do we love and value our loved one in the remaining days we have on this earth?
2. How do we build friendship with other people that are enduring, encouraging and deifying?
3. We often think that we must do great things for the Lord. What are some of the significant ways we can serve the Lord while living our present life?
Labels: Ah Beng Stories, Christian living
Internet Addiction
How much is too much Internet use? When you feel more comfortable with your online friends than your real ones, or you can’t stop yourself from playing games, gambling, or compulsively surfing, than you may be using the Internet too much. Or even worse, are an Internet addict.
Labels: Internet
The Strongest Rope
Another little monks story:
“Settle down,” said Abba Ah Beng as he sat down on his customary seat on a platform set in the front of the teaching hall in Sow-lin Monastery, “and I will tell you a story.” Looking across the sea or rather the pond (Abba Ah Beng does not have many disciples. He gives too much homework.) of expectant faces, Abba Ah Beng started his story.
“Makua Ipo is one of the human head-shaped giant stones on Easter Island. He loves his location at the top of a hill facing the sun. The warm sunshine and cool breezes during the day, and the soft moonlight at night makes him feel at peace. In fact he feels a sense of wholeness with the universe, a sense that this is what things should be. One day, a violent earthquake shook Easter Island. Makua Ipo toppled from his place on the hilltop to lay facedown at the bottom of the hill.”
“Aiya, so terrible-lah, in the mud,” sniggered disciple Ah Lek who flinched when he saw Abba Ah Beng’s piercing stare.
“The villagers from the nearby village tried to move Makua Ipo back to his original place on top of the hill,” Abba Ah Beng continued, “They pushed and they tugged with all their might but they cannot move the seven ton stone. They tried using a pulley and tackle contraption but the ropes always break.
“One day, out of desperation, they sought the help of their village elder. The kindly, beloved old man taught them how to make a special six strand rope. ‘It will be strong enough to restore Makua Ipo to his proper position on the top of the hill,’ he assured them. The villagers followed his instructions and made the rope.
“The next day, the whole village turned out to help restore Makua Ipo to his original place on the hilltop. Using a pulley and tackle contraption, and the special rope, they pulled with all their might. The strain on the rope was tremendous but the rope did not break. Inches by inches, Makua Ipo was pulled up the slope, until at the end of the day he was happily settled back in his original position on the top of the hill.
“The villagers celebrated that night, satisfied with a job well done. ‘Bapak,’ they asked their beloved elder, ‘what is so special about this rope that makes it so strong?’ The kindly old man replied, ‘The strength of the rope lies in the materials that make up each strand. Different materials have different strength. Each strand alone is not strong but woven as a rope, the combined strength of the rope is greater than the sum of its component strands.’”
Finishing his story, Abba Ah Beng looked directly at his disciples and asked, “My disciples, what does this story tell you about spiritual life?”
There was a sudden silence in the hall in which one can hear a pin drop or the mangy dog that hangs around the monastery scratching for fleas across the quadrangle. The silence grew deadly and deafening loud as the minutes pass. Finally, a hand rose. “Yes, Ah Kow, what do you have to say about this?” Abba Ah Beng asked his number one disciple.
“Well, the rock being pulled uphill by the villagers may represent spiritual growth, and, and the villagers may represent the helpful teachers and fellow Christians,” stammered Ah Kow thinking of his friends and teachers at the monastery. “The rock on hilltop and fall down…ah, I know, it’s the fallen image of God,” Ah Kow finishes triumphantly.
“Good, good” said Abba Ah Beng with a smile. “But what of the rope? Why do some ropes break?”
“Made in China?” Ah Lek burst out only to receive a whack on the head from Ah Lian.
“What about the rope? Anyone?” asked Abba Ah Beng. The silence this time is even more deafening and the disciples could hear the cook singing a hill song in the kitchen (this hill song has nothing to do with what comes out of Australia. It is about Alisan and the beauty of its maiden).
“Ah Kow is correct about the spiritual life being a process of becoming or restoring what we already are. Makua Ipo is enjoying his commune with the universe when he fell. Yes, the villagers are people who help us in our spiritual journey. Yet sometimes we fail in our spiritual growth because these people do not know how to help us. The weak or incorrect rope breaks. The only rope that is strong enough to pull us upwards in our spiritual life has six strands. Alone these strands are weak. Weaved together, they can lift a seven ton rock.
“What are these strands? Well, they are worship, biblical learning, community, serving, mission and prayers. Remember them well, my disciples. These are the components that will make your spiritual journey strong. Makua Ipo is Polynesian for God-lover.”
Abba Ah Beng finished his teaching with a blessing and dismissed his disciples.
Reflection points
(1) What is the present state of your spiritual life?
(2) What are your thoughts of the image of God in relation to your spiritual life?
(3) In what ways can you strengthen your spiritual life?
(4) Name one way you can do to strengthen your spiritual life and focus on it for the whole coming week.
Soli Deo Gloria
Labels: Ah Beng Stories
80 things you should know about Christian Spiritual Formation
1. Christian spiritual formation is continually developing a relationship with the Triune God.
2. Christian spiritual formation is the process of partaking in the perichoresis of God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. Christian spiritual formation is the continual process of allowing the Holy Spirit to install updates and synchronising with Christ’s character in the operating system (OS) of our spiritual life
4. Christian spiritual formation is relational inclusive of developing and deepening relationship with God, with other people and with our self (Mk. 12:29-31).
5. Christian spiritual formation is the interaction of the overwhelming love of the Father, the sacrificial work of the Son on the Cross, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and the willingness of a person to be formed and transformed.
6. Christian spiritual formation develops within the framework of the revelation of God through his word (Bible) as illuminated by the Holy Spirit in our hearts
7. Christian spiritual formation starts in the depth of the self but continues and is nurtured by the Christian faith community
8. Christian spiritual formation is the process of growing into the character of Christ (Christ-likeness)
9. Christian spiritual formation perfects the intrinsic ongoing spiritual formation which forms, deforms and transforms us from conception to the grave.
10. Christian spiritual formation is will of God for the people of God
11. Christian spiritual formation is filling up of the empty cisterns of our souls with living water
12. Christian spiritual formation is primed and supported by the exercise of spiritual disciplines
13. Christian spiritual formation is a process of becoming
14. Christian spiritual formation is intentional
15. Christian spiritual formation is a journey and a process
16. Christian spiritual formation is life in the Kingdom of God
17. Christian spiritual formation is removing the idols that sit on the thrones of our beings
18. Christian spiritual formation is saying “yes” to Jesus
19. Christian spiritual formation is saying “no” to our egos by taking up the cross
20. Christian spiritual formation is living to serve others (servanthood)
21. Christian spiritual formation is the process of “being saved” for the “saved”
22. Christian spiritual formation is living the fullness of life in the shadow of death
23. Christian spiritual formation is not New Age
24. Christian spiritual formation is submitting to the Lordship of Christ
25. Christian spiritual formation is moving from prayers in the mind to prayers of the heart
26. Christian spiritual formation is praying unceasingly
27. Christian spiritual formation is learning to love and serve the poor, the blind, the hungry, the weeping and the persecuted
28. Christian spiritual formation is personal but not individualistic
29. Christian spiritual formation is communal
30. Christian spiritual formation utilises the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
31. Christian spiritual formation is a universal particular in Christian spirituality
32. Christian spiritual formation is the process of embracing the Mystery of the Divine
33. Christian spiritual formation involves spiritual friendship and mutual encouragement
34. Christian spiritual formation counteracts the negative but embraces the positive aspects of our cultural heritage
35. Christian spiritual formation is enhanced by the matrix of a Christian faith community that nurtures
36. Christian spiritual formation is not an intellectual exercise but engages the heart
37. Christian spiritual formation is missional
38. Christian spiritual formation draws its strength from memories of God’s love and providence
39. Christian spiritual formation is more than Christian education but not less
40. Christian spiritual formation is not a program
41. Christian spiritual formation is not indoctrination
42. Christian spiritual formation is tuning into God’s grace
43. Christian spiritual formation is developing shalom with God
44. Christian spiritual formation is developing our spiritual gifts for the edification of the church by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit
45. Christian spiritual formation nourishes our souls to bear the fruit of the Spirit
46. Christian spiritual formation slows us down to listen to God
47. Christian spiritual formation slows us down to listen to our souls
48. Christian spiritual formation is about personal wholeness, justice and peace
49. Christian spiritual formation rejects the world’s ethos to lord over others but encourages to be a slave to all (Mk. 10: 42-45)
50. Christian spiritual formation partakes of the sufferings of Christ
51. Christian spiritual formation is the process of healing our brokenness and woundedness
52. Christian spiritual formation is not works righteousness
53. Christian spiritual formation is a love affair with God, our Beloved
54. Christian spiritual formation is taking off our old natures and putting on new ones
55. Christian spiritual formation is laying the groundwork for the Holy Spirit to affect spiritual transformation
56. Christian spiritual formation commences after justification but is not justification
57. Christian spiritual formation is sanctification
58. Christian spiritual formation is enhanced by solitude, meditation on Scriptures and theological reflection
59. Christian spiritual formation is developing a life of obedience which becomes a life of faith
60. Christian spiritual formation is renovation of the heart (Dallas Willard)
61. Christian spiritual formation is growing in Christ through community (James Wilhoit)
62. Christian spiritual formation is living in a Christian faith community that receives, remembers, responds and relates (James Wilhoit)
63. Christian spiritual formation affirms the Jesus Creed (Scot McKnight)
64. Christian spiritual formation is a long obedience in the same direction (Eugene Peterson)
65. Christian spiritual formation is enhanced by transforming moments (James Loder)
66. Christian spiritual formation is conforming to His image (Kenneth Boa)
67. Christian spiritual formation is the imitation of Christ (Thomas â Kempis)
68. Christian spiritual formation is how faith matures (Carl Ellis Nelson)
69. Christian spiritual formation flows with sacred rhythms (Ruth Haley Barton)
70. Christian spiritual formation is life together (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
71. Christian spiritual formation is the pursuit of holiness (Jerry White)
72. Christian spiritual formation is learning the knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer)
73. Christian spiritual formation focuses on the centrality of the Gospel (Timothy Keller)
74. Christian spiritual formation is inner growth, outer change (John H. Westerhoff III)
75. Christian spiritual formation is growing in the life of the faith (Dysktra)
76. Christian spiritual formation draws its strength from intergenerational faith communities (Allan Harkness)
77. Christian spiritual formation is enhanced by interactions in small groups (Jennifer Turner)
78. Christian spiritual formation is a celebration of discipline (Richard Foster)
79. Christian spiritual formation is facilitated by the person and work of the Holy Spirit (Torrey)
80. Christian spiritual formation will be consumed in God at his parousia
Labels: Spiritual Formation
Book Review on Carl McColman’s The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
I read Carl McColman’s
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality (2010, Hampton Roads Publishing) while on a long flight from Singapore to South Africa, and reflected on the book while I was on safari in Kruger National Park. Amidst the raw chill of a morning on the African savannah plain while watching a glorious sunrise, adoration for the divine fills my heart, and I had a glimpse of what the mystics of all ages have been trying to explain to us. It resonates with what McColman writes about Christian mysticism,
Christian mysticism is all about experience – the experience of union with God, or of God. But it is also about a spiritual reality that undermines experience itself, deconstructing all your masks and self-defen[c]es (sic) and leaving you spiritually naked and vulnerable before the silence of the Great Mystery. It is the spirituality of bringing heaven to earth, and of going through hell while here on earth in order to get to heaven (p.9).
McColman structures his book into two parts. The first part explains what mysticism especially Christian mysticism is and the second is how to be a mystic through a contemplative life. The book is written in such an easy to understand way that a reader may easily miss how much knowledge and experience is needed to make such a complex subject appear simple. I discern that McColman has depth knowledge of many of the Christian mystics, notably Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Bernard of Clairvaux, author of the Cloud of Unknowing and Hildegard of Bingen.
McColman’s writing reflects the output of a gentle and kind soul who wants to share what he knows but is fearful of the repercussions. He walks gingerly through the minefield of what we commonly called mysticism. He is wise to limit himself specifically to Christian mysticism. Even then, he is aware of many well meaning Christians to whom the word mysticism is synonymous with New Age, not realising many Old and New Testament heroes of the faith may be considered mystics. I appreciate the way he grounds Christian mysticism in the Trinity, the revelation of God in his word (Bible), the Mystery of the Divine and in community. It is not often that mystics are understood in the context of their communities.
The second part deals with the heart of mysticism which involves
kenosis (self-emptying) and
perichoresis (analogy of the divine dance of the Trinity) which McColman calls the contemplative life. He introduces certain spiritual disciplines such as
lectio divina (spiritual reading) and prayer-beyond-words which prime us to the contemplative life.
The heart of the book is what he calls the “mystical paradoxes.” The mark of spiritual maturity is to be able to hold in tension two seemingly opposing spiritual truths and yet be at peace about it. This is Christian mysticism. Unlikely systematic theology which gives the illusion that everything can be neatly explained in propositions, mysticism reveals that God is still a Mystery to our finite mind. McColman notes that “[a] God that you cannot comprehend is a God you cannot manipulate. This, I believe, is a God of true grace, a God worthy of worship” (p.77).
These “mystical paradoxes” that McColman highlights are:
• Mysticism is the quest for God vs
You cannot seek God unless God has found you• Mysticism is about experience vs
mysticism cannot be limited to experience• God is immanent vs
God is transcendent• Mysticism involves significant, life-transforming events and changes in consciousness vs
a mystical experience may seem as insignificant as the Butterfly Effect• You can do nothing to “earn” the mystical life vs
If you are passive, you will be thwarting the action of the Holy Spirit• Mysticism is the “flight of the alone to the Alone” vs
Christ is present “where two or three are gathered” in his name• God is One vs
God is a Holy Trinity• Christ is fully human vs
Christ is fully divine• Seek the light vs
Embrace the dark• Take delight in God vs
Accept even suffering• God is all-merciful vs
God is uncompromising in his justice• Seek holiness vs
Practice hospitality• Plumb deeply the Christian tradition vs
Embrace all positive wisdom• Love God’s creation vs
Do not love the world• Humankind is sinful vs
humankind is invited to participate in union with God• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom vs
Perfect love casts out fear• Place your hope in the future when you will find conscious union with God vs
Live in the present moment; that’s the only place you’ll ever find God• Live by faith vs
Live the truth• Authentic Christian mysticism conforms to Biblical and church teaching vs
Mysticism is following spiritual vision to greater freedom• Pray methodically vs
Prayer cannot be reduced to a method• Become like little children vs
Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind• Mysticism is an intellectual pursuit vs
True mysticism is mostly about the heart• The mystical journey is like climbing a mountain – it’s a lifelong journey to reach the place God is calling you vs
There’s nothing separating you from the love of God – right here, right now• The Ultimate Mystery is silent vs
Part of being a mystic is trying to express the effable through words• Heaven is a gift freely given vs
Hell awaits those who rejects divine loveObviously those “mystical paradoxes” needs to be unpacked to do them justice and understandably McColman will not be able to do that even in his “big” book of 309 pages. The only fault I can find (aside from the pagination) is that this “big” book is not big enough! It would have been evenbetter if McColman expands more than what he has already done on these “mystical paradoxes.”
This is a good introductory book to Christian mysticism. Reading from the perspective of the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition, I do not have any issues with what McColman has written here. Christian mysticism is an essential part of the Christian spiritual life and I agree with McColman here that everyone is a mystic (see also Paul’s writing in Ephesians 3). It will leave us with a truncated spiritual life if we neglect or reject this facet of our Christian spirituality.
Soli Deo Gloria
.
Labels: Book Review, Mysticism
