Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sermon: 1 John 4:1-6 Identify the Counterfeit
20091025 Preaching @ Jubilee Church, 10am
1 John 4:1-6 Identify the Counterfeit
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Introduction (v. 1)
The overarching message of 1 John is: Christian love. The author has been encouraging the Christian community to “love one another as he (Jesus Christ) commanded us” (1 John 3:23b). Even in the section following, the author continues to explore further on God’s love. From the surface, it seems as if the passage today is misplaced. Key phrases and words like “test the spirits, the antichrist, in the flesh, in the world, in you, truth and falsehood” stick out like a sore thumb in this passage. What has Christian love got to do with these words? Has John lost his way in this theological curlicue? A deeper analysis would tell a different story.
In the opening greeting, the original Gk. word Agapetoi (Ἀγαπητοί) has been translated as “Dear friends” in NIV, while “Beloved” in NRSV. Both of which does not capture its full meaning. If you are familiar with the word agape, God’s love, you would immediately see that John was addressing them as those who are dearly loved by God. He does not digress from the theme of Christian love. In fact, he continues with it. Following from 1 John 3:24 the author tells the believers that they know God dwells in them because of the Spirit he gave them. Naturally, the question that follows is “How does one know which is the Spirit that came from God?”
[Which Apple iPod Nano is real?] – (pic)
The community in 1 John was also asked to identify the counterfeit spirit, so as to recognize the real Spirit of God. There are many others who claim to be indwelt by God, to have received the Spirit, and to speak in his name. Included among these people were those who were formerly from their community (secessionists). The author warns his readers to exercise discernment when they encounter people claiming to speak in God’s name. Do not believe every spirit. Not everyone claiming to speak in God’s name actually does so. “To test the spirits” means to evaluate the utterances of such people ‘to see whether they are from God.”
1. Jesus Christ has come in the flesh… (v. 2-3a)
This is the main message of our passage today. The criterion for testing the spirits is: “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (v. 2b). To acknowledge Jesus Christ, as incarnate, Word became Flesh, is to acknowledge His divinity and humanity. Jesus Christ is both fully divine (because he came from God and shares the same essence with God), and he is also fully human (because he came in the flesh). This may seem obvious to most of us, but in those days, it was not so.
John repeats this criterion negatively: “but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (v. 3a). Some have accused John of being too harsh with his words. Pastor Siow Hwee calls it the Siege Mentality of John. Knowing the historical context may help us better understand the intention and message of the author. So, what made John so angsty? What were the heretical teachings prominent then?
Against Doceticism…
One of the most hotly debated theological debates was the humanity of Christ. Doceticism, one of the heretical teachings, denies that Jesus Christ was fully human. Jesus' physical body was not real, but only an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body, but in reality he was without a physical body, only a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" (John 1:14) as merely figurative. One Docetic school held that the Christ-spirit came upon Jesus at the baptism and left him again at his crucifixion. Jesus the human is separate from Christ the divine spirit.
“Was Jesus fully human?” What a strange question to ask? Any eye witness of Jesus would have verified this. The real agenda behind this question is not about Jesus’ existence, but about the value of Jesus’ birth and death. How did his birth and death saved us from sin?
If Jesus was not fully human, it would not be possible for him to identify with us (sinners). If He is only fully divine, then how could he have died? His “death” would be meaningless. By denying his humanity, Christ has no right to stand before the Judge on our behalf. And so, he could not have taken our place on the cross. There is no victory over death. The problem of sin remains. Mankind remains separated from God. This was why John had to fight so vehemently against Doceticism in those days. The very core of Christian foundation – Christ’s redemption – is put into doubt.
Against Gnosticism…
Doceticism is a form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a philosophical-religious movement that developed during the first three hundred years of early Christianity. It claims to be more profound and presents a truer interpretation of Christianity. The basic idea is that Gnosticism believe that the physical human body is evil and God is absolutely outside of the physical world (transcendent) and so it is impossible for God to incarnate, or to dwell with humans (immanence). The only way for God to reveal His truth is through secret revelation to the privileged few (i.e. The Gnostics). To put in simple terms, the Gnostics believe that truth comes directly from God only to them and so their belief is the most truthful. Can you imagine the attraction for the early Christians? To be a Gnostic seems to give a believer a special place in God’s plan. You are highly esteemed and special because God has chosen to reveal His truth to you alone.
The Gospel of Thomas
To help us appreciate the context better, let me give an example of Gnosticism. Some of you may have heard about the Gospel of Thomas. Many scholars have deemed it to be Gnostic in nature. The Gospel of Thomas begins, "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." In the Gospel of Thomas v.108, Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
Gnosticism as a Christian heresy was attacked by several early Church Fathers (Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, etc.). It was rejected from the Christian Canon mainly because the dating of the corpus suggests that it was not written close to the times of Jesus, and so the author is unlikely to be the disciple, Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas was also not popular among the early churches. It is highly mystical, neither useful nor comprehensive for the readers. And, no one could verify its authenticity when it is deemed as secret knowledge from God.
The community of 1 John was surrounded by many Docetic and Gnostic teachings. The Gospel of Thomas was not written during the time of John’s community but Gnostic thoughts and teachings did. Many have been corrupted by these heretical teachings and had left the community. John encourages those remaining to stay firm in their belief.
2. The one who is in you is greater than the one in the world (vv. 3b-6)
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? If you do, you are dearly loved by God. If not, then you are the antichrist!
For the spirit which does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. You are either for God or against God. There is no middle ground. Antichrists are false prophets who have already gone out into the world speaking in God’s name. The aim of the antichrist is to deceive people by denying the truth about Jesus Christ, and in particular, within the context of 1 John, by denying the true humanity of Christ.
1 John is not the only biblical book alert to the dangers of false prophets. This danger was not hypothetical, but real, for many believers have left the Christian community, misled by heretical teachings in those days. But as children who are from God, the Beloved, you have overcome against them, “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The one in you refers to the Spirit of God, the indwelling One – the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer. The one in the world refers to Satan, the “prince of this world” (John 12:31), “the god of this Age” (2 Cor. 4:4), and the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph. 2:2). The passage today teaches us how to recognize the real Spirit of God in us by identifying the counterfeit spirit of the antichrist. Our God is far greater than the one in the world.
To be in the world but not of it
The author’s message in v. 5-6 (“They are of the world; we are of God) gives the readers the impression of Christianity that pits “Christ against culture”. This form of witness, while powerful, is neither the most appropriate nor the most effective for the church in the modern world (Richard Niebuhr). Throughout history and across the globe, Christians have so often identified themselves with our culture that the church has lost its voice. Paul reminds us in Rom 12:2, “2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Instead of transformation, we have conformed to the pattern of this world. My ex-Sunday school teacher reminded me recently, “Are we in the world or of the world?” (cf. John 17:11, 16) Have we been conforming too much to the world? Instead of renewing our minds, and changing the world, we allow the world to transform us.
Do you really believe that Jesus Christ was born, died and rose again? Do we believe in our hearts, confess with our lips and show it in our ways that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Do our lives reflect Christ? To “acknowledge,” or confess Jesus involves recognition of his true identity and an open proclamation of faith in him (John Stott). We must outwardly confess our inward-most belief. This confession is not merely from our lips but also in our attitudes and our ways.
3. Contemporary significance: Our challenges today…
For most of us, we may find it hard to understand the significance in 1 John because Doceticism and Gnosticism are not as prevalent today, at least not in its original form. Even though the humanity of Christ may not be an issue for us today, it is still necessary for us to understand it. We accept that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. But if I would to ask you, “Why?” What would you say? Because my pastor told me so. If so, then, we have failed in our task as preachers. The faith which we profess cannot be blind faith. It must be a faith seeking understanding. We must learn to read the Bible for all its worth, and discover within it a strange new world.
The central message of God has not changed. What needs to change is our mindset and attitudes when we read the Bible. Even though we do not encounter heretical teachings in our daily lives, it does not mean that they do not exist. It exists in various forms. We may not face the same issues as the early Christians, but our challenges are real. Today, we struggle with atheism, agnosticism, pantheism (everything is God), panentheism (everything is in God), pluralism, post-modernism, consumerism, prosperity gospel, health and wealth theology, me-ism and all the isms in the world!
What is our response? What is the central message of our Gospel? John responded harshly to his culture. He made a stand. What is our stand today? Do we even have a stand? The question I often ask myself is, “Am I an authentic Christian?” Am I for real? Am I a true follower of Jesus? Have I practiced what I preached? Is God performing his work of transformation in my life? Am I becoming more Christ-like? Does my life reflect the Spirit of God inside?
A balance between Christ and culture…
In our struggle between Christ and culture, sometimes we neglect one for the other. For John, there is no middle ground. You are either in the light or in the darkness, truth or falsehood, from the world or from God, believe the Spirit of God or the spirit of antichrist. We may not agree with John’s tone in the letter, but we cannot deny its importance. Ultimately, he is right to warn us against the spirit of the antichrists. To compromise on God’s truth is to acknowledge a counterfeit god. It is to believe the counterfeit spirit. It is to preach a counterfeit gospel: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” (Richard Niebuhr) Is this the gospel you believe in?
Dear friends, you know you are dearly loved by God because you have accepted that God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born into this world as like one of us. He is our Emmanuel, our God with us. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)” We are God’s children. Do not give up your faith! Do not turn to the dark side. Do not believe every spirit. Test them. See if they acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. See if they practice what they preach. By this you would know the Spirit of God! And the Spirit of God is in you.
For us to identify the counterfeits we must know the real thing inside out. I was told that real Louis Vuitton bags are made in such a way that their LV Monogram symbol is never cut away at the joints. Look very closely at the seams of the purse. Regardless of where the individual monogram symbols appear on an item, they should all be whole. I am not suggesting that everyone ought to buy LV bags but to able to identify the real ones from the counterfeits. In the same light, I also urge you to know the Spirit of God as intimately as you can. This is the best way to identify the counterfeit.
Let us pray.
1 John 4:1-6 Identify the Counterfeit
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Introduction (v. 1)
The overarching message of 1 John is: Christian love. The author has been encouraging the Christian community to “love one another as he (Jesus Christ) commanded us” (1 John 3:23b). Even in the section following, the author continues to explore further on God’s love. From the surface, it seems as if the passage today is misplaced. Key phrases and words like “test the spirits, the antichrist, in the flesh, in the world, in you, truth and falsehood” stick out like a sore thumb in this passage. What has Christian love got to do with these words? Has John lost his way in this theological curlicue? A deeper analysis would tell a different story.
In the opening greeting, the original Gk. word Agapetoi (Ἀγαπητοί) has been translated as “Dear friends” in NIV, while “Beloved” in NRSV. Both of which does not capture its full meaning. If you are familiar with the word agape, God’s love, you would immediately see that John was addressing them as those who are dearly loved by God. He does not digress from the theme of Christian love. In fact, he continues with it. Following from 1 John 3:24 the author tells the believers that they know God dwells in them because of the Spirit he gave them. Naturally, the question that follows is “How does one know which is the Spirit that came from God?”
[Which Apple iPod Nano is real?] – (pic)
The community in 1 John was also asked to identify the counterfeit spirit, so as to recognize the real Spirit of God. There are many others who claim to be indwelt by God, to have received the Spirit, and to speak in his name. Included among these people were those who were formerly from their community (secessionists). The author warns his readers to exercise discernment when they encounter people claiming to speak in God’s name. Do not believe every spirit. Not everyone claiming to speak in God’s name actually does so. “To test the spirits” means to evaluate the utterances of such people ‘to see whether they are from God.”
1. Jesus Christ has come in the flesh… (v. 2-3a)
This is the main message of our passage today. The criterion for testing the spirits is: “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (v. 2b). To acknowledge Jesus Christ, as incarnate, Word became Flesh, is to acknowledge His divinity and humanity. Jesus Christ is both fully divine (because he came from God and shares the same essence with God), and he is also fully human (because he came in the flesh). This may seem obvious to most of us, but in those days, it was not so.
John repeats this criterion negatively: “but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (v. 3a). Some have accused John of being too harsh with his words. Pastor Siow Hwee calls it the Siege Mentality of John. Knowing the historical context may help us better understand the intention and message of the author. So, what made John so angsty? What were the heretical teachings prominent then?
Against Doceticism…
One of the most hotly debated theological debates was the humanity of Christ. Doceticism, one of the heretical teachings, denies that Jesus Christ was fully human. Jesus' physical body was not real, but only an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body, but in reality he was without a physical body, only a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" (John 1:14) as merely figurative. One Docetic school held that the Christ-spirit came upon Jesus at the baptism and left him again at his crucifixion. Jesus the human is separate from Christ the divine spirit.
“Was Jesus fully human?” What a strange question to ask? Any eye witness of Jesus would have verified this. The real agenda behind this question is not about Jesus’ existence, but about the value of Jesus’ birth and death. How did his birth and death saved us from sin?
If Jesus was not fully human, it would not be possible for him to identify with us (sinners). If He is only fully divine, then how could he have died? His “death” would be meaningless. By denying his humanity, Christ has no right to stand before the Judge on our behalf. And so, he could not have taken our place on the cross. There is no victory over death. The problem of sin remains. Mankind remains separated from God. This was why John had to fight so vehemently against Doceticism in those days. The very core of Christian foundation – Christ’s redemption – is put into doubt.
Against Gnosticism…
Doceticism is a form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a philosophical-religious movement that developed during the first three hundred years of early Christianity. It claims to be more profound and presents a truer interpretation of Christianity. The basic idea is that Gnosticism believe that the physical human body is evil and God is absolutely outside of the physical world (transcendent) and so it is impossible for God to incarnate, or to dwell with humans (immanence). The only way for God to reveal His truth is through secret revelation to the privileged few (i.e. The Gnostics). To put in simple terms, the Gnostics believe that truth comes directly from God only to them and so their belief is the most truthful. Can you imagine the attraction for the early Christians? To be a Gnostic seems to give a believer a special place in God’s plan. You are highly esteemed and special because God has chosen to reveal His truth to you alone.
The Gospel of Thomas
To help us appreciate the context better, let me give an example of Gnosticism. Some of you may have heard about the Gospel of Thomas. Many scholars have deemed it to be Gnostic in nature. The Gospel of Thomas begins, "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." In the Gospel of Thomas v.108, Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
Gnosticism as a Christian heresy was attacked by several early Church Fathers (Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, etc.). It was rejected from the Christian Canon mainly because the dating of the corpus suggests that it was not written close to the times of Jesus, and so the author is unlikely to be the disciple, Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas was also not popular among the early churches. It is highly mystical, neither useful nor comprehensive for the readers. And, no one could verify its authenticity when it is deemed as secret knowledge from God.
The community of 1 John was surrounded by many Docetic and Gnostic teachings. The Gospel of Thomas was not written during the time of John’s community but Gnostic thoughts and teachings did. Many have been corrupted by these heretical teachings and had left the community. John encourages those remaining to stay firm in their belief.
2. The one who is in you is greater than the one in the world (vv. 3b-6)
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? If you do, you are dearly loved by God. If not, then you are the antichrist!
For the spirit which does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. You are either for God or against God. There is no middle ground. Antichrists are false prophets who have already gone out into the world speaking in God’s name. The aim of the antichrist is to deceive people by denying the truth about Jesus Christ, and in particular, within the context of 1 John, by denying the true humanity of Christ.
1 John is not the only biblical book alert to the dangers of false prophets. This danger was not hypothetical, but real, for many believers have left the Christian community, misled by heretical teachings in those days. But as children who are from God, the Beloved, you have overcome against them, “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The one in you refers to the Spirit of God, the indwelling One – the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer. The one in the world refers to Satan, the “prince of this world” (John 12:31), “the god of this Age” (2 Cor. 4:4), and the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph. 2:2). The passage today teaches us how to recognize the real Spirit of God in us by identifying the counterfeit spirit of the antichrist. Our God is far greater than the one in the world.
To be in the world but not of it
The author’s message in v. 5-6 (“They are of the world; we are of God) gives the readers the impression of Christianity that pits “Christ against culture”. This form of witness, while powerful, is neither the most appropriate nor the most effective for the church in the modern world (Richard Niebuhr). Throughout history and across the globe, Christians have so often identified themselves with our culture that the church has lost its voice. Paul reminds us in Rom 12:2, “2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Instead of transformation, we have conformed to the pattern of this world. My ex-Sunday school teacher reminded me recently, “Are we in the world or of the world?” (cf. John 17:11, 16) Have we been conforming too much to the world? Instead of renewing our minds, and changing the world, we allow the world to transform us.
Do you really believe that Jesus Christ was born, died and rose again? Do we believe in our hearts, confess with our lips and show it in our ways that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Do our lives reflect Christ? To “acknowledge,” or confess Jesus involves recognition of his true identity and an open proclamation of faith in him (John Stott). We must outwardly confess our inward-most belief. This confession is not merely from our lips but also in our attitudes and our ways.
3. Contemporary significance: Our challenges today…
For most of us, we may find it hard to understand the significance in 1 John because Doceticism and Gnosticism are not as prevalent today, at least not in its original form. Even though the humanity of Christ may not be an issue for us today, it is still necessary for us to understand it. We accept that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. But if I would to ask you, “Why?” What would you say? Because my pastor told me so. If so, then, we have failed in our task as preachers. The faith which we profess cannot be blind faith. It must be a faith seeking understanding. We must learn to read the Bible for all its worth, and discover within it a strange new world.
The central message of God has not changed. What needs to change is our mindset and attitudes when we read the Bible. Even though we do not encounter heretical teachings in our daily lives, it does not mean that they do not exist. It exists in various forms. We may not face the same issues as the early Christians, but our challenges are real. Today, we struggle with atheism, agnosticism, pantheism (everything is God), panentheism (everything is in God), pluralism, post-modernism, consumerism, prosperity gospel, health and wealth theology, me-ism and all the isms in the world!
What is our response? What is the central message of our Gospel? John responded harshly to his culture. He made a stand. What is our stand today? Do we even have a stand? The question I often ask myself is, “Am I an authentic Christian?” Am I for real? Am I a true follower of Jesus? Have I practiced what I preached? Is God performing his work of transformation in my life? Am I becoming more Christ-like? Does my life reflect the Spirit of God inside?
A balance between Christ and culture…
In our struggle between Christ and culture, sometimes we neglect one for the other. For John, there is no middle ground. You are either in the light or in the darkness, truth or falsehood, from the world or from God, believe the Spirit of God or the spirit of antichrist. We may not agree with John’s tone in the letter, but we cannot deny its importance. Ultimately, he is right to warn us against the spirit of the antichrists. To compromise on God’s truth is to acknowledge a counterfeit god. It is to believe the counterfeit spirit. It is to preach a counterfeit gospel: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” (Richard Niebuhr) Is this the gospel you believe in?
Dear friends, you know you are dearly loved by God because you have accepted that God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born into this world as like one of us. He is our Emmanuel, our God with us. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)” We are God’s children. Do not give up your faith! Do not turn to the dark side. Do not believe every spirit. Test them. See if they acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. See if they practice what they preach. By this you would know the Spirit of God! And the Spirit of God is in you.
For us to identify the counterfeits we must know the real thing inside out. I was told that real Louis Vuitton bags are made in such a way that their LV Monogram symbol is never cut away at the joints. Look very closely at the seams of the purse. Regardless of where the individual monogram symbols appear on an item, they should all be whole. I am not suggesting that everyone ought to buy LV bags but to able to identify the real ones from the counterfeits. In the same light, I also urge you to know the Spirit of God as intimately as you can. This is the best way to identify the counterfeit.
Let us pray.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
RANT: Technology fails, yet again
Last week is officially the worst week of my life, technologically speaking. It started last Monday, when my home PC started to fail. This PC was new, just three months old. I was outrage! Think Windows' infamous Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) over and over again. It just kept restarting on its own. I tried to run memtest86 on it and it had errors, so i thought maybe it's the RAMs which were faulty. I brought down the piece which I thought was not working to Ban Leong at Ubi, only to realise that these RAMS came in a pair, so I had to return home and bring the other piece for an exchange. After changing the RAMS, I re-installed Windows again. But after awhile, BSOD again!
So, I decided to bring it down to Sim Lim Square for repairs at PC clinic, they said it was a wrong bios setting of the RAMs. With my 2GB OCZ Razor, DDR3, at 1066mhz, it needs to be set at 2.2v, while I had it on auto for voltage. Brought it home, it failed again! BSOD!!! Decided to call my mother's friend who fixes computer professionally, Mr Ng. He came by my place and picked it up. Re-installed Vista, brought it back to my home the next day and I paid him $60. But when I ran it at home, it failed again! I called Mr Ng about it and he said maybe device in conflict. Problem is we do not know which devices are in conflict. I said I really don't have time to deal with checking each and every part of my system, and so i would really appreciated that he could come by and pick it up again. He said he would come last Wed, 7:30pm but he did not show. I messaged him several times, he did not reply. I tried calling him, he hung on me. Basically, he took my money and did not want to deal with the follow-up and cut communication. I am very tempted to bring this issue up to CASE.
I re-installed Windows 7 on it and it was better. At least I could get it to work, but running ORTHOS stress test for just over an hour resulted in a fatal error in the hardware. BSOD happened once since this third re-installation of Windows. A week has passed and my PC is still not free of issues. But I must say that Windows 7 in Beta looks good. Very quick and fairly stable over Vista.
That's Tech Failure No. 1. Some say Windows is the problem. Mac is the answer. allow me to share my second issue.
No. 2 was my MacBook Pro battery. Out of no realm or reason, an error message just popped up and says that the battery needed servicing. I brought the faulty battery to Wheelock Place to get it changed. Only to be told that I need to also provide the serial no. of my MBP. I really did not understand this policy. But since I did not have my MBP with me, I had to return home to get the serial no.
The next day, I brought the original receipt with the MBP serial no. printed on it and along with the faulty battery, I went back to Wheelock Place. After waiting for my queue for 30 mins, the service lady told me that they need my MBP body to verify what the problem is. I was again outrage. I told them the previous day, another staff told me that she only need the serial no. and now she wants also the MBP? Seeing my pain and frustration, she relented and accepted my faulty battery with the serial no. Two days later, my mum helped me get a new replacement battery from them. Issue SOLVED! Note to self: Very important to get three-year warranty for any laptops!
Moving along, let's take a look at Tech Failure No. 3. Horror of Horrors! My Singnet ADSL Internet connection was unstable again. DC: Dropped Connections! Just three months back, I had the same problem, and the technician said it was faulty DSL splitters. I changed all the DSL splitters for each connecting to my telephone and the problem was solved. The modem/router (2WIRE) given by Singnet was unstable with my Macbook Pro and it was only a G-router (range was insufficient to surf in my room). So three months back, I had changed to Zxyel modem paired with an Belkin N-router for a longer range.
It was working very well these last three months, but suddenly DC again! I called Singnet and they had sent two technicians to look at the problem. At first they realised that the resistance tension signal for my line is high, meaning, my telephone lines is resisting signal from coming in. they have tried to change several cables on their distribution point and also at my telephone riser and managed to bring it down to an acceptable level of 29 when 30 is the cut off. Still high but acceptable according to them. But when it is within my household, the signal again shoots up. DC in my home! When they said it may be my modem is faulty. I took the Zxyel down to Funan and got it changed (one for one) and when I got home. It's DC again, at least I have some connection some times, but after changing the modem, I could not even connect at all!
Outrage! I called Singnet again and they asked me to use back the old Singnet 2 WIRE modem. I put it on and it does not even start up! Unbelievable! I decided to ask for early termination without penalty as this problem seems unsolvable. They said it MIGHT be an internal line problem, meaning my renovation contractors did not do a good job in laying the line from their telephone riser within my house. [i.e. putting blame] They even suggest to lay another open cable (exposed instead of concealed wiring) from outside to within my house. This is for them to prove that their line ok, my lines are not. this arrangement was far from acceptable. My entire house has concealed wiring, but because of this possible problem, they are going to drag an exposed cable outside to my house inside.
Shih-huei almost fainted! We rejected their proposal. Our stand is this: Even if they managed to get this to work (with an external line), I would have to engage my contractor to re-work all the telephone lines within my house again. Minor renovation just for internet? How is this possible with two small kids? Even if they might get it to work, Singnet cannot guarantee that we will not have DC again. Basically, I have paid for a service which I cannot use. We insisted on an early termination without penalty.
After several days of waiting for higher authority to approve our request. They said that the problem is we have signed a 3-year contract with Singnet and it came with the MacBook Air (MBA). They have somehow worked in the price of the MBA into their contract to give us this "FREE" gift, so to compromise, they suggest that we pay them for half the price of the MBA and we can then break the contract. Unacceptable! Why should we pay for a "FREE GIFT"? We sign their contract for their internet service, not for their MBA. If we wanted a laptop, we could have use the money to buy any laptop there is in the market. If it is a cost issue, we were willing to return the entire MBA than to have to pay half for it! They said they have no use for it. And so we are stuck again! We are still waiting for their higher level to get back to us. Issue remains unsolved!
To be continued...
So, I decided to bring it down to Sim Lim Square for repairs at PC clinic, they said it was a wrong bios setting of the RAMs. With my 2GB OCZ Razor, DDR3, at 1066mhz, it needs to be set at 2.2v, while I had it on auto for voltage. Brought it home, it failed again! BSOD!!! Decided to call my mother's friend who fixes computer professionally, Mr Ng. He came by my place and picked it up. Re-installed Vista, brought it back to my home the next day and I paid him $60. But when I ran it at home, it failed again! I called Mr Ng about it and he said maybe device in conflict. Problem is we do not know which devices are in conflict. I said I really don't have time to deal with checking each and every part of my system, and so i would really appreciated that he could come by and pick it up again. He said he would come last Wed, 7:30pm but he did not show. I messaged him several times, he did not reply. I tried calling him, he hung on me. Basically, he took my money and did not want to deal with the follow-up and cut communication. I am very tempted to bring this issue up to CASE.
I re-installed Windows 7 on it and it was better. At least I could get it to work, but running ORTHOS stress test for just over an hour resulted in a fatal error in the hardware. BSOD happened once since this third re-installation of Windows. A week has passed and my PC is still not free of issues. But I must say that Windows 7 in Beta looks good. Very quick and fairly stable over Vista.
That's Tech Failure No. 1. Some say Windows is the problem. Mac is the answer. allow me to share my second issue.
No. 2 was my MacBook Pro battery. Out of no realm or reason, an error message just popped up and says that the battery needed servicing. I brought the faulty battery to Wheelock Place to get it changed. Only to be told that I need to also provide the serial no. of my MBP. I really did not understand this policy. But since I did not have my MBP with me, I had to return home to get the serial no.
The next day, I brought the original receipt with the MBP serial no. printed on it and along with the faulty battery, I went back to Wheelock Place. After waiting for my queue for 30 mins, the service lady told me that they need my MBP body to verify what the problem is. I was again outrage. I told them the previous day, another staff told me that she only need the serial no. and now she wants also the MBP? Seeing my pain and frustration, she relented and accepted my faulty battery with the serial no. Two days later, my mum helped me get a new replacement battery from them. Issue SOLVED! Note to self: Very important to get three-year warranty for any laptops!
Moving along, let's take a look at Tech Failure No. 3. Horror of Horrors! My Singnet ADSL Internet connection was unstable again. DC: Dropped Connections! Just three months back, I had the same problem, and the technician said it was faulty DSL splitters. I changed all the DSL splitters for each connecting to my telephone and the problem was solved. The modem/router (2WIRE) given by Singnet was unstable with my Macbook Pro and it was only a G-router (range was insufficient to surf in my room). So three months back, I had changed to Zxyel modem paired with an Belkin N-router for a longer range.
It was working very well these last three months, but suddenly DC again! I called Singnet and they had sent two technicians to look at the problem. At first they realised that the resistance tension signal for my line is high, meaning, my telephone lines is resisting signal from coming in. they have tried to change several cables on their distribution point and also at my telephone riser and managed to bring it down to an acceptable level of 29 when 30 is the cut off. Still high but acceptable according to them. But when it is within my household, the signal again shoots up. DC in my home! When they said it may be my modem is faulty. I took the Zxyel down to Funan and got it changed (one for one) and when I got home. It's DC again, at least I have some connection some times, but after changing the modem, I could not even connect at all!
Outrage! I called Singnet again and they asked me to use back the old Singnet 2 WIRE modem. I put it on and it does not even start up! Unbelievable! I decided to ask for early termination without penalty as this problem seems unsolvable. They said it MIGHT be an internal line problem, meaning my renovation contractors did not do a good job in laying the line from their telephone riser within my house. [i.e. putting blame] They even suggest to lay another open cable (exposed instead of concealed wiring) from outside to within my house. This is for them to prove that their line ok, my lines are not. this arrangement was far from acceptable. My entire house has concealed wiring, but because of this possible problem, they are going to drag an exposed cable outside to my house inside.
Shih-huei almost fainted! We rejected their proposal. Our stand is this: Even if they managed to get this to work (with an external line), I would have to engage my contractor to re-work all the telephone lines within my house again. Minor renovation just for internet? How is this possible with two small kids? Even if they might get it to work, Singnet cannot guarantee that we will not have DC again. Basically, I have paid for a service which I cannot use. We insisted on an early termination without penalty.
After several days of waiting for higher authority to approve our request. They said that the problem is we have signed a 3-year contract with Singnet and it came with the MacBook Air (MBA). They have somehow worked in the price of the MBA into their contract to give us this "FREE" gift, so to compromise, they suggest that we pay them for half the price of the MBA and we can then break the contract. Unacceptable! Why should we pay for a "FREE GIFT"? We sign their contract for their internet service, not for their MBA. If we wanted a laptop, we could have use the money to buy any laptop there is in the market. If it is a cost issue, we were willing to return the entire MBA than to have to pay half for it! They said they have no use for it. And so we are stuck again! We are still waiting for their higher level to get back to us. Issue remains unsolved!
To be continued...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sermon: Judges 20:1-17 The Dangers of Deception
20090913 @ Jubilee Church, Bilingual Service, 10am
Judges 20:1-17 The Dangers of Deception
Israelites Fight the Benjamites
20 Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict.”
8 All the people rose as one man, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it as the lot directs. 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeaha in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.”
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.
Introduction
On 15th Apr 1989, 96 Liverpool fans were physically crushed to death at Hillsborough stadium during the FA Cup semi-finals between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The Hillsborough Disaster remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst in international football.
Jon-Paul Gilhooley, ten years old, was the youngest of those who never came home from Sheffield that day. Steven Gerrard was only nine years old when Hillsborough happened and he knew Jon-Paul. He was his cousin. In his autobiography, Gerrard described Jon-Paul, as “a boy whose life was snatched away just as it was starting. Crushed to death in a stand unfit for human beings.”
On the Wednesday following the disaster, Kelvin MacKenzie, then editor of The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper used the front page headline "THE TRUTH", with three sub-headlines: "Some fans picked pockets of victims"; "Some fans urinated on the brave cops"; "Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life". Imagine the emotions surrounding the people then.
However, it was a story based on falsehood. MacKensize had based his report on false testimony given by the Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield who gave the order to open the gates that allowed hundreds of fans to flood on to the already crowded terraces at the Sheffield Wednesday stadium. Prosecutor Alun Jones then stated that minutes after the disaster, [Duckenfield] "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open themselves. Duckenfield admitted that he had lied about certain statements regarding the causes of the disaster. Several other officers, including Norman Bettison, were accused of manipulating evidence. The story was a cover-up.
The prosecution was abandoned when Duckenfield's doctor declared him unfit to stand trial due to illness. Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension.
These allegations contradicted the reported behaviour of many Liverpool fans, who actively helped the security personnel to stretcher away a large number of victims and gave first aid to many injured. The Sun issued an apology "without reservation" in a full page opinion piece on 7 July 2004, saying that it had "committed the most terrible mistake in its history". Since then, Liverpudians have boycotted The Sun till today.
Who was responsible?
Even though an investigation (the Taylor Report) has confirmed certain problems with the stadium design and poor police control, no one was made responsible for their deaths. As a result of the report, fences surrounding the pitch were removed and many of the top stadiums were converted to become all-seated.
Twenty long years have passed since the death of 96 Liverpool fans – and still no justice. The truth of what actually happened never came to full light. What was reported in The Sun was based on lies and deception, to protect certain people from blame.
Many are still grieving for their loss. Many are still asking. Where is Truth? Where is “Justice for the 96”? The victims were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Today’s passage is also about seeking truth and justice. It is a continuation from Judges 19. Pastor Siow Hwee reminds us about the ills of dehumanization. The murdered girl was treated as only an object, a possession of the Levite. She was also a victim at the wrong place at a wrong time. I would add that she has also married the wrong man. Where is Truth? Where is Justice?
This was the same question asked by the Israelites when they bear witness to the most atrocious event in their history. They earn full score for their heightened sense of justice, but zero in their attempt to seek the truth. Sadly, they had based their judgment on only one side of the story, from the Levite man himself. Was the story presented by the Levite truthful? Was it based on facts or fiction? Let’s find out.
1. Fact or fiction? - The Lies of the Levite (v. 4-7)
In Judges 19:22, the text shows that “some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house” where the Levite and his concubine were staying. But in the passage today, in v. 5, the Levite recounts that it was the men of Gibeah who came for them. The men of Gibeah refers to the lords (or noblemen) of Gibeah rather than the less significant group of “perverse men of the city” (19:22). Also, the Levite claims that the men “intended to kill me” (20:5), while the actual intent was to have sex with him (19:22). What’s worse is that the Levite fails to mention that he was the one who “seized his concubine” and threw her out to the mob (19:25) in the first place, just to protect himself.
Moreover, he claims that “they raped my concubine, and she died,” (20:5) implying that her death was a result of the gang-rape. The crude translation would read, “they raped my concubine until she died”. This is again another distortion of facts. It is true that her ordeal of abuse lasted throughout the entire night, but these wicked men had let her go at dawn. She was still alive and went back to the house where her master was staying. She “fell at the door and lay there until daylight” (19:26). Was she already dead when her husband found her in the morning?
Who killed the concubine? This is an important question when evaluating the Levite’s statements. Although the text is silent, The LXX (Greek translation of the Bible) implicitly assumed that the concubine was DOA (dead on arrival). It adds to Judges 19:28 an additional phrase, that “there was no answer from her for she was dead.”
The Levite claims that she is murdered (20:4) and has pinned the responsibility of her death on the men of Gibeah. Indeed, it was murder. But who was the murderer? The actual narrative never makes it clear who actually killed her. It could have been the result of rape, as she bled to her death at the doorway. But it is quite different to suggest that they rape her until she died. Just as The Sun editor MacKenzie had based his report on false testimonies, the Israelites had also based their sense of justice on falsified information.
When the Levite cut up her body parts and sent to different tribes of Israel, and told of the atrocity that has befallen them, he asked the Israelites for a verdict. He asked for justice. The stage has been well-set for emotional blackmail. Imagine the smell and the sight when they received her body parts! "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt” (19:30). With the stage set, it was easy to manipulate these men to do his bid. The Levite wanted revenge, but he does not want to get his own hands dirty. Instead, he has single-handedly turned a local crime against an individual into a nation-wide civil war. Once he has presented his case for revenge, his task is done. The self-appointed leader-deliverer disappears from the rest of the story.
Still in shock, the Israelites came up with a plan for revenge in no time. First they made a vow, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house.” Not knowing that this vow would later caused them a greater problem when they almost wipe out the entire tribe of Benjamin. Then they decided to draw lots to gather an army to confront the men of Gibeah. It is interesting to see their solidarity in adversity.
2. The Call of One Man… (v. 8-17)
In v. 1, the author wrote that all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba “came out as one man”, but yet failed to mention that the tribe of Benjamin was not with them. Then in v. 8, it was also mentioned that “all the people rose as one man.” While v. 11, tells us that “all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.” They came out as one man, rose as one man, and united as one man. Unbelievable!
What an irony! By manipulating the Israelites to avenge the injustice on his behalf, the Levite was able to unite them. He did what no previous judge could accomplish. The Israelites, not counting the tribe of Benjamin, were united for the first time in the entire book of judges. Even though he was not a judge, he performed the role of a judge uniting the Israelites. This was no easy feat. But sadly, they were united for a cause that was based on lies and deception.
After gathering their men, they confronted the Benjamites, who refused to listen to their threats, just as the “sons of Belial” of Gibeah would not listen to the old man in Judges 19.25a. Maybe they knew that their accusations were not entirely truthful. Maybe it was pride that prevented the Benjamites to act justly. They would rather protect the wicked men than to give in to the demands of their brothers. Whatever the reason for their refusal to “surrender those wicked men of Gibeah”, it eventually led to the biggest civil war in the period of the Judges.
They prepared for battle by summoning troops from all the towns of Benjamin. Only 26,000 swordsmen plus 700 “chosen” men from Gibeah were called to fight against 400,000 fighting men of Israel. Yet, as if this was not enough to show their superiority against the Israelites, the narrator further notes that these 700 chosen were elite left-handed marksmen, who can “sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (v. 16). These left-handed warriors would later inflict even greater death on their fellow Israelites.
Conclusion
What can we learn from today’s passage? On the surface, we see deceit and deception at work. How dark is the heart of man seeking revenge? Today’s passage tells of a cruel and heartless man who manipulated his countrymen into taking revenge against his enemies, for an act of violence which he has indirectly caused. But if we look deeper into the story, we realize that the Levite not only deceived his fellow countrymen, he has also deceived himself of all responsibility for the death of his concubine. He hides the truth of him throwing her out to the wolves, instead blames the noblemen of Gibeah entirely for her death.
17th century German poet and novelist, Goethe, once wrote, “We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.” American writer Richard Bach believes that, “the worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves.”
How have we been deceiving others? How have we been deceiving ourselves?
Dutch humanist and theologian, Erasmus, believes that, “Man's mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth.” Really? Is it easier for us to believe in lies than in truths? Are we so easily deceived? So much so, that we deceive even ourselves?
In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the gangster Maman would blind the eyes of a small child with acid if he or she was discovered to be a talented singer, as this would generate more income when the child sings and begs on the street. In the name of national security, George Bush Jr. used the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction to convince the Americans to invade Iraq. A claim based on lies and deceit. Journalists and reporters of the news struggle between truth and fiction every day in their line of work. When stories are presented before us, it is important to separate facts from fiction. It is our responsibility to enquire deeper into the story as much as we can.
Seeking the truth is never easy. Often caught in the middle of arguments between two friends, I learn not to take sides. But sometimes, no matter how neutral you try to be, you will always be accused of takes sides with the other. Learn to be partial in our judgment and be vigilant in facts finding.
I think if there is one thing I learn from the passage today is that it is easy to fall into the trap of deceit when our emotions are stirred. Tell a tale of injustice, mix in a little spice of lies, and we have a potent concoction for disaster. What is truth? What is justice? Sometimes in our pursuit of justice, truth is compromised. Sometimes it is a hard struggle between what we believe in our hearts to be right and what we see as truth before our eyes. Sometimes, knowing the truth hurts, but it is almost always better than any distorted lies. It’s a very fine line between the two sometimes. As followers of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we must be a community of Truth seekers.
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)
Amen. Let us pray.
Judges 20:1-17 The Dangers of Deception
Israelites Fight the Benjamites
20 Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict.”
8 All the people rose as one man, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it as the lot directs. 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeaha in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.”
But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.
Introduction
On 15th Apr 1989, 96 Liverpool fans were physically crushed to death at Hillsborough stadium during the FA Cup semi-finals between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The Hillsborough Disaster remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst in international football.
Jon-Paul Gilhooley, ten years old, was the youngest of those who never came home from Sheffield that day. Steven Gerrard was only nine years old when Hillsborough happened and he knew Jon-Paul. He was his cousin. In his autobiography, Gerrard described Jon-Paul, as “a boy whose life was snatched away just as it was starting. Crushed to death in a stand unfit for human beings.”
On the Wednesday following the disaster, Kelvin MacKenzie, then editor of The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper used the front page headline "THE TRUTH", with three sub-headlines: "Some fans picked pockets of victims"; "Some fans urinated on the brave cops"; "Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life". Imagine the emotions surrounding the people then.
However, it was a story based on falsehood. MacKensize had based his report on false testimony given by the Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield who gave the order to open the gates that allowed hundreds of fans to flood on to the already crowded terraces at the Sheffield Wednesday stadium. Prosecutor Alun Jones then stated that minutes after the disaster, [Duckenfield] "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials that the supporters had forced the gate open themselves. Duckenfield admitted that he had lied about certain statements regarding the causes of the disaster. Several other officers, including Norman Bettison, were accused of manipulating evidence. The story was a cover-up.
The prosecution was abandoned when Duckenfield's doctor declared him unfit to stand trial due to illness. Duckenfield took medical retirement on a full police pension.
These allegations contradicted the reported behaviour of many Liverpool fans, who actively helped the security personnel to stretcher away a large number of victims and gave first aid to many injured. The Sun issued an apology "without reservation" in a full page opinion piece on 7 July 2004, saying that it had "committed the most terrible mistake in its history". Since then, Liverpudians have boycotted The Sun till today.
Who was responsible?
Even though an investigation (the Taylor Report) has confirmed certain problems with the stadium design and poor police control, no one was made responsible for their deaths. As a result of the report, fences surrounding the pitch were removed and many of the top stadiums were converted to become all-seated.
Twenty long years have passed since the death of 96 Liverpool fans – and still no justice. The truth of what actually happened never came to full light. What was reported in The Sun was based on lies and deception, to protect certain people from blame.
Many are still grieving for their loss. Many are still asking. Where is Truth? Where is “Justice for the 96”? The victims were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Today’s passage is also about seeking truth and justice. It is a continuation from Judges 19. Pastor Siow Hwee reminds us about the ills of dehumanization. The murdered girl was treated as only an object, a possession of the Levite. She was also a victim at the wrong place at a wrong time. I would add that she has also married the wrong man. Where is Truth? Where is Justice?
This was the same question asked by the Israelites when they bear witness to the most atrocious event in their history. They earn full score for their heightened sense of justice, but zero in their attempt to seek the truth. Sadly, they had based their judgment on only one side of the story, from the Levite man himself. Was the story presented by the Levite truthful? Was it based on facts or fiction? Let’s find out.
1. Fact or fiction? - The Lies of the Levite (v. 4-7)
In Judges 19:22, the text shows that “some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house” where the Levite and his concubine were staying. But in the passage today, in v. 5, the Levite recounts that it was the men of Gibeah who came for them. The men of Gibeah refers to the lords (or noblemen) of Gibeah rather than the less significant group of “perverse men of the city” (19:22). Also, the Levite claims that the men “intended to kill me” (20:5), while the actual intent was to have sex with him (19:22). What’s worse is that the Levite fails to mention that he was the one who “seized his concubine” and threw her out to the mob (19:25) in the first place, just to protect himself.
Moreover, he claims that “they raped my concubine, and she died,” (20:5) implying that her death was a result of the gang-rape. The crude translation would read, “they raped my concubine until she died”. This is again another distortion of facts. It is true that her ordeal of abuse lasted throughout the entire night, but these wicked men had let her go at dawn. She was still alive and went back to the house where her master was staying. She “fell at the door and lay there until daylight” (19:26). Was she already dead when her husband found her in the morning?
Who killed the concubine? This is an important question when evaluating the Levite’s statements. Although the text is silent, The LXX (Greek translation of the Bible) implicitly assumed that the concubine was DOA (dead on arrival). It adds to Judges 19:28 an additional phrase, that “there was no answer from her for she was dead.”
The Levite claims that she is murdered (20:4) and has pinned the responsibility of her death on the men of Gibeah. Indeed, it was murder. But who was the murderer? The actual narrative never makes it clear who actually killed her. It could have been the result of rape, as she bled to her death at the doorway. But it is quite different to suggest that they rape her until she died. Just as The Sun editor MacKenzie had based his report on false testimonies, the Israelites had also based their sense of justice on falsified information.
When the Levite cut up her body parts and sent to different tribes of Israel, and told of the atrocity that has befallen them, he asked the Israelites for a verdict. He asked for justice. The stage has been well-set for emotional blackmail. Imagine the smell and the sight when they received her body parts! "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt” (19:30). With the stage set, it was easy to manipulate these men to do his bid. The Levite wanted revenge, but he does not want to get his own hands dirty. Instead, he has single-handedly turned a local crime against an individual into a nation-wide civil war. Once he has presented his case for revenge, his task is done. The self-appointed leader-deliverer disappears from the rest of the story.
Still in shock, the Israelites came up with a plan for revenge in no time. First they made a vow, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house.” Not knowing that this vow would later caused them a greater problem when they almost wipe out the entire tribe of Benjamin. Then they decided to draw lots to gather an army to confront the men of Gibeah. It is interesting to see their solidarity in adversity.
2. The Call of One Man… (v. 8-17)
In v. 1, the author wrote that all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba “came out as one man”, but yet failed to mention that the tribe of Benjamin was not with them. Then in v. 8, it was also mentioned that “all the people rose as one man.” While v. 11, tells us that “all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.” They came out as one man, rose as one man, and united as one man. Unbelievable!
What an irony! By manipulating the Israelites to avenge the injustice on his behalf, the Levite was able to unite them. He did what no previous judge could accomplish. The Israelites, not counting the tribe of Benjamin, were united for the first time in the entire book of judges. Even though he was not a judge, he performed the role of a judge uniting the Israelites. This was no easy feat. But sadly, they were united for a cause that was based on lies and deception.
After gathering their men, they confronted the Benjamites, who refused to listen to their threats, just as the “sons of Belial” of Gibeah would not listen to the old man in Judges 19.25a. Maybe they knew that their accusations were not entirely truthful. Maybe it was pride that prevented the Benjamites to act justly. They would rather protect the wicked men than to give in to the demands of their brothers. Whatever the reason for their refusal to “surrender those wicked men of Gibeah”, it eventually led to the biggest civil war in the period of the Judges.
They prepared for battle by summoning troops from all the towns of Benjamin. Only 26,000 swordsmen plus 700 “chosen” men from Gibeah were called to fight against 400,000 fighting men of Israel. Yet, as if this was not enough to show their superiority against the Israelites, the narrator further notes that these 700 chosen were elite left-handed marksmen, who can “sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (v. 16). These left-handed warriors would later inflict even greater death on their fellow Israelites.
Conclusion
What can we learn from today’s passage? On the surface, we see deceit and deception at work. How dark is the heart of man seeking revenge? Today’s passage tells of a cruel and heartless man who manipulated his countrymen into taking revenge against his enemies, for an act of violence which he has indirectly caused. But if we look deeper into the story, we realize that the Levite not only deceived his fellow countrymen, he has also deceived himself of all responsibility for the death of his concubine. He hides the truth of him throwing her out to the wolves, instead blames the noblemen of Gibeah entirely for her death.
17th century German poet and novelist, Goethe, once wrote, “We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.” American writer Richard Bach believes that, “the worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves.”
How have we been deceiving others? How have we been deceiving ourselves?
Dutch humanist and theologian, Erasmus, believes that, “Man's mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth.” Really? Is it easier for us to believe in lies than in truths? Are we so easily deceived? So much so, that we deceive even ourselves?
In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the gangster Maman would blind the eyes of a small child with acid if he or she was discovered to be a talented singer, as this would generate more income when the child sings and begs on the street. In the name of national security, George Bush Jr. used the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction to convince the Americans to invade Iraq. A claim based on lies and deceit. Journalists and reporters of the news struggle between truth and fiction every day in their line of work. When stories are presented before us, it is important to separate facts from fiction. It is our responsibility to enquire deeper into the story as much as we can.
Seeking the truth is never easy. Often caught in the middle of arguments between two friends, I learn not to take sides. But sometimes, no matter how neutral you try to be, you will always be accused of takes sides with the other. Learn to be partial in our judgment and be vigilant in facts finding.
I think if there is one thing I learn from the passage today is that it is easy to fall into the trap of deceit when our emotions are stirred. Tell a tale of injustice, mix in a little spice of lies, and we have a potent concoction for disaster. What is truth? What is justice? Sometimes in our pursuit of justice, truth is compromised. Sometimes it is a hard struggle between what we believe in our hearts to be right and what we see as truth before our eyes. Sometimes, knowing the truth hurts, but it is almost always better than any distorted lies. It’s a very fine line between the two sometimes. As followers of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we must be a community of Truth seekers.
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)
Amen. Let us pray.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Random thoughts from 25-35 year olds
Original: http://melon.posterous.com/random-thoughts-from-25-35-year-olds
[Hilarious forward from my friend Christina.]
Edit1: Please contribute via comments & I will add.
Edit2: Apparently, many of these originated from Aaron Kao's hilarious site, Ruminations.
Random thoughts from 25-35 year olds
- I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first
saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
i nstinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do!
- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...
-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
[Hilarious forward from my friend Christina.]
Edit1: Please contribute via comments & I will add.
Edit2: Apparently, many of these originated from Aaron Kao's hilarious site, Ruminations.
Random thoughts from 25-35 year olds
- I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first
saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
i nstinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do!
- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...
-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
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