ONE GUY

According to the AFP wire, the government has prosecuted one guy, Robert Stein, for money laundering, and he has been made to forfeit 3.6 million dollars. The guy is going to get nine years in jail.

The scheme also apparently involved several million more dollars, luxury items, and military equipment being channeled to the Romanians.

I'm glad the military was able to find the one guy responsible for this and put an end to it. A bad apple can spoil the whole bushel.


Link
U.S. Official Gets Nine Years For Corruption in Iraq

TOOK AN ONLINE QUIZ

I took an online quiz. I'm not sure that the quiz inventor is as thorough as he thinks he is, but the results are kind of flattering.

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

ABRAHAM's RIGHTEOUSNESS

My church has started doing a new series titled "a covenanted people." The past several sermons have been about how God forms bonds with people in order to reveal his will.

Last year at SKS, I bought the book Old Testament Survey: the message, form, and background of the Old Testament by William Lassor, David Hubbard, and Fredric Bush.

While the book is packed with analysis and information, it is one of the least engaging books that I have ever attempted to read. Still, through the monotony, some things manage to catch my eye. On page 49, there is a passage that speaks closely to what my church is studying:

Abraham's righteousness resided in his faith in God's gracious promise. If righteousness is conceived, as in modern western society, as conformity to an abstract moral code, this equation is indeed hard to understand. However, righteousness in the Bible is not a norm-prescribing ethics, but faithfulness to a relationship. The righteous person is loyal to the claims of all personal relationships. Therefore, a person's righteousness in relation to God is fulfilled when that relationship is characterized by faith (see Rom. 1:16f.; 3; Gal. 3:6-9).

Affluenza: Rampant consumerism erodes us

I found an interesting article about "affluenze." This is the name for the mental situation of depressed people in affluent societies like the United States, Australia, and Singapore.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Beware the Affluenza Virus. An epidemic of
mindless consumerism is sweeping the world with the compulsive pursuit of money
and possessions making people richer but sadder.

Link to the Full Article

Brian McLaren: Religion of Mass Distraction

When I meet new people, I sometimes get very concerned about them if they don't identify them as Christians.  I hope that people I come in contact with want to live a life that compells them to pray, open the Bible, and ask what God wants them to do with their life (not necessarily in that order).  I believe that the reality of Hell and Jesus' call to make disciples of all nations makes this a necessity for all people who claim to be followers of Christ.

 

Today I recieved a link to a Sojourner's article that suggests a slightly different gut reaction for Christians when meeting people.

 

Here's an excerpt:

I explained that as a follower of God in the way of Jesus, I am taught to see every person as my neighbor. The first thing I think upon meeting someone is not, "I wonder if she's a Christian?" but "This is my neighbor. This is a beautiful person, a bearer of the image of God, someone I have the opportunity to know and appreciate and perhaps even serve in some way." Seeing others this way isn't a compromise of my Christian commitment; it's an expression of it, I explained.
 

The truth is, the standard set here is actually harder than obeying God's call to evangelize.  When you think in black and white terms toward people that you meet, everyone fits into three categories:  people who believe the gospel, people who don't believe the gospel, and people who haven't heard the gospel.  Depending on which way you classify the person, your agenda and expectations for your relationship with that person are already set.

 

Yet, loving, serving and speaking to another person, any person, unconditionally, with the expectation that God's love exhibited through servant hood and loving words may change that person, is a much, much harder challenge to meet.

 

 

Link to the Full Article

Brian McLaren: Religion of Mass Distraction

TRUE LIBERTY? I DOUBT IT

When I went to college, I really liked living in a dormitory environment. I spent three years on the fourth floor of Mizzou's Gillette Hall. People from all over the country, were settled in pairs in tiny rooms. There wasn't much space in the tiny rooms that you were given and, unless you wanted to remain a silent recluse, the tiny spaces forced you to communicate and make friends with the people that lived on your floor.

Like almost all dorms at Mizzou, it was a secular co-ed environment. Sometimes kids, especially new freshmen, would do things that were immoral, unlawful or downright inappropriate. But except for one or two instances of when my university-chosen roommate and his girlfriend went a little too far while I was in the room and the random drunk college student that might make too much noise at night, dorm life was fun, interesting, and enriching.

Also during college in the dorms, I made many close friendships with Christian people, folks who believed that day to day decision making must be accompanied by prayer, that Jesus' death and resurrection were the two most important historical events in all of human history, and the Bible is God's written record that provides correct instruction toward righteousness and the best historical record of who God really is. It is probably because of these friendships that I am where I am today, teaching at a Christian school in Singapore.

And finally, and perhaps most shockingly, living in this dormitory environment with a diverse groups of both spiritual and nonspiritual folks, helped me live out the gospel and develop Biblical convictions. By living amongst drunkards and the sexually immoral, I was able to see that "mother was always right" about how wrong those activities were. I saw firsthand the consequences of those unwise choices, the toll that it took on kids' academic progress, and the helter-skelter social lives that those kids chose to lead.

However, I was also able to learn how to show grace and love to those people, something that is probably more important to God than simply doing the right thing. Holding the trashcan while somebody vomits in it teaches more humility than hours of Bible study. Helping a friend deal with the real world consequences of his sin does more to help you stay out of trouble than dozens of sermons. And doing something sacrificially to someone who scoffs at your values helps teach you to love like Jesus. Moreover, while everyone has their flaws and sins, living in a blatantly diverse and sinful environment helps crush the American myth that "everyone is a Christian." While even the most righteous people will sometimes screw up, you learn in the Mizzou dorms that there are clear distinctions in actions and attitudes among those who are at least trying to do God's will and those who just don't give a crap.

Of course I've made a lot of mistakes. It is impossible to go through your entire life, maybe even an an entire day, without doing something selfish or deceitful, losing control of your tongue, being lazy, gossiping, criticizing unnecessarily, feigning religion, being prideful, or acting with mixed motives; and I've done all of these things. In fact, in God's eyes I may be a little worse than the naive college drunkards; some of the most idiotic things that I've ever said and done have been in the name of religion. However, at some point in time, I'm not sure when (probably in high school), I realized that I was a pretty opinionated person and I became paranoid that I would be viewed or become a hypocrite. I spent summers working at Boys Scout camp; even when I didn't have an authentic faith and was a little more cynical, I've always been a church attender; I also have some pretty critical people in my family, and if I realized that if I did make a mistake and experiment with sin, I'd probably never hear the end of it. Whatever they may be, these factors have helped me live a pretty clean life and avoid so many of the socially unacceptable sins that can so easily entangle.

So what is the point of all of this? Why are these reflections necessary. Well, I have been looking at and thinking about getting a graduate degree in the next two or three years, and I have been looking at different colleges and universities. Naturally, I am semi-attracted to the idea of attending a Christian university. I've liked teaching at a Christian school; and if I am paying good money for my own education, it would be good to go to a graduate school with professors who seek to build up my faith as well as my mind.

Unfortunately, one thing I've found is that most so-called Christian universities heap tons of unreasonable living expectations upon their students. While surfing on Digg.com I found the code of conduct of one of the most renowned Christian universities, Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.

If the things on this list weren't real, some of the items would be funny. The code includes a system of incremental fines and reprimands for their students for each offence. There is apparently such a thing as a "music violation" that gets you a whopping four reprimands and a ten dollar fine. "Horseplay" makes the list. Showing up late and breaking the curfew is apparently a big deal at Liberty. There are four different items on the list dealing with that. Watching "R-rated" movies, deception, "entering the residence hallway of an opposite sex," and "entering the space above ceiling tiles" (what the heck!) are all sins on the same level of Falwell's Inferno and will give you twelve reprimands and a fifty dollar fine. Apparently, while living at Liberty going to see Michael Moore documentaries and most action movies and art films is out, but watching Dude, Where's my Car?, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and the upcoming Simpsons movie would be a perfectly acceptable activities. Don't misunderstand me, I've watched lots of movies, and movie ratings can be a good hard and fast tool for parents to decide what is and isn't acceptable, but after the kid starts to think for himself or herself their usage becomes pretty limited. Why should a secular organization like the MPAA with its superficial standards help set what is and isn't morally acceptable to Christians?

The two most troubling items on the list are also the most ridiculous. A $250 fine and an incredible 18 reprimands will be given to college students who "associate with those consuming alcohol" or "enter the residence hall or apartment or home of the opposite sex." Notice the key words: "associate" and "enter." On the Liberty University scale of morality, these offenses are apparently equal to racial and sexual harassment, exposing yourself, vandalism and threatening violence. It boggles my mind that "associating" and entering homes would even make the list. Clearly if you read the Bible, without a doubt, undeniably, and without question Jesus would be doing these things. You live in a fantasy world and must read a fantasy Bible if you don't see this. In my mind, I think that living in the Liberty University environment and following this code must make it harder to imitate Christ than living in the secular, beer-laden, co-ed Mizzou dorms.

As I walk with God, sometimes I become more sure about certain aspects of faith, sometimes I learn more about God's grace and character, and sometimes through prayer, Bible study, reflection, and teaching I learn that ideas that I have previously held are wrong. It is a slow process of spiritual and mental growth that has to be conscientious and is sometimes painful. But when I consider grown people (eighteen and up college students that we would send to war and allow to marry), I can't imagine requiring someone to submit to this superficial moral code that has been imposed under the auspices of authentic Christianity.

I know that spiritually I am nothing special. I've met people who have made much greater sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ than I might ever do. I've met some who have risked their lives and lived in poverty to pursue God's call for their life. However, it makes me sad that if I were to attend a school such as Liberty, even if I were to receive the best education money could buy, my thoughts if not my actions would cause me to be labeled as some kind of intellectual rebel or rabble-rouser. This is absurd, considering that when I am in almost any other company I am seen as some moralistic purist and I sometimes fear being labeled a "church nerd." I do have problems and face temptations with my own sin and personal attitude, but I guarantee that living under this code of conduct would hinder, not help my spiritual state. And things about my spiritual walk that I view as negatives would only be exacerbated in such an environment.

But I guess I shouldn't get too worked up about this stuff. Going to a place like Liberty probably helps some people, and I've met several dedicated missionaries who have attended that institution. The thing that makes me the most frustrated is that Christian institutions need to learn that we aren't the military; we need to have a rigid code of conduct, but grace and love should trump superficial boundaries every time. We also aren't politicians or fortune five hundred CEO's that need to be constantly worried about our self image or what the lawyers and media might say. Our outward testimony is important, but what is more important is the testimony of our hearts and the way that we show love to our neighbors, even if they are so brazen as to be "of the opposite sex" or "consuming alcohol."

IRAQ

I haven't posted many editorials for a while. When I decide to find the time, I will post a long one reflecting on Singapore Prime Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew's perspective on the issue. Every so often, he writes editorials about the Iraq war in the Straits Times.

For now, here is an interesting article to read about the history of US and Iraqi relations.

Link
The Ties that Bind: How Reagan Armed Saddam with Chemical Weapons.

WORD OF THE DAY: CHILLY BIN

Yesterday some of my Australian and Kiwi students informed me that the proper word for a cooler ('ya know the kind made by Coleman) is the "chilly bin." I guess it kind of makes sense.

RESTRICTIONS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE

My sister gave me a sixteen month Beatles calendar produced by the Mead corporation for Christmas. Even though I'm not a big Beatles fan, I still think that the calendar is pretty keen. On every page it features a black and white picture of the Beatles.

However, on the back of this calendar is an absurd message, some type of legal warning. It simply states, in tiny blue print, "The removal and reuse of pages in this work is strictly prohibited."
Always being one to read the fine print, I want to know who prohibits "the removal and reuse" and to what extent. After next December when I am done with the calendar, am I allowed to cut the pages up and reuse them on my wall? Could I cut out all of the pages, tape them together and make some type of table covering with them? If I wanted to make a collage with other calendar images, amd I allowed to do this? Am I allowed to rip the pages out and practice oragami? Can I crumple the pages up and use them with Windex to clean glass? If I'm in a pinch, am I allowed to crumple them up and use them Sears catalog style? Are there restrictions on recycling?

Moreover, this warning says nothing about patent, trademark, or copyright. This causes me to assume that no government arm can possible enforce this restriction. So, my next question is who is the one that enforces this supposed prohibition? Will the original photographer of the calendar images come back and sue me? Will I be haunted by an apparition of John Lennon, back from the grave and angry that I misued his likeness? Does the Mead school supplies corporation have a militant arm that enforces its restrictions?

I don't know, but maybe next year when I am done with the calendar I will attempt to find out. I'll have over a year to plot the removal and alternate usages of pages of Beatles calendars. If anyone has any info about this vague restriction, please let me know.

By the way, I searched on Wal-Mart (where the calendar was originally purchased) and Amazon and I haven't been able to find it for sale online. The ISBN number listed on the back of the calendar is 0-7688-8015-7.

If you want more information about bizzare legal restrictions on consumer goods and copyrights, BoingBoing is your place to search.

WAS AL QAEDA CREATED BY AMERICA?

MY FAMILY!

My family has been here over the past ten days. We have seen all of the tourist spots in Singapore, gone on a trip to the jungles of Indonesia, and spent lots of quality time together. They returned to the states at 6 A.M. this morning.