AboutLife

Emotional at Worship

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 16:26:01 -0700

Hi everyone, or if anyone is still reading this site,
If you missed the annual lecture, too bad. I think it will be available online soon.
James gave a lecture unlike what I had expected. I think he only touched the surface of the topic, but left lots of space for questions.
My conclusion, as also alluded by Jane, is what is wrong being mind manipulated by God, and so for worship, why not let our emotions raise us up. After all, our emotions are also made by God, but like all parts of the human flesh/psyche, they can be misused. If we let our emotions be employed during worship, we connect with God not just in our mind and knowing so, but feeling so. I think both are equally dangerous if abused or confused by the wrong reasons.

How GREEN should a Christian be?

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 06:58:29 -0700

Dear all,
This is kind of like a post-script, not sure if anyone will read it though!
I was just flipping thru my SOT file, and pondered on Dave Bookless tireless sacrifices. Made me realise something...
Modern civilised living by itself is a threat to the environment! Whatever is called
a convenience or appliance or life-aid, is somehow involved in using energy and expanding entropy. Hhhmmmm!

End of Course Social...

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:45:06 -0700

Hi Lifetracker!

Just to let you know that the pub social details are:

The Beauchamp
7.30pm
Friday 23rd March

Hopefully you'll all be over St. Patrick's Day by then.

It will be a good opportunity to catch up with everyone. Maybe like me you're thinking 'where to from here?' It would be good to discuss things.

Till then, take care & God's richest blessings,

Can Wars be Just?

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:14:24 -0800

Hi everyone,
I was reflecting on the Iraq War just like everyone must have been last Saturday when Mike spoke to us. I think all Christians in general abhor wars, but can diplomacy always successfully overturn world evil as seen in the Christian’s eye? Many issues arise from this question alone.

Well, for one, unbelievers do not believe in the pervasive evil as we understand it as Christians. If you do not believe that humans can be supernaturally evil, then one need only look at recent twentieth human history. Locally, the many youths killing one another is a sign of the depravity of humans without Christ. The first Q must then be: Was Saddam evil? Did he need to be overturned? If you are then convinced that there was human evil, the next Q is: what is your limit of tolerance beyond which war is an option after diplomacy had failed. Many now dispute that not enough was done, and I won’t be surprised that is the truth. But, could we have been sure prospectively? Could anyone have predicted this mess that the Iraq War has gone into now? In another words, was success so small that it failed the Just War Criteria? Retrospectively, all of us are wise owls. Furthermore, how would you gauge that politicians had tried their best in pursuing diplomacy to solve disputes? To make matters more difficult, how much would a civilian like myself be allowed to know about the political situation before an invasion. Much information becomes secret intelligence at the point when war is planned, wrong intelligence or not.

Suggested Pub Social for End of Course

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:55:00 -0800

Hi Lifetracker!

A few of you mentioned that you would like to get together for a pub night upon completion of the the course. Venue to be advised at this stage.

I suggest Friday 23 March so that the illustrious Andrew C can make it.

All in favour?

Blessings,
Daniel

The R Factor

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:16:28 -0800

Hello everyone,
I was just looking at Mike Schluter's notes and I could not help but reflect on what had been happening in the past few weeks of violent crime on adolescents by adolescents. For those who have not heard of the damning UNICEF report, do look it up at
http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/ news_detail.asp?news_id=890
Amidst all the wealth of London, the children here are last in the league table! Guess, wealth cannot buy us healthy relationships!

Faithful at WORK

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:15:29 -0800

Hello everyone,
I thank John for enlightening us on what must be done to change our work ethos. I think it takes a lot of guts and determination, plus prayer to be able to gather a few like-minded Christians to pray together and support each other at the workplace. I do envy John!
The culture of individualism in the UK sometimes makes talking about Religion and prayer so weird, that only God's grace can open the way. All of us got to pray and be courageous to press on. Hey, I

Politiczzz anyone?

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 15:23:35 -0800

Dear brave bloggers,
Politiczzz anyone? I think that Christians, like many other people in the UK, differ in how many policies should be carried out! It was interesting that we mentioned a few times today, the hot issue on adoption by gay couples. How should we respond to this political dilemma faced by the church in the UK?
It was like discussion and debate was just starting when time ran out today on us again! Rats!

abortion/euthanasia

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:11:01 -0800

if life really begins at conception, God will know how to reconcile, or put the soul back in the hopper for the next body that comes along. if we're concerned about the sanctity of life, then there's a lot of lives already among us that need our protection.

Abortion & Euthenasia...

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:48:25 -0800

Hi All,

Well...looks like the honours fall my way again to kickstart last week's discussion.

Firstly, I'd like to say what a scholarly discussion we had. The sanctity of life & the inherent value that God places on all human has a radical impact on how we address our attitudes towards others, especially those who are considered less able than ourselves.

What say all of you...?

Conversational Apologetics anybody?

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 04:11:46 -0800

Hi there!

I was told that I lucked out by not being there Saturday morning. I heard the topic & speaker were great. Just wondering what you got out of it.

I'm told that even getting the CD won't be as good as being there! Why's that?

Love,
Net Profit

Alister McGrath on Atheism

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 07:12:02 -0800

If you want to listen to Alister McGrath doing an excellent talk on Richard Dawkins, Atheism etc., try this link.

Michael Ramsden was excellent today, don't you think?

The Church & Mission - 18/11/06

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 08:24:04 -0800

Hi there Lifetrackers,

New week, new topic, time to sit on the pews, lurk around with your bags of popcorn & watch Net, Margin & Andrew C slug it out! Unless of course, you care to join in!

Lots of goodies on Saturday! Liked the link with good theology & good mission. I was particularly interested in Rachel's comment about one of her students having an inspired plan of action, which unfortunately seems to be gathering dust? Mission should be Godward, or God initiated, after all its always been that way. I feel like Indiana Jones these days...a raider of the empty tomb!

Transforming the Community - Blog Reflections

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:11:02 -0800

I'd have to say that I felt like I'd met with an Old Testament prophet type when James delivered his message on Saturday.

I was challenged by my perceptions of what it means to be a 'success' in ministry. My notions of having what it takes to get the job done were somewhat pulverised & I'd have to say that I left Saturday morning feeling a bit rattled...but Hallelujah anyway!

Postmodernism reading from Graham T....

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 04:31:00 -0700

Hope you found last Saturday useful - if you want some more things to read on Postmodernism and the church, here are some suggestions: (Grenz and Lyon would be my two best picks for an introduction to it all.....)

Allen, D. (1989). Christian Belief in a Postmodern World: The Full Wealth of Conviction. Louisville, Westminster/John Knox.