Where art thou

I've been absent from this blog for a while, for good reason! Here's a quick update on what's been shakin'

1. Been completing my Christology and Church History essays. For the former, I explored Barth's theology. It was fascinating how he thought "outside the box", and essentially reorganised systematic theology as we know it. For the former, I explored the events surrounding and leading up to the synod of Dort, where the Arminians were charged with heresy by the Calvinists. It was an interesting exploration that I'm still continuing - simply because it really goes deeper than "do we have free will"?

2. I've been busy with my medical elective at the Center for Community Child Health. I really thank God that I've had the opportunity to sink my teeth into a real public health project - a fairly major one too! On top of that, the clinics I've been attending, split between Developmental Pediatrics and Adolescent health, have been fascinating and really interesting, in that they combine the best of two worlds - clinical medicine and social medicine.

3. I'm getting reading for a summer intensive subject called Adolescent International Health. At the moment I'm wondering whether to put my Masters of Public Health on hold, and instead use the subject for credit towards a G.Dip in Adolescent Health and Welbeing. I would love to do the former, but the fact that a fair bit has to be done on campus is a bit of a deal breaker.

Oh Joy to the World

For Christ is Born

The Demise of Theology

I've recently been really thinking about whether theology as a field of study has any more place within the contemporary church, and felt this this comment by Webster, in Barth (2000) hit the nail on the head:

" Barth worked in a religious culture in which - possibly for the last time in Protestant history - sophisticated theological ideas were accorded great prestige, even when they were repudiated. The institution and forms of the Christian life which nurtured such a massive project as the Church Dogmatics scarcely exist, or exist only in somewhat embattled forms"

Looking around me, I can't help but feel the same way. The modern church is characterised by an almost anti-intellectualism, where proper thought and reflection is marginalised in preference for "life application".

We no longer seek to sharpen our understanding of the faith, making sure that proper action is guided by proper thought. Instead, so many approach the Christian faith as if it were some manual for life, giving point by point direction on how to do this or that. Whilst I cannot deny the need for practical theology, I cannot help feeling that we have, in doing so, "tamed" the Word of God, thinking that it can be bent to our own purposes, limited by our needs.

(For those wondering, the Church Dogmatics is a massive multivolume work by the theologian Karl Barth, who is regarded as one of the finest theologians of the 20th Century, in the company of Calvin and Augustine. This work has shaped alot of modern theological reflection, particularly Christology)

LoL time: The Porpoise Driven Life

Keep a lookout for tongue in cheek comments - like "ask Jesus into your heart again".

Just looking around

I just came across a reference to this church: http://www.docklandschurch.org.au/. Basically - it's an Anglican Church that was started up in docklands a few years ago, with a membership of 12. Now they currently have a membership of over 200 - not bad I reckon.

I know that we shouldn't compare ourselves with others, yadda yadda, but I think the contrast between our City Light Methodist Church and the Docklands Anglican Church is too striking to ignore.

You see, we have here two churches, situated literally next to each other. They both start out small, and are both part of very similar traditions (the Methodists are offshoots of the Anglicans).

Yet, over time, both have taken very different courses. Our church at the moment is still struggling with membership, funding, pastoral leadership, organisation, etc. Our brothers/sisters next to us, however, seem to be chugging along at a nice and healthy pace. Why? Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that they're really working with the Docklands communities, and targeting their activities as such ( they have "Sex in the City" Seminars and hold Bible Studies in local pubs - need I say more ?).

Now, I don't believe that growth is necessarily the definitive sign of the health of a church, but with the church leadership mulling over how to grow our church, I don't think we can ignore and shut ourselves off from what's going on around us. In fact - sometimes looking at others leads us to reflect long and hard on ourselves. Perhaps this is something we need to do a bit more :P

389 years

Just as a followup from my previous post, have a look at this:

http://www.wallstats.com/blog/389-years-ago/

Change isn't coming - it's already happened.

I'm sure everyone's heard about the recent Obama win in the US elections. Like many, I'll reserve judgement about how much change he'll really bring about - some things can only be seen when the rubber hits the road, so to speak. What I am excited about, however, is the fundamental change in society we are seeing.

I think it's lost on many of us as to how AMAZING an African-American becoming president is.

Being a hobbyist photographer, I think a picture speaks a thousand words. This photo was taken by Lawrence Beitler in 1930, and shows a racist mob taking two black men from a local jail and hanging them. This was not a group of fringe fanatics - such a scene was not really considered outrageous back then. And mind you - this was less than 80 years ago in the USA. Many of us would still have relatives from that period who are still alive!

Up to the 1960s, black people had limited rights to vote. (especially the women) In a well documented case, Amelia Boynton, a black woman, tried to register to vote during the elections as a protest against her lack of voting rights. For this, she was arrested and thrown into jail.

It took a few more years for the Voting Rights Act to be passed, enabling blacks to once again have voting rights. Even then, the racist attitudes and hatred were still deeply embedded in society (for example, blacks were still not allowed to use PUBLIC toilets). Again remember: this was barely 50 years ago (my parents grew up in this era!).

So please excuse me for getting excited about the fact that USA has voted in an African American president by democratic vote. I find it amazing that in the relatively short span of 50-80years, we have gone from lynching the blacks to voting one of them into the White House. And its not just because people hate the Republicans - surveys and statistics have shown repeatedly that there was actually EXCITEMENT about the prospect of having Obama as president (as compared to having the Republicans out). Heck, the sheer size of Obama's rallies is a giveaway as to how enthusiastic the crowds were about him.

At this point, I'll just make a final comment about eschatology. Last week we had a sermon about how the world is going to pieces and is getting worse and worse. No offense to anyone, but I simply cannot and will not agree with such a pessimistic, dispensationalist view of human history. I don't know about you, but I would rather live in the world today, than in a world completely ruled by racism, hatred, greed and injustice(not that those things aren't around anymore!). The very fact that we see these stalwarts of human sin being penetrated and broken down, is a testimony to the fact that by God's grace made available through the transforming work on the Cross, the world can change for the better.