A collection of prayers, poems, and hymns that focus the worshiper's thoughts on God in praise and adoration refers to the Book of Psalms. Parts of this Book were used as a hymnal in the worship services of ancient Israel. The musical heritage of the psalms is demonstrated by its title. It comes from a Greek word which means 'a song sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument.'

With 150 individual psalms, this Book is clearly the longest in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. It is also one of the most diverse, since the psalms deal with such subjects as God and His creation, war, worship, wisdom, sin, evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah. In the original Hebrew manuscripts, this long collection of 150 psalms was divided into five sections: Book 1 - 1-41, Book 2 - 42-72, Book 3 - 73-89, Book 4 - 90-106, Book 5 - 107-150. Each of these major sections closes with a brief prayer of praise.

Scholars are not sure why the Book of Psalms was organized in this manner. One theory is that it was divided into five sections as a sort of parallel to the Pentateuch - the five books of the Old Testament. ( Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ) But other scholars believe the five sections were different collections of psalms that circulated at different times in Israel's history. These five small collections were finally placed together, they believe, to form the large compilation which we know today as the Book of Psalms.

The second theory does seem to make sense when we examine the content of the psalms themselves. Individual psalms attributed to David appear in all five of these sections of the Book. Within these five sections, different types of psalms also appear. These include songs of thanksgiving, hymns of praise, psalms of repentance and confession, psalm which invoke evil upon one's enemies, messianic psalms, and songs sung by pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem to observe one of the great festivals of their faith. Such variety among the psalms within these five sections may indicate they were complete collections within themselves before they were placed with other groups of psalms to form this larger body of material.

But no matter how the present arrangement of the book came about, these individual psalms were clearly inspired by God's Spirit. Through these hymns of praise, we come face to face with our Maker and Redeemer. In the glory of His presence, we are compelled to exclaim along with the psalmist, "Yahweh, our Lord, how great your name throughout the earth!" - Ps. 8:9 -

Most people automatically think of David when they consider the question of who wrote the Book of Psalms. A shepherd boy who rose to become the most famous king of Judah, he was also known as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" - 2Sam. 23:1 - David lived during the most creative age of Hebrew song and poetry. As king, he organized the services of worship in the tabernacle, appointing priests and Levites for the specific purpose of providing songs and music. So it is not surprising that his name should be clearly associated with this beautiful book of praise.

The traditional view that David actually wrote all the psalms that are attributed to him. David's personality and identity are clearly stamped on many of these psalms. For example, Psalm 18 is a psalm of David which sings praises to God as the sovereign Savior. The title indicates it was written after David was delivered "from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul." The same psalm in almost identical wording appears in 2Samuel 22. This passage indicates that David sang this song after the death of Saul and upon his succession to the throne as the new king of Judah.

While it is clear that David wrote many of the individual psalms, he is definitely not the author of the entire collection. Two of the psalms, 72 and 127 are attributed to Solomon, David's son and successor. Psalm 90 is a prayer assigned to Moses. Another group of 12 psalms, 50 and 73-83 is ascribed to the family of Asaph. The sons of Korah wrote 11 psalms, 42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88. Psalm 88 is attributed to Heman, while Psalm 89 is assigned to Ethan the Ezrahite. With the exception of Solomon and Moses, all these additional authors were priests or Levites who were responsible for providing music for sanctuary worship during David's reign. Fifty of the psalms designate no specific person as author. They were probably written by many different people.

A careful examination of the authorship question, as well as the subject matter covered by the psalms themselves., reveal they span a period of many centuries. The oldest psalm in the collection is probably the prayer of Moses, Psalm 90, a reflection on the frailty of a man as compared to the eternity of God. The latest psalm is probably, Psalm 137, a song of lament clearly written during the days when the Hebrews were being held captive by the Babylonians, from about 586 to 538 B.C.

It is clear that the 150 individual psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They must have been complied and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the Captivity ended about 537 B.C.

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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

In the Old Testament, Sacrifice refers to the ritual through which the Hebrew people offered the blood or flesh of an animal to God as a 'substitute payment' for their sin. Sacrifice and sacrificing originated in the Garden of Eden immediately following the 'Fall' of man. Adam and Eve made loincloths of leaves to cover their sinfulness, then hid from God because their provision was inadequate in their own minds. God then killed animals and made larger tunics for Adam and Eve. God's covering covered men adequately, while man's covering was insufficient.

These coverings was declared acceptable by God because they covered more of a man's body and they were produced by the shedding of blood. Furthermore, the curses and the promise of a redeemer fell between man's attempt to cover his sin and God's adequate covering. Man's reaction to God's provision was faith and hope in the Lord. Adam called his wife Eve, which means "the mother of all living". God's provision of adequate coverings for Adam and Eve meant that man could come before God, the source of all life, in the confidence that he would not die. - Gen. 3:7-21 -

The principles of sacrifice are confirmed in the account of Cain and Abel. - Gen. 4:3-5 - Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain for two reasons. - Heb. 11:4 - First, he conformed to the provisions and concepts which God had previously established with Adam and Eve. Second, Abel's offering recognized the just penalty for sin - death - and God gracious provision of an acceptable substitute. To Abel God's provisions was a sacrifice - the substitution of a living being for himself. Abel received God's approval because he believed God and had faith in what God promised. - Gen. 4:4-5 -

When Noah came out of the Ark, his first act was to build an altar upon which he sacrificed animals to God. This pleased God not because God was hungry but because Noah's act was a recognition that God understood his sinfulness, its penalty, and the necessity of blood sacrifice as a divine provision. - Heb. 11:39-40 - Noah represented all mankind who now recognized God's gracious provision and promise. God pledged never again to curse the ground, and He blessed Noah because of his faith. - Gen. 8:20-22 -

Eventually, God called Abraham, who rejoiced in anticipation of the appearance of a promised redeemer. - John 8:56 - Abraham regularly worshiped God by offering sacrifices to Him. God taught Abraham that the ultimate sacrifice would be the sacrifice of human being, one's of Adam's descendants - an only son provided miraculously by God.

The fullest explanation of the concept of sacrifice is found in the Mosaic Law. In this code sacrifice has three central points/ideas: Consecration, Expiation [covering of sin], and Propitiation [satisfaction of divine anger] Only consecration had a kind of sacrifice which spoke of it alone. This was the vegetable or meal offerings. These could not be brought to God, however, unless they were preceded by an expiatory offering, or an animal or bloody sacrifice. There was no consecration [commitment] to God apart from expiation [dealing with the penalty and guilt of sin]. man could not approach God and be right with Him without the shedding of blood.

The general word for sacrifices in the Mosaic Law was qorban - literally "that which is brought near." The fuller designation of these sacrifices was a gift of holiness. - Ezek. 20:40 - The word qorban was used of anything given or devoted to God, so it included more than sacrifices presented at the altar. Sacrifice, however, referred to items placed on the altar to be consumed by God. hence, there was no sacrifice apart from the altar.

The Old Testament also referred to sacrifices as food for Jehovah, and offering made by the fire for the satisfaction of Jehovah. - Lev. 2:2,9, 3:11,16, 22:7 - As a spiritual being, God did not need physical food. Nevertheless, He did insist that these sacrifices be given to Him. Sacrifice as worship is man giving back to God what God has previously given him as a means of grace. Ultimately, these sacrifices speak of the one final and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. - Heb. 10:11-18 -

The gift aspect of sacrifice was emphasized by the many divine regulations determining what was acceptable to God. For man to determine what pleased God would put man in the place of God. Therefore, God determined what was pleasing to Him. Whatever was offered had to be "clean" [acceptable or without sin] Not everything designated "clean" however, was to be offered as a sacrifice. Of the clean animals, only oxen, sheep, goats, and pigeons were acceptable offerings. Likewise, of the clean vegetables, only corn, wine, and oil were proper. These materials were selected perhaps to teach that man should give to God from that which sustains his life. In short, man, was required to give God the gift of his life. Therefore, God repeatedly emphasized that He did not need or desire food and sacrifices themselves. God wants man's love, commitment, and service. - Deut. 6:5; 1Sam. 15:22 -

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament confirm that sacrifices were presented as a gesture. Man was obliged because of his sin, to present offerings by which he gave another life in place of his own. These substitutes pointed forward to the "ultimate substitute, Jesus Christ." - Heb. 10:1-18 -

Ultimately, there is a necessity for man to present himself perfect before God by presenting the perfect one in his place. The true Lamb of God, innocent of all sin, took away the sin of the world.

Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ. - 1Peter 1:18-19 -

The next day, seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, "Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. - John 1:29 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"The Church, the sacrament of God's message in the world, continues Christ's work of dialogue. Her duty is always to proclaim the reign of God, to bring the proclamation of this message into every aspect of human life, and to seek the fulfilment of all things in Christ. The Church is particularly concerned with Man's religious experience, the motivating and leavening agent in his culture. This means that the Church must constantly be involved in dialogue with men of other religions. The Christian finds himself continually evangelizing and being evangelized by his partners in dialogue." (BIRA II: Statement from The 2nd Bishops' Institute for Inter-religious Affairs(Bira II) of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC); 13-20 Nov. 1979)

The teaching of the Church is clear: dialogue with the people of other religions is essential to her mission to proclaim Christ. If the Church encourages us to dialogue with peoples of other religions, how much more with Christians of other denominations?

If dialogue is the way to the Truth why should we fear to dialogue? Yet, we fear. The causes are numerous: ignorance, painfulness of change if we see the truth, bigotry, self-righteousness, pride, etc.. We are slaves to all these factors. We are not free to see the Truth. If we could be more open to Truth in all its fullness, we would be made more free, for Christ said: "Truth will set you free." Freed from these bonds, we are able to see the Truth which generates understanding. Understanding gives birth to Love. From another point of view, it is true that love opens our eyes to be more understanding. St. Augustine said: "Amor dat novos oculus" (Love sees with new eyes).

We are called to love as God loves us - unconditionally. If we truly practice this, we will see the good, the true and the holiness in Christians of other denomination and in people of other religions and we will understand them better. This should lead us to Christ's Truth which will free us from bigotry, from self-righteousness, pride, etc.. As Truth generates deeper love, love opens the path to greater Truth. They interact dialectically in a spiral movement. Therefore, let us not be afraid to dialogue for "perfect love cast out fear" (1 John 4:18) We are called to love and to bear witness to the Truth. Both perfect us as human beings and dialogue is the path to Truth and love.

This chapter acts as a sort of conclusion to the whole book. [Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe] It ends with what I have stated in the introduction. Having explained to Catholics why we believe in what we believe, we are encouraged by that very faith to reach out to others in dialogue. It is because we have a position and can defend and explain it intelligibly from Revelation and reason that we have no fear, and thus we are able to enter into dialogue with others. We do not talk to others as if we alone have the truth. If we were to do so, it would not be dialogue. It would be monologue, which, I have shown, goes against the nature of being human. Neither do we talk to others as if we have to no conviction. If we were to do so, it would not be dialogue either. It would also be monologue.

This time, it would be the others who would tell us their beliefs whereas we would keep quiet because we would have no conviction. Even if they were to contradict one another, we would accept all because we would have no position from which we could speak. We dialogue with others because we have our convictions, but we know that Truth being bigger than any one or more systems of thought, we can learn more.

BY  HIS  GRACE   BISHOP  PAUL  TAN  CHEE  ING  S.J.

* This small book [Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe] by His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, SJ, is to help Catholic Christians. Catholics have been the target of attacks from many quarters. They have been accused of worshiping three Gods, of worshiping the Virgin Mary, of idol worship, of hiding the Bible truth from people, of placing tradition above the Word of God, etc. Many Catholics with a superficial knowledge of their faith have been confused and feel troubled.

This book tries to tackle the main areas of dispute and clarify the issues with quotes from the Bible, with evidences from the earliest Christian documents, with philosophical arguments and with theological expositions. The book hopes to help Catholics understand their own faith better so that they will neither fear attacks from others nor feel compelled to counter-attack.

Hence, the defense or explanation of why we Catholics believe in what we believe should not cut us off from others. On the contrary, being secure in what we believe, not feeling threatened, we can be then open to dialogue with people of other beliefs. *

                                                                     Page 4
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

As Christians, we are called by Christ to be free so that we can dialogue with all peoples in order to love them. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit to a yoke of slavery," says St. Paul - Gal. 5:1 - We cannot be free if we hold on to all our "hang ups" - our prejudices, fears and dislikes. Freed from all these "hang ups" we can then open the channels of dialogue. Through dialogue, we can come to understand others as they are and learn to love them as Christ loves us. Hence the Christian call to dialogue is in tune with the nature of being human.

Theological Considerations

Did not Christ say that He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life"? Truth is the totality of reality - all that is, all that God has created - and continues to create.[God did not create and then go off to sleep, so to say. He is in His creation in such a way that its very evolution depends on Him. If He were to withdraw, so to say, His sustaining hand, all would disappear into nothingness. He continues to create.] And He created everything through His Word - Christ, the Son of God: "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." - John 1:3 - This is why Christ claims that He is the Truth.

Christ is God's ultimate revelation to us. He tells us that God created everything out of love, governs all by His love, saves all because of love (Christ died for us) and leads all to His love. God is love. - John 4:16 - The essence of love is to share, to give. Creation is God's giving of Himself. Self-giving to others is dialogue, hence,, from the beginning of creation, God dialogues with the world. Therefore, He cannot but desire that all His creation shares His love - i.e. be saved. He has written this in the heart of every person since creation (Epistle to the Romans: Vatican Council II, A.G. No.3) Scripture constantly bears witness that God wants all to be saved. Echoing Scripture, Vatican Council II says: "Thus, He who created all things may at least be 'all in all. (1Cor. 15:28)" (Vatican Council II, Ad Gentes No.2) To say otherwise would make our God unjust, stupid, illogical and inconsistent - in other words, make a mockery of God. How can He who creates everything out of love, select only a few to be saved? Absurd.( Can People Of Other Faiths Be Saved? chapter 9)

The reason why God gives Man his five senses is for Man to perceive reality and to respond to the truth in love. This is the Way to Christ who is Truth. To listen to this Word of God is to have life. "I have come" says Christ, "so that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). But Man in the hardness of his heart, refuses to listen to the Truth. He builds walls around him so that "has eyes and sees not, ears and hears not". Even in our sinfulness, God does not abandon us. In His unconditional infinite love, throughout the history of Man, He sent prophets to open the heart and mind of Man. Finally, when the "fullness of time" came, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to speak to us and to die for us. He stills sends us prophets to help us. This is God's constant effort to dialogue with us, with the world.

And, we, who are privileged to hear the Word of God, Christ, have a special obligation to carry out this dialogue of God with the world. This is why many theologians say that the mission of the Church is inseparable from dialogue with the world.

To dialogue with the world, we must first of all be open to the Truth - dialogue with God. Firstly, God speaks to us in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ himself as understood by the Apostles and carried down through the centuries in the Church. Secondly, He speaks to us in all that is good, true and holy. The Gospel itself reveals to us that Christ is Truth. He is the Word through whom God created everything. Hence, all that is good, true and holy in creation comes from Christ. For this reason, the "Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these (other) religions." (Vatican Council II, Nostra Aetate, No. 2) This is but an echo of St. Paul exhortation: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, fill your minds with these things" (Phil. 4:8) Why? Because, says St. Paul, "Christ is all and in all" (Col. 3:11) So, it is our duty also to be open to see and hear all that is true, good and holy in the world no matter where they come from: from Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, etc..

Thirdly, God speaks to us through the Nature of His creation. How often Man lifts up his heart to God at the beauty of a scene or turns to God in a natural disaster. Fourthly, God speaks to us through the events of Man's history - past and present. From our pasts, learning from what is good and what is bad, we now avoid the bad to follow the good. From the present, we must be open to God's Spirit speaking to us through the happenings in our history because we believe that God is still working in the world to save all men and women. Thus, Vatican Council II following the teachings of Christ, exhorts us to read "signs of the times." Fifthly, God speaks to us through other human beings. How often, because of the example of life or because of what a person says to me, I am touched and changed to become a better person. God also makes use of me to touch others and lead them along the path of Truth. One has only to examine sincerely oneself to recognize this fact. Lastly, God also speaks directly to an individual person in the very depths of his being.

Hence, true dialogue with God must necessarily open us up to dialogue with the world with all its realities because the latter is God's own Way. Our dialogue with the world is nothing but a cooperation with God's dialogue with the world. We are particularly interested in dialogue with people of other religions. From what has been said above, it should be obvious that, philosophically and theologically speaking, certain truths, holiness and goodness are found in people who are not Catholics. From your own experience, have you not come across good Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus? Have you not been struck with certain truths which they utter? I have. To deny this fact is to be blind to the Truth. Hence, the Church's stand on the necessity of dialogue with all people. This is expressed again and again by the Popes. It is also enshrined in the documents of  Vatican Council II - the voice of the bishops of the world. To give only a few quotations:

"The Church therefore has this exhortation for her sons: prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religion, and in witness of Christian faith and life, acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods found among these men, as well as the values in their society and culture." (Vatican Council II, Nostra Aetate No.2)

"Obviously we cannot share in these various forms of religion nor can we remain indifferent to the fact that each of them, in its own way, should regard itself as being the equal of another and should authorize its followers to seek to discover whether God has revealed the perfect and definitive form, free from all error, in which he wishes to be known, loved and served. Indeed, honesty compels us to declare openly our conviction that there is but one true religion, the religion of Christianity.

It is our hope that all who seek God and adore Him may come to acknowledge its truth. But we do nevertheless, recognize and respect the moral and spiritual values of the various non-Christian religions, and we desire to join with them in promoting common ideals of religious liberty, human brotherhood, good culture, social welfare and civil order. For our part, we are ready to enter into discussion on these common ideals, and will not fail to take the initiative. Where our offer of discussion is genuine, mutual respect would be well received." (Pope Paul VI, Ecclesiam Suam, Part II. In fact the whole encyclical is an exhortation to dialogue)

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The proper reception and proportionate  respond depend on two factors, one of which determines them and the other conditions them.

1 ) Because Man depends on his five senses for reception of stimuli, the state of the physical make-up of his senses will determine his reception. If he is born with defective hearing, if he is tone deaf, he will find it difficult to distinguish the different notes of music. This will curtail his ability to appreciate and respond fully to a piece of classical music.

2 ) The programming of a person by his own temperament, his social, cultural, economic, religious and political up-bringing, and his experiences conditions his receptivity. This programming can either be a help or a hindrance to his future learning process (cf, chapter 1) depending on whether it opens or closes him up. A child, from the the very beginning, is trained to accept certain stimuli and reject others according to the norms of his family and society - be it religious, cultural, political or economic. If a child is a Hindu child, he will be taught never to touch beef; if he is a Muslim, never touch pork. He is taught either not to mix with people of another race or to mix with them, either to respect people of another faith or to despise and avoid them, etc..

His own experiences too will condition his future receptivity. If a child playing on the beach experiences the trauma of being almost drowned, he will never like water. This fear of water will be a big obstacle to his learning to swim, although not an insurmountable one. Even the eating habits of a child are programmed by his family upbringing and by his own experiences. As a child grows to be a man, he accumulates built-in set norms. It is according to these norms that he will judge and choose, unless, being aware of them, he freely goes against them or reassesses them himself and accepts some while rejecting others. These norms can be positive or negative.

They are positive if they open him up to the greater learning process of good in every sphere of his life. It is this that matures a person. They are negative if they prevent him from learning more of the good. The prejudices, fears and dislikes that he inherits or imbibes are negative because they prevent him from seeing reality as it is; worse still they help him to distort reality. To put it figuratively, these negative norms became like bars of a grille through which he will see reality. If he is unaware of this, as he grows older, he will continue to add more bars to the grille until the grille becomes so dense that he can no longer see reality clearly. In other words, if this happens, the older he grows, the less open he becomes. The less open he is to reality, the less open he is to the Truth for Truth is the "Total Reality".

The Lord Jesus  condemned the Pharisees for being closed: "If you were blind , you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see', you guilt remains." - John 9:41 - Their self-righteousness prevented them from seeing that their dislikes, prejudices and fears obstructed them from recognizing Christ as the Messiah. Yet, they clung to their blindness by insisting that they saw or thought they were right in rejecting Christ the Truth. For this, they were guilty. Religious fanatics are Pharisees. They see only what they want to see according to their prejudices. They refuse to be open to Reality, the Truth, which is greater than what they see.

As can be seen, although dialogue is an essential element of being human, we can undermine our innate ability to dialogue by building into our system bars of prejudices, fears and dislikes which filter or worse still, distort Reality. This is to say that we can become less and less open. If we allow ourselves to be less open, we go against our human nature, and we become less human.

Therefore, to be open to the Truth, we must tear down as much as possible, the bars of the grille in us, that prevent us from seeing Reality as it is. It is a painful process of breaking down what we have already constructed. It is indeed a process of "dying" to ourselves in order that we may be open to see the Truth and rise with "It". And "It" is Jesus Christ, the Truth, who will set us free. - John 8:32; Gal. 5:1 - He frees us from the yoke of slavery to sin. As explained in chapter 3, sin is the refusal to love as God loves us. How can we love if, because of our fears, prejudices and dislikes, we are closed to others? Openness to others, or dialogue, is necessary condition for love. It is for this reason that Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees. Because they held on blindly to what they believed to be true, and insisted that they had the whole truth and no one else had it, they were not open to listen to Jesus the Truth (dialogue).

Why listen to others since they already had the whole truth? This was their argument. It is also the argument of many people in Malaysia. Like many people, the Pharisees reduced truth to their way of thinking. Their self-righteousness blinded them so that they could not see that Truth is so great that "It" cannot be captured by any one system of thinking or even all the systems of human thought. Yet they obstinately cleaved to believing that they were right, that they saw and others did not. This was their guilt. The path for dialogue which led to love was severed. How could they love Jesus if they did not even want to hear what he had to say?

Why this willful blindness? The process of "dying" to our prejudices, fears and dislikes, to what we have constructed in ourselves and to :rise" with better and new ways of looking at things, to reconstruct a new world-view, is very painful. Hence, the majority of mankind prefer to go their old ways. By this, they keep on building more bars to their grilles till their grilles become so high and so dense that they are practically numb to new stimuli.

Although they may be physically healthy, they are intellectually dead to the Truth. Ironically, it is in their very fear of pain in opening up that they suffer more pain. By building higher and denser grilles they cut themselves off from genuine dialogue with others. Misunderstanding crops up when they refuse to understand what others have to say. Misunderstanding breeds resentment. Resentment opens wounds of hurt and produces hatred. In turn, they feel that they have been misunderstood. This could lead to tensions and frustrations which could burst into outward violence in one form or another - verbal violence through virulent condemnation of others or worse still physical violence. At this stage, fanaticism has set in. Fanatics always believe that everyone is wrong except themselves. Claiming that they alone possess the whole truth, they have rejected the Truth.

We, Malaysians, have only to examine ourselves sincerely to realize the fact of this phenomenon. How often have we been told not to trust people of another race, perhaps because the Chinese are money-grabbing, the Indians sly and devious, and the Malays lazy and stupid? These are prejudices, bars of the grille, built into us. So, when we meet a person of another race, we are automatically on our guard, we pre-judge them, place them in slots and become less open to them. How often have we been taught that our religion is the true religion, and that other religions are false?

This ignorance has prevented us from learning good things from other religions. All these fears, prejudices and dislikes have made us less human. Those of us who realize this and try to correct ourselves, can testify to the pain we have to undergo to hack down these bars of the grille built into us. How many of us, even after striving for years to break down our prejudices, our fears and dislikes, still habour lingering suspicions of people of another race or religion? The process of "dying" to "rise" again is indeed painful. Growth is painful, but human beings must grow in every aspect of their lives.

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Having shared with you why we believe in what we believe as Catholics, I may give the impression that the Catholics possess all the truths and other Christian Churches and religions do not. This is far from what I have set out to do. As I have said in the last chapter, Christians of other denominations and people of other faiths do have certain truths and they are holy.

My intention, as I have said in the introduction, is to help us Catholics understand our faith in such a way that, when we are attacked by non-Catholics, we need not fear and run away, nor counter-attack them with anger. We need only to explain intelligently to them what we are, i.e. what we believe and why we believe in it. This sharing with them of what we are in no way implies that we are incapable of listening to them or even of learning from them. When we are able to tell others in an intelligent way what we are, we will not feel threatened. It is in fact insecurity that makes people react negatively to others - either by running away or by counter-attacking with anger (fanaticism).

Religious fanaticism is the fruit of insecurity in one form or another. Because it springs from insecurity, it becomes destructive. Fanatics go all out to destroy others who hold views different from them because they cannot live in peace with the feeling of being threatened. Hence, they must kill, at least, the views that threatened them. The consequences of this attitude is obvious. It breeds conflict and strife. It becomes a curse to society. Fanatics have failed or refused to understand that it is impossible to make every intelligent person believe in what they believe.

This even true among adherents of the same faith. This is why we have different interpretations within the same faith. Sometimes, this has erupted into religious wars. Refusal to accept this reality has led many religious fanatics to destroy the very community of believers that they have set out to build. Religious fanaticism is a cancer not only of that very religious community but also of the whole society.

Therefore, this book [Straight to Catholics] is written not to produce fanatics. It is written to help Catholics, feel secure in what they believe. Not feeling threatened, they can then be open to dialogue with non-Catholics.

A broad mind (intelligence) to understand and a humble heart to accept as an equal partner in dialogue can only come about when a person is secure in being what he is: a person who knows what and why he believes in what he believes.

A common objection to dialogue is the usual retort: "If I believe I have the truth and am happy with it, why it must I listen to and learn from others?" This attitude is revealing in its ignorance and complacency. No one has the whole truth. The Universe or Total Reality is so rich that it cannot be captured by any one system or even all the systems of thought. Infinity cannot be contained in any one finite or all the "finitenesses." Human thinking is finite. Each system of perception throws some light on the Total Reality. Thus, every-world view can enrich another world-views in its perception of the Total Reality. At the same time, not every aspects of the different world-views complements the others. There are contradictory elements in the different perceptions.

Which, then, according to a person's reasoning, is the more correct understanding of the Total Reality? Ever person must make the choice if he or she wants to grow in understanding as a person. In other words, for all practical purposes, a human person must choose a world-view which he thinks is most coherent and intelligent to him and which helps him live a more meaningful life. To run away from making a choice is to run away from being human. Choice is an imperative for human maturity. On the other hand, since human understanding, like all living things, is ever growing, it should not be closed to more learning. To say that one has the whole truth and cannot learn anymore, can only mean that one is dead intellectually. Death cannot learn anymore. In brief, although a human being must choose a world-view, he need not be closed to learning more from others who have chosen other world-views.

Therefore, having given the reasons why I have chosen the Catholics world-view (having explained certain aspects of the Catholic belief which have been attacked) I would like to demonstrate that the same Catholic world-view does not cut Catholics off from listening to or even learning from others.

Dialogue is an essential element in our world-view.

The word dialogue comes from Greek composite word dialegein. Legein signifies "to speak"; dia implies a rapport. Therefore, dialegein the technique or art of debate, of interchange of ideas through words. But now, this word is being used very loosely. It can signify any kind of mutual exchange. Here, in this chapter, dialogue is used in its loose sense, depending on the context in which it is found.

Philosophical Considerations - [Some parts of this section is a repetition of certain parts in chapter 1. I have thought it is wise to recapitulate it for clarity of argument]

Man being immersed in matter, as I have explained in chapter 1, is born with five sense - senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell - so that he can respond to external stimuli, be it from an inanimate object, an animal, a human person or an event. Man's faculties of reception of stimuli and his power to respond to them is the basis of all his relationships with the world outside. Obviously then, Man is made to interact with the world outside him. This interaction is dialogue. Man by nature is dialogue.

The problem of human communication does not lie in this fact but in the proper reception of and proportionate response to stimuli. The proper reception and proportionate response depend on two factors, one of which determines them and the other conditions them.

1 ) Because Man depends on his five sense

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Peter Simon is the most prominent of Jesus' twelve disciples. The New Testament gives a more complete picture of Peter than any other disciple, with the exception of Paul. Peter is often considered to be a big, blundering fisherman. But this is a shallow portrayal.

The picture of his personality portrayed in the New Testament is rich and many sided. A more fitting appraisal of Peter is that he was a pioneer among the twelve apostles and the early Universal Church, breaking ground that the Church would later follow.

Peter's name given was Simon. His father's name was Jonah. - Matt. 16:17; John 1:42 - Simon's brother, Andrew also joined Jesus as a disciple. - Mark 1:16 - The family probably lived at Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, although it is possible they lived in Bethsaida. - Mark 1:21,29; John 1:44 - Peter and Andrew were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, and perhaps in partnership with James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Luke 5:10 - In the midst of his labour as a fisherman, Peter received a call from Jesus that changed his life.

The Gospel of John reports that Andrew and Peter were disciples of John the Baptist before they joined Jesus. John also reports that Peter was introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew, who had already recognized Jesus to be the Messiah. - John 1:35-42 -

Jesus apparently gathered His followers in two stages: first as disciples [learners or apprentices] and later as apostles [commissioned representatives]

Peter was the first disciple to be called and the first to be named an apostle. His name heads every list of the Twelve in the New Testament. Peter was apparently the strongest individual in the band. He frequently served as a spokesman for the disciples, and he was their recognized leader. Typical of Peter's dominant personality was his readiness to walk to Jesus on the water and to ask Jesus the awkward question of how often he should forgive a sinning brother. - Mark 1:16-18, 36, 3:14-16; Luke 22:32; Matt. 14:28, 18:21 -

An inner circle of three apostles existed among the Twelve. Peter was also the leaders of this small group. The trio - Peter, James, and John - was present with Jesus on a number of occasions. They witnessed the raising of a young girl from the dead, they were present at Jesus' transfiguration, and they were present during Jesus' agony in Gethsemane. During Jesus' final week in Jerusalem, two of the three, Peter and John, were sent to make preparations for their last meal together. - Mark 5:37, 14:33; Luke 8:51, 22:8; Matt. 17:1-2, 26:37 -

The purpose of Jesus' existence in the flesh was that people would come to a true picture of who God is and what He has done for man's salvation. The first apostle to recognize that was Peter. He confessed Jesus as Lord. Jesus began the process which would lead to Peter's awareness by asking a non-threatening question, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' After the disciples voiced various rumors , Jesus put a more personal question to Peter, 'But you' Jesus said, 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ', he said, 'Son of the living God.'

Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.- Matt. 16:13-19

Peter probably broadened his ministry, once the mantle of leadership of the Jerusalem Church fell from his shoulders to those of James, the Lord's brother. Peter played a key role at the Council of Jerusalem which decided in favor of granting Church believers/membership to Gentiles without first requiring them to become Jews. - Acts 15; Gal. 2 -

Peter dropped into the background in the Book of Acts not because his ministry ended. St. Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles, simply began to trace the course of the Gospel spread to Gentile Rome through the ministry of the apostle Paul.

According to early Christian tradition. [oral/written] Peter went to Rome, where he died. Only once in the New Testament do we hear of Peter's being in Rome. Even in this case, Rome referred to as 'Babylon'. - 1Peter 5:13 - Little is known of Peter's activities in Rome, although Papist, writing about A.D. 125, stated that Peter's preaching inspired the writing of the first Gospel, drafted by St. Mark, who was Peter's interpreter in Rome.

This early and generally reliable tradition supports the pioneer role played by Peter throughout his life and ministry, and Peter was the the first pope of the Roman Catholic/Universal Church. - Matt. 16:13-19 -

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 If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -