Uncovering Geneva

So far, I've watched two lectures from the DG conference. And it's been astronomically rewarding - feels like I've been brought closer to heaven.

The first lecture is entitled At Work and Worship in the Theater of God, in which one Dr. Julius Kim briefly discusses Calvin's life and his main convictions. The second is entitled The Sacred Script in the Theater of God, in which Doug Wilson discusses the centrality of the Holy Scriptures in Calvin's teaching and preaching.

Kim's message on Calvin's background and philosophy was, in a word, holistic, testament to his belief in Calvin's integrative approach to understanding God's Word and God's world. To my surprise, it was so powerfully heartwarming. Perhaps it was because he ran a parallel modern-day story to the historical drama that he was helping his listeners unfold as he spoke. It may not sound like much, but it tugged, very passionately. Just like how Calvin was eventually précised as a student, scholar, shepherd and servant armed with "a singular passion to know God and to make Him known".

Wilson's message on the centrality and authority of Scripture was a little tougher, expectedly. Tough, but witty and very smart. It was not until he exposed a great irony in the postmodern treatment of Scripture that I was jostled into scribbling a bit more. In comparing the Word to the Sun, he showed that Calvin preached heliocentrically. So then, the problem with today's view of the Bible is that the concern isn't so much with its place, but rather its purity. Yet, what good is a perfect Sun if it orbits around an imperfect Earth?

I have to say, all these things struck me very hard, even in the mad rush of intense scribbling - "Calvin did not want to create Calvinists." "Calvin taught more on prayer than he did on predestination." "The Scriptures do not take tests of rationality. The Scriptures administer the tests." The luscious list of handwriting goes on.

So, check it out. Be on the qui vive though, the lectures are not for the faint-hearted. Each one is about an hour long, not taking into account all the intermittent pauses you'll have to make for legible scribbling. Ha, but if you can get past that, be ready for sheer glory.

For me, I've got five more videos to go I think, including a one hour panel discussion that I'm really looking forward too. But that'll only come after two more lectures in the series. As of now, it just rocks my world to have each day begin with the pleasure of lifting my eyes to the blue that displays the glory of His absolute sovereignty.

New Moon

No, I'm not talking about the second installment in the Twilight 'movie saga', as they so call it. I'm referring to something much closer to home - a local brand known for abalone, chicken's essence and charming bus stop advertisements.

I'm sure you've seen those delectable depictions. A typical one consists of a blown up profile of a boy or girl, sometimes shot in pairs, each of whom having attained the title of 'top scorer' of the PSLE, 'O' level examinations, 'A' level examinations or IBDP. The bottle of elixir will be perched elegantly on the model (student)'s right hand, while his countenance will display a strange tipsy radiance, as if his immortality depended on the stuff. Accordingly, I think we're supposed to make the connection between drinking the stew left behind after a whole chicken has been boiled using very high temperature and pressure, and getting straight As.

As difficult as it seems for that to click in my mind (maybe because I'm not drinking enough of the thing), the advertisements push me toward making a simpler connection, one between institution and distinction. Credit has to be given for their removing of school badges from the uniforms. But when we have girls in white blouses and blue pinafores, or boys in white shirts wearing red, blue and gold-streaked ties, it's a bit hard ignore the other factors that may have contributed to their achievements, apart from the undeniable magical powers of the bird juice of course.

It's all very amusing. Yet in a sense, it's perhaps publicity at best and elitism at worst.

But anyways, speaking of moons, the Mid-Autumn Festival, otherwise known as the Mooncake Festival is coming up! Hurrah, for it is now our turn to play with fire after a month of generously thinning out the ozone layer. I think the group of us will be headed to either the Barrage or the Chinese Garden this Friday. I prefer the latter for absolutely no good reason. Definitely something to look forward to.

Lastly, I must say I'm really grateful for this entire week of no-school - rounding up of the last few papers followed by marking days. And no, I don't think I'll be quite unoccupied. Just bought two novels while we were at Kinokuniya earlier, namely, number9dream by David Mitchell and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Been wanting to savour them for a very long time. Plus, I think I'll also be watching the video uploads from With Calvin in the Theater of God, the DG conference that's been going on for the past three days in Minneapolis. I guess it's a well-deserved break, a short rest before I get tired all over again.

Of Memoirs and Memories

Almost finished with Ondaatje's The English Patient. It's a hypnotic book in at least two senses. One, it's attempts (very successfully) to talk about history by talking about history, if you get my drift. It is set in the eventide of WWII in Italy, and is clearly a work of historical metafiction. Two, Ondaatje's style is just so restrainedly mesmerising, like the charisma of a voluptuous nun. His simple use of tense and paragraphing effectively ferries the reader between past and present, and brings flashback to a new level.

Specifically, it was not a cunning plot that compelled me to read on. It was a simple matter of falling in love with Hana, Caravaggio, Kip and the English patient, and wanting to know the scars and joys that marked their lives prior to the villa. Because the book's momentum is driven by an uncovering of each character's memories, there is an intriguing sense in which we are invited to relish in the suspense of the past, and not worry so much about their interactions in the postbellum ruins. But both are mutually significant and masterfully connected. For example, the English patient's persistent fascination with histogeography eventually helps the rest of the characters discover who he is - an eminent Hungarian explorer who sold his nationality to the deserts, and thence saw no betrayal in aiding German intelligence.

Well, all this reminds me of something I once said to a couple of friends - memories are like jewellery. I think that the most valuable memories we possess are those of depth, whether it be intense joy, anger or sadness. Some of them may not be the most pleasant, but all of them are equally priceless. And when that past emotion is evoked somehow, even those who hardly know us will notice that we look different. Otherwise, they are safely tucked away in drawers on most days.

Perhaps that is why I'm still reluctant to throw away my primary school textbooks, or give away clothes that I don't fit into anymore. Perhaps that is why I'm here recording the thoughts that count.

Moving Beyond The Music

We resort to all kinds of means and ways just to get to know our favourite artists better. We join fanclubs and buy decals, we copy his hairstyle or her make-up, we follow them on twitter. We also receive them at the airport, forgo sleep for an autograph or two and hold up the rest of the line for a photograph. Yet, there is a dire sense in which so many people are missing the point.

To authentically know the heart of the singer or band you admire, you need only to look at their art in entirety. This you will never find on a fansite, nor on a sticker, nor with a felt-tip pen. Musicians are not gods. They are like us, except with a gift to think their thoughts more beautifully, vernacularise their vicissitudes more elegantly and sing their struggles more passionately.

Each song is a painting of its writer's psychological landscape. Each lyric is a fragment of his consciousness. Each note adds colour to it, and is meant to bring your eyes closer to his than your imagination could ever afford. Unfortunately, most of us pay more attention to the colouring than to that which is being coloured. Which is why we don't really know these singers even though we know so much about them.

You see, musicians echo the world. They echo you and me. Some of them are on the search. "Trapped in God's program / Oh I can't escape / Who are we?" - Muse in Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 from The Resistance. Some of them get by with scarred souls. "So for those of you falling in love / Keep it kind, keep it good, keep it right / Throw yourself in the midst of danger / But keep one eye open at night." - Rachael Yamagata in Elephants from Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart. Some of them believe that they have found hope. "I've got a plan to lose it all / I've got a contract pending on eternity." - Switchfoot in Loser from The Beautiful Letdown.

Perhaps, when we learn to appreciate this, we will realise that a particular singer or band is in fact too naïve or shallow for our liking. Perhaps we will realise that a particular singer or band actually had so much to tell us about the world and about themselves, but we just never bothered to move beyond the music.

So when we finally bring ourselves to see the connection between sound and substance, the fourth wall of showbiz and plastic covers will truly be demolished. And then we can start to experience genuine eargasms.

On Food Ethics

A few days ago, my dad kindly turned away a plate of leftover food offered by my neighbour from his seventh month sacrifice. I was hesitating to react while having my fill at the dining table; I didn't in the end. But after re-reading Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 6, I was confidently thankful that he did the biblical thing to do.

Anyways, I am currently intrigued about how religious or simply moral beliefs are always accompanied by some sort of puzzling dietary burden.

Some people believe that some animals are not good to eat. There are two reasons for this. One, the animal(s) is 'unclean' to some extent. Two, the animal is venerated beyond measure. It's funny how two entirely different notions can inspire the creation of identical boundaries. But surely pluralism would then proceed to classify all these animals under the same league? Oops...

Some people believe that all animals are not good to eat. It has been argued that animals should be treated fairly, like we are, and killing them for food is just gravely unethical. I certainly disagree with the use of unnecessary violence; thankfully we have the SPCA and the WWF. But I think that animals kill each other in the wild for food too, correct me if I'm wrong. They also seem to consider the use of sharp objects, deadly poison and elaborate traps as legitimate and ethical ways of catching prey. Well, this leads me to conclude that it is not really the means of death with which we're concerned when we consider animal protection. It's actually a matter of who were are - a race above all other races, with a power above all other natural powers, exercising a right to give all other creatures rights. Eh, but that's so ideologically unethical!

Finally, some people believe that all animals are good to eat. Incidentally, some of these people also believe in the spiritual concept of reincarnation. I say, this is too serious to be considered hilariously - how do you know that the next piece of chicken you consume didn't use to contain the soul of your expired great-grandmother? Insofar as hens are being industrially trapped in conveyor belts to lay eggs and die, they are to remain constantly demoted in the spiritual realm because of their lack of opportunity, in this cycle of suffering, to donate some measure of grain to the poor chicken across the road. I guess their male counterparts would be known as reprobate roosters. It's a trembling thought in many ways.

My conclusion: Aiyah, just eat lah.

I would entitle this 'Histobiography', but (un)fortunately I don't take Geog.

What a merciless exam timetable - Biology Paper 2 and History Paper 2 on the same morning. I mean honestly, what on earth were they thinking? So effectively, I was reading and memorising Mao and Wars from 4 to 9 yesterday after the afternoon paper, and then reading and memorising DNA and Human Physio from 9 to 4. Then it's like I blinked once and had to go to school.

Oh, but maybe I'll end up getting 7 points for both. You see after all, 49 is 7-squared, or 7 x 7 - which is two sevens! Haha!

What rubbish. Clearly I haven't the foggiest idea what I'm saying.

Though I do have a good feeling about the History paper. I think I conquered the Wars question. The SPS one was unusual - I actually enjoyed attempting a question for which I didn't quite have all the necessary knowledge, plus time was running out on me. My last sentence ended up missing a . Also had to smoke a little here and there. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it - the gamble of imperfection.

Well, now that all that's said and done, my right hand feels like pillow. Soft and limp.

TULIP (Part 3)

The third and final in the series; look no further.

'Perhaps eternal life is a bed of tulips.'

TULIP (Part 2)

A vase of petals light and bold

Is moist for Man's depravity

A torch of coral, truth be told

By one man's search for Majesty.

A noble stalk unwavering

That stands for total sovereignty

And promises the still believing

Binding pertinacity.

It drew their gaze, the dulcet dew

A flowing of the zephyr's grace

Though wrought are many, saved are few

The choice befits His righteous face.

A crimson petal carved with thought

A stream of blood for those foreknown

A doctrine over centuries fought

A flower that blooms where'er it's blown.

TULIP (Part 1)

Understanding the five tenets of tulipism is like opening your eyes to a new sunrise. It's a sunrise that is infinitely sovereign, infinitely loving, infinitely powerful and infinitely gracious. Then it blinds you and heals your sight in an infinite loop of your discovering how infinitely glorious the sun himself really is.

'Morning hair'

Free Will in Salvation: Incoherent Theology And An Unloving And Unjust God

By simple definition, free will in salvation (or Arminian free will) refers to the ultimate self-determining power of humans to choose God and in turn get saved, or choose otherwise and be condemned forever. No matter how many times Wesleyans can say that all has been provided for by virtue of prevenient grace (which is a doctrine that has alarmingly weak biblical foundations), they can and will never deny that human volition is the decisive factor in controlling whether or not an individual is saved. Prevenient grace supposedly restores free will to all men, hence its being described 'universal'. If that is the case, it is only logical that everything boils down to that one human choice.

Here is a brief analogy. Free will in terms of the Arminian understanding works like the slow step, or the rate-determining step of a chemical reaction. For those of us who are getting quite acquainted with reaction kinetics and the like in preparation for upcoming examinations, this should make quite a bit of sense.

The problem I have with this understanding of free will is that it espouses a theology that is incoherent, and reflects a God who is seemingly unjust and unloving. Nevertheless, I think it is relatively easy to explain how and why.

The bulk of arguments that propose the necessity of free will are largely philosophical and psychological; not biblical, shockingly. Thankfully, both perspectives are easy to repudiate in their own terms.

Firstly, it seems that for Arminian free will to work, all humans must have an equal degree of exposure to the gospel, if any, prior to possible conversion. This is so that everyone has an equal chance of exercising his/her free will in response to what s/he has heard. After all, what is the point of having free will but never having had the chance to make the life-changing choice? It would be gravely unfair wouldn't it? And so it is! Clearly not everyone is blessed with a Christian family from whom to learn about Jesus since young. Not everyone exists in a multi-religious society that allows Christianity to flourish with minimal persecution. Many of the heathen in Africa and South America live and die without having even heard about Christ. I don't quite know of a means to quantify dogmatic exposure, but even without it I think anyone would sense enormous discrepancies. Is God unjust?

Secondly, it is said that God has given us free will because He loves us and does not want to force us to love Him back. The psychological appeal in this argument is so strong that it proves to be such a huge stumbling block for many believers today. Yet, according to the Arminian reasoning, what it really does prove is that God is more unloving than anything. Why would God, knowing that the gospel would be unevenly circulated around the world, ordain for a means of salvation whose fairness depends on an egalitarian knowledge of Christ? Unless He didn't intend for it to be possible that all men be saved, but had unconditionally chosen the people from whom He would lift the scales of unbelief...all of which is incoherent with the Arminian doctrine of conditional election.

It is perhaps divine irony that the contradictions of unbiblical theology unravel upon their own mechanisms, insofar as close logical analysis is implemented to expose the faulty, incongruous components. Subsequently, I would also willingly point us to a more biblical explanation of Christian soteriology, so as to not leave this thread a-hanging like some run-of-the-mill notion. But I reckon that would be too much for one post. Maybe in the next (next next next...) one.

So in times like these, perhaps it is only fitting that we sit back and marvel at the sheer beauty of His creation, and see what really points to the glory of God.

A Few Days Late

"Insignificantly enough, we both have significant others."

~Anberlin