A ridiculously lame sermon

In the past two weeks, I've been going to a church called Newbern Alliance which is somewhat close to where I live in Vancouver. I've tried both the English and the Chinese services, the former definitely seems better. Everybody was so long-winded in the Chinese service that I attended: the guys who led the singing said there's no need to say much because the songs' lyrics are so well written, and then he gave a speech on the song... But the worst was during the communion. The guy who administered the communion gave a 15-min SERMON on the purpose of communion right after the official lengthy sermon.

In any case, so I decided to go to the English service. And last week, at the English service, I chanced upon one of the most ridiculous sermons I ever heard, an experience totally worth recording.

The speaker's speech had a title, something along the line of "spiritual inputs & outputs". He began with Matthew 12 and James 3, saying that we gotta watch our tongues, which is the "output". But that'd be too simple, so he went on to say that we also got to manage our "input", so we'll have the right "output". He encouraged us to throw away our DVDs, video games, and music CDs, which might pollute our pure mind, just as a drop of cyanide can poison an entire cup of water. He then cited Job 6.24: "Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred." According to this guy, Job found out that the reason why he suffered so much was because of what he had said; he didn't watch his tongue, so he lost his family and properties. So how shall we watch our tongues? He suggested that we shall not utter expressions such as: "unbelievable", "break a leg", and "it blew my mind". These are exaggerations that we don't mean. If we speak unreal things in the morning, our prayers at night will have no chance of being realized, or so he suggested.

Now, this sermon errs in so many points that it is difficult to criticize in a systematic manner, but I'll try. First, his two key passages, Matt 12 and James 3, do condemn the practice of bad-mouthing (output), but they don't talk about the inputs at all. Matt 12 relates bad fruits to bad trees, but it says nothing of what inputs the tree has received to become bad in the first place! So one of the 2 main points that he's making isn't even talked about in the biblical passages that he focused on. The other support for his point about inputs is the cyanide analogy. But whenever someone appeals to analogy as an argument, we should see a red flag. While it sounds reasonable, we have to question what is cyanide in water to do with DVDs in our life? I can argue in the same manner in the opposite direction: just as a chicken dropped into the Pacific Ocean won't turn the ocean into chicken soup, DVDs won't have much effect to our spiritual life. There, analogies don't make conclusive arguments.

His interpretation of Job 6 is even worse. It says: "Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred." Job isn't saying he suffered because he spoke to much, and now he shall shut the hell up. It says it right there in this passage, he has no idea why he suffered at all, that's why he challenges God to "show me how I have erred". If God can tell him even just one thing he had done wrong, he'll shut up; otherwise he'll keep whining. And this speaker turned this passage around to say the exact opposite. Man, this is just bad exegesis.

The applications of these teachings are equally lame. Regarding the inputs, I have already said that his teachings find no basis in the 3 main passages that he cited. Regarding the outputs, although Matt 12 and James 3 do talk about controlling tongues, I'm pretty sure they do not mean to say that it is wrong to say "unbelievable" or "mind-blowing". They're talking about curses, blaspheming against the holy spirit; they're not forbidding the use of figures of speech and rhetorics. In fact, the bible itself does that all the time. When it describes God as a man with hands, or a heart, it isn't being untruthful to its readers. Any sane person will recognize the use of anthropomorphism in such descriptions. Why not?

Well, all in all, this sermon was so unbelievably lame that it is mind-blowing.

教會執事殺情婦?

=======================================
教會執事涉殺聾啞情婦
(星島)2009年11月3日 星期二 05:30


被公認為性情溫和、樂於助人的虔誠教會執事，與同為聾啞的已婚女教友發生婚外情，女教友疑苦苦相纏要求執事離婚，執事不勝其煩下涉以刀捅殺女教友。事發三日後，執事哭著向教會牧師和盤托出殺人一事，並到警署寫下自首信。執事被控一項謀殺罪，案件昨於高院開審。

　　記者：何鳳儀

　　現年四十七歲的被告葉啟明，昨於高院否認一項於去年九月十三日謀殺女子吳桂芳（三十九歲）罪名。被告指自己當時精神失常，承認誤殺罪，但不獲控方接納。

　　控方開案陳辭指，被告與死者年幼時相識於聾人學校，八九年在九龍城衙前圍道香港聾人基督教會相聚，被告為教會執事，而靠綜援維生的死者也熱心教會事務，二人各家室子女，但暗地裏發展親密關係。死者丈夫昨供稱，他視性情溫和的被告為普通朋友，被告曾替他修理濾水器及搬家具。

　　牧師面前哭著懺悔

　　死者丈夫梁偉光昨供稱，事發當日早上十一時，他帶兩名兒子到父母西區寓所，妻子原答應一同晚飯，但未有現身；晚上十時他返到沙田 新翠村新明樓寓所，赫見妻子躺於血泊中，毫無動靜，遂立即傳真通知被告、父親及教會傳道人鄺志雄，鄺趕到現場助他報警。救護員到場後證實吳已死亡，驗屍報告指死因是胸口被刀捅傷。

　　控方指出，與被告相識近十年的教會牧師高偉光，於同月十六日應被告妻子通知到其寓所會面，被告一見高即哭起來懺悔，承認自己用刀捅死吳桂芳，指死者要求他離婚及娶她。被告同日到警署，在警誡下寫下：「我要自首，因我是殺吳桂芳。」被告及後在錄影會面中表示他早於事發前兩日對死者動殺機，並於當日買兇刀及新衣。

......

=======================================

呢條友根本就冇誠心認罪, 話自己係精神失常誤殺.

Hope = crap

Yes, I'm now in Vancouver. Last night I watched Shawshank Redemption with my old bean. The movie is pretty fun to watch, entertaining from start to finish. It's got a few famous lines that people repeat, such as "hope is a good thing, may be the best of things, and a good thing never dies," and "hope is a dangerous thing."

I don't feel that hope is a good thing, but neither do I think it dangerous. I just feel that hope is crap, meaningless. I don't think it is a big loss at all if I just die tonight. It might be pretty cool to eventually graduate from the stupid program or get to play Final Fantasy XIX or whatever, but to endure all the hardships and boredom most hours of most days of my life just to enjoy for that little bit is so not worthwhile. It is kinda like eating a crab: all that hard work just to eat that little meat is a good waste of time and effort.

Perhaps I should find a job that is ridiculously life-threatening but not physically demanding (is there even such a job?), since I get the strong feeling that I might just meet the same end as young Werther did, though for vastly different reasons.

新玩具

首先, 臨走都仲買到平o既新書. 今次真係真正o既"最後"一次.

Copper Scroll Studies
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The Gospels in Context: Social and Political History in the Synoptic Tradition
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Johannine Eclesiology
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The Rhetoric of Characterization of God, Jesus, and Jesus' Disciples in the Gospel of Mark
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The Anointed and His People: Messianic Expectations from the Maccabees to Bar Kochba
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Thomas at the Crossroads
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In Search of Paul
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Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope

由於最近壓力大, 所以完全冇晒 mood 寫論文, 終日以打機打發時間為樂, 連本來唔想玩o既 game 都玩埋. 尋晚剛剛玩完 Star Ocean 4. 呢隻 RPG 我總有玩到爆機, 都唔算係太差, 不過其實我去到最後個迷宮都有諗過放棄, 算係處於合格邊緣. 呢隻 game 好奇怪, 佢其實都有不少優點, 但係造呢隻 game 嗰班人, 又同時製造出相應o既缺點去消滅返呢 d 優點, 真係非常 on9.

首先, 一開隻 game, 第一樣就會留意到畫面好靚, 雖然有好多不夠細緻o既地方, 同 MGS4 之類冇得比, 但係畫面都算好 sharp. 最靚係 d 環境, 花草樹木, 沙漠, 海邊, 非常巨型o既建築物, 全部都好靚. 問題係佢地將 d 環境造得太大, 而全個 game 你都只可以行, 冇任何交通工具可以用, 所以由一個城鎮行去另一個城鎮, 往往要用成半個鐘以上, 煩到死, 令人唔想玩任何 side quests. 好多時走入一個迷宮, 打完隻大佬之後, 你仲要用腳行返轉頭, 而個環境地圖又大到無倫, 簡直就係令人覺得係浪費時間.

而班主角, 畫面係靚, 但係人物設計根本就不知所謂, 除咗個機械人之外, 所有主角都算得上係樣衰, 而不幸地, 個主角就最衰, 成個港式 MK look, 而偏偏又對住佢最多, 真係冇可能投入角色. 其實當中 Faize 同 Lymle 個關係都幾好睇, 但係係大佬, 當你將 Lymle 設計成一個 6 歲孩童, 我點可能幻想 Faize 同 Lymle 之間有曖昧? 呢 d 唔係叫愛情, 呢 d 係叫做變態. 如果班設計者, 有些少常識, 將 Lymle 設計成一個年記大 d o既女仔, 個結局咪好睇好多囉, 同埋呢 d 白痴 RPG 成日都總係有個把聲勁 cute/低B o既女童角色, 其實根本就唔 make sense, 一個 toddler 救返個宇宙?

而故事, 呢隻 RPG 有好多故事, 而我一般都係好鍾意故事性強o既RPG. 但係呢隻 RPG 真係特別, 佢係多故事得嚟多到令人厭煩o既程度. 原因有幾個. 首先, d 主角樣衰就係一個問題, 要睇班冇表情o既公仔頭口郁郁成半粒鐘, 真係好悶. 其次, d 英文配音真係不知所謂, 難聽到令人要發脾氣o既地步, 而最嚴重o既係班 cute 樣o既女角, 全部都係把聲勁尖, cute 到令人作嘔. 第三, d 對白寫得差, 同一樣嘢講一幾廿次, 重複又重複. 例如, 故事中段講到個主角意志低沈, 而呢段歷時成幾個鐘都係咁, 個主角成日死老豆咁款, 不斷講佢做錯乜做錯乜, 講成十幾廿次, 到佢想重新做人嗰時, 我已經心諗: 不如你死 X 咗佢好過啦. 至於角色, 呢隻 game 所有角色都有不少 development, 但係當個角色本身係令人生厭的話, 不論幾多 development 都係多餘.

而玩法, 今集 item creation 易用好多. 但係佢地搞到只有喺你隻太空船上先可以用 item creation. 之前已經提及過, 呢隻 game d 地圖係超大, 所以當你去到一個城鎮, 買到一 d 原料, 你就要行成至少半個鐘返去隻船上先可以用 item creation, 而當你行到返去, 先發覺原來喺個城度買少咗一樣嘢, 你真係會想打爆個電視. 所以, 雖然 item creation 個 system 係容易咗好多, 但係我情願用返 Star Ocean 2 嗰個成日要 reload 但係任何地方都可以用o既 item creation.

總結: 太多致命缺點, 除消晒隻 game 本身有o既優點, 非常可惜. 唯一最好係個 battle system, 但係如果我想玩打交, 我就直接玩 Devil May Cry 或忍者外傳, 唔係玩 Star Ocean.

AvaxHome

http://avaxhome.ws/ebooks/theology_occultism/pages/1

大力推薦呢個網, 佢有大量聖經研究o既電子書下載, 其中不少係 Brill 嗰 d 超級貴書. 互聯網真偉大. 過多十年八年, 第日 d 學生做 research 可能完全唔使去圖書館, 喺網上搵到晒. 而家有 ATLAS 之類o既 database, 只係實現咗一半, 因為冇書, 只有 journal articles.

又有新書到

今次比較多有關新約o既書. 其中我望過下, 似乎係 Early Christian Life 最有用. 我今個月尾就會搬返溫哥華住, 到時因為時差關係, 將來應該會好難買到咁平o既書, 因為喺溫哥華我起床嗰時, 人地喺東岸都已經食 lunch, 乜平書都已經俾人買晒啦.

Paul's Paradigmatic "I"
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Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context
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New Readings in John: Literary and Theological Perspectives
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Novum Testamentum Graecum: Editio Critica Maior IV (The Letters of Peter)
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Encounter with Biblical Theology
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新蜀山劍俠

好大機會會喺九月尾搬返溫哥華住, 前路茫茫, 好大壓力, 所以呢排日日做嘢嗰時都要開齣電影睇, 最近就喺 youtube 度見到有得睇徐克齣舊戲"新蜀山劍俠", 聽就聽得多, 不過未睇過.

故事講元彪做o既卒仔, 碰上鄭少秋做o既神奇劍俠, 跟住佢去斬妖, 又碰上其他怪事怪人, 後來故事急轉直下, 個卒仔身邊好打o既奇俠全部被血魔 KO 晒, 所以個卒仔就同兩個武功非常麻麻o既孟海同李賽鳳去搵紫青雙劍去拮血魔. 其實個故事麻麻, 雖然背後係有 d 意思想講, 不時透過元彪說教, 不過到底都係冇乜特別, 一般劍俠大戰魔教大怪獸, 有 d 打鬥鏡頭亦交待得唔夠清楚, 畫面一轉, 會唔知做乜有個人會突然被打到飛開, 又唔係好明鄭少秋到底係點樣中咗血魔陰招. 畫面特技當年睇, 班觀眾應該會覺得好勁, 但係而家睇就當然係非常麻麻啦, 最後大戰尤其唔掂, 反而係開頭鄭少秋飛一大堆劍出去嗰下好型. 以前細個好鍾意睇"人間道", 最鍾意係燕赤霞招飛劍, 而家先知原來個 idea 係抄徐克齣"蜀山".

成齣戲最令我震撼係忽然覺得, 以前港片 d 女角真係好靚. 故事中段講鄭少秋同卒仔去到一個冰宮, 個堡主林青霞一出嗰時, 就覺得佢好靚, 因為我睇佢做戲都係睇比較近期如"東方不敗"之類, 佢已經比較老同肥咗, 但係喺"蜀山"入面又後生又瘦. 但係我覺得最好睇其實係李賽鳳, 嘩, 真係極靚囉, 而家 d o靚模呀, angelababy 之類超碼差佢十幾廿皮, 每個動作都 cute 到無倫, 令齣戲可觀度大增. 可惜李賽鳳後來多數都係拍打交戲, 齣齣都差不多, 如果佢做文戲或笑片, 我都會好有興趣睇.

又買到平書

"Like a Bird in a Cage": The Invasion of Sennacherib in 701 BCE
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The World of the Aramaeans II: Studies in History and Archaeology in Honour of Paul-Eugene Dion
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Like a Bird 我買咗兩個 copy, 其中一本送咗俾 Schuller, 臨走送 d 嘢俾佢, 大家開心下, 反正又唔係貴.

平書到...

冇上次平得咁緊要, 不過都可算係出乎意料之外咁平, 抵買, 抵買.



Law and Ideology in Monarchic Israel
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Elisha and the End of Prophetism
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Early Christians and Animals
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