時常喺教會聽人講見証時都會心諗, 其實佢地講嗰 d "神蹟"/"奇事"唔証明乜嘢, 因為其他宗教都一樣有咁多同樣o既見証. 例如, 香港冧樓事件後, 就見到呢一篇"証實"北帝大能o既見証.
==========================================
【東方日報專訊】土瓜灣馬頭圍道唐樓頃刻變廢墟，能僥倖逃過一劫除賴人間有情與守望相助外，屹立災場對面的北帝也疑似顯靈令四代同堂一家人現能齊齊整整。八十九歲的范伯伯與女兒及曾孫同住上址，塌樓慘劇前一小時，七歲曾孫突從窗口望着北帝廟大嚷不適，更提議嫲嫲與曾祖父落樓散步，家園就在散步間坍塌，對面單位的廿歲青年更命喪瓦礫中，范伯伯的女兒昨稱：「孫仔講得啱，錢無咗但最緊要人無事，一定要去北帝廟還神。」
小孩懂性安慰大人
范伯伯女兒林太稱住在上址已八年，平日亦會到北帝廟參拜祈求一家平安，事發當日中午，她、范伯伯及孫兒午膳後，孫兒突從窗口望着北帝廟稱心胸不適及不安，年紀小小的他更自行唸經：「佢好少咁，唸完仲話唔舒服，叫我同太公陪佢落街散步。」
散步未幾回家之際傳來塌樓，返抵時家已不在，林太說：「成個人呆晒，老人家行動慢，如果無落街散步，都唔知走唔走得切。」
......
每逢巨災後，靈異事件總不斷湧現，塌樓現場附近一間藥房老闆陸醫師稱，舖內飼養一狗一貓一龜，名叫「富貴」的泥龜大半個月前突患眼疾，治療也無效，塌樓意外後，藥房門外曾暫用作停屍間，老闆為求安心，昨在門外拜祭，詎料「富貴」突然開眼，眾人對此事稱奇。
==========================================
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
The First Christmas: The Story of Jesus' Birth in History and Tradition
為咗應節, Biblical Archaeology Society 出咗本免費o既電子書. 我自己仲未有時間睇, 但係見有幾篇文章都係由出名學者寫o既, 有閱讀價值. 望落似係俾一般讀者睇, 應該人人都會睇得明.
http://www.bib-arch.org/e-books/pdf/christmas.pdf
http://www.bib-arch.org/e-books/pdf/christmas.pdf
耶路撒冷裹屍布
今日見到有個相當有趣o既考古發現. Shimon Gibson 喺耶路撒冷發現到一塊來自與耶穌同期o既裹屍布. 最有趣o既係, 呢塊裹屍布同 Shroud of Turin 好多唔同o既地方. 首先, 編織o既方法唔同. 其次, 同 Shroud of Turin 唔同, 呢塊新發現o既裹屍布唔係一塊布, 而係有一塊分開o既包頭布.
點解 Shroud of Turin 同呢塊同耶穌同期o既裹屍布咁唔同? Hmmmm...
=======================================
Burial cloth found in Jerusalem cave casts doubt on authenticity of Turin Shroud
By Matthew Kalman
Last updated at 1:08 AM on 16th December 2009
Archaeologists have discovered the first known burial shroud in Jerusalem from the time of Christ's crucifixion - and say it casts serious doubt on the claimed authenticity of the Turin Shroud.
Ancient shrouds from the period have been found before in the Holy Land, but never in Jerusalem.
Researchers say the weave and design of the shroud discovered in a burial cave near Jerusalem's Old City are completely different to the Turin Shroud.
Radiocarbon tests and artefacts found in the cave prove almost beyond doubt that it was from the same time of Christ's death.It was made with a simple two-way weave - not the twill weave used on the Turin Shroud, which textile experts say was introduced more than 1,000 years after Christ lived.
And instead of being a single sheet like the famous item in Turin, the Jerusalem shroud is made up of several sections, with a separate piece for the head.
......http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1236161/First-burial-shroud-carbon-dated-time-Christs-crucifixion-caves-near-Jerusalem.html
=======================================
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Graduate Studies in Biblical Studies = Bungee Jump without the Cord
Man, why didn't I read these when I was 22?
http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the/44846
http://chronicle.com/article/Just-Don-t-Go-Part-2/44786
As a current graduate student in biblical studies, I must testify to the validity of this person's warnings. What he wrote is so painfully true and accurately describes my situation now. I'm not so desperate that I need to hang myself in the near future, but it is very very very true that I don't see an academic future for myself AT ALL.
http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the/44846
http://chronicle.com/article/Just-Don-t-Go-Part-2/44786
As a current graduate student in biblical studies, I must testify to the validity of this person's warnings. What he wrote is so painfully true and accurately describes my situation now. I'm not so desperate that I need to hang myself in the near future, but it is very very very true that I don't see an academic future for myself AT ALL.
Friday, 13 November 2009
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.
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.
Monday, 2 November 2009
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.
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.
Monday, 12 October 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
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
Price: $7.99
Original Price: $75.00
The Gospels in Context: Social and Political History in the Synoptic Tradition
Price: $8.99
Original Price: $85.00
Johannine Eclesiology
Price: $12.99
Original Price: $129
The Rhetoric of Characterization of God, Jesus, and Jesus' Disciples in the Gospel of Mark
Price: $15.99
Original Price: $159
The Text-Critical Study of the Epistle of Jude
Price: $18.99
Original Price: $185
The Anointed and His People: Messianic Expectations from the Maccabees to Bar Kochba
Price: $16.99
Original Price: $169
Thomas at the Crossroads
Price: $9.99
Original Price: $99
In Search of Paul
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $35
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.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)