Monday, June 12, 2006
Some Christian Articles in response to The Da Vinci Code
(i) Christian Analysis of Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock
(ii) A Christian Response to the DaVinci Code
(iii) Da Vinci Code by Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM)
(iv) THE DA VINCI OPPORTUNITY by Rev. Dr. Mark D.Roberts,Senior Pastor, Irvine Presbyterian Church, Irvine, California
(v) The Da Vinci Code:Tool For Evangelism? by Paul L. Maier
(vi) Articles on Da Vinci from christianitytoday.com
(vii) A Christian Response to "The DaVinci Code":What’s the Problem? by Dr. Albert Mohler
(viii) Deciphering 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dr. Albert Mohler
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
Verses 1-11 (NIV)
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
Verses 1-11 (NIV)
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Missionaries in Mizoram - Some Reflections
Happy New Year to everyone!
Today, I read from the Chennai Mizo website that the pioneering work done by JH Lorrain on translation of English Language to Mizo Language is already online. You may click this link to check it out Lorrain, J. Herbert (James Herbert) Dictionary of the Lushai language . As I read this, it took me back to 1994 when the Gospel centenary was celebrated at Mizoram. I was part of the Centenary Choir and it was a wonderful experience. Many foreigners who came to Mizoram as missionary also came all the way from their country to take part in the celebration.
In fact, JH Lorrain was one of the two British Baptist missionaries, who ventured into the hills of Mizoram in 1894. One of the missionaries was William Frederick Savidge. To quote an article written by Rev. Richard Howell,
"The first missionary to visit Mizoram was William Williams, a Welsh missionary to Khasi, in 1891. J.H. Lorrain and F.W. Savidge came to Mizoram on 11th January 1894. During their four year stay, they reduced the Mizo language to written form, taught a number of Mizo to read and write and translated the Gospels of Luke and John and the Book of Acts into Mizo language. They also prepared a Mizo grammar, a dictionary, a number of small books and a catechism. Before they left in 1897, D. E. Jones of the Calvinistic Methodist Church came to Mizoram, who was soon joined by Edwin Rawlands. The Church they planted, namely the Presbyterian Synod of Mizoram, became the biggest denominational Church in Mizoram.
"In 1903, the Baptist Missionary Society, after an agreement was made with the Calvinistic Methodist, sent the former Arthington missionaries, J.H. Lorrain and F.W. Savidge to Southern Mizoram. The church they planted became the second largest denomination in Mizoram. R.A. Lorrain, started work among the Lakher (Mara) sometime after 1910, as missionaries of the Lakher Pioneer Mission, an independent mission agency. These three foreign missions worked in the beautiful mountainous land of Mizoram".
Regarding the Gospel centenary celebration in Mizoram, in 1994, Harold Kurtz (Executive Director of the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship,Portland, Oregon) had written,
"A couple of years ago I was asked to share in the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries to the Mizo people in northeast India. They are oriental people and when the missionaries arrived they were still head-hunters. The British journals give ample evidence of this and the people themselves readily spoke of their bloodthirsty, violent past as they now celebrate the transformation of their lives and society by the presence of Jesus. The state of Mizoram may house the highest percentage of Christians in the world. Certainly I came away feeling I had been to the most Christian society I had ever experienced--I felt I had been to a Christian Shangrila.
"What I found especially fascinating was the stories they told and the historical records which documented the rapid spread of the Gospel which was life and culture transforming and so all inclusive in the society. The Welsh missionaries had been deeply touched by two Welsh revival movements and carried that movement of the Spirit with its somewhat wild enthusiasm, back with them to Mizo land. That revival spirit caught fire among the Mizo and allowed the Gospel to run free within the culture, out of control of the missionaries and the Western worship patterns up and down the valleys and over the hills. The Gospel spread so fast it was impossible to keep things in order and the Gospel literally got out of control".
Some of the resources relating to Missionary works in Mizoram are below [not an exhaustive list]:
1. Brian Stanley,The Legacy of Robert Arthington
2. Rev. Richard Howell, The South Asian Scene- With Special Reference To India
3. BMS World Mission
4. Zari Malsawma, The Mizos of Northeast India: Proclaiming the Gospel to their neighbors near and far
5. Gwen Rees Roberts, MEMORIES OF MIZORAM - RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS, Bwrdd y Genhadaeth (2001). [To quote a review by one website "A fascinating account of the missionary work of Gwen Rees Roberts in Mizoram, 1944-68, comprising reminiscences of happy and hard times spent in India, and of various people she worked with during a lively period in the history of the missionary movement. 2 black-and-white drawings and 1 map."]
6. Harold Kurtz, Must the Faith Get Out of Control? The Word In The Mother Tongue and Life In The Mother Culture
Today, I read from the Chennai Mizo website that the pioneering work done by JH Lorrain on translation of English Language to Mizo Language is already online. You may click this link to check it out Lorrain, J. Herbert (James Herbert) Dictionary of the Lushai language . As I read this, it took me back to 1994 when the Gospel centenary was celebrated at Mizoram. I was part of the Centenary Choir and it was a wonderful experience. Many foreigners who came to Mizoram as missionary also came all the way from their country to take part in the celebration.
In fact, JH Lorrain was one of the two British Baptist missionaries, who ventured into the hills of Mizoram in 1894. One of the missionaries was William Frederick Savidge. To quote an article written by Rev. Richard Howell,
"The first missionary to visit Mizoram was William Williams, a Welsh missionary to Khasi, in 1891. J.H. Lorrain and F.W. Savidge came to Mizoram on 11th January 1894. During their four year stay, they reduced the Mizo language to written form, taught a number of Mizo to read and write and translated the Gospels of Luke and John and the Book of Acts into Mizo language. They also prepared a Mizo grammar, a dictionary, a number of small books and a catechism. Before they left in 1897, D. E. Jones of the Calvinistic Methodist Church came to Mizoram, who was soon joined by Edwin Rawlands. The Church they planted, namely the Presbyterian Synod of Mizoram, became the biggest denominational Church in Mizoram.
"In 1903, the Baptist Missionary Society, after an agreement was made with the Calvinistic Methodist, sent the former Arthington missionaries, J.H. Lorrain and F.W. Savidge to Southern Mizoram. The church they planted became the second largest denomination in Mizoram. R.A. Lorrain, started work among the Lakher (Mara) sometime after 1910, as missionaries of the Lakher Pioneer Mission, an independent mission agency. These three foreign missions worked in the beautiful mountainous land of Mizoram".
Regarding the Gospel centenary celebration in Mizoram, in 1994, Harold Kurtz (Executive Director of the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship,Portland, Oregon) had written,
"A couple of years ago I was asked to share in the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries to the Mizo people in northeast India. They are oriental people and when the missionaries arrived they were still head-hunters. The British journals give ample evidence of this and the people themselves readily spoke of their bloodthirsty, violent past as they now celebrate the transformation of their lives and society by the presence of Jesus. The state of Mizoram may house the highest percentage of Christians in the world. Certainly I came away feeling I had been to the most Christian society I had ever experienced--I felt I had been to a Christian Shangrila.
"What I found especially fascinating was the stories they told and the historical records which documented the rapid spread of the Gospel which was life and culture transforming and so all inclusive in the society. The Welsh missionaries had been deeply touched by two Welsh revival movements and carried that movement of the Spirit with its somewhat wild enthusiasm, back with them to Mizo land. That revival spirit caught fire among the Mizo and allowed the Gospel to run free within the culture, out of control of the missionaries and the Western worship patterns up and down the valleys and over the hills. The Gospel spread so fast it was impossible to keep things in order and the Gospel literally got out of control".
Some of the resources relating to Missionary works in Mizoram are below [not an exhaustive list]:
1. Brian Stanley,The Legacy of Robert Arthington
2. Rev. Richard Howell, The South Asian Scene- With Special Reference To India
3. BMS World Mission
4. Zari Malsawma, The Mizos of Northeast India: Proclaiming the Gospel to their neighbors near and far
5. Gwen Rees Roberts, MEMORIES OF MIZORAM - RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS, Bwrdd y Genhadaeth (2001). [To quote a review by one website "A fascinating account of the missionary work of Gwen Rees Roberts in Mizoram, 1944-68, comprising reminiscences of happy and hard times spent in India, and of various people she worked with during a lively period in the history of the missionary movement. 2 black-and-white drawings and 1 map."]
6. Harold Kurtz, Must the Faith Get Out of Control? The Word In The Mother Tongue and Life In The Mother Culture
Thursday, December 08, 2005
God's Plan for Your Life
The Four Spiritual Laws: Nice site! It clearly mentioned the plan that God has for our lives.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Psalm 139
A beautiful song written by King David from the Book of Psalms in the Holy Bible: God the Creator who is above all else! He knows everything! He knows your inside out, even before and when you were inside your mother's womb; and even when you are not aware, He takes care of you! Click here if you want to read the Bible
1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.
19 O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,
20 men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
21 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
[From The Holy Bible, RSV]
1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.
19 O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,
20 men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
21 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
[From The Holy Bible, RSV]
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