Daniel 5

Maybe George didn't think that anyone'd take it up when he challenged us to "do" Daniel 5 creatively. But we did and the results from various groups were almost Eurovision worthy!

Rob, Glen Geoff, Alan, Tim had:

• gods of PVC
  
• Elton John (the "Queen's") rendition of "Daniel"
• Daniel adaptation of 2W2L

Ivan, Akos, Candy, Alby, Wazza, Carlson had a "Skip / Wog" BBQ (very tongue in cheek... apologies) complete with CGI and sound effects. "Oh my gods!"

Rowan, Paul (and I) rewrote OMC's "How Bizarre", entitled "Balshazzar, How Bizarre!"* What's the modern equivalent of the most ridiculous and extravagant party animals? Rap stars, of course!

Hardy Har Har.

*The film version may feature a car with license "YHWH 01", driven by Balshazzar with his concubines dripping in gold chains heavy with Star of David pendants.

References to pants and incontinence are attributed to Wolters' interpretation of Dan 5. (Wolters, A. ‘Untying the Knots of the King: Physiology and Wordplay in Daniel 5’, JBL 110.1 (1991), 117–22.)

Thinking about Hell is edifying

My friends tilt their heads and give a vacant expression when I make the above statement. So I thought I'd write a little blah about how an thinking about hell could be edifying. I also wanted to reassure you that I don't think about hell because I'm morbid, sadistic or generally hate people.

But thinking about hell tells you a lot about God.

- he is holy.

- he means what he says (promises to condemn sin and make retribution for wrongs)

- he hates sin (hell shows how bad sin is to God. Hell is a terrible, awful, fearful... and it's the punishment that fits the crime. Since sin is eternally offensive to God, hell is an eternal punishment.)

- he is loving, in wanting to punish the wrongdoers who have hurt his people

- he is loving, so it's appropriate that he is angry at his children who have gone bad. (The more a father loves his children, the more he hates in him the drunkard, the abuser, the gambler.)

- he's really restraint in not "giving it to us" as soon as we deserve it.

- he's really generous in giving people on this death row life, relationships, taste buds, sunshine, opportunities, music, fun.

- he is really gracious in offering us an out when we really deserve something so terrible.

- his graciously and sternly warns people who are just rolling down the hill towards hell.

- he has graciously given us time to turn back to him in this life.

- his son took our punishment for us (still not exactly sure how this works)

- what Jesus bore on the cross for us was wrath, and such great wrath for the sins of the whole world (Rev 14). He drank the cup of wrath - not just one person's share, but everyone's.

- he loves and welcomes the repentant into his family when they really deserve hell!

In the Scriptures we find a God who dignifies our lives by caring enough to be angry at our rebellion and destrive choices, yet meets our desperate need with kindness and compassion. God will not allow evil to triumph...

~ from Gibbo's chapter, "Lactantius on Anger" from Consolations of Theology, 2008.

Isn't our Father gracious, good, more than fair, loving, powerful, amazing?? Isn't his gospel glorious?? Isn't his Son ... ?!?!?!?!

Two friends said, "If people really understood how much God loves them and the lengths he'll go to to have them, they'd be Christian".

Godly Attributes

Another unformed thought. God is interested in our attitudes primarily. What's going on inside is of more interest than what your hands are doing. Some big examples...

In contrast to sinful behavior, God points us to godly attributes (in Galatians 6:19-26)

... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (v 24)

Look at the Beatitudes.

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

What about the show-stopper in 1 Corinthians?

And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

God cares about your unseens, unmeasurables. He's pointing at a picture of a healthy heart. He lifts our eyes to excellent things and it's exhilarating! Things too wonderful for this earth...

How is it that none of us have set eyes on this perfect loveliness, yet long for it? And how is it significant that God alone has these attributes perfectly?

How ought we live?

When we "do" ethics, what level are we operating on? Are we concerned about actions (i.e. weighing up an action to see if it's ethical) or about virtues (e.g. It's ok to lie to the Nazis about Jews in the basement because you're a compassionate person).

What is your measuring stick? What are we measuring?

How about doing ethics based on GOD's virtues? (I.e. God's own character is the measuring stick). It's just an idea that I'm throwning out there. The Bible seems to say God himself is the motivation for right living.

Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

~ Lev 19:2

Christian conduct, it seems, is based on God's character. Because we are made in God's image and have the imprint of his character, we ought to behave accordingly.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

~ Col 3:5-10


And his character doesn't just change individuals' conduct. The Corinthian church should organise their church in orderly manner. Why? "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." (1 Cor 14:33)

In Paul's letter, all people are indictable because they knew God's character but didn't give him due worship (resulting in sinful attitudes and behaviors).

since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

~ Romans 1:19-23

That is, God's attributes were clear and therefore people should have responded by shunning sinful living. I'm still not sure how God's character relates to the way we live.

But somehow, God himself is the measuring stick and goal of our behavior.

Cantonese Idioms

My Cantonese relatives have a quiver full of idioms that are incisive and visceral. Some are even onomatopoeic.

1) Many knives but not one is sharp

Akin to "Jack of all trades but master of none". But a dull knife is a dangerous, unpredictable instrument, since it's hard to control. It's deprecating: You can do a lot. But you could do damage.


2) An 8 beat rhyme, literally:

You cry, You laugh,
Peeing wherever in the street

It's something to say when your kid's throwing a tantrum, all over the place or getting out of control in a hissy fit. I think the sardonic edge is supposed to counter and defuse the anger. The mockery is there so you'd take yourself less seriously. "Don't be ridiculous" just doesn't have the same effect.


3) Stick it on top of your head!

Meaning, I've run out of cupboard space. Wear it yourself!

Tough love, Cantonese.

Like?

Cantonese is a potent language. My sister explained the simple profundity of the question "Do you like it?" The Cantonese equivalent is a compact, two character phrase: Jong Yee.


First Character

Jong

means on target. If you are an archer and your arrow struck the middle ring it's JONG

Second Character

Yee

means ideal. Your dream.


Together, the phrase is "Have I targeted your ideal?"

It's a phrase that gets bandied around daily. You could ask your children "Jong Yee Mah?" over the dinner table. If the phrase was a piece of furniture, it'd be a kitchen stool.

Understanding the Bible

The Bible is an outstretched palm. An invitation to know its author. God graciously and wisely gave his word to humans.

The illustrations in the Bible shows God wants to connect with the Common Man: shepherds, servants, security guards, soldiers, accountants. The vast majority of people, until recent centuries had very little education. A thoughtful grandmother, who never sat through a tertiary philosophy class, should hear the message of the Bible and nod at its rightness and feel its sound truthfulness in her guts.

I think God knew his audience and wrote so they would "get" him. I'm guessing he's far too generous to tuck precious truths away in the obscure, to lock its profound secrets in numerology. I doubt that the goal was to confound and bewilder. And even though there are mysteries too wonderful for us to understand, I suspect his aim in letting us know about it is to enlighten and to reveal. Display the most sparkling gems in the most prominent spots.




A friend wisely advised me on working out difficult bits of the Bible. He said "What's the most natural explanation? That's probably what the right answer is." If a theologian's body of work is really inaccessible and cumbersome, you got to ask what the value of it is.

So why bother with detailed studies like verbal aspect, text-critical analysis? I think they are tools like a jewelers' lens. Everyone can admire an Argyle diamond with the naked eye. But how of the glorious, subtle colours and brilliance can you take in with a magnifier? God has created beauty for us to appreciate on every level.

I LOVE COLLEGE. It's a delight to that the faculty, like master jewelers and gem collectors, show off the beauty of the word in different aspects, on many levels, from various angles.