Thursday, March 27, 2008

???

It's really amazing to hear what had happened in Sulawesi, Indonesia from CBN News. And funny is that news like that never gained any attention of the headlines or even mentioned in the main stream newspaper. This made me wonder, is it because of media attention merely focus on persecution and mass killing rather than paying attention or effort to reconciliation? Or is it the source of the news that the Christian world sees is seen as valueless in the eyes of the public?


When we were celebrating the fact that Qatar began the first open Christian service during Easter this year, we almost neglected the same time last year, three members in the body of Christ were massacred in Matlaya, Turkey, a place where freedom of religion is given and proclaimed. The news was only recorded in AsiaNews, TurkeyDailyNews, JihadWatch, and more in the PersecutedChurchWeblog. 


It's very difficult in writing this passage, I do not intend to go deep on this but to bring out an observation that I think which had been a pattern of how public voices was shaped.


Whatever it is, good news or bad news, we should always stand guard and pray as much. As I was in Dumai last year, it's a place with Christians-Muslims 50/50.  I had witnessed how people were being brought to Christ by the touch of the Lord in their lives through healing and conviction. I had also seen sacrificing love of the Christians towards people and children had won souls over. Yet the undercurrent should not be taken lightly. 


One verse that we can sing in this situation perhaps is, "The Lord is on my ship!" Yet we also need to realize that God does permit sacrifice. He had not spared his own son, and many who carry the cross would have to lose their lives. But the reward in the Kingdom is handsome. 


I apologize if I confuse you. Click on the highlighted part, to gain more news/insights about the situation.


Sunday, March 02, 2008

When does life begin?

George Verwer sent me a very good book earlier, "WHY PRO-LIFE?", written by Randy Alcorn.


Philosopher Mortimer Adler claimed that the unborn is " a part of the mother's body, in the same sense that an individual's arm or leg is a part of the living organism. An individual's decision to have an arm or a leg amputated falls within the sphere of privacy - the freedom to do as one pleases in all matters that do not injure others or the public welfare." 1,2

Evidence shows us that when a life is formed inside the womb, a new set of genetic code take place. A new set of genetic code that forms a total different being from the womb that is carrying the life.

The question is: When does life begin?

We should never deny that having a baby could be so hard for some people. It could be for medical reasons that one could not have children, it could be no medical reason at all. Many religions view children as gift of God. In the bible, people mourned because they did not have children. Sarah was childless until she was 90, Hannah poured out her soul to the Lord because of her barrenness. Well, you could say these are people in old days. But today, while I walk in the O&G Clinics, I see couples wanting babies so badly, they tried and they tried, but there was none.


Conceive is not an accident, and it's not a co-incident. It takes extreme effort of the sperms from the male, and the readiness of the ovum from the female. 3 It is fierce race - race to life.



Honestly, I'm not sure if we can say that an zygote is not a form of life. 4,5

References:
1. Randy Alcorn. Why Pro-Life? Eternal Perspective Ministry, 2004. Chapter 5
2. Mortimer J.A. Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism (New York: MAcMillan, 1991),210.
3. Nir A. The fertilization dance: a mechanical view of the egg rotation during the initial spermatozoa-ovum interaction. [Journal Article] Journal of Theoretical Biology. 214(2):171-9, 2002 Jan 21.
4. Everything from Conception to Birth. http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1514886
5. Life Begins at Fertilization with the Embryo's conception. http://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/embryoquotes2.html