The following is a summary of an illuminating message by Rob Bell. King Solomon had forgotten how he and his ancestors came out of slavery in Egypt a number of generations ago. He was using forced labour to build the temple, his house and military bases, as well as storage houses to amass wealth and…
The language of power dynamics: Racism is about power
I realise that it takes a radical shift in mindset to relinquish any form of power dominance for those of us (namely, Whites in America, Chinese in Singapore, etc) who benefit from the supremacist system, and to use appropriate language that recognises equality and comes from a place of humility, rather than using words that…
The narrative of ‘the other’: Black Lives Matter
“It is an age-old narrative, Fitzgerald said. “When someone is considered ‘the other,’ naturally we do not see them as one of us or carrying the same morals and values,” he said. “We see them as less than and below us on this imaginary apex and this hierarchy of supremacy. We treat them worse, and…
A Christ-centred approach to addressing anti-Black racism and police brutality
I am writing in response to the tragic death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was a victim of white police brutality in Minneapolis, USA, about a fortnight ago. A few days after reading the news about his murder, I happened to read the book of Esther in the Bible. I remember hearing…
LIFE2014: Nun Ani Choying – The Singing Nun of Nepal
I learnt from the singer that singing hymns and chants is a unique meditation practice in Buddhism, which unites the mind with the sound of mantras or spiritual prayers because our mind rides on a subtle energy of breath. So when we chant or sing mantras, it helps us to purify the negative energy and…
Deep healing for hurting men
“Perhaps if tearful little boys were comforted instead of shamed, there wouldn’t be so many angry men struggling to express and empathise with emotions.” – Lelia Schott Where did toxic masculinity come from? How did psychopathy and narcissism come about? I’m interested to know their origin because apparently, most western psychology studies are like western…
Walter Brueggemann on prophetic imagination
This incisive interview with Walter Brueggemann discusses how the process of reimagining is an act of refusal to adopt the imagination imposed on us by the empire. Like he said, the Exodus narrative is endlessly generative of emancipatory thinking, and prophets like Isaiah sought to use poetry for reimagining a new and better world through…
Liberation theology and prophetic imaginations
I applaud Walter Brueggemann’s incisive speech about Jesus’ mission to usher in an alternative world that disrupts the status quo of the totalitarian empire, with reference to prophetic imaginations in the ancient world of the Bible and in the contemporary world. It is interesting to learn that Solomon’s regime demonstrated totalism in which the government…
Reflections on how parents allow their child to make a life-and-death decision
It is heart-wrenching to be facing the prospects of death at such an early age if a child were to experience a life-threatening illness with no apparent cure. That girl in the above video is exceptionally wise to choose a place of love to spend the rest of her life rather than the cold technology…
You and me and Ruth – Rob Bell
This episode of Robcast is a heartwarming message about hesed and how God watches over us when we, like Ruth in the Bible, heed an intuitive trust and journey from the known into the unknown. This ancient story, together with the other Bible stories, written by the minority who have been conquered and oppressed by…
Learning to love yourself – Otis Moss III
Here’s sharing with some notes that I have taken from Otis Moss’ empowering message about learning to love ourselves. I have learnt that the virus of invalidation and oppression lurks in every child, especially people of colour who live in the shadow of colonial history. Like he said, when we begin to love who God…
Rethinking how we can represent the concepts of good and evil in our art and language
Yes, I get the message from the artwork that we are protected from evil spiritual forces. But I have a problem with the stereotypical portrayal of light angels as “good” and dark angels as “bad” because unwittingly, that mindset can become ingrained in one’s psyche or subconscious and result in anti-Black racism. For example, why…
