A particular megachurch that I used to go to has become a monolith. What do I mean by “monolith”? One dictionary defines it as “a large, impersonal political, corporate, or social structure regarded as indivisible and slow to change”. Gone are the days when worship songs freely came flowing from hearts of the church songwriters…
Peter Rollins | What’s Going on in the Name ‘God’? [A summary of my own notes]
A rough summary upon my first hearing of this incisive message by Peter Rollins (I will have to listen to it again to make sure I understand it correctly): This video explores the theological and philosophical aspects of the idealised or imaginary, the symbolic and the real. When we talk about God, oftentimes we are…
It is not about me – a reflection on social justice advocacy
When I was googling about Tim Wise to learn more about his anti-racism work, I came across one of his posts in which he was venting about being persecuted and threatened by his detractors for speaking up on behalf of people of colour who have been oppressed by white supremacy. A few fellow people of…
Guilt, shame and self-love
I have checked out the article or blog “Shame v. Guilt” by Brene Brown, and I find it helpful to distinguish between guilt and shame as guilt can be a positive motivating factor to compel a person to change and improve after having failed or made mistakes whereas shame is based on the flawed or…
Two kinds of humour
Broadly speaking, from the perspective of human rights, there are two kinds of humour or jokes: one that oppresses and one that liberates. The first kind of humour is oppressive because the jokes are made at the expense of others, especially the weak, vulnerable, discriminated, oppressed and downtrodden. Such humour might sometimes appear harmless, but…
Are all equal?
In the animal kingdom, one human perspective (possibly western colonialist) proposes that some animals occupy the higher echelons of society, and others the lower echelons. Predators are often elevated to the top of the food chain, and plankton and microbes are consigned to the bottom. Are all animals equal then? When we apply a hierarchical…
Remembering our heroes and heroines
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that “The main thing we need to remember is that the past and the future are both in the present, and if we take hold of the present moment, then we also transform the past and the future.” Yes, I am coming to realise that when we take care of the…
The irony of megachurch pastors
The original context of Noam Chomsky’s quote was regarding the government and big corporations in Canada who wanted to proceed with fossil fuel developments at the expense of the environment and the indigenous people are the ones taking the lead in combating climate change. But the same can be said of megachurch pastors, who rank…
Thinking aloud – why there is a need to critique
The article “Why Sex May Be the Greatest Threat to Christianity” succinctly describes how mainstream Christianity has been repressive and oppressive to people regarding human sexuality because the Christian narrative feeds on guilt and the religion itself thrives on control. It is therefore liberating and important to not allow ourselves be subject to any kind…
