what answer did you pick?

Personally in as much as the hostages could have done something it also depends on what the situation is like. Like in the world Trade Center attacks another plane that was bound for the White House was averted as the passengers had the courage to sacrifice their lives so that others would continue to live. But come to think of it they probably knew that they were probably going to die anyway. Nevertheless I do agree that hostages are not powerless, but one has to consider all facts first. For example, in this case all the terrorists had explosives strapped to themselves. One signal and the entire theatre would blow. It is simply not prudent for the hostages to do anything in the first place.

Personally I am not extremely happy about the ending of the hostage crisis due to the way that was done. In as much as Russia has people to spare (and trust me they DO have a lot of people) using paralysing gas that eventually killed 227 of the hostages was definitely not the way to go. The hostages did not choose to be martyrs in this case. The Government chose it for them.

About the whole faith truth issue...I do agree with Joses that there cannot be two equally valid equally right views of something. Either it is right or it is wrong. That is why in as much as Roman Catholics share many similar things to us they are fundamentally different. As to who is right...apart from having the faith that we are right we don't really know do we? Only at the end of days will all things come to light to all. By then it will be too late for some. So are we right? Or wrong? That is a personal decision that all have to make in some point in time. We have made this decision but a lot of people have not. REminds me a little of that Indian Poker session at Joses' place the other time actually. No one really knows for certain.

"there is only one truth, but perhaps people see only portions of it."
so, by the same logic, while Christians see a personal side of God, Hindus get a nice view of the manifold pan-deity and Muslims see an impersonal God?

I think amicable argument is NOT unprofitable. Looking back at church history, it was when, in the face of Jewish opposition and rampant heretics, the apostles crafted the Apostolic Creed (and later, the Nicean Council with their Nicene Creed). When called to answer for their faith, the early leaders found that they had to articulate clearly what they believed exactly. An affirmation of your faith, if you may call it that.

yes, i think i will invite more. haha

while we're hoping that these hostages will all find the strength to overpower the terrorists BEFORE they blow the place sky-high, I would rather that the ideal situation was that nobody had a war and everyone lived together happily. That's probably as likely to happen as the starved hostages who want to live overpowering terrorists who are not afraid to die, with bombs strapped around their waists and armed with guns.

Anyway, Jonny did mention, would we want to open this blog to more people? Like Jialin, or Peiwen. Joses it's up to you I guess.

Fascinating stuff this discussion.

Immature believers tend to divide over non-application oriented issues. Predestination versus free will is an example of an issue which divides Calvinist Thinkers and Charismatic Feelers, for example. And there are many such issues as methods of baptism, creationism vs. theistic evolution, ecclesiology, details concerning the end times, and so forth. But as believers mature in Christ, they focus more upon real- life applications of the Bible. They focus on what is their purpose and responsibility in life according to the Bible. They define Christ more based upon the Bible. And rather than subjectively conforming a "Christ" to their own image, they conform themselves to the Biblical Christ. Inevitably, since there is only one Biblical Christ, the doers of the Word become more and more like each other as they approach His likeness, while retaining the diversity of their giftedness. For the Bible has one interpretation, but many applications.

Rather, let us appreciate the diversity of giftedness and personality that exists in the body of Christ, while encouraging maturity. For, "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:11-13)

things are heating up. *brrr*
ok. firstly. I long for the day when all believers are gathered at Jerusalem's temple and, with the glory of King Jesus raining light on us, we shall cry Holy, Holy, Holy! And the whole of ephesians 4 stresses the need to put aside differences in abilities and be united. Unity is something I have longed for in the church.

but look, there are differing schools of thought of every aspect of the faith. While some are "non-essential" eg "is the four-headed beast in Revelation literal?", others must be dealt with. More fundamental ones are, "Is the creation account literal?" and "What about the Roman Catholics?" The early church faced such a situation: what with the necessity of circumcision or the eating of food sacrificed to idols. Being made up of fallible humans, it's no different today.

the thing is, people on both sides of the issue(s) cannot be both right. This is simply because they contradict each other. One must be right, the other wrong. There ain't no "well, as long as we believe Jesus came in the flesh, died for us, and rose again, it's OK!" (although that should be a basis for amicable contact). Furthermore, if we are to weed out false teachers, we have to hold steadfastly w/o compromise to the truth.

Simply, my debunking of appointing apostles today is found in Acts 1:21-22 and 2 Cor 12:11-13 --> an apostle is someone who walked and talked with the incarnate Lord Jesus in the flesh, face to face. Obviously, that can't happen today because Jesus is now in heaven. (Acts 1 again). Furthermore, apostles had the authority to deliver God's very Word.. ie Paul's writing of the Epistles. Can anyone have that authority today? It's not about how much he's done in the church or his character. No one can grant apostleship anyway; only God can.
Of course, I am very open to any rebuttals of my points.

Ethel, I'm sorry if it seems as if I want to sow discord; far from it! I point out certain fallacies to build up the body of Christ as Ephesians 4 calls for. I do not demean anyone (or don't deliberately) --> go check my posts haha! It's as if you can't be friends with whom you disagree with; utter nonsense! It is because I care for you as a fellow believer that I point out dubious teachings! Your desire for peace rather than war is understandable; but it cannot come at the expense of the "faith that was once for all entrusted to all saints." (jude 3) It's about discerning right from wrong, not about making friends and enemies.

yo cherie, about your "true christian unity"...

1 John 4
"1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. "

Deut 13:1-3
"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer."

whoa. lotsa stuff to reply to. this is what I envisioned when I set up this bloggie.

ok, firstly Miche. The question seems difficult coz we're working with a human understanding (or the world's definition) of good and bad. But we must remember that in this life, we're not playing by our own rules; it's God's rules that we're playing by. To which end I concur with Cherie, only a heaven whose entry is merited SOLELY by grace makes sense, coz eveyone is obviously given different abilities (or disabilities =)

hmmm, ethel, amen that our God wants to give us the best! But the way you put it, it's as if the path we've dreamt of (and want to go down) is the best gift! To that end, I cannot agree. I believe that whatever God leads you down IS the best. Praise the Lord if its what you've wanted all your life, hallelujah too if it's not!

I affirm your faith in God, Cherie! Don't chew on your seatbelt, but belt yaself up to smell the FISHING of men! haha.. your James quote is a little outta context: James addresses those who "lacks wisdom"...

i end with a question: Anyone's church has appointed "apostles"? Or know of any church that has?

hmm rockger you tokked about "complete Christian unity".
like to voice out how dangerous than path can be; we cannot align ourselves up with any-old-how person who says he is a "Christian".

1 John 4:1-3
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, becasue many false prophets have gone out into the world.
This is how you can recognise the Sprit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not... is not from God."

Deut 13:1 -3
" if a prophet... appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sing or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods..and worship them", you must not listen to the words of that prophet of dreamer."

if a person does many many bad things his whole life, but just before his death he acknowledges the fact that Jesus died on the cross for him, will he go to heaven? if a man does good all his life, but doesn't believe in God, does he go to hell?

i'm sorry, Ethel, but faith isn't really what you've described...

But I'm glad you pointed out Abraham. Look at his faith. "Against all hope"[Rom 4:18], he believed God was gonna give him a son. And God did.... then
Gen 22:2
"take your son, YOUR ONLY SON, and go... sacrifice him."
guess what faith made Abraham do?

22:3
"early the next morning..... Abraham got up..."

That blows me away. after all his pining for a son (and even after contriving against God to get his own son thru Hagar), Abraham still swallowed up all those hopes up and did what God told him.

Check out Rom 4 and Heb 11. Faith ISN'T hoping for God to give us what we WANT. it ISN'T wishing against something we know is CERTAIN (eg hoping for a sudden change of heart in someone).

Heb 11:39-40
"These were all commended for the faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

sigh. in another 3.5 hours i will be sending myself off to impending doom in one of the lts in school, doing an undo-able law test....don't even know why i am doing this on hindsight. of course there is also the interview on monday, where i managed to get myself into a prime position of being after a world-class debater and before a shen(2) person...wow. i am so excited man. railed at my parents yesterday...and my mum was still going on about how she would rather have me stay in singapore and study medicine. reason given: medical fees are going to be exorbitant in the future. does she even care about what i want to do with my life? sick of just following their instructions really. their idea of a nice fulfilling life is to have a nine-to-five desk job, probably get married, have kids (must be one boy and one girl, no more and no less), have a totally routine thing. something in me is just screaming to get out of this rut...yet i have no idea as to how i am going to go about doing it. maybe that's why i want to go overseas. leave this dysfunctional society for a while, even if i will probably come back after uni. sigh.

ps. any idea how i can change the name i registered the account under...screwed up and did not read instructions properly...yeah.

check out this site for some great food for thought (and fodder for GP =)

had my oxford interview yeshturday. this elderly granny was my interviewer. she teaches Geography but knew LOTS abt philosophy and biology. such grannies seem to be absent on this island.... that's why I'm desperate to get of this lump of soil in the Johor Straits... haha

well, b4 the interview, I had to read a passage on "self and nonself"... haha... and when I went in and told her "this passage is really good, esp for me coz I'm a twin", she didn't want to talk about anything else.... haha

if I get into oxford, ask Lucas to treat u guys. =)

ehm, it shld be cleansing, not "purgation". Don't play no Joycean wordgames here, Ms kettle...

oh and... pull your rolls, xingzhe?!

"... and you'll realise there'll be changes around you.... glimmers of changes... which you can't put your finger on... but significant ones..."
-- Jonny Truant, from "House Of Leaves"

idiot!?! what nefarious scoundrel?? ;P oh i learnt new thing hahaha anyone interested? :)) "ziehen Sie meine Br�tchen!!!"

seems ya people doin the Emode rounds ta relieve the stress. Hey, don't get so hooked up over them. Take 'em with a pinch of salt. Besides, they don't nuthin ya dun already know, baby.
But I often find out stuff I don't really need to... like this and that

So beware!

erhmm let's do
NAME THE CAPTION!!!

haha

In lieu of Geocities' inconsistent service, here's the links to the pics
I want her, so let's get her!!!
the man and his interests.

cool meh? *ahem*

ya gott upload the pic on some other site
then add a link to that pic on this blog.

sigh. 4 years of Computer Studies
man, i love how I can get inta each of ya blogs
*cue evil laughter*

Why do we always look so cool?

Biology Revision: Why do twins occur in Nature?
Quick Ans: To preserve favourable phenotypes! Why else?

hoi, to eveyone whose got Physics Prac Up on the horizon
ALL THE BEST!!
swing ya brass weights carefully over ya heads! Shade your graphite strip properly! HAWHAWHAW!

Hmm, cherie, why does yer pastor wanna meet up with his alumnus?

excuse me what does this mean...if you had heard about what i told joses about testosterone levels rising for men who want to be fathers you wouldn't be saying this sort of crap.
anyway have been slacking like mad....guess it is burnout, just cannot study at home....see all you pple tomorrow and good luck!

Hey guess what Michigan only requires the school counselor to fill up a form. Washington doesn't even require it! Woo... this makes me feel much better. Now if only they didn't have personal statements either. Why didn't I apply to Australia?!

Physics A Level Practical tomorrow (Monday) Good luck to all involved... which is basically everyone other than jacuzzi jo. Good luck to me too... will go to revise soon. Hey muscleman jo... let's have an arm-wrestling match! (sorry... can't help it you know... testosterone raging through my bloodstream... not that that's any excuse I guess [shoots glance at fq])

Hey Jonny/Joses, Ivan said something about continuing the sessions one day remember? What happened to that? Did I miss it? Is he just busy?

argh i sound like mrs which from a wrinkle in time

but anyway all should celebrate my small step towards civilisation
can't believe that as are starting next mon

i am herrrrreeeee!

eh, what are we supposed to translate? i dun see "sal terrae" or anything.... :(

It's a tough thing writing all these university application personal statements, what with the physics A level examinations looming up soon. Anyway, have any of you completed your university applications (US) ? Can I take a look? Sigh... personal statements... *growl*

anyone lived in a pretty how town

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

e e cummings

My objective? to keep in touch lar. Must we have a reason for doing everything we do? =p

Nobody's come up with the RIGHT answer yet. so I'll rule this domain alone!
MUAHAHAHAHAHA

*hic*


ethel, pls limit thy postings to a reasonable length.
or else, i'll do what I did to ur post again. =)

we were quiet.. and now we (all the various dif kinds of ppl) shall speak?
haha!
come on... surely i deserve admin status?

whoever's the first to tell moi the meaning of our site's name
and what language it's in
gets admin status granted! =)

Yes! First to post! HAHA!