From heterodox to orthodox

Here's a tricky situation.

Let's say Bob has been a Christian for several years. And as far as anyone could tell, is a committed, faithful, and wonderful guy. He's even serving as a volunteer for the church.

The only problem is, he doesn't believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. Is Bob a Christian?

Let's take a quick pause. When considering theological issues, I believe the Trinity to be an essential. To deny the doctrine of the Trinity (one God, three persons, all equal in substance), in my personal view, would place them outside of historic Christianity. This is very different from a disagreement about liturgy or even a liberal interpretation of Genesis. The severity of denying the doctrine of the Trinity has incredible implications.

So the tricky part is... what do you tell Bob? Do you tell him, "Sorry Bob, over the past five years since that altar call and baptism, you thought you were a Christian, but you're not. In fact, you won't be a true Christian until you believe in the doctrine of the Trinity."

Emails from mom

Once in a while, my mom will send me some pretty funny emails. Here's one I got today, with translation.

정말 껌을 삼켰느냐? 쯔쯔쯔...

But~ 걱정마라 !

똥 누면 다 나온다.

엄마

Did you really swallow gum? jjeuh jjeuh jjeuh
But~ Don't worry!
It'll come out if you poop.

Mom

Do blind people know what sight is?

Do blind people know what sight is? How on earth do you explain sunsets, fireworks, darkness and brightness to a person who lacks the ability to experience it?

How do you explain life to the living dead? Do they even know that they are not really alive?

Sometimes, I want to scream the gospel from the top of my lungs until either when my lungs collapse, or when my annoyed listener finally gets it. Then I realize, deaf people can't hear. Blind people can't see. Dead people can't do anything.

Oh God, they need a miracle. Please, awaken their senses, and resuscitate their souls. And may my voice and lungs not give out for a long long time.

Medical/Ethical dilemma -- what would you do?

In China (and maybe other countries) it's apparently a common practice for family and friends of a patient to give extra cash to the surgeon to "ensure" a good procedure. So in light of this, I have two "what would you do" scenarios.

1. If it was your mother on the operating table, would you pay the cash?
2. If it was yourself on the table, would you want your family and friends to pay the cash?

There is a plethora of issues involved, for most of which exists no easy answer. When coming up with your answers to the questions, it might be helpful to ponder these points:

1. When is it justified to participate in systemic sin?
2. Is preservation of life more virtuous than a clean conscience?
3. Does financial resource play a role?
4. What are the eternal and spiritual ramifications of the decision you make?
5. What can we learn from biblical examples of people who didn't give in to systemic sin and pressure? What can we learn from those that did?

Just A Test

Hello everyone, this is just a test to see if my blog gets correctly imported to facebook.