Does Christainity Divide?

Well here we are already into 2008. Like every other new year, we have to endure the craziness of Christmas. I hope I am not confusing you but Christmas is actually the best time of the year for me because it is a time for me to reflect on the birth of my Lord Jesus Christ. Well this year, I heard a very good sermon from Alan Moore the Rector and St. Andrews South Brisbane (Queensland, Australia). I wish it was recorded. The thing that I remembered most was what he said about the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew. Unlike the popular press, who were fixated with what the Archbishop of Canterbury said about the accuracy of the Christmas story, I am more interested in why Matthew included the Magi in the Christmas story. Alan's point is that the Magi were not Jews but yet they recognized Jesus' kingship. This is interesting to me because Matthew's Gospel, although written in Greek, was written for a Jewish audience. And yet Matthew made it clear that Jesus' kingship applies to both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). Of course this is not the only part of the Bible that supports the idea that Christianity, unlike some other world religions, has universal significance. In the ancient world, the worship of deities can be very nationalistic. In recent times, I even heard of a story of how the Falun Gong tries to win over Chinese Christians by arguing that Chinese should believe Falun Gong over Christianity because Christianity is a "Western" religion. Perhaps this is why many people are put off by religions because to them religions divide people.

I recently came back from a work visit to North America. While in North America, I was able to visit my cousin Patrick who lives in Boston. Patrick considers himself an ex-Catholic and was curious about my faith. Patrick suggested:

... that religions, throughout history, has played a role of dividing
people into categories (Catholic, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist etc).

But do religions divide? I cannot speak for Jews, Muslims or Buddhists. However, I can certainly point to references in the Bible where God's people are drawn from tribes and nations. Consider the following from the book Revelation:

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." (Revelations Chapter 7 verses 9 to 10)

But still Patrick's words are reinforced by recent images of terrorism like the slaying of Benazir Bhutto - supposedly by Islamic extremists.

On Sunday, Christine, my father and I had Yum Cha with my friends Bob, Semmi, Rhys and Anthony Cheng. Bob, Semmi, Rhys and Anthony are not Christians. Somehow the topic got on to whether Chinese is better than English as a song-writing medium. I was the one who ignorantly suggested the topic. Bob took offense arguing that English also have many good poetic tools. Actually what I was trying to say was that Chinese is a better medium for writing Christian praise songs because of its ability to succinctly express certain ideas like "Grace" and "Love". My friendship with Bob can only go so far because my relation with God is nonsensical to Bob. Bob has no need for a god in his life. In fact, he and many others used the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" to ridicule organized religions. There you have it, Christianity separates me from my non-Christian friends. But some will ask how can a god of love divide people?

Actually it was not God who divided people. It was actually mankind who decided that we do not have any need for a god or rather it was mankind who decided that we want to establish our own rule apart from God. This is the real meaning of sin. Sin is not just about killing or robbing. Sin is man's deliberate attempt to walk away from our creator (see Genesis). This first broken relationship ultimately led to many many more broken relationships.

In Christ, God intended all mankind, regardless of tribes, nations or languages to enjoy a full relationship with him. My non-Chinese Christian friends may not fully understand the Chinese words in the Chinese worship songs that I now enjoy so much but yet the work of the Holy Spirit is such that we can all participate in the same worship knowing that the love and the grace of God binds like no other relationship on earth. Now that is true multiculturalism.

21st Century Australian Chinese in a New Asia Pacific Reality

The 2007 APEC has come and gone. The
headlines were dominated by protest against
inaction on climate change and the War
in Iraq. There were less reporting of
parts that the U.S. president George Bush
played on our local politics and even less
reporting of the parts the Chinese president
Hu Jin-tao played on our local politics.

One thing for sure the leaders of the world
two superpowers sought to have some say in
local Australian politics knowing that
a Federal election is just around the corner.
On the one hand George Bush is very keen on
letting Australians know that John Howard is
his buddy. On the other hand, Hu Jin-tao went
out of his way to acknowledge the parts that
Labor leaders like Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke
and Paul Keating played in promoting
Australian-Chinese relationship. Kevin Rudd
was able to demonstrate his Mandarin to the
delight of Hu Jin-tao and his entourage.

There is no doubt that at the dawn of the
21st century Chinese Australians are no
longer being looked down on by white
Australia. All levels of Australian government
recognise that without China's demand for
our mineral resources then there would be
no mining boom and Australians would be
even more exposed to the less than
healthy American economy. This is a
far cry from the White Australia policy
that dominated the lives of non-white
Australians in the late 19th century
and large part of the 20th century.
But then even though China still
face many issues from human rights
to the environment, 21st century
Chinese Communist Party rule is
still more preferable then
the corrupt Qing government. So
yes, a strong China does enhance the
standing of Australian Chinese in
Australia. But time and situation
can change, witness the current
uncertainity over the United States'
stock market.

For the forseeable future,
Australian Chinese will continue
to be a minority in Australia. We must
make the best of the current strong
Australian-Chinese relationship to
strengthen our relationship with
mainstream Australia as well as with
the minorities such as the Australian
Aboriginal communities. Continual
maintenance and strengthening of our
multicultural foundation that have
been neglected and actively discouraged
by the Howard government is also important.

Building and maintaining such strong
relationship will ensure the continual
prosperity of Australian Chinese regardless
of strength or weekness in the land of
our ancestors.

Consumer led efficency to reduce Green House Gas

A recent report by the ACF (Australian Conservation Foundation)
Consuming Australia – the high price our environment is paying for our spending
found that some of the wealthiest suburbs in
Australia are the biggest producers of
Greenhouse gases because of the food and
products that the residents of these suburbs
consume. Clearly the more we consume, and waste,
the more we are going to increase the
overall concentration of Greenhouse gases
in our environment. The same ACF report suggests
that we can also consume in smarter and more
sustainable ways. For example, we can
choose more efficient electrical appliances
and even switching off unused electrical
appliances. The majority of urban Australians
have responded well to government initiatives
to save water in light of our on-going drought. There is no reason
why we cannot do the same to combat climate change.

The Howard government has been slow to react to
the threat of Climate Change. Its
continual refusal to set down reduction targets
show that it is totally out of touch with
the urgency of the situation. With or without
a government blueprint, Australians should
strife for a grassroot approach to combating
climate change. Not only should we make conscious
effort to reduce our personal impact on our
environment we must demand the same from
businesses. All of us are customers of large
manufacturers and retailers. Many of us are also
stockholders of big businesses. We should buy
from companies who will make the effort to
reduce their environmental impact when
supplying the goods and services that we consume.
Afterall, improving efficiency and reducing
waste are not only good for the environment
but also good for businesses' long term bottomline.
Grassroot pressure can still save our planet even if
our ostrich-like government continue to accept reality of
human-induced climate change.