Learning to Teach after Colonialism

My Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

2012-01-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

If one asks me what do I believe about teaching and learning, this is what I will say:

I believe education is a lifelong journey to understand, explore, deepen, and challenge one’s mission in the world. To educate is to “lead out”, to foster change and transformation. I treasure a Confucius conviction that says: The moment we cease learning, we cease being human.

My perspective in doing Christian education can be characterized by the term coined by Thomas Groome, “Christian religious education.” The essence of Christian religious education is remembering and imagination. I am inspired by Thomas Groome’s idea of education as “pilgrimage in time” and adult educator Mary Boys’ notion of transformation as making traditions accessible for personal and communal transformation. As a postcolonial practical theologian who occupies a space I call “in-between worlds,” I help people to see the beauty and problems of the past and imagine possibilities for the future through intentional conversation on power dynamics, practices and praxis. To provide safe space for reflection, both personal and communal is part of my core value in teaching. I treasure another Confucius saying that says, “Study without reflection is a waste. Reflection without study is a danger.”

I am fortunate to have been taught by two prominent adult educators of our time, Stephen Brookfield and Jack Mezirow. They teach a brand of transformative education that focuses on critiquing assumptions and examining meaning perspectives. This understanding is empowering for me to examine colonial biases and reconstruct faith practices anew. To be aware of hidden assumptions, often hegemonic in nature, is crucial to any educational activity.

I believe good teachers are sensitive to the presence of the null curriculum – what is not taught. That is why creating safe spaces for dialogue and learning is so important. My basic core value in teaching, especially teaching adults is to value learners’ experience. Knowledge of the student’s lived experience and cultural background shapes the method and the content of the teachings. I see the prerequisite in any educational activity is to wrestle with one’s educational ideals and assumptions, and to reflect upon one’s calling to a task that is deeply political in essence.

Teaching is about empowering of others, honouring diversity, building relationship, collaborative endeavours and is a vocation. Equipping leaders to lead in a fascinating pluralistic world such as ours is an art.

As an artist - a pianist and a photographer, I am interested in bridging artistic expressions and religious thoughts in a creative fashion. Throughout human history, arts and visual images have always been the medium by which humans learn. Before or even after the printing machine was invented, most people learned by watching icons, paintings, monuments, and listening to authoritative figures such as tribal elders telling stories. While we may feel comfortable living in a western culture where knowledge is closely associated with printed words, the contemporary popular culture is such that it opens wide the doors for teachers, religious or otherwise, to relearn the power of images and media to foster personal and societal change. Learning does not solely occur by means of cognitive reasoning of abstract ideas, but requires the ability to connect meaningfully with the artistic dimensions of human existence.

Let there be Peace on Earth!

2011-12-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

May you be filled with peace and joy! Alan

Singing a Different "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

2011-12-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hymns are religious teachers since music is educational. Christian hymns and music are written to enhance Christian self-identity. Especially in the West, Christian self-identity is constantly nurtured by memorable music such as G. Handel’s Messiah and J.S. Bach’s St. John’s Passion. On top of thinking about theology and beliefs, contemporary Christians need to take a critical look at worship practices because music is a powerful educator.

Because of the frequency of singing and the worship contexts from which hymns are sung, it is very difficult to unlearn problematic ideas once the lyrics were sunk in. For centuries, many hymns conveyed supersessionism – see the posting before this one. The hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is a good example. One of the verses say:

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.”

The text of this hymn were put together in Germany in 1710, a time when there was no country called Israel. At that time, many believed that it was God who has scattered Jewish people as a punishment for not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, an idea got mentioned repeatedly in numerous ancient Christian theologians’ writings and church teachings; and the idea was solidified by hymnody. This lyrics suggest Israel is in captivity and exile. When it is accompanied by the old mindset, that is, Judaism is inferior and obsolete, this hymn continues to educate its singers, despite implicit, that Judaism still lies in darkness. Today, many enlightened Christians do not condone such beliefs; yet, its power to infect exists. The tune is nice and soothing; the traditional lyric is not.

In Mary C. Boys, Has God Only One Blessing? Judaism as a Source of Christian Self- Understanding (Mahwah: A Stimulus Book, 2000), p. 270, we find Professor Barbara Lundblad offers alternative lyrics. I have altered it furthered to make it sing-able. I have suggested it to my students in the past and my congregation I am currently serving.

Alternative and supersessionism-free lyrics

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And bless the place your people dwell,
Protect and keep us day and night,
And bring the blessing of your Light.

Refrain: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel. Shall guide and bless us all of our days.

O Come, Tree of Life from tender shoot,
Come from the past, from Jesse’s root.
Break through the stone in ev’ry heart
Bring hope and joy, new life impart.

O Come, blest Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by your advent here;
Bless ev’ry people, ev’ry race,
Embrace us, young and old, within your grace.

I'm delighted to know that one of my colleagues just tells me her denomination has published a different lyrics for this hymn. Click this:
http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/education/O_come_Emmanuel.pdf

The Problem of Georg Händel's "Messiah"

2011-12-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

I love Georg Händel’s music. I practice many of his piano suites everyday. But this must be said: Georg Händel’s Messiah has a problem. It is written with erroneous biblical hermeneutics and faulty theological assumptions.

After the Overture, the Messiah opens with a powerful tenor voice singing the line from Isaiah 40, “Comfort ye, my people.” Everything goes well and fine, except it goes to the Gospel of Luke too soon and too quick. This quick jump from Isaiah 40 to Luke 1 presents one of worse kind of biblical hermeneutics in theology. Despite musically brilliant, Messiah is deeply faulted with supersessionism to its core.

Supersessionism (Latin, supersedere, to sit upon and preside over), is a theological claim that Christians have replaced Jews as God’s people. This understanding of Christianity is regarded as having achieved special status as the “fulfillment” of Judaism. Supersessionism assumes many forms. The classic expression is to split the New Testament from the Hebrew Bible, making a theological claim that says the Law is against grace. Hermeneutically, the so-called “Old Testament” is argued as the preparation for the New Testament, that is, for the coming of Christ. Supersessionism provides a handle for Christians to read the Christian Bible as a whole. It also provides the interpretive instrument to hold the “Old” testament and the New Testament together as it hangs together the complex and diverse biblical texts as a singular narrative with its center of this overarching plot: Jesus Christ. For most of Christian history prior to the end of WWII, supersessionism was the standard canonical interpretive lens in which it fosters a triumphalist posture toward Jewish people and Judaism.

Händel, together with many of the Christians of his days, believed Christianity has replaced Judaism as the true religion God desires. God has forsaken Judaism because Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. In that piece, Händel mentioned nothing the exilic Israel and how God promised to restore them as a nation – the background of the text – has been fulfilled. Just by listening to this music, none of us gets the historical background of the Second Isaiah – Chapter 40 onward.

While it is arguably within the reach of Christians to put Jesus in Isaiah’s mouth where we often find ancient pious followers of God looked back, searched, and found texts to support their visions, it is the responsibility of the church to understand the background, intended audience, and the social contexts of the sacred texts when they turn texts into a memorable musical piece for the ages to come.

I love the music Messiah provided; I am horrified by its theology.

Contemporary Christian church’s theology and teachings concerning Jews and Judaism have changed. But Händel’s Messiah, that is being played and heard every year, functions like a colonial teacher who retains the erroneous theology of his days as universal truth; it keeps infecting the contemporary minds. And the worse of it, we allow it.

My final verdict: Georg Händel’s Messiah is a beautifully piece of Baroque music written with erroneous biblical interpretation principle, typical of the supersessionist theology of his days. But when we play, sing and heard it every year, we allow an outdated, misinformed, problematic to the point of even morally wronged theological assumption a public space to shine. It is comparable to allowing a colonial homophobic teacher to teach our youth.

Christianity owes the world the story of Jesus without superssesionism.

Advent Hope: Not about the End of the World

2011-12-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

If your church tradition doesn’t follow the lectionary, you don’t have this problem – at least not this time of the year. But if you do, I would like to share with you how hard it is, even to the point of disheartening, to begin a new church year with Mark 13:24-37.

Mark says: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in heavens will be shaken…. Take heed, keep on the alert: for you do not know when the appointed time will come.” vv.12: 24 and 33, NASB.

While urging his followers to be “awake” and be ready for Jesus’ imminent return, Mark reinstates a Second Temple vision, an apocalyptic theology that was popular in his days. It gains popularity in some contemporary Christian circles with movies and books produced on that theme.

The world of Mark is different from our own. The Gospel of Mark, considered one of the earliest versions of the gospel, is deeply apocalyptic. This apocalyptic vision was common during the later half of the Second Temple period (~200 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.). It was during that time of repeated oppression, occupation and evil that Jewish theologians of the time articulated this vision so that the world of violence will be replaced with the new world of hope where God will destroy the evil world and start anew.

This apocalyptic vision has something to do with eliminating Satan’s influence on earth, the source of why we experience poverty, sin, oppression, sickness, violence, and death. All these things belonged to the condemned world. To end Satan’s influence and to re-establish God’s reign on earth, God would send God chosen warriors to destroy evil. To Mark, Jesus was the means by which God destroyed Satan and to establish God’s rule. Instead of a very individualized system of salvation, in the first century Jewish world, Mark’s vision was very much in line with the Jewish thought about the future of Israel: “every nation which has not know Israel and which has not trodden down the seed of Jacob will be live.” (2 Baruch 72:4-6) The Good News of Jesus as understood by the immediate Jewish hearers in the first century would never omit the larger social and national ramifications. Salvation, a concept Christians today use loosely, was not salvation at all if there was no impact on economic, social, gender and national justice. There was why Apostle Paul and others urging Christ’s followers to live lives that reflect the gospel truth.

Mark 13:24-37 describes the climax of the apocalypse. But we live in a different world and much have changed since then. It takes me a long time to realize I do not subscribe Mark’s vision of how the world ends. I do not believe history is moving to that vision. It is more likely the world will be laid to ruin by our careless exploitation of the world resources, the aggressions insert by world’s mega corporations, and how nations relate to each other. But I share Mark’s hope that God will re-generate the world where violence and oppression will be no more. I hold on to the Advent hope is that God calls on us to live in ways that will eliminate oppression and injustices. With faith in Jesus, I trust that God is constantly transforming us to live in the world by ways of generosity, peace, justice, and love.

Advent is not the time for Christians to feel superior because of Jesus. But to walk alongside with Jews and many others to live our lives in ways that allows peace, justice and love to increase throughout the world. Let’s keep the hope alive that a peaceful world is possible.

Advent: Longing for a Different Kind of King.

2011-11-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

“… just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matt. 25:40

For those who attend liturgical churches, Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in the liturgical year, is over. But Christians keep talking or singing about Christ as our king. The Advent hymn “Soon and Very Soon” is a good example – “Soon and very soon we are going to see the King.” Yet, in reality, we should be singing: “Soon and very soon we are going to see a baby.” Of course, to Christians the baby is the king! I always find the church’s usage of the image of king to describe Jesus interesting. What kind of image of king do you have?

I grew up in Hong Kong at a time when I had a very fuzzy understanding of kings. I grew up in a British colony, not a country. I sang the national anthem of another country, a country I couldn’t claim to be my own, nor did the British want me to be one of their desirable citizens. As a child, the king I knew of was the King of England. England was not my country. The king seldom came to Hong Kong. I didn’t know very much of what he did. The king may be a generous person but he lived in a place very far away from me. The king to me was someone who lived in magnificent stone castles with an endless supply of food and wine. The king could be a kind man, but I had no knowledge of him.

What image we choose to describe our relationship with God is no small business. Like the image of God as father, mother, or shepherd, the usefulness of these images largely depends on how we have experienced those figures on earth. Imagine, if one has an abusive earthly father or an irresponsible mother, the idea of God the Father or Mother could potentially be damaging to the formation of one’s faith. For this matter, a reflection on Christ’s kingship and how one understands what it means in daily living is arguably significant.

Another worthy consideration is that we who live in western democratic societies are no longer ruled by kings. We are so far away from those days when the king decided everything for his people. I guess I am not the only one who has a fuzzy feeling about kings, but most of us have very little knowledge about what it means to have kings.

Does Jesus want to me our King? If Jesus lived bodily on earth right now, would he rather be our friend?

Would Jesus be found among those who occupied major cities in the world demanding a fair distribution of wealth and resources? Would Jesus be speaking on behalf of the poor? Would Jesus be found in prison behind bars because he protested against government policies? Would Jesus endorse a budget that promised billions of dollars to making bombs? Would Jesus be found as one of those skinny refugees in Africa? Would Jesus who reportedly said nothing against loving homosexual individuals in the four Gospels come to us today be labeled as heretic by some pious Christians, the same way the pious people of his days found him problematic because he ate with sinners and tax collectors?

If Jesus is a king, based on Matthew 25, Jesus would be a different kind of king. Jesus is a king who doesn’t live in a hilltop castle that is far away from his people. Jesus wouldn’t live sumptuously where he consumes most of the resources of the world for himself. According to Matthew 25, Jesus is a king who is willing to identify himself as one of those who are naked, thirsty and as one who is being thrown into prison. This is an image of a king who needs help. That would be upsetting to most people’s understanding of a king. A king who needs to be fed, found thirty, is in prison or naked is no king at all.

Matthew 25 is an outrageous text. Matthew the gospel writer reinstates a major theme in the Jewish tradition - loving-kindness. Being a true pious person who follows God is someone who looks after the needy and the disenfranchised people. To love God with all our heart, soul and mind is not a concept that needs to be memorized but contains concrete items. For any of us who find ourselves not quite fitting into the common accepted definition of what good life is, we know a king when he lived on earth he was also disenfranchised, rejected and labeled.

The Christmas story, the birth of a king, is a story of hope and comfort. It empowers people everywhere who find hope and comfort in short supply. However, Matthew 25 is much larger than a personal quest for comfort; it has a special dimension that must be addressed. Matthew 25 functions like a subversive speech where it upsets not only our usual understanding of kings, but our assumed normalcy of society. We ask: Why are there hungry and thirsty people? Who made them hungry and naked? Who started that? Consider seriously the historical context of the text when imperial Rome ruled the day, we need to ask: How did their kings treat the poor, the naked, those in prison and the hungry? Matthew 25 challenges us to think again what is dear to God’s heart. Our state of blessedness is our opportunity to serve, to care, and to speak up.

Advent is the time for Christians to wait and to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ the King. It is a longing for a different kind of king, a different kind of society, and a different kind of community where hope, fairness, and generosity anchor the delicate fabric of life. While we long for God to visit us to bring us hope; God waits for us to do the wise and right things by exercising generosity, kindness and love in our society.

The Poet, The Warrior, The Prophet (Rubem A. Alves) - a Masterpiece

2011-11-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

I am reading a book by Rubem A. Alves, The Poet, The Warrior, The Prophet (1990) and oh how much I love this book! This Brazilian born professor, theologian and poet is giving his readers an artistically, thoughtful, and enlightened masterpiece. It is weird to find solid philosophical and theological books have such an artistic touch as shown in this book. It is simply a beautiful piece I think everyone should read it. The following is a paragraph from the book I love:

“I am unable to teach arrivals… Like the Zen master who turns the question upside down with his koans. ‘I only give answers to questions nobody ask’,…

I am not after conclusions. Conclusions are meant to shut (from the Latin ‘con’ plus ‘claudere’, to shut). The ‘unconcluding’ word, which opens the gates of the cages for the wild birds to fly again. Every conclusion brings the thought process to a halt. As in Agatha Christie’s books: once the murder is solved there is nothing left for one to think about. And it is useless to read the book again. When thought appears stabbed to death one may be sure that the murdered was a conclusion..."

Please, buy this book, read it, and be liberated.

Photography and Teaching: Different Trade, Similar Mission

2011-11-14T19:28:00.001-08:00

While browsing through some photographs on my photo site, Fanly, my wife commented on a photograph, “This is not realistic.” This innocent comment reflects the ongoing dialogue among artists of all strides about the “proper” mission of their work. For photographers, there is a spectrum of styles and beliefs about what they do. Some do their best to reflect reality; some do the opposite.

In most cases, portrait photography more than likely tends to reflect what is seen in front of the camera; fine art or expressive photography tends to be more liberal in presentation. It shouldn’t take us long to see photographers are not obliged to reflect reality literally. For example, take a black and white photograph, no one, including photographers, sees in black and white. Instead, they capture a moment in time and then transform it.

This is the juncture I think the mission of photographers and educators share similar traits. I contend that not many photographers see themselves as recording artists but as interpreters of reality. Photography, both the act of shooting and the art of post-editing, are about hermeneutics – interpretation - where artists interpret views, angles, and perceptions with certain convictions. They hope to present views that most people have not considered before. Through shooting objects in certain ways and/or post-editing them in certain fashions, photographers hope to challenge their viewers by providing them a different look, feel, and way of seeing.

A note on post-shooting editing: If the late French literary critics Roland Barthes is right by saying each photo is a photography of death because what we see is a time no longer is, then creative re-processing is an attempt to escape the confinement of time by bringing forth new realities where corresponding realities are unknown or not yet found.

Seeing beyond the surface value has been the convictions of many socially minded educators and teachers. Many educators do not see themselves as “transmitting” known knowledge, but to critique, transform and reformulate knowledge. Of course, it depends on what one teaches. Like many photographers, socially-minded educators upset the usual expectation of seeing and help learners uncover forgotten voices and views. Teaching is a deeply political act, that is, a practice that involves making choices; its essence is about interpretation. The same can be said about the practice of photography. Both practices examine assumed reality and presenting alternative views of seeing. Photography and teaching, as seen in this perspective, is about transforming reality.

On Black-and-White Photography and Life

2011-11-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

The so-called “black-and-white photography” is a misleading term. Most black-and-white photographs are not literally just black and white. And in most cases, “pure” black and white photographs could look dull or may be just too strong in terms of contrast for our appreciation – unless it is intentionally and creatively done.

Some people may use the term for colourless photographs. But it is even more problematic: Are black and white not colour? In most cases, the beauty of black and white photographs needs the presence of grey, or photographers call it: shadow. Grey or shadow is the key transitional ingredient to hold black and white elements in a photo. Shadow is the transition from darkness to light, or the gradual deterioration of the presence of light. While darkness and light are two essential components in creating black and white photographs, artists in this trade understand the importance of shadow; and therefore, constantly looking for it in shooting.

Like most situations in life, being attentive to the grey areas make life interesting. The two opposite ends are too obvious and clear cut to most viewers; but attending to elements that are not that clear or are not obvious makes life adventurous. Darkness and light catches our attention right away, but paying attention to the transient aspect of life may allow us to be thankful and hopeful. Whether it is seen as light being drawn to darkness or the gradual fading of light, it is always the transition, the journey, the movement, or whatever term one uses that makes a photograph aesthetically pleasing. Black and white photographs are not colourless but function due to the presence of shadow. Without shadow, there would be no black and white photography. Without grey areas, life would be dull and boring.

The crux of any issue is seldom just black and white but grey.

Remembering 9/11 Ten Years Later

2011-09-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

Where were you ten years ago today? Let me guess. You probably were sitting in front of the TV set for long hours, stunned by the images of the World Trade Center being destroyed slowly in front of your eyes. Then paralyzed for days not knowing what it meant and what will happen next. I felt that way as a student living in New York City that day. That year I returned to New York City to prepare myself for the Comprehension Exam for my doctorate. I was tempted to give up the whole thing and just came home. I sought counseling in the second semester.

In the middle of that day in September, I heard fighter jets flying over the sky of Manhattan. They were loud. In the evening, there were people holding candles and voluntarily meeting at the open square of Columbia University. It was a very uplifting scene. They sang songs of solidarity, of hope and peace. In the midst of tragedy and confusion, I experienced the beautiful side of humanity. If you were there with me that week going to chapels, churches, synagogues, mosques and public places, you would join me in seeing no sign of division and vengeance, but the spirit of love and faith, despite being deeply hurt. It is a paradox. It is life.

What happened next was an unprecedented openness and cooperation of all world religions to offer prayers, to open their sacred spaces for public meditation and lamentation, to hold public gathering and lectures to unpack their experiences until one day when Islam-phobia kicked in and unleashed the sentiment of hatred in many communities. Government polices were put into place that made innocent bystanders who just happened to be cultural minorities miserable. The old trick of survival kicked in.

Ten years later, we are still in the midst of finding meaning. We must be honest to ourselves that the hurt has not been fully healed. Some may suggest it could never be healed. All world religions see themselves as agents of peace and that compassion is needed to care for the world and our neighbours. But all world religions process some ideas or could go extreme to see their own visions and forms as the exclusive desire of the divine. (This may be overstated since I cannot remember which idea in Buddhism is aggressive.) Fundamentalism and extremism occur not only in other religions but also in the Christian camp. Ten years later, rigidly and hate-filled intolerance continue to dominate some Christian circles. Although some progresses have been made, collectively as a people we must not let interreligious understanding and cooperation slip from our daily living and learning.

Ten years later, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are still suffering from the event. My hope for the future is that we learn not to lay any blame to anyone. We are not interested in singling out one religious and cultural group as the problem. We refuse to let hatred and intolerance infect the human spirit. Our own existence will be in danger if we give intolerance a chance. It is possible that our prejudices and unrepentance spirit destroy our love for peace.

May we not let Jesus’ message of forgiveness fall on deaf ears. It is hard work. Such message may sound holy on good days, but it is in those days when life is tough that we need to exercise it. Forgiveness can occur individually, communally and nationally. In the Hebrew text, Joseph’s message to his brothers who have done harm to him, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good,” is very likely a reflection in hindsight after some years. It is incredibly difficult to say something like this when we are still living with the immediate aftermath of tragedy. Yet, forgiveness is possible when we reflect upon it in later years. Forgiveness doesn’t require forgetting, it simply not letting hatred haunt us eternally. God has set us a banquet of love in the face of hatred, showering us with love that is greater than the power of weapons or the threat of death.

“Violence will prevail over violence, only when someone can prove to me that darkness can be dispelled by darkness.” Gandhi

The Film: Of Gods and Men

2011-08-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Of Gods and Men (Original French title, Des hommes et des dieux) is a deeply moving and inspiring film. I decided to sit down and watch it on a quiet morning. I was prepared to watch it in several sittings. Why? Well, I always feel uneasy watching films of this kind. If I get too emotional, I could stop it and continuing watching it another time. I did stop it once. I am no novice; I have seen enough films of this type before such as The Killing Fields, The Mission, The Schlindler List, etc to know what I may see. But as the film progressed, I realized this is a different film. It finally dawns on me that this is not produced by Hollywood. (What was I thinking?!) There is no dramatic background music to excite one’s psyche, instead there is plenty of chanted prayer. It is a rather plain film. If there is any drama at all in this film, the drama would be its quiet revelation of human courage in the midst of threat and uncertainty. This film is about commitment to serve, not heroism.

This film is based on a true story. It is about eight French Christian Cistercian monks living in a mountain monastery in Algeria in 1990s, and their mission is to serve a small Muslim village. At the time when the country was terrified by an extremist Islamic group, this small group of Christian monks needed to decide whether to leave or to stay. In a mundane fashion, the film relates to many of us who have searched deep the meaning of living and the meaning of dying. The processes that brought these monks’ final decision to stay bring out one of the best dialogue and inner tensions human beings could have, with God and with one and another.

Another facet of this film is that it brings inter-religious communality to the foreground where Christians and Muslims live harmoniously side-by-side. There is no storage of bad memories concerning French colonial presence and the Muslims in Algeria. Some may argue these monks should have left long time ago. Yet, this group of monks lived out their mission in simplicity, modesty and charity. Everyday the monks studied the Koran and they participated in the religious ceremonies of their Muslim neighbours as one community; the Muslim villagers didn't want them to leave. This film is about living with one another in peace and with respect. It is possible to outdo the colonial past. The prior (leader) of this group, Christian, wrote a letter pre-meditating his death, which was read to us after the monks were being captured by the terrorists. In that letter, he spelled out beautifully how he understands the beauty of Islam and the nature of their call to service.

Despite telling a sombre story, this is an incredible and intelligent film. If I need to search one word to describe how I feel about it, it would be this: ordinary. This film is about ordinary people doing ordinary daily tasks; and it is filmed in such a way that communicates viscerally just that. But out of the unspectacular chores of daily life this film brings out the spectacular spirit of human love, service and dedication. For the love of God and of one another, the power of this film is its ability to inspire us to respect one another and to have courage to love even in unfavourable circumstances. It empowers religious communities to live out their mission in servanthood and love. This is a quietly powerful film.

Making Images Speak

2011-08-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

To be an educated person most often means this: be a rational thinker through reading many books. I love reading books; that is not hard to do. I also enjoy writing papers. I spent most of my life pursuing knowledge in academic institutions so that I could be a credential teacher who helps people think. But recently, I reacquaint myself with a craft I learned earlier when I was a young man: visual arts.

Visual arts can inspire, provoke and challenge their audience beyond the cognitive level; they take them to the territories of emotions and psychological realm. Think of those good and thoughtful movies that you have seen, they most likely have the power of fostering personal and social change even when one is still seated in the theater. Throughout human history, visual images have always been the medium by which humans learn. Most people in the past did not know how to read and write. Before or even after the printing machine was invented, most people learned by watching icons, paintings, monuments, and listening to authoritative figures such as tribal elders telling stories. While we may feel comfortable living in a western culture where knowledge is closely associated with printed words, the contemporary pop culture is such that it opens wide the doors for teachers, religious or otherwise, to relearn the power for images to foster personal and societal change.

I am not talking about using images such as Powerpoint or paintings as tools to aid learning, although I think wise teachers should do them. My point is that images are not merely TA (teachers’ assistants); they are teachers. Images teach without even uttering a word. In the case of human rights and many societal issues, there are times we write books, draft documents and give speeches, there are times we use images and visual media to offer the public an eye to see inhumane perspectives and practices. The value of visual arts goes beyond the humanistic love of aesthetics but is a partner in pursuing social justice and accountability. Being the eyes of the invisible and the mouth of the voiceless form the core of being a responsible human being living in community. (photographed by Fanly Lai)

Remembering Jack Layton, a Canadian politician

2011-08-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” Jack Layton

History will tell whether the above quote will become the most quoted line from the late Jack Layton. However, Jack’s idea isn’t new, it comes from the Bible as Jack has his spiritual feed from the United Church of Canada. Hear this: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fears.” (1 John 4:18). Jack will be remembered as a fearless social activist, an optimist, a down-to-earth politician who embodied hope, social justice and optimism; and the best of all, a great Canadian. As a leader of the opposition party, Jack was also the "Prime Minister-in-waiting". I shouldn’t fail to mention he spoke Cantonese and married a Chinese woman, also a Member of Parliament!

When I was studying in New York City, I had a dinner with a rabbinic student who was in training to be a rabbi. I asked Paula Drill the question: “What is the reason of living in your tradition?” Paula mentioned this term Tikkun Olam, which means to care for the earth. She said we were made and sent by God to care for the earth. When our time is up, we go home. I have like this idea ever since. In contrast to my Christian upbringing in a more conservative circle, I was told the reason of living is to make as many Christians as you can. Forget this earth because it is evil. Help people make the right decision in Jesus so that they can go to heaven. This mindset often translates into a divided life between religious and secular; fear of making wrong decisions that displease God. Sometimes it makes one less involved in social change because some may believe this evil world couldn’t be fixed. Yet, faith in Jesus doesn’t endorse it.

As Jesus reminds his followers when he was with them, he is going to prepare a place for them. He also reminded them not to worry about what to eat because God will provide. Deeply metaphorical sayings in essence, Jesus reminded us not to worry what is next because what is next has been looked after. Life after death is beyond our control but enters the domain of the grace of the Creator. Since what is next has been looked after, take a good look at this earth and see what we can do to make it a just, loving and sustainable place for all. It is such grace from the Creator that transforms us to be fearless lovers of this earth and empowers us to live lives that are useful for the disenfranchised and the voiceless, as shown in many past saints such as Dietrich Bonhoffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bishop Oscar Romero. Faith isn’t about internalizing a set of religious beliefs; we are not saved by “correct” doctrines. Faith doesn’t necessarily manufacture “good and trouble-free life” but sustains us when life turns ugly.

In another angle, Jack is just a normal human being who happened to have fell in love with the earth and its people. His time is up, it is our turn to continue. Jack may have been empowered by this scriptural verse: “Put away from you all bitterness and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” Ephesians 4:31-32. Thank you Jack for reminding us to be loving, hopeful, and optimistic!

Well done! Jack, a good and faithful servant. Rest in peace.

Photography and Human Rights some examples

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

To follow up the previous posting about photography and human rights, here are some examples on how to connect the two. In the first link (Aperture), it features three photographers using photographs to highlight provocative social situations. I am particularly moved by Jonathan Torgovnik’s “Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape” where one of the photographs shows a mother and child standing side by side. With minimal words, the author is able to convey an enormous sense of courage and the power of resilience of the human spirit. In the second link, a group of people, not all of them professional photographers, organize themselves to do human rights photography. They define the what, how and why of their passion for this work.

One of the characteristics of this trade is that the focus is not on the artistic beauty of photographs but to be able to tell stories with certain political convictions via images. The goal of the photographer is not to make perfect images but to let images speak faithfully and powerfully to the situations/persons being documented. Much like writing academic papers, authors need to research the topic, inform themselves about the issue and decide how to get the images they need. It resembles ethnographical works in some sense where field researchers immerse herself/himself in a “location” and get the “data” in order to tell stories, yet the difference with photography is that the final product in this case is a series of photographs with some words. Making images speak is both political and an art.

http://www.aperture.org/humanrights/
http://socialdocumentary.net/about.php?id=2&sID=lfdlftyq

Photography and Human Rights

2011-08-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why people love photography. May it be for the love of the great out door, preserving memories, testing one's skills in mastering the machine, love of artistic renditions, making a living and many more. But when Eduardo Gonzales-Cueva from Peru taught a summer course called "Photography and Human Rights: Advocacy, Technique and Aesthetics" at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, he asked his students to take it seriously the role photography plays in promoting human rights.

Eduardo is a Peruvian sociologist, he leads the International Center for Transitional Justice work supporting the establishment of truth commissions and memorials around the world. A published poet and art critic, he publishes a Spanish-language blog "La Torre de Marfil." The following is a portion of the course description he taught:

"Photography, like the notion of human rights, is fundamentally modern and - also like human rights - conceptually problematic, tense with contraditions about agency, context and authenticity. Documentary photographers willing to use their skills for the advancement of right must continually question themselves: Is photographer a silent witness or an active agent, a militant? Is there a pact, an expectation, or even an authorization between photographers and victims of human rights? And effective in terms of ensuring the promotion and protection of human rights? The sessions will combine a discussion of concepts with the critique of concrete experiences concerning the interaction of photography and human rights advocacy: images that have served as denunciation, evidence or icon."

I find this description intriguing. Like theology and the mission of teaching, photography is deeply an interpretive work. The common ground between photography and teaching includes the ability to provoke, inspire, and to present alternative views. I find it fascinating to consider photography as educator, social change agent, and even a theologian. This relationship will keep me thinking for a while.

Asian Christians and Jews: Let's Learn Together

2011-04-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

In scholarly circles, Asian Christian studies and the Shoah studies (Holocaust)are often perceived as two separate intellectual entities. By that I mean the participants of each camp seldom see themselves having much common interest with each other. What is the problem if we believe post-Shoah theological reflections and Asian Christianity are two unrelated intellectual territories? Could learning with Jews help Asian Christians redefine their religious identity in the pluralistic world? What happens when Jewish-Christian dialogue extends its horizon beyond the usual European Christian contexts and meets Asian theological-cultural studies?

Theological reflections of the Shoah are a significant intellectual topic in western Christianity, but not in Asian Christianity. Asian Christians, seminaries, and churches both in Asia and around the world continue to pat inadequate attention to the Shoah and Jewish-Christian dialogue, partly because many of them may have mistakenly perceived anti-Semitism was (and is) a European issue. Asian may be physical absent from the Nazis regime when the anti-Judaic rhetoric was spread, but they belong to the same religious family called Christianity where they were responsible for providing the theological seedbed for the Shoah. By not seriously taking the Shoah as a theological topic for Asian Christianity, many Asian Christians continue to accept the conventional Christian theological bias against Jews and Judaism.

Asian Christians came to know Christianity through the teachings of Western missionaries during the time of colonialism. When Christianity came to Asia, the Christian self-understanding had been thoroughly "infected" with the anti-Judaic virus; supersessionism was the standard interpretive lens to interpret scripture and matters of faith. This questionable Christian self-identity has not been significantly purged in today's Asian churches around the world. Instead, this erroneous bias meets the strong Asian cultural ideals toward honouring elders, traditions and authority. This is an alarming issue.

Jewish-Christian dialogue and the reflection on the Shoah are significant interpretive windows to see the world and faith. The reason for this is that the emergence of the Jesus' movement and rabbinic Judaism grew out of the same political reality under the demise of imperial Rome, the background for the tense theological debate about faith and identity. That debate was so acrimonious that it eventually parted the two traditions. Asian Christianity is an offspring of western Constantinian Christianity. There is a need to explain as clearly as possible to Asian Christians who tend to walk away from this topic why they need to engage.

Paul Was Not a Christian by Pamela Eisenbaum

2011-03-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

PAUL WAS NOT A CHRISTIAN: THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE OF A MISUNDERSTOOD APOSTLE. (Harper One, 2009). Pamela Eisenbaum has written a book for anyone who wants to read Paul differently from the traditional views. As a practicing Jew and a professor of the New Testament in a Christian seminary, Eisenbaum helps her readers appreciate the Jewish traditions from which Paul was well acquainted with. She argues convincingly that Paul was not a Christian, not in the sense we may call a person Christian today. As the author notes, when Paul wrote letters to specific groups in the middle of the first century, the category "Christianity" was non-existent.

A typical Christian sitting in the pew may understand Paul as a theologian, perhaps the greatest Christian who gave the world the doctrine of justification by faith. Such a person may understand such doctrine as a universal faith formula by which humanity could be saved. But Eisenbaum contends that the church's typical understandings of Paul have been influenced by the confessions of Augustine and the personal struggles of Martin Luther, where works and faith are formulated in individual terms. Eisenbaum takes her readers through a quick tour of Jewish traditions that might have informed Paul, a Hellenized Jew living in Diaspora in the first century. She also demonstrates well the ambiguity presented in Paul's Greek letters.

Eisenbaum demonstrates eloquently how the traditional interpretations of Paul have erred. The church errs by assuming Paul has converted from Judaism to Christianity - a pretext to show how superior Christianity is compared to Judaism. A typical seminarian who has spent years of studies in a seminary or religious institution should find Eisenbaum's introduction of the New Perspective nothing new, although all readers should be astonished by her knowledge of the Jewish cultural and biblical traditions she outlined in this book, a feature not commonly found in other books in the same subject written by Christians. What this book could do to an average reader, however, is reassess one's former learning about Paul; and consequently, redefining the Christian self-identity. Eisenbaum writes in a style that is clear and sharp. Even laypersons should have no problem following her presentation.

One regret is that this book does not address the ancient Roman Empire, an issue recent biblical scholarship cannot afford to miss. Yet, I find this book worth your time. This is a book I call "a bridge" between academic study and congregational life.

Teaching to Resist Empire

2010-11-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

If we understand empire not just in terms of territorial occupation, but also in terms of institutionalizing and intellectualizing domination that are operative in the realms of religion, culture and social affairs because of unequal distribution of power and uneven allocation of resources, Christian educators must be committed to deconstruct and reconstruct faith practices. In order to foster a Christian presence in the world that reflect Jesus' compassionate ministry of the gospel, teachers of the Christian faith needs to take teaching for justice and empowerment seriously.

Justice is not a footnote to Christianity or Judaism. It should not be seen as an application or consequence of faith. Justice is part and parcel of what faith in God is about. Biblical scholarship informs us that Jesus' ministry was not about how to go to heaven when one dies. Instead, Jesus inaugurated a new community where economic and social justice is the core of the realm of God. This realm of God is about defending the poor and defying forces of domination. Christian churches and places of learning are places where social consciousness and transformative leadership are formed. Such places of learning can play a crucial role in the development of critical pedagogies that help decolonize Christian praxis from empire ideologies. By "decolonize" I mean the critical reflection and constructive process of theologizing and meaning making that purge imperial mindset and practices. I think Christian teachers need to realize empire is not just political and economic empires exist "out there," but Christianity was and still is an empire. Christians are obligated to examine our complicity in reinforcing empire agenda in the name of God, and sometimes, education.

Teachers need to teach students to examine critically much of what the church calls "tradition" has deep European roots and cultural adaptions. Although these traditions are valuable in many ways, because of its deep European assumptions and the unequal distribution of power, not everyone, every time, and every culture in the world benefits equally from this "tradition." For learners who come from cultures of privilege, teachers need to empower them to name and critique their social location. For learners come from the historic colonized countries and cultures, naming their social locations will also empower them to name the forces that shape them. Churches and places of learning need to be intentional about creating space for learners to re-examine the colonial assumptions and beliefs and commit to free them from being imprisoned by the colonial past. As much as we value the traditions of the past and employ them in our reflections, none of us need to be guardian of the European establishments as if those findings are eternal but must be free to imagine for our contexts and our future.

Resisting empire implies a political undertaking, risk taking, and the exercising of power in life honouring ways. Making space for forgotten marginal voices through creating forums for these voices to be heard show our desire to listen and to change for the better.

Fall in Love with God's Beautiful Earth

2010-11-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

Christian stewardship cannot be completed without addressing the environment and the rest of God's creation. Christianity for so long has been focusing primarily on human beings. The church teaches and preaches as if human beings are the only ones whom God cares about. The core teaching of Christianity has been tending the spiritual dimensions of human life.

What is missing? Think about this: We the redeemed individuals, saved by God's grace, leave the church buildings and go on to live life in ways that destroy God's creation. On the one hand, we say we are God's agents who bring peace to the earth; on the other hand, we live life in ways that contribute to the destruction of God's earth. Such a contradiction is what is missing if the church leaves the planet out.

My former colleague, Dr. Sallie McFague has a wonderful book, A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming. (Fortress Press, 2008). It will be translated into several languages. In this book, Dr. McFague opens our minds to see the inadequacy of conventional Christian teachings with regard to the environment. This failing begins with a popular theological view that says God is interested in human begins only and their spiritual status. This view says God has no interest in secular matters. God would have no interest in the melting of ice shields in the Arctic or the kind of engines we put in our cars. God doesn't care whether forest could be re-grown after clear cutting. God doesn't care whether we dump plastic bag or non-decomposable styrofoam cups to the landfills. God cares only whether you believe in Jesus and go to church or not! This view isn't dead. It is around us.

McFague continues by saying by taking the environment and the planet out of the major Christian concern, it betrays the Christian understanding of catholicity, it means whole or entire. The catholicity of the church in its broadest sense demands Christians not to leave creation and the health of the planet out. The Greek word for house, oikos, is the source of the words for ecology, ecumenical, and economics. Yes! Economics. Economics is not just about money exchanges but about the allocation of resources. It is about who get what and why, hence it is about life and death. That is why ecology an economy are tied together. For this reason, McFague argues Christian understanding of salvation needs to incorporate these three words and promote the well-being of all who dwell in God's household. Concepts of salvation need to expand as a consequence. The gospel needs to be good news to all, not just humans since God's economy or ecology does not leave the earth out. That is why McFague says climate change is a theological issue. Theology could not afford to leave the physical world out.

Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." How could a polluted sky tell the glory of God? How could polluted river and oceans showcase the magnificent works of the Creator? Our consumerist culture has completed its education on us when we think we can do whatever we want with the earth. Yet, our love of God cannot be separated from God's created world, grass, oceans, trees and animals. We must see at last the interconnectedness of life; that is everything is related to everything else. If our water, rivers, oceans and environment are polluted, the quality of human life will suffer. A prosperous humanity relies on a healthy planet.

But this is our challenge: We learn patterns of life and ways of thinking when we were young and many of these earth damaging habits are difficult to get rid of. Above all, ethical living is not just a matter of personal choice, although it helps. The church needs to realize the church is part of the problem where the "system" we live in is faulted. Responsible Christians need to speak out and work with government officials to reverse the damage humanity has done for ages. The ability to make things better by way of personal ethical choice alone is severely limited without collective changes coming from political leaders and the will of its citizens.

Christianity, along with Judaism, has an unyielding commitment to bring peace and justice on earth. To reflect the glory of God through our living is not an abstract theological concept or cannot be reduced to merely pious practices but we could actually love God by loving the very things God created. There are times we love God by caring for other human beings; there are times we love God by tending the environment by making eco-friendly choices. We could fall in love with God by loving the earth.

The Bible doesn't reject responsible modern day homosexuals

2010-10-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

The following is a write-up of a conversation in a Bible Study group at church.

There are only two texts that deserve our time in this topic: Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27. Some people also bring up the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as proof. But Jewish traditions understand the cause of the cities' destruction as inhospitality and idolatry. Other biblical writers did us a favour when they made reference to the cities. None of the ancient writers associated these two cities' destruction with homosexuality ( Dt. 32:32, Ezk. 16:49, Mt. 10:15). For some Christians, just citing these texts seems clear to them that God condemns modern day homosexuals. However, citing texts alone does not end discussion; it is just the beginning. Citing texts without interpretation is something responsible Christians try to avoid; because by doing so, we learn nothing from history, may that be slavery or women ordination. Nothing in life happens out of context; the same needs to be said about reading sacred texts.

Leviticus 18:22 says, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." The question of consistency in interpretation is raised when we are satisfied with the surface value of the text, since eating shellfish is also an abomination (Lev. 11:10). Planting two different crops in the same field (Lev. 19:19) and working on sabbath are also forbidden (Lev. 35:2). Why do we uphold one and not the other? Is something else other than the Bible is at work?

Romans 1:26-27 cannot be read apart from the larger context of Paul's letter. Paul's main interest in writing this letter has nothing to do with addressing modern day committed homosexuals but to paint a bigger picture of how ALL people are falling short of the glory of God and ALL people rely on the mercy of God. Paul was making a case to explain how Gentiles could relate to the God of Israel but does not need to observe certain law and rituals. For Paul, either one is Jew or Gentile, free or slave, man or woman makes no difference in how one finds acceptance by God. And I add, to claim one is either heterosexual or homosexual, doesn't even remotely qualify as a factor worthy to be considered under the spirit of Paul's fervent teachings on grace, and inclusion.

Homosexual practice was well known in antiquity, but it resembles nothing like the kind of phenomenon today. History informs us that wealthy magistrates and officials could acquire young boys to stay in their courts as playmates to satisfy these powerful men's desires and perversions. Ancient jewish historians hinted at the practice of shrine prostitution where superstition and idolatry ruled at the time when multiple Greek goddesses promised a good life for all. The issues were the abuse of power and superstition. If we pay attention to a couple of verses prior to Roms. 1:26, Paul's concern was idolatry.

Idolatry occupies a central concern in the Bible whereas homosexuality does not. In ancient times, nobody who read Paul's letter would have understood him as saying two loving individuals, law-abiding citizens, equal partners who are deeply in love because they search deep in their heart that they are attracted to the same gender as sinful. Sexual orientation is a concept nobody had heard of in Paul's time. Paul did not know it was possible that two equal, same gendered individuals, without the abuse of power or the cult of temple prostitution, could be authentic lovers as well as God worshippers. Whoever Paul had in mind when he wrote, he did not have the people in mind who were deeply honest and spiritual. For some of these individuals who also loved Jesus and the gospel with authentic heart, mind, and soul, it simply blow Paul's mind away.

We must seriously ask ourselves what was Paul's ultimate concern when he wrote the letter. Why aren't there more teachings on the issue if it was an important one in ancient times? Jesus also lived at the time of Paul. Why do we find Jesus' silence on this issue?

Finding some verses that may remotely touch the subject doesn't solve anything. In the church, the Bible isn't the only criteria Christians use when it comes to Christian life. Theology matters. Theology comes from the Bible and it in turn helps us to understand the Bible. The church's understanding of justification by grace, dignity of all human beings and equality in Christ allows the church to abandon the long time practice of slavery. in the Lutheran church we welcome both men and women for ordained ministry based on an understanding that God calls all the baptized to serve. A mature Christian must exercise intellectual responsibility by considering all reasonable factors. The church, including its doctrines and teachings, aren't always correct. In fact, the church has been wrong many times. Revising the church's teachings and positions, against popular belief, is required for all faithful Christians. Quoting the Bible isn't enough, compassionate heart and mind are also needed. That is why we no longer practice slavery, even Jesus' parables assumed it. That is why we welcome women for ordained ministry even though Paul seemingly says no. It is this spirit of biblical interpretation with theological diligence allow the church to welcome committed, law-abiding and religious persons into the life of the church even though a couple of biblical texts seem to say no.

If what we call homosexuals today aren't serious, loving and committed individuals but fool around by their irresponsible sexual practices, then such individuals are subjected to judgement, just like heterosexuals are. When we see responsible and committed people who have search deep in their beings and have behaved with the utmost honestly about who they are. God's kingdom belong to such people. God cares about authenticity, integrity and honesty. The real issue is how should the church relate to minorities who are different.

To say, "The Bible says" as if the issue is settled without further investigation of scriptural circumstances and theological reflection may receive by some as being faithful to God, but in reality such a person effectively hide the "I" in scriptural reading. Interpretation is always the heart of biblical studies; without this affirmation we fall short in understanding where and how Christianity comes from. God doesn't create robots. Disagreeing and negotiating with biblical writers even God is part of the biblical heritage as witnessed in the pages of the Bible; it may as well be the heart of faithful Christian living.

The Bible as a Book: A Post-Holocaust Reflection

2010-10-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

When was the Bible written? Who wrote them? Why writing it when at the time nobody could read it? These are some of the questions that guided the talks on several weeks in my Bible Study group. Particularly, the question "When was the Bible written?" is interesting because it seems that knowing the time the Bible came into being tells so much about why it was formed; it eventually gives us some interpretive clues on how to read it.

We tend to read the Bible as a single book because we come from a culture where reading and writing is important. But in ancient times, most people were illiterate. Writing in ancient times was known only by an extreme few people, expensive, and was tightly controlled by kings and priests. We also sometimes forget writing is an invention that requires systemic learning, the support of institutions, and it a sign of a complex society. Speaking, on the other hand, is innate through social interactions.

Authority in ancient Israel, was not about texts but about oral teachings of religious figures. The idea of an authoritative text was foreign to most ancient people. Also, consider this, most ancient prophets were called to speak, not to write. Nobody in the 8th century BCE and before had any burning desire to write a script before speaking. Isaiah or Amos most likely did not write himself a script like we do before preaching, he just spoke it. It is very likely that somebody else write the oral traditions down on behalf of the beloved prophets some time later. In ancient times, there was no desire to jog down everything a prophet or teacher says at the moment. There was no paper, pen, or computer to record what they said; and most importantly, there was no public demand for their messages in writing because most people couldn't read. The notion of history had a different notation. On top of that, the biblical texts that become our Bible have gone through several stages of editing based on the visions and perspectives of different scribes in a given context and political situation. Whatever book we read in the Bible, we must see it as a result of an ongoing program of editing and revising. We also need to read the texts with an understanding that none of the biblical writers have any clue that they were writing a book we call the Bible. The best we can say is those prophets may have said something like that as printed in our Bible. Even with this positive affirmation, questions must be raised based on our understanding of the history of the text's formation. It is outside our reach to be absolutely sure what ancient prophets have actually said. We read texts through the eyes of their composers. And more, the meaning of the texts always reflects its readers.

Exile to Babylon was a watershed experience for ancient Israel, it played a significant roles in the creation and the editing of the Hebrew Bible. The so called "Deuteronomists" reinterpreted texts already in place at the time. Having experienced the disappearance of the united Israel kingdom, the destruction of the First Temple, and exile, these scribes spoke harshly to King David and Solomon, and wrote with a vision to return to the traditional religion of their forefathers.

Reflection #1: Texts and oral traditions always coexist in tension, so it was the case for Martin Luther when he used scriptures to challenge the oral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. However, texts demand interpretation; it presumes the existence of teachers who can unfold the wisdom hidden in seemingly unchanging words. Just because a text is available doesn't exclude the wisdom of oral traditions. It is stunning to realize how ancient biblical writers changed the words and ideas when they found texts they were uncomfortable with; an act in today's Christian circle can easily be casted unfaithful. (i.e., Compare 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10 or 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. The two books of Samuel were created earlier).

Reflection #2: We need to rethink retribution theology in light of the Holocaust. Exilic and post-exilic scribes interpreted the destruction of the First Temple as the consequence of sins and unfaithfulness. If hurricane Katrina or the attack of the Twin Towers in New York City occurred in biblical times, according to the theology of the time, there is little doubt that biblical writers would interpret that as God's punishment to Americans. We reject such theology today.

Most biblical writers regard national crises and sometimes diseases as signs of personal, ethical, and religious failure; we need to ask serious questions about it in light of the Holocaust. If we reject the erroneous idea that says God used the Nazis to punish the sins of Jewish people, why should we accept God used Assyrians and Babylonians to punish the sins of ancient Israelites? We need to ask: God uses violence to bring wholeness to God's people? What kind of God we are talking about? To say sins and unfaithfulness caused national disasters, is it really the case or the interpretation of some scribes?

Reflection #3: It is evident that the political situation in Jerusalem, namely the destruction of the First Temple and the exilic experience prompted the beginning of the formation of the Hebrew Bible. Strikingly, the same can be said about the formation of the Christian Testament when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The destruction of the Second Temple was the "hidden center" of the formation of the Christian Testament. Together, we see the production of religious texts were religious people's responses to national crises. Writing became a tool to express ancient peoples' grief, particularly those who were educated with writing skills. Through the use of pen, these writers interpreted events, expressed their theological opinions, and offered hope for the future the way they saw them. It is evident that the formation of the Bible was deeply tied to the political situation of the time with specific reference to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Recognition of this fact compels the readers of the Bible not to approach the text purely from the religious point of view, but also from the political and societal point of view.

Committed to Teach with Diversity

2010-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Diversity may be the buzzword in today's world, but consider these: Through reading the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis, we find two creation accounts where the author(s) give us two different opinions concerning whether humans were created first or last. 1 Chronicles 21 and 2 Samuel 24 couldn't agree on whether Satan or God incited David to count Israel. Exodus 23:9 and Exodus 33:20 give you conflicting messages concerning whether one can see God and live. While the conventional wisdom teaches that God will reward those who are righteousness and God is not the reason of our sufferings, the Book of Job is a direct counter to that teaching. Luke 4 and Matthew 4 couldn't agree on the sites and the sequence of events that comprise of Jesus' temptation story. The church does not invent diversity in the 21st century; diversity is embedded in the pages of the Bible.

Christianity teaches that God is the God of the cosmos (John 3:16). God loves all creation. God loves this cosmos so much that through the dying and rising in Jesus, God reconciles with the whole creation. The cross, an unlikely place to find God, opens a window for the church to exercise hospitality, welcome strangers and unfamiliar voices. The church does not entertain diversity for diversity sake; but for the gospel's sake, for a God who still speaks and for the ongoing lifelong journey of living out the gospel. Affirmation of diversity is to recognize that we are limited in our very humanness.

Celebrating diversity helps the church to be faithful servants of God. The presence of unfamiliar voices helps the church to examine possible oversights and shortcomings. Apostle Paul talks about the continuing renewal of our minds (Rom. 12). As God's peoples we have a continuing need to examine our former knowledge as a way to honour God's continuing unfolding of God's mystery. Such unfolding of God's mystery transforms known knowledge and empowers us to live responsibly as God's messengers of reconciliation.

Furthermore, meaning is never neutral but always situated socially, politically, and historically, and that meaning operates within the certain logic that implies differing sets of understanding. Responsible teaching demands more than a superb showing of information but the ability to make connection with a wide spectrum of people. Teachers need to open for the task of educating. We cannot claim to be effective and educated teachers of the church if teachers do not seek to understand the plurality of people and their experiences that make up the human community. Recognition of diverse human experiences, cultural and ideological assumptions demand teachers to teach with high sense of responsibility. Diversity demands responsibility in teaching and learning.

Finally, commitment to diversity is a commitment to a God who treasures the plurality of human existence and experiences; and most importantly, God continues to speak to us through others.

The Courage to Teach

2009-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

Education undoubtedly played a crucial role in reinforcing the ideologies of the colonizers. It is my hope that the Christian church being the redeemed people of God, needs to learn from the mistakes of the past by cultivating different educational practices. Instead of deploying colonial mindset and practices in teaching, the church need to take back teaching as an instrument of hope. To be teachers of the church in the post-Holocaust and post-colonial era requires inner strength, global mind, and discerning heart. When a teacher enters a classroom, a fellowship hall, or a church basement, s/he no longer affords to behave like a dictator determining all by himself or herself about how information is going to flow.

The teaching of the Christian faith in our times demands courageous men and women to take risk. Maintaining the status quo turns a blind eye to the colonial assumptions of the past. I often hear sincere Christians that they admit the Christian past were problematic, such as the church's relationship with Jews and Judaism. Yet, far from taking that acknowledgement as an opportunity to learn anew, they point out our ancestors' behaviours and beliefs were not "really Christian" and those colonial practices could not stand up to the "spirit of the gospel." What they are saying is: What is problematic was the actions of Christian people, not Christianity. The underlying assumption is: Christianity, with its traditional doctrines are fine; Christian people just need to be more loving.

As much as I would like to agree with their assessments, I must point out the need to untangle the hegemony between belief and power; faith and culture. Of course, looking back from the vantage point of the 21st century North America, we pronounce with certainty that beliefs such as anti-Judaism, slavery, colonialism, racism, and male-chavinism are unchristian. But at different times, these were once the church's TRUE UNDERSTANDING of the gospel. Those practices were embedded deeply in what Christians at the time thought TRUE Christianity was about! If we have a chance to confront our ancestors face to face, there is little doubt that they would defend their understandings with all their hearts and souls thinking they were doing what God had demanded them to do; despite those beliefs were problematic in today's sentiments. We would be labelled as "non-Christians," "liberals," and may be even "anti-Christ" if we dare to raise the voice of protest.

The church needs to re-examine its beliefs and discuss what Christianity has become. The way for the contemporary church to KNOW a particular belief of practice that cannot stand up to the "spirit of the gospel" is having the courage to question, evaluate, revise, and even abandon it if necessary. Traditions are deeply treasured in Christianity; may be idolized. but traditions can be understood as the culminate experiences of the past hand down to us from previous generations. Let us be reminded that the church worships God, not the past saints' experiences. Tradition can be regarded as a "reservoir of experience" so that the church has resources to find its way in the maze. Traditions are not divine; anything less is guilty of idolatry, a violation of the First Commandment. How does the church know a particular experience does justice to the gospel? I like adult educator Stephen Brookfield's comment when he says, "Ten years of practice can be one year's worth of distorted experience repeated ten times." We need courageous thinkers and teachers who are able to help people weigh information critically. Just because something is traditional doesn't automatically mean it is holy and worth practicing.

The courage to teach is the courage to examine faith beliefs and practices. These are the heart of Jesus' prophetic ministry he introduced to us and embodied. After two thousand years of church history and the realization of many unChristian crimes committed by baptized Christians who professed faith in Jesus, the church could be said to have become wiser and mature when God's people are not afraid of self-examination.

Post-Holocaust Reflections for the Future of Asian Churches

2009-12-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

On November 5, 2009, with the invitation of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Center of Toronto, Canada, I gave a presentation at the Holocaust Education Week event. The Holocaust Education Center has done a fabulous job of organizing two weeks of educational activities as the Jewish community try to keep the memories alive as well as educating the public. I was honoured to be invited to give a presentation. As stated in their brochure, they expect 30,000 participants over the two weeks and there were about 170 educational and cultural programs. This is an annual event. Look for another one next year in November.

My presentation was hosted by the Taiwanese United Church (Newtonbrook United Church) in Toronto since my topic has something to do with Asian Christianity. I debunked the popular mindset among many Asian Christians that the Holocaust is mainly an European issue where Asian Christians do not need to talk about it. I encouraged participants to consider the political dimensions of the emergence of Christianity and provided some guidelines in understanding the polemics in the gospel accounts. I said the church needs courageous teachers.

In my presentation, I said to dialogue with Jews is not simply a matter of justice or correctness. It is essential for the integrity of Christianity to have keen understanding of Judaism because it is impossible to proclaim Christian faith without reference to Judaism. The question becomes: Which Judaism the church is making reference to? Is it the church's pre-Holocaust understanding or the post-Holocaust understanding?

Asians and Jews have close similarities when it comes to education and family values, strong work ethics, and social readiness to contribute to the common good. Jews and Asian Christians need to learn from each others and try to make this world a better place to live.

This is the website of the Holocaust Education Week.

http://www.holocausteducationweek.com/

"Asian Holocaust": A Misguided Term

2009-11-30T16:18:00.000-08:00

Similar to the world "Holocaust," the phrase "Asian Holocaust" has gained public recognition in recent years, especially through the creation of the American Museum of Asian Holocaust located in Philadelphia, U.S.. This phrase usually refers to the genocides that occurred in Asia during the Second World War, notably the atrocities conducted by Japanese soldiers in China, commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States, even the killing field of Cambodia. While the suffering of Asian people in these genocides is immensely painful and thus, should not be ignored, the analogy is misappropriated. There are characteristic differences in terms of motives and the reasons for the genocides.

Besides the anti-Jewish ideology toward Jews which I have argued in the previous postings, there is another key characteristic of the Holocaust -the nullification of Jews and therefore intended eradication of the Jewish race. Hitler's antisemitic policy was inspired by a hierarchy of race and blood where the Jewish people were at the lowest rank possible. The intention to wipe out a whole ethnic group is one of the reasons why the Holocaust is an unprecedented event in human history. These crucial factors, namely the delusional ideology about Jews with Christian anti-Judaism as seedbed and the intended wholesale eradication of Jews, are the benchmarks of the Holocaust. Based on these two key characteristics, to appropriate the Rape of Nanking or the bombing of Hiroshima as an equivalent to the Holocaust is inappropriate. The "Asian Holocaust" is a mistaken analogy, although this detracts nothing from the suffering of the Asian peoples. There is no evidence to suggest that the United States had a plan to eradicate the Japanese people completely or seeing Japanese as an evil race when the atomic bomb was dropped. Similar, even though the imperial Japanese soldiers committed atrocious crimes toward Chinese people during the Second World War, to argue the wholescale eradication of every Chinese person on earth as part of the ideology conviction of the imperial Japanese government has no basis in fact. Also lacking was the role of Christian theology (or any theology) in leading toward those genocides. All suffering is painful and unique. It is fruitless and insulting to describe the suffering of Asians or anyone in terms of the suffering of someone else, as if one's suffering has no merit to be voiced and expressed in its own term. In the words of the late professor Emil Fackenheim, "To link Auschwitz with Hiroshima is not to deepen or widen one's concern with humanity and its future. It is to evade the import of Auschwitz and Hiroshima alike."

Yet, the term "Asian Holocaust" take many Asian Christians' attention away from addressing the root cause of anti-Judaism by over-simplifying commonalities and ignoring crucial difference. This misguided analogy bears partially responsibility for the lack of interest of correcting the mistakes of the church among Asian Christians by unknowingly suggesting that Asian Christians should deal with "Asian Holocaust" and Jews with their own. This may be another reason why Asian Christians tend to believe that Asian Christians do not need to worry about the Holocaust. The result is that Asian Christians miss the opportunity to address the erroneous assumptions our Christian ancestors made; among some, naively believe that holding onto the "traditions" is equivalent to being faithful to God. Among the negative consequences, the assignment of Holocaust to the terrible events in the twentieth century Asia, is that it further isolates Asian Christians' participation in the post-Holocaust theological discourse.

Re-Thinking Christianity After the Holocaust

2009-10-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

Auschwitz, a small Polish town located about halfway between Krakow and Katowice, Poland, can only be located on a detailed map. The primary reason why this small town deserves our attention is that the notorious Nazi extermination camp is near the town. Contemporary Auschwitz is becoming a kind of museum: clean, organized, and a tourist attraction. But it was once ugly and dreadful with some of the most cold-blooded activities humankind has ever conceived. During the Nazi regime, Auschwitz was one of several death camps where millions of people were executed. Among the dead were Communists, Poles, Roman Catholic priests and Protestant ministers, anti-Nazi-activists, homosexuals, Gypsies, Soviet citizens, and the handicapped. During the Nazi regime, six million Jews perished. I focus my studies on the suffering of Jews during this regime because they died for the simple fact that they were born Jewish or were of Jewish ancestry. Henry Friedländer writes, "The Nazi persecuted their political and ideological opponents - Marxists, liberals, or Churchmen - for what they believed, said or did; only Jews suffered for just existing."

What Adolf Hitler did was to add genocide to an already flourishing anti-Jewish (Christian) ideology. The Holocaust may be unprecedented and unthinkable in its time, but the religious foundation for such a horror did not develop overnight. Instead, it was the scaffolding of the centuries of anti-Jewish Christian teaching that gradually permeate the Christian mind.

For example, early Christian theologian Justin Martyr (ca. 100-160 C.E.) in his lengthy Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, asserted that the Mosaic Law was no longer valid. Justin argued that the law was given only because of Jews' hardness of heart and its purpose was to keep Jewish sinfulness in check. He says, "The Law giver is present, yet you do not see Him; to the poor the Gospel is preached, the blind see, yet you do not understand." Ignatius joins the chorus, "It is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has now come to an end." Another theologian Chrysostrom says, "Here [in the synagogogue] the slayers of Christ gather together, here the cross is driven out, here God is blasphemed, here the Father is ignored, here the Son is outraged, here the grace of the Spirit is rejected. Does not greater harm come from this place since the Jews themselves are demons?"

Early Christian theologians employed the same rhetorical-polemic skills the ancient Jewish prophets used yet not as members of the Jewish faith but as Gentile Christians condemning Judaism as an inferior religion. In their theologizing, early Christian theologians imposed collective guilt upon Jewish people for the death of Jesus; they also charged that Jews were no longer God's beloved children. The "anti-Jewish virus" is so embedded in Christianity that it is almost impossible not to denigrate Judaism while articulating Christian identity. Let's face it: Repentance cannot be completed without reconstruction.

If contemporary Christians are courageous enough to rest their faith on the ministry of Jesus, the church's understanding of the early form of Jesus' message must be thoroughly Jewish, or within the confine of Jewish thought of the time. Jesus must be understood as a Jewish itinerant teacher; his ministry, parables, and teachings were drawn essesntially within the Jewish frame of mind and he conducted his ministry with imperial Roman ideology and political colonization as the backdrop. A credible post-Holocaust Christian theology must place Jesus' ministry within formative Judaism, not external to it. To do so, a serious rethinking of Christianity from its roots is no longer an option. In addition, the church's task is more than removing anti-Judaism. The church needs actions and re-educate its people; above all, the church needs to redefine Christianity. The removal of anti-Judaism makes traditional Christian beliefs impossible to sustain. The theological task is comparable to removing a significant bad strand in a piece of fabric. After the removal, the fabric will not stay the same. If anti-Judaism is undesirable and in fact theologically erroneous, Christian theology regarding its origin, understanding of Jesus, salvation, liturgy, church and so on cannot be unchanged. Business cannot be as usual if the church is genuine in saying: "Never again."

After the Holocaust: The Courage to Teach Asian Christians

2009-10-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

The need to reexamine the Christian relationship between Christians and Jews has been largely triggered by the soul-troubling reality of the Holocaust. Since Jewish-Christian dialogue is being carried out most vigorously in the West, it is relatively easy for Asian Christians to bypass its significance and dismiss it as another Western issue. In my very first posting, I already said that by professing faith in Jesus Christ, Asian Christians share the scandals and glories of the Christian movement, both past and present. Let me say more about the challenges to teach as a result.

Asian Christians can claim physical non-involvement during the Holocaust; however, as part of the Christian family, they were there figuratively speaking. Speaking as an Asian Lutheran, I inherit the whole legacy of Lutheranism, including Luther's anti-Jewish treaties. Because I am willing to stand alongside German Lutherans, I am 'naturalized' as a member of the 'guilty tradition' of Luther. Yet, I rejoice greatly with the Lutheran church when the church denounces Luther's anti-Jewish writing. If I am not part of the family, I have no reason to celebrate. To free Asian Christians from the legacy of anti-Judaism, they must be willing to cast themselves as members of this problematic tradition and in turn, confront the tradition. They must be willing to search deep in understanding how the legacy of anti-Judaism operates in their theology, system of belief, and teaching. Asian churches will fall short in freeing Asian Christians from the mistakes of the past when they do not perceive anti-Judaism as part of the Asian Christian tradition. The pitfall for Asian churches is to free Asian people from sin and guilt at the expense of other people's suffering, that is, Jews and Judaism.

Secondly, some Asian Christians considered their primary task is to address the genocides occurring exclusively in Asia and/or in Asian communities. While I believe that all genocide are important materials for theological and ethical reflection, I as an Asian Christian cannot ignore the Holocaust because of the Christians connection to the genocide. The significance of this particular genocide for Christians is two thousand years of teaching of Christian anti-Judaism. The Holocaust brings problematic Christian theology and assumptions to the surface, and it forces all Christians, regardless of race and culture, to reexamine their belief. Just because Asian Christians in Asia and around the world were not physically involved in the anti-Jewish campaign of the early and mediaeval church, it does not mean that Asian Christians have purged anti-Jewish teaching and mindset from their theology and teaching. If Christianity characterized by the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus can contribute to horrific incident such as Auschwitz and Birkenau, there is no guarantee that contemporary Asian Christians will not cause other forms of oppression. What I am calling for on the part of Asian Christians, particularly in North America, is a serious reexamination of the relationship with Judaism after the Holocaust. How Asian Christians will relate to their closest siblings and how they will read and reread the pages of the Bible in the 21st century with new eyes is in part a signal of their willingness to confront the legacy of anti-Judaism that has been so deeply rooted in the Christian heritage.

The Gospel Has No Need of Anti-Judaism

2009-09-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

"I am not interested in Jewish-Christian relations." Really! How can that be? You call yourself a Christian and you believe in Jesus who was a Jew. You read the Bible that was mostly written with Jewish customs, cultures, languages and the worldview of the Ancient Near East. You may not be interested in attending a Jewish-Christian dialogue group; but by definition, as a Christian, that is, a Christ-follower, you participate in "Jewish-Christian relations" the rest of your life! How you read, interpret, and understand Judaism as you read the pages of the Bible; and what lenses you bring as you learn to deepen your faith in Jesus is the very foundation of Christian life.

A Catholic Bishop in Canada once said, "I don't believe that I am better than Jews socially; but religiously, I have to say that I am better than them." This song of religiously better than Jews and Judaism has been sung throughout the Christian history; and most importantly, it has been identified as the foundational building block of how Christian self-identity has been promoted.

In my previous postings, I kept using the term "anti-Judaism." Anti-Judaism refers to theological attitudes, arguments, and polemics that say Christianity has replaced Judaism as God's children and achieved special status as a way to promote the Christian teaching of superiority. Centuries of negative appraisal of Judaism and defamatory preaching such as the PASCHAL HOMILY of Melito of Sardis who first gave us the idea of deicide taught Christians to think of their Jewish neighbours as Christ killers, sinful, and even demonic. Anti-Judaism is a dangerous theological attitude that fuelled the development of modern antisemitism, to which Nazis added a deadly component.

Christian who with their utmost sincerity claim they are not antisemites but yet can turn around and make anti-Jewish theological claims. It is a problematic but habitual way of promoting Christian identity that the post-Holocaust Christians cannot condone.

Instead, Christians need to take a hard look at the usage of polemics in the gospel accounts. Polemics are common literary tactics in sacred scriptures of ancient religious communities. It ranges from subtle to overtly bitter. Polemics directly targeted religious group that were closely related to each others. Closer the family ties, the greater the denunciations. As siblings derived their identities from the same religious resources, ancient people used polemics to belittle mercilessly other members of the same tradition regarding their distinctive views. The gospel account contain numerous such polemics; it was the rhetorical tool of the time serving as boundary markers. Also, it was the result of the intense rivalry relationship among siblings, a family feud.

Unlike Jesus and his Jewish followers, the early Christian church in the later centuries with its membership comprised primarily of non-Jews. The in-house polemics became a rich resource for non-Jewish Christians to charge Judaism and Jews as inferior. These Christians and theologians have already forgotten the intra-family politics of the previous centuries as well as the political contexts of the writings. But think: Even Matthew the gospel writer who used polemics and spoke harshly against the Pharisees, other Jewish leaders, and other Jewish sects, he also spoke passionately how Jewish life could be better off with faith in Jesus in the age of ancient Roman imperialism. As a Jew himself, it would be unimaginable for Matthew to believe that the Jewish way of life, including tis religious traditions, values and visions would be nullified because of Jesus.

The ancient gospel writers employed polemics when they told the story of Jesus. The Christ-followers in the later centuries used what was said concerning Jews in the pages of the gospel accounts to develop the tradition of anti-Judaism. Today, the gospel of Jesus needs to be told with none of the above. This is one of the sacred tasks of Christian teaching.

Confronting Traditions, Embracing Life

2009-09-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine just emailed me saying Mr. Nicolas Winston of England got to meet his "children" as he has saved 700 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. Winston almost got caught sending these children mostly from age 5 to 13 out by train overnight to Britain. Winston is now over 100 years old and many of these children are now older adults; and they celebrated his birthday with him. They called him "dad" because their parents were all killed during the Holocaust. The documentary The Power of Good was made to honour Winston's life story.

Let's talk about rescuers. Dr. Feng Shan Ho was a Chinese Diplomat who was stationed in Vienna, Austria during Hitler's final years. After the Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, many Jews were desperate to get out of Europe when the time was still possible. Many wanted to go to the U.S. But countries such as the U.S., the Great Britain, and France all refused visas to Jews. Against the rulings of Dr. Ho's senior Chinese authority in Munich, he issued visas to anyone to Shanghai just by asking. Shanghai at the time of Dr. Ho's service was under Japanese occupation, a visa was not needed. Dr. Ho didn't expect many Jews to actually arrive Shanghai, but a visa was a sure way to get out of Europe. Nazi Germany wouldn't let Jews leave unless there was proof of emigration. Dr. Ho was honoured as a "righteous gentile" in later years. In his autobiography, Dr. Ho says, "I thought it only natural to feel compassion and to want to help. From the standpoint of humanity, that is the way it should be." Dr. Ho received a western liberal education by the Lutheran missionaries in China. Ho earned his doctorate in political economics at the University of Munich. He spoke fluent English and German. A devoted Lutheran, Dr. Ho retired to San Francisco after many years of service in other countries. He passed away in 1997.

Another reason why (Asian) Christians should pay attention to the Holocaust is the issue of collective ethics. During the Holocaust, there were rescuers such as Mr. Winston and Dr. Ho, but they were extremely small minority. Rescuers were mainly individuals, not groups. Due to centuries of Christian anti-Jewish teachings, the majority of the general public displayed an indifference attitude to the plight of Jews. In retrospect, the mass destruction of European Jewry would be very difficult to execute without the active participants of millions of bystanders.

Yet, rescuers were courageous individuals, despite having learned that Jews were inferior and Judaism was obsolete as preached by the church in ages, were able to think critically, act independently for the sake of humanity. What should interest Asian Christians is the question of "collective ethics." The Holocaust would be the perfect place to discuss the pros and cons of Asian communal ethics - something that have shaped Asian communities profoundly, even in North America.

By saying this, I do not imply that Nazi racist policy and Asian communal cultures was one and the same thing. However, conforming to the collective good, family and society is unmistakably one of the key characteristics of Asian ethical virtue. Communal right is "worshipped," whereas individual right is secondary. Asians learned not to be different, cause trouble for one's family; but to save face, conform and to keep one's mouth shut. Asians developed complicated webs of tangled relationships that made independent-critical thinking difficult.

The question for Asian Christians becomes: When do communal ethics lead one into social indifference and when does it lead one into social solidarity with other human beings who are suffering? When is a good time to stay with traditions and when isn't? Will Christians have the courage to depart from long-held but erroneous traditions as a way to witness to the gospel?

Max Weber has a term for strong reverence to traditions. He calls it "traditional authority." By "traditional authority" Weber refers to the routinization of authority associated with status. It means that when the church interprets everything Jewish in a negative manner, a traditional authority is reinforced. Therefore, when atrocities toward Jews occurred, many Christians were numb to the sufferings of Jews because when they looked at church traditions and official teaching, there were plenty reasons to legitimize the suffering of Jews. Christian traditions can kill.

Post-Holocaust theological reflection is an indispensable resource for all Christians to examine their Christian beliefs, and especially for Asian Christians, to examine their cultural affinity toward honouring traditions. It is extremely dangerous even unchristian to accept norms prescribed by society, church bodies, authoritative leaders or any community uncritically. The mandate of Christian teaching from his vantage point cannot be just the passing on the traditions of the past; to do so would be morally and theologically irresponsible. Instead the call to teach is to empower people to think critically, question norms and examine underlying assumptions. Whenever the church says a group of people God dislike and therefore should be rejected by the church, the Holocaust experience allows God's people to raise an alarm.

Why am I interested in Jewish-Christian relations?

2009-09-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

My interest in post-Holocaust theological studies and Jewish-Christian relations was an "accident" from my journey to New York City as a doctoral student. In 2000, when I left Vancouver, I was preoccupied with studying the meaning of theological education from the perspective of Asian cultures. Yet, in my first semester of course work, unexpectedly I began to engage in exciting learnings with Jews, including rabbinic students. In a course called Faith Journeys and the Religious Education of Adults, co-taught by Dr. Carol Ingall, a Jewish educator at Jewish Theological Seminary and Dr. Mary Boys, a Christian educator at Union Seminary, half of the students were Jewish seminarians and the other half were Christian seminarians. There were about 30 students. I was blessed to have experienced this kind of interreligious learning. The encounters with each other and with each other's faith traditions were deeply enriching. That course was the most indispensable learning experience to me. It was a golden opportunity to understand and to be understood.

This experience led me to attend numerous Shabbat services on Friday evenings, sometimes Saturday mornings too, in a Jewish synagogue in midtown Manhattan. Congregation B'nai Jeshurun on West 89th Street and Broadway is one fabulous synagogue I loved to attend. I was also fortunate to come to know Paula Drill at Jewish Theological Seminary, a rabbinic student at the time and now a rabbi. She was my peer in the Faith Journeys course. Added to my surprise was to meet the Reference Librarian at Union Seminary, Seth Kasten, who is a Jew. I had never seen a Jewish librarian working in a Christian seminary! They were the greatest companions for my curiosity about Judaism. Paula was especially gracious in inviting me to spend Shabbat with her family in New Jersey, and also offered me my first authentic experience of the Passover Seder. Listening to her exposition of her faith always inspires me to appreciate Judaism. (Paula's congregation webpage can be found in the Recommended Link on the right hand column: The Orangetown Jewish Center.)

The aggregate of these experiences: classroom learning, synagogue visitation, Shabbat dinner following Shabbat service and Passover Seder in Jewish homes greatly enriched my understanding of Jewish life. What I treasure the most are the friendships that I developed and the experience of meeting Jews in their contexts. Jewish-Christian dialogue is no longer an abstract theological after-thought, but a lively conversation with human faces. I encountered a vibrant Judaism that is very different from my previous understanding. I love their liturgy and music! Instead of a legalistic and an unfaithful Judaism that I often heard about in Christian churches, I found Judaism very rich in symbols, poetry, music, traditions, theology and philosophy. I have a profound appreciation of the Jewish foundation from which Christianity developed. These experiences forced me to examine my assumptions about Jews, Judaism, and Christianity.

Although I was fascinated by Judaism, like many Asian Christians, I struggled to connect Jewish-Christian dialogue with Asian Christians. My biggest question was: What do Asian Christians have to do with the suffering of the Jewish people? I wonder how many Asian Christians, like myself at that time, consider the Holocaust as an exclusive European issue whereas Asian Christians have no need to care about. At the same time, the opportunity to learn from outstanding adult educators such as Victoria Marsick, Jack Mezirow, and Stephen Brookfield at Teachers College-Columbia University enabled me to see the need to question assumptions, presuppositions and values which I acquired in the early stages of my life. The result was that I asked myself these questions: "Can I devote my time and energy to reconstructing Christianity for Asians apart from grappling with the complexity of the first-century, especially its socio-political context?" "In what ways does Christian complicity during the Holocaust shape my understanding of Christian beliefs?" "What have I learned about Jews and Judaism from my former pastors and Christian teachers?"

With these questions in mind, I reread some literature in Asian Christianity and theology. I was astonished, even angry to read how many well-known Asian theologians and writers perpetuate anti-Jewish theology despite their intention to make Christian thought appropriate to Asian minds. I found that some of the writings are no better than the writings of their Western colonial counterparts concerning Jews and Judaism. Although sincere in spirit, Asian Christians inherit a contagious "virus" concerning Jews and Judaism from classical Christianity; many Asian Christians have yet purged them.

It was my awakening moment. I see sincere Asian Christians doing excellent works for the church but unintentionally they repeat the same mistakes of the pre-Holocaust European Christianity. With the perspective of Jewish-Christian relations and the aftermath of the Holocaust, I was awakened to see how Asian churches have minimized an important theological lesson because of the myth that says the Holocaust was exclusively a European problem. Once psychologically convinced, there is no need to care much about it. As a Christian teacher, I need to raise this concern for the wellbeing of the church, the Jewish people, and the future of humanity. The Holocaust has theological roots and they need to be addressed by ALL Christians.

Asian Christians may ask: Shouldn't we pay attention to more urgent issues facing Asian Christians and churches such as discrimination, outreach and mission, homophobia and many others? My response is: I totally agree with all my heart that these are urgent issues. Yet, I insist, how the church understand its own formation is critical to the church's responses to the issues of our times. Without keen understandings of the complexity of Christian origin and the abilities to critique ourselves, Asian Christians will distort not only our self-identity but eventually our mission to God's creation. It is precisely the need to act with justice in our times that post-Holocaust theological reflection matters. Asian churches tend to be preoccupied with Asian cultures and contexts as if these are the only legitimate contexts to be considered for ministry. While attentive to Asian cultures and experiences are valid concerns, it cannot be done at the expense of Judaism. How Asian Christians and many others will relate to the religiously others and how they will live their lives in the 21st century is in part a signal of their willingness to confront the legacy of anti-Judaism that has been so deeply rooted in the Christian heritage.

Why should Asian Christians pay attention to the Holocaust theological studies?

2009-08-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

There is a myth that says Asian Christians need not pay attention to the Holocaust. Sometimes, it means there is no need to revisit centuries of Christian theology concerning Jews and Judaism. Many Asian Christians think that theologically and socially, antisemitism is a European issue. Asian Christians should be focusing on their own experience of discrimination and exclusion. Too much concern about a European social problem is a waste of their time.

I wonder how many Asian Christians think this way? If we are not Christians, just Asian people without professing faith in Jesus, maybe we are right, the Holocaust had nothing to do with us. But the moment an Asian claims to be Christian, his or her hands are not clean. We become part of the religious family called Christianity where we inherit its past glories and sins. I wonder how many Asian Christians still accept the conventional Christian teachings that say Jews are legalistic, Judaism in Jesus' times had became a religion of law, and God punished them by scattering them around the world for not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Some Christians still hold onto the erroneous belief that says the Holocaust was a divine punishment.

The Holocaust was not an accident but a scaffolding of religious ideas which had deep Christians connections. Centuries of anti-Judaic Christian teachings and ecclesiastical legislation helped create a negative myth and defamatory social consciousness concerning Jews and Judaism. But most Asian Christians have no knowledge how the church mistreated Jews in history. Asian Christians genuinely try to be hospitable to all people, but the assumption concerning Jews remains.

The Holocaust theological studies will help Asian Christians to examine the tenets of Christianity. Scholars who have studied the Holocaust have pointed out Christianity is not responsible for the Holocaust. But they also pointed out Christianity had provided the theological seedbed for the Holocaust. Asian Christians came to know Christianity through the teaching of Western missionaries during the time of imperialism. During that time, anti-Judaism was the acceptable lenses to interpret scripture. Many Asian Christians accepted these missionaries' teachings that say Judaism is obsolete and legalistic. Many also accept without question the face-value concerning what the canonical gospels say about Jews, notably the Pharisees without probing the political context in which Jesus lived. This is a huge concern. With a strong tendency to respect traditions among Asian peoples, the church runs the risk of perpetuating the mistakes of the past.

Asians' contact with Jews and Judaism is very limited. Depending on where they live, their interaction with Jews as a people and contemporary Judaism as a living faith tradition is minimal. This challenge is even more dramatic for some who have never met a Jew and posses no knowledge of what contemporary Judaism is like. Yet, Christians cannot talk about Jesus and the gospel without making some type of reference to Jews and Judaism. How and what kind of reference Christians make matters. More than ever, we need Asian Christians actively purging the anti-Jewish mindset which is permeated in the classical understanding of Jesus, Jews and Judaism.

Christianity is a global religion, the challenge to purge anti-Judaism from Christianity is also global. The call to reject anti-Jewish Christian theology is extended to all Christians regardless of race and culture. Just because one is not a European does not exclude one from rethinking Christianity and re-appreciating Judaism.

When Asian churches constitute one of the fastest growing churches in the 21st century, we should be genuinely concerned what kind of Christianity, and consequently, what kind of Judaism Asian people have learned. The Christian Bible presents Jews and Judaism as enemies of the gospel and unfairly targeted Pharisees as blind leaders of Jewish people. Without understanding how the Christian church misconstrued their self-identity, it presents a challenge to all Asians who read the Bible. European Christians have learned a hard lesson, Asian Christians cannot afford to repeat this mistake.

Most Asians don't know much about Jews and Judaism. But they often hear Asian Christians talk about Jesus the Jew in the pulpit, in books, the Internet and airwaves. Christians in Asia and in many Asian communities around the world have the duty to speak out against anti-Judaism and correct the false assumptions about Jews and Judaism whenever they encounter them. If not, I afraid a new wave of anti-Judaism will be coming from Asia and other formerly colonized countries, especially those countries which have strong missionaries influence from the past.