Samuel Munson (born 1804) and his fellow companion Henry Lyman (born 1809) were early American missionaries to Sumatra. In their first year, they were killed by Batak tribesmen in 1834. I have been asked more than once if I am related to Samuel Munson since I am a missionary in Southeast Asia and have the …
Continue reading Quote on Death of Samuel Munson— no relation
A friend of mine shared on Facebook a post expressing concern that many foreign missionaries are not actively involved in local churches-- that is, local churches in the area where they serve. He expressed it in terms of missionaries actively planting local churches should feel driven to "plant themselves" in local churches. In general I …
Continue reading How Involved Should Missionaries Be with Local Churches?
Many expect have seen the news that former US president, Donald Trump, is selling a Bible called the "God Bless America " Bible. Apparently, it costs US$59.99. This seems for a KJV (public domain) Bible. However, I suppose that is not a key thing. <I have to be cautious on this. I am "anti-partisan" in …
.... lA] scripture can function directly by itself operating as the instrument of transformation. It is “as if divinity indwelt the words and caused them, through articulation of them, to bring about altered states of being.” Here, scripture becomes “incantatory or sacramental.” Typically, this is how the shrŭti canon of Hinduism works, as also the …
I was raised up in a faith tradition in which the question of the theological purpose of Jesus's death is pretty simple--- PSA. PSA stands for Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus died as a willing perfect sacrifice taking on our deserved punishment before God and giving us access to eternal life. I am still part of …
I was listening to a podcast. It is a series called "God After Deconstruction" hosted by Thomas Jay Oord and Tripp Fuller. The two hosts have gone through somewhat of a "deconstruction" of their faith and understanding of God over the years. Oord was raised up and active in the Church of the Nazarene, while …
Reading my posts it should be pretty obvious that I am not a Systematic Theologian. In some sense, I am not much of a theologian at all. But I still try to see how to build a bridge between God's (relatively) unchanging revelation and Man's changing context. As such, theology is really supposed to be …
Yesterday was Palm Sunday, so we are now in the Middle of Holy Week. Soon it will be Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and then Easter (or Resurrection) Sunday. Easter is the other holiday (along with Christmas) that exists as two holidays in one--- a Religious Holiday for Christians, and a Secular Holiday for …
I was at church Sunday. The preacher was doing an explicitly evangelistic sermon. Overall, I thought the message and delivery was solid. However, in the middle of it, he shared an argument that I have heard many times, but never really struck me as particularly compelling. Perhaps it is just me. I will completely paraphrase …
Continue reading Does the “Infinite Offense” Argument Make Sense?
The book “Character Theology: Engaging God through His Cast of Characters” by Tom Steffen and Ray Neu, published 2024, is a book that I highly recommend to missionaries, church leaders, and theologians alike, despite the frank admission that the book is not really written for me. I think I need to explain this. If it …