Chinese Customs and Catching up with Christendom

Among the Angku people, who live in Laos, Myanmar and China, "Most Angku women are fond of chewing betel nut which blackens their teeth and gums. Stained teeth are considered a mark of beauty among Angku women. Since the betel juice only stains temporarily, some women use black dye to artificially stain their teeth." Among the Ami, who live in Taiwan and the Fujian Province of China, "Some Ami believe men should only eat male fish and women should only eat female fish. They believe a woman who eats a male fish might fall sick and die." I read these bits of information shortly after reading Mr Zealey's talk on China. I also read a BBC article on interesting names in the Philippines (highlights are a politician named Joker and a family whose children are called Candy, Caramel, Cookie, Peanut and Popcorn) - you can also listen to the progamme in various audio formats.

There have been a number of significant/interesting developments in the Christian world of late, some more positive than others. Here is a selection:

John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in the USA and prolific Christian author (and something of a hero to many in Cambridge), has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. In his letter to his church he both asks his people to pray for his healing and sees this as a "light and momentary trial" out of which God can bring glory to himself. This is a theologically thorny area, but Piper is seeking to combine his deep conviction of the sovereignty of God in all things and his belief in God's supernatural intervention.
Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a friend of Piper's, comments on how remarkable his sermon of New Year's Day was, given that Piper (though not yet his congregation) knew his medical condition, speaking about how our prayers participate in the victory of Christ won on the cross . On January 8th, following the diagnosis being made public, he related his condition to 1 Corinthians 15, which teaches that because our future destiny of being raised physically from the dead with new resurrection bodies is guaranteed by Christ's past victory over death, we are free in the present to "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain". There are some amazing passages in both sermons:

The third danger would be indulgence in self-pity. How pleasant it would be for the sinful ego to exploit this moment to try to awaken sympathy or admiration. You may recall from Desiring God that self-pity and boasting are both forms of pride. Self-pity is pride posing in the demeanor of weakness. And boasting is pride posing in the demeanor of strength. Both are pride and both are sinful.

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On December 21 when the urologist said, “Your prostate feels irregular, we need to do a biopsy,” and left me in the room alone to get ready, a stab of fear went through my heart. I had no Bible with me, but I had my memory. I prayed and called to mind the promises of God. And Christ came by his word with the sweetest peace, and I almost fell asleep on the table before the doctor came back.
And that’s the way we have walked together since then. Word, prayer, peace. He has come to me in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” Among the thousands of good things God is doing through this cancer, I know one of them beyond the shadow of a doubt: it is to make me rely less upon myself and more upon God. That is crystal clear. I thank God for this mercy.


My aim is not to burden you. My aim is for you to feel the liberating, energizing power of seeing your all-consuming problems in connection to God’s global victory. God cares about your marriage, your kids, your singleness, your health. But these only have their greatest meaning in relation to the victory of God. I promise you it is not oppressive to see the littleness of your life in connection to the largeness of God’s victory. Every just war that has ever been fought for a great ideal has given meaning to the loneliness, and the amputations, and the widowed moms.
The connection that I want you to see today between your life and the victory of God is the connection of prayer. Your prayers are God’s way of accomplishing the victory of Jesus Christ over this world. I know that for many of you this is way beyond what you usually pray about. I think God wants to change that. I hope that praying for the victory of God in this world will become part of your life. Don’t object by saying, “I’m too small. I’m unsophisticated. I’m not educated. I’m just an ordinary, simple person.” God chose a simple, peasant virgin to bear his Son. And he chooses simple people of faith to bring his victory by prayer. O don’t rule yourself out of this great calling.

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The great battle today is fought not with swords but with the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. It is fought for the souls of men. It is fought in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is fought with words of truth and deeds of love and justice. And all of that backed by prayer. The victory will come and will come by prayer.
Therefore, in this new year, pray for the victory of God. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Send forth laborers, O God. Open a door for the gospel. Give boldness to your people. Save the peoples, O Lord. Vindicate your elect who cry to you day and night. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Bob Horn, former secretary of UCCF and influential British evangelical leader, has died. Bob Horn spent a lot of his earlier ministry in Cambridge and is co-author of the book From Cambridge to the World. He also served in east and central Europe. The UCCF press release says, "Bob Horn will be remembered not only for his significant contributions to the Church, but also for his very gracious manner and warm smile. We thank God for a man who led with humility. " There are some reflections on Steve Palfryman's blog.

I did a quiz on Are you a heretic?, which aims to diagnose various historic heresies. I came out as 92% Chalcedon compliant (that means I came out OK). I have to admit that I answered some of the questions based on knowing what the right answer was without really knowing why.

In my world, I handed in a PhD proposal today and am due to hand in a coursework essay tomorrow. I have just been to a Harry's team meal. It was good to have some new team people. Good night.