George Martzen "georgos"

Two separate headlines in today's Straits Times caught my attention. In the World section, the article from Reuters, More baby boomers take their own lives in US , summarizes a report by two sociologists on a growing trend in suicide rates in America. The article specifically noted a trend among white baby-boomer men, who do not have college degrees. While figures were not given in this short article, it did emphasize that the increase is a break from the norm, where the middle-aged are usually at low risk for suicide due to family roles. Possible factors for these aging baby-boomers is that baby-boomers tend to be the least healthy aging population, and with rising unemployment in these slow economic times, an increasing number in this cohort are simply unable to cope with rising costs. There was another, comparable article in the Asia section, More elderly in China killing themselves , which reported that among urban people between 70 and 74 the suicide rate "surged abo...

Recently Singapore's Mentor Ministor Lee Kuan Yew was interviewed by the New York Times, and the interview was picked up by the Straits Times. At one point in the interview, LKY discussed how a government investment friend, who happened to be Roman Catholic, taught him how to meditate. The point which many of my protestant friends picked up is that the "mantra" or sacred word that he chose was Maranatha. I've already heard two sermons expressing the hope that Singapore's former prime minister might convert to Christianity soon. Maybe or maybe not. LKY, who grew up with ancestral veneration, is a self-professed agnostic. He dislikes superstitions, Buddhist or Christian. He objected to his own brother having his aged father baptized when it was questionable whether his father even understood what it meant. We can only pray. What interests me is the media coverage for an ancient and valuable Christian spiritual practice. Just yesterday, the friend mentioned...

While visiting family in Malaysia we went out to eat at a club frequented by Malays for buka puasa , the evening breaking of the fast during Ramadan. There was a general festive atmosphere as not only the Muslims but other groups found excuse to sample the generous buffet offerings – Penang laksa, nasi lemak,char kuay teow, and satay, as well as some western dishes. Muslims adults fast during daylight hours during Ramadan, not only from food, but also from drinking and sexual activity. It is supposed to be time to slow down, take stock and do charitable acts. Which may be why things were a little quieter in the daytime during this last visit. Ramadan commemorates the time when the prophet received the first verses of the Koran. This makes the decision of a small church in Florida even more incredible. The pastor had planned to burn the Koran on September 11, on the ninth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, to send a message to Muslim extremists. This...

Reading the news of the first verdict at the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh brought back memories of a recent visit to Cambodia. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was sentenced today for crimes committed 30 years ago during the Khmer Rouge. Two years, during a GBGM gathering, we had toured the Tuol Sleng Museum. There we saw how innocent people, caught in the witch hunt of the Khmer Rouge, were herded into the old school grounds, boxed up in tiny brick cells and tortured on bed frames. Duch ran the notorious S21 prison, overseeing the death of up to 17,000 women, men and children, accused of being "enemies" of the state. That was only a fraction of Cambodians slaughtered during the period from 1975 to 1979, when over 1 million were executed or died of starvation and mistreatment. Cambodia has captured my interest for a number of years. In 1980, as an undergraduate at Fresno Pacific College, I had a Cambodian room mate. I think his name was Tom. He wa...

Book Review: Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality: Its Nature, Sources and Future . Lorna Lock-Nah Khoo. Adelaide: ATF Press, 2005. The Rev Dr Lorna Khoo, in her book, Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality , calls attention to an often overlooked characteristic of Methodist heritage. The revivals of 18th century England that gave rise to Methodism were both eucharistic and evangelical in nature (p1). While the earlier Reformers vainly sought to encourage frequent communion (p53), the Methodists flocked to the table. John Wesley, a tireless chronicler of the revival, noted that Methodists sometimes numbered over one thousand at the parish churches (p.1). Khoo observes how the Anglican clergy were “overwhelmed” by the flood of Methodists seeking communion. In a letter to his bishop, the vicar of Devlin quotes some Methodists who walked ten miles in order to have communion, and that they wished it could be more often (p1) This is a book about a particular form of spirituality. So it i...

What defines a generation? My son and I were conversing today, as we often do, about "pop music." The question was whether or not older pop singers need to update their repertoire to attract younger listeners. It was a good, rollicking conversation. Most people enjoy music of one sort or another. And we love the fact that people love music. Watch American Idol or Singapore Idol to hear all the people who enjoy singing in the shower. Now, according to the great jazz musician, Duke Ellington, if music "sounds good it is good." All music is popular to someone, even church hymns. So there should be no argument about styles of music. One could certainly argue about the appropriateness of any one style of music for particular social settings. Normally you would not sing a funeral song at a wedding, nor a party song at a funeral service. I myself enjoy listening to a range of music, from what might be defined broadly as "classical music" to folk, blues, ...

Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church (The Methodist Church in Singapore) Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 John 18:1-19:42 Meditation on the cross: The violence of human nature and the grace of God Today the Straits Times headlines say that Singapore will seek an indictment against Romanian diplomat for a hit-and-run death. Today’s reading from gospel of John is also an indictment against the human race. Betrayals, tortures, murders, assassinations – these are all part of our world. From a strictly human point of view, the events that we commemorate today only exemplify the long history of murder and genocide that characterized the human race in every age, from the killing of the Hebrew babies of Goshen to slaughters of the 20th century. In Red Scarf Girl: Memories of the Cultural Revolution by Jiang Ji-Li, we are told of how, during China's Cultural Revolution, family members, especially children were used by the party to spy on the family, and turn them over if they should say against the...