Contesting Malayness
It's been interesting to read such free-flowing comments on an all "Malaysian" free for all. While we are on the subject, how many of you have read the book entitled "Contesting Malayness"? Written by a Professor of National University of Singapore . Cost S$32 (about). It reflects the Anthropologists' views that there is no such race as the "Malays" to begin with.
If we follow the original migration of the Southern Chinese of 6,000 yrs ago, they moved into Taiwan, (now the Alisan), then into the Phillipines (now the Aeta) and moved into Borneo (4,500 yrs ago) (Dayak).
They also split into Sulawesi and progressed into Jawa, and Sumatera. The final migration was to the Malayan Peninsular 3,000 yrs ago. A sub-group from Borneo also moved to Champa in Cambodia at 4,500 yrs ago.
Interestingly, the Champa deviant group moved back to present day Kelantan. There are also traces of the Dong Song and HoaBinh migration from Vietnam and Cambodia. To confuse the issue, there was also the Southern Thai migration, from what we know as Pattani today. (See also "Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsular".)
Of course, we also have the Minangkabau(s) who come from the descendants of Alexander the Great and a West Indian Princess. (Sejarah Melayu page 1-3.)
So the million Dollar Question: Is there really a race called the "Malays"? All anthropologists DO NOT SEEM TO THINK SO.
Neither do the "Malays" who live on the West Coast of Johor. They'd rather be called Javanese. What about the west coast Kedah inhabitants who prefer to be known as "Achenese"? Or the Ibans who simply want to be known as IBANS. Try calling a Kelabit a "Malay" and see what response you get. You'll be so glad that their Head-Hunting days are over.
The definition of "Malay" is therefore simply a collection of peoples who speak a similar type language. With what is meant by a similar type language does not mean that the words are similar. Linguists call this the "Lego-type" language, where words are added on to the root word to make meaning and give tenses and such. Somehow, the Indonesians disagree with this classification. They refuse to be called Malay. Anyhow you may define it. Watch "Malays in Africa" - a Museum Negara produced DVD. Also, the "Champa Malays" by the same.
With this classification, they MUST also include the Phillipinos, the Papua New Guineans, the Australian Aboriginies, as well as the Polynesian Aboriginies. These are of the Australo Melanesians who migrated out of Africa 60,000 yrs ago.
Getting interesting? Read on.
"Malay" should also include the Taiwanese singer "Ah Mei" who is Alisan, as her tribe are the ancestors of the "Malays". And finally, you will need to define the Southern Chinese ( Funan Province) as Malay also, since they are from the same stock 6,000 yrs ago.
Try calling the Bugis a "Malay". Interestingly, the Bugis, who predominantly live on Sulawesi are not even Indonesians. Neither do they fall into the same group as the migrating Southern Chinese of 6,000 yrs ago, nor the Australo Melanesian group from Africa.
Ready for this?
The Bugis are the cross-breed between the Chinese and the Arabs. (FYI, a runaway Ming Dynasty official whom Cheng Ho was sent to hunt down.) Interestingly, the Bugis were career Pirates in the Johor-Riau Island areas. Now the nephew of Daeng Kemboja was appointed the First Sultan of Selangor. That makes the entire Selangor Sultanate part Arab, part Chinese!
Try talking to the Bugis Museum curator near Kukup in Johor. Kukup is located near the most south-western tip of Johor. (Due south of Pontian Kechil.)
Let's not even get into the Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekiu, and Hang Lekir, who shared the same family last name as the other super famous "Hang" family member, Hang Li Poh. And who was she? The princess of a Ming Dynasty Emperor who was sent to marry the Sultan of Malacca. Won't that make the entire Malacca Sultanate downline "Baba"?
Since the older son of the collapsed Malaccan Sultanate got killed in Johor, (the current Sultanate is the downline of the then, Bendahara) the only other son became the Sultan of Perak. Do we see any Chinese-ness in Raja Azlan? Is he the descendant of Hang Li Poh?
Next question. If the Babas are part Malay, why have they been marginalized by NOT BEING BUMIPUTERA? Which part of "Malay" are they not? Whatever the answer, why then are the Portuguese of Malacca NOT BUMIPUTERA? Did they not come 100 yrs AFTER the arrival of the first Babas? Parameswara founded Malacca in 1411. The Portugese came in 1511, and the Dutch in the 1600's. Strangely, the Babas were in fact once classified Bumiputera, but discovered that they were strangely "declassified" in the 1960s. WHY?
The Sultan of Kelantan had similar roots to the Pattani Kingdom making him of Thai origin. And what is this "coffee table book" by the Sultan of Perlis claiming to be the direct descendant of the prophet Muhammed? Somehow we see Prof Khoo Khay Khim's signature name on the book. I'll pay good money to own a copy of it myself. Anyone has a spare?
So, how many of you have met with orang Asli(s)? The more northern you go, the more African they look. Why are they called Negrito(s)? It is a Spanish word, from which directly translates "mini Negros". The more southern you go, the more "Indonesian" they look. And the ones who live at Cameron Highlands kinda look 50-50. You can see the Batek at Taman Negara, who really looks like Eddie Murphy to a certain degree. Or the Negritos who live at the Thai border near Temenggor Lake (north Perak). The Mah Meri
in Carrie Island looks almost like the Jakuns in Endau Rompin. Half African, half Indonesian.
By definition, (this is super eye-opening) there was a Hindu Malay Empire in Kedah. Yes, I said it right. The Malays were Hindu. It was, by the old name Langkasuka. Today known as Lembah Bujang. This Hindu Malay Empire was 2,000 yrs old, pre-dating Borrobudor AND Angkor Watt, who came about around 500-600 yrs later. Lembah Bujang was THE mighty trading empire, and its biggest influence was by the Indians who were here to help start it. By definition, this should make the Indians BUMIPUTERAS too since they were here 2,000 yrs ago! Why are they marginalized?
So, in a nutshell, the "Malays" (anthropologists will disagree with this "race" definition) are TRULY ASIA!!! (Main continent and West Asia included)
Here are some comments from Michael in answer to some Malays who have attacked him for penning this commentary.
Greetings. This is Michael Chick. Unlike others who hide behind "anonymous synonyms" I came clear with my real name. The post which I put up was not a figment of my imagination but the end result of 3 years extensive research. As such, the facts presented are clear-cut, straightforward and unassuming. Perhaps you would all like to chat with any anthropologist at UM before sending-off any flaming sparks in my direction again. These Professors should be as Malaysian as any of you.
The subject matter is fact-based. To Bayi, "Contesting Malayness" is available at Kinokuniya at Takashimaya 4th floor, Orchard road. At a cost of S$32. It is also available at National University of Singapore. Why? 'Coz it's their textbook. Let me repeat -"Contesting Malayness" is an NUS textbook, published by NUS Press, written by Professor Tony Milner.
To Achmad Sudarsono, calling the Malays a "race" is akin to calling the Hokkiens or the Javanese a "race". Please do not confuse the term "orang" with "Bangsa". What do I mean? The term 'orang' is used by Malays to describe Orang Bugis, Orang Acheh, Orang Laut, Orang India, Orang Melayu. And here is where the confusion was. Orang Melayu merely refers to the residents of Kampung Melayu near Jambi, near Palembang . Please use Google Earth to find its exact location.
Unless you can say that all "Orang Melayu" are descendants of that village, you simply cannot be called Orang Melayu. In fact the name "Malay" has been traced to Lembah Bujang, where the Indian traders used to call the locals "Malai" (in Tamil) to describe the locals. The locals were animistic pagans at that time, and readily adopted Hindu practices and Indian customs. "Raja" and "Sultan" are Indian titles. The adat bersanding with the pelamin are of Indian origin. Even the "gifts-bearing" walk by the groom has its Indian roots. Please attend an Indian Wedding before flaming me again. Or have a chat with Prof Nik Hassan who is in charge of the Lembah Bujang archaeological excavations.
Malaya, was therefore a derivative from Himalaya. "Sejarah Melayu" therefore was describing the Kampong Melayu origins. But here is where, from pages 1-3, it will tell you that Kampong Melayu are descendants of Iskandar Zulkarnain (Alexander the Great) through the bloodline of a West Indian Princess. This came from Sejarah Melayu. This book is cheap. You can buy it at the University Malaya Bookstore for a mere RM35. It is published by MBRAS (Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society). Its patron member is Tun Hanif (ex-IGP).
Please speak with Datuk Prof Zuraina Majid, who excavated "Perak Man". She will tell you that Perak Man is a descendant of the Australo-Melanesian stock. African National Museum of the Phillipines will verify that they came from Taiwan . And National University of Indonesia will confirm that they came from the Phillipines.
Nik Aziz (PAS leader from Kelantan) will tell you that his grandfather came from Champa. To all Kelantanese, please explain the newly changed name of a Kampong near Bachok (close to the Pengkalan Chepa airport) to "Kampung Champa" to our friends here.
Please also visit Museum Negara to see the exhibits on the "Dong Song" brass drums and Gua Cha in Kelantan near Gua Musang to see the Hoabinhian Caves. Dong Song and Hoabinh are in Indochina. And therefore, the locals are descendants from that region. The entire Northern States also have their roots from the Pattani Kingdom; which today we call Tahiland. In fact, please visit the Kelantan WWII museum to see the article on how Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu was part of Thailand from 1943-1945. Then walk over to the Kelantan State Museum to see the exhibit on Gua Cha to read their explanations of the Hoabinhian Cultures of Early Kelantan settlers.
Malaysian Archaeologists call the early settlers Proto Malay. And the current settlers Deutero Malay. The scientific term is actually, Australo Melanesian (African) and Austranesian (Chinese, or Mongoloid). This is a DNA and bone structure classification. Even the term Negrito transalates from Spanish to mean "mini Negro".
I hope that I've made myself comprehensible enough. Feel free to ask any further questions to help clear the air. The "Malays" are NOT a race. I'm so sorry that you are only hearing this now. The rest of the Academic World has known it for years.
By: Michael Chick on May 30th, 2007 At 2:44 am
To address Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Lekir, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Li Poh. They were all related by the family name of "Hang".
Please visit their graves in Malacca. Their graves are clear-cut Hindu. This was during the "Great Malacca Empire" when Parameswara was supposed to have converted to Islam. Why are the graves of the "Legendary Defenders of the States" Hindu? They do not have the spiral headstones or the Batu Acheh type headstones - instead, they are solid concrete blocks with triangular holes for incense and oil-lamp burning.
Hang Tuah's grave (Kampong Keling) is another "conspiracy". Please read the inscriptions on the side: "they found a large stone marking a grave, and therefore it must be Hang Tuah...". This grave was merely designed to be a tourist destination. Note that there are no names engraved anywhere. Just a big non-descript stone marking that a human body lies underneath it. Lastly, why is a Muslim buried in Kampong Keling - 'Keling' meaning Indian?
The subsequent question is why is Hang Tuah removed from current school history textbooks?
One of two suggestions comes to mind. He was pure fiction (please read Hikayat Hang Tuah before flaming me again), or as the Bugis Museum Curator in Johor will insist, that Hang Tuah was Chinese. So were the rest of his "blood brothers". They were all Chinese; and related to Hang Li Poh.
Let me pose a simple question to you: Why is it, that when you visit Malacca to see the great historical Malaysian City/State, you see the Portugese "A Famosa" gateway, or the Red Dutch buildings like Christchurch, or even St. Paul's Church on St. Paul 's Hill? Where is the evidence of "The Great Malaccan Empire"?
Let me help you with that answer. Published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in a publication called "Melayu Journal" in 2005 - "...we had to look for an icon by which the Malays would be proud of..." Since Majapahit, Acheh, Lembah Bujang (Langkasuka) were either Hindu, on Indonesian soil, or both, Malacca was the only location left. The great Parameswara is, by the way buried on Fort Canning Hill downtown Singapore, for those of you who want to visit it. They call it the "Keramat" and it's immediately behind the National Musuem of Singapore.
Please enlighten me by showing me ONE single piece of evidence of "The Great Malaccan Empire". Even Dewan Bahasa couldn't. Perhaps any one of you could. Evidence, and not mere gut-feeling please.
Also, please consult Prof Khoo Khay Khim before flaming me again; Thank you.
Maxyn Forest
Sunday, March 2, 2008
churches should always be looking at how they welcome new people!
‘Mystery worshipper’ scheme could go nationwide
by Jennifer Gold
Posted: Saturday, March 1, 2008, 11:07 (GMT)
Following the highly successful ‘mystery worshipper’ trial in December and January, the researchers behind the pilot project are now looking into the possibility of rolling out the programme nationwide.
The mystery worshipper programme is based on the ‘mystery shopper’ scheme that has become an established tool in the business sector, helping retailers in particular identify their strengths and areas in need of development.
In the pilot project, 13 mystery worshippers, who are not regular churchgoers but paid mystery shoppers for research organisation Retail Maxim, were enlisted to evaluate churches across the Midlands, all of which were unaware of the visits. They looked at warmth of welcome, length of sermon and style of music, among other aspects of the church service.
The inspectors were generally impressed with what they found, with the churches involved averaging a rating of 85 per cent, and five churches scoring a full 100 per cent, reports The Baptist Times.
Evesham minister, the Rev Edward Pillar, told the newspaper that he was “chuffed to bits” with the findings of their mystery worshipper.
Now the researchers behind the pilot project, the Christian Research Organisation and Christian Resources Exhibition, are exploring the potential of a nationwide service which would allow churches to pay for a professional, non-church-going evaluator to join in worship services and return a quality report back to the church, reports Baptist Times.
Benita Hewitt, chief executive of CRO, told The Baptist Times that a national mystery worshipper programme could be in place as quickly as May.
“I come from the commercial sector, where the practice of using a mystery visitor to assess an organisation is normal,” she said.
“I wondered if it could be adapted to churches, to show areas where they are doing well, and to highlight how they can better meet people's needs.
“We found we were able to do that, and were pleasantly surprised by the findings.”
She said that CRO and CRE were in discussions about the expansion of the programme.
“We have a lot of research to do, to see how much churches would consider paying for this, but that is what we are looking at,” she said.
Stephen Goddard is public relations consultant at CRE and co-editor of Ship of Fools, which has already been running a voluntary mystery worshipper service for the last 10 years.
He believes that mystery worshippers could help churches make more tailored preparations for Back to Church Sunday, in which churches across the UK send out thousands of invitations to lapsed Christians inviting them back to church. This year’s Back to Church Sunday takes place on 28 September.
Mr Goddard said, “These are professionally trained researchers from a non-church background looking for things like eye contact, help with directions and other measurable things, while Ship of Fools is much more impressionistic.
“The advantage is that it's using someone who doesn't normally come to church. That person is the eyes and ears of an outsider, and it's sometimes easy to forget the outsider.
“There are possibilities, and at this stage I must stress they are notional, of whole denominations or dioceses paying for a pilot project, and of using it to help churches prepare for Back to Church Sunday.”
Mrs Hewitt said, “We thought the results were astonishing. The researchers had not been to church for several years, and were surprised and excited by what they found.
“I think in many churches, the love of God really shone through. There was a genuinely warm welcome to the stranger.
“I think the trial shows that churches can have more confidence in what they do.”
The Rev Ian Bunce, head of the Baptist Union of Great Britain's Mission Department, expressed his support for the mystery worshipper programme and its possible extension, saying that churches should constantly review how they welcome strangers.
“I think churches should always be looking at how they welcome new people,' he told the newspaper.
“For people who don't go to church, they don't know what's behind that solid door. 'It's as culturally alien as it would be for a Baptist to go into a betting shop. You would get through the door and then would not know what to do.”
He pointed to the use of non-churched people as a particular strength of the mystery worshipper scheme. “And it's very encouraging that they found a great story,” he added.
Evesham’s Rev Pillar added: “The first I knew about the mystery worshipper visit to Evesham was very much after the event.”
“If people in Evesham are to make a spiritual journey with us then surely we can at the very least try to make their first, often uncertain steps, as painless as possible and hopefully as kindness-filled as possible.
“Love and kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness go a long way as we welcome people to make their journey with us.”
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Anglican chief sparks debate on sharia law in UK
Archbishop of Canterbury calls for adoption of parts of Islamic law in Britain
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams called for "constructive accommodation" over such issues as resolving marriage disputes.
He told BBC radio that people should approach Islamic law with an open mind, while stressing there was no place for "extreme punishments" and discrimination against women in
Williams conceded that some people may be surprised by his comments, but underlined the importance of making all communities in
The issue of Muslim integration has been particularly sensitive in
Williams said: "There is a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law as we already do with aspects of other kinds of religious law."
It would be "quite wrong" to sanction a system which gave people no right of appeal, he continued, "but there are ways of looking at marital disputes, for example, which provide an alternative to the divorce courts as we understand them."
He added: "It seems unavoidable and, as a matter of fact, certain conditions of sharia are already recognised in our society".
But Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said British law must be based on British values.
"Our general position is that sharia law cannot be used as a justification for committing breaches of English law, nor should the principles of sharia law be included in a civil court for resolving contractual disputes," he said.
He noted that
"In general terms, if there are specific instances that can be looked at on a case-by-case basis, that is something we can look at," he said.
But he added: "The prime minister believes British law should apply in this country, based on British values."
Williams called on people to look at sharia "with a clear eye and not imagine, either, that we know exactly what we mean by sharia and just associate it with ... Saudi Arabia or whatever.
"Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that has sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states: the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women."
Williams, whose comments come ahead of a lecture he was due to give Thursday night entitled "Islam In English Law", has consistently called for Christian and Muslim leaders to work together.
Background of Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is a former academic who became head of the Anglican Church in 2002.
Williams was born in the Welsh city of
He was ordained in 1977 and was a chaplain in
Two years later, he replaced George Carey to become the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, head of a church which claims to have 80 million followers around the world.
Williams is highly respected as a theological writer, drawing on his adacemic background and supported by his wife Jane, a lecturer on theology with whom he has two children.
Williams speaks seven languages including Welsh
Resentment is like taking poison
What Makes Forgiveness So Hard?
- By Lynette Hoy
- Published 10/23/2007
- Forgiveness
- Unrated
Forgiveness versus Resentment
Why Forgiveness is so Hard? And how we can change? Human behavior that suggests that people are “hard-wired" to experience ruptured relational bonds, psychological distance, physiological arousal, and the desire to retaliate when they have been hurt by another person. Our pride or self-esteem is injured. Our expectations or dreams are disappointed. We lose something very valuable to us. We want recompense for the damages.
What are the other resistances which block our motivation to forgive?
1. Automatic thoughts or beliefs: What automatic thoughts or beliefs do we have that would impede us from forgiving others? We tell ourselves, "I won't forgive because he/she never accepts responsibility for what he/she does" or "I would be a hypocrite if I forgave because I do not feel like forgiving" or "Forgiving is only for weak people".
2. Explanations for behavior: When someone hurts us or lets us down....how do we generally explain his/her behavior? We Tend to assign internal causes for behavior to others: personality or character traits:
“He’s just so forgetful or careless” “She doesn’t appreciate me” “She did that purposefully” We judge them harshly.
When we do something wrong or hurtful/disappointing...how do we generally explain our behavior? We tend to excuse our own behavior by attributing external causes: “My child made a mess” “There was a car accident on the highway.” We tend to let ourselves off the hook and give ourselves permission to fail.
This is called the Fundamental Attribution Error...when we assign total
responsibility/blame to others/spouses for their behavior while explaining away our own negative actions in terms of situational factors.
Understanding and accepting the error in the Fundamental Attribution Error does not relieve offending people of moral responsibility. The goal is to promote empathy and forgiveness and look more realistically at the hurtful events from their point of view...”thinking the best” as 1 Cor. 13:7 reads: "Love always hopes, always trusts..." and using the Causal Agnosticism exercise: “one can never know the precise causes of a
person's/spouse’s hurtful behavior...
3. Lack of empathy (empathy is the psychological highway to forgive others) for others....
We need to develop empathy for others by beginning to change Fundamental Attribution Error way of thinking we have about people’s actions to a more empathic view and use the Causal agnosticism exercise which says, "One can never know the precise causes of another person's behavior".
When have you been able to have empathy for someone who has hurt you? Ask yourself “do I want things bitter or better?” Recall when you have needed forgiveness....
Don't let resentment imprison you for life. Resentment is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die. It will destroy you and your other relationships. Lewis Smedes wrote: "To forgive is to set the prisoner free...and to discover that the prisoner was you."
Let go of the pain. Give it to God. For God alone understands more than anyone the pain and humiliation you feel. Jesus felt more pain, rejection and humiliation than any person. He came unto His own and His own did not receive Him. Not only did the created not receive the Creator, they tortured him and put him to death... on a cross.
Phil 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the
And then Jesus said as He hung on the cross dying for our sins, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".
May God give you the grace to forgive. To not only set the other person free but to set yourself free from the past and to become more like Christ.
© copyright 2007 by Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC
Be released from the grip of bitterness!
Forgiveness is a Choice
- By Lynette Hoy
- Published 10/23/2007
- Forgiveness
- Unrated
Choosing to Forgive
Forgiveness is not easy. It can be painful. Actually, from God's perspective, forgiveness had a great price..the death of His one and only Son. But our forgiveness towards another human being doesn't cost us our lives. It may cost us our pride, giving up retribution towards them and the loss of personal belongings. Certainly, you can forgive someone for past offenses but still hold him or her accountable for present responsibilities.
Here are some guidelines and scriptures which will help you as you consider forgiving someone and letting go of the past hurts.
- Deal constructively with the root cause of anger towards the person... Proverbs 29:11
a. Ask: What am I angry about? What is my responsibility? What is his or her responsibility?
b. Forego Retribution: "Do not repay evil for evil . . ." (Romans 12:17-18) "... overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:19-21)
c. Pour out your anger to God & leave it there. (Psalm 10:1-18) - Plan a constructive confrontation (Matthew 18:15)
a. Apologize, if appropriate (Matthew 7:1-5)
b. Use a soft, loving approach. Think about how much God loves you & has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32; Psalm 103: 11-12).
c. Be honest, yet tactful (Ephesians 4:15,25)
d. Indicate the behavior change needed - Choose to forgive
a. Release him or her from guilt & bondage (Ephesians 4:32-5:2)
b. Let go of your demands on this person - Return good to him or her (Matthew 5:43-46)
- Depend on the power of Christ to change your attitude towards the person. (Philippians 4:13)
Forgiveness is worth it! When all is said and done.....you have to give up the power, the pride, the hurt because you need to be released from the grip of bitterness. And the other person needs your unconditional love. "Love cover a multitude of sins" 1
Then you will discover that "forgiveness is a choice you make based on the forgiveness you have already received in Christ."
Order and read the following:
1. The Healing Power of Forgiveness by Dr. Ray Pritchard
2. What's Good About Anger? anger management books and certificate courses These books and programs teach how to turn your anger into faith, assertiveness, problem-solving, conflict management and forgiveness!
3. To Forgive is Human : How to Put Your Past in the Past by Michael E. McCullough, Everett L. Worthington (Contributor), Steven Sandage (Contributor)
4. The Freedom & Power of Forgiveness by John MacArthur
© copyright 2007 by Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC
Forgiveness cancels a debt someone owes us and restores relationship.
The Power of Forgiveness as published in The Godly Business Woman magazine's Jan/Feb 2002 issue. © copyright 2002 by Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC
It's chall
One outstanding example of forgiveness occurred when Corrie Ten Boom met a former Nazi Officer who had abused her and her sister during imprisonment, assisting in the death of other prisoners. He told her he had become a Christian and proceeded to ask Corrie to forgive him. As he reached out his hand towards her,
Corrie resisted. Then, in obedience to God, as she extended her hand towards him she felt the surge of the Holy Spirit pour through her in a supernatural act of forgiveness.
Chuck Colson tells the story about a Mrs. Washington who, during a graduation ceremony for inmates completing a Prison Fellowship program, swept to the stage to wrap her arms around a graduating inmate, declaring "this young man is my adopted son." Everyone had tears in their eyes for they knew that this young man was behind bars for the murder of Mrs.
Accounts like this are amazing! How could people like Corrie and Mrs.Washington endure such great injustices and then turn around to forgive the villains? Yet all they did was purely obey the command: "forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
Phillip Yancey wrote: "Forgiveness is another way of admitting, 'I'm human, I make mistakes, I want to be granted that privilege and so I grant you that privilege.' "
Forgiveness cancels a debt someone owes us and restores relationship. It is the only solution in a world ridden with sin and evil to help us start over with people and with God.
We learn about real forgiveness at the foot of the cross where Jesus Christ shed His blood to pay for the sins of the whole world. That is God's kind of forgiveness- - free, sacrificial, no cost on our part.
When we experience His forgiveness we want to obey Him like Corrie and Mrs.
So, how do we practically forgive someone who has hurt us? Here are some Steps to Forgivingness. Applying these steps to our lives can help deliver us from bitterness and work towards forgiveness:
1. We need to know and experience Christ's love and forgiveness deeply in our own lives. Col. 3:13
2. We can make the choice to forgive. When Corrie Ten Boom extended her hand to the former Nazi officer, she did it choosing to follow Christ versus her feelings. Paul writes in Eph 4:31-32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."NIV
3. Christ can help us overcome negative thoughts and beliefs which block forgiveness. We can ask Him to soften our hearts and change our minds towards that person, granting us the power to forgive him/her. Phil. 4:8, 13
4. We can recognize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. This helps us empathize with those who have injured us. Mrs.
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
5. The Holy Spirit can empower us, when we surrender to Him daily, with the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control towards those who have hurt us. Gal. 5:22-3
6. When it's still hard to forgive, we can place our trust in God Who will someday judge all the wrongs in the world. We can leave rev
7. When we are stuck in unforgiveness, we can ask to talk and pray with a confidante, a pastor or a counselor to help us deal with the resentment and hurt we feel towards the offender. This will provide a context for release of the painful feelings we are experiencing, provide support, and a better understanding of the person and situation.
When others hurt or abuse us, disrespect or humiliate us, we can forgive them as Corrie and Mrs.
Perhaps the most powerful outcome of forgiveness is that it changes and enables us to become more like Christ Who said as He hung dying on the cross... "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
God's love and grace is the power behind forgiveness, granting us supernatural power to forgive others, the power to overcome resentment, the power to redeem relationships and show God's love to a hurting world.
© copyright 2001 by Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC as published in The Godly Business Woman magazine's Jan/Feb 2002 issue.
Order the What's Good About Anger? anger management courses and certificates this book and program teaches you how to turn your anger into faith, assertiveness, problem-solving and forgiveness!
Lynette J. Hoy is a Marriage and Family Counselor in private practice in
Friday, February 29, 2008
Disillusioned with organized religion?
Americans are switching denominations
A panoramic snapshot of American religious life in 2008 reveals an extraordinary dynamism that is reshaping the country's major traditions in historic ways.
Almost half of Americans have moved to a different religious denomination from that in which they were raised, and 28 percent have switched to a different major tradition or to no religion (i.e., from Roman Catholic to Protestant, Jewish to unaffiliated).
The fluidity is combining with immigration to spur dramatic changes in the religious landscape. Protestantism appears on the verge of losing its majority status. The number of "unaffiliated" Americans has doubled, to 16 percent. One-third of Catholics are now Latino, and the religion is depending on immigration to maintain its share of the population.
These shifts are captured in a survey released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
"The extent of change in the American religious marketplace is remarkable," says Luis Lugo, the Pew Forum's director, in an interview. "Everyone is losing and has difficulty retaining childhood members, but everyone is also gaining."
The report is the first of three Pew will release this year from a path breaking survey of the
The movement between churches and denominations is not new, but the report documents its remarkable scope.
"Religious fluidity is part of a larger picture of fluidity in American life generally," says Wade Clark Roof, author of "Spiritual Marketplace" and professor at the
Observers point to many reasons for the shifts. People may change churches because they relocate to a part of the country where different denominations predominate, or they may prefer another style of worship. Whatever the reasons, the survey reveals some clear winners and losers.
Protestantism, which has shaped American identity for generations, may soon become a minority faith. In the 1980s, 65 percent of Americans called themselves Protestants; today that number is down to 51 percent. Only 43 percent of those aged 18-29 say they are Protestant.
Much has been written about the declines in mainline churches. But in comparing the current religious affiliation of adults with their childhood affiliations, the survey found a net loss of 3.7 percent for Baptists (Baptists account for one-third of all Protestants and nearly two-thirds of black Protestant churches.)
Perhaps the big surprise, though, relates to Roman Catholicism, which experienced the greatest net loss. While 31.4 percent of adults say they were raised Catholic, today only 23.9 percent identify as Catholic, a net loss of 7.5 percent.
"The Catholic numbers are eye-popping,"
Fortunately for the Catholic Church, however, its share of the religious pie has remained steady in recent decades, due partly to conversions but largely to immigration. Catholics account for 24 percent of the adult population, but immigration could well boost its future share.
"Within our society, Protestants basically outnumber Catholics 2 to 1,"
The big winner on the shifting religious scene is the group of "unaffiliated" Americans. Today 16.1 percent of adults fit that category. Among young people 18 to 29, one-quarter are unaffiliated.
It's common for young adults completing education or starting careers to become detached from their faith connection. Other people may become disillusioned with organized religion.
"Scandals and conflicts lead some to distance themselves, even though they still hold Christian beliefs," says Darren Sherkat, a sociologist at Southern Illinois University in
The survey found that 1.6 percent of adults call themselves atheists and 2.4 percent are agnostics (who consider God to be unknowable). The remaining 12 percent in "unaffiliated" split almost evenly between the secular and the religious, who may practice their faith on their own.
Although this category is growing the fastest, the survey shows that about half of the unaffiliated end up returning to a faith connection. Other research, however, indicates that many young people today are disaffected from Christianity, and religious leaders worry that they won't follow the usual return pattern.
Currently Christianity retains the allegiance of 78 percent of Americans. Nondenominational churches are growing and attracting about 5 percent of adults.
Other world faiths also now account for 5 percent of the population. Their net losses or gains in affiliation were relatively small: Jews dropped by 0.2 percent, Muslims gained by 0.1 percent, Buddhists gained by 0.3 percent and Hindus showed no change.
© 2007 Abilene Reporter-News
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