WHETTING YOUR THEOLOGICAL APPETITE

This is from my morning devotion One of the lessons that we learn in Bible Interpretation (Hermeneutics) while doing our Masters programme at the seminary is to look at the CONTEXT (both historical and socio-political & cultural context of the day).           Take for example, Matthew 11:2-6 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.          Here, we look at the socio-political context where John was coming from. Rome was in control of the land of Israel. Judea was ruled by an Edomite puppet Herod appointed by the Romans. The Herod during Jesus' times was more interested to ple

This is a word of caution to all pastors and preachers: make sure to keep a copy of your videos to protect against potential misuse that could cause controversy and trouble.           With today's advancements in artificial intelligence, it is easy to modify what is being said.           Watch these two videos. One has been altered using AI Deep Fake technology, and the other is the original. Can you guess which one features the genuine Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's Prime Minister?

Biblical Mandate          The mandate in the Bible is clear. It does not condone bribery.  ********* Exodus 23:8 “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just. **********          Proverbs 29:4 reminds us that God loves integrity in the way we conduct our business.  He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.       Obvious Trend          The obvious trend that we see now in Malaysia after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took over as the tenth prime minister is the anti-corruption initiative undertaken by the Madani government.          A month before his ascension on the throne, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim King of Malaysia also vowed that he would go after all the corrupt people.          If you visit the MACC Corruption Offenders Database , you will notice that the number of pages of offenders have nearly doubled in the past couple of years.          The MACC has also made it easy for anyone to lodg