Straight From Pastor Ey

All heat but no light. Or, as the apostle Paul put it, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” (Romans 10:2, ESV) That, I think, is a fitting description of Pastor Terry Jones’ infamous threat to publicly burn about 200 copies of Qur’an to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and to protest the plan to build a mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero. It was a relief that Pastor Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida backed down from doing so. He could have foolishly risked not only his own life and that of his church members but also the lives of Christians all over the world. In Afghanistan for example, other than burning a U.S. flag, protesters chanted, “Death to the Christians!” Thus, in an interview with Christianity Today magazine, Warren Larson, director of the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies at Columbia International University, expresse...

Last Monday (September 6), I was leading a Bible study for the employees of The Generics Pharmacy. At the start of the study, I got text messages from two of our deacons, forwarding an urgent prayer request about Dr. Luis Pantoja, senior pastor of Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF). He fell unconscious in a pastoral conference abroad and efforts were being made to revive him. I led our Bible study group to pray for him. I was about to finish my talk when my mobile vibrated. I don’t usually answer it whenever I was teaching. But I just felt I had to take the call. It was my wife tearfully telling me the sad news that Pastor Luis went home to be with the Lord already. A hush fell upon the group. The call came at a time when I was emphasizing to them about the importance of finishing well. It was not a coincidence. It was a “God-incidence.” After praying for the Pantoja family, I read to the group 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the ...

Image source: The Telegraph Konami Digital Entertainment did not even imagine that it has struck gold with “Love Plus,” a dating simulation game that allows young men to “chase virtual girls in the alternative universe of their digital dreams.” ( Source: Inquirer Global Nation ) But, it is actually a gold rush. With the latest augmented reality technology plus voice recognition software, “Love Plus” gamers would actually forget they are “dating” a make-believe or virtual person. According to Konami, it appeared so real to the gamers that, in fact, “the [virtual] girl can get moody when neglected by a player who is not sufficiently committed, and that she demands attention when she feels unwell.” (Ibid)  Video of Japanese man marrying his virtual girlfriend. Since its release, it has become Japan’s hottest dating game. “The hit videogame made headlines when a 27-year-old Japanese man known only as ‘Sal 9000’ staged a tuxedo wedding late last year, which was watche...