Lecture: The Premise and Philosophy of Worship

I originally meant for the ideas here to be part of a future post for my ongoing “Analysis of Christianity” series.  However, I was asked to give a lecture on worship for our church’s music ministry seminar, so I had to write my analysis on worship sooner than intended.  Below is the final draft for my lecture.  I did not deliver it in verbatim during the actual lecture, of course, because I had to deliver it in “Taglish” for...

Read More

The Purpose of the World's Pleasures

Let me clear this out right here in the very beginning, to avoid misunderstanding or confusion later on – of course, there are times when pleasures don’t glorify God.  Whenever we delight in and give priority to the world’s pleasures more than we do with God, then that is idolatry – a sin.   Also, there are such things as sinful pleasures – pleasures that are explicitly not permitted by God to be enjoyed by us (e.g. sex outside marriage).  But pleasure per se is not evil.  In fact, it is something that God has invented,...

Read More

Is "Defiance" the Next "Firefly"?: My Initial Thoughts About the Show

Four episodes into Syfy’s Defiance and I admit that I’m already hooked with the show.  It has become one of the four TV series I’m currently closely following each week (the rest being Castle, Psych, and Elementary).  The first impression one will have of the show is of being a Firefly rip-off because of the sci-fi western flavor and the “rugged frontier”-like setting.  It also borrowed several of the elements and tropes from other...

Read More

Some Random Thoughts Before the 2013 Elections

The election is less than a week away.  I’ve already done some evaluation on the candidates for Senate – through watching forums/debates and doing some research – to help me with my picks.  However, I won’t be analyzing the candidates here, nor list those I would vote for, as what I did last election (too many candidates).  But I have some random two cents’ worth of thoughts in regards to the election, which I would be sharing here.  Maybe you’ll find a thing or two that would be helpful when doing your own evaluations.   ENTERTAININGYou...

Read More

Top 10 Reasons this 2012-13 NBA Season Has Been My Worst Season as an LA Lakers Fan Ever

I am an LA Lakers fan.  No matter how humbling and disappointing this past season turn out to be for Lakerdom, I proudly hold my head high to be identified as such.  I have confidence that we’ll be back on top again someday.  It might take a few seasons.  But I have no doubt that it’s going to happen.  Nonetheless, to say that this season isn’t heartbreaking would be a lie.  It has been.  But I guess it’s just...

Read More