Ought He not?

There is the view that because there is no justice in this world, there must be no merciful, righteous God. Because there is the far-reaching prevalence of suffering, of pain, of utter brokenness and fallenness of the world, if there was a kind, merciful God, then why does he not intervene?  Ought He not intervene?

It is hard to refute such arguments, because truth be told, we – even Christians - don’t know why God acts the way He does. We just cannot explain why He chooses to intervene at times, and why He chooses to be silent at others. But this came into my mind. People have an idea of justice, that if there was a God, He should have acted in such and such a manner. And the fact that He didn’t. Well, that must mean, He doesn’t exist.

But I would like to ask, where does a person’s idea of justice come from?

If we hold the view that a person’s idea of justice is subjective to an individual – then is it reliable then? Would it not just be a matter of opinion then? Does justice even exist? If that is the case, then is there even a need to strive for it, a need to bring peace, love, hope to this world?

So, the very fact that humans constantly strive to bring light and kindness into the world shows that there must be some kind of universal idea of justice. Something within ourselves that tell us that this isn’t how the world is intended to be. And if there is a universal idea of justice, a sort of moral standard that we are vaguely aware of within our consciousness – where did it come from? It is impossible that we, as humans - with our different cultures, lifestyles, personalities – have a universal idea of what is right or wrong.

Unless Someone places that moral standard in our consciences.

The world is messy, full of heartache and hurts and such terribly deep-seated cracks. And we don’t have any answers for it – at least not in this lifetime. The thing is, can we ever FULLY comprehend why?

The only One who has all the answers is God. And I have to humble myself to the fact that I can’t understand it all. It’s mortally impossible. What I shall do then, is not to enter this labyrinthine maze of searching for answers, but to look to Him who already holds all the answers.

And with this knowledge, by His grace, I’ll focus my energies instead to doing all I can to bring His light, glory, and love to the people here on earth.

“How great is God – beyond our understanding!
The number of his years is past finding out!” Job 36:26

The Simple Joys in Essay-Formatting.

Joy is finding the most magnificent shortcut to insert a hanging indent in one's essay on Microsoft Word.

Hit CTRL + T, my friends, and voila, all your Bibliography woes will vanish.


3 more essays to do, time to press on!

Problems with Malaysian Education - The Multiplicity of Languages

So, Dr Mahathir has recently uploaded an interesting blog post about the Malaysian education system, found here


I agree with Dr M that one of the sad effects of having different types of national schools, vernacular schools, and English schools is that the student community (and hence the Malaysian society) are being polarised - often racially so. In general, students are being segregated according to the language they are more familiar with, and as such, they only stick to their own little bubble of friends (and arguably, "class").


Coming from a Chinese-speaking primary school, and an English-speaking secondary school and college, I do see how it can affect racial harmony. Growing up with people who speak the same lingo as me (quite literally), it is difficult to climb out of the sociolinguistic bubble that we set up for ourselves.  I am proud to say that I do have friends of other cultures, ethnicities, and religions. But my state of comfort in my bubble has sometimes caused me to become lazy and ignorant to the innumerable other cultures and lifestyles that I have not actively tried to discover and understand. It's sad to think that I've never really engaged with people who may have a radically different mindset and lifestyle from mine.


And while I do learn Bahasa Malaysia at school, and converse with my Malay teachers, with the vendors, shopowners, and various other people in Malay, my Malay is often too formalised (from writing essays), a little stilted and unnatural, and often without slang.


I don't necessarily see Dr M's connection between rich-poor education and the language of communication of the school, So I'll just observe what he says for now, and make my judgment on that. Meanwhile, I'll keep silent.


Also, would just like to point out, the Malay language is our national language, our official language, and ONE OF the languages of the indigenous people. Let us not forget that the Aslian languages are the languages of the indigenous people as well.


Reading Dr M's post, I am reminded of the debilitating effects of having so many different types of school in a nation - especially when they are segregated based on languages. How hard it would be for us to communicate if the languages that we speak in are all different! Nonetheless, things being what they are, we can't try to turn back time and simplistically eradicate all vernacular schools and English-speaking schools. Obviously though, all parties would have to sacrifice a little bit here and there, to reach some sort of compromise.


While the message of the post is thought-provoking, I also have to wonder, are these simply the fault of the medium in which the students are educated? Or are there more deep-seated flaws of the syllabus and the methods of teaching, etc.?

PTPTN Loans

Malaysian Insider - PTPTN Loans

Besides the fact that he is basically racialising the education loan system, also note how the needs of the Orang Asli are not being addressed in this article. The statistics in the article are only concerned with Malay students, Chinese students, Indian students. Meanwhile, according to this source, only 97 out of 147, 412 Orang Asli are enrolled in higher education institutes. What about their rights?

The Internet - Source of Truth or Source of Lies?

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/11/24/Ahmad-Zahid-Internet/

While I understand his concern over how the Internet is potentially abused to disseminate false information, I find the solution of 'stamping out' contentious elements rather backwards.

There are numerous things that are meant to benefit us. The internet, is one of them. It's available for us to make plans, to gain more knowledge, to see the world, to connect with each other, to be entertained. The solution therefore is not to enforce a sort of "clampdown" on Internet behaviour, but rather to educate Internet users. We should be taught how to discern reliable sources, how to ignore or call attention to false or dubious information, how to maintain responsible and courteous Internet etiquette, how to have a healthy and mature disagreement online, etc. Are these not infinitely better solutions?

Writing helps writing. One of the important things about writing.

Found that it's much easier and faster for me to finish writing an essay nowadays. I'm inclined to think that it's because I'm (somewhat) regularly updating my blog.

I used to believe that "oh you need to be inspired to create art" or "you need to have the right environment to let all your creativity flow out". And that is true. You need to have the right environment to be inspired to let your creative and artistic energies burst through your mind. But the truth is that, more often than not, you need to create that environment.

Ideas come to us all the time. Whether you're resting, reading a book, taking a shower, picking out the best papaya in the grocery store.

But what's the use of having an idea if you're not going to crystallize and refine it? That's when the next step is crucial. You gotta find a time to sit yourself down, close yourself off from the rest of the world (at least for a while), and just be able to think about it in full, to write down the little strands and thoughts that flow out from that one big idea.

Whether it be an essay, a concept, a story, a song, a business plan, or just any sort of innovative idea, you have to have time to fully give it form.

And that's what I learnt about writing. I used to put off writing essays / stories / etc, saying that I'd write it down when I have spare time, when I'm less frazzled, when I feel like I'm in a 'creative mood'. But now I realised that while ideas pop in on us all the time, 'creative moods' don't necessarily do the same. I have to set aside the time to create the environment to put my inspirations into words.

I didn't use to see writing as a form of discipline; discipline just seems so lifeless, dry, and boring. But it wasn't! Discipline was and is never meant to confine our thoughts and our creativity. Instead, the purpose of discipline is to giving us a sort of framework, create a sort of practice and environment so that we are able to channel our creative juices the best way we could.

 So I worked at being disciplined in my writing. Not in the sense that I was being rigid with my ideas, but in the sense that I was aiming to become consistent and conscientious about my writing. I try to put up a blog post at least once a week. Even if it's something inane and silly, I'd post it up, so that I won't fall out of the practice of writing.

And it definitely helps! I wouldn't say I'm a super duper, fantastic writer, but I would say that the process of churning ideas out, expressing them, and refining them has definitely become a lot smoother than before.

Do you have a talent for something? You gotta work at it, lovingly and passionately hone it. You can't expect to reach your potential with a snap of your fingers. As the adage goes 'practice makes perfect'. And if you're a writer - or if you're someone who's got to churn out essays and reports all the time - keep writing. Because writing helps writing.

Hurting.

This is a sort of accompaniment, a sequel, to the post "Crutch".

I want you to know. That I don't mind hurting for you.

:)



Not in a creepy, masochistic way, but. I'm just saying. I know that this is what it means to love someone and to care for them. Relationships without the hurt and the pain are the ones that don't go anywhere. They stagnate.

And so I'll fall. I'll hurt. I may cry a little at times. But I'll come back up, stronger and more pliable knowing that I've tasted the pain before. Because I know that when you put your heart to loving someone, you'll inevitably fall - one time or the other. The only thing is whether you sit there unmoving, or whether you get up and go on.

Awkward situation with EPF?

Malaysia EPF in Dilemma

I wouldn't say I am an expert in economics and finance. But it seems to me - the run-of-the-mill, ordinary layperson - that despite the awkward situation, it is a good move on Bursa Malaysia's part. On the other side though, it's a bit unsettling to see how far-reaching institutionalized shareholding is, especially when EPF handles the pension funds of Malaysians. The pension savings of 14 million Malaysians would be affected by its investment dealings, could you imagine that?

Fog

In the midst of the fog and the muddled chaos,

Your light cuts through,

It pulls me out,

And I know,

You reign.

Crutch.

It hurts to be someone's crutch. A lot.

And the thing is, you can't say that it does. Because you love the person and you want to be their support. And you can't be the support if you say that you're hurting. A support isn't good if it's fragile and cracking at the edges as well.

And so you put on a strong appearance, try to give as much of yourself as you can. But the thing is, you're limping too.

And I wonder, who will be my crutch?

Marxism - and my poor head.

Reading up on Marxism, and after many many gruelling hours, I have some idea of the different theories. The overall picture is still blurry, and I don't entirely grasp the nuances, but I believe I have some gist of it.

One thing that I found extremely contradictory is that even though Marx and Engels' model of the economic base and the superstructure is deterministic, they still proclaim that the proletarians and the working class would one day be able to instigate a rebellion against the bourgeoisie. Marx and Engels noted that the economic conditions of the proletarians are oppressive. As ideology (part of the superstructure) is determined by economic conditions - the infrastructure, or also known as the base -  would this not mean that the proletarians' ideology is skewed to one of blind submission and deference to the ruling classes? How does one even work up the idea to start a rebellion?

Seeking to modify this model, Althusser proposed that the infrastructure - superstructure relationship is less deterministic and more interactive. He postulates, then, that there is a mutual process by which ideology and economic conditions both feed into each other. However, he goes on to talk about Ideological State Apparatuses, which the State uses to basically keep people in line.

I don't know how to put forward my argument in a less crude manner, but I will proceed anyway. What I find baffling then, to my still inelastic undergraduate mind, is if Ideological State Apparatuses does selectively constrain the various practices (or, in my opinion, dissension) of the people, how then can there be existence of revolutions and rebellion in the past? It could be that the ISAs failed in restraining oppositional voices, that certain practices slip past their "defences". Yet,  how did that happen? If, in the first place, any form of spontaneous ideology on the proletarians' part has been systematically suppressed,  how do these rebels come up with the idea of rebellion?



Forgive my lack of referencing. Am supposed to be working on an essay on Chaucer right now, and somehow came here to write up this blog post.