Steven Sim

Words are more treacherous and powerful than we think – Jean-Paul Sartre

Post archive for ‘Religion’

Reflections on Luke’s Gospel(2)

As some of you are aware, I have been posting up my reflections on Luke’s writing about Jesus.
It started with Luke’s gospel reading aloud sessions with JR and as we went through the chapters, I found myself reflecting afresh stories which I have grown to take for granted. Without realizing I have written about 6 [...]

Tempted To Sin-gularity(1)

How does it feel like to be tempted?
The story of the temptation of Jesus is kind of like the story of temptation par excellence for Christians. We were taught that even Jesus himself was tempted by the bible-quoting devil and we were taught that he managed to overcome devil’s trap by quoting the bible in [...]

The Simple Reason For The Long List(0)

I am always intrigued by why the Bible bothered listing out names of people. And most of the times, very long list.
Luke did that as well listing out Jesus’ lineage, perhaps in confirmation to some known traditions of the Jesus story.
He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli, the son of [...]

The Social Theology in Jesus’ Manifesto(1)

Luke must have wanted us to look into what was in Jesus’ head when he told the story of Jesus reading the Isaiah scroll in a synagogue in Nazareth.
When I was younger, I used to pick up the Bible, say a prayer, close my eyes, open up to a random page, point to a random [...]

Luke’s Nativity: Caesar & Christ(0)

It’s funny how god works. Because if we or any of the religious-type were in charge, we would probably have done it the other way ’round.
If we have it our way with correcting the wrongs of the world, we will probably do one of the two extremes; come down in chariots of fire with legions [...]

The Social Theology of Mary’s Magnificat(0)

JR and I have finished our reading of Luke’s Gospel. As I read it aloud to her, I have been mental-bookmarking sections which Luke was connecting Jesus’ ministry and his social theology.
Mary’s Magnificat is significant, in that Luke seemed to be presenting elements of class struggle.
Mary began with a reflection of her own inferior social [...]

The Social Theology of St. John The Baptist(2)

JR and I were reading the gospel the other day, we were reading Luke’s gospel together. Nothing scholarly, just plain reading out loud from Scripture, New International Version.
As I was reading it out for us, at chapter 3, I was surprised to come across what could have been a sermon note from John the Baptist’s [...]

Reflection on Easter Sunday(0)

Alexamenos Graffito (c. A.D 2)

Reflection on Black Saturday – The Virgin Birth(3)

The sermon during the Holy Friday service was about how Jesus fulfilled ancient OT prophecies. 
The speaker spoke about virgin birth and related it to Jesus’ sinlessness, that is, not inheriting the sinful nature from a human father. He went on to assert that sinful nature can only transmit from the father to the children and [...]

Reflection on Holy Friday – The Vulgarity of The Cross(0)

I was really too busy this Lent to allow myself any Sabbath.
But god is merciful, I found opportunities, mostly by circumstances which forced me, to sit back and reflect on Holy Friday (Good Friday).

The Cross I captured on my camera on Holy Friday
I found more and more we are getting used to a domesticated Christianity, [...]