extremists?

this semester, i happen to be teaching a "speech & effective communication" class for intermediate level students in the intensive english course program offered by the college.

the final component of their classwork is to prepare an informative speech on any topic of their choice, and they work in groups of 3. i asked them to pick anything they're interested in, as long as they think the information will be useful to the class and is not something that has been talked about very commonly. in order for them to proceed with preparations for their speech, i told them to see me with their selected topics so i can either give them the green light or ask them to re-think their chosen topic.

2 students (from the same group) came to see me today, with a list of topics. they showed me the list, and highlighted 2 topics as the main choice: "Why are we living this life?" & "Who created us?" - to which i raised my eyebrow slightly. hehe. not that i haven't thought of those questions before, but rather i didn't really expect to see it popping up here. the interesting thing is, the missing group member was the one who pushed for this topic to be presented even though the other 2 thought it was a bit too difficult / subjective a topic. he told the group members that he would have a lot to say about the topic.

this 'missing groupmember' is an intriguing character. he's arab, and therefore, muslim. he reminds me of the pious imams - u know, those who give u the impression that they are ultra-religious and very serious about their faith. he doesn't stand out in class, because for one, he has not been attending classes regularly and when he does, he's either sleepy or he disappears midway. when he does participate, he speaks quite softly that i sometimes have to strain my ear to listen to him.

but he stands out in my mind, because one day (probably more than a month ago), after a test i gave them, he walked up to me, gave me a booklet on Islam, and left. i wasn't expecting it, since it's not an everyday occurence that a random person walks up to you with a booklet about their faith. i had some time in between waiting for students to show up for their test, so i read the little booklet - and although i wasn't convinced, i now have a better idea of what Islam teaches.

there hasn't been any more 'actions' from him after that incident, until today. even though he didn't come in person, it's obvious to me that he is passionate about his faith/religion, passionate enough to even want to make it the topic of his class presentation. i've had many muslim students before, but so far, most of them did not attempt to share their beliefs or views with students of other religions in class. hmm, a case of muslim extremist?

so today, he has given me some food for thought. is it okay to allow my students to present their religious views to the other students in class? what message would that give? if i consent to it, what wud they think of their teacher?

in this particular case, i asked the students to think of other topics where there are truths/facts that are generally accepted, instead of choosing to present on something which could potentially be controversial since their aim is only to inform and not to change anyone's mind. it was unnecessary to create such uncomfortable or awkward situations, and i decided it would not be appropriate for the class. why this decision?

because, i believe that i AM a witness for Christ in my workplace (therefore in class when i teach) but i don't think i should make students to listen to my 'propaganda' in class. i do have a position of authority in the classroom since i am the teacher, but i don't believe in making use of that authority to 'preach' to my students when they did not ask to hear it. i can tell them what i believe to be right or wrong, or my stand on ethical issues, but i shouldn't jump on every opportunity to tell them "Jesus loves you! Believe in Him, be saved! This is your passport to heaven!" because doing that would be exploiting my students, and making them into a bunch of unwilling, 'captive' audience . i think that wud be a disservice to the Christian witness, and there are too many stories of friends who are extremely wary of Christians who try to 'befriend' them. it's the same thing when i try to do that to my students. in the same way, i also don't think i should allow students to 'preach' in class.

if i want to be Christ's presence in their lives, what i need to ask God for (to start off), is a heart that is big enough to show love and concern for them, and to see them as my fellow human beings - and not to perceive them only as students whose contact with me is only limited to class time. which means, being accessible outside of class too. and be sympathetic with their problems, and be interested in their lives. i've learnt that they appreciate someone who's approachable, friendly and kind, on top of being a good teacher. i'm slowly learning how to practise this! and then, if they ask me about my faith, i will talk to them personally.

i used to think that my 'professional life' and my 'other life' (haha) should be kept separate, since i didn't want things to get complicated with students - incidents of teachers getting romanticaly involved with students come to mind. i thought, they know my position, and my boundaries, and they don't step over it. i'm happy, they're happy, no mess. but seeing how sherman related to his students changed my mind. they see him more as a friend and brother, than a lecturer. and i've seen how they open up to him and he has been able to speak into their lives so much more than if he was at a distance.

perhaps his sphere of influence is different from mine, since my students come to me to learn english, and his students go to him to learn about theology, but i hope to be more of a friend to my students than what i am now. is that a good resolution, u think? ;)

prosperity gospel at a new level

today i while i was reading the star online, i saw the headline "Jesus wants you to drive 4x4, says S.African church" and immediately thought - what crap!! i don't normally say/write much about issues or what i think of them but this headline really irked me. i often wonder how Jesus feels when everyone thinks they have the right to use his name to promote whatever gospel they please (not that this is anything new, but it's just disgusting).

the gospel preached by the reported S.African church says God doesn't want you to be poor and ashamed - before adding "he wants you to drive a new car". and if it's a Nissan Navarra, even better. *rolls eyes* the said church even takes to holding special "campaigns" to pray for specific "goals", like a new car, house or even swimming pool. i mean, how can anyone think that this is what Christ truly teaches us to live by? if this is true, there will be no more disciples or followers of Christ in the poor and third world countries - wil there? or is God going to transform things and make all of them millionaires in an instant?

before we can make any conclusions that wealth/prosperity i.e. those that can be found in getting a new car/house/the latest technological gadgets etc is what the 'poor' people want, we'd do well to find out what people in countries and places that are less urbanised and developed really think of as being 'prosperous' or 'wealthy'.

i attended a missions training session once, where i learned about the worldview of the people in Cambodia from Steve Hyde (a missionary to Cambodia). they don't give a hoot about the latest cars or any other new technological advancements - because these things are so far removed from their world. if given a choice, they'd really be delighted at being given cattle or other kinds of livestock, or help to grow their farms and such. the point is not that they are 'ulu' people, but rather that they have lives that are completely different from what we urban so-called middle class people know.

of course, i can see how this prosperity gospel would appeal to people. even if we aren't poor, who would turn down a chance to gain more wealth if given a chance? not many, i think. what more if they are desperately poor. if i had a terribly hard life, most likely, i too would jump at a chance to have a better life. so, people fall for this lie. yet i can't help but feel that when we preach the prosperity gospel we are in fact deceiving people into thinking that God is a Santa Claus, and becoming a Christian is just like winning the lottery. how does that really give any glory to God?

maybe it's just me - but i've never been comfortable with the notion that we give glory to God by getting a lot of money. sure, if we have money, we could do a lot of things for God, or rather, in the name of God. the pragmatic people would say that we can do much more if we had more money in the church. we could build bigger buildings, hold more rallies, buy more Bibles to be given to the poor and so on. but this is hardly what the Bible preaches. or at least, it's not the whole gospel.

the prosperity gospel just does not jive with the God or Christ that i've come to know thru the time that i've journeyed with him. God never promised us a prosperous life, at least not in the sense that the world understands prosperity to be. the more i walk with him, the more he challenges me to live simply. if we acquire so much wealth, and grow so attached to them, it will be so much harder to let go of those things when God calls us to. if we have nothing, and he calls us - i suspect we would readily heed his call.

my fren shared last nite that when God asked her this question "Will you leave everything and follow me?" while she was on her way to work a few weeks back, she was stunned that she could not immediately answer him. because, if God had asked this question 13 years ago, when she had little to hang on to, she would have answered a resounding yes without a second thought. now, happily married with an adorable kid and having some measure of success in her career, she's had to wrestle with the knowledge that she might be reluctant to let go of the blessings, but not the blessor.

which is why God said it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go thru the needle's eye.

who are we kidding?

girlfriends and weird things

i came home last nite from LF (cell group), and as per our usual custom, started talking to irene about our day and meera came to join us.

irene started playing with my toes at some point and remarked that i'm the only person she knows who wriggles and curls toes all the time - well, according to irene, that is :) since both my housemates deemed it "weird" i decided this was the perfect item to start off the list of "weird things about emmy"! hehe...but actually the funniest thing was that after about half an hour or so, ALL of us couldn't remember what that #1 item was! until it came back to me again while i was brushing my teeth...LOL

so far, we've only managed to come up with a few things because irene says i'm too normal! i was quite crushed at the prospect of being such a normal and un-weird human being, i tell u :p

so here's the little list:

1. i wriggle and play with my toes on a regular basis without noticing
2. i can go to sleep at odd hours, say at 7pm, then wake up around midnite, do some work, and then continue sleeping again around 4am til it's time to get up for work in the morning
3. i don't usually eat oranges but i wil drink orange juice. i'm 'allergic' to lime (limau kasturi)
4. i have really bad memory when it comes to movies - i usually can't remember what the storyline is, who acted in what, much less the dialogue. i even forget whether i've seen a particular movie if it was a while ago
5. darn! i thought of #5 while drifting off to sleep but now i can't remember what it was too. shucks

maybe i'm too normal after all...