Some turns of events prompted me to seek out God’s Word in a language that I am familiar with. I can only write and read English and Bahsa Malaysia. So, I have the desire to discover the Good News in Bahasa Melayu.

A lot of people have asked me why The Herald goes to court over the term ‘Allah’. No matter how I insisted that it is an issue between The Herald and the court in Malaysia, people still wanted to know and asked me.

The past few days, I have stumbled upon several jottings which I deem to be rather challenging, to put it mildly. Being so familiar with the cyberworld, I cannot turn away from issues like these. I do not wish to see my faith being torn apart, quoted wrongly, fed to the misguided and used to incite hate amongst our countrymen.

So, I had some serious thinking. How can I understand why The Herald goes to court when I do not even know how the term Allah is used in the Bible? What good am I if I am in dark like the majority? I cannot even open my mouth to reply because I am totally clueless.

Not wanting to be the blur and blind follower of Christ, I asked for a copy of the Alkitab which is the Bible in Bahasa Melayu. The Alkitab has been around for a long time and it is used by the Christians from East Malaysians who do not read English. It is also used by the migrants from Indonesia who are Christians. Actually, it can be used by anyone who wants to know Christ because God’s Word is not restricted to English.

I discovered that it is so much easier to understand the creation in Bahasa Melayu. Genesis is Kejadian in Bahasa Melayu. The explanation, without the flowery language and flowy, wordy-words immediately tells me what I want to know.

I started with Kejadian because it is the basic. Every Christians know the ‘Let there be light and there is light’. So, how does it sounds in Bahasa Melayu?

“Hendaklah ada cahaya, lalu cahaya pun ada. Allah berpuas hati melihat hal itu.”

Let me share two posts online which prompted me to take this step of knowing Christianity in Bahasa Melayu :

Pemuda Umno website:

Bayangkan sejak kita lahir kita diajar menyebut dan mengenali Allah Taala dengan lebih dekat, tiba-tiba ada pula agama lain mahu menggunakan nama yang sama dengan Agama Islam.

Walaupun mereka mengatakan pihak Kristian di arab menggunakan nama Allah, tetapi itu di Arab dan bukannya di Malaysia. Tak ke janggal namanya. Tidak ke pihak gereja katolik tahu yang Agama Islam adalah agama rasmi Malaysia sepertimana yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan.

Tidak ke tuntutan mereka mengguris perasaan umat Islam di Malaysia. Mengapa sekarang mereka membuat tuntutan itu?

Mengapa umat Islam Malaysia berdiam diri apabila Islam dihina sedemikian rupa dengan mempermain-mainkan nama Tuhan yang maha esa.

To which I wish to reply in very short explanation for the time being:

Saudara-saudara semua,

Gereja Katolik bukan baru membuat tuntutan seperti yang tertera di laman web Pemuda UMNO. Saya harap saudara semua membuat kajian dengan lebih teliti dahulu kerana sebagaimana yang saya difahamkan, gereja Katolik telah menggunakan nama Allah semenjak tahun 1800-an. Tujuannya, bukan untuk mengguris perasaan sesiapa atau mempermainkan Tuhan yang maha kuasa tetapi ia memang telah digunakan sejak abad yang lalu.

And then, there is the former MB’s blog posting regarding the use of the term Allah which I find to be frivolous too.

I hope when I have more awareness on how the term Allah is used in the Christian Bible, I will be able to share them with those who wish to know. Meanwhile, I hope my Muslim friends will have patience and understanding that we do not refer to Jesus Christ as Allah. We call Jesus, Yesus and Christ as Kristus. In fact, there are Tuhan, Allah, TUHAN (in capital letters) dan TUHAN Allah which are used in different situations.

So, I pray that when I am more aware, I will learn to be more tolerant and patient.

This is the thing that irks me sometimes. So many people always use this ‘turning the other cheek’ without giving deeper thought to it. They often see Jesus as the turning the other cheek guy or the guy who taught us to give all if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

I see the above action or suggestions from Jesus more as a show of defiance rather than submission. As a mother, I know my kids love to annoy me if let’s say I punish them with something minor and they purposely ’self torture’ with something harsher just to get back on me.

Back to the original issue I was talking about, a lot of people have asked why we Catholics make an issue out of the matter. Why we didn’t just turn the other cheek and find another substitute? I am very sure the Archbishop have given deep thoughts over this issue and it is now or never that Catholics take a stand on the matter. It may appear as just a name but it involves a much bigger issue. There are many unwritten, unmentionable things that slowly creep into our rights and our territory. For example, I just read that the Orang Asli is demanding the local authorities to act on their grouses. I think there are many other cases but they usually adopt the turn the other cheek until now. Now, we have spoken and we want our voices to be heard.

Orang Asli in legal fight over church
May 16, 08 11:01am
A group of indigenous Orang Asli Christians has demanded the local authorities restore water and electricity so they can use their church which was wrongfully torn down, their lawyer said.

It is not just about a name. It is not just about our faith. It is about being the light of the world and the light has to shine.

Today, it is the first time, I put my Christian faith above everything. I went to church, more to give myself some confidence rather than anything. I know God is with me, anywhere, any time. But before I do something like this, I know I need some affirmation. Let’s say it is like going there to charge my batteries.

Surprisingly, the short evening mass turned out very comforting and it reminds me of my reasons why I choose the faith. The hymn, Yes, I Thank You, Lord has always touched a chord in me, no matter under what circumstances. It is one of the most painful hymn because it says so much about my life.

Then, I went to do what I am supposed to do. One of my nephew embraced Christ recently. He is getting married next month. Two days ago, the doctors have given the family the bleak prospect of his very ailing grandpa not being able to pull through.

So, I told my nephew to bring his wife-to-be back for a visit and also a tea ceremony. He is back today and after some persuasion, his father is fine with the idea. As I said earlier, the whole family is not in Christ.

I am going to help them do the tea ceremony but first, I wanted to say a little prayer for the grandpa. I had said it at other times when I visited him but usually, it is done so discreetly, no one notices. I do not want people to feel their faith being ‘invaded’.

So, I prepared this little prayer because I know I am going to be loss for words when I am in that big ward, with so many ill people and the relatives looking on.

I wrote down this in a tiny piece of paper and I am going to keep it because this is my first ever Christian prayer in my family of non-believers. I asked my nephew and his wife-to-be to pray with me.

Heavenly Father

We call on you today to send Your Holy Spirit to bless us here.

Today, we pray for your mercy to give strength to the family and all the people here to face their trials as they care for their loved ones who are sick.

We also pray that you will bless KW and J who are getting married next month.

Please shower your blessings to J as she offers this cup of tea to her grandfather-in-law.

If it is Your will, Lord, please heal grandpa here and give him health and the joy to witness the wedding next month.

In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.

Oh wow, is that tough or what? Here I am, with a family who probably have never seen how Christian prays. And I have to watch my words because I want it to sound very positive. I believed I have done well. Thank you, Lord Jesus. May this be just the beginning of my journey to share Your love.

The Beatitudes is Jesus’s teachings. It consists of eight short sentences that put contrasts to things that we face. I.e. take the bad situation we are in and trust that the bad things will bring rewards one day, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. (the eight beatitudes of St. Matthew (5:3-12) and the four beatitudes of St. Luke (6:20-23).

In fact, before I know Christianity, the Beatitudes captured me. I bought a beautiful bookmark I found from MPH with the Beatitudes and said to myself, hey, this sounds good and makes sense. One of the verse is : Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

I was mourning for the death of my son and when I hear what Jesus said and see the promises in there, it make me want to learn more about Christianity. And indeed I have been comforted.

(the devil in The Passion of Christ is depicted with this guy who hovers around, he is behind your back, watch out LOL )

But….today, I am talking about the Devil’s Beatitudes. It is just something taken from a Catholic Magazine, INSPIRITUS. It is kind of funny, yet very true. So, are you subscribing to Jesus’s Beatitudes or the Devil’s? I think we are all guilty of struggling with both. Take a look at #11 and you will go….oh, oh, that’s me…

THE DEVIL’S BEATITUDES (author unknown but taken from Catholic Magazine INSPIRITUS)

1. Blessed are those Christians who are TOO TIRED” TOO BUSY ” TOO DISTRACTED to spend time with their fellow Christians in Church for they are my best candidates to backslide..

2. Blessed are those Christians who WAIT TO BE ASKED AND EXPECTS TO BE THANKED for I can use them to slow things down.

3. Blessed are those Christians who are CRITICAL of church authorities; with a bit of luck” ” they may STOP GOING TO CHURCH and get others to quit they are my missionaries.

4. Blessed are those Christians who are CONSISTENT CHURCH-HOPPERS they help me decrease God’s committed labour force and are candidates for those waiting to be served rather than to serve.

5. Blessed are those Christians who are VERY RELIGIOUS but GET ON EVERYONE nerves they are my most effective stumbling blocks.

6. Blessed are those Christians who are TROUBLEMAKERS they are my best wrecking crew. GOSSIP AND SLANDER are my favourite toys.

7. Blessed are those Christians who have NO TIME TO PRAY they are the easiest prey for me in fact no effort at all.

8. Blessed are those Christians who are COMPLAINERS they are my best discouragers. They do the work of doubting God and making His gifts look ugly.

9. Blessed are those Christians who practice HYPOCRISY they prove that God is still not their master and it is only a matter of time before I can edge my way in fully.

10. Blessed are those Christians who DO NOT READ THEIR BIBLES. I no longer need to think about what methods to use to deceive them because now I can use any method and they will be so weak that any method will work!

11. Blessed are YOU when YOU read this and THINK IT IS ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE and NOT YOURSELF I’ve got YOU! With people like YOU increasing I can retire from my job soon.

In the Youtube video Oprah quoted she was ‘disconnected’ from the Christian belief because she heard that ‘God is a jealous God’. I think it is very convenient for her to just take one verse out of the whole Bible to claim that she doesn’t want a jealous God. Then, she went on her talk show to insist that one can get to Heaven (her perceived one) by their own merits.

So…I know that it is no longer the kind of Christianity that I subscribe to. I was a little disturbed and I decided to ask some well-learnt person from my church if Oprah is a cult? I prefer to keep his identity private but trust me, this is one of the coolest replied I have from one of the top persons.

as for oprah’s “church”, as far as i know (my limited knowledge) the official church has not said anything about that. perhaps other evangelical churches through their pastors have their views about the issue.

personally i would not bother too much about it. my reason would be
that throughout history there have been persons, groups, cults… with
various beliefs and orientations, and many of them contrary to the
teachings of Jesus..directly rejecting HIM. this has been the “norm”
from the time HE came into the world. and yet His church goes on…
perhaps even purified and renewed???

freewill is an important ingredient of christian life…and if we
extend this understanding to the way we look at others…then I guess
people are free to propagate what they want,

BUT the receivers must be
mature enough to process what they hear, or they must be helped to
process it ( especially if they are young and impressionable)

oprah has a very big following, perhaps she meets the needs of some
people who need to hear what she says…her own brand of
“spirituality”. well i don’t think there is anything spectacular about
her or her mentor.

in conclusion, and in my opinion the church would never subscribe to
any cult and that would include oprah’s. and we would be cautioned
about them and warned not to be swayed by them.

I said it is the coolest reply because I didn’t get any mumbo-jumbo, yadda yadda yadda, bla bla bla about what we usually hear from those learnt people. Sometimes, I privately think that some of those who are responsible to guide us are misguided because they have lost touch with the real world. They still live in Rome in Caesar times while we are here, struggling on the ground level.

Therefore, I pray that we are guided like what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew Chapter 13.

10The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
” ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a] 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

(Bible quotes from Biblegateway)

**NOTE : The above is a very frank reply from someone who is well versed with Catholicism but it is not the official reply. It is up to you how you wish to interpret the comments in quotes. I do not entertain any arguments because this is my personal blog and the views are my own.