eBay is now an entrenched part of our culture. We shake our heads at the exorbitant prices that some people are willing to pay for some products that are sold through that medium. For instance, recently, the craze of the PS3 limited release with prices reaching almost ten times the original retail prices for the units is well publicized.

Although it is convenience for shoppers as well as sellers, and there are many who are making comfortable living out of eBay retailing, I wonder if the ethical ramifications is worrying anyone. A while back, I was wondering if the eBay philosophy of the marketplace promoted sound ethical practices among (especially) the young and impressionable.

Recently, promoters of a widely popular Australian concert event Big Day Out tried to curtail ticket scalping by adding a condition of sale to their tickets to prevent on-selling of tickets for profit.

However, the legal beagles of eBay Read the rest of this entry »

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Now, that’s a novel idea! As Rosa Brooks points out in this op-ed piece in the LA Times, the Department of Homeland Security’s office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has designed a new citizenship test that aims to ensure that aspiring immigrants have at least minimal knowledge of American civics, history and political system.

As one of those who are “standing in line” to take the test one day, I am painfully aware of my need to cram for this test. This reminds me of my experience of getting a driver’s license. I came here with a good driving record and a valid driving license from an English speaking developed country, and already was legally able to drive in this country. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s time to talk, says Dr. Bob Cornwall, Pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc, and columnist of the Lompoc Record. This well articulated post, in the SOMA blog is a rewrite of an equally well-thought out reflective op-ed piece on the Lompoc Record.

I resonate with Dr Cornwall’s call to talk - for those of us who call ourselves evangelicals - to no longer hide behind our discomfort of those who are different from us. There is so much we can talk about. For instance, I often wonder why is it that we find it so hard to forgive sexual sin.

Why is it that respectable leaders can be hot-tempered, or haughty, or even arrogant, and yet they can continue to capture society’s respect and hold positions of leadership and power even in the church. Yet, if someone is entangled in sexual impropriety, we have a completely different view of such people?

Why the double standard?

For instance, as I have pointed out elsewhere, Read the rest of this entry »

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Recently, my wife read aloud Romans chapter 1 to the family. As I listened to her, I was struck by how Paul addressed himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ“. It is not a common phrase used today, but the New Testament is filled with such references used either by the writers themselves or in referring to a group of Christ followers. In some translations, the phrase used is “bond-servant”, which is likened to the practice of the Hebrew who took on bond servants in their households.

These servants are sometimes also known as slaves, but I believe they have some key differences between slavery in biblical times and slavery as we understand it today. I recall Parableman once did an extensive study of the morality of slavery. While the study was insightful and I am sure highlighted many valid points, I also remember being quite uncomfortable with some of his conclusions. I am not sure if the claims he made are widely held among scholars, but basically (if I remember correctly) it goes something like this: Read the rest of this entry »

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Technorati Tags: slavery, counter-culturalism, church and society, christian ethics, morality

NOTE: I meant to post this earlier, but I wrote this and then saved it and got busy until today.

From time to time, I check out this blog because the guy’s passion is evident in much of his writing. Although much of what he has to say has a ring of authenticity to it, his views are also grossly colored by his own acknowledged past negative experiences with religion and with some religious people. He now spends a lot of his energy tearing down other people’s beliefs and also often tarnish their character and personality as well, especially those who venture to post comments to his blog. Anyone who does not share his view is game for his ridicule and snide remarks, although he often hide behind the respectability of quotes taken from (a highly) selected number of notable authors, scientists, novelists and other prominent figures.

He did it again here. My immediate reaction to his post (which was also spurred by having read and interacted with many of his other posts) was this comment: Read the rest of this entry »

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Technorati Tags: faith, truth, fundamentalism, religion, atheism

Well, I arrived in Boston two nights ago, and yesterday spent most of the day exploring parts of Boston downtown, especially, Chinatown. I am here for the Microsoft annual Worldwide Partner Conference, a big love-fest of Microsofties as they call themselves (employees of Microsoft Corporation) and those who sell and provide services for Microsoft products (aka Business Partners).

My boss has a friend who is one of the ministers at the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church, so we took the opportunity to attend one of the services there. We picked the 1:00 p.m. “contemporary service”. Since it is at Chinatown, we took the opportunity to savor some of the best food there. Ended up having dimsum lunch at a restaurant and later returned to dine at another place. Read the rest of this entry »

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Technorati Tags: discipleship, urban ministry, kingdom mentality, contemporary services, tradition

Of late, I have been thinking about the kind of spirituality that God has called us to enter into, and when I was reading this post at Cynical Idealist’s blog helped me to clarify some of my thoughts a little better. In her post, Cynical was vexing a little about the sins that some of her peers were getting into, and worried about people who were too callous with this or that sin. One of those worries has to do with those who were flippant about, or were actually reveling in, premarital sex.

Too often, I think, our culture (generally speaking, not just Christian culture, however you define the adjective, but the whole Western Culture, and to a large degree, contemporary culture in all its forms: Western, Middle Eastern, African or Eastern, for that matter), is too fixated with an activity-centered religiosity or an behavioral oriented spirituality. Furthermore, our spirituality seems to be likened to the soccer players who tries to play the game, pushing the rules just enough to be able to win without getting fouled by the referee. Read the rest of this entry »

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Technorati Tags: sin, religion, spirituality, holiness, relationship, commandments, love, forgiveness, grace, love God, love of God, unconditional love, spiritual journey, premarital sex, enlightenment, sanctification

Donald Miller in Blue Like Jazz talks about the unhelpfulness of using war metaphors in many aspects of life. I have already previously opined that it is a mistake to uncritically take an ancient Chinese military treatise as a business manual. No matter how competitive business environments can be, business just is not war! Neither are so many other areas of life that we so often associate with it through the use of militaristic metaphors.

I find it curious that Americans have such fondness to use battlefield imagery in our daily talk. For instance, we call those who risk lives to come over the borders seeking jobs and new opportunities “invaders“. The funny thing is that when the same thing happened just a couple of hundred years ago, that really was an invasion, for they came with cannon, guns, swords, and real soldiers. I think the word was “conquistadors” then. That is a far cry from those who now cross the borders seeking jobs and a better life for their families. Note so far I have not said anything about whether it is right or wrong for them to do so. I am only saying that the war metaphors are not helping the current debate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Technorati Tags: war, metaphor, Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, business, politics, George Bush, iraq, illegal immigration