170912

by

two six

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY. COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY.

wet day.... VERY wet day.... today was another predicted typhoon day... 40 mph winds and heavy rain... but thank God it just missed Seoul... although we still received the heavy winds + rain...

anyway... got very wet on the way to class... it's that wet sock feeling and damp jeans from below your knees.. disgusting feeling =X




the sky and city landscape outside my classroom window

Global ethics classroom (before the teacher came in)

Again..

Today's class was mildly infuriating (the beginning anyway)...

the professor has a habit of telling us about his first year Philosophy class and the 'horrors' of having devoted Christians in the class.

Today's story ticked me off quite a bit though...

Okay.. so... in that class, this same professor's objective is to "encourage" students to think about the rationality behind religion and how we don't need it. He shows the students mostly Sam Harris videos that aim to target and mock specific points of Christianity and other theistic religions.. In discussing the flaws of the Bible, the professor then quotes a bible verse that said something along the lines of killing any one who stands in the way of worshiping God and comments that any religious book that teaches such extreme morals shouldn't be available to children or even any adult at all.. some of the kids in that class then began to tell him the real interpretation of the verse and mentioned the changeover into NT and what it now means... but the professor just brushes it off and takes another example and says "you can't expect children to understand such a sophisticated interpretation at such a young age.. for that reason, moral teachings from the Bible are flawed"...

i thought that was unfair because you also cannot expect a child to understand domestic criminal law prohibiting stealing or what-not and expect them to behave. i've seen children committing crime... 
as Christian parents, it is their duty to bring up their children in the Lord and to grow them up in obedience by proper instruction (instruction firm from the Bible)... so i'm sorry professor that you thought that we simply throw the Bible at our 2 year old kids and tell them to get familiar and become ethical thinkers... it doesn't work that way...

to make matters worse... one of the students in that Philosophy class actually broke down twice.. once during the class and another at the end... he broke down out of rage, stress and i believe out of unfairness... you see, this certain professor is very good at brainwashing people (he's already turned some of my classmates into vegetarians/vegans and anti-religious thinkers).. and no matter how many times he clarifies to the Philosophy class that his intentions were never to cause believers to become unbelievers, i find it rather unfair that for the sake of debate and argumentation, he only seems to present what he's connected with - things such as videos of New Atheist thinkers such as Sam Harris (one extreme end of the debate pole).
and when it comes to Theist thinkers, he doesn't seem to give a rat's bum... 

hearing this story made me shake my head in disappointment... made me somewhat angry (i felt my blood boil and my heart beat)... but at the same time, it encouraged me because this guy who broke down twice in class... his heart was genuine.

after the class.. he approached the professor and said.. "I'm sorry professor, but I will not allow you to brainwash my fellow brothers and sisters and cause them to stop believing... I love them the same way as I love the rest of the class... even you Professor... I will see to it that you and the rest of the class know of God's love... you will be saved".

Naturally, the professor said he was moved... although he laughed at it slightly... a seed has definitely been planted. it would be natural for anyone to think skeptical about this... but i won't... our God is a supernatural God who works in mysterious and glorious ways... it's not up to me or this brave young guy to save him (or the class)... God will do what He wills... and we can be certain that in the end, He will reign supreme.


I'm beginning to question the validity of this professor's teachings.. even in the Global Ethics class.... his method of teaching will not work if he was in Sydney.. and a few of my classmates agree with me... his method of teaching is very one-sided... he is always right and if we attempt to argue back, he seems to have rehearsed some story that basically says "nahhhh you can't possibly be right... this is the way we should do it.. you're wrong, i'm right..."

our discussion today was on overweight people... he asked the class for suggestions regarding changing certain restrictions and what-not that concerns the treatment of obese people... EVERY one of our suggestions was replied with a sarcastic face and a raising of the eyebrow that basically said to the class "you are soooooo wrong... have a participation point for sounding like an idiot in my head".

i am definitely finding it hard to enjoy this particular class.. there doesn't seem to be ANY academic value. i thought that Global Ethics would cover perhaps multiple ethical frameworks that expand globally (e.g. Protestant Work Ethic, Utilitarianism, Confucianism) but in all seriousness... it's all about a book written by Peter Singer, pro-humanist/pro-equality TED lectures and supplementary texts from the same authors/speakers... 



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i withdrew 500,000 won today... because i was running out of money from shopping earlier this month.. this batch should last me a lot longer... if i don't spend stupidly..



my wet shoes... =[

this is me attempting to dry my shoes.. it's working!!!.. stuff a towel into both shoes.. and wrap the outside with a towel, newspaper or tissues... the towel acts as an absorbent and the tissues as well. =D

had dinner at the cafeteria (had to decline my friends' dinner plans because i've been spending too much).. but i went with them to explore anyway...

ANGRY BIRDS WALLPAPER. @ E-mart

for dinner... they had dalkgalbi fried rice at Yugane, a Korean restaurant chain that's probably as popular as Subway in Australia... but they have legit food. good stuff... they paid $5 each for a full meal of Chicken / Beef fried rice.





a mentally and emotionally draining day..... but God is good nevertheless.

Philippians 2 really spoke to me today... especially v. 12.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

i will not grumble or complain about my Global Ethics class... but instead I will continue to face it with a careful heart; disagreeing when I need to and keeping quiet when I should.

Thankful: God encourages me in such indirect ways - hearing a story about a faithful brother from the very lips of the unbeliever he is evangelising to.

Prayerful: Strength, faith and wisdom for this brother... he may be feeling very lonely in his class... but he is fighting the good fight.

Dangers: I feel like I'm being pushed to my limits in terms of patience and grace... I can't stand it when my classmates also join in the professor's laughter over discussions on Christian doctrine and there doesn't seem to be a fair environment for a sophisticated and intellectual debate.