What is a Woman?Research Presentation on 1 Timothy 2:12-15. @ RCSA Academic Symposium, Regent College

(Slide 1) - What is a Woman? 

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. My name is Sam Pang. I am a MATS student with a concentration in Christianity and the Arts. Today’s presentation is based on my paper for Dr. Iain Provan’s Genesis book study class in April 2022. The questions presented to students were as follows: 

(Slide 2) - Old Testament & New Testament as Scripture 

One of the challenges of biblical interpretation is how we should read the Old Testament and the New Testament together as Scripture. 

Should we read the OT through the lens of the NT? 

Should we read the NT only in the context of the OT? 

Or is there a third way? 

(Slide 3) - 1 Tim 2:12–15 and Genesis 1–3 

Dr. Provan assigned each student a New Testament passage which alludes to a Genesis passage to wrestle with these hermeneutical questions. The task was to 

1) consider the NT passage in its own context (what was Paul saying to his readers?); 

2) consider the Genesis passage in its own context (what were the Genesis authors saying to their readers?); 

3) reflect on the issues raised by these two sets of reflections; and propose how we should read both passages together as Scripture (what is Scripture saying to us?). 

(Slide 4) - 1 Timothy 2:12–15 NIV 

I was assigned the passage 1 Timothy 2:12–15. 

The following is the NIV translation:

I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 

For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 

And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 

But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. 

(Slide 5) - 1 Timothy 2:12–15 with Picture 

Now, to be completely honest and unacademic with my remark, I dreaded this passage and would not have written about it if it had not been assigned to me. I fell in love with my wife because I saw her teaching; she was the best teaching colleague I’ve ever had. It is also no secret that we currently do not have any children, so you can see how high the stakes are, not just for us who don’t have any children but for many people. 

Why would Paul say that “women will be saved through childbearing,” when the same apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:8 that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith,” and that he also honours those with the gift of celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7? 

(Slide 6) - Four hermeneutical principles 

My argument is that solid directions on this issue can be found in Scripture when we uphold both the OT and NT equally. Preachers cannot exegete 1 Timothy 2:12–15 alone without paying sufficient exegetical attention to the depth of its alluded Genesis passages. Instead, preachers must investigate why one text chooses to interact with the other after 

1) unpacking the fullest meaning of the quoted OT text separately; 

2) unpacking the fullest meaning of the NT text in its context; and 

3) cohering the hermeneutics with the whole Bible. 

Finally, considering William Webb’s argument of using chronology to witness God’s

redemptive work unfold, this presentation will first unpack the Genesis passages before unpacking 1 Timothy 2:12–15. 

(Slide 7) - Male and Female 

In Genesis 1:26–27, God declared that he would create ’adam in his image and likeness for ’adam to rule over the other living beings and the Cosmos in his image. So God proceeded to create the ’adam in his own image—male and female he created the ’adam. 

(Slide 8) - Very Good 

After creating both male and female, Genesis 1:31 tells us that God saw that all that he had made was very good. 

(Slide 9) - Not chronological 

However, as we read further to Genesis 2:18, we encounter God describing something in his creation as “not good” for the first time. God said, “It is not good for [the ’adam] to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” At this point, the modern reader must realize that Genesis 1–2 does not flow from verse to verse chronologically. 

(Slide 10) - Heavens and earth completed 

Genesis 2:1–3 declares the Cosmos as being completed in their vast array and that God had finished the creation work he had been doing. 

(Slide 11) - No woman no good… 

However, Genesis 2:4 brings the reader back to when the heavens and the earth were created, while Genesis 2:7 rewinds the timeline to when God had formed the ’adam —an event supposed to have had already taken place in Genesis 1:26–31. Consider that Genesis 1:31 declares the completed creation of humankind and the entire Cosmos as “very good,” but Genesis 2:18 highlights a certain point when God considers the ’adam’s situation as “not good.” 

(Slide 12) - before the helper was created… “incomplete.” 

Hence, it is only logical to assume that the “not good” situation in Genesis 2:18 refers to a time before the completion of the creation of humankind and the Cosmos—meaning, Genesis 2:18 describes a situation that took place before Genesis 1:31. In that sense, before the helper was created, God was not finished with creating his image-bearing ’adam, and the ’adam was incomplete. 

(Slide 13) - helper in modern English 

So who is this helper, and what is a helper? Unfortunately, the modern English rendering of “helper” does not help us understand the Genesis passage. If we type “define helper” on Google, the top result is Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition that the helper is “one that helps, especially a person who helps a more skilled person,” but that is not the Old Testament world’s understanding of the Hebrew word for helper.

(Slide 14) - helper

The word “helper” is used most often in the OT of divine assistance provided for humans. In Psalm 81:19, the word for helper describes God’s election, anointing, and sustaining of David to be his regent over his people and his everlasting covenant with him. Ultimately, this help causes David’s dynasty to endure forever (Psalm 89:28–29)—a promise fulfilled in the eternal reign of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, Hosea 13:9 describes Israel as being “against their helper” when Israel had rejected God’s divine help. 

Of course, we do not have more information within the Book of Genesis to be sure of the Hebrew nuance of the word for “helper” synchronically because Genesis only uses the word in chapter 2. Nevertheless, we can be assured that diachronically, the Hebrew term for “helper” in the broader OT context most often refers to divine help from God and has no nuance of inferiority or subordination.

Hence, I propose that when God created the woman to be the “helper” to the incomplete ’adam, God was providing divine help to the incomplete ’adam. Now with God’s divine helper , the completed ’adam can bear God’s image together as man and woman, and only after the completed creation of both male and female did God declare his Cosmos as “very good.” The woman is the divine help of God, the image-bearer of God that completes his very good Cosmos! Without the woman as God’s divine helper, the man in Genesis 2:18 was alone in a situation that was “not good.” Therefore, creation becomes “very good” only when humankind takes care of the world together as male and female. 

(Slide 15) - The Fall of Humankind 

However, both man and woman fall short of bearing God’s divine image when they blatantly disobey God in Genesis 3. Rather than trusting God’s divine goodness, the woman listens to the Serpent’s questioning of God’s good intentions. Rather than being God’s helper to the man, the woman falls short of her vocation and engages the man in disobeying God, and they both eat from the forbidden tree in the middle of the Garden. Consequently, the Serpent is cursed. Moreover, because of the sin of the ’adam, the ’adamah—which is the land—is also cursed. 

As this presentation focuses on the woman’s vocation as God’s divine helper, we will only zoom into what God said to the woman in the aftermath. 

(Slide 16) - What did God actually say to the woman? 

God says to the woman, as translated by the KJV: 

“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception;
in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

Let us compare that to the NIV: 

“I will make your pains in
childbearing very severe;
with painful labour
you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.” 

It is understandable why the NIV rendered the whole passage in reference to labour pains, as birth pangs are indeed very traumatic. However, what God was saying to the woman was probably not limited to birth pangs, as labour pains are not the only sorrow a woman experiences when she brings forth children. 

Here, the KJV translations of itsavon and etsev as “sorrow”; and herayon as “conception”; are more accurate than modern English Bibles that interpret the whole sentence as referring to childbearing birth pangs. 

(Slide 17) - Provan: Discovering Genesis 

In his book, Discovering Genesis, Dr. Provan argues that nowhere else in the OT do these words reference birth pangs. At the same time, NIV’s “childbearing” is an equally peculiar translation of the Hebrew term herayon, as herayon refers to conception or pregnancy and not childbirth whenever it appears in other OT texts. Moreover, the OT has a well-established vocabulary for birth pangs that comprises very different words from the Genesis 3:16 text, meaning it is unlikely that Genesis 3:16 references birth pangs. 

Then, in a modern context, just because medical advancements have given women the option of giving birth without experiencing as much labour pains, it does not mean that technology could therefore remove all sorrows from the curse.

(Slide 18) - Genesis 3:16 

Instead, Genesis 3:16 probably refers to the woman’s new sorrowful circumstances where the woman shall bring forth children in a world encompassed by sorrow and pain. The number of children she brings into this sorrowful world increases as pain and sorrow also increase. Under her sorrowful circumstances, the woman will desire to have [dominance over] her husband—the same way that sin desires to have [dominance over] Cain. Similarly, the husband shall rule over the woman—the same way that Cain should rule over sin (Genesis 4:7). 

Instead of wholly and faithfully subduing and having dominion over the Cosmos together as God’s image-bearers, the man and woman have now turned against each other as they desire dominance over each other. 

(Slide 19) - [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν 

As both man and woman are driven out of Eden, their fights for dominance continue even after the Lord’s ascension in the NT. 

1 Timothy addresses some battle scenes in Ephesus. In Ephesus, the most dominant temple was The Temple of Artemis, a massive cult structure promoting female-only dominance. Befitting the goddess cult, all temple priests were women who ruled the show and kept the men in their place. So against this backdrop, Paul wrote his instructions for the Church in Ephesus, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority (αὐθεντεῖν) over a man; she must be quiet.” The word for authority, [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν, in particular, appears only once in the entire Bible, which suggests that Paul was addressing a specific situation that was unique even in the whole NT world. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν refers to “one who with his own hand kills either others or himself.” In other Greek contexts, [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν can mean “one who acts on his own authority, autocratic, equivalent to an absolute master.” These two examples of [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν refer to power or practices that should by no means be exercised by anyone in the Church, regardless of a person’s gender. Nevertheless, Paul gave this instruction specifically to women because The Temple of Artemis only used women to assume cult-like, autocratic, absolute master’s authority (αὐθεντεῖν) over men. 

(Slide 20) - Thesis Statement 

So against such Artemis cult practices, Paul alerted Timothy not to let any woman in the Church behave like cult priests because none should replace Christ as the mediator between God and humankind. Paul’s thesis is that there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2:5–6). 

“Therefore (οὖν),” Paul proceeded to give instructions on worship for both men and women under this thesis statement. 

(Slide 21) - Women should not behave like Artemis priests. 

I will keep Paul’s thesis on the left-hand side of the screen so that we read the rest of the passage in light of his thesis. 

Specifically for women, Paul reminded everyone that “Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” Clearly, Paul did not actually regard Adam as without sin because Paul wrote extensively in Romans 5 that sin had entered the world through the man, Adam. Instead, 1 Timothy 2:13–14 directly addresses Artemis’ false doctrines: Women should not behave like Artemis priests that exercised priestly autocratic [authentein] αὐθεντεῖν over men because “Adam was formed first, then Eve.” 

(Slide 22) - Hierarchy? 

The chronology of the created beings on its own does not guarantee supremacy for any creatures, for the birds and the sea creatures were formed before Adam, but that does not make Adam subordinate to Boston lobsters or BC Spot Prawns. However, when we understand The Supremacy of the Son of God through Paul’s other letter, Colossians, then we are referencing the ultimate priesthood between God and humankind, the priest who is the firstborn over all creation, and that would be neither Adam nor Eve, but Christ Jesus. 

(Slide 23) - Christ Jesus, the firstborn over all creation. 

Unlike Christ, who is God himself and was present with the Father before Adam was formed, Eve did not exist before Adam. Hence, the woman does not have the supremacy to fulfill the priesthood of Christ on behalf of man. We must read this argument in light of Paul’s preceding thesis that Christ is “the one mediator between God and humankind.” 

Paul then reminded Timothy that the woman was the first to be deceived by the Serpent, question God’s goodness, and engage the man in sin rather than fulfilling her role as the God-ordained divine helper to the man at the crucial moment. Hence not only is it wrong to endow women with absolute, autocratic [authority] αὐθεντεῖν over men. When the God-ordained helper fails to be God’s divine [help], all humanity enters into sin with her. Therefore, women must “learn in quietness and full submission” along with everyone else to learn to fulfill their role as God’s divine [help] so that both men and women might engage in proper worship. 

(Slide 24) - 1 Tim 2:15 ESV vs NIV 

Paul concluded this section of instructions with one final urge for women not to think of themselves as goddesses: “Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” 

Unfortunately, the NIV decided to change the first part of the sentence to plural, yet the change does not reflect Paul’s original intent. Other more word-for-word translations have kept Paul’s original pronouns. 

(Slide 25) - Eve’s childbearing stories

The singular “she” continues to address Eve, while the plural “they” is an exhortation to all women in Ephesus. Genesis records only three childbearing stories of Eve: Cain, Abel, and Seth, and they all taught Eve painful lessons. In the original Hebrew in Genesis 4:1, Eve thought she had “created a man with YHWH” when she gave birth to Cain. Despite what had happened in Genesis 3, Eve still thought of herself as a creator god in Genesis 4. In the Ancient Near Eastern context, the concept that goddesses brought fertility and life to the Cosmos was rather common. However, Genesis makes it very clear where the boundaries are between the Creator and the created. 

So as we read on, the death of Abel, the exile of Cain, and the birth of Seth taught Eve that it was God who granted her children (Genesis 4:25). These childbearing lessons saved Eve from her madness of thinking of herself as a god. 

So Paul now urged all women in Ephesus not to think of themselves as gods but to continue learning to worship God in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. 

(Slide 26) - Summary 

Therefore, 1 Timothy 2:12–15 does not globally or eternally forbid women preachers, nor does Scripture ever degrade women. Throughout Scripture, we see God using women again and again in national leadership positions (Judges 4:5), in prophetic offices (Exodus 15:20), in military action (Judges 4:21), in church administration (Romans 16:1–2), in witnessing for him (John 4:39–41), in preaching the resurrection message (John 20:17–18), in being the honoured, God-ordained divine helpers who bear the image of God (Genesis 1–2). Hence, 1 Timothy 2:12–15 are instructions for how women in Ephesus should worship God as God-ordained divine helpers. 

And a woman, single or married, is God’s image bearer, who is called to worship God, provides God’s divine help, rules over the Cosmos with man, and completes God’s very good creation.

Walking with Christ as a Child of God with ADHD

Chapel Testimony

Harpist: Hilary Lui

Overcoming My ADHD through Embodied Christian Love at Regent College

Chapel Testimony @ Regent College, Canada, on 29 March 2022

Foreword

I recognize that segregating students based on academic grades is a common practice not only in Hong Kong but also in many parts of South East Asia. I do not resent my teachers for what they have said in the past, as it is understandable that some teachers tend to teach the way they had been brought up. However, I do challenge Hong Kong’s heretical education narrative that “good grades equal good students, bad grades equal bad students,” and that “some talents are more valuable than others.”

But above all, the focus of my sharing is on the importance of honouring each person’s vocation in the Lord, which Regent College does so wonderfully, and the importance of in-person embodied Christian love, which all followers of Christ must exercise as His disciples.

=======

Full script of my sharing

Hello everyone. My name is Sam Pang. My wife, Fanny Ko, and I are now in our second year studying at Regent College. Today, I will talk about the love, mercy, and healing I experience at Regent.

As you all know, Regent is famous not just for its vibrant Christian faith and loving community but also for its rigorous academic demands. Students at the orientation once told me that the minimum reading load for every Regent semester was to read as if you were drinking from a firehose.

That can sound scary for anyone, but it was extra intimidating for me. Before the age of 30, I had never succeeded in finishing any book from cover to cover—except the Bible, but even that took me six years.

Growing up, I did not realize that my reading struggles had a medical name. Now, as an adult, doctors have officially diagnosed me as an ADHD patient, which stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But during my childhood, before I had adequate help, my ADHD had another name—laziness.

I grew up in Hong Kong schools that graded students into six different classrooms labelled A to F. The academically strongest students would sit in classroom A, and the worst would sit in classroom F. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, imagine going to the supermarket where you see different eggs graded with different alphabets and shelved differently based on their letter grade. Except that Hong Kong schools did that to students. And the only measurement of their quality was their academic results.

As someone who could not read properly, I was constantly shelved in the worst classes. That put much stress on my family, as no one likes seeing their child in the worst classrooms. But what made matters worse was how my teachers tried to teach me to work harder. A history teacher once punished me by making me write out ten reasons why I thought I would become a useful person someday. When she saw that everything I wrote was music-related, she rebuked me and said, “These are your hobbies. There’s nothing useful on your list.” Yet the most terrible experience I had was in Grade 10 when my language teacher advised my parents to ban me from all music-related activities because my music practice was allegedly distracting me from focusing on my studies. “Focus on your studies now,” she said, “or the only school you’ll end up in is a music school.”

Now, repeating her words aloud makes me realize how crazy that remark was, and as Regent students, you probably find that worldview ludicrous. I don’t blame these adults for what they said because they were probably brought up under similar narratives. But I wish these grown-ups would come to know Christ and take vocation classes at Regent College someday because, sadly, the dominant narrative in Hong Kong is still “some talents are more valuable than others.” Yet the most heretical education worldview is that “good grades equal good students, and bad grades equal bad students.”

So Grade 10 and 11 were the worst days of my teenage years. Not only did my grades not improve at all. I was cut off from participating in school orchestras and choirs, which were the only places I found my joy in learning.

But thanks be to God. I had very loving parents who were willing to support me when I ultimately decided to go to music school after Grade 12, even though music school tuition fees were slightly beyond what my family could handle financially.

My training in music school allowed me to become a music teacher and an orchestra director, two roles that gradually helped me find my voice. Still, part of me felt unfulfilled because I had always wanted to receive theological training. Yet because I struggled with reading, I felt hesitant to commit to any theological courses. Nonetheless, the opportunity came when my wife Fanny became a ThM student at Regent. I learned that Regent had a very flexible diploma programme that allowed graduate students to study at their own pace. So I thought, perhaps I would try out some of the courses at Regent, and if my reading struggles became too much of an obstacle, I could chicken out anytime I wanted.

But God was not letting me chicken out. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7).

Within my first few months at Regent College, I was so fascinated by the lectures I was attending that the joy of learning once again became my strength. I was captivated by every Old Testament quote in the Book of Revelation; I was touched by the pastoral heart of the author of Hebrews; I was encouraged by the strength of the early Christians who suffered persecution in the Greco-Roman world. But as great as the Regent lectures might be, my old thorn in my flesh remained: I could still not read!

Yet God’s grace is always sufficient.

For every Regent course I have been taking, God has provided just a sufficient amount of audiobooks for me to get through each course. Though the concept of audiobooks has been around for quite some time, most are geared towards the secular market. So even two years ago, most theology books would not have had an audiobook version. But at just the right time, someone recorded themselves reading the entirety of F. F. Bruce’s The Epistle to the Hebrews—along with all the footnotes, which helped me tremendously with my Book of Hebrews paper. At just the right time, I found an audiobook recording for Longman and Dillard’s An Introduction to the Old Testament, which got me through our famously intense Old Testament exam. Even the Kindle Edition of Iain Provan’s Seriously Dangerous Religion can now be read aloud by Speechify, which is an audiobook automation software that decides to generate Provan’s voice with an American accent.

So I experience God’s grace every day I study at Regent. I experience God’s grace when TAs and librarians faithfully scan each PDF document clearly because that allows my automation software to read aloud my weekly CTC readings. I experience God’s grace when audiobook designers faithfully mark all chapters and page numbers on their audiobook software because that allows me to write my course papers more effectively.

But as I conclude my sharing, I must emphasize that no amount of technological help could ever replace the love of Christ that I continue to experience through other brothers and sisters at Regent in person;

when I run into the very cheerful and hospitable Claire Perini in the atrium;

when I worship God with Thomas Bergen and other brothers and sisters through music in the Chapel;

when I learn to improvise jazz music with Mark and Erin Glanville;

when I play soccer every Sunday with Matt Lynch and Cody Rigg;

when I sit around George and Pat Guthrie’s beautiful wooden table for Taste of The World;

when I get inspired by Paul Spilsbury’s paintings at the artisan fair;

when I receive pastoral guidance from Iain Provan in his office;

when I play board games with Jeff and Janet Greenman;

when I chat with brothers and sisters from every corner of the world and learn about faith, science, politics, language, culture, and most importantly, Christian love under the Green Roof;

Because nothing can replace the embodied Christian love that we must learn to express in person as brothers and sisters, through which I am experiencing God’s love, mercy, and healing.

So this is the story that God has been writing in my life at Regent College, and I look forward to experiencing more of God’s grace here, in person, with you all underneath our Green Roof. Amen.

Hong Kong - Based on “A Theology of Cities” by Tim Keller

Assembly Sharing @ Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong Kong, on 18 September 2019

Good morning headmaster, teachers, and boys,

Today I would like to talk about the meaning of the city.

(#Slide 1 - Vibrant Hong Kong)

When I was young, my parents taught me that Hong Kong was one of the finest cities in the world. As a person who grew up in the 90s, I witnessed some of the most vibrant years that Hong Kong enjoyed, when the economy was booming, when its technology was developing swiftly, and when the island was one of the safest places in the world, with the beautifully crafted skyline symbolising the diligence of the city as well as the ambitious pursuits of its citizens.

(#Slide 2 - Peaceful protest, ambulance)

Nonetheless, the image of Hong Kong has taken a very sharp turn within the past 100 days. Two months ago, many in Hong Kong still boasted of this classic picture of peaceful protestors courteously giving way to an ambulance passing through, despite their discontent against the government. This picture even stole the front pages of many significant media outlets across the world. Unfortunately, such a beautiful fairytale no longer exists as our cell phones are now filled with images of violence and hatred that painfully describe the dividedness in Hong Kong.

(#Slide 3 - Rioters and gangsters)

So how did our city go from one of the safest cities in the world, to this?

My role today is not to analyse the cause of the matter for you, for the complexity of the matter is of such that any explanation would only cause greater unrest to any assembly.

(#Slide 4 - Timothy Keller credits)

But I will tell you what a city was supposed to be according to the Bible.

When we think of a city, most of us think of a dense and packed population where people make and spend their money, where new ideas for mankind are developed, and where the most intelligent brainworkers convene and celebrate their achievements. Unfortunately cities across the world have also earned their fair share of negative images, even without any reference to the current crisis in Hong Kong. Any city around the world seems to be a breeding ground for the worst crimes of all sorts.

(#Slide 5 - Sin and the City)

Drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling, gang violence, criminal frauds have always plagued various cities across the world. Even during biblical times, we read that various cities were built to celebrate wild living—The Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, Nineveh, Babylon… but to name a few. It seems that the meaning of the city has almost become synonymous with sin and rebellion.

Yet what does the Bible actually say about the city?

(#Slide 6 - New Jerusalem)

The Bible mentions that when Jesus comes back to rule as King, God’s people will dwell with God in a city called the New Jerusalem, a place where God himself will be with them and be their God, where He will wipe every tear from the eyes of His people, and where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old heavens and the old earth will have passed away by then.

(#Slide 7 - Garden of Eden)

In other words, the concept of the City was God’s original design all along. It was meant for justice, and not for pervertedness; for protection, and not for danger; for good, and not for evil.

Even after sin entered the world, the city still had its purpose, as a refuge that was meant to protect mankind from the dangerous living conditions of the wilderness. As the world developed, the city became a place of protection for the needy, where people sought protection from wild animals, uncivilised tribes, and criminals, and where civil justice could be administered for the homeless, the poor, the sick, and the weak.

(Slide #8 - Hong Kong cages)

How ironic has the city become, when cities nowadays often oppress the homeless, the poor, the sick, and the weak.

So you might ask: What then can we do? Even without the current crisis in Hong Kong, these social problems are much greater than what anyone could bear!

The answer is simple, but an important one: We build Diocesan hill together.

(Slide #9 - DBS [主])

For the Bible teaches that whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, yet whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Throughout history, great men of courage and integrity have come from this school. From Dr. Sun Yat-sen who overthrew the Qing dynasty and founded the Republic of China, to the countless DBS students who volunteered to defend Hong Kong from falling into the hands of Japanese Imperial forces, generation after generation of valiant men have come from this Diocesan Hill. Who is to say that God would not call on your generation to rise with valour and to bring positive and lasting changes to Hong Kong.

But before that can happen, before you learn to build the city of Hong Kong, you must first learn to build a godly city upon Diocesan Hill:

A godly city where you uphold what is right, and you stand up for what is just;

A godly city where the least of your brothers are protected and defended, rather than bullied or hurt;

A godly city where your fellow teachers and your fellow brothers are treated with respect both in public and in private;

A godly city where groundless gossip and insults simply do not belong.

And when God returns to judge the citizens of Diocesan Hill, He will neither ask about the grand slams that we have captured, nor will He ask about the championships we have conquered.

Rather He will ask, if we had been a city that acts justly, a city that loves mercy, and a city that walks humbly with the LORD our God.

When we see God face to face, may we all hear Him say,

'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Amen.

Hong Kong - Defending the Hill (保住座山）⛰️

Assembly Sharing @ Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong Kong, on 27 November 2019

Defending the Hill (保住座山）⛰️

It has been 172 days since the first large march of 1 million protesters took place in Hong Kong against the proposed Extradition Bill. Since then, Hong Kong has suffered some of its most turbulent times in modern history. As the unrest grew, institutions across the city were pressured by various stakeholders to release official statements concerning their stance on the issue, yet scripting even the simplest announcement was no easy task for anyone in charge as the slightest bit of misunderstanding might provoke irreversible consequences.

Our school also had its fair share of challenges, but though our diocesan family is a very diverse family, one sentiment that unites us is the calling to “defend the hill” (保住座山）, a slogan we had always been familiar with even before the current crisis.

But as poetic as the slogan sounds, what does it mean to defend the hill? What is it that we are defending, and what is it that we are defending against?

Before the current crisis, many would say that defending the hill meant crowning ourselves in competitions;

while others might say that it is the reputation of the school we should defend.

Whatever your take might be, I thank God that He has given us a very well written school hymn, which I argue, would answer ALL the above questions, but not in the way that many of us would expect.

(Slide 2)

Verse 1 of our school hymn calls us to build “an undefiled heritage”, meaning, to build a home that is not dirty or impure.

(Slide 3)

This concept is easier to put into practice when we visually see our school campus under threat, as evident when our janitors, teachers, and students worked hand in hand to clean up the campus after typhoon Mangkhut. But there are times when we fail to fulfill this calling, when the enemy is unclear, and when we feel too comfortable in this place we call home.

(Slide 4)

If you type “拔萃” onto the search bar on YouTube, the first two search results would be videos of your very impressive sports achievements, but by the third link, you would find a recorded footage of DBS boys using extremely inappropriate language on school campus. Now this video might have been from a decade ago, but to be completely honest with you, we have not made much improvement in taming our tongues from the use of foul language, and neither have we improved much in other areas of discipline or conduct, including but not limited to the way we honor our school uniform, or the respect we have towards teachers and to one another. These are the areas in which we continue to fall short of the standard that was set for us in our school hymn. These are the areas in which we continue to fail in defending our hill…

(Slide 5)

Now what is the purpose of building “an undefiled heritage”? Verse 2 of our school hymn teaches us that this “yoke we bear” in keeping our home clean, pure, and undefiled would lead us to experiencing God’s truth by which the nations live.

And I guarantee you that this is no exaggeration.

This current version of the school hymn was introduced to the school by our predecessors who had just experienced the horrors and the pains of World War II, hence it is not without careful consideration that the survivors in the school leadership implemented these time tested lyrics into the foundation of our home. To further elaborate on the importance of pursuing a holy and undefiled life, I would like to quote from Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher:

(Slide 6)

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

During the past few months, our students have been rather vocal on social media. Some calling for the government to respond to their “Five demands”, and some rallying support for the government to 止暴制亂. Whatever political side you associate yourselves with, I assume your protests stem upon a certain justice, fairness, or righteousness that you believe in as individuals. So where will all this lead to? To be completely honest with you, I have no idea how Hong Kong could be restored and healed from the current hurt. But this I can tell you: As of now, your calling is not to fix Hong Kong’s problems. Your calling is to keep DBS an undefiled heritage. Tame your tongue from the use of foul language; clean up after yourselves instead of leaving your soy sauce filled cups on the ping pong tables after recess; show up to class on time in proper school uniform; respect your teachers and your peers and yourselves.

If you can do the above, then perhaps God would put Hong Kong into the hands of your generation. For the Bible tells us that, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

(Slide 7)

Having done the above, Verse 3 of our school hymn then calls us to look to God as our judge and not our friends. In reiterating the importance of “defending the hill”, many misunderstand the slogan as a protection of the school’s reputation. But our school hymn calls us to pursue a righteousness that is much greater, that even if our decisions might not go well with the general public, we are to look to God as the judge for what is right and what is wrong, even at the expense of being insulted by the crowd.

Case in point:

In May 1939, Mr Goodban appointed a student of Japanese citizenship to be the head prefect of DBS because the boy had the best qualifications. Nonetheless, the decision turned out to be rather unpopular amongst students because of their patriotic fervour for the Nationalist Government. As we look back to this incident, we would appreciate Mr Goodban’s impartiality in appointing a head prefect based on qualifications and not on citizenship, but this decision certainly required great strength and courage from Mr Goodban.

We are to look to God as the judge, even at the expense of own popularity.

(Slide 8)

Finally, Verse 4 of our school hymn calls us to find the strength to comfort those who are in distress, a much needed strength especially in this day and age,

(Slide 9)

and Verse 5 concludes with the importance of forgiveness and the love of God to all men, a forgiveness that is given even before the repentance of those who have wronged us, because God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In the same way, we too, are to love those who hurt us, and bless those who curse us.

And this is how we are called to “defend the hill” (保住座山）.

Amen.

Queen Victoria laying down her crown at Jesus’ feet 👑

Assembly Sharing @ Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong Kong, on 20 May 2019

Good morning headmaster, teachers, and boys,

Today, I want to talk about success.

All of us are familiar with the slogan “DBS, Best of the Best”, and the many chants that propel us to pursue excellence in all that we do.

Of course, we all have slightly different ideas of what it means to be successful, or to be “the BEST”.

(Slide #1 Speech Day)

Some of us might define success as a clean sweep of all the inter-school sports championships,

(Slide #2 World Choir Games)

while others might not truly be satisfied with their successes until they receive international recognition.

(Slide #3 Donald J. Trump)

Some of us define success by the riches we gain,

(Slide #4 Liverpool FC)

while others define success by how much they could beat FC Barcelona within 90 mins.

(Slide #5 Real Madrid C.F.)

And still others, define success by what their beloved institutions can accumulate throughout the decades.

(Slide #6 Queen Victoria)

Today, I will not define success for you. For we are all entitled to our own opinion. But I do want to introduce you to one of the most successful persons in history. She is Queen Victoria.

(Slide #7 Empire)

As one of the longest-reigning monarchs of all time in the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria was ruler over “The Empire on which the sun never sets”, meaning, the vastness of her kingdom was so great, the sun would always be touching at least one territory of her empire throughout the everyday 24-hour cycle, whether the sun rises from the east or sets in the west. Nonetheless, neither the greatness of her kingdom nor the riches of her royal treasures impress me as much as her attitude towards life and eternity.

(Slide #8 The End Times)

One of the chaplains of Queen Victoria had been preaching on the return of Jesus Christ during the end times, and afterwards, in conversation with the preacher, the Queen exclaimed: “Oh! how I wish that the Lord Jesus Christ would come back during my lifetime!”

“Why,” asked the chaplain, “does your Majesty feel this very earnest desire?”

The lips of the Queen began to quiver, yet her whole face was lighted up by deep emotion. Then she said,

(Slide #9 Crown)

“I would love to lay my crown at Jesus’ feet when He returns.”

(Slide #10 Bible Verse)

Dear teachers and boys, we all have different pursuits, we all have different endeavors, and we all define success differently. For Queen Victoria, she knew she was successful, and she knew that her kingdom was one of the largest empires in the history of mankind. Yet none of that could compare to the living hope that Jesus Christ had won for her through His death and resurrection, because the love of God for her is something that can never spoil, fade or be destroyed. Even her crown of gold could not compare to the eternal joy that God gives her, and so Queen Victoria could only hope that one day she could lay her crown at Jesus’ feet.

(Slide #11 Jim Carrey ~)

Famous actor Jim Carrey, the guy from Bruce Almighty, once said,

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

meaning,

he hopes that if you had been dreaming of becoming a billionaire,

you would become a billionaire;

if you had been dreaming of becoming an Olympic gold medalist,

you would become an Olympic gold medalist;

and if you had been dreaming of becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, a musician, a politician, even the chief executive of Hong Kong,

you would become all these things,

so that when that happens, you would know that these are not the answers to life.

Queen Victoria recognised that all her medals, trophies and crowns of gold she achieved in life, are nothing compared to the joy that the Lord gives you.

I encourage you all that if one day, you realise that nothing you achieve in life seems to give you any joy or satisfaction or answers, you would remember the story of Queen Victoria, that the only joy in life comes from laying down everything you have at the feet of Jesus Christ.

Amen.