Blogging on Spiritual Formation on the Run

I will not be updating this blog. I will continue to blog at Spiritual Formation on the Run                       < draltang.wordpress.com>

Please enjoy my previous posts. The new site will include all the posts from this blog and be updated regularly with new ones.

I still maintain my photography blog at www.alextang.photography

Thankful for your friendship and fellowship here. Join me in my new blog.

Ten Years of Blogging

I have been blogging for ten years! The unsettling events of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 had so distracted me that that I almost let such an important anniversary slipped my mind! I started this blog on 21 January 2006. I posted my 1000th post on 20 July 2008, 2001st post on 1 Jan 2010, and 3000th post on 11 Feb 2015. One of the features I like about blog is that I can easily retrieve previous posts, unlike Facebook or twitters. Blogging is part of my digital Great Commission activities.

My very first post Why I begin blogging in 2006 states the reasons why I started the blog.

• With the numerous viewpoints available, I want to add a distinctive Christian one
• I support the open access of knowledge that the Internet offers
• Use Web 2.0 as a platform to sharing our learning experiences
• Be part of an online community

In time, my blogging activities expanded and so did my number of blogs. Aside from this blog, I also administer the following blogs, reflecting my diverse interests.

• Random Writing from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Sermon from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Spirituality from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Photos from a Doctor’s Chair

My postings in the blogs have lessen in the last few years because of my increased involvement in Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus and Youtube. This does not mean that I think that the importance of blogs has decreased. In fact, I believe that blogging has settled into the distinctive niche it was meant to be. Where Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Google Plus deal with the daily, social online interactions, blogs offers a place for longer, more reflective and reasoned articles to be posted.

I will continue to blog 

•  Spiritual discipline. Blogging is a spiritual discipline as I try to write at least 1,000 words daily. Not all of what I have written will be posted. Some will be published elsewhere. I find writing helps me to think and understand myself. It also helps me to experience God and engage with his creation.

• Teaching. The Internet has grown tremendously in the last two decades. It has become the largest depository of knowledge mankind has ever created. It is also the largest collection of hubris. I will continue to present a Christian viewpoint from as far as I understand it. I do not pretend to know it all but I see the need for Christian counterpoint especially from an Asian perspective.

• Recommending. I will continue to recommend good books, blog postings and websites. I find open sharing is very useful as others may also come across articles or post I am not aware of.

• Interaction. I value interactions on my blogs and other social media. I value open minds and fellow seekers. However, I will not waste my time with biased, opinionated, rude bigots. We learn more in our interactions. 

• Community. My readers and friends are my online tribe and community. I value every one of them. Their comments and likes are much appreciated. I love the friendships we have formed online and in some cases in the physical world. It is always a pleasure to meet someone in the flesh whom we have met online. I am slowly going down the list and praying for each of my Facebook friends.

Dear friends, thank you for reading this far and being part of my life. God bless you all. 

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My 3,000th blog post

It is a good time to revisit why I started blogging in 1 January 2006

Why I Begin Blogging

I always think that a blog is a stain on my shirt after I ate laksa noodles until someone pointed out to me that a laksa sauce makes a blot but a blog is a specialised website where you can write your journal or your ideas and post it into the Internet for all to see. Thus, in an attempt to reduce my ignorance, I ventured into the land of cyberspace and to my delight discovered that there is a vast domain there, waiting to be explored and to bring into the influence of the Kingdom of God. Here are some of  the reasons why I blog for God.

Firstly, there is a vast store of information stored in the Internet. While it is important to recognise the fact that not all information on the Internet is reliable but this is also true of much of the information from television, books, newspaper and our friends. The onus is now on the receiver of the information to filter them and decide which to trust. One rule of the thumb is that the source of information must be trustworthy. An educational or recognised organisation is more reliable than a personal website (unless you know that person, of course).

Secondly, the Web has made a true democratisation of knowledge. Information and knowledge has always been controlled by government censors, media magnates and professional watchdogs (also called peer reviewers). Now, anybody can post their comments and their thoughts on the Web. Where some websites have moderators to block the more offensive contents, independent websites are relatively free to post whatever they want. The bad side is that a lot of nonsense is on the Web. The good side is that there is a freedom of speech. What has impressed me is the ‘wiki’. A wiki is an encyclopaedia-like website where people are working together in consensus to build up a searchable information database free for anyone to use. One good example is wikipedia www.wikipedia.org. Here is a large encyclopaedia slowly being built up containing most of the knowledge of mankind. Contributors are professionals and others who are giving away their knowledge for free. One would expect such a collaborative effort to be full of errors. A recent study done by Science shows that the context of wikipedia is as reliable as online Britannica Encyclopaedia!  Personally I feel more Christians should be contributing to the building up of this type of databases. The apostle Paul asked a question of how  people are to know of the gift of salvation if they have not been told about it first.

Thirdly, over the years, the ways we are learning have changed. Gone are the days when we can sit down and listen to two hours long sermons by Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards. We are now used to being given information bites in small amount, interestingly packaged with sounds and pictures courtesy of CNN and MTV. Teens are learning more from the Web than from the church or schools. The forms of communications have changed. And the church has to change its forms of communication if it is to be relevant to the present generation. The church’s mandate is to go forth and make disciples, not wait for the disciples-to-be to come to them. The message has not changed. Only the ways of saying it.

Finally, Weblog is an area in which online communities can form. A blog is a personal website where one can post whatever thoughts or comments. This is a form of discussion forum but less structured. This is read and commented upon by other bloggers (people who write blogs). If there are common interests, over time communities will form. Christians and seekers have also formed such online communities. One of the challenges I see to the church in the coming years is that these communities will become more numerous and may even outnumber the existing brick and concrete churches. Such church communities share sermons transcripts, listen to sermons online and offer comfort and fellowship to one another. Instead of condemning such communities, the church should embrace these communities and incorporate them into the existing church structure. I am waiting to for pastors of cyberspace churches to appear.

People perceive and receive information differently nowadays compared to those twenty years ago. For people to believe the good news, they must first hear it. To hear it, they need to have the good news communicated to them. The forms of communication have changed. It is time Christians learn to use the new forms of communication. Why do I blog? To communicate. Welcome to blogosphere.

Looking back, I have learned much from blogging. The social media and technology have changed much since then. Now there is Facebook, microblog Tumbr, Pinterest, Linkin, Youtube, Whatsapp and numerous others which are multiplatform connecting media. I am happy that I am part of a larger community of people who cares about what I care about, and seems genuinely interested to connect with me. Of course, nowadays, they call your community your tribe.

So to my tribes out there and in here (my heart), thank you for your friendship. And keep sharing.

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The Digital Great Commission

In my article The Influence of Globalisation on Christian Spiritual Formation in Churches In Malaysia and Singapore I highlight the use of technology may be missional.

Globalisation is not necessary bad. Using the improved communication and extensive networking provided by new technologies, it is easier to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world than before. The Internet has made it possible to reach even the remotest part of any country as long as there is Internet access. It has also allowed even the remotest part of the world with Internet access to be readily accessible. A Christian website may be accessed by anyone, even those in areas not accessible to missionaries. Social networking allows people to connect over long distances which otherwise will not know of one other’s existence. Streaming videos and MP3 allow download of materials anywhere in the world. The global culture has a made inroads into many other cultures. It is a two-way street. Local cultures may influence global culture. There is much potential in the wise use of art, music, video and writings to spread the Gospel. Anyone can upload something onto the Internet and have it viewed by thousands within the hour! YouTube may be used as a media for evangelisation. Virtual Christian faith communities may be set up online. The degree of Christian spiritual formation that may be done through the Internet has not been fully explored.

Christianity Today runs a Global Conversation on technology and mission.

THE GLOBAL CONVERSATION The Face-to-Face Gospel and the Death of Distance Al Erisman says we need to think about ministry in the digital culture the way missionaries think about the culture of the people they serve. Interview by Tim Stafford RESPONSES: Nigel M. de S. Cameron: Sci-Fi Reality Wha-Chul Son: Technological Divide Juan D. Rogers: Not Just Tools Haron Wachira: Blessings & Curses of Technology Video: Emotional Robots .

Help, Someone Hacked My Website!

Someone hacked into my website Kairos Spiritual Formation a few days ago and Google and Firefox showed this dreaded message everytime someone try to access my URL.


This is the first time I heard of an "attack page." An attack page, I found out is, when someone hacked into your website and install some malicious software that either changes your website or redirect your readers to other websites. I immediately emailed my website host server which immediately replied that it has nothing to do with them.

I next tried to find out the extend of the attack by using Google Webmaster Tools Diagnostic. It was very helpful in identifying all the codes that the hacker/hackers has inserted into my website. Then followed many tedious hours of deleting the said code from my website. Thank God that I was able to remove all these code because Google and Firefox restored access to my website.

I felt sad and disappointed that people will do something like that. It is like someone breaking into your house and desecrating it. Kyrie eleison.

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Blog Anniversary 2010

I started this blog on 1st January 2006 and has completed four years of blogging and this is my 2,001st post. As I begin my fifth year of blogging, I wish to thank all the readers who have read my posts. Some of you have become my friends. I appreciate the interactions and feedback either as comments on my blogs, Facebook, emails, SMS and letters.

I started this blog as a way to learn more about blogging. Gradually I find that this blog has become a way for me to voice out new ideas, and to process my thinking. Here I do find all your comments helpful. Writing the posts, reviewing the books I have read, movies I have seen, comics I have enjoyed, and computer games I have completed makes me more precise and disciplined in my thinking. It forces me to relate what I have just encountered with my belief system and worldview.

This blog is about my spirituality. I am a Christian by choice. My theology is Reformed. Christianity to me is not about a set of 'do' and 'don't' but about living out my beliefs in my everyday life. This includes my job, my hobbies, my reading and thought life. It should not be a surprise to some of my readers that a Christian may enjoy movies, reading books and comics, playing computer games and collecting Batman action figures. Or be tolerant of other religious traditions.

Most of all, I want to emphasis here, my blog is about my understanding of what Christianity is all about. I offer this blog as a resource. That is why I post links to articles, videos or other websites. The other resource I offer is my website Kairos Spiritual Formation where I have posted most of my writings and commentaries.

Thank you again for reading and visiting this blog. See ya and a Happy New Year

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Blogging is Bad for You?

October 7, 2009

Blog ... The Devil Wants You To

Why the uber-bloggers encourage fasting from their task

by Drew Dyck

For one of the first Catalyst lab sessions, three of the top Christian bloggers took the stage to talk shop: Ann Jackson (www.FlowerDust.net), Carlos Whittaker (www.RagamuffinSoul.com), and Jon Acuff (www.StuffChristiansLike.net)

So what wisdom did these titans of the blogosphere impart?

Stay away from blogging.

read more

A 'Quiet' Day in STM (4)

The Three Amigos



spiritual theology bridging the gap between New Testament and Old Testament?

Making Money Blogging

Blogging is a logical development of the Internet Web 2.0. People blog for many reasons (reasons why I blog). In spite of censorship and threats of lawsuits and detention by governments, millions of people continue to express their opinions on all sort of topics. In the United States, it is claimed that there are as many bloggers as lawyers which says a lot. Can blogging become a profession? In other works, is it viable for bloggers to quit their full-time jobs? Mark Penn, writing in the Wall Street Journal April 21, 2009 (Asia edition) calls blogging 'America's Newest Profession.'

Paid bloggers fit just about every definition of a microtrend: Their ranks have grown dramatically over the years, blogging is an important social and cultural movement that people care passionately about, and the number of people doing it for at least some income is approaching 1% of American adults.

We know that print newspapers are facing declining subscription. One of the possible reasons may be the perceived control of print newspaper by government and big businesses. Bloggings on the other hand is slowly developing to be a reliable independent source of information (another perception). Many newspaper columnists are now blogging. Blogging, like print is a form of media. So can we make money from blogging? Maybe only a fortunate few but things are changing so rapidly that no one knows in the future.

So one day when we ask our children, "What do you want to be when you are older?"

"Doctor, lawyer, engineer?"

"Blogger"

Blogs: A Window to Our Souls

Blogs: A Window to Our Souls What does your Internet personality say about you? By Collin Hansen

Huh! Just hope it is not a Microsoft window.

Can you read my webpage?

As some of you will know, I have a website, Kairos Spiritual Formation which I have been slowly and painstakingly building up for the last 3 years. I hope to develop it into a ministry resource centre for teaching, training and research into Christian spiritual formation. I update weekly or sometimes more frequently using Microsoft FrontPage 2003.

Recently I discovered to my horror that only those using the Microsoft browser Internet Explorer was able to read what I have posted on the website. Other browser like Firefox have problem showing the whole webpage. Listening to some online forum it was alluded to that the html writer program, FrontPage "purposely" write some code into the page so that only Internet Explorer browser users can read the webpages. I do not know how far this is true.

Do other website owners have this problem with different browsers?

Can anyone help me to make my website, Kairos Spiritual Formation readable to all browsers?

Help?

Blown2Bits: A Digital Explosion

This 2008 book is written by Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT, Ken Ledeen, Chairman/CEO of Nevo Technologies and Harry Lewis, former Dean of Harvard College, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard.

The question this book seeks to answer is how the digital explosion will affect life, liberty and happiness. Since this book is written for the North American context, it nevertheless gives some answers to the rest of the world.

Much of the book deals with the tremendous technological leap that took us from there to here. It also identifies two groups of people in North America; these before and after the Internet. Obviously the new generation is more computer savvy and more at home on the Net.

The book raises the issues of copyright (intellectual properties, movies, songs etc) and of personal privacy. The free availability of information (bits) has in many cases forces us to redefine copyright and privacy. Again, the younger generations is more relaxed with these two issues. Note the amount of files being exchanged and the amount of personal information that is being uploaded voluntarily to social networking sites, blogs and websites. This is an interesting book, while not providing trends or answers, gives we something to think about as we run for cover in the digital explosion.
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Useful Blogs Links

Jessica Merritt from ChristianColleges.com posted the

Top 100 Theology Blogs
which includes Tony Siew's Revelation is Real: This blog is about reflections on Christianity and often the book of Revelation.

Congratulations, Tony. An honour well deserved.


Also check out her useful lists of...
100 Free and Useful Online Tools to Study the Scripture

100+ Great Social Sites Especially for Christians

50 Awe-inspiring, Free, High-Res Collections of Religious Imagery

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Happy clicking :)

My Blog is Rated PG-13

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

* pain (8x)
* death (6x)
* dead (4x)

rate your blog here

HT: Kansas Bob

Lemonaid Blog Award

Lamont awarded me a Lemonaid blog award. I guess this means I'm good at making sour things sweet! Thanks Tara...

ONCE YOU'VE BEEN AWARDED, THE RULES ARE:
1. Thank the person who was so thoughtful for giving you this award by linking their blog to this post.
2. Put the logo on your blog or post.
3. Nominate 10 blogs which show great attitude/gratitude.
4. Link your nominee to your post
5. Comment them to tell them about the award they've won.



I nominate these 10 FANTASTIC people for their great blogs:

Helen
Lilian
Pearlie
Kenny
Kar Yong
Tony
Anthony
Bob
Joshua
Paul

Blog Anniversary : Year 4

I have completed my third year of blogging and am looking forward to another year. I thank you for your visits and look forward to interact with your comments on my postings.

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Random Wordle

Reality Check on Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki is an interesting guy and I have been following his writings for some time.

This brief biodata is from wiki;

Guy Kawasaki (Born August 30, 1954) one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984, is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He is noted for bringing the concept of evangelism to the high-tech business, focusing on creating passionate user-advocates for the Apple brand. Kawasaki was a former Apple Fellow, and after leaving the company, became CEO of a pseudo-spin-off of Apple called ACIUS, which produced the 4th Dimension database program. He also started the company Fog City Software. Recently, he has been involved in the rumor reporting site, Truemors, and an RSS aggregator, Alltop. As of August 2008 his blog "How to Change the World" is ranked 88 in the world.

Kawasaki has a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University and an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles. He is Japanese American and a native of Honolulu, Hawaii where he attended the Iolani School.

He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm which specializes in high-technology start-up firms located in Silicon Valley, California as well as co-founder of Nononina, the company that created the Truemors and Alltop websites.

This book, Reality Check (2008) is his latest. He writes in the introduction, "...I grew frustrated with the shortcoming of blogging, which I started to do in earnest in 2006 with my blog "How to Change the World." I quickly learned that people rarely scroll past the home page of a blog or search for previous material. However I wanted my blog to serve as a constant reference source for a wide range of topics of entrepreneurial interest. The reality is that blogs and online sources don't do this very well for everyone.

...inspired me to publish Reality Check.That is, I wanted to provide hardcopy information to hardcore people who want to kick ass, and I wanted this information in something you can hold you your hands-aka, a book. Why a book? Because a book boots up faster than a blog and a book has better copyediting and fact-checking than a blog. Also a book is not dependent on Internet connectivity, battery life, or of the ineptness of HTML printing. And best of all, because you can write in a book, stick stickies in a book, and dogear its corners."

Here is it folks, the guru of Silicon Valley prefers a book to a blog!

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The End of Individual Blogs?

Note this observation posted on Christianity Today liveblog

September 11, 2008 12:47PM
Abandoning the Outpost
Joe Carter wonders about the future of standalone blogs.
Ted Olsen

A few days ago, I received a press release for GodblogCon, the annual gathering of Christian bloggers. The September 20-21 meeting in Las Vegas (it is scheduled to coincide with the mainstream BlogWorld and the New Media Expo) will feature several prominent Christian bloggers, like Tall Skinny Kiwi’s Andrew Jones, La Shawn Barber, and ScrappleFace satirist Scott Ott.
But at the top of the list, the press release mentioned that a key speaker would be “Joe Carter, the Christian blogosphere’s very own Bono.” Carter, formerly of Family Research Council, World Magazine, The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, the Mike Huckabee campaign, The East Texas Tribune, and the U.S. Marine Corps, is perhaps best known as the creator of EvangelicalOutpost.com.

The five-year-old site became one of the most prominent evangelical blogs and was in many ways was as influential on its own as several of the organizations on Carter’s resume. (Not too many Christian bloggers’ views on bioethics have been profiled by The Washington Post.)
But there’s a new wrinkle. Carter is no longer speaking at GodBlogCon, and is no longer blogging at EvangelicalOutpost.com.

And according to a farewell post on Evangelical Outpost, Carter wonders about the future of independent sites like his.
“The future of the new media, in my opinion, is moving away from personal sites toward online collectives that are focused on particular interests,” he wrote. “The political left has been doing this for years (see: DailyKos) but the other areas of the blogging community have been slow to follow this approach. … [T]he future of online activity will move to ‘planned communities’ rather than, for example, the ‘ghettos’ that Christian bloggers have been trying to break out of for years.”

read more

One Thousand Post

The post of the Following the Footsteps of St. Paul (17) with some photos of the awesome Corinth canal is my 1,000th post.

It's been two and a half year of blogging and I hope you have enjoyed the posts as much as I have enjoyed posting them. If I have offended you in any way i.e. in my comments or statements on your beliefs or conviction, I hereby apologise. It is not my intention to offend anyone for my purpose to blog is to learn from one another.

Thank you for reading this blog and I hope in the process we have enriched each.

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