What do you think?

reading this post written long time ago...
http://sungguh-nyata.blogspot.com/2011/04/blind-faith.html

hmm... and was thinking about this thing called, "FAITH", yet again...

What is faith?


When i was reading this portion of Bible, in the book of Hebrews, saying,
"now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see... This is what the ancients were commended for."
"...by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible..." (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV)

"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
"By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see." (The Message)

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputaion."
"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." (New Living Translation)

"Iman adalah dasar dari segala sesuatu yang kita harapkan dan bukti dari segala sesuatu yang tidak kita lihat. Sebab oleh imanlah telah diberikan kesaksian kepada nenek moyang kita."
"Karena iman kita mengerti, bahwa alam semesta telah dijanjikan oleh firman Allah, sehingga apa yang kita lihat telah terjadi dari apa yang tidak dapat kita lihat." (Alkitab Terjemahan Baru)


"信 就 是 所 望 之 事 的 实 底 ， 是 未 见 之 事 的 确 据 。古 人 在 这 信 上 得 了 美 好 的 证 据 。

我 们 因 着 信 ， 就 知 道 诸 世 界 是 藉 神 话 造 成 的 ； 这 样 ， 所 看 见 的 ， 并 不 是 从 显 然 之 物 造 出 来 的 。" (Chinese Union Version - Simplified)


Probably because I was thinking about "FAITH" as something which can be felt, tasted, smelled, known that I would know it with my physical senses? Trying to imagine what is FAITH is, with my mind...

or because it's so intriguing that it makes me wanna figure it out, like,
'how is this faith works?... especially in terms of prayer, repentance, miracle working, spiritual gifts... in pleasing God... in seeing things which are unseen to naked eyes... how? why? and what is is thing called faith is...'


hmm... then, I read it again and again... and it came down to one simple thing... 'just believing' and continue to believe all those things which we don't seem to understand at first or perhaps not even until the second coming of Jesus Christ!

Believing... what is laid far far beyond my naked eyes, far far beyond my imagination, my mind...
Believing... what has been revealed to me, to my heart (to the point that which I would go like, 'yes, this is it... I chose to believe it...)

Hanging on...
Believing and continue to believe... even until your death!

That's what the accounts of people of faith which follow the first three verses in Hebrews 11...
"Because of faith..."
"Karena iman..."

then I remember, in Habakuk 2:4, it says,
"..but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness..." (NIV)
"..but the just will live by his faith.." (KJV)
"..tetapi orang yang benar itu akan hidup oleh percayanya.." (Alkitab TB)

"...one man will live by what he believes in and continue to live in it, walk in it until the end..."
At least, that's what I was thinking as I ponder on the subject of faith...

It's like when a man puts 'I wanna be a successful man in career' as his goal, and he works hard throughout his life, solely to achieve that goal, seeing that one day he will be a manager/CEO owning a property, having a family (depending on his definition of being successful), and believing that he will reach that goal...
that's how he hold onto his dream, goal, belief, vision of future and live on his life...

So, looking it in the context of 'religion'... i suppose that's how 'FAITH' is...
and if, let's say someone who considered to be atheist, doesn't believe in a cosmic deity, a god, a creator... having this 'goal' or 'foresight' of this future where he will be in and works towards it... and he really persevere regardless of the obstacles... and he did it, because he hold onto that future he envisioned...

then, being a people of certain faith, ok let's put it this way, a people of THE FAITH...
we chose to believe what we're taught to believe...
we live by what we chose to believe..
we act by the way we live..

... so, what is the thing which you've chosen to believe in and hold onto, for so long... for eternity?...

is it... FREEDOM?

is it... FORGIVENESS?

is it... REST? (not rest as in R.I.P.)

is it... simply living a LIFE?

and, I'm thinking... what is the thing I foresee in the future, or even now, in this 'religion'?

FAITH in what?

A Call to All Malaysians (Lim Guan Eng)

Since Merdeka, two million Malaysians have migrated overseas because they do not see a future for themselves and for Malaysia . It is time that we don't live in our past that is filled with hatred and fear. We should look to the future filled with hope and harmony between all Malaysians.

To put the past behind us, we must stop the politics of race and religion.

To put the past behind us, we must end corruption.

To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedoms.

To put the past behind us, we must demand good governance and performance from our ministers.

To attain peace Malaysians must stand united and reject those who wish to divide us by preaching racial and religious hatred. If we want to benefit from equal opportunities and realize our human potential we must stop extremists from continually degrading others as inferiors so as to uplift ourselves. Why should Allah not be allowed to be used in the Bible when it is used in the Middle East ?

We can only achieve harmony together. Despite our differences and diversity, Malaysians can make our common aspirations of freedom, justice, democracy and truth come true if we remember key values.

That it is not who we are that is important, but what we are that is important; not the colour of our skin that is important but the content of our character; and not our past ancestry that is important but how we connect with the present and with each other to face the future.

We can only be prosperous together. The time has come to focus on the economy, in employment, education and business opportunities as the conditions for prosperity. We must build human talent and be performance-based.

For those who say that PR do not know how to govern, the 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have proven our ability by beating the other 10 BN states by attracting RM25 billion in investments comprising 53% of Malaysia 's total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010. For the first time in history, Penang is now the new champion of investments in Malaysia , coming out top in 2010 with RM 12.2 billion.

To put the past behind us, we must end corruption. Barisan Nasional cannot reform to end corruption. Remember, if we do not end corruption, Malaysia dies. If we end corruption, BN dies. The choice is clear.

To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedom. How can we have a clean government when we do not have clean elections?

We do not want our children to live in fear of oppressive laws as we have lived. A Pakatan Rakyat government will abolish the UUCA, the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act and restore local government elections.

When can we find justice for Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani and A Kugan? When will we have Freedom of Information & Freedom of Speech? When can we have justice that is not only done, but is seen to be done.

To put the past behind us, we demand good governance and performance from our ministers. Malaysia can be an international and intelligent country. We must have digital intelligence with broadband connectivity. We must also have integrity intelligence, so ensure that only honest people are the decision-makers. We must have institutional intelligence under the rule of law. We demand good governance and performance from our ministers.

Has the Transport Ministry done its duty to run our airports and seaports well?

Look at the Penang International Airport whose completion has been delayed more than 3 times. And the Penang Port is to be reduced to be a feeder port and privatized to a 3rd party at the expense of Penangites. Why is there no consultation with the people of Penang to restore the port to its former glory? Instead of looking after airports and ports, the Transport Ministry is more interested in vehicle registration numbers and wants to increase the maximum traffic fines to RM2,000.

Director-General of Tourism is wrongly charged of corruption but the Tourism Minister finds nothing wrong with spending RM1.8 million in doing up her Facebook page, when we all know that it can be done for free.

The Health Ministry wants to privatise healthcare when it should be a public good given as an affordable right to all Malaysians. Why allow the wastage of public funds and affect the quality and affordability of drugs when drugs are bought through a middleman at higher prices when it could be boughtcheaper direct from the manufacturers, some of which are operating in Malaysia .

The Housing and Local Government Ministry opposes local government elections in Penang , denying our fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and our mayors.

We believe that Malaysians deserve better. For the last 50 years, the wealth of the nation has been robbed. Let us protect the future of our children by ensuring we have a people-centric government that protects you instead of harming you, that rewards you instead of stealing from you, that respects you instead of abusing your rights. Let us clean up Malaysia to save our children's future.

We must put the past behind us where profits matters more than our health.

Lynas concerns all of us because if Lynas is allowed to operate, Barisan Nasional will proceed with building two nuclear reactors. If we continue to put health above profits, what is the use of having all the money in the world if you cannot enjoy it healthily?

The next elections shall be fought on the economy. We refuse to allow BN to use race as the issue in the next elections. We need to increase the incomes of our poor or else they will fall victims to the Ah Longs. For example,

Bank Negara's Annual Report 2010 revealed that Malaysia 's household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia .

In addition, the Malaysian household debt service ratio stood at 47.8 per cent in 2010, meaning that nearly half of the average family's income goes to repaying debts. As a rule, banks would not lend money to those whose total servicing of loans exceeded one third of their income. In other words, we are spiralling into an indebted nation.

According to the New Economic Model documents, the bottom 40% of Malaysian households are living with a monthly average income of RM1,500 (and three-quarters of them are bumiputera) while 60% of the households (of four persons averagely) live with a less than RM3,000 income, which is near subsistence if one lives in the cities.

These are families living in fear. We will help them live with dignity and not in fear, by increasing their incomes and cutting down their costs, with a minimum wage, getting rid of monopolies, expanding internet connectivity and encouraging creativity, innovation and productivity.

South Korea is a very good example of a nation that chose democracy, performance and freedom of opportunity to become a developed country. With a population of 48 million, its GDP per capita of USD20,000 is more than double Malaysia's. But in 1970, South Korea 's per capita GDP was only USD260 compared to Malaysia 's USD380. We used to regularly beat South Korea at football. And now our children are fans of K-pop culture and their football team are regulars at the World Cup.

Only when we free ourselves of fear of change, can we be free to prosper. BN cannot change. They need to be changed, for BN wants to rule by fear.

Thomas Jefferson said "When the governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny".

The choice is yours, my friends. I urge you - Let us change so we can have liberty and live with dignity.

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan