HOME | DD | Gallery | Favourites | RSS
| deng-li-xin32
deng-li-xin32
βοΈ
[13421199]
[2010-03-30 13:30:56 +0000 UTC]
"I will go, Lord, send me"
(Unknown)
# Statistics
Favourites: 955; Deviations: 400; Watchers: 191
Watching: 138; Pageviews: 39302; Comments Made: 5940; Friends: 138
# Interests
Favorite visual artist: Albert Anker, He Qi, Marc Chagall, Kees de KortFavorite movies: Lord of the Rings, Jane Austen movies, movies based on books, WWII movies, some Chinese historical movies, ...
Favorite books: Missionary biographies, historical fiction set in China, Lord of the Rings, Narnia
Favorite writers: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Fanny Crosby, anyone who writes missionary bios ;)
Tools of the Trade: Scrap paper, pen, pencil, watercolours, Bible...
Other Interests: Christian mission, languages, culture, travelling, Bible, flute, history, theology, East Asia
# About me
I am an ordained pastor in the Swiss reformed church, currently doing a doctorate in New Testament alongside part-time work in a parish. :) I love studying the Bible and sharing what God teaches me as I read and study~I grew up in Taiwan as a missionary kid - my parents are still missionaries there. It has been my dream to go back and serve there as a missionary too - I'll see how God leads!
Ever since 2010 I have been working on the women of the Bible project: I'm writing a poem for (almost) every woman in the Bible. (Check it out here: deng-li-xin32.deviantart.com/g⦠) This project has been an amazing experience and is teaching me a lot.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ten Seconds Prayer for Taiwan: www.taiwanteam.org/index.html
Women of the Bible Poetry Project: desideria32.blogspot.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Ephesians 3:8)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
:thumb497287624: :thumb444786520: :thumb245828928: :thumb202345938: :thumb173651203: :thumb275324396: :thumb260386742: :thumb308056433: :thumb329387442::thumb655548333:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
# Comments
Comments: 790
OMG. This has to violate at least one of the Commandments... On a funnier note, it's become something of a meme on this guy' s channel, thanks to his review of it ^^
π: 0 β©: 0
I apologize in advance for any revulsion this will cause you, but I feel it important that you look at this site:Β biblicalgenderroles.com/ , and especially this article:Β biblicalgenderroles.com/2018/0β¦ . This sounds like more of what that verse in Timothy says about the Devil quoting Scripture for his own purposes...
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh. My. Word.
I think I got only half way or less, that guy is SO. DISGUSTING. I don't understand why anyone should defend abusers unless they are also one. UGH. I stopped where he said a husband has a right to his wife's body. So wrong...
Thanks for the warning! 
π: 0 β©: 1
I know, but I felt it important to share it with you, because it's Pharisees like him that turn people away from Christianity...
π: 0 β©: 0
Greetings, friend in Christ. Just so you'll know, I left a prayer request in the comments section for the Great-Comission group.
π: 0 β©: 0
I'd like to see your take on Satan/Lucifer...
π: 0 β©: 1
Haha 
In quick summary: I think a lot of the traditional ideas of the devil are based on a mistranslation / misreading of two passages in the Bible (which actually talks about a Middle Eastern king, not about Satan).
I do believe that there is evil outside of human beings - there is evil we can't control. E.g. looking at addiction or things like that, it's bad things that people don't have control over. Or even just looking at how e.g. murderers or abusers were affected by childhood traumas to become what they were. I think there is evil above and outside of human beings. But I don't really like most of the overdone personifications. The Bible itself is very sparing with descriptions and depictions and explanations of evil and the devil. I think there is evil and devil in us, but also outside of us. But more important than theorising about Satan or talking about it as a "person" and insisting one believe in a personified devil, to me, is living in a way that overcomes evil. I get annoyed when people insist that proper Christians "must" believe in the existence of Satan. I know Christians who don't, for good reasons. The devil has often been an excuse for evil ("he made me do it"), or an easy explanation for why bad things happen, and I think we need to get out of that concept.
That in short
The devil doesn't have a big place in my faith really.
π: 0 β©: 1
In poetry form would certainly be interesting! 
A lot of it could also be unwitting incorporation of Dante's Inferno or John Milton's Paradise Lost.
π: 0 β©: 1
Agreed! I think those have seeped into culture so much that people no longer even know. It's good literature, but not really what we should be basing our theology on.
π: 0 β©: 0
Your gallery looks amazing! So great to meet a fellow pro-LGBTQ Christian feminist!
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you!
Aaaahhh glad to meet one too! Haha
Thanks for the watch
π: 0 β©: 0
Considering the subject matter you write, I think you'll especially like this: Β
A Moment of ConsonanceSong: βTheme of Laura (Reprise)β β Silent Hill 2 soundtrack
-:-
Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
βWilliam Blake, βOn Anotherβs Sorrowβ
-:-
Alone, as per usual, a troubled young man sits in his room, his face aglow with computer light as he watches another troubled young man at the end of his rope.
βThis is it. This is where it all ends. End of the road.β
The young man knows all too well what the end of the road was for the man on the other side of the screen: arming himself to the teeth and taking over thirty people with him in one final act of revenge against a cruel world. An idea the young man finds more and more appealing each dayβ¦
The other man goes on, his rants and raves echoing plaintively within the young manβs heart. A vandalized heart, a raped soul, a torched conscience. S
π: 0 β©: 1
Oooh will read!
π: 0 β©: 0
Oh, and if you want to check out my original works, I have them posted on this account:
π: 0 β©: 0
Serious question: what's your take on suicide? I ask because I've sometimes heard that it's a one-way ticket to hell...
π: 0 β©: 1
I don't think it's a one-way ticket to hell. Don't think it's "good", but I'd say the "evil" / "sin" lies more in what led a person to such a decision, than in the person doing it. I believe God has compassion for people who - for whatever reason - choose to end their life, and does not just roundly condemn. I think God does not just look at our actions but at our motivations and he knows what goes on inside each of us and understands.
π: 0 β©: 1
I think so too. I do wonder where people came up with that, though...
π: 0 β©: 1
Probably from how murder is wrong, and then from that concluding that killing yourself is even worse than killing another person (because love for others is kinda derived from love to self and such). Also: Judas did it. And especially in ancient and medieval Christianity Judas kind of counted as the worst of the worst, so if he did it it must have been very bad (personally I don't think Judas was such a baddie but interpretation history is very strong there).
The Bible doesn't really say anything, though. It does have examples of people killing themselves (and it was accepted in ancient near eastern culture to kill oneself to spare shame, for instance, or as a ruler to prevent capture) but nowhere really gives an "opinion" on it (I find the Bible often just describes stuff and people assume "oh that's God's will" but it's actually only a description, with no mention of God's view on it).
π: 0 β©: 1
Why do you not hate Judas as much as many seem to?
π: 0 β©: 1
Observations from the Bible e.g. that Judas was included by Jesus in the Last Supper, he had his feet washed by Jesus, i.e. Jesus treated him no different from the rest. Also, Judas realised later that what he did was wrong, rejected the "blood money" he had received, and in that actually did way more than the religious leaders who had paid him and who did not care.
So I feel too much fuss has been made over Judas and turning him into such a bad guy, when the Bible itself is pretty neutral about him. He definitely is not "the worst sinner ever" lol.
What influenced me too was the novel "Silence" by Shusaku Endo. There's a movie of it now. About Jesuit missionaries forced to recant their faith. The main character reflects on Judas in a very refreshing way.
π: 0 β©: 1
What's your take on Satan/Lucifer?
π: 0 β©: 1
Hmm I don't put much stock in the Lucifer legends because they are not from the Bible.
As for devil in general: I think it helps to see evil as something that is an "outside" force. Of course it's important to take responsibility for our actions, but in my experience sometimes it's out of our control. So I think it makes sense to have a concept of personified evil in a way. But I don't believe in a "battle of good vs evil" because God is more powerful than the devil.
π: 0 β©: 0
Here're some "Christian" films that might just make you laugh or cry...and prolly not the way they intended:
Rock: It's Your Decision
Deception of a Generation
Personally, I think Rock could be a Stephen King-esque horror. It's got all the elements: a minister who could turn sinister, a crazy-religious mom, and a victim-turned-pawn!
π: 0 β©: 1
Ooo I'll check that out!
I have seen few "Christian" movies that don't make me cringe... there are so many "mainstream" films that have had so much more positive impact on my spiritual life than those.
π: 0 β©: 1
Tell me what you think once you see them! ^^
Others you should check out:
God's Not Dead
Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
π: 0 β©: 1
I've heard about God's not Dead - watched the trailer and OHHH MYYYY ughhhh! Even just the trailer looked awful! That one can not only condone but actually believe such extreme stereotypes of atheism shocks me. I think it's just wrong. Won't convince anyone to become Christian, in my opinion. I think so many of these films are counterproductice... in my more conservative days I once tried to watch Christian movies with non-Christian friends and it only embarrassed me. I get the feeling often they attempt to be "evangelistic", but they end up only preaching to the choir. People who are already completely into the conservative evangelical Christian thing might love it, but anyone outside is put off by the horrid acting already.
I haven't seen many Christian films (thank God for good progressive parents with great taste in movies) but the ones I've seen generally had the same bad acting, weak story, and ineffective attempts at being evangelistic. (The only Christian films I really loved were old ones like "The Robe" and "Ben Hur" and "Quo Vadis" which were less in-your-face in my opinion. And a recent one about the resurrection that was very thoughtful.) I've seen "Fireproof" and "Grace Card" I think it was.. and that's about it unless I've blocked some traumatic memories haha. "Letters to God" was okay. I guess they work better for amusement than serious watching haha.
π: 0 β©: 1
Wait 'til you see the two I linked you to. They're so laughably bad!
Did you ever see The Passion?
π: 0 β©: 1
I have not actually. Heard it was extremely violent and anti-Semitic so that kinda put me off.
I started on "The Rock". Ohh myyy
π: 0 β©: 2
Hey, hey! So what'd you think of those two films?
π: 0 β©: 1
Aaaah I haven't been able to watch much yet...
I did get started on the rock music one and eeeeeek I am getting creepy vibes from the youth pastor. Lol.
π: 0 β©: 1
Just wait 'til you see more from the mom...!
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh dear... I already got the impression that she's a bit controlling.
Any parent who starts randomly calling the pastor to fix her kid is going overboard in my opinion...
π: 0 β©: 1
Like I said, a Stephen King...
π: 0 β©: 0
Yeah, The Passion seemed like torture porn to me...
Like I said, Stephen King...
π: 0 β©: 0
If everyone thought the way that you do then we would have heaven here on Earth. You are a wonderful person.
π: 0 β©: 0
I wish your poems had been available decades ago, they would have helped me in so many ways.Β But I am glad to have found them now, when I am (hopefully) a bit more mature and can appreciate them the way they most certainly deserve to be appreciated.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you so much! And thanks for watching!
π: 0 β©: 1
My pleasure.Β Talent like yours is all too rare.
π: 0 β©: 0
No problem! My personal favorite is the poem "Susanna: The God Who Questions Me" It hits pretty close to home and I really enjoyed it! Can't wait to read another poem!Β Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Aw I'm glad you liked it!
π: 0 β©: 0
Thank you so much for following me, my sweet friend!
π: 0 β©: 1
You're very welcome!
π: 0 β©: 0
You have quite the gift...for writing and for thought. Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Please pardon my excessive forwardness, but recently, I had read your prayers request on .
Please know we all are praying for you and your loved one in the current situation you both face.
If you need prayer, support, or someone to listen to you, please feel free to note me.
God bless you and your loved.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you so much for your prayers!
The situation got worse at first, until my bf's boss/pastor sent him to hospital - now he's off the alcohol and has anti-depression medication, and I'm starting to adapt to his sometimes abrupt "downs". I think he's going through a really intensive time with God right now and learning a lot for his faith... which encourages me. Though now the newest problem has flown in because he's in financial trouble too. So right now we're praying for a miracle so he won't be broke by next month...
Thanks for the support and encouragement
π: 0 β©: 0
Thanks for Watching! Β Now I have to start gathering ideas for the biblical paintings for my New Years resolution!! Β LOL Β Pressure!
π: 0 β©: 1
You're welcome! I realised I wasn't watching you, even though you have really awesome art - so I remedied the fact. ^^ All the best with those paintings!!
π: 0 β©: 0
| Next =>