Features
Forgive and live the healthy way
Friday 15 September 2017 | Published in Church Talk
Allow me to open this week’s Church Talk column with a few questions.
Wind River well worth watching
Monday 11 September 2017 | Published in Entertainment
“Snow and silence”
Best source of hope in a mad world
Saturday 9 September 2017 | Published in Church Talk
What is happening in our world today? In this modern world, millions of people face extreme discomfort and all sorts of pain. Let me highlight a few examples: There’s the Syrian war in which many have been killed and many have migrated to other countries. Those who remain face daily uncertainty about their futures. Similar scenarios are taking place in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria… the list goes on. America has just experienced a powerful hurricane in Houston, Texas and now faces an even stronger hurricane in Florida. There is flooding in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, thousands of people died. There are mudslides covering a whole village. As if there were not enough people already dying, we have America and North Korea probing each other for nuclear supremacy and if it all goes wrong, millions will unfortunately be caught in the crossfire. This is a mad situation, but it’s real. Jesus said to His disciples: “You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places.” (Matthew 24:6, 7). The verses above easily relate to the front page of the newspapers worldwide, as this is our current situation. Those who have a passion for Jesus and his teachings have for a very long time known about this. Many Christians have been aggressively proclaiming this message for a long time. When things seemed okay, there was no urgency as to the consideration of these words. But though they were uttered some 2000 years ago, they fit perfectly into the events happening now. This is no laughing matter. If Jesus knew this all those years ago, what else then did He said that is also applicable for us today? He said verse 14 “And the Good News I have shared about God’s kingdom will be told throughout the world. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come.” Could this be the answer to curb the current trend and even offer hope for our chaotic world, ending the misery? The Good News of God’s kingdom looms as a great and positive alternative in offering hope to a dying world. Look at our very challenging environmental mess. There needs to be cleansing, because our abuse of our environment contributes to global warming, causing regular and stronger natural disasters (such as Irma the category 5 storm now destroying islands in its path). It’s not hard to accept the fact that Jesus who created our world understood that treating our environment negatively would produce harmful, destructive activity according to the law of cause and effect. The Bible simplifies it by saying, “Whatever you sow, you reap” (Galatians 6:7). Another issue that is gradually knocking louder and louder are the current economic systems of our world. Corruption is rampant which causes civil unrest. Ethnic cleansing comes into play here and forces people to migrate to already over-populated countries as is the case of migrants flowing from Myanmar into Bangladesh. This is unwanted stress and it is happening globally. In America right now, the “dreamers” (young people entering America when they were infants) now face deportation and there is a debate as to the impact of this to the economy of America. The same tune appears to be playing around the world. As far away as it is and because it appears to have little effect on us, we need to ask ourselves if our lives, and even our faith, are so entangled in the economic structure, and we are blinded to other realities that is happening around us. If the focus in our little paradise is greed and accumulating for selfish ambitions, then we are trotting down the pathway to civil unrest and reaction. Why do I say this? Because, this is the pattern happening globally. Take note of the many protests, calling for justice and fair treatment. We are no longer isolated and out of reach, we have opened our doors to the world and shaping our way of life to the influences coming our way. Hopefully we will not be caught unaware! We need to be alert and be extremely careful here, because if not we will be caught in the web of economic growth, only to be trapped into the very opposite. As always, the most vulnerable (the disabled, widows, outer islanders and other at-risk people) in our society will be most affected. That’s because of because of gender pressures, the lack of education savvy, the fact that people are being ripped off due to ignorance, and the shift of power to a privilege few Last week I used the Creation Story of the Bible as one of the examples of my faith and trust in a powerful God. It’s interesting to note the first two chapters of the Bible in Genesis are about the creation of our world. The last two chapters of the Bible in the book of Revelation talk about the new heaven and the new earth. In between those four chapters is our story of the good, the bad, and theugly, and the Bible deals with that. This tells me God has good plans for us and still does, and when we are seriously dedicated to the study of His word, the Bible, we will begin to see multiple gems of promises and then begin to understand as to the reason why the new heaven and the new earth is mentioned at the end of the Bible. It’s all for us. I believe in an eternal God and I believe He has eternal plans for us. The Bible tells us of the many instances in history, some of which are continuing today, where God’s plans have been twisted, deleted, changed and challenged. This has contributed to a distrust in God and the focus on man. Well, just look at the mess we got into, when man decided to do things on his own. I’ve mentioned some in this article. The God option is the best and most sensible preference. It offers hope and answers and it reinforces our faith in Him. It’s the best I’ve heard. In closing, let me ask this question: “Why did the Bible say Jesus is coming again?” I believe He needs to, as there are too many deaths, too much pain and sorrow. Evil is multiplying and it’s getting worse. May the hope of the Kingdom of God be our prayer for a positive future starting now in our heart. Keep praying and God Bless. Eliu Eliu SDA Church Cook Islands
Protestants closer to Catholics than Luther
Friday 1 September 2017 | Published in Church Talk
In 1517, Martin Luther staked his soul on two revolutionary ideas: sola fide, that salvation is dependent on faith alone; and sola scriptura, that Scripture is the only ultimate authority for Christian belief and practice and that it does not need oversight from church leadership or tradition to be read and understood.
Bible stories challenge perspectives
Friday 1 September 2017 | Published in Church Talk
After being reminded it was the Seventh Day Adventist Church’s turn to do the CINews Church Talk articles for the month of September, I started to think of topics I should address.
American Made takes off after dodgy start
Monday 28 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
The opening scenes in American Made look as though someone saw the 2016 film Sully, also a true story about a pilot, and learned all the wrong lessons.
Building a life of faith
Friday 25 August 2017 | Published in Church Talk
What does it take to please God?
Dark Tower's storyline a bit too familiar
Monday 21 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
Think about if you’ve seen this before: A young boy or girl (but usually a boy), lives in a world where he just doesn’t feel right, where he doesn’t totally fit in.
The path to fulfilling your destiny
Friday 18 August 2017 | Published in Church Talk
Last week we learnt that God has already planned your eternal destiny and the pathway that you must take in order to fulfil that destiny. However, the choice to walk on, and remain on that pathway of good works and good living, remains with us. So let’s continue to learn from the faith of Abraham, and the way he handled problems, to make sure we too will fulfill our destiny.
Horrible, but not in the intended way
Monday 14 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
There must have been once upon a time when a door closing ominously in the background would have made audiences afraid, or lights flickering on and off must have had people squeezing their partner’s hand in fright.
Learning from lives of others
Friday 11 August 2017 | Published in Church Talk
The Bible teaches that God has already planned your eternal destiny and the pathway that you must take in order to fulfill that destiny.
Christianity easy to understand
Monday 7 August 2017 | Published in Church Talk
“Everyone who asks the question, “What is Christianity?” often wonders what the truth is behind something that has been turned difficult to understand by man.
Film goers go Ape for packed opening night
Saturday 29 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
One of the hardest things to do in film is to finish a trilogy on a satisfying note.
Te Taokotaianga o te Aronga Akarongo
Friday 28 July 2017 | Published in Church Talk
Kia orana akaou tatou i te aroa maata o to tatou Atua, kua tae tatou i teia ra nei, ki te tuanga openga o te tuatua no to tatou akarongo, koia oki, te taokotaianga o te aronga akarongo, Te akakoreanga ara, Te tuakaouanga o te kopapa e te Ora Mutukore. Teia oki to ratou tataraanga:
Nolan strikes a masterpiece in Dunkirk
Monday 24 July 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
At first Dunkirk sounded like some battalion name to me when the trailer of this movie was released at the Empire Cinema.
Te Puapinga e te Angaanga a te Vaerua Tapu
Friday 21 July 2017 | Published in Church Talk
Tei runga rai tatou te tumu manako o to tatou Akarongo. Ko te aakianga no tatou I konei, no runga te reira i to Iesu Oki Rua anga mai e akava I teianei ao katoatoa.
Baby, I'm on board with this one
Tuesday 18 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
There are few pleasures in the world that match seeing the words, “A film by Edgar Wright”, appear on the title screen.
Takingakinoia I raro ake ia Ponotio Pilato
Monday 17 July 2017 | Published in Church Talk
Kia orana akao tatou katoatoa i te aroa maata o to tatou Atua na roto i teia tataanga nei.
Spider Homecoming a refreshing return
Monday 10 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
Were you surprised to hear that Marvel had tapped New Zealand director Taika Waititi on the shoulder to take the reins of the latest Thor installment? Yeah, me too. But after a bit of thought and a typical reviewer’s case of 20/20 hindsight, it seemed sensible, with a whiff of inevitability about it. Marvel have a brief but proud and wildly successful tradition now of picking directors based on their ability to establish a credible character out of incredible circumstances, and – maybe even more importantly, to tell a joke. And by that criteria, Taika, with Eagle vs Shark, Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople on his showreel, was a prime candidate for Marvel ascension. Forget about the fact that he’s never made a film not set in New Zealand before, let alone Asgard. By Marvel’s algorithms, Taika is going to do just fine. And compared to Spiderman: Homecoming helmer Jon Watts, Taika is wildly over-qualified. Watts has exactly two other feature films on his brief CV. One is called Cop Car, and the other is called Clown. Now, I’ve seen Cop Car – and that puts me in a pretty small minority. It’s a solid and occasionally very smartly put together thriller that goes into some gratifyingly dark, bleakly funny and irresolvable places before the wheels finally fall off in the home straight. For Kevin Bacon completists, it’s well worth a look. But I can’t say I saw anything in Cop Car that made me immediately think Watts would be anywhere within shouting distance of the shortlist of directors to be handed the keys of the latest installment of one of the world’s most money-printing-est franchises. Which is what the Marvel slate currently is. Naturally, I was wrong. Watts and Marvel co-head honcho and creative overlord Kevin Feige have crafted a Spiderman reboot for the ages. And they’ve done it by taking the film right back to its comic book origins. It’s set in the present day – and also in Marvel’s present, post-Civil War and years after The Avengers and The Battle of New York – but this Spidey is gratifyingly true to the kid-centric world of the comic-book character. British actor Tom Holland (The Impossible) is a convincingly adolescent Peter Parker, finding some pleasingly dorky and awkward moments for his still high-school aged hero. We were introduced to Holland’s Spidermen/Peter Parker in Civil War, and there was maybe an expectation that Spiderman: Homecoming would see the kid in the red and blue take his place on the starting team roster. But no. Parker is told by Robert Downey Jr’s Ironman basically to go back to school and look after his grades and family for a while yet. Which seems like not the worst advice in the world for a kid still too unsure of himself to ask a girl on a date. The villain of the piece is the Vulture, played, unimprovably, by Michael Keaton. Although the nod to the Keatonaissance-launching Birdman character is unescapable and fun. Keaton is perfect as he goes about sketching in the character’s back story as Adrian Toomes. This Toomes is a borderline gangster who just wants to carve himself out his own slice of the American dream and knows he’s going to have to get his hands a little dirty to do it. Done out of a lucrative salvage business by Tony Stark’s possibly self-serving co-opting of the contract on all the left-over alien technology and weaponry after the busted Chitauri invasion that was the centre-piece of
Keeping our balance in life
Friday 30 June 2017 | Published in Church Talk
A. The Genesis/Beginning/Origin of all Balances (Genesis 1: 1, “In the beginning God…”
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