這是美國大選之前的 11/2,一位 UC 系統,作德國文學研究的教授 John M. Ellis 投書到 WSJ。題目為:覺醒大學們正在讓美國進入原始社會。
他認為,現在的美國大學實在太左了,左到只要政治正確,就能是非不分,支持暴動、忽略社會、忽視真相與自由。幾乎是在對全國一半的人做信仰毆打。
以他所居住的小鎮來說,沒有人敢公開說自己支持川普,因為會被批評、圍剿、討厭、攻擊、威脅。這樣的環境,已經讓美國幾乎進入原始社會,也跟第一憲法修正案要保障的言論自由相反。
美國價值也消失了。研究顯示,拿給移民考的美國公民考試,給天生就是美國公民的人考,45 歲以下的,只有 19% 通過,而 65 歲以上的,卻有 74% 的人通過。
作者認為,現在的美國人,已經忘了美國是個怎樣的國家了。
(當然你也可以批評,這表示美國公民考試傳遞的價值不夠進步,是老人抱殘守缺的老舊價值觀,這正是美國左派進步人士認為的。而作者本人 84 歲,的確是長輩。)
當然,拜登領先到幾乎快確定當選的今天,就開始有投書反駁並攻擊這篇,認為美國大學覺醒的不夠,而且公立學校長年經費不足,才需要為美國價值的淪喪負責,至於社會為什麼分裂,才不是大學造成的,而是佔領了白宮的川普造成的。
In 2018 the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation gave a sample of Americans a test based on the exam for U.S. citizenship. Only 19% of people under 45 passed, while 74% of those over 65 did, meaning even elderly people who learned the material more than 40 years ago can summon it from memory better than recent grads.
contempt meaning 在 Milton Goh Blog and Sermon Notes Facebook 的最佳解答
Naaman was a leper, meaning that his skin was filled with lesions.
Even though he was a respected captain of the army of the king of Syria, I believe his ravaged skin must have made him feel ashamed, inferior and self-conscious.
Perhaps through God’s Grace you’ve accumulated a lot of blessings in this life. Everything is going well except for your skin that makes you feel self-conscious and unhappy.
Read on.
“So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.’ Aren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them, and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’” Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kings 5:9-14 WEB)
Elisha’s message to Naaman was simple: wash in the river Jordan seven times and his flesh would be cleansed and restored.
However Naaman’s initial reaction was to show contempt for the simple command. The way he imagined he would get healed was totally different.
He thought it would be a dramatic display of power by the prophet.
Naaman reasoned that the rivers of Damascus were far better than the waters of Israel.
God’s word is likened to water (Ephesians 5:26). Perhaps you too unconsciously underestimate the power that’s available in the simple act of hearing.
Just keep hearing God’s word and you’ll be transformed.
“Yeah right, as if it’s so easy. What can hearing accomplish for me? I rather spend the time doing something actually productive about it.”
“My friend said this skin product is good. It’s very expensive so it must be good. Oh yeah that skin expert also said that this skincare routine will improve my skin. I better do that too...”
Do you disdain the water of God’s word and find that the skincare solutions of the world are better?
Do you think it’s more effective to do something by your own limited understanding and ability than to exercise faith in God’s promises?
Some believers would rather God tell them to climb the tallest mountain and use the water up there to wash their face and that would restore their damaged skin.
The sinful flesh just wants to do something that it can boast about and deserve its achievements.
Others expect God to shine a bright light down from Heaven and wash over them seven times dramatically to cause a full skin restoration.
After all, if it’s too simple and unspectacular, it can’t be true right? That’s what the flesh says.
When Naaman finally did as Elisha commanded and washed in the river Jordan seven times, seven being the number of perfection, his skin was restored like the flesh of a little child—he was given a fresh start, a new beginning!
The power to heal Naaman was not in the river Jordan.
No, the power to heal was in the anointed command that the Lord gave to Elisha—in other words, acting upon God’s word cleansed and restored Naaman’s flesh.
Dear brethren, God’s word is the water that can work this perfect cleansing in you and it has the power to transform your skin as well and restore its beauty.
When you receive and believe God’s word, the rivers of living water (Holy Spirit) inside you will be activated with power, transforming you into Jesus’ own image.
The glorified Jesus in Heaven has no blemish or spot—He is altogether lovely. A sinless being with no pockmarks, acne, or skin defects.
There is hope for your skin. No matter how damaged it is, the perfect water of God’s word and the Living Water indwelling you can turn everything around.
With God nothing is impossible, especially if there’s a precedent in His word.
Just like Naaman’s skin was restored like a little child’s, I’m believing that yours will also become smooth, clear, fresh, soft and beautiful!
Pray with me:
Dear Abba Father, thank you for giving us the Scriptures which contain power to transform us into Jesus’ own image, even to restore our youth and skin until it’s fresher than a little child’s. There’s hope for us in Christ. Help us to continue faithfully receiving your Word and being transformed by the Holy Spirit from glory to glory. In Jesus’ most precious name we pray, Amen!
I declare Shalom health and wholeness to you and if you want to learn more about becoming “Beautiful, Healthy and Strong Like Jesus”, you can order my ebook here and start experience a transformation that everyone can see ===>
https://www.miltongoh.net/store/p17/beautiful-healthy-and-strong-like-jesus.html
#Grace #Jesus
contempt meaning 在 黃之鋒 Joshua Wong Facebook 的最佳解答
NowThis Interview Transcript
April 18
Host: Can you tell us a little bit about what the Umbrella Protest or UmbrellaMovement is? And why is it important?
Joshua: Before the handover of HK, China promised HK to achieve universal suffrage - let every Hongkonger have one person one vote. However, since1997 until now, we have waited 19 years already. We have realised that it was a fake promise, that’s why two years ago when the Communist party of China ignored our demand, our request on having a universal suffrage, we tried to throw demonstrations, assembly and finally civil disobedience and occupying action to show our disagreement and demand on universal suffrage, and hope to let the world know that Hong Kong people wants real election.
Host: That time in 2014, was there any result came from the Umbrella Movement?
Joshua: Luckily we can let the world know that Hong Kong is not only a global financial centre, Hong Kong is a city in which many people live, and we hope to have better human rights and achieve the universal value. Unfortunately, although we have 200 thousands of people occupying the road for 79 days, Beijing still did not accept our demand.
Host: At what point did you realise that the movement was going to be huge? It’s hard to anticipate that millions of people were going to come…
Joshua: Actually before the Umbrella Movement, I didn’t expect we would occupy the road and show the persistence to voice out our demand of democracy by civil obedience and such a large scale movement. We believe that Hongkongers have created history and we let the world know our persistence. Everything is out of expectation, including the attitude of the Communist Party. However, I would like to let the people in America know that even two years ago during the Occupying Movement, we couldn’t force the government to let us regain universal suffrage. We are still committed to movements, Hong Kong is the place where we live and we love, and we will still try our best to commit to movements, despite of the price we need to pay, until we can get direct election, one person one vote.
Host: I don’t think that everyone is familiar with maybe the differences, what’s happening in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Would you be able to explain how life is different in those two places, especially for young people?
Joshua: Hong Kong is different from Mainland China, because we have rule of law, judicial independence. We can still have freedom of speech and free access to different websites, for example, people cannot visit Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Google websites in Mainland China. Hong Kong is one of the special administrative regions under the rule of People’s Republic of China, that’s why we still have rule of law. However, the core value in Hong Kong has been eroded continuously by Beijing.
Host: Could you explain the power of the young people in this movement? It seems that a lot of political parties even now started by young people including yourself. So tell us a little bit about the power of youth in this movement.
Joshua: Most of the youth think that politics is the thing that belongs to people after graduating from universities and that 30 to 40 years old is the starting point of people to be involved in politics. However, the situation we face in Hong Kong is different - teenagers join student strikes at 13 years old, they join civil disobedience at 14, they hold slogans, wear masks and face pepper spray and tear gas at the age of 15, but they will still commit by direct actions, even in the future they may political prosecution. Actually I am now forming a political party named as Demosistō, in which “Demo” means the people, “sistō” means persistence and resistance. We hope to show the people’s resistance towards the ruler of China, so we form the party and demand for self-determination.
Host: You were saying how young people were facing pepper spray and things like that. I know that’s a fact that faced by you personally as well, can you talk about any prosecution you are currently facing?
Joshua: I am facing the inciting of unauthorised assembly, contempt of court and obstructing police officer. Some of the trials have started already, and the most serious one is inciting an unauthorised assembly, because even we enjoy freedom of speech in Hong Kong, we don’t have the rights to freely organise assembly, as we only have approximation of freedom and things seem to be moving backward. The trial of inciting an unauthorised assembly will end in June, meaning that I will know whether I am convicted or not, and the penalty after two months. The maximum penalty of that is to put into prison for five years. I don’t know what would be the trial result, but despite of the price that I need to pay, I still hope the world know that Hongkongers are still committed to fighting for democracy and self-determination. It is not easy for us, but we will try our best until we get the things that originally belong to us.
Host: That’s the age that… you know most of us got to go to college and do all these things…
Joshua: I am still a year 2 university student studying Politics…
Host: So are you scared and how do you feel about potentially having to face prison time until you are 24?
Joshua: It is not easy - my number, my address and other personal information are public on the internet, and I can’t enter Mainland China. Last year when a non-governmental organisation from Malaysia invited me to give a speech, the immigration department told me that I had to return to Hong Kong when I arrived at the Malaysia airport. The Malaysian official claimed that they rejected me to enter because I would affect their country’s relationship with Mainland China. It’s ridiculous and in no sense that my visit would affect its relationship with China. So I think it’s never an easy thing for us, to form a political party, to face trials, it’s really a long-term battle for us. However, what we concern the most is the future of Hong Kong, because we still have rule of law and judicial independence under One Country Two Systems. The problem is, after the expiry date of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 2047, after the end of Basic Law, after the end of One Country Two Systems, will Hong Kong suddenly change to One Country One System? Will Hong Kong become a normal city in China like Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai? The new generation are worried about the rule of law and judicial independence being continuously eroded by Beijing. We still hope to maintain the uniqueness of Hong Kong which differentiates us from China.
Host: There’s been some criticism from students from Mainland China, and there’s some general criticism about street activism as an approach, do you have any comments on street activism versus political? I know you are doing both now…
Joshua: I think I will emphasis on two points. Firstly, if Hongkongers could successfully achieve democracy just through negotiations, dialogues and meetings, maybe while I was just a primary school student in around 2007 to 2008, we could have universal suffrage and choose our chief executive by one person one vote in our city. However, history has proven that negotiations and private, closed-door meetings are not effective. That’s why, from assembly to rally, and to civil disobedience and direct actions - that’s the trend for us to upgrade as progressive actions. Another point is people may criticise me as starting off from street protesting and question my reason to enter the legislature by running in the election. I can’t enter the election because the minimum age to run in the election in Hong Kong is 21, and I am just 19. People also ask why I form the political party - because I realise that the road to democracy is really a long-term battle, the challenges we have to face may come after 30 years, like what I have mentioned, after the expiry date of One Country Two Systems. That’s why we hope to ensure that Hong Kong can get the right of self-determination, we hope we can throw a referendum to decide the future of the city, no matter it’s One Country One System, to maintain the self- governance and autonomy under One Country Two Systems, or even independence. We hope to determine the future of Hong Kong through referendum instead of relying on the Communist Party.
Host: So why did you decide to move to the political sphere before you know you could even necessarily be a face of it?
Joshua: It’s not an easy decision and the price that I need to pay is high. The reason for me to commit and even form the party is that…I think that..If organising a student organisation is not able for me to be ready, to prepare for self-determination movement in the coming ten years, the only suitable form of organisation is a political party. If we claim that we need to fight in the next ten years and achieve the demand for self-determination, hoping to get the general public’s support from Hong Kong, and more importantly, the international community endorsing the right to self-determination of HongKongers, forming a political party is the only way for us to prepare for the long-term battle.
Host: Right…So you have been on this journey since you were 17…
Joshua: 14 actually…
Host: 14?
Joshua: I founded student organisation Scholarism when I was 14 years old.
Host: So throughout this journey of protest, arrests and lawsuits, what has been the most rewarding part of the process for you and why do you keep fighting?
Joshua: The most unforgettable scene of participating in social movements in the past five years is how we change the impossibles to possibles. I think it’s the most significant part that gives me the motivation to commit and continue moving forward to fight for democracy and freedom. What I mean is, two years ago, before the Umbrella Movement just started, I was arrested and had to stay in police station for 46 hours. During the period, thousands of Hongkongers went to the Cental Government Offices to support students, they were not afraid of the pepper spray and tear gas. The activist still persist on non-violent means to show their disagreement towards the government and the police. After I was released by the police, I walked out of the door of the police station, and realised that everything in the city had changed, Hong Kong had changed. In the past, people might o
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