"And they came to Bethsaida. And they took a blind man to him,
requesting him to put his hands on him. And he took the blind man
by the hand, and went with him out of the town; and when he had
put water from his mouth on his eyes, and put his hands on him,
he said, Do you see anything? And looking up, he said, I see men;
I see them like trees, walking." (Mark 8:22-24 Bible in Basic English)
Consciously or unconsciously, believing in Jesus Christ
has changed one's life perspective forever. Like opening
one's eyes for the first time. The question is like, "Do you
see anything now that you have not seen?"
ShoKi Coe (黃彰輝 1914-1988), a son of a Taiwanese pastor.
After graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with major
in philosophy, he spent the next ten years in Cambridge,
England, studied theology, got ordained and married.
In August 1947, he decided to come back to Taiwan to
serve his own people/church. ShoKi Coe, his wife and their
son David took the ship from Liverpool crossed Africa, India,
Sri Lanka, Indonesia and stopped at Singapore, Hong Kong.
before arriving Taiwan in September 17, 1947.
His first job was English and Bible teacher of a Christian
High School before took over the Tainan Theological College
as the principal.
While being the principal of the Tainan Theological College
he sometimes commented that the ship trip crossed the
Africa and South East Asia he could not help thinking of the
freedom and the self determination of his homeland - Taiwan.
"There are many people/countries celebrating the new found
freedom and/or independence at the end of the WWII..."
Because of his idea, he was asked to leave Taiwan until the
ruling party Chinese KMT lost its power and a Taiwanese
president was elected then Shoki Coe along with several
pastors/missionaries were allowed to come back to Taiwan
in 1987. During those 22 years Shoki Coe worked around the
world based on the WCC (World Council of Churches) helped
the theological education especially for the third world churches
and always reminded the world churches' friends that the Taiwan
should not be forgotten.
Yes. Shoki Coe had seen the importance of being free to
choose people's own destiny. He was born as a Japanese,
educated as a Japanese and English. But he wanted to be
a Taiwanese inside out.
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Here comes a son of a French Lutheran pastor by the
name of Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965.)
Before Albert reached the age of mid thirties, he already
received three doctoral degrees: Theology, Philosophy
(E Kant) and Music (J S Bach/Pipe Organ).
Albert Schweitzer could have lived a very comfortable life
teaching any university of the western world. But after
seeing the sufferings of the majority of the people in Africa
he decided to be a medical missionary to help them.
So he went ahead to work on his M.D. degree.
He then spent the rest of his life building hospital and working
for the poor and the sick. When he needed help, he would
start a concert raising money and asking his audience if
there were doctors ready to spend their vacations to help
him in the hospital in Africa.
His two important books:
The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906)
Reverence for Life (1963)
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
"Ethics is nothing other than Reverence
for Life. Reverence for Life affords me my fundamental
principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, assisting and
enhancing life, and to destroy, to harm or to hinder life is
evil."
— Albert Schweitzer.
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Comments:
Through our lives we have been blinded by fake news, brain washing,
prejudice, fear and greed, etc... When we are in the presence of the
divine, our mind’s eye opens. And we begin to see the universe as it
truly is. -- Po Shu Hwang
Apparently it is just in the nature of life’s progress that, for most, one
doesn’t begin to think of the meaning of life and clarify what is important and
what is not until late in the game, and for some too late. It is fortunate for
those who can see in time. -- Hank Mandelbaum
Here comes a son of a French Lutheran pastor by the
name of Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965.)
Before Albert reached the age of mid thirties, he already
received three doctoral degrees: Theology, Philosophy
(E Kant) and Music (J S Bach/Pipe Organ).
Albert Schweitzer could have lived a very comfortable life
teaching any university of the western world. But after
seeing the sufferings of the majority of the people in Africa
he decided to be a medical missionary to help them.
So he went ahead to work on his M.D. degree.
He then spent the rest of his life building hospital and working
for the poor and the sick. When he needed help, he would
start a concert raising money and asking his audience if
there were doctors ready to spend their vacations to help
him in the hospital in Africa.
His two important books:
The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906)
Reverence for Life (1963)
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
— Albert Schweitzer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments:
Through our lives we have been blinded by fake news, brain washing, prejudice, fear and greed, etc... When we are in the presence of the divine, our mind’s eye opens. And we begin to see the universe as it truly is. -- Po Shu Hwang
Apparently it is just in the nature of life’s progress that, for most, one
doesn’t begin to think of the meaning of life and clarify what is important and
what is not until late in the game, and for some too late. It is fortunate for
those who can see in time. -- Hank Mandelbaum
