I was just saving some emails from two mentors whom I respect tremendously that really encouraged me … and found some statements that helped me along the journey. I thought of posting some which really meant a lot to me …
On my present season in life …
” every life has seasons in them; even seasons where one is focused mostly on their family. You will be fine, a new season is just around the corner…but never let it make your family second…” ~ April 2003
On engaging my own Malaysian Context (which got me reading Thiselton),
“Thiselton made clear (The Two Horizons, Erdmans 1980) that our first task is to study the first environment of the Biblical Canon, and every group of Christians of every country should engage in that. The second task is to see how the Scriptures could be relevant to our second environment. The post-colonial environment is hugely different, and that means the theological task has changed radically. The trouble is that many of our evangelical interpreters have never engaged with the second environment of churches all over the world, so what they wrote is relevant to western Christianity, but often unhelpful (if not misleading) for the growing churches in China, Malyasia, Indonesia, India, Africa, and South America.
Incidentally Thiselton’s section on Wittgenstein in The Two Horizons is to my mind by far the most important theological work of the past century – he is about the only theologian who gets him right. Lutherans and all others should study that section on Wittgenstein before doing anything else.” 9 September 2003
Extra encouragement …
“I am glad you are getting some meat from Thiselton. As I said, the book would have been better with just the third part about Wittgenstein. Many give up in the heavy first two sections before they get to the meat.
How wonderful you have had such a happy good first year with Gareth. As Jesus said, learning from a little child to be childlike is the best education for the Kingdom of Heaven.” ~ 8 October 2003
On some unsettled feeling in me …
“You are right be wary of that kind of person. Relax. You are doing fine as you are.” ~ 21 October 2003
On my ideas for Master’s Thesis,
“I liked your first idea of working in ecclesiology. Why not work at models of how the church actually works in your area. As I suggested you need the first horizon (Thiselton) of the NT, then a study of models which have worked or not worked in our day, and conclude with a proposal for the future.” ~ 21 october 2003