Unusual Christian Places: The Statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin in Macau

This statue in Macau is of the Buddhist “Mercy Goddess,” Guanyin.   Not actually a goddess, she is a bodhisattva, one who has attained enlightenment but has vowed to seek the enlightenment of all sentient beings.  Many also associate this bodhisattva with the Virgin Mary. ???  The answer lies in the history of Macau and the resultant mixing of cultures and religions.

Jorge Alvares landed in China in 1513, and by 1535 trade between Portugal and China was established.   The site of Macau eventually became a Portuguese colony, administered to various degrees by Portugal from 1557 to 1999, when the rental agreement with China expired.  During this period, Roman Catholicism became a strong presence in the area, which also includes followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and smaller native faiths.

http://www.placesandfoods.com/2013/05/guan-yin-statue-of-macau.html

http://www.tripomatic.com/China/Macau-Special-Administrative-Region/Macau/Guan-Yin-Statue/

http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/art-architecture/kuan-yin-of-macau-city.html

Guanyin (short for Guanshiyin, “Observing the Cries of the World”) is an immortal bodhisattva, She is rarely represented as male.  She has vowed to never rest until she has freed all sentient beings from the cycle of reincarnation.  Because of her infinite compassion, she is sometimes depicted as holding a child.

There are several streams of Buddhism, some being very strict, austere, and individually oriented.  The less strict version, Mahayana (”Greater Vehicle”) encourages everyone to become a bodhisattva (“enlightenment being”) and to work for the eventual enlightenment of every sentient being in the universe by the idea of “merit transference.”  The idea is that “merit” earned by the enlightened bodhisattva can be transferred to less advanced beings to aid in their advancement.  This Mahayana Buddhist doctrine may possibly have developed in response to  contact with Christianity.

During the Edo (Tokugawa Shogunate) Period (1603-1867) in Japan, Christianity was totally banned and was declared to be punishable by death. Christians were forced to go “underground.”  Many venerated Jesus and the Virgin Mary by disguising them as statues of Kannon (another name for Guanyin) holding a child.  Statues such as this are known as Maria Kannon.  There was often a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location on the statue. Note the similarities of the face in the image in the following link with the face of Guanyin on the statue in Macau.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/audio-east-meets-west-virgin-and-child-ivory-carving/

An image of a Maria Kannon from Wikipedia used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maria_Kannon.jpg

Happy Trails to You

Roy Rogers (Leonard Franklin Slye, 1911 - 1998) and Dale Evans (Lucille Wood Smith, or Frances Octavia Smith, 1912 - 2001) are buried in the Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Appling Valley, California (USA).  The couple were the premier country and western stars of television, movies, and music in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and early 1960’s.  Dale Evans wrote many songs.  In their later years, especially, they were devoted active Christians.

A performance of "Happy Trails to You" while the couple were in the prime years of their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcYsO890YJY

A performance of "Happy Trails to You" by the couple with their son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh05Wdnu3Cg

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=3206&PIpi=85662

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3206

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=3206&PIpi=85663

http://morbid-curiosity.com/id131.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4218

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=4218&PIpi=1050561

Another Update on the Karen Shahan Murder Case

The Karen Shahan Murder investigation just continues to become more and more bizarre.  The case has not yet gone to trial so more information will probably follow.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541359/Pastor-53-arrested-airport-stabbing-wife-death-heading-Europe-marry-boyfriend.html

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2014/01/richard_shahan_allegations_abo.html

Hello, Macau!

你好，澳门！从126其他国家谁也访问这个博客欢迎各位读者群。我希望你找到一些有用的文章或有意义的。

“翻译此页”的小工具上方的“总浏览量”计数器有翻译本博客的英文文本直接进入中国，葡萄牙，和许多其他语言的能力。

一百二十六个国家：阿尔巴尼亚，阿尔及利亚，安哥拉，安提瓜和巴布达，阿根廷，亚美尼亚，阿鲁巴，澳大利亚，奥地利，阿塞拜疆，巴林，孟加拉国，白俄罗斯，比利时，伯利兹，博茨瓦纳，巴西，文莱，保加利亚，柬埔寨，加拿大，开曼群岛，智利，中国，哥伦比亚，刚果，哥斯达黎加，克罗地亚，塞浦路斯，捷克共和国，丹麦，多明尼加共和国，厄瓜多尔，埃及，萨尔瓦多，爱沙尼亚，埃塞俄比亚，芬兰，法国，格鲁吉亚，德国，加蓬，加纳，希腊，关岛，香港，匈牙利，冰岛，印度，印度尼西亚，伊朗，伊拉克，爱尔兰，以色列，意大利，象牙海岸，牙买加，日本，约旦，柬埔寨，哈萨克斯坦，肯尼亚，科威特，吉尔吉斯斯坦，老挝，拉脱维亚，黎巴嫩，莱索托，利比亚，立陶宛，卢森堡，澳门，马其顿，马达加斯加，马来西亚，马里，马耳他，墨西哥，摩尔多瓦，蒙古，摩洛哥，缅甸，纳米比亚，荷兰，新喀里多尼亚，新西兰，尼日利亚，挪威，巴基斯坦，巴拿马，巴拉圭，秘鲁，菲律宾，波兰，葡萄牙，卡塔尔，留尼旺岛，罗马尼亚，俄罗斯，圣基茨和尼维斯，沙特阿拉伯，塞内加尔，塞尔维亚，新加坡，斯洛伐克，斯洛文尼亚，南非，韩国，西班牙，斯里兰卡，苏丹，苏里南，瑞典，瑞士，台湾，坦桑尼亚，泰国，特立尼达和多巴哥，突尼斯，土耳其，乌干达，乌克兰，阿拉伯联合酋长国，英国，美国，委内瑞拉，越南，也门，津巴布韦美国。

Olá, Macau ! Bem-vindo ao grupo de leitores 120-6 outros países que também visitam este blog. Espero que você encontre alguns dos posts úteis ou significativos.

O " Traduzir esta página " aparelho diretamente acima do " Total de Vistas " Contador tem a capacidade de traduzir o texto em Inglês deste blog diretamente em chinês, português e vários outros idiomas.

Cento e vinte e seis países : Albânia, Argélia, Angola, Antígua e Barbuda , Argentina , Armênia , Aruba , Austrália, Áustria , Azerbaijão, Bahrain , Bangladesh, Belarus , Bélgica, Belize , Botsuana, Brasil , Brunei, Bulgária , Camboja, Canadá , Ilhas Cayman, Chile , China , Colômbia, Congo , Costa Rica, Croácia, Chipre, República Checa , Dinamarca, República Dominicana, Equador, Egito , El Salvador, Estônia , Etiópia, Finlândia, França, Geórgia , Alemanha, Gabão, Gana , Grécia, Guam , Hong Kong , Hungria, Islândia , Índia, Indonésia , Irã, Iraque , Irlanda, Israel , Itália , Costa do Marfim , Jamaica, Japão , Jordânia, Kampuchea , Cazaquistão, Quênia , Kuwait, Quirguistão , Laos, Letônia , Líbano , Lesoto, Líbia , Lituânia, Luxemburgo , Macau, Macedónia, Madagascar , Malásia, Mali , Malta , México, Moldávia , Mongólia , Marrocos, Myanmar, Namíbia , Holanda, Nova Caledônia , Nova Zelândia, Nigéria, Noruega , Paquistão , Panamá, Paraguai , Peru, Filipinas, Polônia, Portugal , Qatar, Reunião, Romênia, Rússia, São Cristóvão e Nevis , Arábia Saudita , Senegal, Sérvia , Singapura, Eslováquia, Eslovénia, África do Sul, Coreia do Sul, Espanha , Sri Lanka, Sudão , Suriname, Suécia, Suíça , Taiwan, Tanzânia, Tailândia , Trinidad e Tobago , Tunísia, Turquia , Uganda, Ucrânia, Emirados Árabes Unidos, Reino Unido, Estados Unidos da América, Venezuela , Vietnã , Iêmen, Zimbábue.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Bob Newhart: ((b. 1929, Illinois, USA; aka: George Robert Newhart) Stand-up comedian, television and film actor. Roman Catholic.

Virginia Quinn Newhart: Wife of Bob Newhart. Roman Catholic.

Chloe Grace Moretz: (b. 1997, Georgia, USA) Child film actress most known for her controversial roles in Kick-Ass (2010) and Carrie (2013).  She says that her family is “very Christian.”  I am not sure what she means by that and whether or not she, herself, is a Christian.. 

Reginald Howard White: (b. 1961, Tennessee, USA – d. 2004; aka: “the Minister of Defense”) College and professional football player and a member of the Hall of Fame at both levels. Ordained Baptist minister and evangelist.  His views on race and homosexuality became very controversial.  Late in his life, he learned Hebrew and studied under Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew, who is based in Jerusalem.  White's profound interest in Torah led many to believe that he became a Jew, but he never renounced his Christian faith.

Daniel Meyer: (b. 1957) World’s only Christian sword swallower. Clown, juggler, stilt walker, fire eater, glass eater. 

The Hand of God

Look at this NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA) photo of Pulsar Wind Nebula PSR B1509-58.  The Earth would be an infinitesimally small fleck of dust if it were contained in this cloud.  The cloud is hundreds of millions of miles across.

It is probably just a natural phenomenon but it does appear to be a hand, even showing fingernails. The incredibly immense and the incredibly small all point to the Creator.

This NASA image is posted on their website with a downloadable link so I am assuming that it is free of copyright issues.  If this is not the case, I will remove the image.  The URL for this image is http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/pia17566_2.jpg.

Update on the Karen Shahan Murder

There has been a frustrating lack of updates about the investigation into the  23 July, 2013 murder of Karen Shahan, the wife of Richard Shahan, who is now the former Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama (USA).  At first, the cause of death was not released to the public, but it appears to have been the result of multiple stab wounds.  Also, Pastor Shahan’s status with the church was not publicized; he was on “leave.”  It has now become known that he is the former Associate Pastor of the church.

Some facts which have been released to the public: 1. There were no indications of forced entry, 2. Pastor Shahan insisted that he was out of town at the time of the murder, 3. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds, 4. Mrs. Shahan was not known to have any enemies, 5. There was apparently no theft of property from the murder site, 6.  Richard Shahan voluntarily went to the police station to answer questions and was held there for two days for what the police called “investigative purposes.”  He was released with no charges being filed and without him being officially named as a suspect in the killing. 

On 1 January 2014, Pastor Richard Shahan was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee (USA) while attempting to board a flight bound for Germany.  From Germany, the trip was to have continued to Kazakhtan.  Shahan insisted that he was leaving on a mission trip.  Legal extradiction proceedings have begun for his return to Alabama.  He has been officially charged with murder.

When more information is available it will be posted on this blog.

Child in a Hot Car

It happens several times every year.  A screaming mother or guardian, a dead child in a hot automobile.  Never intending to harm the child, the adult has become distracted, rushing around, and has forgotten that the child is locked in the automobile, windows up, in the hot sun.

In the closed system of the locked car, the internal temperature in the passenger cabin can rapidly soar to 120 - 130 F ( ).  The child dies of a heat stroke.  The adult, of course, feels massive guilt and may, in some jurisdictions, face criminal charges.

People are incredulous that anyone could forget that they had left their child in a hot car.  Some make very harsh and unkind statements and a few predictably, become “holy” and "forgiving." They may say that no one knows what pressures the mother was feeling, no one knows what was on her mind, no one was “walking in her shoes.”  Then they misapply Scripture.  “Judge not that you be not judged.”

The admonition against judging others applies to hypocrisy and also to a tendency among some to pride themselves in their own holiness.  It does not mean that we are not to have opinions and it does not mean that people should not be held responsible for the consequences of their actions, even their unintentional actions.  The legal systems in the areas in which these incidents occur should be followed.  The judgements of the legal systems should be accepted.

The people who call for "understanding" do have a point.  No normal person would intentionally harm their own child.  There are extenuating circumstances and pressures on people which can cause them to exhibit "tunnel vision," seeing only the thing directly in front of them and forgetting other, more important, responsibilities.  The thing we must remember, however, is that we still bear individual personal responsibility for our actions.

Just as it is imperative for Christians to keep their eyes on God, it is also crucial for us to keep our eyes on our children (and also our elderly and others who may not be able to care for themselves).  We have been told that if anything distracts us from God, we should cut it out of our lives.  This is also a good principle for us to follow concerning those under our care. 

Sewing Machine

Before their annual “meeting” this year with the Auburn University football team, the University of Alabama football team was an overwhelming favorite to win the 2013 American college football championship.  Auburn did the unthinkable, going in one year from a hapless, and even embarrassing, season to being a legitimate national championship caliber team.  At least partly because of their defeat of Alabama, the Auburn University team will be competing in the national championship game against the team from the Florida State University.  This post is not about that.

On the national television broadcast of the Alabama – Auburn football game there was what to many was a very humorous moment.  An Auburn player, Ladarius Owens, had a tear in his uniform.   Rather than having Owens put on another jersey (shirt), the team brought out a portable sewing machine to repair the one he was wearing.

Many people laughed at this.  I would say that, rather than being silly, this showed an extreme attention to detail.  The team was prepared for any eventuality, even a torn shirt.  Are those of us in the Church, prepared for anything which might happen?  Are we prepared for a power outage?  Are we prepared for the abrupt resignation of our pastor?  Are we prepared for the sudden illness of a church member during a church service?  Are we prepared to respond to a natural disaster?  Are we prepared for an armed intruder in our church?