By Brad Snider
A few years ago I visited San Francisco for the first time. Besides being a fascinating city, there was something else that struck me. It was something that I read one afternoon in Starbucks as I was waiting for my coffee. I was looking at a specialty mug that they were selling, featuring some general information about the city. On the mug was listed the average temperatures of San Francisco in both January and July, and it read something like this, “Average temperature in January: 14 degrees Celsius. Average temperature in July: 16 degrees Celsius.” “What?” I thought to myself. “Two degrees – that’s it?” Apparently it is never hot, it is never cold, it is always just somewhere in between.
In a strange way, on a spiritual level, God hates San Francisco. Not the city, not the people, but the temperature.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
上帝的極端
原文：Brad Snider｜中譯：蔡穎
我幾年前第一次去舊金山，那是個很有意思的城市，不過有一點令我很震驚。某天下午，我正在Starbucks買咖啡，看到賣架上有一個特別的咖啡杯，杯上列出了舊金山一月及七月的平均氣溫：「一月平均氣溫，攝氏14 度；七月平均溫度，攝氏16度」。我心想：「什麼？只相差兩度而已嗎？」看來這裡從不炎熱也從不寒冷，總是在酷熱和寒冷之間。
奇怪的是，在屬靈層面上，上帝恨惡舊金山。祂恨的並不是這城市，也不是這裡的人，而是這地方的溫度。
我幾年前第一次去舊金山，那是個很有意思的城市，不過有一點令我很震驚。某天下午，我正在Starbucks買咖啡，看到賣架上有一個特別的咖啡杯，杯上列出了舊金山一月及七月的平均氣溫：「一月平均氣溫，攝氏14 度；七月平均溫度，攝氏16度」。我心想：「什麼？只相差兩度而已嗎？」看來這裡從不炎熱也從不寒冷，總是在酷熱和寒冷之間。
奇怪的是，在屬靈層面上，上帝恨惡舊金山。祂恨的並不是這城市，也不是這裡的人，而是這地方的溫度。
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Taiwan Part II: The Public Declaration
By Iris Lo
It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and I was sitting at a restaurant with my friends, waiting for our take-out orders. We were planning to take our lunch to the beach, where we can hang out until the baptism later that day. I looked across the table at my friend Cindy*. She had just graduated from senior high school, and today she was going to be baptized in the ocean. Her face showed a mixture of excitement and nervousness, and she was very quiet, as if trying to contain all the emotions within herself.
It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and I was sitting at a restaurant with my friends, waiting for our take-out orders. We were planning to take our lunch to the beach, where we can hang out until the baptism later that day. I looked across the table at my friend Cindy*. She had just graduated from senior high school, and today she was going to be baptized in the ocean. Her face showed a mixture of excitement and nervousness, and she was very quiet, as if trying to contain all the emotions within herself.
台灣第二章：公開宣言
原文：盧詠莛 | 中譯：蔡穎
那是個多雲的星期日下午，我和幾個朋友坐在餐廳裡等我們點的外賣，計畫著將午餐帶到海邊，在那兒打發時間，等待將在海邊舉行的浸禮儀式。我看著坐在對面的朋友Cindy*，剛高中畢業的她要接受浸禮。她很安靜，彷彿要將一切情緒隱藏起來，可是我卻在她臉上看到了夾雜著興奮又緊張的心情。
那是個多雲的星期日下午，我和幾個朋友坐在餐廳裡等我們點的外賣，計畫著將午餐帶到海邊，在那兒打發時間，等待將在海邊舉行的浸禮儀式。我看著坐在對面的朋友Cindy*，剛高中畢業的她要接受浸禮。她很安靜，彷彿要將一切情緒隱藏起來，可是我卻在她臉上看到了夾雜著興奮又緊張的心情。
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Illusion of Control
By Ephesus
Our culture tells us that we need to be in control of our lives in every aspect possible. Take for example the weather. In the past, if there weren’t any snow on our world-renowned snow-peaked Vancouver mountains, we’d cancel the ski trip and make other plans. Then along came the invention of the snow machine, which allowed us to make snow whenever and however much we want it. On July 1, 1997 during the famous Hong Kong handover, the flags of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) both flew with the help of wind-blowing machines even though it was a dry windless day. At first glance, we humans seem to have a firm grasp on life.
Our culture tells us that we need to be in control of our lives in every aspect possible. Take for example the weather. In the past, if there weren’t any snow on our world-renowned snow-peaked Vancouver mountains, we’d cancel the ski trip and make other plans. Then along came the invention of the snow machine, which allowed us to make snow whenever and however much we want it. On July 1, 1997 during the famous Hong Kong handover, the flags of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) both flew with the help of wind-blowing machines even though it was a dry windless day. At first glance, we humans seem to have a firm grasp on life.
控制是個虛幻的概念
原文：以弗所 | 中譯： 楊光
現代文化告訴我們，生活的各各層面都應該被我們控制。用天氣打個比方：在過去，如果溫哥華世界聞名的山峰上沒有積雪，我們便會取消滑雪旅行，去做些別的。但隨著高科技的不斷發展，我們發明了造雪機，能夠在任何時間製造大量的雪，也就可以隨時滑雪了。一九九七年七月一日，香港回歸那日，儘管是個乾燥無風的日子，中國國旗和香港特別行政區的旗幟卻靠著吹風機的幫助飄揚起來。乍一看，我們人類似乎對生活很有把握。
現代文化告訴我們，生活的各各層面都應該被我們控制。用天氣打個比方：在過去，如果溫哥華世界聞名的山峰上沒有積雪，我們便會取消滑雪旅行，去做些別的。但隨著高科技的不斷發展，我們發明了造雪機，能夠在任何時間製造大量的雪，也就可以隨時滑雪了。一九九七年七月一日，香港回歸那日，儘管是個乾燥無風的日子，中國國旗和香港特別行政區的旗幟卻靠著吹風機的幫助飄揚起來。乍一看，我們人類似乎對生活很有把握。
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Interviewing Edith: Getting a Taste of the Life of a World Changer
By Linda Yang
Office conference room after lunch. Edith with her usual tall thermos of caffeinated liquid. Me with my fingers poised to type on the slick keyboard of my MacBook. What followed was an interview that whetted my appetite for the oh-so-clichéd but still vastly appealing aim of “making a difference.”
Office conference room after lunch. Edith with her usual tall thermos of caffeinated liquid. Me with my fingers poised to type on the slick keyboard of my MacBook. What followed was an interview that whetted my appetite for the oh-so-clichéd but still vastly appealing aim of “making a difference.”