Seek and challenge your knowledge
美佳之窗 His Window 85（ Jan - Mar 2019 ）
Translated by Penny Lim
Look Soo Mooi
The interplay between seeking and challenge are part of the learning process. She will challenge all information based on the three points below, before capturing it as knowledge.
No. 1, Source of knowledge and information may not be reliable.
All information source holds the responsibility to ensure information integrity, especially the news media, whether the broadcaster is sharing the truth or lies. In general, people think they don’t have to bear too much of responsibility over information online, therefore there are a lot of fake information (HEARSAY) in the internet these days. Readers must be sensible on the information and evaluate the truth of it.
Look Soo Mooi (Certified lawyer, Bachelor of Laws of University of London, MBA of RMIT)
No. 2, The process of transmitting information involves personal interpretation, understanding and values.
We often couldn’t judge right or wrong, because different perspectives will lead us to view things differently, so as different beliefs will uphold different principles. Perhaps there is no absolute right or wrong from a secular point of view, but there must be a clear direction upon truth. She invites God to her knowledge seeking process, ask for mercy, ask God to look after her heart and soul. Ultimately, HE is our light and salvation.
No. 3, The precision of translation and accuracy of transmission
Curiosity should be part of the process to enhance our learning, as humans make mistakes, we are not God. To understand God’s will, she refers to different bible versions to seek the truth.
In her career field, there is often versions mismatch in documentation due to precision and inaccuracy of communication, transmission channels etc.
Based on the three points illustrated above, how can we eliminate curiosity during our learning process?
As Augustine says: “Love God first, then the world”. Once the priority order is set, everything will come accordingly.
Rev. Ho Hon Yan
Rev. Ho loves to read and explore knowledge from various areas such as science, physics, philosophy, medicines, from domestic to international news, psychology, politics and humanities etc. He claims that apart from theology which he has deep and comprehensive knowledge, the rest of his knowledge comes from a fragmentation of all sources.
He always has doubt on information from internet as majority of the source are unknown, comparative with books which you can easily trace the author’s background.
Rev. Ho Hon Yan
He encourages Christians to seek more information about their religion, we must be able to differentiate right or wrong and not to get influenced by others. Christians can read books that give more in-depth Christ knowledge, such as Layperson theology, Systematic theology, etc. It is important that we understand the background of the author before reading any information related to Christ. For example, if the information comes from a highly respected pastor, the message must be reliable however if the information comes from an unknown pastor, we need to doubt and evaluate the content.
Christians must have the ability to differentiate truth and lies through strong knowledge of theology and beliefs, instead of relying on surface information only.
Richard Lim
As Christians, it is very important that we analyze and evaluate all information before making any judgement, understand and view it from God’s perspective. There are many misleading books in the market claiming to follow biblical principles. They encourage Christians to start up business, some even state that a successful Christian should know how to start a business, however the bible doesn’t mention anything like this. All these information have included the personal views and understanding of the author which will mislead and confuse us if we don’t understand the biblical principles.
Brother Richard Lim Lit Chek
‘How do we educate and equip our next generation with the ability to identify truth and falsity?’ This is Richard’s biggest concern. If the thinking and analyzing process is not right, false information will affect their judgement and lead to wrong decision making. Hence, he will proactively guide his daughters the approach to distinguish right and wrong by sharing some information with them and going through the thinking process together.
The more we read, the more we will understand God’s character, that will help us to see things from God’s perspective and do things that please God. Young believers should spend more time reading to understand God’s word, this will better equip us to cope with the current era.
The book of Ecclesiastes helps him to better understand God by knowing the way a Christian should be when dealing with positive and negative events in our life. We shouldn’t over react to any event but stay calm and handle the situation maturely.
Mason Lim
A cosmetic surgery advertisement was widely spread on the internet five/six years ago that indicated plastic surgery doesn’t change the inheritance of DNA. The lady in the photo (mother) issued a complaint to the media later. The ‘mother’ Heidi is a Taiwanese artist. She doesn’t have any relationship with the man and three children in the photo. The photo was created for advertising purposes.
Heidi accused the advertising media of ruining her career and life. Her career was badly affected as most people took the advertisement seriously and believed that’s her true story. Her image and reputation were ruined, all her sponsorships were terminated as no one was willing to take the risk to engage her.
Let’s look at another picture: Prince William, who was brought up in a royal family, appeared to make a rude gesture to the public.
In the end, it was just a misunderstanding as one photographer who was standing at the side snapped the photo from such an angle it looked like he was making a rude gesture.
We can’t even be certain of truth even when there is a picture.
Therefore, we must handle knowledge wisely, by seeking it from the right way and approach. May you spend more time in reading, at the same time analyse and identify the truth.