It often bewilders me how sophistication and complication are values so highly exalted in the Protestant Christianity. Of course, we may expressly deny this in the gospel we preach, but don’t we implicitly take much pride in temporal success and excellence? In some segments of the church, material success is blatantly preached, citing the pursuit of such excellence as a legitimate glorification of God.

Where is the virtue of simplicity once embraced by the faith community? Where is the spirit of continuous, non-programmatised, non-advertised, non-glorified giving for the sake of our neighbour who finds himself in dire need of subsistence? We may claim to have given much, but the proportion in which we have given is unreflective of the measure in which we have received. It doesn’t take more than a mere peek into our church sanctuaries to know we are hoarding luxuries.

But then again, some say it's about being "relevant" to the world, because nobody wants to come into a church full of people who dress like geeks and whose service is conducted with sub-standard equipment and skill. So now we want people to come to church because we dress well and provide superb experience to our "clients"? Some segments of the faith community truly do need to relearn the gospel story all over again.

Has the Protestant Reformation now turned upon itself? Are we now exalting the very corruptions we battled against? Have we fallen under the very judgements we once pronounced? We passed the verdict that they were no longer a true church, but today, uncritically persist in the very corruptions we have condemned.

“What you see before you is a man. A simple monk. I think I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you see yourself.”

- “The 14th Dalai Lama” in Kundun, 1997 -