03/14/2026 Saturday
I get newsletters from Hillsdale College, they have podcasts, they have articles on conservatism. They are also claiming to be a Christian school, founded by Free Will Baptists. However, if they promote so much to be affiliated with Trump's White House, it would be interesting to see if they could maintain that relationship with the White House when Democrats took over. A test of hypocrisy-proof so to speak.
03/13/2026 Friday
In my Japanese studies (realizing that Japanese are quite a hospitable culture, bringing you food when you're not expected, yes I was watching Nodame Cantabile), I looked back to the time when I was at Ouachita Baptist University. Apparently they are still actively doing exchange student program with Japan as of 2026, according to Google AI: Yes, Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) continues to have a partnership with Japanese universities, including a long-standing 50-year partnership with Seinan Gakuin University. What I regret, is that I did not use that time to immerse myself with Japanese friends I met there. Many of whom were very nice. A Japanese female student (I could hardly remember most of their names now) even served me some soup or tea while I was posting for dormitory security at her dorm. I was too childish back then. Backward in social skill and discipline.
The raid on Cambodia's scam telecommunication center is quite enlightening:
03/10/2026 Tuesday
MBC's Behind the Pulpit Podcast: Just War Behind the Pulpit S4E21. On dealing with disabilities in the church - after grief, progress to belonging over inclusion of them to the church.
03/08/2026 Sunday
This marked the 2nd week of our return to Grace Church's Sunday School, thanks to Crossroads Church's split into two services. At this rate, we're going to the later service (11am) instead of the earlier one (9am) after Easter choir performance as planned. If we go to the 9am Crossroads service, we cannot go to GCC's Sunday School. After Crossroads Church service I explored Main Street a little to downtown by foot and came a cross an interesting plant store which offer classes (bonsai, terrariums): Spotted Leaf Plant Company. I had to rush back when I realized that it was already 12:53pm, because choir rehearsal was at 1pm, and I wasn't aware I started my exploration at 12:30pm, and not 12pm.
I do enjoy GCC's Pastor Chris' Sunday School in general. A lot more than his sermons. And with the help of AI, I certainly learned a ton:
For example, today, we were talking about John Calvin, these are mostly from my AI assisted learning:
- This got me looking up 16th Century European Social Cohesion (one shared faith of the entire city) vs Anabaptist's Voluntary Church which was seen as dangerously radical. The social cohesion is understandable especially due to immediate conversion from Catholic to Protestantism.
- Anabaptists differ from general Baptists mainly in that Anabaptists want total isolation from the world: no civil duty, no military participation: ancestors of Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites.
- Reading a few pages of Calvin's Treatise Against Anabaptists
- AI correction of Pastor Chris' note that Michael Servetus advocacy of death penalty to heretics (Servetus only advocated for capital punishment against his nature when he was invoking Lex Talionis - eye for an eye retaliation, against Calvin's accusation)
- The fact that Infant Baptism in the Rome of Protestants (Geneva) was viewed as birth certificate (You can't be church member if you are not citizen or vice versa) Rejection of it is considered treason/social sedition.
- How post Catholic Geneva was funded by Calvin's rejection of Roman Catholic Church wealth which was mainly used for civil affairs under the culture mandate, rather than for clerical greed from the rule of Prince-Bishopric Catholic system. Moving "inherited" Catholic wealth (Bishop-owned estates, gold plated altars, etc.) from Sacred Realm into Common Realm.
- Calvin's Duplex Regimen: Spiritual Kingdom (led by consistory) & P0litical Kingdom (by magistrates), dreaming for a holy commonwealth of separate functions rather than separate rules.
- My own conclusion: Calvin's Institutes can be recognized as a combination of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology, predating the categorization of these two.
- My opinion: The secularization of Geneva today, and the like-European countries, is not necessarily due to a State-Church (State supported church) system, but a lack/rejection of a Gospel/Evangelical centered life.
- Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes as the first Reformed Systematic Theology work. Calvin then took it to make it more organic.
- Constantinianism - Emperor rules both church and state. Roman Catholicism - Bishop rules both. Calvin's Genevan experiment - church is like public utility, ministers are public servants, not human sovereign ruler for/from either church or state.