Titus Jonathan's Stories

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Lee Kuan Yew: Meritocracy As Basic Principles

This is the story of Singapore as written by the founding father Lee Kuan Yew who brought the tiny island, poor and disorder to a city of the future. With deep and meticulous notes, Lee detailed the extraordinary efforts chronologically in explaining how Singapore transformed from the third world to the first. He wrote every word clearly, every sentence structured systematically to build the story alive. Lee was indeed an excellent storyteller. In Lee’s hand, Singapore –the former British colony, devastated by the 2nd World War– rose from nothing to the Asian metropolis with not only the world’s number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the top 5 countries of GDP per capita. Lee built the Singapore people through a good education, kept the government clean, managed the media, upheld the rule of law, taught people about code of conduct and ethics, and transformed the society’s way of life and work through the digital revolution. With the integration of techno...

Petrus, Laut dan Tuhan

Beberapa tahun lalu, saya bersama serombongan teman naik kapal nelayan untuk mencari ikan di tengah laut. Maksudnya ingin healing dengan aktivitas memancing di tengah laut, bukan di kolam pemancingan. Bayangan asyiknya berlayar sehari-semalam di tengah lautan bermain-main di kepala menjelang keberangkatan. Saat hari masih sore, kami berangkat menuju ke sebuah kampung nelayan di daerah Binuangeun, Lebak, Banten. Sesampainya di sana, hari sudah malam, dan kami menginap di sebuah losmen sederhana untuk istirahat sejenak sambil menunggu pagi. Sekitar jam empat subuh kami dibawa menuju ke tengah laut menggunakan perahu kecil. Di sana sudah menunggu kapal yang lebih besar, seingat saya ada tujuh kamar tidur di dalamnya. Kapal inilah yang membawa kami ke tengah laut dengan harapan membawa pulang hasil tangkapan yang banyak. Dari kapal itu kami menikmati pemandangan laut yang begitu indah, dengan semburat sinar matahari dan hembusan angin serta gerakan ombak yang mengayun-ayun kapal. Kami...

Bible Prophecy in The Time of The End

What happens with the world nowadays? In Daniel 12:4, the prophet was told to seal up the book until the time of the end. " But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. " Do we live in that time today, when the time of the end is coming? While we are living in the midst of the perilous times, in an era of unprecedented prophetic activity and clarity, there are still questions many people have regarding Bible prophecy. This book is a compilation of 70 frequently asked questions about the end of time as what is written in the Bible, from Israel –started when God made His covenant to Abraham and the journey of Israel as nation until today–, the church –mandated as God’s witness to the world–, the rapture, the tribulation, the millennium, the great white throne judgement, and heaven. The authors, Amir Tsarfati is a native Israeli who –through his nonprofit ministry– provides Bible teachin...

Andrew Jackson Was Born For a Storm

Andrew Jackson was a controversial figure in American history. Elected as seventh president in 1829 and reelected for the 2nd term until 1837, he was marked by both democratic triumphs and racist tragedies during his presidency. Jackson expanded the powers of the presidency in ways that none of his six predecessors had. He was the first president to come from the common people, not from an educated elite. He was the first to build what was recognized as a political party. He was also the first to maintain a large circle of private advisers –what was called his Kitchen Cabinet-- to help him make policy. During his presidency, he showed him as the most contradictory of men. He brought America into a country that professed a love of democracy but on the other hand created society to live with inequality that was prone to racism and intolerance. Jackson was a sentimental man who rescued an Indian orphan on a battlefield to raise in his home, however he was also the president responsible fo...

Mencari Natal

“ I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. " - Charles Dickens Jika Natal bukan suatu musim, atau suatu momen, atau sekadar event , apakah Natal akan tinggal di hati kita, dan terus hidup sejalan dengan detak jantung kita? Setelah Silent Night dinyanyikan, setelah nyala lilin dimatikan, setelah pohon terang plastik diturunkan dan disimpan di gudang, setelah pintu gerbang gereja ditutup… Apakah Natal hanya lewat sebentar di suatu waktu, singgah tidak bahkan menyapa pun tidak, karena kita mengabaikannya dan tidak peduli untuk apa ia hadir? Apakah Natal tahun ini masih mengguratkan maknanya di hati kita, sedalam cinta yang dikandung oleh perawan Maria, seteguh tekadnya untuk taat, sekuat kerelaan rahimnya untuk dipinjam sebentar demi sebuah rencana yang ia tidak mengerti sepenuhnya? Apakah hati kita masih tergugah dengan ketulusan para bangsawan dari Timur, orang-orang Majus itu, yang menempuh perjalanan dari negeri yang jauh hanya untuk menyembah Anak k...

Jesus Interrupted: A Challenge to Christian Faith?

This book that written by Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted contains critical thinking –not to mention an attack– to the Bible especially the New Testament, and more especially the Gospel that tells a story about Jesus and who Jesus actually is. “We don’t have the originals of the Bible which opens the door to the possibility that the Bible is a very human book,” Ehrman wrote. Ehrman studied the Bible from a historical-critical perspective that led him to find there were flat-out discrepancies among the books of the New Testament. He explained in detail about the differences between one author and other authors towards Jesus’ stories, for example what was written by Mark compared to what was written by Matthew or Luke. “I came to see that many of the books of the New Testament were not written by the people to whom they are attributed,” Ehrman said. And he explained an argument that it was not Matthew who wrote The Gospel of Matthew, John did not write The Gospel of John, etc. Even th...