Once I asked a Christian parent how is her teenage son doing, she replied: "well I think he is doing fine, his studies are good, he behave himself, he is strong and healthy and I send him to the church youth group every week." To many Christian parents this is the kind of children that they hope to have in their family, good grades, good health, good behavior and a good Christian faith. It is such an excellent model because the wellness includes all aspect or parts in life. But is this enough? Is this Christian life holistic?
It may seem holistic if we compare with the society that we live in. When we see our society today, we see a reflection of the story of the famous philosopher Diogenes in 300 BC where he walked along the streets of Athens in broad day light carrying a lantern searching for man. He was asking "where is man?" People around him laughed at his insanity. He ignored them and continued his search for the missing man . If Diogenes thinks that man is missing at that time, how much more are we caught up in that dilemma in our society today. In the mist of rich and vast material possession and enjoyment, in the hot pursue of luxurious lifestyle, man are lost. Since the sixties of 20th century, sociologists have observed that man is living in a de-humanization process . Man are so caught up in this physical life that they work only for material gain, they look forward only to pleasures in life, they believe only in what they can see and feel. Men live a one-dimensional life where only material possession and the physical body are important. This is obvious when we see how the world judge and measure a youth by their academic achievement because we believe that a higher education will give them a good life in future in terms of material gain. Sad t ...