Tag Archives: Reverend Wayne Chu

The Flood

Reverend Wayne Chu

By Reverend Wayne Chu

If you keep up with international news, you may know that there was record-breaking rainfall causing terrible floods in China. Last week, even the Forbidden City (a historic palace) in Beijing was flooded, (It is the first time in 600 years that the Forbidden City has flooded). This week, the heavy rain moves to the northeastern area of China where the flooding followed. More than 2 million people needed to evacuate. Many towns are inundated and many people lost their families, their land, and many even lost their lives.

We feel the pain of the people. We pray that God has mercy on them, rescue will come and the situation will improve soon.

As we read Genesis, we read that God promised Noah never again He will destroy all living creatures through the flood. So we would ask the hard question: Why does God allow these disasters to happen to people today?

In the Gospel of Luke, there is an incident Jesus explained to us why some people experience suffering like this and I think it may give us an answer. Jesus asked a question, “Do you think these people were worse sinners than all the others because they suffered this way? And Jesus said, “No, but unless you repent, you too will all perish”. Jesus gave another example: “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

Future judgment has never been a popular topic, but it is the core teaching in the New Testament and it is exactly because of the terror of the future judgment that our salvation becomes so precious.

All these natural disasters are acting as a sign for the world; if people do not repent when the judgment eventually comes the consequence of sins will bring these disasters. For Christians, it is our responsibility to tell the world that there is a way out, which is by believing in Jesus Christ, we can be saved.

Riverside Christian Alliance Church meets on Sundays for worship at 10:30 a.m. and it’s located at 9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509. You can reach them at 951-360-0113 or visit their https://www.riversidecma.org/

AI Translator

Reverend Wayne Chu

By Reverend Wayne Chu

When I was in the seminary, I was very excited to have the chance to study ancient languages. Through the study of the ancient civilizations, I want to have a better understanding of the cultural background of the Bible. Later, I learned that if anyone wanted to seriously study a Ph.D. in the Old Testament it was a requirement to learn all the ancient languages. This is actually quite a barrier. I remember reading the Akkadian language, a language that archeologists discovered thousands of clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia. These tablets are written in a script called cuneiform. It looks like a different arrangement of fish bones. (Actually, it is likely that they used fish bones to represent different words at that time.) Only a few experts in the world can read and translate them. Therefore, as of today, most of them remain untranslated and inaccessible to the general public.

However, today I read a news about an AI system created using Google technology that can translate this ancient Akkadian language and it made me very excited. Although according to the expert, the output can’t reach a high confidence level and the system still makes many mistakes. As a result, we cannot trust the output. But at least, it is a great start, and positive example of using AI, a promising tool to save huge amounts of time and preserve the limited and valuable expertise we have today.

It gives us a glimpse of the future and the past. Many years ago, everyone rushed to learn how to program and becoming a programmer. But now, AI can program better than humans, so what is left for humans to do? We can be an AI trainer. Like this example, we can train AI to overcome the issue of the richness of the meaning in idioms, understand nonliteral language, and translate in the case of informal grammar. With the good use of technology, I believe we can know more about the past and more importantly, it can enrich our knowledge of the Bible.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

Riverside Christian Alliance Church meets on Sundays at 10:30am and it’s located at 9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509. You can reached them at 951-360-0113 or visit https://www.riversidecma.org/

More Warehouses?

By Reverend Wayne Chu

There is a big piece of land in my neighborhood. Developers are planning to build warehouses. I am wondering… During the economic boom in the last ten years, there was a big need for warehouses, so developers were looking for every piece of land to develop. But the process of applying for permits, planning, and preparation all take time. And then the pandemic came and now we are experiencing the economic downturn. The economy has a cycle and it will take time for the demand to pick up again. With all the vacant warehouses around, will the developer still want to continue with the plan?

That reminds me of the parable Jesus taught in Luke 12. The land of the rich man produced plentifully. He enjoys prosperity and feels that he has not enough space to keep his possessions. Therefore, he plans to tear down his old barn and build a larger one. He can keep all his possessions and can enjoy life for many years. But the LORD says. “What a fool! You don’t know you will be taken away tonight!” It is like our situation: when the developers continue to keep building, they do not expect the economic downturn would come so soon. And it becomes more severe than expected, so the warehouses built sit vacant.

Jesus continues to teach us not to worry about the earthly possessions. As many of us would admit that we can donate and clean up all the items which have not been used in our garage. It is true that the temptation of hoarding and the desire to possess more material things will not give us security and satisfaction. Jesus says, “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” Luke 12:15. And more than that. Jesus teaches us to seek the kingdom. Store up righteousness, peace, and joy, that is the real treasure both for this life and the next to come.

Riverside Christian Alliance Church meets on Sundays at 10:30am and it’s located at 9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509. You can reached them at 951-360-0113 or visit https://www.riversidecma.org/

Time for a Chat?

Reverend Wayne Chu

By Reverend Wayne Chu

Proverb 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

I recently downloaded the latest Bing browser from Microsoft which comes equipped with GPT-4, an AI software used for chat. After I asked it a few questions, I found myself quite impressed. It was able to understand what I asked and was capable of gathering information from the internet and formulating a good answer to my questions. While I feel that it is an excellent tool for learning, I also see that we need to use it with discernment.

AI, if used properly, can increase efficiency by automation and improve decision-making process. Many expect a tremendous change to the world coming, just like the Industrial Revolution or the Information Revolution. However, many worry that it will eliminate a lot of jobs. Even more, the biggest fear of AI is related to its most powerful feature, which is machine learning, meaning it can learn and improve itself. Someone may ask, will there be a day when AI learns everything, it will become so powerful that it can control or even destroy humans?

All of these questions are difficult to answer but the concern is valid. It is urgent for the authorities and regulators to set up policies and laws to guide and limit the development of AI. We do not want AI to fall into the hands of those who would use it for their own gain without considering the impact on others.

Another immediate issue I see is that we tend to overestimate the power of AI and assign tasks to it beyond its capability. The biblical sense of wisdom (intelligence) is not just knowledge; it includes the ability to see the connection of things that seem unrelated and combines pieces of knowledge to make decisions in life. As we all know, life is filled with ambiguity and decision-making is beyond knowledge and calculation.

Eventually, the problem of AI is the problem of humans. How should we use technology and how should we not use technology? It is more pressing for us to seek the LORD as He is the One who gives us this true wisdom and all knowledge, including AI.

Riverside Christian Alliance Church

10:30am Sunday Worship

9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509

951-360-0113

https://www.riversidecma.org/