March - April 2022, Blantyre, Malawi

 Bennett Kankuzi in Blantyre, Malawi - March - April 2022

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March 2022, Salima, Malawi

 

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Journal paper published: A mental model perspective for tool development and paradigm shift in spreadsheets

Journal paper on errors in spreadsheets and how they can be tackled from a mental model perspective, just published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies:

Bennett Kankuzi and Jorma Sajaniemi, A mental model perspective for tool development and paradigm shift in spreadsheets, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Available online 9 November 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.10.005

 Free version of paper available until January 8, 2016 at http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1S3Y33pfaRP3E3

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DomainTermsViz: A Microsoft Excel add-on to reduce the error-proneness of spreadsheets

In the course of my PhD research work at the University of Eastern Finland School of Computing, I also developed a Microsoft Excel add-on, dubbed DomainTermsViz, whose purpose is to help spreadsheet creators to map easily application domain concepts to their spreadsheet-specific counterparts. The Microsoft Excel add-on translates traditional spreadsheet formulae into application domain concepts while also automatically highlighting all cells referenced in an active translated spreadsheet formula. All formula cells in a spreadsheet are also automatically marked with magenta right border markings. Just as any Microsoft Excel add-on, this add-on will alter the behaviour of normal Microsoft Excel. However, it is important that this change is done in a non-invasive way so that the environment should not be completely different from the traditional spreadsheet environment. This is to take advantage of existing user experience as familiarity with existing tools and techniques could become worthless if the add-on is too different from what spreadsheet creators know and how they are used to work. Moreover, spreadsheet users are known to be very conservative when it comes to adopting new features.

An illustration of the add-on in action: Formula in cell B9, which is =B4 +B5,  has automatically been translated to "Cash + Inventories" (Note also that cells B4 and B5 are also missing column names, otherwise the column names would have been included in the translation).

The add-on has the potential to be used in the following spreadsheet activities:

1. When creating or editing a spreadsheet, the add-on can help one in tracking effected changes as active formula cell ranges are highlighted and a corresponding problem domain description is displayed for an active formula cell. This has potential in helping to create an error free spreadsheet as it will be providing an intuitive on-spot feedback to the spreadsheet developer on changes being done to the spreadsheet. This feedback can thus act as a verification aid hence introducing a non-invasive way of introducing some kind of spreadsheet testing to spreadsheet creators, who being non professional programmers are not interested in formal verification of their spreadsheets. As the adage says "prevention is better than cure", it is important to prevent errors from occurring in spreadsheets.
2. The add-on may also be helpful in the comprehension of a spreadsheet created by others through visual comprehension aids such as highlighting all formulae in a spreadsheet and for each formula cell, a click on it will highlight its precedent cells (formula range) and a corresponding problem domain based description of the cell is given in the formula cell caption box.
3. The add-on may also help in the comprehension of a spreadsheet as it can give a user a general overview of the structure of a spreadsheet through the magenta right border markings on all formula cells.
4. The add-on may also be helpful in locating errors in a spreadsheet. For example, a problem domain description or narrative for a given formula cell, that does not match with what is expected in the problem domain could provide a visual cue for an error in that formula cell.

The Microsoft Excel add-on has been tested to run in Microsoft Excel 2003, Microsoft Excel 2007 and Microsoft Excel 2010. It can be downloaded freely at http://cs.uef.fi/spreadsheet_tools/ together with installation instructions. Note: Download the first add-on on the list! You may try the add-on and your feedback is most welcome.  

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A summary of my PhD thesis in not so technical language

My PhD thesis defence was held on 28th August 2015 at 12 noon at the University of Eastern Finland School of Computing in the Louhela Auditorium, Joensuu Science Park in Joensuu, Finland. The opponent was Research Fellow Sari Kujala and the custos was Professor Jorma Sajaniemi. A press release of my doctoral thesis to the Finnish media (as required by Finnish academic tradition) is at https://www.uef.fi/en/-/28-8-virheita-taulukkolaskennassa-onko-aika-muuttaa-taulukkopohjien-tekotapoja- 

The title of my PhD thesis is "Deficiencies in Spreadsheets: A Mental Model Perspective". The thesis can be downloaded at http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978-952-61-1828-4/index_en.html  Below is a summary of the thesis in not so technical language: 

Millions of people, globally, use spreadsheets in their daily work. For example, information extracted from spreadsheets is used in decision making and planning in various businesses and organizations. Spreadsheet software is ubiquitous such that almost all desktop computers have some spreadsheet software installed on them. Their easy to use interface, coupled with their powerful data manipulation capabilities, has made spreadsheets a darling to many end-users. Despite this popularity of spreadsheets, different researchers have shown that most spreadsheets have errors. Unfortunately, these errors have proven to be not trivial. For example, it is documented how some companies have lost millions of dollars due to errors in the spreadsheets they use. Research, however, has also shown that most spreadsheet errors involve construction and use of formulae.

This thesis tackled this problem of errors by studying mental models of spreadsheet creators performing various spreadsheet activities. In other words, we opted to study what spreadsheet creators think when they are doing various spreadsheet activities. We opted for this approach because it is a common assertion that humans have mental models of the systems they interact with, and as a result, it is difficult to explain many aspects of human behaviour when interacting with systems, without resorting to a construct such as mental models.

Using a constructive research approach, we conducted three empirical studies and also developed two Microsoft Excel add-ons. Spreadsheet creators are normally not professional programmers but are experts in their application domains such as accounting. However, the results of the studies showed that with traditional spreadsheets, spreadsheet creators have to link up concepts from their application domain to low-level spreadsheet concepts such as cell references in order for them explain a spreadsheet as well as to locate and fix errors in spreadsheets. Therefore, we created a Microsoft Excel add-on that translates traditional spreadsheet formulae into application domain concepts so that spreadsheet creators should map easily application domain concepts to their spreadsheet-specific counterparts. The add-on also automatically highlights all cells which are referenced in a translated spreadsheet formula. The add-on can be used for different purposes such as being used as a verification aid when creating a spreadsheet, as a comprehension aid when trying to understand a spreadsheet created by others, and as a debugging aid for locating potential errors in a spreadsheet.

The add-on was evaluated and found to be easy to learn and also helped spreadsheet creators to locate more errors in their spreadsheets. The add-on was also noted to help spreadsheet creators to think more in terms of the application domain rather than in terms of spreadsheet specific concepts. This is important as spreadsheet creators are experts in their application domains and are not necessarily professional programmers and as such they are more familiar with application domain concepts rather than low-level spreadsheet specific concepts.

We also developed another Microsoft Excel add-on (a prototype one) by extending the previously described Microsoft Excel add-on such that, instead of using cell references as in traditional spreadsheets, spreadsheet creators could now debug their spreadsheets using application domain concepts only. An evaluation of this add-on showed that it correspondingly promoted spreadsheet creators to think more in terms of their application domain such that they almost no longer thought of their spreadsheet in terms of spreadsheet-specific low-level concepts. This has the implication that we can have a spreadsheet paradigm in which spreadsheet creators develop their spreadsheets using application domain concepts only rather than labouring themselves to learn to use traditional cell references. In other words, spreadsheet creators would develop their spreadsheets in the usual ad-hoc, incremental manner but instead of using traditional cell references, they would use application domain concepts, of which they are already familiar of.

The two add-ons have been tested to run in Microsoft Excel 2003, Microsoft Excel 2007 and Microsoft Excel 2010. They can be downloaded freely at http://cs.uef.fi/spreadsheet_tools/ together with installation instructions.

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10% Internet levy in Malawi - a step backward

It never rains but pours for us, Internet users in Malawi. While grappling under one of the most expensive telecommunication tarrifs in the world, the government has decided to introduce a 10% levy on Internet, SMS and other data transfer services. In 2013, the government already introduced a 16.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) on Internet services. Apparently the Minister of Finance, in his 2015/2016 budget presentation argues that there has been a "tremendous uptake" of telecommunication services in the country hence the need to increase the tax base through this avenue to finance the zero-aid national budget from local resources. Statistics, however, show otherwise. According to a report by BuddeComm, by the end of 2014, the market penetration rates for telecom services in Malawi were 36% for mobile telephony, 1.9% for fixed telephone services and 6.1% for Internet services. It is clear that there is no tremendous uptake of telecom services in Malawi particularly for Internet services. It is thus a step backward to introduce levies that will stifle the already paltry Internet uptake in Malawi. In this post, I dwell much on how Internet access can promote trade and entrepreneurship in a country like Malawi.

Technologies like the Internet have been shown to promote trade and entrepreneurship even in developing countries as the Internet provides a platform through which manufacturers and service providers can showcase their products and services to a global audience. For example, a tourist attraction whose information has been put online is likely to attract a stream of international tourists. Companies and organizations which have an online presence clearly expose themselves to a larger market audience. This is also true for small and medium enterprises. Simply put, an online presence is a must for any progressive enterprise. Stifling Internet access through Internet levies is therefore a clear contradiction to the policy of promoting trade and entrepreneurship in the country. For further reading, a 2006 paper by Clarke & Wallsten provides insights on the linkages between trade and Internet usage.

The Internet has also provided self-employment among enterprising youths in Malawi. With the prevalent high unemployment rates in the country, some youths have taken advantage of the many opportunities provided by the Internet through businesses like website development, internet cafés, computer networking, etc. With the rising costs in Internet access, many of these businesses will be less patronized hence threatening their very existence. Where is the much touted youth empowerment then?

It is also a fact that an increasing number of Malawians are looking at the Internet as a source of vital information on education, current affairs, business, etc. For example, on the online business directory we are running, Biz Directory MW, we get not less than 100 page views per day with most traffic emanating from search engines such as Google and Bing. And 80% of all search queries come from within Malawi. This empirically demonstrates that many Malawians are increasingly using the Internet as a source of non-trivial information such as business information. Again, we can see that access to the Internet is something that should be encouraged to stimulate entrepreneurship in the country.

Other countries like Rwanda have put technology at the heart of their development strategies and the results are there for all to see. Lets build a Malawi that can escape from the shackles of poverty through progressive policies. Affordable Internet access is a need and not a want.

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Why Facebook's internet.org initiative is bad even for developing countries like Malawi

Facebook's Internet.org initiative claims to have the objective of bringing basic Internet to everyone in the world. Through this initiative, a few select websites chosen by Facebook and its partners can be accessed via mobile internet for 'free'. The initiative has just been implemented in Malawi in partnership with two of Malawi's mobile phone operators - TNM and Airtel Malawi. At face value, it looks like a great initiative. However, personally, I have reservations on the initiative based on the following reasons.

First, the initiative violates the principle of Internet or net neutrality. For starters, Internet neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication (Wikipedia). The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003. Clearly, by selecting a few websites over others, Facebook and its partners are not treating all web content equally and therefore giving undue advantage to certain websites and services over others thus stifling innovation and competition. The Internet is what it is today because of innovation and competition. And if anything, this idea of filtering out some preferential websites and services over others is taking away the fundamental human right on the right to choose. Why should Facebook and its partners choose for 'poor' people what they can freely access?

Second, this initiative should not hoodwink the masses in developing countries like Malawi that it is a free service. In my opinion, this initiative gives Facebook and its partners undue advantage over others by cleverly putting themselves in a preferential basket. In other words, as more people access the Internet through this initiative, it increases Facebook's and its partners' advertising constituency. Facebook and its partners should have been honest on this other than operating on a gimmick of a charity banner.

Third, the very idea propelled that 'Internet.org by Facebook' is misleading. Internet is not Facebook and neither Facebook is Internet. The Internet should be free from any corporate control.

Fourth, what people need are affordable internet services for everyone in the world. And in this case, we are talking of affordable access to the whole of the Internet and not necessarily 'free' access to some select few websites chosen by Facebook and friends. In Malawi, Internet costs are unjustifiably very high but certainly what many want is affordable access to the whole of the Internet other than 'free' access to a select few websites whose content is not even local.

I rest my case.

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Poster Slide on "A Domain Terms Visualization Tool for Spreadsheets"

 In this poster presentation, we introduce a new spreadsheet visualization tool which was developed to demonstrate that it is possible to have an easy-to-use spreadsheet understanding and debugging tool that relieves users from spreadsheet details and lets them utilize more of their mental model of the application domain. The tool translates traditional spreadsheet formulas into problem domain narratives and highlights referenced cells.

Full poster paper can be downloaded at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6883059

The poster was presented at the 2014 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) which was held between 28th July, 2014 to 1st August, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.

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Presentation Slides on "Visualizing the Problem Domain for Spreadsheet Users: A Mental Model Perspective"

In this paper presentation, we introduce a new spreadsheet visualization tool as well as an empirical evaluation of its usability and of its effects on mental models of users. The tool translates traditional spreadsheet formulas into problem domain narratives and highlights referenced cells. The tool was found to be easy to learn and helped the participants to locate more errors in spreadsheets. Furthermore, the tool increased the use of the domain mental model in error descriptions and appeared to improve the mapping between the spreadsheet model and the domain model. Full paper can be downloaded at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6883040

The paper was presented at the 2014 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) which was held between 28th July, 2014 to 1st August, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.

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Presentation Slides on "An Empirical Study of Spreadsheet Authors’ Mental Models in Explaining and Debugging Tasks"

The spreadsheet comprehension and debugging problem is still very much there. It is important to understand spreadsheet authors’ mental models when doing different spreadsheet process activities as it can help to understand why the spreadsheet process is so error-prone and it can also help to develop the right tools and techniques for spreadsheet activities. In the empirical study we conducted, we found that spreadsheet authors have at least three mental models: the real-world mental model, the domain mental model and the spreadsheet mental model. Full paper can be downloaded at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6645237

Presented at the VLHCC 2013 Conference in San Jose, California, USA  which took place from 15th to 19th September, 2013.

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 4)

1 John 5:20-21 (NIV)

 

20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5 (NIV)

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father
loves his child as well. 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 9 We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 4 (NIV)

12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

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Google launches Scholar Library!

Google continues to make life easier for scholars! On 19th November 2013, Google launched Scholar Library, a personal collection of articles in Scholar. One can save articles right from the search page, organize them by topic, and use the power of Scholar's full-text search & ranking to quickly find just the one they want - at any time and from anywhere. More at Google Scholar Library - Google Scholar Blog

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An online comprehensive career guide in Computer Science

For my fellow Computer Scientists and those aspiring to pursue careers in Computer Science, here is a link to a comprehensive career guide in Computer Science by the Open Education Database - http://oedb.org/careers/computer-science/

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Kachere Development Programme now online!

Kachere Development Programme is the official Social Development arm of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Zambia. The organisation operates in the whole of Eastern Province and believes in creating an impact among its beneficiaries with limited available resources.

This faith based non-governmental organisation is now online and its website can be accessed at http://www.kachere.org/ The website is designed and hosted by B4C Software

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Online Short Courses - B4C Software Engineering Consultants - Malawi

For the first time in Malawi, B4C Software Engineering Consultants are offering online short courses in various computing fields at http://moodle.b4csoftware.com/

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A Pictorial Tribute to late President Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi

5th April, 2012 shall be a day that shall have an indelible mark to many Malawians including myself. It was the day that the President of Malawi, Professor Bingu wa Mutharika died. Personally, I felt the sadness that I have never felt before when I learned that the President had collapsed at around 11.15am the same day. It was a shock to many!

It is thus with that sadness that I present this pictorial tribute in honour of the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika. As any person born through Adam, any human (including you and me) have weaknesses but nevertheless Bingu wa Mutharika shall remain a hero to me and indeed will be remembered as a great son of Africa. There are several reasons why Bingu shall always remain a hero to me and I guess even to other Malawians and Africans in general.

I find the life of Bingu wa Mutharika as a President (from 2004-2012) to be very inspiring. Bingu wa Mutharika inculcated in Malawians the spirit of self-sufficiency and self-confidence. This he demonstrated through the so many development projects that he initiated in the spirit of having a Malawi that is not perpetually donor dependent. His argument has always been that Malawi has been 'independent' from colonialism since 1964 (2012 marks 48 years of 'independence'). However, Malawi has perpetually remained one of the poorest countries in the world yet Malawi is rich in several natural resources such as fertile land, fresh water and indeed untapped mineral resources.

It is against this background that the late President always promoted home-grown policies as a way of taking Malawi out of the quagmire of poverty. He thus initiated several tangible development projects that saw poverty levels decline from 60% in 2004 to 40% in 2010. I now present some pictures capturing some of the development projects initiated by the Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika through his 'home-grown policies':






Coupled with good rains, Malawi has witnessed a highly successful fertilizer subsidy programme from 2004 that has made Malawi food-sufficient.





By creating diplomatic relations with China under Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawi has witnessed tangible Chinese funded development projects including the magnificent Parliament Building in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi




After waiting for over 40 years, the people of the 'remote' district of Chitipa finally are also now having a tarmac road courtesy of Bingu's development agenda.









The Malawi University of Science and Technology now under construction is also brainchild of the late Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika.




Late Bingu wa Mutharika demystified the myth that Malawi had no mineral resources. Kayelekera uranium mine, opened during the Bingu's presidency, was the first significant international mining investment in Malawi

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Malawians - are you tired of computer viruses?

Fellow Malawians!

Are you tired of computer viruses on your computer? Its time to make a switch to Ubuntu Linux, a free and open source operating system that can completely change your computing experience:

1. Ubuntu Linux is free (no need to buy it or use pirated ('stolen' software)).


2. Ubuntu Linux is user-friendly just as Microsoft Windows.


3. You 'forget' about computer viruses when you use Ubuntu Linux.


4. Malawi as a country in general can save a lot of the much needed forex if people can switch to Linux (its free software and no need to buy expensive anti-viruses which unnecessarily increases our already bloated import bill)


5. Companies and other institutions can substantially save on their IT budget if they can switch to Ubuntu Linux (its free software and no need to buy expensive anti-viruses)


6. Installation is easy and you can do side by side installation with Microsoft Windows so that you can try Ubuntu Linux while still having your Microsoft Windows intact.

You can get your free copy of Ubuntu Linux (in Blantyre) by calling on 01988998, 0991451553, 0884188893, 0999111736, 0888585707. You may also contact any member of the Blantyre Free and Open Source Users group - http://groups.google.com/group/blantyrefossusers

Also feel free to share your copy of Ubuntu Linux with all. Its not illegal to do so because this is free and open source software.

Please help to spread this word by letting as many people as possible to know about this.

Yours in Service,

Bennett

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 3)

I remain convinced that Scripture says that there is one God, the Father (1 Cor 8:6, John 17:3, 1 John 5:20) and Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16, Col 1:1-20, Hebrews 1:1-9, etc). Jesus has a God whom He said is the “only true God” – John 17:3

I find the key to understanding this, is simply understanding the word “Elohim” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim) in Hebrew or “Theos” in Greek from which the English word “God” is translated from.
This crumbles the “trinity puzzle”.

I find what the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church believed in to be biblical based. In my opinion, their views of who God is, were scriptural. I have done extensive search of scripture and so far I have found the Bible to be not contradictory. (If the Bible were a computer program, I could say that it runs perfectly with neither compile-time nor run-time errors.). As such, I can confidently say that I am a non-trinitarian seventh-day Adventist just as the founders of the seventh-day Adventist church were. The shift in our beliefs came not because of “new light” but because of other reasons which history
documents very well.

It is always well documented that in 325AD the Trinity was formulated by the Nicene Council and in 364AD the Council of Laodicea changed the Sabbath to Sunday in honour of the “holy Trinity”- The Douay Catholic Catechism of 1649 http://biblelight.net/DouayCat.htm page 143
states

“Q. What is Sunday, or the Lord's Day in general?
A. It is a day dedicated by the Apostles to the honour of the most holy Trinity, and in memory that Christ our Lord arose from the dead upon Sunday, sent down the holy Ghost on a Sunday, &c. and therefore is called the Lord's Day. It is also called Sunday from the old Roman denomination of Dies Solis, the day of the sun, to which it was sacred.”

In short, I do not believe in the trinity because I find no scriptural basis for this doctrine and historical evidence shows how it was formulated by a council of men in 325 AD Firstly, I believe that all ‘new knowledge’ has to be tried and tested if it conforms to what Scripture alone says (“Sola Scriptura”). And personally, I find the trinity doctrine not conforming to scripture.

It is a historical fact that the verse 1 John 5:7 is controversial. One can read more about this verse on many websites such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_Johanneum: And I quote

“In translations containing the clause, such as the King James Version, 1 John 5:7–8 reads as follows
(with the Comma in bold print):
5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and thesethree agree in one."

”The resulting passage is often viewed as an explicit reference to the Trinity of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It does not appear in the older Greek manuscripts, nor in the passage as quoted by many of the early Church Fathers. The words apparently crept into the Latin text of the New Testament during the Early Middle Ages, "[possibly] as one of those medieval glosses but were then written into the text itself by a careless copyist. Erasmus omitted them from his first edition; but when a storm of protest arose because the omission seemed to threaten the doctrine of the Trinity, he put them back in the third and later editions, whence they also came into the Textus Receptus, 'the received text'."” {end quote}

You may also read more on http://www.kjv-only.com/doug/1john5_7.html on how this verse was sneaked into Scripture.

Revelation 22:18 warns us

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:”

Historical evidence is there on how people have vainly tried to add to scripture, however we thank God that all this is quite exposed.

In my opinion, we are have different understandings when we say “Jesus is God”. For me, when I say Jesus is God, I mean he is God in nature (Phil 2:6), being the Son of God and it pleased the Father that all his fullness should dwell on him (Col. 1:17). The Bible is consistent that the Father is greater than Jesus our Lord. And the Father is the only true God (“God the Person whose name is Yahweh”). In fact, it is our Lord Jesus in John 17:3 that proclaims that and this is eternal life. We also know that the Father, who is true God is also the God of our Lord Jesus (Rev 3:12).
Unlike the Father, our Lord Jesus does not know some things. For example, our Lord Jesus does not know when the “last day” will be. To quote Mark 12:32 and Matthew 24:36, notice what our Lord Jesus
says:

“But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son,
but the Father.”

“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

So I should guess, unless our Lord Jesus was lying (which I certainly believe cannot be the case). So the “all knowing attribute” does not hold. I hope the trinity doctrine still holds on this. There are some things only the Father knows and Jesus said the Father is the only true God. I will say once again, the key to understanding the word “God” is by simply understanding the Hebrew word “Elohim” or the Greek word “Theos” . By saying that the Father is the only true God (John 17:3, 1 Cor 8:6, 1 John 5:20), that does not mean that Jesus is a “false God”, after all Jesus never said that He is God. If anything he always said that He is the Son of God. Remember what he said to Peter. Remember also how Satan tempted him – “If you are the Son of God…?.
Colossians 1:16

“16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created THROUGH him and for him.”

Notice that God created the worlds THROUGH Jesus. Paul emphasizes again this point in Hebrews 1:1-2

“1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and THROUGH whom he made the universe.”

I hope we all get the meaning of “THROUGH”. In short God created the worlds THROUGH Jesus, our Lord. No one disputes that. Even John 1:3 says

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”.

Notice again “THROUGH”.

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 2)

Firstly, I take note that it seems that the trinity doctrine is formulated to find a spatial hierarchy between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So many a time, I am asked “where do I place Jesus and the Holy Spirit”. In my opinion, a doctrine should not be about placing what or where. Rather, it should be about what the Bible says and most importantly, what our Lord Jesus said about himself, God, angels etc

Secondly, I would like to specifically respond to some verses which some claim that they support trinity and how I understand them.

1 Tim 3:16 talks of the mystery of godliness "God" manifest in the flesh. Different versions render that verse differently. In fact, there is very big debate that originally there was “He” not the word “God” . Check the online parallel Bible (http://bible.cc) which lists different versions of a particular verse. Check also the commentary below it that talks about this verse being tampered with. Another example of a verse that is also tampered with is 1 John 5:7. So I feel that we can not base an argument on a verse that “was tampered with”. Nevertheless, Jesus, the Son of God is the express image of God - Hebrews 1:3 (KJV)

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”

. You will agree with me that if X is an image of Y, it does not mean that X=Y? In Jesus, we see the character of God

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”

Col 1:19 (KJV). But Jesus and the Father are different beings and the Father is the only true God as per what Jesus said in John 17:3. Also check what John says in 1 John 4:1-2 (KJV) -

“ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”.

Notice what the apostle says – we have to acknowledge that JESUS CHRIST (not God) came in the FLESH.

Coming to John 10:30, you will see the story that is unfolding in John 10 culminates in the Jews misinterpreting Jesus statement –

“I and my Father are one”

to mean that Jesus is claiming that he is God. Jesus emphatically refutes that in verse 36 – “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? Jesus is saying do you say that I have blasphemed because I am saying that I am the SON OF GOD? In fact he says the famous verse in verse 34 “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” In other words, if God called “mere men” gods what is wrong with being called the “Son of God”? (Jesus quoting Psalm 82). By the way, the name God is translated from Hebrew “Elohim” and Greek “Theos” and is not exclusive. You may google the word “Elohim” for a greater exposition of this word or check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim. In addition to that, if we read John 17:11 (NIV) –

“ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” Notice that “they be one as we are one”

Clearly this oneness is unity in purpose “not that the Father is Jesus and Jesus is the Father”.


About Hebrew 1:8, check the verse that follows Hebrews 1:9 (KJV) –

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

In verse 9, “God, even thy God”. It is clear that this Jesus as God has a God. In other words, Jesus has a God, that only true God which he talked of John 17:3. This is also talked of in 1 Cor. 8:6. The Apostle John also writes in 1 John 5:20 –

“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” Notice “He is the true God and eternal life”

. Its not difficult to understand how how Jesus being God has a God once you understand the word “Elohim” and its usage. Jesus is Elohim but God the Father, who is the God of Jesus, is the Almighty Elohim. Remember, the quote Jesus used in John 10:34

“You are gods”

On the name Emmanuel, yes through Jesus, God is with us. Even today, by giving a child the name “Emmanuel”, we do not mean that, that child is “God”, that we express our prayer that through the child, we are reminded that God is with us. By the way, there is no any place in the New Testament where Jesus is actually being called by people as “Emmanuel”. He is called Jehushua in Hebrew or Jesus in Greek.


About Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is indeed Mighty Elohim or God. I have already explained the use of Elohim above. Also note that it is not saying “Almighty God”. On everlasting Father, I should ask this question: In the trinity doctrine, Jesus is the “Second person of the Trinity”, and the Father is the “first person of the Trinity”. Now I should ask, is Jesus the Father of himself as you would like it to imply I guess. On John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father. Did He pray to himself?. Surely, the everlasting Father should mean something else. In my opinion, Adam is our father being the person from which the whole human race came from. But Jesus, with authority from God, created everything including humanity. Hebrews 1:2 says

” Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”.

Jesus can rightfully be called our Father. He is everlasting because he was with God in the beginning – John 1:1 and he will always be there.


About John 14:14 check what Jesus says in the preceding verse 13: -

“13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”

. Christ does everything to the glory of God. Also check verse 28: -

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Jesus is saying that the Father is greater than him. Do we need to add anything here? Remember Christ said on John 17:3 –

“1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 1)

I am Seventh-Day Adventist, but I do not believe in the "trinity" because in my understanding, just as the Adventist pioneers believed, the Bible does not say that God is a "trinity". In this post, and subsequent two posts, I will post my thoughts on what the Bible says who God is.

Firstly, I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). But what does the Bible say who God is? A trinity? The following Bible verses show who God is.

Consider the following verses:

John 17:1-3 (NIV)

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Notice what our Lord Jesus says who the true God is in
verse 3). Clearly it is the Father.
1 Corinthians 8:6 (KJV)

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

Again the Apostle Paul is clearly saying that the Father is
the only God and Jesus is our Lord.
1 John 5:20 (KJV)

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Notice what John is saying of the true God. Who is the true God and eternal life mentioned in this verse? Clearly, it is the Father.

This theme of who God is constantly shown to light in the Bible. The following is a book by book presentation of verses which show who God is, in addition to the three verses given above.

From the Book of John

John 1:18 (KJV)

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” The Bible is saying that no man has seen God, but God has revealed himself through Jesus.

John 20: 17 (NIV)

“Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Notice “My God”. Why does our Lord Jesus have a God?

From the Book of 1 John

1 John 4:1-3 (Who is the anti-christ?)

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that
does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

1 John 4:12 (No one has seen God)

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:15 (What are we to confess?)

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.”

1 John 5:20 (Who is the true God and eternal life mentioned in this verse?)

“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

From the Book of 2 John

2 John 1:3 (Notice God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ)

“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.”

From the Book of Jude
Jude 1:4 (KJV) (Notice that certain men “deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ”)

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

From the Book of Revelation

Rev 1:1 (Notice the opening of the Book of Revelation)
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.”

Rev 3:12 – (Notice “My God”. Why does Jesus have a God?)

“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.”

Rev 4 and Rev 5 (Notice the “One who sits on the throne”, the Lamb who opens the scroll which is in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Notice what Rev 5:13 says

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

Rev 7:10-17 (Notice “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb”. Notice also God is on the throne and the Lamb is in the midst of the throne).
And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Rev 22:1 (notice the throne of God and the Lamb)

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb”

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