Quick Causes for Finger Crossing

Ceasefire. Yay!
Obama's Inauguration. Double Yay!

Now to hope that our hopes for both aren't dashed...

*fingers crossed*

Blinded by Self-proclaimed Righteousness

I have to confess I'm not brave enough to take a firm stand on the Palestine-Israel matter because there are always two sides to a story. However, in this recent war, I have to say that while Hamas is not totally blameless for firing rockets into Israel, it is similarly unjustifiable that Israel, in self-defence, can continue firing far more advanced weaponry into a largely innocent population.

To me, it seems the equivalent of a secondary school kid beating up a primary school child who was throwing rather painful stones at him. Sure the child needs to learn to stop, but so does the older kid.

Anyway, while I am still afraid to pledge my allegiance, I am leaning ever so slightly to the Palestinian side and I find this posting from Fawaz on Facebook a pretty good justification why:

Rule #1: In the Middle East, it is always the Palestinians that attack first, and it's always Israel who defends itself. This is called "retaliation".
Rule #2: The Palestinians are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called "terrorism".
Rule #3: Israel has the right to kill Palestinian civilians; this is called "self-defense", or "collateral damage".
Rule #4: When Israel kills too many Palestinian civilians, the Western world calls for restraint. This is called the "reaction of the international community".
Rule #5: Palestinians do not have the right to capture Israeli military, not even 1 or 2.
Rule #6 : Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they want (around 10,000 to date being held without trial). There is no limit; there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the magic word: "terrorism".
Rule #7: When you say "Hamas", always be sure to add "supported by Hezbo-Allah, Syria and Iran".
Rule #8: When you say " Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the UK, European countries and even some Arab regimes", for people (God forbid) might believe this is not an equal conflict.
Rule #9: When it comes to Israel, don't mention the words "occupied territories", "UN resolutions", "Geneva conventions". T his could distress the audience of Fox, CNN, etc.
Rule #10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1 through 9. This is called "neutral journalism".
Rule #11: If you don't agree with these rules or if you favor the Palestinian side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite. You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest opinion.THIS IS CALLED: DEMOCRACY!!

And also, because I was shocked to find that sites exist where people are so blinded by the need to CRUSH THE INFIDEL HAMAS that they would make comments like this:

At 9:03 AM, Daniel434 said...
If Israel knows for sure that they are there (very high ranking Hamas leaders), then Israel must take the step neccessary to protect itself from a violent agressor that threatens the Apple of God's eye every day -- meaning, drop a ten ton bomb on the hospital or whatever it takes.The problem is, what if Israel leaflets the hospital and Hamas leadership flees? Hamas has seen what Israel did to another high ranking officer, leaflets and then boom. This time they might flee. While I would prefer them to leaflet and have the innocent wounded leave, I wonder if it is too risky. Like NormanF said, it is time to decapitate Hamas.Oh, and screw public/world opinion.

The same guy continued on:

At 10:11 AM, Daniel434 said...
I know Carl has made these clear many times with meticulous research and evidence but I also want to share what one of my favorite seminary and pastor teacher (Kenny Rhodes-SermonAudiodotcom) said:"The 'Palestinian' people are not an ethnic group, they are not a people, they are not an indigenous people. They are descendants from other arabs in that area with absolutely no history of being in that land and they have no claim to the land of Israel. It has always been Israel's land since God gave it to Israel and ordered Yaakov to conquer the Canaanites. There is no such thing as a 'Palestinian' people."So, there you have it from a very good Christian man, too bad not all my brethren think the same, but we are getting there. I hope that statement shuts up the mouth of any who would disparaging comments here in favor of the carpetbaggers.

Gosh that last comment just pisses me off for too many reasons! I have highlighted in red what i think to be nonsense statements. Now i know i will be criticised for my non God-fearing ways but I have a real problem with 'God gave it to Israel'.

First of all, Christianity, Islam and Judaism are practically one and the same. They share the same characters, much of the same teachings and arguably the same holy book just in different cultural context. So, my take is, God gave it to one of the faiths, he inadvertently gave it to the others that sprung from it.
He gave it to the the Jews... whose faith formed the basis of Christianity (modified Judaism for the Roman context) ... who shares too many similarities with Islam to not have had a hand in its creation too.
Religion and God-given rights aside, the only thing that has ever been able to decide the matter of territory is how much gunpower you have.

My second gripe. To say that there is no such thing as a Palestinian people is like saying there is no such thing as an American people. Or to hit closer to home, a Malaysian people. "Oh, they've only lived there for centuries. That doesn't make them Palestinian."
Okay, even in the bible, the people of Israel were from somewhere else. And then the UN created Israel AGAIN, 50 years ago. Israel has no greater claim to existence than Palestine or any other country for that matter!

I guess one of my biggest problems with religion is that all too often instead of being a promoter of good, it becomes a justification for misguided actions.

I welcome opinions and insights. After all, who am i to decide a decades-old problem?

Love (Nearly) Triumphs in Prepubescent Elopement

Gah! This is just the CUTEST thing!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/05/german-children-elope-mika-annabel

German lovers, Anna-Bell and Mika (5 and 6 years old respectively) were picked up on the way to the airport where they wanted to catch a flight to Africe to get married!
So enthusiastic were they that on top of their summer clothes and swimming outfits, they even brought along Mika's sister to be a witness at the wedding.

*sigh* What a wonderful thing young love is!

And thank goodness nothing bad happened to them on the way.

I can't help but feel so happy for their innocence. And slightly skeptical at the back of my mind - you kids don't know what it's like having in-laws, being tainted by class, behaviour, religion, belief, money, aspirations...

But throw that all away, why can't we all just be in love again?

The Wheels on the Atheist Bus go Round and Round...

You gotta love London because they can get away with things like the Atheist bus....

If that's their motto then I am beginning to suspect I am atheist... (although i like to think not in such a 'Terminator' vehemently anti-religion sort of way)

This article will tell you a bit more about why the Atheist bus exists, and why Londoners could raise a whopping 140,000 pounds to fund this campaign as response to religious slogans on buses that condemn non-believers to damnation. I suspect that the first ad that triggered it all off was this one:

Because i did like the founder of the Atheist Bus campaign, and i clicked onto the Jesussaid website, and i found out what will happen to the heathen non-believer (Kaafir!) such as myself:

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16b-18).

What are the consequences if you reject the answer?

God’s wrath includes the prospect of eternal punishment – it is appointed to men to die once and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). You will rise from the dead and will face the Judge and know that you rejected His kind and merciful answer. You will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell.(!!!) Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire which was prepared for the devil and all his angels (demonic spirits) (Matthew 25: 41).

Gah! It all sounds like biased treatment at the moment. If you believe in me, I won't judge you (therefore it doesn't matter what you do?) and if you don't believe in me, you're doomed (therefore it doesn't matter what you do?)... What happened to kind and merciful?

Maybe that explains why there have been so many religious crusades and wars for God and what not. 'Cos the final accountant closes one eye when it comes to people who know him? Pardon me, but i still have issues with religions that invoke fear rather than cultivate good.

*sigh*

Anyway, I hope this isn't seen as a giant stab in the side of monotheistic religion. See it like this (following paragraph from aforelinked article):

The theology thinktank Theos welcomed the campaign, saying it was a "great way" to get people thinking about God. "The posters will encourage people to consider the most important question we will ever face in our lives. The slogan itself is a great discussion starter. Telling someone 'there's probably no God' is a bit like telling them they've probably remembered to lock their door. It creates the doubt that they might not have."

And, to cap it all off, a slogan taken up by The American Humanist Association on their bus advertising campaign that speaks to my heart:

Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake!

Religious Revelations - Taoism

Now our brush with Taoism in Penang was much briefer owing to the packed crowds of tourists that not only filled 7 hours worth of cable cars by 11 am but also seemed to be at every turn of the tiny tiny streets in Penang.

~~~~An aside from my story as I expound my thoughts on Taoism. Now this whole Goddess of Mercy thing... Curiously, I've always had a statue in my house since I can remember. But what do i know about her? Nothing! People who pray to her claim to be Buddhists. While the traditional rites associated with offerings, altars, observing vegetarian days, etc etc are very much Taoist. So Buddhist? Taoist? I think particularly in Malaysia we've developed a hybrid of them both. Where you just 'follow what your parents did' and the lines between Taoist tradition and Buddhist religion became very much blurred indeed. Buddhism for me, though, is a belief in yourself and not in a higher power, so to me (if i understand correctly), Goddess of Mercy = Taoist; Belief in self = Buddhist. Okay, carry on now~~~

So, no cable car ride up Penang hill but we did stop by the foothills where there was *cue cheesy Batman music here* the Bat Cave Temple!!

Right, there were maybe 40 bats in this low 'cave' (dark room that may have once been a cave) behind a temple that had the mandatory altar and little pools by the side with STATUES of tortoises. The patrons of the temple were pouring water on the tortoise statues' backs, either bemused young children fascinated by tortoises or worn-looking adults, praying for luck, fortune or health. [Is it just me or is it really sad that not only is there an artificial bat cave there but they don't even have real tortoises anymore. *sigh* All the old-worldly charm sort of dissipated...]

The other temple we visited was the Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) temple and merciful as the goddess may be, her embodiment on earth was much more lavish and capitalistic than she may have desired.

As we stepped into the temple hall itself, a quarter of the space was taken up by a makeshift shop selling paper money, incense, candles, CDs with recorded chants and goodness knows what other matter of tacky 'religious articles'.
Right outside the hall, one could pay a fee to donate a roof tile to the construction of a new wing of the temple. Your name of course inscribed on the tile so your kind donation would be forever remembered.
The statues of Chinese zodiac animals that lined the path into the temple looked innocent enough - little children clambering on them and posing for photos. And then the realisation that each animal had a coinbank-like slot. Of course the animals would only favour those that provided for them in some manner.
And I haven't even come to the matter of the gift shop right next to the parking lot. A gift shop? With mugs, fans, tacky handmade items from Thailand and Indonesia, animals made of coconut husks, childrens' toys from some rundown factory in China, cutlery, table mats, jewellery, keychains... The array of mind-bogglingly unreligious items was enough to drive you crazy!
So off we ran into the car, glad to escape this hub of commercialism when a sign greeted us at the exit:

We are currently building the largest bronze statue of the Goddess of
Mercy. One of its kind and of unique architecture. Support our efforts by
donating generously to the temple.

A quick dash down the slope as it dawned upon me that Chinese may be Buddhist, Taoist, Christian or even Muslim... But as far as I have been able to observe, To be Chinese is to be Capitalistic. To be Capitalistic, is to squeeeeeze money out of ANYONE at ANY CHANCE POSSIBLE (be it under the guise of religion or community)

*sigh* and still the search for an acceptable devotion continues....

Religious Revelations - Islam

On this very unproductive of first days back from the holidays, I shall attempt to write about something actually quite serious and close to my heart in more ways than one.


The holiday, as full of drinks and games and reunions as it was had its own tiny glimpses of enlightenment. What started off as a bid to cover at least some of the tourist attractions in Penang led us to walk into the Keling Kapitan mosque - admittedly the first mosque i have stepped foot in in our own Muslim nation of Malaysia. Did anyone else, like me for the longest time, think that non-Muslims weren't allowed in mosques?


Yes we put on the hijab to cover our modesty. Yes, fatimah looked more like fatimah. (What a wasted photo op!) Yes, Aaron had to wear one too because he was baring his sexay knees...

While the tour itself was not very informative - we saw how to wash before prayers, where to wash before prayers (but weren't allowed in the main hall itself - a shame since the ceiling art looked v beautiful in the pictures) i was very taken by the guides at the mosque. Right next to it is an information centre where they sit and talk to you (my dearest veron playing interviewer at that point) and also provide lots of interesting reading material.



Parts that Impressed Me:

The fact that the guide stressed that Islam and Christianity need not be mutually exclusive. They acknowledge that Adam, Noah, Moses, Jesus, etc. DID exist and that they have special significance in religious history. After all, the major religions merely preach that there is one God. Noone ever said he isn't the same God - just with different names.


The welcoming attitude of the guides. They were open to questions, acknowledging the fact that Islam has a bad rep and that the world thinks they are all terrorists.



Parts that Weren't so Impressive:

I picked up a book called '20 Most Common Questions About Islam' and I think it's books like that help perpetuate Islam's bad rep. Question 1: Why are men allowed to have many wives but women not allowed many husbands?

a) Because if 1 man sleeps with many women you will know that their babies are his. But if 1 woman sleeps with many men, you will not know who the father of her baby is (but now technology makes this possible). Logical, but still kind of weak to me.

b) Because there are more women in the world than men except in China and India where female infanticide is practised. By that justification, shouldn't the women in China and India be able to have many husbands?

Mmm... no big moral revelation.

Question 20: Why do Muslims abuse non-Muslims by calling them Kafirs?

Kafirs refer to non-believers therefore Muslims call the non-Muslims Kafirs. If non-Muslims do not want to be called Kafirs, then they should convert to Islam and they will not be called Kafirs.

What? I thought that was a funny statement. If you don't want me to call you stupid, you should just become smart. (something like that) Cos it's so easy, right?


Okay, books aside though. I did feel that amongst all the stories we hear about Islamic fundamentalists and pushing their religion and being uncompromising, the people we spoke to at the mosque were very open and patient in their explanations.
I guess most importantly i didn't feel like there was any agenda behind their interaction with us. Just so that we would understand and appreciate their beliefs.