Ants

Lone diner

Yummy or Yucky?

Either way, please leave me alone and let me finish my meal in peace.

Is your God the same God as mine ?

I suspect that we (humans), on our journey in search of "the truth", are currently scattered near the base of a pyramid. We are nowhere close to the apex, where perhaps "the truth" may be situated.

We are all pursuing a common goal, even if we are reluctant to admit. We are thinking and behaving as we are, because we are only seeing and experiencing our respective sides of the pyramid. The other sides of the pyramid are equally relevant, although they may be different from our side - in look and feel.

The apex ... that should be the goal.

On each side of the pyramid, the scenery may be different, but the top point is the same one that is visible to all sides. We will never realize that we are indeed trying to reach that same summit, unless we acknowledge that there are climbable paths on the other sides as well.

In simple term, different religions are like the sides of a pyramid - each being differently landscaped but leading toward the same apex (God).

Invitation to Hell

Eighteen Layers of Hell...

Not a good place to be
Avoid at all cost

Hornbill in flight

This mighty bird needs neither introduction nor commentary.

Commandment #10

Commandment #10: "Thou shalt not covert thy neighbor's wife".

Does that mean it is OK for a woman to covert her neighbor's husband?

Wife, obey your husband

In a S.E. Asian country, a religious lady recently stated that "It would be perilous for wives who do not obey their husbands."

--

In the USA, a mainstream Christian denomination states in their "Article of Faith and Message" that

" ... A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation."

They passed the above having referred to the Bible.

--

Ephesians 5: 22-23

"Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ
is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior."

Without malice or disrespect to any religious groups, but with great difficulty in accepting, I would like to ask the questions,

What does "obey", "submit" or "be subject to" mean, in our present day term?
Were not women and men created as equal - both being in God's own image?

Two fish ... and 41.6 hours

My "problem(s)" with churches: I often asked the "wrong" questions

For example (the miracle of 2 fish for 5000 people)

1. I asked if there were only two fish (as in "feeding 5 thousand").
The pastor said, "yes, it is written in the Bible".

2. I then asked "how long did it take to feed the 5000?"
"Not long", said the Paster.

Accepting that there were two fish, and the crowd size was five thousand, and assuming that each person took an average of one minute to eat and be full, then it would have taken 2500 minutes for the 2 fish to go through the crowd of 5000.

That was 2500 / 1440 = 1.7 day (41.6 hours).
And... there was the matter of the bread too ... each loaf probably took up a little time ...

The pastor was not too happy with my question.

Apathy

Apathy ...

Is it a virtue?
Is it a form of discipline?
Is it an excuse?
Is it a cop out?

In what segment of society is apathy beneficial or harmful
to oneself?
to society?

Cleanliness

Cleanliness is a virtue, as it tends to contribute to general good health.

But how does one ensure "cleanliness"
- in food served at restaurants?
- in food packaged for sale at supermarkets?
- in food meant for consumption by certain cultural and religious groups?

More questions ...

- How do you define "clean"?
- Would you consider food prepared in a "5-star" restaurant as clean?
- Would you consider food prepared by a roadside vendor as not-too-clean?
- Would you consider utensils used in a "5-star" restaurant as clean?
- Is a frying pan clean after it has been washed with detergent - after use in cooking?
- Is a frying pan clean after it has been washed with detergent - after someone urinated in it?
Would you have any problem eating food cooked in this frying pan,
if you are aware of its prior (mis)use?
- Is a halal (kosher) restaurant still halal (kosher) if its employees regularly eat and touch
non-halal (non-kosher) food elsewhere?

Questions ... questions ... questions ...
Has anyone any answer(s)?