The Old Guy

God and Allah

2011-07-27T14:38:00.004-05:00

Quran, Surah 29:46
"And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam)."

Question:

Would modern day Muslims and Christians accept this verse and agree that they both worship the same God (Allah)?

Adam and Eve

2011-07-24T07:36:00.002-05:00

To all Creationists:

Did you ever wonder why Adam and Eve were "Adam and Eve"?
Listen to the an unrecorded conversation between Adam (A) and God (G) ...

A: I don't like my name anymore.
G: Why? I named you using the first character in the alphabet.

A: Then how come Eve's name didn't start with a "B"?
G: Well, I thought of "Beaver" but decided against it.

A: Why?
G: Then my first human creation may be known as "Beaver (A)dam".

A: OK. What's the name of a third human?
G: There is no third human yet.

A: If you say so.
G: I do say so. Eve is the second and only other human.

A: I still don't like my name.
G: Stop arguing. I named the woman "Eve" because it means preceding.

A: I don't get it.
G: Adam (first human) + Eve (second human) "precede" all other humans.

A: I feel slightly better, but I still want a better sounding name.
G: Your name is fine.

A: But "Eve" is a palindrome, and I want one too.
G: Like what?

A: Well, I will keep my original name, and just want to make it a palindrome.
G: Like what?

A: I want to add an "M" in front of name.
G: You want to be known as "MADAM"?

Needless to say Adam never got his wish, and the first humans were henceforth known as "Adam and Eve".

Have a wonderful day.

Mrs. DePrived sued Jesus

2009-12-02T22:23:00.004-06:00

Unusual court case: Mrs. De Prived Vs. Church, Bible and Jesus

Mrs. De Prived filed a law suit in a U.S. District Court, in which she named as defendants: Her church, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. She asked for a judgement of five million dollars ($ 5,000,000.00), an amount that was equal to half their previous net worth.

The following was a short version of what took place in Court.

Judge:
You cannot sue the Bible, and, most definitely, you cannot sue Jesus Christ.

Mrs. DP:
Your Honor, I can prove that the Bible and Jesus were responsible.

Judge:
Very well, proceed. God, please help me.

Mrs. DP:
Your Honor, it's like this ...
We live in a community property state, and whatever property a married couple owns is divided into equal halves. We were rich, until two weeks ago, after our morning church service.

Judge:
Please elaborate.

Mrs. DP:
The sermon was based on "eternal life", and the pastor used Matthew 19 as the main reference. In particular, he emphasized

Matthew 19:21 "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."

Matthew 19:24 "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Matthew 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Judge:
That was what I was taught in Sunday School as well.

Mrs. DP:
Yes, but my husband took the sermon literally. He sold everything we owned and gave all the money to the church. He never consulted me, and half of what he gave away was mine. I like my church, but I now have 5 million reasons to like it less. My husband gave away my $5,000,000.00.

You see ...

If Jesus had not said what Matthew wrote down, then the preacher would not have been able to quote it.

If the preacher had not used that in the sermon, then the message would not have been delivered.

Consequently, my husband would not have given away the ten million dollars to our church. I want my money back. I suggest the church give it back to me so that its entire congregation would have eternal life.

Judge: Hmmmm ....

Autumn in Columbia (Missouri)

2009-06-27T21:05:00.006-05:00

What are they ?

2009-06-24T22:40:00.004-05:00

Looking westward at 27,000 feet ... on a flight to Chicago.
What are these objects?

God's beautiful creatures

2009-06-18T22:21:00.008-05:00

"And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin."

God, do they represent you?

2009-06-17T21:00:00.003-05:00

They say God is everywhere (omnipresent), but they frown when I ask: "Why bother trying to get to heaven, since God is also in hell?"

I guess "everywhere" does not really mean "everywhere", but "everywhere that is good".

They claim their holy book is God's words dictated to men and transcribed verbatim. They proclaimed that "God had no beginning, and God has no ending", but they look at me with raised eyebrows when I ask about a verse from their holy book that reads "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending".

I guess "beginning" and "ending" means "no beginning" and "no ending".

They each claim that their God is the creator of the universe, but will not admit that they are referring to the same God.

I guess they each have their own "universe", and hence their own God.

Is there any wonder I prefer to look for God on my own?

Any more Dayaks around ?

2009-05-20T14:01:00.003-05:00

I got a t-shirt in Kuching with the "head hunter" design. While wearing this t-shirt recently, I received a comment from an American who has heard of old Borneo, and is thinking of visiting Borneo. He remarked, "It is too bad that the Dayaks are now extinct."

I asked where he got that piece of information, and assured him that the ("sea" and "land") Dayaks are alive and well in Sarawak. He insisted that there are no more Dayaks; he got the population make-up (for Malaysia) from the US Department of State official site.

Well ... what can I say

Democracy - Asian Style

2009-05-19T10:27:00.006-05:00

I used to think that democracy, as we understand, would not see the light of day in Asia. After an analysis of what goes on in many parts of Asia, I have come to believe that democracy is alive and well in that part of the world.

Democracy, by definition, works superbly well in societies where at least one of the following elements exists:

- autocracy
- theocracy
- dictatorship

Each of the above guarantees "majority" when it comes to "elections". Each has the wherewithal to "convincingly persuade" the voting population that it (current ruler) is the legitimate ruler. Anyone who shows the slightest hint of doubt will be introduced to a little more persuasion.

Result: Majority casts its vote for the current ruler - "true democracy" at work !

Fascinating ...

Democracy - USA style

2009-05-19T10:05:00.003-05:00

The United States of America has always considered itself a democracy. But is it, by definition?

Consider a sampling of definitions for democracy

Wikipedia: "Democracy- a form of government in which state-power is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state."

Online dictionary:"Democracy- government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives."

Now look at the statistics related to the election of Obama (2008 US presidential election):

Total number of registered voters = 169 million:
86 million democrats
55 million republicans
28 million "others"

Total USA population in 2008 = 303,824,640 (July estimate)

Total number of votes cast = 131,257,328
= 77.67% of registered voters actually voted

Total number of votes Obama received = 69,456,897
= 41.10% of registered voters
= 52.92% of total number of votes cast
= 22.86% of total estimated USA popution

Forty-one percent is not a majority. It is quite clear that only a minority of all registered (a subset of eligible) voters in the USA chose Obama to the the president. On the other hand, one may argue that 52.92% of all the votes counted is what matters - all else are secondary.

I wonder what the rest of the world thinks of this form of democracy.

Colonialism - new form

2009-05-16T23:22:00.005-05:00

Colonialism is alive and well ...

Many African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries are former colonies. Under that old system, a "master" country, e.g., Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, ... , controlled the running of the colonies, even if the colonies might have been previously ruled by their respective kings, sultans, tribal chiefs, etc.

This old style colonialism has since disappeared, and a new form of colonialism has emerged.

As was usually the case, when the colonial master left, the former colonies were granted "independence". New head of state was selected in the new country, normally from among the country's privileged few, and crucial governmental positions were given to members of the same group. This group typically comprised people of the same faith, or ethnicity, or tribe, or ..., and became the new "master". Everyone else outside of this elite group remained "colonies".

Under this new style colonialism, the "masters" would proclaim that there is equality for all, but leaving out the fact that there is "more equality" reserved for themselves.

The "new" master learned well from the "old" ...

Did God invent Chinese characters ?

2009-05-14T18:01:00.005-05:00

In a cyber gathering of my former school and classmates, some have expressed their memory of a missionary worker who, with his wife, regularly visited my high school on weekends. I found myself not remembering this "preacher" as fondly as did my former schoolmates.

This missionary worker spoke Mandarin Chinese. He would use a Chinese character (in its traditional form), "來 (come)" to describe the crucifixion. He likened the components in that character, i.e., one "十", and three "人 (men)" to Jesus and the two thieves on the cross, i.e. a big man in the middle, "木", with two little men, "人人", on both sides.

Therefore, according to this preacher, the Chinese character for "come" was clearly a call to all to come to Christ. When I suggested that Jesus was not around when the Chinese character was first used, he assured me that God had a hand in the formation of that and other characters.

If that were the case, I asked, "Is it alright, by God, for a female to have sexual intercourse with other females, since the Chinese character for fornication (姦) is formed by stacking one woman (女) atop two women lying side by side (女女)?"

That question resulted in a public prayer for my soul.

I was not one of his favorites, and it was OK. I didn't buy that "come" argument, any more than I did my own "fornication" example. To me, the use of those Chinese characters was a simple matter of two men using two different Chinese characters to make they own (human) case. It had nothing to do with any divine design.

No offense to missionaries ...

Blogging: a form of verbal diarrhoea ?

2009-05-05T22:38:00.003-05:00

A friend once told me that blogging is a bad case of "verbal diarrhoea". According to this friend, blogging is like having ingested something very bad and wanting to discharge it most urgently, but being unable to do so in a appropriate setting. Fortunately for the blogger, the internet is like a big community toilet, and is a perfect place (for the blogger) to let it all come out.

I believed that, i.e., blogging was verbal diarrhoea.

I may have changed my mind, after reading some blogs, especially those written by people who are not allowed to "poop in a regular toilet". This group of bloggers see social injustice, want to right the wrong, but are rendered helpless because of the layers upon layers of bureaucratic red tapes they encounter. This group also comprises conscientious ordinary citizens who wish to exercise civil disobedience but are threatened with the potential charge of sedition. To this group of civic minded individuals, blogging seems like the only avenue with which to voice their concerns, and to hope against hope that someone would actually listen (and, hopefully, hear) and do something.

Well, I still think blogging is a form of verbal diarrhoea. What changed is how I now view the potential effect of this diarrhoea on those around. I used to think that it was just verbal fecal waste - plain and simple. I now think it is a necessary discharge, and it, perhaps because of the awful stink, gets the needed attention.

I have not reached diarrhoea stage yet. I do not have a cause to champion, or an axe to grind, or an injustice to make just. I have no message to get across.

Fear not, readers, for my poop does not stink. I am just pretending that I am a "blogger", whatever a "blogger" may be.

Till next time.

Sunset

2008-08-03T12:51:00.004-05:00

From the ground ... Sabah

From 32,000 feet ... USA

Sunset is sunset ... from anywhere

Who is a better Builder

2008-08-03T12:42:00.002-05:00

Bare

2008-08-03T12:27:00.004-05:00

Bare top ...

Bare bottom ...

Just bare ...

Leave me alone .. I didn't bother you

2008-08-03T00:51:00.007-05:00

Leave me alone ... isn't it enough that you scared me half to death with that big monster of a machine ...

I am going as soon as you leave ...

Running out of hot air

2008-08-03T00:47:00.002-05:00

Not enough hot air?

No problem ... just land that balloon in my neighbor's backyard.

Family

2008-08-03T00:38:00.005-05:00

Family ...

and ...

more Family

My furry friends

2008-08-02T23:56:00.002-05:00

Now, that's covering each other's rear-end.

The three sons

2008-08-02T08:43:00.006-05:00

The three sons of a wealthy merchant gathered at a local coffee shop, and were having some discussion on who the true heir should be. The conversation goes:

Eldest son: Mom and Dad carefully planned for my arrival. they carefully groomed me to take over the business. Now that I am here, our brand has become a household name. More people are coming to us now. I am really carrying out our father's wishes. I can see that he is pleased with my performance. His DNA is definitely in me, and I am his true representative.

Middle son: Well, sure, there are lots of people coming into our store, but they are not buying what our father wants to sell. They come in to browse, and sometimes they steal from us. Your method is not working, and you have lost sight of what our father's wishes are. I am here to turn the business around. Father gave me the business plan that would succeed for sure. I have his good DNA, and I am his favored son.

Youngest son: Wait one second, you two. Neither one of you have delivered. Father is not pleased with either one of you, and that's why he brings me in. I have the real answer, and I have received the final plan from our father. Case in point, there are only three sons in our family, and I am the last one. It is very clear that our father is very pleased with me, and has decided that no more son is needed. I have his best DNA for sure, and his real plan.

This conversation went on, and on ... An elderly gentleman at an adjacent table was really annoyed, and finally decided to say something. He went, "Boys, I hate to burst your bubble, but none of you have your father's DNA. You are not biologically related to your father - you are all adopted!"

What is the message in this post? YOU decide.

Ants

2008-04-26T08:09:00.001-05:00

Lone diner

2008-04-25T18:45:00.005-05:00

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 ?

2008-04-25T04:29:00.006-05:00

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

2008-04-25T03:49:00.002-05:00

Eighteen Layers of Hell...

Not a good place to be
Avoid at all cost

Hornbill in flight

2008-04-25T02:55:00.003-05:00

This mighty bird needs neither introduction nor commentary.

Commandment #10

2008-04-24T09:43:00.003-05:00

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

2008-04-24T09:11:00.005-05:00

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

2008-04-24T08:40:00.004-05:00

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

2008-04-24T05:56:00.001-05:00

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

2008-04-24T05:41:00.003-05:00

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)?

Root - Origin of Self

2007-06-03T12:49:00.000-05:00

We may now be beautiful

Famous and admired

But ...

We were once

Ugly and unnoticed

Let's not forget our "roots"

Destiny

2007-06-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

Where besides Tanjong Lobang School could destiny be planned, shaped and fulfilled?

Where besides Tanjong Lobang School was there a will and skill to turn vision into reality?

Tanjong Lobang ... unique and tough

2007-05-31T13:05:00.000-05:00

As this lone leaf was unique in the spring,

So too was Tanjong Lobang School unique right from the beginning.

When all others withered and dropped,

Tanjong Lobang School stood bravely and fought.

Cheers,
The Old Guy

Mrs. Philips ... my favorite teacher

2007-05-31T12:07:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Philips ...

You were sympathetic ... while others were judgmental

You encouraged ... while others displayed seeming disgust

You kept asking, "How is M----?" ... while you always knew she was well and happy

Where are you, Mrs. Philips? You always were my favorite.

Cheers,

The Old guy

"Chain Gang" by any other name is still "Chain Gang"

2007-05-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

I started this blog thing a while back, but was never really serious about doing much with it. My question was, "who cares about my thoughts anyway?" Consequently, it turned out to be a sorry excuse of a blog.

Now, inspired by the newly organized "Ex-Tanjong", and by a fellow Limbangian, I think I will put some effort into this exercise, and perhaps turn it into something worthy of a "blog".

So ... here goes

Back in Tanjong Lobang School (1961-64), when I as a boarder, I and other male students were required to participate in the after-school "work party". For sure, it was more "work" than it was "party". And this activity usually started after the afternoon "tea".

Work Party after Tea ... what a noble concept that was!

Students were grouped and assigned certain areas where weeds and other undesirable plants and undergrowth were to be cut or otherwise removed. Each student was armed with a special cutting tool, the parang, that was securely attached to a staff of approximately one meter in length. Each student would then be "safely" spaced, and swinging that special parang.

To this day, I still marvel at the fact none of the students had ended up losing his head (literally), for among the students were many descendants of the once-feared highly-skilled parang-wielding "Borneo Headhunters". My guess is: we really liked each other then. And this supposition, I am happy to report, is reaffirmed and evidenced by how we now treat each other within "Ex-Tanjong".

The "work party" was forced labor, in my work-party-humbled opinion, but it was a consistent and logical step for the school to execute nonetheless. There was (is) plenty of rain and warmth to promote rapid growth in the plant world throughout the compound. And it was a very cost effective method of achieving "campus beautification".

Does this remind anyone of a "chain gang"?

Oh well ... it did toughen us, and in the process it also taught us to be collaborative, considerate and caring toward one another.

I still think it was "chain gang" in disguise.

Cheers,
The Old Guy

Heaven and Hell

2006-05-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

Waiting for my Sunday morning TV News program, and catching the tail end of a "tele-evangelist" program:

The preacher declared that his (faith group) is the only one that would help get a person "saved", and therefore on the right path to Heaven.

Suppose, referring to the diagram, "X" represents Heaven, and "A", "B" and "C" are different faith-based organizations, whose final objective is to get to Heaven . According to "A", members in both "B" and "C" will not go to Heaven (they go to Hell). Similarly, "B" and "C" each makes the same claim about members in the other groups, i.e., the others will go to Hell.

So, does it not stand to reason that according to "A", "B" and "C", all of them ("B", "C" and "A", respectively,) will end up in Hell? This is certainly a very sobering thought, and not a good selling point when attempting to recruit a new member into the "faith-based group".

Cheers.

Wonderful dilemma

2006-05-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

In most countries where automobiles and/or other types of motorized vehicle are part of the transportation system, roads usually have signposts declaring the legal maximum speed beyond which motorized vehicles are not permitted to travel.

Supposition:
On a 6-lane highway (3 going one-way, and 3 going the opposite way). Six drivers, each traveling in one traffic lane and going at posted maximum speed.

Outcome:
A massive traffic jam will result.

Questions:
- Would the six drivers be breaking the law (legal, social, commensense, etc)?
- What would you do if you were behind one of those six drivers?

Cheers