“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they
will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on
the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you
should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be
gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories
of your loved ones.” - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Recently, a correspondent from Fox News has had it bad for attacking a religious scholar during a television interview, the full version of it as presented below.
The interview itself has been likened to a car crash, with liberals having a whale of a time bashing the ignorant and bigoted views of Lauren Green, the Fox News religion correspondent. They point out that she attacked the scholar, a religious expert, just on the basis that because he was Muslim, he was not qualified to write a book about Jesus, and her line of questioning seemed to follow just that one track, with no exit route whatsoever to save whatever credibility she might have had as a thinking individual.
In a strange twist of events, the controversial biography Aslan wrote about Jesus is in fact now Amazon's top selling book in terms of sales, as her interview actually drove more people to want the book, if only to see if she had a point.
But Reza Aslan himself is no slouch on religion. Apart from his impressive academic credentials and experience in the field, his quotes on Reddit give an insight into his beliefs and his understanding of religion. When asked about what was his view on religions, specifically whether he believed there was one true faith, he likened his religious beliefs to a quote from Buddha, while also demonstrating religious tolerance.
"I think the Buddha said it right: If you want to draw water you do not
dig six one foot wells. You dig one six foot well. Islam is my six foot
well. I like the symbols and metaphors it uses to describe the
relationship between God and humanity. But I recognize that the water I
am drawing is the same water that every other well around me is drawing.
And no matter the well, the water is just as sweet!"
In fact, Aslan shared another interesting titbit about monotheism, which I was astonished to learn about. He said...
"Monotheism is actually a very recent phenomenon. In the hundred thousand
year history of human religious experience, monotheism is perhaps three
thousand years old. That's because the idea of a single god being
responsible for both good and bad, light and dark, is something that the
ancient mind had a very difficult time accepting. And no wonder! The
only way that monotheism finally "stuck" is thru the concept of angels
and demons. In other words, it was only when all the other "gods" were
demoted into spiritual beings responsible for different aspects of the
human condition that people were able to accept the idea one GOD in
charge of all the lower spiritual beings."
He also shared the reason why monotheistic religions might actually be the source of much conflict in today's world with the below reply to this question in the AMA by reddit user PhilosopherBaron
"As a scholar of religions, what is the fundamental difference between
the Abrahamic religions that prevents, historically, and culturally a
long lasting, peaceful interaction between these three? (Judaism,
Islam and Christianity). Thank you for your thoughts."
"Perhaps it's partly a result of monotheism. After all if you believe
there is only one God then you could easily believe that there is only
one path to that one God, that there is only one myth to describe God.
That means all other paths/myths are not just wrong, they are ANTI GOD.
They are evil and demonic. But the truth is that Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam are providing similar answers to the same questions of
ultimate concern. They are just using different sets of symbols and
metaphors to do so."
As someone who has an interest in religions too, to the extent that I wrote my A level General Paper on it, I found his reddit AMA an amazing read, and I have a feeling his book will be too. I know what I'm getting on Amazon next.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
From the outside, looking in
I started teaching underprivileged children at a social services centre recently. Before you think I am doing it for the CIP hours, I'm not. I am a finance professional with full time employment in a financial services firm, and sometimes it honestly isn't easy to set aside the time to mentor these kids. Before I began, I informed my boss that I would be teaching these kids, and I would be doing so for several weeks, so I requested time off early so I could get to the centre on time.
I teach these children because I identify with them. I know what it is like to have to fight for opportunities in a world that scarcely gives you any if you come from the wrong side of the socioeconomic stratum. I don't do it purely out of the goodness of my heart, because whatever goodwill that comes that way will slowly be eroded thin, when you realise that what you are effectively giving up is 4 hours of your time on a weekday night, which can be very precious when you work long hours. It leaves me with barely any time to unwind when I'm done on those Tuesdays, but I always leave the centre knowing I made a difference.
I do all this because I sincerely believe that these kids deserve a chance. Anybody who is willing to put in the effort deserves a shot at happiness and a better life.
What do I mean by a better life? I was hurrying to the class last Tuesday, because I only get off at 6pm on teaching days so by the time I get to the centre I am usually about an hour late. I was rushing along the void deck, and just as I was about to approach the door to the centre, I was stopped in my tracks by a family. The father was pushing his young toddler son in a stolen supermarket trolley, picking cardboard off dustbins and any places that he could find them. The mother was accompanying them, and also entertaining the kid in the trolley.
As I approached them, I became distinctly aware that the father reeked of kerosene. I realised that he probably worked at manual labour as a painter for a construction firm, because he was also wearing clothes with paint stains on them. I also realised that he reeked so because the family was probably really poor, so poor that even soap would be an extra expense that could be better used to feed a mouth. The father saw me approaching, and he quickly apologised and moved out of my way, struggling with the trolley as he did so.
I remember being struck by the apologetic tone in his voice, when all I could feel was sadness and embarrassment on my part at having to witness a family struggling on such terms, while being unable to help them. A donation out of pity would have been an affront to the dignity of this family, still fighting to make an honest a living as possible given their circumstances.
This is the underbelly of Singapore that not many people see. While most of us are busy caught up in our lives, trying to eat at the fanciest restaurants, buy the nicest clothes and go for the nicest holidays, we don't realise that there are those who are left behind, eking out an existence so that the next generation can live a better life.
Even at the centre, when I teach the kids, they sometimes tell me things that make me realise I can never help them enough. They tell me about how they do not have an English dictionary at home, so they cannot learn the meanings of English words that they don't understand in their school homework. They tell me about how their parents are sick, and how their favourite place is home because it is the only place they know apart from school. They tell me about how their parents cannot find work, or about how they don't understand their homework sometimes but there is no one to help them.
I help them as much as I can, but sometimes I realise that it is a bridge too far to cross. But I do know that the three hours I spend with them on those nights is three hours more than anyone else would have cared to give them. And I know that every week, I give them three hours more. I try to show them that even if they don't have the best of circumstances, they can fight for their dreams.
And many of their dreams are simple. To be a chef, because they really like to eat. To be a doctor, because their parents are sick and they want to help them. To be a teacher, because they really like their teachers in school and they look up to them.
Working with these kids gives me a reality check every week. And it also gives me the strength to keep on fighting, so that one day, I can fight for them.
I teach these children because I identify with them. I know what it is like to have to fight for opportunities in a world that scarcely gives you any if you come from the wrong side of the socioeconomic stratum. I don't do it purely out of the goodness of my heart, because whatever goodwill that comes that way will slowly be eroded thin, when you realise that what you are effectively giving up is 4 hours of your time on a weekday night, which can be very precious when you work long hours. It leaves me with barely any time to unwind when I'm done on those Tuesdays, but I always leave the centre knowing I made a difference.
I do all this because I sincerely believe that these kids deserve a chance. Anybody who is willing to put in the effort deserves a shot at happiness and a better life.
What do I mean by a better life? I was hurrying to the class last Tuesday, because I only get off at 6pm on teaching days so by the time I get to the centre I am usually about an hour late. I was rushing along the void deck, and just as I was about to approach the door to the centre, I was stopped in my tracks by a family. The father was pushing his young toddler son in a stolen supermarket trolley, picking cardboard off dustbins and any places that he could find them. The mother was accompanying them, and also entertaining the kid in the trolley.
As I approached them, I became distinctly aware that the father reeked of kerosene. I realised that he probably worked at manual labour as a painter for a construction firm, because he was also wearing clothes with paint stains on them. I also realised that he reeked so because the family was probably really poor, so poor that even soap would be an extra expense that could be better used to feed a mouth. The father saw me approaching, and he quickly apologised and moved out of my way, struggling with the trolley as he did so.
I remember being struck by the apologetic tone in his voice, when all I could feel was sadness and embarrassment on my part at having to witness a family struggling on such terms, while being unable to help them. A donation out of pity would have been an affront to the dignity of this family, still fighting to make an honest a living as possible given their circumstances.
This is the underbelly of Singapore that not many people see. While most of us are busy caught up in our lives, trying to eat at the fanciest restaurants, buy the nicest clothes and go for the nicest holidays, we don't realise that there are those who are left behind, eking out an existence so that the next generation can live a better life.
Even at the centre, when I teach the kids, they sometimes tell me things that make me realise I can never help them enough. They tell me about how they do not have an English dictionary at home, so they cannot learn the meanings of English words that they don't understand in their school homework. They tell me about how their parents are sick, and how their favourite place is home because it is the only place they know apart from school. They tell me about how their parents cannot find work, or about how they don't understand their homework sometimes but there is no one to help them.
I help them as much as I can, but sometimes I realise that it is a bridge too far to cross. But I do know that the three hours I spend with them on those nights is three hours more than anyone else would have cared to give them. And I know that every week, I give them three hours more. I try to show them that even if they don't have the best of circumstances, they can fight for their dreams.
And many of their dreams are simple. To be a chef, because they really like to eat. To be a doctor, because their parents are sick and they want to help them. To be a teacher, because they really like their teachers in school and they look up to them.
Working with these kids gives me a reality check every week. And it also gives me the strength to keep on fighting, so that one day, I can fight for them.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Carly Rae Jepsen throws a hilariously bad first pitch
The lady can belt out the notes, but she certainly can't throw a ball to save her life. Gave me a good laugh first thing in the morning.
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