Not everything is ‘comparatively’ speaking
Like every other human being I have my likes and dislikes. You know, I like this this this. I don't like this this this. In every category of thing possibly available, I have my dislikes, my likes. I like Joanne Rowling (so hate me already). I don't like JRR Tolkien (ok Eyeris now you can kill me). I like simple, easy to read shite like Eats, Shites & Leaves (a review on that later), not the original award-winning title Eats, Shoots & Leaves. I like Asus laptops over the more famous Toshiba ones, I prefer the Oxford English dictionary, and I actually like using Kilometrico 60-sen-a-piece pens.
I like Eyeore the donkey and I hate Winnie the Pooh, I like the now out-of-menu McDonald's Crispy Ayam Goreng, and I like those cool gypsy long skirts that're in fashion now. I don't like costume jewelery, I don't like very high heels. I don't like men who think they-so-clever liddat, wtf, I just don't like people who think they-so-clever-liddat (even though I am somewhat the I-very-clever-you-know person, most of the time).
So it boils down to this. Now listen. There are some people I see here, here, right here, on this sphere, that I just do not like very much. But this doesn't in anyway, mean that I cannot respect him. Au contraire, on top of my feelings of dislike, I still can respect him as a different individual, I can respect his faith, his values.
I think he's probably reading my blog from time to time, and I have wanted to say these things for quite some time already, but for the sake of diplomacy etc etc I have been holding my tongue, keeping my ideas to myself (and within my very close circle of sphere-mates). Okay. So I also thought he was still young, a lot of to learn, haven't seen enough, haven't read enough, etc… I can give him all that… you know… minus all that he's still a good person inside… etc… okay I can count out the terrible words he uses sometimes but I can turn a blind eye.
So now, sir, if you're reading this. I'm giving it to you point-blank. Try not to bother to visit me next time because at least you know I do not like the way you write anymore because it suggests the kind of person you are, on top of the diplomacy, I respect you you respect me shit. OH BUT REALLY ONE, I can respect you minus all the distaste I feel everytime I read the things you write. … except these days, it's getting very hard to even perform that basic 'I can respect a person with different ideas' issue.
I don't like this thing about you.
The part where you go on and on about your interest in comparative beliefs. The way you pull out issues pertaining to differences in religion and then couple up your 'arguments' (they are hardly those) with your lack of insight and then qualify your views and opinions with your quite-valuable 'espousals of comparative religion'–a subject which you have claimed ownership and pulled around your waist like it's your second skin or something.
I feel you do not qualify.
Your version of comparing differing beliefs… is not right.
In my self-righteous book of moral/ethics code, if you're going to start a discussion on anything 'comparative' you need to qualify to be in that discussion first.
I just feel you do not qualify.
Oh wait, did I say that already.
OK. Lemme rephrase that.
To discuss comparative religion, you need to have
1) An open mind
2) Neutrality
3) Good language manipulation skills
All of which, I feel, you sorely lack.
I have mentioned this a long while ago in THAT post of mine where I was 'more diplomatic' in my discussion of something you had written. That post, unfortunately, gathered me some of your overzealous trolls as well who now return habitually to lecture me and the people I care about.
I don't know. Some of your trolls who are now trolling my site, have caused me to be very cautious in my rants even. Just the other day, a line in passing, 'My boyfriend can be very protective of me,' caused one of your psycho-readers to label me as a tudungless Muslimah and that the ideal place for my apparently extremist Muslim boyfriend is the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
I could have continued to drench myself in the laughter that my sphere-mates were throwing at me when we read that comment, but after a while, it stopped being funny.
It's not hilarious anymore because it's like that for me, now. It's becoming scary. I don't like it, and I do not enjoy being labelled something I am not. I'm sorry. It's because of you. Of course it is. I mean previously it wasn't so bad… I know I know I've been slamming down Christian evangelists who keep telling me Jesus Christ is a ticket to heaven and I've been killing off devout Buddhists who kill tortoises by dumping them into freshwater lakes and then saying that is an act of good karma etc…
Now why should you be spared? I decided today I'm not sparing you.
I have NEVER liked fanaticism overzealousness in ANY RELIGION, or ANY BELIEF, or ANY PHILOSOPHY.
You know how people convert to other beliefs? You know or not? Unfortunately and OF COURSE, it is all about 'I feel good with this,' 'This is good this is a good thing, I feel loved,'… You don't scare people into a belief. Neither do you force someone to believe by hurling INSULTS of the lowest kind unto a person, or an organization NO MATTER HOW MUCH THE WAY THEY FUNCTION goes against your principles and values.
The scary thing is, you're not giving any good vibes to anyone. You are just not convincing people, you're not a crusader for God and you just don't qualify, period. You're making yourself look just plain horrible. Just like the crazy idiot who said that Peter is does not worship Jesus, or like that bitch who said, 'The best person on earth will still go to hell because he has not accepted Jesus Christ as his personal saviour', just like the nutcase who asked me 'how can you worship your ancestors, they're all dead…' I would like to say, 'Screw you.'
We are not God, we are not dewi/dewa, we are not kuan yin, and sorry lah YOU ARE NOT A CRUSADER of Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, or well, Satan (for satan worshippers, just in case there are some reading this blog). We have NO RIGHT to impose our beliefs upon other people.
Not to say we don't have the right to praise the Lord because He is our wonderful saviour and everlasting prince. I do, I know I do every single day when I go to work, when I get a good parking spot, every time I have an argument with my boyfriend, I remember I am blessed because tests are given unto me, blessing from Him, to make me better.
But this is what we do not have the right to do: we do not have the right to call a non-believer a dog. We do not have the right to pull leaflets out of recorded biblical, I mean, religious history, and discuss them and then label the people who starred in these pages as idiots, as sinners, as hell-goers. We have no right to all that. We have no right to quote verses out of another person's religious bible, and say that verses like that are sanctions of an evil God who will kill you because you do not worship him. We have no right to call Taoists idiots who worship stones. No right, no right, no rights to any of the things that you're doing right now.
I mean, if you believe so, fine lah, you have a right to the thoughts and values you keep but look, keep those ideals to yourself. Stop propagating your ideals onto this free-society and go all holy and say you speak on behalf of a community of people, who btw, do not necessarily think like you do. Well THANK GOD most of them do not think the way you do.
It is disgusting.
Now as disgusting as the horrid idiots who troll my site with squawking comments that make me go 'huh?', one thing I can accept about them is this, AT LEAST, look, AT LEAST they don't dedicate entire websites into praising one's own religion and condemning every other belief that doesn't come parallel to one's own at the end. And AT LEAST, people like that don't validify their side-lined argument with that huge umbrella term you call 'comparative religion'.
I feel… *sigh*… that until the day you realize that comparative religion is a subject you can only qualify to discuss once you stop being partial to a single religion, you should stop boasting about your ability to discuss it.
You're making a lot of people very unhappy. I'm one of them. You're scaring the SHIT out of me btw, and I don't like you very much anymore.
But of course, some people say that I should not be going around censoring what other people say, hell freedom of speech mah… he can say WHATEVER he wants, you know, just like I can say WHATEVER I want. Yeah yeah… all that.
Oh screw freedom of speech. My idea of freedom of speech is not the freedom to say WHATEVER I like to say. My idea of freedom (of speech, of whatever), is the freedom to choose what I will say today, so that I won't regret what I said tomorrow. That's my stand.
Not to say I might not regret the things I said today when tomorrow befalls me. But we'll talk about all that tomorrow.
So there, I've said it. Thank you.
August 4th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
“I don’t like JRR Tolkien”
I hate you (too).
August 4th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
well said. well said indeed.
August 4th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
Oh, just ignore people like that…
August 4th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
The funny thing about comparing religions is that when you get down to the core - they are all very alike.
August 4th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
You can’t really hold someone responsible for the actions of his/her supporters, can you? Just like football clubs; they don’t spur the fans to riot, but the fans do anyway.
…that wasn’t very comforting, was it?
Weekend’s coming soon, relax - and have a good one.
August 4th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
but some people believe in cockroach goddesses.
you left them out
August 4th, 2005 at 5:09 pm
Some people just lack the maturity. I pity them. Not to say I’m that mature but doing all those nonsensical stuffs on ppl’s comment box just shows how immature they are.
August 4th, 2005 at 5:19 pm
WHO??! who are these people?! i’ve looked for them all my life and i’ve not seen any of ‘em!
*flexes muscles*
Who?!
August 4th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
Now that was a long one…
and a mind stimulating one at that… (no ‘orgasm’ pun intended) But still… I do think that relligions should be compared because then we will know that we have made the right choice…
We can’t be sitting back, knowing only one religion and claim that it is the best… then what is your ‘best’ if you never compare it with the rest? Isn’t that called taking an uninformed stand? and most of the time, that’s how fanatics come about…
yet, i also support your stand on respecting others and their beliefs… We need to be moderate believers of our faith but moderate does not mean passionless… Very hard to find balance…
August 4th, 2005 at 5:54 pm
Very well said. Took me forever to go through the whole entry but it was good.
August 4th, 2005 at 6:25 pm
I don’t understand the need for religion. I’m so unreligious I would be insulted if you called me an atheist. But I don’t speak for everyone. You can believe what you want but if you hurl abuses at me for not believing your delusions I’ll just be nice and say OFF!
August 4th, 2005 at 7:22 pm
WAH! Too long. I can’t finish reading it all. Simply skimmed through key words after reading halfway. But I do get the general idea though. But hey, what’s a rant when it’s not spontaneously long? Some people just like to make their points supported. I’m just one of those who don’t have patience and tend to cut my elaborations short.
Why bring is religious issue brought up in any blog in the first place? I guess I can only find the ‘freedom of speech’. However, I also agree that each is to their own beliefs and should respect others as well. One may offer differential opinions on different religions/belief/philosophy, it should not include direct ‘this is good, that is not’ kind of comparison. That is plainly flaming others and what they stand for.
I’m born a buddhist, scurried through primary/secondary education in an Anglican school, had 3 ex-gfs who were catholics and finally marry a Thai buddhist wife. I had the opportunities to experience not just the doctrines and practices, but the very core sets of religious-based principles between Christianity/Catholicsm and Buddhism. I don’t choose being a buddhist. I just happen to be one. However, I have come to embrace some of the teachings written in the bible while holding on to the belief of karma. All in all, I have come to notice that differences in religions are defined mainly by the origins. Most of the teachings share a common directive… to attain a good nature and to spread the good nature unto others.
2 cents for my thoughts (holds out tin)
August 4th, 2005 at 8:42 pm
Poor dear. You need some Swifty loving.
August 4th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
And if you cross them with a Punk Rocker, you get a Religious Zealot who knocks on your door and tells you to go away!!
[Yes, it's an old joke!]
August 4th, 2005 at 10:58 pm
.. The funny thing about comparing religions is that when you get down to the core – they are all very alike… IB
replace “religions” in that sentence with “human” and the meaning is still alike
… We can’t be sitting back, knowing only one religion and claim that it is the best… then what is your ‘best’ if you never compare it with the rest? … SaDdNesZ.jc
Yeah! Compare you must, and keep it to yourself you must too.
How do you define “Best”? Based on your own judgement? How are you to know if your own judgement is the correct one? You judgement is made based on which belief? How can you measure one belief from other belief’s yardstick???
Tricky eh??? Chicken first or eggs first?
August 4th, 2005 at 11:08 pm
Couldn’t you just ban the trolls from the comment box? It saves a whole lot of hassle. Remember Pareto’s rule: The 20%(the trolls) take up 80% of your time.
August 4th, 2005 at 11:24 pm
Errr…Dynamite topic. ‘Religion’ (football, StarTrek, materialism are religions too) as a life-defining/ determining belief system functions in personal, social, cultural and even political formations. Not surprisingly then, the person’s comparative project involve defining his/her religion in relation/ contrast/contention? to another’s, hence keeping the very sanctity /unity/ coherence of the religion professed. For if a religion (as it often is) does bear THE TRUTH about existence, it excludes other possibilities/options by the fact that there can be no ‘multiple truths’ (so the person sees his religion as the only answer to life)… unless one subscribes to truth being relativistic and many, or there is no ‘truth’ at all - truth being a fiction that continually evolves, changes and mutates, or that everything is part of the mystical union of all things…
Just my ramblings…
August 5th, 2005 at 12:48 am
One of the few things I’m truly grateful for about living in the Stats is the primacy of freedom of speech.
The most important part of “f of s” is the freedom to hear. The “marketplace of ideas” exists when we don’t forget that “hate speech” must also be free.
The problem with feeling threatened by comments here is more complicated. That’s not good, and this blog may not be a free market, in the end, because of that phenomena.
I share your sentiments about religion. I don’t think I share your conclusion about free speech, and I sense some hypocrisy.
But I like your dissenting voice as much as I like the things you write that I harmonize with. Your activity is worthy on any level, but I wish you well in getting beyond the assholes who must push others down and try to stand on them — in order to raise themselves up.
August 5th, 2005 at 2:06 am
Damn, that was long. And yet I read every word of it. Unfortunately, I also now brain-dead from all that reading. So all I’m gonna say is, “Be excellent to one another!”
August 5th, 2005 at 3:17 am
Not related, but I saw you in Mega Mall yesterday.
Would just like to drop by here & say, “Hi..”
w3s - Random reader.
August 5th, 2005 at 7:42 am
Totally agree with viewtru! U are femes now, and femes people can’t bother to comment/feedback on every single frinkin thing, can they? Better spend more time on enjoying ur life
August 5th, 2005 at 8:38 am
ARGH! ARGH! As usual no one really knows what I’m talking about and everyone wants to give a piece of their mind… whaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
August 5th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Hmm.. i hope my piece of mind won’t become piece of shit.
Anyhow, u have a good weekend ya! Peace out
August 5th, 2005 at 9:21 am
Just grab something and throttle it.
Easier to vent that way.
August 5th, 2005 at 9:37 am
If I’m not getting your point, try laying it out as concisely as you can once you’ve finished letting off steam.
If it matters to you at all. . . otherwise, why bother?
August 5th, 2005 at 9:40 am
minishorts: To be frank, as an editor you must know that brevity is the soul of wit.. maybe more people will get “it” when you pare down the post! He he he.
In any case, self-righteous religions bigots are very fond of imposing their religion on everyone else, and judging others to make themselves feel better. Sort of like a worse version of your regular 10-year-old troll.
That is why I like listening to Mahayana Buddhism talks at the temple in Brickfields. The Buddha never, ever asked anyone to follow him, or even make statues of him, or for anyone to force Buddhism on others.
Oops, my own piece of mind!
August 5th, 2005 at 9:59 am
why bother with having a comment box if you’re gonna fume about people commenting off-tangent or as though so-clever-liddat?
yes, you clearly have beef with trolls and zealots, but does it have to spill over onto those readers who, in spite of not being of the same intellectual league as you, are genuine?
as hip as it may be to sass, diss, sarcastically backhand and self-deprecate, would it be too much to hope for basic …hospitality, for lack of a better word?
but what am i talking about. as you’ve quite correctly observed, you can literally sneeze and the very same readers on whom your contempt is figuratively showered, would still come back for more.
August 5th, 2005 at 10:06 am
spot: that’s the fun part of being me.
whee!
August 5th, 2005 at 10:20 am
CK, i have no idea who these people are but if they have been saying/writing uncouth things, then “…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt 12:34) Be at peace, for it is our Lord who judges and punishes.
August 5th, 2005 at 12:08 pm
[...] 2005
It Is Comparative Religion, Just Lacking Neutrality
Shimania: salam elfie. minishorts asks if u reads her blog. menj1980: err…nope. why ? Shimania: she said [...]
August 5th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
james: “Be excellent to one another!”
I love a good Bill & Ted quote..
minishorts, I know what your talking about: You don’t like MENJ. Do I get a prize?
August 5th, 2005 at 1:43 pm
I’d suppose PAS won’t get one vote from you.
LOL!
August 5th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
some people juz tend to impose what they think is right on others without thinking.
btw minishorts, i commented on 1 of ur previous post but when i came back to check further comments, that entry (i think its that one) kena password locked already.. =\ why the sudden password thingie?
August 5th, 2005 at 2:20 pm
jeans: not nice lah. some aunties, uncles are reading my blog you see. as in blood-related auntie and auncles. so i had to password that one.
August 5th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
For some reason, I like your long long posts.
Well said!!!
Reading stuff like this makes me wonder even more about where the line is drawn between proclaiming what you believe in and shoving it down people’s throats, especially when it comes to myself and everyone else.
August 5th, 2005 at 4:24 pm
password adi den can i hv password? hahaha.. no syok wei hehe:razz:
August 5th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
“ARGH! ARGH! As usual no one really knows what I’m talking about and everyone wants to give a piece of their mind… whaaaaaaaaaaaaaah”
Oh … so we aren’t going to cross a religious zealot with a punk rocker then? Darn! I better stop the cloning in the lab! Now what will I do with the icky left over bits?
August 5th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
…………..
(minishorts : happi? nothing to comment about) oops!!
August 7th, 2005 at 1:06 pm
dun know what you ppl are figthing abt… religions? where’re the articles/posts/comments/whatever from the ‘trolls’? in any case… do you believe in wht you’ve posted?
everyone’s connected with each other… see the co-relatedness there? with your anger, a fire is building up… and sooner/later ppl gonna start killing each other over the blog… over wht they believe… just let go…
August 8th, 2005 at 9:28 am
coldfire: you haven’t read enough, obviously you don’t know what you’re commenting about either.
August 9th, 2005 at 9:41 am
thought i was quite obvious with my comment… yeah, obviously i didn’t read enough.
August 9th, 2005 at 9:42 am
thought i was quite obvious with my comment… yeah, obviously i didn’t read enough. my point is actually ‘just let go’ but tht’s irrelevant.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:03 am
coldfire: cheers. i’m quite snappy these days, too many things on my mind. don’t mind the schnaps