Originally posted by Icemoon:
recently i was accused by some unruly forummer in CC to be
mumbo jumbo 'cos I dun have proper belief. Even Happyharvest
thought I was weird.
But then read this ST article:
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SECTION: Saturday Special Report
LENGTH: 361 words
HEADLINE: God? YES Religion? NO
BYLINE: Aaron Low
BODY:
HE LOWERS his head, closes his eyes and murmurs a short prayer
before every meal.
When he feels small and helpless, like when his grandmother was
sick, he whispers a plea to God for help, much like any Christian
would do.
But Mr Tan Wei Tzern is not a Christian. Nor is he a Muslim. Or a
Jew.
[b]He shares the monotheistic beliefs of all three faiths but
refuses to be associated with organised religion.
'That doesn't mean I'm against them either,' adds the 24-year-old
trading executive.
Many Singaporeans can probably relate to his stance.
Some 14 per cent of people polled by The Straits Times say they do
not have a religion but none of them is against religion.
And like Mr Tan, the majority of this group - almost seven in 10 -
believe in the existence of a supreme being.
A third say they will consider converting to a religion in the
future, an admission that should get proselytisers fired up.
But people like Mr Tan are not uncommon in most societies, says
sociologist Alexius Pereira.
'Very few people will actually say they do not believe in God or
supreme beings because existential questions always come back to
haunt them,' he explains.
But if they believe in God, why do they not rely on religion?
One reason is their higher level of education, says Dr Tan Kim
Huat, dean of studies at Trinity Theological College.
Indeed, according to the survey, almost six in 10 of those with no
religion have at least A-levels. A quarter have degrees.
Dr Tan believes the better-educated prefer to find meaning based on
their own intellect and reasoning. They refuse to have religion
rule over their lives.
Mr Tan, a trading executive, attended church as a child but stopped
by the time he hit his late teens.
'Not everything can be seen in good or bad, black or white. There
are a lot of grey areas as well and religion doesn't make
allowances for these.'
Yet, he continues to pray because 'there is a limit to how much
science can answer the questions of the universe'.
If he ever does goes back to an organised religion, he says, it
will be Christianity. But he does not see it happening soon.
'When it comes, I'll know,' he says.
LOAD-DATE: July 15, 2005
[/b]
You are weird in the sense that sometimes you say good thing
about Christianity and sometimes you say bad thing about
Christianity - sort of contrdicting what you said before? You even
went to some point to make fun of Jesus and Christianity? Ain't you
weird? One moment this, the other moment that. I just can't see
where you coming from lar. Dun flame me if I get it wrong.
