Word Sick

I had a nice little chat with two nice guys from Central Christian Church who were trying to re-convince me of the bible's authencity, among other things.

They are morally upright young men who shun mp3 and movie downloads because it is wrong to possess what you do not own. Certain media are also to be avoided, like films or books containing suggestive scenes or themes. An example quoted to me was "The Break Up" starring Jennifer Aniston. Apparently, there's a scene where Jennifer steps out of the bathroom supposedly in the nude although all the audience can see are her bare shoulders. I see the bare shoulders of girls almost everyday in NUS, and I don't have a problem with that. But of course, I am throughly amoral.

Unnessessary exposure to temptation; that's what they say to avoid. I believe it is this same mentality that led horny muslim leaders to decree that their women have to walk around in the sweltering heat covered in black cloth with only their eyes visible. Jasmin even saw women swimming in that outfit. I suppose it hones their water survival skills, but is it not a trifle ridiculous that because of men's inability to control their lustful thoughts, women have to dress like that? But on the flip side, it is also because of the lust of men that women fashion in the less morally-uptight world is so terribly exciting. The recent hot-shorts trend is particulary to be praised.

Unnessessary exposure to temptation; that's precisely what placing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden is. Unnessessary exposure to temptation; that's precisely what making Satan transit on Earth instead of going directly to hell is. Without temptation, there can be no freedom of choice. One of the two guys is interested in Salsa. There is a problem, however, because as we all know, Salsa's an incredibly hot and passionate dance. What's wrong with that? Well, you see, that constitutes unnessessary exposure to temptation, and that is frowned upon by their church.

Many things have to be approved by the church. From the activities you take up, to the person you wish to date. The church knows best, and your soul is its only concern. It is the church that will keep you spiritually and morally right. It is your peers in church who will give you the support you need to live a brilliant christian life. It is to members of the church whom you have to confess your sins and be accountable to.

There is a routine that they follow, a series of verses of which they point to, make me read aloud, and ask what I understand of the verse. They then proceed to give me their interpretation and ask for my concurrence. Of course, the first fact to be established is that all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking and whatever else that I left out. I can't even remember the verse. I had no problems with that, until a few verses later when I unexplainably got severely irritated by something of which I have now no recollection of.

ALL scripture is useful for teaching? Great. Now turn to somewhere in 1 Corinthians where they said that women should be quiet in church, that they should be submissive, and that it is a disgrace for them to speak in church. Is it applicable today? No. Why not? Because our society has progressed, has changed. They told me about a course they attended where they learnt that the Old Testament is in tandem with the New Testament. At this point, I sniggered and they asked me what I thought of the Old Testament. I flipped through the pages and said, "death, death, death, death." Disobey, die. Stand in the way, die.

They gave me the tired old speech about how the bible contains 66 books, and was written over the span of many, many years, but it still contains the same message, and is in perfect harmony. The authors did not write their own thoughts, but only what was dictated to them by God. I pointed out the fact that Paul and James disagreed with one another, and if you look at the letters that they write, they were basically preaching slightly conflicting doctrines. One exhorting faith and grace, and the other emphasising obedience to the law and good works. Also, referring to the above example on women speaking in church, it definately is something that Paul felt personally and not from God. Paul also wrote somewhere, "I say, and not the Lord", regarding the issue of divorce.

Talking to them is turning me atheist. I appreciate their good intentions, and I know they have nothing to gain by doing these bible studies with me. The problem is that I get more and more depressed each time we discuss such issues, and the doubts that were supressed in me are forced to the surface.

I'm sick. Down with the flu.

I have tried downing 10 tequlia shots in a row and survived. I can go for a lot more. Need to push the limits again, perhaps somewhere cheaper than Zouk this time. 10 shots for $50 is damn expensive.