A conversation in the lift with a colleague that I'm not to familiar with.
The woman asked : Are you saved?
Imp: I am a lapsed Catholic.
The woman: Then you will be damned.
Imp: knn!!!!! #(%*#)(%*)((#$)*%^#)$(*^)($*^
Umm....no. I did not actually say the last line out loud. I was flabbergasted that the woman would actually say that in a casual conversation. My face contorted into a scowl.
Am I damned for being a Catholic? Or am I damned for the lapse? Isn't it my business if I arrive in purgatory at the end of my mortal life? I won't lack company anyway. Doesn't Singapore preach religious tolerance?
I don't believe in ancestral worship, but I am intrigued by the colors, the rituals and the practices of various religions, the richness in diversity. I don't care if others do. That's their prerogative. I believe in respect for all other religions. Why should anyone belittle another's faith or view it lesser than your own? If one religion is meant to rule the world, either the jihads or the crusades would have succeeded. Go read Sammuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.
For the faithful in each religion, there will always be a place reserved for you in the concept of heaven.
The woman asked : Are you saved?
Imp: I am a lapsed Catholic.
The woman: Then you will be damned.
Imp: knn!!!!! #(%*#)(%*)((#$)*%^#)$(*^)($*^
Umm....no. I did not actually say the last line out loud. I was flabbergasted that the woman would actually say that in a casual conversation. My face contorted into a scowl.
Am I damned for being a Catholic? Or am I damned for the lapse? Isn't it my business if I arrive in purgatory at the end of my mortal life? I won't lack company anyway. Doesn't Singapore preach religious tolerance?
I don't believe in ancestral worship, but I am intrigued by the colors, the rituals and the practices of various religions, the richness in diversity. I don't care if others do. That's their prerogative. I believe in respect for all other religions. Why should anyone belittle another's faith or view it lesser than your own? If one religion is meant to rule the world, either the jihads or the crusades would have succeeded. Go read Sammuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.
For the faithful in each religion, there will always be a place reserved for you in the concept of heaven.
22 comments:
WAH LAU eh.
on each day drive up to muar or melaka,she freaks me out by insisting we stop at the cemeteries along the small roads. the big cemetery near the entry roads to muar is her favorite!
last time,she only stopped to look and stroll. nowadays,she has adopted a very eerie habit of having lunch/tea AT the cemeteries.
i thought you know our annual habit of lunching at the cemetery with jazz music?!! it's a ritual started about 4 years ago! October's coming...join us! ;)
i honestly would have flared up at the woman who dared to be so presumptuous. What makes her think that i won't be 'saved' if i don't share her beliefs? what a bigot.there is no room for narrow-mindedness in singapore.let narrow-mindedness in, and we'll be back to the racial riots of '64.
money IS the only universal religion. every other religion is secondary.
no wonder martyrs don't exist anymore. only crazed fanatics are left.
imp lives in THAT world. of course she's intrigued by graveyards. she's probably checking off on her list of what to put and what not to put on her own tombstone....
heh.my sins are no less than yours.i'll be in purgatory with you too!screw the unthinking one track mind bastards.
there are people who i term frogs in the well. dark thoughts fester in these people and they have their damn funny way of life and thinking.
if i were to suggest dropping a bomb on them,i'd be the fanatic. who am i to judge and find them wanting?
"live and let live." i like that quote. spreading gospels and sutras are fine. i just prefer people to do it in a non-aggressive threatening way.
I have to confess I want to do a graveyard tour of New Orleans - the tombstones there are gorgeous.
i might think you belong to the damned ones,but i won't say that to your face.i may think you'll burn in hell and be sad.
but i concede your point of religion saving people. salvation. if you believe in it,you'll hopefully be saved.there must be a point for all these religions in the world isn't it?
how can we judge people? we have no right. only God has that right.
can i interest you in the tombstones of romania and translyvania? they're out of this world. almost literally.
wader,imp,no thanks man.i timid.don't freak me out entirely.i need my wits around.alcohol won't help this time.count me out the drive up.i rather stay in the house for observance and catch you guys back later.
confession and penance. penance and confession. full cycle. we are rejuvenated. maybe add an OM since it's the latest 'in' thing now.
heh.papier,don't you even want to join us once??! *evil grin*
ahh..new orleans cemetery.must make that a point.
and i think i know who epithet is.it can only be HIM.money's his religion man.but he's the best-est guy ever.morbid,actually.
religion? super touchy issue. once that i won't even broach with friends.
moderation i say,moderation.
smart girl. incredibly cute,endearing and bloody irritating as an imp. at least you're not impossibly dense. i was starting to wonder how long it would take for you to figure that out.
we've trekked the Gobi. purgatory cant be that much worse. no matter how,you won't be alone,imp. i suspect many many kakis will all be together!
Okay Imp - you're in charge of the graveyard tour. Romania here we come!
okay dawn. we do the new orleans and romania. all others join at their own peril.
hey..the liverpool fans on this page,"WE WILL NEVER WALK ALONE". fear not,company plenty we shall have.
my first visit to your blog. never figured you to be actually so poetic. reflective even. maybe i only see that party animal side of you. hmmm. this is a good way to connect then.
i'm sure you feel the magic of travelling. keep the sense of wonder,imp. that's what makes you so unique.
laugh it off. you always manage to see the good side of stuff.
there's a strange sense of serenity in cemeteries.
oddly, it is rejuvenating.
if its someone at work. i have a feeling i know who it is.....
was it?
anyway, i feel that religion should have no bearing in multi-cultral and multi-racial comospolitan Singapore. if everyone were the same as everyone else, would Life be so utterly bland and singular?
Life in Mono indeed...
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