154th's Turn to Play Up Religious Animosity?

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>34825.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Why We Left
The Straits Times l June 19, 2010
By Philip Lim, Toh Lee Hoon & Zheng Aiping
AS A FORMER gangster and drug addict, Javez Tan Leong Whee knew he needed a steadying influence in his life but no matter how hard he tried, Taoism just didn't fit the bill.
Mr Tan, 36, even went the extra mile and became an interpreter of the gods. As an assistant to a Taoist medium, or dangkee as they are known, Mr Tan would stand next to the medium while he was in a trance and translate his mutterings - said to come directly from the gods - into advice for devotees.
He even harboured dreams of becoming a dangkee himself, always wore a special yellow sash with a Taoist spell written on it, and slept with a talisman under his pillow to ward off evil spirits. But his faith waned after he had several run-ins with the law. The repeat offender, first put behind bars for drug abuse at 17, questioned his commitment after being jailed for a third time for abusing drugs like ecstasy. His parents had all but given up hope for his redemption.
'At that time I was a bit shaken already. Because after being in and out of prison so many times, I thought, 'If they were gods, why couldn't they change my life'?'' he says.
Mr Tan had met some Christian inmates who tried to share their faith. Initially resistant, he gradually changed as he interacted more with them. He converted to Christianity. Out went the trappings of Taoism in return for a simple cross around his neck.
Working in the New Charis Mission halfway house, Mr Tan now helps former convicts start a new life, teaching and inspiring them with his story. His character improvement was so stark that even his parents switched to Christianity a few years later.
They are part of an exodus of worshippers leaving Taoism for other faiths, particularly Christianity and Buddhism.
Statistics show a freefall in the number of Taoist worshippers as more and more switch to Christianity or Buddhism while new converts to Taoism are few. In 1980, 30 per cent of the Chinese population identified themselves as Taoists. This figure dropped to 22.4 per cent in 1990 and 8.5 per cent in the 2000 census. The number of Buddhists, meanwhile, grew from 34 per cent in 1980 to 54 per cent in 2000, and Christiants from 11 per cent in 1980 to 17 per cent in 2000.
The reasons for switching from Taoism vary, from the feeling that prayers go unanswered to more social factors.
For insurance agent Serene Tan Yan Noi, it was the practical and ready solutions she found in Christianity. Ms Tan, 47, is a pastor in charge of the Chinese ministry of the City Missions Church and proves a compelling preacher in Mandarin but had been a devout follower of Chinese customs and rites.
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<HR SIZE=1>Edited 6/19/2010 1:58 pm by 2many_nutcases (Nussyab)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right> </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>'I used to go to lots of temples and pray in my house. I did everything. But nothing happened,' she lets on. The turning point came when colleagues invited her to a Christian discussion group, and the members touched her with their friendship and support.
'They will take care of me like I'm a princess. Wherever I go, they will call me 'ah noi' affectionately. They will ask 'ah noi, how are you?' and hug me. It's very loving,'' she says. 'Should I not appear in fellowship, they will come to my office and encourage me. And when they speak, they will speak what is in my heart.''
Other former Taoists speak of bafflement about getting explanations on dogma and its complex rites such as offering fruit to deities on the first and 15th day of every lunar month or burning incense paper on stipulated dates. It is said that on the first and 15th days of the lunar month, the deities descend from heaven, making these two days significant for devotees. The smoke from burning incense is said to be able to reach the deities.
Sales executive Jovin Sng, 48, converted to Buddhism nine years ago when her job commitments as well as the burden of taking care of her two children stressed her out. She says she found the answers to existential questions she had at the time in Buddhism rather than her former faith.
'I had a lot of doubts and questions about life. And I was surprised to find out the answers from the Buddhist scriptures that I had read," she says Buddhist teachings, she adds, also appeal to her more than the deity-centric worship inherent in Taoism.
'The core of (Buddhist) teachings is that we are the doer and the bearer of all our actions. It tears away the veil that there are supreme beings dictating our life, and that we are helpless under them,' she says.
Researchers say that even keen Taoist followers find it hard to learn more about their faith, something that does not bode well for the future of Taoism. As sociologist Tong Chee Kiong noted in his book Rationalising Religion, multi-religious Singapore offers many options and these days people are no longer content following a faith blindly.
Although engineer Lee Caijie, 26, harboured a deep curiosity about Taoism from primary school, he could not find someone who could answer the many questions he had.
The breaking point came when Mr Lee asked a school friend to take him to church: 'I was in Secondary One and found the answers I wanted. I realised that Jesus was not just a figurehead of the faith; that He actually exists in history.'
It also helped that members of the church embraced Mr Lee as one of their own - a far cry from his solitary days trying to find out about Taoism. 'I think the support matters, especially when there are people who can understand you in terms of your beliefs and resolutions,' he says.
For its part, the Taoist Federation is trying to address these problems, such as a lack of readily available information. It encourages temples to organise classes where devotees can learn about the religion and in 2008, it opened the Taoist College, which offers tertiary-level courses on the faith.
The federation says there has been an increase in devotees at classes in temples and the college but the fact remains that the vast majority of Taoists have not signed up and may not even know what's on offer owing to a lack of publicity.
The social aspects of religions like Christianity and Buddhism - cell-group meetings and informal support networks - are strong attractions for young people, said Dr Phyllis Chew, 55, an English language and literature lecturer at the National Institute of Education.
Dr Chew cites a study she conducted two years ago on religious conversion of adolescents aged 12 to 18. It found that the religious choices of young people were dependent more on the social aspects of the religion rather than its teachings and philosophies.
'Young people want to belong. They look for friendship rather than religious teachings,' she says.
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[Watchman]

They are distracting us from the main pressing issues .

 

[Angelo]

lol who is jesus? your father?

so can you make money in his name, if he were your father?

brouhahahahahahhaha !!!!