After all, just a couple years back her conversion from staunch atheism turned heads when the author; most well known for “Interview with a Vampire”, professed Jesus Christ as her savior. Christians around the world rejoiced, the kingdom of darkness has been plundered once again and a new child (this time a celebrity-scribe) is brought into God’s Kingdom. Score one more for cultural relevance, we seem to need as many as we can get in this fallen world.

So what went wrong for Rice’s faith? The headline itself is slightly erroneous; leading us to believe she gave up on God; here is what she said:

“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

So from here we do understand that when she mentioned “Christianity” probably meant the institution or movement that embodies Jesus’ believers here on earth, not Christ Himself; her belief in Him has not been shaken.

So what left her so jaded as to “leave Christianity”? In the same article its cites political-beliefs, opinion on sexual-inclination, feminism and even science as a qualifier to be a “Christian”, she’s had it with “these people”; a “quarrelsome,hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.”

I don’t think many believers or ex-believers would be foreign to the situation; after belonging to a church group, they would tell you to change certain views and beliefs about the world at large (some valid notwithstanding). That is in effect, to “shoe-horn” your beliefs to their frame of thought: to be “like-minded” and “sharing the same vision”.

What becomes push-to-shove is when they include some of the opinions above-stated and conduct a social-blackmail of sorts.

Comply with our beliefs or face ostracization.

Most notorious of these beliefs are socio-political in nature; support this political candidate because he is a “Bible-believing Christian”; as if being a Christian can give you administrative and governmental talent overnight!

Another of these is to incite homo-phobia; suddenly if a person’s sexual-inclination is questionable, they aren’t worth it to be engaged or “saved” because according to the Westboro Baptists: God hates them.

So what does the Bible say in all this?

First of all: the Jesus I know preaches an inclusive Gospel, not an exclusive one.

The Bible illustrates it by showing Him fellow-shipping with the outcasts of society: the tax-collectors,  prostitutes and the lepers. He could have as easily just engaged the rich and influential, but He chose to do His work among the needy.

This part speaks volumes of His tolerance for opinion, this gutter-level of society would probably constitute a lot of the deviant ideologies and lifestyles. The upper-class influentials would probably hold what is socially-acceptable during that era.

So did having a different set of beliefs exclude these people from being touched by Jesus and receiving salvation? I don’t think so.

I think the next step into analyzing the problem is to delve into the root of it: Man.

It’s no question that a lot of these qualifiers are man-made constructs; either to further selfish ambition or a sense of “spiritual” superiority over others. Many of these don’t stem from the Bible, but instead are often “gnostic-revelations” or “special anointings”. If they do originate from the Bible, it is most probably verses quoted out-of-context and amplified for selfish agendas.

Here is what the Apostle Paul has to say about man-made laws:

“What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.”

Gal 2:19-21 (MSG)

In the context of Galatians; Paul had just rebuked Simon Peter for caving in to the Jewish elders and adhering to their traditions and customs. Apostle Paul had reasoned that Christ had already pulled us out of this vicious and weary cycle of pleasing people and their ridiculous qualifiers, there was no point in going back to that after being saved!

So bringing back closer to home, we can still be trying to please people by their qualifiers under the guise of Christianity. Some common and minor “qualifiers” we do see in the modern church are things like offering amounts, attendance to certain events and prayer times. When you do fail to meet these requirements, they’ll tack on an unworthy label on you or start drawing their groups of people away from you.

Make no mistake, I’m all for Godly consecration and the like, but if its a man-made checklist of requirements to be a member in the body of Christ, I don’t think its from God at all. We are all members by the blood of Christ and belief that He saved us. We don’t have to earn salvation.

Instead, the above checklist is going to wear down other-wise good intent members and make them feel not worthy enough to be called His children. We are not saved by works, but saved to do good works!

How then do we identify what is and whats not from God?

• Commune and stick close with God; 1 John 4 explains that if we are close to God, we can discern between the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.
• Read the Bible; equip yourself with God’s irrefutable Truth
• Verify what is told to you; Act 17 describes the Bereans as of “more noble faith” as they verified what ever had been told to them. I think the lesson here is not take everything at face-value and counter-check with what you read in the Bible.

Regarding the last point; I think a good Christian teacher/elder would gladly entertain questions you have pertaining to the faith. A bad one would try to suppress questions, side-step or at worse; demand a no-questions policy while under them. Any questions would be seen as dissent and a threat to undermine their authority.

So why is religiosity is so dangerous? I think at it’s core, it’s an attempt to paint a much prettier picture of a person or corporate entity’s spiritual life than it actually is. A carnal expression of Man’s innate desire to live up to his own expectation of spirituality.

Jesus warns us though, to avoid ending up as white-washed tombs (Matt 23), nice looking on the outside (physical) but dead on the inside (spiritual). Co-incidentally, I just watched a video of a sermon from AR Bernard (here), which towards the end he elaborates on how we are so obsessive to clean up on the outside that we forget to clean up on the inside.

I think that sums up religiosity for me, it’s dangerous because it strays believers away from the focus of Christ into something carnal; working for their salvation and relevance in God’s eyes.

I guess if we can identify and stop religiosity, we can avoid having people in Anne Rice’s position; jaded and weary of the man-made laws and requirements that choke the Power of God in their lives.

Soli Deo Gloria.

*note the above commentary is solely the author’s opinion based upon his 12 year walk with God*

]]> http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/the-heavy-yoke-of-religiosity/feed/ 1 jaimescarter _wsb_584x383_Bullock_yokes Media-Promote-Church-Involvement-in-Politics-For-Liberal-Agendas-264x300 bible-1 prayer1 http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/collective-add/ http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/collective-add/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:40:18 +0000 jaimescarter http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/?p=97 ]]>

I was talking to my friend regarding the latest episode of my favorite TV show ever (no prizes for guessing) and she was mulling to me on how she can’t keep up with anything and everything that is happening to the show.

She was; forgive the obvious pun, LOST.

Of course LOST sits as a exaggerated example as one of the most convoluted storylines in television history, but it really made me wonder if our modern generation’s attention span too limited to actually inspire off anything significant?

We seem to need our entertainment and media to spell out everything for us.

We do it so unconsciously don’t we? First-world upbringing and the high pace of life rarely lets us take a breather from the automaton of our schedules. As a result, we find it so hard to pull away to imagine, wonder and sometimes just sit and listen to a well-written story.

We’ve become too “grown-up” for our good.

Roald Dahl often managed to weave this into his children stories; a young protagonist with often villainous adult figures, speckled generously with dark and macabre humor. Maybe beneath it all he was trying to speak to the inner child in us only adults would understand.

But it seems more and more apparent that with our modern generation, we simply just can’t wait.

With our modern Youtube sensibilities, I have my doubts that legends like Shakespeare or even Alfred Hitchcock would thrive in this era. We would never come to ponder the poetic tragedy that is Macbeth. Or that the horrific realization that Norman Bates and his Mama are one and the same.

Hence the advent of explosion-porn such as Transformers 2 and the 3 hour long tech demo called Avatar. The only way the studios are gonna keep you in your theater seat the entire time is to bleed your eyes with effects. And its escalating! From boom-a-minute flicks now comes boom-a-second movies with no plot development whatsoever!

My point is; let the storyteller tell the story. Let him weave the plot for you.

Again let me bring you back to the example of LOST, the main gripe of haters is the long drawn out story over so many episodes. However, they are missing the main point. I think the producers want to build consistent mythos into the show and also a continuity within. That gives room for character and plot development over the series. The writers are by no means infallible, but the I believe their work is still head and shoulders way above the rest.

I think journeys are as important as the goal.

It’s just that now, we’re just so myopic that we just want to find out what happens in the end. Bruce Willis character is a ghost. The bloke from “A Beautiful Mind” has imaginary friends. Detective Caruso solves the case. Jack Bauer is badass. But what happened to the story leading up to this moment? We have have no regard for pacing in our stories anymore. Everything has to be solved within a half-hour episode for us. 60 minutes tops.

If anything; if it doesn’t fit our 140-character tweet limit, we probably don’t have the time to see through it all.

And we’re also strangely nit-picky despite our viewing habits, if any thread is not resolved explicitly by episode’s end, it is deemed a plot hole and its bad writing! While there are cases of sloppy scribes, some threads are intentionally left open-ended. Call it creative liberty or what-have-you, maybe the intention is for the viewer to come to their own conclusions. It wouldn’t hurt to use some imaginary power eh?

Speaking of imagination… I need to get to do some writing now.

“People walk around today calling everyone their best friend. The term doesn’t have any real meaning anymore. Mere acquaintances are lavished with hugs and kisses upon a second or, at most, third meeting. Birthday cards get passed around offices so everybody can scribble a snippet of sentimentality for a colleague they barely met. And everyone just loves everyone. As a result, when you tell somebody you love them today, it isn’t much heard.

I love you, Denny. You are my best friend. I can’t imagine going through life without you… as my best friend.”

- Alan Shore, Boston Legal

Exit stage right, time for curtain call.
At least back here, no one can see me trip & fall.
Would anyone notice I’m missing from the ensemble?
I just play a bit part but the crux of the gambol.

Dress the harlequin, prepare him arrest
Even smear his makeup, I’m sure the audience will jest
Stifle his spirit, hell, even break his candor.
Stymie the truth that arraigns our moral encore.

When will they see past the theatrical perform?
When can they see the cracks in their Vaseline scowl?
Find the reason why only my eyes are not gilded,
Perhaps they hold the windows of wearied un-fulfillment

Perceive the man behind the mask, the mask in the man.
And the ultimate reveal of the mortal who I am.

- “Painting over Pot-marks”
Written by Jaimes Carter Ee

Was just watching the Daily Show and the guests for the night were Ringo Starr, Relentless7 and Ben Harper. Shan’t comment on the performance just yet, but a few things just popped in my head as I watched this ex-Beatle sing…

For those who aren’t in the know, Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) is one of two living members of the Fab Four; the other being Paul McCartney. He was the drummer for the band (though not the original, Pete Best was.) and was least featured vocally of all the Beatles. I don’t really know the extent of his contribution but definitely wasn’t as influential as the other Beatle members.

So here we have the arguably the least musically inclined, least physically attractive and more or less the least intelligent (its a drummer stereotype) of the lot, and he still commands respect and gets treated as Music Royalty to this day. Why?

Basically this chap here stuck through with the Beatles through the hard times, through the times where they were slaving from gig to gig in Liverpudlian bars and other whatnots. And when it came time for the Beatles’ meteorological rise to success; this Starr also started to shine with them.

So what can we learn from Ringo Starr?

Perseverance and Choosing the Right People to Associate With.

Even if you’re a untalented hack such as he, be wise in who you choose to cling on to and you might just smell success you would never have if you went alone.

Oh, about that performance? It was ABYSMAL!!

• True Multi-tasking: enough of this push notification nonsense, we know that this beauty is capable of running a few applications at once (via some rudimentary add-on in Cydia) and would be the game-changer against other smart phones! It’ll make the simple task of running my Bible app and writing Notes much less painful!
• Official ‘BB-pin’ clone app: come on apple, we know you can do it! We just need something official to unite the users (but great job Ping! and WhatsApp app makers) that’ll push BB users off their high horse! Or you can just buy WhatsApp and integrate it into your next big update!
• More shortcuts: It’ll be good if they’re more intuitive shortcuts implemented, like a certain gesture to access the iPod or any other app. On a related note; it’ll be real awesome if I can just click on the Message preview in standby mode and it’ll go straight into full message.
• iTunes Singapore: We need MUSIC in this country as well. Not iPhone specific though.
• Fat finger support: for people like me.

That’s all I can think about for now, feel free to add to the list in the comments section

Darn. I think I went over the 140 char limit.

I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher the other day and noted that he remarked that there hasn’t been any real breakthrough in the music industry since 60s and 70s, citing the Beatles as the last notable contribution for himself.

That set me thinking; most of my favorite music and tunes stem from blues and rock legends like Clapton, SRV and Hendrix. Toss in a few sensations from the 80s and 90s (and the big mistake of following boybands in their heyday), I don’t really have anything from the modern era that I would proudly declare as ‘my songs’.

Is it nostalgia? Not really, I didn’t really start listening to the rock legends until about half a decade ago, I didn’t grow up with them. I just feel that the current generation of artistes are too focused the marketing and their image more than what it’s actually important: the music.

Partly it’s also because the dime-a-dozen rappers, pop-princesses and emo-bands that are cropping up every new day that it’s really hard to set yourself apart from the next sensation. Industry-manufactured ‘faces’ who don’t really write their own songs or even use their own voice (I’m looking at you Ashlee Simpson!).

Thus losing the credibility as a musician and a performer.

Still, I have some artistes that I have a liking to in this era; Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keyes.. but still not as much as I would hold the legends in high regard.

So forgive me if I’m not up-to-date with the current happening with Lady Gaga, Kanye or Black Eye Pea’s shenanigans, I can’t really be bothered..

It’s been a while since I last posted, so I’d thought I’d scribble some thoughts down about the Miss Singapore World scandal.

Sex scandal? Hell no, everyone’s been poking fun at her command of English! Or lack thereof. So I decided to put together some points that actually defend our representative in Miss World this year. So here goes…

The English that Miss Singapore taught me:

“…Currently I’m majoring in my Diploma in Health Science, Hospititality and Travel Tourism…”

Hospiti-tality: The course of study in which amalgamates the disciplines of both health-care and hospitality. We could all make do with nurses with better manners.

“…Right now I’m studying steel…”

Steel: Showing resilience and focus at the task at hand. When Miss World mentions that she is “studying steel”, she is basically implying that she takes her studies seriously despite participating in the competition.

“if I’m feeling naughty, I’ll wear something Rad..”

Rad: An uncommon color in located 3/4 between Red and Maroon. The closest web-safe color is  #990033, any closer to this color will cause your monitor to explode because it’s too loud. The color is coined ‘Rad’ because of it’s outlandish and radical appeal that no one would wear it except those with questionable fashion sense or are crown Miss World.

“…Something… you know? BOOMZ!..”

Boomz: something jaw-dropping, loud and attention-seeking/catching. Boomz is used here as opposed to Pew Pew Pew; which would mean she would rather make your heart explode than zap your eyes out. Notice the “z” added in at the end of the word for effect? This was included because Miss Singapore knows the worldwide appeal of the crown, and was subtly speaking out to the Internet Generation. Boomz indeed.

“…I’m a huge fan of South Africa… I love safari.. I love leopard prings… “

Prings: Any self-respecting Miss World would know; saying “leopard prints” would in some cases imply that she would approve of the skinning of leopards for just their coat of fur. This is a big PR no-no in the glamor community. This practice is inhumane. The cats should be also eaten after the skinning so that none go to waste!

Knowing this, Miss Singapore took the time to endorse Prings™; a much more conscientious effort to save our printed cats! Prings™ material is fully synthetic, except for the part that is the coat of fur. For more information go to www.prings.com.sg

Ok, That’s it from me, let’s just hope that Miss Singapore World gets to the Q&A portion of the competition. It’s not like she would say “World Piss” like the rest of them would she?

]]> http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/lingistic-analysis-of-miss-singapore-world-2009/feed/ 4 jaimescarter Ris Low http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/dont-ply-with-my-heart/ http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/dont-ply-with-my-heart/#comments Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:15:37 +0000 jaimescarter http://meetthebarista.wordpress.com/?p=24 ]]>

There are hella lot of conveniences in Japan, the bathroom itself is a technological treasure cove examplar of Japanese innovation. You have advanced water heaters and taps, clapper and sensor lights and even the mighty potty helper to aid you in your most intimate of bathroom adventures! This beauty will shoot jet streams of water in dark locations the sun don’t shine and even warm the seat for you on those long winter days.

Yet despite all these brilliant gadget wizardry, I still haven’t got used to one thing since I came here; the dreaded 1-Ply toilet paper!

In Singapore, even the most run-down restrooms come equiped with at least 2-Ply toilet paper as standard health issue tissue (S.H.I.T.). Here, I seem to have to murder people to get toilet paper that offers more than a wafer-thin layer between my hand and doo-doo.

I hope I don’t blow up the matter; I know the Japanese are very eco-friendly and the amount saved from issuing another ply of toilet paper will go a long way to keep some trees from being cut down. But consider this; every time I ‘make a mess’ due to the lack of absorbancy or durability, I need to use much more TP to clean up the deed. (S.H.I.T. happens ok?)

I’m not asking for much, 3-Ply and 4-Ply TP is too extravagant for everyone; its more or less reserved for celebrities or the rich with pampered backsides. Probably for someone who has golden bathroom taps too. 2-Ply is just right… not too flashy, but doesn’t lack the industrial strength needed for certain operations.

The bottom-line is I don’t want to feel like the Incredible Hulk tearing apart the street every single time I go to the bathroom for doo-doo time.

My next rant: Why is there only thick toast in Japan? I want my thin-sliced Gardenia!!