Life For Rent

Taken off http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=1825&viewarticle=1

He sums it all up for me and has the same view point as I do. Why should I trust what the bible says when it is translated by humans. Am I supposed to obey the word of another human being? You gotta be kidding!
He can write and translate anything in whatever way he sees it. So can I! Do you want to read my interpretation of the bible then?
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Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao is one of few gay-affirming pastors in Singapore and serves in a voluntary capacity in the Free Community Church (http://freecomchurch.org) which counts many gays and lesbians as members. He has been a pastor of the Methodist churches in Malaysia and Singapore and served as its first Asian Bishop in 1968-73. He resigned from that position to become the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1973-85. It was there that he was directly involved in social justice issues and ministry to the oppressed and marginalised in the Asian region. He taught in Trinity Theological College and in Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Last year, Fridae published Rev Yap Kim Hao’s transcript of his talk on same-sex relationships from a Christian perspective. Links are at the bottom of the page.

?: Many Christian gays and lesbians – who after coming out to themselves – decide to stop going to church and/or feel that they cannot continue being a Christian because of churches who preach that homosexuality is unacceptable. Despite the availability of literature which says that the Bible verses which are frequently used to condemn homosexuality have been mistranslated or misinterpreted, they find it hard to let go of what they were taught earlier. How best do you think they can come to terms to this?

Rev Yap: We must first of all try to comprehend how the Bible itself came into existence. Even though we glibly claim that the Bible is the Word of God, we must readily admit that it was not transmitted by God to us in a written form and certainly not in English or any language we know, not even Hebrew or Greek. The writers of the different books of the Bible interpret their experiences as individuals or community with God in their lives. Other interpretations exist but did not get the approval of the Jewish and Christian leaders who compiled the books of the Bible.

Each faithful follower has to make his or own interpretation and which may or may not reflect that of the religious institutions. The teachings of the institutions themselves change according to the changing times. Homosexuality is one issue which is in the process of change and hopefully, the time will come also for more religious leaders to be gay-affirming.

?: Some other Christians do not come out as gay in their church fearing rejection. Do you think gay Christians need to come out in their church for their own spiritual and mental well being?

Rev Yap: We are always challenged to be true to ourselves and accept our sexual orientation as from God. If the Church rejects gay Christians then it is hypocritical to preach that they love all people. It is certainly good for one to come out and call the church to question. Otherwise, we are aiding and abetting and condoning their homophobic stance.

?: While some churches believe that they have a responsibility to welcome and be affirmative towards their gay and lesbian members, these members are in turn expected to be celibate and this is a major consideration for many. What is your take?

Rev Yap: Affirmation of LGBT members is to affirm also that they can enter into same-sex relationships as an expression of their love to one another. To demand them to be celibate is a denial of that affirmation. It is not only a half-hearted response but also a faint-hearted one. We do not demand celibacy from the heterosexuals. Celibacy is a choice but not homosexuality.

?: The Christian fundamentalist movement which originated in the US is taking root in Asia such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan where they are – to borrow their favourite phrase – proving to very militant in promoting their anti-gay agenda in the public sphere. And what is the best defence for Christians who disagree with the anti-gay fundamentalist movement?

Rev Yap: The way to counter-act against the anti-gay agenda is for the LGBT community and its members to come out as gay and proud. This will help develop the responsible and positive gay lifestyle perception to shatter their negative perceptions of the community.

?: You have been most open in supporting the gay community by writing to the press and your autobiography A Bishop Remembers you wrote: “I wanted the public to know that there are clergy and lay members who cannot accept the view of their churches in good conscience and there are those who are willing to declare it publicly. Many of my friends have joined me in support of the gay movement and by my action I have forced others to think seriously and study the issue carefully. At least they cannot be indifferent and continue harbouring their stereotypes and misconceptions of homosexuality.” In interacting with Christians, what are the most common stereotypes and misconceptions of homosexuality they have?

Rev Yap: Christians have difficult accepting the homosexual act. To them it is unnatural and incompatible. They have the concept that God created only male and female and the only sexual relationship they consider normative is with the opposite sex. They perceive the gay lifestyle to be free and loose without commitment and only for the satisfaction of their selfish sexual drives. They see the frequent changing of partners and the breakdown of relationships.

?: What do you say to Christians who believe that the Bible incontrovertibly condemns homosexuality? How easy or difficult is it for you to make a Christian who believes that homosexuality is disallowed by God to change his or her mind?

Rev Yap: My advice to them is to really study the Bible and see the teachings relating to homosexuality in the context of those olden days. It is extremely difficult to change the mind of the homophobic person. But even though these persons once had no reason to challenge their assumptions, they are now forced by gays who have come out and straight people who are gay-affirming to re-examine their views on the issue of homosexuality.

?: Why do you think so many people are unwilling to question the idea that the Bible condemns homosexuals?

Rev Yap: This is because it is a majority view and was never challenged to the extent that we do today, and by the people who are brave enough to come out.

?: Coming back to Christmas, what would be your parting message to gay and lesbian Christians who have not reconciled their sexuality and spiritual lives?

Rev Yap: Gay and lesbian Christians in confessing their belief in God must come to accept that God has given them life and this includes the same-sex orientation. God has created all things different and all life in its variety is according to God’s plan and purpose for our existence. At Christmas we are reminded of God’s love. God loves you when you are specially and uniquely created. It is for God’s purpose that gay and lesbian Christians were created and they legitimately belong to human family of God. Take courage and be proud and gay. God bless you all. Merry Christmas to you. Celebrate God’s love for everyone.

Rain rain rain. It hasn’t stopped raining for the past 48 hours now.

And I really wanted a new mobile number to match my hubby’s. His is nice. Easy to remember. And so I decided to change. Till they told me it is all recycled numbers. Only new sign ups are new numbers. WTF. There is a charge for changing numbers while for new sign ups, no charge on sim card and registration.

ARRRRRGH.

And there is still 1 year remaining on my plan. Arrgh.. What should I do?

I am decked out in all black today. From head to toe, everything is black. Hair, shirt, pants, watch, shoes. All pure black. Sure attracted loads of attention.

Probably describes my mood. And it sure works well cause people stay away. Hah. Good for them. Else they risk getting a snarl from me.

I think the supposedly 2 adults at home are lousy parents. I am sorry I have to say that but it is darn true. I have observed one for 27 years, the other for 18 years and I think there is sufficient time for conclusion. Lousy. Pure lousy. Can’t handle all phases of life frombabies, kids, child, teenager. Even now when the kids have pubic hair, all I see is a decline in parenting techniques. I may not be a parent, but I DARE say, they still suck at it. Period.

So much so I think it repels people from the darn house. That is how powerful it is.

It just keeps people away. Or rather, it repels.

The only ones who shamelessly turn up are those who sing karaoke till the wee hours of the night. These people are just as bad, but ironically, the 2 groups of people do not get along well all the time. They have their fights too. Brother and sister. HAH. See what I mean?

It is a gloomy house, in all sense (my mom is allergic to lights. It’s true) and I have to use the light from my mobile phone to get my way around (but over the years I can walk around blindfolded now) but the good thing is, no spirits reside around probably. They are all scared away by everything already. All year round.

It IS TIME. But when it be?

Oh geez, Death Note’s quite good. You must watch the first one first. Forget the anime. Watch the movie first before the anime. Usually that should be the way, movie first then the book or comic.

The final battle between Kira and L takes place. Many lives were sacrificed. In the name of justice, innocent people were killed. A balance of things perhaps? Kira and Light may be the same person yet totally different. Kira’s ultimate goal is to defeat L, at whatever cost. Even at the expense of his own father. He may have executed crimminals who go scott free but it doesn’t just stop there. The new god of the world, he calls himself. It is his world. But there is one problem. L stands in his way. And so the battle and mind games begin. Who is the eventual victor? You’ll have to watch it and conclude that yourself.

The year is fast approaching its end with a spankin new one just round the corner. Are you going to usher in the year with a big bang, or just sleep it through (After turning your mobile to silent mode so smses from people won’t get to you) as it is just another year. Or perhaps you will be like me. Avoid the crowds totally for many reasons, of which a possible terror attack being one of them?

At least for me and my dear, it transits into another month that we have been together. My only wish is to have him around next to me when that transition occurs.

Decked in my new shirt, shoes (thanks dear dear) and bag (thanks rach and gerald) I was looking forward to work. I am actually looking forward to work. Wow. I love my shirt. And I decided to bring ALL my stuffed toys to work and placed them all on my desk. The rainbow dog (happy) is here. So is ‘prince cupcake’, the purple bear and the frog (from ian), bruno the doggie who has been with me for quite a while and accompanied me everywhere in my car back then, the little tiger.. goodness I can go on and on. Despite bringing them all, my table is still relatively empty! Looks like I do have a big table eh.

But I like the look of it now. I will improve the layout as days go by. Now I know why people decorate their work space. It feels more personal. It is a nice feeling. My male colleague said ‘wow you must have a lot of gal-friends.” My female colleague didn’t say anything. My gut feel says she ‘knows’. They always know. One of those who will eventually tell me one day “I know it since the day I first met you’.

hah hah…

Movies coming up. It has been a rainy soggy day but yeah I am enjoying the company of my lil toys. This Christmas basically saw a near total revamp of myself. I guess I have a lot to thank my dear dear for it. Everything from my hair to my shoes has been revamped.

Then again, I feel like I’m reborn again. In all sense. Things, are just beginning..

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanks Joey for the alert on the ‘dead air’ here.

Lotsa presents to go around although I was a little unhappy with the amount my dear spent on me. Indeed I know he wants to pamper me, but it will please me more to see the money growing where it should cause it means we’ll reach our objective sooner. Getting a little uncomfortable with the way he spends. I don’t wanna come in and start yelling and screaming about keeping to our rules but…

If I see the 20K where it should be, I wouldn’t object to all that spending at all. Let me give you an example of how stingy I can be. My contact lenses have been ready (I had to exchange what my mom bought for the ones that I use normally which carries a $70 top up for just 9 months) for weeks, but I haven’t gone down to grab them yet. Not cause I don’t have time. But they don’t fall within this month’s budget. So yes, I have to wear my over prescribed ugly specs meantime.

But I am very pleased with all the pressies. Not that I don’t like them. I love them. Just that the heart ache a bit loh…

And yeah, we have people complaining about Christmas and what is the point on spending so much of gifts and dining blah blah. I commented by saying he probably feels the same way on how I view Chinese New Year. It is one big bull to me.

Frankly if you ask me, people who celebrate Christmas as hard as CNY may not really comprehend the meaning behind each festive. But I shan’t dig into the ‘boring’ speech on CNY again.

I shouldn’t be complaining cause it is my dear who has to work through the whole Christmas season. Same goes for the whole new year period. He has been tirelessly working on presents, wrapping them and then getting a couple hours of sleep and then going to work the next morning. I do wake up and fetch him to work but that just buys him a few more minutes.

You know, if you have to work hard, it will be good if you are working hard for your own money. ie, your own business. It sounds a little silly to be working hard for another person’s profit. There is a give and take thing I guess, end of the day how hard you work should justify how much you earn. It doesn’t apply to a lot of things, but eventually one should work towards that target. In other words, try to work smart.

I don’t mind missing him out for Christmas and all too much cause I do get to see my dear dear every night and every morning. And I know he is mine for sure on his birthday. The only threat that stands in my way is his work thingie. It does pain me to see him so tired at the end of the day.

As the year approaches its end, what are the highs and misses in 2006? What went well and what didn’t go as well. What do you look forward to in 2007?

A time for reflection and goal setting in the coming year. I wish all of you the best n the coming year. And many years to come.

*burp*

ahhh… pardon me. Had a good and heavy lunch at the Plaza Market Cafe, Swissotel as a wrap up to our 3 day conference. No oysters for lunch it seems but plenty of soba, sashimi, ham, turkey, durian paste, ice cream and everything else to go around.

Loads of eating for the past few days. Yes, it is my off peak season. Hey it is Christmas! I don’t mind putting on some flabs and meat during this period. I’ll work it off soon.

The week is coming to a close indeed real quick. I hope you have all your presents done and all. Else if you need clothes for yourselves or others, Guess at Ngee Ann city still has good stuff last I checked although their jeans are mostly gone save for the more expensive ones. They do close early on Christmas eve itself so make haste!

Am eagerly awaiting the launch of Death Note 2. Don’t think I can get my hands on the movie marathon of Death Note 1 and 2 screened back to back anymore. *sigh*

Typing away on my office desk while my tired dear dear is still probably ZZzzzZZZing on my bed, I grin to myself unknowingly that he’ll be busy later playing with his new toy. I had to research on his new toy for quite a while and with the advise and company of Ben, we went down to get it. After much deliberation I got him the digi cammy with a pretty good price so that helped seal the deal there and then. He’ll be snapping pictures and all more often now so check out his blog from time to time. Goodness knows what is gonna be in the pictures.

It is going to be a relatively short week although it is a full 5 days of work but things are going to pass real fast. We have decided on our little escapade next march, to Bangkok Thailand! Our first little trip and we’re very excited about it. We’ll bring the cam and laptop around for sure. The cam is going to have a good warm up this Christmas and new year so I hope things will be fun indeed!

I have also decided to do a little surgical procedure. I think it is for the better. Should I write about it? Hmm.. maybe when it is all done I wil do a mini write up somewhere in this site, where I posted details of my tonsillectomy.

And now for the security update of the day, if you use Yahoo Messenger, this one is for you.

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Last Friday, Yahoo published a security bulletin with respect to Yahoo Messenger in all versions prior to 2 Nov 2006 on Windows. A buffer overflow in an ActiveX component allows for remote code execution. Earlier today, a Secunia bulletin was also published rating this vulnerability as ‘highly critical’. Users of Yahoo Messenger are urged to update to the latest version immediately. According to the Yahoo bulletin the CLSID that contains the fix is AA218328-0EA8-4D70-8972-E987A9190FF4 versions 2005.1.1.4 or above

Yahoo bulletin: http://messenger.yahoo.com/security_update.php?id=120806
Secunia bulletin: http://secunia.com/advisories/23401/
Update: http://messenger.yahoo.com/

Good sunday morning everyone!

Exam went very well on Fri indeed. It is my last paper and after my project submission I will be free from all these! yay!

At least for a while..

I was watching Ms Swan on youtube just a while back after fetching my dear to work. Oh gawd she is so funny. I watched a few of her clips before but I caught the rest. There is even one on buffy the vampie slayer and she can do such a good impersonation of Ms Swan!

And I think there was a short interview where we got a look at how the Ms Swan looks like out of character. It is good. Watch all her clips on youtube. Hilarious I tell you.

It is going to be a good day today hopefully. I’m going to get a surprise present for my dear dear. It is going to cost quite a bit but it is going to be all worth it.

I love this pair of work pants my dear owns that I’m wearing. Now I’m beginning to feel more ‘right’.

Despite being VERY tired and sleepy, I am actually in a good mood! yay!