It just so happens that I had the time to waste away while waiting for stuff in the oven to cook, so yeah, here comes another ramble! Well, not really, this one might be useful somewhat at the very least.
I was thinking of sharing about me and the Bible to the guys, but since that topic was discussed last week, I think its a little inappropriate to talk about it a week later, so well, I decided to put my thoughts here, which will still send the message (to some intended receivers) and allow me to have a pin up reminder to refer to next time. I guess thats what I gotta love about free storage spaces online (Well, you get to syok sendiri a bit also bah).
For introductions, I'm a very down to earth person. I don't believe in fairy tales, or happy endings and the like. Maybe thats what gives me that 'long piak' attitude at times. Don't expect any shortcuts, or miracles or anybody else to help you, to sum it up. Even in my times in school, academically, I was best in Science subjects, and I took a great interest in astronomy since I was a child. Therefore, by the time I was in Primary 6, I already had some knowledge of stuff we would learn only in Form 4 and 5. The kind of upbringing I had perhaps gave me this 'trait', me and my brother grew up around Legos, and as a result, were both quite adept at rotating stuff around using our minds (Not literally hahaha). I'm glad my bro is still into level designing, while I kinda lost interest in 3D stuff after I finished my studies (Hopefully I could utilize it again someday). The other aspect we seemed to have developed was an active imagination. You wouldn't want to know the kind of things we were talking about every day and night before we got separated. Well, given that background, generally I consider myself a realistic person, with a knack for improvisation (assuming as always - I'm not saying that everybody thinks the same as I do). Well, that is in the context of academic thoughts I guess.
I used to read books as a kid, lots of fiction at first, but I grew fond of stories which revolved around the lives of others. Those stupid Alice in Wonderland and Jack and the Beanstalk almost made me puke. So the was the time I was reading Enid Blytons mystery books and stuff - and came a time I just kinda threw all these out of the window and started reading non-fiction. Maybe after a while I wanted something real, rather than stuff thought up by others. In some way, maybe this is why I just hate Harry Potter in a way, despite the fact that the plot, writing, character development and such is amazing. In the end, the imaginations of a single lady influenced generations around the world.
Well, getting back on topic (i know, i know) - the Bible was not a book I was fond of. I neither liked it nor disliked it. I found the stories strange and hard to understand. The only story I understood as a child was of course, the story of Jesus, as any Christian child would be brought up to understand. Who was God? Sik tau. Was God all powerful, fair and loving? Nadai lah.. Parai ada lah... (as in the environment I was in at that time.. ROFL) So well, I gave the Bible the label of "fiction" and put it aside, since I prefered to read something real. Well, that was until I started to understand English a little better, expanding my vocabulary, etc,etc. Then I started to understand certain books and their stories and the writing style of the Middle East in the olden times. It was over time that I started to realise and understand the content that was in this magnificient book. Please note that I'm writing from a neutral point of view here, not pro-Christian or not. This is my view of the book before I even understood the meaning of a relationship with God. And this is the most objective view I can present it as, which I assume should be fair due to my scientific background.
From an objective viewpoint, the Bible was the most comprehensive Do It Yourself book I have first seen anywhere. It talks so much about life. While I assumed that the stories were fake, when I started studying about the culture and histories of the civilizations of that time, everything recorded in the Bible is in accordance with historical records. And the original content of the Bible has been proven to be accurate over the milennia until now, which is sort of a compendium of various writings with regard to the Israelites, Judaism, bla bla bla (I forgot honestly hahaha). As I started to unravel the writings and took some snippets of the Bible in its original form, Hebrew inscriptions - I gave up there - But they are very similar in style to writings of old, like the ancient Chinese, and perhaps Arabic where sentences are written upside down compared to English.It became clear I did not need to disprove the authenticity of the Bible, so I know that what I held in my hands was something that was still original, but just perhaps translated. I went into a little bit of the olden literature and writing styles so that I could understand the strange sentences and phrases they used. It was then I realized a very surprising fact - The book titled Song of Songs or Songs of Solomon was in fact a very explicit "pornbook" of that time! (Yeah, something to wake you up). It was like, hokay.... so God apparently seemed to have some of His fun times too.. and who wrote that book? Solomon, the wisest king in the history of Israel. So... the smartest guy in the world of that time wrote a book on ahemmm.. what we call 'girls' today. Interesting.... Well, Songs of Songs is a whole topic in itself - maybe I might talk on that next time (Of course I would study this book! ROFL)
Anyway, as I read, I realized the Bible was in fact stories of real people who lived the Earth! Whether or not the miracles or magic really happened, I cannot be sure - But I can be sure there was this amazing man called Jesus who lived on the Earth and was crucified for apparently no reason apart from declaring himself to be the Son of God. The more I read, the more I began to understand the lives of these amazing people - and what was more amazing was the confirmations in line with actual historical events of the world. For example, the film 300 featured Xerxes! Hes in the Bible! Alexander the Great - Also in the Bible (If I'm not wrong) - apart from famous Babylonians, bla bla.. a lot of stuff is in there. And the book of Proverbs itself is equivalent or more profound than Sun Tzu's Art of War. I don't need to adapt a Warbook to fit into my daily life if Proverbs already talks about life. and Proverbs and be adapted into a Warbook too!
Jesus' life in itself is amazing. He taught the world the meaning of love. Whether it was from God or not, for me, it doesn't matter. What mattered was that Jesus was the first and if not the only person/prophet/wiseman/whatever to introduce sacrifice into the equation of love, and for a brother to die for another. His way of life and his teachings were amazing. He understood human nature from within. He could see into the hearts of man. And we hated that. Because we hate it when somebody points a finger at us whether we are right or wrong. And when somebody makes us 'terasa', it shows it itself, we got a problem here. So much more is covered in the Bible - Doing business, war tactics, design principles, engineering concepts, ideas about space and time, astrology, history, chemistry, health, hygiene and fitness, maths, geography, physics, relationships, family and marriage, psychology, motivation, stress/anger management, people management (Nehemiah) you name it. Its all in there. Maybe not under single chapters, but you will find it in the everyday process of living that the very foundational truths of Science are in there! And how much better to read it in the form of a storybook (I know the Bible is much more than that, but still its a series of writings of stories of people and their lives).
And that is what I found in that Book. Its a manual to life - and if you want to learn how to live life, read the Bible. I didn't believe in God at that time, but I still learned how to life from Jesus! Lets put it this way - Even if a man is not what he says he is, if what he says is true, it is still the truth - and we still have something to learn from it. There are many wise men who have held and preached truths throughout history - Buddha himself has very profound principles - though they are different from the principles Jesus preached. But if it is the truth - truth is truth and it is the real thing, so we must as well learn from it.
And of course, I'm only touching the surface of the Bible. I can now tell you honestly, ever since I dedicated my time to what I believe in now - The Bible has expanded far beyond the pages printed on it. The book itself has come to life - It has reminded me numerous times of solutions I could never find elsewhere. Choices to make, motivations, support and guidance I needed to make difficult decisions. Sacrifices I knew only God would make me do, through His Word. Indeed - I have come to realise that the Bible may just be a book - but when we learn to open our eyes and read between the lines - and when God opens our spiritual eyes and allows us to see beyond the pages - It is so amazing, so profound I cannot describe it in words. It is a whole dimension much bigger than ours, beyond our understanding. I still cannot believe how two pages in the Bible (And I still remember the pages, the last 2 chapters of James) could describe one year of my life (with exact timing and precision at the time I read it), and how it confirmed every stupid decision I thought I was making. I realised I was looking at God's chessboard, but despite having seen His moves, I still could not understand what He was up to, well, until He declares checkmate. It is almost as if trying to guess the moves of a chess opponent who is far more experienced than you. You won't be able to understand his moves - why he would sacrifice certain pieces. But all he needs is to capture the king, and its all over! I believe the Bible is the only physical access we have to God's chessboard - well other than a direct pillar connected to heaven.
Well, and that is that. Froma scientific view, the Bible is a great book. And if I had to choose to keep one book for eternity, still it would be the Bible. Whether its alive or not, never mind. But if it is, now thats a pretty nifty feature, don't you think?
Dez
