Da Vinci Code opens today
Mood:  bright
The novel Da Vinci Code is remarkably ingenious. I have read it and enjoyed a lot. It is a fiction and evidences for Jesus having a daughter are not very convincing. There are other arguments, however, suggesting that Jesus might have married before becoming a wandering rabbi. It is because the status of a Jewish rabbi comes from his marital status itself. In other words, if you have not married, you cannot become a rabbi simply because nobody trust you. Although The Da Vinci Code is a fiction, it brings out a truth about the Bible and the religion Christianity---biblical writers and early Church fathers suppressed some history and created some others to embellish Jesus in order to build up his divinity, so much so that he eventually became God! So I would say the core message of The Da Vinci Code is true---Christianity is built, at least partially, on lies.

Humanistic Religious Naturalism Group
Mood:  happy
A member of the Spiritual Seekers Society describes himself as a Naturalist. An article in UUWorld introduced Humanistic Religious Naturalism, the article is discussed here. I wish that he can start a Humanistic Religious Naturalists Group and he expressed interest too! I am very excited to look forward for it.

Islamic Course
Mood:  hug me
I have, with my wife, attended an eight-session Islamic course organised by the Islamic Union of Hong Kong, Wan Chai. A good course presenting the essential basics of Islam clearly. I affirm that the God of Islam (Allah) is the same as the Christian God, because Allah is the God of Abraham and Moses. In my opinion, however, there are some obsolete practices such as the dressing code for women (head covered), the eating rules (no pork), and worshipping God five times daily which are quite dogmatic. For example, I think that an elegant suit is no less decent that having the head covered, and worshipping 2 or 3 times daily seems no less pious.

Wish-list for Our Future Activities
Mood:  bright
Activites are, afterall, the "meat" of our Society. The following activities came up my mind. You may add more. Participating in worships of various denominations such as Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox. Visit places of different religions including Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Muslim, etc. Invite leaders of the above denominations and religions to teach us basics of their denominations and religions; or joining together introductory classes organized by those religions. Introductory courses to Unitarian Universalism, the basis on which we build our religious community. Talks on religious liberalism given by liberal theologians and researchers of religion. Meditations and retreats. Certainly eating together from time to time and out-door activities such as ball games and hiking.

Our work ahead!
Mood:  sharp
Several Chinese translations for the name Unitarian Universalism have been suggested in the Hong Kong Liberal Christian Forum here, the forum recommended by our Progressive Christian Fellowship. Among the best are "?I?I??" (a phonic translation of "UU" and gives Taiwan (and all Chinese) readers a sense of relaxation, tenderness, and kindness, which are what UU's inclusiveness and tolerance for. On par with that is the "?????@??????". I consider the third choice being "???R?@???{??/????". (edit: oops! Chinese cannot be shown, please refer to the link above)

I have also copied my previous work schedule here to remind myself of the work finsihed and unfinished:

"What we need to do is to translate essential UU materials (thank you, Clement, for translating the UU Christian Fellowship FAQ), creat a website, and make ourselves known through pamphlets, exposures on web radios, organising activities in post-secondary schools, etc."

Please suggest more!

I'm also thinking of adding "Form 3 to Form 4 Mission." An introspection of my own spiritual journey reveals that I was captured by evangelical Protestant Christianity because somebody bothered to find me while I was in Form 4. That is is a period when young souls start to explore the world. While Form 2 is too young and Form 5 busy preparing for an open examination, reaching out to Form 3 and Form 4 is an essential way to fulfill our mission of encoraging religious exploration!

Please note that I have translated majority of the introduction to UU by Wikipedia, work is still ongoing, I hope to finish it by tonight. Please take a look by clicking the tab "UU Resources in Chinese" and then "Wikipedia." Don't forget to leave your comment in our guestbook (English only) or Forum (both English and Chinese)!

Now we have a temp website at Tripod here (wish to move to independent domain name later), translation work on the way, after which printing of Chinese pamphlets can go ahead. Let's don't forget to record web radio programmes later and then start our promotional work in schools.

Welcome!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Welcome!
Welcome to Spiritual Seekers Society!