I didn't. Just thought the title would catch more eyes.

A lil warning: apologies if this entry offends Jehovah's Witnesses that have chanced upon this site -- or any of you, for that matter. The following is solely my humble opinion, in my capacity of a far-from-good Catholic.

Recently I got visits from the Witnesses. Those of you who've had such visits surely know what these are like. Very persistent people. Very friendly as well. As I'm one who has a soft heart for door-to-door knockers -- twice I did this, knocking every door, albeit for a different reason -- I couldn't just say no.

So instead of sending them on their way and being done with it, I kept entertaining them. Bad idea, as they kept showing up at my door and finally insisted on having a Bible study.

But, of course, the cynic in me couldn't help but be a smart ass and take a swing or two. The first question they asked was, "Does God have a name? Do you know what it is?" To which I answered, "Does that matter?"

"Of course. You know God, don't you? If you know someone, surely you know his or her name. It shows he or she is important to you."

"Well, actually not exactly."

"You mean you know some people whose names you don't know?"

"Yup. My grandparents, for instance."

"You don't know your grandparents' names?"

"Nope. I simply know them as Grandma and Grandpa. That doesn't make them less grandparents to me, does it?"

Which is true. I never knew their names. At least when they were alive. My grandparents' names I only learned after they passed away -- and only because they were mentioned several times during the funeral services. I mean, you can't say, "Dear family and friends. Today we are gathered here to bid farewell to our beloved husband, father, and grandfather: Dodol's Grandpa. During his course of life, Dodol's Grandpa was always...", can you?

But anyway, did I tell you these Witnesses were so persistent? So even after my Grandpa's not-so-divine intervention, they made me open the(ir) Bible to a certain passage -- Jeremiah 16:21, if you must know -- and read it aloud. It said something about God's name being Jehovah. And from then on they always referred to God as Jehovah.

To make a long (and annoying) story short, we finally had our Bible study. It took longer than I had expected -- an hour, they said; two hours it turned out. So long that I missed the first half of The Amazing Race. Well, at least it was a happy ending -- The Race, not the Bible study -- with those married entrepreneurs' elimination.

As for the Bible study, it didn't go too well for me. We read that Knowledge book they had, which kept referring to this passage and that passage. At least I learned a thing or two about Jehovah's Witnesses. Now I understand why they make some people uneasy. They keep taking the Bible -- their translation of the Bible -- literally.

Interesting how "one" book can be interpreted differently. I put quotes because differences are there -- subtle, yet there.

An example. They believe Paradise is here on earth. How? Based on Genesis' description of it, which puts the Garden of Eden somewhere in the Middle East -- roughly Iraq. At this point I actually suggested to them that, all right, fine, perhaps Mesopotamia was the most beautiful place when the Book of Genesis was written. So to make it easier for people to imagine how beautiful Paradise was, the author(s) used a real-life place. (I could very well have been wrong, of course.)

But no, they said. It is written clearly there, so it is there. Fine, I thought, so whatcha gonna do, liberate Iraq so that you guys can live there? Oh, wait. Someone else has recently done that.

And many other examples. If you're really interested, go google 'em up.

At last, I managed to say, look, guys, I appreciate your coming over and trying to guide me into the Paradise. Unfortunately, it's not really working for me. Tell you what, if some time in the future I change my mind, I'll give you guys a call, how 'bout that?

To their credit, they didn't really force the issue. We even joked a bit after that. These Witnesses, interesting characters they are.

Enough of this holier-than-thou talk. Who am I to judge people, right? I mean, if I can tolerate and be friends with atheists and free thinkers, surely so can I these Witnesses, right? Right.

BTW, I finally read The Da Vinci Code. I know, so late. Then again, what would you expect from a guy who still hasn't watched the third installments of Harry Potter and The Matrix? Besides, I had to find someone who would lend it to me. Monetary situation's been tight, you know.

My comment? Not bad. The pace suits me just nicely. The chapters are short, so I could finish one or two while waiting for the bus. Note: that is to illustrate how fast I read, not how bad bus service in SG is. You'd get the impression that this novel was tailor-written for a movie.

Experts say Brown got some of his "facts" all wrong. As I think he's quite a storyteller -- not Archer or Clancy level yet, more like Folsom -- I'm willing to turn a blind eye and consider these mistakes the poetic license on his part.

I know it's inaccurate, but wouldn't it be cool had Jesus really been a father? Imagine going to the same school as one of His descendants. "Kids, I'd like you to meet Mary. Mary Christ."

Or taking the same Chemistry class. "Prepare the compound 12-tungstosilicic acid using a solvent extraction method. Now, now, Mary, did you just turn the tap water into wine again?"

Or in the swimming class. "Mary Christ. I know I said freestyle. Doesn't mean you're allowed to run."

I'm having a severe headache.

Current music: Bison - Bunga
Current mood: happy