Oh, just another cab ride!

After a rather drama-filled 1.5 hours over at Lorry’s, I went on a cab home with….(guess who!)

A taxi driver bent on Christianity!

Ok, the things that pushed me in the 10 minutes will be numbered.

1. The fact that he was playing Christian Sermons in his taxi.

Understand this, that Singapore is a rather free and multi-religious society and we are tolerant of religions and such but surely playing your sermons in a taxi with a confined space of about 5 seats is a bit too much? Can you imagine if Buddhist Sutras played, Muslim calls for prayer started playing loudly in the taxi, wouldn’t your passenger be irate? Let alone a passenger like myself?

Now, you might think that the issue of the CD (the sermons were from a CD pouch, more on that later) is a tad bit unreasonable but I tolerated it. Then why is it, that mosques making the call of prayer have to soften their speakers? Just imagine a very big radio in a very big place, I mean it’s something religious here so if they (you know who I’m talking about) can do it, why not us?

once again I say, religious harmony? NO.

Just religious tolerance.

2. He CHANGED THE CD!

When we reached a traffic light, he had time to take out the CD in the radio (the sermon just ended) and then took out another CD from the CD pouch to put it inside the radio. Oh, I have to be modest and say that I look Eurasian sometimes, or maybe some exotic Aryan or maybe some Brazilian but BY GOLLY you should be sensible enough to infer my uneasy comfort and the fact that I’m malay (and that I’m muslim).

And if I’m from some other religion why would I bother listening to something from another religion?

Oh, I forgot to mention that after he changed the CD he jacked up the volume by THREE NOTCHES. THREE YOU HEAR ME!

Wow, thanks a lot but I’m comfortable as Muslim thank you very much!

3. Jews are wrong?!

Oh, I thought there existed a sacred and profound understanding of all monotheistic religions that we are worshipping the same God and that we should respect each other’s beliefs? Well, the Pastor X from NCC who was making the sermon was mentioning something about Passover and Communion.

And he was saying that Passover was fine and all but Communion was even better because Jesus implemented it at the end of the Passover and that means it’s the culmination of it and he went on to say:

“Us Christians have the big picture, the Jews only have a fraction of it! Amen! Hallelujah! We have the real, they have the SHADOW OF IT!”

He literally shouted of it and I heard the cab driver whisper Amen.

I mean I know that you have to reinforce your beliefs and you have to support it but you don’t have to do it by talking about the beliefs of other religions like that. You must be really thick-headed to think that there aren’t any Jews in Singapore not sensitive enough to be offended.

4. The presence of coincidence in our lives

He was relating an anecdote about a woman who “gave her life to Jesus”.

He was going to a dinner with his wife at River Valley and thought they wouldn’t meet anyone. And in the end, they met someone! So there goes their lovely evening together.

So when they were done with their dinner, they went back to his car which was parked on a hill. So his VOLVO’s (he seemed pretty proud of this fact) sensor wasn’t working so when he reversed, it bumped into the bonnet of another car denting it.

He said this wasn’t the first time, and so he was going to leave a note on the car leaving his phone number. Then his friend (the one he met at dinner and is also a pastor) said for him to leave it and let him handle it.

So, one day the friend brought the owner of the car ( a lady!) to the repair shop and then after that they started talking and the woman found out that the friend was a pastor at NCC. And lo and behold she was at NCC the last sunday for the first time. And then the guy starts preaching to her…

well, this says a lot about their ironclad belief in God. That coincidents don’t happen and at every opportunity, one must give their live to Jesus.

/

And another thing, why must sermons in Mosques be regulated and made common throughout every mosque but Churches can preach whatever sermons they desire to preach? Please, someone explain to me.

/

Now, these are just very very very in the face and honest opinions about a Cab Driver but please understand I don’t harbour such ill intentions towards Christianity.

It was just a coincidence that I was in a cab with a Christian Cab Driver or is God telling to get my life saved by Jesus?

Don’t hate me!