I went for my first ever visit to church in a very long time on Sunday, at the bequest of my cousin. City Harvest Church, pretty much the largest church in Singapore, had its services held at "the smaller location" (in comparison to Suntec", Jurong West. I was a little bewildered at first by the massive structure: Four storeys high, with a rooftop that conained a baptism pool and a shallow wading pool, and a childrens' playground; four basement levels, with a massive auditorium in which the service was held. Small? I don't think so.
The place was very modern with modern amemities and atchitecture, bearing almost no resemblance to my idea of a more traditional church with steeped roofs, arched hallways, etc. No, this church was flamboyant, with a water feature at the Level One reception, lifts, a putting ground, a massive two-storey carpark (that's only aboveground). Even the toilets were modern and bling with reflective tiles and high-quality oilet paper found in domestic households and glass washbasins. This was a modern church.
I first witnessed a water baptism where the pastor just leaned the person being baptised backwards into the water, said something like "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I baptise you..." (Hope this is correct... suggestions for amendments are most welcome). The process was over in a few seconds and then soaking wet people in white shirts posed and took pictures. I watched the whole process with some measure of incredulity but some ritual involving salt, fake/ unlit candles and an apple calmed me down. At least they stick to (what I believed was) the traditional practices, I thought.
Another part that freaked me out was when they started praying by speaking in a tongue - I can't say what tongue that is, because I don't know the language - but generally, I prefer people sticking to English, pure and simple. The explanation given was that speaking in tongues would being them closer to Jesus and hence closer to God and spirituality. To a non-church member, some doubts ae obviously raised.
After an hour or so of lazing around, it was time for the main service to start at 12 noon. I went down to Basement 4 where upon entering, I saw a huge auditorium stretching out and down before me. Hundreds of plush seats. A stage where a rock band was strumming away and where at the other side of the stage, people were feverishly dancing up and down as the red lights strobed onto them. I hurried after my cousin and her friends - which form a "cell group" - and got seated.
My misgivings were somewhat settled when singers came up and people clapped and sang along to the songs. But to me, it felt a little like a cult, where people held out their arms and sang, closed their eyes, spoke in tongues at times, and the whole procession was lead along by singers. Is this the modern Christian's idea of a church, a service? But at the very least, these songs were all praising Jesus, praising God. From what I gathered, from my rudimentary knowledge, Christianity worships the Holy Trinity - God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one. Catholics see Jesus as God's son, and the Holy Spirit is a seperate entity. Then there are Presbyterians, Orthodox, and all manner of different sects.
I shall digress for a little here to talk about the conflict between those of different faiths. Remember the civil war between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland? There was a comment about how absurd it was for a people who believe in the same god to fight. Indeed, why can't people just accept that they believe in the same thing? Sure, there may be minor differences, but in the end both worship the same supreme being; both just need to compromise a little, tolerate each other and recognise that they may be a little different, but yet are essentially the same. Only then will peace be achieved.
And as for Protestants and Catholics, so it is between North and South Korea: a people divided into two by idealogies, fighting a ridiculous war because they're being stubborn; Sunnis and Shi'ites, who squabble (and do much worse) over the issue of who is their one true prophet, despite both teaching the ways of Allah; humans waging war against themselves, despite being in the same race.
I once read the bible, but stopped when God encouraged His people to go to war against their enemies - I believe in peace. Just War theory may say that wars might be justified, but if people took steps to resolve things before they got to such a point, then the loss of human life is prevented, unnecessary.
The pastor (founder of City Harvest Church, Kong Hee) who came up next was charismatic and brought up a parable in the bible about a father and his two sons. I shall not explain the meaning behind that, but he brought in many real-life Singapore examples. Which I didn't really like, because to me, the church serves as a shelter against real life and values should be given a greater emphasis. (Just checked out the City Harvest websit and realised just how accomplished Kong Hee really is, but anyway this blogpost isn't on that, so moving on...)
So anyway. They started singing a song which I knew from primary school days because my primary school is Catholic and I attended Mass and sang hymns. So I sang along, and started to tear. Because after all these years, I had finally discovered, once more, where my passion for singing came from; and the joy in believing. Simply believing, obeying a higher authority. Memories of my primary school days surfaced, and I struggled to stop myself from openly crying while singing the song. When my knuckles brushed my eyes, they came away, wet. I have discovered the joy of Christianity, of religion, but yet at the same time, City Harvest Church seems to jar with my ideals. So I'm sorry, my dear cousin, but I'll probably not become a church member. Not at CHC, anyway, though I might come back to explore the Suntec facilities. (Someone in the cell group told me that he preferred the Jurong West auditorium, to which I responded with mirth: More intimate? This huge space, with no cross, no statue, no whatsoever? Hardly.)
To compare the traditional, old churches with new ones like CHC seems to be comparing apples to oranges: no common point of similarity, apart from the fact that both are fruits. However, I interpret CHC as simply a new generation's answer to a church that needs to be reinvented to suit the modern context. They may hold services that seem like rock concerts and be radically different from the convention of a church, but still, CHC is a church, and a very popular one at that. You may think that only the younger Christians frequent this place - and it is true that the majority of the member demographic is young adults and teens and even tweenies, but 30% of the churchgoing population of CHC is actually comprised of people 40 years old and above. CHC is the answer that young people have come up with as they became stifled by the rigidity of the old system. Hence, even though pastors may be slightly flamboyant, wearing jeans and formal shirts to deliver sermons instead of a long white flowing robe, and members jump up and down (but not in a partying manner) at the chorus of rock songs that praise the Lord, the culture is largely still intact, and has simply adapted to the needs of modernity.
As for the church, it is an institution, the house of God, and people contribute donations to keep churches up and running and pastors and other staff get their salaries and so on. Hence, while it irks me that CHC has such enormous facilities, showing their enormous cash kitty, it is a necessary structure that is required for the functioning of the religion. But what is wrong is when donations are misused.
In conclusion, religion is so widespread as people seeking asylum from their hectic, stressful life get the shelter that they need, a quick reprieve from work, an affirmation of the good that they are doing and a moral compass that guides them along. This is even more so for religions involving mass participation, like Christianity. The power of the many that the religion pulls together helps to create a driving force that more often than not goes to help the needy. That is not to say that those without a religion are without morals, however. And I am happy with having no religion for the time being - my spiritual well-being is fed by singing religious songs even though I am not a Catholic or Christian.
The different shrines enacted to worship whichever god is part of the faith evoke different types of emotions in people - cathedrals give a sense of awe, timelessness, peace in the deafening silence that comes when one is alone in the cavernous hall, helping one to relax. While religions will always continue to mobilise people, places of worship will continue to adapt to changing times.
Perhaps, the God that people have been worshipping for millienia, have been reaching out to, is actually the indomitable human spirit that bonds people together, that sends goosebumps up the spine when people sing together, when people invent new technologies for the betterment of humankind, when people help the less fortunate. In this sense, God has, perhaps, been among us all along. Just keep doing what you believe is right, help for the sake of helping, be morally upright, and the omnipresent being will smile upon you and bring happiness. Miracles can be achieved, but only if we help ourselves understand this first.
The place was very modern with modern amemities and atchitecture, bearing almost no resemblance to my idea of a more traditional church with steeped roofs, arched hallways, etc. No, this church was flamboyant, with a water feature at the Level One reception, lifts, a putting ground, a massive two-storey carpark (that's only aboveground). Even the toilets were modern and bling with reflective tiles and high-quality oilet paper found in domestic households and glass washbasins. This was a modern church.
I first witnessed a water baptism where the pastor just leaned the person being baptised backwards into the water, said something like "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I baptise you..." (Hope this is correct... suggestions for amendments are most welcome). The process was over in a few seconds and then soaking wet people in white shirts posed and took pictures. I watched the whole process with some measure of incredulity but some ritual involving salt, fake/ unlit candles and an apple calmed me down. At least they stick to (what I believed was) the traditional practices, I thought.
Another part that freaked me out was when they started praying by speaking in a tongue - I can't say what tongue that is, because I don't know the language - but generally, I prefer people sticking to English, pure and simple. The explanation given was that speaking in tongues would being them closer to Jesus and hence closer to God and spirituality. To a non-church member, some doubts ae obviously raised.
After an hour or so of lazing around, it was time for the main service to start at 12 noon. I went down to Basement 4 where upon entering, I saw a huge auditorium stretching out and down before me. Hundreds of plush seats. A stage where a rock band was strumming away and where at the other side of the stage, people were feverishly dancing up and down as the red lights strobed onto them. I hurried after my cousin and her friends - which form a "cell group" - and got seated.
My misgivings were somewhat settled when singers came up and people clapped and sang along to the songs. But to me, it felt a little like a cult, where people held out their arms and sang, closed their eyes, spoke in tongues at times, and the whole procession was lead along by singers. Is this the modern Christian's idea of a church, a service? But at the very least, these songs were all praising Jesus, praising God. From what I gathered, from my rudimentary knowledge, Christianity worships the Holy Trinity - God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one. Catholics see Jesus as God's son, and the Holy Spirit is a seperate entity. Then there are Presbyterians, Orthodox, and all manner of different sects.
I shall digress for a little here to talk about the conflict between those of different faiths. Remember the civil war between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland? There was a comment about how absurd it was for a people who believe in the same god to fight. Indeed, why can't people just accept that they believe in the same thing? Sure, there may be minor differences, but in the end both worship the same supreme being; both just need to compromise a little, tolerate each other and recognise that they may be a little different, but yet are essentially the same. Only then will peace be achieved.
And as for Protestants and Catholics, so it is between North and South Korea: a people divided into two by idealogies, fighting a ridiculous war because they're being stubborn; Sunnis and Shi'ites, who squabble (and do much worse) over the issue of who is their one true prophet, despite both teaching the ways of Allah; humans waging war against themselves, despite being in the same race.
I once read the bible, but stopped when God encouraged His people to go to war against their enemies - I believe in peace. Just War theory may say that wars might be justified, but if people took steps to resolve things before they got to such a point, then the loss of human life is prevented, unnecessary.
The pastor (founder of City Harvest Church, Kong Hee) who came up next was charismatic and brought up a parable in the bible about a father and his two sons. I shall not explain the meaning behind that, but he brought in many real-life Singapore examples. Which I didn't really like, because to me, the church serves as a shelter against real life and values should be given a greater emphasis. (Just checked out the City Harvest websit and realised just how accomplished Kong Hee really is, but anyway this blogpost isn't on that, so moving on...)
So anyway. They started singing a song which I knew from primary school days because my primary school is Catholic and I attended Mass and sang hymns. So I sang along, and started to tear. Because after all these years, I had finally discovered, once more, where my passion for singing came from; and the joy in believing. Simply believing, obeying a higher authority. Memories of my primary school days surfaced, and I struggled to stop myself from openly crying while singing the song. When my knuckles brushed my eyes, they came away, wet. I have discovered the joy of Christianity, of religion, but yet at the same time, City Harvest Church seems to jar with my ideals. So I'm sorry, my dear cousin, but I'll probably not become a church member. Not at CHC, anyway, though I might come back to explore the Suntec facilities. (Someone in the cell group told me that he preferred the Jurong West auditorium, to which I responded with mirth: More intimate? This huge space, with no cross, no statue, no whatsoever? Hardly.)
To compare the traditional, old churches with new ones like CHC seems to be comparing apples to oranges: no common point of similarity, apart from the fact that both are fruits. However, I interpret CHC as simply a new generation's answer to a church that needs to be reinvented to suit the modern context. They may hold services that seem like rock concerts and be radically different from the convention of a church, but still, CHC is a church, and a very popular one at that. You may think that only the younger Christians frequent this place - and it is true that the majority of the member demographic is young adults and teens and even tweenies, but 30% of the churchgoing population of CHC is actually comprised of people 40 years old and above. CHC is the answer that young people have come up with as they became stifled by the rigidity of the old system. Hence, even though pastors may be slightly flamboyant, wearing jeans and formal shirts to deliver sermons instead of a long white flowing robe, and members jump up and down (but not in a partying manner) at the chorus of rock songs that praise the Lord, the culture is largely still intact, and has simply adapted to the needs of modernity.
As for the church, it is an institution, the house of God, and people contribute donations to keep churches up and running and pastors and other staff get their salaries and so on. Hence, while it irks me that CHC has such enormous facilities, showing their enormous cash kitty, it is a necessary structure that is required for the functioning of the religion. But what is wrong is when donations are misused.
In conclusion, religion is so widespread as people seeking asylum from their hectic, stressful life get the shelter that they need, a quick reprieve from work, an affirmation of the good that they are doing and a moral compass that guides them along. This is even more so for religions involving mass participation, like Christianity. The power of the many that the religion pulls together helps to create a driving force that more often than not goes to help the needy. That is not to say that those without a religion are without morals, however. And I am happy with having no religion for the time being - my spiritual well-being is fed by singing religious songs even though I am not a Catholic or Christian.
The different shrines enacted to worship whichever god is part of the faith evoke different types of emotions in people - cathedrals give a sense of awe, timelessness, peace in the deafening silence that comes when one is alone in the cavernous hall, helping one to relax. While religions will always continue to mobilise people, places of worship will continue to adapt to changing times.
Perhaps, the God that people have been worshipping for millienia, have been reaching out to, is actually the indomitable human spirit that bonds people together, that sends goosebumps up the spine when people sing together, when people invent new technologies for the betterment of humankind, when people help the less fortunate. In this sense, God has, perhaps, been among us all along. Just keep doing what you believe is right, help for the sake of helping, be morally upright, and the omnipresent being will smile upon you and bring happiness. Miracles can be achieved, but only if we help ourselves understand this first.
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