CHC: All are guilty as charged.

The verdict is out. All are guilty as charged. They have all engaged in covert operation to conceal their unlawful conduct, says the Judge. Sentencing will be in November. The church is disappointed. The accused are still adamant they have done nothing wrong and that only God understands them. The accused may appeal. Prayers are still offered.

Chew Eng Han was seen hugging his daughter, who was crying, in court, while Roland Poon's daughter has this to say, "I feel happy for my father that he is now vindicated, and that after 10 years, we now know that what he did was right...He was brave enough to come out about it. Now, I hope that they can apologize to him, if they still have the heart."

At that time, Mr Poon retracted his allegations and spent over $30k on apologies in newspapers.

Lesson? Three.

1) For me, this saga is about the tale of two daughters, Chew's and Poon's. They are the real victims and the collateral casualty here. Their fate surmises the tragedy of a closed-loop system that only feeds itself to the exclusion of all. Ego, stubbornness, pride and blindness all run this self-perpetuating feedback loop that grows bigger and bigger under the oversight of the self-serving system.

This system is "organized groupishness". It has a head-strong, charismatic leader (sometimes two but no more). It has an ideology that uses everything sacred as a means to its own end. This ideology is fiercely xenophobic (tribalistic even) and unmistakably dualistic, that is, it is always about good versus evil, "they" versus "us", in-group versus out-group, the world versus the church, Caesar versus Christ, and God's will versus man's will.

If this ideology is condensed into a sentence, it would be captured in this CHC'S public statement issued yesterday: "In spite of these challenges, City Harvest Church has an unshakeable calling from God." Unshakeable indeed. This ideology is also exclusive, set apart and self-congratulatory. And lastly, this ideology is unapologetically defensive. It will not take "no" for an answer or acknowledge wrong that leads to repentance, or accept contrition as a posture. And the tears of Chew’s daughter and the agony of Poon's daughter are the painful/unfair result.

2) In CHC's public statement, one sentence reads: "More than ever before, let’s have a unity that is unbreakable. We are not alone as many of our friends and churches around the world are also interceding fervently for us. God knows the way that we take; when He has tested us, we shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10)."

I fear that the real issue here is not about an unbreakable unity but one that stubbornly resists all attempts to break it. The Bible says that a broken and contrite heart, God will not despise. For how can there be true repentance and enduring restoration without self-reflection and brokenness? Isn't this a good time (or about time) to be still and know that He is God?

After the verdict, the misappropriation, the falsification, the overwhelming evidence of dishonesty, the cover-ups, the backdating, the double-speak, the deception on album sales, the sham bonds, the defrauding of auditors, the corporate conspiracy, and the scapegoating and finger-pointing, no one came forward to accept responsibility. No one had the moral courage to turn the mirror on himself/herself and examine his/her heart.

Morally speaking, for the fervent church members, it is staged in such a way that nobody really knows who is right or wrong. Is CHC in the throes of a man-engineered martyrdom or the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt?

Instead, the church sees this as God testing their leaders and that they will one day come forth as gold. I guess for once in my life I get to witness in the public glare "worldly faith" and "reasonable doubt" intermingling in a conspiratorial mess.

Alas, I guess in our desperation to be right, we have conveniently forgotten how wrong we can be about it.

And...

3) Here, I am reminded of the stoning of the adulteress in John 8. Jesus said, "Let those without sin amongst you cast the first stone." However, there are three differences here.

First, that was a set up, a trap. The Pharisees wanted to test Jesus with the Mosaic laws. And the man was deliberately let off. In CHC saga, it is clearly not. The prosecution had no agenda. It was not religiously motivated. They avoided completely and stoically what the defence was so desperate to throw in their faces, that is, theological legitimacy (in other words, God approved Kong Hee's and Sun's behavior). On the contrary, the prosecution respected it (religion that is). They honored it. They played by the rules. They are just doing a largely unseen, unglam and unappreciated job. They spent years investigating and yesterday, they saw the fruits of their labor. For them, it's back to the grind today.

Second, it backfired. Jesus put the trap-setters on trial. He arraigned the Pharisees, laid down their charges on the ground, and one by one, convicted or otherwise, they left - from the oldest to the youngest. Here, in the CHC saga, the accused put our justice system on trial. They tested it. They disclaimed responsibility still. They insisted they have done no wrong; not a smidgen. They implied injustice or a blind one. They managed to get thousands endorsing their so-called innocence. And all this against overwhelming evidence, even their own admission during trial.

And lastly, I believe the adulteress was remorseful. Jesus told her that no one condemn her (neither him) and to leave her life of sin. She did just that. She repented (who wouldn’t after such an encounter with Jesus right?). However, in the CHC saga, none of the leaders stepped up to the plate to be counted as only human, fallible and broken (Jesus or no Jesus). To compound matters, they recently ordained Ho Yeow Sun - the one who was in the eye of the storm, the center of the controversy - to lead CHC 2.0. I guess there is no greater show of "innocence" (or defiance) than this.

In the end, I too walked away just like the crowd from the so-called stoning. I have kept my stones to myself (sometimes, I throw it here just for kicks). I do not see any point. If history has taught us anything, it has taught us nothing. It is not about stoning anymore; it's about stone-walling. And the irony here is that I am not the one doing the stoning. Cheerz.

3 rules to live an almost adversity-free life (barring any unforseen accident).

Living a life free of adversity? That's impossible. But you can keep it to the minimum, an almost adversity-free life. In fact, so minimal that you would not be able to recall a day where you have a heartbreaking experience, I mean ever.

Here are 3 simple rules to follow slavishly to live such a life. And if you should find yourself straying from the rules, then a quick self-administered trouble-shooting exercise would point you to 
a violation of either one or all of the 3 rules. Once the violation is found, swiftly correct and quickly re-apply the rules back into your life. Here are the 3 rules.

1) AVOID friendships at all costs. Please bear this in mind at all times. Of course, you can make friends but keep them really superficial. Touch and go (figuratively speaking). Most of life's sufferings come from friendship betrayals, envy and disappointments. You really don't need 
such crippling and unhappy emotions poking holes into your blissful sail in calm waters. 

The point is that you want to die with a smile, and long-running, intimate friendship, which are marred by the disappointing highs and depressing lows, does nothing but wipe that smile off your mortician-beautified face. It is therefore safest to make as few friends as possible, preferably none. 

So, avoid club membership, church services, social gatherings, birthday parties, and even water-cooler chats. The latter may seem harmless but you might just meet your life-long buddy or BFF in one of those harmless chats and that will be the end of the road of a blissful life for you. Don’t get lure in by the fake smiles, the enticement of eternal life or the heartwarming sentiments of a social bond. You just can't afford the time, emotion and effort regardless of how rewarding it may turn out for you. 

Remember, encouragement, support and good company are all grossly overrated. And you should keep everyone on a don't-need-to-know basis, that is, I-really-don't-need-to-know-your-problem level. You will know that you have 
succeeded in this rule if everyone you know, even your family members and relatives, remain nothing more than mere acquaintances to you. This way, their problem is really not your problem. And needless to say, your conscience is crystal clear because you really don’t know them that well to show them a smidgen of concern. 

It is said that hell is other people. So heaven on earth for you is naturally an island of one.

2) Whatever you do, DON'T fall in love. This is the most important rule of the three. They don't call it Venus flytrap for nothing. Although unlike a black widow spider where the male gets eaten alive right after sex, falling in love is falling into a black-hole of the most muddled and frustrating complexity you will ever experience in your life. You don’t need all that emotional pull-me-downs. Trust me, there is no better way of maintaining a neat and ordered life where you are in control till your last breath than to avoid that dreary marital road. 

For this reason and this reason alone, you must run for your life when you feel that tingling urge to commit unconditionally to the opposite sex for a lifetime. And courtship is a taboo word in this rule because you are not courting love or happiness but a lifetime of misery, pain and disappointments. The relationship of one is already complicated enough; imagine a lifelong relationship of two! 

You will know that you have failed this rule miserably if you take that fatal and sorrowful walk down the aisle. It’s all downhill from there. A marriage is a harvest of irredeemable sadness (rather be eaten alive just after sex right?) They don’t call it tying the “dead” knot for nothing. And the false advertisement of marriage is the inimical offspring and that dastardly marital bliss. In fact, the only bliss you will encounter is to wave goodbye to it almost immediately after the honeymoon is over. And I won't even start with the offspring because there are some god-forsaken places that even fearless angels fear to tread. 

So avoid falling in love if you want to live a life of never getting your heart broken. You have been duly warned.

And last but not least...

3) Find a career with LITTLE OR NO responsibility. Once you satisfy the two rules above, this last rule is chicken feet. It in fact comes naturally (or inevitably). And jobs like that are not hard to find. Just check out the classified ads for low-paying, routine-9-to-5, hidden-under-the-clerical-desk kind of work. 

Of course, you can forget about promotion, recognition, and accolades. Just be satisfied with sheer mediocrity. Live a wallpaper life. Stay invisible to all. Mind you, I am not being sarcastic here. Success is really overrated. Recall the saying appropriately adapted here: "Rather a big fish in a puddle than a guppy in a thriving ocean?" 

So learn to be immune to delusionary self-talk like "Be your best", "Be proactive", "Sharpen the saw" and "Live to make a difference". Water off a duck’s back I say. They are all delusionary self-talk because in a rat-race, you still die a rat. And if Skinner’s strict behaviorism were right about us, then we are all Pavlov’s dogs conditioned by a heartless system that makes us salivate for all the wrong reasons. 

So, be proud to be an underachiever. Be proud to be nothing. Be proud to achieve nothing. Now don't worry about being influenced by others who may inspire you to soar or despise you for your mediocrity or be envious of their successes because rule 1 and 2 above will effectively ensure that you have little or no friends, wife or children to make you feel even an iota of guilt. Your conscience will be insulated by a moat of blissful ignorance all the time, for all time.

So, once you stick by these three rules as if your life depends on them, you will flourish in your own idiosyncratic way. People will find you weird but that's their problem – not yours. You will hardly have any friends but hey, that's the price worth paying for not getting hurt. And without a wife and those cumbersome offspring, you are only accountable to yourself 
and no one else. How can your life not be almost adversity-free then? This is what it means to be in absolute control of your life. Further, your job will demand nothing from you. Absolutely nothing. Neither will life as a whole. You will be free, carefree and worry-free!

I guess freedom to live is to be free from disappointments, hurts and pain. And an adversity-free life is to be born and then to die; and in the middle, to avoid living altogether. Cheerz.

I walked with God to New Cross Rail Station, London.

I met God in London and we talked as He walked me to New Cross Rail Station. My first question was, "God I want to understand you." He smiled and said, "Fine, go ahead." "But I don't God. You're incomprehensible." There was a palpable silence from the Creator. The pace then slowed a little and God asked, "Have you stopped understanding me?"

I told him that I have not but it is frustrating to understand someone who is neither here nor there, neither fair nor unfair, neither provable nor un-provable. I told God that he is too encrypted, too surreptitious, too-behind-the-scenes. He is in other words an enigma wrapped in a mystery, triple-locked in a safe, thrown into a black-hole and hidden in a thousand dimensions.

God immediately understood what I meant – he’s God after all - and said, "But didn't you want to understand me?" I nodded and replied, "Yes, yes. I want to but I simply can't." God then asked me whether I am thinking of giving up. And I said I have often reached the end of my patience because I only faced a dead-end, a theological cul-de-sac.

"Son," God said. "If you want to understand me, you need to continue this quest." "You mean I need to continue the journey even when I have reached the end of my road?" I said. God shook his head and said, "Your journey has yet to begin. It seems like you have come to your own conclusions about me even before gaining any mileage."

"You mean there is more to you to discover? But I have read the Bible, studied the scriptures, attended church services, and committed to a few ministries during the days of my youth, and I realized after some time that you are still the same yesterday and today and tomorrow...that is, you are unpredictable, most times inconsistent, if not contradictory, and you appeared to me to be a fence-sitter on some life-and-death matters."

At this time, I knew I was out of line. I knew I was more than disrespectful but it all came out quite unconsciously, spontaneously - more like pent-up frustration. A fumbling catharsis of sort. I apologized to God as we looked out for oncoming cars and crossed the road towards the rail station.

"Son, you have understood me reasonably well thus far…as is humanly possible," God said. I was wide-eyed and was somehow disarmed by that line: "What do you mean God? I am expressing my lack of faith in you." “No son," God said. "You are just discovering how I work. But there’s a long way to go from here."

At this time, I can't say that I understand what God wanted me to understand about him. He was speaking in riddles again and that's the part that confounded me most. "God, let me get this off my pneumonic chest. Pardon me please. Your nature is perplexing. Your love is puzzling. Your promises fell short. Your power is self-constraining. Your coming doesn't seem like it's happening. And your silence is deafening. How does all that count as understanding?"

By this time, we had been walking for the last 20 minutes and the train station was just 100 meters away. God paused in his track for a while and said, "Son, you will always learn new things about me. Your life is a journey of discovery and this journey is not going to be easy. There will be dead-ends, high walls, deep schisms, meandering valleys and bottomless pits. They are there to deepen your quest and make the journey worthy of your time and curiosity. I will always be ahead of you in space, time, knowledge and mystery. You know that right? Your understanding of me will always be limited. You cannot fully understand me. Neither can you pigeon-hole me. You may attempt to make ambitious assumptions about me but they will not come close to who I really am and what my plans for you are. My truth will remain paradoxical just as my love, grace and sacrifices will remain unfathomable. Do you understand all that? Can you accept all that?"

I was trying hard to see the point of all that seemingly pointless merry-go-round explanation from the divine authorship. "So, am I to give up knowing you? Is this going to be a futile search for the one discovery that means everything to a believer?" God paused again and said, "Son, what if I tell you that there is no way you can hope to understand fully how I run this universe or the laws involved in making life and processing death?" I hesitated for a while and blurted out, "Is this a cop out? Are you avoiding the issue?" God smiled: "I will always be beyond your most penetrating epistemological quest to probe and know me. You’re an image of me remember? Not the whole picture…yet."

"So ignorance is bliss?" I muttered, disgruntled. "Not bliss son,” came the quick rejoinder. “It is naive to expect any bliss in this world groaning for answers. The only true meaning in this world is your persistent quest to know me. You give that up, you give up meaning altogether." Now it was my turn to give pause.
"But I will never fully know you right? So what's the point? Why go further? Just to be blissful in my infinite ignorance?"

God saw that we had arrived at the train station and he turned to me, "This is your stop. Take care son." I was ruffled, annoyed even. "God, is this how we end this theological cliffhanger...leaving me still hanging?" He then gave me a handwritten note and put it in my pocket, whispering, "For the time being, this will do." I then rummaged my pocket and pulled out the piece of note and lifted my head to look for God. He was gone, just like a magician disappearing behind a puff of white smoke.

I quickly opened the note and read it:-

"Nice talking to you, son. You seek to know me but what comes after that. Like a textbook or a course, you sign up for it, study it, master it and it is discarded. I am not an academic text or a science project or a self-improvement seminar. I don't come as a well-designed step-by-step-instructions manual. Is knowing me that way your end-goal in life? But if you seek to have a relationship with me, then knowing me becomes just one of its means. Knowing me then embodies a variety of meanings. It means experiencing, surrendering, giving, waiting, caring for those I love, praying in faith, hoping with persistence, doubting even because you don't take yes for an answer, pursuing me with passion, sitting down with me to learn, enjoying the silence, being assured of the silence, being strong amidst the silence, persevering through your trials, trusting, loving and believing, and in all that, you will come to know me even more, much more than what you seek when you first started your journey, that is, just knowing me period. Son, you can know about me or know with me. You can confine yourself to the things you see or allow me to gradually open your eyes to the things I see. It’s not just about knowledge, but faith, hope and love. Knowledge takes you from one point to another, but faith, hope and love take you from one point and beyond. Never forget that. For now, take care my son. Love Dad." 

Cheerz.