Area man finds meaning in ancient Eastern holy book
By Daniel Moattar
Feb. 24, 2013
In a world where many feel technology has run amok, where the Yankee dollar has taken top billing in our collective heart, and where patience and charity have been replaced by iPads and corporate-sponsored open bar events, one man has found his solace in the wisdom of an ancient Eastern holy book.
“It’s been Confucius this and Confucius that since I was five,” said Xi Liangyu, of Fujian province. “And then all this get a job nonsense from my parents. I wasn’t feeling that at all. So, naturally, I moved to Shanghai, joined a commune, and one day my friend Liu says, hey, have you read this book, ‘The Bible’? And that’s when it all changed.”
Xi, who spends as many as three hours daily in silent meditation, credits The Bible with helping him find meaning and turn away from the corruption of modern capitalism.
“We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of a culture that doesn’t have time to really feel anymore. Maybe we should see what the great thinkers of times past have to tell us about discovering our true selves.” Xi cites as particular favorites Genesis 6:7, in which God resolves to “destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth … for it repenteth me that I have made them,” and 1 Corinthians 14:34, commanding women to remain silent in church.
The Bible, which has boasted surprisingly strong annual sales since the mid-fifteenth century, has lately experienced a kind of renaissance, with many claiming of late to have read it and even to practice several of its precepts. Despite the association of many prominent practitioners with controversial pastimes, including homosexuality and religious war, Xi and others choose to focus on the “positive aspects” of its message.
“What if we just stepped away from all our petty, materialistic values for a minute and got into this crazy book, you know? I mean, what if tons of people just got together and started doing all this stuff in here? Jesus, I can’t even imagine what that would look like.”
