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Keep an open mind
Bruce Gordon, host of the
Club’s popular Mind Expansion Group, introduced our speaker, Michael Flinn.
Keep an open mind. This was the admonition of member
Bruce Gordon, host for the Pattaya City Expats Club’s Techniques of Mind
Expansion Discussion Group, when he introduced Sunday’s guest speaker
Michael Flinn to give his talk about religion. With that admonition, the
members and guests at the Club’s meeting on Sunday, July 10, at the Amari’s
Tavern by the Sea Restaurant waited in eager anticipation for Michaels talk
to begin.
Guest speaker, Michael Flinn,
listens thoughtfully to a member’s question.
Bruce noted that Michael is a former art history
professor and a lifelong scholar in the humanities, arts, philosophy, and
the ancient world. His knowledge comes not only from books but from over 30
years of traveling around the world to personally experience and photograph
the essence of the countries, people, art, and religions he speaks about.
Michael has spent years in India and Nepal photographing sacred sites as
well as the countries’ more bizarre aspects that most tourists never see.
Bruce said he met Michael several years ago while
traveling in India and found his views very thought provoking. Michael’s
work appears in the collections of numerous American Universities and has
been featured on the Discovery Channel.
Hawaii Bob reported on the
success of the Club’s Frugal Freddy dining group.
Michael’s comments were very interesting and indeed
thought provoking; however, if you were a fundamentalist Christian, you
might have said it was heresy. Michael touched on many areas relating to the
formation of the Christian church and subsequent events. He also brought in
earlier Greek history and philosophy and how it influenced the development
of later Christian belief. Michael mentioned that religion is a response to
the difficulty of living in a body and trying to find the answer to the
unknown.
One of his comments related to what the Christian Bible
says occurred with the crucifixion of Christ. He mentioned several factors
surrounding the crucifixion that did not jive with historical records on how
the Romans governed their provinces. However, he also pointed out that many
of the “Books” in the Bible relating the time of Jesus were written much
later in time long after the period they covered. Further, the beliefs of
the early Jewish Christians were different from later Christians. He
attributed this to the fact that while the Christian religion helped
preserve civilization by copying by hand from other written documents, the
translation and/or wording were open to the interpretation of the
transcriber. Further, during the middle ages the Church had no interest in
preserving knowledge unless it conformed to theology.
Michael gave several examples of where the Bible and
history do not necessarily go hand in hand. Further, he questioned whether
the Bible should be taken literally by pointing out a few parts that did not
appear logical.
In concluding his talk, he said that many believe that
God gave man free will, but then knows what each man will do - Michael said
this concept in his opinion is illogical. He then opened it up for the many
questions that followed. Although religion can be a touchy subject,
apparently everyone did keep an open mind as the questions and comments were
mostly seeking clarification of some of the points he made or offering
viewpoints of their own.
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg then updated
everyone on upcoming events and called on Pat Koester to conduct the ever
informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum, where questioned are asked
and answered, movies and restaurants are recommended and sometime a joke or
two are told.
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PSC accepts invitation
to help Nongprue needy
William Macey (center left),
representing the Pattaya Sports Club, makes a donation to Mayor Mai Chaiyanit,
Nongprue deputy mayors and family to assist families in need.
Nongprue Municipality (now City) covers a larger area than
Pattaya City and as a consequence has, arguably, more underprivileged and
handicapped families requiring assistance in the area.
The mayor of Nongprue Municipality, Mai Chaiyanit, is
dedicated to helping those in need in the area and introduced Pattaya Sports
Club to 2 families who desperately need financial help.
1. Two sisters - one of which is disabled, need urgent
repairs to their shelter and to install a toilet, which they do not have at the
moment.
2. A family of four. The parents have died leaving 2
children, suffering from HIV, with grandparents. The grandmother is severely
handicapped and their wish is that the children’s education continues.
Pattaya Sports Club gave assistance in both cases. The Mayor,
Deputy Mayors Anak and Suwat and other officials of the municipality were over
the moon with the response from PSC and gave a very warm reception when
receiving the donations.
It makes it all worth the effort.
Grandmother and Grandfather wish
their grandchildren can continue their education.
The home of 2 sisters needs urgent
repairs.
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Diana Group donates lent
candles to Huay Yai Temple
The
group performs the Wien Thien, circling the temple 3 times
before entering to pray.
Manoon Makpol
The Diana Group celebrated the start of Buddhist Lent by
offering candles and supplies to monks at Huay Yai Temple.
Diana Group Managing Director Sopin Thappajug led the
July 12 candle-presentation ceremony, and was joined by Child Protection and
Development Center Co-Director Plisorn Noja and governess Jarinthorn
Chanbamrung.
The hotel chain also donated garments, medicine and other
items to monks confined to their temples during the three-month lent period
which started this week.
Children from the CPDC attended as Abbot Sarawut
Jitapanyo recited Dharma for the monks.
Happy 18th Anniversary
Garden International School
wishes to congratulate Pattaya Mail for its 18th year anniversary. We
greatly appreciate Pattaya Mail’s constant support over the years and its
commitment to serve the local community. Wishing you more blessed years of
service in Pattaya as well as throughout Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard. Go,
go, go!
Happy Birthday to the Pattaya Mail! After 18
glorious years you have now come of age. Here’s to many more!
- Graham Macdonald
All the best from Counseling
Center Pattaya! As a psychotherapist who tries to look beyond the surface on
a habitual basis (and decided carefully on where my articles may fit best),
I value that Pattaya Mail doesn’t only provide journalistic ‘fast food’ or
fills up the paper with ‘infomercials’ but offers critical reports and
analyses of problems and issues Pattaya residents and tourists have to deal
with in this, our beloved city. An essential read to stay up to date - keep
it on, Pattaya Mail!
- Richard L. Fellner
All o
f
us at the Pattaya City Expats Club want to congratulate
Pattaya Mail, the city’s first English language newspaper, on its 18th
anniversary, and wish you many more successful years providing news to our
great City. We are privileged to be members of the Pattaya Mail community.
Happy 18th Birthday to the Pattaya Mail: a local newspaper that really
makes a difference in the community. Thanks for all of your support.
- Hand to Hand
On the occasion of Pattaya Mail’s 18th Anniversary - Pattaya Sports Club
send their best wishes and look forward to continuing the fruitful
relationship between our two organizations for many years to come.
All at Lewiinski’s would like
to wish the Pattaya Mail all the best for the future.
- Lewiinski’s Bar & Restaurant
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday, Pattaya Mail.
Congratulations on your coming of age from all of us at Mercy Center -
Pattaya. We, at Mercy Center, realize that our existence and future is
dependent upon “telling the stories” and Peter, you and Pattaya Mail Media
Group have always supported and encouraged us. We thank you sincerely for
the 18 years of coverage you have donated to us. every single centimeter
helps us to bring hope to a needy person in Pattaya.
Mercy Center-Pattaya celebrates ten years of caring with the opening of a
new children’s home. We hope you’ll come to our party on Sunday 25
September, we’ll have candles and cake!
Happy Birthday and Thank You
for the support you have given the golfing community in Pattaya over the
past 18 years.
- Fairways Golf Range and Resort
 
On behalf of the 850 children
and students with disabilities currently living at the Father Ray Foundation
I wish the Pattaya Mail a Happy 18th Birthday.
For the past 18 years the Pattaya Mail has not only provided the latest up
to date news, but it has also helped raise awareness of those helping
disadvantaged people living in the Pattaya area.
Congratulations Pattaya Mail, and thank you for everything you do.
Father Peter Srivorakul C.Ss.R.
President Father Ray Foundation
Congratulations to the
Pattaya Mail on the occasion of your 18th Birthday. And a big thank you for
all your support through the sports pages during those years.
- The Haven Pattaya Beach
On behalf of the Jesters, we
wish you a hearty congrats on your 18th anniversary! And thanks for helping
us care for kids over the last 14 years. We could not have done it without
you!
- Lewis “Woody” Underwood
On behalf of Cafe Kronborg
and all of our golfers we would like to congratulate Pattaya Mail on your
18th Birthday and thanks for your support and coverage of our Golf
Competitions.
May Pattaya Mail continue to provide quality reading for Pattaya residents
and many people around the world through your excellent Website. Happy
Birthday.
From Peter, Dave, Mike, Stuart and the rest of the Kronny Crew.
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A Pattaya Mail retrospective: Some idle thoughts of an idle fellow
by Peter Cummins
It is hard to imagine - or, remember, even - that our
beloved newspaper, the Pattaya Mail is now 18 years young! It could be
compared to the nurturing of an offspring, from birth, through the formative
years, to adolescence and, now, into adulthood.
Under the firm hands and watchful eyes of its creator,
Peter Malhotra, the Mail, voted the Best (news media) in the East for at
least the last dozen years, has featured in print and illustration, the
happenings world-wide and on the Eastern Seaboard. It has been - and will
continue to be - the barometer and pulse of our vibrant city-by-the- sea.
Nothing newsworthy and, sometimes even the mundane, has escaped our print
media, be it a tribute to members of our revered Royal Family, reports on
the relatively turbulent socio-economic times in which we live and, of
course, a plethora of sporting events for which Chonburi and the Eastern
Seaboard are justly-famous.
From that first day, many moons ago, when I was
“press-ganged” on a Pattaya street, by the long-suffering, hard-working and
deadly-accurate Executive Editor Dan Dorothy, I too have passed through the
“nurturing” stage, though I doubt that I will achieve “adulthood”.
That fateful day, Dan reached down and tapped me on the
shoulder: “The boss wants to talk to you,” he said, with a knowing grin. I
then moved into my “formative years”, on an endless learning curve. With
Peter at the helm and Dan navigating, I have enjoyed many fruitful years at
the Mail, reveling in the companionship, challenge and “fame” (notoriety,
would be a more appropriate word) as a Pattaya Mail writer and photographer.
Through the columns of this newspaper, I have been able
to promote my favourite sport/past-time - yacht-racing, cruising and other
marine-related activities - which, I believe, also contributes to a positive
image of Pattaya, specifically, and the Kingdom, in general.
May the Pattaya Mail continue to thrive, as Peter passes
on the legacy he has created, to sons Tony and Prince. The broad readership
base can look forward to more decades of accurate, informative and enjoyable
journalism.
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