Happy New What

December 31, 2013 Dear Friends and Relatives: At the end of each year, we all greet each other: - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Never, do we ever, greet each other with:- HAPPY NEW IDEAS or HAPPY NEW THOUGHTS or HAPPY NEW VALUES and or HAPPY NEW BELIEFS! Thus, every new year, it is the same old corruption around us everywhere. The same old corruption in our government, and in our churches, and in our other institutions, and indeed the same old corruption via education in our schools, colleges, and universities yearly producing college-educated men and women proud of corruption as a way of life in the Philippines. To each of you, for 2014, I greet you: HAVE A HAPPY NEW PHILIPPINES! I love you all. Poch Suzara

Our Asian Neighbors

The secret why other Asian countries are economically ahead of the Philippines is no secret at all. Our Asian neighbors have been substantiating to the fullest extent possible what Jose Rizal, the nation’s chief hero, was precisely saying to fellow-Filipinos more than a hundred years ago: “Wake up! Embrace science! Utilize the scientific way of thinking! Start to emulate the freethinkers! Knowledge is the heritage of mankind, but only the courageous inherit it! We can only serve our country by telling the naked truth. However bitter it may be!”
Indeed, in this center of Catholicism in Asia, we would rather have more beliefs in the power of prayer and theology than we should have more knowledge in the power of science and technology. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Revolution of the Mind

Unlike the rest of our national heroes, Rizal was the first and only Filipino revolutionary of the mind. He was the first Filipino who thought that human dignity and intellectual integrity should be solid as the foundation of Filipino culture. Owing to the successful retraction lies, however, Filipinos today believe Rizal not as a great humanist or a great freethinker, not even as a great man of intellectual capacity, but only as a faithful silly servant of the priesthood industry. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Biographer

Rizal’s biographer – Leon M. Guerrero, clearly notes that Rizal returned to the Church of his youth in extremes of self-abasement, frenziedly in childlike fashion, spending the remaining hours of earning indulgences from purgatory by confessing four times, and obsequiously attending to Fr. Balaguer and Villaclara’s wishes. In brief, according to this biographer, Rizal died as a timid coward. Indeed, according to this official government commissioned biographer, our national hero in the end turned out to be a turncoat.
But then again, four years before his death, Rizal in 1882 wrote a letter to Gregorio Aglipay: “In all parts of the world where an honest man tries to achieve reform he is crucified on Golgotha. Christ had nowhere to lay his head, when Pilate governed. It is probable that I will be executed – then they will try to bring along my moral death by covering my memory with slander.” Poch Suzara

The Shame in Rizal’s Life

The shame in Rizal’s life is not the retraction of his deeds, writings or personal conduct. Such retraction was only a frailocratic figment of the imagination. The real shame comes from the Filipino historians and other Catholic writers who believed not in Rizal’s power of intellect, but believed instead his enemies – the friars – who invented sacred lies about this great man. Via the control of the system of education in the Philippines, these friars have and still are blocking, expediently and consistently, Rizal’s qualified and legitimate entry into the world stage as one of mankind’s greatest thinkers. But then again how can the world learn of Rizal’s intellectual power if the Filipinos themselves know so little of the health and wealth of this great 19th century Filipino scientists and thinker and writer? Poch Suzara

Santo Thomas University and Ateneo

Rizal was a product of Ateneo and Santo Thomas; yet both Catholic universities continue to assassinate the character of this great humanist thinker. Rizal had learned on his own initiative, outside academic wall, to think deeply and to embrace intellectual honesty courageously. Indeed, to this day, all Catholic universities still teach that during his last day on this earth, just hours before he was executed for his principles, noble values, and rational beliefs, Rizal retracted and went back to have faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church. What brazen lies! It is no less than a tall story. Otherwise, after his death, he would have been given a Catholic burial and his bodily remains not just put inside a dirty old sack and then thrown in the Paco Cemetery in the corner where executed heretics are stashed away like dead animals. Poch Suzara

Rizal Versus Jesus

Rizal was involved not only with the cultivation of the mind but also with the development of the human knowledge. The exact opposite of what Jesus Christ stood for – infantile emotions, sentimental illusions, and proverbial delusions. Consider Jesus: he never uttered a word against slavery or against tyrannical oppression. Jesus appealed not to the intellectual power of man, only to his childish hopes and dreams. And to think that most Filipinos have more love and respect for Jesus who was born in a foreign country some 2000 years ago, than they care to study and learn seriously from a great Filipino thinker born in the Philippines some 150 year ago. Poch Suzara

Rizal and Education

Jose Rizal pointed out that evolution in education, ( not reliance on foreign investments ) is the best hope for our nation to enjoy the highest standard of living and thinking. The system of education for the Filipino must be based on science and technology, and not upon prayers and theology. Indeed, according to Rizal, a free nation can rise no higher than the standard of beliefs and values set in its schools, colleges, and universities. In there hope for the Philippines? Yes, there is! But first its system of education must be radically revamped. No more silly prayers to support a stupid theology. Only more science and more technology via more scientific method of thinking. Poch Suzara

Rizal – the Humanist

Rizal struggled not only against Spanish authority, but against superstition. He fought not in the battlefield, but in the minds of men and in the hearts of women. Rizal was Asia’s first scientific-humanist thinker put to death a century ago by musketry as imposed by theocracy. The same Catholic theocracy today that is keeping the Filipino youth via education to fear new and fresh ideas; indeed, to keep away from the free market of ideas, and to hate, at the same time, the freethinkers. “Blotting out their brains,” Rizal wrote, “in faith, prayers, masses, novenas, superimposed these onto native superstition.” Poch Suzara

A century after Rizal’s Death

After a hundred years, how influential has Jose Rizal been on the Filipino as a people? Millions today would readily give credence by listening to the words of a Mike Velarde of El Shaddai preaching pastoral nonsense derived from the bible – a book written not by Filipinos but by foreigners. Only a handful of scholars would care to read and understand the real Rizal and carry out his principles and ideals for the achievement of pride, dignity, intellectual and scientific honesty for the Filipino as a nation. And to think, the Jews, the Chosen People of God, never considered the bible as a holy book at any time in their history. In fact, the Jews live in a Jewish State. They do not live in a Christian country – the land where Jesus Christ was born. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Enemies

Rizal’s enemies were the theologians who gave themselves fancy titles: soothsayers, seers, charmers, prophets, enchanters, sorcerers, wizards, astrologers – all more popularly known as the Spanish friars. In brief, Rizal’s enemies were fear, ignorance, and superstition as embodied in the Catholic Church that felt threatened by Rizal’s writings. Rizal indeed aimed first at redeeming the Filipino mind damaged by indoctrination, as well as redeeming the Filipino heart impoverished by revelation. Rizal was a heretic in the eyes of the theologians – the power behind the Spanish Catholic authority. It is said by millions of Filipinos today that it does not matter whether Rizal retracted or not. This is so stupid; for, if Rizal indeed had retracted why was he still executed and then not even given a Catholic burial? Poch Suzara

Rizal – a great Thinker

Rizal, indeed, was a great thinker. He clearly saw in his day what we vaguely see around us today: religion and diseases flourishing hand in hand under ignorance, filth, hate, and poverty. What irked the friars against Rizal was his refusal to continue to believe in Christianity; for, he learned to be on the side of humanity. For my part, if there’s life after death, it’s great thinkers like Rizal that I should wish to be with. Otherwise, if I will just find myself in the company of Filipino theologians, or among the Opus Dei gang – the kind of people who had Rizal put to death, please Lord spare me the sacred horror. I would rather be in hell. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Spanish Friars

If the Spanish friars had only introduced the concept of humanism instead of establishing in the Philippines religious barbarism and other forms of supernaturalism, Filipino priests like Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora need not have been garroted to death for wanting reforms within the Catholic Church in their time. Moreover, great thinkers like Jose Rizal need not have been executed by firing squad for writing to promote common human decency amongst Filipino learning to enjoy throughout the land national pride and Asian dignity. Poch Suzara

Lies about Rizal

Rizal never said or wrote: “It was my pride that ruined me.” Those words were put into the mouth of Rizal by his official prize-winning biographer Leon Maria Guerrero who believed, as a Catholic, the Rizal retraction story as concocted by the sciolistic friars. Moreover, Rizal never “got rid of his political appetite, moral perplexities, and intellectual pride.” On the contrary, Rizal chose to die proudly. After the friars stripped him of his dignity, it was no longer possible for Rizal to go on living as a decent man and as a thinking Filipino. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Killers

What kind of men needed to see Rizal dead, discarded and forgotten? Were they men of reason, logic, science or philosophy? Were they avid readers, critical thinkers, or scientific investigators? Were they men at home with civilized humanity? No! On the contrary, Rizal’s enemies were the friends of blind faith: - the superstitious primitives, the sanctimonious hypocrites, and those indeed who were selfish, greedy, stupid, and insane. Rizal now dead more than a hundred years ago, still have the same enemies alive today. They are the ones insisting that it makes no difference whether Rizal retracted from his religious, political and philosophical principles or not. What a silly conclusion to bestow upon the greatest of Filipino seminal thinker who died for the liberation of the Filipino mind and heart, and indeed, for all mankind. Poch Suzara

JOSE RIZAL – THE FIRST FILIPINO HUMANIST

Before he died at the age of 98, mathematician-logician-philosopher- humanist Bertrand Russell said, “If we must die, let us die sober, and not drunk with lies.”

To me, in my simplicity, as a great admirer of Jose Rizal, I believe he died sober; but those in power who had him executed at the age of 30, and those who concocted his retraction story, were the ones drunk with brazen lies.

I defy anyone who believes Jose Rizal, the first great humanist the Philippines has ever produced, died a coward engrossed in childish fairy tales.

And why do I say Rizal was a great humanist? What else do you call a man who was committed to the application of reason and science and to solving human problems of the here and the now?

What else do you call a man who deplored efforts to denigrate human intelligence, who did not seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and who did not look outside nature for salvation? A man who wanted to leave this world one day a better place than he found it.

What else do you call a man who valued scientific discoveries that have contributed to the betterment of human existence? Who was concerned with securing justice and fairness by eliminating discrimination and intolerance in society?

What else do you call a man who attempted to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity and who worked for the spread of common human decency?

What else do you call a man who believed that developing his creative talents to the fullest constituted the greatest happiness in life for the here and the now?

What else do you call a man who believed in the cultivation of moral excellence, respected the rights of others, believe in human integrity, and was open to critical and rational way of thinking?

What else do you call man who was concerned with the moral education of children? Who wanted to nourish them with the passion for reason, love, and compassion?

What else do you call a man who rejected the theologies of despair, the ideologies of violence, and the sacraments of mediocrity?

And finally, what do you call a man who believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in place of dogma, truth instead of sacred lies, joy rather than guilt and sin, tolerance in place of fear, love instead of hate, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith?

Jose Rizal, indeed, believed in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that anyone is capable of as a human being, He was the greatest of Filipino humanists. And he died intellectually sober, not drunk with religious lies.

To Jose Rizal, wherever you are, more than all the angels in heaven, I have the greatest love you as a fellow human being, and I have the highest respect for you as a fellow Filipino. Poch Suzara

Sacred Absurdities

In his Science and Religion, Bertrand Russell wrote: “Now logical unity is at once a strength and a weakness. It is strength because it insures that whoever accepts one stage of the argument must accept all later stages; it is a weakness because whoever rejects any of the later stages must also reject some, at least, of the earliest stages. The Church, in its conflict with science, exhibited both the strength and weakness resulting from the logical coherence of its dogma.” The Church, however, got into deeper trouble not only with science, but with the opening remarks in her own silly bible. The first five words in the bible contain three supposition and a contradiction. Supposition one, there was a beginning. Supposition two, there was a creator. Supposition three, the creator was not created. Contradiction, there was a beginning, there was not a beginning. However the case may be, for the critical reader with a focused mind, the bible turned out to be nothing but a book for the superstitious primitives impressed with sacred absurdities. Poch Suzara

Worship

To worship the unknown is childish and to worship the unknowable is even more childish. In the Philippines, for the sake of our prayers and theology that’s based upon the unknown, we were taught in our schools to have faith in the supernatural that is based upon the unknowable. Poch Suzara

Function of a Teacher

Bertrand Russell wrote: “Men pass from birth to death, sometimes happy, sometimes unhappy; sometimes generous, sometimes grasping and petty; sometimes heroic, sometimes cowardly and servile. To the man who views the procession as a whole, certain things stands as worthy of admiration. Some men have been inspired by love of mankind; some by supreme intellect have helped us to understand the world in which we live; and some by exceptional sensitiveness have created beauty. These men have produced something of positive good to outweigh the long record of cruelty, oppression, and superstition. These men have done what lay in their power to make human life a better thing than the brief turbulence of savages. The civilized man, where he cannot admire, will aim rather at understanding than at reprobating. He will seek rather to discover and remove the impersonal causes of evil than hate the men who are in its grip. All this should be in the mind and heart of the teacher, and it if it in his mind and heart he will convey it in his teaching to the young who are in his care.”
For my part, if I had teachers like a Bertrand Russell at De La Salle University, I never would have been expelled out of high school. A teacher like Russell would never have taught me to believe in silly things under the threat of a silly damnation in hell-fire. Poch Suzara

Designed Intelligently

For: TIME magazine

Intelligent Design

The push to teach “intelligent Design” in America raises a question: Does God have a place in science class?

The Christians in charge of education in America apparently do not believe that God is everywhere. That God somehow is omni-absent during science class for American students.

In the bible, God admits: “For dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” Well, if God made man in his own image and likeness, it follows that God must be made of dust too. What purpose is there to put God in science class if God, like dust, were already there as He is present everywhere?

As for the existence of monkeys, I think they are designed not only intelligently, but more so gracefully. Look how the monkeys live in peace on earth and goodwill to all monkeys. They do not terrorize each other in God’s name. Monkeys do not go to war to kill other monkeys in order to establish freedom and democracy.

For my part, I envy the life of monkeys. They have no system of salvation. They have no church, no synagogue, and no mosque to inspire amongst the faithful to become selfish, greedy, insane, and homicidal. Monkeys do not cut each other's throats because like the Christians, Jews, and Muslims do so because they cannot agree as to what will happen to them after their throats have been cut. Poch Suzara
Poch Suzara

Anti-Christ Movement in Europe

A great many Christians are bothered by the anti-Christ movement, especially in Europe. It does not seem to matter, however, if the anti-Christ movement in Israel have already been a tremendous success – the land where Christ was born. Indeed, due to the Jewish anti-Christ movement, Israel has never developed to be a Christian or a Catholic country. It is still pretty much a Jewish State. In the Philippines, however, JESUS IS LORD MOVEMENT is as active as ever. Not, however, with an advance, but by the Jesus followers attending “Retreats.” Poch Suzara

God’s Children

It is incredible to believe how a loving God created the human race – his children – to hate each other, specially in His name and for His glory. In fact, history shows countries under a theocracy have always been at war against each other. It is happening today in Iraq. America wants to replace Islam in that part of the Arab world with Christianity. As if both Christianity and Islam for that matter have ever been a peaceful grace for the whole human race. Poch Suzara

Jesus

If Jesus was born as a perfect child of a Holy Virgin Mother, why did Jesus have to go through circumcision?
If Jesus dead on the cross was not buried, but instead cremated, could he have resurrected? And to think that after He had resurrected, Jesus appeared secretly to his apostles in a remote mountain. He never visited his enemies – the believers who thought they had already gotten rid of Him dead and buried and gone. Poch Suzara

The Devil

As a prominent character, the devil played a major role both in the Old and in the new Testaments. To think that Jesus promised to destroy to devil centuries ago. But the promise was never delivered. The existence of the devil turned out to be the main and necessary ingredient in the Christian scheme of eternal salvation. Poch Suzara

Lies are more Damaging

The truth hurts, but lies are far more damaging and can last for a thousand but lies years. Poch Suzara

6 Billion People

The majority of the 6 Billion people struggling to survive on this earth - love, worship, and adore God. And to think that God continues to carry on with that “I don’t give a hoot” attitude. And to think further that the politicians and the theologians in the Philippines believe that God has never ceased to provide for them wealth, power, and glory. Poch Suzara

The danger from Hatred

In his Expanding Mental Universe, written in 1959, Bertrand Russell explained the danger generated by hatred: … “Although we have been told on Sundays to love our neighbor, we have been told on weekdays to hate him, and there are six times as many weekdays as Sundays. Hitherto, the harm that we could do to our neighbor by hating him was limited by our incompetence, but in the new world upon which we are entering there will be no such limit, and the indulgence of hatred can lead only to disaster.”
And to think that in the Philippines, we would rather love God up there with hatred for one
another down here. Poch Suzara

Happiness for the Atheists

Happiness for the atheists? Please read Bertrand Russell’s Conquest of Happiness: “A man who has once perceived, however, temporarily and however briefly, what makes greatness of spirit, can no longer be happy if he allows himself to be petty, self-seeking, troubled by trivial misfortunes, dreading what fate may have in store for him. A man capable of greatness of spirit will open wide the windows of his mind, letting the winds blow freely upon it from every portion of the universe. He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human life, he will realize also that in individual minds is concentrated whatever of value the known universe contains. And he will see that the man whose mind mirrors the world becomes in a sense as great as the world. In emancipation from the fears that beset the slave of circumstance he will experience a profound joy, and through all the vicissitudes of his outward life he will remain in the depths of being a happy man.” Poch Suzara

God’s Commands

If the Christians were mentally efficient at anything, it is at obeying God’s commands. Each can be summarized into one very easy command to follow: thou shalt not think. Poch Suzara

Organized Religions

Twisting reason before offering faith. Distorting the joys and pleasures in life before offering of salvation. These are among the fundamental ways to organize a religion. The capital to start with is fear: fear of the mysteries, fear of the unknown, and fear of death. Sales, marketing, advertising, accounting and bookkeeping are needless. The business is tax-free. The goal: destroy the minds and hearts of children to grow up mindless and heartless for the glory of divinity. This lucrative commercial enterprise is also known as “organized religion” in general. In particular, however, they are called Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each, by the way, still embracing a 14th century mentality now happy and proud to be in possession of 21st century weapons of mass destruction for war to destroy each other including atheists, agnostics, and heretics like me.
In the meantime, all the great religions of the world - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – have their roots in fear and barbarism on the one hand, and on the other, ignorance and superstition. Otherwise, if only the revealed truths have already been revealed, the God behind these great religions should have been the creative and healthy impact on global history, and not just the destructive and sick faith of a local mystery. Poch Suzara

Theology

More than a hundred billion people already lived and died on this earth. So long as the theologians do not know how many souls are already saved in heaven; and, how many souls are already condemned in hell, theology will only continue to be the study of the unknowable. In the meantime, shouldn’t it be part of the revealed truth for the theologians to know God as a great success in winning souls for heaven, or the devil a great failure in winning souls for hell? Perhaps, it’s the other way round. Poch Suzara

Mediocrity

To the mediocre, mediocrity is not only an achievement; it is a respectable way of life, especially if one were a church dignitary or a high government official, or if one were connected with the Central Intelligence Agency protecting nobody except the homicidal maniacs in charge of the United States government. Poch Suzara

The Issue with God

The issue with God was that he created both man and the devil gifted not with good will, but with free will. And to think that sometime ago, God promised the world a Redeemer to destroy the devil. The mission, however, has yet been impossible.
In the meantime, the nature of God’s existence is a deep mystery. The nature of the devil’s existence is a deeper mystery. The nature of man’s existence is the deepest of mysteries. How are we to understand the nature of God’s existence and the nature of the devil’s existence, when we do not even understand the nature of human existence? Poch Suzara

Philippine Democracy

Philippine Democracy is all about the corrupt majority electing into office the few chosen from the corrupt minority to manage the corrupt government under the blessings of an equally corrupt theocracy. Poch Suzara

The Simple versus the Great Life

The simple life is achieving the higher standard of living. The great life, however, is achieving the higher standard of thinking. In a religious country, like in the Philippines, neither the simple life nor the great life is possible to achieve. Filipinos would rather be escaping daily away from human responsibility by trying, instead, to achieve the higher standard of praying. Poch Suzara

So What?

Hundreds of thousands of people everyday die of starvation in India. Tens of thousands of people everyday are murdered in the Congo. Millions of Filipino children are malnourished trying to survive on street diet in the Philippines. What is our attitude towards such horrors? Silently, we say: So what? When a princess die in a car accident, however, about 2 billion people of the earth’s 6 billion people falls prostrate with grief, tears and sadness. Indeed, so what? Famous dead personalities are often revived. Never mind those who have no celebrity status trying so hard to survive. Poch Suzara

For This Christmas

For this Christmas I urge my friends and relatives to please give not your kids and grandkids toys that are destructive. Instead, give them ideas that are constructive. In this way, we will grow up celebrating yearly the birth of religious sanity, and celebrate no more the birth anniversary of a Jewish baby some two years thousand ago in Israel that today is not even Christian country. Poch Suzara

Most Married Men

Most married men are not faithful husbands. They cheat on their wives. And to think that such unfaithful husbands are more afraid of their wives than they are afraid of God. After all, God is always there to forgive them of the sins against divinity and to forgive them of their crimes against the family. The Sick Man of Asia, indeed, in thought and in action as victims of a stupid system of education.
For my part, I never was unfaithful to my wife. Instead of murder, however, I chose the lesser evil. With much pain and regret, I was constrained to divorce her legally. Poch Suzara

My Stupid Teachers

A stupid man is a happy man specially as he believes that everyone else is just as stupid as he is. And to think that a stupid man is happy not finding the light at the end of the tunnel. He does not even bother to look for the tunnel. I should know. Quite a few of such stupid men were my teachers in grade school and high school at De La Salle University. They conspired together to expel out me out as I was a rare student always questioning what we were always being threatened to believe. For Christ's sake, this was some 60 years ago. It is still a great part of the system of education in the more than 1,000 Catholic schools, colleges, and Universities owned by the Catholic church today in the Philippines. Poch Suzara

Oldest Profession

The world's oldest profession is not prostitution; it is creation. Creation has been ongoing even long before the days of prostitution of the Immaculate Misconception. Poch Suzara

The Scientific Method of Thinking

Perhaps, if we look closer at its aim, we might grasp what the scientific method of thinking is all about. To begin with, science does not open the door to perpetual sagacity; on the contrary, it sets a limit to everlasting stupidity. In fact, the whole purpose of science is to make sure that we are not misled into thinking that we know something when, in truth, we really know nothing. There is nothing permanent as everything is temporary in science. Nothing is sacred in science, especially as it is about the never-ending search of the truth. Poch Suzara

Free from Ignorance

I pursue knowledge. The search of the truth is the most precious of activities. I cannot pretend to be free from ignorance. I am not gifted with talents nor with abilities. I just enjoy taking full advantage of my free will to question everything. It is the only way I can be genuinely spiritual, if not be truly intellectual. In the meantime, I am not interested with life after death. I do not care to go to heaven to be with God. I do not waste time worrying that I might end up in hell with the devil. I am only interested with this life in this world. Our world. The next life, if any, matters not a pin to me. Poch Suzara

Open Letter to Kofi Annan

SECOND REQUEST PLEASE

Nov. 6, 2004
Kofi Annan
Secretary General
UNITED NATIONS
New York

OPEN LETTER TO KOFI ANNAN

Dear Mr. Kofi Annan,

I am most proud of you serving as the Secretary General of the United Nations that just celebrated its 59th year of existence. Congratulations. I sincerely thank you for your leadership and moral integrity through what continues to be a critical era of world history.

Indeed, the United Nations was founded as an instrument of peace, human rights and development. I would like to suggest that in order for the UN to attain its goals: - a world without poverty, without industry for hostility, without crimes against humanity - it should be able to reach out over and above governments and be rightfully supported by ordinary men and women from all over the world. I am suggesting that we all become citizens of the United Nations. The much needed resources for the U.N. can be willingly provided by the citizens of the U.N. I believe the General Assembly can empower you as Secretary General to appoint a small committee to explore this possibility.

In HAS MAN A FUTURE, Bertrand Russell wrote: “Law is a farce unless there is power to enforce it, and power to enforce international law against great states is impossible while each possess vast armaments. Great states have, at present, the privilege of killing members of other States whenever they feel so disposed, though this liberty is disguised as the heroic privilege of dying in defense of what is right and just. Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country.”

Imagine 2 billion people supporting the UN with $10.00 each as annual citizenship dues of the UN. This would amount to $20 billion dollars a year. Enough I think for the UN to maintain not only its own Peace-Keeping Force, but to gradually expand to the point where the United Nations is in total control of all major weapons of war. It is hard to see any other way by which the human race can survive the weapons of mass extermination owned by an ever increasing number of countries. In the near future add another 2 billion people to make it 4 billion UN citizens, - $40 billions dollars a year. The UN would become the respected and effective enforcer of international law and an irresistible global force for peace and goodwill to all men and women and children. The protection of our natural world from unsustainable population growth could also be addressed. It is dramatic but true - The future of humankind is at stake.

We are in a new era of global community. We need a United Nations which has both the involvement and support of peoples throughout the world. We can make it come true if we, the ordinary men and women in our respective countries, can be made a legal part of the UN’s ultimate goals. We have sufficient resources to provide our fellow citizens with adequate food, education and health care. We have the will to treat our brothers and sisters with dignity and self-respect. But this cannot be accomplished by, or entrusted to, a small group of nations representing the interests and prejudices of a small percentage of the human race; it can only be achieved by the super citizens of the United Nations functioning as a world government.

Yours Faithfully,

POCH SUZARA
BERTRAND RUSSELL SOCIETY, PHIL.
8 Zipper Street, SLV,
Makati City, Philippines

What If

What if, after death, it will turn out that there is a God after all to judge my terrible sins, what will I say in my defense? “Oh God, please forgive me for having totally wasted the first 18 years of my precious life as a devout Catholic in the Philippines.” Poch Suzara

The Philippines

The most unique country in Asia today is the Republic of the Philippines. Its citizens are always enjoying the vows often made by its duly elected government officials. The problem, however, is that while the country is getting rich with vows, the government officials are getting richer by not delivering such vows. Poch Suzara

The Religious Inventors

The religious saviors who promised to save souls from going to hell are the same religious saviors who invented souls, invented hell, and invented the “wrath of God.” And to think that these are the same religious clowns who are the owners not only of schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals, but are also owners of churches and cathedrals, not to mention other commercial entities legally operating under Philippine laws. Poch Suzara

Live Jesus in our Hearts, forever

All my school-mates and class-mates must have uttered together more than a billion times these words: “St. John Baptist De La Salle, pray for us sinners, and live Jesus in our hearts, forever.” Indeed, before class, after class, before recess, after recess, at the end of class of each day, we repeated those words with much solemnity. Look at my classmates and schoolmates today: - they have neither love for each other, nor love for country, nor even love for mankind; except love only for Jesus. In the meantime, it is truly sad to see college educated men in the Philippines still stuck with infantile desires to win divine reward and avoid divine punishment. Indeed, the Sick Man of Asia in thought and in action. Poch Suzara

Public Libraries

If we Filipinos were learned as a people and educated as a nation, how come churches and cathedrals have been established throughout the Philippines than public libraries? True, we do have a national library. It is the most unique in the world. Books there are not being read by readers, researchers, and other scholars, but are only eaten and digested by termites. Poch Suzara

Civilized Nations

Civilized nations produce children as needed and loved for the growth of country and development of humanity. In the Philippines, however, we beget children for the growth of poverty and development of social insanity for the glory of divinity. Poch Suzara

Terrorism

Terrorism does not only come from terrorists. The most deadly kind comes from teachers in school teaching such horrors like: “Natural life came by God’s breath; eternal life comes by Christ’s death.” See Philippine Star, Nov. 4, 2005. In the meantime, God must be doing a lot of heavy breathing these days. Three (3) babies are born every single minute of the day or about 1,500,000 babies arrive in the Philippines every year. By the year 2010 our population will reach 100,000,000 Filipinos all to be terrorized at home, in school, and in church to believe in the eternal life that comes from Christ’s death. Poch Suzara

Self-deception

We humans have a demonstrated capacity for self-deception specially when our emotions are stirred, and there is nothing more stirring than the belief that there is better world to come after death in kingdom of God.
In the meantime, we deliberately ignore this simple truth: a man dies not partially, but entirely and irrevocably. Nothing is more obvious to him who is not delirious or superstitious. The human body, after death, is but a mass of meat, incapable of producing any lively movements the union of which constitutes life. We no longer see circulation, respiration, digestion, communication, and indeed, cogitation. It is, however, claimed that the soul has separated itself from the body. And yet, it was the good-for-nothing theologians who were the inventors of such souls. But to say that this soul, which is unknown, is the principle of life, is saying nothing except to admit what is unknowable. Meanwhile, nothing is more simple than to believe that the dead man lives no more. There is nothing more absurd than to believe that the dead man is still walking somehow or running somewhere. Poch Suzara

Giordano Bruno

For wanting to steer humanity toward reason, rather than to have our thoughts determined for us by church authority, Bruno, the 16th century Catholic monk, was burned alive at the stake by the Catholic Inquisition.
Bruno wrote: “Time gives all and takes all away; everything changes, but nothing perishes.”
For my part, It is men like Bruno who inspired me to make changes in my life by escaping away from the horrors of Catholicism into the beauty and sanity of atheism. Poch Suzara

Moses - God's Favorite General

Moses was one of the greatest army generals of God, but he was more of a clown than he was a military leader. He could split the Red Sea in less than 40 hours, but to find for his people the way out of the desert, it took Moses some 40 years. But then again, let us not forget that Moses was also one of the greatest writers of the bible. He wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. As an inspired author of God, however, Moses was even able to literally describe his own death and how the Lord buried him. See last chapter of Deuteronomy. Poch Suzara

America

During the 20th century America got to be so rich and powerful thanks to the threats of Communism. In this 21st century, America will become richer and more powerful because of the threats of Terrorism.
Such is America. The land of the free. The home of the brave. A paradise for the Arms manufacturers, dealers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, traders, and exporters. The very same Americans who will inherit the earth while the Jews, the Muslims, and the Christians are at war killing each other off the planet earth. Poch Suzara

America and Christianity

In Matt. 22:39, the bible says - THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. But in Joshua 6:16-22,
the same bible says - THOU SHALT KILL THY NEIGHBOR. In other words, thou shalt love thy neighbor by killing him.
No wonder the US government continues to cherish Christian values and beliefs. Its foreign policy for all nations, friends and foes alike, is based on the paradoxical theory that we can only keep alive by preparing to kill each other. After all, it is a gigantic and a lucrative business globally. Poch Suzara

Universal God

A universal God ought to have revealed a universal religion. Not a religion revealed by Jews living in the Israel desert some 2,000 years ago. But then again, how could any one believe that a God who fills the galaxies with his immensity of eternity should transform himself into a Jewish baby and born uncircumcised at that in order to save the parasites living on this grain of sand called earth?
In every age, religion has indeed kept the human mind in darkness by claiming it to be - the way, the truth, and the light of the world. Poch Suzara

Worship

Ye worship ye know not what. We know what we worship: `for salvation is of the Jew. John 4:22. This simply means that salvation is for the Jews; not for the Christians. Poch Suzara

Slained Heretics

Heretics may be justly slain, said St. Thomas Aquinas. Such is the kind of God the great saint believed – the infinite God that should always be defended and protected at all cost from the unbelievers of the faith - the heretics. In the meantime, how wonderful of God to be everywhere. But has God a sense of urgency to inspire the Jews, the Muslims, and the Christians to cease slaying each other over each other's heretical views? Poch Suzara

Jesus as God and God as Jesus

In John, Jesus speaks of his extraordinary status in life and speaks of himself in the most exalted language:
I am the bread of life. 6:35
I am the light of the world. 8:12
I and my father are one. 10:30
I am the resurrection and the life. 11:25
I am the way, the truth, and the life. 14:6
No one comes to God except through me. 14:6
Whoever has seen me has seen the father. 14:11
And yet, crucified on the cross, with even more exalted language, Jesus cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Imagine a God, by some miracle, was able to forsake himself. Poch Suzara

The Greatest Miracle

The greatest miracle ever – devout Christians do not read in full bible contents as they already believe that it is a book written by INSPIRED AUTHORS OF GOD. This means that they do not care to be inspired as the BIBLE READERS OF GOD too. Poch Suzara

Another Critic Wrote

Man has a free will and religion tries to approximate it to that of God's will. Have you gone to any philosophy subject?
Evil my dear came out of human will and not from God’s will. Simple philosophy. Anonymous

My Response: Apparently, this brilliant critic believes that God is not everywhere; and that before Adam and Eve committed the Original Sin, there was no Original Creator existing anywhere. More than philosophy, I took up theology – the study of nothing reduced to a system. Indeed, theology is not what we do not know about divine nature. It is what we do not know about human nature. Poch Suzara

Religion and Science

Science is the chain of human intelligence. It is the exact opposite of religion - the chain of human stupidity. No doubt, religion has had its innings; but its days are numbered. In the name of science, we will never allow religion to destroy this world. There is no god to speak for us. In the name of science - we must speak for this world. Our world. Poch Suzara

From a Critic

A Critic Writes:

I'm not that big with religion but I do believe in its purpose. I think we are better off with it, considering that our country is impoverished, religion is the hope of the poor. Otherwise without it, anarchy will probably take over. If the poor people have no hope, then they are desperate, if they are desperate, we all know what desperate men can do. Without religion, there will be nothing to stop them. Religion is a higher government that overshadows all governments, without it, there will be no organization. There must be a higher law over the state because when our government fails, it's always religion that helps in rebuilding it. So though what you write may be true, I think it is selfish because you are ruining the hopes of most of the people not only in our country but also in our world. We all need something to believe in, otherwise we're nothing. And it just so happens, and this has been proven for thousands of years, that religion is what people believe in and what hhas sustained them. Annonymous My Response: I agree, we all need something to believe in, otherwise we are nothing. Indeed, we all need religion. What we do not need, however, is superstition. When a Jesus, the Son of God, teaches you the following, and you believe it, then you are not being religious in any sense of the word, you are only being childish and superstitious: “And another of His disciple said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury the dead." “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword,” “For I am come to set a Man at variance against his father, and daughter against her mother.” Matt. 10:34-35 “And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matt. 19:29 “There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s. But he shall receive a hundredfold now in time… with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30 “Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.” Mark 13:12 “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division. For from henceforth there shall be five to one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, and the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother…” Luke 12:51-53. If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, and yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not that all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33. “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them for me.” Luke 19:27. “He that loveth his life shall lose it; he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal; . . . If any man serve me, him will my father honor.” John 12:25-26. In the meantime, in the Philippines, we have stupid religion enough to make us hate, but not enough to make us love, one another. For my part, I believe my family, my country, and the whole of mankind are all bigger and greater than I can ever hope to be. I love them all first and foremost and last as nothing else matters to me except perhaps the earth - our home planet - another thing bigger and greater than I am. Poch Suzara

Who will inherit the Earth

The arms manufacturers, dealers, and traders will inherit the earth. Their clients – the Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other religious fanatics are busy killing each other over each other’s sacred belief that, after death, there is a better life to come in the next world with God. In the meantime, it is instructive to note that more blood has been spilled in religious wars between theists of different persuasions than between the believers in God’s name killing the unbelievers. And to think that we unbelievers, we atheists are misunderstood, hated, and killed only because we are saying that, let us love not divinity, but humanity. The Earth is a tiny world, a fragile planet. Let us love and cherish the earth. Throughout the entire universe, the planet earth is only home we have and for the future generations to come. Poch Suzara

Filipino Way of Life

The top most prestigious newspaper in the country - THE PHILIPPINE STAR – propagates this message for its readers: “We don’t know what this world is coming, but we know the One who is coming to this world.”
In the meantime, a society that fears it has no future is most likely to give no attention to the needs of the next generation. Really, as the center of Christianity in Asia, why should we worry about the present since we believe that there is a better world to come after death in the future!
How sick are we as the Sick Man of Asia? We are compelled to vegetate within the medium
of our superstitious ways! We are, indeed, a very misguided people. We are ignorant because everything conspires to prevent us from being enlightened, and we are corrupt only because the power of reason within us has never been sufficiently developed in our schools, colleges, and universities. Poch Suzara

The Burning Bush

During ancient times Moses queried the Burning Bush about its identity. In the King James translation the bush replies: “I am that I am.” In modern times, the Burning Bush in Iraq has identified itself as, “ I am George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America.” In Southeast Asia, however, the Burning Bush identified itself as, “I am Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President of the Philippines. The Lord put me here.” Poch Suzara

College educated

Most of my college educated friends and relatives find it hard to determine for themselves if they were thoughtless or mindless; or, whether it matters either way. It is hilarious, however, to see these highly educated individuals go through a mental paralysis standing in front of my personal library of books at home. And to think that these are the kind of men and women who are among the top executives of top corporation owned by the cream of the criminal crop in control of the sick economy of the Philippines. Poch Suzara

Purpose of Religion

The purpose of religion is not to stimulate the mind with its dogma; on the contrary, it is to stultify the medulla oblongata. In my personal war against religion that’s at the foundation of our sick institutions, it is true that, like a David, I am only into inches and ounces. My opponents, Goliaths, are, indeed, into miles and tons. They are way ahead of me as they are the owners of schools, colleges, and universities, and in control of the media. Even in control of the government. I am told, however, to take it easy as the war against human stupidity is really the same thing as the war against infinity. There’s no end to it. I agree totally. In the meantime, what’s wasteful are the science professors. Not one of them would come out to challenge the evils of religion that’s keeping the Filipino poor as a people and the Philippines bankrupt as a nation. It seems clear enough that science professor’s first duty is to reduce the evils of religion into a childish mediocrity, if not into an infantile vulgarity. No other idea has done more harm to the Filipino mind than the idea of religion. Religion has only misdirected the Filipino energy into getting out of this world and go to a better world to come after death. As if there any! Science produces and delivers the goods; but science also needs democracy as much as democracy needs science. More than it is a body of knowledge, science is the only method of thinking for what is real and man’s place in this world. Our world. Science is the never-ending search for the truth. It is the exact opposite of what religion has been preaching for centuries: that in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. Indeed, religion is the evil that is destroying the potential of every human being to become free, honest, decent, happy, and thoughtful. Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#

Obedience

Obedience is not a virtue. It is a tool to enslave those who have been indoctrinated to keep away from the power of thought. Obedience works well with children. Look how they would rather be rewarded for obeying than be punished for disobeying or worse – for attempts at thinking. Poch Suzara

Christianity

G. K. Chesterson said: Christianity has never been tried.” On the contrary, Christianity has tried to straighten the mess out of the Western World during the past 2,000 years. It failed miserably. Christianity has also tried hard, during the last 500 years, to establish common human decency in the Philippines. It also failed dismally. As a matter of historical fact, the Philippines, still dominated by Christianity, has been and still is under the inspiration of religious corruption that’s keeping our sick society directionless as ever. Even the Supreme Being Himself knows not where we are going as a people; or, where we are heading as a nation! Poch Suzara

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is not a church. It is a business organization masquerading as a church. The pope is the Chairman of the Board and its Chief Executive Officer. The Curia is the board of directors. The Cardinals are the regional vice presidents. The priests are the sales managers. The Multitudes are its customers. A corporation sells either a product or service. The church as a business sells the eternal salvation of the soul. It has been quite lucrative from the beginning since the church herself invented the soul, invented heaven and hell, and invented the “Wrath of God.” Poch Suzara

Silly Divinity

It’s incredible how the vast majority of people can worship a God who, in paradise, loved his apple tree much more than he loved his own children – Adam and Eve. It is even more incredible to believe that this same God, the creator of the billions of galaxies, can allow himself to be unduly represented on this grain of sand called “earth” by the most idiotic of men otherwise known as priests, bishops, cardinals, popes, and indeed, the good-for-nothing theologians. Poch Suzara

Free Will and Mafia

Free Will is to free inquiry what the mafia is to free enterprise. I ask: why is it that everybody has faith in his own free will; but nobody has faith in having good will for anybody? Poch Suzara

Life Span

In terms of eternity our life span on this earth is but a split of second, a flash in the pan, a wink of an eye, not even a millimeter of an inch long. To believe that we can enjoy a meter worth of eternity on this earth is like saying that we can enjoy living one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) seconds long. It’s not possible to live 31,688 years long. In the meantime, it’s silly to try and measure eternity. It has neither a beginning nor an end. Time is in space and space is in time. In measuring the height and weight of such monsters, where do you begin and when does it end? And under such a cosmic mess, how does one managed to offend God, or to commit a sin against the creator of eternity? Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#

God as the Intelligent Designer? WOW No Kidding?

If God designed everything, then who or what designed God as He is part of everything Himself? But if God were such a perfect designer, what was his purpose in designing the imperfect male organ uncircumcised? Do we not insult the creator by re-designing the male organ by removing the prepuce with circumcision? Indeed, if we admit the wonderful aspects of nature as products of design, we must also admit the dreadful aspects of nature as products of design. In other words, the master designer, if any, could very well be, in the scientific term, - a super psycho-ceramic; or, in the layman’s language - a super crackpot... Here, however, is something even more ticklish to think about: God designed the most beautiful part of a woman's - her face; but why would God at the same time also designed the ugliest part of a woman's body - her vagina!.. . Come on you sick saps, you have got to be a sick jerk to believe that woman’s vagina is the most beautiful thing to look at! Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#

Atheist and Scientist

“No man in ten thousand has the goodness of heart or strength of mind to be an atheist.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge. If I may add, atheists are like scientists: they do not care to believe. They only want to know. Poch Suzara

The holy bible

The holy bible is a paradigm of misology – the hatred of reason. In fact, the bible is all about the love of faith as the entire notion of faith generates upon the terror, as it presupposes the horror of, - reason. Poch Suzara

Jesus and Children and His Mom

“Unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:3.
Jesus must be so proud of so many little children who already made it to the kingdom of heaven.
The lesson from Jesus: - do not grow up. Maturity is evil. Stay childish and obedient for the rest of your lives, and you too will make it one day to the kingdom of heaven.
In the meantime, the only loved-one present during the crucifixion of Jesus was his mother Mary. Yet after his resurrection from death, Jesus was thoughtless enough not to appear to his bereaved mom; instead, he appeared only to his apostles who did not bother to attend and to testify at his trial. In fact, If Jesus performed the power of healing which were credited to him, it is rather strange that on his day of execution there was not one to appear and to protest because of his marvelous experience of being restored back to health and indeed, even restored back to life. Poch Suzara

A stupid Man

A stupid man isn’t really all that stupid. He is intelligent enough to know for certain that everybody else is just as stupid as he is. Poch Suzara

Terrorism

Terrorism is nothing but a method to make war – a technique as inspired by religious fanaticism. The war against terrorism would be more effective if the struggle were against religious fanaticism rather than against its poor victims - the Christians, Muslims, Jews, or what - not.

As a little boy in school, I can still feel the terror from my teachers terrorizing my mind into believing and into having faith in the revealed truths or I will burn eternally in hell if I do not believe it. I suppose I did not grow up to be a terrorist because I threw my religious faith and beliefs out the window. I decided, instead, to study religion not as a good, but as an evil. I thought it quite deadly why religious fanatics are quite ready and willing to cut each other’s throat because they cannot even agree as to what will happen to them after their throats have been cut.

In his WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN, Bertrand Russell wrote: “We ought to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world – its good facts and bad facts, and its beauties and its ugliness; see the world as it is, and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence, and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it. The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient oriental despotism. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men. When you hear people in church debasing themselves and saying that they are miserable sinners, and all the rest of it, it seems contemptible and not worthy of self-respecting human beings. We ought to stand and look at the world frankly in its face. We ought to make the best of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in the past. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past, or a fettering of the free intelligence by words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook, and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time towards a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.” Poch Suzara

Super Power Nations

Due to the advancement of human knowledge, it has now become quite clear that there exist no super power nations, not even the United States of America. It has turned out that the real super power has always been the balance of nature which, when upset ecologically or environmentally or biologically, nature herself such as in the shape of a hurricane, flood, typhoon, tsunami, and earthquake takes over to keep the balance of nature in peace and in harmony with itself.
Of course nuclear weapons owned by super power nations can be employed to destroy our planet earth. But then again, after earth has been destroyed by such weapons of mass destruction, what will remain of the so-called super power nations? Super power stupidity? Poch Suzara

The Filipino

Most Filipino college educated men and women have been taught to believe that what will help the Philippines is neither science nor technology, but only more prayers under the power of divinity?
To prove the validity of my accusation, these college-educated individuals would only refer me to read verses written in the holy bible. For me to understand that what is happening in the Philippines is all due to God’s divine will for which we should never question.
I said it before, I say it again: - the biblical mind is a troubled mind. It fears everything but examines nothing. And the biblical mind fears nothing more than having nothing to fear. Poch Suzara

A little Prayer

We are told that a little prayer never hurt anyone. That belief is not only moronic, but also destructive, specially to a child’s mind. To teach a child to reach for fantasy solutions to real life problems is the worst possible training that any child can have for his emotional growth and intellectual maturity. Prayers never solved anything. Even the prayers of Jesus were all a waste of time and energy. Otherwise, crucified on the cross, he need not have cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me!” Poch Suzara

Philippine Crisis

Each time we have a crisis, our politicians get together with the theologians to organize prayer rallies for the Lord above to solve for us here below the same old troubles and problems that’s already traditional. How sick are we as the Sick Man of Asia? We all give thanks to the Lord for the great success of the 15,000,000 Filipino workers who already emigrated to some 156 foreign countries. They are there living and working and earning wages to help financially members of their family left behind and to help keep afloat the economy based upon the power of prayer in the Philippines. Poch Suzara

Silly theologians

The silly theologians who promised to save your soul from going hell were the very same theologians who invented the existence of your soul. They also invented the existence of hell in case you would refuse to believe another of their great inventions: - “the Wrath of God.” Poch Suzara

The Core of Christianity

Far deeper than the love of God, at the core of Christianity, is that overwhelming fear of punishment in hell. It has destroyed the spirit of enquiry and intellectual liberty. Indeed, Christian theology is not what we know about God. It is what we do not know about nature. Consider the theologians during the 1st century. They knew no more than the theologians know in this 21st century? Theology has never been a grace; on the contrary, it has always been a disgrace for the human race. I ask: isn’t two millennia of superstition, fear, and ignorance more than enough? Must our religious stupidity be as long lasting as infinity? Poch Suzara

The Bible Authors

If the bible authors knew less about this visible world, how could they know more about the invisible next world, if any? For my part, I love atheism. It has robbed death of its terror. I love even more Bertrand Russell. He transformed something deadly for me into something lively. He wrote: “If we must die, let us die sober and not drunk with lies.” Poch Suzara

Self-Deception

“Self-deception,” wrote Historian Teodoro A. Agoncilllo, “is the greatest tragedy of the Filipinos as a people.” No doubt, the lesser evils that have kept the Filipino poor as a people and backward as a nation have already been thrown out of the Philippines. Unfortunately, the greatest evil still remains. It is still here well-established and still pretty much in control of way we think as a people and the way we behave as a nation. It is the self-deception traditionally known as “Christianity.” Poch Suzara

Nothing Above Reason

There is nothing above reason, not even God. The concept of God was concocted by reason, a faulty one at that. Poch Suzara

The Holy Bible

Bible contents should not only be fruitful, but more importantly – truthful. It should contain a wealth of information, not misleading misinformation. In his book Population Explosion, scientist Paul R. Ehrlich wrote: “The taming of Earth, a planet originally very hostile to life, was a long and arduous process. For most of nearly four billion years Earth has existed, life was confined to the oceans. In those oceans, the first photosynthesizing organisms were bacteria.”

In his book Pale Blue Dot, scientist Carl Sagan wrote: “Two billion years ago our ancestors were microbes; a half-billion years ago, fish; a hundred million years ago, something like mice; ten million years ago, arboreal apes; and a million years ago, proto-humans puzzling out the taming of fire. Our evolutionary lineage is marked by mastery of change. In our time, the pace is quickening.”

The above information should have been preempted as truth revealed in the bible. Instead, it is interpreted in infinite number of ways. It only proves that such sacred writings cannot qualify as a perfect model of truth. Where is God or his angels or even his saints to interpret correctly or to set the record straight over what’s twisted and distorted known as truth revealed in the bible? For my part, I’d rather take the side of science any time. Any one can deny or verify or falsify what science is saying without the fear of wrath from the scientists. Poch Suzara

I am An Atheist

I used to believe in the existence of God only because I did not know where I came from; and I also did not know where will I be going after I die. If God exists, however, I have the same questions to ask of Him: 1) Where did you come from? 2) Where are you going? In the meantime, the supernatural being that we have traditionally called God is no more. The concept of God has been blown into bits and pieces by a “big bang” known as scientific knowledge. Poch Suzara

Philippine Democracy

Democracy in the Philippines is a farce, a fraud, and a ceremony. A farce because we do not love it; a fraud because we do not respect it; and, a ceremony because we only have government officials, but hardly a government. Amazingly, we have superstitious primitives still asking: What happened to our democracy? As if we ever had one – a form of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Democracy cannot be born amongst sick people or where there are a high proportion of mixed groups of people who hate each other specially in God’s name and for His glory in heaven. Indeed, theocracy is what we have always enjoyed in the Philippines; not a democracy. Look at how the saints of God are more impressive to us than the heroes of our country. Poch Suzara

Philippine Population Growth

The Philippines population growth is mostly due from one source: children begetting children who have been taught to believe that God will provide for them! Such is the power of belief: it begets more beliefs. For my part, I believe divinity is married to infinity for the sake of begetting nothing but human stupidity for the pleasure of deviltry existing eternally. Poch Suzara

Politics of barbarism and terrorism

If I destroy a building in New York city with a hijacked plane, I am called: Mr. Terrorist. If I destroy a foreign country such as Iraq with the US Air Force, I am called: Mr. President. In the Philippines, steal small and you are called a thief. Steal big or borrow big money, however, and you immediately qualify to be a candidate for a high office in the government usually referred to as “Your Honor.” Of course, not every one is a thief in government. There are exceptions. Quite a few have arrived at high government office for having achieved a reputation in mediocrity. They are grateful as they are thought of "the good senators, even if such senators in the senate have been and still are - good for nothing. Poch Suzara

God’s Existence

It’s hard to believe in the existence of God; specially as such a Being seems more preoccupied with the joys of always being not omni-present, but only always omni-absent. Indeed, where is God? How come he is always hiding here, hiding there, and always hiding everywhere and nowhere at the same time? Poch Suzara

Let him be Ignorant

“But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” 1 Cor.14:38. Such are among the sacred truths of an All-Knowing God as revealed by superstitious primitives more popularly known as the inspired authors of God in the holy bible. Poch Suzara

Question

I am told that: “We inhabit a universe vaster than human comprehension, older than human wanderings, more wondrous than human conception. And in the face of that, we do the natural thing. We ask questions and seek answers. That's not a denial of God. It is evidence of Him.” I now ask the question: which God? There are a great many of them, not to mention so many Goddesses too! Poch Suzara

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas said, he learnt more kneeling in prayer before the cross than in hours of reading.

Unfortunately, only to be among those ancient in the communion of saints, but not in the communion of modern philosophers.

In his Understanding History and Other Essays, Bertrand Russell wrote: “No, the greatest men have not been “serene.” They have had, it is true, an ultimate courage, a power of creating beauty where nature has put only horror, which may, to a petty mind, appear like serenity. But their courage has had to surpass that of common men, because they have seen deeper into the indifference of nature and the cruelty of man. To cover up these things with comfortable lies is the business of cowards; the business of great men is to see them with inflexible clarity, and yet to think and to feel nobly. And in the degree in which we can all be great, this is the business of each one of us.” St. Thomas Aquinas was a great Catholic for divinity; he was not, by any measure, a great man for humanity. Poch Suzara

life of one man

What is the life of one man against the eternity of the creator and the immensity of his creation? Here’s a response from Bertrand Russell:

“Those who have lived entirely amid terrestrial events and who have given little thought to what is distant in space and time, there is at first something bewildering and oppressive, and perhaps even paralyzing, in the realization of the minuteness of man and all his concerns in comparison with astronomical abysses. But this effect is not rational and should not be lasting. There is no reason to worship mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac Newton was very much smaller than a hippopotamus, but we do not on that account value him less than the larger beast. The size of a man’s mind – if such a phrase is permissible – is not to be measured by the size of a man’s body. It is to be measured, in so far as it can be measured, by the size and complexity of the universe that he grasps in thought and imagination. The mind of the astronomer can grow, and should grow, step by step with the universe of which he is aware. And when I say that his mind should grow, I mean his total mind, not only its intellectual aspect. Will and feeling should keep pace with thought if man is to grow as his knowledge grows. If this cannot be achieved – if, while knowledge becomes cosmic, will and feeling remain parochial – there is a lack of harmony producing a kind of madness of which the effects must be disastrous.” Poch Suzara

Bertrand Russell

In any of his voluminous writings, Bertrand Russell never said: “Come follow me and I will be your master”; or, “Obey me and I will purge you of your sins.” Russell had no use for self-sacrifice as such. He simply said, in effect: “Happiness is good. If you desire happiness, you must “be reasonable.” Indeed, the exact opposite of what we were taught to believe in our schools, colleges, and universities: - “Be faithful.” Poch Suzara

M. Scott Peck

In his ROAD LESS TRAVELED, M. Scott Peck wrote: “ We must continually expand our realm of knowledge and our field of vision through the thorough digestion and incorporation of new information. . . learning of something new requires a giving up of the old self and a death of outworn knowledge. To develop a broader vision we must be willing to forsake, to kill, our narrower vision. In the short run, it is more comfortable not to do this – to stay where we are, to keep using the same microcosmic map, to avoid suffering the death of cherished notions. The road to spiritual growth, however, lies in the opposite direction. We begin by distrusting what we already believe, by actively seeking the threatening and unfamiliar, by deliberately challenging the validity of what we have previously been taught and hold dear. The path to holiness lies through questioning everything.”

I have great respect for Peck for writing those simple, but powerful lines. Unfortunately, Peck who just died at the age 69, did not live up the values of skepticism to the end.

In his ROAD NOT TAKEN, Robert Frost writes: “It seems that as the years wore on his faculty for clear thinking was more and more clouded or occluded by supernaturalism. His last work may be a gauge of how deep he was in his late age into this: Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption. Rather than of demoniacal entities his account is more a glimpse into how far Peck had strayed from the rigors of scientific thinking.

This development reminds me of what Bertrand Russell said in his WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN about Immanuel Kant: - “He was like many people: in intellectual matters he was skeptical, but in moral matters he believed implicitly in the maxims that he had imbibed at his mother’s knees. That illustrates what the psychoanalysts so much emphasize – the immensely stronger hold upon us that our very early associations have been than those of later times.” Poch Suzara

Myth

Cedric Whitman wrote: “Mythology is what grown-ups believe, folk-lore is what they tell children, and religion is both.” Bertrand Russell surmised it better: “There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who cannot face the perils of life without comfortable myths.” Poch Suzara

Rotten Institutions

I hold the view that man is good by nature and whatever ills and evils there are in human affairs are not due to sin, but due to the rotten institutions made rotten by an evil greater than the devil himself - religion. Bertrand Russell summarized it better: “Religion encourages stupidity and an insufficient sense of reality.” Poch Suzara

Letter to the President of La Salle University

De La Salle University System
2401 Taft Avenue
Manila, Philippines

Attn: Brother Armin A. Luistro FSC
President

Dear Brother Luistro,

I am in receipt of and thank for your letter of scholarship solicitation. I ardently hope La Salle faculty experts and students can find ways and means to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources. I wish them all the success. However, please bear in mind that if they leave neglectfully alone, or fearfully untouched - the evils of uncontrolled population growth in this country, the result will only be more death and destruction.

The Philippines was once famous as the “Pearl of the Orient,” and even more famous as the only “Christian country in Asia.” Today, in the modern world, we are famous only as the Sick man of Asia. Indifference to the pursuit of truth is our national malady, and it is regrettable to see our schools, colleges and universities continue to devote their influence to increasing and justifying the corrupt state of affairs. In this country, indeed, we are all born ignorant, not corrupt; we are made corrupt by education.

My dear Brother, soliciting funds to help make scholarship grants available to 20% of the student population is noble; unfortunately, in the years to come, not noble enough. Yes, it’s noble of you to focus on the college education of a daughter of a taxi driver to receive full scholarship from DLSU-Manila. But do you know that many taxi drivers in our major cities earn higher wages than our teachers earn in schools? Such teachers and their sons and daughters live on a hand to mouth existence, too poor to buy nutritious food and to maintain health. Meanwhile, the poor and the hungry in this country multiply twice as fast as those who enjoy the sin of gluttony. My dear Brother, have you ever heard of Filipinos getting rich for believing that God is bad? Yet millions upon millions of Filipinos are poor for believing that God is good? What has happened to the power of prayer?

It’s good that DLSU-Manila has brought technology closer to the indigenous Tingguian community in Abra. The micro hydra power plant established there is quite impressive. Indeed, there is now a steady supply of electricity for that community. But my dear Brother, unless the community is also seriously educated to practice the values of family planning and the necessity of birth control – all the technology from the world of science will fail to upgrade the Filipino standard of living and thinking. Technology is not some kind of independent, autonomous force. It is merely a transformer of energy. Due, however, to our uncontrolled population growth, more people are using up more energy derived from natural resources much faster than nature can replenish them. Indeed, the first law of ecology tells us that “everything is connected to everything else,” any destruction of one part of nature will affect all other parts, including human beings.

According to United Nations figures, at the current annual growth rates of 1.7 per cent, the world’s population will double to 8 billion by the year 2015 and to 16 billion by the year 2055. In the Philippines today, we are about 88 million people. By the year 2010 our population will reach a 100 million. We have yet, however, to appreciate that each child we bring into our society places a burden on succeeding generations by denying them their own share of resources to sustain their own lives. Human growth and maturity does not come from people needlessly multiplying people. Human progress is born of doubt and inquiry and from the elimination of superstition and other falsehoods. It is sad, isn’t it, life in general in the Philippines can be characterized as the competition to be the criminal or be the victim of criminals.

Our population is indeed growing uncontrollably and needlessly. The more serious problem, however, is that we remain ignorant of those critical parts of the human inheritance – the ecological systems that support human needs and wants. In brief, we just do not know how the earth works. For the average Filipino, however, what he knows is only what the bible teaches him: “Love not this world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not with him.” Thus, the overemphasis of life after death in heaven has led to ecological destruction and exploitation of the natural resources. This view holds that the only things of true value are those found in the heavenly kingdom of God. People and the flesh and nature were taught to us to believe as something low, depraved and unworthy and therefore of little concern or consequence to those seeking the faithful Christian life. Indeed, we have been taught to believe that this world is merely a stopover on our journey to the next world. Therefore, the less love placed on it and more love placed on God’s heavenly kingdom, the better. I ask: is it any wonder that our Christian way of life makes us quite oblivious to the crimes we commit daily against the only home we have in this world: - The planet earth. It is bleeding to death!

By the way, in appreciation to your noble cause, I am sure you could refund my son’s non-refundable down payment of P4,000 at St. Benilde last April. Please use that amount as my humble donation to your scholarship project. My son Bertrand decided to enroll in another university. Happily for me, as his dad, he is already active exploring knowledge for himself even outside academic wall by reading the books comprising my personal library. I have every hope that with the habit of serious reading on science and philosophy, he too will pursue for himself the good life – one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

In this 21st century, nothing could be more important than saving humanity from self-destruction. What the Philippines needs now is not only love but greater knowledge about the nature of love, in all its complexity. In this connection, I think we should all bear in mind this simple truth: - every human project is a lost project unless there is family planning and human population control.

Sincerely,
Poch Suzara
High School Dropout Association
of the Philippines
P.O. Box 3036, Makati City
September 28, 2005

Satan and God

Satan hates the existence of God. God hates the existence of Satan. For my part, I should think that if the two supernatural beings really existed, they should have already settled their endless war via either getting rid of the other. I am told, however, that both God and Satan are still alive and endlessly fighting to win over human souls for heaven, or, as the case may be – for hell. Don’t they have more noble ambitions in life? What’s the big deal about winning my silly soul? I don't want it. I don't need it. They can have it. Poch Suzara

Pray to God

People pray to God when they are in trouble. Unfortunately, God does not care to solve what troubles people. In the meantime, “give us this day our daily bread” has been implored by millions of people each and every day for thousands of years. But if there were power in prayer, how come the hungry of the world are multiplying twice as fast as the well fed? Poch Suzara

Telling the Truth

Was God telling the truth when He said, “ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart?” Obviously, if God were everywhere, what is the need to find Him? Perhaps, our teachers in catechism class lied when they told us about God being omniscient and omnipresent. Poch Suzara

If God exists

If God exists he knows in His heart that for a great many years I prayed nightly for Him to destroy the devil. The same devil who was always leading me to commit mortal sins; if not for me to tolerate the crimes committed against our country by God-fearing men and women. God never answered my prayers. He and the devil can therefore go take a hike. I don’t want to have anything to do with such supernatural beings. In the meantime, I ask: What if it turned out that the Supreme being is not a God, but a Goddess? For my part, I would have no problem loving a Goddess; but for me as a man to be loving of a God would be the height of absurdity. Poch Suzara

Poor Adam and Eve

The devil in the form of a Talking Serpent was in direct communication with Eve. God in the form of a Burning Bush had a talking relationship with Adam. Yet, in the Garden of Eden, there was nobody to protect Adam and Eve away from the evil called Original Sin. Poor Adam and Eve. Nobody told them about the power of prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of mankind. And to think that Jesus admitted that “I and my father are one.” < In the meantime, a God who allows Himself to be crucified on the cross by men created in His own image and likeness deserves to die on such a cross. Poch Suzara

Christ and Satan

Christ was offered by Satan “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory in them” if only Jesus would fall down and worship him. But Jesus rejected the offer in favor of dying on the cross to save the world. I ask: Was Jesus gullible enough not to have questioned Satan where he got the rightful titles to those properties and kingdoms to legally be able to give them away? See Matt. 4: 1 – 9. In the meantime, Jesus said: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” In other words, reject Satan; never mind your free will. Poch Suzara

The Immortal Soul

According to Church doctrines, the human body, since it is mortal, belongs to man. The human soul, however, since it is immortal, belongs to God. If this were true, and it is equally true that God is here, there and everywhere, why should the Church bother saving human souls that already belong to Almighty God? Indeed, what need does God have for the Church to save immortal souls for Him? Poch Suzara

The Sin of Stupidity

According to the teachings of the Church, except for the sin of blasphemy against the holy spirit, all other sins, including the sin of stupidity, can be easily forgiven by grace from divinity. In fact, looking at the insane social results of the teaching of the Church during these past centuries based upon the Old and the New Testament, stupidity is not a sin. It is a virtue. Poch Suzara

Knowledge

Bertrand Russell wrote: “What I will maintain – and maintain vigorously – is that knowledge is very much more useful than harmful and the fear of knowledge is very much more harmful than useful.” For my part, I think what is even more harmful, if not useless is overcoming one’s stupidity with knowledge and then feel guilty. Poch Suzara

Changing the Church

I do not think it necessary to change the Church as the Church is always changing. I would like, however, to embarrass the church for always being against emotional growth and intellectual maturity as it would rather spread the inspiration of mediocrity. In the meantime, mankind would be centuries ahead in science and technology if it hadn't been for the church heirarchy ignoring, threatening, incarcerating, torturing, drowning, hanging, burning and, indeed, killing the best of human minds in God’s name and for His glory in heaven. Poch Suzara

Poligiousity

Julius Larson – a freethinker from South Dakota invented this new word: poligiousity. Poligious has two meanings: using religion to pursue political aims; and, using politics to pursue religious aims. Poligiousity – excessively and obtrusively using religion to purse politics or using politics to pursue religion. In this connection, aside from social insanity, we Filipinos, - the most devout Christians in Asia, - enjoy as well the insanity of our historical poligiousity. Poch Suzara

Questions

Questions are either silly or intelligent. Here’s an example of a silly question: did God raise Jesus from the dead? The intelligent question, however, to ask is: Why did Jesus have to die to begin with? What did He accomplish? If Jesus died on the cross to destroy the devil – how come the devil is still alive today keeping Christianity in business as ever? But then again, where was God, the Father of Jesus, to have assisted Adam and Eve to reject the offers of the Talking Serpent – the devil – the very myth that gave birth to Christianity? Poch Suzara

Deeper Questions

Deeper questions are more important than the higher answers because, in the ultimate analysis, there is no such thing as a “higher” answer to deeper questions. There is no such thing as a God who fills the empty gap in our lack of higher knowledge. Otherwise, if there were a God, none of us need to bother with the morality or even the necessity of searching for more knowledge. In the meantime, Bertrand Russell wrote: “Whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.” Poch Suzara

Joseph

The most pathetic character depicted in the bible is Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus. From the day Jesus was born and up to his death on the cross, Joseph never said anything. He was consistently speechless, if not taciturn. As depicted in the bible, he never even questioned his domestic situation. Apparently, Joseph got so dumbstruck because the Holy Spirit told him to his face that his wife Mary was, and always will be, - a virgin. In the meantime, how can a mother remain a virgin? And if God had a mother, who and where is God’s father? Poch Suzara

Freedom and Democracy

Before we can enjoy the benefits of freedom and democracy, we must first acquire education in science and in the scientific way of thinking. In this way, we would know exactly what to do with freedom creatively; and, we would also know exactly what to do with democracy constructively. It follows, therefore, that unless we have serious education in science and scientific way of thinking and living, our freedom will be meaningless and our democracy will be rather worthless. Poch Suzara

Family Planning

To be entrusted with a large family is a great responsibility. To be entrusted with feeding, clothing, housing, educating, and loving a large family is a greater responsibility. To acknowledge the fact, however, that uncontrolled human population growth leads to the depopulation of most other living species needed for human survival is the greatest responsibility. In the meantime, 500,000 babies were born in the Philippines just these past 3 months alone. Indeed, women in this country do not believe in having sex for fun. They are very serious in following the teachings of the church: multiply and replenish the earth - bring forth more babies, even if un-wanted, into our sick society for the glory of God in heaven. In the years to come most of the babies born today will eventually join all those 15 million Filipinos now living and working in 150 foreign countries. The attitude of such Filipinos is: who cares about love of country. I am better off earning a living to support my family in some other foreign country. Poch Suzara

More Than 100 Billion People

More than 100 Billion Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Confucians, Hindus, and Taoists have already lived and died on this earth. I ask: - when will the creator stop creating failures and losers in His own image and likeness? Indeed, we humans on this earth would rather show compassion for divinity and to hell with the troubles and problems of humanity. And that’s how stupid we all are embracing with deep faith our stupid religion. Poch Suzara

Biological Fact

The biological reality is that human life is related to all other forms of life on this earth. One form of life could only survive with other forms of life existing. In order to survive, and to evolve further, perhaps into higher forms of life, life must eat as food other forms of life. It is the poor product of a designer, if any; but obviously – poor planning from an all-knowing, all-powerful, benevolent and all-loving creator, if any. Poch Suzara

A False Belief

A false belief, even if it were sincerely believed by 88 million people to be true, will not make it true. A belief is worth it only if it accords with the evidence. Otherwise it is harmful to believe in things that are not true. Poch Suzara

Catholics

Catholics are taught to follow faithfully the teachings of the Church. One such teaching has been and still is: - Do Not read the Bible without proper spiritual guidance. Thus, Catholics are shamelessly ignorant of bible contents and its mythological sources. Poch Suzara

Peace On Earth

“Peace on earth and goodwill to all men” are sentiments best articulated by the poor people getting poorer, and certainly not by the rich people getting richer. The rich do not care for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. They only have time to hope and to pray that others will not get any richer than they are already. Once I was told to my face: If you were so damned smart, why aren’t you rich? I replied: well, if you were so damned rich, how come you want nothing more in life but only to become richer? Poch Suzara

Bush, Not Katrina

Not the Katrina Hurricane, but the George W. Bush presidency is one of the worst disasters that hit the United States of America. The damage brought by Katrina hurricane based upon reality of nature can be repaired in less than 3 years. The George W. Bush presidential damage on the USA based upon his local lies and global falsehoods and other expensive fairy tales will take 30 years to repair. It’s incredible how the United States government – the greatest and the richest government in the world today encourages hate and violence around the world as a way of generating unceasingly the equally great American military-industrial-university-oil complex. Poch Suzara

Adolf Hitler

In his MEIN KAMPF, Hitler wrote: “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jews, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.“ ( page 65 ). And to think that Hitler was once a cute little baby created in the image and likeness of God. Not to mention Hitler was also raised and educated as a good Christian. Poch Suzara

Success Versus Failure

We do not learn from success. We only learn from failure. In this sense, I hope to be a failure for the rest of my life. In the meantime, within my lifetime, I still have high hopes that one day, in the corporate world, I will meet men of success who are not selfish, or greedy, or stupid, or insane. Poch Suzara

Science

Science will continue to be powerful in making knowledge and wisdom accessible to everyone. Sadly, however, the enemies of science – religion and politics – still maintain the virtues of fear and ignorance. Please read the holy bible. It admits: - For in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. For my part, as an individual fascinated with science and the scientific way of thinking, I thought it best to throw the bible out of my holy window. Poch Suzara

National Ignorance

It is still being taught today in our schools that God created the world in 6 days some 6,000 years ago. It is also being taught in such schools that as long as we have deep faith in God, it does not matter even if we Filipinos are only getting poorer and famous as the Sick Man of Asia. Other Asians do not find employment in the Philippines, but many Filipinos feel so blessed by God when they find employment in other Asian countries. To think that China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia are countries that have grown and developed,indeed, flourished without belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world. In the meantime, ignorance is like a ubiquitous plant. It grows in every soil. Ignorance even grows in our schools, colleges, and universities. Especially when our teachers and professors have neither the interests nor the time nor the responsibility to learn the latest findings on the subject they teach. Poch Suzara

The Bible Tells us

The bible tells us to be like God, and then page after page it describes God as a cruel, capricious, and vindictive as a divinity quite a supernatural character with His crimes against humanity. And to think that this is the same God who tells parents to love their children, but He Himself had the gall to have drowned His own. Poch Suzara

With Faith or Without faith in God

With faith or without faith in God, good believers do good and evil believers do evil. But when good believers do evil that takes deep faith in God. Nothing, however, causes more evil than living in fear of God especially as inspired by faith in sacred ignorance. Poch Suzara

If Science were a Religion

If science were a religion, how come science must only have faith in the existence of doubt? If doubt never existed, science could not have been born. Indeed, if science were a religion, it is the religion of skepticism. In the meantime, the track record of religion looks pretty awful. We see religion still encouraging ignorance, superstition, and the rigidity of stupidity. Humanity might have been better off without religion as religion is only a pie in sky by and by, and a rotten pie at that and feeds nothing but illusions, if not delusions. Poch Suzara

Dear Jim Edwards:

Thank you for your most interesting letter. I am sad you gave up philosophy for mythology and theology. If you had only carried on the study of philosophy a little deeper, as a lifetime adventure, you would have finally come to terms not with fantasy but with reality – the little of it that we know. Indeed, even science acknowledges with all honesty that it knows not more than 1 per cent of what constitutes reality. Imagine the other 99 per cent. But let us not entertain fantasy. There is still much to discover and to learn. As far as I am concerned, questions are far more important than answers because in time the answers become obsolete. Indeed, the formulation of better kind of questions pretty much give meaning to my life. Now you might retort: what if there were already all the answers? I would only reply that the answers, whatever they are, would always entail new questions as, at the heart of everything, is a question, not an answer. When we peer down into the deepest recesses of matter or at the farthest edge of the universe, we see, finally, our own puzzled faces looking back at us. Jim, you asked: Where am I going? In life I know where I am going. In death, however, I will be going nowhere. It does not bother me to realize that after my death there will be nothing; just as much as it did not bother me to have realized that before birth, I was a nothing too. True, there are a great many worlds out there, but how am I to participate or enjoy such a world after I am dead and turned into ashes? My identity as a person is depended on my memory and my memory, it seems clear to me, cannot survive if my brain is dead and rotting. So how will I be “me” in the next or other world? With what eyes will I see? With what ears will I hear? With what skin will I feel? With what nose will I smell? With what tongue will I speak? Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore what will survive will be my energy but not anymore bundled up together as my body. My body will die and disintegrate. In the meantime, energy is part of nature just as much as nature is part of energy. Energy is here to stay inside existence, not outside of existence otherwise known as the universe. But me, as Poch Suzara, is no more. As to my wasting my life believing that there will be a better world to come after I am dead – I have stopped entertaining such silly nonsense. I would rather do my best and try to leave this world a better place than how I found it. Not in the authoritarian, but in the sense humanitarian. This is the reason why I have embarked on a lifetime war against the evils of religion. Religion makes us selfish, greedy, stupid, and insane. The world needs sane mind and sane hearts to straighten out the insane mess that keeps our world perpetually in hate and violence of each other. We must look to science and its power to make the life of our children and grandchildren better. The average life span today is 80 years. Science promises to increase the task to l20 up to 150 years, In fact, I would not be surprised when science will conquer death itself and insure immortality for man after birth, and not, like in religion - after death. And I am glad that religion has taken the back seat and today even begging to co-exist with science – indeed, to reconcile with science. Is this possible? I say Yes, but religion must first reconcile and co-exist with other religions before science can entertain the merger. Today I am 68 years old. Too late for me to take advantage of such scientific miracles. But my grandchildren and their children will live entirely different lives than we do today. Hopefully, instead of fighting human stupidity on this grain of sand called earth, they will be conquering the outer planets and colonizing the stars. To me, this is a better ambition for Man than looking forward to meeting a silly God with a silly son who, have yet to make sense of themselves as supernatural beings. Imagine this Son of God Jesus cried out on the cross to His father: MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? If this were the kinds of supernatural morons I will meet in the next life, I would rather stay perpetually dead and buried forever on this earth. Jim, with due respect, please let me share with you Bertrand Russell: “There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who cannot face the perils of life without comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dare not face this thought, and he therefore cannot carry his own reflections to any logical conclusion. Moreover, as he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed. He therefore adopts persecution, censorship, and a narrowly cramping education as essential of statecraft. In so far as he is successful, he produces a population which is timid and unadventurous and incapable of progress. Authoritarian rulers have always aimed at producing such a population. They have usually succeeded, and by their success have brought their countries to ruin.” Human Society in Ethics and Politics With all good wishes, Poch Suzara Sept. 11, 2005