Saturday, January 10, 2009

Faith

January 11, 2009
Philippine Daily Inquiry
Letter to the Editor

Dear Sir:

We feel no shame for losing a job, health, or pride as a people, or even losing our dignity as a nation. However, we would feel shameful and indeed sinful if we lose our faith.

Sadly, however, a man of faith is like a drunkard who clings to a lamppost for support, not illumination.

As the only Christian country in Asia since the 16th century, what have we proved to the rest of the world with our faith? We have proved ourselves stuck as a people with comfortable myths; and stuck as a nation with political lies and deception.

Indeed, thanks to our faith, blind as it has always been, we obviously cannot see that in this already 21st century, we are still the victims of superstition, and not the masters of religion. Look how with blind faith we only love divinity out there; and we do so by ignoring our sense of common human decency down here.

I write as an atheist and I define my lifestyle as follows: As an atheist I love myself and fellow Filipinos instead of a god. I accept that heaven is something for which we should work now – here in our own land – for all Filipinos to enjoy. I accept that I can get no help through prayer but that I must find in myself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, grapple with it, subdue it, and to enjoy it. I accept that only in knowledge of my country and of the world can I find the understanding that will help me live a life of fulfillment – indeed - live the good life – one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

As an atheist, I do not want to believe; instead, I want to know. I seek to know the nature of human life in reality rather than to believe in a god wrapped in fantasy. As an atheist, I accept that a hospital should be built instead of a church. I accept that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. I strive for involvement in life and not escape into death. I want diseases conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated via human population control. I love the Filipino as part of the human race. I have no need for a divine grace. I want to live not a moral, but an ethical way of life. I accept that that I cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer, nor hope for an end of troubles in a hereafter.

In the ultimate analysis, as an atheist, I accept that we are – in a great sense – our brother’s keepers. We are, first, keepers of our own lives, and that we are responsible people responsible for the growth and development of our country. The job is here, and the time is now.

Yours sincerely,
Poch Suzara

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