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

As a High School Dropout

My greatest thrill in life has been the moments, with the courage of thought, to have rattled, in public and in private, the religious complacency of college educated individuals of this God-forsaken Christian country. Oh, dear Bertrand Russell, thank you for saving the mind and heart of this high-school dropout. Thank you for showing me how to live the good life – one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. More than all the gods in hell and all the devils in heaven, I love, worship, and adore you. To me, you are the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. In the firmament of free thought and in the galaxy of literature, you are, to me, the greatest and most brilliant of stars. Poch Suzara

Insanity and Religion

When one is obsessed with the supernatural, it is called insanity. When many people are obsessed with the supernatural, it is called religion. Insanity is the triumph of faith; religion, however, is the failure in education. In the meantime, lives on this earth are spoiled and made corrupt by the belief that there is an immortal life to come after the experienced of a sick death. Indeed, immortality is the condition of a dead man who refuses to believe that he is already dead. Poch Suzara

No Higher Power

There is no higher beauty than reason and since there is none – what dignity has a man bereft of reason - the only beauty that differs man from the animal? Poch Suzara

In Grade School

We were taught to believe that in the choice between faith and reason – to please God, we must always choose faith as reason might only endanger our silly souls into eternal perdition. I thank God, however, that I was expelled out of high school. I vehemently refused to abandon reason in favor of faith. Indeed, I refused to abandon the truth behind reason in favor of the lies and falsehoods behind faith. Poch Suzara

Our Faith-soaked Society

In our faith-soaked society, nobody’s seeking to live the intelligent life. On the contrary, everybody’s just looking forward to a stupid death. For my part, after years of study, I came to the conclusion that Christianity is a recipe for mediocrity. The New Testament calls the disciples, “unlearned and ignorant men.” To be a good Christian, one must negate human intelligence as one need only have faith in human ignorance. Poch Suzara

The Evil called Christianity

After taking my parents and grandparents away from me; after taking my teachers and professors away from me; and after taking even my own country away from me, Christianity has also taken my precious mind and precious heart away from me. Happily, after years of pain and struggle via study and research, I was able to win back such priceless treasures. Today, I love life as much as I love this world. I love humanity as I no longer care for divinity. I no longer have any love for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I have no more respect for the characters loved and admired in the bible. Such people never even existed. And if they did, they all lived in a state of ignorance believing the world as flat, not round. In place of Christianity, I have learned to embrace the human destiny. Today I no longer fear death. I am more interested to be involved with the works needed to bring about life based upon social sanity, global peace and tranquility, and indeed, to help materialize the dreams of humanity. I am sure I will not succeed, but it thrills me to know that I am one of those rare individuals deeply involved in the never-ending fight against those who never cease to destroy the beauties of this world, especially the beauty of the human mind and heart as part of the beauty in nature. Poch Suzara

The Study

The study of what is natural, which is knowable, is far more beneficial than the study of the supernatural, which is unknowable, and therefore not beneficial. In this connection, I was created in the image of nature. I am a part of nature as nature is a part of me. There is no getting out of nature as nothing can exist outside nature. In fact, nothing can even exist outside existence. Poch Suzara

God as a Designer

f God is the designer and we were designed in his own image and God took off Adam one of his ribs to create Eve – how come women have the same number of ribs as men? And where are God’s ribs to be found inside the body of either men or women? Poch Suzara

Preparations for War

Preparations for war are impoverishing people in every nation. The greatest nation most prepared for any local or global war is the United States of America. Indeed, the US government still embraces not only with much gusto, but with deep faith the paradoxical theory that nations can only live together in peace by preparing to kill each other in war.
In the meantime, religion and government in cahoots are the greatest promoters of war. History proves it: Look at the monstrous Church and government sponsored atrocities conducted in Europe from the 5th to the 15th century. Historians refer to it as the Dark Ages. In world affairs today, the United States of America remains to be the most powerful nation in the world in the business of global man-made destruction. Poch Suzara

Death and Its Aftermath

Most people are bothered by the thought that after death there will be a nothing. They are not bothered, however, by the thought that before birth, there was also a nothing. For my part, I have the highest respect for atheism: it has robbed death of its terror. In the meantime, the victims of religion look forward to eternal salvation after death. The masters of religion would rather begin to look forward to the improvements of human civilization after birth. Poch Suzara

Religion

Religion has had centuries of opportunity to straighten the mess out of this world. It turned out religion had to deal first with its own mess to begin with. Look at world history from the religious perspective: after all this time, religion has not ceased hating other religions! The believers have not ceased waging wars against other believers for God’s glory. Indeed, our world is full of suffering, tragedy, disease, disaster, and pain. We atheists are fully aware that religion has dismally failed to alleviate such evils. In fact, religion encourages people to be selfish, greedy, stupid, and insane. For my part, if I have to save my own soul with the attitude like to hell with the souls of my fellow human beings, I say, to hell with the whole salvation stupid mess. Poch Suzara

God’s revelation

That the holy bible is God’s revelation to mankind is a lot of sacred hokum. Even Luke in his first chapter admitted that what he wrote was in accordance to what he believed it was good to do. In the meantime, in the same bible, man is directed to pray to an All-knowing God; but if God were already All-knowing, why should such a God be fatigued by, or bothered with, – petitions? Poch Suzara

Mentality of Bacteria

One million ( 1,000,000 ) planets the size of Earth can comfortably fit inside the Sun. And we humans, who live like parasites on this grain of sand called Earth, are able to displease with sin the creator of the Sun? For my part, I have more love and respect for the existence of bacteria. None feel threatened with eternal damnation if they do not believe in beings bigger or greater than themselves. Poch Suzara

Where is God

In the US Gulf Coast Katrina Hurricane disaster this week, people are helping people who cannot help themselves. But where is the all-loving and all-merciful God to help also? If God would just rather be busy as usual fooling around with the devil, the least He can do is to inspire His angels and His saints to come down and render ample assistance? Where are they? In the meantime, the Pope offered tons of prayers to the Katrina Hurricane victims in desperate need of doctors and nurses, food, water, medicine, and shelter. And to think that this is the same holy Pope who has access to billions upon billions of dollars in cash deposited in the Vatican Bank at his disposal. Poch Suzara

No Man Loves God

No man loves God, and any man who says he loves God is a liar and a hypocrite and the truth is not with him. You cannot love what you do not know and no one knows the God of religion. To begin with, God is never down here; he is only always out there. In the meantime, Jesus on the cross cried equally for his enemies as well as for His own disciples and followers with these words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” On the other hand, Jesus could have earned the love and respect of the whole of mankind if, on the cross, He had, instead, cried out: “Man, please forgive God, for He knows not what he is doing." Poch Suzara

A Self-respecting Atheist

God expects me to go to hell. Satan expects me to go to heaven. As an atheist with dignity and self-respect, after I am dead, I would just like to be left alone. I hope and expect to go nowhere. What do I care about supernatural beings at war supposedly against each other to win over my silly soul? Indeed, what do I know about my soul except that it is silly? In the meantime, why should I care for other worlds that do not exist except in the sick imagination of sick theologians? As a proud atheist, if I must leave this world one day, I would like to leave it a better place than how I found it. Poch Suzara

The Kingdom of God

In the world history of hate, and violence, and wars, there is only the kingdom that was always victorious against all other kingdoms - the loving Kingdom of God. And to think that the kingdom of God is located only in heaven, not on this earth! Poch Suzara

Universal Stupidity

In the kingdom of God there is the power of love. In the kingdom of the devil there is the power of hate. In the kingdom of Man there is the power of fear and ignorance. The three kingdoms however, inextricably mixed together, add up to the power of universal stupidity in competition with the power of infinity. Poch Suzara

The Filipinos and the Jews

If God created man in His own image and likeness, how come Filipinos today, with no legal immigration status, are in the State of Israel employed as the servants of the Jews - the Chosen People of God? Who was the moron who said that all men are created equal in the eyes of God? Poch Suzara

Humility

There is no room for humility in the struggle against deviltry as inspired by divinity. Otherwise, humility will only breed more stupidity that encourages nothing but social insanity. It is what is happening in the Philippines today. Under humility, we Filipinos have deep faith that the truth goes marching on as if the truth were already revealed and able to travel. Poch Suzara

The Price paid

The price we pay for our refusal to seek wealth in mental health: sooner or later, due to despondency, we will have to seek out a priest or a minister or a rabbi or even a guru in India to help put structure back into our broken, if not empty, lives. Unfortunately, what we learn from those superstitious primitives is neither knowledge nor wisdom for mental health, but only renewed faith in mediocrity that pulled us down into spiritual poverty in the first place. Poch Suzara

Success In Life

Success in life is not only a matter of having achieved the things you want; It is also the ability to reject the things you do not want. In this connection, no one is a total failure, neither is there any one who is a total success. For my part, I am happy and contented to be a successful failure. I don’t want millions. I just want answers to my questions. Poch Suzara

Philosophy and Theology

Theology is the discipline to believe in nothing for the sake of nothing as it is the study of the unknowable. Philosophy, on the other hand, is the discipline to believe in something for the sake of everything as it is the study of the worth knowing. Nevertheless, for my part, I love philosophy: it is comprehension without the necessity of belief. I have no taste, however, for Theology: it is belief without the necessity of comprehension. Poch Suzara

Christian Expectation

What can be expected of a Christian who is threatened by what is modern and logical, but feels even more frightened by what is ancient and biblical? But then again, why should a Christian be a reader of great books, if he does not even bother to read and to understand fully the bible – his own holy book? In the meantime, there is the difference between a person who refuses to read and a person who cannot read at all! Poch Suzara

The Bible Says

Everything that is impossible with men is possible with God. If this were true, how come it was possible for God to have created a happy heaven for his creatures called “angels”; but impossible for God to have created a happy earth for his creatures called “men, women, and children?” Poch Suzara

Fear

We were taught to fear God and to fear the devil. To fear life and to fear death. To fear the mysteries and to fear the complexities. As an atheist, I am saying let’s stop all this fear of nonsense. Fear is unworthy of self-respecting human beings. Bertrand Russell reminds us: “When a man allows one kind of fear to dominate him, he soon comes to be dominated by other kinds also.” Perhaps, there is an exception; for, I always felt it right to fear human stupidity, especially as it dares to compete even against infinity. Poch Suzara facebook@ Twitter@ Atheist@ google#

History of Science

If the history of science shows us anything, it is that during these past thousands of years, religion has never, not even for a day, played any vital role in any way whatsoever eliminating fear, hate, and ignorance as science continues to be on daily basis. Poch Suzara

The Believer

The believer who claims that he never doubted the Christian doctrines taught to him to believe and to have faith in and who seems not bothered mentally as he also claims to be enjoying his sanity – has got to be a believer with the heart of a snake, the conscience of a hyena, and the spirit of a crackpot. Poch Suzara

What I Shall I Do

A follower asked: “what shall I do to inherit eternal salvation?” Jesus replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Jesus lied. Otherwise, if Jesus were truthful, He would referred the poor fellow to what was already a revealed truth in the Old Testament: “The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward.” Eccl. 9:5. Poch Suzara

The Philippines

The Philippines was once the most glorious place on earth. It had beautiful beaches, rivers, lakes, mountains and forests. The Filipino was once the most handsome, intelligent, humorous and hard working people. They travelled around the world and have been known to be the carriers of peace and goodwill to all men. For centuries, the Philippines was known as the “Pearl of Orient.” Today, however, it is famous as the “Payatas of the Orient.” Indeed, there is only that one same ugly problem that, in the modern world, continues to keep the Philippines poor and backward: the college educated men and women installed to be the leaders of the nation. Poch Suzara

Who Is God

Science has no answer to the question: who are we and why are we here? Well, neither has religion. Religion, however, has a wild guess. It claims that God created us and that is why we are here. However, if this were true, then we must ask: Who is God? Where did He come from? Why is He way out there? Why is He not down here? Poch Suzara

We Atheists

As atheists, we should address ourselves thoughtfully to the reduction of human suffering. No need to thoughtlessly negate the task of educating people to believe that this world is our world. It is the only world we know. There is no other world out there for us after we are dead. Robert G. Ingersoll wrote: The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. And the way to be happy is to make others also happy.” Poch Suzara

A Devout Christian

A faithful believer who never, not even for a moment, doubted the Christian doctrines taught to him to believe and who does not go insane has the heart of a snake, the conscience of a hyena, and the ambition of a crackpot. Poch Suzara

A Stupid Man

A stupid man, devoid of intellect, believes, naturally, everyone is just as stupid as he is. Sometimes,it is true, I envy the stupid man. He has no need to pursue new or fresh ideas to make sense of life. He sees nothing around him. He is more comfortable and happy holding on to his blind faith that got him to be stupid to begin with. Poch Suzara

A Reader Writes:

For you not to believe in God, you sure do talk about Him a lot. It seems you are obsessed with Him, only in a bad way. So you believe there's no God? I can only say this, when you depart from this world, you had better be right. I would rather believe there is a God in Heaven and be wrong, as to believe there were none, and be wrong.”

My response: to begin with, who told you that after death we can depart away from this world unto a next world? Where is that next world located? Do you have a map on how to get there? And how do you know it is a God, not a Goddess out there waiting for you? All I know is that this world is our world. The only world we know. But then again, if there were indeed life after death, then we must do our best to leave this world a better place than how we found it. At least as a legacy for our children’s children. Why concern yourselves with eternal salvation since there is first the works needed to improve human civilization? As to my obsession with a God that does not exist, I plead guilty. What other harmful idea is there that has done more harm to mankind than the silly idea that there is a God existing out there so full of love and mercy and justice for people on this earth? Thank you for writing. Poch Suzara

Another Reader Writes

“Isn’t religion meant to be flawed since the proponents are flawed themselves? Religion has indeed brought out the worst in people but we can’t refute that it has also brought out the best out of people. Nothing is absolute. There may only be balance in this crazy world we live in. Even though, the God concept maybe a lie, what a beautiful lie it is with an amazing placebo effect. I have come to believe that humans need to have something greater than themselves to aspire too... to follow. Is that so wrong?” My reply: Why ignore our family, our country, and all of mankind – that are greater realities than ourselves? Why negate such beauties? You admit that the God concept may be a lie, but what a beautiful lie it is with its placebo effect? Indeed, the placebo effect of such lies have tremendously helped the Vatican in this century to be worth more than THREE TRILLION DOLLARS in cash, properties and other assets? Are you saying that the Philippines – the only Catholic country in Asia – should remain poor and backward by maintaining for itself more of the religious lies in the centuries to come? Do you really believe that a lie has brought out the best among Filipinos as a people? In the meantime, listen to Bertrand Russell: “There is something feeble, a little contemptible, about a man who cannot face the perils of life without comfortable myths.” Poch Suzara

Christians in the Philippines

Christians in this God-forsaken Philippines cannot afford not to love and worship and indeed cannot live without God. This is only because there is no one else but God who can forgive daily sins as well as pardon daily crimes. Indeed, thanks to the Sacrament of Forgiveness we are all enjoying ourselves as a society of sinners, and also proud of ourselves as a nation govern by insane criminals? In the meantime, what growth and development can be expected of a nation where its people are educated to save, first and foremost, their silly souls by belittling the power of their minds and hearts? Poch Suzara

Faith in Divine Garbage

If God were the first cause of everything, how come as the Original Creator He was not the first cause of the Original Sin? Why blame Adam and Eve? As a matter of fact, for the Fall of Man, I should blame first the devil who, in the shape of a Talking Serpent, molested Eve to bring down Adam. But here’s a better question: who do you really blame when you meet people whose views have been twisted and distorted by their faith in divine garbage? Poch Suzara

Christ Guilty of What

Was Christ guilty of heinous crimes that He deserved to be crucified on the cross? Luke 23:5 says: “He stirred up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.” According to John 18:1, however: “Then said Pilate unto them, take ye him, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews therefore said him: “ It is not lawful for any of us to put any man to death.” Why then should the Jews want Christ be put to death on the cross for teaching Jewry? Poch Suzara

Power for the Apostles

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” Luke 9:1. Indeed, with such power and authority, the disciples were able to resurrect the dead Jesus back to life. Sadly however, they could not apply the same miraculous power and authority to raise to life their own dead mental faculties. Otherwise, they could have also raised their own Jewish land and Jewish people into a Catholic country like they did the Philippines - the only Catholic country in Asia since the 16th century. Poch Suzara

The Lord Is Gracious

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. Ps. 145: 8 – 9. If that were the case, why did the Lord together with his relatives in heaven create hell for the relatives of Adam and Eve on earth? But then again, what can one think of a Lord so gracious and full of compassion - who can create a universe, but unable as yet to create land for His Chosen people – the Jews on this earth? Poch Suzara

If Atheism were a Religion

If Atheism were a religion, how come we Atheists have no faith as Atheism has nothing to do with the diffusion of fear or the confusion of ignorance? On second thought, perhaps Atheism is a religion. After all, we atheist believe that the theists created God in their image and likeness. Poch Suzara

A Loving and Merciful God

God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they might all be damned. 2 Thess 2:11-12. Indeed, a religion, even if it calls itself the religion of love and mercy, must be hateful and unmerciful to those who do not agree to belong to it. Poch Suzara

Buddha Before the Time of Jesus

Prove all things; hold fast to what is good. 1 Thess 5:21. How true, except for the historical fact that Buddha, the atheist that he was, already said the same thing thousands of years before the time of Christ. Poch Suzara

Jesus - Apathetic to World Peace

Although Jesus possessed the miraculous powers to put an end to killings between men via wars between nations, Jesus accepted the concept of war with these admissions: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Matthew. 24: 6-7. See also see Mark 13: 7-8. Poch Suzara

A Real Saint

God has yet to canonize not a good for nothing, but a good for something saint: The saint who has ceased helping the poor because he has finally eliminated poverty out of the community permanently. The saint who, with the miraculous powers from divinity, has successfully abolished mental slavery as that is the root-cause of misery and poverty and indeed the foundation of a sick and sinful society. Poch Suzara

Who are the Freethinkers?

The freethinkers are just like the scientific thinkers. They do not have all the answers, but they are always open to all the questions. In fact, the freethinkers and the scientific thinkers are always more fascinated with the questions than they are with the answers. After all, the answers, in time, become obsolete, if not irrelevant. Indeed, without the freedom to think freely or to think scientifically, we could not formulate deeper questions for ourselves in the search of the truth. Poch Suzara

Science and Immortality

Science tells us that for immortality to be a reality, it must consist of both HEREAFTER and HEREBEFORE or else there is no immortality. Only the infinity of stupidity. Indeed, why should immortality begin only at birth? And to think that despite the promise of eternal salvation, the after-life of heavenly bliss, most people will do anything to postpone the inevitable triumph of biological death. Poch Suzara

100 Billion people

More than a 100 Billion people have already lived and died since Christ died on the cross. A great many of them have been killed in wars waged in God’s name and for His glory. And to think that God is still so desperate, if not so lonely. He seems to need, insatiably, more love, more worship, and more adoration from more people. Is God that cold-blooded perfection so lost in self-admiration? In the meantime, most religious people have beliefs that are quite childish. Specially as such beliefs are based not upon the reality of evidence, but upon the fantasy of evidence otherwise known as divine providence. Poch Suzara

My Wicked Dream

My religious friends and relatives believe me to be a wicked man as I related to them my dream: to establish a public library in every town in the Philippines. And the main part of those public libraries will also serve as the Center of Information for family planning and birth control for both college school boys and college girls and for married and un-married couples. Poch Suzara

The Greatest Curse

Religion has been the greatest curse to mankind. Its services and promises are nothing compared to the damage religion has done to the human brain for clear and honest thinking. Indeed, the human brain that’s needed for developing not only man’s high standard of living, but more especially for cultivating man’s higher standard of thinking. More to the point, however, Bertrand Russell aptly put it this way: “I think religion has done a great deal of harm, largely by sanctifying conservatism and adhesion to ancient habits by sanctifying intolerance and hatred.” Poch Suzara

Filipino problems

The Filipino problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thoughtlessness we were at yesterday when we created such problems. But then again, in this only Christian country in Asia, who cares for the power of ideas, especially those in the free market of ideas? I ask: how can we ever enjoy a healthy and a growing democracy when such form of government is utterly worthless unless based upon the power of human knowledge? Poch Suzara

What American Values

In America, under the leadership of George W. Bush, the Ten Commandments of God are far more valuable than the ten amendments of the Constitution. Indeed, for the sake of waging war against other countries such as Iraq, never mind the Bill of Rights. Just enjoy the rights and the insanity of paying your share of the war bills. No doubt, as president of the USA, and his warlike solutions to global problems, George W Bush is a grace to American race; unfortunately, however, to the human race – a disgrace. Poch Suzara