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