Albert Ellis

This famous psychiatrist wrote: "In a sense, the religious person must have no real views of his own and it is presumptuous of him, in fact, to have any. In regard to sex-love affairs, to marriage and family relations, to business, to politics, and to virtually everything else that is important in his life, he must try to discover what his god and his clergy would like him to do; and he must primarily do their bidding."
I love Albert Ellis. If he were one of my teachers in La Salle, I never would have dropped out of high school. I was not being educated. In fact, I was only being indoctrinated to live on a diet of fear of all kinds. Indeed, my teachers tried so hard to devalue my character, to belittle my personality, and what was even more dreadful, I was being taught to believe that it is a sin against God if I entertained the potentials of my intellectual capacity. Outside academic wall, I gradually learned through self-study how to examine my own life and why I should find it worth living.
As for my class-mates and school-mates I am all so sad for them. They stayed on to acquire college education. Most of them are the kind of men directly or indirectly working for our government and keeping the government as rotten and corrupt than it has been already. Poch Suzara

Philippine Historical Fact

As a matter of historical fact, our troubles are mostly derived from the teachings of the holy bible.
Christianity has had every opportunity to regenerate the Philippines during the last 500 years. It is, however, plain nonsense to believe our beloved country today is any wiser, healthier, wealthier, or even any happier.
Almost a BILLION FILIPINOS have already lived and died since Christianity conquered and ruled the Philippines in the 16th century. Now in this 21st century, however, nothing has changed, except that more and more Filipinos are still being created by God in his own image and likeness. And to think that we are all told to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not with him. John 2:15 Poch Suzara

Philippine Military

The under-funded military, poorly trained, and conflictingly commanded are in the field fighting three wars - against Filipino Communist revolution, against Filipino Muslim insurgency and against a vicious band of Filipino terrorists called Abu Sayyafs.
As if that were not enough the military is also preoccupied with a fourth war that seems just as intractable. Indeed, within its own ranks, Filipino soldiers are fighting each other seeking to acquire higher rank for a higher pay.
Thanks, however, to our Christian values and beliefs in this famous Christian country in Asia, even our men and women in the military hate each other for the love of God. Poch Suzara

Supernatural Explanations

A supernatural explanation is usually a hogwash of contradiction. It is impossible to explain the unknown in terms of the unknowable. The difference between a “natural” explanation and a “supernatural” explanation is the difference between explanation and no explanation at all.
Science is efficiently clear at explaining what is knowable. Theology is efficiently vague at explaining what is unknowable. That is why in science there is always the achievement of something. In theology there is only the accomplishment of nothing. Poch Suzara

The Trouble with Science

The trouble with science is not science but the psuedo-scientists. They sold themselves to the highest bidders more popularly known as the rotten businessmen, the corrupt politicians, and the mediocre theologians. Weapons of mass destruction have been the products of science for these college-educated morons to carry out their ambitions in the commercial or political or ecclesiastical agenda. Poch Suzara

Aristotle

Aristotle said that what is eternal is circular, and what is circular is eternal.
The eternal and the circular mixed, however, inextricably together - the complexity could not be as mind-boggling as the infinity of human stupidity. Poch Suzara

Sex and Love

When sex is an expression of love, the emotion experienced at the moment of orgasm should not be hostility or enmity. There should only be, for each other, a sense of unity, beauty, harmony, felicity and to hell with everything else specially with deviltry or divinity as derived from silly theology. Poch Suzara

Albert Einstein

Einstein said that - the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
Yes, this is true. Especially if we experience the mysterious while standing up serious with our heads, and not frightened or timorous on our bended knees.
Science, at its best is a rebellion against authority. At its greatest, it is a rebellion against religion. Science is not science unless it deals with reality not as a mystery, but something worthy of understanding especially with logical, if not mathematical, clarity. Poch Suzara

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite was famous as the most honest personality in the American US Television industry of the 20th century. He always concluded his nightly CBS news with the gracious sentence: “And that’s the way it is, good night.”
Walter Cronkite could have been more famous and honest, however, had he summarized his nightly sick TV news for the tens of millions of his frightened viewers with this truthful words: “And that’s the way it shouldn’t be, good night.” Poch Suzara

A Great Civilization

“A great civilization,” wrote Will Durant, “is not conquered from without until its has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggles, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars.”
In our modern world, The USA is another civilization on the way down – thanks to our never- ending supply of mediocre and faith-soaked politicians. They are much more in love with freedom of religion that's destroying America rather than respect the freedom from religion that precisely made America the greatest nation the
world has ever known. As an American citizen, I am so sad for America. Poch Suzara

US Foreign Policy

The United States government can best serve foreign countries by staying out. Especially those foreign countries that are rich in natural resources. Freedom and democracy can never flourish in any country by making its poor people filthy poorer. Poch Suzara

ALL GREAT RELIGIONS

All great religions have their holy books that are regarded as “divinely inspired.” The Christians their bible; the Jews, their Talmud; the Muslims, their Koran; the Buddhists, their Sutras; the Confucians, their Analects; the Taoist, their Tao-Te-Ching; the Hindus, their Bhagavad Gita; the Vedantists, their Upanishads; etc., all written by superstitious crackpots inspired not by any reference to a telescope or a microscope, but only to a silly horoscope. Surprisingly, they were all very correct when they wrote about nothing. Un-surprisingly, however, they were all very wrong when they wrote about something. And to think that in this 21st century we humans are still hating and killing each over the correct interpretation of such ancient literature whose authors never even knew anything about the molecular basis of life, or that life is related to all other forms of life on this earth. Poch Suzara

Hume’s Dictum

It is far more crucial for a wise man not to believe, but to know. Indeed, to find out, as the wise man has no beliefs. Thus, the difference between a theologian and a scientist.
The theologian wants to believe; he does not bother to discover or to know. Specially more. He pretends to know that he already knows the truth. The search for the truth, therefore, means a waste of time to the theologian. Poch Suzara

Open Letter to the United Nations

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS. Our world is wracked with malevolence and embroiled in violence not because of too little, but because of too much religion. Indeed, religion has always been and still is in the business of multiplying hate rather than be with the efforts of dividing peace and love and grace for the human race. The Christians do not understand their own Bible. The Muslims do not understand their own Koran. In fact, if both believers took the trouble to read and understand each other’s holy book, they would learn that their scriptures are based upon older sources written by primitives who were more at home with horoscope but not the telescope or the microscope. Sacred books should be about dignity of the human community, and not about contrary beliefs that inspires enmity or hostility. To those of us who have no religion, it is frightening to visualize that the Christians, the Muslims and the Jews can now, with nuclear weapons at their disposal, reduce our planet into a lunar landscape. A civilized way, no doubt, to solve at the same time, the problem of human population explosion with a bigger and wider and higher explosion. Bertrand Russell wrote: “More than half of the population of the world is under-nourished, not because it need be, but because richer nations prefer killing each other than keeping poorer nations alive and helping them to achieve a higher standard of living.” I said it before, I say it again: if we were all atheists we could learn to live together in peace with all men. I am myself proud of atheism because in the history of the mankind, there never was a war declared by atheists against other atheists. Indeed, as atheists, we know that humans are no different from the animals, except only by a little. We atheists, however, do not want to throw that little away. We hold on to our sense of common humanity. In the meantime, the preparations for religious war are only making poor people in poor countries become poorer. It is time for religious believers to stop making a mockery of what human life should be. It is time to stop wasting precious resources against each other in purposeless hate and futile violence. Bertrand Russell said: “There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? I appeal, as a human being to human beings: remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new paradise; if you cannot, nothing lies before you but universal death.” Far worthier than the Muslim family or the Christian family or Jewish family or Hindu family or Buddhist family is, in fact, the precious human family whose continued existence is in doubt. It is time to love and appreciate the one and only real purpose to life, and that is, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must leave this world a little better than we found it, at least in the humanitarian sense, or there is little reason for our having lived. Sincerely, POCH SUZARA - Bertrand Russell Society, Philippines, pocholosuzara@gmail.com Feb. 26, 2006

Letter to the Philippine Free Press

Feb. 20, 2006
The Philippine Free Press
4th floor, Great Wall Bldg.
136 Yakal Street,
San Antonio Village,
Makati city

Gentlemen:

If my piece on Jerry Lewis was worth publishing in your magazine, why did you have to mutilate it and deleted the controversial portion out of it? If I had the courage to write what I wrote, what happened to your own courage to reprint the piece as it is and not to reflect how highly informed you people are with college education.
Religious hypocrisy, political expediency, distaste for veracity, and indeed the habitual distortion of reality are among the ailments that make for our sick society. It is regrettable that so prestigious a magazine like the Philippine Free Press should devote its influence to increasing and justifying them.
Attached is my original piece on Jerry Lewis. It is only a few days old. Your Free Press magazine is almost 100 years old. What a shame as I always thought that with age comes maturity, responsibility, and the courage to struggle for social sanity.

Sincerely, Poch Suzara
c.c. Jerry Lewis, USA
Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, England
Blog

Jesus Admonished

Sell all you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven.
I ask: If what truly matters is treasure in heaven, what do the poor gain from what they are given?
In the meantime, the misery of the poor is not due to the laws of nature. It is due to the religious institutions. Indeed, such institutions never cease to preach: - blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the kingdom of God. Poch Suzara

The bible as Best Seller

The bible has been and still is the best seller in any bookstore in the Philippines. I ask: how do bible messages promote spiritual growth as a people; enhance moral development as a nation; and, more importantly, advance common human decency in this Asia’s oldest Christian country?

The simple truth, however, is that we are deeply ignorant of bible contents because the priesthood industry has consistently warned every one to read the bible but only under their strict moral interpretation, if not spiritual guidance. To me, it only proves that the bible was written not for Filipinos, or written even for the Jews - the Chosen people of God; in fact, nobody knows for whom the holy bible was written for! Poch Suzara

In the New Testament

According to Matthew, Jesus said: Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in Heaven.
I ask: what it does not matter if Jesus made those promises or threats! In the end, however, what counts is if those approvals or denials have anything to do with the original mission of Jesus on this earth which was to destroy the devil. Indeed, the devil is still alive and perpetually spreading deviltry especially in the Philippines - Asia’s only Christian country since the 16th century. Poch Suzara

Philosophy and Religion

In philosophy, it is possible to disprove something. I love it as I love reason. In religion, however, it is never possible to prove anything. I hate it as I hate faith. Indeed, faith has only to do with believing; it has nothing to do with knowing or
discovering, and my favorite - questioning! Poch Suzara

THE BROKEN HOME

The broken home that makes for a broken child is not as harmful as the loveless home that makes for a loveless child. A broken child can be mended with love and affection. The loveless child, however, stays emotionally crippled for the rest of his life. There are a lot of these emotionally crippled individuals who are quite famous in Hollywood, California. They all play parts in the mediocrity, if not in the American insanity that promote their own popularity via the movie industry.
Even more terrible, however, these are also the emotionally crippled individuals who end up as politicians in government and feel they have the right to invade a foreign country and shove democracy down its throat. Then they convince themselves how wonderful it is to live in the land of the free and in the home of the brave. Poch Suzara