Tuesday, April 19, 2005
The Test of a True Religion
The test of a true religion has nothing to do with how it began or how it will end. It has nothing to do with Churches and Cathedrals. It has nothing to do with fear or blind faith or even with daily prayers. True religion generates love and compassion in the human community. Anything less is not religion. It is superstition - the encouragement of stupidity and an insufficient sense of reality. Poch Suzara
Hollywood Trash
It is all about the good guys versus the bad guys. Good guys according to whom? Bad guys according to whom? Take the Cowboys and the Indians. Hollywood made movies about HOW THE WEST WAS WON by the Cowboys. No movie has yet been made by Hollywood about HOW THE WEST WAS LOST by the Indians. Poch Suzara
Columbus
What if Columbus was such a coward who never dared to exposed the truth about having learned that the world is round? Today in this 21 century, we would probably still believe that the world is flat. In my own case, friends and relatives and associates are terrified as I tell them that according to the latest scientific findings, it has been discovered that the human brain is round as a mammalian and only flat as a reptilian. Poch Suzara
Philosophy and the Bible
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8 .
Too bad bible readers are inspired to keep away from Bertrand Russell who wrote: “Philosophy should make us know the ends of life, and the elements in life that have value on their own account. However our freedom may be limited in the causal sphere, we need admit no limitations to our freedom in the sphere of values: what we judge good on its own account we may continue to judge good, without regard to anything but our feeling. Philosophy cannot itself determine the ends of life, but it can free us from the tyranny of prejudice and from distortions due to a narrow view. Love, beauty, knowledge, and the joy of life: these things retain their luster however wide our purview. And if philosophy can help us to feel the value of these things, it will have played its part in man’s collective work in bringing light into a world of darkness. OUTLINE OF PHILOSOPHY. Poch Suzara
Too bad bible readers are inspired to keep away from Bertrand Russell who wrote: “Philosophy should make us know the ends of life, and the elements in life that have value on their own account. However our freedom may be limited in the causal sphere, we need admit no limitations to our freedom in the sphere of values: what we judge good on its own account we may continue to judge good, without regard to anything but our feeling. Philosophy cannot itself determine the ends of life, but it can free us from the tyranny of prejudice and from distortions due to a narrow view. Love, beauty, knowledge, and the joy of life: these things retain their luster however wide our purview. And if philosophy can help us to feel the value of these things, it will have played its part in man’s collective work in bringing light into a world of darkness. OUTLINE OF PHILOSOPHY. Poch Suzara
After Death, What?
After death, what then? Nothing. Is that it? Yes, it’s all over. But isn’t that sad? Yes, it is sad. But what is even sadder, however, is that our lifetime on this earth is but a fraction of a millimeter or a split of a second as compared to the life of eternity and on a planet that is so insignificantly tiny. 1,000 planet earth can fit inside the Planet Jupiter which, in turn, is also so tiny in that 100,000 Jupiters can fit inside our Sun. Ours indeed is but an iota of existence. In the meantime, when a atheist admits with all intellectual honesty that life began as a fluke, that we live as a farce, and that we end up as a fertilizer – the atheist is not being a sanctimonious hypocrite. He means it. Shakespeare was not being facetious when he wrote of this truth: “When we are born we cry, that we are come to this great stage of fools.” Poch Suzara.
Failures and Losers
There are many kinds of failures and losers in this world. The most popular are those who do not hesitate to jump at every opportunity to make cheap excuses for or in behalf of God who is always sleeping on the job or has not shown Himself worthy of respect and admiration as an All-powerful, All-knowing, all-mighty, all-loving, all-merciful, all-wise, all-eternal, all-invisible, all-supreme, and an all-perfect God. Poch Suzara
Reality
Reality is always changing, and at the heart of it is not an answer, but an ultimate question: why is there something rather than nothing? The answer is that there is no answer, only more questions that gave birth to a queen called “philosophy” which in turn produced remarkable children called the “sciences.” Indeed, the task of philosophy is to ask question, and as soon as the answer is found, it ceases to be philosophy. It becomes a science. And fortunateky for science, it is a never-ending adventure in the search for the truth. Poch Suzara
Science and Politics
In response to ecologists who were trying to preserve the great coastal forests, Governor Reagan of California said: “If you have seen one tree you have seen them all.”
Listen to the scientist Carl Sagan: “Human beings grew up in the forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky. Its leaves harvest sunlight to photosynthesize, so trees compete by shadowing their neighbors. If you look closely, you can often see two trees pushing and shoving with languid grace. Trees are great and beautiful machines, powered by sunlight, taking in water from the ground and carbon dioxide from the air, converting these materials into food for their use and ours. The plant uses the carbohydrates it makes as an energy source to go about its planty business. And we animals, who are ultimately parasites on the plants, steal the carbohydrates so we can go about our business. In eating the plants we combine the carbohydrates with oxygen dissolved in our blood because of our penchant for breathing air, and so extract the energy that makes us go. In the process, we exhale carbon dioxide, which the plants then recycle to make more carbohydrates. What a marvelous cooperative arrangement - plants and animals each inhaling the other’s exhalations, a kind of planet-wide mutual mouth-to-stoma resuscitation, the entire elegant cycle powered by a star 150 million kilometers away.” Poch Suzara
Listen to the scientist Carl Sagan: “Human beings grew up in the forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky. Its leaves harvest sunlight to photosynthesize, so trees compete by shadowing their neighbors. If you look closely, you can often see two trees pushing and shoving with languid grace. Trees are great and beautiful machines, powered by sunlight, taking in water from the ground and carbon dioxide from the air, converting these materials into food for their use and ours. The plant uses the carbohydrates it makes as an energy source to go about its planty business. And we animals, who are ultimately parasites on the plants, steal the carbohydrates so we can go about our business. In eating the plants we combine the carbohydrates with oxygen dissolved in our blood because of our penchant for breathing air, and so extract the energy that makes us go. In the process, we exhale carbon dioxide, which the plants then recycle to make more carbohydrates. What a marvelous cooperative arrangement - plants and animals each inhaling the other’s exhalations, a kind of planet-wide mutual mouth-to-stoma resuscitation, the entire elegant cycle powered by a star 150 million kilometers away.” Poch Suzara
Albert Einstein
According to Einstein, “A legitimate conflict between science and religion cannot exist. Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Well,
If I may add, fortunately, science and religion can, indeed, merge; unfortunately, however, religion must first reconcile with other religions before science can begin to entertain the merger. In the meantime, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity may reconcile with each other later; but for now, let’s first just see the Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Mormons, Episcopalians, Adventists, etc. otherwise also known as “Christians” reconcile and merge together harmoniously as one happy family of Christians. Poch Suzara
Thursday, April 14, 2005
God's Luckiest Creature
GOD’s LUCKIEST CREATURE
By: POCH SUZARA
Among God’s creatures only one has turned out to be the luckiest who always had it so fortunate. When he was created eons ago, and presumably in God’s own image and likeness, he never had to worry about the necessities of life – food, clothing, and shelter. He never had to struggle for existence with toil, pain, and sweat. He is quite a success in his own right. And to think that -
He never had to be baptized. Never had to go to confession. Going to mass on Sundays is to him worthless; holy communion meaningless. He does not need bible classes, or attend Wednesday novenas, or Thursday Adorations. He has no need of prayers for the salvation of his soul. The Gospel means nothing to him. In fact, the Gospel was written because of him. To think also that God gifted him with the free will too greater than those of ordinary men’s free will.
He never had any need to learn Christian values and beliefs. Carnal knowledge means nothing to him. He had no need to earn a college diploma to succeed in the world of greed and corruption. A career to earn a living means nothing to him. But he is quite a success with his ambitions, especially on earth. He’s behind governments of most countries. The Philippine government is his favorite. Thanks to his inspiration, Filipinos believed that freedom is the greatest as long as theocracy stays on top of our democracy.
This creature has never been afraid of anything. The Ten Commandments of God means nothing to him. In fact, he sees to it that such commands are always disobeyed, and that the results would be the same either way for the sinner: to be good, specially to be good for nothing.
He has no need of money. He has no bank account. He pays neither rent nor mortgage for his house. He does not even live in a home. But his place of residence was well provided for by God himself. He has no need for a family car. He’s wifeless and childless; in fact, he is sexless. He has no hospital bills to worry about. He has no health problems. He has no worries about burial expenses one day. He is even deathless. No one can destroy him as he enjoys eternal power. He’s free to do anything he wants without fear of punishment. He can create or destroy and is not answerable to any one. More than a hundred billion human beings already lived and died on this earth since Adam and Eve. But this creature is still alive, and kicking, and breathing fire and brimstone.
This creature of God sees to it that “faith” continues to be popular among men because, like “humility,” it makes stupidity a virtue. He loves the believers, the kneelers, and the cringers. They are his kind of people. The famous evangelists around the world are among the greatest of his friends. After all, evangelism sells nothing but wishful thinking and comforting myth to believers at a dear price: the mindless surrender of the self via the mutilation of the intellect. And therefore nothing pleases him more than to see mindless and heartless humans inspired to feel all the time worthless.
Despite his destructive ways, he has the power to reward himself with anything he wants; specially the souls of men. He has the power of a God. The Philippines is one country that he controls totally with the help of the theologians in cahoots with the politicians that he had endowed with power, wealth, and glory. He has the power of a God.
In the meantime, he can perform miracles. He can make people believe in the most idiotic of beliefs; he can even make a whole society sick. In God’s name, this creature has the power to teach brothers to hate brothers, to disintegrate empires, to topple governments, make kings abdicate, and teach nations to declare war on other nations. And most of all, he has the power to perform miracles in remote provinces. Those who enjoy delusions are his special friends. Specially, those who live near the mountain and who are able to hear the voice of God speaking to them.
No, this creature is not a saint, nor the pope, but the devil himself: - the most convenient concept justified by Christianity with theological infallibility. He is also known as Lucifer – the bringer of light. Throughout history – logic, philosophy, free thinking, intelligence, science and technology have always been regarded by the believers as the work of the devil – the most fortunate of all among God’s creatures. A spoiled supernatural brat, you might say. But if you look at your bible: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer to the ground..." - Isaiah 14:12. Then see the last page of the same bible, it reads: "I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." -Rev. 22:16. Note that the name Lucifer ( another name for Satan ) means light bearer, or morning star. Therefore, Lucifer is one of the inspired authors of the bible. Is it possible that the Holy trinity is actually the Holy Quadrucity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Devil?
Our teachers in Catechism told us that eons ago, when Satan decided to go against God, no one in heaven, not even the later theologians on earth, considered that supernatural event as the real Fall, the real Original Sin. No, the Fall was reserved for Adam and Eve - innocent and powerless as they both were. Satan then played a vital role in the Fall of Man and yet again he got scot-free. He has remained free and unpunished for ruining the lives of our first parents. Indeed, no one in heaven thought of crucifying on earth Satan on the cross. They thought of a better plan: put the Son of God to die on the cross in order to redeem the sins of man and to destroy the devil.
But what a monumental failure that was. Satan is still alive and doing quite well and happy enjoying the power of his free will. And he sees to it that the sinners keep on praying to God to lead them not into temptation. Of course, Satan knows stupidity comes first, sin follows. And so he sees to it that the power of human stupidity drives the human community ever on perpetually. In fact, Satan’s favorite people are the believers. After all, no one, except the believers believe in the existence of hell. Indeed, believers fear the devil first; fear God only second. What could be more flattering for this God’s luckiest of creatures?
In the final analysis, behind every good is the power of divinity. Behind every evil is the power of deviltry. But in between those two supernatural forces, however, is the power of human stupidity always trying to catch up with the power of infinity. - Poch Suzara
By: POCH SUZARA
Among God’s creatures only one has turned out to be the luckiest who always had it so fortunate. When he was created eons ago, and presumably in God’s own image and likeness, he never had to worry about the necessities of life – food, clothing, and shelter. He never had to struggle for existence with toil, pain, and sweat. He is quite a success in his own right. And to think that -
He never had to be baptized. Never had to go to confession. Going to mass on Sundays is to him worthless; holy communion meaningless. He does not need bible classes, or attend Wednesday novenas, or Thursday Adorations. He has no need of prayers for the salvation of his soul. The Gospel means nothing to him. In fact, the Gospel was written because of him. To think also that God gifted him with the free will too greater than those of ordinary men’s free will.
He never had any need to learn Christian values and beliefs. Carnal knowledge means nothing to him. He had no need to earn a college diploma to succeed in the world of greed and corruption. A career to earn a living means nothing to him. But he is quite a success with his ambitions, especially on earth. He’s behind governments of most countries. The Philippine government is his favorite. Thanks to his inspiration, Filipinos believed that freedom is the greatest as long as theocracy stays on top of our democracy.
This creature has never been afraid of anything. The Ten Commandments of God means nothing to him. In fact, he sees to it that such commands are always disobeyed, and that the results would be the same either way for the sinner: to be good, specially to be good for nothing.
He has no need of money. He has no bank account. He pays neither rent nor mortgage for his house. He does not even live in a home. But his place of residence was well provided for by God himself. He has no need for a family car. He’s wifeless and childless; in fact, he is sexless. He has no hospital bills to worry about. He has no health problems. He has no worries about burial expenses one day. He is even deathless. No one can destroy him as he enjoys eternal power. He’s free to do anything he wants without fear of punishment. He can create or destroy and is not answerable to any one. More than a hundred billion human beings already lived and died on this earth since Adam and Eve. But this creature is still alive, and kicking, and breathing fire and brimstone.
This creature of God sees to it that “faith” continues to be popular among men because, like “humility,” it makes stupidity a virtue. He loves the believers, the kneelers, and the cringers. They are his kind of people. The famous evangelists around the world are among the greatest of his friends. After all, evangelism sells nothing but wishful thinking and comforting myth to believers at a dear price: the mindless surrender of the self via the mutilation of the intellect. And therefore nothing pleases him more than to see mindless and heartless humans inspired to feel all the time worthless.
Despite his destructive ways, he has the power to reward himself with anything he wants; specially the souls of men. He has the power of a God. The Philippines is one country that he controls totally with the help of the theologians in cahoots with the politicians that he had endowed with power, wealth, and glory. He has the power of a God.
In the meantime, he can perform miracles. He can make people believe in the most idiotic of beliefs; he can even make a whole society sick. In God’s name, this creature has the power to teach brothers to hate brothers, to disintegrate empires, to topple governments, make kings abdicate, and teach nations to declare war on other nations. And most of all, he has the power to perform miracles in remote provinces. Those who enjoy delusions are his special friends. Specially, those who live near the mountain and who are able to hear the voice of God speaking to them.
No, this creature is not a saint, nor the pope, but the devil himself: - the most convenient concept justified by Christianity with theological infallibility. He is also known as Lucifer – the bringer of light. Throughout history – logic, philosophy, free thinking, intelligence, science and technology have always been regarded by the believers as the work of the devil – the most fortunate of all among God’s creatures. A spoiled supernatural brat, you might say. But if you look at your bible: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer to the ground..." - Isaiah 14:12. Then see the last page of the same bible, it reads: "I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." -Rev. 22:16. Note that the name Lucifer ( another name for Satan ) means light bearer, or morning star. Therefore, Lucifer is one of the inspired authors of the bible. Is it possible that the Holy trinity is actually the Holy Quadrucity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Devil?
Our teachers in Catechism told us that eons ago, when Satan decided to go against God, no one in heaven, not even the later theologians on earth, considered that supernatural event as the real Fall, the real Original Sin. No, the Fall was reserved for Adam and Eve - innocent and powerless as they both were. Satan then played a vital role in the Fall of Man and yet again he got scot-free. He has remained free and unpunished for ruining the lives of our first parents. Indeed, no one in heaven thought of crucifying on earth Satan on the cross. They thought of a better plan: put the Son of God to die on the cross in order to redeem the sins of man and to destroy the devil.
But what a monumental failure that was. Satan is still alive and doing quite well and happy enjoying the power of his free will. And he sees to it that the sinners keep on praying to God to lead them not into temptation. Of course, Satan knows stupidity comes first, sin follows. And so he sees to it that the power of human stupidity drives the human community ever on perpetually. In fact, Satan’s favorite people are the believers. After all, no one, except the believers believe in the existence of hell. Indeed, believers fear the devil first; fear God only second. What could be more flattering for this God’s luckiest of creatures?
In the final analysis, behind every good is the power of divinity. Behind every evil is the power of deviltry. But in between those two supernatural forces, however, is the power of human stupidity always trying to catch up with the power of infinity. - Poch Suzara
Friday, April 01, 2005
Ignorant
When we are born, none of us knew where we came from. In birth, we are ignorant. When we die, none of us will know where we are going. In death, we are ignorant. And to think we live but for a few moments, comparatively, on this grain of sand called Earth circling a star of which trillions of such stars exist out there. Scientist Carl Sagan wrote: “The total number of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand in all the beaches of the planet Earth.” Poch Suzara
God's Truth
I am told that God’s truth is the best protection against Satan’s lies. But if there were God’s truth, what is the purpose of Satan’s lies, nay, what is the purpose of Satan’s existence? On the other hand, isn’t the existence of God protective enough? Why must there be also the truth from God? When are we going to stop playing this silly theological games? To begin with, we know nothing of God and we know nothing of Satan. Who cares about the truth or the lies emanating from either of these two supernatural monsters always happy working endlessly together? In the meantime, what is the difference between revealed lies from God and revealed truth from Satan? Poch Suzara
As a Devout Atheist
For my part, as a devout atheist, I do not care to meet God out there after I am dead. I should wish, however, to meet Him down here and now while I am still alive. So where is God? Why hide away from atheists like me? Poch Suzara
For God So loved the World
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. How wonderful of God to have loved the world. Too bad He did not love also His only begotten Son that He gave away. Crucified on the cross, His only begotten Son Jesus cried out: “My God, My God, what hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46 Poch Suzara
God's 10th Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbors. Exodus 20:17. Just like the rest of the commands, God’s 10th command was obviously written for the superstitious primitives of the antedeluvian days. Poch Suzara
Illitercy
Those who cannot discover the greatest of pleasure or the profoundest of joy in reading classical books are no better off than those who cannot read at all. Poch Suzara
Man's Greatest Achievement
Man’s greatest achievement in life is not to make billions; or to rule an empire; or to become famous or notorious. It is to be fully aware of the real nature of the powerful influence his parents at home and teachers in school and indeed priests in church who have had over him during his upbringing and education. The first five to ten years of a child’s life determines whether he will be a man of reason, or a man of faith, a businessman, a politician, a professor, a fool, a criminal, a saint, a clown, a lovable scoundrel, an alcoholic, or a catholic or a lunatic. For my part, I am grateful to my parents at home, my teachers in school, and my priests in church for having inspired in me with enough motivation to grow up to become an atheist. And what was my life's greatest achievement
as I got to be an atheist? - I managed, somehow, to recapture the most priceless treasure stolen away from as a little boy at home, in school, and in church - my most precious mind to grow up to be, rightly or wrongly, a courageous thinking man. Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#
I Think
I think if there is a God, He should be found existing inside, not outside, the universe. In fact, as nothing exists outside the universe, there is no God to be found there. I think further that it is easier for God to find us wasting time and energy trying to find Him. After all, God already has the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. We humans have nothing. We do not even possess the common sense to find each other for the sake of peace on earth and goodwill to all men. Poch Suzara atheist# Twitter# Facebook# Google#
In Order to be Happy
In order to be happy, it is not necessary to be rich and famous. What is essential is to be free and creative. However, one must first get rid of fear – the root cause of human misery. The secret of happiness is to progress from want to less want through the progress of thinking with more thinking. Indeed, there is a tremendous amount of happiness to be derived from the free market of ideas. Poch Suzara
The Values of Questions
Who are we? What are we? Where did we come from? Where do we stand in the scheme of things? What, if any, is our destiny? Is there a way of life that is noble and another that is base? Has life a purpose? Perhaps, life’s purpose is to seek the answers to those precious questions. The truth will not make us rich, but it will make us free. Poch Suzara
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