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