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