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

Jesus Revealed

“I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6. I ask: under this theological revelation, how did Jesus, as the Son of God, alleviate pain or spread the sympathy for human suffering and poverty in this world? So much so that in his own community no one need have been that ungrateful to shout “Crucify Him!” “Crucify Him!” Poch Suzara

Jesus Replied

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? 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; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Unfortunately, by the time I am through loving the infinite God with all of my heart, and soul, and strength, and mind, - I will be so exhausted in that I will have no more time to love my neighbor nor have the energy to love even myself. Poch Suzara

Jesus Preached

Love your neighbor as yourself. I ask: What if your neighbor were a congressman? Poch Suzara

RELIGION

Religion is a childish toy, and it is played with guilt and sin in the playground of ignorance. Religion profits not divinity. The profits are all for the priesthood industry. Indeed, all the organized religions of the world today are among the top most richest organizations in the world. Poch Suzara

FAITH AND BLIND FAITH

Faith is not wanting to know what is true. Indeed, faith is the best excuse we have for being thoughtless so that we may continue to feel blessed living in darkness. In fact, blind faith is the season for keeping away from the light of reason.
Poch Suzara

SPIRITUALITY

The path towards spirituality has nothing to do with embracing sacred lies and other pontifical delusions. On the contrary, the way towards spirituality lies through questioning everything; especially questioning the Revealed Truth as it has yet to be revealed. Poch Suzara

Caesar and God

Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. Matt. 22:21. This is all fine and dandy, but not, however, since we find both God and Caesar are already rendering unto each other first and foremost. If God renders unto Caesar’s the things that are Caesar’s and Caesar renders unto God the things that are God’s, where do we go to render to whom? Hello, Philippines - the only Catholic country in Asia! Poch Suzara

THE PUNY MIND OF MAN

“The mind of man,” wrote John Calvin, “undertakes all that is perverse, base, and impure and always remains involved in hypocrisy and deceit.” I ask: what vital role has Christianity played to make our politicians in government and our theologians in church all together be less perverse, less base, and less impure and no more involved in hypocrisy and deceit in the Philippines? Now I am told that I have a mind that is puny. Oh yes, indeed, since I am human, my mind is just as puny as your mind and just as puny as the mind of the theologians and the politicians. So how come you religiously frightened morons pretend that you have a mind that understands the mind of God? As if God has a mind since God is not human? Poch Suzara

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK

For the sake of peace and harmony, Jesus exhorts his followers with these words: “But I say unto you, that ye resists not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matt. 5:39

 I ask: what is so noble about turning the other cheek, if one knows that each time he does so,           he is    earning his salvation in heaven, while the one who strikes is earning his damnation in hell?          Poch Suzara

BIBLE MESSAGES

I see no truth behind the traditional benevolence of religion. I do not think one religion any better than another. I think, however, since it is older than Islam, Christianity has brought far more darkness, misery, crime, and suffering, and far more evil and tyranny than any other religion. Especially in this Asia’s only Christian country since the 16th century. One need not read Philippine history for evidence. Just read and study the bible and discover the horrors of divine grace for the human race. Intelligently read the bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived by inspired writers of God. Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#

Gilbert K. Chesterton

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried." Chesterton ( 1874-1936 ). I ask Mr. Chesterton: Have you heard of the Multiplication Table as the perfect model of truth? It has been tried for thousands of years, and without hate or wars. It has always been tried and found useful, always precise and certain and free from all temporal dross! And to think that the Multiplication Table as a perfect model of truth is not even mentioned in the bible - a book written by inspired authors of God. In the meantime, Christianity thrives not on love, but on hate. This is symptomatic of a viciousness in Christianity that few people care to acknowledge. For all of its alleged concern for the “poor” Christianity does its best to perpetuate suffering but calls it “sacrifice” which easily transforms into hate – hate of each other down here for the love of God up there; specially while believing that this world is coming to an end as predicted by Jesus in his own time some two thousand years ago. Poch Suzara

Politicians and Theologians

We have good politicians in our government. We have good theologians in our church. Unfortunately, however, it is not enough to be good; especially if one were only good for nothing. Perhaps, in the centuries to come, our politicians together with our theologians would have learned to be good for something. At least be better professionals in learning to stop making a mockery of everything. Poch Suzara

In the Bible

In Genesis, it is asked: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (18:14); and Jesus, more than once, said that “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27).
I ask: is it possible for God to make Filipinos love fellow-Filipinos and to love the Philippines too?
What is so precious about God’s gift of Free Will if the Good Will were more socially beneficial, and indeed, more harmoniously functional? Poch Suzara