Health and Wealth and the Search of the Truth

We squander our health, in search of wealth. We toil, we sweat, and we save. Then we squander our wealth in search of health; only 

to find the grave. - - - Anonymous

As with me, however, I have been most fortunate. I squandered both my health and wealth in search of the truth. It is a never-ending adventure; and in the process I managed, somehow, to discover the lies and deceptions that's keeping us spiritually sick as a people; and, keeping us morally insane as a nation. In sharing, however, my discoveries with others - I never intended to be vicious or malicious; in fact, I thought, I should be ethically meritorious, if not philosophically courageous. In the meantime, the search of 

the truth is the most delightful of adventures. Especially as it means total submission of the power of reason to the mutilation of silly or childish faith. Rightly or wrongly it's the best way to enjoy lively analysis as we should always reject the uselessness of deadly paralysis! - - - Poch Suzara

Religion a "Dying Dinosaur" - a Great Letter

Religion a ‘dying dinosaur’

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:12 AM February 09, 2017

This is in reference to the commentary titled “Will we ever attain economic take-off?” by Meliton Juanico (Opinion, 1/25/17).

The Catholic Church and the religious values it espouses are the elephants in the room that Juanico failed to address. The conditions necessary to attain economic take-off are not being attained because the values being taught are contrary to the “modern values” he is talking about.

We have nothing comparable to the Confucian (secular) ethic that he says the “tiger” economies of Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong have. Our historical preoccupation with religion and the Church’s influence on our values have put us at a disadvantage. Obedience, subordination, subservience—hallmarks of oppressive organized religion—are the very antithesis of modern economic success.

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It is no accident that we make good retail clerks, caregivers, domestic helpers, call center employees. These are good and needed workers, but they won’t create a Samsung, a Tesla or a PayPal if we are constantly being bombarded with sinning, fear-mongering, fire and brimstone. I have never understood to this day why “may takot sa Dios” (fear of the Lord) is a virtue. A child reared in this stifling environment becomes risk-averse, timid and ambiguous.

Further, absolutism and fixed religious ideology are a bane to creativity. Self-reliance and resourcefulness continue to erode as we constantly delude ourselves into “Hail Marying” through economic downturn and poverty. You would think that after 500 years of living, breathing and eating religion the way we do, it should have already brought us unprecedented wealth and First World status.

We can’t even claim the high moral stature of the most atheistic countries in the world (read: Scandinavia). My friend Joe says: But we go to heaven, and they go to hell. This is what 2,000 years of relentless conditioning have done to Joe’s brain. It’s irrational, bordering on mental illness.

Juanico talks about “value reorientation,” using readers of the 1950s to inculcate modern values. I don’t know where he is coming from, but my grandchildren won’t read any fairy tales anymore. It’s iPad or nothing. They are assertive and smarter than some of my teachers in the 1960s.

Good grief, Juanico, “Good Manners and Right Conduct?” What is good and what is right today? (You can say “bad” today and mean “good.”) Religion is a dying dinosaur, but like prehistoric creatures, it will evolve and continue for many more years.

The pulpit should be a source of education for the masses, and not for religious bullying. Stop all nonsense about medieval mythology. Talk about what it means to be a citizen of the world instead. Speak about Carl Sagan, Charles Darwin and Bill Gates. Let the faithful know what happened during the Inquisition, the significance of the Enlightenment and tell why Evolution is fact. If the Padre cannot handle these stuff, he should humble himself and outsource the homily.

At the current state of affairs in this country, will we attain economic take-off? Yes, “until the cows come home,” if we don’t reinvent ourselves.

EDWIN DE LEON, edwingdeleon@gmail.com

COMMENT:

Indeed, we can only build a better society for ourselves by throwing all of sick religious beliefs and insane religious values out the window. They do nothing for us except to keep us spiritually sick as a people and culturally insane as a nation.

It is time to take a serious look at the evils behind Christianity:  It is all about praying daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly for the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In the end, it is all about the same old sick story - the achievement of nothing as a people; and the accomplishment of nothing as a nation. And to think that all of the schools, colleges, and universities established by the Catholic church in the Philippines have been mostly about learning how to pray for the sake of gaining eternal salvation after death with Jesus in heaven! In the meantime, it is truly sickening: everybody wants to go to heaven; but nobody wants to die! Cheers! Poch Suzara, Father of Atheism in the Philippines

                                                                                         

The Human Capacity for human Stupidity

For my part, I say, the greatest tragedy of the human race is in its capacity to still believe in the silly existence of a silly grace who is suppose to be existing as something of a divine grace for the human race. - - - Poch Suzara

Religion like a Disease is always an Evil, Never a Good thing

Religion is not a good thing because the majority of people believe it. It is just like believing that a disease is a good thing because the majority of people have caught it. Or just like the existence of Santa Claus is a good thing because the majority of children believe him to be coming soon bringing toys for them to play with.

As with me, I grew up to be an atheist because even as a little boy at home or in school - I enjoyed playing around

not only with my toys, but mostly with my thoughts! Even

at the risk of being punished for asking questions! Such as

if there is a God who created me why do I need to have parents at home, teachers in school, or need to have priests in church?

                                                        Poch Suzara

An Agnostic was Once as Atheist

"The only thing I know about God is that God is inscrutable. In other words, I don’t know a single thing about God. I’m clueless about what God is. Maybe Jesus, or the other historical figures around which religions had been built, would be more approachable. But God itself, being on a divine level, I think it’s just impermeable to human intelligence. And there is a very famous classical book called The Cloud of Unknowing. There’s always a cloud of unknowing over God. I think that, since God is inaccessible to people, we tend to portray Him in anthropomorphic terms. We think of the best qualities in every person and you try and project it on a giant scale on God. So in effect, God is a man-made concept. We have no clue what God is."

"I do not understand why God can be all love and still inflict this kind of pain on people. This God is an underachiever. He does not do whatever he is supposed to be doing, whatever his sex is. Whether he's an it or a she or a he or whatever. But I'm sure that if you were a god or if I were the God, I would be doing a better job. Therefore, the only conclusion can be that possibly, God does not exist.'" ---Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

The Alter of Secrets - Sex, Politics, Money, and corruption Inside the Catholic Church in the Philippines

I highly recommend that you all read this book:

Altar of Secrets : Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church

by Aries C. Rufo, Marites Dañguilan Vitug (Introduction)

 

"Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church is the first of its kind in the country. Journalist Aries C. Rufo shows a Church that is cloaked in secrecy. It keeps the wrongdoing of its bishops and priests - in sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement - within its confines and lets them get away, unpunished. Accountability, after all, is not a strong suit of the Church. Rufo also delves into how the Church influences policy, as nowhere among Catholic countries in the world is the Church deeply involved in the shaping of policy than in the Philippines. Overall, reforms are taking place, but these are highly dependent on the Church leaders, the bishops who try to change mindsets and systems."  Poch Suzara, Father of

 Atheism in the Philippines

How Does One Travel After Death

After birth, you can travel to a foreign country by air on a plane; or, by sea on a ship.

After death, however, by what means of transportation do you embark on to travel to meet with God and his saints in heaven; or, to travel to meet with Satan and his sinners in hell? - - - Poch Suzara