Philippine Atheists

Somebody told me this story about a mother who gave birth a hospital at MCU in Caloocan where her baby was delivered. The mother just had her 8th (or 9th) baby and that she just had tubal ligation as recommended to her by the doctor and to which the mother had gladly accepted the procedure. The mother didn’t really want that many babies but didn’t know what her options were until told by the doctor. (I say kudos to that doctor!) The mother was in her early 30s so we can say that at the pace she was delivering souls into this world, she could still deliver four or five more babies if not sterilized. The mother was ignorant about her choices. Also, tubal ligation is a safe procedure and is very effective.

The consolidated reproductive health and population bill (substitute bill to HB 4110 now filed in the current 14th congress) mandates some basic things to be in place, a structure, a program and an assured budget allocation towards promoting choice on reproductive health, for informing our women about their choices and providing the necessary and non-discriminatory access to these choices. This the government cannot do now because it’s not automatic and the Church leaders are opposing these programs each time the national government attempts to put something in place. Only if we have people like Juan Flavier running DOH can get things done even partially effectively and only while it lasts. The Church leaders don’t speak for the belief of its flock but they are the most influential with some bishops even threatening denial of communion (an absurd threat in this time and age except when made to a sagrado Katoliko types) to the lawmakers who support the bill. It’s a relief that we no longer live in the times of Rizal where the church and state is one and the same and where opposing the church/state can lead to a speedy mock trial and an execution.

The Catholic leaders just like many among us are ignorant about many things specially on issues on population. This ignorance is a product of our low-quality educational system which is in turn is a part of our low-quality-educated society. Unfortunately, again the Catholic Church plays a big part in this collective ignorance since there are many “high-quality” private schools run by religious institutions in the country that is short-changing our future by faithfully educating the people with religious BS but at the same time selectively teaching biological sciences to produce a population with collective ignorance of Charles Darwin’s contribution to the sciences. One cannot appreciate the real danger of the world with limited resources on the brink of collapse because the gradual manner that it is happening is hardly noticeable on a day to day basis. What’s worse is ignorance of the accelerating pace of this environmental collapse due to the damage caused by unsustainable population growth helped brought about by irrational policies. This reproductive health bill is one of the things that should help us stem the tide of population growth if enough mothers can be informed of their choices and be able to avail of these choices. Even with a steady population growth with sustainable development has environmental consequences in the form of rising demand on the limited resources the planet could offer.

One major objection by the moralist crusaders about the bill is that it will encourage promiscuity. Hello? They are really in the Dark Ages. They cannot stop what is already there. Many people are already having sex before and outside of marriage and with multiple partners. They no longer need encouragement. In fact, presumably many priests and bishops have presumably had sex at one time or anotheer so I don’t subscribe to the insinuation that they lack the experience on this matter. But if two consenting adults have sex and if all parties involved consented, what possible business do the priests and bishops have in it? Another objection is that the bill will legalize abortion. The latest bill is even more explicit in stating that it will not. Another objection is because of they say, “we don’t own our body”. That is of course a complete religious bullshit.

Catholics should be free to think and come to the conclusion by themselves. The church leaders are just as ignorant and fallible about many things and so don’t have the authority on truth. If history will be the basis, the Catholic hierarchy has even a very poor record on this regard, specially where science is concerned. (For example, the Catholic church has not yet fully acknowledged evolution as true.) The thinking that priests and bishops and popes and pastors know best is a sure ticket to being misled, hopefully without getting your money. This include the truth on reproductive health and population issues that should be debated freely and without coercion (e.g., no threat of any kind like from organized religion) based on empirical facts.

Finally, the non-Catholics should be able to avail of their medical choices without the Catholics refusing them.

They did it again. And I’m angry.

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Excerpt of an article in Inquirer:

“For an official of the Roman Catholic Church, the commission of a homosexual act is the real issue behind the rectal surgery in Cebu City that exploded into a scandal on YouTube.

Msgr. Achilles Dakay, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, Wednesday said the doctors and nurses who had made fun of an anesthetized male patient in the operation room of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and uploaded a video of the surgery on YouTube should not be blamed solely for the scandal.

“We are asking everyone not to forget or to bypass the main issue: the wrong act of a guy with another man,” Dakay said in an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas. “People are not talking about what happened before the operation—the homosexual act that was done very badly.”

(by Margaux Ortiz, Philippine Daily Inquirer. First posted 04:48:00 04/24/2008)

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First of all, let’s state the obvious: the Catholic Church is ignorant, backwards, arrogant, bigoted, delusional, and false.

The “commission of a homosexual act” is NOT the issue behind the scandal. For this dumb priest to even say that it is, means he’s just not paying attention. Senile much?

His assertion that the doctors and nurses who made fun of the operation, captured a video of the operation, and humiliated the patient on the internet, should not be blamed makes clear the bigotry and distorted values of the Catholic Church.

They are quite accepting of people who ridicule the different, tolerant of oppression as long as it is directed toward people with other values, and praising of those who do evil, immoral, and unconscionable acts as long as they wear God’s cross.

We must not believe the Church when they preach compassion for the sick for the simple reason that IT IS NOT TRUE. They don’t believe that, they may think they believe that but in their hearts they will condemn the next AIDS patient they see, maybe for homosexuality or for having sex at all.

If the Catholic Church believes what it believes and continues to spew their disgusting opinions in our society, then it is a lie when they say they value the dignity of peoples. What they value are their bigotry, hatred, and this scripture from the medieval period they use to back up their bigotry and hatred with.

By the way, these are the names of the people who are involved in the “canister scandal”, count the Monsignor as one of these despicable creatures.

Dr. Philips Leo Arias
Dr. Angelo Alinawagan
Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo
Nursing Attendant Rosemarie Villareal
Nurse Carmiña Sapio

and Msgr. Achilles Dakay

Posted by JJGarcia in Pinoy atheists.

Last Sunday evening, I chanced upon this lady selling religious merchandise just outside the Akabane Catholic Church in north Tokyo. I decided to hang out here after coming from work and for thirty minutes I watched her sell magic Catholic stuffs like rosaries, statuettes, and banners. She said that the rosaries were blessed at Baclaran Church and that they bring all kinds of luck - mas gaganda ang guhit ng palad mo - according to one of her sales pitch. The bracelet even had a proper method of removing from the wrist by slowly sliding it instead of stretching it. But I thought, maybe it’s because if you stretch it, it may snap due to poor quality in both material and craftsmanship as usually is the case. Listening to her gives an impression of how Pinoys combine elements of traditional native superstition and pseudo-science with the cult that is Catholicism. And judging from the attention and appreciation by the buyers, gives the impression that the masa is also so well into it. For example, she said the beads of the rosary have powers which is not much different from magic crystals while saying the statuettes improve the lines of your palm combines elements of palmistry with Catholic garbage. Believe it or not, they sell like cupcakes! That’s how gullible our church-going kababayans here are.

The following is an exceprt from my reply in a public forum when somebody asked me what do I think about bible quotes directed towards me.

The bible is full of interesting things. It has many good things and a lot of bad things. In it the merciful god of the OT waged genocide and murder, at one point drowning the whole of creation except for one family and select pairs of species. My position is that the bible, specially the OT, is a work of bad fiction. The NT is a lot better specially the four gospels. If we ignore the fantastic and the fabulous stories and sub-stories in it, I can agree that Jesus Christ is one of the most noblest characters ever (invented by man). The morality that he teaches is one of humility and love and caring for our neighbors. Obviously, and as is shown by participants in this forum including myself, he is a hard act to follow so to speak. There are great stories in the bible and my favorite is the story of Joseph who was sold by his brothers as a slave to the Egyptians and soon became the second most powerful person in all of Egypt. Then there is Moses. Together with his commander-in-chief god were vicious and wicked characters. Upon instruction from god, Moses committed acts that pales the achievements of a modern day war criminal (see Numbers). My point is, I cannot believe that a merciful and benevolent god inspired the Old Testament so either god was malevolent or the bible was the product of a barbaric time. For me, there can only be one conclusion. If there indeed is a benevolent and merciful god, then this book cannot be his inspiration. If you quote the bible to me, it has the effect of quoting, for example The Outsider of Albert Camus. It’s a work of fiction so it must be taken with a pinch of salt. Sure it can send me thinking but not at all seriously. There may be some truths in it, and there are lots of good things in it as well specially when it doesn’t talk about miracles or angels or heaven or hell, and this is what makes it worth more than another work of fiction is. In short, it doesn’t have the intended effect on me. (No offense to Mang Renato) I take what I think is good on its own merit alone (like “the truth will set you free”) and ignore those that don’t make sense or make only nonsense.

They said the most effective weapon against the bible is the bible itself. Read the bible and see for yourself what it really is. It’s not fit for reading by impressionable children and should be rated PG13.

Here is a good start: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/index.htm

The Qu’ran is not any better.

You see, God is a great marketing strategist. Of course, because He is God. Since he created everything your eyes could see, everything your nose can smell, everything your ears could hear, everything your skin could feel and everything your hands would touch. To make it short, damn everything! And because he is such an omni-everything, thinking of a good marketing plan is as easy as kicking a lifeless stone lying around your path. And so he thought of a good plan to promote himself and he gave us this thing called “freedom.” (I would like to emphasize the word “FREE.”) This “freedom” gives us the ability to choose. We can choose weather to believe in Him or not. (I would like to point out that not believing doesn’t mean denying.) But of course, like any other product promotion, it has a catch.

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In an opinion titled Theological Clarity about the Catholic Church ‘clarifying’ the concept of Limbo, the Inquirer wrote:

The fact that Filipino Catholics have eagerly made the ITC document an agenda for absorbed conversation should indicate that they not only have potential for theological sophistication, but also have the commitment and devotion to active Christian humanism.

Now ‘potential for theological sophistication’ is a funny phrase. The devoted Pinoy Catholics don’t just have potential for theological sophistication, they are achievers. Trailblazers even. But seriously, why can’t the Catholic Church just admit it and call the concept of limbo what it really is - bullshit?

The Commission on Elections or COMELEC is reportedly banning campaigning on Christendom’s Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. I think the separation of church and state principle ought to be tested in the legal system if we are to understand its intent, to let the courts interpret it for everyone alike - Christian or not. With the current state of affairs, I’d be surprised if the framers of the constitution understood it as well or they were merely suggesting these things they have written in the constitution of the republic. Only few of them have expressed opinion on the matter though an opinion is still much better than no opinion at all. About the election rule in question, the COMELEC official said the ban is “religion-blind.” Who does he think he is fooling? It has Christianity written all over it in big bold red letters! It is very much religion aware and religion-advancing short of establishing Christianity as official religion of the state. Quoting the article, “he said Muslim candidates and all areas where Islam was the only or dominant religion were also covered by the prohibition” which of course implies that there are only two religions in the Philippines. While Thursday and Friday are already official public holidays of religious nature, the government getting out of its way to ban activities of public nature so as not to “offend” the sensibilities of the majority Catholic populace during the holdiays already made for them is, IMO, too much. The least it could do is observe the days as if they are regular days. The government, or the COMELEC in this matter, should be there to promote the public good and not to promote the Catholic public good. Otherwise, let’s just call the COMELEC, CACOMELEC or Catholic Commission on Elections so everybody understands.

We can go kite a-flying!
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Blessing - the type that is supposedly dispensed by a “god” - is a word that doesn’t make much sense to me. There is a chain letter that has been making the rounds in the internet ever since the forward button was invented and where the following line appears:

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

What kind of twisted reasoning could justify your health as being “more blessed than the million who will not survive”? I thought we are told time and again that blessings are supposed to be coming from a benevolent, all-powerful and just being called god? Why would a god choose to bless one and not bless the million others? Isn’t this an example of sheer self-centered-ness? And if we consider for a moment that this is contrary to their belief that there is a paradise waiting for us in the after-life, shouldn’t we really say that the millions who will die of illness are more blessed for entering paradise sooner?

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation …you are better off than 500 million people in the world.

500 million starving or tortured or a war refugee because god was busy giving blessing to you? This is hard sell. You are indeed special, sucker! What would you tell the 500 starving people, then? That they are less worthy of god’s blessing that their role in the Great Plan is to starve to death?

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 70% of this world.

If that is a blessing then whatever happened to the Christian teaching about the poor being blessed for they will inherit the earth? Never mind having the refrigerator, dude. It’s good that the original author stay anonymous. It would just make him look blessed by his god with plenty of common-sense-less-ness.

The Pope quoted Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, back in the 14th century as saying “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find thing only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The place that this statement was made was amazingly insensitive because this place in Germany is where there are thousands of Moslem “Guest Workers” who have been subject to ill treatment by local Fascist thugs. The Pope therefore will have fueled this racism.

Was this uttered as a slip of the tongue? Hardly in fact the Pope has form on this because just a few months before he was elected, he spoke out against Muslim Turkey joining the E.U. because he argued “Christian Europe must be defended.” The Popes credentials as anti Islam must now be well established within the Moslems world irrespective of any apologies he may make.

If the Pope really wanted dialogue with Islam leaders as he professes, he could have balanced his remarks with mention of one of his predecessors, Urban II who first summoned a Christian Jihad against Islam. He could have also drawn attention to the born-again Christians who have been at the forefront of support for the invasion of Iraq, the invasion and occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and the whole “Reorganization” of the Middle East in which many thousand of Muslims have lost their lives.

If the Pope had bothered to read the bible, which it seems the Roman Catholic Church rarely recommends, he would be cognizant of the passage written there to the effect; “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

As far as my opinion goes I quote Shakespeare’s “A Plague on both Their Houses” but the hypocrisy and double standards shown in the Pope’s words make me want to vomit!

Doug Adam
Philippines