The Dangers of Religious Ignorance--Charlie Hebdo

A number of journalists and staff of a satirical paper, the Charlie Hebdo in France met untimely deaths at the hands of three gun-wielding men. One of the three has already surrendered and police are hot on the heels of the remaining two, who, in one morning, barged into the editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo and peppered those inside with bullets.

More than this is a direct affront against one's right to free expression, let's talk about the reason which the killers used as justification in the killing of these journalists.

What reports tried to tell us is that the incident stemmed from hatred. Yes, hatred. The paper once satirised Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the main religious figure of the religion of Islam. In Islam, this is simply abominable, because the Noble Qu'ran forbids believers in depicting life in pictures, much less even draw the face of Prophet Muhammad.

For those who did the shooting at the Charlie Hebdo offices, those who are behind the forbidden thing of satirising their Prophet are already "condemned" to hell. They simply deserve to die.

Now, what the Noble Qu'ran directs the believer of Islam is simply "cut it off" or "slay the disbelief." There are passages in the Noble Qu'ran which essentially say that a believer has the duty of killing the disbeliever, even telling him to cut off the head.

For someone who just knew Islam when already an adult, and was not really proselytised properly, there is a tendency of misinterpreting these passages and even form the belief that what the Noble Qu'ran says or directs the Believer is essentially that---kill and cut off the head.

I have always believed that such holy scriptures are not to be taken literally or construed liberally. Holy books like the Bible and the Noble Qu'ran are not literary pieces but moreso, spiritual ones. They are "holy" books, therefore, they tell one of holy acts and thoughts.

The dangers posed by an Ignorant believer is to believe that what God intended the believer to do is kill someone who holds a contrary view or kill someone who simply refuses to believe even in the existence of God.

Is that the way to interpret the noble, spiritual teachings of holy books such as the Qu'ran and the Bible? No.

What are the holy laws which both religions, Islam and Christianity recognise as true instructions coming from God? One, both religions are in agreement in the first law--Love God with all your heart and with your soul. What are the others? The second and third laws, which is Do not kill and respect your parents are simply laws which are not subject to further interpretation but moreso, of obedience.

If God forbids one to kill someone, is it the intention of the Noble Qu'ran and the Bible to break this rule and put a qualifier? Is it justified to believe that yes it is forbidden to kill yet when it comes to a disbeliever, it is justified?

This is constant--whatever God forbid, it is forbidden. What God allows, it is legal.

There is no bending of the rule against killing someone, because the reason behind this rule is that life came from God, and no other being, except God, is given the right to withdraw life from a living being.

That said, what these people did to those people working in Charlie Hebdo is simply abominable. It is a transgression against God, the God Who Gave the Order not to kill somebody both in the Bible and the Noble Qu'ran.

Since it is a religious and holy book, what the Noble Qu'ran told its believers is to kill the "disbelief", not the one disbelieving. How to kill disbelief? By sharing with the disbeliever the true message of God.

God's true religion is like love--enduring, understanding, does not differentiate, patient, and kind.

Which is more pleasing to God---cutting off the sinning part of man or killing man? Obviously, it is not cutting off the physical part of a man or killing him altogether.

What will please God is when that man is made to reform or to see the light. What the Bible meant when it says in some passages that it is "better for man to cut off his hand" than go to Hell, is not exactly must be taken literally.

What it meant is for that sinner to stop sinning using his hand, this is what is meant of "cutting off". The sinning or habit of sinning is the one being asked to be cut off, not the man.

The Face of Jesus: Christianity and the Promise of Salvation

He was a son of a carpenter, an unlettered middle aged man who was adjudged the greatest Teacher of the Law. He was neither a son of a priest nor born of a priestly class, and he did study in the finest theological schools, but he understood God’s laws better than those who did.


Thirty years he lived among them, a poor fella, who probably got his own money helping his father do carpentry works. People say he was a bastard because he was born before his father John married his mother Mary. He was the eldest among a brood of ten but nothing was told of his other brothers and sisters, except perhaps James who was said to be with him during his sojourns in the desert.


Some said he was a King, born of David’s, yet there was nothing royal about him. He did not wear a crown except that made of thorns before he was crucified. His dress was as common as everybody’s, his sandals made of the cheapest leather and his hands, as callous, as rough and as hard as the others.


He had no entourage nor did he ride a carriage. Yes, there were men with him, but they were not soldiers, nor of royal birth, not even court jesters. His royal court was attended by the poor, the unlettered, and the scums of the earth. Everywhere he goes, a train of fishermen, farmers, widows, orphans, thieves, and prostitutes went with him. No one among his royal court knew or ever read any word in the ancient scriptures yet they were able to spread his message throughout the known world.


Those who heard him said he was a prophet who predicted his own death and those of his disciples. Definitely, he was a healer, who touched the sick and demon possessed among the people, but when he was at the throes of death, he failed to even cure his own wounds.


He preached justice but was himself, a victim of cruelty. He was unfairly judged and condemned to death. His case was never reviewed, his death never considered unjust.


He preached love but he himself never knew how to love a woman. He always asked the people to share whatever they have, but, he himself, shared none. Yet he gave what no other man gave for others, and thay was his very own life.


He asked fathers to love their wives, but he, himself, did not have one. He told sons to be obedient to their mothers but there was one instance where he rebuked his own.


Many said he was a man of Peace, but he was largely credited of having founded a group that caused the death of millions.


Four thousand years after his death, Jesus of Nazareth remains an enigma. Until now, no archaeological evidence exists that really says he once lived in Israel. There are no records of his birth, nothing to even suggest that a thirty five year old man preached and died in that land called Israel.


An enchanter said to bear the name “Jesus Magnus” was discovered in 2010. The vessel was carbon-dated and found to be at least 30 AD, the time when Jesus supposedly lived.


This did not really prove that it was actually Jesus who used this vessel since there were many people named Jesus during that time.

National Geographic reported a cave which was said to contain the remains of a man believed to be him. The burial cave, which is located several miles from the place called Golgota, is said to contain bones of people who lived during his time. Archaeologists are still studying those ancient bones and it would probably take some time before we get a firm confirmation that indeed, they have discovered the remains of Israel’s Greatest Teacher of the Law.


A Jew named Flavius Josephus wrote the Antiquities of the Jews in 93 AD, which reference about Jesus was made twice. Scholars say Josephus’s Testimonium Flavianum is a direct confirmation of the existence of Jesus. What did Josephus wrote about Jesus?

“ About this time came Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is appropriate to call him a man. For he was a performer of paradoxical feats, a teacher of people who accept the unusual with pleasure, and he won over many of the Jews and also many Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon the accusation of the first men amongst us, condemned him to be crucified, those who had formerly loved him did not cease to follow him, for he appeared to them on the third day, living again, as the divine prophets foretold, along with a myriad of other marvelous things concerning him. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day..[45]

Pliny the younger also wrote something about a band of people who believed in a man called “Christus”, though he actually failed to even write anything about this man.


There were other ancient texts which described how a certain sect of believers of “Chrestus”, popularly recognized as a reference to Jesus, the savior of the Jews.


A teacher of the Law


There is no doubt that Jesus, if he ever lived, was probably a religious Teacher, a rabbi although not of the Pharisee nor a Sadducee. But, what law did he preached? What were the things which Jesus taught men during his time and were those teachings radical as to merit him a penalty of death?


The Gospels are living records of Jesus’ teachings and it is still disputable if it was written to prove his existence. What are Gospels but sayings of this man who preached that one is a brother to others? Jewish law says otherwise.

“ You must love one another as I loved you”. This is the core philosophy of this teacher who tried and brought down the huge veil that separated the Jew from the uncircumcised. The Jews of his time considered themselves special for God anointed Israelites as His own Nation. Yet, this Teacher of the Law quoted the prophet Isaiah who proclaimed a New Heaven, and a New Jerusalem out from a sinful and disobedient Nation. Isaiah and later Jeremiah prophesized against their people but were never condemned to die, unlike Jesus who was crucified. What earthshaking things which Jesus preached that merited him the death penalty?


Did he ever said that the Jews were evil men? No. Did he ever tell them to rebel against Rome? No. did he ever instigate his followers to kill the priests of his time? No.

Jesus condemned the priests and accused them of being blind who led the blind. He mocked their ignorance of God’s laws and urged them to repent and accept the coming Kingdom of God. He chastised them for relying on their ritual sacrifices instead of atoning for their sins through prayer and fasting.


Fact is, Jesus taught the Law the way God intended it to be taught. He used the language of God to convey the message of God. He was the new Moses who brought down the tablets of the law from the Holy Mountain of Sinai.


Jesus revealed nothing that was considered heretical nor revolutionary. He just opened their eyes to the very truth which was revealed by God before those of their time. He created nothing new. He preached nothing that these Jews did not know before.


He came with a sword and an olive branch, a suggestion that God’s message is both good and bad. For God is the Creator of everything, good and evil.


This is one fact that people refused to believe—that everything that happens in their lives happen with a purpose, a purpose to either teach them the way or punish them. Whether it’s good or bad, one thing is certain—it all came from God.


The resurrection


During the time of Nero, thousands of Christians were killed. As I read the manuscripts, many died with a smile on their faces, faithful to the end. Many of those who preached about Jesus suffered innumerable cruelties. Paul, the fourteenth apostle of Christ, was brutally murdered by the Romans. Peter, one of Jesus’ most trusted disciples, was crucified upside down. Like what Jesus told him several decades ago, Peter died like him.


And why did the Christians not rebelled against the Romans when the Emperor ordered their execution? Was it their faith that refrained them from retaliation, seeing that most of Rome’s residents were Christians?


The reason was simply, their belief in the resurrection, that all those who died defending the Faith, will be rewarded with their crowns and palaces in Heaven. The Early Christians accepted death as calmly as they accepted life, with its brutality and senselessness, all because of the promise of attaining Life afterwards.


We are all familiar with this today. Today, those who believed in Islam act as close or as similar as what Early Christians did in their era. Of course, some of us would dispute this and say that early Christians did not bomb cities or kill civilians. However, History would show otherwise, how the Crusades pillaged hundreds of cities and villages, killing all those who did not believe in Christianity and how Catholic explorers destroyed hundreds of civilizations or what they call "savages" whose cultures did not conform with theirs.

Every religion promises some form of reward after death and this is the motivation by many to believe in it and cling into it as if this is the true essence of Life.

What is certain is that resurrection, is a Law of the Universe. We see it everywhere--in places deemed inhospitable, we see Life. In places struck by natural catastrophes like volcanic eruption, we see Life emerging from the ash-filled landscape. Even in dark places like planets thousands of miles away from the sun, we see water and possible microbes living in inhospitable places.

Science has discovered how to revive dead cells into life and many years from now, we will all benefit from this. Thousands of years ago, though, a civilization already knew of this universal law and that is the Egyptians (and their predecessors the Babylonians also knew of it. Even the Mayans and the Incas knew of how man can eventually manipulate DNA to make a distinct copy of anything living).

The Israelites knew and when they passed it on to other generations, thousands, even millions believed in it. Jesus, the man, was the one who gave it enough flesh in His message that it resonated to His believers. Those who believed died, knowing or believing that they'll be resurrected. Those who died without believing, passed away without a reason.

A believer of God is a fighter for Justice

What is the responsibility of every single individual who professes to worship GOD? It is to obey God's commandments. And what is the commandments of God? To love him with all of one's might and with all of one's strength and love other people as well. Who are the people whom a believer must love and support? These are those who are poor, orphaned and widowed. How would one love them? By helping them and casting wickedness and fighting off poverty and the causes of their miseries and afflictions.

In just one paragraph I wrote what God wants us, believers to do--love one another by casting off wickedness and fighting the evil that surrounds us. That is a responsibility which we must not shrink of. For Justice, belongs to God and as believers of God, one must stand up and fight for the Cause of Right.

Be it Christian or Muslim, every believer of the One True God adheres to this. The Cause of Right is the right and most righteous Cause of All. It transcends all causes.

If Manny Villar wants to cure poverty, then, we must support him.

If Noynoy Aquino believes that we should fight off graft and corruption, we must be behind him.

If Richard Gordon wants to transform this country and for it to be great again, then, we must help him.

If Joseph Estrada wants to bring back power to the poorest of the poor, then, his Cause is just and worthy.

If Bro. Eddie Villanueva wants God to be at the center of our government, then, let the true worship of God be our Cause.

And if Gilbert Gibo Teodoro's cause espouses all of these, then, what would prevent us from supporting him with all our might and strength?

The Regime of the Pinay Anti-Christ

Reprinted from my entry over at FilipinoVoices

A Congressman once likened Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to that of Jesus Christ. He said that the People can’t just crucify someone out of innuendoes and false accusations. Yet, if I remember my Bible correctly, especially the Book of Matthew and that of the Book of Revelations, in the end times, false prophets and anti-Christs will appear claiming to be the saviour. And we will know them by their fruits.

We all know that Gloria is not Jesus, nay, far from him. Jesus was never greedy nor had that insatiable appetite for power. Christ even sacrificed his life so that others may live. For Gloria, as the records would show, she ordered the killing of activists, arrested change agents, destroyed thousands of farmer’s lives and promoted an immoral governance style. “We will know them by their fruits”, the good book says.

And like that proverbial story in the bible, in just three days, the cabal of Gloria killed the impeachment complaint. Voting 42 to 8, these cult followers of Gloria wearing amerikanas and barongs showed their unfledging worship to the Philippine anti-Christ. With their hossanas, they infused new life to the old fogey, albeit, literally bringing forth the resurrection of the Pinay anti-Christ. What is left right now in the House of Represent-the-Thieves is that elixir, a proposal to extend the life of the Pinay Anti-Christ up to 2011.

After that infamous voting, Gloria’s “John”, Executive secretary Eduardo Ermita treated Malacanang reporters and other “disciples” of the Anti-Christ to a sumptuous lunch. ” Triumph of justice”, so they say as they feasted on roast pig, and other gourmet foods which ordinary Pinoys just eat in their dreams. Gloria’s cult delivered in Congress, led by a man who sired a boyish looking demon who now is on a mission to flatten our mountains and mine our gold to sacrifice in the altar of the almond-eyed Mammon.

” This signals the death of truth and justice”, was the only remarked of the reformed cultist member who once feasted with the Anti-Christ and once masterminded the antics of the cabal in repulsing the truth. The reformed master of tricks now feels very threatened, knowing that his political extinction is beyond reach. ” It’s only the people who can save this country from infamy and tyranny”.

But, what of the people? We live in such evil times that the blackness has even creeped within our very souls. We live in a chaotic era where hope is non-existent. As predicted in the good book, these times try men’s souls. We will be lured to worship the anti-Christ. We will succumb to her wiles. And we have. Oil companies just lowered pump prices. Employers just gave out 13th month pays. Malls have cut their prices by 50%. Government is creating a favorable environment, giving us the crumbs while they feast on 30 billion pesos of stolen money from our pockets.

We feel nothing because the State has injected a social anesthetic. Can we ever defeat the power of this Anti-Christ who use our monies to lull us to complacency while they rape and sodomize us? Such is the power of this social anesthetic that even those who are enlightened, are themselves, helpless against this anti-Christ.

” Cha-cha is evil”, says the head of one of God’s divisions. But, yes, we know. Since last year, the people already know that Gloria is the anti-Christ. What will God’s disciples do to defeat Satan’s daughter? Place their hope in law? Hope lies not in law, but in men. In these times, we need to expunge the anti-Christ from our midst. And it should be now, not later.