I looked at the table and saw an array

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Of body parts of animals who not only died

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But spent their whole lives caged inside

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And we thank God for these bountiful blessings

Without much thought of what we’re transgressing.

.

I did not want to be so different
I did not want to cause a mess
But I can’t stop my mind from thinking
That I can’t believe in just a guess

If God is Truth then what is Truth?
Is it Inconsistency?
Should He be real just because
The Bible makes good Fantasy?

It’s not that I don’t want Him there
If He is, He’s been good to me
But just because you *feel* He’s there
Can’t mean you *must* claim Him to be

In my youth, if I could choose
I would have chosen The Fantasy
So I could belong with everyone
And they’d be very good to me

But now I find it somewhat strange
That I am the different one
In this nation of believers
Against Common Sense, Faith has won

I would not choose to stop believing
If it had been up to me
But if God exists, I’m glad He’s decided
That I don’t deserve The Fantasy

* * * * *

God is good all the time
His ways are always sublime
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
And took away my doubting mind
God is good all the time
Though He often allows crime
Through the darkest night, His light will shine
You just can’t see it sometimes
God is good, God is good all the time.

If you’re walking through the valley
And there are shadows all around
Do not fear, He will guide you
He will keep you safe and sound
And if these shadows jump at you
And try to chase you on the ground
Do not run and do not hide
When your heart begins to pound.

‘Cause He’s promised to never leave you
(Most of the time He’s just gonna scare you)
Nor forsake you and His Word is true
But if He does, there’s a reason too.

We were sinners – so unworthy
Still for us He chose to die
He chose not to outright forgive us
He had to be crucified.

Filled us with His Holy Spirit
Now we can stand and testify
That His love is everlasting
And His mercies – they will never end
Though we must redefine His “mercy”
To include the pain it belies
But for all the world’s sufferings
He will make eternal amends.

Lord I may not understand
All the plans He left for me
Your ways are sometimes cruel
For an omnipotent deity
My life is in your hands
And through the eyes of Him I can clearly see
Unless my own eyes are opened
To His monstrous atrocities.

From science, my spirit’s wonderment;

From philosophy, my life’s meaning;

From reason, my truth;

From my own spirit, my very purpose;

From my humanity, my morality;

From the ones I love, my comfort;

From my children, my hope;

For what more do I need religion?

Laugh at what is most sacred

Poke fun at what is most holy

Joke most about what you revere the most

Good laughter sanctifies everything

And evil is that which we cannot laugh at

For a god who does not laugh is the devil

And a god who cannot be laughed at is doubly so.

*  *  *

Dedicated to all the warriors of freethought who tried to talk the anti-RH camp into reason, and who ended up being called Satan.

[Reposted from the author's blog, Physics, Philosophy and Phantasmagoria.]

Sometimes, being nice to people is not being nice to the truth. Politeness must never be allowed to trample honesty. Offending by telling the truth is not being rude, keeping the truth from others is.

***

Our beliefs are not just our beliefs. We can’t just say, “Well, these are my belief and yours are different. We disagree, but that’s alright. Now, can’t we just all get along and be friends and say everything is fine and dandy?” Our beliefs dictate how we live life and how we view it; they dictate how we treat others and how we want to be treated. Most importantly, our beliefs will, if we are conscientious enough, define how we act in matters of life and death – in other words, in everyday matters. We therefore cannot skirt around our beliefs. In the face of the world, this we must say: “These are my beliefs, and these are my reasons for believing them. If you disagree with them, let us argue that we may see who is in the right.”

***

We must learn how to laugh at matters of life and death from time to time, for after all, a good hearty laughter is what makes life worth living. But we must never use laughter to hide the truth. Rather, we must employ laughter to entice the truth. Hence, never must we forget that the truth does not like the dumb laughter of the shallow and dishonest. The laughter that will entice the truth is like the laughter of a warrior: bold, hearty and harsh.

***

Fighting for the truth is not defending a conviction to the death. Fighting for the truth is seeking after the truth. We must never argue to win an argument. In any argument, it must be the truth that is the victor, for otherwise, both sides lose. But before we enter any dispute we must never forget this: any argument from which no laughter was derived is a waste of time.

***

The truth is a jester and loves only a jester. The truth never comes to him who takes everything with a heavy heart.

[This is reposted from the author's blog, Physics, Philosophy and Phantasmagoria.]

Every thinker is a mother.

[Reposted from the author's personal blog, Physics, Philosophy and Phantasmagoria.]

In this case, what we call rational beings are like puppets controlled by those people who are self-centered, and deceptive rational people. Those who are only concerned for one thing: to satisfy their greed for power.

Some people do think in the context What and the Why, but they forget to rationalize and evaluate. Instead, they jump from one thought to another without weighing things using their critical thinking.  Or did they have the ability to do so to begin with? So what exactly am I pointing out here, you may ask.

Let me just tell you that there is a kind of philosophical view-point about how people should think or the way people should think. This view is called freethinking, which holds that “opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, or dogma.” It is a way of thinking distanced from any bias and prejudice, especially those of religious beliefs. It is a cognitive application of free thought.

Sadly, we Filipinos lack this kind of thinking, for our minds have been tuned to follow what our elders and our forefathers say without question. We accept things we never tried evaluating for ourselves. It is the result of hundreds of years in the hands of these self-centered and closed-minded people, who brainwashed our forefathers. Until now we’re in bondage to this blurred form of thinking, yet, we do have people who fight against this. Much like what our national hero did before, we dreamed of a country free from religious bigots and political tyrants.

We hope for a country of freethinking people, regardless of beliefs. Like what Gautama Buddha said:

Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumour; nor upon what is in scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another’s seeming ability; nor upon the consideration…

Do not accept anything by mere tradition… Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures… Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions.. But when you know for yourselves–these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness– then do you live accordingly.

This is what freethinking is about, but most of us Filipinos misunderstand it.

I would like to share a short poem I made.

New Beginning

Will you have the courage of going out of your comfort zone?

Or die with your ignorance?

Life is too short, so live it the way you want it

You may not cross again the paths you’ve walked on, so

Create memories with your loved ones, and cherish every moment

Only you have the power to control your life

Nothing else matters anyway

Say whatever you want to say, shout if you want to

Unleash the True YOU, don’t hold back

After all, YOU and only YOU can make yourself HAPPY and CONTENTED and

No One Else.