on miracles: maybe they happen. I've never experienced one but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Still, it would be pretty hard to convince me that there is no "natural" or rational explanation for an event. I do accept that things of very low probability do occur. hey, if they don't occur then Life shouldn't have existed.

Happy Atheist Solidarity Day!

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Parents sue DepEd regarding Sex Ed

One, how many of you hypocrites have children enrolled in public schools?
Two, private schools have been "overtaking the parents' responsibility" for years now. If you are going to sue someone, sue one who has committed the act and not one who is intending to.
Three, your invocation of a clause from the Constitution is irrelevant. The sex education module will not even affect the morals of children. It is not a religion nor a values ed class.
Four, you should sue DepEd because they have values class which is "overtaking the parents' responsibility" for the child's moral development. But you don't want that because according to you the youth already has twisted morals.
Five, it is actually your Church who wants to include the moral implications of sex in the module. So you should first complain to them.

The bishop who attended the DepEd consultation said that they will only agree to sex ed if contentious material against certain doctrine of people are removed particularly those against of the Roman Catholic doctrine.

Uh... no. The DepEd needs to follow secular molarity free from religious doctrine. If it is contentious i.e. offends the RC doctrine or any doctrine for that matter, the teacher can note this in class. There is no need to remove it.

They also want a spiritual component to be involved. From any other person, this would be an okay suggestion but this is coming from a bishop and you know that what he's referring to spiritual development is development to becoming a good Catholic.

And I don't agree that sex should occur within marriage. Nor should they teach that sex should only happen in marriage. Sex should occur between responsible adults who have both understood the potential outcomes of intercourse and have prepared for it. In other words, consenting adults. Adults need not be married. The module could point out that having children out of wedlock would be difficult for the current society but it is not immoral. Having sex out of wedlock is immoral only in religious ethics and not secular ethics.

And having religious teaching in public school is unconstitutional.

In the end, this consultation is a farce. The RC Church is not for sex education. They don't even want using the word SEX. The DepEd should have a firm stance and not be bullied into weakening their module. Worse, they should not be bullied into making a module that forces religious belief unto others especially young and impressionable individuals. If the RC Church is so worried about it sex ed, they should hold their own sessions. I think that is what Sunday school is for anyway.

Well, I don't go after religion but if I ever do this might be the best reason I would be able to muster.

"I go after religion because it represents a particularly nasty form of tribalism, a set of beliefs that distinguish some human beings that are in any meaningful way indistinguishable on the basis of what superstition they hold....It (religion) erects artificial barriers between people and then attacks those on the other side of the barrier. As a form of tribalism, religion is frequently deadly and can't be broken of its vicious habits." Freethinker Sunday Sermonette, Revere

Besides, my immediate social circle are devout but benign enough. And I value friendship over my personal beliefs unless of course those friends are starting to trample on someone else's freedom.

I always thought I'd meet more non-religious people in med, I guess I'm wrong or I'm just not looking hard enough.

My classmates have found out my agnostic and slightly atheistic beliefs(I go to mass because I am forced by my parents). They seem to be really affected by it. Sample reactions:
"Nye, I'm Agnostic too."
"It seems it's true that as a person becomes smarter they become less religious."
"Really!"
"I'll be praying for you! Lord heal our land..."

The last one came from a really childish classmate and he did sing the next sentence. I was busy that time so I told him that it wasn't his mission in life to "save me." He must've thought I was joking because he merely made his singing louder.

In a batch full of very devout believers(mostly, Christians) and a college where the Dean's inauguration ceremony was preceded by a Catholic High Mass, I'm really out of place. At times when religion is discussed, I usually feel compelled to defend my beliefs and "religious stance" but I usually just shut up until a question is directed at me. It's not that I do not think I could defend myself, it's just that I feel that my explanations will fall on deaf ears or worse, I might cause their "conversion." Not that the converting/leaving their religion is such a bad thing, I just don't want to be responsible for their decision. Yes. That does sound stupid. I think it's because I hate playing the role of a teacher with my friends in fields where I know I do not have sufficient information like in religion(I haven't even completed the Bible). And I fear that their parents will go after me once they learn their child's conversion.

Well, I think the worst thing to happen is to lose their friendship. I value friendship above my own comforts and desires most of the time. So much so that I tend to shut up if casual talk goes into talks about sensitive topics like religion, contraceptives, sex education and human sexuality(You won't believe how homophobic, or at the very most, homo-INtolerant my batch mates are!).

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Last test of the year tomorrow. Wait... I have two quizzes on Friday. Nye... those two don't count. = p

Some things I've pondered on over the sem break and I think are true. I'm too lazy and incompetent to make a critical and beautiful discussion of these things I'll just list them down(in no particular order):

1. Being boring is a sin to mankind. Boring meaning becoming content, stagnant, unchanging, not developing, not helping or being a commensal(parasites are actually good since they provide adversity resulting in innovations).

2. The Homosexuals should not believe that they need to work hard or get rich or do something noteworthy before they gain the respect and/or tolerance of society. Many heterosexuals do not even deserve to be tolerated yet they are(ex. politicians).

3. Related to 2, the Filipino society is hopelessly homophobic and will remain this way for at least 2 more generations(unless the Martin Luther King of the Filipino homosexuals will appear).

4. Proper sex education for all is a good tool for population control and in prevention of STI's, however; for practical purposes, use of contraception and condoms is currently the best method to achieve lower growth in population and infected people. Related to this, many have a point that sex education may be better taught by parents but they always fail to remember that these parents are usually as ignorant as the kids they're supposed to be teaching regarding reproductive health.

5. Use of condoms should be encouraged. I have now 2 nephews concieved(but not born) out of wedlock. To the Church: They already performed premarital sex, do you really want them to commit more sins by bringing to this world an unwanted child? No, adoption won't do for Filipino society. It's either marriage or abortion, usually. And about STI's, they already have eternal hellfire waiting for them after this life(at least, according to you), why not allow them to be safe from HIV, Hepatitis, Herpes and some other icky diseases and live a relatively happy life here. What is 60 years compared to eternity any way?

6. Religion is indeed the opium of the masses.

I just read this really stupid(illogical, fallacious, etc.) e-mail(emphases in the original):

DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS?

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!

Make a personal reflection about this. Very interesting, so read on...

It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap".

Here are some men and women who mocked God:

1.John Lennon (singer, composer, member of the former Beatles).

Some years back , in one of his interviews with a leading American Magazine, he categorically said:

"Christianity will end, and it will disappear. And I do not have to argue about that. I'm certain, Jesus was OK but his subjects were too simple. Today, we're more famous than him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

2. Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

2. Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and a poet)
During A show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you."

Then he died of AIDS in a horrible manner at the prime age of 32 .

4. The man who built the Titanic
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.
With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it..."
The result:Of course, we all know what happened to the Titanic.

5. Marilyn Monroe (Famous & Controversial Hollywood Actress)
She was visited by an equally famous US evangelist Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. And he said to her that the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.

After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said to him:
"...I don't need your Jesus".
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

6. Bon Scott (Singer)
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs, he sang:
"Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell".
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

7.Campinas, Brazil (A freak vehicular accident in 2005)
A group of drunk young guys, went to pick up a lady friend...

The mother accompanied her daughter to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to her daughter while holding her one hand, who was already seated in the car:
"My daughter, go with God and may He protect you..."

She responded:
"Only If He (God) travels in the trunk, 'coz inside here... it's already full."

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died,
the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none were broken.

8. Christine Hewitt (a Jamaican journalist and entertainer)
She said that the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006, she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died for our sins, rose again... and remains ALIVE until now.

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Fine! But I thought the Christian God was supposed to be a forgiving being and is reserving judgement for uh... Judgement Day. This is so like the fundamentalists, using faulty logic and contradicting themselves. Any way, if all those who "insult" God die a horrible horrible death, there should be no atheists and agnostics nowadays and I should be dead a month ago.

And is this really a good way to convince people to convert? Making them fearful of punishment and untimely death! That's stupid! Why should I worship a God who revels in making his or her followers stupid and afraid, assuming he or she is real?

New link... good thing I decided to visit the peyups forum.

www.atheista.net

Not that I'm really sure I'm atheist. I am agnostic and kinda leaning to the atheism side but I'm still very open to change.

Still, it's not just about atheism. Sometimes it is about education and life in general, the comments are fun to read except for the occasional hardcore fundie theist or intolerant Christian. It is slightly refreshing because the people here are generally more polite and tamer than the ones in scienceblogs.com.

I was attending Mass and the homily was boring, if not non-insightful so I just let my thoughts wander. To keep up with the religious theme, I decided to think about God. I decided to think about the existence of God. True, Kant said that logic shouldn't be used in tackling God's existence and one should rely on faith and belief alone but I decided why not. Turns out, he was right because if you used logic you'd reach an atheist conclusion(There is no God) or to the very least realize that God just doesn't care what you do in the living world, bleak but logical. Of course, I discounted those so called "miracles" and relied only on what I think could be measurable and quantifiable events.

Logic says that if all the things we believe about God is true we'd be experiencing Him or Her every time we ask for help since God did promise to extend his/her hand to us at our time of need but I do not think that happens... no wait, that does not happen at all. Ultimately, our problems are solved by our own hands and actions. Some would say God guided them and what not but you cannot prove that. You cannot conduct a mental or physical experiment to test that claim. In the end, you just have to believe that God did guide you and everyone else in the world(God is omnipotent and omniscient). And if God is indeed all good, logically, murder would not exist. Tests of faith are fine but allowing murder is taking it too far; what about the person that was killed what happens to his test for entry to heaven? I do not believe all those murdered are good people. And all those children who die everyday? What about them? They can't all be innocent. If God does care, he would stop that person in mid-action and zap him straight to hell.
But, if you do believe that God does care, you can. I would like to remind that faith should not be proven and questioned using logic and rationality(religion is another matter), I was just pondering on that impossibility.

During the part where those attending Mass recite the Apostle's Creed, I didn't open my mouth. I cannot force myself to lie. I do not think Christ rose again after death or there are saints in heaven. I do believe in the God the Creator(the Creator of what? the natural laws? the one who triggered the Big Bang? certainly not the direct creator of us humans, we are just an accident). I do think that the many of the teachings of Jesus are sound and could be used as a guide on how to live the life of a good human being. But all those other things that the Catholic religion(not faith) require me to believe in is just too far. Many people would hate me but I trust in Science and Logic more than what religion(as in the dogma) is saying to me. Science and Logic do have limitations, I do not think we'll ever really prove conclusively the existence of the Big Bang or prove that the current theory of the Death of the Universe due to Expansion(solar systems drift apart, soon planets fly off then atoms decompose into subatomic particles and all things would move away from each other never meeting each other again). We cannot create a Universe in the lab but I think the newly developed accelerators are nearing that goal and we won't be here when the Universe is dying.

Yes, confusing, unorganized, characteristic of ramblings. What I'm just saying is that one shouldn't try to prove his or her faith using logic. Say I believe in God or God is dead. Just say it and no more. God's existence is beyond the living person's capability to prove and understand(if it was only one religion would exist). Maybe he or she does exist or maybe not or maybe he or she did exist once and is now dead, we just won't know all we'll ever know is that we live in a world that is functioning apparently without any help from God.

UPDATE: And you are an... AGNOSTIC. Or at least I'm becoming one. I do not think I meet all the categories yet(heck I'm a believer). Not that it is such a bad thing. And I do not think I will be that person Mitch Albom is describing in Tuesday's With Morrie(the one where he points out the difference in the deaths of an agnostic and an atheist, so false...)

Isang linggo na lang ng bakasyon tapos pasukan na naman.

Wala akong magawa sa bahay. Natapos ko na ang Greed Island DVD at ang Epi1-10 ng Season 3 ng Grey's Anatomy. Hindi ko naman magawa iyong site ng StDC kasi ala naman ako malagay. Natapos ko na rin ang God-Emperor of Dune, hindi ko ba nabibili ang Heretics of Dune kaya wala akong mabasa. So... so! Wala.

Black Saturday ngayon. Patay raw si God kaya pwede gumawa ng masasamang bagay kasi hindi niya makikita. Okay! Patayin na natin si toot! As if! Mga tao talaga! Hindi mamatay ang Diyos! Patay na siya! Joke! Mga atheist nagsasabi niyon, hindi naman ako atheist eh... malapit lang. Hindi naman ako agnostic, hindi rin naman ako devout na Katoliko. Ano ngayon ako? Uh...

Kung sa bagay, marami naman diyang ibang religion na pwede salihan. At ang ilan doon parang mas maganda pa sa Roman Catholic; nandiyan ang Buddhism, Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism, Rizalism, Bathalanism, Shinto, Taoism. Hmm...

Buddhism na lang kaya? Maganda naman ang tinuturo nila, pwede ka pa rin na mag-celebrate at maniwala sa ibang religion, hindi naman ata contradicting ang teachings nila, wala mang Paradise o Heaven(sa Christian, Islamic at Judeo sense) wala namang Hell meron pang Nirvana na kapag hindi mo naatim sa buhay na ito maaari mo pa rin maatim sa susunod kasi may Reincarnation. Assignment: Mag-research pa tungkol sa Buddhism.

Gawin ko na lang muna siguro ang mga pinagsasabi ni Kant: Gumawa ng mabuti dahil mabuti iyon at iyon ang iyong duty. Hindi dapat gumawa ng mabuti kasi kung hindi magagalit si God/Jesus/Allah o kaya nama'y hindi ka makakarating ng langit at mapapadpad sa impyerno. Ano ba! Reward-based!

Okay. Hindi na naman organized. Sorry naman.