Thursday, April 21, 2011

Truly Risen!

Contra factum non valet argumentum (You cannot argue against facts). The fact of the Resurrection of Jesus is incontrovertible. You read the various narrations about the Risen Jesus in the Bible, the four gospels and letters of the Apostles, they tell of actual witnesses of the fact of the Resurrection. St. Paul speaks of more than 500 people seeing the Risen Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-5). Most of those saints who attested on the truth of the Resurrection sere supported by God’s assistance by the proof of many signs and miracles that served to prove the truth of what they proclaimed.

That’s the history of the belief of billions of people, in past and present history. We may just enunciate one usual expression which has already become proverbial, applying this to the fact of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God and Our Savior. You can fool some of the people all the time, all the people some time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. All those billions of believers could not be wrong in their belief of the Resurrection.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

RH Bill is Flawed

(Statement by U.P. faculty, students, and alumni)

The RH Bill is envisaging the control of our population, not realizing the negative experience of many nations that are aging and declining, tending towards extinction. The encouragement to use condoms for health protection is also based on false assumptions, because the model in Asia for condom use is Thailand, which has the highest incidence of the HIV AIDS virus, which so far, unfortunately, has no clear medication available to all sectors. The oral-contraceptive pills (OCPs) have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group I Carcinogens.

From the U.P. statement and position paper you read the following: “Our main argument boils down to this: that it is the State’s duty to order society by promoting the well-being of its citizens. Thus it is a disservice to legislate what constitutes harm to its people… While it is true that the State cannot stop people from using contraception, since they may personally choose to expose themselves to its risks, it is not the State’s job to facilitate access to what is harmful…. We urge the legislators to dump the contentious and flawed Reproductive Health bill and to pass more bills strengthening the Filipino family, protecting its citizens against the risks of contraception, defending the scientific fact that conception begins at fertilization, providing essential medicines for the main causes of death, making quality education more accessible to Filipinos, and providing more jobs.”

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Lessons from Sodom and Gomorrah

What happened to Sodom and Gomorrrah (cf. Gen. 19:23-26) is a lesson for all of us. Even in the matter of sexuality God has asked us to follow definite rules of conduct as contained in the sixth and ninth commandments. In short, the sexual faculty may be used within legitimate marriage between one man and one woman for purposes of procreation and mutual support and satisfaction of concupiscence. Thus the Church made it clear that the sexual activity has to be ever open to the normal transmission of new life. You look at the meaning of Sodomy in the dictionary; it means an abnormal employment or use of the sexual faculty, contrary to the purpose God designed it for.

This means, if you read the first book of the Bible in Chapters 18, 19, and 38, there are sections talking about God’s decrees as regards the right use of sex. Let us just remember the happening in Sodom and Gomorrah that relates about God’s punishment for the abuse of sex and keep in mind that relevant quotation from St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews: “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

Remember history so you may avoid repeating past sins and mistakes.

Friday, April 8, 2011

U.P. Position Paper on RH Bill

(the burning and brave exposé)

The above-mentioned position paper recently publicized this year (2011) has been signed by faculty, students and alumni of the University of the Philippines. For Internet access to signatories and references go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/upiansonrhbill/

What’s the exposé? First, it concluded saying: “We urge the legislators to dump the contentious and flawed Reproductive Health bill and to pass more bills strengthening the Filipino family, protecting its citizens against the risks of contraception, defending the scientific fact that conception begins at fertilization, providing essential medicines for the main causes of death, making quality education more accessible to Filipinos, and providing more jobs.” Quoting from the 1966 Nobel Prize winner Simon Kuznets’ research which argued that a more rapid population growth, if properly managed, will promote economic development through a positive impact on the society’s state of knowledge. And deducing from an Asian Development Bank report: “Two factors were reported to drive the creation and sustenance of a middle class a) stable, secure, well-paid jobs with good benefits and b) higher education. And so, why not create more bills that will strengthen these two factors instead of channeling out limited funds to contraception and sex education?”

In the nation of Thailand which has been hailed as the model for condom promotion, the result has been the highest incidence of the HIV AIDS cases. Moreover, the human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, by far the most common STD (sexually transmitted disease) and a risk factor for cervical cancer among other diseases, is not prevented by condoms because HPV spreads through skin-to-skin contact, unlike AIDS, and condoms cannot cover all possible infected skin – a fact that is not commonly known. Why spend millions to buy condoms when they are shown to increase incidences of STDs? Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs) have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 1 Carcinogens.

Conclusion by the Position Paper: “Our main argument boils down to this: that it is the State’s duty to order society by promoting the well-being of its citizens. Thus, it is a disservice to legislate what constitutes harm to its people.”

Monday, April 4, 2011

Culture of Life vs. Culture of Death

Statements from the Church opposing the RH Bill are certainly in connection with a culture of life. The concept of Christian marriage is in itself ordered to the procreation and education of children. Thus it goes against contraception and abortion. Can you imagine the scenario where everyone is making use of contraceptives? That will result to a sin against life and humanity because no children will be born anymore. It will be an aging, decaying society on its way to extinction.

Some want to question why the Church is interfering in legislations of this sort. It is because the morality of sex is not just purely for physical satisfaction but also connected to family unity and procreation and education of the children, as the normal fruit of marriage. If you read the Bible, like in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8 and 9, Ephesians chapter 5, Galatians chapter 5, you can see his thoughts on sexual morality and purity. Check that. Such sections of the Bible, including the sections in Genesis chapter 19, on the plight and punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah, contain advices against abnormal uses and exploitation of the sex faculty contrary to the purposes decreed by God originally (e.g. fornication, masturbation, abortion). Let’s remember that there are punishments God inflicts on those who violate His laws. A warning that St. Paul echoes in his letter to the Hebrews: “it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). As to why sexual ethics (in thought, word and deed) is of importance brings us to a reminder from the Virgin Mary’s apparitions in Fatima where she asked for penance and reparation for the sins of impurity because “many souls are falling into Hell’s eternal fires because of the sins against purity.”

Precisely, for the sake of man’s eternal salvation, Jesus left this last instruction to his disciples: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” (Mt. 28:19).

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Life's Constant Battle

The Bible tells us that there is an ongoing battle between Heaven and Hell, God and the Devil, Mary and her Son and those who follow them, versus followers of Satan, Truth and Error, Light and Darkness, a culture of life vs. a culture of death, (remember the lessons of Sodom and Gomorrah, after considering the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of violating God’s design in legitimate and normal sexual relationships or concerning the legitimate and normal use of sex), conflicts between good and evil, love and hate, greed and generosity. In the first book of the Bible is written: “I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heal” (Gen. 3:15). Naturally since ideas enter into minds and hearts, this battle implies also the response in the very heart of creatures. When the followers of Jesus asked him regarding foods that can make a man unclean, He answered thus: “Do even you not understand? Can you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes through the stomach and is discharged into the sewer? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is these that make a man unclean. For from the heart come evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. These are the things that make a man unclean. But to eat with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean” (Mt. 15:16-20).

Jesus talks often about the enemy within as pride, for example, “anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt. 23:12). That’s a constant tone in the Bible. “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Mt. 10:36). A Spanish saying is quite descriptive when it intones: “Tu enemigo peor eres tu” (You are your own worst enemy). Biblical lore keeps warning: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Precisely the seven capital sins destroy man from within, namely, pride covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth. (see St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:16-26). Better check and think it over. We always tend to blame others. But the enemy is within. So God’s word ever warns us: “Judge not and you shall not be judged. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?...Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye” (Mt. 7:2-5).

There are temptations from the Devil and evil men, but man is free in his consent to this or that. We need to pray because we need God’s grace in this fight versus evil. Hence it is rightly said: “Prayer will make us leave off sinning or sinning will make us leave off prayer.” It’s always either one or the other to rule our lives.

In the last book of the Bible is described the Devil’s anger: “Then the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, that is, all who obey God’s commandments and bear witness for Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). “War broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven” (Rev. 12:7). In the first book of the Bible the Devil tempted our first parents Adam and Eve to violate God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, a word in the Bible which means that God is the supreme arbiter of what is good and what is evil, and finite and created man is not to usurp such a divine privilege. (see Gen. 3, or the Fall of man.)